Winemaking Tank with Floor-Level Hatches and Vertical Stacks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multiple-cell tanks for winemaking pose challenges due to unevenly positioned discharge hatches requiring ladders or walkways for access, which are inconvenient and aesthetically unappealing, and protruding evacuation stacks that occupy space and detract from the cellar's design.
Innovation Solution
A multiple-cell tank design featuring horizontally-extending separation partitions with access hatches at the same height as the bottom wall and vertically-oriented evacuation stacks integrated into the top wall, eliminating the need for ladders and minimizing transverse encumbrances, while maintaining structural rigidity through internal vertical posts and optional insulation and heat exchange conduits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If discharge hatches are arranged at different heights along the cylindrical shell, then the tank can accommodate multiple cells for winemaking, but access to the hatches requires ladders or walkways which are inconvenient and aesthetically unappealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the discharge hatches from vertical arrangement at different heights to a horizontal arrangement at the same height around the cylindrical shell. This dimensional change allows all hatches to be accessible from floor level without requiring vertical access equipment like ladders or walkways, thus resolving the contradiction between multi-cell functionality and ease of access.
2Adaptability or versatility
If evacuation stacks protrude laterally from the cylindrical shell, then each cell can have its own evacuation port, but the transverse encumbrances increase and the appearance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple evacuation stacks into a single centralized vertical stack structure. Instead of having separate lateral protrusions for each cell, all evacuation ports converge to a common vertical stack that extends upward from the top wall. This consolidation eliminates lateral encumbrances while maintaining the evacuation capability for all cells, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and space occupation.
3Ease of operation
If discharge hatches are positioned for direct floor access, then ease of operation improves, but the tank structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the curved cylindrical surface of the tank to position all discharge hatches at the same height around the perimeter. This curved geometry naturally accommodates multiple access points at uniform elevation without requiring complex structural modifications, allowing direct floor access while maintaining structural simplicity through the inherent cylindrical form.
Data Source
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AI summary
A multiple-cell tank (1) for use in winemaking, which comprises a supporting frame (2) for a tank body (3) which comprises a bottom wall (4), a top wall (5) and a lateral shell (6), at least two containment cells (11, 12) being defined inside the tank body (3) and being mutually hermetically separated by at least one separation partition (10). Each separation partition (10) extends between the bottom wall (4) and the top wall (5), and at the lateral shell (6) there are at least one first and at least one second access hatch (11a, 11b) which lead into a respective containment cell (11, 12) and are arranged substantially at the same height with respect to the bottom wall (4); at the top wall (5) there are furthermore at least one first and at least one second evacuation stack (12a, 12b) in communication with a respective containment cell (11, 12).