Plastic Valve Housing with Frustoconical Surface for Compressed Air Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Valves for commercial vehicle compressed air systems, such as lifting axle valves, face challenges in being simplified for manufacture and assembly, reducing material costs and weight, while maintaining mechanical strength and functionality across varying temperatures.
Innovation Solution
The use of plastic injection molding to produce valve housings with frustoconical inner surfaces and sleeves, allowing for simplified manufacturing and assembly, reduced component variety, and effective sealing without the need for additional sealing measures or complex core removal processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal housings are used for valve construction, then mechanical strength and pressure resistance are ensured, but weight and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from metal to plastic material for the housing, fundamentally changing the material parameter to reduce weight and cost while maintaining functional requirements through appropriate plastic selection and design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes composite materials by combining plastic housing with metal inserts or reinforcements where structurally necessary, creating a hybrid construction that optimizes both weight reduction and mechanical strength requirements
2Ease of manufacture
If plastic injection molding is used for housing production, then manufacturing simplicity and cost reduction are achieved, but mechanical strength and temperature resistance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes material parameters by selecting specific high-performance plastics with appropriate mechanical and thermal properties, and by optimizing injection molding parameters such as temperature, pressure, and cooling time to ensure structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the housing into different functional zones with varying wall thicknesses and reinforcement structures, allowing optimized material distribution that maintains strength where needed while reducing weight and material consumption in non-critical areas
3Ease of manufacture
If frustoconical inner surfaces are used in injection molded housings, then assembly is simplified and core removal is eliminated, but sealing precision may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetry by using a frustoconical (tapered) inner surface instead of a cylindrical one, which provides self-centering and self-aligning properties during assembly, simplifying the assembly process while maintaining sealing precision through the geometric form
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sealing elements or sealing rings as intermediaries between the frustoconical inner surface and mating components, ensuring that the sealing function is maintained while the frustoconical geometry provides assembly advantages
Data Source
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AI summary
The valve e.g. lift axial valve (2), has control chambers connected with a plastic vent (15) via a radial passage recess (133) of a casing. Identical sealing elements (76) are supported at front sides of the casing. The sealing elements interact radially inside with a slide valve (77) for sealing adjacent chambers and interact radially outside with a truncated cone shaped inner surface (131) of the housing, where an elasticity of the sealing elements adjusts differences in diameter due to an opening angle of the housing inner surface. The housing has a cover (58) made of plastic.