Fluid Distributor Valve With Minimum Gap for Precise Water Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current water purification and dispensing systems face challenges in accurately controlling the flow rate of purified water from a high treatment throughput to a drop-by-drop rate, with issues including small stroke lengths in valve mechanisms, calibration difficulties, and delays in dispensing low flow rates, especially in achieving precise dispensing of ultrapure water.
Innovation Solution
A fluid distributor valve with sliding valve bodies and a progressively changing diameter to maintain a minimum valve gap, allowing precise control of flow rates from 0 to 100% of the inlet flow, and an integrated drive actuator for accurate operation, ensuring continuous flow even at extreme end positions without full valve closure, thus avoiding breaking delays and maintaining precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional valve mechanism with full closure is used, then the valve can be fully closed to stop flow, but it causes breaking delays and delays in dispensing low flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allowing full closure of the valve body to the valve seat, the invention inverts the approach by maintaining a minimum gap even at the end position. The valve body is designed with a progressively changing diameter that retains a minimum valve gap, preventing full contact and eliminating the breaking delay that occurs in conventional valves when trying to dispense very low flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body diameter is changed along its stroke direction, creating a progressively changing diameter from maximum at the inlet end to minimum at the outlet end. This parameter change ensures that even when the valve body is at its end position, a minimum gap remains between the valve body and valve seat, allowing continuous flow without breaking delays.
2Measurement precision
If the valve body is manually driven for precise positioning, then small flow rates can be controlled, but it is not precisely repeatable and difficult for setting extremely small flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces manual mechanical positioning with an electric motor drive system. The motor-driven valve shaft provides precise, repeatable positioning of the valve body through controlled motor movement, eliminating the imprecision and unrepeatability of manual operation while making it easier to set extremely small flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a control unit that automatically controls the motor drive based on desired flow rate settings. This self-service approach allows the system to automatically position the valve body to achieve the desired flow rate without requiring manual adjustment, improving both precision and ease of operation.
3Length of moving object
If a small stroke length is used in the valve mechanism, then the valve can be compact, but it is difficult to accurately link valve body position to a particular flow rate
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is designed with a progressively changing diameter along its stroke direction. This means that for a given stroke length, the change in flow area is distributed non-uniformly, with the majority of flow control occurring over a smaller portion of the stroke. This allows accurate flow rate control even with limited stroke length, as the critical flow regulation happens where the diameter changes most rapidly.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of controlling flow rate solely through stroke length (one dimension), the invention introduces the diameter variation along the stroke as an additional dimension of control. The combination of stroke position and local diameter creates a more nuanced control mechanism that achieves precise flow rate control within a compact stroke length.
4Productivity
If full valve closure is achieved, then the valve can completely stop flow, but it causes difficulty in dispensing extremely small flow rates and requires frequent calibration
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the conventional approach of achieving flow control through full closure. Instead, it maintains a minimum gap that prevents complete closure, allowing the valve to dispense extremely small flow rates continuously without the need to fully close and reopen. This eliminates the breaking delay and reduces the need for frequent calibration to maintain precision at very low flow rates.
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 achieves precise and accurate dispensing of purified water from drop-by-drop to maximum flow rates, reducing pressure drop and maintaining flow rates close to zero without the issues of full valve contact, enhancing responsiveness and precision, particularly important for ultrapure water applications.
Implementation Method 1
a valve body (15, 16) slidable in a cylindrical valve bore (17) in reciprocating strokes... includes a first portion (15a, 16a) that is formed with a progressively changing diameter so as to reduce a valve gap that exists between the valve bore inner peripheral wall and the valve body outer peripheral wall... to reduce or increase the flow rate towards the associated outlet port
Data Source
Figure 1a~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5a~5b
AI summary
A fluid distributor valve (1) for repartitioning an inlet fluid stream (Z) into two outlet fluid streams (X, Y), comprising an inlet port (10), two outlet ports (11, 12), a first and a second valve mechanism (13, 14), one arranged upstream each outlet port (11, 12), wherein each valve mechanism (13, 14) comprises a valve body (15, 16) slidable in a cylindrical valve bore (17) in reciprocating strokes through a valve shaft (18), wherein the valve body (15, 16) includes a first portion (15a, 16a) that is formed with a progressively changing diameter so as to reduce a valve gap between the valve bore inner peripheral wall and the valve body outer peripheral wall at a plane (A, B) perpendicular to the stroke direction, in a regular operating range of the valve mechanism (13, 14), from a maximum valve gap to a minimum valve gap, to reduce or increase the flow rate through the gap towards the associated outlet port (11, 12) upon the relative movement, and wherein at least one of the valve bodies (15, 16) of the valve mechanisms (13, 14), preferably both, is/are formed such that the minimum valve gap is maintained at the end position of the stroke of the valve body (15, 16) in the regular operating range.