Built-in wedge-shaped sliding block frictionless elastic ball valve and opening and closing method

Abstract

The application discloses a built-in wedge-shaped sliding block frictionless elastic ball valve and an opening and closing method. The ball valve comprises a valve body, a valve seat, an elastic member, an elastic ball body, a supporting shaft, a wedge-shaped sliding block, a valve rod assembly and a track driving mechanism. The valve seat is embedded in a valve seat hole of the valve body, the elastic ball body is assembled in a flow channel of the valve body, the wedge-shaped sliding block is slidably arranged in a dovetail groove of the elastic ball body, a roller is arranged at a trapezoidal protrusion of the wedge-shaped sliding block, the supporting shaft rotationally supports the elastic ball body, and the track driving mechanism can drive the valve rod assembly to rotate and vertically lift. The application utilizes the wedge-shaped sliding block to control the deformation of the elastic ball body, and separates the ball body from the valve seat during opening and closing, so that the friction of the sealing surface is eliminated from the root. The built-in structure is adopted to reduce the size of the valve body, the spring pre-tightening and the multiple sealing design are adopted, the opening and closing torque is effectively reduced, the component wear is reduced, the service life of the equipment is prolonged, and the stable sealing of the pipeline is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of industrial fluid transmission pipeline on / off control technology, specifically relating to a frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge slider and its opening and closing method. Background Technology

[0002] As a mainstream shut-off control element in fluid pipelines, ball valves suffer from the problem of continuous contact between the ball and seat sealing surfaces during traditional ball valves. This direct friction during opening and closing easily leads to scratches, wear, and leakage on the sealing surfaces. Long-term use also significantly increases the opening and closing torque, resulting in frequent maintenance and replacement. Existing low-friction ball valves often employ an external wedge-tightening structure, with the wedges positioned outside the ball. This results in a relatively large overall radial dimension of the valve body, limiting assembly space. Some elastic ball valves rely on a spring preload on the side of the seat to compensate for the sealing gap, but lack a mechanism for the ball to independently open and close, leaving continuous contact and friction between the sealing surfaces during opening and closing.

[0003] Meanwhile, conventional ball valve drive mechanisms only achieve rotational motion and cannot simultaneously control the valve stem lifting and ball deformation, making it difficult to achieve the frictionless working logic of separating the sealing surface before opening and closing and fitting the sealing surface during sealing; existing wedge-block anti-friction structures mostly lack rolling anti-friction fit, and sliding friction exacerbates component wear; the valve stem seal and valve seat radial seal matching structure is simple, and the medium is prone to leakage along the assembly gap, resulting in insufficient overall sealing reliability. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider and an opening and closing method, in order to solve the technical defects of existing ball valves, such as continuous friction of the sealing surface during opening and closing, easy wear of the seal, large opening and closing torque, large valve body volume of external wedge block, inability of the drive mechanism to link lifting and rotation, and lack of ball self-deformation to separate the sealing surface.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution: In a first aspect, this application provides a frictionless resilient ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider, comprising: The valve body has an internal through flow channel and valve seat holes symmetrically opened on both sides; A valve seat is fitted into each of the valve seat holes, and an elastic element is provided on the outer side of the valve seat, with the two ends of the elastic element respectively abutting against the valve body and the valve seat; An elastic sphere is movably assembled within the flow channel. The bottom of the elastic sphere is a thin-shell elastic structure, and the upper part has a through wedge-shaped groove and a dovetail groove. A wedge-shaped slider is slidably fitted into the dovetail groove, and trapezoidal protrusions on both sides are adapted to the dovetail groove. Rollers are fitted on the trapezoidal protrusions. The support shaft is fixed to the bottom of the valve body, and its top end is rotatably engaged with the elastic ball. The valve stem assembly is vertically mounted on the upper part of the valve body, and its lower end is fixedly connected to the wedge-shaped slider; A track drive mechanism, located at the top of the valve body, is used to drive the valve stem assembly to rotate and move vertically.

[0006] In one alternative embodiment, the trapezoidal protrusion has a roller groove, and the roller array is assembled in the roller groove, with the rollers rolling in conjunction with the roller groove.

[0007] In one optional embodiment, the inner wall surface of the dovetail groove and the outer surface of the trapezoidal protrusion fit together to form a mating inclined surface. The cross-section of the mating inclined surface is an isosceles trapezoid, and the angle between the mating inclined surface and the bottom edge of the trapezoidal protrusion is 60°.

[0008] In one alternative embodiment, the track drive mechanism includes: Stuffing gland, drive rod, and rollers; The drive rod is mounted on the valve stem assembly, the rollers are assembled at both ends of the drive rod, and a guide groove is provided inside the stuffing box. The rollers can perform a combined horizontal and vertical movement along the guide groove.

[0009] In one optional embodiment, the guide groove is divided into a horizontal section and a vertical section. The horizontal section allows the roller to move horizontally and matches the 0° to 90° rotation stroke of the ball valve, while the vertical section allows the roller to move vertically and matches the lifting stroke of the valve stem assembly.

[0010] In one alternative embodiment, the elastic element is a compression spring, which is coaxially sleeved on the outside of the valve seat and applies a sealing preload force toward the elastic ball to the valve seat.

[0011] In one alternative embodiment, the wedge-shaped slider slides up and down along the dovetail groove, causing the elastic ball to contract or expand, so that the valve seat separates from or fits with the elastic ball.

[0012] In one optional embodiment, a sealing groove is provided on the outer circular surface of the valve seat, and a sealing element is assembled in the sealing groove.

[0013] In one optional embodiment, the upper part of the valve body is provided with a packing cavity, in which a gasket, sealing packing and a gland are sequentially assembled. The gland axially presses the sealing packing to form a dynamic sealing structure of the valve stem assembly.

[0014] A second aspect of this application provides a method for opening and closing a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider, the method employing the frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider as described above, comprising: The valve stem assembly rotates, the roller moves along the horizontal section of the guide groove, the wedge slider remains in a high position and retracts the elastic ball, so that the elastic ball separates from the valve seat, and the elastic ball rotates with the valve stem assembly to the flow channel opening position; Continue rotating the valve stem assembly. The roller enters the vertical section of the guide groove and drives the valve stem assembly downward. The wedge-shaped slider moves down synchronously, opening the elastic ball. The elastic ball resets and fits against the valve seat to achieve a seal.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. The built-in wedge-shaped slider, combined with a thin-shell elastic ball, allows the slider to rise and fall to control the deformation of the ball. Before opening and closing, the ball separates from the valve seat to eliminate friction on the sealing surface. The track drive mechanism synchronously realizes the rotation and rise and fall of the valve stem, and the built-in structure reduces the size of the valve body. The spring-preloaded valve seat, combined with a multi-seal structure, reduces the opening and closing torque, slows down seal wear, extends the service life of the valve, and improves the sealing stability of the pipeline.

[0016] 2. Trapezoidal protrusions are used to create roller grooves and rollers are arranged in an array. The sliding friction between the slider and the dovetail groove is changed to rolling friction, which greatly reduces the resistance of the wedge slider in raising and lowering and reduces the valve stem drive load; reduces wear on the mating surfaces, avoids jamming and sticking, improves the smoothness of slider movement, reduces long-term operating wear of the valve, and optimizes the stability of frictionless opening and closing operation.

[0017] 3. The dovetail groove and trapezoidal protrusion are matched with a 60° isosceles trapezoidal cross section. The inclination angle of the inclination surface is adapted to the force requirements of the sphere's expansion and contraction, resulting in uniform force distribution and stable force distribution during the sliding process. This avoids local stress concentration that could cause deformation and failure of the elastic sphere, improves the load-bearing capacity of the wedge block structure, prevents the slider from deviating and getting stuck, and ensures the accuracy of sphere deformation control.

[0018] 4. The track drive mechanism consists of a stuffing box, a drive rod, and rollers. The drive rod is fixed to the rollers, which move synchronously with the valve stem. The rollers complete horizontal and vertical compound movements along the guide groove. One set of mechanisms synchronously realizes the valve stem rotation and lifting linkage, eliminating the need for two independent drive components, simplifying the overall drive structure, reducing assembly complexity, and ensuring synchronous linkage between deformation and reversing actions.

[0019] 5. The guide groove is designed with horizontal and vertical sections. The horizontal section independently completes the rotation and reversal of the ball valve, while the vertical section independently controls the lifting and lowering deformation of the valve stem. The actions of the sections do not interfere with each other. During rotation, the ball remains detached without friction. During the sealing stage, the ball is precisely opened to fit the valve seat. The action logic is clear and controllable, preventing interference between opening and closing actions and improving the accuracy of valve operation.

[0020] 6. The elastic element is a coaxial compression spring, which continuously applies a preload force towards the elastic ball to the valve seat. Under pressure conditions, the valve can automatically compensate for the sealing gap and maintain a tight seal even when the medium pressure increases. The spring arrangement structure is simple and easy to assemble, which can offset the valve body machining and assembly tolerances. The sealing compensation capability is stable and reliable over long-term use.

[0021] 7. The upward and downward sliding of the wedge-shaped slider directly drives the elastic ball to contract and expand, realizing the linkage control of the separation and contact of the sealing surface. During the rotation on / off stage, there is no contact friction between the ball and the valve seat, which avoids scratches and wear on the sealing surface from the root. Relying on mechanical wedge clamping linkage to replace independent driving components, the structure is simple, the synchronization is strong, and the core function of frictionless opening and closing is stably realized.

[0022] 8. A sealing groove is provided on the outer circle of the valve seat and a sealing element is assembled to form a radial sealing barrier between the valve seat and the valve body, preventing the medium from leaking out from the valve seat assembly gap. The auxiliary spring pre-tightening sealing structure forms a double sealing protection; it is suitable for high and low pressure fluid conditions, makes up for the defects in the machining gap of the valve body and valve seat, and greatly improves the overall anti-leakage performance of the valve.

[0023] 9. The upper packing cavity of the valve body is arranged with gaskets, sealing packing and gland in sequence. The gland axially presses the packing to form a dynamic seal on the valve stem, preventing the medium from leaking out along the valve stem. The multi-layer sealing packing buffers the wear of the valve stem reciprocating up and down, reduces packing loss, extends the valve stem seal replacement cycle, adapts to frequent opening and closing conditions, and reduces maintenance frequency.

[0024] 10. The process of rotating and disengaging and lifting and tightening the sealing is completed in two steps. When reversing, the ball and the valve seat are completely separated to eliminate friction. When sealing, the slider moves down to tighten the ball and ensure the seal. The operation is simple and the torque is lower. This can reduce sealing loss and ensure the sealing effect when the pipeline is cut off. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider provided by the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a drive rod in a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider provided by the present invention; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a wedge-shaped opening on the ball in a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider provided by the present invention; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a dovetail groove in a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider provided by the present invention; Figures 5-6 A schematic diagram of a wedge slider in a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider provided by the present invention; Figure 7A schematic diagram of the guide groove in a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider provided by the present invention; In the diagram: 1. Support shaft; 2. Valve body; 3. Valve seat; 4. Compression spring; 5. Flange; 6. Elastic ball; 8. Cylindrical pin; 9. Wedge slider; 901. First through hole; 902. Second through hole; 903. Roller groove; 10. Bushing; 11. Stuffing box; 12. Gasket; 13. Sealing packing; 14. Gland; 15. Valve stem assembly; 16. Roller; 17. Drive rod; 18. Handwheel; 19. Wedge opening; 20. Dovetail groove; 21. Guide groove. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0028] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0029] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0030] To address the technical deficiencies mentioned in the background section, this embodiment provides a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge slider and a method for opening and closing it.

[0031] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings: like Figures 1-7As shown, in a first aspect of the present invention, a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider is provided, comprising: a valve body 2, having an internal through flow channel and symmetrically provided valve seat holes on both sides; a valve seat 3, fitted into each valve seat hole, with an elastic element on the outer side of the valve seat 3, the two ends of the elastic element respectively abutting against the valve body 2 and the valve seat 3; an elastic ball 6, movably assembled in the flow channel, the bottom of the elastic ball 6 having a thin-shell elastic structure, and the upper part having a through wedge-shaped groove and a dovetail groove 20; a wedge-shaped slider 9, slidably assembled in the dovetail groove 20, with trapezoidal protrusions on both sides adapted to the dovetail groove 20, and rollers assembled at the trapezoidal protrusions; a support shaft 1, fixed to the bottom of the valve body 2, with its top end rotatingly engaged with the elastic ball 6; a valve stem assembly 15, vertically inserted into the upper part of the valve body 2, with its lower end fixedly connected to the wedge-shaped slider 9; and a track drive mechanism, located at the top of the valve body 2, for driving the valve stem assembly 15 to rotate and vertically lift.

[0032] The valve body 2 has a through-flow channel inside. The channel is a straight circular channel with an inner diameter that matches the inner diameter of the upstream and downstream pipelines. This reduces flow resistance during fluid transport, minimizes turbulence and pressure loss, and ensures efficient transport of media in the pipeline.

[0033] Valve seat holes are symmetrically formed on both the left and right sides inside the valve body 2, with the central flow channel as the reference. The diameter, depth, and dimensional accuracy of the valve seat holes on both sides are consistent to ensure that the valve seats 3 are symmetrically positioned and evenly stressed after assembly. The valve seat holes adopt a stepped hole structure design, which facilitates the precise installation and positioning of the valve seat 3, and provides axial limit and installation space for the outer compression spring 4, preventing radial displacement or detachment of the compression spring 4 during compression deformation.

[0034] A centrally located mounting hole is provided at the top of the valve body 2, which connects to the internal flow channel. The valve stem assembly 15 is vertically inserted into the valve body 2 through this hole. Around the upper mounting hole, a packing cavity is integrally formed within the valve body 2. The packing cavity is a cylindrical cavity structure with a regular assembly space for sequentially installing dynamic sealing components such as the gasket 12, sealing packing 13, and gland 14. This achieves a dynamic seal between the valve stem assembly 15 and the valve body 2, preventing high-pressure media inside the valve body 2 from leaking outwards along the valve stem's exit point. A bushing 10, made of wear-resistant copper, is also installed within the upper mounting hole of the valve body 2. It is interference-fitted into the inner wall of the hole, and the valve stem assembly 15 passes through the inner hole of the bushing 10. The bushing 10 provides radial guidance and reduces friction on the valve stem assembly 15, minimizing frictional loss between the valve stem and the valve body 2 during reciprocating motion.

[0035] A mounting hole is machined at the center of the bottom of the valve body 2. The support shaft 1 is fixedly assembled inside this mounting hole by interference fit, threaded connection, or welding. After assembly, the support shaft 1 remains vertical, with its axis coinciding with the central axis of the flow channel inside the valve body 2, providing bottom rotation support for the elastic ball 6 above. Standard connecting flanges 5 or threaded connection structures are provided on both ends of the valve body 2. According to the on-site pipeline installation requirements, the ball valve can be quickly connected and fixed to the upstream and downstream pipelines through the flanges 5. The sealing performance and connection strength of the connection structure meet the requirements of industrial pipeline installation specifications.

[0036] Valve seats 3 are arranged in pairs, respectively embedded in the corresponding valve seat holes on the left and right sides of the valve body 2. The two valve seats 3 are identical in structure and size and are arranged symmetrically. The valve seat 3 is an annular sealing component, made of wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant hard alloy or non-metallic sealing material. The inner end face is the sealing contact surface, used to tightly fit with the outer wall of the elastic ball 6 to achieve flow channel cutoff sealing. The valve seat 3 is installed in the valve seat hole with a clearance fit or transition fit. The valve seat 3 can make a slight axial sliding inside the valve seat hole, thereby cooperating with the compression spring 4 to achieve automatic compensation of the sealing gap.

[0037] A sealing groove is machined annularly on the outer surface of valve seat 3. The sealing groove is a standard annular groove, and its dimensions are precisely machined according to the specifications of the matching sealing element. A matching annular sealing element is embedded inside the sealing groove. The sealing element is a general-purpose sealing element such as an oil-resistant, water-resistant, and high / low temperature-resistant rubber sealing ring or a polytetrafluoroethylene sealing ring. The sealing element fills the assembly gap between the outer surface of valve seat 3 and the inner wall of valve seat hole, forming a radial sealing structure. This structure can prevent the medium inside valve body 2 from leaking outward from the assembly gap between valve seat 3 and valve body 2, further improving the overall sealing performance of the valve and compensating for minor gap defects caused by component machining and assembly.

[0038] Each valve seat 3 has an elastic element corresponding to its outer side. In this embodiment, the elastic element is preferably a compression spring 4. The compression spring 4 is made of high-elasticity alloy spring steel wire, which has the characteristics of fatigue resistance, plastic deformation resistance, and stable elastic force, and can work stably under pressure for a long time. The compression spring 4 is coaxially sleeved on the outer side of the valve seat 3. One end face of the compression spring 4 abuts against the outer end face of the valve seat 3, and the other end face abuts against the stepped end face of the valve seat hole of the valve body 2. That is, the two ends of the compression spring 4 abut against the valve body 2 and the valve seat 3 respectively.

[0039] The compression spring 4 is always in a pre-compressed state, continuously applying an axial sealing preload force to the valve seat 3 towards the center of the valve body 2, i.e., towards the elastic ball 6. When the valve is in a closed and sealed state, the preload force of the compression spring 4 can push the valve seat 3 to tightly fit against the elastic ball 6, ensuring tight contact of the sealing surfaces. When the sealing surface experiences slight wear, components deform due to heat, or the pipeline medium pressure fluctuates during valve use, the compression spring 4 can automatically compensate for the sealing gap by its own elastic deformation, always maintaining the sealing pressure between the valve seat 3 and the elastic ball 6, effectively preventing medium leakage. At the same time, the compression spring 4 has a simple structure, is easy to assemble, and is easy to maintain and replace, thus reducing equipment operation and maintenance costs.

[0040] The elastic ball 6 is movably assembled in the through flow channel inside the valve body 2. It has an overall spherical structure with a through medium flow hole in the middle of the ball. The flow hole is coaxially arranged with the flow channel inside the valve body 2. When the elastic ball 6 rotates to the position where the flow hole is aligned with the flow channel of the valve body, the medium in the pipeline flows normally. When the elastic ball 6 rotates 90°, the solid part of the ball blocks the flow channel of the valve body, thereby achieving pipeline closure.

[0041] The bottom of the elastic ball 6 adopts a thin-shell elastic structure design, where the wall thickness is less than that of other parts of the ball. This gives the elastic ball 6 the ability to undergo radial elastic deformation. Under external force, it can achieve both radial contraction and outward expansion. After the external force is removed, it can return to its original elastic state. The deformation process is stable, and the rebound performance is good. Repeated deformation will not cause failure problems such as cracking or plastic deformation. A rotating fitting hole is provided at the center of the bottom of the elastic ball 6. This fitting hole is rotatably assembled with the top of the support shaft 1 fixed at the bottom of the valve body 2. The support shaft 1 provides vertical support for the elastic ball 6, limiting its vertical position, while not restricting its circumferential rotation around the support shaft 1, ensuring that the elastic ball 6 can rotate flexibly to complete the opening and closing action.

[0042] The upper region of the elastic sphere 6 has a through-type wedge-shaped opening 19 and a dovetail groove 20. The wedge-shaped opening 19 and the dovetail groove 20 are connected vertically and penetrate the upper structure of the sphere. The machining accuracy and surface finish of the two grooves are strictly controlled to reduce the risk of jamming during movement. The dovetail groove 20 is a long strip-shaped guide groove. The length of the groove is arranged vertically along the elastic sphere 6. It is the main motion guide structure of the wedge slider 9. The inner walls on both sides of the dovetail groove 20 are inclined mating slopes, which are used to fit and cooperate with the trapezoidal protrusions on both sides of the wedge slider 9.

[0043] Throughout the entire working cycle of valve opening and closing, the elastic ball 6 relies on the elastic properties of its thin-shell bottom structure to complete the shape switching in conjunction with the up-and-down movement of the wedge slider 9: when the wedge slider 9 moves upward, it pulls the upper part of the elastic ball 6 inward, the ball as a whole contracts radially, and the outer walls on both sides separate from the sealing surfaces of the valve seat 3; when the wedge slider 9 moves downward, it pushes the upper part of the elastic ball 6 outward, the ball as a whole expands radially, and the outer wall fits tightly against the valve seats 3 on both sides, thus completing the frictionless opening and closing and sealing action.

[0044] The wedge-shaped slider 9 is integrally assembled inside the dovetail groove 20 on the upper part of the elastic ball 6, and can make vertical reciprocating sliding motion along the length of the dovetail groove 20. The top of the wedge-shaped slider 9 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the vertically inserted valve stem assembly 15 and assembled as one unit. The upper part of the wedge-shaped slider 9 is provided with a first through hole 901 and a second through hole 902 in sequence. The first through hole 901 and the second through hole 902 pass through the slider body laterally. The cylindrical pin 8 is inserted into the pin hole corresponding to the first through hole 901 and the valve stem assembly 15, so as to realize the circumferential and axial locking and fixation of the valve stem assembly 15 and the wedge-shaped slider 9. The two can achieve synchronous rotation and synchronous vertical lifting and lowering, and the power transmission is lag-free and free of looseness.

[0045] The wedge-shaped slider 9 has trapezoidal protrusions symmetrically arranged on both sides. The structure and size of the trapezoidal protrusions on both sides are completely identical, forming a matching structure with the dovetail groove 20 on the elastic ball 6. The inner wall surface of the dovetail groove 20 and the outer surface of the trapezoidal protrusion fit together to form two sets of symmetrical mating inclined surfaces. The cross-section of the mating inclined surface is an isosceles trapezoidal structure. In this embodiment, the included angle between the mating inclined surface and the bottom edge of the trapezoidal protrusion is set to 60°. This angle is the preferred angle obtained after multiple tests and optimizations. On the one hand, it can ensure that the force transmission is stable when the wedge-shaped slider 9 slides up and down, and the force is evenly distributed on the entire mating inclined surface, avoiding local stress concentration that causes wear of the dovetail groove 20 and trapezoidal protrusion or deformation failure of the elastic ball 6. On the other hand, the 60° inclination angle can ensure that the wedge-shaped slider 9 can efficiently push the elastic ball 6 outward when it moves down, and can smoothly pull the ball to contract when it moves up. The sliding process is smooth and there will be no malfunctions such as deflection or jamming, and the deformation amplitude of the elastic ball 6 can be precisely controlled.

[0046] On the trapezoidal protrusion of the wedge-shaped slider 9, a roller groove 903 is formed along the length of the trapezoidal protrusion. The roller groove 903 is an elongated groove, and the groove orientation is consistent with the length direction of the dovetail groove 20. Multiple rollers are sequentially assembled in an array inside the roller groove 903. The rollers are cylindrical wear-resistant metal rollers, and their outer diameter is adapted to the inner diameter of the roller groove 903. The rollers can rotate freely inside the roller groove 903.

[0047] A rolling fit structure is formed between the roller and the roller groove 903, transforming the sliding friction between the wedge slider 9 and the dovetail groove 20 in the traditional structure into rolling friction. As the wedge slider 9 slides vertically along the dovetail groove 20, the roller continues to roll, significantly reducing the motion resistance between them. This reduces the driving load on the valve stem assembly 15, further reducing the overall opening and closing torque of the valve. It also significantly reduces wear on the mating surfaces, extending the service life of the wedge slider 9 and the elastic ball 6. Simultaneously, it effectively avoids problems such as slider jamming and malfunction caused by excessive frictional resistance, ensuring the stability and smoothness of the wedge slider 9's movement. This is one of the key structures for achieving frictionless operation of this ball valve.

[0048] The vertical sliding motion of the wedge-shaped slider 9 directly determines the working state of the elastic ball 6: When the wedge-shaped slider 9 slides upward along the dovetail groove 20, the wedge structure generates an inward pulling force, causing the elastic ball 6 to contract radially as a whole. The outer wall of the elastic ball 6 completely separates from the sealing surfaces of the valve seats 3 on both sides. At this time, the elastic ball 6 can rotate freely, and there is no contact friction between the sealing surfaces during the rotation. When the wedge-shaped slider 9 slides downward along the dovetail groove 20, the wedge structure generates an outward pushing force, pushing the elastic ball 6 to expand radially. The outer wall of the elastic ball 6 returns to its original position and fits tightly against the valve seats 3 on both sides. Reliable sealing is achieved under the preload of the compression spring 4. The entire linkage structure has a simple transmission logic and strong action synchronization. It relies on a purely mechanical structure to achieve linkage between ball deformation and opening and closing actions, without the need for additional drive components, thus simplifying the overall structure.

[0049] Support shaft 1 serves as the bottom support component for the elastic ball 6. It is a solid cylindrical shaft made of high-strength stainless steel, possessing wear-resistant, bending-resistant, and corrosion-resistant properties. Support shaft 1 is vertically fixed to the center of the bottom of the valve body 2 via threaded fastening or interference fit. After assembly, its axis coincides with the center line of the flow channel of the valve body 2 and the center axis of the elastic ball 6, ensuring the coaxiality of the overall structure.

[0050] The top end of the support shaft 1 is fitted with the rotating engagement hole at the bottom of the elastic ball 6, forming a rotary pair with a clearance fit. The support shaft 1 only provides vertical support for the elastic ball 6, bearing the vertical load from the elastic ball 6 and the medium pressure, restricting the up-and-down movement of the elastic ball 6, and completely releasing the circumferential rotational freedom of the elastic ball 6. When the elastic ball 6 rotates with the valve stem assembly 15 to complete the opening and closing action, the support shaft 1 remains stationary, and the relative rotation between the two is smooth with low frictional resistance at the mating surfaces, which does not hinder the rotation of the ball. The support shaft 1 has a simple structure, is firmly installed, and can stably bear loads for a long time, and is not prone to loosening or breakage, providing reliable bottom support for the stable operation of the elastic ball 6.

[0051] The valve stem assembly 15, serving as an intermediate component for power transmission, is vertically arranged and extends vertically into the valve body 2 from the packing cavity at the top. The outer surface of the valve stem assembly 15 undergoes quenching hardening and rust-proofing treatment to enhance wear resistance and corrosion resistance. The lower end of the valve stem assembly 15 extends into the valve body 2 and is fixedly connected to the top of the wedge-shaped slider 9. Conventional mechanical connection structures such as cylindrical pins 8, threaded connections, or welding can be used. The cylindrical pins 8 are inserted into the first through hole 901 of the valve stem assembly 15 and the wedge-shaped slider 9, ensuring complete circumferential and axial fixation between them. This allows for synchronous rotation and vertical lifting, with no lag or looseness in power transmission. The top of the valve stem assembly 15 extends outwards from the track drive mechanism, and a handwheel 18 is externally fixedly installed. The handwheel 18 is a manually operated component; the operator can rotate the handwheel 18 to drive the valve stem assembly 15 to complete rotation and lifting actions, thus enabling manual opening and closing of the ball valve.

[0052] The upper part of the valve body 2 is integrally formed with a packing cavity, which is located at the position where the valve stem assembly 15 protrudes from the outer periphery of the valve body 2. The inside of the packing cavity is a regular cylindrical cavity, in which gasket 12, sealing packing 13 and gland 14 are assembled in sequence from bottom to top. Among them, the gasket 12 is a flexible sealing gasket, which is laid at the bottom of the packing cavity to play the role of bottom leveling and auxiliary sealing. The sealing packing 13 is a valve stem-specific sealing packing such as braided packing and flexible graphite packing, with multiple layers of packing stacked and tightly wrapped around the outer periphery of the valve stem assembly 15. The gland 14 is fitted on the outside of the valve stem assembly 15 and is located above the sealing packing 13.

[0053] The gland 14 presses down on the sealing packing 13 using bolts, threads, or other fastening structures. Under axial pressure, the sealing packing 13 undergoes radial deformation, tightly fitting the outer surface of the valve stem assembly 15 and the inner wall of the packing cavity. This forms a reliable dynamic seal between the valve stem assembly 15 and the valve body 2. This dynamic seal effectively prevents high-pressure fluid and harmful media inside the valve body 2 from leaking outwards along the assembly gap between the valve stem assembly 15 and the valve body 2, adapting to the frequent rotation and lifting movements of the valve stem assembly 15. The multi-layer sealing combination structure has a long sealing life; later maintenance only requires periodically tightening the gland 14 or replacing the sealing packing 13 to restore sealing performance, simplifying maintenance.

[0054] In this embodiment, the track drive mechanism is mainly composed of three parts: stuffing box 11, drive rod 17 and roller 16. The whole mechanism has a compact structure and a high degree of integration, and can realize compound actions without the need for separate drive equipment.

[0055] The stuffing box 11 is fixedly installed on the upper end face of the valve body 2, maintaining a stable connection with the valve body 2. A closed-loop guide groove 21 is provided on the inner side wall of the stuffing box 11. The guide groove 21 is a continuous groove structure, divided into two areas according to function: a horizontal section and a vertical section. The two sections of the groove transition smoothly without sharp bends, ensuring smooth movement of the roller 16. The drive rod 17 is horizontally inserted and fixed at the upper position of the valve stem assembly 15, maintaining a perpendicular state to the valve stem assembly 15. The drive rod 17 rotates and rises and falls synchronously with the valve stem assembly 15.

[0056] Rollers 16 are respectively mounted on the left and right ends of the drive rod 17. The rollers 16 can rotate freely around the ends of the drive rod 17. The two rollers 16 are arranged symmetrically and are simultaneously inserted into the guide groove 21 inside the stuffing box 11.

[0057] The roller 16 and the guide groove 21 form a kinematic pair. When the valve stem assembly 15 is driven to rotate by external power or by manually turning the handwheel 18, the valve stem assembly 15 drives the drive rod 17 and the roller 16 to move together. The roller 16 performs a combined horizontal and vertical motion along the groove trajectory of the guide groove 21.

[0058] The horizontal section of the guide groove 21 corresponds to the rotation stroke of the ball valve from 0° to 90°. When the roller 16 moves inside the horizontal section of the guide groove 21, the valve stem assembly 15 only performs circumferential rotation and the vertical height remains unchanged. At this time, the wedge slider 9 remains in a high position, and the elastic ball 6 remains contracted and separated from the valve seat 3. The elastic ball 6 rotates with the valve stem assembly 15 to complete the switching of pipeline on and off.

[0059] The vertical section of the guide groove 21 corresponds to the vertical lifting stroke of the valve stem assembly 15. As the valve stem assembly 15 continues to rotate, the roller 16 smoothly transitions from the horizontal section of the guide groove 21 into the vertical section. The groove trajectory of the guide groove 21 forces the roller 16 and the drive rod 17 to move the valve stem assembly 15 vertically downwards. Simultaneously, the downward movement of the valve stem assembly 15 drives the wedge-shaped slider 9 at its lower end to slide downwards along the dovetail groove 20, thereby pushing the elastic ball 6 to expand radially, ultimately causing the elastic ball 6 to fit tightly against the valve seat 3, achieving a sealing cutoff.

[0060] The 21-segment design of the guide groove enables the separate execution of rotational and lifting movements, ensuring that the two movements do not interfere with each other and are seamlessly connected, with a clear and controllable action logic. The horizontal segment ensures complete separation of the sealing surface when the ball rotates, completely eliminating friction and wear; the vertical segment precisely controls the lifting and lowering of the valve stem, ensuring reliable sealing after the ball is opened. The entire track drive mechanism adopts pure mechanical track transmission, which is precise, has a low failure rate, and can be adapted to various drive forms such as manual, electric, and pneumatic, making it highly versatile.

[0061] In a second aspect, this invention provides a method for opening and closing a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider. The method utilizes the frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider as described above, and includes two working processes: valve opening for conduction and valve closing for sealing. The details are as follows: Valve opening procedure: When it is necessary to open the ball valve, which is in a closed and sealed state, to allow the pipeline medium to flow normally, the operator turns the handwheel 18, which controls the valve stem assembly 15 to rotate circumferentially. As the valve stem assembly 15 rotates, it drives the upper fixed drive rod 17 and the rollers 16 at both ends to rotate synchronously. The rollers 16 move horizontally along the horizontal section of the guide groove 21 inside the stuffing box 11.

[0062] Throughout the movement of the roller 16 along the horizontal section of the guide groove 21, the guide groove 21 does not exert any vertical thrust on the roller 16. Therefore, the valve stem assembly 15 maintains its original vertical height and only performs circumferential rotation. The wedge-shaped slider 9 connected to the lower end of the valve stem assembly 15 remains in a high position inside the dovetail groove 20. The wedge-shaped slider 9 does not slide downward and always maintains a contracting effect on the elastic ball 6. The elastic ball 6 continuously maintains a radially contracted state, and the outer wall of the elastic ball 6 is completely separated from the sealing surfaces of the valve seats 3 on both sides, with no contact or friction between them.

[0063] Driven by the valve stem assembly 15, the elastic ball 6 rotates synchronously around the bottom support shaft 1 until the through-hole in the middle of the elastic ball 6 is completely aligned with the through-flow channel inside the valve body 2. At this point, the upstream and downstream pipelines are connected through the ball's through-hole, allowing the medium to be transported normally. The ball valve completes its opening action and remains in a conductive state. Throughout the entire opening and rotation process, the sealing surface remains in a separated state, preventing friction and scratches at the source and significantly reducing the opening and closing torque.

[0064] Valve closing procedure: When it is necessary to close the ball valve and cut off the flow of medium in the pipeline, continue to rotate the handwheel 18 and the valve stem assembly 15 in the original direction. The valve stem assembly 15 continues to rotate, driving the roller 16 to smoothly transition from the horizontal section of the guide groove 21 to the vertical section. The groove trajectory of the vertical section of the guide groove 21 generates a downward vertical force on the roller 16, driving the roller 16 and the drive rod 17 to move the entire valve stem assembly 15 vertically downward.

[0065] As the valve stem assembly 15 descends, the lower wedge-shaped slider 9 slides down synchronously along the dovetail groove 20 on the elastic ball 6. During its descent, the wedge-shaped slider 9 supports the elastic ball 6 outwards by relying on the outward deformation characteristics of the thin-shell elastic structure at the bottom of the elastic ball 6, causing the elastic ball 6 to expand radially outwards as a whole. As the wedge-shaped slider 9 continues to move downwards, the outer wall of the elastic ball 6 gradually approaches the valve seats 3 on both sides, until finally the outer wall of the elastic ball 6 is completely and tightly fitted with the inner sealing surface of the valve seat 3.

[0066] The compression spring 4 on the outside of the valve seat 3 continuously provides sealing preload, keeping the valve seat 3 and the elastic ball 6 in a high-pressure fit. The internal flow channel of the valve body 2 is completely blocked by the solid part of the elastic ball 6, preventing the medium from passing through. The ball valve completes the closing and sealing operation. After the closing action is completed, the track drive mechanism, wedge slider 9, and elastic ball 6 all remain in a stable state, and the sealing system continues to function, ensuring that there is no medium leakage at the pipeline cut-off point.

[0067] By repeatedly turning the handwheel 18 according to the above process, the ball valve can be repeatedly opened and closed. The whole method relies on the inherent mechanical structure of the equipment to complete the action switching without the need for additional manual intervention. It is stable in operation and adaptable to the normal opening and closing needs of industrial pipelines.

[0068] When assembling the frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge slider in this application, the assembly sequence follows a bottom-to-top and inside-to-outside approach: First, the support shaft 1 is fixedly assembled to the bottom of the valve body 2. Then, the compression spring 4 and valve seat 3 are sequentially installed into the valve seat holes on both sides of the valve body 2. Next, the elastic ball 6 is inserted into the flow channel from the upper assembly port of the valve body 2, so that the bottom of the elastic ball 6 rotates and engages with the support shaft 1. Afterward, the wedge slider 9 with the roller assembled is installed into the dovetail groove 20 and wedge opening 19 of the elastic ball 6, aligning the first through hole 901 and the second through hole 902 of the wedge slider 9 with the valve stem assembly. 15 pin holes are used to insert cylindrical pins 8 to complete the fixed connection between valve stem assembly 15 and wedge slider 9; a bushing 10 is pre-installed in the through hole on the upper part of valve body 2, and valve stem assembly 15 passes through bushing 10 to complete the guided assembly. Then, the gasket 12, sealing packing 13, and gland 14 inside the packing cavity of valve body 2 are assembled in sequence to build the valve stem dynamic sealing structure; finally, the packing gland 11, drive rod 17, roller 16 and other track drive mechanism components are installed on the top of valve body 2, and the handwheel 18 is fixed on the top of valve stem assembly 15. The pipeline is connected at both ends of valve body 2 through flanges 5 to complete the assembly and debugging of the entire ball valve.

[0069] After assembly, perform no-load testing on each moving part to ensure that the wedge slider 9 slides smoothly, the elastic ball 6 deforms normally, the roller 16 moves along the guide groove 21 without jamming, the bushing 10 guides smoothly, the cylindrical pin 8 is firmly connected, and the sealing structure is leak-free.

[0070] The present ball valve can be widely adapted to industrial fluid pipelines with different pressures, different temperatures and different media. The two ends of the valve body 2 are in butt joint with the pipelines by means of flanges 5, which enables convenient installation. Compared with traditional ball valves, the present solution adopts a built-in wedge-shaped sliding block structure, so that the overall dimension of the valve body is smaller, and the adaptability to installation space is stronger; the shaft sleeve 10 reduces the movement wear of the valve stem, the cylindrical pin 8 ensures connection reliability, and the wedge-shaped opening 19 cooperates with the dovetail groove 20 to jointly complete the sliding block guiding and deformation driving; the rolling friction structure and the elastic sphere deformation separation structure thoroughly solve the problem of sealing surface wear, and prolong the service life of the equipment; the combination of spring pre-tightening seal and multiple radial and dynamic seal structures achieves higher sealing reliability; the segmented track driving mechanism realizes action linkage, and the handwheel 18 is matched to realize convenient manual opening and closing, so that the opening and closing operation is light. Under severe working conditions of long-term continuous operation and frequent opening and closing, the equipment can still maintain stable working performance, with less maintenance workload, and has high practical application value and market promotion value.

[0071] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations may be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall all be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider, characterized in that, include: The valve body has an internal through flow channel and valve seat holes symmetrically opened on both sides; A valve seat is fitted into each of the valve seat holes, and an elastic element is provided on the outer side of the valve seat, with the two ends of the elastic element respectively abutting against the valve body and the valve seat; An elastic sphere is movably assembled within the flow channel. The bottom of the elastic sphere is a thin-shell elastic structure, and the upper part has a through wedge-shaped groove and a dovetail groove. A wedge-shaped slider is slidably fitted into the dovetail groove, and trapezoidal protrusions on both sides are adapted to the dovetail groove. Rollers are fitted on the trapezoidal protrusions. The support shaft is fixed to the bottom of the valve body, and its top end is rotatably engaged with the elastic ball. The valve stem assembly is vertically mounted on the upper part of the valve body, and its lower end is fixedly connected to the wedge-shaped slider; A track drive mechanism, located at the top of the valve body, is used to drive the valve stem assembly to rotate and move vertically.

2. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The trapezoidal protrusion has a roller groove, and the roller array is assembled in the roller groove, with the rollers and the roller groove engaging in a rolling cooperation.

3. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall of the dovetail groove and the outer side of the trapezoidal protrusion fit together to form a mating inclined surface. The cross-section of the mating inclined surface is an isosceles trapezoid, and the angle between the mating inclined surface and the bottom edge of the trapezoidal protrusion is 60°.

4. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The track drive mechanism includes: Stuffing gland, drive rod, and rollers; The drive rod is mounted on the valve stem assembly, the rollers are assembled at both ends of the drive rod, and a guide groove is provided inside the stuffing box. The rollers can perform a combined horizontal and vertical movement along the guide groove.

5. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide groove is divided into a horizontal section and a vertical section. The horizontal section allows the roller to move horizontally and matches the 0° to 90° rotation stroke of the ball valve. The vertical section allows the roller to move vertically and matches the lifting stroke of the valve stem assembly.

6. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic element is a compression spring, which is coaxially sleeved on the outside of the valve seat and applies a sealing preload force toward the elastic ball to the valve seat.

7. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wedge-shaped slider slides up and down along the dovetail groove, causing the elastic ball to contract or expand, so that the valve seat separates from or fits with the elastic ball.

8. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve seat has a sealing groove on its outer circular surface, and a sealing element is installed in the sealing groove.

9. The frictionless elastic ball valve with built-in wedge-shaped slider according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper part of the valve body is provided with a packing cavity, in which a gasket, sealing packing and a gland are sequentially assembled. The gland axially presses the sealing packing to form a dynamic sealing structure of the valve stem assembly.

10. A method for opening and closing a frictionless elastic ball valve with a built-in wedge-shaped slider, characterized in that, The method employs the built-in wedge-shaped slider frictionless elastic ball valve as described in any one of claims 1-9, comprising: The valve stem assembly rotates, the roller moves along the horizontal section of the guide groove, the wedge slider remains in a high position and retracts the elastic ball, so that the elastic ball separates from the valve seat, and the elastic ball rotates with the valve stem assembly to the flow channel opening position; Continue rotating the valve stem assembly. The roller enters the vertical section of the guide groove and drives the valve stem assembly downward. The wedge-shaped slider moves down synchronously, opening the elastic ball. The elastic ball resets and fits against the valve seat to achieve a seal.

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