FR3015616A1 - CONTROL VALVE WITH REDUCED OPENING SEAL SEGMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

Control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, comprising a valve body having a bore in which at least two lateral openings open and which receives a rotary plug adapted to occupy at least two angular positions for opening / closing said orifices, said bushel comprising an axial hub, a sealing segment (30) in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope surrounding said hub and connected to the hub, and a rod (40) interposed between the two free ends (41, 43) of the segment ( 30) to ensure a plating of said segment (30) in the bore, said rod (40) having a U-shape and having a transverse branch (40) and two parallel vertical branches (44, 46) received in receiving gutters (48, 50) formed along vertical edges of the two free ends (41, 43) of the segment (30), characterized in that the sealing segment (30) in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical shell It extends angularly beyond an active portion of said segment.

Description

The invention relates to a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, in particular for a cooling circuit of a motor vehicle engine. More particularly, the invention relates to a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, comprising a valve body in a fixing face from which opens a blind axial bore having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall in which at least two open lateral openings. Said bore receives an axially rotatable plug capable of occupying at least two angular positions to open / close said lateral orifices according to its angular position to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices.

Said plug comprises an axial hub rotatably mounted in the bore, an angular portion shaped sealing portion cylindrical casing of predetermined height surrounding said hub and integral in rotation with said hub. Said plug further comprises a return member, for example a spring-shaped rod which is interposed between the two free ends of said angular segment-forming cylindrical envelope portion to exert a transverse elastic return force between said free ends in order to deform said segment radially outwardly to ensure a plating of said sealing segment against the wall of the bore.

It is already known, according to the international patent application WO-A1-2005 / 124205, a control valve of this type that can also be described as "rotary valve" since the plug rotates about an axis of rotation and is received in the bore formed in the valve body.

In this known control valve, the bore opens into an attachment face of the valve body via an axial orifice which usually constitutes an inlet for the fluid, while the lateral orifices constitute outlet for the fluid, the distribution of the fluid through the outlet channels being controlled according to the angular position taken by the plug.

This known control valve finds a particular application in the cooling circuits of motor vehicle thermal engines. In this case, the axial orifice, forming a fluid inlet, is connected to a cooling fluid inlet coming from the heat engine, while lateral orifices forming a fluid outlet are respectively connected to branches of the circuit. This circuit comprises for example a first branch which contains a cooling radiator of the engine, a second branch which constitutes a bypass of the cooling radiator and a third branch which contains a heater for heating the passenger compartment.

The control valve described in the application WO-A1-2005 / 124205 comprises a plug having a hub surrounded by a sealing segment in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope which is also integral in rotation with said hub.

The seal offered by the segment between the different exit routes must comply with specifications limiting tolerated leakage rates. For this, the plating of the segment against the inner wall of the bore is determined by the force exerted by the ring between the vertical edges of the two free ends of said sealing segment.

In this known valve, the segment extends over nearly 270 ° and therefore requires actuating the plug over a wide angular amplitude to describe all the desired control laws. To remedy this drawback, it was first considered by the applicant to limit the angular span of the valve but it then realized that the seal offered by the bushel decreased. The object of the invention is to improve the situation and proposes for this purpose a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, comprising an axially rotating plug, said plug having a sealing segment, in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical shell, and a resilient return member configured to separate from one another two free ends of the sealing segment, said segment having an angular portion, said active, to open / close lateral openings of a body of the valve as a function of the angular position of said plug so as to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices, said sealing segment extending angularly beyond said active portion so that the forces exerted by the return member on the segment have a corresponding tangential component. By limiting the active part of the segment, it optimizes the actuation of the valve. In addition, by extending this active part is avoided that the return member exerts forces on the vertical edges of the two free ends of said sealing segment oriented substantially radially, as in the case of a segment of 180 °. On the contrary, the return member of the plug according to the invention exerts a force on the segment having a component perpendicular to this direction, that is to say orthoradial. In this way, the plating of the segment is favored and thus the watertightness. According to other features of the invention: - said active angular portion extends over 180 ° at most, - the sealing segment extends angularly over at least 233 °, - said segment comprises an angular portion, said inactive extending said active angular portion, said active portion and said inactive portion are made of material continuity, one of said free ends laterally borders said active portion and / or the other laterally borders said inactive portion, said recall comprises a spring-forming rod which is interposed between the two free ends of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope forming a segment to exert a transverse elastic return force between said free ends, - said rod has substantially the shape of a U having a transverse branch on either side of which are arranged two parallel vertical branches which are remotely by the transverse branch, - said vertical branches are received in corresponding receiving gutters of the sealing segment which extend along vertical edges of the two free ends of said sealing segment, - said rod is made of a wire metal whose each branch has a cylindrical section, - the receiving gutters of the segment are shaped in angular portion of cylinder of corresponding radius, - the vertical branches of the rod have a length (I) receiving in the gutters which allows to exercise on said gutters a retraction force in spacing, the result of which has an application point which is at a distance of half a segment height of at most 20% of a total height (H) of the segment, - the wire rod metal is made of spring steel, - said valve body has a blind axial bore having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall in which the one or more lateral holes, - said bore receives said plug, - said return member is configured to press said segment against said side wall of the valve body, - said valve body has a fixing face at which opens said bore, said plug comprises an axial hub rotatably mounted in the bore, said hub being in the form of a finger, said segment is integral in rotation with said hub.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows for the understanding of which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rotary valve ball valve ; - Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the segment and the associated rod of the valve of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a perspective view of a segment and an associated rod of a valve according to the invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the segment and associated rod of FIG. 3.

In the following description, like reference numerals designate like parts or having similar functions. FIG. 1 shows a control valve 10 for a fluid circulation circuit, in particular a coolant circulation circuit of a motor vehicle. Such a valve 10 is for example intended to be fixed to a block engine of a vehicle, and to be connected to different bodies of the vehicle requiring a supply of coolant.

The valve 10 here comprises a valve body 12 having a fixing face 14 on the associated engine block (not shown) of the vehicle. The face 14 is for example a rectified face. A blind axial bore 16 of the body 12 opens into the face 14. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bore 16 comprises a bottom wall (not shown) and a peripheral wall 20 into which at least two lateral orifices (no shown) associated with valve conduits connected to different members of the vehicle. Thus, by way of example and in a nonlimiting manner of the invention, at least two orifices (not shown) associated with conduits 22, 24, visible in FIG. 1, open into the peripheral wall 20 of the bore 16 The ducts 22, 24 may, in a non-limiting manner of the invention, be associated with an engine cooling radiator, a bypass of the cooling radiator, or a heater for heating the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The derivation may include other exchangers. The bore 16 receives a plug 26 mounted axially rotatable about an axial direction "A".

This plug 26 is able to occupy at least two angular positions to open / close the lateral orifices to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices and consequently through the conduits 22, 24. The control of the angular position of the bushel will be advantageously configured to allow it to occupy any desired angular positions between two end positions. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the plug 26 essentially comprises a hub 28 and a sealing segment 30 in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope, which surrounds said hub 28 and which is rotationally integral with said hub 28. The segment 30 comprises a peripheral wall 31.

For this purpose, in a nonlimiting manner of the invention, the hub 28 comprises a radial arm 32 whose end 34 is received in a notch formed on the surface of an inner periphery 38 of the segment 30. The hub is rotated by an axis 22 and is fixed at the end of this axis 22 by means of a nut 23.

The plug 26 comprises a return member comprising here a rod 40 forming a spring which is interposed between the two free ends 41, 43 of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope. The ring 40 is able to exert a transverse elastic return force between the free ends 41, 43 in order to deform the segment 30 radially outwards in order to ensure that said sealing segment 30 is pressed against the wall 20 of the bore 16 As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rod 40 has substantially the shape of a U having a transverse branch 42 on either side of which are arranged two parallel vertical branches 44, 46 which are fixed in gutters The gutters 48, 50 extend along vertical edges of the two free ends 41, 43 of the sealing segment 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the segment 30 in the form of an angular portion of envelope extends in an angular coverage "a" of substantially 180 °. In this configuration, the parallel vertical branches 44 and 46 of the ring 40, biased by the central branch 42, bias the ends 41, 43 of the segment 30 through the gutters 48, 50 in the radial direction. FIG. 2 shows the forces F1, F2 exerted on the ends 41, 43 of the segment 30. The forces F1, F2 are here purely radial.

This design has the disadvantage, given the functional clearance of the segment 30 in the bore 16, of deforming the segment 30. In FIG. 2, the dashed outer periphery 31 of the segment 30 under FIG. action of the forces F1, F2.35 As can be seen, the forces F1, F2, purely radial, tend to cause a shrinkage "R" of the periphery, especially at a middle portion 33 of the segment 30. This withdrawal "R" causes a detachment of the segment 30 in the bore 16. It follows a leakage and leaks within the valve 10.

The invention overcomes this disadvantage by proposing a valve 10 of the type described above, the angular coverage is extended to change the orientation of the forces exerted by the vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a valve 10 of the type described above, characterized in that the angular portion of the angular portion of the cylindrical envelope extends angularly along an angular coverage "a" of moreover 180 °, that is to say with a reduced opening, so that the forces F1, F2 exerted by the rod 40 on the segment 30 have a corresponding tangential component T1, T2 which ensures the plating of said segment 30 on the inner wall 20 of the bore 16. Indeed, each force F1, F2 exerted by the ring 40 on the segment 30 forms an angle "p" with the radius r1, r2 of the segment 30 passing through the point of application of the force F1, F2 considered, that is to say by the center of the corresponding branch 44, 46 of the ring 40. This angle depends on the angle "a" of opening of the segment 30. each force F1, F2 is decomposed into a normal component N1, N2 and a tangential or orthoradial component T1, T2.

In order for the ratio of the tangential components T1, T2 to the normal components N1, N2 to be optimal and to ensure that the ring 30 is plating, it is advantageous for the angle "[3" to be at least 30 °, which corresponds to an angle " a "minimum of 233 °.

For example, for an angle "a" coverage of 270 °, we arrive at an angle "[3" of 45 °. FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention according to which the sealing segment 42 in the form of an angular portion of a cylindrical envelope has an angular coverage "a" of 233 °.

That is, to limit the angular amplitude of the movements of the plug, said segment 30 has a so-called active angular portion to open / close the lateral orifices of the body of the lower valve to its total angular amplitude, for example equal to or less than 180 °. In other words, it is sufficient that the plug is actuated on 180 ° only, or less, to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices according to the angular position of said plug. Said lateral orifices are positioned accordingly, in particular by arranging them at different axial heights.

In other words, said segment 30 comprises an angular portion, said inactive, extending said active angular portion. Said active portion and said inactive portion are made here in continuity of material but said inactive portion may be made of any other material, or even be in the form of a simple frame configured to allow a bearing support of said return member , in particular said rod. To return to the exemplary embodiment illustrated, one 41 of said free ends laterally borders said active portion and the other 43 laterally borders said inactive portion.

It should be noted that said inactive portion may, however, be partially or entirely vis-à-vis a side opening of the bore for discharging the valve in case of failure. Furthermore, it is advantageous to ensure a satisfactory plating of the segment 30 in the bore that the forces F1, F2 are exerted substantially at mid-height of the segment 30. Also, in accordance with this aspect of the invention, as illustrated by FIG. 3, the vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod 40 have a length "I" of reception in the gutters 48, 50 which allows to exert on said gutters 48, 50 a return force in spacing, the resultant has a point application which is at a distance of half a height 52 from the segment of at most 20% of a total height "H" of the segment 30. It will be understood that in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ring 40 is made of a metal wire of which each leg 42, 44, 46 has a cylindrical section, and the grooves 48, 50 for receiving the segment 20 are shaped as an angular portion of cylinder of corresponding radius.

Finally, it will be noted that in order to give the transverse branch 42 the desired elasticity, the wire rod 40 is preferably made of spring steel.

Furthermore, here, said transverse branch 42 is located in a plane substantially orthogonal to the direction followed by said vertical branches 44, 46. Said spring may further comprise connecting portions between said transverse branch 42 and said vertical branches 44, 46 Said connecting portions advantageously have a double curvature allowing the rod to exit the gutters 48, 50 by limiting the forces exerted by said rod on the segment 30 at this level. The invention thus makes it possible to optimize the plating of the segment 30 of a valve 10 of the type described above while limiting its range of angular displacement.

Claims (12)

REVENDICATIONS1. A control valve (10) for a fluid circulation circuit, comprising an axially rotating plug (26), said plug (26) having a sealing segment (30), in the form of an angular portion of a cylindrical envelope, and a resilient return member configured to separate from one another two free ends (41, 43) of the sealing segment, said segment having an angular portion, so-called active, to open / close lateral ports of a body of the valve as a function of the angular position of said plug so as to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices, said sealing segment (30) extending angularly beyond said active portion so that the forces ( F1, F2) exerted by the return member on the segment (30) have a corresponding tangential component (T1, T2). 2. Valve (10) according to claim 1 wherein said active angular portion extends over 180 ° at most. 3. Valve (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sealing segment (30) extends angularly over at least 233 °. 4. Valve (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said segment comprises an angular portion, said inactive, extending said active angular portion. 5. Valve (10) according to the preceding claim wherein said active portion and said inactive portion are made in continuity of material. 6. Valve (10) according to any one of claims 4 or 5 wherein one (41) of said free end laterally borders said active portion and / or the other (43) laterally borders said inactive portion. 7. Valve (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said return member comprises a rod (40) forming a spring which is interposed between the two free ends (41, 43) of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope forming segment (30) for exerting a transverse elastic return force between said free ends (41, 43). 8. Valve (10) according to the preceding claim wherein said rod (40) has substantially the shape of a U having a transverse branch (42) on either side of which are arranged two parallel vertical branches (44, 46). ) which are spaced apart by the transverse branch (42). Valve (10) according to the preceding claim wherein said vertical branches are received in corresponding receiving troughs (48, 50) of the sealing segment (30) which extend along vertical edges (41, 43). two free ends of said sealing segment (30). 10. Control valve (10) according to claim 9 wherein said rod (40) is made of a wire whose each leg (42, 44, 46) has a cylindrical section, and in that the gutters (48, 50) for receiving the segment (30) are shaped as an angular portion of a cylinder of corresponding radius. 11. Valve (10) according to any one of claims 9 or 10 wherein the vertical legs (42, 44) of the ring (40) have a length (I) receiving in the gutters (48, 50) which allows exerting on said gutters (48, 50) a return force in spacing, the resultant having an application point which is distant from a mid-height (52) of the segment (30) of at most 20% of a total height (H) of the segment (30). 12. Control valve (10) according to any one of claims 7 to 11 wherein the rod (40) is made of spring steel.