Pivoting Wedge Gate Valve for Tolerance-Friendly Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wedge gate valves are large and heavy, requiring multiple bolts for securement and precise manufacturing to achieve reliable sealing, which complicates assembly and increases material and weight.
Innovation Solution
A flexible wedge gate design with a reduced size and weight, featuring a gate with disc-shaped body portions and pivoting wedging elements, allowing for improved sealing functionality with fewer bolts and reduced material usage, facilitated by a valve cover with angled sections for clamping and a seal that can be secured with less effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid wedge portion with sharp transition is used in conventional gate valves, then sealing surface is created, but manufacturing precision requirements increase and structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the wedge gate by replacing the sharp transition with a curved transition surface. This curvature modifies the stress distribution and sealing mechanism, allowing for more relaxed manufacturing tolerances while maintaining sealing reliability. The curved surface distributes contact pressures more evenly, reducing the precision requirements for achieving a reliable seal.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a seal through a sharp abrupt transition that requires high precision, the patent inverts the approach by using a curved transition that inherently provides sealing through its geometry. The curved surface creates a gradual wedge effect that self-seals, turning the traditional precision-dependent sharp edge into a tolerance-friendly curved profile.
2Reliability
If a large wedge portion is used to create sealing surface, then sealing capability is improved, but valve size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature to the transition surface of the wedge gate, replacing the traditional sharp angular transition with a curved profile. This curved geometry maintains the sealing capability by creating effective contact pressure distribution while significantly reducing the overall volume and weight of the wedge portion required to achieve the same sealing performance.
3Strength
If multiple bolts are used to secure valve cover, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple separate fastening elements into a single integrated valve cover design. By redesigning the valve cover geometry and locking mechanism, the patent achieves the structural strength previously requiring multiple bolts through a unified single-bolt assembly, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining strength.
4Reliability
If precise manufacturing is used to achieve reliable sealing, then sealing integrity is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the geometric parameters of the wedge gate transition from a sharp angular profile to a curved profile. This parameter change fundamentally alters the manufacturing requirements, enabling reliable sealing to be achieved through form-fit geometry rather than precision-machined sharp edges, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining sealing integrity.
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 results in a wedge gate valve with reduced size, weight, and improved structural strength, along with enhanced sealing capabilities, allowing for easier assembly and disassembly with fewer bolts, while maintaining or exceeding the sealing integrity of conventional valves.
Implementation Method 1
The second body portion is pivotably connected to the first body portion
Data Source
AI summary
A gate for a gate valve includes a first body portion and a second body portion. The first body portion has a disc shape and a first wedging element extending from the disc shape. The second body portion has a disc shape and a second wedging element extending from the disc shape. The second body portion is pivotably connected to the first body portion. A gate valve includes a valve body and the gate. The valve body includes a first opening, a second opening, a flow passage from the first opening to the second opening, and a gate channel intersecting the flow passage. The gate is configured to move along a center axis of the gate channel between a closed position where the gate is fully in the flow passage to block fluid flow through the flow passage and an open position where fluid can flow through the flow passage.