A pinch valve

Abstract

This utility model discloses a clamp valve, including a detachably connected valve connector and a valve actuator. The valve connector includes an elastic tube, a cover, and a connecting part, with the elastic tube located between the cover and the connecting part. The connecting part includes a drive cylinder and a gas guide cylinder. The inner cavity of the drive cylinder is provided with a clamping member for clamping the elastic tube and a piston for driving the clamping member to move. One end of the gas guide cylinder is connected to the drive cylinder, and the other end is a closed structure. The gas guide cylinder is provided with at least one set of through holes in the direction perpendicular to the movement of the piston. The valve actuator includes a receiving cavity for accommodating the connecting part, and the receiving cavity includes a sealed air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the gas guide cylinder through the through holes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of valve control technology, specifically to a pinch valve. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional electromagnetic pinch valves have limitations in structure and mechanical characteristics, affecting their control accuracy and adaptability to elastic tubes. Specifically, the stroke distance (stroke) of traditional electromagnetic pinch valves is fixed, and the force characteristic curve is non-linear (i.e., the driving pressure and stroke have a non-linear relationship), leading to the following problems: Because the available stroke is fixed, the valve's adaptability is poor. For example, elastic tubes (thermosetting or thermoplastic materials, such as silicone rubber, polyurethane, etc.) may be partially blocked after being inserted into the valve. Due to the fixed stroke and the non-linear relationship between driving pressure and stroke, fine calibration is required for specific types of elastic tubes (e.g., diameter, wall thickness, hardness, etc.). If precise calibration is not performed for specific types of elastic tubes, the valve may fail to seal or partially block, preventing normal operation. Furthermore, when used in cell culture equipment, the installation and removal of cell culture tubing is not simple, and an additional PWM pulse modulation circuit is required for the coil after actuation.

[0003] Therefore, ensuring the control accuracy and adaptability of the pinch valve to the elastic tube is a problem that needs to be solved. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application provides a clamp valve to solve the problem that the existing electromechanical and electromagnetic clamp valves are limited in structure and mechanical properties, which affects their control accuracy and adaptability to elastic tubes.

[0005] To solve or partially solve the above-mentioned technical problems, according to one aspect of this application, a clamp valve is provided, comprising: a detachably connected valve connector and a valve actuator, wherein the valve connector includes an elastic tube, a cover, and a connecting portion, the elastic tube being located between the cover and the connecting portion; the connecting portion includes a drive cylinder and a gas guide cylinder, the inner cavity of the drive cylinder being provided with a clamping member for clamping the elastic tube and a piston for driving the clamping member to move, one end of the gas guide cylinder communicating with the drive cylinder and the other end being a closed structure, the gas guide cylinder being provided with at least one set of through holes in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the piston; the valve actuator includes a receiving cavity for accommodating the connecting portion, the receiving cavity including a sealed air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the gas guide cylinder through the through holes.

[0006] In one embodiment, the sealed air inlet is a hollow annular cavity coaxially arranged with the accommodating cavity, the through hole is located inside the hollow annular cavity, and the hollow annular cavity includes at least two dynamic sealing rings that can be sealed and fitted with the gas guiding cylinder.

[0007] In one embodiment, the outer wall of the accommodating cavity is provided with an air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the sealed air inlet.

[0008] In one embodiment, a spacer ring is provided between the at least two dynamic sealing rings, and the spacer ring has a notch at a position corresponding to the air inlet.

[0009] In one embodiment, an air intake pipe is connected to the air intake port.

[0010] In one embodiment, the accommodating cavity includes a first cavity portion that matches the driving cylinder and a second cavity portion that matches the gas guiding cylinder, with the sealed air inlet located in the second cavity portion.

[0011] In one embodiment, a detector is provided at the rear of the accommodating cavity of the valve actuator to detect whether the connecting part of the valve connector is inserted into the accommodating cavity; and / or, a position detector is provided inside the valve connector to detect the position of the piston or clamping member in the drive cylinder, thereby determining the on / off state of the elastic tube.

[0012] In one embodiment, both the gas guiding cylinder and the driving cylinder are cylindrical, and the diameter of the gas guiding cylinder is smaller than the diameter of the driving cylinder.

[0013] In one embodiment, the gas guiding cylinder and the driving cylinder have a flared structure.

[0014] In one embodiment, the cover is provided with a protruding structure that cooperates with the clamping member to clamp the elastic tube.

[0015] In one embodiment, the clamp valve is an electro-pneumatic fluid valve used in cell culture equipment to deliver the fluid required for cell culture.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following advantages:

[0017] The clamp valve provided in this application includes: a detachably connected valve connector and a valve actuator. The valve connector includes an elastic tube, a cover, and a connecting part, with the elastic tube located between the cover and the connecting part. The connecting part includes a drive cylinder and a gas guide cylinder. The inner cavity of the drive cylinder is provided with a clamping member for clamping the elastic tube and a piston for driving the clamping member to move. One end of the gas guide cylinder is connected to the drive cylinder, and the other end is a closed structure. The gas guide cylinder is provided with at least one set of through holes in the direction perpendicular to the movement of the piston. The valve actuator includes a receiving cavity for accommodating the connecting part. The receiving cavity includes a sealed air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the gas guide cylinder through the through holes. The pinch valve provided in this application allows pressurized gas to be stably delivered to the drive cylinder after passing sequentially through a sealed inlet, a through hole, and a gas guide cylinder. This provides driving pressure to the piston and clamping components. This driving pressure is positively correlated with the valve's pressure-bearing capacity; the higher the driving pressure, the greater the fluid pressure the valve can withstand (or maintain) after closing. Therefore, by using the pinch valve provided in this application, the valve can be driven normally under various fluid pressures, enabling precise on / off control of the fluid medium within the elastic tube. Furthermore, the pinch valve allows for flexible adjustment of the piston and clamping component's stroke distance based on different elastic tube specifications, avoiding seal failure or partial blockage due to stroke mismatch, thereby improving the pinch valve's adaptability.

[0018] Therefore, this application realizes a novel electro-pneumatic pinch valve design for fluid flow control in biomedical and other applications. The valve connector of this pinch valve can be installed on the pipeline fixing plate in a disposable consumable kit and sterilized inside the kit. Subsequently, all valves can be loaded by a simple push-in action and unloaded by a pull-out action, thus greatly simplifying the loading / unloading process of the consumable pipeline kit.

[0019] Furthermore, this valve significantly simplifies pipeline installation and removal; it eliminates pipeline blockage issues when open; and it boasts lower energy consumption and significantly reduced heat generation, eliminating the need for additional PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) circuitry to reduce coil power consumption after activation. Especially when applied to cell culture equipment, it can be used as a disposable consumable kit to maintain sterility. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1A An isometric view of the valve connector and valve actuator of a pinch valve in the assembled state;

[0021] Figure 1B for Figure 1A An isometric sectional view of the pinch valve shown.

[0022] Figure 2A for Figure 1A The side view of the pinch valve shown;

[0023] Figure 2B for Figure 1A Isometric exploded view of all components of the pinch valve shown;

[0024] Figure 3 A side sectional view of the pinch valve in the open state is shown;

[0025] Figure 4 A side sectional view of the pinch valve in the closed state is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a pinch valve as an electro-pneumatic fluid valve is shown.

[0027] Attached image annotations:

[0028] Valve actuator 100, housing 101, accommodating cavity 102, dynamic sealing ring 103a, dynamic sealing ring 103b, spacer ring 104, air inlet 105, air inlet pipe 106, screw 107, fixing plate 108, hollow annular cavity 109, notch 110, valve connector 200, connecting part 201, through hole 202, piston 203, clamping member 204, cover 205, elastic tube 206, gas guiding cylinder 207, driving cylinder 208, bearing plate 209, protruding structure 210 Detailed Implementation

[0029] Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a full understanding of this application. However, this application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar extensions without departing from the spirit of this application; therefore, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0030] The terminology used in one or more embodiments of this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the one or more embodiments of this specification. The singular forms “a,” “described,” and “the” as used in one or more embodiments of this specification and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used in one or more embodiments of this specification refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0031] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc., may be used to describe various information in one or more embodiments of this specification, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, first may also be referred to as second without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments of this specification, and similarly, second may also be referred to as first. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to a determination."

[0032] In order to ensure the control accuracy and adaptability of the pinch valve to the elastic tube in existing valve control scenarios, this application provides a pinch valve. Figure 1A An isometric view of the valve connector and valve actuator of the pinch valve provided in this embodiment in the assembled state; Figure 1B for Figure 1A An isometric sectional view of the pinch valve shown. Figure 2A for Figure 1A The side view of the pinch valve shown; Figure 2B for Figure 1A Isometric exploded view of all components of the pinch valve shown; Figure 3 A side sectional view of the pinch valve in the open state is shown; Figure 4 A side sectional view of the pinch valve in the closed position is shown. The following is combined with... Figures 1A-4 The pinch valve provided in this embodiment will be described in detail. The embodiments described below are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit actual use.

[0033] like Figures 1A-4As shown, the clamp valve provided in this embodiment includes a detachably connected valve connector 200 and a valve actuator 100. The valve actuator 100 can be fixedly installed in an instrument or fluid system and can be reused multiple times. The valve connector 200 can be used as a disposable consumable (e.g., a disposable sterile consumable kit) and can be replaced with the tubing kit. The valve connector 200 includes an elastic tube 206, a cover 205, and a connecting portion 201. The elastic tube 206 is fixed between the cover 205 and the connecting portion 201 by the cover 205. The cover 205 includes an opening for fixing the elastic tube, a tube seat, and a component for aligning with the connecting portion and preventing its own rotation. In this embodiment, the cover 205 is provided with a protruding structure 210 that cooperates with the clamping member 204 to clamp the elastic tube 206. The connecting part 201 includes a drive cylinder 208 and a gas guide cylinder 207. The inner cavity of the drive cylinder 208 is provided with a clamping member 204 for clamping the elastic tube 206 and a piston 203 for driving the clamping member 204 to move. One end of the gas guide cylinder 207 is connected to the drive cylinder 208 and the other end is a closed structure. The gas guide cylinder 207 is provided with at least one set of through holes 202 in the direction perpendicular to the movement of the piston 203. For example, both the gas guide cylinder 207 and the drive cylinder 208 are cylindrical and are provided with through holes in the radial direction of the gas guide cylinder 207. The piston 203 is made of an elastomeric material, such as silicone, to achieve a pressure seal (similar to the principle of a syringe).

[0034] The valve actuator 100 includes a receiving cavity 102 for receiving the connecting part 201. The receiving cavity 102 is surrounded by the housing 101. The receiving cavity 102 includes a sealed air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the gas guide cylinder 207 through a through hole 202. The outer wall of the receiving cavity 102 is provided with an air inlet hole 105 for supplying pressurized gas to the sealed air inlet, and an air inlet pipe 106 is connected to the air inlet hole 105.

[0035] In this embodiment, the sealed air inlet is a hollow annular cavity 109 coaxially arranged with the accommodating cavity 102. After the connecting part 201 of the valve connector 200 is inserted into the accommodating cavity 102 of the valve driver 100, the through hole 202 can be located within the coverage area of ​​the hollow annular cavity 109. The hollow annular cavity 109 includes at least two dynamic sealing rings (such as gas guide cylinders 207) that can be sealed and fitted with the gas guide cylinder 207. Figure 2BAs shown in Figures 103a and 103b), the hollow annular cavity 109 is sealed by the dynamic sealing rings 103a and 103b sealingly fitting with the gas guide cylinder 207. A spacer ring 104 is provided between the at least two dynamic sealing rings. This spacer ring 104 is the core supporting component forming the hollow annular cavity 109, ensuring a stable annular cavity space is formed between the dynamic sealing rings. The spacer ring 104 has a notch 110 at a position corresponding to the air inlet 105. The notch 110 is used to receive the air inlet 105, allowing pressurized gas to enter the hollow annular cavity 109 through the notch 110.

[0036] The hollow annular cavity 109 of the valve actuator 100 is formed by dynamic sealing rings 103a and 103b and spacer ring 104. After the connecting part 201 of the valve connector 200 is inserted into the receiving cavity 102 of the valve actuator 100, the dynamic sealing rings 103a and 103b are tightly fitted to the outer surface of the gas guide cylinder 207 of the valve connector 200, so that the hollow annular cavity 109 and the gas guide cylinder 207 form a closed channel. Pressurized gas can enter from the inlet pipe 106, pass through the inlet hole 105 and the hollow annular cavity 109 in sequence, and finally enter the gas guide cylinder 207 to drive the piston 203 and the clamping member 204 to move towards the elastic tube 206, squeeze the elastic tube 206 to close its cavity, and thus clamp the elastic tube 206. The hollow annular cavity 109 can form a 360-degree full circumferential fit with the outer surface of the gas guide cylinder 207, ensuring that the pressurized gas can be efficiently and losslessly transmitted to the interior of the gas guide cylinder 207 through the through hole 202. Furthermore, the circumferential symmetry of the hollow annular cavity allows the pressure of the introduced pressurized gas to be evenly applied to the outer surface of the gas guide cylinder 207 and the dynamic sealing ring, avoiding local pressure concentration that could lead to structural deformation. This uniform pressure also ensures that the force driving the piston 203 is more stable.

[0037] Since the hollow annular cavity 109 is an annular space formed around the gas guide cylinder 207 of the valve connector 200, and there is a "circumferential surrounding" relationship between it and the gas guide cylinder 207, when pressurized gas is transmitted through the hollow annular cavity 109 to the inside of the gas guide cylinder 207, the gas pressure mainly acts on the inner side of the gas guide cylinder 207 to drive the piston 203 and the clamping member 20 to move, thereby realizing the clamping function. This process restricts the direction of the gas pressure force to the "radial" direction toward the inside of the gas guide cylinder 207, rather than along the axial direction (i.e., the connecting part 201 of the valve connector 200 relative to the container). The "axial push-away" of the valve connector 200 (in the insertion / removal direction of the cavity 102) avoids the direct force of air pressure pushing the valve connector 200 away. Furthermore, gas pressure may also act on the contact surfaces of the dynamic sealing rings 103a and 103b and the gas guide cylinder 207. Since the dynamic sealing rings 103a and 103b are annular structures surrounding the gas guide cylinder 207, the air pressure causes the dynamic sealing rings to press radially inward against the surface of the gas guide cylinder 207, rather than generating an outward thrust along the axial direction (i.e., the insertion / removal direction of the valve connector 200 relative to the cavity 102). Therefore, after inserting the connecting portion 201 of the valve connector 200 into the cavity 102 of the valve actuator 100, no force is generated to push the connecting portion 201 away from the cavity 102, thus ensuring the stability of the connection between the valve connector 200 and the valve actuator 100, and consequently ensuring the stability of the elastic tube clamping.

[0038] like Figure 1B As shown, the valve actuator 100 can be fixedly connected to the mounting plate 108, for example, by means of a flange and a plurality of screws 107, and the valve connector 200 can be mounted on the support plate 209.

[0039] In this embodiment, the accommodating cavity 102 includes a first cavity portion that matches the driving cylinder 208 and a second cavity portion that matches the gas guiding cylinder 207, with the sealed air inlet portion located in the second cavity portion.

[0040] In this embodiment, the clamping member 204 can be integrally formed with the piston 203. For example, the clamping member 204 can be bonded to one end of the piston 203.

[0041] In this embodiment, both the gas guiding cylinder 207 and the driving cylinder 208 are cylindrical, such as... Figure 1B As shown, the diameter of the gas guide cylinder 207 is smaller than the diameter of the drive cylinder 208, and the gas guide cylinder 207 and the drive cylinder 208 have a gradually expanding flared structure, which allows the pressurized gas to apply driving force to the piston relatively smoothly.

[0042] In this embodiment, a detector may be provided at the rear of the accommodating cavity 102 of the valve actuator 100 to detect whether the connecting part of the valve connector 200 is inserted into the accommodating cavity 102.

[0043] In this embodiment, a position detector may also be provided inside the valve connector 200 to detect the position of the piston 203 or clamping member in the drive cylinder, thereby determining the on / off state of the elastic tube.

[0044] like Figure 3 As shown, when the piston 203 and clamping member 204 are in the fully retracted state, the cavity of the elastic tube 206 is fully open, allowing fluid to flow normally. For example, when the clamp valve returns from the clamped state to the open state, the pressurized gas supplied to the hollow annular cavity 109 is cut off or shut off, causing the gas pressure in the gas guide cylinder 207 to be released. After losing its driving force, the piston 203 retracts to its initial position under its own elasticity and the rebound force of the elastic tube 206.

[0045] like Figure 4 As shown, when the clamp valve is in the clamped state, pressurized gas enters the gas guide cylinder 207 of the valve connector 200 through the air inlet pipe 106, air inlet 105 and hollow annular cavity 109 of the valve driver 100, pushing the piston 203 and clamping member 204 to move along the drive cavity 208 toward the elastic tube, and squeezing the elastic tube 206 to close its cavity.

[0046] The pinch valve provided in this embodiment allows pressurized gas to be stably delivered to the drive cylinder after passing sequentially through the sealed inlet, through-hole, and gas guide cylinder, providing driving pressure to the piston and clamping components. This driving pressure is positively correlated with the valve's pressure-bearing capacity. For example, experimental results show that when the driving pressure provided by the valve actuator 100 is 1.4 bar, the pinch valve can close the elastic tube, and at this time, the fluid pressure in the elastic tube that the valve can withstand is less than 1 bar. When the driving pressure is increased to 1.8 bar, the fluid pressure that the pinch valve can withstand increases to more than 2 bar, indicating that the increase in driving pressure enhances the valve's sealing performance, enabling it to handle higher pressure fluid media. Therefore, by using the pinch valve provided in this embodiment, the valve can be driven normally under various fluid pressures, achieving precise on / off control of the elastic tube (the fluid medium within). This process can match elastic tubes of different hardness and wall thickness without complex adjustments. For example, for elastic tubes with thicker walls and higher hardness, only a corresponding increase in pneumatic pressure is needed to obtain sufficient clamping force.

[0047] Furthermore, the core function of the pinch valve is to control the opening and closing of the elastic tube 206 through the stroke of the movable part (piston 203). When the stroke is sufficient, the clamping member 204 is fully released, allowing the elastic tube 206 to flow freely. When the stroke is insufficient, even in the "open" state, the clamping member 204 cannot fully retract, and will continue to apply slight pressure to the elastic tube 206, causing it to be "partially blocked" (the lumen is not fully open). This will affect the normal flow efficiency of the fluid in the elastic tube 206, resulting in unstable flow. This embodiment allows for flexible adjustment of the stroke distance (stroke) of the piston and clamping member based on different specifications of the elastic tube (for example, a larger diameter elastic tube requires more stroke to fully clamp or release), avoiding sealing failure or partial blockage due to stroke mismatch, thereby improving the adaptability of the pinch valve.

[0048] like Figure 5 As shown, this pinch valve can be used as an electro-pneumatic fluid valve. The working principle of its electro-pneumatic circuit is as follows: The control inlet is used to supply pressurized gas to control / drive the pinch valve. Therefore, the functional module leading to the control input of the pinch valve controls the gas pressure and its on / off state. The pressure source is the supply source of the pressurized gas, which can be a gas cylinder, compressor, compressed dry air (CDA) centralized gas supply system, or any other suitable gas source. The pressure regulator controls the gas pressure at its outlet, which can be monitored by a pressure measuring instrument; this pressure is the pressure received by the pinch valve at the control input. The three-way solenoid control valve controls the flow of pressurized gas into or out of the pinch valve. In this embodiment, the valve is a bistable solenoid valve with two coils: if the right coil is energized, Figure 5 The path (P)→(B) marked by the arrow in the right box will be closed, and pressurized gas will be delivered to the control input of the pinch valve. If the right coil is de-energized, the valve will remain in its current position and therefore no energy is required. If the left coil is energized, the path (B)→(S) will be opened, the pressure at the control input of the solenoid valve will be released, and the pinch valve will open accordingly.

[0049] In another embodiment, a vacuum source can be connected to the (S) port of the control solenoid valve to increase the opening speed of the pinch valve.

[0050] Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art can make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the scope defined in the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A clamp tube valve characterized by, include: A detachable valve connector and valve actuator are provided. The valve connector includes an elastic tube, a cover, and a connecting part, with the elastic tube located between the cover and the connecting part. The connecting part includes a drive cylinder and a gas guide cylinder. The inner cavity of the drive cylinder is provided with a clamping member for clamping the elastic tube and a piston for driving the clamping member to move. One end of the gas guide cylinder is connected to the drive cylinder, and the other end is a closed structure. The gas guide cylinder is provided with at least one set of through holes in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the piston. The valve actuator includes a receiving cavity for accommodating the connecting part. The receiving cavity includes a sealed air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the gas guide cylinder through the through holes.

2. The clamp valve of claim 1, wherein The sealed air inlet is a hollow annular cavity coaxially arranged with the accommodating cavity. The through hole is located within the coverage area of ​​the hollow annular cavity. The hollow annular cavity includes at least two dynamic sealing rings that can be sealed and fitted with the gas guiding cylinder.

3. The clamp valve of claim 2, wherein, The outer wall of the accommodating cavity is provided with an air inlet for supplying pressurized gas to the sealed air inlet section.

4. The clamp valve of claim 3, wherein, A spacer ring is provided between the at least two dynamic sealing rings, and the spacer ring has a notch at the position corresponding to the air inlet.

5. The pinch valve of claim 3, wherein, The air inlet is connected to an air inlet pipe.

6. The pinch valve of claim 1, wherein, The accommodating cavity includes a first cavity portion that matches the driving cylinder and a second cavity portion that matches the gas guiding cylinder, with the sealed air inlet portion located in the second cavity portion.

7. The pinch valve of claim 1, wherein, A detector is installed at the rear of the accommodating cavity of the valve actuator to detect whether the connecting part of the valve connector is inserted into the accommodating cavity; and / or, a position detector is installed inside the valve connector to detect the position of the piston or clamping member in the drive cylinder, thereby determining the on / off state of the elastic tube.

8. The clamp valve of claim 1, wherein, The diameter of the gas guiding cylinder is smaller than the diameter of the driving cylinder.

9. The pinch valve of claim 8, wherein, The gas guiding cylinder and the driving cylinder have a flared structure.

10. The clamp valve of claim 1, wherein The cover is provided with a protruding structure that cooperates with the clamping member to clamp the elastic tube.

11. The clamp valve according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The clamp valve is an electro-pneumatic fluid valve used in cell culture equipment to deliver the fluids required for cell culture.

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