Pneumatic Switching Valve for Cooling Medium Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing devices for cooling media in continuous casting installations lack efficient control over the dispensing of cooling media, leading to inconsistent cooling of the cast strand.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing device with a housing, an inlet opening, a dispensing opening, and a switching valve filled with a working fluid. The switching valve has a sleeve closed by a closure with a switching element and an elastic sealing element, allowing pressure-controlled opening and closing of the dispensing opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a switching valve is used to control the dispensing of cooling medium, then the dispensing can be controlled, but the control precision is insufficient leading to inconsistent cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical valve actuation with a pneumatic system. A pneumatic actuator uses compressed air to move a piston, which in turn controls the switching element that opens or closes the dispensing opening. This substitution provides more precise and consistent control compared to purely mechanical systems, addressing the cooling consistency issue while maintaining manageable device complexity through the use of standard pneumatic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a pneumatic control system where compressed air is supplied to a piston in the actuator. The pneumatic pressure drives the piston to move the switching element between open and closed positions. This pneumatic mechanism enables precise control of the cooling medium dispensing, ensuring consistent cooling performance while avoiding the complexity of more sophisticated electronic or mechanical control systems.
2Measurement precision
If pressure control is used to move the switching element, then precise dispensing control is achieved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pneumatic actuator as an intermediary device between the control system and the switching valve. The actuator contains a piston that converts pneumatic pressure into linear motion, which then actuates the switching element. This intermediary mechanism provides precise control of the dispensing opening while keeping the overall structure manageable by separating the pressure control function from the switching function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the dispensing precision by changing the pneumatic pressure parameter. By adjusting the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the piston, the position and speed of the switching element can be precisely controlled. This parameter-based control method achieves high measurement precision for dispensing control without requiring complex mechanical linkages or electronic control systems.
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 device enables precise control over the dispensing of cooling media by pressure-controlled movement of the switching element, ensuring consistent cooling of the cast strand in continuous casting installations.
Implementation Method 1
The pressure in the working fluid is increased for closing the dispensing opening, so that the switching element is displaced to the dispensing opening and the dispensing opening is closed by the switching element. The pressure in the working fluid is reduced for opening the dispensing opening
Implementation Method 2
The closure comprises a switching element and an elastic sealing element which is fixedly connected to the sleeve and to the switching element and couples the switching element to the sleeve in a movable and fluid-tight manner
Data Source
AI summary
A dispensing device that intermittently dispenses a cooling medium onto a cast strand in a continuous casting installation. The dispensing device has a housing with at least one inlet opening for letting the cooling medium into the housing and a dispensing opening for dispensing the cooling medium out of the housing. A switching valve is arranged in the housing and is designed to open and close the dispensing opening. The switching valve has a sleeve, which is filled with a working fluid and which, on the dispensing opening side, is closed with a closure in a fluid-tight manner. The closure has a switching element, which, by controlling the pressure in the working fluid, is displaceable relative to the sleeve into a closing position in which the switching element closes the dispensing opening.