Flexible Pipe Connector Ball Socket Misalignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Misaligned pipe segments in underground and industrial piping systems often lead to leakage, causing property damage and economic losses, as existing solutions require extensive excavation and repair for reconnection.
Innovation Solution
A flexible pipe connector featuring a ball and socket misalignment flange with an internal sleeve, allowing for pivotable connection of tubular members with spherical ends, enabling angular and rotational adjustments without the need for precise alignment, thus minimizing excavation and repair costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional rigid pipe connection methods are used, then pipe alignment precision is improved, but excavation and repair costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a ball and socket joint mechanism that allows dynamic adjustment of pipe alignment. The spherical interface enables the connected pipes to accommodate misalignment through rotational and angular movements, eliminating the need for rigid precise alignment while reducing excavation and repair requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the connection parameters from fixed rigid alignment to flexible angular and rotational degrees of freedom. The ball and socket joint transforms the alignment constraints into movable parameters, allowing pipes to connect at various angles and positions without requiring precise alignment.
2Ease of operation
If ball and socket flanges are used to join misaligned pipes, then flexibility and ease of installation are improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sealing mechanism as an intermediary element between the ball and socket joint components. This sealing interface ensures that even when pipes are misaligned and the joint is in a non-aligned position, the seal maintains its integrity and prevents leakage, thus preserving sealing reliability while allowing flexible installation.
3Manufacturing precision
If extensive excavation and repair are performed to realign pipes, then pipe alignment is improved, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates preliminary alignment compensation features in the ball and socket joint design. The flexible connection allows pipes to be connected in a misaligned state without requiring preliminary realignment through excavation, thus saving time and resources while maintaining functional alignment through the joint's inherent flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible pipe connector, including a tubular housing, a sleeve arranged within the tubular housing, the sleeve including a first end having a first spherical inner surface, the first spherical inner surface having a first inner radius, and a second end having a second spherical inner surface, the second spherical inner surface having a second inner radius, a first tubular member including a first spherical end and a first cylindrical end, the first spherical end having a first outer radius, smaller than the first inner radius, the first spherical end pivotably arranged in the first end, and a second tubular member including a second spherical end and a second cylindrical end, the second spherical end having a second outer radius, smaller than the second inner radius, the second spherical end pivotably arranged in the second end.