Rotating Ball Segment Valve Seal for Leakage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve systems for fluid flow interruption, particularly in gas meters, are complex and costly to assemble, with a high risk of leakage due to numerous components and uneven stresses on sealing bodies, making them inefficient and difficult to automate.
Innovation Solution
A valve design featuring a rotatable sealing body with a ball segment-shaped sealing surface element and bearing elements, prestressed by spring elements within the inlet adapter, which provides both static and dynamic sealing, allowing for reliable fluid flow interruption without uneven stresses and enabling cost-effective, automated assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sealing body with spherical or cone-shaped form is used in prior art valves, then the valve can interrupt fluid flow, but the assembly becomes complex and costly with increased leakage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sealing body, bearing elements, and sealing surface into a single integrated component. The sealing body has a ball segment-shaped sealing surface element with bearing elements directly arranged on its side, eliminating the need for separate sealing components and reducing assembly complexity while maintaining reliable sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing body is designed with a segmented structure consisting of a ball segment-shaped sealing surface element and separate bearing elements arranged on its side. This segmentation allows the sealing function and bearing function to be distributed, improving reliability while keeping the overall design compact and assembly-friendly.
2Stress or pressure
If multiple spring elements are used to prestress the seal, then sealing pressure is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple spring elements that are identically configured and arranged symmetrically around the seal. These identical spring copies work together to distribute the prestressing force evenly, achieving uniform seal pressure while maintaining design simplicity and ease of manufacturing.
3Reliability
If the seal is prestressed to exert pressure on the sealing body, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but uneven stresses on the seal increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple spring elements are arranged symmetrically around the seal, acting as counterbalancing forces that distribute the prestressing pressure evenly across the sealing surface. This symmetrical arrangement of springs counteracts potential uneven stress concentrations, ensuring uniform contact pressure between the seal and sealing body while maintaining effective sealing.
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 valve design ensures reliable fluid flow interruption with reduced component complexity and cost, minimizing leakage risks and energy expenditure, while facilitating automated assembly and reduced part count, thus enhancing robustness and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The prestressing of the seal is achieved through at least two spring elements which are arranged within the inlet adapter
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
The invention relates to a valve (1) for interruption of a fluid flow along a fluid flow path passing through the valve (1), the valve includes an inlet adapter (10), a valve body (7) connected to the inlet adapter (10), a seal (5) arranged between the inlet adapter (10) and the valve body (7) with a seal opening (6) through the seal for the fluid flowing when the valve (1) is open, a motor control gear unit (7a), and a sealing body (2) with a ball segment-shaped sealing surface element (3) and bearing element (4) arranged on the side of the sealing surface element (3). The sealing body (2) is mounted within the valve body (7) so as to be rotatable around an axis running substantially perpendicular to the fluid flow path and through the bearing element (4).