Floating Valve Plate in Hand-Operated Piston Pump
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hand-operated piston pumps for directional control in watercraft and boats are complex and expensive due to high construction accuracy requirements, leading to high manufacturing and maintenance costs, particularly in the production of the valve plate which is often integrated with the base.
Innovation Solution
The valve plate is designed to float relative to the upper flange with O-ring seals, allowing for reduced construction accuracy and lower costs, with a locking ring providing pre-stress to the seals for hydraulic sealing, and a helical spring facilitating the disengagement of the drive shaft from the rotor for improved assembly and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the valve plate is integrated with the base in a single construction piece, then structural strength and sealing reliability are improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The valve plate is separated from the base into distinct components. The valve plate is mounted on the base through a mounting arrangement that allows independent manufacturing of each part, reducing fabrication complexity while maintaining sealing reliability through proper mounting interfaces and sealing elements.
Solution Approach 2:
A mounting arrangement acts as an intermediary between the valve plate and base. This intermediate structure provides the necessary sealing interface and mechanical connection, ensuring reliable fluid sealing without requiring the valve plate and base to be integrated into a single monolithic component.
2Reliability
If high construction accuracy is required for continuous smooth operation, then operational reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arrangement incorporates elastic sealing elements that can accommodate variations in dimensional parameters. This allows the system to maintain reliable operation even with moderate construction accuracy, as the elastic elements compensate for tolerances through their deformability, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting arrangement uses composite construction combining rigid structural components with elastic sealing elements. This composite approach allows the rigid parts to provide structural integrity while the elastic elements accommodate dimensional variations, maintaining operational reliability without requiring high-precision manufacturing of all components.
3Ease of manufacture
If the valve plate is made as a separate component with floating mounting, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but sealing effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arrangement serves as an intermediary that ensures effective sealing between the separate valve plate and base. It incorporates sealing elements that maintain hydraulic sealing effectiveness despite the components being manufactured separately, thus reducing manufacturing cost without compromising sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating mounting allows the valve plate to move slightly relative to the base, and the elastic sealing elements dynamically adjust to maintain sealing contact. This dynamic capability ensures that sealing effectiveness is maintained even when components are separately manufactured and assembled, as the elastic elements compensate for position variations.
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
This design reduces manufacturing costs and ensures effective hydraulic sealing, allowing for efficient operation with lower construction accuracy, while modular features simplify assembly and maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
O-ring seals or the like being interposed between the valve plate and the upper flange, such that the valve plate is separate from the upper flange
Implementation Method 2
a locking ring providing pre-stress to the seals for hydraulic sealing
Implementation Method 3
a helical spring facilitating the disengagement of the drive shaft from the rotor
Data Source
AI summary
A hand-operated piston pump includes a drive shaft and a rotor mounted in a housing case, the rotor having axial compression chambers, a piston biased by an elastic member sliding in each compression chamber and having a projecting end that engages a cam track; a fluid reservoir in the housing case; a valve plate downstream of the rotor having conduits for a pressurized fluid that communicate with conduits in walls of the compression chambers, the valve plate being non-rotatably mounted below the housing case and communicating with conduits that carry the pressurized fluid to and from a consuming unit through an interposed check valve inserted in a corresponding valve body, the valve body having an upper flange with fluid supply and return channels communicating with the fluid conduits of the valve plate. The valve plate floats relative to the upper flange and is separated therefrom by a separating member.