Mixing valve

• US 4,449,551 A
• Filed: 06/17/1981
• Issued: 05/22/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1980
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hans Grohe GmbH & Co. KG.
• Original Assignee: HANS Grobe GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Lorch, Werner
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosenthal, Arnold
• Application Number:
  US06/274,672
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 137/625.41, 137/625.4
• US Class Current: 137/625.41
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/087 with spherical plug
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86815 Multiple inlet with single outlet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86823 Rotary valve

Abstract

A single mixing valve has a ball-like valve plug with hot and cold water inlet ports and outlet ports and a valve housing having a valve seat face of the same form as the plug. The housing has inlet ducts for the hot and cold water to be mixed and an outlet duct for the mixed water, the ducts porting into the face. A driving part is joined with the plug and is able to be rocked therewith for changing the rate of outlet of water from the valve and to be moved for changing the mixing ratio of the hot and cold water. The driving part is limited in its rocking motion to motion about a rocking axis running through a middle point of the plug and is limited to turning about an axis of turning running through the middle point. The valve has a guide plate, which may be turned in a plane parallel to the rocking axis of the driving part, with same in relation to the housing. The plate has a slot in which the driving part is keyed while being able to be moved along the slot. With this system it is not possible for the plug to be moved into skew positions.

Claims

1. In a mixing valve for liquids, having:

a ball-like valve plug with liquid inlet and liquid outlet ports therein, said ports being joined together within said plug;

a valve housing having a valve seat face of the same form as the plug with said plug resting thereon, said plug and said housing having a common middle point about which said plug is rotatable relative to said housing, said housing having inlet ducts for the liquids to be mixed and an outlet duct for the mixed liquids, said ducts having ports in said face; and

, a driving part fixed to said plug, rockable in a plane of rocking therewith about a rocking axis perpendicular to the rocking plane, for changing the outlet flow rate of liquid from the valve and rotatable therewith for changing the mixing ratio of the two liquids, said driving part having a lengthwise axis, the invention comprising;

a guide plate for said driving part, said plate having a slot in and along which said driving part is movable, but keyed against rotation relative to said slot, said guide plate being turnable in a plane parallel to said rocking axis, said plug being rotatable only about a plug rotation axis which is perpendicular to said guide plate plane, runs through said middle point and is fixed relative to said valve housing but not said plug, and said driving part being rockable only about said rocking axis, which runs through said middle point and is fixed relative to said plug but not said valve housing.

2. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for limiting turning of said guide plate.

3. The mixing valve as claimed in claims 1 or 2, further comprising a handle on said driving part extending outwardly from one side of the valve in the direction of rocking of the driving part.

4. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inlet ports of said plug are in positions one after the other in a section plane parallel to the plane of rocking of the driving part.

5. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 4, wherein said inlet ports of said ducts in said housing are in a section plane parallel to the plane of rocking of the driving part, when the driving part is in the middle of its range of turning.

6. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said guide plate, when viewed from the driving part side of the housing, is generally round, said housing having a bearing body positioned in a middle opening in said housing, said body having a stop designed for use with two stops on said guide plate for limiting turning of said guide plate.

7. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 6, having a key system, placed between said bearing body and a lower part of said valve housing, for stopping undesired twisting of said body in said housing.

8. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outlet port of said plug, relative to the plane of rocking of said driving part, is positioned between said inlet ports of said plug, but out of line therewith and to the side thereof.

9. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inlet ports of said plug are divided into a number of port parts by bridging connections.

10. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 9, wherein said inlet port parts are smaller as measured along a longitude of said plug than along a latitude.

11. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 10, wherein said inlet port parts are half as long along a longitude as along a latitude.

12. The mixing valve as claimed in claim 9, wherein the parts of the inlet ports in the valve seat face of said valve housing are placed symmetrically to the two sides of a plane of symmetry which, in the middle of the range of turning of the plug, is normal to the plane of rocking of the driving part.

13. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, designed for mixing hot and cold water, wherein the inlet ports used for hot and cold water of the plug and the ports of the inlet ducts are cut by spherical section planes, running parallel to the rocking axis of the driving part, such separate planes cutting not only the cold water ports, but the hot water ports as well.

14. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet port of the plug in the middle of the range of turning of the plug is placed on the other side of an equator of the plug relative to the driving part side and makes an angle in the range of 45°

to 105°

with the rocking plane of said driving part.

15. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plane having within it the lengthways axis of said driving part and the rocking axis defines lines for cutting up corresponding inlet ports of said plug into unequal parts, said ports being for hot and cold water.

16. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 15, wherein said corresponding inlet ports are generally symmetrical in relation to each other about a plane of symmetry at an angle of roughly 20°

to the plane having in it the lengthways axis of said driving part and the axis of rocking.

17. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, designed for fixing in position on pipes such that, as seen by the users of the valve, the inlet ducts come upwards one in front of the other to their ports in the valve seat face, the inlet port nearer to the users of the plug being less far from the plane running through the rocking axis and the lengthways axis than the plug'"'"'s other inlet port to the back of the frontmost said inlet port.

18. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 9 wherein the inlet ports of the plug each have one smaller port part and a larger port part nearer said outlet port than said smaller port part.

19. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 18, wherein each inlet port of said plug has one larger port part and at least two port parts each longer than they are broad.

20. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 18, wherein said smaller inlet port parts of each inlet port are parallel to each other.

21. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inlet ports of said plug are placed on a round path in a plane parallel to the axis of rocking.

22. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 21, wherein the plane of the round path is at an angle in a range of 65°

to 75°

relative to the plane of the lengthways axis of the driving part and the rocking axis, and wherein the breadth of the said ports on the plug'"'"'s outer face, measured in a direction normal to the path, is generally equal the diameter of the ports of the inlet ducts.

23. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 19, wherein, relative to the rocking plane of the driving part, the larger port parts are on the outlet port side of said rocking plane and the smaller ones are on the other side thereof.

24. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 23, wherein the smaller parts of the ports are nearest to the larger port parts at said rocking plane.

25. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein radial lines of said plug running through middle points of said inlet ports define an angle in a range of 60°

to 100°

.

26. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radial line of the plug through that one of said inlet ports which is farther from said lengthways axis than said other inlet port makes an angle in a range of 50°

to 70°

with a part of said lengthways axis farthest from said driving part.

27. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radial line of the plug through that one of said inlet ports which is nearer to said lengthways axis than said other inlet port makes an angle in a range of 20°

to 30°

with a part of said lengthways axis farthest from said driving part.

28. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radial line of said plug running through said outlet port of said plug makes an angle in a range of 40°

to 60°

with a part of said lengthways axis farthest from said driving part.

29. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in a shut down position of said plug, one inlet port thereof is within a circle centered on said axis of turning, in said valve shut down position, the radius of said circle being smaller than the smallest distance to the nearest part of a port edge in said valve seat face.

30. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 29, wherein other inlet ports of said plug are, in the plug'"'"'s shut down position a circle centered, in said shut down position, on said axis of turning, and are placed in a plane normal to said axis of turning, the plane going through the inlet port of the inlet duct used with said inlet port of said plug.

31. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 30, wherein said circle goes thorugh the two inlet ports of said ducts.

32. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parts of said seat face between the duct inlet ports and the outlet port in said face are narrower than the acting diameter of the inlet ports in the seat face.

33. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 32, wherein said inlet ports of said plug are divided into a number of port parts by bridging connections, larger parts of said inlet ports having a clearance diameter greater than the parts of said seat face between the duct inlet ports and the outlet port in said face.

34. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, having rubber glands at the edges of said inlet ducts, said glands resting against said plug, said inlet ports of said plug being divided into separate parts by bridging pieces of said seat face.

35. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between edges of the plug'"'"'s inlet ports is equal to the spacing between edges of the ducts porting out in the valve seat face.

36. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 14, wherein the angle is preferably about 90°

.

37. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 22, wherein the angle is preferably about 70°

.

38. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 25, wherein the angle is preferably about 80°

.

39. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 28, wherein the angle is preferably about 50°

.