Buoyant Switching Valve Layout for Reliable Wastewater Flow Routing

The valve chamber is designed with asymmetric volume distribution, creating a larger first volume and a smaller second volume. This asymmetry ensures that the buoyant valve closing body follows a predictable vertical path when floating, as the larger first volume provides sufficient space for the valve body to rise vertically without deviating toward the second outlet. This resolves the reliability issue while maintaining the simple buoyant actuation mechanism.

The inlet is positioned at the bottom of the valve chamber and the first outlet is positioned at the top, creating a vertical equipotential path for the buoyant valve closing body. This vertical arrangement ensures that the valve body naturally floats upward along a predictable path from the inlet region to the first outlet, improving control reliability while maintaining simple buoyant actuation without complex mechanical guides.

The valve closing body is made of flexible plastic material that can deform to conform to the sealing surface. This flexibility allows the valve body to achieve reliable sealing even with a relatively large clearance in the guide, as the flexible material can adapt to minor misalignments and maintain contact with the sealing surface. This reduces contamination sensitivity while preserving sealing precision.

The sealing mechanism relies on pressure-driven parameter changes rather than precise mechanical guidance. When water pressure builds up in the valve chamber, it forces the valve closing body against the sealing surface with sufficient force to achieve a tight seal. This pressure-based sealing approach tolerates larger guide clearances and is less sensitive to contamination compared to precision mechanical guidance.

The design uses buoyancy as a counteracting force to water pressure. The buoyant valve closing body naturally rises against the direction of water pressure, and this buoyant force works in conjunction with the water pressure to push the valve body against the sealing surface. This counterbalancing mechanism allows reliable sealing at lower pressures compared to systems that rely solely on high water pressure to overcome gravity and friction.

The system uses the water pressure itself to achieve sealing, but in a different manner than conventional designs. Rather than using high pressure to force the valve closed, the water pressure acts on the valve chamber to push the buoyant valve body upward against the sealing surface. The system serves itself by using its own operating fluid to achieve the sealing function, expanding applicability to various pressure conditions.

The design extracts the buoyancy function from the actuation mechanism and uses it as the primary actuation method. By removing the need for complex multi-coil electromagnetic actuation systems, the patent simplifies the device while maintaining operational versatility. The buoyant valve body naturally responds to water pressure changes to achieve the desired valve positioning, eliminating the need for additional magnetic coils.

The patent replaces complex electromagnetic actuation mechanisms with a simpler buoyancy-based mechanical system. Instead of using multiple magnetic coils to control valve position, the design uses the natural buoyancy of the valve closing body in water to achieve automatic positioning and sealing. This substitution of mechanical principles simplifies the overall device structure while maintaining functional versatility.