Resilient Pump Strainer for Crush Resistance and Self-Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art strainers used in pumping liquids are prone to clogging and vulnerability to crushing, especially in harsh environments like mining, where they can be damaged by heavy machinery, leading to reduced service life and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A strainer made from a resilient deformable material such as elastomeric polymer, rubber, or polychloroprene, with a design featuring a metal ring and tapered head, allowing for deformation under compressive forces and easy attachment to hoses, along with a method of reversing pump flow to dislodge contaminants, ensuring effective straining and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid strainer is used to strain liquids, then straining effectiveness is improved, but vulnerability to crushing and breakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strainer body is made from resilient deformable material that can flex and deform under compressive forces without breaking. This flexible construction allows the strainer to withstand being run over by heavy machinery while maintaining its straining function, directly resolving the contradiction between rigidity for straining and flexibility for crush resistance.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If a strainer is used in harsh environments like mining, then service life is reduced due to damage from heavy machinery, but using a more durable material increases cost
Solution Approach 1:
The strainer is designed to deform under compressive forces from heavy machinery and then return to its original shape. What would normally be a harmful crushing force is converted into a temporary deformation that actually protects the strainer from permanent damage, extending its service life in harsh mining environments.
3Manufacturing precision
If the strainer holes are small to strain out contaminants, then straining precision is improved, but clogging frequency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strainer holes are made dynamically flexible rather than static. When contaminants block the holes, the resilient material allows the holes to deform and shift, preventing permanent clogging. This dynamic characteristic maintains high straining precision while reducing clogging frequency through automatic self-cleaning deformation.
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 strainer effectively strains liquids while withstanding significant compressive forces, reducing clogging and maintenance needs, with improved durability and safety, leading to longer service life and lower labor costs.
Implementation Method 1
The strainer (1) is made from a resilient deformable material. The deformability of the material is such that opposed sides (8, 9) of the internal chamber (4) can be brought into contact with each other in response to the application of a compressive force. Once the force is no longer being applied, the resilience of the material allows the body (2) to resiliently return to substantially its pre-deformation shape.
Implementation Method 2
the pump is operated so as to suck the liquid into the plurality of holes (3), through the hollow chamber (4), out the outlet (5) and into the hose. Periodically the flow direction of the pump is reversed so as to pump an amount of liquid, which is typically between 2 to 10 litres, out of the holes (3) and thereby dislodge any contaminants that may be clogging the holes (3).
Implementation Method 3
The purpose of the strainer is to strain out larger contaminants so that the water that is sucked by the pump into the hose only contains contaminants that are small enough to pass through the strainer.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5
AI summary
As shown for example in figure (5), the strainer (13) has a body (2) that defines a plurality of inlet holes (3). Each of the inlet holes (3) is in fluid communication with a hollow internal chamber. In use, liquid is sucked through the holes (3), thereby straining out larger contaminants such as rocks and stones, into the hollow internal chamber and then out the outlet. The majority of the strainer (13), is formed from a resilient deformable material that allows opposed sides of the internal chamber to be brought into contact with each other in response to the application of a compressive force. Once the force is no longer being applied, the resilience of the material allows the body (2) to resiliently return to substantially its pre-deformation shape.