Slide Valve Elastic Plate for Precise Minimum Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slide valves face challenges in achieving precise control of minimum conductance and controllability due to issues like plastic deformation of the slide plate, complex cam mechanisms, and instability in sealing clearances, especially under vacuum or high-temperature conditions, leading to reduced precision and increased maintenance complexity.
Innovation Solution
A slide valve design featuring an elastic slide plate with small clearances that prevent plastic deformation, incorporating a valve element and stopper surfaces for precise control, and a detachable O-ring system for easy maintenance, along with a trapezoidal fitting mechanism for secure attachment to the rotary shaft, ensuring accurate control of minimum flow rates and high rigidity to handle pressure differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the slide plate is made with weak rigidity to reduce the load on the arm, then the plastic deformation risk is reduced, but the minimum control conductance becomes large and controllability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the slide plate into multiple independent arms (first arm and second arm) that can flex independently. This segmentation allows each arm to have reduced rigidity and flex under pressure difference loads without requiring the entire plate to be weak, thereby maintaining both structural integrity and controllability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the rigidity parameter of the slide plate arms by designing them with specific dimensional parameters (width, thickness, length) that allow controlled flexing. The arms are designed to flex within elastic limits under pressure difference loads, preventing plastic deformation while maintaining narrow clearances for good controllability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the clearance between the slide plate and body is set narrow to improve minimum controllability, then the minimum control conductance is reduced, but the slide plate may come into contact with the body under pressure difference load
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the slide plate arms dynamic by allowing them to flex under pressure difference loads. The arms are designed to deflect elastically when pressure differences occur, maintaining the narrow clearance geometry while preventing contact with the valve body through controlled deformation.
3Reliability
If a cam mechanism is used to spread the valve element and plate to achieve sealing, then the sealing reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases and particles may be produced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the complex cam mechanism from the system. Instead of using a cam to spread the valve element and plate, the design relies on the elastic flexing of the slide plate arms themselves to achieve sealing, thereby simplifying the overall mechanism and eliminating particle generation from cam components.
Solution Approach 2:
The slide plate arms serve dual functions: they provide structural support and simultaneously achieve sealing through their own elastic flexing under pressure difference loads. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for separate cam mechanisms, reducing complexity while maintaining sealing reliability.
4Manufacturing precision
If the slide plate is equipped with a contact ring to improve minimum controllability, then the minimum control conductance is reduced, but production of particles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the contact ring with a disposable seal ring that can be easily replaced. The seal ring is designed to be simple and inexpensive, allowing it to be replaced periodically to maintain minimum controllability without the complexity and particle generation issues of a contact ring mechanism.
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 design achieves precise control of minimum conductance and flow rates with high accuracy, prevents plastic deformation, and facilitates easy maintenance by allowing the slide plate and air drive components to be detached as a unit, enhancing operational stability and reducing maintenance complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the slide plate has an upper surface and a lower surface that form small clearances in cooperation with the body when the valve element is in the open position, and one of the upper and lower surfaces of the slide plate constitutes a stopper when the valve element has been in the closing position to induce a pressure difference load. The small clearances are kept constant due to the elasticity of the slide plate
Data Source
AI summary
A slide valve is provided, in which the conductance in the minimum region is controllable with high accuracy to enable stable control, a slide plate is prevented from plastically deforming to acquire good controllability of the minimum flow rate, and it is possible to detach a valve element and an air drive portion integrally with the slide plate, thereby facilitating the maintenance. The slide valve includes a body having a flow path, a slide plate provided within the body and between a closing position preventing a flow on the flow path and an open position permitting the flow, disposed perpendicularly relative to a flow path axis and movable horizontally or on a straight line, and a valve element incorporated in the slide plate and operated in a direction of the flow path axis to switch between the closing position and the open position of the slide plate by air cylinder drive. The slide plate has an upper surface and a lower surface that form small clearances in cooperation with the body when the valve element is in the open position, thereby enabling control of the minimum conductance. When the valve element has been in the closing position to induce a pressure difference load, the slide plate when receiving the pressure difference load is not plastically deformed.