Active buoyant urea heater
AssigneeDelphi Technologies, Inc.
InventorsDavid A. Goulette, Oscar A. Lecea, Bob X. Li, Mark R. McClanahan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A variable buoyancy heater is provided. It comprises variable buoyancy float that includes a variable volume element. A first fluid is contained within the variable volume element and a heating element that is integral with the variable buoyancy float is provided. The heater is arranged to heat the first fluid wherein the variable volume element expands based on a temperature increase from the heating element, such that the variable buoyancy float becomes positively buoyant when the variable volume element expands and negatively buoyant when the heating element is off.
Claims17
A variable buoyancy heater, comprising:
- a variable buoyancy float that includes a variable volume element;
- a first fluid within the variable volume element;
- and
- a heating element that is integral with the variable buoyancy float and arranged to heat the first fluid, wherein the variable volume element expands based on a temperature increase from said heating element, such that the variable buoyancy float becomes positively buoyant when the variable volume element expands and negatively buoyant when the heating element is off.
A method of generating a supply of liquid urea solution, comprising:
- providing a variable buoyancy heater including a heating element into a liquid urea solution;
- allowing said urea solution to freeze;
- energizing said heating element in said variable buoyancy heater in said frozen urea solution;
- increasing said buoyancy of said variable buoyancy heater such that it floats on melted urea solution created by said heating element until melting of frozen urea solution is complete;
- de-energizing said heating element;
- and
- decreasing said buoyancy of said variable buoyancy heater allowing said heater to sink.
A variable buoyancy heater, comprising:
- a variable buoyancy float that includes at least one variable volume bladder;
- and
- a heating element that is integrated with said variable buoyancy float having an on position and an off position, at least one variable volume bladder being deflated while said heating element is in said off position and said at least one variable volume heater being inflated while said heating element is in said on position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.