Rotational magnet indexing valve

Abstract

A rotational magnet indexing valve, which has a housing assembly and a rotational magnet valve assembly. The rotational magnet valve assembly has a driven gear assembly, a manifold assembly, a motor assembly, and a plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies. The rotational magnet valve assembly has an inlet and a plurality of outlets. The manifold assembly is cylindrical in shape. The plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies is radially positioned on the manifold assembly. The motor assembly is joined to the manifold assembly by a bridge.

Claims

1. A rotational magnet indexing valve, comprising: A) a housing assembly; and B) a rotational magnet valve assembly comprising a driven gear assembly, a manifold assembly, a motor assembly, and a plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies, said driven gear assembly comprising a driven gear, a yoke with a top base and a top base hole, a bearing, and an inlet cap with an inlet cap top protrusion and an inlet cap hole, and said yoke comprising a yoke magnet tab having a channel with a magnet hole and a magnet.

2. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said housing assembly comprises an upper housing, a lower housing, an inlet tube hole, a connector, and a plurality of outlet tube holes.

3. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said rotational magnet valve assembly comprises an inlet and a plurality of outlets.

4. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said driven gear mounts onto said yoke, said yoke receives said bearing and said inlet cap that are mounted together onto said manifold assembly.

5. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said top base hole receives said inlet cap top protrusion, and said inlet cap hole receives an inlet tube.

6. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said manifold assembly comprises a top face, a bottom face, a lateral side, a bridge, a manifold inlet hole, and a sensor hole.

7. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 6, further characterized in that said lateral side comprises a plurality of cartridge bores, each of said cartridge bores extends until connecting to a respective manifold interior hole.

8. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 7, further characterized in that said plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies is radially positioned on said manifold assembly, whereby each of said cartridge bores receives a respective of said magnetic cartridge valve assembly.

9. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 6, further characterized in that said motor assembly comprises a motor housing having a housing top face, a housing bottom face, a motor shaft thru hole, a drive gear, and a motor.

10. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 9, further characterized in that said motor housing is separated a first predetermined distance from said lateral side and said yoke extends a second predetermined distance from said lateral side, wherein said first predetermined distance is greater than said second predetermined distance.

11. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 9, further characterized in that said motor provides substantial power to said drive gear to move said driven gear, whereby said magnet orbits around said lateral side.

12. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 6, further characterized in that said motor assembly connects to said bridge of said manifold assembly, in a way that said motor assembly is joined to said manifold assembly by said bridge, whereby said motor assembly is substantially parallel to a central axis of rotation of said rotational magnet valve assembly.

13. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said manifold assembly further comprises a pressure sensor, tube fitting connectors, and a plurality of outlet tubes.

14. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that each of said magnetic cartridge valve assembly comprises a cartridge body, a cartridge head, a circumferential fluid recess, fluid passage holes, and a cartridge cavity.

15. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 14, further characterized in that said cartridge cavity receives a cartridge magnet, a piston push rod, a piston, a return spring, and a retaining washer.

16. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 15, further characterized in that when said magnet approaches each said cartridge magnet, a magnetic force causes each said return spring and said piston to move thus opening a fluid flow passage.

17. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said housing assembly houses said rotational magnet valve assembly, a controller, and a power supply.

18. The rotational magnet indexing valve set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said manifold assembly is cylindrical in shape.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is a bottom isometric view of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3 is a cut view taken along the lines 3-3 as seen in FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4 is a front isometric view of a rotational magnet valve assembly of the present invention representing a closed configuration.

(6) FIG. 5 is a bottom isometric view of the rotational magnet valve assembly of the present invention representing an opened configuration.

(7) FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the rotational magnet valve assembly of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 7 is a top isometric view of a manifold assembly with magnetic cartridge valve assemblies inside, and a motor housing.

(9) FIG. 8 is a bottom isometric view of the manifold assembly with magnetic cartridge valve assemblies inside, and the motor housing.

(10) FIG. 9 is a top isometric view of the manifold assembly with magnetic cartridge valve assemblies outside, and the motor housing.

(11) FIG. 10 is a cut view taken along the lines 10-10 as seen in FIG. 4, showing the closed configuration.

(12) FIG. 11 is a cut view taken along the lines 11-11 as seen in FIG. 5, showing the opened configuration.

(13) FIG. 12 is a cut view taken along the lines 12-12 on magnetic cartridge valve assembly, as seen in FIG. 9.

(14) FIG. 13 is an exploded view of the magnetic cartridge valve assembly.

(15) FIG. 14 is a cut view taken along the lines 14-14 as seen in FIG. 4, showing the magnetic cartridge valve assembly in closed configuration.

(16) FIG. 15 is a cut view taken along the lines 15-15 as seen in FIG. 5, showing a magnetic cartridge valve assembly in the open configuration.

(17) FIG. 16 is front view of the present invention.

(18) FIG. 17 is a cut view taken along the lines 17-17 as seen in FIG. 16 showing a controller and a power supply.

(19) FIG. 18 is a view of multiple cut views taken along the lines 10-10, as seen in FIG. 4, of multiple rotational magnet valve assemblies connected.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(20) Referring now to the drawings, the present invention is a rotational magnet indexing valve, and is generally referred to with numeral 10. It can be observed that it basically includes housing assembly 20 and rotational magnet valve assembly 40 comprising driven gear assembly 50, manifold assembly 120, motor assembly 160, and a plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies 200.

(21) As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, housing assembly 20 comprises upper housing 22, lower housing 24, inlet tube hole 26, connector 30, and a plurality of outlet tube holes 34.

(22) Housing assembly 20 further comprises sealing grommet 28 and outlet tube grommets 36. Sealing grommet 28 is positioned on inlet tube hole 26 and outlet tube grommets 36 are positioned onto outlet tube holes 34. In a preferred embodiment, housing assembly 20 is cuboid in shape.

(23) As seen in FIG. 3, housing assembly 20 houses rotational magnet valve assembly 40. Inlet tube 80 extends from inlet tube hole 26 and outlet tubes 146 extend from outlet tube holes 34. Pressure sensor 140 has pressure sensor wires 142 and motor 174 has motor wires 176. Housing assembly 20 further houses controller 250, as seen in FIG. 17, and power supply 260.

(24) As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, rotational magnet valve assembly 40 comprises driven gear assembly 50, manifold assembly 120, motor assembly 160, and a plurality of magnetic cartridge valve assemblies 200. Driven gear assembly 50 is mounted onto manifold assembly 120, and motor assembly 160 is joined to manifold assembly 120. Rotational magnet valve assembly 40 is an expandable electro-mechanical pressure-triggered valve.

(25) Motor assembly 160 is joined to manifold assembly 120 by bridge 130, whereby motor assembly 160 is substantially parallel to a central axis of rotation A, seen in FIG. 4, of rotational magnet valve assembly 40. Motor housing 162 is separated a first predetermined distance from lateral side 126, and yoke 62 extends a second predetermined distance from lateral side 126. The first predetermined distance is greater than the second predetermined distance in order for yoke magnet tab 64 to rotate around lateral side 126. In addition, the first predetermined distance provides that teeth of driven gear 52 and drive gear 172 engage. When motor 174 turns on, a gear train consisting of drive gear 172 and driven gear 52 cause magnet 70 to orbit around lateral side 126 and central axis of rotation A, seen in FIG. 4, of rotational magnet valve assembly 40.

(26) Magnetic cartridge valve assemblies 200 are mounted into manifold assembly 120. Manifold assembly 120 is cylindrical in shape and comprises pressure sensor 140, tube fitting connectors 144, and a plurality of outlet tubes 146. Magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 is spring biased in a normally close configuration and only opens with electromagnetic, or electro-mechanical intervention to prevent the unwanted release of fluid from magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200.

(27) As seen in FIG. 6, driven gear assembly 50 comprises driven gear 52, yoke 62, inlet tube 80, bearing 84, and inlet cap 90.

(28) Driven gear 52 comprises driven gear hole 54 and screw thru holes 56 to receive gear mounting screws 60. Yoke 62 comprises yoke magnet tab 64, top base 72, and top base hole 74. Yoke magnet tab 64 comprises channel 66 having a magnet hole 68, wherein magnet 70 is positioned.

(29) Driven gear 52 mounts onto yoke 62, whereby driven gear hole 54 receives top base 72, and gear mounting screws 60 pass through respective screw thru holes 56 to be fixed into respective yoke holes 76. Although not illustrated, it is noted that top base 72 may comprise a set screw threaded hole with set screw to secure bearing 84.

(30) Inlet cap 90 comprises inlet cap top protrusion 82, inlet cap screws 88, screw thru holes 92, inlet cap hole 98, and inlet cap bottom base 100. Inlet cap bottom base 100 comprises o-ring groove 94 to receive o-ring seal 96. O-ring seal 96 in o-ring groove 94 prevents leakage of fluid between manifold assembly 120 and inlet cap 90.

(31) Motor assembly 160 comprises motor housing 162 having housing top face 164, and housing bottom face 166. Housing top face 164 has motor shaft thru hole 168. Housing bottom face 166 comprises bottom cavity 170, as seen in FIG. 8, to receive motor 174. Motor 174 comprises motor wires 176 and motor shaft 178. Motor shaft 178 extends from motor shaft thru hole 168 to receive drive gear 172. Motor 174 provides substantial power to drive gear 172 to move driven gear 52, and not only makes alignment but holds a mechanical alignment.

(32) As seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, manifold assembly 120 comprises top face 122, bottom face 124, lateral side 126, bridge 130, manifold inlet hole 134, and sensor hole 138.

(33) Lateral side 126 comprises a plurality of cartridge bores 128, wherein respective magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 are positioned. Top face 122 comprises tapped holes 132 that are in a radial arrangement and equally spaced. Tapped holes 132 receive inlet cap screws 88 to secure inlet cap 90, both seen in FIG. 6, onto manifold assembly 120.

(34) Manifold assembly 120 is made from a non-magnetic material so that it does not interfere with a magnetic field generated by magnet 70 and cartridge magnet 214, both seen in FIG. 10.

(35) As seen in FIG. 9, magnetic cartridge valve assemblies 200 are radially positioned on manifold assembly 120, whereby each of cartridge bores 128 receives a respective magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200. Cartridge bores 128 are equally spaced orthogonally to central axis of rotation A, seen in FIG. 4.

(36) In a preferred embodiment, each of cartridge bores 128 comprise bore threads 148 to secure each magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 by cartridge threads 206. Cartridge threads 206 engage bore threads 148 and provide for robust attachment between manifold assembly 120 and magnetic cartridge assembly 200. Sealing between cartridge threads 206 and bore threads 148 can be accomplished using American National Standard Taper Pipe Thread (NPT), and/or thread locker, Teflon tape, or a variety of other sealing methods.

(37) Each of cartridge bores 128 extends until connect with respective manifold interior holes 136. Manifold interior holes 136 provide communication of fluid between manifold inlet hole 134, multiple cartridge bores 128, and outlets 44, as seen in FIG. 14.

(38) As seen in FIGS. 10 and 11, magnetic cartridge valve assemblies 200 radially mounted onto manifold assembly 120, may be in an opened or closed configuration, whereby each of magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 may start or stop fluid flow.

(39) In operation, magnet 70 orbits around lateral side 126. As an orbiting magnet 70 comes in close proximity to a respective magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200, each with its own internal cartridge magnet 214, a magnetic field is generated between magnet 70 and cartridge magnet 214. Magnet 70 and cartridge magnet 214 push against one another, thus pushing on return spring 220 with piston 218, opening a fluid path, and allowing pressurized fluid to flow. Return spring 220 causes piston 218 to close the flow path. When magnet 70 comes in close proximity to cartridge magnet 214, an opposing magnetic force between magnet 70 and cartridge magnet 214 overcomes a spring force from return spring 220 and opens the fluid flow path.

(40) It is noted that small momentary power consumption re-selects fluid path, no notable pressure is lost through system, and no power is required to maintain open pathway.

(41) As seen in FIGS. 12 and 13, each magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 comprises cartridge body 202, cartridge head 204, circumferential fluid recess 208 with fluid passage holes 210, and cartridge cavity 228. Cartridge head 204 comprises engagement feature 226, as seen in FIG. 9.

(42) Cartridge cavity 228 receives cartridge magnet 214, piston push rod 216, piston 218, return spring 220, and retaining washer 222. Cartridge body 202 comprises o-ring groove 224 to receive o-ring 212.

(43) Cartridge body 202 is made from a non-magnetic material so that it does not interfere with the magnetic field generated by magnet 70, seen in FIG. 5, nor cartridge magnet 214.

(44) As seen in FIGS. 14 and 15, rotational magnet valve assembly 40 further comprises inlet 42 and a plurality of outlets 44. Inlet 42 is formed through central axis of rotation A, seen in FIG. 4, of inlet cap 90. Bearing 84 is mounted onto inlet cap 90. Yoke 62 receives bearing 84 and inlet cap 90 to be mounted together onto manifold assembly 120, whereby bearing 84 is between an interior face of yoke 62 and inlet cap 90.

(45) Bearing 84 allows for yoke 62 to smoothly and efficiently rotate around inlet cap 90 and manifold assembly 120. In addition, bearing 84 allows inlet 42 to remain stationary. Bearing hole 86 receives inlet cap top protrusion 82 and tube fitting connector 78 is poisoned on inlet cap hole 98 to receive inlet tube 80. Sensor hole 138 receives pressure sensor 140.

(46) Rotational magnet valve assembly 40 comprises a single inlet 42 and multiple outlets 44 used to dispense fluid from a single or centralized fluid supply location to multiple other locations. In an open configuration, as seen in FIG. 15, fluid flows through cartridge body 202, exits through fluid passage holes 210, and then through outlets 44.

(47) As seen in FIGS. 16 and 17, housing assembly 20 comprises controller 250 and power supply 260, whereby controller 250 and power supply 260 are housed together inside housing assembly 20. Controller 250 is connected to rotational magnet valve assembly 40, and power supply 260 is connected to controller 250.

(48) Pressure sensor 140, as seen in FIG. 6, triggers controller 250, on rise or fall of pressure, to provide power from power supply 260 to step motor 174 to its next position allowing flow of magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 by aligning, with close proximity, magnet 70 and cartridge magnet 214, as seen in FIG. 10.

(49) Power supply 260 provides sufficient voltage and current capacity to operate controller 250. This power supply 260 may be an AC line, DC battery, solar, etc. In another embodiment, power supply 260 may be directly integrated into controller 250. Power supply 260 may vary by size of invention 10.

(50) As seen in FIG. 18, multiple rotational magnet valve assemblies 40 may be connected together.

(51) In operation, upon actuation of power supply 260, as seen in FIG. 17, pressure sensor 140 senses rise or fall of pressure, and signals controller 250, seen in FIG. 17, to step motor 174 to a next magnetic cartridge valve assembly 200 sequentially by controller 250. For two or more rotational magnet valve assemblies 40 a first rotational magnet valve assembly 40 is used as a master rotational magnet valve assembly 40, and a second and subsequent rotational magnet valve assemblies 40 are designated as slave rotational magnet valve assembly 40. One of outlets 44 on master rotational magnet valve assembly 40 is connected to inlet 42 of slave solenoid manifold assembly 40 by interconnecting tube 300 as shown in FIG. 18.

(52) The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.