DISTRIBUTOR DEVICE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR SEALING AND USING A METERING UNIT

Abstract

The invention relates to a distributor device (1) for generating an aerosol (8) comprising both gas and sealant, wherein the distributor device has at least one gas connector (2) for connection to at least one compressed-air source (11), at least one sealant connector (3) for connection to at least one sealant container (12), and one or more than one connecting element (4) for connection to a pneumatic vehicle tire (16), characterized in that the distributor device has a metering unit (5) for metering the sealant quantity fed to the distributor device. The invention also relates to a system for sealing and inflating pneumatic vehicle tires, and to a method for sealing pneumatic vehicle tires or inflatable technical articles, and to the use of a dosing unit for generating an aerosol.

Claims

1.-13. (canceled)

14. A distributor device for generating an aerosol comprising both gas and sealant, wherein the distributor device comprises: at least one gas connector for connection to at least one compressed-air source; at least one sealant connector for connection to at least one sealant container; and, one or more than one connecting element for connection to a pneumatic vehicle tire or to an inflatable technical rubber article; wherein the distributor device has a metering unit for metering the sealant quantity fed to the distributor device.

15. The distributor device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the metering unit has at least one feed opening for feeding a sealant into the distributor device, and the at least one feed opening has a diameter in the range from 0.01 mm to 10 mm.

16. The distributor device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the at least one feed opening has a diameter in the range from 0.1 mm to 5 mm.

17. The distributor device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the at least one feed opening has a diameter in the range from 0.1 mm to 1.5 mm.

18. The distributor device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the at least one feed opening has a diameter in the range from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

19. The distributor device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the metering unit is designed to satisfy the following formula (2): $\begin{array}{cc}{D}_{mm}.Math.\sqrt[3]{a}\le 10\mathrm{mm},& \left(2\right)\end{array}$ which comprises the following parameters: D.sub.mm is the diameter of the feed openings [mm]; and, a is the number of feed openings.

20. The distributor device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the metering unit is designed such that the number of feed openings and/or the diameter of the at least one feed opening can be varied; wherein an aerosol comprising sealant droplets and a gas is formed in the sealant transport channel of the distributor device; and, wherein the metering rate of the sealant quantity fed to the distributor device can be adjusted.

21. The distributor device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the metering unit is designed such that the number of feed openings and/or the diameter of the at least one feed opening can be varied; wherein an aerosol comprising sealant droplets and a gas is formed; and, wherein the metering rate of the sealant quantity fed to the distributor device can be adjusted.

22. The distributor device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the metering unit is arranged in or on the sealant connector and the distributor device has a sealant transport channel for transporting an aerosol from the metering unit to the one or more than one connecting element.

23. The use of the distributor device as defined in claim 14 for generating an aerosol comprising sealant droplets and gas, wherein the generated aerosol is conducted into a pneumatic vehicle tire or into an inflatable technical rubber article.

24. The use of the distributor device as defined in claim 14 for generating an aerosol for sealing pneumatic vehicle tires or inflatable technical rubber articles, wherein the generated aerosol is conducted into a pneumatic vehicle tire or into an inflatable technical rubber article.

25. A system for sealing and inflating pneumatic vehicle tires, comprising the distributor device as claimed in claim 14, at least one compressed-air source for generating a sealing pressure or a pump pressure, and at least one sealant container for accommodating a sealant.

26. A system for sealing and inflating pneumatic vehicle tires, comprising the distributor device as claimed in claim 14, at least one compressed-air source for generating a sealing pressure or a pump pressure, and at least one sealant container for accommodating a gas.

27. A system for sealing and inflating pneumatic vehicle tires, comprising the distributor device as claimed in claim 14, at least one compressed-air source for generating a sealing pressure or a pump pressure, and at least one sealant container for accommodating a sealant and a gas.

28. A method for sealing pneumatic vehicle tires or inflatable technical rubber articles, comprising the following steps: A) providing or producing: the system as defined in claim 27; a sealant in the sealant container; and, a pneumatic vehicle tire with a leak or an inflatable technical rubber article with a leak; B) conducting the sealant and a gas through the distributor device of the system (15) into the pneumatic vehicle tire with a leak or into the inflatable technical rubber article with a leak; and, C) at least partially sealing the pneumatic vehicle tire with a leak or the inflatable technical rubber article with a leak.

29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the pneumatic vehicle tire or the inflatable technical rubber article is not moved during step C) and in the time between steps B) and C).

30. The method as claimed in either of claim 28, wherein, in step B), an aerosol composed of sealant droplets and the gas is generated by feeding the sealant into the sealant transport channel by means of the metering unit.

31. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein at least 50 wt % of the aerosol particles of the aerosol conducted in step B) into the pneumatic vehicle tire with a leak or into the inflatable technical rubber article with a leak have a particle diameter in the range from 1 μm to 100 μm.

32. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the following formula (1) is satisfied: $\begin{array}{cc}\frac{{\rho }_G.Math.v_G.Math.V_{\mathrm{DM}}}{D.Math.{\gamma }_{\mathrm{DM}}.Math.\sqrt[3]{a}}\ge {10}^{-5},& \left(1\right)\end{array}$ which comprises the following parameters: ρ.sub.G is density of the transport gas at 20° C. [kg/m.sup.3]; ν.sub.G is flow speed of the gas or compressed-air quantity fed to the distributor device [m/s], measured in accordance with ASTM D3154-14; V.sub.DM is volume flow of the sealant quantity fed to the distributor device [m.sup.3/s], measured in accordance with ISO 1217, annex C; D is diameter of the feed openings [m]; γ.sub.DM is surface tension of the sealant at 20° C. and normal pressure [kg/s.sup.2], measured in accordance with ASTM D1331-14 (method A); and, a is the number of feed openings.

33. The method as claimed in 28, wherein during step C): the sealing pressure in the pneumatic vehicle tire is at least partially in the range from 0.5 bar to 3 bar; and, the hydrodynamic pressure of the volume flow of the aerosol in the sealant transport channel is at least partially in the range from 0.2 bar to 8 bar.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0208] In the figures:

[0209] FIG. 1: shows a top view of a schematically illustrated distributor device according to the invention, wherein the image plane runs parallel to the transport direction of the aerosol in the sealant transport channel and perpendicular to the feed direction of the sealant through the metering unit;

[0210] FIG. 2: shows a cross-sectional view of a schematically illustrated distributor device according to the invention, wherein the cross-sectional plane runs along the section A-A as shown in FIG. 1;

[0211] FIG. 3: shows a schematic overview of a system according to the invention connected to a pneumatic vehicle tire via a tire valve.

[0212] FIG. 1 shows, in a top view, a schematic illustration of a distributor device 1 according to the invention in a first embodiment, wherein the cross-sectional plane runs parallel to the transport direction 20 of the aerosol 8 in the sealant transport channel 6 and perpendicular to the feed direction 23 of the sealant. The distributor device 1 according to the invention has a gas connector 2, a sealant connector 3 and a tire connector 4 and also a sealant transport channel 6. The sealant connector 3 is illustrated schematically in a top view and is ring-shaped in order that a sealant container (not illustrated) can be screwed onto the sealant connector 3 such that the opening of the sealant container is situated above the metering unit 5 with the feed opening 7. The distributor device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 does not comprise an opening unit for opening a sealant container, such that a sealant container (not illustrated) would, before being fastened to the sealant connector 3, have to be opened such that the sealant can flow or be fed from the sealant container into the distributor device 1.

[0213] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a cross-sectional view of a distributor device 1 according to the invention in a further embodiment, wherein the cross-sectional plane runs along the section A-A as shown in FIG. 1. The distributor device 1 according to the invention has a gas connector 2, a sealant connector 3 and a tire connector (not illustrated in FIG. 2) and also a sealant transport channel 6 with an inner diameter 14. In FIG. 2, an only partially illustrated sealant container 12 has been screwed onto the sealant connector 3, wherein the sealant container 12 comprises sealant 21 and a protective foil 23. In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the sealant container 12 is screwed onto the distributor device according to the invention, wherein the protective film 23 is pierced by the opening unit 17 such that sealant 21 can pass from the sealant container 12 to the metering unit 5 of the distributor device 1 under the action of gravitational force. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the sealant 21 is fed to the sealant transport channel 6 in the feed direction 32 with the aid of gravitational force and is subsequently atomized by the compressed air 10. Here, the inner diameter 15 of the feed opening 7 ensures that the sealant quantity fed to the sealant transport channel 6 is set such that an aerosol 8 is formed in the sealant transport channel 6. Here, the aerosol 8 is composed of aerosol particles 9 and the compressed air 10 as carrier gas, and is transported in the transport direction 20 via the tire connector (not illustrated) to the pneumatic vehicle tire (likewise not illustrated). In a further embodiment according to the invention, it is also possible for the compressed air 10 to be conducted at least partially into the sealant container 12 in order to thus feed even greater quantities of sealant per unit of time into the distributor device 1 according to the invention.

[0214] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a system 15 according to the invention in one embodiment. Here, the system 15 according to the invention comprises a compressor 11 as compressed-air source, which guides compressed air 10 to the distributor device 1 according to the invention, and the distributor device 1 according to the invention itself and also a sealant container 12. In FIG. 3, it is schematically illustrated that the compressed air 10 is conducted through a compressed-air channel 25 from the compressor 11 to the distributor device 1 according to the invention and, there, impinges on the sealant 21, which changes into an aerosol 8 with aerosol particles 9 owing to the precisely set metering unit 5. The aerosol 8 is then guided in the sealant transport channel 6 in the transport direction 20 via the tire connector 4 and via the tire valve 18 into the interior of the pneumatic vehicle tire 16. Having arrived in the interior of the pneumatic vehicle tire 16, the aerosol generates a sealing pressure in the pneumatic vehicle tire 16 and in so doing displaces previously present air through the leak 24. This process continues until the aerosol 8 starts to leak out. Owing to the changes in flow at the leak 24, a proportion of the aerosol 8 then settles on the surface of the leak 24 and thus at least partially seals the leak 24. Depending on how much aerosol 8 reaches the leak 24, this process may under some circumstances even continue until the leak 24 is completely sealed with sealant 21 that has passed to the leak 24 by way of the aerosol 8.

EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLES

[0215] Test procedure to determine the aerosol yield:

[0216] The following objects were used to determine the aerosol yield of a distributor device not according to the invention and of a distributor device according to the invention: [0217] breakdown kits with the product name “ContiMobilityKit” from the company Continental as an example of a system according to the invention, [0218] cylindrical collecting containers with a cylinder height of 23 cm and with an opening at the upper end of the cylindrical collecting container of 9 cm, [0219] various metering units, which differ in terms of the number and/or in terms of the diameter of the feed openings, [0220] a conventional tire valve without tire,
and [0221] a stand for holding the “tire connector” of the breakdown kit.

[0222] The test procedure of the comparative test will be described below. The tests according to the invention with distribution devices according to the invention were carried out accordingly, wherein, by contrast to the comparative test, the respective distribution devices had a respective one of the dosing units specified in table 1.

[0223] The conventional tire valve was connected to the “tire connector” of the breakdown kit as an example of a connecting element for connection to a pneumatic vehicle tire, and, with the aid of the stand, was positioned above the cylindrical collecting container such that the end of the tire valve not connected to the tire connector was situated centrally above the opening of the upper end of the cylindrical collecting container and pointed in the direction of the opening of the upper end of the cylindrical collecting container. The distance between the opening of the upper end of the cylindrical collecting container and the end of the tire valve not connected to the tire connector corresponded to approximately 10 cm.

[0224] The compressor of the breakdown kit was then started with a pump pressure of 4 bar and a compressed-air flow with a flow speed of approx. 29 m/s, and a sealant container which had a maximum volume of 500 ml was filled with 367 g of conventional sealant (sealant “AP1” from Continental AG). The filled sealant container was then screwed onto the sealant connector of the distributor device of the breakdown kit such that the 376 g of conventional sealant was transported through the sealant transport channel, through the tire connector and through the tire valve into the collection container. Upon exiting the tire valve, a mixture of sealant droplets of different sizes formed, which was sprayed in the direction of the collecting container owing to the compressed air from the compressor of the breakdown kit. If these sealant droplets were small enough to form an aerosol, such sealant droplets were not forced into the collecting container. Instead, the sealant droplets atomized from the tire valve were forced outward and thus missed the collecting container. The remaining sealant droplets with a relatively large diameter were caught in the collecting container because they were too heavy. After all of 376 grams of conventional sealant had been conducted through the tire valve, the weight of the sealant droplets caught in the sealant container was measured.

[0225] In very general terms, it can be said that the greater the sealant quantity collected in the collecting container, the less aerosol was obtained from the initial 376 g of conventional sealant, that is to say the poorer the aerosol yield.

[0226] The test procedure described above was carried out correspondingly for the tests according to the invention with the distributor devices according to the invention. In this way, an aerosol yield was determined for the distributor device of the breakdown kit without a metering unit (not according to the invention) and for each distributor device according to the invention of the breakdown kit with a metering unit (see table 1 below).

[0227] Here, the aerosol yield AB), was calculated as follows:

[00006]$\begin{array}{cc}{\mathrm{AB}}_x=1-\frac{m_{\mathrm{auffang},x}}{367g}& \mathrm{formula}\left(A\right)\end{array}$

wherein [0228] the index x may be either VV (comparative test), E1, E2 or E3 (tests according to the invention) [0229] and [0230] m.sub.auffang, x=the mass [g] of the sealant collected in the collecting container during the respective test (VV, E1, E2 or E3).

[0231] Here, the improvement in the aerosol yield V.sub.AB, x (in percent) was calculated as follows:

[00007]$\begin{array}{cc}{V}_{\mathrm{AB},x}=100.Math.\left(\frac{{\mathrm{AB}}_x}{{\mathrm{AB}}_{\mathrm{VV}}}-1\right)& \mathrm{formula}\left(B\right)\end{array}$

wherein [0232] the index x may in this case be VV (comparative test), E1, E2 or E3 (tests according to the invention).

[0233] Results:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Experimental data of devices according to the invention and devices not according to the invention Test E1 Test E1 Test E1 according according according Test Comparative to the to the to the designation test VV invention invention invention Distributor No Yes Yes Yes device used comprises a metering unit ρ.sub.G [kg/m.sup.3] 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 η.sub.DM [kg/(m .Math. s)] 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 v.sub.G [m/s] 29 29 29 29 γ.sub.DM [kg/s.sup.2] 75 75 75 75 η.sub.G [kg/(m .Math. s)] 18.2 18.2 18.2 18.2 Number of feed (no 2 1 4 openings in the metering metering unit* unit present) Diameter of the — 0.001 0.001 0.0005 feed opening (m) Improvement V.sub.AB 0% 75% 141% 682% *The volume flow V.sub.DM of the fed sealant quantity was, in the tests according to the invention, approximately 10.sup.−6 m.sup.3/s and, in the comparative test VV, approximately 10.sup.−5 m.sup.3/s.

[0234] It can be seen from table 1 that the use of a metering unit in a distributor device according to the invention, as was used in the tests E1, E2 and E3, makes it possible to attain a significant improvement V.sub.AB in the aerosol yield. A particularly great improvement V.sub.AB in the aerosol yield (682%) in relation to a distributor device without a metering unit as known in the prior art was attained in the test E3. Here, a distributor device according to the invention comprising a metering unit which had four feed openings, each with a diameter of 0.5 mm, was used.

[0235] Comparing the test E1 with the test E2, it can be seen that, with a lower metering rate in test E2, which results from the smaller number of feed openings, it was possible to attain an improvement V.sub.AB in the aerosol yield of 75% to 141%. Corresponding observations can be made in the case of an equal number of feed openings but smaller diameters.

[0236] In the tests E1 and E3, the product of the number of feed openings and the diameter of the feed openings was kept constant in order to investigate the influence of the variation of the diameter of the feed openings in the case of a potentially constant metering rate. Comparing the tests E1 and E3, it can thus be seen that, despite the same area of feed openings, it was possible to attain a significant improvement V.sub.AB in the aerosol yield in the test E3. It can thus be seen from the comparison of the tests E1 and E3 that, with the aid of metering units with feed openings with a diameter of smaller than 1 mm, sealant can be converted into an aerosol more effectively.

LIST OF REFERENCE DESIGNATIONS

[0237] 1 Distributor device according to the invention [0238] 2 Gas connector [0239] 3 Sealant connector [0240] 4 Connecting element; tire connector [0241] 5 Metering unit [0242] 6 Sealant transport channel [0243] 7 Feed opening [0244] 8 Aerosol [0245] 9 Aerosol particle; aerosol droplet; sealant droplet; sealant particle [0246] 10 Gas; transport gas; compressed air [0247] 11 Compressed-air source; compressor [0248] 12 Sealant container [0249] 13 Diameter of the feed opening [0250] 14 Inner diameter D of the sealant transport channel [0251] 15 System according to the invention for sealing and inflating pneumatic vehicle tires [0252] 16 Pneumatic vehicle tire with a leak; inflatable technical rubber article with a leak [0253] 17 Opening unit for opening the sealant container [0254] 18 Tire valve [0255] 19 Rim [0256] 20 Transport direction of the aerosol [0257] 21 Sealant [0258] 22 Feed direction of the sealant through the metering unit [0259] 23 Protective foil; aluminium foil [0260] 24 Leak [0261] 25 Compressed-air channel [0262] A-A Section plane from FIG. 1 for FIG. 2