Valve module with wireless energy-transfer unit

Abstract

A valve module with a wireless energy-transfer unit. The wireless energy-transfer unit has at least one energy-transmitting unit and at least one energy-receiving unit. The energy-receiving unit is arranged on a valve piston, on a valve spindle, on a valve actuator housing, on a valve housing, or on a valve-closing element. The energy-receiving unit may be connected to a sensor unit located inside the valve actuator housing.

Claims

1. A valve module with a wireless energy-transfer unit, which comprises at least one energy-transmitting unit and at least two energy-receiving units, and with at least two sensor units, wherein the at least two energy-receiving units are arranged on a valve actuator housing, wherein the at least two energy-receiving units are each connected to a-one of the at least two sensor units, respectively, the at least two sensor units being located inside the valve actuator housing, wherein the at least two sensor units are supplied with energy on different energy-transmission frequencies.

2. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the valve module comprises a pneumatic valve-actuating unit.

3. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the energy-transmitting unit is arranged on or in a valve control unit or in an external area of the valve actuator housing.

4. The valve module according to claim 3, wherein the energy-transmitting unit is connected to the valve control unit in an electrically conducting manner.

5. The valve module according to claim 3, wherein the at least two energy-receiving units are arranged opposite the energy-transmitting unit in an internal area of the valve actuator housing.

6. The valve module according to claim 1, characterized by a valve-actuation axis, along which the valve module is actuatable, wherein all energy-transmitting units and all energy-receiving units are arranged at least in pairs along an energy-transfer axis.

7. The valve module according to claim 6, wherein the energy-transfer axis is congruent with the valve-actuation axis and the energy-receiving units and the energy-transmitting units have an outer diameter which corresponds to 50% to 100% of an outer diameter of the valve actuator housing.

8. The valve module according to claim 6, wherein the energy-transfer axis has a parallel offset to the valve-actuation axis and the energy-receiving units and the energy-transmitting units have an outer diameter which corresponds to 10% to 50% of an outer diameter of the valve actuator housing.

9. The valve module according to claim 1, characterized by two energy-transmitting units, wherein one of the at least two energy-receiving units is arranged between the two energy-transmitting units.

10. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the energy-transmitting unit comprises an energy-transmitter coil with 3 to 200 coil turns.

11. The valve module according to claim 10, wherein a coil spring present in a valve-actuating unit is the energy-transmitter coil or is a part thereof.

12. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the energy-transmitting unit and the at least two energy-receiving units are inductively coupled.

13. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the energy-transmitting unit and the at least two energy-receiving units are resonantly inductively coupled.

14. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the energy-transmitting unit and the at least two energy-receiving units are coupled via an intermediate oscillating circuit.

15. The valve module according to claim 14, wherein a coil spring present in a valve-actuating unit is a coil of the intermediate oscillating circuit or a part thereof.

16. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two energy-receiving units is connected to a data-transmitting unit in order to supply the data-transmitting unit with energy.

17. The valve module according to claim 1, wherein the valve module is a diaphragm valve module including a valve-closing element, wherein the valve-closing element is a valve diaphragm.

18. A valve module with a wireless energy-transfer unit, which comprises at least one energy-transmitting unit and at least one energy-receiving unit, wherein the energy-receiving unit is arranged on a valve actuator housing, wherein the energy-receiving unit is connected to a sensor unit being located inside the valve actuator housing, wherein the sensor unit is supplied with energy by the energy-receiving unit, the sensor unit being formed to detect at least one of a pressure, a temperature, a force, a working cycle of the valve module, a distance, a fluid property, a flow, and a strain, wherein the sensor unit and the energy-receiving unit are entirely located inside the valve actuator housing, and wherein the valve module comprises a pneumatic valve-actuating unit.

19. A valve module with a wireless energy-transfer unit, which comprises at least one energy-transmitting unit and at least two energy-receiving units, and with at least two sensor units, wherein the at least two energy-receiving units are arranged on a valve actuator housing, wherein the at least two energy-receiving units are each connected to one of the at least two sensor units, respectively, the at least two sensor units being located inside the valve actuator housing, wherein the at least two sensor units are supplied with energy on different energy-transmission frequencies, and wherein a valve-actuating unit and a valve control unit are arranged inside the valve actuator housing and the valve actuator housing is fixedly connected to a valve housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is explained below with reference to various embodiment examples which are shown in the attached drawings. There are shown in:

(2) FIG. 1 a valve module according to the invention according to a first embodiment,

(3) FIG. 2 a valve module according to the invention according to a second embodiment,

(4) FIG. 3 a valve module according to the invention according to a third embodiment,

(5) FIG. 4 a valve module according to the invention according to a fourth embodiment and

(6) FIG. 5 a wireless energy-transmitting unit of the valve modules according to the invention from the preceding figures in a schematic diagram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a valve module 10 with a valve spindle 12, which is connected to a valve-closing element 14. The valve spindle 12 is actuated via a valve piston 16, which can close or open a fluid channel 15 in a valve housing 17.

(8) The elements of the valve module 10 are arranged in a valve actuator housing 18, which is composed of several pieces in the embodiment represented and comprises the valve actuator housing parts 18a to 18d.

(9) In addition, the valve module 10 represented is a diaphragm valve module. The valve-closing element 14 is therefore a valve diaphragm.

(10) The valve module 10 also comprises a pneumatic valve-actuating unit 20. The valve piston 16 is thus a pneumatic valve piston 16.

(11) The latter is spring-loaded by means of a coil spring 22.

(12) The valve module 10 furthermore comprises a wireless energy-transmitting unit 24, which comprises a single energy-transmitting unit 26 and five energy-receiving units 28a, 28b, 28c, 28d and 28e in the embodiment according to FIG. 1.

(13) The energy-transmitting unit 26 here is arranged in a valve control unit 29 and is connected thereto in an electrically conducting manner.

(14) The energy-receiving unit 28b is provided on the valve piston 16.

(15) The energy-receiving unit 28e is integrated in the valve-closing element 14 in the present case. In the embodiment represented the energy-receiving unit 28e is thus integrated in the valve diaphragm.

(16) The energy-receiving units 28a, 28c and 28d are installed on the valve actuator housing 18 in the broadest sense.

(17) The number of energy-receiving units 28a to 28e is not to be understood as limiting. Rather, the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e illustrate a range of possible points of arrangement. Depending on the embodiment, only one or several of the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e represented can also be used.

(18) The energy-receiving units 28a to 28e are in each case connected to a sensor unit 30a to 30e in an electrically conducting manner, wherein the sensor units 30a to 30e are represented merely schematically.

(19) In an embodiment that is not represented, the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e can additionally or alternatively be connected to an actuator unit in an electrically conducting manner.

(20) In the embodiment according to FIG. 1 the valve module 10 is actuatable along a valve-actuation axis 32. The valve spindle 12 is displaceably mounted along this valve-actuation axis 32, with the result that a flow path 34 can be opened or closed via the valve-closing element 14.

(21) In addition, the energy-transmitting unit 26 and all energy-receiving units 28a to 28e are arranged along an energy-transfer axis 36, which runs congruent with the valve-actuation axis 32 in the embodiment according to FIG. 1.

(22) Moreover, an outer diameter of the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e and of the energy-transmitting unit 26 is substantially 50% to 100% of an outer diameter of the valve actuator housing 18. In the present case the outer diameters of the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e correspond to approximately 80% to 90% of the outer diameter of the valve actuator housing 18.

(23) The energy-transmitting unit 26 has an outer diameter which is substantially 75% of the outer diameter of the valve actuator housing 18.

(24) The wireless energy-transmitting unit 24 is to be seen in detail in FIG. 5. By way of example, only a single energy-receiving unit 28 is represented here, which is connected to a single sensor unit 30a in an electrically conducting manner.

(25) The energy-transmitting unit 26 here comprises an energy-transmitter coil 38 and the energy-receiving unit 28 comprises an energy-receiver coil 40.

(26) The energy-transmitter coil 38 has 3 to 200 coil turns.

(27) The energy-receiver coil 40 has 100 to 3000 coil turns.

(28) In addition, a capacitor 42 is connected to the energy-transmitter coil 38 in series, and a capacitor 44 is connected to the energy-receiver coil 40, wherein it is connected to the energy-receiver coil 40 in parallel.

(29) The energy-transmitting unit 26 and the energy-receiving unit 28 are thus coupled to each other in a resonantly inductive manner.

(30) The coupling is not direct, but via a first intermediate oscillating circuit 46 and/or a second intermediate oscillating circuit 48.

(31) Both intermediate oscillating circuits 46, 48 in each case comprise a coil, not defined more precisely, and a capacitor, not defined more precisely. The intermediate oscillating circuits are tuned, with respect to their resonant frequency, to a transmission frequency of the wireless energy-transmitting unit 24 and thus serve for improved energy transmission.

(32) The energy-transmitting unit 26 moreover comprises a combined shielding and core unit 50. This thus comprises a core for the energy-transmitter coil 38 and shields the energy-transmitter coil 38 from an environment, at least on one side.

(33) The energy-receiving unit 28 also comprises a combined shielding and core unit 52, wherein this comprises a core for the energy-receiver coil 40 and shields the latter from an environment.

(34) Furthermore, the energy-receiving unit 28 is connected to a data-transmitting unit 54 in order to supply it with energy.

(35) By means of the data-transmitting unit 54, the energy-receiving unit 28 can then wirelessly communicate, for example, a sensor value detected by the sensor unit 30a.

(36) The energy-transmitting unit 26 is coupled in this connection to a data-receiving unit 56, which can receive such a sensor value.

(37) In an alternative not represented in more detail, the energy-receiving unit 28 is coupled to two energy-transmitting units 26, wherein the energy-receiving unit 28 is arranged between the energy-transmitting units 26.

(38) FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the valve module 10. Only the differences from the embodiment according to FIG. 1 are discussed here.

(39) The energy-transfer axis 36 now has a parallel offset to the valve-actuation axis 32.

(40) It is not essential that in FIG. 2 the centre axes of the individual energy-receiving units 28a to 28e and of the energy-transmitting unit 26 are arranged with a slight offset to each other. It is equally unimportant that the centre axis of the energy-receiving unit 28d is additionally inclined relative to the rest of the centre axes in the pictured position of the valve-closing element 14 or of valve membrane. In this connection it is important only that the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e and the energy-transmitting unit 26 substantially overlap viewed along the energy-transfer axis 36. The energy-receiving unit 28e sits outside the valve actuator housing 18 in the valve housing 17, but in the energy-transfer axis 36, like the energy-receiving units 28a to 28d.

(41) The energy-receiving units 28a to 28e are also in some cases positioned at other points inside the valve module 10. As in the embodiment according to FIG. 1, however, these are only suggestions for the positioning of the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e.

(42) The energy-receiving units 28a to 28e as well as the energy-transmitting unit 26 now in each case have an outer diameter which corresponds to substantially 10% to 50% of the outer diameter of the valve actuator housing 18. In the example represented the outer diameters of the energy-receiving units 28a to 28e and of the energy-transmitting unit 26 lie substantially in the range of from 20% to 30% of the outer diameter of the valve actuator housing 18.

(43) FIG. 3 shows an additional embodiment of the valve module 10, wherein again only the differences from the above-named embodiments are discussed.

(44) The embodiment according to FIG. 3 comprises two energy-transmitting units 26, which are arranged in an outer area of the valve actuator housing 18. The energy-transmitting units can be connected to the valve control unit 29 in an electrically conducting manner (not represented).

(45) Each of the two energy-transmitting units 26 is allocated an energy-receiving unit 28a, 28b, which is in each case arranged opposite in an inner area of the valve actuator housing 18.

(46) The wireless energy transmission thus takes place through a wall of the valve actuator housing 18.

(47) The embodiment according to FIG. 3 thus has two wireless energy-transfer units 24.

(48) In contrast to the above-named embodiments, the energy-transfer axes 36 now also run transverse to the valve-actuation axis 32.

(49) The embodiment according to FIG. 4, which is again explained only with respect to its differences from the above-named embodiments, corresponds to the embodiment according to FIG. 2 with respect to the energy-receiving units 28d and 28e.

(50) Further energy-receiving units 28 are not represented in the embodiment according to FIG. 4, but of course can be present.

(51) In addition, the energy-transmitting unit 26 is constructed differently. Namely, the coil spring 22 is now the energy-transmitter coil 38 of the energy-transmitting unit 26.

(52) The coil spring 22 is connected to the valve control unit 29 of the valve module 10 via an electrical connection 58.

(53) Accompanying this, the energy-transmitting unit 26 and the energy-receiving units 28d, 28e are now no longer arranged on a common energy-transfer axis 36. However, the energy-receiving units 28d, 28e are overlapped by the energy-transmitting unit 26 if the valve module 10 is viewed along the valve-actuation axis 32.

(54) The functionality of the wireless energy-transfer unit 24 also results for the embodiment according to FIG. 4 corresponding to FIG. 5.