US-12624772-B2 - Flow control valve with rolling diaphragm

US12624772B2US 12624772 B2US12624772 B2US 12624772B2US-12624772-B2

Abstract

A flow control valve including a main valve and a pilot valve for controlling a piston of the main valve. The valve maybe controlled through a control system based upon measured pressures or temperatures in a system supplied or controlled by the valve. The valve may be operated as a pressure independent control valve, using pressure measurement from a supply line and exit line or return line of a hydronic HVAC system as inputs to the control system, which is operable to maintain a constant pressure drop across the system, or the valve may be operated as a temperature independent control valve, using temperature measurements from a supply line and exit line or return line of a hydronic HVAC system as inputs to the control system which is operable to maintain a constant temperature drop across the system.

Inventors

Stefan I. Tuineag

Assignees

GRISWOLD CONTROLS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240827

Claims (14)

1 . A flow control valve comprising: a main valve comprising a valve seat section comprising: an inlet aperture ( 9 ) and an outlet aperture ( 7 ) and a bore ( 6 ) extending from said inlet aperture to said outlet aperture ( 7 ), said outlet aperture ( 7 ) forming a valve seat ( 10 ); a closing element ( 11 ), and an actuator section ( 2 A) operable to move the closing element ( 11 ) into and out of, or toward and away from, occluding relationship with the valve seat ( 10 ); said actuator section ( 2 A) comprising a piston ( 25 ) disposed within said actuator section and secured to the closing element ( 11 ), said piston disposed proximate a main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) within the actuator section ( 2 A) which is operable through pressurization of said main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) to move the closing element ( 11 ); the actuator section ( 2 A) secured to the valve seat section ( 2 S) through one or more supports ( 32 ), such that the actuator section ( 2 A) is spaced from the valve seat section ( 2 S); a pilot valve ( 3 ) disposed within the valve seat section ( 2 s ), with a pilot valve inlet port ( 20 ) open to an inlet side ( 8 ) of valve seat section ( 2 S), said pilot valve inlet port ( 20 ) in fluid communication, through the pilot valve, with the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ), said pilot valve being operable to control flow of fluid from the inlet side ( 8 ) of the valve seat section ( 2 S) to the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ); wherein the valve seat section ( 2 S) is configured such that a longitudinal axis ( 1 ) of the bore is aligned, when installed in a piping system ( 40 ), between an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, with a longitudinal axis of said piping system, and the one or more supports ( 32 ) are configured to fix the actuator section ( 2 A) in said piping system ( 40 ), spaced from the valve seat section ( 2 S), such that the inlet aperture ( 9 ), closing element ( 11 ), and main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) are aligned along a longitudinal axis of the valve seat section ( 2 S); and further comprising a tube ( 23 ) providing a fluid pathway from a pilot valve outlet port ( 21 ) to the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) within the actuator section ( 2 A), said tube extending externally from the valve seat section ( 2 S) to the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ), wherein the valve seat section, actuator section, and tube are not enclosed within a valve body.
2 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein: the pilot valve ( 3 ) further comprises a ceramic disk valve comprising a rotatable ceramic disk ( 15 R) and a fixed disk or flat seating surface ( 15 F), and a motor ( 17 ) operable to rotate the rotatable disk to bring an aperture in the rotatable ceramic disk into and out of alignment with an aperture in the fixed disk.
3 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein: in a first configuration of the flow control valve, the pilot valve is configured to port high pressure fluid from the pilot valve inlet port ( 20 ) to the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ), to cause the piston ( 25 ) to move within the actuator section and thereby force the closing element ( 11 ) toward the valve seat section ( 2 S).
4 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein: the pilot valve outlet port ( 21 ) is open to a relief port ( 22 ) on an outlet side ( 7 ) of the valve seat section ( 2 S), said relief port ( 22 ) in fluid communication, through the pilot valve, with the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ), said pilot valve being operable to control flow of fluid from the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) to the outlet side ( 7 ) of the valve seat section.
5 . The flow control valve of claim 4 , wherein: in a second configuration of the flow control valve, the pilot valve is configured to port fluid from the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) to the relief port ( 22 ), to cause the piston ( 25 ) to move within the actuator section and thereby force the closing element ( 11 ) away from the valve seat section ( 2 S).
6 . The flow control valve of claim 4 , wherein: in a first configuration of the flow control valve, the pilot valve is configured to port high pressure fluid from the pilot valve inlet port ( 20 ) to the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ), to cause the piston ( 25 ) to move within the actuator section and thereby force the closing element ( 11 ) toward the valve seat section ( 2 ).
7 . The flow control valve of claim 6 , wherein: in a third configuration of the flow control valve, the pilot valve is configured to block fluid flow into and out of the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) prevent movement of the piston within the actuator section and thereby hydraulically lock the main valve operating chamber ( 13 ) to hold the closing element in an intermediate position relative to the valve seat section.
8 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein the actuator section further comprises: a spring disposed between the piston and an end surface of the actuator housing, said spring operable to bias the piston toward an end of an actuator housing.
9 . The flow control valve of claim 8 wherein the spring is a tension spring disposed between the piston and a downstream end of the actuator housing.
10 . The flow control valve of claim 8 , wherein: the spring is a tension spring disposed between the piston and a downstream end of the actuator housing, said tension spring operable to bias the piston and closing element away from the valve seat section.
11 . The flow control valve of claim 3 , wherein: the spring is a compression spring disposed between the piston and an upstream end of the actuator housing, said compression spring operable to bias the piston and closing element away from the valve seat section.
12 . The flow control valve of claim 11 wherein the compression spring is a spiral compression spring.
13 . The flow control valve of claim 11 , wherein the compression spring is a helical coil compression spring.
14 . The flow control valve of claim 11 , wherein: the piston is connected to the closing element with a shaft, and the compression spring is disposed about the shaft.

Description

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/894,872, filed Aug. 24, 2022, pending. FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS The inventions described below relate to the field of pressure independent control valves. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS Current pressure independent control valves used in HVAC systems are installed in high flow applications and operate to maintain a constant pressure differential across a piping system despite fluctuations in the pressure of the fluid supply. These valves use typical valve discs and valve seats, and the valve disk position is altered by fluid pressure of fluid flowing through the valve and acting on a membrane fixed to a valve stem. Our prior U.S. Pat. No. 10,323,768 disclosed a pressure independent control valve with an electronic control system with a compact design in which major components of the valve, including the valve seat, closing element and operating chamber were contained within a compact disc-shaped valve body. This valve was operated with a flat diaphragm directly attached to the closing element. SUMMARY The devices described below provide for control of flow through a piping system with a valve operable as a pressure independent control valve or a temperature independent control valve. The control valve includes a main valve using a bulbous closing element operable to translate into obstructing contact against a seating element. The bulbous closing element is secured to a valve stem which is secured, directly or indirectly, to an everting sleeve or diaphragm which is operable to force the bulbous closing element against the seat when pressure is applied to the rolling diaphragm, on the side of the diaphragm opposite the bulbous closing element and the seat. The control valve also includes a pilot valve for controlling the bulbous closing element of the main valve. The main valve is controlled in part with high pressure fluid ported through a pilot valve, from a high-pressure port in the upstream surface of the valve, or an associated piping system. The pilot valve is controlled by a computer system in response to the pressure differential across the valve, or across an associated piping system (in which case it may be operated as a pressure independent module, or PIM, as that term is used in the art) or in response to a temperature differential sensed across an associated piping system (in which case it may be operated as a temperature independent module, or TIM, as that term is used in the art). The pilot valve is operable to port high pressure fluid in the system to a chamber behind the diaphragm to force the diaphragm and bulbous closing element toward the seat, or isolate the chamber from high pressure and fluidly connect the chamber to a low pressure region in the system (allowing the fluid in the chamber to bleed off and thus allowing the diaphragm to evert to an unpressurized configuration, biased by a spring configured to force the everting sleeve or rolling diaphragm to evert, and pull the bulbous closing element away from the seat. In this manner, the main valve is operable to throttle flow through the valve, in response to pressure or temperature differentials sensed by the control system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are cross-sections of the flow control valve. FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the flow control valve, showing Venturi sensing elements useful to control the valve. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the valve. FIG. 6 is a schematic of a piping system, such as an HVAC system, in which the valve of FIG. 1 may be used. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a cross-section of the flow control valve 1. The flow control valve is an assembly composed of a main valve (comprising the valve seat section 2S, and an actuator section 2A) and a pilot valve 3. The main valve portion includes a main valve inlet 4, which is formed in the valve ring or valve annulus 5 comprising the valve seat section, with a bore 6 through the seat section 2S, and an outlet 7 on the outlet side of the valve seat section 2S. The inlet side of the valve, (item 8) comprises the inlet of the ring and includes the inlet aperture 9. The bore 6 extends through the valve seat section 2S and includes a beveled or flaring opening into outlet 7 to provide a seating element in the form of valve seat 10. The valve seat comprises the inner wall of the valve seat section 2S (the surface of the bore), proximate the outlet, which is sized to match the shape of the closing element 11. The closing element is a valve disc or plunger with an exterior surface (facing the valve seat) configured to seat and seal against the valve seat. As illustrated, the main valve closing element is preferably a rounded or bulbous surface, perhaps hemispherical, configured to seat against the valve seat. The actuator section 2A is disposed downstream of the closing element 11, outside the valve seat section 2S, and not disposed within the bore 6 of