Pipe Coupling Structure With Internal Support for Low-Cost Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pipe coupling members have high manufacturing costs due to material wastage and complex cutting processes, making it difficult and costly to replace individual components like valve elements or seals without replacing the entire unit.
Innovation Solution
A pipe coupling member design featuring a cylindrical coupling body with a deformed portion forming a locking element latching surface, supported by an internal cylindrical support member, allowing for a thin-walled structure formation through plastic deformation, reducing material waste and manufacturing costs, and incorporating a spring to urge the valve element, eliminating the need for a spring supporting portion on the coupling body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the coupling body is manufactured by cutting process, then the coupling body can be formed as a single member having sufficient rigidity, but the manufacturing cost increases due to material waste and complex cutting steps
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling body is divided into a main body portion and a support portion that is inserted into the main body. This segmentation allows the support portion to provide the necessary rigidity at the locking element latching surface without requiring the entire coupling body to be manufactured with high rigidity, thereby reducing material waste and manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The support portion is extracted as a separate component from the main body. This extracted support portion is inserted into the main body to provide localized rigidity where needed, eliminating the need to manufacture the entire coupling body with high rigidity and reducing material waste
2Force
If the coupling body is made with high rigidity to withstand locking element force, then the locking element can be securely held, but the manufacturing cost increases and material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support portion is provided with a support surface that has high rigidity locally at the locking element latching surface to withstand the locking element force, while the rest of the main body can be made with thinner walls and less material, thereby reducing overall material waste
3Device complexity
If the coupling body is made as a single integrated member, then the structure is simple, but it is difficult to replace individual components like valve elements or seals
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling body is segmented into a main body portion and a support portion that can be separately manufactured and assembled. This segmentation establishes a modular structure where individual components can be replaced independently while maintaining overall structural simplicity
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 enables cost-effective manufacturing with reduced material waste, allows for easier replacement of individual components, and maintains reliable sealing and fluid passage integrity by supporting the locking element latching surface and using a spring to maintain valve operation.
Implementation Method 1
a deformed portion deformed radially inward between the forward end and the rear end to form a locking element latching surface
Implementation Method 2
incorporating a spring to urge the valve element
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe coupling member includes a coupling body defining a part of a fluid passage, and a support member disposed inside the coupling body. A valve accommodating space is defined inside the coupling body at a position forward of the support member, and a valve element is disposed in the valve accommodating space to open and close the fluid passage. The coupling body is formed from a thin-walled pipe material and has a deformed recess formed by plastically deforming radially inward a portion of the coupling body that covers an annular groove of the support member. The deformed recess has a locking element latching surface along a support surface of the annular groove. When the pipe coupling member is connected to an associated pipe coupling member, the locking element latching surface is latched by a locking element of the associated pipe coupling member.