Wafer-Type Direct-Acting Valve Flangeless Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wafer-type direct-acting valves are heavy and costly due to the formation of flanges on the valve box, which complicates manufacturing and installation processes.
Innovation Solution
A flangeless wafer-type direct-acting valve design where the valve box is sandwiched between pipe flanges tightened by bolts and nuts, with connecting end portions having a smaller diameter and a cover flange neck that interposes between adjacent bolts, reducing weight, dimensions, and material costs, while ensuring efficient sealing and installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flanges are formed on the valve box to enable piping, then the valve can be connected to pipe members, but the valve becomes heavy and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the flange function from the valve box itself. Instead of forming flanges on the valve box, the patent uses the pipe flanges alone to provide the connection interface, while the valve box maintains a simple cylindrical shape without flange structures, thereby reducing weight while preserving piping capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional flange interface (requiring lateral extension of the valve box) to a one-dimensional insertion approach. The valve box is inserted axially between pipe flanges, and the cover flange neck provides the necessary sealing surface in a different spatial orientation, eliminating the need for bulky flange structures on the valve box
2Weight of stationary object
If the valve box is sandwiched between pipe flanges without flanges on the valve box, then weight and manufacturing cost are reduced, but the structure becomes more complex in terms of installation
Solution Approach 1:
The valve box is designed with a preliminary tapered configuration that guides it into the correct position between pipe flanges during installation. The cover flange neck is pre-formed with connection surfaces that automatically align with the pipe flange interfaces, reducing the complexity of installation operations despite the innovative flangeless design
3Weight of stationary object
If the connecting end portions have smaller diameter than pipe flanges, then weight and dimensions are reduced, but sealing becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a sealing ring as an intermediary element between the valve box connecting end portions and the pipe flanges. This sealing ring compensates for the diameter difference and provides reliable sealing, allowing the valve box to have a smaller diameter than the pipe flanges while maintaining sealing performance
Solution Approach 2:
The valve box connecting end portions are designed with localized sealing surfaces that have different properties from the main body. These localized surfaces are specifically engineered to interface with the sealing rings and pipe flanges, providing effective sealing at the critical interface while allowing the overall valve box to have reduced dimensions
Data Source
AI summary
In the direct-acting valve of the present invention, no flange is formed in the valve box and the piping is achieved by interposing the valve box between pipe flanges. The direct acting valve includes: a driving section that operates by sensing a primary pressure or a secondary pressure; and a valve body communicating with the driving section to open and close a flow path. A valve box of the valve is positioned between pipe flanges tightened by bolts and nuts. Connecting end portions to be mated with pipe flanges respectively have an inlet and an outlet of the flow path, and each of the end portions is formed to have a smaller diameter than that of the pipe flange. A cover flange neck is extended upward from the valve box is formed so as to be interposed between the bolts B and B1 which are provided between the pipe flanges and adjacent to each other on the circumference of the pipe flanges.