Fluid Control Valve Radial Clearance Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fluid control valves, such as poppet valve types, face challenges in manufacturing cost and precision due to the need for complex machining and external clinching of components, which affects sealing performance and position accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A fluid control valve design featuring a shaft member with a cylindrical holding member and a housing that includes a protrusion for enhanced sealing, where the shaft member's second end portion has reduced diameters for contact with the holding member's protrusion, allowing for improved sealing without the need for external clinching, thus reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a through hole is machined at the end portion of the shaft member and a sphere is arranged thereat to enable the holding member to swing relative to the shaft member, then sealing performance is improved because the seal member is pressed against the valve seat over the entire circumference, but manufacturing cost increases and the process becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex sphere-and-through-hole mechanism from the shaft member. Instead of using a sphere arranged in a through hole to enable swinging motion, the patent uses a simpler cylindrical holding member with radial clearance that allows the shaft to move without requiring through-hole machining or sphere arrangement, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the sealing function
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional approach by not requiring the shaft member to have a through hole with a sphere, but rather having the holding member provide the swinging capability through radial clearance. This inversion simplifies the shaft member structure and eliminates the need for complex machining and assembly of spheres
2Ease of operation
If the holding member is clinched from the outside to secure the sphere, then the holding member can swing relative to the shaft member, but position accuracy of the clinched portion is required which makes the process difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the external clinching process and sphere-securing mechanism entirely. The swinging capability is achieved through the radial clearance between the cylindrical holding member and the shaft member, eliminating the need for precise position accuracy in clinching operations
Solution Approach 2:
The radial clearance structure enables the shaft member to swing automatically within the holding member without requiring external securing mechanisms like clinching. The structure itself provides the swinging capability through its geometric design, making the system self-sufficient
3Ease of manufacture
If external clinching is used to secure components, then assembly is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and position accuracy is required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the external clinching process from the manufacturing procedure. The cylindrical holding member with radial clearance provides assembly capability without requiring clinching operations, thereby reducing manufacturing process complexity and cost
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a simple cylindrical holding member structure that can be manufactured more economically compared to complex clinched assemblies with spheres. The design accepts a simpler, more cost-effective structure that achieves the necessary functionality without requiring precision clinching
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid control valve includes a shaft member configured to move along an axis by drive force from a drive source, and a holding member including a cylindrical portion in which a second end portion of the shaft member is placed by insertion with a predetermined clearance provided in a radial direction. The holding member includes a valve element and a seal member. The fluid control valve includes a housing including an inlet port, an outlet port and a valve seat. The cylindrical portion includes a protrusion protruding radially inward. The second end portion of the shaft member includes a first region including a first contact portion configured to be in contact with a bottom portion of the cylindrical portion. The second end portion of the shaft member includes a second region including a second contact portion being in contact with the protrusion.