Valve having a mechanism for controlling a nonlinear force

Details Valve having a mechanism for controlling a nonlinear force Valve having a mechanism for controlling a nonlinear force

2000-05-19

2001-07-31

Fox, John (Department: 3753)

Valves and valve actuation

With non-fluid retarder

Reexamination Certificate

active

06267350

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to valves and, more particularly, to a valve having a dampener for controlling a nonlinear force to stabilize the flow of fluid through the valve.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many conventional valves have problems with flow stability. For example, electronically controlled valves conventionally include a coil or solenoid that, when energized, creates a magnetic field. This magnetic field induces a magnetic attractive force between a fixed pole piece and a movable armature, causing the armature to move toward the pole piece, thereby unblocking an opening and allowing fluid to pass. However, because the attractive force between the armature and the pole piece increases exponentially as the distance between them decreases, the fluid pressure can become unstable. It is therefore desirable to provide a valve with improved stability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the foregoing, a valve having a mechanism for controlling a nonlinear force is disclosed herein. The inventive valve has a generally tubular housing, a movable piece, and a fixed piece. The movable piece and the fixed piece are disposed within the generally tubular housing adjacent to one another. The movable piece is movable along the axis of the generally tubular housing while the fixed piece is stationary. The generally tubular housing, movable piece and fixed piece may be embodied as a tube, an armature and a pole piece respectively. The moveable piece and the fixed piece each have an end surface. Each end surface may be of a variety of shapes, including, but not limited to, convex, concave, frustoconical, inverted frustoconical and annular.
A dampener is disposed between the fixed piece and the movable piece to stabilize the flow of fluid through the valve. Possible implementations of the dampener include, but are not limited to: a resilient member, such as a spring or flexible washer; a moldable material, such as rubber, foam, or plastic; and a liquid.
According to an embodiment of the valve, a tube is anchored within a retainer, and a solenoid mounted on the tube. A pole piece is fixed within the tube, and an armature is slidably disposed within the tube adjacent to the pole piece. A generally frustoconical gap is defined between the pole piece and the armature. A flexible, non-magnetic washer is disposed within the conical gap. The flexible washer counteracts the effect of a non-linear magnetic force by providing a non-linear force in opposition. The result is that the flow of fluid though the valve as well as the valve pressure is stabilized, in contrast with the prior art.
Accordingly, an advantage of the present invention is that it provides a novel valve having a mechanism for stabilizing the flow of fluid, such as by controlling a nonlinear force.
A more specific advantage of the present invention is that, when embodied as a solenoid controlled valve, it provides a mechanism for stabilizing changes in hydraulic pressure over a range of solenoid currents.
Other features and advantages of the invention are described in, and will be apparent from the following description and the annexed drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4794890 (1989-01-01), Richeson, Jr.
patent: 5522421 (1996-06-01), Holt et al.
patent: 6021999 (2000-02-01), English et al.

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