Flat-Face Fluidic Connection for Tool-Free High-Pressure Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fluidic connection systems for high-pressure applications, such as liquid chromatography, require additional tools and can be prone to over-tightening or under-tightening, leading to leaks or damage, and often rely on ferrules that deform with repeated use, making them inefficient and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A fluidic connection system using a nut with an externally threaded portion and a tube with an inner and outer layer, where the outer layer is metal and the inner layer is biocompatible, such as PEEK, allowing for a seal to be formed without ferrules or locking rings, enabling manual connection and disconnection with minimal torque and without tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ferrule-based connection systems are used, then sealing capability is achieved, but the system requires additional tools and is prone to over-tightening or under-tightening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the ferrule component from the connection system, replacing it with a direct face-to-face sealing interface between the tube end and the port. This extraction eliminates the need for additional tools and reduces the complexity of the tightening process while maintaining sealing capability through the flat face geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a ferrule that deforms to create a seal, the patent inverts the approach by using a flat face on the tube end that directly contacts a flat sealing surface on the port. This reversal of the sealing mechanism eliminates the need for complex tightening procedures and tool requirements.
2Reliability
If ferrules are used for sealing, then connection reliability is improved, but ferrules deform with repeated use making them inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the ferrule component entirely, replacing it with a direct face sealing interface. This removal prevents the deformation issues associated with repeated ferrule use while maintaining connection reliability through the robust flat-face-to-flat-face sealing geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sealing mechanism from deformable ferrule material to rigid flat face geometry. This parameter change from material deformation to geometric contact improves durability for repeated use while maintaining sealing effectiveness through precise flat surface alignment.
3Reliability
If conventional connection systems are used, then sealing is achieved, but tool requirement and risk of damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the ferrule and associated complex tightening mechanisms, replacing them with a simple flat-face sealing interface that can be connected and disconnected by hand without tools, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining sealing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat face sealing design allows the connection system to be easily connected and disconnected by hand without requiring external tools, making the system self-sufficient and reducing the need for additional equipment while maintaining reliable sealing.
4Ease of operation
If manual connection is attempted with conventional systems, then tool-free operation is achieved, but torque control becomes difficult leading to leaks or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the sealing approach from deformable ferrule tightening to rigid flat-face contact, which naturally provides torque control through the geometry of the flat surfaces. This allows manual connection without tools while maintaining connection integrity through the stable face-to-face sealing interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat face sealing design enables the connection to be made and broken by hand without tools, with the geometry of the flat surfaces providing inherent torque control that prevents over-tightening or under-tightening, ensuring reliable connection integrity through manual operation alone.
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 system provides a reliable, tool-free, and efficient sealing connection capable of withstanding pressures up to 25,000 psi, reducing the risk of damage and improving user safety and efficiency in high-pressure applications.
Implementation Method 1
allowing for a seal to be formed without ferrules or locking rings
Implementation Method 2
enabling manual connection and disconnection with minimal torque and without tools
Implementation Method 3
capable of withstanding pressures up to 25,000 psi
Data Source
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AI summary
A tubing or fitting assembly has an inner tube layer, an outer tube layer, a sleeve, a tip portion, and can have a nut. Each of the nut, sleeve, inner and outer tubing layers, and tip portion have a passageway therethrough, with at least the passageways in the sleeve, tip portion, outer tube layer, and nut adapted to allow the inner tube layer to pass therethrough or extend over the inner layer. The tip portion can be molded over an end portion of the inner tube layer and also over a portion of the sleeve. The ends of the tip portion and inner layer together define a substantially flat surface which can form a seal in a flat-bottomed port of a component such as may be found in any one of a number of components in an analytical instrument system, including for example a liquid chromatography system.