Shutter Valve Sealing with Wipers and Wall Seals
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional valves lack the ability to regulate fluid flow effectively, leading to issues such as steep pressure drops, cavitation, leakage, and contamination, especially in pressurized systems and foodstuff applications, due to their inability to remain securely sealed and the presence of cavities that trap fluids or gases.
Innovation Solution
A shutter valve system with an actuator ring and multiple obturator elements that rotate to control fluid flow, utilizing wipers and wall seals to create a secure seal and prevent fluid egress into the valve's cavity, allowing for adjustable aperture regulation and unobstructed flow when open, while maintaining a sealed position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional valves are used to stop fluid flow completely, then the valve can be turned to the off position, but this results in a steep pressure drop which can cause a shockwave in the system and result in cavitation
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter valve employs multiple obturator elements that can move dynamically between open and closed positions to progressively regulate fluid flow. This dynamic movement allows the valve to transition smoothly from fully open to fully closed, avoiding abrupt pressure changes and cavitation that occur with conventional on/off valves.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve divides the flow control function into multiple obturator elements (typically three or more) arranged radially. Each obturator element can independently regulate flow, allowing progressive closure that distributes the pressure regulation across multiple segments rather than a single abrupt closure point.
2Reliability
If conventional valves are used in pressurized systems, then they can control flow, but they lack the ability to remain securely sealed, causing leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible seal elements including wipers with elastomeric seals and bellows that can deform to maintain contact with mating surfaces. These flexible sealing components conform to the housing surfaces and adapt to pressure changes, ensuring reliable sealing in pressurized systems where rigid seals would fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The obturator elements and housing surfaces utilize curved geometries that facilitate uniform sealing contact. The arc-shaped seal surfaces allow the flexible sealing elements to maintain consistent contact pressure across the sealing interface, improving sealing reliability under varying pressure conditions.
3Device complexity
If obturator elements remain within the lumen of the flow as in a butterfly valve, then the valve structure is simple, but this interrupts fluid flow and creates disruption that can produce cavitation
Solution Approach 1:
The obturator elements are extracted from the central flow path position and instead are positioned radially outward, pivoting at the periphery of the flow lumen. This extraction allows the obturators to control flow by progressively reducing the effective aperture without blocking the central flow path, eliminating flow disruption and cavitation while maintaining structural simplicity.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional valves include cavities and pockets, then the valve structure is formed, but these cavities can be flooded with fluids or gases that pass through, making cleaning difficult and causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The design extracts and eliminates internal cavities and pockets from the valve structure by positioning components to create a through-flow path. The obturator elements, housing, and seals are arranged to prevent fluid accumulation zones, ensuring that fluid passes through the valve without entering dead spaces where contamination could occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing surfaces and component interfaces are specifically designed with smooth, continuous surfaces that prevent fluid entrapment. The local geometry at sealing interfaces and flow paths is optimized to eliminate pockets and crevices, while other structural areas maintain manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A shutter comprising an actuator ring that rotates about a midpoint and three obturator elements movably coupled to the actuator ring. A housing defines a cavity for holding the actuator ring and the obturator elements. The system also includes a plurality of wipers. Each wiper comprises a seal material and acts as a seal disposed between a first or second surface of the obturator elements and a first or second planar surface of the housing. The system also includes curved grooves adapted for receiving a wall seal when valve moves between an open and closed position. When the valve moves between an open and closed position, one end of the obturator element contacts the wall seal and the plurality of wall seals prevent egress of fluid into at least a portion of the cavity of the housing.