Flow path switching valve
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A flow path switching valve comprising:
- a housing having a cavity in which fluid is received, the housing having an opening on at least one of an upper end or a lower end and a plurality of ports on a lateral side;
a valve body rotatably provided in the cavity, the valve body including a divider that divides the cavity into a plurality of flow spaces and configured to switch a flow path through prescribed ones of the plurality of ports based on rotation of the divider; and
a sealing module provided over the opening to seal the opening of the housing,wherein the sealing module is configured to move relative to the opening based on the rotation of the valve body such that the sealing module is separated from the valve body when the valve body is rotated and comes into contact with the valve body when rotation of the valve body stops.
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Abstract
Disclosed is a flow path switching valve. The flow path switching valve includes a housing provided with a plurality of ports in a peripheral direction thereof, the housing having a space in which fluid is received, a valve body including a disc configured to divide the space of the housing into a plurality of flow spaces and to switch a flow direction of fluid via rotation, and a sealing member configured to seal at least one of an upper end and a lower end of the flow spaces, and a pressure plate configured to pressurize the sealing member toward the valve body as the valve body is rotated.
11 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A flow path switching valve comprising:
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a housing having a cavity in which fluid is received, the housing having an opening on at least one of an upper end or a lower end and a plurality of ports on a lateral side; a valve body rotatably provided in the cavity, the valve body including a divider that divides the cavity into a plurality of flow spaces and configured to switch a flow path through prescribed ones of the plurality of ports based on rotation of the divider; and a sealing module provided over the opening to seal the opening of the housing, wherein the sealing module is configured to move relative to the opening based on the rotation of the valve body such that the sealing module is separated from the valve body when the valve body is rotated and comes into contact with the valve body when rotation of the valve body stops. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An air conditioner comprising:
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a cooling/heating cycle including a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger; and a flow path switching valve coupled to the cooling/heating cycle to change a direction of flow of refrigerant in the cooling/heating cycle, wherein the flow path switching valve includes a housing having a cavity in which fluid is received, the housing having an opening on an upper end and a plurality of ports on a lateral side, a valve body rotatably provided in the cavity and configured to change the direction of flow of the refrigerant through respective ports based on a positon of the valve body, and a sealing module provided over the opening to be in mechanical linkage with the valve body to seal the opening based on rotation of the valve body, wherein when the valve body is in a first position, the sealing module is configured to contact the valve body to seal the opening, and while the valve body is rotated from the first position to a second position, the valve body is configured to raise the sealing module away from the valve body such that the sealing module does not contact the valve body during the rotation.
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Specification