Ventilation Ring for UV Water Sanitizer Heat and Moisture Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing UV-light water sanitization devices face issues with heat management due to enclosed ballasts, moisture protection, visibility of UV lamp operation, and maintenance, including damage during disassembly and incomplete water drainage.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a ventilation ring for heat exhaust and moisture protection, a clear ventilation ring for UV lamp visibility, a permanent adhesive bond for quartz tubes to prevent damage, and a hemispherical tank with a drain plug for complete water drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the ballast is enclosed in a compartmentalized housing with the UV lamp and water tank, then the device structure is more economical and convenient, but thermal problems arise due to heat generated by the ballast in the tight space
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into separate compartments: a first compartment for the ballast and electronics, and a second compartment for the UV lamp and water tank. This segmentation isolates the heat-generating ballast from the UV components, allowing better thermal management while maintaining a unified housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The ballast is extracted into a separate enclosed compartment with its own access door, physically separated from the UV lamp compartment. This extraction allows independent thermal management of the ballast while keeping it integrated within the overall housing.
2Reliability
If the ballast compartment is sealed to prevent moisture intrusion, then electrical components are protected from moisture damage, but heat generated by the ballast cannot be dissipated
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible grommet is used to seal the cable access opening in the ballast compartment door, providing moisture protection while allowing thermal expansion and contraction. The grommet maintains the seal integrity despite temperature changes during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The ballast compartment door includes a transparent window that allows observation of UV lamp operation without compromising the sealed nature of the compartment. This local transparency provides monitoring capability while maintaining overall sealing for moisture protection.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If a transparent window is placed in the housing wall to observe UV lamp operation, then lamp functionality can be monitored, but the window creates an interruption in the housing wall prone to leakage and failure
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing a window in the water chamber wall, a transparent window is placed in the ballast compartment door, creating a visual copy or alternative viewing path. This allows observation of UV lamp operation through the ballast compartment door while keeping the water chamber housing intact and sealed.
4Reliability
If the quartz tube and UV lamp are held in place by a mounting nut with water-tight sealing O-rings, then water-tight sealing is achieved, but disassembly for maintenance can damage the UV lamp, quartz tube, and mounting nut components
Solution Approach 1:
The quartz tube is pre-assembled with the mounting nut and O-ring seal as a complete unit before installation into the water chamber. This preliminary assembly ensures proper sealing configuration and allows the entire assembly to be installed and removed as one piece, preventing damage during disassembly and reassembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The quartz tube, mounting nut, and O-ring seal are merged into a single integrated assembly. This combination eliminates the need to handle and reassemble multiple separate components during maintenance, reducing the risk of damage to any individual component while maintaining water-tight sealing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively manages heat and moisture, allows easy observation of UV lamp operation, simplifies maintenance, and ensures complete water drainage, enhancing the reliability and usability of UV-light water sanitization systems.
Implementation Method 1
The ventilation ring is mounted on top of the body housing of the water tank part of the unit and has a flange or flanges projecting to a greater diameter than that of the tank housing and having ventilation openings or holes in the flange or flanges
Implementation Method 2
The ventilation ring is made from a clear or translucent material, such as ABS plastic to create a window between the tank housing and the bonnet, allowing a user to see whether a UV lamp is working
Implementation Method 3
Another aspect of the present invention permanently affixes the quartz tube to a mounting nut, reducing the likelihood of damage to component parts of a mounting nut such as compression washers and O-rings, but instead with uses of adhesive to create a permanent and water-tight bond between a quartz tube and a mounting nut
Implementation Method 4
UV lamps require an electronic ballast to power them... UV lamps are bulbs that emit UV-C light of about 254 nm within the UV water treatment tank or container to expose water to the light to sanitize it
Data Source
AI summary
A ventilation ring for a UV water sanitizer unit that allows for adequate ventilation of heat generated by electronic components while sequestering those electronic components from water. The ring can also be made of a transparent or translucent material to allow a user to detect whether a UV lamp within the housing is operating. An improved nut for affixing a quartz tube within such a unit and improved design for draining the unit are also disclosed.