A pressure regulator including a closure resisting mechanism that increases the total closure resisting force of a closure element to prevent the closure element from moving into a closed position until a predetermined pressure set point is reached. The closure resisting mechanism operates automatically and is spring actuated in response to pressure within a fluid pathway of the regulator. The closure resisting mechanism is disposed external to the fluid pathway so as not to impede fluid flow.

An externally adjustable pressure regulator includes a body having a shoulder, a longitudinal axis and a high pressure inlet. The body has an opening along a side. A bonnet has a regulated pressure outlet and is engaged with the body. A piston is positioned in part in the body and the bonnet. The piston has a shoulder, a longitudinal bore and a transverse bore at about the end thereof in flow communication with the longitudinal bore. A spring is disposed on the piston. A wedging element is positioned in the opening in the body side and is in contact with the spring. An adjusting ring engages the wedging element to move it into the spring to increase compression of the spring and off of the spring to decrease compression. Increasing compression of the spring increases a spring force of the spring on the piston and decreasing compression of the spring decreases the spring force on the piston.

An externally adjustable pressure regulator includes a body having a shoulder, a longitudinal axis and a high pressure inlet. The body has an opening along a side. A bonnet has a regulated pressure outlet and is engaged with the body. A piston is positioned in part in the body and the bonnet. The piston has a shoulder, a longitudinal bore and a transverse bore at about the end thereof in flow communication with the longitudinal bore. A spring is disposed on the piston. A wedging element is positioned in the opening in the body side and is in contact with the spring. An adjusting ring engages the wedging element to move it into the spring to increase compression of the spring and off of the spring to decrease compression. Increasing compression of the spring increases a spring force of the spring on the piston and decreasing compression of the spring decreases the spring force on the piston.

A pressure reducing valve (IOO) includes a displaceable throttling element (51) displaceable between a fully-open position in which fluid flows along a flow path from an inlet (11) to an outlet (45), and a closed position in which the flow path is blocked. A spring (6) acts to displace the displaceable throttling element to the fully-open position while pressure within a control chamber (54) acts on a pressure-actuated surface to displace the displaceable throttling element towards the closed position. A switchable hydraulic control circuit in fluid connection with the inlet, the outlet and the control chamber, is switchable between first state in which a pressure within the control chamber is equalized with the outlet pressure, and a second state in which the pressure within the control chamber is equalized with an inlet pressure.

What is disclosed is a pressure regulator having a mechanism to turn fluid flow through the pressure regulator on or off. The pressure regulator incorporates an actuator by which fluid flow to a pressure chamber that controls the linear movement of a flow tube is selectively actuated from one of a downstream supply and a pressurized fluid supply, such as an upstream supply. The actuator can be a manual, electromechanical, hydraulic or other form of actuator.

A pressure regulator (10) including: a housing (12, 14) including a flow passage (44, 46, 48); a plunger (38) configured to move within the housing, wherein the plunger is hollow and has a plunger passage (46) included in the flow passage; a valve seat (52) in the housing and disposed in the flow passage immediately upstream of an inlet (44) to the plunger passage; a shuttle (42) within the housing configured to move between an upstream-most position at which the shuttle abuts the valve seat to close the flow passage and a downstream position displaced from the valve seat which opens the flow passage; a sealed chamber (26) within the housing and between the plunger and the shuttle, wherein the sealed chamber is configured to be operated at pressures other than at atmospheric pressure; and a port (66) in the housing and open to the sealed chamber, wherein the port is configured to be connected to a source (68) of a pressurized fluid.

An externally adjustable pressure regulator includes a body having a shoulder, a longitudinal axis and a high pressure inlet. The body has an opening along a side. A bonnet has a regulated pressure outlet and is engaged with the body. A piston is positioned in part in the body and the bonnet. The piston has a shoulder, a longitudinal bore and a transverse bore at about the end thereof in flow communication with the longitudinal bore. A spring is disposed on the piston. A wedging element is positioned in the opening in the body side and is in contact with the spring. An adjusting ring engages the wedging element to move it into the spring to increase compression of the spring and off of the spring to decrease compression. Increasing compression of the spring increases a spring force of the spring on the piston and decreasing compression of the spring decreases the spring force on the piston.

A pressure regulator for a fuel cell system may include: a housing having an inlet port into which gas is introduced, an outlet port through which gas is discharged, and an regulated pressure chamber connected to an outside through the outlet port; a piston moving up and down in the housing, having a main flow path penetrating through an inside of the housing and a pressure acting portion applying a pressure of gas in the regulated pressure chamber of the housing, and selectively communicating between the inlet port and the regulated pressure chamber of the housing through the main flow path as the piston moves up and down; and a spring provided in the housing to elastically support the pressure acting portion of the piston on an opposite side of the regulated pressure chamber.

Embodiments described herein relate to a pressure-regulating device, systems that include the device, and related methods. For example, the pressure-regulating device may receive gas from a gas supply at a first pressure (e.g., on a supply side of the pressure-regulating device) and may regulate or reduce the pressure of the received gas to a selected or suitable second, different pressure.

A pressure regulator includes a piston assembly having a primary piston, secondary piston, and valve seat positioned inside an internal chamber divided into a primary chamber and a secondary chamber, such that the primary piston and valve seat are positioned inside the primary chamber and the secondary piston is positioned inside the secondary chamber, where the piston assembly moves longitudinally along the axis of the internal chamber in response to the pressures exerted on the primary piston and valve seat by a working liquid flowing into the primary chamber, and where a supplemental fluid is selectively introduced into the secondary chamber to exert a force on the secondary piston to modify the longitudinal movement of the piston assembly and thereby regulate flow of the working fluid through the primary chamber.