Hydraulic Pipe Stopper Locking for Consistent Pipeline Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe stoppers require significant manual force to operate and often result in inconsistent sealing, leading to fluid leaks due to user error and difficulty in properly engaging with the pipeline.
Innovation Solution
A pipe stopper assembly featuring an expandable stopper body and pressure assembly, which can be configured between expanded and contracted states, utilizing a piston and valve stem to control fluid flow and ensure a secure seal through a locking mechanism, allowing for easy operation and effective sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a manual pipe stopper is used to stop fluid flow, then the device structure is simple, but significant manual force is required and sealing consistency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs hydraulic principles where fluid pressure acts on a piston to generate mechanical force that expands the stopper body against the pipeline wall. This hydraulic force multiplication eliminates the need for significant manual force while maintaining structural simplicity of the overall device.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper body is designed with expandable segments that can dynamically change shape from a compact insertion state to an expanded sealing state. This dynamic transformation allows the stopper to adapt to pipeline variations and maintain consistent sealing without requiring precise manual positioning.
2Device complexity
If a manual pipe stopper is used to stop fluid flow, then the device structure is simple, but sealing consistency is poor due to user error
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper incorporates self-aligning features where the expandable body automatically positions itself against the pipeline wall through hydraulic pressure. The segmented design allows each segment to independently conform to the pipe surface, eliminating the need for precise manual alignment and ensuring consistent sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper utilizes changes in pressure parameters to control the expansion state. Hydraulic pressure serves as the control parameter that automatically adjusts the stopper's sealing force to match pipeline conditions, ensuring reliable sealing across varying operational parameters without manual intervention.
3Reliability
If an expandable stopper body with pressure assembly is used, then sealing consistency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper body is divided into multiple expandable segments that can independently conform to the pipeline surface. This segmentation allows each segment to self-align and seal, reducing the need for complex control mechanisms while improving sealing consistency across varying pipe conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure assembly serves multiple functions: it provides the expansion force, controls the sealing pressure, and can be integrated with the actuation mechanism. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving reliable sealing.
4Force
If significant manual force is applied to engage the pipe stopper, then the stopper can be inserted, but user error occurs and proper sealing is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
Hydraulic pressure is used to multiply the actuating force, allowing a small control force on the valve stem to generate sufficient expansion force against the pipeline. This force multiplication eliminates the need for significant manual insertion force while preventing user error through automated force application.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable stopper body adopts a curved or segmented geometry that naturally conforms to the cylindrical pipeline surface. This geometric design allows the stopper to engage the pipe wall through radial expansion rather than requiring axial insertion force, improving ease of operation and sealing 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 solution enables efficient and reliable stopping of fluid flow with reduced manual effort, ensuring a consistent and secure seal, thereby preventing leaks and improving operational safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure assembly configurable in an open configuration and a closed configuration and comprising a housing cavity; lowering the expandable stopper body of a pipe stopper into a pipe channel of a pipeline in the contracted configuration; orienting the pressure assembly in the open configuration, wherein an upper portion of the housing cavity is in fluid communication with an atmosphere external to the pipeline and a lower portion of the housing cavity is in fluid communication with the pipe channel; and biasing the expandable stopper body to the expanded configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe stopper includes an expandable stopper body defining a stopper cavity and configurable in an expanded configuration and a contracted configuration; a pressure assembly comprising a pressure housing and a piston, the piston slidably engaged with a housing cavity of the pressure housing, the piston operatively connected to the expandable stopper body; and a locking assembly comprising a locking rod and a locking device, a lower end of the locking rod disposed within the housing cavity, the locking rod further comprising a rod engagement mechanism, the locking device comprising a locking engagement mechanism; wherein the locking device is configurable in a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration, and wherein, in the locked configuration, the locking engagement mechanism engages the rod engagement mechanism to lock the expandable stopper body in the expanded configuration.