Coupler Assembly Misalignment Compensation via Curved Fitting Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid couplers face challenges in handling misalignment and bending moments due to cantilevered pipes, which can lead to improper sealing and increased stress on fittings and couplers.
Innovation Solution
A coupler assembly featuring a fitting ring with a split design, including a male thread that mates with female threads on the fluid fitting, and a combination of flat and curved annular shapes to accommodate misalignment, allowing for relative movement and reducing contact pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional rigid coupler is used to connect pipes and fittings, then the connection provides structural strength, but it cannot compensate for misalignment between components
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting ring incorporates a curved annular shape with a radius of curvature that allows angular misalignment compensation. This curved geometry enables the ring to flex and accommodate angular deviations between the pipe and fitting while maintaining a secure mechanical connection, thus providing both adaptability and strength simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The fitting ring transitions from a rigid structure to a dynamic component that can flex and move. The curved annular shape allows the ring to deform elastically within its elastic limit, enabling it to adapt to misalignment conditions while maintaining connection integrity. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between rigidity for strength and flexibility for misalignment compensation.
2Strength
If the coupler is designed with high strength to withstand tension forces, then it can bear heavy loads, but it becomes difficult to accommodate misalignment and bending moments
Solution Approach 1:
The curved annular shape of the fitting ring provides structural strength while simultaneously enabling misalignment accommodation. The curvature distributes stresses more evenly throughout the ring structure, maintaining strength under tension while allowing the ring to flex and accommodate angular and linear misalignments without compromising load-bearing capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fitting ring's geometric parameters, particularly the radius of curvature of the annular shape, are optimized to balance strength and adaptability. By carefully selecting these parameters, the ring can withstand high tension forces while maintaining sufficient flexibility to accommodate misalignment and bending moments from cantilevered pipes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the coupler uses a simple flat annular shape, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot compensate for angular and linear misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting ring employs a curved annular shape that, while more complex than a flat shape, provides significant misalignment compensation capabilities. The curvature is designed to be practical and manufacturable, balancing the added geometric complexity with substantial improvements in adaptability to misalignment conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved annular shape is applied specifically to the portion of the fitting ring that contacts the pipe, while other portions maintain simpler geometries. This localized application of curvature provides misalignment compensation where needed without unnecessarily complicating the entire fitting ring structure, thus managing device complexity while achieving adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A coupler assembly includes a fluid fitting formed with a first bore at one end thereof and a second bore at an opposite end thereof, both of the bores being formed with female threads. A fluid adaptor includes a neck portion ending in a terminal portion larger in diameter than the neck portion. A fitting ring secures the fluid adaptor to the fitting. The fitting ring includes a split ring that fits over the terminal portion. The fitting ring is formed with a male thread, which mates with the female thread of the second bore of the fitting. The fitting ring has a first inner portion with a flat annular shape and a second inner portion with a curved annular shape.