In-line incremetally adjustable electronic expansion valve
First Claim
1. A refrigerant expansion valve comprising:
- a motor, said motor being a bi-directional motor having a drive shaft;
a housing said housing defining at least one aperture;
a rotating member having a peripheral edge exposed to refrigerant flow through said valve, said rotating member disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the direction of flow through said valve and defining at least one aperture, the degree to which said aperture of said rotating member is in registry with said aperture of said housing being determinative of the amount of refrigerant flow through said valve; and
an actuator, said actuator being operably coupled to said rotatable shaft member of said motor and to said rotating member, the rotation of said motor shaft causing linear motion of said actuator in said valve and said linear motion of said actuator causing rotary motion in rotating member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A variable flow rate expansion valve designed for in-line installation in a fluid conveying conduit such as between the high pressure condenser and lower pressure evaporator of a refrigeration system includes an integrally defined restrictor disc and a closure disc for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve. The restrictor disc has a first set of flow apertures and the closure disc a second set of flow apertures. The closure disc is rotatably coupled to the restrictor device in a plane parallel to the plane of the restrictor disc and perpendicular to refrigerant flow. A stepper motor is coupled to the closure disc through a linear actuator. Movement of the linear actuator causes the closure disc to rotate relative to the restrictor disc such that the flow apertures of the closure disc are selectively brought into and out of registry with the apertures of the restrictor disc.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A refrigerant expansion valve comprising:
-
a motor, said motor being a bi-directional motor having a drive shaft; a housing said housing defining at least one aperture; a rotating member having a peripheral edge exposed to refrigerant flow through said valve, said rotating member disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the direction of flow through said valve and defining at least one aperture, the degree to which said aperture of said rotating member is in registry with said aperture of said housing being determinative of the amount of refrigerant flow through said valve; and an actuator, said actuator being operably coupled to said rotatable shaft member of said motor and to said rotating member, the rotation of said motor shaft causing linear motion of said actuator in said valve and said linear motion of said actuator causing rotary motion in rotating member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A refrigerant expansion valve comprising:
-
a motor, said motor being a bi-directional motor having a rotatable drive shaft; a housing, said housing defining a plurality of apertures in said valve; a plate mounted for rotary motion within said valve, said plate defining a plurality of apertures; and an actuator, said actuator disposed in said valve for linear movement in a plane generally coincident with the plane of said plate and being operably coupled to both said rotatable drive shaft of said motor and to said plate, rotation of said motor drive shaft causing said actuator to move linearly within said valve in a plane generally coincident with the plane of said plate, said linear movement of said drive shaft causing rotary motion of said plate, the degree of registry of said apertures in said plate with respect to said apertures in said valve being determinative of the amount of refrigerant flow through said valve; and means for isolating said drive shaft of said motor from refrigerant flowing through said valve. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A refrigeration system comprising:
-
a compressor; a condenser connected for flow to said compressor; an evaporator connected for flow to said compressor; and refrigerant metering means, disposed in flow communication with said condenser and said evaporator, said metering means including a motor, a rotating member defining a plurality of apertures, a fixed member defining a plurality of apertures and an actuator operably coupling said motor and said rotating member, said actuator first translating rotary motion of said motor to linear motion and then translating said linear motion to rotary motion of said plate, the degree to which said apertures in said rotating member are in registry with said apertures in said fixed member being determinative of the amount of refrigerant flow through said valve, said refrigerant metering means including means for limiting the movement of said actuator such that the actuator is prevented from rotating said rotating member to an extent which puts said apertures of said rotating member in full registry with said apertures of said fixed member thereby limiting the amount of refrigerant flow through said metering means to an amount which is less than the amount which would occur if said apertures of said fixed and rotating members were in full registry. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification