Rotor Valve Sealing Structure With Flat-Plate Through-Hole Forming

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sealing devices face challenges in reducing friction and ease of manufacturing, particularly in forming through-holes on curved surfaces, which complicates the production process and affects the sealing performance.

Innovation Solution

A sealing device with a strip plate-shaped member that includes through-holes and bead portions, made by molding a rubber material and fluorine resin sheet, which is bent and deformed to fit the inner peripheral surface of a housing, and features a sliding member on one surface to reduce friction and facilitate manufacturing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Force

If a sliding member such as fluorine resin is provided on a sliding surface to reduce friction, then friction is reduced, but it becomes difficult to perform complicated working such as formation of through-holes in the curved surface

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovefrictionVSAvoidease of manufacturing
Core Design Contradiction:
ForceVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of forming through-holes in the curved sealing member after it is shaped, the invention inverts the sequence by forming through-holes in the flat plate-shaped member before bending and deformation. This allows standard drilling operations to be performed on a flat surface, avoiding the complexity of drilling curved surfaces while maintaining the sliding member's friction-reducing properties.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The through-holes are formed in advance in the flat plate-shaped member before the bending and deformation process. This preliminary action simplifies manufacturing by performing drilling operations on a flat surface rather than attempting to drill through-holes in the final curved configuration, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while preserving the sliding member's functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If through-holes are formed in a curved surface of the sealing member, then communication between housing opening and valve body communication path is achieved, but complicated working is required making manufacturing difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication capabilityVSAvoidease of manufacturing
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The invention inverts the manufacturing sequence by forming through-holes in the flat plate-shaped member before bending and deformation, rather than attempting to form them in the final curved configuration. This allows standard drilling operations to create the necessary communication paths while avoiding the complexity of drilling curved surfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The communication holes are formed in advance in the flat plate-shaped member before the bending and deformation process. This preliminary action simplifies manufacturing by performing drilling operations on a flat surface, making it easier to achieve the required communication capability between housing openings and valve body passages.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of manufacture

If the sealing device main body is made by bending and deforming a flat plate shape, then ease of manufacturing is improved, but the shape must precisely follow the curved inner peripheral surface

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of manufacturingVSAvoidshape precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The sealing device main body is formed as a thin, flexible plate that can be easily bent and deformed to conform to the curved inner peripheral surface of the housing. This flexibility allows the sealing member to achieve the required shape precision through simple bending operations rather than complex forming processes, thereby maintaining both ease of manufacturing and manufacturing precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

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 solution allows for easy manufacturing and effective reduction in friction, improving contact pressure and sealability while simplifying the manufacturing process by forming bead portions and through-holes in a single step, and enabling the sealing device to maintain a reduced friction coefficient.

Implementation Method 1

the sealing device main body is restored to become closer to the flat plate shape when the sealing device main body is taken out of the housing and is heated

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal expansion: Thermal Expansion

Data Source

PatentEP4321781A1Sealing device and method for manufacturing sealing device
Publication Date: 2024.02.14 NOK CORP
  • EP4321781A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4321781A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4321781A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided are a sealing device that can be easily manufactured and achieve a reduction in friction and a method for manufacturing the sealing device. A sealing device 1 is provided between a housing 200 in which a plurality of opening portions 2011 to 2016 are formed in a tubular inner peripheral surface 201A and a rotor 300 that is disposed in the housing 200 and switches a flow path by rotating relative to the housing 200. The sealing device 1 includes a sealing device main body 2 that is disposed along the inner peripheral surface 201A and includes a sliding member provided on an inner surface 2B or an outer surface 2A. The sealing device main body 2 has a plurality of through-holes 231 to 235 that communicate with each of the plurality of openings 2011 to 2016, and the sealing device main body is a strip plate-shaped member 6 with a flat plate shape that is bent and deformed.