Flow regulating valve and system using the same
First Claim
1. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
- a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body;
a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber;
outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber;
a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore;
an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage;
spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and
means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member in said bore and an opening in registration with said elongate member whereby relative reciprocation between said elongate member and said opening occurs upon piston reciprocation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A substantially constant flow regulating valve includes a piston dividing a bore into two chambers. The piston is spring biased toward the top chamber of the bore. Fluid from the inlet enters the top chamber through a reference pressure passage and exerts a downward force on the piston. Fluid from the inlet also passes through a low torque inlet flow throttle and into the bottom chamber of the bore where it exerts an upward force on the piston in concert with the spring force. The piston includes an end which variably interacts with an orifice in the lower chamber to maintain a constant pressure differential between the top and bottom chambers. A coil-type piping system, a diversifying campus-type piping system and a pressure source piping system all include the above described flow regulating valve. None of these systems require balancing valves or differential pressure valves when the flow regulating valve is employed.
66 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber; outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member in said bore and an opening in registration with said elongate member whereby relative reciprocation between said elongate member and said opening occurs upon piston reciprocation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber, outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a narrowed reference pressure control passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore for controlling responsiveness of said valve during fluctuation of pressure at said inlet, said narrowed reference pressure control passage having an area less than one percent of the surface area of said piston; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; and spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage.
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14. A fluid coil piping system comprising:
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a supply pipe having a shut-off valve; a return pipe having a shut-off valve; a coil pipe connected to said supply pipe and to said return pipe; a means for circulating gas or fluid through said supply pipe, said return pipe, and said coil pipe; a pressure independent fluid flow regulating a valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body;
a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber;
outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber;
a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore;
an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; and
spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage;
means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member in said bore and an opening registration with said elongate member and said opening occurs upon piston reciprocation; anda measurement means controlling the actuation of said fluid flow regulating valve. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A diversifying fluid piping system for a plurality of destination points comprising;
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a supply main connected to each of said destination points, said supply main sized to accommodate a flow rate which is less than the sum of the maximum individual flow rates for said destination points; a return main connected to each of said destination points, said return main sized to accommodate a flow rate which is less than the sum of the maximum desired flow rates for all of said destination points; a means for circulating fluid through said supply main and said return main; a pressure sensing means on said supply main adjacent to the destination point farthest most from said means for circulating fluid, said pressure sensing means controlling said means for circulating fluid to maintain a predetermined minimum line pressure at said destination point farthest most from said pumping means; and a plurality of pressure independent fluid flow regulating valves, each of said valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body;
a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber;
outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber;
a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore;
an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; and
spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and
means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member in said bore and an opening in registration with said elongate member whereby relative reciprocation between said elongate member and said opening occurs upon piston reciprocation. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A pressure source piping system for a plurality of destination points comprising:
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a pressure source; a supply main connected said pressure source; a plurality of arterial pipes connected to said supply main; and a pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve on each of said arterial pipes between said supply main and said destination point, said fluid flow regulating valve comprising; a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body;
a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber;
outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber;
a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore;
an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; and
spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and
means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member in said bore and an opening in registration with said elongate member whereby relative reciprocation between said elongate member in said opening occurs upon piston reciprocation.
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30. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage, through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber; outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage, said adjustable throttle means including a plate in said flow passage for rotation about an axis substantially normal thereto, said plate having an opening, said plate cooperating with a fixed opening in said flow passage such that rotation of said plate varies the effective flow cross-section through said plate opening and said fixed opening; spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage, said cross-sectional area of said outlet being substantially independent of pressure variations external to said valve; a first fluid pressure measurement line connected to said inlet of said valve body for measurement of an inlet pressure value P1, and a second fluid pressure measurement line connected to said second chamber of said bore for measurement of a second chamber pressure value P2 ; and fluid pressure measurement means on each of said fluid pressure measurement lines for measurement of a pressure value in said valve such that a fluid flow rate can be derived.
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31. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber; outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member on said piston and intersecting said outlet, and a collar attached to said valve body adjacent said outlet, said collar having an opening oriented to receive said elongate member whereby reciprocation of said piston in said bore is guided by reciprocation of said elongate member in said opening of said collar.
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32. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber; outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member fixed to said valve body and passing through said first chamber and said second chamber, and an opening through said piston aligned to receive said elongate member whereby reciprocation of said piston in said bore is guided by reciprocation of said piston along said elongate member.
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33. A pressure independent fluid flow regulating valve comprising:
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a valve body having an inlet and an outlet forming a flow passage through said valve body; a piston mounted in a bore intersecting said flow passage, said piston dividing said bore into first and second chambers, said inlet and said outlet connected with said second chamber; outlet varying means on said piston for varying the cross-sectional area of said outlet based on the pressure differential between said first chamber and said second chamber; a reference pressure passage connected to said inlet and to said first chamber of said bore; an adjustable throttle means disposed in said flow passage for varying the cross-sectional area of said flow passage; spring means biasing said piston toward said reference pressure passage; and means for guiding reciprocation of said piston in said bore, said means for guiding reciprocation including an elongate member fixed to said valve body in said first chamber of said bore, and a seat in said piston in registration with said elongate body whereby reciprocation of said piston in said bore is guided by reciprocation of said piston seat along said elongate member.
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Specification