Quick Disconnect Coupling With Stepped End Mating
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industries like mining, where multiple fluids are supplied through hoses with quick disconnect connectors, simply color coding does not ensure proper connections due to obscuration by dirt and grease, leading to incorrect connections, and existing solutions like varying coupling sizes increase manufacturing costs and affect flow rates.
Innovation Solution
A quick disconnect coupling design with a stepped end and sleeves that maintain an identical internal fluid path across variations, ensuring correct mating through precise geometric compatibility rather than size, preventing cross-contamination and optimizing flow performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coupling sizes are progressively increased to achieve non-interchangeability, then connection reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and flow rate performance varies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by maintaining a standard uniform coupling body design while varying only the localized stepped end geometry. This allows non-interchangeability to be achieved through a specific local feature (the stepped end configuration) rather than requiring different sized components throughout the entire coupling, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by designing a common coupling body that can accommodate multiple different stepped end configurations. This single universal coupling body design works with various fluid types and applications by simply changing the stepped end geometry, eliminating the need to manufacture entirely different coupling sizes for different fluids, thus reducing manufacturing costs while ensuring reliable connections.
2Reliability
If coupling sizes are progressively increased to achieve non-interchangeability, then connection reliability is improved, but flow rate performance varies across different sized couplings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains consistent flow path dimensions within the coupling body across all variations, ensuring uniform flow rate performance. The non-interchangeability is achieved solely through the stepped end geometry, which does not affect the internal flow path, thereby decoupling the reliability function (achieved through stepped end matching) from the flow rate function (maintained through standardized coupling body internal dimensions).
3Ease of operation
If color coding is used to identify different fluids, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to obscuration by dirt and grease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the visual identification system (color coding) with a mechanical identification system (stepped end geometry). The stepped end acts as a physical key that must match the corresponding socket configuration, providing positive mechanical identification that cannot be obscured by dirt or grease, thereby ensuring reliable and accurate connections while maintaining ease of operation through intuitive mechanical compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A quick disconnect incorporates a male component (nipple) and a female component (socket) that cooperate to form the fluid tight coupling. The nipple at the mating end includes at the outer surface a stepped end forming first and second diameters that are inserted into the socket. The socket includes first and second sleeves, where only the precise stepped end will fit through the sleeves and open the valve of the coupling. The internal fluid path remains identical across all variations of the stepped end and mating sleeves, and many different variations of the quick disconnect valve can be constructed with only minor changes to the stepped end and sleeves.