Dual port valve with stepper motor actuator
AssigneeSporlan Valve Company
InventorsDavid C. Dorste, Dennis L. Hoehne, John W. Friend, Donald L. Tillotson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This refrigeration system expansion valve (10) includes a body (12) having an inlet (20) and an outlet (22) and a valve assembly (24) within the body (12). The valve assembly (24) includes a first port (28) communicating with the inlet (20) and a second, larger port (30) communicating with the outlet (22) and further includes a pin (32) having a first pin portion (34) received by the first port (28) and a second pin portion (36) received by the second port (30). A stepper motor (100) attached to the valve body (12) cooperates with an actuator assembly (60) attached to the pin (32) to induce longitudinal movement into the pin and thereby control refrigerant flow through the valve.
Claims12
An expansion valve for a refrigeration system, the valve comprising:
- (a) a valve body including an inlet means and an outlet means,
- (b) valve means disposed within the body between the inlet means and the outlet means and including port means and pin means cooperating with the port means to control refrigerant flow through the valve,
- (c) the port means having a first port communicating with the inlet means and a second port communicating with the outlet means and the pin means having a first portion received by the first port and a second portion received by the second port, said ports being of different size and said pin portions being of a different included angle, the first port being smaller than the second port and the first pin portion having an included angle greater than the included angle of the second pin portion, and
- (d) means actuating the pin means.
An expansion valve for a refrigeration system, the valve comprising:
- (a) a valve body including an inlet means and an outlet means,
- (b) valve means disposed within the body between the inlet means and the outlet means and including port means and pin means cooperating with the port means to control refrigerant flow through the valve,
- (c) the port means having a first port communicating with the inlet means and a second port communicating with the outlet means and the pin means having a first portion received by the first port and a second portion received by the second port, and
- (d) means actuating the pin means including a stepper motor,
- (e) the stepper motor including a shaft and the means actuating the pin means including a drive screw and cooperating drive nut operatively connecting the pin means to the stepper motor,
- (f) the means actuating the pin means including reducer means between the stepper motor shaft and the drive screw, and
- (g) an adaptor means being connected to the stepper motor housing the reducer means,
- (h) the adaptor means being threadedly connected to the valve body.
An expansion valve for a refrigeration system, the valve comprising:
- (a) a valve including an inlet means and an outlet means,
- (b) valve means disposed within the body between the inlet means and the outlet means, including port means and pin means cooperating with the port means to control refrigerant flow through the valve,
- (c) the port means having a first port communicating with the inlet means and a second port communicating with the outlet means, the first port being smaller than the second port and the pin means having a first portion received by the first port and a second portion received by the second port, the first pin portion having an included angle greater than the included angle of the second pin portion, and
- (d) means actuating the pin means including a stepper motor having a shaft and being operatively connected to the valve body and means operatively connecting the stepper motor to the pin means,
- (e) the connecting means including a drive screw and a reducer means between the stepper motor shaft and the drive screw and a cooperating drive nut fixedly attached to the pin means and receiving the drive nut for longitudinal non-rotatable movement of said drive nut and pin means in the valve body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.