Frangible Air Brake Valve Fitting for Easier Reservoir Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air brake valves are difficult to replace due to damage from debris impact or vibration, as the damaged valves often break away from their installation location, leaving the threaded portion behind, which complicates the installation of new valves and may require replacing the entire air brake reservoir.
Innovation Solution
The air brake valve features an inlet port with a threaded portion and a hex portion that includes a frangible feature at its midpoint, allowing the valve to break cleanly upon impact or extreme vibration, facilitating easy removal and replacement without needing to remove the entire reservoir.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the valve is designed with a threaded portion for secure mounting, then the valve remains firmly attached during operation, but when damaged the valve may break away leaving the threaded portion behind, complicating replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet fitting is segmented into two distinct portions: a threaded portion for secure mounting and a hex portion for tool engagement. This segmentation allows the hex portion to break away at the frangible feature while leaving the threaded portion intact in the reservoir, enabling easy removal of broken fragments and simplifying valve replacement procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The hex portion is extracted as a separate, removable component from the inlet fitting. By making the hex portion frangible and separable from the threaded portion, the design allows the hex portion to be easily removed after breakage, eliminating the need to replace the entire reservoir and reducing repair complexity
2Strength
If the valve body is made robust to withstand impact, then the valve can resist debris impact, but the valve may still break away from the installation location under extreme force
Solution Approach 1:
The frangible feature converts the harmful effect of extreme impact forces into a beneficial outcome by allowing controlled breakage at a predetermined weak point. When debris impact or vibration exceeds normal thresholds, the hex portion breaks away at the frangible feature, protecting the main valve body and threaded portion from catastrophic failure while enabling easy replacement
3Ease of operation
If the hex portion is made large for tool engagement, then standard tools can be used for installation and removal, but the hex portion occupies more space and may interfere with valve mounting locations
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the inlet fitting into separate threaded and hex portions, the design allows the hex portion to be optimized for tool engagement without compromising the mounting space requirements. The hex portion can be sized appropriately for wrench engagement while the threaded portion maintains the necessary thread engagement length in the reservoir
Data Source
AI summary
A valve for an air brake system on a commercial vehicle comprises a body, an inlet port connected to the body and at least one delivery port connected to the body. The inlet port has a threaded portion distal to the body and a hex portion proximate to the body. The hex portion includes a frangible feature in substantially the mid-point of the hex portion such that the valve can easily be removed from an air brake reservoir when the valve is broken at the frangible feature.