Digital control valve
AssigneeFMC Corporation
InventorFrank P. Haley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A digital valve has a valve body with an inlet passage and two outlet passages straddling the inlet passage. A plurality of slots are cut in the body connecting the inlet passage to each outlet passage. Bores in the valve body intersect each slot, and a plunger in each bore blocks or opens the slot. The slots vary in width in a binary progression, and solenoids, controlled by a central processing unit through solid state relays, selectively actuate the plungers so that a desired flow through the valve can be effected. Upstream and downstream sensors are connected to the central processing unit, which is within the valve, to modify the actuation of the plungers in order to provide a predetermined flow at the instantaneous temperature of the fluid and the instantaneous pressure drop across the valve.
Claims10
A valve having a valve body with an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a first passage in communication with said inlet opening and a second passage in communication with said outlet opening, a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting said first and second passages, means defining a bore intersecting each of said slots, and a piston in each bore shiftable between a slot-open and a slot-closed position, and means to shift selected pistons to the slot-open position to provide a flow path of predetermined area between the inlet opening and the outlet opening.
A valve having a valve body with an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a plurality of passages in said valve body connected alternately to one and the other of said openings, a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting adjacent passages, means defining a bore intersecting each of said slots, and a piston in each bore shiftable between a slot-open and a slot-closed position, and means to shift selected pistons to the slot-open position to provide a flow path of predetermined area between the inlet opening and the outlet opening.
A valve having a valve body with an inlet opening and an outlet opening, first and second spaced apart passages in said valve body terminating at one of said openings, a third passage in said valve body passing between said first and second passages and terminating at the other of said openings, a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting said first and third passages and a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting said second and third passages, all of said slots being of different width, a bore intersecting each of said slots, means in each bore defining a barrier for the slot and shiftable in the bore between a slot-open and a slot-closed position, and means to shift selected barriers to the slot-open position to provide a flow path of predetermined area between the inlet opening and the outlet opening.
A valve having a valve body with an inlet opening and an outlet opening, first and second spaced apart passages in said valve body terminating at one of said openings, a third passage in said valve body passing between said first and second passages and terminating at the other of said openings, a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting said first and third passages and a plurality of slots of rectangular cross-section connecting said second and third passages, said slots all being of different width, a cylindrical bore intersecting each of said slots, a piston in each bore defining a barrier for the slot and shiftable in the bore between a slot-open and a slot-closed position, and means to shift selected barriers to the slot-open position to provide a flow path of predetermined area between the inlet opening and the outlet opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.