Drive unit with optical waveguide

Abstract

A device for actuating a valve, comprising a casing, said casing exhibiting a transparent region and said casing preferentially having been formed from an upper part and a lower part, a transmission assembly, an electric motor and a base board for attaching electrical components, wherein LEDs or a multicolor LED and an optical waveguide have been arranged in the casing, preferentially on the base board, the position or another function of the valve being indicated by the LEDs lighting up, and the optical waveguide collimating and focusing the light of the LEDs for the purpose of indicating the position or malfunction.

Claims

1. A device for actuating a valve, comprising: a casing, said casing having a transparent region and said casing being formed from an upper part and a lower part, a transmission assembly, an electric motor and a base board for attaching electrical components, wherein an LED and an optical waveguide have been arranged on the base board, a position or malfunction of the valve being indicated by the LED lighting up, and the optical waveguide collimating and focusing the light of the LED onto the transparent region for the purpose of indicating the position or malfunction of the valve, the waveguide having a substantially elongated straight region extending from the base board to the transparent region that bridges the electric motor.

2. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the transmission assembly includes an upper base plate and a lower base plate, and gearwheels for transmitting the power of the electric motor to the valve to be driven, the gearwheels being arranged between the upper base plate and the lower base plate.

3. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the upper base plate and the lower base plate have been spaced from one another by spacer bolts.

4. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the base board rests on a carrier plate, said carrier plate having been arranged on the upper base plate of the transmission assembly.

5. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein a position indicator has been arranged in the casing.

6. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the transparent region in the casing takes the form of an inspection glass through which the position indicator can be viewed.

7. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 6, wherein the optical waveguide has an upper portion located below the position indicator to backlight it through the inspection glass.

8. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein multiple LEDs are arranged on the base board.

9. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the optical waveguide has been formed from Plexiglas or transparent polycarbonate.

10. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the optical waveguide takes the form of an injection moulding.

11. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor has been arranged on the upper base plate of the transmission assembly.

12. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 1, wherein the straight region of the optical waveguide terminates in a circular region under the position indicator.

13. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 12, wherein the optical waveguide has an inner ring and an outer ring in the circular region.

14. The device for actuating a valve, according to claim 13, wherein grooves are formed in the outer ring of the circular region.

15. A device for actuating a valve comprising: a casing having an upper part and a lower part; an inspection glass in the upper part; a base board in the lower part having at least one LED thereon; an electric motor located above the base board, a transmission assembly coupled to the motor for actuating a valve; a shaft extending between the inspection glass and the transmission assembly, the shaft rotating with the transmission assembly when the valve is actuated; a position indicator rotating with an upper end of the shaft; and an optical waveguide having a lower portion optically coupled to the LED and a straight portion extending from the lower portion adjacent the shaft to the inspection glass, the waveguide terminating in an inner ring portion and an outer ring portion, the inner ring portion surrounding the shaft and the outer ring portion being located under the position indicator for back lighting the position indicator to aid its viewing through the inspection glass, the optical waveguide collimating and focusing the light of the LED onto the inspection glass for the purpose of indicating a position or malfunction of the valve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) An embodiment of the invention will be described on the basis of the Figures, in which connection the invention is not restricted only to the embodiment.

(2) Shown are:

(3) FIG. 1 a longitudinal section through a device according to the invention and

(4) FIG. 2 a three-dimensional view of an optical waveguide of the device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(6) Represented in FIG. 1 is a device 1 according to the invention for actuating a valve, said device 1 being able to be employed for a range of valves (not represented). For example, it may be employed for the purpose of actuating ball valves, butterfly valves, diaphragm valves, etc.

(7) The device is preferentially operated electrically, but pneumatic or manual devices would also be conceivable, in which case the supply of electric current would then also be required in each instance, this already being present in the case of an electric device 1 for actuating a valve. The supply of the electric current leads across the terminals 10 provided for this, which can preferentially be screwed directly to the casing 2. The casing 2 of the device 1 according to the invention preferentially consists of an upper part 4 and a lower part 3, though other types of construction of the casing are also conceivable. In the present configuration of the casing 2, in the upper part 4 a transparent region 5 is located which is constituted by an inspection glass 5. By virtue of this inspection glass 5, which has to be fastened to the casing 2 by individual configuration, the position indicator 11 or the position-feedback indication is apparent. This indication reflects the position of the valve. This means that if the valve is open, for example, the indicating symbol on the position indicator 11 has been directed towards the indication open. The position indicator 11 corresponds to a rotary indicator such as is known from the state of the art. The position indicator 11 has been arranged at the upper end of the position-indicator shaft 12, directly below the inspection glass 5. The other end of the position-indicator shaft 12 has been coupled with the transmission 13 of the transmission assembly 6 and is likewise actuated by means of the transmission 13. The transmission 13 has been arranged in a transmission assembly 6, the individual gearwheels 19 having been arranged between an upper and a lower base plate 14, 15 which have been spaced from one another by means of spacer bolts 18. Other structural forms of the transmission assembly 6 are also conceivable and capable of being incorporated into the casing 2. In order that the device 1 according to the invention can also be adapted to the valves without difficulty, said device exhibits a socket 16 which has been fastened to the lower base plate 15 and protrudes from the casing 2 or, to be more exact, the lower part 3 of the casing.

(8) For the purpose of driving the valve and the transmission 13, an electric motor 7 is employed which has preferentially been fastened to the upper base plate 14, and the gearwheel (not visible) arranged at the end of the drive shaft (not visible) of the electric motor 7 meshes correspondingly with the transmission 13.

(9) The base board 8 has preferentially been arranged in the lower part 3 of the casing 2. By virtue of the fact that the base board 8 has been arranged in the lower part 3, a simple assembly and a good accessibility of the electrical elements arranged thereon and also of the LEDs (not represented) is guaranteed. Of course, the LEDs may also be arranged separately onto a board that is situated closer to the transparent region of the casing. But this, in turn, would be an additional assembly effort and would complicate the structure. In order that the base board 8 has been arranged optimally in the lower part 3 of the casing, it rests on a carrier plate 17 which, in turn, has been arranged on the upper base plate 14 of the transmission assembly 6.

(10) The optical waveguide 9 should preferentially be fixed by being plugged into the base board 8. In this embodiment of the device 1 according to the invention, the optical waveguide 9 is centred on the position-indicator shaft 12 and has been correctly positioned by being plugged into the base board 8 and centred on the position-indicator shaft 12. Since a relatively large distance is present between the base board 8 and the transparent region 5 or inspection glass 5, the LEDs mounted on the base board 8, which serve for indicating the position of the valve, are barely apparent. The LEDs are intended to indicate the position of the valve by lighting up, or serve as position-feedback indication of the valve, and malfunctions can also be indicated. This means that, for example, in the case of an open valve a green LED lights up. In comparison with the purely mechanical position indicator 11, this has the advantage that the position can also be discerned in the dark or in the case of poor lighting. However, such LEDs generally emit light too diffusely in order to discern from a certain distance whether light is being emitted and what is emitting it. The device 1 according to the invention therefore exhibits an optical waveguide 9. The latter collimates and focuses the light of the LEDs, which have been arranged on the base board 8, to the inspection glass 5. For this embodiment of the device 1 according to the invention, the optical waveguide 9 preferentially exhibits a straight region 20 which bridges the distance from the base board 8 to the inspection glass 5. The upper region 21 of the optical waveguide 9 is of circular design, in order to illuminate the complete inspection glass 5 optimally. The inner ring 22 serves for guiding and centring the optical waveguide 9 on the position-indicator shaft 12, as previously described.

(11) At the lower end of the optical waveguide 9 the position pins 23 have been arranged, in order to fasten the optical waveguide 9 to the base board 8. By virtue of the arrangement of grooves to form a structure 24 in the circular region 21 of the optical waveguide 9, the light is conducted optimally along the circular shape, and the illuminating of the inspection glass 5 is optimized. Through the use of the optical waveguide 9, the luminosity of the LEDs is consequently concentrated and at the same time focused, as a result of which no unnecessary ambient lighting takes place, and the expenditure of energy is also minimal. A preferred configuration of an optical waveguide 9 can be discerned well in FIG. 2.

(12) In the installed state, the circular region of the optical waveguide 9 has preferentially been arranged behind the position indicator 11 and illuminates the latter from behind, i.e., back lights the position indicator 11 to aid its viewing through the inspection glass 5.

(13) By virtue of the fact that the mechanical position indicator 11, the position-indicator shaft 12 and also the optical waveguide 9 have been arranged in the interior of the casing, no further points to be sealed arise on the casing 2. Obviously, the shape of the optical waveguide 9 should be adapted to the casing 2 and to the given conditions. The optical waveguide 9 thus exhibits a straight region 20 extending from the base board 8 to the inspection glass 5 that bridges the electric motor 7.