# US 2014/0150872 A1 · Rotary control valve for reverse osmosis feed water pump with energy recovery > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0150872 A1 - Document ID: US20140150872A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/693,743 - Filed: 2012-12-04 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-12-04 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: Dean David MARSCHKE - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140150872A1 ## CPC - F04B 7/0046: {for rotating distribution members} - C02F 1/441: {by reverse osmosis} - F04B 7/0007: {and having a rotating movement} - F04B 9/113: reciprocating movement of the pumping members being obtained by a double-acting liquid motor - Y10T 137/0318: Processes - Y10T 137/85986: Pumped fluid control - F04B: POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS (machines for liquids, or pumps, of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type F04C; non-positive-displacement pumps F04D; pumping of fluid by direct contact of another fluid or by using inertia of fluid to be pumped F04F) - C02F: TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE (separation in general B01D; special arrangements on waterborne vessels of installations for treating water, waste water or sewage, e.g. for producing fresh water, B63J; adding materials to water to prevent corrosion C23F; treating radioactively-contaminated liquids G21F9/04; regeneration of reactants for recirculation into processes, see the relevant places for the processes) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract A liquid pumping system includes at least two water cylinders that are each controlled by a hydraulic piston. A rotary valve controls the hydraulic pistons. The rotary valve has an inner unit that rotates within an outer unit. Slots provided between the inner and outer units control the duration, rate and direction of hydraulic fluid supply to the hydraulic piston. A liquid pumping process comprises distributing an initial flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid between the hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic cylinders move through a cycle in a phased relationship to provide a constant sum of flow rates from the liquid pumps. In a water treating process, feed water is pumped through the membrane unit. Brine from the membrane unit is returned to each liquid pump while that liquid pump is feeding water to the membrane unit. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A liquid pumping system comprising, a. a plurality of liquid pumps; b. a plurality of hydraulic cylinders, wherein each liquid pump is connected to a different hydraulic cylinder; c. one or more rotary control valves connected to the plurality of hydraulic cylinders, wherein the rotary control valve comprises a hydraulic fluid output for each hydraulic cylinder; and, d. a hydraulic pump connected to the rotary control valve, wherein each of the one or more rotary control valves further comprises a rotatable interface positioned between each hydraulic fluid output and the hydraulic pump, wherein the rotatable interface opens and closes one or more fluid pathways between the hydraulic pump and each hydraulic cylinder. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The liquid pumping system of claim 1, wherein the rotatable interface further comprises a sequence slot that modulates a flow of hydraulic fluid through a fluid pathway from the hydraulic pump to a hydraulic piston. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The liquid pumping system of claim 2, wherein the rotatable interface comprises a plurality of sequence slots are arranged so that the total liquid flow produced from the liquid pumps is generally constant over a period of time in which the hydraulic pump produces a generally constant output. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The liquid pumping system of claim 1, wherein each liquid pump comprises one or more pistons. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The liquid pumping system of claim 4, wherein the one or more pistons are adapted to pump liquid on both a forward and a return stroke. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The liquid pumping system of claim 5, wherein the one or more pistons further comprise a piston rod and the piston rod comprises a set of shock absorbers that are positioned on the piston rod to generate a resistive force when the one or more pistons approach an end of the forward stroke and an end of the return stroke. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a membrane unit in fluid communication with the plurality of liquid pumps. ### Claim 8 A rotary control valve comprising: a. a fluid input; b. a rotatable unit; c. a stationary unit; and, d. a plurality of sequence slots positioned between the rotatable unit and the stationary unit, wherein the rotatable unit is rotationally alignable with the stationary unit and when in rotational alignment a fluid communication path opens from the fluid input through a sequence slot to a fluid output of the rotary control valve. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The rotary control valve of claim 8, wherein the rotatable unit is an inner valve unit, the stationary unit is an outer valve unit and the inner valve unit is housed within the outer valve unit. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The rotary control valve of claim 9, wherein the plurality of sequence slots is positioned on an outer surface of the inner valve unit. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The rotary control valve of claim 9, wherein the plurality of sequence slots is positioned on an inner surface of the outer valve unit. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The rotary control valve of claim 8, wherein the rotatable unit is an outer valve unit and the stationary unit is an inner valve unit housed within the outer valve unit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The rotary control valve of claim 12, wherein the plurality of sequence slots is positioned on an outer surface of the inner valve unit. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The rotary control valve of claim 12, wherein the plurality of sequence slots is positioned on an inner surface of the outer valve unit. ### Claim 15 (depends on 8) The rotary control valve of claim 8, wherein each sequence slot of the plurality of sequence slots comprises a leading edge, an intermediate segment and a trailing edge and wherein the at least some of the leading edge and the trailing edge have a smaller cross-sectional flow area than the intermediate segment. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The rotary control valve of claim 15, wherein the cross-sectional flow area of the intermediate segment is constant. ### Claim 17 (depends on 8) The rotary control valve of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of fluid outputs and wherein a fluid communication path opens between the fluid input and each fluid output when at least one sequence slot rotatably aligns with each fluid output. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The rotary control valve of claim 17, wherein the at least one sequence slots are in a staggered relative to an axis of rotation so that the communication path from the fluid input to each fluid output opens in a phased manner. ### Claim 19 A method of supplying hydraulic fluid to a set of hydraulic cylinders comprising a step of, distributing a generally constant flow of hydraulic fluid between the hydraulic cylinders via one or more rotating valves.