Horizontal Check Valve With Offset-Mass Blades for Low-Flow Closure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing check valves for horizontal pipelines in the chemical industry require actuating elements, which increase manufacturing costs, complexity, and are incompatible with aggressive media, necessitating alternative solutions that can operate without actuating elements and be easily installed in horizontal pipelines.
Innovation Solution
A self-acting check valve with asymmetrical valve blades, a shifted center of mass, and a convex inflow surface, allowing gravity to pivot the blades open and closed without actuating elements, made from plastics suitable for chemical environments, and a functional pipe design for easy installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If actuating elements (springs, pneumatic actuators) are used to reset check valves in horizontal pipelines, then the check valve can reliably close against backflow, but manufacturing costs increase and the device becomes incompatible with aggressive media due to corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes actuating elements (springs, pneumatic actuators) from the check valve system entirely. The valve uses only gravity-based closure through the weight of the valve body itself, eliminating components that cause corrosion and manufacturing complexity while maintaining reliable backflow prevention
Solution Approach 2:
The check valve performs self-resetting using its own weight and the flow medium. The valve body's gravity provides the closing force, and the flowing medium opens the valve, requiring no external actuators or additional energy sources, thus reducing manufacturing costs and improving compatibility with aggressive media
2Reliability
If actuating elements are used to open check valves, then the valve can close against backflow, but the design complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts all actuating elements from the check valve design, leaving only the essential valve body and closure mechanism. This simplification reduces design complexity while maintaining effective backflow prevention through gravity-based operation
Solution Approach 2:
The valve uses the flow medium itself to open and its own weight to close, eliminating the need for complex actuating mechanisms. This self-service approach dramatically simplifies the overall device design while ensuring reliable backflow prevention
3Ease of operation
If metallic actuating elements are used in check valves, then the valve can function in horizontal pipelines, but the elements corrode when exposed to aggressive media in the chemical industry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes all metallic actuating elements from the check valve system. By using only gravity-based closure through the valve body's own weight, the design eliminates corrosion-prone components while maintaining full functionality in horizontal pipelines with aggressive media
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material and force parameters by using non-metallic, corrosion-resistant materials for the valve body and using gravity rather than metallic springs. This parameter change ensures compatibility with aggressive chemical media while maintaining horizontal pipeline operation capability
4Ease of repair
If gravity-based non-return valves are used without actuating elements, then maintenance requirements are reduced, but the valves require vertical pipeline sections and large fluid flows to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an asymmetrical valve body design where the center of gravity is deliberately positioned to provide sufficient closing force in horizontal orientation. This asymmetrical configuration allows the valve to operate effectively in horizontal pipelines without requiring vertical sections, while still maintaining low maintenance requirements through the absence of actuating elements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by designing the valve to function in horizontal rather than vertical orientation. The valve body's weight and geometric configuration are optimized to provide adequate closing force in horizontal pipelines, eliminating the need for vertical sections and large fluid flows while maintaining ease of repair
5Reliability
If conventional check valves are used in horizontal pipelines, then backflow is prevented, but considerably higher fluid flows or pressures are required to fully open the valves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes actuating elements that create resistance to opening. By using only gravity-based closure through the valve body's own weight, the valve opens more easily at lower fluid flows and pressures while maintaining reliable backflow prevention when the flow decreases
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 solution provides a cost-effective, low-maintenance check valve that operates at low fluid flows with minimal impact on fluid flow, requiring no actuating elements and easy installation, suitable for horizontal pipelines in chemical industries.
Implementation Method 1
the center of gravity of the valve blades is shifted downwards in the direction of gravity, so that when there is no or only a small flow rate in the pipeline, the valve blades automatically pivot around their axis (fold downwards) and close the pipeline
Implementation Method 2
When the flow rate in the pipeline increases again, the valve blades pivot around their axis and open the pipeline
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The present invention relates to an automatic check valve (100) for use in a horizontal pipeline (1). The automatic check valve (100) has two valve blades (101), each extending in a longitudinal direction (LK) and a transverse direction (QK), and designed to pivot about a common axis of rotation (102). In particular, to enable the automatic check valve to be installed in a horizontal pipeline and reset without an actuating element, each valve blade (101) of the automatic check valve further has a center of mass that is arranged offset in the longitudinal direction (LK) from a central axis (m) passing through a center point (M) of a maximum longitudinal extent perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (LK).