Quick Coupling Assembly With Integrated Locking and Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quick couplings for fluid line systems, such as those in internal combustion engines, face challenges in achieving high functional reliability and ease of assembly, particularly in ensuring secure connections and preventing uncontrolled loss of components.
Innovation Solution
A quick coupling design featuring a coupling body formed from two separate parts, a head part and a sealing part, with a through bore extending from the inlet to the outlet, and a securing element that can be reversibly displaced to secure the plug-in part, ensuring a reliable and easy-to-assemble connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a quick coupling design uses a holder and locking element to secure the plug-in part, then functional reliability is improved, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The holder and locking element are designed as a single integrated piece with interlocking components. The holder body contains integrated locking arms that engage with the plug-in part, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and reducing the number of components while maintaining secure connection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling body is divided into two separate parts: the holder assembly and the coupling body. This segmentation allows for easier manufacturing and assembly, as the holder can be pre-assembled with the locking element and then integrated into the coupling body, simplifying the overall assembly process while maintaining reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If the coupling body is formed from two separate parts (head part and sealing part), then ease of manufacture is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling body is segmented into a head part and a sealing part that can be manufactured separately using different processes optimized for each function. The head part can be molded or machined independently, while the sealing part can be manufactured with integrated sealing elements, allowing for easier and more cost-effective manufacturing of each component.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing part is designed to nest within or around the head part, with the sealing element positioned inside the coupling body structure. This nested arrangement reduces the overall complexity by integrating the sealing function into the existing structural framework rather than adding separate complex sealing mechanisms.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the locking element is made of electrically conductive material, then electrostatic discharge protection is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The material properties of the locking element are changed by selecting electrically conductive materials with appropriate electrical conductivity parameters. This allows the locking element to provide electrostatic discharge protection while maintaining the mechanical properties needed for reliable locking functionality, without requiring extreme manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking element is made from composite materials that combine metallic or conductive polymer components with structural elements. This allows the locking element to provide both mechanical locking function and electrostatic discharge protection, reducing the need for high manufacturing precision by using materials that are more tolerant of normal manufacturing variations.
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 provides high functional reliability, simple assembly, and secure connection guidance, preventing uncontrolled loss of components, and allows for easy detection of proper connection establishment, even in cramped spaces, with the added benefit of using ESD plastics for electrostatic discharge.
Implementation Method 1
at least the sealing part of the coupling body is made of an electrically conductive material, in particular an electrically conductive plastic (ESD plastic)
Data Source
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AI summary
A quick-release coupling for creating a separable connection in a fluid line, comprising a coupling body, a plug, a holder, and a locking element. The coupling body has a through-hole, and the holder allows the plug, inserted into the through-hole, to be preferably reversibly secured within it. The holder has an annular body, and the locking element has an annular body. The annular body and the annular body each secure the plug and/or the coupling body, respectively, and the locking element is axially displaceable from a free position to a locked position relative to the through-hole when the plug is secured in the through-hole by the holder.