Fluid Safety Device

Abstract

Devices for labeling and discharging a contaminated fluid, and discharging a contaminant to prevent a contaminated fluid from being used. In an embodiment, a discharging device includes a wax sealing an aperture at the bottom of a water bottle. The wax melts at a high temperature which may cause the water in the bottle contaminated, releasing the water from the water bottle. In another embodiment, a discharging device including an aperture in a DEF tank and a seal material sealing the aperture is used to discharge mistakenly filled contaminant, which dissolves the seal material. In another embodiment, a labeling device including an ink sealed in a wax wrapper is disclosed. The wax wrapper melts at high temperature, releasing the ink and labeling a fluid as problematic. By using a conductive ink with a non-conductive fluid, the labeling device can also be used for detecting and recording high temperature events.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This present application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 62/117,847 having the same title as the present invention and filed on Feb. 18, 2015.

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for preventing a contaminated or deteriorated fluid from being used, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for labeling and discharging a contaminated or deteriorated fluid or discharging a contaminant to prevent a contaminated fluid from being used.

BACKGROUD OF THE INVENTION

Materials may be contaminated or deteriorates when used in certain conditions, resulting in health issues or damages to a system. For example, as FDA has stated, exposing plastic beverage bottles in high temperature may cause the beverage in the bottles contaminated. According to a study, at 158 ° F. (hot-car condition), antimony concentration could increase up to a 319-fold boost in levels of the metal, compared with levels in refrigerator condition. Antimony is necessary for the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and has been found to play a role in lung, heart, and gastrointestinal diseases. Another compound, bisphenol A (BPA), which has estrogenic effects and may increase cancer risk, is also used in plastic bottles, and even found in BPA free bottles. Under high temperature, BPA may be released from the bottles. In addition to antimony and BPA, phthalates, which are found in plastic bottles including BPA free PET bottles, can also be released at high temperature. Phthalates are an endocrine disrupter, like BPA, they can mimic estrogen.

In another example, DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid), which is used in a SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) device for removing NOx in a diesel engine, could be contaminated with diesel fuel or gasoline, when refilled mistakenly. If diesel fuel or gasoline enters the SCR device, it could be oxidized in the catalyst, especially in an ASC (Ammonia Slip Catalyst), releasing heat, causing fire hazards, and damaging the catalyst.

To keep a contaminated or deteriorated fluid from causing health issues or damaging a system in which the fluid is used, it is then a primary object of the present invention to provide a device to label or release a fluid when exposed into harmful conditions in which the fluid could be contaminated or deteriorate, so that only fluid in good conditions is used.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device to release a contaminant when it is mistakenly refilled to protect a fluid from being further contaminated.

The method for labeling harmful conditions can also to be used for sensing the harmful conditions. Therefore, a further object of the present invention is to provide a sensing device that is able to detect, record, and report harmful conditions in which a material is exposed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides devices for labeling and discharging a fluid when exposed to an environment in which the fluid could be contaminated or deteriorates, and discharging a contaminant to prevent it from causing damages in using the fluid. In an embodiment, a discharging device is disclosed including a wax sealing an aperture at the bottom of a water bottle. At high temperature, which may cause deterioration of the water contained in the water bottle, the wax melts, releasing the water from the water bottle. In another embodiment, a discharging device including an aperture in a DEF tank and a seal material sealing the aperture is used to discharge mistakenly filled gasoline. When gasoline is filled in the DEF tank, it dissolves the seal material, releasing itself out from the DEF tank through the aperture. The discharging device can further include a float positioned in a bore, which has apertures sealed with the seal material and fluidly connected to the DEF tank, a refill passage, and ambient. The float has an upper part with a density lower than a contaminant, such as diesel fuel, a lower part with a density in between the contaminant and DEF, and a dissolvent hold in between the upper part and the lower part. When a contaminant is mistakenly refilled, the upper part moves upwards from the lower part, releasing the dissolvent, which dissolves the seal material, releasing the contaminant from the DEF tank.

In another embodiment, a labeling device including an ink sealed in a wax wrapper is disclosed. The labeling device can be positioned inside a cap or at the bottom of a water bottle. When the water bottle is exposed into high temperature, the wax wrapper melts, releasing the ink inside and labeling the water in the bottle as problematic. The labeling device can also be used for detecting and recording high temperature events. In another embodiment, an electrically conductive ink is sealed in a wax wrapper, which is positioned in a non-conductive fluid. A conductivity meter is used for measuring changes in the conductivity of the fluid. At high temperature, the wax wrapper melts, releasing the conductive ink inside, which increases the fluid conductivity. As a result, a high temperature event can be detected and recorded by measuring the fluid conductivity. Using multiple wax wrappers with different melting temperatures, multiple high temperature events can be detected and recorded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a is a longitudinal sectional view of a water bottle with a safety means at its bottom;

FIG. 1b is a longitudinal sectional view of a water bottle showing it leaks at high temperature when its safety means melts;

FIG. 2a is a schematic representation of a DEF tank with a safety means including a seal material and an aperture;

FIG. 2b is a longitudinal sectional view of a DEF tank with a safety means including a seal material and an aperture;

FIG. 2c is a longitudinal sectional view of a DEF tank showing the tank leaks when gasoline is refilled dissolving its safety means;

FIG. 2d is a longitudinal sectional view of a DEF tank with a safety means including a seal material, a refill passage, a bore in which a float is positioned, and apertures;

FIG. 2e is a cutaway cross-sectional view of the DEF tank of FIG. 2d;

FIG. 2f is a longitudinal sectional view of a float in a bore of a safety means;

FIG. 2g is a longitudinal sectional view of a float in a bore of a safety means showing a dissolvent in the float leaks when a contaminant is refilled;

FIG. 3a is a longitudinal sectional view of a bottle cap with a high temperature labeling device;

FIG. 3b is a longitudinal sectional view of a bottle with a high temperature labeling device positioned at its bottom;

FIG. 4a is a diagrammatic and longitudinal section view of a device for detecting and recording a high temperature event;

FIG. 4b is a diagrammatic and longitudinal section view of a device for detecting and recording multiple high temperature events.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1a, a water bottle includes a cap 101, a bottle body 102 in which a water 105 is contained. On the bottom of the bottle body 102, a wax 103 is used to seal an aperture 104. The melting point of the wax 103 can be adjusted according to the materials of the bottle body 102, so that it is lower than a releasing temperature above which contaminant releasing rate from the bottle body significantly increases. For example, the melting temperature of paraffin wax can be adjusted to 60° C., above which releasing rates of a few contaminants, such as BPA and phthalates, increase significantly. When the water temperature in the bottle body 102 is above the melting point of the wax seal 103, the wax seal 103 starts to melt, resulting in a leak from the bottle body 102, as shown in FIG. 1b. In this way, water can only be hold in the bottle body 102 at a temperature lower than the melting temperature of the wax seal 103, and thereby water in the bottle body 102 can be avoided from being contaminated.

A similar method can be used to prevent mistakenly filled gasoline from contaminating DEF in a diesel engine exhaust gas processing system. Referring to FIG. 2a, a DEF tank includes a cap 201, a fluid level/temperature sensor and coolant heater unit 202, a tank body 203, and a seal 205 for sealing an aperture 206 on the tank body 203. Referring to FIG. 2b, the seal 205 keeps a DEF 211 in the tank body 203 from leaking out. It includes a material, e.g. polystyrene, which can be dissolved in gasoline. When a gasoline 210 is mistakenly filled in the tank body 203, as shown in FIG. 2c, the gasoline 210, which is floating above the DEF 211 due to its lower density, dissolves the seal 205, and leaks through the aperture 206. Draining of the gasoline 210 from the tank body 203 prevents it from entering a SCR system, and thereby, damages to the SCR system and related safety issues can be avoided.

When a fluid other than gasoline is filled and polystyrenes are used in the seal 205, the fluid may not be able to break the seal 205 in short time. For example, when diesel is filled, especially when it is filled at low temperature, it may take a long time to break the seal 205. To quickly dissolve the seal 205 at this situation, a structure depicted in FIG. 2d can be used. This structure includes a refill passage 242, and a bore 241 in which a float 230 is positioned. The DEF tank is refilled through a port 223 on the top of the tank body 203, and a cap 222 is screwed on the port 223. Referring to FIG. 2e, the refill passage 242 has an aperture 207, and a seal 221 separates the aperture 207 from the bore 241. Similarly, two seals 225 and 227 are used to separates apertures 226 and 227 from the bore 241. The seals 221, 225, 227 may have the same material as the seal 205. Referring back to FIG. 2d, the bottom of the refill passage 242 is fluidly connected to the DEF tank and the bore 241, while the seal 221 is shorter than the aperture 207, so that fluid flows into the bore 241 before it enters the DEF tank in refilling.

Referring to FIG. 2f, the float 230 includes an upper part 232 with a density lower than diesel, and a lower part 234, the density of which is higher than diesel and lower than DEF. In between the upper part 232 and the lower part 234, a dissolvent 231, such as gasoline, is contained in the lower part 234. When only DEF is filled, the lower part 234 is floating on the DEF surface, and the dissolvent 231 is hold inside the float 230. After diesel is added, referring to FIG. 2g, the upper part 232 is floating on the surface of the diesel, while the lower part 234 cannot. The difference in floating force moves the upper part 232 from the lower part 234, releasing the dissolvent 231 through an aperture 233 when it is exposed. The released dissolvent then dissolves the seals 205, 221, 226, and 227, releasing diesel fuel from the DEF tank.

In addition to draining a contaminated liquid or a contaminant, labeling the contaminated liquid is another way to keep it from being mistakenly used. For example, in a bottle of FIG. 1a, an edible color enclosed in a wax wrapper can be used for labeling the water in the bottle body 102 when it is exposed to high temperature. Referring to FIG. 3a, an edible ink 302 sealed by a wax wrapper 301 is attached to the bottom of the cap 101. When a bottle with the cap 101 is exposed to a high temperature, the wax wrapper 301 melts, releasing the edible ink 302 into the water in the water bottle, labeling it as problematic. In this application, a variety of edible pigments, such as beta-carotene and xanthophyll can be used in the edible ink 302, and the melting temperature of the wax wrapper 301 can be adjusted according to the bottle materials.

The wax wrapper 301 with the edible ink 302 sealed therein can also be positioned on the bottom of a bottle. Referring to FIG. 3b, in such a bottle, the wax wrapper 301 is attached to the bottom of the bottle body 102. If the temperature of the water 105 is higher than its melting point, then the edible 302 is released from the wax wrapper 301, labeling the water 105 as problematic. Compared to positioning the was wrapper 301 under the cap 101, attaching it to the bottom of the bottle body 102 is able to elongate the time the bottle exposes to high temperature, since it needs longer time for the water 105 to reach the melting point of the wax wrapper 301.

A similar method as that used for labeling deteriorated fluid can also be used for detecting and recording temperature anomalies. Referring to FIG. 4a, in such a device, a conductive fluid 403 is sealed in a wax wrapper 402, which is positioned on the bottom of a fluid container 401 filled with a non-conductive fluid 404. Two electrodes 406 and 405 extruded into the non-conductive fluid 404 are electrically connected to a conductivity measurement unit 410 located in a device container 409. A seal 408 and a seal 407 are placed around the electrodes 406 and 407 to keep the fluid container 401 from leaking. An adhesive layer 411 on the top of the device container 409 is used to stick the device on a surface. In an application, whenever a temperature of the non-conductive fluid is higher than the melting temperature of the wax wrapper 402, the conductive fluid 403 is then released into the non-conductive fluid 404, and thereby a high conductivity measured by the conductivity measurement device 410 is indicative of a high temperature event.

Multiple high temperature events can also be detected and recorded. Referring to FIG. 4b, in an exemplary device, a conductive fluid 415 sealed in a wax 416 and a conductive fluid 417 sealed in a wax 418 are positioned on the bottom of the fluid container 401. The wax 416 has a lower melting temperature than the wax 418. When the temperature of the non-conductive fluid 404 increases higher than the melting temperature of the wax 416 and lower than that of the wax 418, the wax 416 melts, releasing the conductive fluid 415 into the non-conductive fluid 404. As a result, when a high conductivity is measured by the unit 410, a high temperature event is detected. If the temperature of the non-conductive fluid 404 further increases higher than the melting temperature of the wax 418, the conductive fluid 417 is released, resulting in a higher conductivity of the fluid 404. In this way, a different high temperature event is detected when a higher conductivity value is obtained by the unit 410.

In the temperature event detection devices of FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, an alarm signal can be generated when a high temperature event is detected. Also, a wireless communication circuit can be included in the conductivity measurement unit 410 for sending sensing results to a reader, and an RFID sensing circuit can be used in the wireless communication circuit for passively detecting the conductivity of the fluid 404 without enclosing a battery in the devices.

While the present invention has been depicted and described with reference to only a limited number of particular preferred embodiments, as will be understood by those of skill in the art, changes, modifications, and equivalents in form and function may be made to the invention without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the invention is intended to be only limited by the spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, giving full cognizance to equivalents in all respects.

Claims

1. A fluid container for storing a fluid, comprising:

a container body for holding said fluid; and

an marking device for making changes in said fluid when an event happens including a solute material that is soluble in said fluid sealed in a wrapping material which is insoluble in said fluid, wherein said marking device is fluidly connected to said container body and said wrapping material in said marking device melts when a temperature, in which said fluid container is exposed, is above a melting temperature of said wrapping material, releasing said solute material into said fluid.

2. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said solute material includes an ink with a color different from said fluid.

3. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said marking device is positioned in said fluid.

4. The fluid container of claim 1, further comprising a cap through which said fluid is filled into said fluid container, wherein said marking device is positioned on an inner surface of said cap.

5. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said wrapping material includes a wax.

6. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said solute material has a conductivity different from said fluid.

7. The fluid container of claim 6, further includes a conductivity measurement device generating a sensing signal indicative of said conductivity in said fluid.

8. The fluid container of claim 7, wherein said conductivity measurement device further includes a controller configured to generate an alarm signal when said sensing signal indicates that said conductivity in said fluid is out of a predetermined range.

9. A fluid container for storing a working fluid used in an application system, comprising:

a container body for holding said working fluid; and

a fluid safety device for preventing a contaminant in said working fluid from damaging said application system including an aperture through which a fluid can be released from said container body, and a first sealing piece, which loses its sealing function in a dissolvent, positioned on said aperture sealing it to prevent said working fluid in said container body from leaking therethrough, wherein said fluid safety device is positioned in said container body with said first sealing piece contacting said contaminant in said working fluid and losing its sealing function for releasing said contaminant from said container body.

10. The fluid container of claim 9, wherein said first sealing piece has polystyrene incorporated.

11. The fluid container of claim 10, wherein said working fluid is a urea solution and said contaminant includes gasoline.

12. The fluid container of claim 9, wherein said working fluid is a urea solution and said dissolvent is diesel.

13. The fluid container of claim 9, further comprising a refill passage through which said working fluid is refilled into said container body and a bore in said fluid safety device with a float positioned inside, wherein said first sealing piece is fluidly connected to said bore.

14. The fluid container of claim 13, wherein said float includes an upper part which has a density lower than said contaminant, a lower part which has a density higher than said contaminant and lower than said working fluid, and said dissolvent hold in between said upper part and said lower part.

15. The fluid container of claim 14, wherein said dissolvent is gasoline.

16. The fluid container of claim 14, wherein said bore is separated from said refill passage by a second sealing piece, which loses its sealing function in said dissolvent.

17. The fluid container of claim 14, wherein said bore is separated from said container body by a third sealing piece, which loses its sealing function in said dissolvent.

18. The fluid container of claim 14, wherein said bore is shorter in length than said refill passage.

19. A fluid container for storing a working fluid, comprising:

a container body for holding said working fluid; and

a fluid safety device fluidly connected to said container body including an aperture through which all fluid can be released from said container body, and a sealing piece, which loses its sealing function when a temperature of said working fluid is higher than a damage temperature, positioned on said aperture sealing it to prevent said working fluid in said container body from leaking therethrough, wherein said damage temperature is lower than a contamination temperature above which said working fluid is significantly contaminated by contaminants released from said container body.

20. The fluid container of claim 19, wherein said working fluid is a drinking water and said sealing piece includes a wax.