US 7,836,909 B2 · Rotatable wedge valve mechanism and method for manufacture

Abstract

A rotatable wedge valve mechanism has a valve body or valve cartridge defining a valve chamber and flow ports in fluid communication with the valve chamber. A valve seat is located within the valve chamber in registry with one of the flow ports. A non-rotatable core member having a convex external surface portion is supported within said valve chamber. A wedge member is mounted for rotation within the valve chamber and has a range of rotary motion between open and closed positions of said valve and a non-uniform wall thickness throughout said range of rotary motion. An actuator upon rotary movement achieves opening and closing rotation of said wedge member. A method is provided for machining concave and convex wedge member surfaces from selected center-points to achieve relative thicknesses of wall sections of the wedge member.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A rotatable wedge valve mechanism, comprising:

a valve body having a valve chamber and flow ports in fluid communication with said valve chamber;
a valve seat within said valve body;
a core member having convex external surface portions and being located in substantially nonrotatable relation within said valve chamber;
a variable wedge member having rotatable supported engagement with said core member and having a range of rotary motion between open and closed positions of said valve mechanism, said variable wedge member having non-uniform wall thickness throughout said range of rotary motion;
and
an actuator achieving opening and closing rotation of said wedge member.

3 more elements

A rotatable wedge valve mechanism, comprising:

a valve body defining a valve cartridge chamber and having flow ports in fluid communication with said valve cartridge chamber;
a cartridge housing being replaceably positioned and sealed within said cartridge chamber and having flow ports in registry with said flow ports of said valve body;
a valve seat within said cartridge housing;
a core member having generally convex external surface portions being located in substantially nonrotatable relation within said cartridge chamber;
a wedge valve member having a range of rotary motion between open and closed positions of said valve mechanism and having non-uniform wall thickness throughout said range of rotary motion;
and
an actuator having rotary driving engagement with said wedge valve member and achieving opening and closing rotation of said wedge valve member.

4 more elements

A method for manufacturing a rotatable wedge valve member, comprising:

generating a substantially spherical concave surface on a valve member workpiece from a first center-point:
generating a substantially spherical convex surface on the valve member workpiece from a second center-point being spaced from said first center-point to establish an intermediate valve member thickness and leading and trailing valve member thicknesses that merge with said intermediate valve member thickness being of different thickness as compared with said leading and trailing valve member thicknesses.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Rotatable wedge valve mechanism and method for manufacture

Life of this patent

Rotatable wedge valve mechanism and method for manufacture

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20