Excess Flow Valve Assembly With Window-Prong Installation Indicator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow safety valves are either costly and complex to assemble or experience pressure drops due to orifice restrictions, and disassemblable valves may malfunction if components are not properly assembled.
Innovation Solution
A valve assembly with a movable plunger, spring, and a unique mating mechanism using windows and prongs allows for easy assembly and disassembly without destruction, ensuring proper function and resistance to pressure drops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flow safety valves are permanently assembled structures, then they are tamper-proof and reliable, but they are costly to manufacture and complex to assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The valve assembly is divided into separable components: a valve body and a valve member that can be disassembled and reassembled. The valve member includes a plunger with a valve member body and a valve member end, which can be separated from the valve body and reconnected through the window-prong mating mechanism, eliminating the need for permanent assembly while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The window-prong mating mechanism serves as an intermediary structure that enables reversible connection between the valve body and valve member. The prongs on the valve member body engage with windows in the valve body to maintain proper positioning during assembly and disassembly, providing a controlled interface that ensures correct reassembly without requiring permanent bonding
2Ease of manufacture
If flow safety valves can be disassembled, then they are easier to manufacture and maintain, but they experience pressure drops due to orifice restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The valve member is designed to be dynamically positionable within the valve body, moving between open and closed positions without creating restrictive orifices. The plunger can be positioned at multiple locations along the flow path, allowing full-bore flow when open and eliminating fixed orifice restrictions that cause pressure drops in traditional disassemblable valves
3Reliability
If disassemblable valves use multiple elements like snap rings, then they ensure proper component location, but they require increased assembly steps and may malfunction if elements are omitted
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional fastening elements such as snap rings are completely removed from the assembly. The window-prong mating mechanism provides inherent positioning and retention functionality through the geometric relationship between the prongs on the valve member body and the windows in the valve body, eliminating the need for separate retention elements
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning and retention functions previously performed by separate elements like snap rings are merged into the primary valve member body structure. The prongs are integrated directly into the valve member body, combining the functions of component positioning, retention, and identification into a single unified structure
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 assembly can be easily assembled and disassembled, maintaining functionality and preventing fluid escape during pressure changes, while avoiding the issues of complex assembly and pressure drops.
Implementation Method 1
a spring positioned between the movable plunger and the valve body, the spring being configured to bias the movable plunger toward the valve inlet
Data Source
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AI summary
A valve assembly that includes a valve housing and a valve body that is configured to be mated with the valve housing. The valve housing includes at least one window that extends through a wall of the valve housing, and the valve body includes at least one prong that is configured to mate with the window when the valve body is mated with the valve housing.