Seal for rotary plug valve
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorEdward Gray
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multi-port rotary plug valve may be used in a fluid delivery system of a vehicle to control flow of coolant fluid between a radiator, an electric drive motor, a battery, vehicle electronics, and one or more bypass lines. The valve may include a valve body that has ports at two or more levels along a height dimension of the valve body and a plug assembly that is rotatably disposed in the valve body. In addition, the valve may include a single-piece, conical seal disposed between the valve body and the plug assembly that is free of seams or joints.
Claims14
A valve seal, comprising:
- a first ring having a first ring diameter,
- a second ring that is parallel to and spaced apart from the first ring, the second ring having a second ring diameter that is different than the first ring diameter,
- a first rib that extends between the first ring and the second ring, and
- a second rib that extends between the first ring and the second ring, the second rib being spaced apart from the first rib along a circumference of the valve seal, wherein
- inward-facing surfaces of each of the first rib and the second rib include a channel that extends between the first ring and the second ring, and
- an outward-facing projection of each of the first rib and the second rib has a rectangular profile.
A rotary plug valve, comprising a valve body, a valve plug disposed in the valve body, and a seal disposed between the valve body and the valve plug, wherein
- the valve body includes
- a body sidewall centered around a body axis,
- a body base that closes one end of the body sidewall, the body sidewall and the body base cooperating to define a valve body chamber, and
- a plurality of valve ports, each valve port communicating with the valve body chamber,
- the valve plug is disposed in the valve body chamber so as to be rotatable relative to the valve body about a rotational axis that coincides with the body axis, the valve plug including
- a plug first end,
- a plug second end opposed to the plug first end,
- a side surface that extends between the plug first end and the plug second end, the side surface surrounding the body axis, and
- a plurality of passageways that extend through the valve plug and open at the side surface of the valve plug, and
- the seal includes
- a first ring having a first ring diameter,
- a second ring that is parallel to and spaced apart from the first ring, the second ring having a second ring diameter that is different than the first ring diameter,
- a first rib that extends between the first ring and the second ring, and
- a second rib that extends between the first ring and the second ring, the second rib being spaced apart from the first rib along a circumference of the seal, wherein
- inward-facing surfaces of each of the first rib and the second rib include a channel that extends between the first ring and the second ring, and
- an outward-facing projection of each of the first rib and the second rib has a rectangular profile, such that the first ring, the second ring, the first rib, and the second rib are in direct contact with the valve body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.