FR3015617A1 - CIRCULATION CONTROL VALVE WITH GUIDING MEANS FOR SEGMENT SEGMENT JONC - Google Patents

Abstract

Control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, comprising a valve body in one face of which opens a bore into which at least two lateral openings open, said bore receiving an axially rotating plug (26) able to occupy at least two angular positions for opening / closing said orifices, said plug (26) comprising an axial hub (28), a sealing segment (30) in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope surrounding said hub (28) and connected to the hub (28), and a rod (40) interposed between the two free ends (41, 43) of the segment (30) to ensure a plating of said sealing 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 what the segment (30) has a guide trough (58) of the segment (30) towards the trough (48).

Description

The invention relates to a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, in particular for a cooling circuit of a motor vehicle heat 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 rotating plug adapted to occupy 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 having a rotary mounted axial hub. on an axial shaft extending from the bottom wall of the bore. A generally angular portion of cylindrical envelope sealing segment coaxially surrounds the hub which it is integral in rotation. The plug further comprises a spring rod interposed between the two free ends of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope. Said ring is able 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. 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 fixed in corresponding receiving gutters of the sealing segment which extend along edges vertically of the two free ends of said sealing segment. 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, and at least two lateral orifices, forming a fluid outlet, are respectively connected to corresponding 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.

To ensure a satisfactory seal of the plug in the bore, it is necessary that the sealing segment is pressed permanently against the wall of the bore. For this purpose, a spring-shaped rod having substantially the shape of a U, generally made of spring steel wire, is interposed between the two free ends of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope. The ring essentially comprises two branches substantially vertical and parallel, slightly inclined before mounting on the bushel and connected by a transverse branch. The free end of each vertical branch and the end of each vertical branch contiguous of said transverse branch respectively form two points of support of the ring. The two free ends of the segment comprise, for the reception of the rod, the receiving gutters of the two vertical branches of the rod.35 A problem arises during the introduction of the vertical branches of the rod into the gutters. Indeed, it is particularly difficult to introduce the vertical branches of the rod perpendicularly to the direction of the gutters, because the elasticity then requires to compress before introduction to bring its vertical branches from one another. One solution is to introduce the two vertical branches in the corresponding receiving gutters in the axial direction of the gutters. Nevertheless, the introduction remains difficult because of the small size of the gutters. The invention overcomes this drawback by proposing a valve of the type described above comprising means for guiding the rod during its introduction.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a valve for a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, said valve comprising a sealing segment generally in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope adapted to open / close sealingly orifices lateral of the valve body according to the angular position of the plug to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices, said plug further comprising a spring rod, in particular interposed between two free ends of said segment, said rod being adapted to exert an elastic return force to separate said free ends from one another.

According to the invention, said segment, in particular a vertical edge of one of its said free ends, comprises a first gutter for receiving a first vertical branch of the rod and a channel for guiding the rod towards said receiving gutter, said guiding chute axially extending the receiving trough.

The establishment of the ring is thus facilitated, in particular for segments having free ends of different lengths and / or longer than the vertical branch or branches of the ring, in the axial direction of the plug. According to other features of the invention, which may be taken together or separately: the first reception groove extends between an axial end of the segment and an intermediate portion of a vertical end edge of the segment, said chute; guide means being arranged between said intermediate portion and an opposite axial end of the segment, for guiding said first branch of the ring towards said first receiving channel, - said receiving channel and / or said guide channel are arranged in radial recess of the free ends of said sealing segment, in particular in radial recess of their vertical edge, - the guiding trough delimits with the first receiving trough a transverse shoulder face forming axial abutment for a free end of the first vertical leg of the rod, in order to to allow the snapping of said first vertical branch in the first channel of r ception after its introduction, - the ring comprises a second vertical branch, - said rod is substantially U-shaped and has a transverse branch on either side of which are arranged said vertical branches, - said second vertical leg is received in a second receiving groove, said second receiving groove extending between the same axial end of the segment as the first receiving trough and the free opposite axial end of the segment; the first and second receiving troughs are substantially similarly length, - the ring is made of a wire of which each first or second vertical leg has a cylindrical section and each first or second receiving channel is shaped as an angular portion of corresponding radius cylinder, - the guide channel is shaped in portion angular cylinder radius greater than that of the first gutter reception, - a free end of the second vertical leg of the rod forms a gripping portion for gripping the ring for its introduction into the guide channel and the receiving gutters and / or to bring the first and second vertical branches of said rod for its extraction, - a free end of the second vertical leg of the rod is bent to form the gripping portion, - the free end bent of the second vertical leg of the rod protrudes from the second receiving channel and bears against the segment to form an axial stop of the ring, - the segment is made of injected plastic material and the guide chute and the receiving gutters are made by molding during the manufacture of said segment.

The invention also relates to a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit comprising a plug as described above.

Said valve may comprise a valve body in one face of which opens a blind axial bore having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall in which open at least two lateral orifices, said bore receiving said plug.

Said transverse branch of the rod is advantageously associated with the bottom wall of the bore. 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 appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a valve according to FIG. invention; FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the segment of the valve of FIG. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the inner members of the bore of the valve of Fig. 1. In the following description, like reference numerals designate like or similar parts. 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 attached to an engine block of a vehicle engine 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 Figure 1 and Figure 3 which shows in particular the detail of the inner elements to the bore 16 of the valve 10, the bore 16 comprises a bottom wall 18 and a peripheral wall 20 into which at least two lateral ports (not 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. .

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 36 formed on the surface of an inner periphery 38 of the segment 30. Said segment thus has the form of a sleeve, open angularly, said sleeve being connected to said radial arm 32.

The plug 26 comprises 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 Figures 1 and 3, the rod 40 having 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 of corresponding receiving 48, 50 of the sealing segment 30. Said transverse branch is located here in a plane orthogonal to said vertical branches.

Gutters 48, 50, visible in particular in Figure 2, extend along vertical edges of the two free ends 41, 43 of the sealing segment 40. The introduction of vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod 40 in the Gutters 48, 50 is particularly delicate. Indeed, it is not appropriate to introduce the vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod perpendicularly to the direction of the gutters 48, 50, since the elasticity of the transverse branch 42 would then require compressing said branch 42 prior to the introduction to bring vertical branches 44, 46 closer to one another. It is also not appropriate to insert first one of the branches 44, 46 in a corresponding gutter, because it would then be necessary to maintain the other branch 46 or 44 with the aid of a tool such as a clamp , which could damage the gutter associated with the branch 46 or 44 remained free at its introduction. One solution is to introduce the two vertical branches 44, 46 in the corresponding gutters 48, 50 receiving in the axial direction of the gutters parallel to the axis "A".

Nevertheless, the introduction remains difficult because of the small size of the gutters 48, 50. Moreover, the axial position of the rod 40 is not indexed. The invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a valve 10 of the type described above comprising a means 52 for guiding the rod 40 during its introduction.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a valve 10 of the type described above and in which, here, at least a first vertical leg 44 of the rod 40 is received in a first receiving channel 48 of corresponding reduced length which extends between a axial end 54 of the segment associated with the bottom wall 18 of the bore 20 and an intermediate portion 56 of the vertical edge of the end 41 of the segment. In addition, a guide chute 58 of the segment to the reduced-length receiving trough 48, which extends the reduced-length receiving trough 48, is arranged between said intermediate portion 56 and a free end 60 of the vertical end edge of the segment 30 to provide guidance of said first branch 44 of the ring 40 to said first gutter 48 receiving. Advantageously, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the guiding trough 58 delimits, with the first receiving trough 48, a shoulder transverse face 62 which forms an axial abutment for a free end 64 of the first vertical leg 44 of the rod 40, to allow the snapping of said first vertical leg in the first receiving channel 48 after its introduction.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the rod 40 comprises a second vertical leg 46 which is received in a second receiving groove 46 which also extends between the axial end 54 of the segment associated with the bottom wall 18 of the bore and a free opposite axial end 68 of the segment.

To ensure a uniform distribution of the forces exerted by the ring 40, it is necessary that the vertical branches 44, 46 of the ring 40 are substantially of the same length. It will therefore be understood that in this configuration, the first and second receiving channels 48, 50 are of substantially the same length. As a result, it will also be understood that the edge of the free end 43 of the segment 30 is shorter on the side of the second receiving trough 50 than on the side of the first receiving trough 48. In the preferred embodiment of FIG. the invention, without this feature being limiting thereof, the ring 40 is made of a wire of which each first or second vertical branches 44, 46 has a cylindrical section.

Complementarily, each first or second receiving channel 48, 50 is shaped as an angular portion of cylinder of corresponding radius. To promote the guiding of the first branch 44 to the first channel 48, the guide channel 58 is formed as an angular portion of a cylinder radius greater than that of the first gutter 48 receiving. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the immobilization of the first branch 44 in the chute 58 during its introduction by limiting the points of contact between the chute 58 and the first branch 44 of the rod 40.

Advantageously, a free end 66 of the second vertical leg 46 of the rod forms a gripping portion for gripping the rod 40 for its introduction into the guide chute 58 and the gutters 48, 50. This gripping portion can also bring closer the first and second vertical branches 44, 46 of said rod 40 for its extraction. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the free end 66 of the second vertical leg of the rod is bent to form the gripping portion.

Advantageously, the gripping portion 66 also plays a role of axial immobilization. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the bent free end of the second vertical leg of the rod protrudes out of the second receiving groove 50 and rests on the free axial end 68 of the segment to form an axial stop of the rod 40.

Once snapped the ring 40 is immobilized axially in both directions on the one hand by the shoulder face 62 of the first channel 48 and the free axial end 68 of the segment 30. The two support points thus formed each vertical branch of the rod exerts a force on the receiving gutters formed in the segment 30. The first receiving groove 48 of the segment 30 thus receives the ring 40 of the forces applied at its axial end 54 and at said intermediate portion 56 vertical end edge 41. The second receiving groove 50 receives from rod 40 a force applied to its top ends 54 and 68 of said vertical end edge 43.35 Finally, it will be understood that in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the segment 30 is made of injected plastic material and in that the guide chute 58 and the receiving gutters 48, 50 are made by molding during the The invention thus makes it possible to ensure, in a simple and effective manner, the guidance and the axial immobilization of a rod 40 of a segment 30 for a valve 10 of the type described above. 10

Claims (15)

REVENDICATIONS1. Control valve plug (10) for a fluid circulation circuit, said plug (26) having a sealing segment (30) generally in the form of an angular portion of a cylindrical envelope (39) adapted to open / close in a manner sealing of the lateral orifices of the body of the valve according to the angular position of the plug to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices, said plug further comprising a rod forming a spring (40), said rod being able to exert an elastic return force making it possible to separate the free ends (41, 43) of the segment from one another, said segment comprising a first gutter (48) for receiving a first vertical branch (44) of the rod ( 40) and a guide chute (58) of the rod (40) to the receiving trough (48), said guide trough (58) axially extending the receiving trough (48). 2. bushel according to the preceding claim wherein the first receiving groove extends between an axial end (54) of the segment (30) and an intermediate portion (56) of a vertical end edge of the segment, said chute guide (58) being arranged between said intermediate portion (56) and an opposite axial end (60) of the segment (30), for guiding said first leg (44) of the rod to said first receiving channel. 3. Bushel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said receiving groove (48) and / or said guide channel (58) are recessed radially from the free ends (41, 43) of said sealing segment (30). ). 25 4. A bushel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the guide chute (58) defines with the first channel (48) for receiving a transverse shoulder face (62) forming an axial abutment for a free end (64) of the first vertical leg (44) of the rod (40), to allow the latching of said first vertical leg (44) in the first gutter (48) receiving after its introduction. 5. A bushel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rod (40) has a second vertical leg (46). 35 6. bushel according to the preceding claim wherein said rod (40) is substantially U-shaped and comprises a transverse branch (42) on either side of which are arranged said vertical legs (44, 46). 7. A tumbler according to claim 5 or 6 wherein said second vertical leg is received in a second gutter (50) receiving. 8. Bushel according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the first and second receiving gutters (48, 50) are substantially of the same length. 10 9. bushel according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the rod (40) is made of a wire which each first or second vertical leg (44, 46) has a cylindrical section and in that each first or the second receiving channel (48, 50) is shaped as an angular portion of a cylinder of corresponding radius. 10. A bushel according to the preceding claim, wherein the guide chute (58) is formed as an angular portion of a cylinder radius greater than that of the first gutter (48) receiving. 20 11. Bushel according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein a free end (66) of the second vertical leg (46) of the rod (48) forms a gripping portion for gripping the ring (40) for introducing it into the guide chute (58) and the receiving gutters (48, 50) and / or to bring the first and second vertical branches (44, 46) of said rod (40) together for its extraction. 12. Bushel according to the preceding claim, wherein a free end (66) of the second vertical leg of the rod is bent to form the gripping portion. 30 13. Bushel according to the preceding claim wherein the free end (66) bent of the second vertical branch of the rod (40) protrudes from the second channel (50) receiving and bears against the segment to form a stop axial of the rod (40). 35 14. Bushel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the segment (30) is made of injected plastic material and in which the chute undulation (58) and the receiving gutters (48, 50) are made by molding during manufacturing said segment (30). A control valve for a fluid circulation circuit comprising a plug (26) according to any one of the preceding claims.