Resilient Flow Limiter for Constant Liquid Flow Across Pressure Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow limiters fail to provide a consistent and accurate flow rate across varying pressures, leading to inefficiencies in water usage and increased costs in managing peak demands, particularly in shower systems and industrial applications.
Innovation Solution
A pressure-independent flow limiting device with a disc-shaped partition and resilient flow limiting elements, featuring a valve seat design that maintains a constant flow rate by adjusting to pressure changes, and an adjustable mould for precise injection-moulded product manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional flow limiters are used, then they can limit flow rate, but they fail to provide consistent and accurate flow rate across varying pressures
Solution Approach 1:
The flow limiting element incorporates a resilient part that dynamically adjusts the flow passage cross-section in response to pressure changes. This dynamic adjustment mechanism allows the device to maintain accurate flow rate control across a wide pressure range, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient part of the flow limiting element changes its physical state (deformation) in response to pressure variations, thereby altering the flow passage geometry. This parameter change enables the device to adapt to different pressure conditions while maintaining consistent flow rate control.
2Measurement precision
If flow limiters are installed at many locations to determine peak load, then peak water usage can be accurately determined, but the device complexity and installation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flow limiting element itself serves as the measurement device, with the resilient part's deformation directly indicating flow rate and pressure conditions. This self-service approach eliminates the need for separate measurement instruments, reducing system complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If injection-moulded products are manufactured with fixed mould dimensions, then production is simple, but manufacturing precision varies due to material thickness variations
Solution Approach 1:
The mould incorporates movable parts that can be adjusted during the injection moulding process to compensate for material thickness variations. This dynamic adjustment capability enables precise dimensioning of flow limiting elements without requiring completely different mould designs for each tolerance requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mould is designed with pre-configurable adjustment mechanisms that can be set before production runs. This preliminary action allows the manufacturing system to be prepared for different precision requirements without complex real-time adjustments, balancing manufacturing ease with precision requirements.
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 ensures a precise and constant flow rate across a wide range of pressures, reducing energy consumption and costs by accurately determining peak water usage, while the adjustable mould enables high-precision production of flow limiting elements with minimal interruptions.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient plate-like valve element which is mounted in the housing and which can substantially close the throughflow opening by resilient movement in the direction of a valve seat
Data Source
AI summary
A device for limiting or keeping constant a quantity of fluid flowing therethrough, includes: a housing with a front chamber and a rear chamber; a partition arranged in the housing with two or more openings; and a flow limiting element arranged in one or both openings. The flow limiting element includes a housing provided with an inlet, an outlet and a throughflow opening; and a resilient plate-like valve element mounted in the housing, substantially able to close the throughflow opening by resilient movement in the direction of a valve seat arranged in the housing adjacently of the throughflow opening. The valve element is fixed on one side and can move resiliently on the opposite side in the direction of the valve seat. A mould produces one or more injection-moulded products. The injection-moulded product is a flow limiter for limiting the force of the flow of a fluid flowing therethrough.