Triangle Flow Control Valve for Layflat Irrigation Tubing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Layflat polypipes used for irrigation face challenges in controlling water flow and head pressure on gradients due to their limited thickness, which restricts water handling capacity and requires cumbersome solutions like dirt mounds or barrels, leading to uniformity and stability issues.
Innovation Solution
A triangular flow pipe clamping control valve with offset pivot mounts and adjustable arms that encircle the pipe, allowing for precise control of water flow without cutting the pipe, and providing a visible indicator for flow positions, ensuring secure pipe placement and uniform flow management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If thin layflat polypipe (6-15 mil thickness) is used to reduce cost, then material cost is reduced, but water head handling capacity is limited to less than 1-3 feet and pressure capacity is reduced to less than 1.5 Psi
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a valve as an intermediary device between the thin-walled pipe and the water flow system. The valve body with its triangular aperture and adjustable arms provides the necessary structural strength to handle water head and pressure, while the thin pipe itself remains unchanged for cost efficiency. The valve acts as a mediator that protects the weak pipe from high pressure demands.
2Ease of operation
If dirt mounds are piled under the pipe to control flow and head pressure on gradients, then flow control is achieved, but uniformity is poor, erosion occurs over time, and pipe shifting happens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical dirt mound system with a engineered valve mechanism. Instead of relying on irregular dirt piles that erode and shift, the valve provides a precise, stable, and uniform flow control mechanism through its adjustable arms and triangular aperture that can be securely mounted to prevent shifting.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve allows precise control of flow parameters through adjustable arm positions that create different aperture sizes. The offset pivot mounts enable the arms to be positioned at various angles, providing graduated restricted flow positions that offer uniform and repeatable flow control compared to the variable dirt mound approach.
3Manufacturing precision
If the valve arms are connected rigidly to provide stable aperture control, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of operation for pipe installation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is segmented into separate arms that can be independently positioned and connected. The arms can be disconnected during installation to allow the valve to be placed around already deployed pipe, then connected to establish the desired aperture configuration. This segmentation provides both installation flexibility and operational precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve incorporates dynamic elements including offset pivot mounts that allow the arms to be adjusted to different positions. The arms can be moved and locked at various angles to create different aperture sizes, providing both ease of adjustment during installation and precise control during operation.
4Ease of operation
If multiple outlets are cut into the pipe to control downhead pressure, then flow control is achieved, but pipe integrity is compromised and control precision is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The valve serves as an intermediary device that provides flow control without compromising pipe integrity. Instead of cutting multiple outlets in the pipe, the single valve with adjustable triangular aperture provides precise flow control while the pipe remains intact and structurally sound.
Data Source
AI summary
A valve for a layflat polypipe irrigation tubing valve including a base pivotally supporting two arms with adjustment apertures selectively connected by a cross pin to adjustably control flow in the irrigation tubing from an unrestricted flow position through a plurality of finely adjustable restricted flow positions to a fully restricted flow position while providing a distally identifiable visual indicator of the valve position.