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JP-2026514251-A - Measuring valve

JP2026514251AJP 2026514251 AJP2026514251 AJP 2026514251AJP-2026514251-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a metering valve (10, 10') for viscous materials, comprising a housing (12), a material flow path extending within the housing (12) and opening to a plurality of material discharge openings (26), and a plurality of valve needles (24) movably mounted within the housing (12), wherein the number of valve needles (24) corresponds to the number of material discharge openings (26), each valve needle (24) is associated with a valve seat (22), and each valve needle (24) is movable between a closed position in which it sits on the corresponding valve seat (22) and closes one of the material discharge openings (26), and an open position in which the material discharge opening (26) is exposed. The present invention also comprises a plurality of actuators (64) acting on the valve needles (24). According to the present invention, the number of actuators (64) is less than the number of valve needles (24), and at least one actuator (64) acts on at least two valve needles (24) simultaneously. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

  • ミッターク シュテン
  • ザウアー ベルンハルト
  • ロート バスティアン
  • レップレ パトリック

Assignees

  • アトラス コプコ イーアーエス ゲーエムベーハー

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20240222
Priority Date
20230504

Claims (15)

  1. A metering valve for viscous materials comprises a housing (12), a material flow path extending within the housing (12) and communicating with a plurality of material discharge openings (26), and a plurality of valve needles (24) movably mounted within the housing (12), corresponding to the number of material discharge openings (26), each valve needle (24) being associated with a valve seat (22), each valve needle (24) being movable between a closed position where it is seated on the valve seat (22) associated with it and closes one of the material discharge openings (26), and an open position where it opens the corresponding material discharge opening (26), and further comprising a plurality of actuators (64) acting on the valve needles (24). A metering valve characterized in that the number of actuators (64) is less than the number of valve needles (24), and at least one actuator (64) acts on at least two valve needles (24) simultaneously.
  2. The metering valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuator (64) is a piezoelectric actuator.
  3. The metering valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the actuators (64) is associated with only one of the valve needles (24) and acts on said valve needle (24).
  4. The metering valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the valve seat (22) is arranged in a row extending laterally with respect to the longitudinal direction of the valve needle (24).
  5. The metering valve according to claim 4, characterized in that the valve needles (24) are arranged extending parallel to each other, and the row extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the valve needles (24).
  6. The metering valve according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the two valve needles (24) associated with the first and last valve seats (22) in the row are each associated with only one actuator (64) that acts on the corresponding valve needle (24).
  7. The metering valve according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the valve needles (24), which are jointly actuated by one of the actuators (64), are preferably tightly connected to each other by a connecting element (66), and the actuator (64) is engaged with the connecting element (66) at the point of application (68).
  8. The metering valve according to claim 7, characterized in that the load-applying point (68) is located in the center of the connecting element (66).
  9. The metering valve according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the valve needles (24), connected to each other by the connecting element (66), are arranged symmetrically with respect to the point of force application (68).
  10. The metering valve according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the valve seat (22) is each formed from a cemented carbide alloy.
  11. The metering valve according to claim 10, characterized in that the valve seat (22) is preferably arranged on a valve seat block (20) integrally formed from a cemented carbide alloy.
  12. The metering valve according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the valve needle (24) is each formed from a cemented carbide alloy.
  13. The metering valve according to claim 12, characterized in that the valve needle (24) is guided so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction through a through-opening (30) in a guide block (28) positioned at a distance from the valve seat (22), and at least the inner surface of the through-opening (30) facing the valve needle (24) of the guide block (28) is formed of cemented carbide.
  14. The metering valve according to claim 13, characterized in that the inner surface of the through-opening (30) is in sealed contact with the valve needle (24).
  15. The metering valve according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the guide block (28) is integrally formed from cemented carbide.

Description

The present invention relates to a metering valve for viscous materials as described in the premise of claim 1. Such metering valves are known, for example, from Patent Document 1. The metering valve described therein has multiple valve needles, each associated with a valve seat. Each valve needle is movable between a closed position, where it is seated on its associated valve seat and closes one of the material discharge openings, and an open position, where the valve needle is lifted from the valve seat to open the corresponding material discharge opening. Furthermore, each valve needle is associated with an actuator that acts on the valve needle to move it. Such metering valves have already proven to be excellent. In particular, they can be miniaturized, and the valve seats and, consequently, the material discharge openings are positioned close together. However, one drawback is that, depending on the application, the actuators acting on the valve needles are wider than the nozzle spacing, forcing them to be positioned in a fan-shaped pattern from the nozzle openings. This problem becomes more serious as the number of valve needles in the metering valve increases. DE 10 2018 108 915 A1 This is a cross-sectional view of a metering valve according to the first embodiment.Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the operating modes of the metering valve.This is a schematic diagram of the operating mode of the metering valve according to the second embodiment. The metering valve 10 according to the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 comprises a housing 12 having a plurality of parts detachably connected to one another. A feed unit 14 integrally molded from stainless steel has a material flow path (not shown in detail) extending from a material inlet opening, through which viscous materials such as adhesives, sealants, insulating materials, or thermal conductive pastes can be introduced into the material flow path. A valve seat block 20 integrally molded from cemented carbide is attached to the feed unit 14. In this case, for example, the valve seat block 20 has seven valve seats 22 arranged in a row, each valve seat 22 associated with a valve needle 24. The valve needle 24 is positioned within the housing 12 so as to be linearly movable along its longitudinal axis. In front of the valve seats 22, the material flow path branches into seven sub-flow paths, each sub-flow path terminating at a material discharge opening 26 in the material discharge surface 62 of the valve seat block 20. However, branching of the material flow path into sub-flow paths is not necessarily required. For example, the material flow path can communicate with a material chamber, and when the valve needle 24 is lifted from the valve seat 22, material can be discharged from there through the material discharge opening 26. To open and close the material discharge opening 26, the valve needle 24 can be lifted from or placed on its respective associated valve seat 22. To dispense the material, the metering valve 10 is typically moved relative to the workpiece perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the row of material discharge openings 26. The valve needle 24 is housed in the supply unit 14 and guided within a guide block 28, which is detachably connected to it, and guided through a through-opening 30 extending through the guide block 28. The dimensions of the through-opening 30 are precisely matched to the dimensions of the valve needle 24, ensuring high-precision guidance of the valve needle 24 within the guide block 28. Furthermore, a sealing effect is achieved between the guide block 28 and the valve needle 24, preventing the viscous material from escaping away from the material discharge opening 26. The guide block 28, like the valve needle 24, is made from the same cemented carbide as the valve seat block 20. Within the housing 12, a rinsing chamber 34 is located adjacent to the rear surface 32 of a guide block 28, which faces away from the material discharge opening 26. This chamber is situated within a closure 36 made of stainless steel and detachably connected to the supply unit 14. A supply line 38 opening into the rinsing chamber 34 and a discharge line 40 also communicating with the rinsing chamber 34 extend from this closure 36. While the metering valve 10 is operating, the rinsing chamber 34 is continuously rinsed with a fluid, for example, Mesamol or Mesamol II. This fluid is introduced into the rinsing chamber 34 via the supply line 38 and discharged from the rinsing chamber 34 via the discharge line 40. In this way, viscous material penetrating from the through-opening 30 is removed from the rinsing chamber 34 despite the sealing effect between the guide block 28 and the valve needle 24. The seal preventing fluid leakage from the rinsing chamber 34 is provided by a seal ring 42, which is positioned between the supply section 14 and the guide block 28, between the supply section 14 and the closure section 36, and between th