Valves and valve actuation – Electrically actuated valve – Having element dimensionally responsive to field
Patent
1997-05-07
1998-07-14
Lee, Kevin
Valves and valve actuation
Electrically actuated valve
Having element dimensionally responsive to field
F16K 3102
Patent
active
057792186
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a valve having a housing and at least one sealing seat formed therein and one piezoelectric lamina self-supportingly mounted at its first end on the housing and with its second end closing or opening the sealing seat depending on the control voltage supplied to the lamina.
The invention further relates to a method of producing a valve having a housing and at least one sealing seat formed therein and one piezoelectric lamina self-supportingly mounted at its first end on the housing and with its second end closing or opening the sealing seat depending on the control voltage supplied to the lamina.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A generic valve and a generic method are known from the DE 34 00 645 C2. In the case of the control valve disclosed therein the first end of the lamina is gripped and clamped between two halves of the housing and presses in the rest state with the second end on one of two opposite valve seats. Since the position of the second end of the lamina is not exactly determined and is dependent on the tolerance-induced variations of the dimensions of the parts contributing to the clamping of the first end, the sealing seats have to be exactly adjusted subsequent to the clamping of the first end. If, after a period of time the mechanical bias of the lamina changes due to the mechanical relaxation in its mounting, then the previously adjusted parameters drift, so that a subsequent adjustment is necessary.
The EP 0 565 510 A2 shows a further valve with a piezoelectric lamina. In this known valve the gripped end of the piezoelectric lamina is pressed against three support bearings by means of a control spring. The other free end of the lamina contacts a sealing seat with a mechanical bias so as to close it. If an electrical voltage is supplied to the piezoelectric lamina, then the latter is deflected, lifted off its sealing seat and pushed against a second opposite sealing seat so as to close it. In the case of shutting off or reversing the electrical voltage, the lamina moves back in its initial position. Thus, the piezoelectric lamina directly acts as lock body, alternatingly sealing at the one or the other sealing seat. In order to function this way, the lamina has to be exactly adjusted and fixed in the housing. Both the sealing seats and also at least one of the three support bearings are adjustable for this purpose. This valve, too, has to be subsequently adjusted after a period of operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a valve with piezoelectric lamina which does not require any complicated adjustment and any subsequent adjustment after a period of operation. According to the invention the lamina is embedded into a sealing compound which is at least partially incorporated in the housing and rigidly connects the lamina to the housing. Due to the lamina not being clamped in the housing but being fixed therein by means of a sealing compound, the mechanical load of the lamina is reduced. Consequently, settling actions in the region of the mounting of the first end cannot occur, thus making a subsequent adjustment superfluous. The lamina can be sealed with the aid of a mold, separately put on and removable again following the solidification of the sealing compound. Thereby it has to be ensured that the sealing material filling the mold, even if it is to protrude in the solidified state with respect to the housing, it is also at least partially incorporated in the housing in order to interlockingly connect the solidified sealing material with the housing, thereby, in turn, achieving a rigid form-fit connection of the lamina with the housing. In the preferred embodiment, however, a separate mold for the pour of a sealing compound is not used, but the first end of the lamina projects into a hollow of the housing and is anchored therein by the sealing compound filling the hollow.
Depending on which initial state the lamina is to have with no control voltage applied, the lamina may either not contact the sealing seat or contact it with
REFERENCES:
patent: 3044743 (1962-07-01), Siegel
patent: 4567394 (1986-01-01), Frisch
patent: 4617952 (1986-10-01), Fujiwara et al.
Brackett Jr. Tim L.
Burkert Werke GmbH & Co.
Ferguson, Jr. Gerald J..
Lee Kevin
LandOfFree
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