ROTARY SLIDE VALVE FOR REGULATING A FLOW OF FLUID, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A ROTARY SLIDE VALVE

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a rotary slide valve for regulating a flow of a fluid, comprising a rotary slide (02) which is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis (R) in a valve housing. The method has the steps of: producing the rotary slide (02) in an injection molding method, in particular in a plastic injection molding method; producing at least one circumferential or casing section (04) of the valve housing (03) in an injection molding method, in particular in a plastic injection molding method; and installing the rotary slide valve or a precursor thereof. According to the invention, a gap is formed between the rotary slide (02) and the directly adjacent valve housing circumferential or casing section (04) of the valve housing (03) in the radial direction, said gap allowing the rotary slide (02) to rotate about the rotational axis (R) and facilitating a seal which does not exceed a tolerable leak between the rotary slide (02) and the circumferential or casing section (04) of the valve housing (03).

Claims

1. A method for producing a rotary slide valve for controlling a fluid flow, the rotary slide valve comprising a rotary slide (02) which is mounted in a valve housing in such a manner that it can rotate about an axis of rotation (R), the method comprising the following steps: producing the rotary slide (02) in an injection molding process, a metal casting process or a metal sintering process; producing at least a circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) in an injection molding process, a metal casting process or a metal sintering process; assembling the rotary slide valve or a precursor thereof; wherein a gap is formed in the radial direction between the rotary slide (02) and the immediately adjacent circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03), the gap allowing the rotary slide (02) to rotate about the axis of rotation (R) and enabling a sealing which does not exceed a tolerable leakage between the rotary slide (02) and the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) are reworked to obtain defined outer and/or inner diameters in relation to the axis of rotation (R) and wherein the rotary slide (02) is immediately adjacent to the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) in the radial direction in the assembled state.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) are produced as glass-fiber-reinforced plastics with a glass-fiber content of 30% to 50%.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) are produced using a polyphenylene sulfide plastic (PPS).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reworking of the rotary slide (02) comprises a grinding process for adjusting the radial outer diameter.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the grinding process is carried out in such a cascaded manner that multiple rotary slides (02) are partially plugged into one another in an axial direction and form a rotary slide group (11), the radial surface (81) of the rotary slide group (11) being essentially formed by the surfaces (08) to be machined or ground.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the grinding process is carried out using an abrasive based on silicon carbide.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reworking of the circumferential or barrel portion (04) comprises a reaming process and/or a honing process for adjusting the radial inner diameter.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the reaming process is carried out using a tool having a hard metal cutting edge coated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reworking of the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) comprises a deburring process carried out after the adjustment of the inner or outer diameter.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the deburring process is carried out as a blast deburring process or as an edge milling process.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the production of housing lids (06) and/or housing bottoms (05) which complete and/or close the valve housing (03) in the axial direction and which are made of the same material as the circumferential or barrel portion (04).

13. A rotary slide valve for controlling a fluid flow, the rotary slide valve comprising a rotary slide (02) mounted in a valve housing (03) in such a manner that it can rotate about an axis of rotation (R), the rotary slide (02) and at least a circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) being injection-molded components, cast metal components or sintered metal components, wherein a gap is formed in the radial direction between the rotary slide (02) and the immediately adjacent circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03), the gap allowing the rotary slide (02) to rotate about the axis of rotation (R) and enabling a sealing which does not exceed a tolerable leakage between the rotary slide (02) and the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03).

14. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) are glass-fiber-reinforced plastic components with a glass fiber content of 30% to 50%.

15. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) of the valve housing (03) are glass-fiber-reinforced plastic components based on polyphenylene sulfide plastics (PPS).

16. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, wherein the rotary slide (02) has a ground, radial, outer surface (08) which presents grinding grooves or microgrooves.

17. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, wherein the circumferential or barrel portion (04) has a radial inner surface (13) produced in a reaming process and/or a honing process and presenting a cross pattern.

18. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, wherein the rotary slide (02) and/or the circumferential or barrel portion (04) has a deburred inner surface (13) or outer surface (08).

19. The rotary slide valve according to claim 13, further comprising housing lids (06) and/or housing bottoms (05) which complete and/or close the valve housing (03) in the axial direction and which are made of the same material as the circumferential or barrel portion (04).

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the injection molding process is a plastic injection molding process.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] Details of the method according to the invention and the rotary slide valves according to the invention will be discussed below with reference to merely schematic drawings of configuration examples.

[0051] FIG. 1: is a sectional drawing through a rotary slide valve according to the invention in a first embodiment;

[0052] FIG. 2: is a perspective illustration of a rotary slide for use in the method according to the invention and the rotary slide valve according to the invention;

[0053] FIG. 3: is an illustration of a plurality of rotary slides in a joined state during one or more steps of the method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a section through a rotary slide valve 01 according to the invention, rotary slide valve 01 having an essentially cylindrical rotary slide 02 and a valve housing 03, which is adapted to the shape or the geometry of rotary slide 02.

[0055] Rotary slide 02 can be made of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic or alternatively of metal. Valve housing 03 comprises a circumferential or barrel portion 04, which shall be merely referred to as barrel portion 04 hereinafter. The barrel portion can also be made of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic or alternatively of metal. Furthermore, valve housing 03 comprises a housing bottom 05 and a housing lid 06. In the assembled state of FIG. 1, housing bottom 05, housing lid 06 and barrel portion 04 are connected, in particular welded, to one another by connections, such as ultrasonic welds, which are not illustrated in FIG. 1. The ultrasonic welds are produced when plastic components are ultrasonically welded. When metallic materials and components are used, conventional welding methods for connecting metals can be employed. Rotary slide 02 has a drive journal 07, which can be formed in one piece or in multiple pieces with rotary slide 02 and which is connected to rotary slide 02 through an opening in housing lid 06 in order to transmit an adjusting force of an external drive to rotary slide 02 via drive journal 07.

[0056] On its essentially cylindrical outer surface 08, rotary slide 02 has one or multiple channels or recesses 10, which, depending on the rotational position of rotary slide 02 about axis of rotation R, enable the switching function or the mixing function or another function of rotary slide valve 01 by establishing, interrupting or regulating a fluid flow between fluid openings 09, which are formed in barrel portion 04. For example, recesses 10, which are formed on outer surface 08 of rotary slide 02, can have a variable width or height and thus influence the passage quantity or the passage volume of the fluid to be controlled depending on the rotational position rotary slide 02.

[0057] Outside of valve housing 03, a sealing element or a seal can be provided in order to preferably seal rotary slide 02, in particular drive journal 07, in the axial direction or in relation to the respective opening of housing lid 06. Said seal or sealing means are provided with reference sign 12 in FIG. 1.

[0058] In the interior of valve housing 03, no sealing means or no seal is disposed in particular between radial outer surface 08 of rotary slide 02 and radial inner surface 13 of barrel portion 04, in particular in the area of fluid openings 09. Instead, the method according to the invention allows the components to be disposed in such a manner according to the invention as illustrated in FIG. 1 that a very narrow gap 14 is formed between barrel portion 04 and rotary slide 02, gap 14 being selected to be small enough for the rotation of the rotary slide to be possible while a tightness of the rotary slide valve which does not exceed an admissible or tolerable leakage or leakage rate is obtained. For this purpose, both rotary slide 02 and barrel portion 04 can be made of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic components which are injection-molded first and are reworked in such a manner in particular at outer surface 08 and inner surface 13 using appropriate reworking processes following the injection molding process that the gap width of gap 14 is minimized far enough for the leakage or the leakage rate to no exceed the reasonable or tolerable limits. Alternatively, reworking can also be omitted depending on the precision of the production process of the components.

[0059] With regard to barrel portion 04, three different method variations of the reworking are possible, for example; this is not supposed to constitute a list or enumeration limiting the invention but rather merely comprises advantageous variations. In general, reworking takes place after the injection molding, in which the inner diameter or the diameter of inner surface 13 is produced or injection-molded with an allowance, which ensures that the inner diameter produced is generally slightly too small within the scope of the tolerances due to the production technique and that the subtractive reworking thus leads to a slightly enlarged intended inner diameter. In a first example, the injection molding with allowance is followed by a pre-drilling of the inner surface, followed by a reaming and a subsequent honing of the inner surface; the machining or the machining steps for adjusting the inner diameter of the inner surface 13 may be additionally followed by a deburring process, which may be carried out either by blast deburring using a plastic granulate or by a deburring process using an edge mill and in which edges 15 of fluid openings 09 of barrel portion 04, which are cross-bores, and the axial ends of barrel portion 04, which form reaming entry 16 and reaming exit 17 of barrel portion 04, for example, are preferably deburred. A second alternative approach could, for example, involve merely carrying out a reaming after the injection, which is preferably carried out using a reaming tool having a defined and possibly CVS-coated or CVD-coated hard metal cutting edge, before finally carrying out a deburring on an appropriate machine, preferably using a deburring tool which also has a defined cutting edge. In a third example of the method, the injection of barrel portion 04 is followed exclusively by honing or a honing process for adjusting the diameter of inner surface 13, followed by blast deburring using plastic granulate, in which case, too, edges 15 of fluid openings 09 and axial ends 16 and 17 of the barrel portion are preferably deburred or at least co-deburred.

[0060] With the reworking methods mentioned above, inner surface 13 can be obtained with a tolerance with regard to the diameter which leads or at least contributes to a consequently low leakage rate.

[0061] The reworking of rotary slide 02, in particular of outer surface 08 of rotary slide 02, equally contributes to the low leakage rate and/or to a dimensioning of gap 14 which is as small as possible. It can preferably be carried out by centerless grinding in a through-feed grinding process, which may be followed by a deburring process, particularly preferably in the course of a blast deburring process using a suitable plastic granulate. Reference is made to the following illustrations of FIGS. 2 and 3 with regard to the execution of the grinding process.

[0062] FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of a rotary slide 02 for use in the production method according to the invention and in the application as a rotary slide valve according to the invention.

[0063] Rotary slide 02 has a protrusion 18 on an axial outer surface 19. Protrusion 18 serves as an end stop of rotary slide 02 in valve housing 03 in cooperation with drive journal 07, which is also disposed on said axial outer surface 19. For this purpose, complementary protrusions can be provided in valve housing 03, in particular in housing lid 06, which form the end stops of rotary slide valve 01 together with protrusion 18. Protrusion 18 can be particularly advantageously employed in the reworking of the rotary slide, in particular when grinding outer surface 08 of rotary slide 02, together with the configuration of drive journal 07 illustrated in FIG. 2 and axial inner recess 20 of rotary slide 02, which is illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0064] After all, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3, the formation of drive journal 07, whose outer diameter 21 is selected to be slightly smaller than inner diameter 22 of inner recess 20 of rotary slide 02, allows multiple rotary slides 02 to be plugged into each other or placed in a row one behind the other in the axial direction, protrusions 18 of the respective rotary slide, which are not illustrated in FIG. 3, serving as a protection against twisting, and rotary slides 02 disposed one behind the other as illustrated in FIG. 3 to undergo centerless through-feed grinding of outer surfaces 08, the preferably centerless grinding of outer surfaces 08, which takes place in through-feed mode, preferably being carried out in a cascaded manner with advantageously increasing precision and advantageously increasingly finer abrasives.

[0065] This means that the grinding process is carried out in such a cascaded manner that multiple rotary slides 02 are partially plugged into one another in an axial direction and form a rotary slide group 11, the radial surface of rotary slide group 81 being essentially formed by surfaces 08 to be machined or ground. This makes a particularly effective grinding process possible, which additionally yields constantly good machining or grinding results across a plurality of rotary slides to a very high degree. To this end, the rotary slides can have complementary or partially complementary projections 07 or protrusions 18 and associated or mating recesses 20, 23, which allow rotary slides 02 to be partially plugged into one another while preferably simultaneously enabling a rotation lock or a protection against twisting of rotary slide group 11 and thus facilitating the grinding of rotary slide group 11.

[0066] Following the grinding of outer surfaces 08 of rotary slide 02, a deburring process, in particular a blast deburring process, can also be carried out. Thus, the outer surface, in particular radial outer surface 08, of the rotary slide can be produced accordingly precisely and with accordingly low tolerances so as to realize the necessarily low gap width of gap 14 overall or in combination with the reworked valve housing, in particular barrel portion 04 of valve housing 03, and thus achieve a sealing of rotary slide valve 01 without additional sealing means, such as elastomer seals, at least in barrel portion 04 of the valve housing.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0067] 01 rotary slide valve [0068] 02 rotary slide [0069] 03 valve housing [0070] 04 circumferential or barrel portion [0071] 05 housing bottom [0072] 06 housing lid [0073] 07 drive journal [0074] 08 outer surface [0075] 09 fluid openings [0076] 10 recesses [0077] 11 [0078] 12 sealing means/seal [0079] 13 inner surface of the barrel portion [0080] 14 gap [0081] 15 edges of the fluid openings [0082] 16 reaming entry/axial end [0083] 17 reaming exit/axial end [0084] 18 protrusion [0085] 19 axial outer surface [0086] 20 axial inner recess [0087] 21 outer diameter of the drive journal [0088] 22 inner diameter of the inner recess [0089] 23 recess [0090] R axis of rotation