Pipe Repair Stent Spring With Dimpled Gasket Retention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe repair methods require shutting down piping systems, which is inconvenient and costly, and often necessitate extensive construction, including digging up streets and sidewalks.
Innovation Solution
A pipe repair device comprising a gasket with raised ridges and recessed dimples, and a spring that biases the device to an expanded configuration, allowing it to engage the inner wall of a pipe and create a suction force for retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pipe repair methods are used, then pipe breaks can be repaired, but the piping system must be shut down and extensive construction is required
Solution Approach 1:
The repair device is inserted inside the existing pipe, with the spring-expanded stent nested within the pipe interior. The gasket and seals are contained within the stent structure, creating a nested configuration that allows repair without external access or system shutdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring automatically expands the stent to engage the pipe inner wall, and the gasket material forms its own seal against the pipe surface through the created suction force, eliminating the need for external assistance or system shutdown during the sealing process.
2Reliability
If traditional pipe repair methods are used, then pipe breaks can be repaired, but extensive construction including digging up streets is necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The repair function is extracted from the traditional external construction approach and moved inside the pipe. The entire sealing and repair mechanism is contained within the pipe interior, eliminating the need for external excavation and construction activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket is formed from a flexible material that can conform to the pipe inner wall surface. This flexible shell structure adapts to the pipe geometry and creates an effective seal without requiring rigid external support structures or extensive construction.
3Force
If a spring is used to bias the device to expanded configuration, then the device can engage the pipe inner wall, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: the spring provides expansion force, the stent provides structural framework, and the gasket provides sealing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together as an integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex locking or anchoring mechanism to hold the device against the pipe wall, the design inverts the approach by using spring expansion to create outward force that presses the gasket against the pipe surface, generating suction force for retention.
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 device enables quick and effective repair of pipe breaks without shutting down the piping system, reducing costs and construction time, and providing a reliable watertight seal.
Implementation Method 1
a spring engaging the gasket inner surface and biasing the pipe repair device to an expanded configuration
Implementation Method 2
creating a suction force between each of the recessed dimples and the inner wall of the pipe to retain the pipe repair device against the inner wall
Data Source
AI summary
A stent spring for a pipe repair device includes a tubular mesh structure comprising a plurality of strands arranged to define a plurality of spring openings therebetween, the tubular mesh structure defining a circumferential spring top end and a circumferential spring bottom end opposite the circumferential spring top end, a void extending axially through the tubular mesh structure from the circumferential spring bottom end to the circumferential spring top end; a continuous top band extending partially around the circumferential spring top end of the tubular mesh structure; and a continuous bottom band extending partially around the circumferential spring bottom end of the tubular mesh structure.