Rotary three-way diverter valve

Abstract

A diverter valve receives fluid from an inlet port. A camshaft is rotated within a housing to slide a cam follower along an axis to regulate fluid flow to an outlet port when the camshaft is rotated. The housing provides an inlet port and first and second outlet ports. The camshaft includes a cam lobe that is offset relative to a rotational axis of the camshaft. The cam follower is supported on the cam lobe and is movable along a longitudinal axis to selectively block at least one of the first and second ports. In one embodiment, first and second cam followers are used to selectively block outlet ports that are arranged approximately 90 degrees from one another. The first and second cam followers move in first and second directions transverse to one another. In another embodiment, a single cam follower is used to regulate flow through two outlet ports that are arranged approximately 180 degrees from one another.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.