Snap-Arm Stub Pipe Fitting for Leak-Safe Heat Exchanger Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe fittings for heat exchangers, particularly those connecting water supply and discharge pipes, often fail to provide a swift, tight, and secure connection, leading to potential leaks and instability.
Innovation Solution
A pipe fitting design featuring a body with snap arms and an expansion sleeve, where the snap arms are either integrated or separate elements, and a U-shaped pin stabilizes the expansion sleeve, ensuring a secure fit with a gasket for sealing, and a pipe coupling for connecting to pipes using threaded or quick-release mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing pipe fittings are used to connect pipes to heat exchangers, then the connection can be established, but the connection is not swift, tight, and secure enough, leading to potential leaks and instability
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe fitting is divided into distinct functional segments: a body portion for structural support, snap arms for rapid attachment, an expansion sleeve for securing, and a gasket for sealing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, enabling swift assembly while ensuring a tight and secure connection through the coordinated action of all segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges multiple connection functions into a single integrated assembly: the snap arms provide immediate attachment, the expansion sleeve ensures secure fixation, and the gasket guarantees sealing. This combination of functions in one unified structure achieves both rapid assembly and reliable, leak-proof connection without requiring multiple separate operations.
2Reliability
If a secure and tight connection is ensured, then leaks are prevented, but the assembly and disassembly process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket is nested within the body structure, positioned to be compressed between the snap arms and the heat exchanger surface. The expansion sleeve is nested over the snap arms, providing an additional securing layer. This nested arrangement ensures multiple sealing and securing functions are integrated without significantly increasing external complexity, maintaining ease of assembly while guaranteeing leak prevention.
3Productivity
If the connection structure is simplified for easy assembly, then assembly speed increases, but connection stability and security may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The snap arms are designed to be flexible yet resilient, allowing them to be easily inserted and then expand to lock into place. The expansion sleeve dynamically adjusts to secure the connection firmly. This dynamic design enables rapid assembly through simple insertion motions while automatically achieving stable and secure fixation without requiring complex adjustment procedures.
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 ensures a swift, tight, and secure connection between pipes and heat exchangers, preventing leaks and enhancing stability, while allowing for easy assembly and disassembly.
Implementation Method 1
snaps given the form of arms (3) arranged axially around a rim of the cylindrical wall of the pass-through opening (2) in the body (1)
Implementation Method 2
The fitting is fitted with an expansion sleeve (9) of the snap arms (3), where the sleeve presses against the arms (3)
Implementation Method 3
between the flange (5) and the heat exchanger jacket (18) there is a gasket (8), preferably circular or square in cross section, or a lip seal with one lip or more
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The pipe fitting intended to connect a pipe to a device, in particular a stub pipe for a heat exchanger intended to connect water supply and/or discharge pipes, comprising a body with an axial pass-through opening and fitted with a pipe coupling of any type on the one end to connect the fitting to a pipe, and with snaps on the other end to connect the fitting to the opening in the wall of the connected device, heat exchanger in particular, is characterised in that the snaps are shaped into arms (3) arranged axially around the rim of the cylindrical wall of the pass-through opening (2) in the body (1) at a short distance from the wall, where each arm (3) is connected to that wall on the one end, a features a tooth (4) on the other free end of each arm (3), the tooth extending beyond the body (1).