Solenoid Valve Quick-Coupling Design for Rapid Cartridge Replacement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solenoid valves used in coffee machines and other applications require complex maintenance and installation processes, especially in confined spaces, making them time-consuming and laborious, particularly in professional settings where multiple valves are grouped together.
Innovation Solution
The valve design incorporates quick coupling means with a support guide that allows for easy installation and maintenance by using a fixing bracket with elastic couplings and through holes, enabling secure attachment and detachment without specialized tools, and integrating the nozzle with the cartridge for direct replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the valve body is fixed by screws to a wall or machine structure, then the valve is securely installed, but the installation and maintenance become time-consuming and laborious, especially in confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is divided into modular components: a valve body module and a cartridge module. The cartridge can be independently removed and replaced without detaching the entire valve body from the machine structure, enabling rapid maintenance while keeping the valve securely installed.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing bracket incorporates elastic elements that provide dynamic adjustment and flexible mounting. This allows the valve to be quickly attached and detached from the support structure without requiring screw tightening, reducing installation and maintenance time while maintaining secure fixation during operation.
2Device complexity
If the cartridge is not directly accessible for replacement, then the valve structure is compact, but maintenance requires unscrewing the valve body making it difficult in confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is segmented into a fixed valve body and a removable cartridge assembly. The cartridge can be independently accessed and replaced through a simplified interface on the valve body, eliminating the need to unscrew the entire valve body while maintaining compact overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A fixing bracket serves as an intermediary component between the valve body and the support structure. This bracket provides a quick-connect interface that allows the cartridge to be easily accessed and replaced without disturbing the main valve body installation, facilitating maintenance in confined spaces.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple valves are grouped in the same zone of the machine, then space is efficiently utilized, but maintenance of each valve becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Each valve is designed with an independently replaceable cartridge that can be accessed without affecting neighboring valves. This modular segmentation allows maintenance personnel to service one valve at a time in a multi-valve configuration, maintaining space efficiency while simplifying maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic fixing bracket provides flexible mounting that accommodates tight spacing between multiple valves. The dynamic fixation system allows quick attachment and detachment of cartridges without requiring disassembly of adjacent components, enhancing maintenance convenience in compact multi-valve arrangements.
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
This design simplifies maintenance and installation by allowing rapid attachment and detachment of the valve without specific equipment, reducing the complexity and time required for maintenance and assembly, especially in compact machine environments.
Implementation Method 1
a movable core (11) configured to move with a translating motion opposing an elastic element (14) between a first and a second position
Implementation Method 2
The movable core is actuated by a solenoid mounted on the active part
Data Source
AI summary
A valve (1) comprising a valve body (2) and a cartridge element (6), the valve body (2) having at least one seat (2A) configured to accommodate at least partially the cartridge (6), the cartridge (6) comprising an external surface (6A) configured to support at least partially an actuation element (12), said cartridge (6) containing at least one core (11) configured to cooperate with a nozzle (15) fluidly connected with a first fluid passage (3), said core (11) being movable inside said cartridge (6) against the action of an elastic element (14), between at least one first position in which it closes the first passage (3) and a second position in which it allows a flow through the first passage (3) so as to control the flow of a fluid through the valve; the valve comprises quick coupling means (200) for coupling to a support guide (201) of the valve (1).