Scupper Valve Seal Structure for Drainage and Backflow Control

Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional scupper valves for boats face challenges in optimizing material characteristics to effectively drain water while preventing backflow and clogging, with flexible flappers often leaking or failing to efficiently remove debris, and rigid flappers lacking sealing components leading to water ingress.

Innovation Solution

A scupper valve design featuring a rigid flapper coupled to a frame, with a flexible annular seal and a rigid annular backplate, creating a circular line contact to restrict fluid flow and utilizing stainless steel and silicone materials for improved performance and durability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a flexible flapper is used in the scupper valve, then the valve can provide sealing capability to prevent backflow, but the flexible flapper may leak or fail to efficiently remove debris

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing capabilityVSAvoiddrainage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The valve is segmented into two distinct functional components: a rigid flapper for drainage control and a flexible annular seal for sealing. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without compromise - the rigid flapper provides efficient debris removal while the flexible seal ensures reliable backflow prevention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The flexible annular seal acts as an intermediary element between the rigid flapper and the valve body. It mediates the sealing function, allowing the rigid flapper to focus on drainage efficiency while the flexible seal handles the sealing requirement, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If a rigid flapper is used in the scupper valve, then the valve can efficiently drain water and remove debris, but the rigid flapper lacks sealing components leading to water ingress

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrainage efficiencyVSAvoidsealing capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The valve is segmented into two distinct functional components: a rigid flapper for drainage control and a flexible annular seal for sealing. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without compromise - the rigid flapper provides efficient debris removal while the flexible seal ensures reliable backflow prevention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The flexible annular seal acts as an intermediary element between the rigid flapper and the valve body. It mediates the sealing function, allowing the rigid flapper to focus on drainage efficiency while the flexible seal handles the sealing requirement, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of manufacture

If traditional scupper valve materials are used, then the valve can be manufactured with standard materials, but the valve fails to provide both robust sealing and efficient drainage simultaneously

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing simplicityVSAvoidperformance balance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The valve employs composite construction combining rigid materials (for the flapper and valve body) with flexible materials (for the annular seal). This composite approach allows the integration of complementary material properties - rigidity for structural integrity and debris removal, and flexibility for sealing - thereby achieving both robust sealing and efficient drainage while remaining manufacturable with standard materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentUS11686392B2Scupper valve

Publication Date: 2023.06.27 SEAWORTHY INNOVATIONS LLC

AI summary

A scupper valve includes a frame and a rigid flapper coupled to the frame. The rigid flapper is configured to swing relative to the rigid frame between an open and closed position. A flexible annular seal defines a centrally-disposed circular opening and a first annular projection that surrounds the centrally-disposed opening. The rigid flapper, in the closed position, contacts a distal edge of the first annular projection to create a circular line contact that restricts or prevents fluid flow through the centrally-disposed circular opening in the flexible annular seal. A rigid annular backplate is adjacent to and in direct physical contact with an annular surface of the flexible seal on a side of the flexible seal opposite the rigid flapper.