# US 2018/0320790 A1 · Flow control valve

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- Number: US 2018/0320790 A1
- Document ID: US20180320790A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/779,914
- Filed: 2016-12-22
- Published: 2018-11-08
- Earliest claimed: 2016-02-04
- Assignees: Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Makoto FUKUI; Mamoru YOSHIOKA; Naruto ITO; Takashige INAGAKI; Kasumi MISHIMA
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180320790A1

## CPC

- F16K 1/221: {specially adapted operating means therefor (operating means per se F16K31/00)}
- F16K 1/20: with axis of rotation arranged externally of valve member
- F16K 1/24: with valve members that, on opening of the valve, are initially lifted from the seat and next are turned around an axis parallel to the seat
- F16K 31/041: {for rotating valves (F16K31/055 takes precedence)}
- F16K 31/535: {for rotating valves (F16K31/54 takes precedence)}
- H01M 8/04201: {Reactant storage and supply, e.g. means for feeding, pipes}
- H01M 2250/20: Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
- Y02E 60/50: Fuel cells
- Y02T 90/40: Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells
- F16K: VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING {(devices for emptying and evacuating the excess liquid in valves or conduits F16L55/07)}
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

A flow control valve comprising a valve seat provided with a valve hole and a seat surface, a valve element formed with a sealing surface corresponding to the seat surface, and a rotary shaft to which the valve element is integrally provided, the central axis of the rotary shaft being arranged eccentrically toward the radial direction of the valve hole from the central axis of the valve hole, and the sealing surface being arranged eccentrically toward the direction in which the central axis of the valve element extends from the central axis of the rotary shaft. The flow control valve has a valve element movement direction restriction member for stopping rotation of the valve element, and thereafter moving the valve element toward the valve seat while also relatively rotating the valve element about the eccentric axis eccentric from the central axis of the rotary shaft, relative to the rotary shaft.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A flow control valve comprising:
a valve seat including a valve hole and a seat surface formed at an edge of the valve hole;
a valve element formed with a sealing surface on an outer periphery corresponding to the seat surface; and
a rotary shaft integrally provided with the valve element,
the rotary shaft having a central axis being positioned eccentrically from a central axis of the valve hole in a radial direction of the valve hole, and the sealing surface being positioned eccentrically from the central axis of the rotary shaft toward an extending direction of a central axis of the valve element,
wherein the flow control valve further comprises a valve-element moving direction restriction member configured to halt rotation of the valve element integrally rotatable with the rotary shaft about the central axis of the rotary shaft and thereafter relatively rotate the valve element about an eccentric axis positioned eccentrically from the central axis of the rotary shaft with respect to the rotary shaft rotatable about the central axis of the rotary shaft so that the valve element moves to the valve seat.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The flow control valve according to claim 1, comprising:
a stopper for defining a range of relative rotation of the valve element configured to rotate about the eccentric axis with respect to the rotary shaft; and
a spring provided between the rotary shaft and the valve element to urge the valve element toward the stopper,
wherein the valve-element moving direction restriction member constitutes a part of the valve seat and includes a lip portion configured to be pressed and bent by the valve element when the valve element moves to the valve seat, and
a resilient force generated in the lip portion when the lip portion is bent is larger than an urging force of the spring urging the valve element toward the stopper.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The flow control valve according to claim 2,
at a rotation halt time when the valve-element moving direction restriction member stops rotation of the valve element, the eccentric axis is positioned in a first position which is a side opposite to the valve seat with respect to a horizontal line extending through the central axis of the rotary shaft and parallel to a radial direction of the valve element, and
at a stopper contact time after the rotation halt time when the valve-element moving direction restriction member brings the valve element to the vale seat to make the valve element come to contact with the stopper, the eccentric axis is positioned in a second position on a side close to the valve seat with respect to the horizontal line.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The flow control valve according to claim 3, wherein
the flow control valve includes a bearing to support the rotary shaft, and
the rotary shaft has an allowable moving amount of relatively moving in the radial direction of the rotary shaft with respect to the bearing, the allowable moving amount being larger than a moving amount of the rotary shaft moving in the radial direction of the rotary shaft when the eccentric axis moves between the first position and the second position.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The flow control valve according to claim 2, wherein the stopper is a protrusion integrally formed with the rotary shaft.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The flow control valve according to claim 1, wherein
the valve-element moving direction restriction member is a protruding part protruding toward the valve element from a side of the valve seat, and
the protruding part includes a guide portion configured to be in contact with a distal end in a rotation direction of the valve element when the valve element having integrally rotated with the rotary shaft about the central axis of the rotary shaft stops rotating and configured to guide the valve element in its movement to the valve seat while the valve element relatively rotates about the eccentric axis with respect to the rotary shaft and moves to the valve seat.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The flow control valve according to claim 3, wherein the stopper is a protrusion integrally formed with the rotary shaft.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The flow control valve according to claim 4, wherein the stopper is a protrusion integrally formed with the rotary shaft.