Valve Apparatus Germ Barrier for Aseptic Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transportation of sensitive liquid foodstuffs, such as orange juice, is hindered by contamination risks due to germ exposure during long-distance ocean transport, particularly at the valve apparatus and manhole facilities of tank containers, which have not been effectively prevented by existing sterilization methods.
Innovation Solution
A valve apparatus with a closing element, two seal arrangements, and a reservoir designed to form a germ barrier by accommodating bactericidal fluid, ensuring a contamination-free environment through the use of a bactericidal fluid reservoir and seal configurations that prevent air bubbles and maintain the germ barrier during transportation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional valve apparatus with single seal arrangement is used, then device complexity is reduced, but germ contamination risk increases during long-distance transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The valve apparatus is segmented into multiple functional components: a closing element with two separate seal arrangements (first and second seals), a reservoir for bactericidal fluid, and a chamber. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the first seal prevents germ ingress during filling, the second seal maintains the germ barrier during transport, and the reservoir provides continuous bactericidal fluid supply.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber is pre-filled with bactericidal fluid from the reservoir before the valve is closed during the filling operation. This preliminary action ensures that the germ barrier is already in place and protected before transportation begins, preventing germ contamination during the entire transport duration without requiring additional interventions.
2Reliability
If sterilizing fluids are applied meticulously, then germ contamination is reduced, but transportation cost efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve apparatus is designed to be self-sterilizing through the integrated reservoir that automatically supplies bactericidal fluid to the chamber. The system maintains its own germ barrier without requiring external sterilization interventions during transportation, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming repeated sterilization operations while ensuring continuous aseptic conditions.
3Reliability
If seal arrangement comes into contact with seat in closed position, then fluid connection is interrupted, but germ contamination risk increases in the seal region
Solution Approach 1:
The bactericidal fluid in the chamber acts as an intermediary substance between the seal arrangements and the external environment. This fluid creates a protective germ barrier that prevents germ contamination at the seal-contact regions while maintaining effective fluid separation when the valve is closed, solving both the sealing and contamination prevention requirements simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a valve apparatus having a housing (100), which housing has a first port (102), which can be connected to a tank (200), and a second port (106), having a closing element (110) which is provided in the housing and which can be placed into an open position, in which a fluid connection is produced between the first port and second port, and which can be placed into a closed position, in which the first and second ports are separated from one another in fluid-tight fashion, having a first (120) and a second (130) seal arrangement between closing element and housing, wherein the first and the second seal arrangement (120, 130) are spaced apart from one another and wherein each seal arrangement interacts with a corresponding seat (126, 136). To create a valve device for the aseptic transport of filling material, it is proposed that a chamber (140) be provided which, in the closed position, is delimited by the seal arrangements, the closing element and the housing, and that a reservoir (142) is provided which can be connected to the chamber and which serves to accommodate a bactericidal fluid, and that the chamber (140) and the reservoir (142) are adapted to form a germ barrier that is created in the closed position with the bactericidal fluid. The invention also relates to an arrangement having a valve apparatus of said type and to a method for operating an arrangement.