Hinged Valve Locking Structure for Low-Torque Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hinged valves for intermediate bulk containers suffer from poor sealing and high resistance forces due to friction, leading to unintentional opening or leakage issues.
Innovation Solution
A hinged valve design featuring a valve body, valve spool, actuator, and sliding member with a locking mechanism, where the valve spool is rotatable around a hinge, and a locking post and hook system ensures secure closure, combined with a reinforcing structure and elastic components for reduced opening and closing torque.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a butterfly valve with a rotating shaft and valve spool is used, then the valve can be opened and closed, but the sealing is poor and the resistance force is great
Solution Approach 1:
The valve spool is separated from the rotating shaft connection, with the valve spool hinged to the valve body and the shaft only driving the actuator. This segmentation eliminates the direct connection between the rotating shaft and valve spool, removing the source of friction and sealing problems while maintaining operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional connection mechanism between the rotating shaft and valve spool is extracted and replaced with a hinged connection. The shaft remains only for actuator operation, while the valve spool is independently hinged to the valve body, extracting the problematic friction interface while preserving the opening/closing function.
2Reliability
If a butterfly valve with sealing ring friction is used, then the valve can seal, but the resistance force for opening and closing is great
Solution Approach 1:
The friction interface between the sealing ring and rotating shaft is extracted by decoupling the shaft from the valve spool operation. The shaft now only operates the actuator without direct contact with the valve spool sealing surfaces, eliminating the source of high resistance force while maintaining sealing through the hinged connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinged connection acts as an intermediary between the actuator and valve spool, replacing the direct friction-based sealing interface. This intermediary mechanism transmits the opening/closing motion without the high friction forces that previously existed between the rotating shaft and sealing ring.
3Force
If existing hinged valves are used to reduce resistance force, then opening and closing force is lower, but the valve may be unintentionally opened or leakage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism with locking post, locking hook, and locking ledge provides preliminary anti-action against unintended opening or leakage. These locking elements are positioned to engage before any unintended movement can occur, preventing the harmful effect of accidental valve opening while maintaining the low resistance force advantage of the hinged design.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking elements (locking post, locking hook, locking ledge) are pre-positioned to engage automatically when the valve reaches the closed position. This preliminary action ensures the valve is secured against unintended opening before any operational stress or external forces are applied, maintaining both low operating force and high reliability.
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 design provides reliable locking and sealing, reducing unintentional opening and leakage while maintaining efficient operation with lower opening and closing forces.
Implementation Method 1
the locking post is provided with a locking boss, the locking hook is provided with a locking-ledge, when the valve is in the closed state, the valve spool is locked to the valve body by the locking hook and the locking post, and the locking-ledge on the locking hook and the locking boss on the locking post cooperate with each other
Implementation Method 2
the valve spool is connected to the valve body through a hinge, so that the valve spool is rotatable around a rotation axis of the hinge
Implementation Method 3
the actuator cooperates with the sliding member, so that the rotational movement of the valve stem is transmitted to the valve spool through the actuator via the sliding member and is converted into a movement that drives the valve spool to rotate around the rotation axis of the hinge
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention discloses an hinged valve. The hinged valve includes a valve body, a valve stem, a valve spool, an actuator and a sliding member. The valve body is a housing, which is formed with a valve stem hole for partially accommodating the valve stem. A passage having an inlet and an outlet is formed in the housing. The valve spool is connected to the valve body through a hinge, so that the valve spool is able to rotate around the rotation axis of the hinge. The actuator cooperates with the sliding member, so that the rotational movement of the valve stem is transmitted to the valve spool through the actuator via the sliding member and converted into a movement that drives the valve spool to rotate around the rotation axis of the hinge to open or close the valve. The valve spool is provided with a locking post, the bottom end of the valve stem is provided with a locking hook. A locking boss is provided on the locking post, and a locking-ledge is provided on the locking hook. When the valve is in the closed state, the valve spool is locked to the valve body by the locking hook and the locking post, and the locking-ledge on the locking hook and the locking boss on the locking post cooperate with each other. The valve of the application has a more reliable locking and a more reliable sealing.