METERING VALVE

• US 3,733,048 A
• Filed: 02/11/1971
• Issued: 05/15/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Pullman Company (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Jan A. Hiszpanski
• Inventors: Hiszpanski, Jan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nilson, Robert G.
• Application Number:
  US05/114,597
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 251/205,276,278,334 137/525,529,525.5,82
• US Class Current: 251/205
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 1/36 Valve members for double-seat valves F16K1/44 ; for butterfly valves F16K1/222, F16K1/223
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 15/063 the valve being loaded by a spring
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 15/141 the closure elements not being fixed to the valve body
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 7/12 with flat, dished, or bowl-shaped diaphragm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7879 Resilient material valve
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7905 Plural biasing means

Abstract

A fine metering valve having a deflectible beam and means for deflecting the beam adjustably in close spaced juxtaposition to a valve port thereby to vary the rate of fluid flow therethrough. A displacement reduction means is utilized in providing the deflection of the beam to give high accuracy in the metering of the fluid flow. The deflecting means may be manually operated or automatically operated, as desired. Means are provided for positively displacing the beam to fully close the valve when desired.

Claims

1. A fine metering valve comprising:

valve body means defining a flow passage having a port;

a deflectible flat beam having a transverse area less than that of said flow passage;

means for positioning the beam in said flow passage spaced closely inwardly of said port; and

displacement reduction means operable as the result of a relatively large input movement and a relatively small output movement for deflecting said beam controlledly toward the port to provide accurately fine adjustment of fluid flow through the flow passage past the beam.

2. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam is fixedly supported at its opposite ends.

3. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein the maximum deflection of said beam by said displacement reduction means is in the range of less than approximately the diameter of said port.

4. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein the maximum deflection of said beam by said displacement reduction means is in the range of approximately 50 percent the diameter of said port.

5. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein the maximum deflection of said beam by said displacement reduction means is in the range of approximately 0.002 to 0.005 inch.

6. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein the displacement reduction means comprises spring means arranged to provide a displacement reduction of over approximately 10 to 1.

7. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein the displacement reduction means comprises spring means arranged to provide a displacement reduction of approximately 100 to 1.

8. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes spring means, and means for deflecting said spring means for applying a deflection force to said beam.

9. The fine metering valve of claim 8 wherein said deflecting means comprises threaded means providing further displacement reduction in effecting deflection of said beam.

10. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes spring means and means for deflecting said spring means for applying a deflection force to said beam, and said deflecting means comprises a plunger and means for axially displacing the plunger.

11. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes spring means and means for deflecting said spring means for applying a deflection force to said beam, and further includes means for providing a preselected deflection of said spring means to provide a corresponding preselected deflection of said beam.

12. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes spring means and means for deflecting said spring means for applying a deflection force to said beam, said deflection means comprising a plunger and means for axially displacing the plunger, and stop means for providing a positive limit to the travel of said plunger to provide a preselected deflection of said spring means to provide a corresponding preselected deflection of said beam.

13. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said positioning means comprises spacer means supporting portions of said beam disposed to opposite sides of said port.

14. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes means fOr biasing said fine metering valve to a retracted position whereby said beam is normally undeflected.

15. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam has a width greater than the width of said port.

16. The fine metering valve of claim 15 wherein said beam has a width at least approximately six times greater than the width of said port.

17. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam is formed of a material having a tensile strength of at least approximately 130,000 psi.

18. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam is formed of a hard material effectively precluding undesirable local deformation of a contact area of the displacement reduction means with the beam.

19. The fine metering valve of claim 18 wherein said beam is formed of an elastic material effectively precluding permanent set of the beam as a result of a deflection thereof in said valve.

20. The fine metering valve of claim 1 further including adjustable means for maintaining a preselected deflection of the beam upon release of said displacement reduction means.

21. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam is flat and means are provided for deflecting said beam to a curved arrangement to vary the spacing of said second portion from said port.

22. The fine metering valve of claim 21 wherein said supporting means comprises a spacer abutting said port defining member.

23. The fine metering valve of claim 21 wherein said supporting means supports said beam at a portion defining the opposite ends thereof.

24. The fine metering valve of claim 21 wherein said supporting means supports said beam at a portion defining the opposite ends thereof and the center of said beam overlies said port.

25. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said beam is flat, means are provided for deflecting said beam to a curved arrangement to vary the spacing of said second portion from said port, and further including adjustable means for maintaining any one of a plurality of different deflections of the beam upon release of said deflecting means.

26. The fine metering valve of claim 1 wherein said displacement reduction means includes yieldable means and means for adjustably deflecting said yieldable means for applying a variable resilient force to said beam, and said valve further including means for applying a direct force to said beam greater than that applied through said yieldable means for further deflecting the beam to close said port.

27. The fine metering valve of claim 26 wherein said direct force applying means comprises means interconnecting said deflecting means and said beam.

28. The fine metering valve of claim 27 wherein said interconnecting means comprises a force-applying surface on said deflecting means and surface means associated with said beam engaged by said force-applying surface.

29. The fine metering valve of claim 26 further including means for limiting the withdrawal movement of said deflecting means.

30. The fine metering valve of claim 26 further including means for limiting the withdrawal movement of said deflecting means to a preselected position providing a preselected minimum deflection of said beam.

31. The fine metering valve of claim 26 further including adjustable means for limiting the withdrawal movement of said deflecting means to any one of a plurality of positions providing a corresponding one of a plurality of different deflections of said beam.

32. The fine metering valve of claim 26 wherein said yieldable means comprises a coil spring and said means for adjustably deflecting the spring means comprises a force-applying member acting against one end of the spring, the other end of the spring being directly connected to said beam for transferring force yieldably from the force-applying member to the beam, said means for applying a direct force to said beam comprising means carried for movement with the force-applying member and having direct connection to the beam at an extreme compressed condItion of the spring.

33. The fine metering valve of claim 32 wherein said means carried for movement with the force-applying member comprises an element projecting coaxially through the coil spring.

34. A fine metering valve comprising:

valve body means defining a flow passage having a port;

a deflectible flat beam having a transverse area less than that of said flow passage;

means for positioning the beam in said flow passage spaced closely inwardly of said port;

displacement reduction means operable as the result of a relatively large input movement and a relatively small output movement for deflecting said beam controlledly toward the port to provide accurately fine adjustment of fluid flow through the flow passage past the beam; and

means for selectively varying the spacing of said beam from said port.

35. The fine metering valve of claim 34 wherein said spacing varying means comprises selectively installable variable width spacer means disposed between the beam and the valve body.