Bellows Pipe Seal for Misalignment-Tolerant Conveyor Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe connection devices, such as rotary tube distributors, struggle to reliably connect adjacent pipes due to positional deviations and alignment inaccuracies, as their seals can only move axially and fail to compensate for radial offsets and anti-parallelisms.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring an elastic and/or flexible sealant with a ring-like stiffener and pressure medium cylinders that can extend or retract to compensate for positional inaccuracies, ensuring a secure and airtight connection by automatically aligning the sealing surface with the contact means of the adjacent pipe.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If axial movement of seals is used for pipe connection, then the connection mechanism is simple, but positional deviations and alignment inaccuracies cannot be compensated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible sealing elements that can deform radially and axially to accommodate misalignments between pipes. The sealing elements are designed with flexible materials and structures that allow them to adapt to positional deviations while maintaining reliable sealing contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism transitions from static axial movement to dynamic multi-directional adaptation. The sealing elements can move not only axially but also radially and rotate to compensate for various types of misalignments, creating a dynamic sealing system that adapts to different connection conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid sealing surfaces are used, then manufacturing precision is easier to achieve, but alignment inaccuracies between pipes cannot be compensated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the sealing surfaces by using flexible materials that can alter their shape and position. The sealing elements can deform to change their contact parameters, allowing them to adapt to misalignments while maintaining effective sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sealing elements act as intermediaries between the rigid pipe ends. These intermediaries can deform and adapt to misalignments, mediating the connection between pipes with positional deviations while maintaining reliable sealing.
3Reliability
If manual alignment adjustment is used, then connection reliability can be improved, but automation and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is designed to self-align and self-adjust through the inherent flexibility of the sealing elements. When pipes are brought into approximate alignment, the flexible sealing elements automatically deform and adapt to compensate for remaining misalignments, eliminating the need for manual adjustment while maintaining reliable connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing elements dynamically change their physical parameters (shape, position, orientation) in response to misalignments, enabling automatic adaptation without manual intervention. This allows rapid connection while maintaining sealing reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides a reliable, automatic, and airtight seal between pipes, even with alignment issues, by using flexible sealants and pressure medium cylinders to adapt the sealing surface to the contact means, ensuring effective and consistent pipe connections.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible sealing means is capable of compensating for position and/or alignment inaccuracies between the first and second pipes
Implementation Method 2
pressure medium cylinders that can extend or retract to compensate for positional inaccuracies
Data Source
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AI summary
In conveyor systems for the pneumatic or gravity conveying of granular materials, it is necessary to connect a first pipe (14) for feeding the materials to a desired second pipe (24) for transporting or further conveying the materials. The invention provides a sealing device (32) at the end of the first pipe (14) for a simple and reliable connection of the opposing ends of the first pipe (14) to a selected second pipe (24). This sealing device includes an elastic sealing element (33). This sealing element (33) is designed like a bellows and can be moved by pressure cylinders (34) to the end of the second pipe (24) to create a tight connection by elastically deforming the sealing element (33). The elastic sealing element (33) results in a simple, reliably tight connection between the end of the first pipe (14) and the end of the second pipe (24).