Emergency Door Actuation With Quick Gas Venting Reset
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency door actuation systems waste pressurized gas and require excessive venting time, leading to delays in reclosing doors during emergencies.
Innovation Solution
An emergency actuation device with a percussion device and a pressure quick release valve (PQRV) that efficiently uses pressurized gas to open doors and quickly returns to atmospheric pressure, minimizing gas waste and venting time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If pressurised gas is supplied to the actuator chamber to open the door rapidly, then the door opening speed is improved, but the time required to vent the gas and reclose the door increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the gas flow control into two distinct functions: the percussion device rapidly introduces pressurized gas to the actuator chamber for door opening, while the PQRV separately and rapidly vents the gas from the actuator chamber. This segmentation allows the opening and venting operations to be optimized independently, resolving the contradiction between rapid door opening and quick reclosing.
Solution Approach 2:
The PQRV is pre-configured with a direct path to atmospheric pressure, so that immediately upon activation (when the actuator piston moves), the venting action begins without delay. This preliminary preparation of the venting path ensures that gas evacuation starts instantly, minimizing the time loss for reclosing the door while maintaining rapid door opening capability.
2Reliability
If excess pressurised gas is supplied to ensure rapid door opening, then the reliability of door opening is improved, but the amount of gas waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The PQRV extracts and removes the excess pressurized gas from the actuator chamber immediately after the door opening function is accomplished. By actively removing the gas rather than allowing it to remain in the system, the design ensures reliable door opening with minimal gas waste, as only the necessary amount of gas is retained in the chamber while the excess is rapidly vented to atmosphere.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressurized gas that would normally be considered waste or excess is converted into a beneficial rapid venting action. The PQRV uses the presence of pressurized gas to drive its venting function, transforming the potential harm of gas waste into the benefit of rapid atmospheric pressure equalization, enabling quick door reclosing while maintaining opening reliability.
3Ease of operation
If a membrane is used to inhibit gas flow during normal operation, then the normal door operation is maintained, but the gas must be completely vented before door reclosing
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamic control of gas flow paths: during normal operation, the percussion device maintains a blocked state (similar to membrane inhibition) allowing normal door operation; upon emergency activation, the PQRV dynamically switches to an open state, creating a rapid venting path. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to adapt its gas flow characteristics to the operational mode, enabling both normal operation and rapid reclosing.
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 allows doors to be reclosed quickly after activation by utilizing only the necessary amount of pressurized gas, reducing the time required to return to atmospheric pressure and enabling rapid door closure.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator including: an actuator chamber, an actuator piston moveable between a retracted position and a fully extended position to open the door
Implementation Method 2
a vent for venting the actuator chamber when the actuator piston is in its extended position
Implementation Method 3
a percussion device including a percussion piston moveable on activation of the percussion device from a storage position in which the pressurised gas supply is isolated from the actuator
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
There is provided an emergency actuation device (1) for opening a door (70), the emergency actuation device comprising: at least one pressurised gas supply (2); an actuator (30) including: an actuator chamber (32), an actuator piston (34) moveable between a retracted position and a fully extended position to open the door (70), a vent (38) for venting the actuator chamber (32) when the actuator piston (34) is in its extended position. The emergency actuation device further comprising a percussion device (10) including a percussion piston (14) moveable on activation of the percussion device between: a storage position in which the pressurised gas supply (2) is isolated from the actuator (30) and an activated position in which the pressurised gas supply (2) is coupled to the actuator (30). The actuator (30) is coupled to the percussion device; and the actuator (30) is configured such that movement of the actuator piston (34) towards its activated position resets the percussion piston.