Filling Valve Bellows with Variable Wall Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic level filling valves with regular bellows require dismantling for cleaning due to trapped product in the bellows' folds, preventing effective in-place cleaning and leading to potential contamination, especially when filling consumable products.
Innovation Solution
A filling valve with a bellows having an annular side wall in a concertina formation with varying thickness, where the side wall is thicker at outer corners and thinner at inner corners, allowing for controlled deformation and preventing product trapping, enabling in-place cleaning by reverse flushing without dismantling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a regular bellows with constant side wall thickness is used, then the valve can be结构简单 (simple structure), but product is trapped within the folds of the bellows side wall during compression, preventing proper cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows side wall is designed with non-uniform thickness: thicker at outer corners for structural strength and thinner at inner corners to enable complete compression. This local variation in quality allows the inner corners to meet during compression, eliminating product-trapping folds while maintaining overall structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows structure transitions from symmetric constant thickness to asymmetric variable thickness, with different thicknesses at inner corners versus outer corners. This asymmetry enables the inner corners to converge during compression while outer corners maintain structural support, preventing product entrapment
2Reliability
If the valve is dismantled for cleaning, then thorough cleaning can be achieved, but production time is lost and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows structure enables self-cleaning capability by allowing complete compression that brings inner corners together, eliminating blind spots where product could be trapped. This self-service design allows cleaning fluid to flush through all surfaces without requiring dismantling
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of disassembling the valve for cleaning (traditional approach), the invention inverts the approach by designing the bellows to compress completely during normal operation, which simultaneously enables thorough cleaning in place by eliminating all hidden surfaces
3Ease of operation
If the bellows is compressed during cleaning, then in-place cleaning becomes possible, but the concertina formation deforms and may trap product
Solution Approach 1:
The non-uniform thickness distribution ensures that during compression, the thinner inner corners can meet completely while the thicker outer corners maintain structural integrity. This local quality differentiation prevents the formation of product-trapping folds while enabling complete compression for cleaning
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
Enables effective cleaning of the valve without removal from the filling machine, ensuring hygiene and preventing product loss during the cleaning process, while maintaining the valve's functionality and preventing further compression-induced leaks.
Implementation Method 1
a compressible bellows... the outer tube is biased by the compressible bellows... the container presses against a part of the outer tube to counteract the bias of the bellows—thereby causing the outer tube to slide along the inner tube
Implementation Method 2
the side wall has a non-constant thickness along its length, the side wall being thicker at the outer corners and thinner at the inner corners. The bellows may be adapted to be compressed during which major deformation of the concertina formation occurs at the inner corners, while restricted deformation of the concertina formation occurs at the outer corners
Data Source
AI summary
The invention discloses a valve including a valve body with a valve inlet and a valve outlet. The valve body is joined to a bellows between the valve inlet and the valve outlet, the bellows having an annular side wall formed in a concertina formation with inner and outer corners wherein the side wall has a non-constant thickness along its length, the side wall being thicker at the outer corners and thinner at the inner corners. The bellows further has an annular mounting base for attachment to the valve body. The valve body has an annular flange from which extends an upstanding collar, wherein the mounting base is clamped between the valve body and the collar. The mounting base has a width being wider than a gap formed between the valve body and the collar so that the mounting base is compressed when clamped between the valve body and the collar.