Vehicle Wash Chemical Mixing Control for Precise Dilution
Solution Overview
Problem
Car washes are labor and equipment maintenance intensive, and the use of concentrated chemicals increases material handling concerns and shipping costs.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle wash assembly with integrated chemical and motive fluid delivery devices, a mixing site, and a control system that analyzes instructions to operate these components, ensuring precise dispensing and mixing of chemicals and fluids, including flow rate and dilution ratio control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If concentrated chemicals are used to reduce material handling and shipping costs, then chemical usage efficiency improves, but material handling concerns and shipping costs worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the chemical delivery process into separate controllable units (chemical delivery devices with individual drive mechanisms and valves) that can dispense concentrated chemicals precisely at targeted locations, reducing the need for bulk handling while maintaining efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The control system uses feedback from flow meters and linear encoders to monitor and adjust chemical dispensing in real-time, ensuring precise delivery of concentrated chemicals and enabling safe handling through automated control
2Manufacturing precision
If precise dispensing and mixing control is implemented, then fluid and chemical dispensing precision improves, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the chemical delivery device, motive fluid delivery device, and mixing site into an integrated assembly with a unified control system, reducing overall complexity while maintaining precise dispensing and mixing control through coordinated operation
Solution Approach 2:
The control system performs multiple functions including analyzing instructions, generating separate control signals for chemical and fluid delivery, monitoring flow rates via flow meters, and coordinating the operation of multiple delivery devices, simplifying the overall control architecture
3Productivity
If automated control system is implemented to coordinate chemical and fluid delivery, then labor requirements reduce, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically analyzes instructions and generates the necessary control signals for chemical and fluid delivery without requiring manual intervention, enabling the system to self-regulate and reduce labor requirements while maintaining coordinated operation
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is pre-configured with the capability to analyze instructions and generate separate control signals for multiple delivery devices, allowing automated coordination to be established in advance and reducing operational complexity during actual use
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
The system reduces labor and maintenance requirements while optimizing chemical usage, achieving precise fluid and chemical dispensing for efficient vehicle washing operations.
Implementation Method 1
a mixing site fluidly coupled to the chemical outlet and the motive fluid outlet and configured to receive and mix dispensed chemical and dispensed motive fluid to form the mixture
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle wash assembly includes a chemical delivery device, a motive fluid delivery device, a mixing site fluidly coupled thereto for mixing dispensed chemical and motive fluid to form a mixture, and a control system integrated into the vehicle wash assembly and communicatively coupled to the chemical and fluid delivery devices, which causes a drive mechanism of the chemical delivery device to dispense chemical from the chemical outlet, and a valve of the motive fluid delivery device to dispense the motive fluid from the motive fluid outlet. The control system receives instructions for operation of the vehicle wash assembly, and in response, the analyzes the instructions, generates separate instructions for operating the chemical delivery device and the fluid delivery device based on the analysis, and transmits the separate instructions to cause the chemical delivery device and the fluid delivery device to operate according to the separate instructions.