Two-Stage Pressure Regulator for Reliable Fluid Control
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Summary
Problems
Conventional pressure regulators, whether piston-type or diaphragm-type, face issues with contamination, corrosion, and surface imperfections leading to unreliable pressure regulation, especially when handling high source pressures, as they either fail due to hard valve and seat designs or suffer from permanent deformation with elastomeric seals.
Innovation solutions
A two-stage regulator design utilizing both hard valve and soft elastomeric seal components, where a rigid seat supports elastomeric seals to prevent over-compression and maintain a consistent seal, allowing for reliable pressure regulation across low and high source pressures.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If a hard valve and seat design is used to handle high source pressures, then the regulator can withstand high pressures, but contamination, corrosion, or surface imperfections cause faulty pressure regulation
Why choose this principle:
The patent applies different material properties to different parts of the valve assembly: the valve body and seat use hard materials (metal-to-metal) to withstand high pressures, while the sealing surfaces use soft elastomeric materials to maintain reliable sealing. This local differentiation of material properties allows each component to perform its specific function optimally without the drawbacks of using a single material type throughout.
Principle concept:
If a soft elastomeric seal is used in the valve assembly, then the seal conforms to minor valve imperfections and is less prone to failure from contamination or corrosion, but the high pressures cause permanent deformation and swelling of the seal
Why choose this principle:
The elastomeric seal is positioned only where sealing is required, while the pressure-bearing structural components remain hard metal. The seal design allows it to be compressed to a predetermined extent by the valve obstructing component, with the rigid seat preventing further compression. This local application of soft sealing material provides sealing reliability without exposing the entire assembly to the deformation issues that would result from using soft materials throughout.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A two-stage regulator design utilizing both hard valve and soft elastomeric seal components, where a rigid seat supports elastomeric seals to prevent over-compression and maintain a consistent seal, allowing for reliable pressure regulation across low and high source pressures.
Abstract
A multi-stage fluid pressure regulator, including a first stage valve arranged to open and close a fluid flow path to control flow of fluid through the valve, a first stage piston arranged for movement to open and close the first stage valve, the piston having an inner side and an outer side, a gas delivery conduit having a proximal end attached to the first stage piston and a distal end extending away from the first stage piston, the gas delivery conduit having a passage in fluid communication with the inner side of the first stage piston, and a second stage valve in fluid communication with the gas delivery conduit, the second stage valve including a second valve chamber into which the distal end of the gas delivery conduit is positioned.