NZ571667A - Valve with a fluid outlet, a rotatable crank pin, a shut-off valve, a crank pin, and a metering valve - Google Patents

Abstract

A valve having a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, a rotatable crank pin, a shut-off valve member, and a metering valve member is disclosed. The shut-off valve is operatively-connected to the crank pin, and the metering valve operatively-connected to the crank pin. The metering valve has a small bypass passageway, which enables a very small flow of water to bypass the metering valve member when the metering valve member is in its fully closed position. Rotation of the crank pin causes the metering valve member or the shut-off valve member to move into a selected position.

Description

Patents Form # J *10058200591 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION AFTER PROVISIONAL NO.: 571667 PRIORITY DATE: 30 September 2008 TITLE: Valve I, PICTON, David John Address: 29 Lady Ruby Drive, East Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand, 2141 Nationality: A citizen of United Kingdom do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 203980NZ_Cap_20090929_ 82S_TDT.doc FEE CODE 1050 intellectual property office of n.z 2 9 SEP 2009 RECEIVED VALVE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to metering valves, where the flow through the valve has to be accurately 5 controlled, It also has application to combined metering and shut off valves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a need for a new design of a metering valve suitable for use in a water control and water management system. Such a valve should be able to both shut off the water supply 10 completely, and/or if water is allowed to flow, it should be able to precisely control the flow rate.

Prior art: US 4796665 - teaches a valve with linear movement between an upper shut-off position and a lower control position.

US 5775369 - teaches a flow regulating and shut-off valve with linearly opposed parts separately controllable.

EP 1613881 - teaches a flow regulating and shut-off valve with separately controlled valve parts linearly moved.

US 2003/226603 - shows a linearly controlled valve with a stop position, enabling a needle valve within 20 valve plug.

GB 1174106 - discloses a valve with oppositely disposed stop members in two passages, one for fine control, and one for coarse control.

US 2006688 - is concerned with a crank controlled shower head with water shut-off when rotated one way, and limited water flow when rotated the other way with water flowing through channels in the 25 valve seat.

Received at IPONZ 20 December 2011 None of these prior patents address the problem of how to provide a valve which, can be easily controlled to shut off the water supply completely on the one hand, and on the other hand allows for a precisely controlled flow rate from small to large flows.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide an improved metering valve, or a one which will provide the public with a useful choice.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION In one aspect the invention provides a valve having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a rotatable crank pin, a shut-off valve member operatively-connected to the crank pin, and a metering valve member operatively-connected to the crank pin, wherein the metering valve member has a small bypass passageway to enable a very small water flow to bypass the metering valve member when the metering valve member is in its fully closed position, such that rotation of the crank 15 pin will cause the metering valve member or the shut-off valve member to move into a selected position.

Preferably the metering valve member is a conical or frusto-conical valve body capable of moving into or out of engagement with a tapered throat so that as it moves towards the tapered throat the flow through the metering valve member is reduced.

It is particularly preferred that the small bypass passageway is provided by a groove on the exterior of the metering valve member that enables a very small water flow, called 'telltale flow', to pass through the metering valve member when the metering valve member is in its fully closed position. This telltale groove allows a very small water flow to occur if the shut-off valve member is in the open state.

This telltale groove, in combination with the opening or closing of the shut-off valve member is useful water management and control systems.

Although this valve has been specially designed for use in a water control and management system, it will be apparent that this combined metering valve and shut-off valve will have 203980NZ_CAP_200929Q9.DOC Received at IPONZ 20 December 2011 applications for other control systems and for other liquids or gases, particularly in industrial applications.

Preferably the crank pin is controlled by an electric motor, and more preferably the electric motor is a stepper motor.

Preferably there is a sensor capable of detecting the angular position of the crank pin.

Preferably a pressure transducer is connected to the valve downstream of the shut-off valve member. In this case "downstream" refers to a position between the shut-off valve member and the outlet connection of the valve.

Preferably a flow meter is mounted downstream of the shut-off valve member, and more 10 preferably mounted between the shut-off valve member and the fluid outlet.

Preferably the flow meter is a paddle wheel transducer mounted within the valve between the shut-off valve member and the fluid outlet.

These and other aspects of this invention, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only, 15 with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of the valve body, and shows a portion of the pressure transducer, electric motor, and shaft encoder extending from the front face of the valve body.

Figure 2 shows a front elevation of a pair of valve bodies connected together, each having 20 a flow meter connected to its respective outlet.

Figure 3 is a first cross-sectional view through the valve body showing the relationship of the crank pin to the valve components.

Figure 4 illustrates a front perspective view of the valve body of figure 1 showing the location of the pressure transducer and shaft encoder in more detail.

Figure 5 illustrates a second cross-sectional view through the valve body showing the relationship of the metering valve body and the shut-off valve body. 20398CINZ_CAP_20092909.DOC Figure 6 it is a partly cut away view illustrating the interior of the valve body to illustrate the shape of the metering valve and its telltale groove, and its relative location to the crank pin, and the shut-off valve.

Figures 7-11 show cross sectional views through the centre of the valve body and the crank 5 pin showing the crank pin in different positions as it rotates within its keeper, and showing the shut-off valve and the metering valve in different control positions. These different positions will be apparent from the following descriptions and the table of valve settings which correlates the position of the crank pin with the different flow rates: Figure 7 shows the crank pin in the top dead centre position with the metering valve fully open end of the shut-off valve fully closed.

Figure 8 shows the crank pin rotated to the north-west position (the crank is the circle to the left of the shaft).

Figure 9 shows the crank pin in the Westerly position.

Figure 10 shows the crank pin in the southwest position.

Figure 11 shows the crank pin in the southern position.

Figure 12 illustrates the crank pin positions controlled by the stepper motor.

Figure 13 is a graph showing the relationship of valve position (from Figure 12) to flow rate.

Figure 14 is a cross sectional view through the valve of Example 2, showing the relationship of the crank pin to the various components within the valve body.

Figure 15 is a front perspective view of the valve body of Example 2, showing the location of the printed circuit board, but with the electric motor omitted.

Figure 16 is a rear perspective view of the valve body of Figure 15.

Received at IPONZ 17 November 2010 Figure 17 is a rear perspective view of the assembled valve of Figure 16 but including the housing for the electric motor and gear box.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: Example 1 The prototype valve body of this invention can best be understood from the cross sectional views of figures 3 and 5. Looking at Figure 1 it is apparent that there is a valve body 100 connected to an electric motor 111 and a shaft encoder 112, such that the electric motor causes a crank pin 131 to rotate. The crank pin passes through the centre of the valve body at right 10 angles to the main rectangular axis of the valve body.

At the bottom of the valve body there is the intake manifold 113 with inlet connector 114 at the left hand side of Figure 1, and a connector 115 at the right-hand side of Figure 1. These connectors enable a number of valve bodies to be connected together and to a common inlet pipe.

Figure 2 shows a pair of valve bodies connected together with the inlet connector 114 on the right-hand side of Figure 2, and an end unit blanking plug 121 positioned at the left hand side of the leftmost valve body.

In Figure 2 water flows from the inlet water pipe via the inlet connector 114 into the manifold 113 and then up through the centre of the respective valve body so that when the metering valve 20 132 and the shut-off valve 133 are both in the open position water will flow out the top of the valve body, and in the case of Figure 2, through a flow meter 122 to a respective outlet 123. The outlets 123 and flow meters 122 are labeled as zone 1 and zone 2 and refer to a water conservation and management system. The valve of this invention has particular application to water conservation and management as will be apparent from the following description, but it is 25 not limited to such an application.

Looking now at the cross sectional views of figures 3 and 5 it will be apparent that the valve motor 111 (preferably an electric stepper motor) causes its shaft to rotate on command, and will cause the shaft to move through a number of steps. The shaft is connected to a crank pin 131 203980NZ_CAP_20Q92909.DOC and the crank pin is held within a hollow keeper which in turn is connected both to the shut-off valve 133 and also to the metering valve 132. The aperture passing through the manifold module 113 connects at right angles with an aperture which extends upwardly via a non return valve 134 into a tapered throat which forms the valve seat 135 for the movable portion of the 5 metering valve.

The metering valve 132 is shaped in the form of a conical body capable of moving into or out of engagement with the throat, and when fully lowered its tapered sides will mate against the tapered sides of the upper portion of the throat to cause the metering valve to close off the water flow through the throat. In practice it does not fully close off the water flow because of the 10 presence of a telltale groove which is shown in more detail in figure 6. Also shown in this central portion of Figure 3 is a motor overrun stop 136, a motor coupling 137 and a mounting bracket 138. Below the metering valve body there is a retaining circlet 116, and the metering valve seat 135 forms part of the non-return valve housing.

Surrounding the crank pin is the keeper which will be shown in more detail in figures 7-11 15 showing the operation of the valve as the crank rotates between different positions.

Above the keeper there is a valve cavity plug 117, which is connected to the shut-off valve. The shut-off valve is shown in detail in figures 7-11 and is visible in the cutaway view of Figure 6.

The shut-off valve 133 has a seal 139 designed to seal against the shut-off valve seat 139a. To the top right of Figure 3 there is a pressure transducer 118 connected via a small aperture to the 20 outlet passageway situated above the shut-off valve seat. The top of the valve body has an outlet connector 119, a connector retainer 119a and a retaining screw 119b. To the right of Figure 3 a shaft encoder 112 is connected to the electric motor, so that the position of the stepper-motor is accurately controlled. Figure 4 shows a rear perspective view of Figure 1, showing the location of a flow meter 122 connected to the outlet connector 119 at the top of the 25 valve body. This is the flow meter that is shown in Figure 2, and is also shown in Figure 1 (but not labeled in that figure).

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view at right angles to that Figure 3. It shows in more detail the joiner connector 115 and the inlet connector 114 of the inlet manifold 113, it shows a connector retainer 119a, a location Dowel 151, and the non return valve 134 which sits below the throat of the metering valve 132. It shows the shape of the movable keeper which has a central aperture containing the crank pin 131.

Above the keeper, is the shut-off valve seal 139 and shut-off valve seat 139a. At the top of the valve body there is a connector retainer 119a, and the outlet connector 119 is shown having an 5 external screw thread connection to the appropriate pipe fittings. Since the valve has been designed for use with plumbing fittings, it can utilize a standard threaded connection.

Figure 6 shows the position of the shaft encoder 112 electric motor 111 and its couplings 137, 161, and the internal components of the valve body (with the valve body completely removed for the purpose of explanation). The key point of Figure 6 is to illustrate the presence of at least 10 one telltale groove 162 which is a small groove extending downwardly on the lower tapered portion of the metering valve body. This groove is small enough to allow a very small flow of water through the metering valve 132 even when the metering valve plant is fully depressed and is otherwise in sealing contact with the throat of the metering valve seat. Only one such groove is visible in Figure 6. In practice I prefer to use two such grooves 180°apart. But any number of 15 grooves may be provided to allow a small flow of water through the metering valve when the shut-off valve is in the "OPEN" position.

The other feature of Figure 6 which is readily apparent is the shape of the crank pin 131 with its central shaft and offset crank which sits within the keeper body otherwise referred to as the "valve crank" 152. The keeper body is a substantially rectangular block with an approximately 20 oval shaped aperture. As shown it has upper and lower flat surfaces and semicircular portions at each end to match the shape of the circular crank pin.

Extending from the bottom of this keeper body is a shaft or stem which forms part of the conical top shaped metering valve body. Extending above the keeper body is a further shaft which forms the stem of the shut-off valve 139 which seals against the face of the shut-off valve seat 25 139a.

Turning now to Figures 7-11: They show that rotation of the stepper-motor causes the crank pin 131 to move through a number of different positions. In these positions we have used the compass positions to show the position of the crank pin 131 relative to the aperture in the keeper body. In the sequence of drawings, the crank pin appears to rotate anticlockwise when viewed from Figure 7 starting with the crank pin in the northern position and then moving to the northwest position of Figure 8, the westerly position of Figure 9, the southwesterly position of Figure 10 and down to the southern position of Figure 11.

In Figures 7 to 11, we have shown the crank pin 131 moving through 160° (see also Figure 12 5 for the range of movement) moving through the westerly half of the drawings. As of the symmetrical nature of the keeper, it is possible for the stepper motor to rotate through the easterly half of the drawings, and still achieve the same opening and closing arrangements. In designing this valve with a symmetrical keeper, I envisage that the controller, and stepper motor could be programmed so that the stepper motor will operate in say the westerly quadrant for the 10 first one million cycles, and then the preset to operate on the easterly quadrant for the next one million cycles. The controller can include a counter to count the number of opening and closing of the valve, to allow for any wear within the crank pin and the interior of the keeper. Alternatively instead of counting a fixed number of cycles for one quadrant and then switching to the other quadrant, the valve may include a sensor to detect the quadrant in use, and 15 alternately switch to the opposite quadrant in order to extend the operating life of the valve.

In another variation it may be desirable to switch from the westerly quadrant to the easterly quadrant at set time periods, to minimize wear in either half of the keeper or portion of the crank pin exposed to the interior of the keeper.

Of course, if the valve body is viewed from the orientation of Figure 4, then the valve motor 20 111 will seem to rotate in a clockwise direction from the position of the angular encoder 112, but looking at it from the views of Figure 7-11 it will appear that the crank pin 131 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. The orientation of the motor and whether the crank pin 131 is seen to move in a clockwise direction is immaterial, what matters is the position of the crank pin relative to the metering valve and the shut-off valve.

For Example in Figure 7 with the crank pin 131 in the northern position (see table of valve positions) the shut off valve 133 is fully closed but the metering valve 132 is fully open.

In Figure 8 with the crank pin 131 in the North West position, the shut off valve 133 is now open and the metering valve 132 is approximately % open. The telltale groove is visible on the surface of the metering valve in Figures 7 and 8.

In Figure 9 as the crank pin 131 moves to the westerly position, the shut off valve 133 is now almost folly open, but the metering valve 132 is now partially closed to control the flow rate through the valve.

In Figure 10 the shut-off valve 133 is now fully open as the crank pin moves to the southwest 5 position, but the metering valve 132 is now almost folly closed.

In Figure 11 the crank pin 131 moves to the southern most position, the metering valve 132 is folly closed (except for the effect of the telltale groove 162) and the shut-off valve 133 is now moving towards the valve seat. At this point it is still fully open, further rotation will cause it to move back towards the valve seat.

Figure 12 and Table A shows the relative position of the crank pin to the flow rate through the valve.

Table A Function Anele Description Closed (0 degrees) The valve is totally closed in this position.

Line Test (-25 degrees) The valve is positioned just off its closed position with a small amount of water passing through.

Fully Open (-90 degrees) The valve allows an unrestricted flow of water through.

Controlled Flow (~90 -160 degrees) When in this position, the flow of water can be controlled in a linear fashion with the flow decreasing gradually until the Full Metering position is reached.

Partial Metering (-140 degrees) The valve is almost at its full metering position and allows a small amount of water through.

Full Metering (-160 degrees) The valve in this position only allows a trickle or "tell tale" amount of water through.

Preferably the position of the crank pin is controlled by the stepper-motor, and the stepper-motor is in turn controlled by a microprocessor controller which receives signals from various sensors to control the precise position of the stepper motor and hence the precise position of the crank pin. The microprocessor receives signals from the shaft encoder as well as signals from 5 the flow meter and the pressure transducer so that information on the pressure in the output pipe the flow rate through the outlet pipe and the position of the shut-off valve and metering valve can be calculated and used to control and measure the flow of a liquid such as water through the valve body.

Figure 13 is a graph of measured flow rate against the valve positions shown in Table A.

Example 2 In this example, the prototype valve of Example 1 has been redesigned to make a more compact production valve by reducing the size of the pressure transducer, and replacing the large and somewhat cumbersome stepper motor of the prototype with its absolute encoder, with a much smaller conventional DC motor which drives through a reduction gear box and has its own integral shaft encoder mounted on the rear shaft of the motor.

In addition we have reduced the size of the assembly by incorporating a paddle wheel flow meter inside the body of the valve (as shown in Figure 14) and have mounted a control printed circuit board (PCB) on the front of the valve as well so that the whole unit is now self contained.

In this more compact valve, the rear of the valve body is shown in Figures 16 and 17 so they can be flush mounted against a wall. This means that the shaft, with its encoder, electric motor and gear box, as well as the pressure transducer 218 are all mounted on the front of the valve body, i.e. on the left hand side of Figure 14, so that each of these items can be readily serviced if required.

Turning now to Figure 14 this cross sectional view of the more compact valve body has a similar numbering configuration to that of Example 1, for example the crank pin which is numbered 131 in Figure 3, is now numbered 231, with the other numbers incremented in a similar fashion so they start with the digit 2 rather than the digit 1. This valve of Figure 14 has a conical metering valve member 232 with a groove on its conical surface, corresponding to the groove shown in the enlarged views of Figure 7 and Figure 8.

A non return valve 234 is fitted just above the inlet manifold 213. A shut-off valve 233 is situated above the crank 231, and a more compact pressure transducer 218 is fitted on the left 5 hand side of Figure 14, having an output cable 272 which will be connected to the control panel (not shown). Above the shut off valve 233, a flow meter 222 is situated in the valve body itself showing the paddle wheel 270. The output from the flow meter is via wires 271. The top of the valve body is an outlet connector 219.

Figures 15 and 16 show the placement of the printed circuit board 280. It will be apparent from 10 Figure 17 that this is of such a size that it can be covered by the motor housing 281, which contains the compact DC electric motor, gear box and shaft encoder.

The operation of the valve body 200, with its plumbing connectors 215 and 216 in the lower manifold 213, and its outlet connector 219, and the valve cavity plug 217 all operate in a similar fashion to the corresponding number series in Example 1.

Similarly the rotation of the crank operates in a similar fashion to that set out in Figure 12 and in the table, and the valve actual position verse flow rate graph of Figure 13 applies equally to the valve body of Example 2.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention provides a versatile valve for many plumbing or industrial control of fluids.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT This invention allows a single modular valve body to both measure flow rate through the valve body and to control the flow of liquid through the valve body, allowing both a partial shut off 25 and a full shut off of all liquid flow through the valve when required.

The design of the metering valve with its telltale groove allows a very small water flow to take place through the valve body, enabling both flow and pressure signals to be determined, and this is particularly useful in using the valve to control water usage and also to detect leaks in a plumbing installation. The control of water especially potable water within dwellings is 5 important, as much water is wasted through dripping taps, leaky toilet systems, burst or damaged pipes, in effective appliances, and through a variety of courses, often not detected by the householder until they receive a large water bill.

The valve of this invention has been designed to assist in measuring water flows and hence leak detection, as well as a controlled shut-off of the water supplied to a particular zone or area of a 10 dwelling when required. Although designed for use in dwellings such as houses, apartments, hotels, and the like, this valve will also have application in the industrial settings, where precise control of fluids is required.

VARIATIONS: The valve body has been designed using a number of modular components, but in some applications it may be desirable to manufacture the valve body as a single entity with a built in flow meter as described in Example 2, with or without the inlet manifold as shown in the drawings.

The pressure transducer is shown connected to the upper passageway of figure 3, but the 20 pressure transducer could be fitted in the outlet pipe rather than being part of the valve body. Similarly the flow meter which is shown as an add-on feature in the outlet pipe of figure 1 could be incorporated into the valve body, as is the case with the valve body of Figure 14. Although a paddle wheel transducer is described for the measurement of flow rate, and flow quantity, other measuring devices may be used including ultrasonic transducers.

Finally, various other alterations or modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of this invention as claimed.

Received at IPONZ 20 December 2011

Claims (9)

claims:

1. A valve having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a rotatable crank pin, a shut-off valve member operatively-connected to the crank pin, and a metering valve member operatively-connected to the crank pin, wherein the metering valve member has a small bypass passageway to enable a very small water flow to bypass the metering valve member when the metering valve member is in its fully closed position, such that rotation of the crank pin will cause the metering valve member or the shut-off valve member to move into a selected position.

2. A valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metering valve member is conical or frusto-conical and is capable of moving into or out of engagement with a tapered throat in the valve so that as the metering valve member moves towards the tapered throat, the flow through the metering valve is reduced.

3. A valve as claimed in claim 2, wherein the small bypass passageway is provided by a groove on the exterior of the metering valve member to enable a very small water flow to by-pass the metering valve member when the metering valve is in its fully closed position.

4. A valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crank pin is controlled by an electric motor.

5. A valve as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is a sensor capable of detecting the angular position of the crank pin.

6. A valve as claimed in claim 5, wherein a pressure transducer is connected to the valve downstream of the shut-off valve.

7. A valve as claimed in claim 5, further including a flow meter downstream of the shut-off valve.

8. A valve as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flow meter is a paddle wheel transducer mounted within the valve between the shut-off valve and the fluid outlet.

9. A valve substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. 203980NZ CAP 20O929O9.DOC