Fluid handling – With indicator – register – recorder – alarm or inspection means – Position or extent of motion indicator
Patent
1994-11-21
1996-11-19
Lee, Kevin
Fluid handling
With indicator, register, recorder, alarm or inspection means
Position or extent of motion indicator
137554, 251 77, 25112915, 2511292, 25112922, F16K 3108
Patent
active
055753094
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present application relates to solenoid actuators, and more particularly to solenoid actuators used for fluid flow control.
Solenoid actuators of the type in question are well known in fluid flow control, where an orifice or aperture in a fluid flow path is to be opened or closed by means of a closure member such as a seal, plug, or the like, under the control of an electric current.
Such actuators commonly comprise a magnetic circuit wound about by a flux-generating coil, with a plunger of magnetic material moving under the influence of the flux in the magnetic circuit, in response to current flow through the coil. The plunger is mechanically coupled to the closure means which opens or closes the aperture or orifice in the fluid flow path as the plunger moves within the magnetic circuit.
Such actuators frequently incorporate a coil spring, normally wound about the plunger, to provide an axial force, along the principal axis of the plunger, additional to that which would be exerted upon the plunger by the solenoid alone, to assist opening of the aperture or orifice. To provide sufficient force for the purpose, the coil spring may have to be relatively long, thereby increasing the overall axial dimension of the actuator, and will require the generation of electromagnetic force by the coil during the closure stroke, additional to that necessary to move the plunger, solely for the purpose of overcoming the force due to the coil spring.
Known actuators of the type in question have hitherto most usually been constructed as an integral part of the fluid flow systems in which they have been employed, and have often been indirectly acting, thereby giving rise to assemblies of considerable complexity.
Where such actuators have been of discrete construction, they have commonly been of a size preventing their employment within a compact enclosed assembly, such as a gas meter.
It is often a further requirement of such actuators to be able to electrically signal the status of the related fluid flow valve, whether open or closed.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an improved solenoid actuator for use in fluid flow control applications in which the disadvantages of such prior art actuators are substantially reduced, and in which electrical status indication is readily achieved.
According to one aspect of the invention a solenoid actuator comprises a closure member adapted to engage a fluid flow aperture to the solenoid actuator; into engagement with the fluid flow aperture; aperture and a diaphragm spring, within the closure member, to which the plunger is attached; the solenoid plunger when the sealing surface has contacted the fluid flow aperture, to convey to the sealing surface, and to limit, the force exerted upon the sealing surface by the solenoid means, and to provide a force acting to displace the closure member from the fluid flow aperture when the force due to the solenoid means is removed.
The diaphragm spring preferably bears upon the underside of the sealing surface directly below that part of the sealing surface which contacts and seals the fluid fluid aperture.
The solenoid means may include a permanent magnet the flux from which maintains the plunger stably at one end of its travel, which may be the end at which the aperture is closed.
The translation of the plunger to or from the stable state may be by means of a magnetic pulse.
The solenoid actuator may incorporate a switch indicating whether the aperture or orifice is open or closed, which may be a membrane switch incorporated in the assembly comprising the diaphragm spring or springs, or may be a magnetically operated reed switch, mounted in or in proximity to the magnetic circuit of the solenoid means and responsive to the flux therein.
A solenoid actuator in accordance with the invention has the principal advantage of providing a more compact and energy-efficient construction, arising from a combination of the saving of axial length due to the use of a diaphragm spring in place of the more usual axial coil spring, and of the
REFERENCES:
patent: 2922614 (1960-01-01), Nickells
patent: 3604480 (1971-09-01), Reichert
patent: 4299252 (1981-11-01), Reinicke
patent: 4341241 (1982-07-01), Baker
patent: 4930747 (1990-06-01), Nakamura
patent: 5137055 (1992-08-01), Matsushima et al.
patent: 5211372 (1993-05-01), Smith, Jr.
BLP Components Limited
Lee Kevin
LandOfFree
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