Check Valve with Segmented Movable Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid delivery systems face challenges in minimizing volume variations and back pressure, which affect the precision and efficiency of fluid delivery, particularly in applications like chemical reactions and protein synthesis, due to slow response times and potential chattering or slamming of check valves.
Innovation Solution
A check valve construction with two independent movable elements and a specially designed seat that reduces back pressure by controlling the gap between the movable elements and their cages, allowing for quick movement between open and closed positions, thereby minimizing back pressure and optimizing fluid flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a traditional check valve design is used, then the valve structure is simple, but the response time is slow and back pressure is high
Solution Approach 1:
The check valve is divided into two independent movable elements (first and second movable elements) that can move independently within their respective cages. This segmentation allows each element to respond to pressure changes separately, reducing overall response time and minimizing back pressure while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a third dimension for fluid flow by creating passages that allow fluid to flow around the movable elements (from front to rear or rear to front). This additional flow path dimension reduces back pressure on the movable elements, enabling faster response times without significantly increasing structural complexity.
2Speed
If the movable portion has large mass, then the valve is stable, but the response time increases and chattering occurs
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the valve into two independent movable elements with independent cages, each element has reduced mass compared to a single large movable portion. This reduces the momentum and force required to move each element, improving response time while the independent operation of each element maintains overall valve stability and prevents chattering.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage structure provides guiding and cushioning for the movable elements during their movement. The cage walls are positioned to provide support and minimize abrupt movements, preventing chattering and slamming while enabling quick response. This cushioning effect stabilizes the valve operation without increasing response time.
3Ease of operation
If the internal volume of the valve is increased, then the movable portion can move more freely, but the system volume increases and fluid delivery precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the radial dimension (front-to-rear flow around the movable elements) to provide additional movement space for the movable elements without increasing the axial length or overall valve volume. This allows the movable elements to move freely and respond quickly while maintaining a compact valve internal volume for precise fluid delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable elements are designed to move dynamically within compact cages that provide just enough clearance for rapid movement. The cages constrain the movable elements to specific movement paths, ensuring free movement during operation while minimizing the overall internal volume of the valve when the elements are in their closed positions.
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 enables faster and more precise fluid delivery with reduced back pressure, ensuring consistent discrete fluid volumes and minimizing chattering or slamming, thus enhancing the performance of fluid delivery systems.
Implementation Method 1
fluid communication between a leading surface and a rearward surface of the movable element when it is in the open position. This fluid communication functions both to permit fluid flow around the movable element and to reduce back pressure on the rearward surface of the movable element
Data Source
AI summary
A check valve construction is provided in which a moveable a movable ball having a convex surface resides in a cage having a conical frustum chamber and a seat for the ball. A fluid path between the ball and the cage is defined by the equation:G=Dcos(b-a)2cosb-d2whereinG is the gap of the narrowest passageway of the fluid path,D is the diameter of the small end of the conical frustum chamber of the cage,d is the diameter of the convex surface of the ball,a is the angle between a vertical diameter of the ball and the position of the narrowest gap on the convex surface of the ball, and,b is the angle between the vertical diameter of the movable element and the position of the small end of conical frustum chamber of the cage.