Fluid handling – Systems – With flow control means for branched passages
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-27
2001-04-17
Fox, John (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Systems
With flow control means for branched passages
C137S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216738
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a valve arrangement comprising at least one valve unit having several electrically operated valves, such unit possessing a bus station adapted to be connected with a serial bus controlled by a central station, the bus station being connected via control lines with electrical drives of the valves.
THE PRIOR ART
In the case of such valve arrangements, as are for example disclosed in the German patent publication 19,526,459, each valve unit requires its own bus station. If a new, additional valve unit is made part of the overall valve arrangement, same together with its bus station must be connected to the bus and the central station must be suitably re-programmed or additionally programmed. The addition of an additional valve unit is relatively complex and involves much labor and expense.
SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the invention is thus to provide a valve arrangement of the initially described type in the case of which additional valve units may be added in a simple and inexpensive fashion.
In order to achieve these and/or other objects appearing from the present specification, claims and drawings, in the present invention the bus station comprises at least one serial connection adapted to be connected via a connecting cable with a serial/parallel converter of at least one further valve unit and/or at least one input module for the detection of sensor signals, the serial/parallel converter being connected via control lines with the electrical drives of the valves of this at least one further valve unit for the operation of the electrical drives of such valves by the bus station and/or via sensor lines with the sensors.
In the case of further development of the valve arrangement by having an additional valve unit same will not require a bus station of its own, something which also contributes to cost economy. The additional valve unit needs only to be connected via the connection cable and the corresponding serial connections with the central valve unit having the bus station. Since the control of the valves of such additional valve unit is via the bus station, it is merely necessary for same to adjusted for the extension of the system, whereas the central station and the bus are hardly affected by the change. It may possibly be necessary to re-configure the bus.
The further measures recited in the claims relate to advantageous developments and improvements in the novel valve arrangement.
The central valve unit provided with the bus station may conveniently possess a plug connecting means for the bus, which may be designed for electrical operation or as a light guide connection so that in this case a connection is possible simply by plugging in the bus line.
The at least one serial connection of the central valve unit and at least one serial connection of the at least one further valve unit or of the at least one input module is advantageously designed in the form of a plug connection for the connecting cable so that an additional valve unit may be connected by means of the connecting cable by simple plugging to the central valve unit or, respectively, to the bus station. Each valve unit and each input module in this case conveniently possesses two plug connections so that further valve units may be plug-connected without any difficulty and without any distributors being necessary.
The plug connections and the at least one connection cable are preferably also provided for power supply so that no additional wiring is necessary for power supply.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the valves of each valve unit are covered over by a plate-like housing part, which has the bus station or the serial/parallel converter and the electrical connections. Preferably the plate-like housing part of the central valve unit furthermore comprises a power supply unit, which makes available the different voltages required.
The plate-like part possesses plug connections for the individual electrical drives of the valves, which are so designed that on plugging the plate-like housing part in position on the valves placed in rows the necessary electrical connections are automatically produced as well and furthermore no extra wiring is necessary here either.
The plate-like housing parts provided with the bus station is best provided with a detachably pluggable adjustment and/or programming part for the bus station. In practical application the valve units are in fact frequently poorly accessible or it is difficult to see them so that adjustment and programming of control elements is only possible in situ in an extremely complex and awkward manner. In accordance with the invention it is now possible for the adjustment and/or programming part to be removed and be adjusted where lighting is good, for example on a desk. Adjustment can therefore for instance take place after installation of the entire valve arrangement. A further advantage is that on substitution of valve units during repair, the adjustment is maintained owing to the replaceable adjustment and/or programming part and does not have to be performed over again.
For the adjustment or programming the adjustment and/or programming part is either provided with adjustment switches or it possesses a memory able to be programmed by a computer, as for example an EPROM, an EEPROM or the like. In the latter case as well such adjustment and/or programming part may be removed and be programmed where lighting is good using a computer or some other programming unit.
The adjustment and/or programming part is conveniently provided with an electrical connecting plug, which on insertion of the adjustment and/or programming part into the plate-like housing part produces the electrical connections. This connection plug may serve as a connection for the programming computer in the case of a programmable memory comprised therein.
Further advantageous developments and convenient forms of the invention will be understood from the following detailed descriptive disclosure of one embodiment thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5457594 (1995-10-01), Stoll et al.
patent: 5458048 (1995-10-01), Hohner
patent: 5666994 (1997-09-01), Stoll et al.
patent: 5765589 (1998-06-01), Stoll et al.
patent: 5887623 (1999-03-01), Nagai et al.
patent: 92 11 109 (1992-10-01), None
patent: 44 13 657 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 195 26 459 (1997-01-01), None
Ruckwied Dieter
Waldeck Christian
Festo AG & Co.
Fox John
Hoffmann & Baron , LLP
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