Piezoelectric actuator with a gimballed valve
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorsPaul DuPuis, Lee Vetsch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gimballed valve for a flow control valve operates as a sealing member for an adjustable nozzle and is coupled to a piezoelectric actuator having stacked piezoelectric members that are toroidally shaped. The gimballed valve includes at least two support rings and a center closure member. In one embodiment only an outermost support is in contact with at least one member of the piezoelectric actuator. The support rings may be concentrically arranged and coupled together with flexure members. The center closure member operates to seal against an orifice in the adjustable nozzle and may deflect upon contact with the adjustable nozzle to account for misalignment issues that may arise during machining and/or assembly of the flow control valve.
Claims15
A piezoelectric actuator comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric members positioned in a stacked arrangement, each member having a toroidal shape with an inner surface defining a central opening and a coaxial axis;
- and
- a gimballed valve having at least two support rings and a center closure member, the at least two support rings coupled together with a pair of flexure members, the at least two support rings having an outer support ring and an inner support ring, the inner support ring coupled to the center closure member with another pair of flexure members, the outer support ring coupled to one of the piezoelectric members such that at least the center closure member is located positioned over the central opening.
A flow control valve comprising:
- a piezoelectric actuator having at least one piezoelectric member positioned in a stacked arrangement, the at least one member having a toroidal shape with an inner surface defining a central opening and a coaxial axis;
- and
- a gimballed valve having at least two support rings coupled together with a pair of flexure members, the at least two support rings having an outer support ring and an inner support ring, the inner support ring coupled to the center closure member with another pair of flexure members, the outer support ring coupled to one of the piezoelectric members such that at least the center closure member is located positioned over the central opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.