Rotary control valve and seal mechanism
First Claim
1. A seal mechanism for use in a valve having a housing with one or more ports located in an internal surface and a rotor having an external surface and one or more ports located in the external surface, the rotor being selectively rotatable within the housing, said seal mechanism including:
- a seal member having a web including an internal rim and an external rim, a first aperture located in said web, a plurality of teeth located on said internal rim of said web, a first flange extending from adjacent said external rim of said web in a first direction and a second flange extending from adjacent said internal rim of said web in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction, said first and second flanges extending along said web around said aperture, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing, said second flange having a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said first aperture between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seal mechanism for a rotary control valve having a housing with a plurality of ports and a generally cylindrical rotor having an external surface and a plurality of ports rotatably located within the housing. The seal mechanism is located between the external surface of the rotor and the housing and includes a generally cylindrical collar which extends substantially around the circumference of the rotor. The collar includes one or more ports adapted to respectively align with the ports in the rotor and in the housing and a groove extending around each collar port. A seal member having an aperture, an outwardly extending first flange and an inwardly extending second flange is located within the groove of the collar. The first flange has a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing and the second flange includes a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor. The seal member is adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through the aperture of the seal member between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing. A retainer member is associated with the seal member and includes an outer rim having an outer peripheral edge and an inner rim having an outer peripheral edge. The first flange of the seal member extends around the outer edge of the outer rim and the second flange of the seal member extends around the outer edge of the inner rim.
39 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A seal mechanism for use in a valve having a housing with one or more ports located in an internal surface and a rotor having an external surface and one or more ports located in the external surface, the rotor being selectively rotatable within the housing, said seal mechanism including:
a seal member having a web including an internal rim and an external rim, a first aperture located in said web, a plurality of teeth located on said internal rim of said web, a first flange extending from adjacent said external rim of said web in a first direction and a second flange extending from adjacent said internal rim of said web in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction, said first and second flanges extending along said web around said aperture, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing, said second flange having a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said first aperture between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A valve for controlling the flow of fluid through a water conditioning system, said valve including:
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a housing having a generally cylindrical chamber formed about a longitudinal axis, said housing including a plurality of ports spaced apart from one another along said longitudinal axis; a generally cylindrical rotor located within said chamber of said housing adapted to be selectively rotatable about said longitudinal axis, said rotor including an external surface including a plurality of ports spaced apart from one another along said longitudinal axis, one or more of said ports of said rotor being adapted to respectively align with one or more of said ports of said housing when said rotor is selectively rotated to one of a plurality of rotational positions; and a plurality of seal mechanisms, each said seal mechanism being located between said external surface of said rotor and said housing, said seal mechanisms being respectively located along said longitudinal axis with respect to one another, each said seal mechanism including a cage having a generally cylindrical collar which extends substantially around the circumference of said rotor, said collar including a port, a seal member associated with said collar, said seal member including an aperture aligned with said port of said collar, said seal member including a first flange and a second flange, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage said housing, said second flange including a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage said external surface of said rotor, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said aperture of said seal member between a port of said rotor and a port of said housing. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A seal mechanism for use in a valve having a housing with one or more ports located in an internal surface and a rotor having an external surface and one or more ports located in the external surface, the rotor being selectively rotatable within the housing, said seal mechanism including:
a seal member having a web, a first aperture located in said web, a first flange extending from said web in a first direction and a second flange extending from said web in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction, said first and second flanges extending along said web around said aperture, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing, said second flange having a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor, each said sealing face respectively including an external seal rib an internal seal rib located generally concentrically within said external seal rib, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said first aperture between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing.
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14. A seal mechanism for use in a valve having a housing with one or more ports located in an internal surface and a rotor having an external surface and one or more ports located in the external surface, the rotor being selectively rotatable within the housing, said seal mechanism including:
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a seal member having a web including an internal rim, a first aperture located in said web, a first flange extending from said web in a first direction and a second flange extending from said web in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction, said first and second flanges extending along said web around said aperture, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing, said second flange having a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said first aperture between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing; and a retainer member adapted to be associated with said seal member, said retainer member including a first rim having an outer peripheral edge and a second rim having an outer peripheral edge and an inner peripheral edge, said inner peripheral edge of said second rim forming a second aperture adapted to be aligned with said first aperture in said seal member, said first flange of said seal member adapted to extend around said outer peripheral edge of said first rim and said second flange of said seal member adapted to extend around said outer peripheral edge of said second rim. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A seal mechanism for use in a valve having a housing with one or more ports located in an internal surface and a rotor having an external surface and one or more ports located in the external surface, the rotor being selectively rotatable within the housing, said seal mechanism including:
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a seal member having a web, a first aperture located in said web, a first flange extending from said web in a first direction and a second flange extending from said web in a second direction generally opposite to said first direction, said first and second flanges extending along said web around said aperture, said first flange having a first sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the housing, said second flange having a second sealing face adapted to sealingly engage the external surface of the rotor, said seal member adapted to provide a sealed fluid passage through said first aperture between a port of the rotor and a port of the housing; and a cage having a generally cylindrical collar including a first end and a second end and a spacer member located between said first end and said second end of said collar, said collar adapted to be located between the rotor and the housing of the valve, said collar including a port adapted to align with a port of the rotor and a port of the housing, said collar including a groove which extends around the circumference of said port in said collar, said groove adapted to receive said seal member. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification