Irrigation Branch Pipe Fitting With Removable Ring Nut Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing irrigation system fittings for connecting branch pipes are permanent installations that cannot be easily removed or reused, leading to economic and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A fitting with a ring nut that allows for reusable connection of pipes, ensuring a secure seal and enabling easy installation, removal, and adaptation for various applications such as pipe extension or repair.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If one-piece fittings with sharp internal edges are used to connect branch pipes, then tightness and secure gripping are achieved, but the installation becomes permanent and cannot be removed for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into two separate components: a body fitting and a ring nut. The ring nut can be independently screwed onto the body fitting to secure the pipe, and then removed to release the pipe. This segmentation allows the pipe connection to be both secure during operation and easily removable for maintenance, resolving the contradiction between tightness and removability.
2Reliability
If permanent fittings are used to ensure secure pipe connection, then reliability is improved, but the entire fitting must be replaced when pipe removal is needed, increasing cost and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the fitting into a reusable body and a removable ring nut, the system allows maintenance of just the ring nut component rather than replacing the entire fitting. This reduces maintenance costs and complexity while maintaining connection security during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The ring nut is designed as a consumable component that can be removed, discarded, or replaced independently, while the body fitting is recovered and reused. This approach reduces overall maintenance costs by allowing selective replacement of only the necessary component.
3Ease of operation
If reusable fittings with ring nuts are used to enable easy removal, then ease of operation is improved, but the structural complexity increases compared to one-piece fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is segmented into a body and a ring nut, where the ring nut serves as a simple, standardized threaded component. This segmentation achieves removability while keeping each individual component structurally simple, avoiding excessive overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The ring nut serves multiple functions: it secures the pipe during operation, facilitates easy removal when needed, and can be independently replaced for maintenance. This multi-functionality justifies the additional component by consolidating multiple operational requirements into a single simple piece.
Data Source
AI summary
An internally hollow fitting for the passage of a liquid, in particular water, with a component to restrain unmovably a pipe of an irrigation system, wherein the restraining component of the pipe is carried by a ring nut screwing on an external thread of the at least one end of the fitting.