US 6,405,932 B1Granted

Hot water temperature control valve system

AssigneeStrahman Valves, Inc.

InventorRobert Palmer

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A retrofit automatic temperature controlling apparatus and kit is attached to a prior art steam-cold water mixing valve assembly to produce mixed cold water and steam as hot water at a controlled temperature. An adjustment screw is added to the prior art valve assembly to limit the displacement of a steam poppet valve which is opened by a retrofitted piston. Cold water is redirected to a retrofit temperature control assembly having a mixing chamber for receiving the cold water. A water and steam receiving conduit terminates in the mixing chamber and has fluid isolated sections for receiving steam and cold water with a sleeve valve member for selectively coupling the steam and cold water sections to the mixing chamber. The sleeve valve member is operated by a temperature sensing device in the outlet hot water chamber. A disc member separates the mixing chamber and outlet hot water chamber with small passages which promote mixing.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A hot water temperature controlling apparatus for retrofit attachment to a cold water-steam valve assembly for mixing steam with cold water supplied to the valve assembly to produce controlled temperature hot water, the valve assembly for receiving pressurized steam and for receiving pressurized cold water, a poppet valve in a steam receiving chamber having open and closed states to selectively supply pressurized steam to a steam outlet conduit, a cold water receiving chamber for receiving cold water and having a cold water outlet, a piston in the cold water receiving chamber being responsive to the received pressurized cold water for opening the poppet valve, the water temperature controlling apparatus comprising:

first means arranged and dimensioned for receiving the steam from said steam outlet conduit and for receiving the cold water from said cold water chamber outlet;
and
temperature control means including temperature sense means arranged to be attached to the cold water-steam valve assembly and for receiving the steam and cold water from the first means and having a steam-cold water mixing chamber for mixing the received steam and cold water to produce hot water, the temperature sense means including means responsive to the sensed temperature of the hot water to control the respective amounts of steam and cold water supplied to the mixing chamber to control the temperature of the hot water.

A hot water temperature controlling apparatus comprising:

a body having a steam receiving chamber, a cold water receiving chamber, and a steam-cold water mixing chamber for producing hot water, the cold water receiving chamber having a cold water outlet conduit, the steam receiving chamber having a steam outlet conduit;
a poppet valve in the steam receiving chamber having open and closed states for selectively supplying pressurized steam to the steam outlet conduit;
a piston in the cold water receiving chamber responsive to received pressurized cold water for opening the poppet valve;
a first fluid conduit secured to the body at least a portion of which is in the mixing chamber and having first and second fluid isolated sections in the mixing chamber, the first section for receiving the steam from said steam outlet conduit and the second section for receiving the cold water from said cold water outlet conduit;
valve means comprising a sleeve coupled to the first conduit for selectively opening and closing fluid coupling of the first and second sections to the mixing chamber;
and
temperature sense means coupled to the valve means and responsive to the sensed temperature of the mixed hot water in the mixing chamber to displace the sleeve and control the respective amounts of steam and cold water supplied to the mixing chamber by the sleeve to thereby control the temperature of the hot water.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.