Valve Drive Housing Coupling Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve technologies require complex assembly steps to couple the drive housing with the valve housing and then connect the spindle, making the process cumbersome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
The valve design incorporates first and second actuating means at external and internal interfaces, respectively, where actuating the external interface automatically actuates the internal interface to couple or uncouple the drive housing and spindle, simplifying the coupling process by eliminating the need for initial alignment and assembly of spindle parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the drive housing and valve housing are coupled separately from the spindle connection, then the coupling process requires multiple assembly steps and alignment operations, but this allows independent assembly of each component
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the drive housing coupling and spindle connection into a single integrated operation. The drive member is formed as an integral part of the drive housing, and the interface between drive housing and valve housing simultaneously establishes both the housing connection and the drive member to spindle connection. This eliminates the need for separate assembly steps and alignment operations that would otherwise be required.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface between the drive housing and valve housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it couples the two housings together and also connects the drive member to the spindle. This multi-functional interface design allows a single operation to achieve what previously required multiple separate operations, simplifying the overall assembly process.
2Manufacturing precision
If the drive member and spindle are connected after housing coupling, then alignment precision can be maintained, but assembly time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drive member is pre-formed as an integral part of the drive housing during manufacturing, with the connection interface already prepared. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the housings are coupled, the alignment is automatically correct without requiring additional alignment operations during assembly, thus maintaining precision while reducing assembly time.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple interfaces are used for housing and spindle connection, then functional separation is achieved, but the number of components and assembly operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the drive member and drive housing into a single integrated component. The drive member is formed as an integral part of the drive housing, eliminating the need for a separate drive member component. This reduces the total number of components while maintaining the functional separation between the drive housing interface and the valve housing interface, as the integrated drive member still performs the necessary drive functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A valve, having a valve housing, through which the process medium is able to flow, in which a valve seat surrounding a through-flow opening is arranged, a valve member arranged on a spindle being assigned to said valve seat such that the valve member is movable by an adjusting travel of the spindle between a shut-off position, in which the valve member bears in a sealing manner against the valve seat so as to be impermeable to the process medium, and an open position, in which the valve member is lifted from the valve seat, and having a valve drive, which has a drive housing and a drive member that is arranged in the drive housing and generates the adjusting travel of the spindle, wherein the drive housing is coupled to the valve housing via an external interface and the drive member is coupled to the spindle via an internal interface.