CN116951137A

CN116951137A - Check valve

Info

Publication number: CN116951137A
Application number: CN202210398260.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: A.福拉德普尔; M.戈格伊; R.博斯勒
Original assignee: Danfoss AS
Current assignee: Danfoss AS
Priority date: 2022-04-15
Filing date: 2022-04-15
Publication date: 2023-10-27

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a check valve comprising a valve body having a first end and an opposite second end; a valve chamber formed within the valve body and extending between the first and second ends; an inlet opening formed at a first end of the valve body; an outlet opening formed between the first and second ends of the valve body and communicating with the inlet opening through the valve chamber; a piston disposed within the valve chamber to be movable between a closed position in which the inlet opening is closed by the piston and an open position in which the inlet opening is open; and a spring disposed within the valve chamber to bias the piston toward the closed position, wherein the second end of the valve body is closed by an end wall integrally formed with the valve body.

Description

Check valve

Technical Field

The present application relates to a check valve, and more particularly, to a check valve installed in a refrigerating apparatus.

Background

In general, in a fluid delivery device or system, such as a refrigeration system, a refrigerant is delivered along a line of the system by a compressor, and in order to prevent the refrigerant from flowing back along the line, a check valve is generally employed to allow the refrigerant to flow in only one direction.

Fig. 1 shows a check valve comprising a valve body 1', a fluid inlet 5' and a fluid outlet 6 'being formed in the valve body 1'; a piston 3' mounted in the valve body 1', the piston 3' being linearly movable along a valve chamber in the valve body 1', thereby closing or opening the fluid inlet 5 '; and a spring 4 'biasing the piston 3' against the fluid inlet 5 'to close the fluid inlet 5'. Thus, when fluid enters the check valve 1 'in the direction from the fluid inlet 5' to the fluid outlet 6', the piston 3' opens the fluid inlet 5 'against the biasing force of the spring 4' by means of the pressure of the fluid, thereby allowing fluid to enter the valve chamber from the inlet 5 'and leave from the fluid outlet 6'. When fluid flows in the opposite direction, the pressure of the fluid cannot cause the piston 3 'to open against the biasing force of the spring 4', and therefore the check valve is in a state of preventing the flow of the fluid.

As shown in fig. 1, in order to mount the piston 3' and the spring 4', an opening is generally formed at the upper end of the valve body 1', from which the piston 3' and the spring 4' are mounted into the valve body 1, and then the top cover 2' is screwed into the upper end opening, for example, by screwing, to close the upper end opening of the valve body 1 '. As an alternative, the top cover may be fixed and sealed to the valve body 1' by welding or the like.

However, such a screwed or welded top cover 2 causes an increase in the height of the entire check valve because a screwed or welded area is reserved in the valve body and also increases the assembly process, increasing the entire cost.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and therefore an object of the present disclosure is to provide a check valve having a reduced size and reducing an assembling process, thereby making the check valve applicable to a space-limited occasion.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a check valve, a valve body having a first end and an opposite second end; a valve chamber formed within the valve body and extending between the first and second ends; an inlet opening formed at a first end of the valve body; an outlet opening formed between the first and second ends of the valve body and communicating with the inlet opening through the valve chamber; a piston disposed within the valve chamber to be movable between a closed position in which the inlet opening is closed by the piston and an open position in which the inlet opening is open; and a spring disposed within the valve chamber to bias the piston toward the closed position, wherein the second end of the valve body is closed by an end wall integrally formed with the valve body.

By integrally forming the end wall with the valve body, a portion for connecting the top cover with the valve body can be omitted, thereby reducing the height of the entire check valve, and since the end wall is integrally formed with the valve body, the problem of sealing at the junction of the top cover and the valve body is avoided, and the assembling process is simplified.

In one embodiment, the check valve further comprises a valve seat fixed to the inlet opening, in particular, the valve seat may be provided with an orifice, whereby in the closed position the piston is urged against the valve seat under the action of the spring. Preferably, the spring is a compression spring and is disposed between the end wall and the piston.

In one embodiment, the piston may be provided with a sealing member which, in the closed position, abuts against the valve seat, in particular against an orifice of the valve seat, thereby closing the check valve.

To facilitate connection with an external conduit, the check valve may further include an inlet connector secured to the first end of the valve body, e.g., inserted into the inlet opening and against the valve seat, secured to the first end of the valve body with the valve seat. Thus, the inlet connector simultaneously functions to locate the stationary valve seat.

As another embodiment, the inlet connector is formed with a connector flange, the first end of the valve body is formed with a valve body flange, and the valve seat is formed with a valve seat flange, the connector flange, the valve seat flange and the valve body flange being stacked and secured together, such as by bolting, crimping, brazing, welding or the like.

In one embodiment, a protrusion is formed on an inner surface of the end wall, the piston is formed with a recess on an opposite side, and a first end of the spring is mounted around the protrusion, and a second end of the spring is received in the recess of the piston such that the spring remains stable during movement of the piston.

In one embodiment, a hole is formed in a side wall of the piston to communicate the recess with the valve chamber. The formation of the orifice is capable of directing fluid pressure within the valve chamber to the downstream side of the piston, whereby in the closed condition, pressurized fluid from the outlet opening presses the piston together with the auxiliary spring against the valve seat, and in the open condition, the orifice prevents fluid from stagnating on the downstream side of the piston, impeding the opening of the piston.

In another embodiment, an end wall of the second end of the valve body is formed with a guide groove, and the piston is formed with a guide protrusion slidably guided by the guide groove when the piston moves between the closed position and the open position. The guide groove is formed in the end wall by deep drawing.

Preferably, a guide sleeve is provided in the guide groove to reduce friction when the piston moves, but the guide sleeve may be provided on the outer circumferential surface of the guide protrusion, to which the present application is not limited.

The guide protrusion is formed with a central chamber in which at least a portion of the spring is accommodated. By providing the guide groove and the guide projection, the overall valve body height can be further reduced and the guiding during the movement of the piston and the guiding of the spring can be improved.

Preferably, a hole is formed in a side wall of the guide protrusion of the piston to communicate the central chamber with the valve chamber.

Preferably, the valve body is formed by metal injection molding, forging, casting or machining. Alternatively, the valve body is formed from sheet metal. The piston is formed of metal or polymer. And the inlet connector is formed of copper or stainless steel with a copper coating.

According to the present application, the height of the entire check valve can be reduced by omitting the top cover, thereby allowing the check valve to be applied to a space-limited occasion such as a refrigerating system of a vehicle, and omitting the step of installing the top cover, simplifying the assembly process.

Drawings

The foregoing and other features, advantages and technical advantages of the present disclosure may be understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a check valve in the related art;

fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of a check valve according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating the check valve shown in FIG. 2 in a closed position and an open position, respectively;

fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a check valve according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 4A is an enlarged view showing an inlet opening portion;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a modified structure of the check valve of FIG. 4; and

fig. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views illustrating the check valve shown in fig. 4 in a closed position and an open position, respectively.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments according to the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that this description is for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the application may be practiced in a variety of ways and should not be limited to the preferred embodiments described herein.

As used in this specification, the use of "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" does not mean that the features described in one embodiment of the present application can be used only in this embodiment, but that features of one embodiment can also be used in other embodiments or combined with features of other embodiments to obtain yet another embodiment, and all such embodiments shall fall within the scope of the present application.

As used in this specification, directional terms "upstream" and "downstream" are used, wherein "upstream" refers to the direction from which fluid comes along the flow direction and "downstream" refers to the direction along which fluid is intended to flow.

A preferred embodiment according to the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 2 to 6B, wherein fig. 2 to 3B show a first preferred embodiment according to the present disclosure, and fig. 4 to 6B show a second preferred embodiment according to the present disclosure and modifications thereof, it is noted that like reference numerals identify like elements in the various embodiments described below and duplicate descriptions are omitted for brevity.

As shown in fig. 2 to 3B, a check valve according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The check valve comprises a valve body 1, the valve body 1 being typically formed by casting, but may also be formed by metal injection moulding, forging, casting or machining from a blank, alternatively the valve body 1 may also be formed by sheet metal machining. The valve body 1 is typically formed of metal, such as copper, cast iron, steel, stainless steel, or the like.

As shown in fig. 2, the valve body 1 is of a generally cylindrical configuration, comprising a first end and an opposite second end, wherein the first end forms the inlet opening 7 and the interior of the valve body 1 forms a valve chamber 11, the valve chamber 11 extending between the first end and the second end. An outlet opening 10 is formed in the side wall of the valve body 1 between the first end and the second end, which outlet opening 10 may be formed in the side wall of the valve body 1 by means of drawing by punching, drilling, machining or the like. On the inlet opening 7 and the outlet opening 10, there are provided an inlet connector 4 and an outlet connector 8, respectively, as shown in fig. 2, the inlet connector 4 and the outlet connector 8 may be connected to the inlet opening 7 and the outlet opening 10, respectively, by brazing, welding, or the like, but the present application is not limited thereto, but may take any other form, such as screw connection, flange connection, bonding, or the like. The inlet connector 4 and the outlet connector 8 are connected with external pipes, respectively, in order to incorporate a check valve into the system. The inlet connector 4 and the outlet connector 8 may be formed of copper or stainless steel with a copper coating.

A valve seat 3 is further provided in the first end portion of the valve body 1 downstream of the inlet opening 7, the valve seat 3 being sealed and fixed on the inner peripheral surface of the first end portion of the valve body 1, and an orifice of a check valve being formed. The second end of the valve body 1 is formed as an end wall 12, which end wall 12 is integrally formed with the valve body 1, thereby defining a valve chamber 11 between the valve seat 3 and the end wall 12.

Between the valve seat 3 and the end wall 12, a piston 2 is provided, and the piston 2 is movable along the inner peripheral wall of the valve body 1 in the valve chamber 11. And a spring 6 is provided between the piston 2 and the end wall 12, which spring 6 biases the piston 2 against the valve seat 3, defining a closed position of the check valve, in which the piston 2 presses against the orifice of the valve seat 3, preventing fluid flowing in from the outlet opening 10 from flowing out through the inlet opening 7, and an open position, as shown in fig. 3A, by the movement of the piston 2 in the valve chamber 11; on the other hand, in the open position, as shown in fig. 3B, by means of the pressure of the incoming fluid, the piston 2 is opened against the biasing force of the spring 6, allowing the inlet opening 7 and the outlet opening 10 to communicate, and the fluid can flow from the inlet opening 7 to the outlet opening 10 through the valve chamber 11, thereby realizing the function of the check valve to allow one-way flow. A sealing member 5 may be provided on the piston 2, the sealing member 5 abutting against the orifice of the valve seat 3, achieving a better seal.

In order to sealingly fix the valve seat 3 at the first end, as shown in fig. 2, for example, the first end of the valve body 1 may be formed with a shoulder (not identified), while the valve seat 3 is formed with a flange, which, when mounted in place, abuts against the shoulder formed at the first end of the valve body 1, and the downstream end of the inlet connector 4 is inserted into the inlet opening 7 and further abuts against the flange of the valve seat 3, and the three are then fixed together, for example by brazing. As shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment, a solder ring 16 is provided between the valve seat 3 and the downstream end of the inlet connector 4 to connect and seal the valve seat 3, inlet opening and inlet connector 4 together.

The spring 6 is, for example, a variable diameter helical compression spring, but the present application is not limited thereto. On the inside of the end wall 12, a projection 13 is formed around which projection 13 a first end of the spring 6 can surround, and in addition, on the side of the piston 2 facing the end wall 12, a recess 21 can be formed to accommodate a second end of the spring 6, allowing the spring 6 to be stably positioned when the piston moves.

In the side wall of the piston 2, a hole 9 may be formed to communicate the recess 21 of the piston 2 with the valve chamber 11, so that, in the case where the pressurized fluid flows in from the fluid outlet 10 side, the pressurized fluid may flow into the downstream side of the piston 2 through the hole 9, thereby assisting the spring 6 to press the piston 2 (or the seal member 5) against the orifice of the valve seat 3.

In addition, in the case where the pressurized fluid flows in from the inlet opening 7, the presence of the hole 9 can prevent the fluid retained in the recess 21 of the piston 2 from interfering with the piston 2 being opened by the pressure of the pressurized fluid.

Thus, in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 to 3B, by integrally forming the end wall 12 with the valve body 1, a portion for connecting the top cover with the valve body can be omitted, thereby reducing the height of the entire check valve, and since the end wall 12 is integrally formed with the valve body 1, the problem of sealing at the junction of the top cover and the valve body is avoided, and the assembling process is simplified.

A second embodiment according to the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 4 to 6B. For brevity, only the differences between this embodiment and the first embodiment will be described below, and like parts will not be repeated, it being noted that the same description with respect to fig. 2 to 3B will be equally applicable to this second embodiment.

As shown in fig. 4, the check valve according to the second embodiment differs from the check valve shown in fig. 2 in that a guide groove 14 is formed in the end wall 12, and correspondingly, a guide protrusion 22 is formed on the piston 2, the guide protrusion 22 being slidably movable along the guide groove 14 when the piston 2 moves in the valve chamber 11, whereby the guide groove 14 guides the movement of the piston 2. In addition, a central chamber 221 may be formed in the guide protrusion 22 of the piston 2 to allow a portion of the spring 6 to be received in the central chamber 221 and another portion to be received in the guide groove 14 so that the spring 6 is not deflected or bent during movement of the piston 2.

The guide groove 14 may be formed directly in the end wall 12 by deep drawing. In addition, in the present embodiment, the valve body 1 may be formed of sheet metal and formed by deep drawing.

In order to reduce friction, as shown in fig. 5, a guide sleeve 15 may be provided between the guide protrusion 22 and the guide groove 14, and the guide sleeve 15 may be fixed to an inner peripheral wall of the guide groove 14 and/or to an outer peripheral wall of the guide protrusion 22, to which the present application is not limited. In addition, the guide sleeve 15 may be formed of a low friction material or a material with a friction reducing coating. Alternatively, a low friction coating may be provided on the outer peripheral wall of the guide projection 22 or the inner peripheral wall of the guide groove 14 to achieve a similar effect.

According to the present embodiment, the inlet connector 4 may be fixed to the first end of the valve body 1 in the form of a flange. As shown in fig. 4 or 5 and in particular in the enlarged view of fig. 4A, the first end of the valve body 1 may be formed with a valve body flange 101, the valve seat 3 with a valve seat flange 301 and the inlet connector 4 with a connector flange 401, the valve body flange 101, the valve seat flange 301 and the connector flange 401 being stacked and e.g. fixedly connected together when assembled. The fixed connection may be achieved in various forms such as bolting, welding, brazing, crimping, etc., to which the present application is not limited.

Similar to the hole 9 in the first embodiment, a hole 9 may be formed in the side wall of the guide protrusion 22 of the piston 2 to function similarly to the hole 9 in the first embodiment, and will not be described again.

By forming the guide groove 14 on the end wall 12 of the valve body 1, it is thereby possible to maintain a large stroke of the piston at a low valve body height and at the same time to guide the piston well during its movement.

Although the check valve according to the present application has been described in detail above with reference to the specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the following description is only a preferred embodiment of the check valve according to the present application, and the present application should not be limited thereto, but the scope of the present application is defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A check valve, comprising:

a valve body (1), the valve body (1) having a first end and an opposite second end;

a valve chamber (11), the valve chamber (11) being formed within the valve body (1) and extending between the first and second ends;

-an inlet opening (7), said inlet opening (7) being formed at a first end of the valve body (1);

an outlet opening (10), the outlet opening (10) being formed between a first end and a second end of the valve body (1) and communicating with the inlet opening (7) through the valve chamber (11);

-a piston (2) arranged within the valve chamber (11) to be movable between a closed position, in which the inlet opening (7) is closed by the piston (2), and an open position, in which the inlet opening (7) is opened;

a spring (6), said spring (6) being arranged in said valve chamber (11) to bias said piston (2) towards said closed position,

wherein the second end of the valve body (1) is closed by an end wall (12) integrally formed with the valve body (1).

2. The non-return valve according to claim 1, further comprising a valve seat (3), the valve seat (3) being fixed to the inlet opening (7), wherein in the closed position the piston (2) rests against the valve seat (3) under the action of the spring (6).

3. A check valve according to claim 2, wherein the spring (6) is a compression spring and is arranged between the end wall (12) and the piston (2).

4. A check valve according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the piston (2) comprises a sealing member (5), the sealing member (5) abutting the valve seat (3) in the closed position.

5. The non-return valve according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising an inlet connector (4), wherein the inlet connector (4) fits into the inlet opening (7) to abut against the valve seat (3) and to be fixed to the first end of the valve body (1) together with the valve seat (3).

6. The non-return valve according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising an inlet connector (4), the inlet connector (4) being formed with a connector flange (401), the first end of the valve body (1) being formed with a valve body flange (101), and the valve seat (3) being formed with a valve seat flange (301), the connector flange (401), the valve seat flange (301) and the valve body flange (101) being stacked and secured together.

7. A non-return valve according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the inlet connector (4) is formed of copper or stainless steel with a copper coating.

8. The check valve of claim 5 or 6, wherein the securing is performed by brazing or welding.

9. A check valve according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion (13) is formed on the inner surface of the end wall (12), the piston (2) is formed with a recess (21), and a first end of the spring (6) is mounted around the protrusion (13) and a second end of the spring (6) is received in the recess (21) of the piston (2).

10. A check valve according to claim 9, wherein a hole (9) is formed in a side wall of the piston (2) to communicate the recess (21) with the valve chamber (11).

11. A check valve according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the end wall (12) is formed with a guide groove (14) and the piston (2) is formed with a guide protrusion (22), the guide protrusion (22) being slidably guided by the guide groove (14) when the piston (2) is moved between the closed position and the open position.

12. The non-return valve according to claim 11, wherein the guide groove (14) is formed in the end wall (12) by deep drawing.

13. A check valve according to claim 11 or 12, wherein a guide sleeve (15) is provided between the guide groove (14) and the guide projection (22) to reduce friction when the piston (2) is moved.

14. The check valve according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the guide protrusion (22) is formed with a central chamber (221), at least a portion of the spring (6) being accommodated within the central chamber (221).

15. A check valve according to claim 14, wherein a hole (9) is formed in a side wall of the guide protrusion (22) to communicate the central chamber (221) with the valve chamber (11).

16. The non-return valve according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising an outlet connector (8), the outlet connector (8) being connected with the outlet opening (10).

17. Check valve according to claim 16, wherein the outlet connector (8) is formed of copper or stainless steel with a copper coating.

18. Check valve according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the valve body (1) is formed of steel or brass.

19. The non-return valve according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the valve body (1) is formed by metal injection moulding, forging, casting or machining.

20. A non-return valve according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein the valve body (1) is formed from sheet metal.

21. The non-return valve according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the piston (2) is formed of metal or polymer.