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.
Claims18
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 first ring,
- 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
- outward facing surfaces of each of the first rib and the second rib have a rectangular profile.
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A rotary plug valve, comprising a valve body, a valve plug disposed in the valve body and a seal that is disposed between the valve body and the valve plug, wherein
- the valve body includes
- a body sidewall that encircles and is centered on a body axis,
- a body base that closes one end of the body sidewall, the body sidewall and body base cooperating to define a valve body chamber, and
- 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 first end and the second end, the side surface surrounding the body axis, and
- 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 first ring,
- and wherein 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.