CA2152313A1 - Valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses - Google Patents
Valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatusesInfo
- Publication number
- CA2152313A1 CA2152313A1 CA002152313A CA2152313A CA2152313A1 CA 2152313 A1 CA2152313 A1 CA 2152313A1 CA 002152313 A CA002152313 A CA 002152313A CA 2152313 A CA2152313 A CA 2152313A CA 2152313 A1 CA2152313 A1 CA 2152313A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- valve
- valve body
- valve assembly
- assembly according
- outlets
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
- E03B—INSTALLATIONS OR METHODS FOR OBTAINING, COLLECTING, OR DISTRIBUTING WATER
- E03B7/00—Water main or service pipe systems
- E03B7/09—Component parts or accessories
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D16/00—Control of fluid pressure
- G05D16/04—Control of fluid pressure without auxiliary power
- G05D16/10—Control of fluid pressure without auxiliary power the sensing element being a piston or plunger
- G05D16/103—Control of fluid pressure without auxiliary power the sensing element being a piston or plunger the sensing element placed between the inlet and outlet
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
- Public Health (AREA)
- Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
- Multiple-Way Valves (AREA)
Abstract
The valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid comprises a valve housing having an inlet and three outlets. Two of the three outlets are sequentially controlled by valve body members which are biased by a spring into a rest position and which are axially displaceable along a valve chamber provided in the interior of the valve housing. In the rest position, the valve body members seal the two controlled outlets against the inlet.
The valve body members are displaceable in the valve chamber against the force of the biasing spring by a pressure difference observed between the outlets and occurring when the water consumption increases. Thereby, the controlled outlets are selectively and sequentially released when a threshold of pressure difference is passed.
The valve body members are displaceable in the valve chamber against the force of the biasing spring by a pressure difference observed between the outlets and occurring when the water consumption increases. Thereby, the controlled outlets are selectively and sequentially released when a threshold of pressure difference is passed.
Description
A VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE SELECTIVE OPERATION OF A PLURALITY OF
PARALLELY CONNECTED LIQUID TREATMENT APPARATUSES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to the field of treating liquids like water by means of liquid treatment apparatuses, for example water softeners. More specifically, the invention refers to a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid to improve the efficiency of a liquid treatment plant.
The general problems in connection with the operation of liquid treatment apparatuses may be seen in the fact that these apparatuses are designed and optimized for a nominal capacity, i.e. for a certain amount of liquid flowing trough them per time unit. In the case of varying liquid throughput, particularly in the case of water processing plants e.g. in home water installa-tions, it happens quite often that the amount of water flowing through the liquid treatment apparatus more or less differs from the nominal throughput rate or capacity of the apparatus. In practice, this means that e.g. water softeners operate most of the time in a throughput range in which they show minor effi-ciency.
A further problem occurs when such a liquid treatment appara-tus is operated with a throughput more or less above its nominal - 2 - 215231 ~
capacity. Besides the bad efficiency, a pronounced increase in pressure drop may be observed under such operating conditions.
Thus, usually the liquid treatment apparatuses are over dimen-sioned, i.e. their nominal capacity must be selected to be in the region of the maximal liquid throughput to be expected.
PRIOR ART
In German Published Patent Application No. 43 00 585.3, cor-responding to U.S. Patent Application S/N 177,286, filed on January 4, 1994, in the name of Rudolf Schenk, a liquid processing plant is disclosed which takes into account the above mentioned problems. This liquid processing plant comprises an inlet, an outlet and a plurality of liquid treatment apparatuses arranged in parallel between the inlet and the outlet. One of the liquid treatment apparatuses is directly connected to the inlet and the outlet and the remainder of the liquid treatment apparatuses is connected to the inlet via a valve assembly having an inlet and an outlet and including a pressure relief valve. Each of these valve assemblies opens on a different pressure to selectively put into operation one liquid treatment apparatus after the other one.
The valve assembly used in this liquid processing plant has a housing comprising an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, a valve seat arranged between the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber, a valve body member for closing the valve seat, actuated by a spring member, and means for adjusting the initial 3 _ 2l523l3 pretension force of the spring member. The valve body member is movable against the initial pretension force of the spring member under the action of the differential pressure existing between the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber.
Such a water treatment plant requires a plurality of valve assemblies. These valve assemblies are quite bulky and costly.
Thus, it would be desirable to render the valve assembly more compact and less expensive.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid which improves the efficiency of a water treatment plant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid which is much smaller in size, simpler in design and less costly to manufacture.
SU~ARY OF THE INVENTION
To meet these and other objects, the invention provides, ac-cording to a first aspect, a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated 23077~14Pl _ 4 _ 2152313 liquid. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber. The valve housing comprises either - an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into the valve chamber, and a plu-rality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of the liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into the valve chamber, or - an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consum-ers of treated liquid and opening into the valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be con-nected to one of the liquid treatment apparatuses and open-ing into the valve chamber.
Further provided is a valve body assembly displaceably re-ceived in the valve chamber and a spring arrangement for biasing the valve body assembly to urge it into a rest position in which one of the outlets, and inlets, respectively, communicates with the inlet and outlet, respectively, and the remaining outlets and outlets, respectively, are sealed against the inlet and outlet, respectively.
The valve body assembly is displaceable in the valve chamber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets or inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of the outlets or inlets in communication with the inlet or outlet.
5 , 2ls23l3 According to a further aspect of the invention, there is pro-vided a liquid processing plant comprising a plurality of paral-lely connected liquid treatment apparatuses, a valve assembly for the selective operation of the plurality of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid. The valve assembly of such a liquid treatment plant is designed as outlined just herein before.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, some embodiments of the valve assembly will be further described, with reference to the accompanying draw-ings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion;
Fig. 2 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion, Fig. 3 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion;
Fig. 4 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion, Fig. 5 shows a schematic top view of a fifth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the invention;
23077~50614P1 - 6 - 21 ~ 231 3 Fig. 6 shows a schematic sectional view of the fifth embodi-ment of the valve assembly according to the invention, taken along the line X-X in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a liq-uid treatment plant incorporating a valve assembly according to Fig. 2; and Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of a liquid treatment plant incorporating a valve assembly according to Fig. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
In Fig. 1, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing 1 provided with an inlet 2 and with three fittings 3, 4 and 5 which serve as outlets. The valve housing 1 comprises a centrally located valve chamber 7; in the interior thereof, a valve body member 9 is received such as to be displaceable in the direction of a central longitudinal axis 6 of the valve assembly. Two of the three fittings 3, 4 and 5 can be controlled by means of the valve body member 9, i.e. can be opened or closed with reference to the outlet 2. The two controllable fittings 4 and 5 open into the valve chamber 7 along the path of displacement of the valve body member 9.
The valve housing 1 is provided with a centrally located guiding rod member 8 which serves for guiding the valve body _ 7 _ 21 5231 3 member 9 when it travels along its path of displacement. Both ends of the guiding rod member 8 are equipped with a male thread used for connecting the guiding rod member 8 in the valve housing 1. The valve body member 9 comprises a central bore such that it can be displaceably received on the guiding rod member 8. In order to keep the valve body member 9 in a defined rest position, it is biased by means of a spring member 10 coaxially surrounding the guiding rod member 8; one end face of the spring member 10 rests on the valve body member 9, while the other opposite end face of the spring member 10 rests on a washer 11 fixed to the guiding rod member 8. The inlet 2 is coaxially arranged with respect to the valve chamber 7 of the valve housing 1, while the three outlets 3, 4 and 5 open into the valve chamber 7 in radial direction. The side of the valve housing 1 opposite to the inlet 2 is sealed.
In order to limit the path of displacement of the valve body member 9 in the interior of the valve chamber 7 towards the inlet 2, a stop member 12 is provided which is located between the front most outlet 3 and the intermediate outlet 4. The valve body member 9 which is biased by the spring member 10 abuts against this stop member 12 when the valve body member 9 is in its rest position.
~ n Fig. 1, the valve assembly is shown in an operating condi-tion in which the valve body member 9 is in an intermediate opera~ing position in which the central outlet 4 is open, i.e.
communicates with the inlet 2. It is understood that the valve 23077\950614P1 - 8 _ 21 5 231 3 body member 9 takes this intermediate operating position only when it is displaced, against the force of the biasing spring member 10, under the influence of a force exerted by the pressure of a fluid flowing through the valve assembly. In the rest position, when no liquid is flowing through the valve assembly or when the force exerted by the liquid pressure and acting against the valve body member 9 is lower than the biasing force of the spring member 10, the valve chamber 7 is blocked between the front outlet 3 and the central outlet 4 by means of the valve body member 9. Thus, the central outlet 4 and the rear outlet 5 are sealed against the inlet 2.
In the region of the inlet 2, the valve housing 1 is provided with a female screw thread 14 which serves for connecting the valve housing 1 to a (not shown) liquid feed pipe. The three outlets 3, 4 and 5 are provided each with a male screw thread 15 for connecting the valve assembly to (not shown) outlet pipes or (not shown) liquid treatment means.
In the embodiment according to Fig. 1, the distances between the outlets 3 and 4 and between the outlets 4 and 5, respec-tively, are equal; however, it should be pointed out that these distances could be different, e.g. in the case when liquid treatment means are connected directly to these outlets which have different diameters. Moreover, in the case of different dist~nces between the outlets, the path of displacement of the valve body member 9 which is required for opening and closing, respectively, of the outlets 4 and 5, respectively, is 9 2l~23l3 different; thus, the differential pressure of the liquid required for opening one of the outlets may be influenced by the exact position of the outlet along the longitudinal extension of the valve housing 1. Alternatively, this effect can be realized also by using a spring member 10 having a non-linear load-deformation diagram.
In Fig. 2, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing 20 composed of five individual housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E. It should be noted that the housing modules 20B, 20C and 20D are identical, while both the input module 20A
and the end module 20E are of different design, not only compared to each other, but also to the modules 20B, 20C and 20D. In order to enable the individual housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E to be assembled to a valve housing 20, the modules 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E are provided each with a recessed circumferential collar 36 located at the ends directed towards the input module 20A and having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the generally tubular housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E.
In order to seal the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E
against each other and to seal the valve chamber 27 against the outside, the modules are provided each with an annular sealing member located in the region of their respective collars 36. The individual modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E are connected to - - 10- 215231,3 each other by means of a guiding rod member 28. One end of the guiding rod member 28 is screwed into a threaded bore provided in the input module 20A, and the other end of the guiding rod penetrates the end wall of the end module 20E and bears a nut 37 located outside the end module 20E, thereby pressing the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E together in the direction of the cen-tral longitudinal axis 26.
The guiding rod member 28 is provided with a first valve body member 29 as well as with a second valve body member 31 which both are axially displaceable along the guiding rod member 28.
Fixed to the guiding rod member 28 are a first washer 33 as well as a second washer 34. A first spring member 30 is inserted be-tween the first valve body member 29 and the first washer 33 in coaxial relationship to the guiding rod member 28 such as to bias the first valve body member 29 in a direction towards the input module 20A. A second spring member 32 is inserted between the second valve body member 31 and the second washer 34 in coaxial relationship to the guiding rod member 28 such as to bias the second valve body member 29 in a direction towards the input module 20A. The valve body members 29, 31 are designed as poppet valves to seal the valve chamber 27 in each case in the region of the collars 36 of the housing modules 20C and 20D
which serve in the present case as valve seats.
Not only the valve housing 20 is composed of a number of modular units (i.e. the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E);
also the valve body members 29, 31, the associated spring 21 $231 3 23077\~14Pl members 30, 32 and the guiding rod member 28 can be designed as parts of a modular system; thus, it is possible to design a valve assembly adapted to any arbitrary configuration of water treatment apparatuses by simply assembling a number of suitable modules.
Due to the fact that the two valve body members 29, 31 of the embodiment according to Fig. 2 are connected in serial relation-ship, the differential liquid pressure which is present under operational conditions at the second valve body member 31 is lower than the one occurring at the first valve body member 29, due to the pressure drop created in the region of the first valve body member 29. For this embodiment, a spring member would be desirable which keeps the valve body member in the closed position until a certain liquid pressure is reached. As soon as the amount of that certain liquid pressure force is exceeded, the valve body member should be displaceable against the biasing force of the spring member without further increase in pressure in order to release a flow cross sectional area which is as large as possible.
In Fig. 3, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The only important difference as compared to the embodiment according to Fig. 2 is that the spring member 30A biasing the first valve body member 29 which is located closer to the inlet 22 does not rest against a fixed washer, but against the second valve body member 31A.
While the embodiments of the valve assembly as shown in Figs.
1-3 preferably are located upstreams of the fluid treatment apparatuses of a liquid treatment plant, the fourth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the invention shown in Fig. 4 and further discussed herein after is suitable for being located downstreams of the fluid treatment apparatuses of a liquid treatment plant.
The main difference between the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 and the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is that the three fittings 48, 49 and 50 serve as inlets, while the valve assembly is provided with a common outlet 42. Again, the valve housing 40 is composed of individual modules 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D and 40E. The two valve body members 43, 45 are arranged such that they seal the valve housing 40 in each case in the region of the collar 47; thus, two (fittings 48, 49) of the three fittings 48, 49, 50 are controllable by means of a valve body member 43 and 45, respectively. The outlet 42 is arranged coaxially to the central longi~udinal axis 51 of the valve assembly, while the three inlets 48, 49 and 50 run in a direction perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis 52 of the valve assembly. The mode of operation of the embodiment according to Fig. 4 is essentially the same as the one discussed in connection with the embodiments according to Figs. 1-3; thus, it is not necessary to further expla~n it.
It is understood that further embodiments of the valve assem-bly a~e possible which comprise a plurality of inlets and a com-- 13 _ 21 S 231 3 mon outlet, as shown in Fig. 4, but which are equipped with a single valve body member according to Fig. 1 or a plurality of valve body members according to Fig. 3.
In Fig. 5, there is shown a top sectional view of a further embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present inven-tion, while Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the same embodiment. The embodiment according to Figs. 5 and 6 com-prises a valve housing 60 having a centrally located valve cham-ber 70, the interior thereof being provided with a longitudinally displaceable valve body member 71. The valve housing 60 is equipped with an inlet 61 located coaxially to the central longitudinal axis 7S of the valve assembly, as well as four fittings 62, 63, 64 and 65, serving as outlets, which are arranged symmetrically around the central longitudinal axis 75.
The valve body member 71 is provided with a central bore to be recei~ed on a guiding rod member 72. The latter one comprises a washer 73 fixedly connected thereto, and a spring member 74 is inserted coaxially to the guiding rod member 72, resting between the washer 73 and the valve body member 71 to bias the valve body member 71.
The four fittings 62, 63, 64 and 65 communicate with the valve chamber 70 via channels 67, 68, 69 provided in the valve housing 60. The channels 67, 68, 69 open into the valve chamber 70, whereby each opening is offset to each other in longitudinal direction along the path of displacement of the valve body member 71 and in circumferential direction by 90. The valve chamber 70 is provided with a stop member 76 located between the openings of the channels 68 and 69 assigned to the fittings 64 and 65, respectively. The stop member 76 limits the path of dis-placement of the valve body member 71 in the direction towards the inlet 61. It is understood that, instead of the four fittings 62, 63, 64, 65, a different number of fittings can be provided.
One advantage of this embodiment, as compared to the embodi-ments according to Figs. 1-4, may be seen in the fact that the embodiment according to Figs. 5 and 6 is very compact, particu-larly as far as its length is concerned, particularly in the case where four or more fittings are provided. In this embodiment, it is equally possible to vary the distances between adjacent openings of the channels 67, 68, 69.
In Fig. 7, there is shown a part of a liquid treatment plant, and the basic mode of operation of the valve assembly according to the invention shall be further described with reference to the schematically shown plant of Fig. 7. The liquid treatment plant essentially comprises a valve assembly 19, three fluid treatment apparatuses 80, 81 and 82 as well as a common collector member 83. The valve assembly used in the liquid treat~ent plant according to Fig. 7 corresponds to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 and is shown in Fig. 7 in a longitudinal sectional view, while the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80, 81, 82 as well as the common collector 83 are shown in a schematic side elevational view.
- 15 . 2l52313 As can be seen in Fig. 7, the three liquid treatment appara-tuses 80, 81, 82 are arranged parallel to each other and have different nominal capacities. Each of the inlets of the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80, 81, 82 is connected to one of the fittings 23, 24 and 25, respectively which serve as the three outlets of the valve assembly 19. Particularly, the first, not controlled outlet 23 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 80 which has the lowest nominal capacity; the first, controlled outlet 24 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 81 which has an intermediate nominal capacity, and the second, controlled outlet 25 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 82 which has the highest nominal capacity.
Each of the outlets of the three liquid treatment apparatus 80, 81, 82 is connected to the common collector 83 in which the individual liquid streams are united.
Three liquid streams, coming from a common inlet 22 and flow-ing to different outlets 23, 24, 25, are outlined in Fig. 7 by means of the broken lines A, B and C, respectively. The liquid stream flowing to the not controlled outlet 23 is designated by reference A; the liquid stream flowing to the first outlet 24 contr~lled by the valve body member 29 is designated by reference B, and the liquid stream flowing to the second outlet 25 co~trolled by the valve body member 31 is designated by reference C. It is understood that, instead of using liquid treatment apparatuses having different nominal capacities, as suggested herein before, also liquid treatment apparatuses 23077\~14P1 having equal nominal capacities could be used in conjunction with a valve assembly according to the present invention.
Such a liquid treatment plant can be used, for example, in a home water installation, and the liquid treatment apparatuses can be, for example, physically operating water softening apparatuses for the reduction of the water hardness. Such a liquid treatment plant is inserted into a home water installation after the usually provided water filter member, while the outlet of the collector 83 leads to the consumers of water. In the following, the operation of the plant according to Fig. 7 shall be further explained in connection of its use in a home water installation.
If the consumer, which is connected to the home water instal-lation, consumes only a small amount of water, for instance in the case if only one or two water tap(s) is(are) open, the con-sumed water flows through the first water softener 80 having the lowest nominal capacity, because the first controlled outlet 24 is closed by the first valve body member 29 and the second con-trolled output is closed by the valve body members 29 and 31.
The first water softener 80 is designed for a certain nominal capacity and has, thereby, a well defined flow cross section.
The valve body members 29 and 31 being in their closing position, this well defined cross section is authoritative for a certain pressure drop between inlet and outlet of the first water softener 80 because the entirety of the consumed water flows through this water softener 80. Simultaneously, the pres-_ - 17 _ ~2152313 sure drop is proportional to the pressure difference occurring between the front side and the back side of the first valve body member 29. Incidentally, this pressure difference also corre-sponds to the pressure difference between the first and the sec-ond outlet 23 and 24, respectively. As long as the force exerted on the valve body member 29 by the pressure difference of the water is less than the biasing force exerted by the spring member 30 on the valve body member 29, the valve body member 29 is pressed against its associated valve seat, with the result that the valve body member 29 blocks not only the central outlet 24, but also the rear outlet 25.
If the water consumption rises, the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 rises as well. Since all three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 are connected in parallel, the pressure at the back side of the two valve body members 29 and 31, when they are in their closed rest position, is essentially the same as at the outlet of the first water softener 80. Thus, a pressure difference can be observed between the front side and the back side of the first valve body member 29 which corresponds to the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 through which the water is flowing. Due to this pressure difference, and if the water consumption rises, the force exerted to the front face of the first valve body member 29 continuously increases. If a certain threshold value, set by the biasing force of the spring member 30, is exceeded, the valve body ~ember 29 is displaced against the biasing force exerted by 23077\~5051 4P1 ~ - 18 - 2152313 the spring member 30 and the central outlet 24 is released. This means: If a certain amount of water flowing through the first water softener 80 per time unit and, thereby, a certain value of the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 is reached, the central outlet 24 is released by the valve body member 29 with the result that the consumed water also flows through the second water softener 81.
If the water consumption rises further, also the pressure difference between the front side and the back side of the rear valve body member 31 and, thereby, between the central and the rear outlet 24 and 25, respectively, rises, with the result that also the rear valve body member 31 is axially displaced to open the rear outlet 25 as soon as a certain threshold level of water consumption is exceeded; thus, the rear water softener 82 comes into operation and the water flows also there trough. In this mode of operation, i.e. if the water consumption is quite large, all three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 are operating simultane-ously. If the water consumption falls, the above described pro-cess is reversed, i.e. initially the rear valve body member 31 and then, if appropriate, also the front valve body member 29 return to their closed rest positions to block the associated passage in the valve chamber of the valve housing 20 and, thereby, also the associated outlets.
A water softening assembly designed in a manner as described above has the great advantage that the three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 always operate with a high efficiency, independently 21~2313 23077~50614P1 of the water consumption. This is because the amount of water per time unit flowing through the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 can be kept within certain limits, i.e. within limits where the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 operate optimally with maximum efficiency. Thereby, the nominal capacities of the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 and the operating characteristics of the valve body members 29, 31 can be individually adapted to the characteristics of the entire plant and the consumers attached thereto.
Finally, in Fig. 8, there is shown a part of another embodi-ment of a liquid treatment plant. The valve assembly used in the liquid treatment plant according to Fig. 8 corresponds to the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 and is shown in Fig. 8 in a longitudinal sectional view, while the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A, 82A as well as the common collector are shown in a schematic side elevational view.
The essential difference vis-à-vis the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 may be seen in the fact that the valve assembly is con-nected to the outlets of the water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A. The mode of operation of the embodiment according to Fig. 8 is essentially the same as the one of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7. Particularly, the first water treatment apparatus 80A is connected to a not controlled inlet 50 of the valve assembly, while the remaining two water treatment apparatuses 81A and 82A each are connected to a controlled inlet 49 and 48, respectively, of the valve assembly. Whether the 215231 3 23077\8s0~14P1 three water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A be connected downstreams or upstreams to the valve assembly is hydraulically insignificant. The only essential difference may be seen in the fact that, in the case of downstreams connected water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A, the water flowing out therefrom and having been physically treated is additionally vortexed to a certain degree. Decisive for either an upstream or downstream arrangement could be more likely the spatial circumstances at the location where the plant is to be installed.
It is understood that modularly designed valve assemblies, as have been discussed herein above in connection with Figs. 2, 3 and 4, can be provided with more than two controlled outlets or inlets. For this purpose, it is but necessary to assemble the desired number of modules 20B, 20C, 20D (cf. Fig. 2), to add an inlet module and an end module, and to provide a guiding rod member having a length corresponding to the length of the so assembled valve assembly to keep the modules together. Of course, prior to assembling the valve assembly, the guiding rod member is equipped with the required amount of valve body members and biasing spring members. It is further understood that a valve assembly according to the embodiment of Fig. 1 can be designed such as to comprise an arbitrary number of controlled outlets.
A valve assembly according to the invention could moreover be designed in such a way that it can be connected directly to the outlet of a filter assembly which is present in home water in-~ - 21 _ 2152313 stallations in most cases. If the valve assembly is of very com-pact design, it could also be integrated into the housing of a filter assembly.
As already mentioned, in many cases, it could be desirable to use a biasing spring member having a non-linear spring characteristic.
In the case if the valve assembly shall be designed with very compact dimensions, e.g. to be integrated into the housing of a filter assembly, the outlets of the valve assembly can be located to be very close to each other; thereby, a distributor member can be provided to enable the plurality of water treatment apparatuses to be connected to the outlets of the valve assembly.
While the invention has been described herein above with re-spect to a number of particular embodiments, it is understood that a variety of other embodiments can be realized which still are within the scope of the appended claims.
PARALLELY CONNECTED LIQUID TREATMENT APPARATUSES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to the field of treating liquids like water by means of liquid treatment apparatuses, for example water softeners. More specifically, the invention refers to a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid to improve the efficiency of a liquid treatment plant.
The general problems in connection with the operation of liquid treatment apparatuses may be seen in the fact that these apparatuses are designed and optimized for a nominal capacity, i.e. for a certain amount of liquid flowing trough them per time unit. In the case of varying liquid throughput, particularly in the case of water processing plants e.g. in home water installa-tions, it happens quite often that the amount of water flowing through the liquid treatment apparatus more or less differs from the nominal throughput rate or capacity of the apparatus. In practice, this means that e.g. water softeners operate most of the time in a throughput range in which they show minor effi-ciency.
A further problem occurs when such a liquid treatment appara-tus is operated with a throughput more or less above its nominal - 2 - 215231 ~
capacity. Besides the bad efficiency, a pronounced increase in pressure drop may be observed under such operating conditions.
Thus, usually the liquid treatment apparatuses are over dimen-sioned, i.e. their nominal capacity must be selected to be in the region of the maximal liquid throughput to be expected.
PRIOR ART
In German Published Patent Application No. 43 00 585.3, cor-responding to U.S. Patent Application S/N 177,286, filed on January 4, 1994, in the name of Rudolf Schenk, a liquid processing plant is disclosed which takes into account the above mentioned problems. This liquid processing plant comprises an inlet, an outlet and a plurality of liquid treatment apparatuses arranged in parallel between the inlet and the outlet. One of the liquid treatment apparatuses is directly connected to the inlet and the outlet and the remainder of the liquid treatment apparatuses is connected to the inlet via a valve assembly having an inlet and an outlet and including a pressure relief valve. Each of these valve assemblies opens on a different pressure to selectively put into operation one liquid treatment apparatus after the other one.
The valve assembly used in this liquid processing plant has a housing comprising an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, a valve seat arranged between the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber, a valve body member for closing the valve seat, actuated by a spring member, and means for adjusting the initial 3 _ 2l523l3 pretension force of the spring member. The valve body member is movable against the initial pretension force of the spring member under the action of the differential pressure existing between the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber.
Such a water treatment plant requires a plurality of valve assemblies. These valve assemblies are quite bulky and costly.
Thus, it would be desirable to render the valve assembly more compact and less expensive.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid which improves the efficiency of a water treatment plant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid which is much smaller in size, simpler in design and less costly to manufacture.
SU~ARY OF THE INVENTION
To meet these and other objects, the invention provides, ac-cording to a first aspect, a valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated 23077~14Pl _ 4 _ 2152313 liquid. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber. The valve housing comprises either - an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into the valve chamber, and a plu-rality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of the liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into the valve chamber, or - an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consum-ers of treated liquid and opening into the valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be con-nected to one of the liquid treatment apparatuses and open-ing into the valve chamber.
Further provided is a valve body assembly displaceably re-ceived in the valve chamber and a spring arrangement for biasing the valve body assembly to urge it into a rest position in which one of the outlets, and inlets, respectively, communicates with the inlet and outlet, respectively, and the remaining outlets and outlets, respectively, are sealed against the inlet and outlet, respectively.
The valve body assembly is displaceable in the valve chamber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets or inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of the outlets or inlets in communication with the inlet or outlet.
5 , 2ls23l3 According to a further aspect of the invention, there is pro-vided a liquid processing plant comprising a plurality of paral-lely connected liquid treatment apparatuses, a valve assembly for the selective operation of the plurality of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid. The valve assembly of such a liquid treatment plant is designed as outlined just herein before.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, some embodiments of the valve assembly will be further described, with reference to the accompanying draw-ings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion;
Fig. 2 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion, Fig. 3 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion;
Fig. 4 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the inven-tion, Fig. 5 shows a schematic top view of a fifth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the invention;
23077~50614P1 - 6 - 21 ~ 231 3 Fig. 6 shows a schematic sectional view of the fifth embodi-ment of the valve assembly according to the invention, taken along the line X-X in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a liq-uid treatment plant incorporating a valve assembly according to Fig. 2; and Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of a liquid treatment plant incorporating a valve assembly according to Fig. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
In Fig. 1, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing 1 provided with an inlet 2 and with three fittings 3, 4 and 5 which serve as outlets. The valve housing 1 comprises a centrally located valve chamber 7; in the interior thereof, a valve body member 9 is received such as to be displaceable in the direction of a central longitudinal axis 6 of the valve assembly. Two of the three fittings 3, 4 and 5 can be controlled by means of the valve body member 9, i.e. can be opened or closed with reference to the outlet 2. The two controllable fittings 4 and 5 open into the valve chamber 7 along the path of displacement of the valve body member 9.
The valve housing 1 is provided with a centrally located guiding rod member 8 which serves for guiding the valve body _ 7 _ 21 5231 3 member 9 when it travels along its path of displacement. Both ends of the guiding rod member 8 are equipped with a male thread used for connecting the guiding rod member 8 in the valve housing 1. The valve body member 9 comprises a central bore such that it can be displaceably received on the guiding rod member 8. In order to keep the valve body member 9 in a defined rest position, it is biased by means of a spring member 10 coaxially surrounding the guiding rod member 8; one end face of the spring member 10 rests on the valve body member 9, while the other opposite end face of the spring member 10 rests on a washer 11 fixed to the guiding rod member 8. The inlet 2 is coaxially arranged with respect to the valve chamber 7 of the valve housing 1, while the three outlets 3, 4 and 5 open into the valve chamber 7 in radial direction. The side of the valve housing 1 opposite to the inlet 2 is sealed.
In order to limit the path of displacement of the valve body member 9 in the interior of the valve chamber 7 towards the inlet 2, a stop member 12 is provided which is located between the front most outlet 3 and the intermediate outlet 4. The valve body member 9 which is biased by the spring member 10 abuts against this stop member 12 when the valve body member 9 is in its rest position.
~ n Fig. 1, the valve assembly is shown in an operating condi-tion in which the valve body member 9 is in an intermediate opera~ing position in which the central outlet 4 is open, i.e.
communicates with the inlet 2. It is understood that the valve 23077\950614P1 - 8 _ 21 5 231 3 body member 9 takes this intermediate operating position only when it is displaced, against the force of the biasing spring member 10, under the influence of a force exerted by the pressure of a fluid flowing through the valve assembly. In the rest position, when no liquid is flowing through the valve assembly or when the force exerted by the liquid pressure and acting against the valve body member 9 is lower than the biasing force of the spring member 10, the valve chamber 7 is blocked between the front outlet 3 and the central outlet 4 by means of the valve body member 9. Thus, the central outlet 4 and the rear outlet 5 are sealed against the inlet 2.
In the region of the inlet 2, the valve housing 1 is provided with a female screw thread 14 which serves for connecting the valve housing 1 to a (not shown) liquid feed pipe. The three outlets 3, 4 and 5 are provided each with a male screw thread 15 for connecting the valve assembly to (not shown) outlet pipes or (not shown) liquid treatment means.
In the embodiment according to Fig. 1, the distances between the outlets 3 and 4 and between the outlets 4 and 5, respec-tively, are equal; however, it should be pointed out that these distances could be different, e.g. in the case when liquid treatment means are connected directly to these outlets which have different diameters. Moreover, in the case of different dist~nces between the outlets, the path of displacement of the valve body member 9 which is required for opening and closing, respectively, of the outlets 4 and 5, respectively, is 9 2l~23l3 different; thus, the differential pressure of the liquid required for opening one of the outlets may be influenced by the exact position of the outlet along the longitudinal extension of the valve housing 1. Alternatively, this effect can be realized also by using a spring member 10 having a non-linear load-deformation diagram.
In Fig. 2, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The valve assembly comprises a valve housing 20 composed of five individual housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E. It should be noted that the housing modules 20B, 20C and 20D are identical, while both the input module 20A
and the end module 20E are of different design, not only compared to each other, but also to the modules 20B, 20C and 20D. In order to enable the individual housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E to be assembled to a valve housing 20, the modules 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E are provided each with a recessed circumferential collar 36 located at the ends directed towards the input module 20A and having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the generally tubular housing modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E.
In order to seal the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E
against each other and to seal the valve chamber 27 against the outside, the modules are provided each with an annular sealing member located in the region of their respective collars 36. The individual modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E are connected to - - 10- 215231,3 each other by means of a guiding rod member 28. One end of the guiding rod member 28 is screwed into a threaded bore provided in the input module 20A, and the other end of the guiding rod penetrates the end wall of the end module 20E and bears a nut 37 located outside the end module 20E, thereby pressing the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E together in the direction of the cen-tral longitudinal axis 26.
The guiding rod member 28 is provided with a first valve body member 29 as well as with a second valve body member 31 which both are axially displaceable along the guiding rod member 28.
Fixed to the guiding rod member 28 are a first washer 33 as well as a second washer 34. A first spring member 30 is inserted be-tween the first valve body member 29 and the first washer 33 in coaxial relationship to the guiding rod member 28 such as to bias the first valve body member 29 in a direction towards the input module 20A. A second spring member 32 is inserted between the second valve body member 31 and the second washer 34 in coaxial relationship to the guiding rod member 28 such as to bias the second valve body member 29 in a direction towards the input module 20A. The valve body members 29, 31 are designed as poppet valves to seal the valve chamber 27 in each case in the region of the collars 36 of the housing modules 20C and 20D
which serve in the present case as valve seats.
Not only the valve housing 20 is composed of a number of modular units (i.e. the modules 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E);
also the valve body members 29, 31, the associated spring 21 $231 3 23077\~14Pl members 30, 32 and the guiding rod member 28 can be designed as parts of a modular system; thus, it is possible to design a valve assembly adapted to any arbitrary configuration of water treatment apparatuses by simply assembling a number of suitable modules.
Due to the fact that the two valve body members 29, 31 of the embodiment according to Fig. 2 are connected in serial relation-ship, the differential liquid pressure which is present under operational conditions at the second valve body member 31 is lower than the one occurring at the first valve body member 29, due to the pressure drop created in the region of the first valve body member 29. For this embodiment, a spring member would be desirable which keeps the valve body member in the closed position until a certain liquid pressure is reached. As soon as the amount of that certain liquid pressure force is exceeded, the valve body member should be displaceable against the biasing force of the spring member without further increase in pressure in order to release a flow cross sectional area which is as large as possible.
In Fig. 3, there is shown a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention. The only important difference as compared to the embodiment according to Fig. 2 is that the spring member 30A biasing the first valve body member 29 which is located closer to the inlet 22 does not rest against a fixed washer, but against the second valve body member 31A.
While the embodiments of the valve assembly as shown in Figs.
1-3 preferably are located upstreams of the fluid treatment apparatuses of a liquid treatment plant, the fourth embodiment of the valve assembly according to the invention shown in Fig. 4 and further discussed herein after is suitable for being located downstreams of the fluid treatment apparatuses of a liquid treatment plant.
The main difference between the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 and the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is that the three fittings 48, 49 and 50 serve as inlets, while the valve assembly is provided with a common outlet 42. Again, the valve housing 40 is composed of individual modules 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D and 40E. The two valve body members 43, 45 are arranged such that they seal the valve housing 40 in each case in the region of the collar 47; thus, two (fittings 48, 49) of the three fittings 48, 49, 50 are controllable by means of a valve body member 43 and 45, respectively. The outlet 42 is arranged coaxially to the central longi~udinal axis 51 of the valve assembly, while the three inlets 48, 49 and 50 run in a direction perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis 52 of the valve assembly. The mode of operation of the embodiment according to Fig. 4 is essentially the same as the one discussed in connection with the embodiments according to Figs. 1-3; thus, it is not necessary to further expla~n it.
It is understood that further embodiments of the valve assem-bly a~e possible which comprise a plurality of inlets and a com-- 13 _ 21 S 231 3 mon outlet, as shown in Fig. 4, but which are equipped with a single valve body member according to Fig. 1 or a plurality of valve body members according to Fig. 3.
In Fig. 5, there is shown a top sectional view of a further embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present inven-tion, while Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the same embodiment. The embodiment according to Figs. 5 and 6 com-prises a valve housing 60 having a centrally located valve cham-ber 70, the interior thereof being provided with a longitudinally displaceable valve body member 71. The valve housing 60 is equipped with an inlet 61 located coaxially to the central longitudinal axis 7S of the valve assembly, as well as four fittings 62, 63, 64 and 65, serving as outlets, which are arranged symmetrically around the central longitudinal axis 75.
The valve body member 71 is provided with a central bore to be recei~ed on a guiding rod member 72. The latter one comprises a washer 73 fixedly connected thereto, and a spring member 74 is inserted coaxially to the guiding rod member 72, resting between the washer 73 and the valve body member 71 to bias the valve body member 71.
The four fittings 62, 63, 64 and 65 communicate with the valve chamber 70 via channels 67, 68, 69 provided in the valve housing 60. The channels 67, 68, 69 open into the valve chamber 70, whereby each opening is offset to each other in longitudinal direction along the path of displacement of the valve body member 71 and in circumferential direction by 90. The valve chamber 70 is provided with a stop member 76 located between the openings of the channels 68 and 69 assigned to the fittings 64 and 65, respectively. The stop member 76 limits the path of dis-placement of the valve body member 71 in the direction towards the inlet 61. It is understood that, instead of the four fittings 62, 63, 64, 65, a different number of fittings can be provided.
One advantage of this embodiment, as compared to the embodi-ments according to Figs. 1-4, may be seen in the fact that the embodiment according to Figs. 5 and 6 is very compact, particu-larly as far as its length is concerned, particularly in the case where four or more fittings are provided. In this embodiment, it is equally possible to vary the distances between adjacent openings of the channels 67, 68, 69.
In Fig. 7, there is shown a part of a liquid treatment plant, and the basic mode of operation of the valve assembly according to the invention shall be further described with reference to the schematically shown plant of Fig. 7. The liquid treatment plant essentially comprises a valve assembly 19, three fluid treatment apparatuses 80, 81 and 82 as well as a common collector member 83. The valve assembly used in the liquid treat~ent plant according to Fig. 7 corresponds to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 and is shown in Fig. 7 in a longitudinal sectional view, while the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80, 81, 82 as well as the common collector 83 are shown in a schematic side elevational view.
- 15 . 2l52313 As can be seen in Fig. 7, the three liquid treatment appara-tuses 80, 81, 82 are arranged parallel to each other and have different nominal capacities. Each of the inlets of the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80, 81, 82 is connected to one of the fittings 23, 24 and 25, respectively which serve as the three outlets of the valve assembly 19. Particularly, the first, not controlled outlet 23 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 80 which has the lowest nominal capacity; the first, controlled outlet 24 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 81 which has an intermediate nominal capacity, and the second, controlled outlet 25 is connected to the liquid treatment apparatus 82 which has the highest nominal capacity.
Each of the outlets of the three liquid treatment apparatus 80, 81, 82 is connected to the common collector 83 in which the individual liquid streams are united.
Three liquid streams, coming from a common inlet 22 and flow-ing to different outlets 23, 24, 25, are outlined in Fig. 7 by means of the broken lines A, B and C, respectively. The liquid stream flowing to the not controlled outlet 23 is designated by reference A; the liquid stream flowing to the first outlet 24 contr~lled by the valve body member 29 is designated by reference B, and the liquid stream flowing to the second outlet 25 co~trolled by the valve body member 31 is designated by reference C. It is understood that, instead of using liquid treatment apparatuses having different nominal capacities, as suggested herein before, also liquid treatment apparatuses 23077\~14P1 having equal nominal capacities could be used in conjunction with a valve assembly according to the present invention.
Such a liquid treatment plant can be used, for example, in a home water installation, and the liquid treatment apparatuses can be, for example, physically operating water softening apparatuses for the reduction of the water hardness. Such a liquid treatment plant is inserted into a home water installation after the usually provided water filter member, while the outlet of the collector 83 leads to the consumers of water. In the following, the operation of the plant according to Fig. 7 shall be further explained in connection of its use in a home water installation.
If the consumer, which is connected to the home water instal-lation, consumes only a small amount of water, for instance in the case if only one or two water tap(s) is(are) open, the con-sumed water flows through the first water softener 80 having the lowest nominal capacity, because the first controlled outlet 24 is closed by the first valve body member 29 and the second con-trolled output is closed by the valve body members 29 and 31.
The first water softener 80 is designed for a certain nominal capacity and has, thereby, a well defined flow cross section.
The valve body members 29 and 31 being in their closing position, this well defined cross section is authoritative for a certain pressure drop between inlet and outlet of the first water softener 80 because the entirety of the consumed water flows through this water softener 80. Simultaneously, the pres-_ - 17 _ ~2152313 sure drop is proportional to the pressure difference occurring between the front side and the back side of the first valve body member 29. Incidentally, this pressure difference also corre-sponds to the pressure difference between the first and the sec-ond outlet 23 and 24, respectively. As long as the force exerted on the valve body member 29 by the pressure difference of the water is less than the biasing force exerted by the spring member 30 on the valve body member 29, the valve body member 29 is pressed against its associated valve seat, with the result that the valve body member 29 blocks not only the central outlet 24, but also the rear outlet 25.
If the water consumption rises, the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 rises as well. Since all three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 are connected in parallel, the pressure at the back side of the two valve body members 29 and 31, when they are in their closed rest position, is essentially the same as at the outlet of the first water softener 80. Thus, a pressure difference can be observed between the front side and the back side of the first valve body member 29 which corresponds to the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 through which the water is flowing. Due to this pressure difference, and if the water consumption rises, the force exerted to the front face of the first valve body member 29 continuously increases. If a certain threshold value, set by the biasing force of the spring member 30, is exceeded, the valve body ~ember 29 is displaced against the biasing force exerted by 23077\~5051 4P1 ~ - 18 - 2152313 the spring member 30 and the central outlet 24 is released. This means: If a certain amount of water flowing through the first water softener 80 per time unit and, thereby, a certain value of the pressure drop in the first water softener 80 is reached, the central outlet 24 is released by the valve body member 29 with the result that the consumed water also flows through the second water softener 81.
If the water consumption rises further, also the pressure difference between the front side and the back side of the rear valve body member 31 and, thereby, between the central and the rear outlet 24 and 25, respectively, rises, with the result that also the rear valve body member 31 is axially displaced to open the rear outlet 25 as soon as a certain threshold level of water consumption is exceeded; thus, the rear water softener 82 comes into operation and the water flows also there trough. In this mode of operation, i.e. if the water consumption is quite large, all three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 are operating simultane-ously. If the water consumption falls, the above described pro-cess is reversed, i.e. initially the rear valve body member 31 and then, if appropriate, also the front valve body member 29 return to their closed rest positions to block the associated passage in the valve chamber of the valve housing 20 and, thereby, also the associated outlets.
A water softening assembly designed in a manner as described above has the great advantage that the three water softeners 80, 81 and 82 always operate with a high efficiency, independently 21~2313 23077~50614P1 of the water consumption. This is because the amount of water per time unit flowing through the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 can be kept within certain limits, i.e. within limits where the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 operate optimally with maximum efficiency. Thereby, the nominal capacities of the water softeners 80, 81 and 82 and the operating characteristics of the valve body members 29, 31 can be individually adapted to the characteristics of the entire plant and the consumers attached thereto.
Finally, in Fig. 8, there is shown a part of another embodi-ment of a liquid treatment plant. The valve assembly used in the liquid treatment plant according to Fig. 8 corresponds to the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 and is shown in Fig. 8 in a longitudinal sectional view, while the three liquid treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A, 82A as well as the common collector are shown in a schematic side elevational view.
The essential difference vis-à-vis the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 may be seen in the fact that the valve assembly is con-nected to the outlets of the water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A. The mode of operation of the embodiment according to Fig. 8 is essentially the same as the one of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7. Particularly, the first water treatment apparatus 80A is connected to a not controlled inlet 50 of the valve assembly, while the remaining two water treatment apparatuses 81A and 82A each are connected to a controlled inlet 49 and 48, respectively, of the valve assembly. Whether the 215231 3 23077\8s0~14P1 three water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A be connected downstreams or upstreams to the valve assembly is hydraulically insignificant. The only essential difference may be seen in the fact that, in the case of downstreams connected water treatment apparatuses 80A, 81A and 82A, the water flowing out therefrom and having been physically treated is additionally vortexed to a certain degree. Decisive for either an upstream or downstream arrangement could be more likely the spatial circumstances at the location where the plant is to be installed.
It is understood that modularly designed valve assemblies, as have been discussed herein above in connection with Figs. 2, 3 and 4, can be provided with more than two controlled outlets or inlets. For this purpose, it is but necessary to assemble the desired number of modules 20B, 20C, 20D (cf. Fig. 2), to add an inlet module and an end module, and to provide a guiding rod member having a length corresponding to the length of the so assembled valve assembly to keep the modules together. Of course, prior to assembling the valve assembly, the guiding rod member is equipped with the required amount of valve body members and biasing spring members. It is further understood that a valve assembly according to the embodiment of Fig. 1 can be designed such as to comprise an arbitrary number of controlled outlets.
A valve assembly according to the invention could moreover be designed in such a way that it can be connected directly to the outlet of a filter assembly which is present in home water in-~ - 21 _ 2152313 stallations in most cases. If the valve assembly is of very com-pact design, it could also be integrated into the housing of a filter assembly.
As already mentioned, in many cases, it could be desirable to use a biasing spring member having a non-linear spring characteristic.
In the case if the valve assembly shall be designed with very compact dimensions, e.g. to be integrated into the housing of a filter assembly, the outlets of the valve assembly can be located to be very close to each other; thereby, a distributor member can be provided to enable the plurality of water treatment apparatuses to be connected to the outlets of the valve assembly.
While the invention has been described herein above with re-spect to a number of particular embodiments, it is understood that a variety of other embodiments can be realized which still are within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (30)
1. A valve assembly for the selective operation of a plural-ity of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in de-pendence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment appara-tuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said out-lets communicates with said inlet and the remaining outlets are sealed against said inlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said outlets in communication with said inlet.
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment appara-tuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said out-lets communicates with said inlet and the remaining outlets are sealed against said inlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said outlets in communication with said inlet.
2. A valve assembly according to claim 1 in which said valve housing means has a central longitudinal axis, said valve chamber being centrally located in said valve housing means in coaxial relationship to said central longitudinal axis, said valve body means being displaceable along said central longitudinal axis.
3. A valve assembly according to claim 2 in which said valve body means comprises a single valve body member, said outlets opening into said valve chamber along said central longitudinal axis and, thereby along the path of displacement of said valve body member.
4. A valve assembly according to claim 3 in which said out-lets are located in a common plane running through said central longitudinal axis of said housing means.
5. A valve assembly according to claim 3 in which said out-lets are located around and coaxially to said central longitudi-nal axis of said housing means.
6. A valve assembly according to claim 5 in which said out-lets are connected to said valve chamber via channels extending through said valve housing means and radially opening into said valve chamber.
7. A valve assembly according to claim 1 in which said valve body means comprises a gate valve body member adapted to sequen-tially open and close each outlet of said plurality of outlets by displacing said gate valve body member in said valve chamber with respect to said outlets.
8. A valve assembly according to claim 1 comprising a number of n outlets, n being an integer greater than or equal to two, in which said valve body means comprises (n-1) poppet valve body members, said valve chamber comprising a corresponding number of valve seat means each assigned to one of said outlets and adapted to cooperate with one of said poppet valve body members in order to seal the assigned outlet against said inlet.
9. A valve assembly according to claim 2 in which said inlet is arranged coaxially to said central longitudinal axis of said valve housing means, and in which said outlets extend perpendicularly to said central longitudinal axis of said housing means.
10. A valve assembly according to claim 4 or 6 in which the distances between each two adjacent outlets and between each two adjacent channels, respectively, are uneven.
11. A valve assembly according to claim 1 in which the load deformation diagram of said spring means is non-linear.
12. A valve assembly for the selective operation of a plural-ity of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses in de-pendence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consumers of treated liquid and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said inlets communicates with said outlet and the remaining inlets are sealed against said outlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said inlets in communication with said outlet.
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consumers of treated liquid and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said inlets communicates with said outlet and the remaining inlets are sealed against said outlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said inlets in communication with said outlet.
13. A valve assembly according to claim 12 in which said valve housing means has a central longitudinal axis, said valve chamber being centrally located in said valve housing means in coaxial relationship to said central longitudinal axis, said valve body means being displaceable along said central longitudinal axis.
14. A valve assembly according to claim 13 in which said valve body means comprises a single valve body member, said in-lets opening into said valve chamber along said central longitu-dinal axis and, thereby along the path of displacement of said valve body member.
15. A valve assembly according to claim 14 in which said in-lets are located in a common plane running through said central longitudinal axis of said housing means.
16. A valve assembly according to claim 14 in which said in-lets are located around and coaxially to said central longitudi-nal axis of said housing means.
17. A valve assembly according to claim 16 in which said in-lets are connected to said valve chamber via channels extending through said valve housing means and radially opening into said valve chamber.
18. A valve assembly according to claim 12 in which said valve body means comprises a gate valve body member adapted to sequentially open and close each inlet of said plurality of in-lets by displacing said gate valve body member in said valve chamber with respect to said inlets.
19. A valve assembly according to claim 12 comprising a num-ber of n inlets, n being an integer greater than or equal to two, in which said valve body means comprises (n-1) poppet valve body members, said valve chamber comprising a corresponding number of valve seat means each assigned to one of said inlets and adapted to cooperate with one of said poppet valve body members in order to seal the assigned inlet against said outlet.
20. A valve assembly according to claim 13 in which said out-let is arranged coaxially to said central longitudinal axis of said valve housing means, and in which said inlets extend perpendicularly to said central longitudinal axis of said housing means.
21. A valve assembly according to claim 15 or 17 in which the distances between each two adjacent inlets and between each two adjacent channels, respectively, are uneven.
22. A valve assembly according to claim 1 or 12 in which said valve housing means comprises a plurality of housing modules.
23. A valve assembly according to claims 8 and 22 or claims 19 and 22 in which said housing modules are of general tubular shape and have a first lateral end as well as a second lateral end, each of said modules being provided with a recessed circum-ferential collar located in the region of said first lateral end and having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the module in the region of said second lateral end, an inner surface of said recessed collar constituting a valve seat cooperating with one of said poppet valve body members.
24. A valve assembly according to claim 2 or 13 in which said valve housing means comprises a guiding rod member extending along said central longitudinal axis and adapted to guide said valve body means along its path of displacement.
25. A valve assembly according to claims 22 and 24 in which said housing modules are fixed together by means of said central guiding rod member.
26. A valve assembly according to claims 1 or 12 and claim 24 in which said guiding rod member comprises at least one washer member rigidly fixed thereto, whereby said spring means is in-serted between said washer member and said valve body means.
27. A valve assembly according to claims 8 or 19 and claim 24 in which said (n-l) poppet valve body members each have a spring means assigned thereto, the spring means of a first poppet valve body member resting against a washer member rigidly fixed to said guiding rod member, and the spring means of the remaining poppet valve body members in each case rest against the adjacent poppet valve body member.
28. A valve assembly according to claim 1 or 12 in which the load deformation diagram of said spring means is non-linear.
29. A liquid processing plant comprising:
a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment appara-tuses;
a valve assembly for the selective operation of said plural-ity of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment appara-tuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said out-lets communicates with said inlet and the remaining outlets are sealed against said inlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said outlets in communication with said inlet.
a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment appara-tuses;
a valve assembly for the selective operation of said plural-ity of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an inlet adapted to be connected to a source of liquid to be treated and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of outlets, each outlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment appara-tuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said out-lets communicates with said inlet and the remaining outlets are sealed against said inlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent outlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said outlets in communication with said inlet.
30. A liquid processing plant comprising:
a plurality of puerilely connected liquid treatment appara-tuses;
a valve assembly for the selective operation of said plural-ity of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consumers of treated liquid and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said inlets communicates with said outlet and the remaining inlets are sealed against said outlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said inlets in communication with said outlet.
a plurality of puerilely connected liquid treatment appara-tuses;
a valve assembly for the selective operation of said plural-ity of liquid treatment apparatuses in dependence of the total consumption of treated liquid, said valve assembly comprising:
a valve housing means defining in its interior an essentially cylindrical, elongated valve chamber;
said valve housing means comprising an outlet adapted to be connected to one or several consumers of treated liquid and opening into said valve chamber, and a plurality of inlets, each inlet adapted to be connected to one of said liquid treatment apparatuses and opening into said valve chamber;
a valve body means displaceably received in said valve cham-ber;
spring means for biasing said valve body means to urge said valve body means into a rest position in which one of said inlets communicates with said outlet and the remaining inlets are sealed against said outlet;
said valve body means being displaceable in said valve cham-ber in response to a rising liquid pressure difference between two adjacent inlets to sequentially bring an increasing number of said inlets in communication with said outlet.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE4422108A DE4422108C2 (en) | 1994-06-24 | 1994-06-24 | Valve device |
| DEP4422108.8 | 1994-06-24 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2152313A1 true CA2152313A1 (en) | 1995-12-25 |
Family
ID=6521396
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002152313A Abandoned CA2152313A1 (en) | 1994-06-24 | 1995-06-21 | Valve assembly for the selective operation of a plurality of parallely connected liquid treatment apparatuses |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0688908A1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2152313A1 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE4422108C2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE4117890A1 (en) * | 1991-05-31 | 1992-12-03 | Electronic Werke Deutschland | Supporting frame for entertainment electronic equipment e.g. TV receiver - comprises stationary frame and frame part swivelable about vertical axis serving for reception of unit driven by motor and gear unit |
| DE19611144C1 (en) * | 1996-03-21 | 1997-11-27 | Honeywell Ag | Water distributor |
| DE102006053629B4 (en) * | 2006-11-14 | 2011-03-10 | Marco Systemanalyse Und Entwicklung Gmbh | filter station |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR1449218A (en) * | 1965-10-02 | 1966-08-12 | Kinwell Dev Co | Low pressure controlled valve for gases and liquids |
| GB1398239A (en) * | 1971-06-14 | 1975-06-18 | Fawcett Eng Ltd | Pressure monitoring relief valves |
| US5351199A (en) * | 1989-06-26 | 1994-09-27 | Brun Corporation | Programmable water treatment controller for progressive flow systems |
| DE4300585C2 (en) * | 1993-01-13 | 1994-12-15 | Rudolf Schenk | Liquid treatment plant |
| DE9310900U1 (en) * | 1993-01-13 | 1993-10-14 | Schenk Rudolf | Liquid treatment plant |
-
1994
- 1994-06-24 DE DE4422108A patent/DE4422108C2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1995
- 1995-06-15 EP EP95810404A patent/EP0688908A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1995-06-21 CA CA002152313A patent/CA2152313A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE4422108A1 (en) | 1996-01-11 |
| DE4422108C2 (en) | 1996-06-20 |
| EP0688908A1 (en) | 1995-12-27 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |