Rotary Adjustable Orifice Valve for Minimum Flow and Low Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fuel systems face challenges in ensuring a minimum flow through Windmill Bypass Valves during pre-start engine conditions due to leakage issues, which are inadequately addressed by static fixed orifices that impact accuracy and are costly.
Innovation Solution
A rotary adjustable plate orifice valve with a spool and sleeve configuration, where the plate orifice's open area varies with rotational position, ensuring consistent flow between fluid paths and minimizing leakage, utilizing a cam surface and lock nut for precise adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a static fixed orifice is added between P1 and P2 to ensure minimum flow, then flow reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the static fixed orifice into a dynamic adjustable orifice by implementing a rotary valve mechanism with a spool that can rotate to different positions. This allows the orifice opening area to be adjusted dynamically, enabling precise flow control while maintaining reliability. The adjustable mechanism replaces the fixed orifice, eliminating the need for expensive precision-machined static orifices while achieving better flow accuracy through rotational positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of the orifice from fixed to variable by implementing rotational adjustment. The spool can be rotated to change the opening area of the orifice, allowing the flow parameter to be adjusted according to different operating conditions. This parameter change enables the system to maintain reliable minimum flow while reducing manufacturing costs through adjustable rather than precision-fixed design.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a static fixed orifice is used to ensure constant flow, then flow consistency is improved, but measurement precision and flow accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic adjustable orifice mechanism that allows precise control of flow parameters through rotational positioning of the spool. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the system to achieve both flow consistency (by maintaining minimum flow) and flow accuracy (by precisely controlling the opening area), resolving the contradiction between stability and measurement precision.
3Ease of operation
If a rotary adjustable orifice mechanism is implemented, then ease of adjustment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the valve into distinct functional components: the spool with the orifice, the sleeve with the cam surface, and the lock nut mechanism. This segmentation allows for easier manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance of each component while collectively providing the adjustable function. The modular design reduces the complexity burden by making each part simple and interchangeable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cam surface as an intermediary element between the spool and the lock nut mechanism. The cam surface translates the rotational movement of the spool into the desired orifice opening area change, providing a simple mechanical linkage that eliminates the need for complex adjustment mechanisms. This intermediary simplifies the overall device complexity while maintaining ease of adjustment.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A valve with a rotationally adjustable flow area can include a first member defining a first wall having a first opening therein, and a second member defining a second wall having a second opening therein, the first member being rotatable relative to the second member, and flow area through the valve being defined by fluidic communication between the first opening and the second opening that varies with relative rotational position between the first member and the second member.