THERMAL REGULATING VALVE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a regulating valve for water circulation systems, comprising a valve housing (2) having an inlet channel (1) and an outlet channel (3) and forming a valve seat (4) between the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (3), a regulating member (36) movable relative to the valve seat (4) for regulating a water flow rate, and an expansion element (40) controlled by a water temperature for placement control of the regulating member (36). The present invention wants to provide an improved regulating valve for regulating the water flow in water circulation systems and proposes that a valve seat cage (28) bearing against the valve seat (4) during a regulating operation forms a flow-through opening (62) relative to which the regulating member (36) is movable, the regulating member (36) being pivotable about its positioning axis (S) for presetting a regulating gap (84) between the regulating member (36) and the valve seat cage (28).

Claims

1. A regulating valve for water circulation systems, comprising a valve housing (2) having an inlet channel (1) and an outlet channel (3) and forming a valve seat (4) between the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (3), a regulating member (36) movable relative to the valve seat (4) for regulating a water flow rate, and an expansion element (40) controlled by a water temperature for placement control of the regulating member (36), wherein a valve seat cage (28) bearing against the valve seat (4) during a regulating operation forms a flow-through opening (62) relative to which the regulating member (36) is movable, the regulating member (36) being pivotable about its positioning axis (S) for presetting a regulating gap (84) between the regulating member (36) and the valve seat cage (28).

2. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 1, wherein the regulating gap (84) can be varied stepwise by pivoting the regulating member (36).

3. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member (36) is pivotable through essentially 360°.

4. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 1, wherein, for regulating the water flow rate, the regulating member (36) cooperates with a base (60) of the valve seat cage (28) provided with the flow-through opening (62), and that the regulating gap (84) is defined by a part of the flow-through opening (62) which, when the regulating member (36) bears against the base (60), is not covered by the regulating member (36).

5. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 4, wherein the end of the regulating member (36) cooperating with the base (60) is conical and the base (60) forms a counter-cone thereto.

6. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 4, wherein the flow-through opening (62) of the base (60) has a center hole (63) from which differently sized slots (64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78) extend in a radial direction.

7. The regulating valve (2) according to claims 5 and 6, wherein the conical end of the regulating member (36) has a radially inwardly extending cutout (82) which can be brought into overlap or overlay with one of the slots (64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78) by pivoting the regulating member (36), so as to adjust the regulating gap (84) stepwise.

8. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 1, wherein, in a disinfecting operation for thermal disinfection of the regulating valve (2), the valve seat cage (28) can be moved, at least partially, to a side of the valve seat (4) located opposite the expansion element (40).

9. The regulating valve (2) according to claim 8, wherein, during the disinfecting operation, a ring (6) provided at the free end of the valve seat cage (28) and having at its outer circumference a seal (90) cooperating with the valve seat (4) is forced through a passage opening of the housing by the regulating member (36), the passage opening of the housing being defined by the valve seat (4).

10. The regulating valve according to claim 1, wherein a guide sleeve (20) in which the regulating member (36) is displaceably guided and sealed and which carries the valve seat cage (28).

11. The regulating valve according to claim 10, further comprising an adjustable stop (22) against which the guide sleeve (20) rests under the pretension of a first spring (54), which keeps the guide sleeve (20) pretensioned in the direction of the expansion element (40).

12. The regulating valve according to claim 11, further comprising a second spring (52) having a spring force which is smaller than that of the first spring (54) and keeping the expansion element (40) pretensioned against the guide sleeve (20).

Description

[0024] Further details and advantages of the present invention can be seen from the description of an embodiment in combination with the drawing following hereinafter.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment during the regulating operation,

[0026] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged detail of the longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment during the disinfecting operation,

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a top view from above down to the base of the valve seat cage, with the plunger removed, and

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the valve seat cage according to line IV-IV of the representation in FIG. 1.

[0029] The regulating valve according to the present embodiment has a valve housing 2, which forms a valve seat 4 between an inlet channel 1 and an outlet channel 3. The valve seat 4 has provided therein a lower ring 6 of a valve insert 8, the ring 6 bearing against the valve seat 4 during a regulating operation of the regulating valve.

[0030] The valve insert 8 is inserted into the valve housing 2 as a prefabricated component, and has a lower assembly 10 and an upper assembly 12. The lower assembly 10 comprises a lower valve insert housing 14, which forms a reception means 16 in which a collar 18 of a guide sleeve 20 is movable between two stops, a lower stop 21 being defined by the lower valve insert housing 14 itself and an upper stop 22 being defined by the lower surface of an adjusting ring 24 screwed into the lower valve insert housing 14. The end of the guide sleeve 20 facing the valve seat 4 is connected via a snap ring 26 to a valve seat cage 28, which forms the lower ring 6 at its free end. This lower ring 6 of the valve seat cage 28 is connected via webs 32 to an upper ring 34, which receives the snap ring 26 therein for connection to the guide sleeve 20.

[0031] A plunger 36 extends through the guide sleeve 20, the plunger 36 being provided as an example of a regulating member according to the present invention and being movably guided in an axial direction of the valve insert 8 and thus along a positioning axis S. The free lower end of the plunger 36 has a frustoconical cap 37. The opposite end of the plunger 36 cooperates with a thermal placement element in the form of an expansion element 40 via a plate 38. This expansion element 40 is accommodated in the upper assembly 12. The upper assembly 12 has an upper valve insert housing 44, which, via a snap ring 45, is connected to the lower valve insert housing 14 in an axially fixed but rotatable manner. The upper assembly 12 additionally has a union housing 46 enclosing the expansion element 40 therein and connected to an operating element 48 in a rotationally fixed manner. A handwheel 50 cooperates with a spindle 51, which displaces the expansion element 40 within the upper assembly 12 axially, i.e. along the positioning axis, so as to change the temperature dependence of the regulating valve. In the present case, the operating element 48 is an indicator ring indicating, together with the lettering of the handwheel 50, the set temperature.

[0032] The collar 18 of the guide sleeve 20 has a substantially polygonal outer circumferential surface accommodated in a correspondingly shaped inner circumferential surface of the lower valve insert housing 14, which surrounds the reception means 16. In this way, the guide sleeve 20 is movable axially, but not rotationally, within the valve insert 8.

[0033] The upper assembly 12 can be rotated relative to the lower assembly 10 on the basis of the connection via the snap ring 45. However, the two assemblies 10, 12 are axially fixed relative to each other.

[0034] The valve insert 8 has an upper restoring spring 52, which bears with one side against a surface of the guide sleeve 20 facing the expansion element 40 and with the other side against an opposite lower surface of the plate 38 and which, accordingly, forces the plate 38 into contact with the thermal placement element 40 under pretension. The valve insert 8 has a lower restoring spring 54 arranged in the reception means 16 and held under pretension between the base of the reception means 16 and the collar 18 of the guide sleeve 20. Below this lower restoring spring 54, the guide sleeve 20 is sealed with respect to the lower valve insert housing 14, relative to which the guide sleeve 20 is axially movable, by two sealing rings 56. Additional sealing rings 58 seal the plunger 36 against the guide sleeve 20.

[0035] The restoring force of the lower restoring spring 54 is greater than the restoring force of the upper restoring spring 52. Hence, an expansion of the expansion element 40 from the initial position shown in FIG. 1 will initially have the effect that the plunger 36 moves in the direction of the lower ring 6. Only after the plunger 36 has come into contact with the base 60 of the valve seat cage 28, which is circumferentially enclosed by the lower ring 6, will the valve seat cage 28 be entrained together with the guide sleeve 20. This relative movement will only take place when, within the flow channel for hot water predefined by the valve, temperatures occur within the range of the temperature interval for thermal disinfection (cf. FIG. 2). During the regulating operation, i.e. when the hot water temperatures are below the temperature for thermal disinfection, only the plunger 36 is moved through the expansion element 40.

[0036] FIG. 3 shows a top view from above of the lower valve housing down to a base 60 of the lower ring 6 without the plunger 36. This base 60 tapers conically, in correspondence with the frustoconical design of the plunger 36, and has a flow-through opening 62 defining an axial inlet opening for the water flow through the valve housing 2. Distributed around the circumference of a circular center hole 63 of the flow-through opening 62, a plurality of radially extending slots 64-78 are formed, which radially enlarge the center hole 63 sectionwise.

[0037] The free, enlarged end of the plunger 36, which is configured as a cap 37, has a substantially disk-shaped cross-sectional area provided with a radially inwardly extending cutout 82 on a circumferential segment thereof. FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the valve seat cage 28 together with the plunger 36 on the level of the webs 32 with the underlying base 60 of the lower ring 6.

[0038] The overlap between the cutout 82 and, in the present case, the radial slot 64 leads to a comparatively small regulating gap 84, which defines the cross-section for allowing a residual volume flow to pass therethrough. The residual volume flow is also allowed to pass through the flow-through opening 62 of the valve seat cage 28 when the plunger 36 bears with its cap 37 against the base 60 and the valve is closed under thermal control through the expansion element 40. By pivoting the upper assembly 12 relative to the lower assembly 10, the cutout 82 can be brought into overlap with a respective different one of the radial slots 64-78. The size of the regulating gap 84, and thus the residual flow rate, can be adjusted in this way.

[0039] Starting from the initial position shown in FIG. 1, the expansion element 40 will expand in response to an increase in the temperature of the water flowing through the valve. This has the effect that the plunger 36 will be displaced in the direction of the valve seat 4 and the valve seat cage 28 bearing against the valve seat 4. Even if the cap 37 is abutted on the base 60 of the lower ring 6, the regulating gap 84 between the valve seat cage 28 and the plunger 36 will remain open so that the residual volume flow can pass therethrough. If the temperature of the water flowing through the valve increases still further, a further expansion of the expansion element 40 will cause an advance movement of the plunger 36, which will entrain the valve seat cage 28 and the guide sleeve 20 against the restoring force of the lower restoring spring 54. Finally, the lower ring 6 will be pushed out of the valve seat 4 on the side opposite the expansion element 40, so that transverse openings provided between the webs 32 and identified by reference numeral 86 will be exposed below and above the valve seat 4, thus allowing thermal disinfection with comparatively high volume flows through the valve (cf. FIG. 2).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0040] 1 inlet channel [0041] 2 valve housing [0042] 3 outlet channel [0043] 4 valve seat [0044] 6 lower ring [0045] 8 valve insert [0046] 10 lower assembly [0047] 12 upper assembly [0048] 14 valve insert housing [0049] 16 reception means [0050] 18 collar [0051] 20 guide sleeve [0052] 21 lower stop [0053] 22 upper stop [0054] 24 adjusting ring [0055] 26 snap ring [0056] 28 valve seat cage [0057] 32 webs [0058] 34 upper ring [0059] 36 plunger [0060] 37 cap [0061] 38 plate [0062] 40 expansion element [0063] 44 upper valve insert housing [0064] 45 snap ring [0065] 46 union housing [0066] 48 operating element [0067] 50 handwheel [0068] 51 spindle [0069] 52 upper restoring spring [0070] 54 lower restoring spring [0071] 56, 58 sealing rings [0072] 60 base [0073] 62 flow-through opening [0074] 63 center hole [0075] 64-78 slots [0076] 82 cutout [0077] 84 regulating gap [0078] 86 transvers openings [0079] 90 sealing ring [0080] S positioning axis