Watch Safety Valve Assembly for Ceramic Pressure-Resistant Heads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing helium escape valves in dive watches require assembly methods like pressing or welding, limiting the use of hard materials such as ceramics, which are difficult to deform or weld, and thus pose a risk of damage from internal overpressure during decompression.
Innovation Solution
A safety valve design that allows assembly without pressing or welding, using an insert attached to the head made of a less rigid material, enabling the use of hard materials like ceramic or sapphire, with screwing and bonding as attachment methods, and incorporating a piston mechanism to regulate pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the valve head is made of hard materials such as ceramic or sapphire, then durability and resistance to internal overpressure are improved, but assembly becomes difficult because these materials cannot be deformed or welded
Solution Approach 1:
The valve head is divided into two separate components: a hard material head (ceramic or sapphire) and a soft material insert (steel or aluminum). The insert is assembled into the head through pressing or welding, allowing the hard head to provide durability while the soft insert enables conventional assembly methods.
Solution Approach 2:
A soft material insert acts as an intermediary between the hard material head and the tube. The insert is pressed or welded onto the tube and then inserted into the head, serving as a mediator that allows connection of the hard head to the tube without requiring direct assembly of the hard material to the tube.
2Strength
If the valve head is made of hard materials, then resistance to internal overpressure is improved, but the choice of assembly methods is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the valve head into a hard material head and a soft material insert, the invention enables multiple assembly methods (pressing, welding, screwing) to be used on the soft insert while the hard head maintains its pressure resistance properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve head becomes a composite structure combining hard material (ceramic or sapphire) and soft material (steel or aluminum) components. This composite approach allows the hard material to provide pressure resistance while the soft material provides assembly versatility.
3Ease of manufacture
If pressing or welding is used to attach the head to the tube, then assembly is simplified, but hard materials such as ceramics are excluded from use
Solution Approach 1:
The valve head is segmented into a hard material head and a soft material insert. The soft insert is pressed or welded to the tube using conventional methods, while the hard head is separately attached to the insert, thereby enabling both easy assembly and use of hard materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft material insert serves as an intermediary that is pressed or welded to the tube, allowing conventional assembly methods to be used while enabling the hard material head to be attached to this insert, thus expanding material choices without compromising assembly ease.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a safety valve (1) comprising: - a tube (2) intended to be fixed to a watch case, - a hollowed head (3) mounted movable in rotation and translation around and along the axis of the tube (2), said head (3) being able to adopt a first axial position where a flow of gas can take place between the inside and outside of the watch case and a second axial position where this flow of gas is prevented, - a first insert (4) mounted within the hollow of the head (3), said valve (1) being characterized in that the head (3) is mounted on the tube (2) by means of the first insert (4) and in that the head (3) is fixed to said first insert (4) by means of fixing (8) comprising a screw thread and/or an adhesive.