Check valve cartridge with flow guide for compact backflow prevention assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing backflow prevention assemblies are cumbersome, difficult to manufacture, assemble, and repair, leading to time-consuming maintenance and potential contamination risks, with issues related to flow turbulence and pressure drop.
Innovation Solution
A compact valve assembly with a standardized check valve cartridge and modular flow guides that facilitate easier installation, reduce assembly errors, and minimize pressure drop, featuring a bucket body with integral or separate flow guides that ensure smooth fluid transition and adaptability to different diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If traditional BFP assemblies are used with inclined barrels, then backflow prevention function is achieved, but the assembly length becomes excessive and flow turbulence increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow guide redirects fluid flow from a traditional inclined barrel path to a three-dimensional path that enters horizontally through the sidewall and directs flow along the bucket axis. This dimensional change eliminates the need for excessive assembly length while preventing flow turbulence through smooth transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow guide acts as an intermediary component between the inlet conduit and the valve seat, providing a smooth transition path that eliminates direct turbulent flow. The flow guide mediates the fluid flow, reducing turbulence and pressure drop while maintaining compact dimensions.
2Reliability
If check valve needs repair or replacement in traditional BFP assemblies, then backflow prevention can be restored, but the process is time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The check valve is segmented into a modular cartridge assembly that includes the valve member, valve seat, and flow guide as an integrated unit. This cartridge can be quickly removed and replaced without disassembling the entire BFP assembly, significantly reducing repair time while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge assembly is designed as a universal module that can be standardized across different BFP assembly configurations. The standardized cartridge with integrated flow guide can be quickly swapped to restore backflow prevention operation without requiring complex repairs.
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized check valve cartridge is used, then manufacturing and repair are simplified, but adaptability to different diameter systems must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The flow guide is designed with a universal configuration that can adapt to different conduit diameters while maintaining the same cartridge assembly design. The flow guide's geometry allows it to work with various inlet sizes, enabling a single standardized cartridge to serve multiple diameter systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow guide geometry incorporates parameter variations that allow adaptation to different diameter systems. By adjusting specific dimensional parameters of the flow guide while maintaining the overall design, the same cartridge assembly can be used across different conduit sizes.
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 solution simplifies manufacturing, assembly, and repair processes, reduces downtime, and minimizes pressure drop, while ensuring effective backflow prevention with reduced material usage and tooling costs, maintaining fluid safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a valve member biased against the valve seat
Implementation Method 2
The guide advantageously forms a smooth transition area from the first opening to the second opening
Data Source
AI summary
A valve assembly having a body forming a bucket having a sidewall extending between an open end and a closed end along a bucket axis. A first conduit and a second conduit extend from the sidewall, wherein the first and the second conduits extend along a conduit axis that is perpendicular to the bucket axis. A frame inserts into the bucket along the bucket axis and includes a valve seat and a valve member biased against the valve seat. A guide is provided in the bucket between the closed end and the frame and extends along a guide axis between a first opening arranged in a first plane and aligned to receive fluid flow from the first conduit and a second opening arranged in a second plane and aligned to direct fluid flow through the valve seat. The first and second planes are not parallel to one another.