Prismatic Membrane Casing with Movable Lid for Watertight Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing membrane components struggle to securely house non-cylindrical membrane elements, such as prismatic shapes, due to variations in size caused by temperature and sintering conditions, leading to issues with watertight sealing and increased equipment costs.
Innovation Solution
A membrane casing with a prismatic design featuring a tubular casing main body, a movable lid body, and a pressing mechanism that includes a supporting unit and maintaining unit, allowing for adjustable pressing forces to accommodate size variations and ensure watertightness, while also incorporating a fluid conducting pipe for compactness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cylindrical filter cases are used to house non-cylindrical membrane elements, then the membrane elements can be accommodated, but the equipment footprint and costs increase due to larger required diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The filter case is divided into two separate parts: a filter-case main body and a filter-case lid body. This segmentation allows the lid body to be selectively engaged with the main body only when a cylindrical membrane element is installed, enabling the case to adapt to both cylindrical and non-cylindrical membrane element shapes without requiring a uniformly large cylindrical structure.
2Reliability
If the filter-case lid body is screwed to the filter-case main body to adjust pressing forces, then watertight sealing can be achieved, but this adjustment mechanism cannot be employed when the casing cannot be formed into a cylindrical shape
Solution Approach 1:
The filter-case lid body is designed with movable engagement relative to the filter-case main body. The lid body can be selectively screwed to the main body to adjust pressing forces when cylindrical membrane elements are used, or disengaged when non-cylindrical elements are installed. This dynamic, conditional engagement mechanism provides both watertight sealing capability and adaptability to different membrane element shapes and sizes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the lid body is made movable in the axial direction while maintaining attitude, then watertightness can be secured with varying membrane element sizes, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The filter-case lid body serves multiple functions: it provides watertight sealing when screwed to the main body, allows axial movement to accommodate different membrane element lengths, and can be selectively engaged or disengaged based on the membrane element shape. This multi-functionality is achieved through a relatively simple structure where the lid body's outer peripheral surface engages with the inner peripheral surface of the main body, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A membrane casing that watertightly houses a membrane element 2 for filtering raw water includes a tubular casing main body 40, a lid body 50, and a pressing mechanism 60 and 70. The casing main body 40 houses a membrane element 2. The lid body 50 fits an opening end of the casing main body 40 and is movable in the axial direction of the casing main body 40 while maintaining the attitude and while securing watertightness with the casing main body 40. The pressing mechanism 60 and 70 presses the lid body 50 to press and hold the membrane element 2 housed in the casing main body 40. The membrane casing has a simple configuration capable of watertightly securing using a predetermined pressing force by accommodating variations in size of the membrane element, even if the membrane casing cannot be formed into a cylindrical shape.