Inline Aseptic Valve Cam-Actuated Liner Squeezing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inline valves for aseptic applications, such as pinch valves, suffer from early failure due to uneven stress and strain on elastic materials and contamination issues from crevices, making them unsuitable for sterile environments.
Innovation Solution
An inline valve assembly featuring a flexible tubular liner with laterally movable pins constrained by guides and cam members that apply identical squeezing forces to both sides of the liner, preventing over-squeezing and contamination, while ensuring a crevice-free design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pinch valve is used with a passageway within an elastic tube pinched closed from one side, then the valve can restrict flow through the passageway, but the side wall is deformed or stretched the full diameter of the tube causing stress and strain on the elastic material leading to early failure
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is divided into two separate halves that can be assembled around the elastic tube liner. This segmentation allows the tube to be pinched from both sides simultaneously rather than from one side, distributing the stress evenly across the material and preventing the full-diameter deformation that causes early failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pinching action is applied locally at specific points around the tube circumference through the two valve halves, rather than deforming the entire side wall. This localized application of force concentrates the closing action where needed while preserving the overall structural integrity of the elastic material.
2Reliability
If a pinch valve is used with crevices in the structure, then the valve can be simple in design, but contamination can collect in the crevices making them difficult to maintain and less desirable for aseptic environments
Solution Approach 1:
The design eliminates crevices and hidden spaces where contamination could collect by using a streamlined, crevice-free construction. The two valve halves are designed to mate closely around the liner, and internal surfaces are configured to prevent accumulation of contaminants, making the valve suitable for aseptic environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body halves, liner, and sealing surfaces are integrated into a unified crevice-free structure. The design merges multiple components into a configuration where surfaces are continuously sloped or rounded to prevent contamination accumulation, eliminating the need for separate cleaning mechanisms.
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 valve assembly extends the life of the liner by evenly distributing stress, prevents contamination, and maintains fluid tightness under high pressures, making it suitable for aseptic environments with reduced risk of failure and contamination.
Implementation Method 1
cam members rotatable about an axis parallel to the pins for urging the pins together to squeeze both sides of the liner in a substantially identical manner
Implementation Method 2
guides constraining the pins for movement perpendicular to the axis of the passageway
Data Source
AI summary
Inline valve assembly having a body with an axial bore and guide slots extending in a direction perpendicular to the bore, a flexible tubular liner having an axially extending flow passageway with a generally cylindrical side wall disposed in and supported by the bore, throttling pins mounted in the guide slots in engagement with the side wall on opposite sides of the liner, and cam members rotatively mounted on the valve body for urging the pins together against the side wall to restrict flow through the passageway.