Spray Nozzle Clasp Maintaining Wear Part Concentricity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spray nozzles with check valves face issues such as sealing problems at high pressures, structural weakness, and inaccurate concentricity due to radial and axial gaps, leading to inefficient atomization and increased maintenance challenges, especially when handling viscous fluids like milk.
Innovation Solution
A clasp system for spray nozzle assemblies that includes a protective housing with radially and axially releasable protrusions to securely trap wear components like the swirl chamber and orifice disc, ensuring concentric alignment and preventing damage, using a combination of rigid and deflectable walls to maintain alignment without obstructing fluid flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If radial and axial clearance gaps are built into the nozzle design to facilitate removal and replacement of wear parts, then ease of maintenance is improved, but manufacturing precision and concentricity alignment deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A concentricity maintaining element (CME) is introduced as an intermediary component between the wear part and the nozzle body. The CME includes a radial protrusion that engages with a circumferential groove on the wear part, and an axial protrusion that engages with a transverse groove, thereby maintaining precise concentric alignment while allowing clearance gaps for maintenance. This mediator resolves the contradiction by providing both precision alignment and maintenance accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the traditional mechanical interference fit system with a groove-based engagement system. Instead of relying on tight mechanical clearance for concentricity, the design uses shaped grooves (circumferential and transverse) that mechanically guide and maintain alignment. This substitution allows larger clearance gaps while preserving precision through the geometric constraints of the groove profiles.
2Productivity
If conventional check valves are used in spray nozzles, then flow control function is provided, but sealing performance at high pressures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The check valve design is modified by changing the geometric parameters of the sealing surfaces and the actuation mechanism. The valve seat angle, valve disc curvature, and spring pre-load are optimized to maintain sealing under high pressure conditions while preserving flow control functionality. This parameter optimization allows the check valve to seal reliably at high pressures without sacrificing its flow regulation capability.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If wear parts are made from hard materials like tungsten carbide, then durability is improved, but resistance to impact and rough handling deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle assembly uses a composite construction where hard wear-resistant materials (tungsten carbide or ceramic) are used for the wear part surfaces that contact the fluid, while the bulk structure and housing are made from tougher, more impact-resistant materials. This composite approach allows the critical wear surfaces to be highly durable while the overall component can withstand impact and rough handling during assembly and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates protective features such as recessed mounting positions and shock-absorbing mounting structures that cushion the hard wear parts against impact during assembly and disassembly. The concentricity maintaining element and groove engagement system provide mechanical protection that prevents direct impact on the brittle wear parts, allowing them to maintain their hardness and durability while being resistant to rough handling.
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 solution enhances the durability and alignment of wear components, reducing the risk of damage and improving the efficiency and predictability of spray patterns by maintaining concentricity and allowing for easy removal and replacement of parts, while also providing effective sealing at high pressures.
Implementation Method 1
at least one resiliently deflectable wall section having a further upper radially inwardly extending protrusion
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4b
Figure 5a~5b
AI summary
A clasp for a spray nozzle assembly including at least one wear part (70,150) made from a hard and abrasion resistant material and a protective housing (110) made from a strong and resilient material and having a downstream chamber (118) adapted to receive one or more of the wear parts (70,150) in releasably trapped relationship, the downstream chamber (118) having a wall (134) including a post (137) defined by a slot (138) in the downstream chamber wall (134) either side of the post (137), the post (137) including an inwardly extending protuberance 145 at or near its end and adapted to prevent the wear part (70,150) from escaping from the downstream chamber (118)