Control valve for a water softener

• US 10,359,122 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2015
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wenzhou Runxin Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd
• Original Assignee: Wenzhou Runxin Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd
• Inventors: Wu, Xiao-Rong, Yuan, Hai-Lin, Wu, Xian-Shui
• Primary Examiner(s): Savage, Matthew O
• Application Number:
  US15/112,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20160341322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/42 by ion-exchange ion-exchange in general B01J
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/005 Valves
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/16 Regeneration of sorbents, filters
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 5/00 Softening water; Preventing scale; Adding scale preventatives or scale removers to water, e.g. adding sequestering agents softening using ion-exchange C02F1/42
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/0743 with both the supply and the discharge passages being on one side of the closure plates

Abstract

A control valve with a planar seal structure having a valve body with a water inlet, water outlet, and water drainage port. A spool with a planar seal structure and having fixed valve plate and movable valve plate is disposed in the valve body. The movable valve plate is rotationally fitted to the fixed valve plate. The fixed valve plate has a plurality of through-holes. One through-hole with an arc and fan shape is in communication with the water outlet. The outer diameter of the through-hole with an arc and fan shape is greater than that of another through-hole of the fixed valve plate. The through-hole is in communication with the valve body'"'"'s water inlet. The fixed valve plate has at least one arc communicating blind hole. The through-holes of the fixed valve plate are mutually fitted with the communicating blind hole.

Claims

1. A control valve, including a valve body, wherein:

the valve body is provided with an inlet, an outlet and a drain,

a valve core located in the valve body,

wherein the valve core is provided with a fixed disk and a moving disk,

wherein a mating face of the-fixed disk engages a mating face of the moving disk,

wherein a center of the-fixed disk is coaxially aligned with a center of the moving disk on an axis of rotation,

wherein major portions of the outer edges of the fixed disk and the moving disk are circular and have a same diameter relative to their centers,

wherein a flow space connected to the inlet is defined between an interior of the valve body and radially outer portions of the fixed disk and moving disk,

wherein the moving disk is arranged to rotate relative to the fixed disk,

wherein the fixed disk is provided with a plurality of through-holes extending axially through the fixed disk from the mating face to an opposing face thereof,

wherein one of the through-holes in the face of the fixed disk is arc-shaped and is an outlet through-hole connected only to the outlet via an outlet passage in the valve body,

wherein the fixed disk includes a radical arc-shaped bulge extending radially outwardly from the major circular portion of the fixed disk, wherein the outlet through-hole in the fixed disk extends radially outwardly into the radial arc-shaped bulge and includes an outer edge portion that is located further from the axis of rotation than the major portion of the outer edge of the moving disk having the same diameter, whereby flow communication between the inlet and the outlet is provided when the radially outer edge of the moving disk having the same diameter is in radial alignment with the radially outer edge of the outlet through-hole in the fixed disk,

the outlet through-hole in the fixed disk and other through-holes in the fixed disk include portions located at a fixed distance relative to the center of the fixed disk,

wherein a radially outer edge of the outlet through-hole of the fixed disk is located further from the center of the fixed disk than radially outer edges of the other through-holes of the fixed disk,

wherein a radially inner edge of the outlet through-hole of the fixed disk is located closer to the center of the fixed disk than outer edges of the other through-holes of the fixed disk,

wherein the moving disk is provided with an inlet through-hole that is open to said flow space,

at least one blind hole located on the mating face of the moving disk that is arc-shaped, and

the through-holes of the fixed disk being positioned to align with the through hole and at least one blind hole of the moving disk.

2. The control valve of claim 1, wherein a radially outer edge of the blind hole of the moving disk is located further from the center of the moving disk than the radially outer edge of the through-hole of the moving disk.

3. The control valve of claim 1, wherein

the fixed disk includes five or six through-holes arranged in five equal parts or six circumferential sectors of the fixed disk,

wherein the moving disk includes a radial arc-shaped bulge extending radially outwardly from a circular periphery of the moving disk, wherein the blind hole of the moving disk extends radially outwardly into the radial arc-shaped bulge of the moving disk, and

wherein the through-holes of the fixed disk can be aligned with the through hole and at least one blind hole of the moving disk as the moving disk is rotated.

4. The control valve of claim 1, wherein the outlet through-hole of the fixed disk and the blind hole located in the moving disk are aligned with each other when the control valve is in a softener or filter status.

5. The control valve of claim 1, wherein the outlet through-hole of the fixed disk and the blind hole located within the same diameter of the moving disk are overlapped incompletely to provide flow from the inlet to the outlet when the control valve is in regeneration or rinse status.

6. The control valve of claim 1, further including a water softener connected to the control valve.

7. The control valve of claim 1, further including an injector, wherein

the valve body is further provided with a drain channel and a brine absorption branch of a flow channel,

the valve body is further provided with an upper filter connector, a lower filter connector, and an injector inlet, an injector outlet connected to the lower filter, a brine inlet is connected to the brine absorption branch of the flow channel,

the through-holes are respectively distributed in six equal circumferential sectors on the mating face of the fixed disk,

on the mating face of the fixed disk, in a counterclockwise direction, a first through-hole and a second through-hole are connected to the upper filter connector via respective flow passages,

a third through-hole on the face of the fixed disk is connected to the lower filter connector via a flow passages,

a fourth through-hole on the face of the fixed disk is the outlet through-hole connected to the outlet via the flow space,

a fifth through-hole on the face of the fixed disk is connected to the injector inlet,

a sixth through-hole on the face of and in a center of the fixed disk that is connected to the drain of the valve body,

wherein the moving disk includes two blind holes including a radial blind hole that is from the center to circumferential direction in the mating face and an arc-shaped blind hole in the mating face,

wherein the moving disk includes a radial arc-shaped bulge extending radially outwardly from a circular periphery of the moving disk,

wherein the arc-shaped blind hole of the moving disk extends radially outwardly into the radial arc-shaped bulge of the moving disk,

wherein a radially outer edge of the arc-shaped blind hole of the moving disk is located further from the center of the moving disk than a radially outer edge of the through-hole of the moving disk, and

the arc-shaped bulge of the fixed disk is the same size and shape as the arc-shaped bulge of the moving disk.

8. The control valve of claim 7, wherein the injector inlet and the injector outlet are set on the brine absorption branch of the flow channel.

9. The control valve of claim 7, and, wherein the valve body is connected to a tank containing an ion exchange resin, and wherein the upper filter connector and the lower filter connector are located within the tank.