Pinch Valve Housing With Guided Sliding Cover Reclosure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional pinch valve housings with sliding lids face challenges in safety and manageability, including high force absorption, difficulty in precise reclosure, risk of misalignment, and space requirements for hose insertion and removal.

Innovation Solution

A valve housing design incorporating a sliding lid with a hinge-like articulation, featuring longitudinally extending guide edges and grooves, and a bolt-sleeve mechanism that allows for axial and rotational movement, enabling secure closure and easy hose insertion/removal while preventing mechanical separation from the housing body.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a sliding cover is used to securely close the pinch valve, then safety and force distribution are improved, but handling and reclosure precision deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveclosure safetyVSAvoidhandling
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

A guide element with guide edge and guide groove creates an intermediary guiding mechanism between the cover and housing body. The guide edge of the cover engages with the guide groove in the housing body, providing precise alignment and positioning during reclosure operations, thereby improving handling precision without compromising the secure closure provided by the sliding cover design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Stability of the object's composition

If the guide edges engage tightly in the cover guide grooves to prevent play, then closure stability is improved, but insertion difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveclosure stabilityVSAvoidinsertion difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The guide groove is segmented into a first guide groove portion and a second guide groove portion with different orientations. The first portion receives the guide edge at an angle to facilitate easy insertion, while the second portion provides tight engagement perpendicular to the guide edge to ensure closure stability. This segmentation allows the same structure to provide both easy insertion and stable closure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If a conventional sliding cover is used, then force distribution is improved, but space requirements for hose insertion increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveforce distributionVSAvoidspace requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The cover is designed with dynamic positioning capability through the guide element mechanism. The cover can be positioned in multiple locations: fully closed position for secure closure with force distribution, and partially open position for hose insertion/removal. This dynamic positioning allows the sliding cover to maintain its force distribution advantages while reducing the space required for hose operations compared to complete removal requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

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 enhances safety by distributing normal forces uniformly and simplifies hose handling by allowing precise alignment and reduced space requirements for opening and closing, ensuring secure and efficient operation of the pinch valve.

Implementation Method 1

The guide edges (210) of the cover (200) are slidingly mounted on the housing body (100) by engaging the cover guide grooves (120) of the latter with one another

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Implementation Method 2

the guide (222) engages around the bolt (500) to form an axially and rotationally movable sliding bearing

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSliding bearing: Ball Bearing

Data Source

PatentEP4196707B1Housing
Publication Date: 2024.06.19 SARTORIUS STEDIM SYST GMBH
  • EP4196707B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4196707B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4196707B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a housing, comprising: - a housing body (100), which has an upper opening and two mutually opposite side walls (110), the upper edges of which side walls laterally delimit the opening and the inner faces of which side walls each bear a cover guide groove (120), the cover guide groove being near the upper edge in question and extending longitudinally; and - a plate-type cover (200) having lateral, longitudinally extending guide edges (210), the cover being slidably mounted on the housing body (100) by means of the engagement of the cover in the cover guide grooves (120) of the housing body (100). The invention is characterized in that the housing body (100) bears, on the outer face of one of the side walls (110), a pin (500) oriented parallel to the cover guide grooves (120), and the cover (200) bears a sleeve (222), which is fastened to a tab (220) protruding over the corresponding side-wall upper edge of the housing body (100) and is oriented coaxial to the pin (500) and which engages around the pin (500) so as to form an axially and rotationally movable plain bearing.