FR3015618A1 - HOUSING FOR CONTROL VALVE WITH SEALING SEGMENT ROD COMPRISING A CENTRAL HORIZONTAL BRANCH - Google Patents

Abstract

Control valve plug (10) for a fluid circulation circuit, said plug being configured to be rotatable about an axis (A) and comprising a sealing segment (30) in the form of an angular portion of a cylindrical envelope , able to occupy at least two angular positions to open / close the lateral orifices 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 (40 ) capable of exerting a transverse elastic return force enabling the free ends (41, 43) of the segment (30) to be displaced from one another, said rod (40) comprising a transverse branch (42) arranged in a plane (P2) inclined, in particular perpendicular to the axial direction (A).

Description

The invention relates to a valve for a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, in particular for a cooling circuit of a combustion engine. motor vehicle, and a control valve equipped with said bushel. More particularly, the invention relates to a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit comprising a valve body in one face of which opens a blind axial bore having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall into which at least two 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 so as to allow / interrupt the distribution of the fluid through said lateral orifices. Said plug comprises an axial hub rotatably mounted on a fixed axial shaft which extends from the bottom wall of the bore, a sealing segment in the form of an angular portion of cylindrical envelope surrounding said hub and secured in rotation said hub, and a spring ring interposed between the two free ends of said angular portion of cylindrical shell forming a segment. Said spring is capable of exerting a transverse elastic return force between said free ends in order to deform said segment radially outwards 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 fluid inlet, is connected to a cooling fluid inlet from the engine, while the three lateral orifices, fluid outlet, are respectively connected to three 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 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 a transverse branch which connects two parallel vertical branches which are received in receiving gutters of the two vertical branches of the segment.

According to the invention, it has been noted that, in order to ensure optimum support of the segment in the bore, it is necessary for the length of the vertical branches in the gutters to be as large as possible, advantageously at least half of the axial length. In the WO-A1-2005 / 124205, the transverse branch of the rod extends in a substantially vertical plane. Moreover, said transverse branch can not extend beyond the bore. As a result, the vertical space occupied by the transverse branch reduces by the same amount the length available for the parallel vertical branches of the rod.

The invention overcomes the above disadvantages by providing a valve for a control valve for a fluid circulation circuit, said valve being configured to be rotatable about an axis and comprising a sealing segment in the form of an angular portion of the casing cylindrical, able to occupy at least two angular positions to open / close the lateral orifices 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 suitable rod to exert a transverse elastic return force to move away from each other free ends of the segment, said ring having a transverse branch arranged in an inclined plane, in particular perpendicular, with respect to the axial direction. By inclining the transverse branch of the rod, advantageously by choosing it perpendicular to the axis of the bushel, there is a bushel having a reduced vertical space while preserving the bearing capacity of the ring on the segment. According to other features of the invention which may be taken together or separately: - said rod forms a spring interposed between the two free ends of said angular portion of cylindrical envelope forming segment, - said rod has substantially the shape of a U and comprises two parallel vertical branches, arranged on either side of the transverse branch of the ring, - said vertical branches of the ring are fixed along vertical edges of the two free ends of said sealing segment, - said branches vertical rods are fixed in corresponding receiving gutters of the sealing segment, said sealing gutters extending along the vertical edges of the two free ends of said sealing segment, - the transverse branch of the rod is made of a elastic material, to exert 35 after introduction of the ring in the receiving gutters segment, an eff ort of return on the vertical branches of said rod adapted to press the segment against a wall of the valve, - the ring is made of a wire of which each branch has a cylindrical section, - each receiving channel is shaped as an angular portion of the cylinder corresponding radius, - the transverse branch of the ring comprises an intermediate section having a curved profile, on either side of which are arranged connecting sections to the vertical branches of the ring which are each oriented in a general direction (D1, D2) opening of the corresponding gutter to facilitate the extraction of the rod out of the gutters, - each connection section forms with the intermediate section a bend of a determined second curvature, - said transverse branch has a profile in the form of arch - the ring is made of spring steel. 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 a face which opens an axial bore having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall, said bore receiving said plug. Advantageously, said transverse branch of the rod is mounted near the bottom wall of the bore. This prevents the rod conflicting with the valve support, assembly or operation. According to other features of the invention which may be taken together or separately: said plug comprises an axial hub rotatably mounted on a fixed axial shaft extending from the bottom wall of the bore; transverse of the ring substantially has a profile in the form of an arch of greater radial size than the radial space (r) of the shaft allowing rotation of the ring with the segment around the barrel, without interference with said barrel, - the shaped profile arc of the transverse branch is a curved profile having a first radius of curvature (R) determined greater than the radius (r) of the barrel, - said segment surrounds said hub, provided 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 an exploded perspective view of a valve with plug rotary; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the elements inside the bore of the valve of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the elements inside the bore of the valve according to the invention; - Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of a rod and a segment for a valve according to the invention. In the following description, like reference numerals denote like pieces 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 an engine block of a vehicle, and to be connected to different bodies of the vehicle requiring a supply of coolant. The valve 10 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. 2, which shows in particular the detail of the elements inside the bore 16 of the valve 10, the bore 16 has a bottom wall. 18. As illustrated in Figure 1, the bore 16 comprises a peripheral wall 20 into which open at least two side 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". As illustrated in Figure 2, the plug 26 is rotatably mounted around a fixed axial shaft 27 which extends from the bottom wall 18 of the bore.

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, one end 34 of which is received in a notch 36 made visible in FIG. 2, and formed on the surface of an internal periphery 38 of the segment 30.

The shaft 27 receives in rotation a motorized shaft 29 which is coaxial with the axial direction "A" and whose end receives the hub 28.

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 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 corresponding receiving members 48, 50 of the sealing segment 30, which extend along the vertical edges of the two free ends 41, 43 of the sealing segment 30. In the valve 10 of FIG. extends in a vertical "P1" plane containing the "A" axis. In particular, the transverse branch 42 has an arch-shaped profile included in the plane "P1" of its vertical branches, and it therefore has a substantial size in the axial direction "A". However, as indicated above, to ensure optimum support of the segment 30 in the bore 16, it is advantageous that the length of the vertical branches 44, 46 in support of the ring in the gutters 48, 50 is as long as possible. Moreover, the transverse branch can not extend beyond the bore 16, because in this case it would interfere with the face of the engine block to receive the face 14 for fixing the valve 10. In this way, the vertical space devolved to the transverse branch 42 in the direction "A" reduces by the same length available for the parallel vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod 40. An increased length of the parallel vertical branches 44, 46 of the ring would ensure better support of the segment 30 in the bore 16. As illustrated in Figure 3, the invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing a valve 10 having a rod 40, the transverse branch 42 of the ring is arranged in a plane "P2" perpendicular to the axial direction "A", that is to say in a substantially horizontal plane within the meaning of the invention or, at the very least, a plane inclined with respect to the axial direction A.

This configuration advantageously makes it possible to provide a ring 40 having vertical branches 44, 46 which are each of maximum length and which are each adapted to provide reinforced support on the associated vertical edge of the end 41, 43 of the segment 30, which limits the risk of deformation and improves the sealing of said segment 30 with respect to a conventional valve. Preferably, said vertical branches 44, 46 will not be exactly parallel but will form a slight angle with each other. They may also be slightly curved. Preferably, they have two points of support along the corresponding end 41, 43 of the segment, substantially at one quarter and three quarters of its height. Otherwise, they have a single point of support at half its height.

The transverse branch 42 of the rod 40 according to the invention here has a profile in the form of an arch and it is made of an elastic material, to exert after insertion of the rod 40 into the grooves 48, 50 for receiving the segment 30, an effort restoring the vertical branches 42, 44 of said rod adapted to press the segment 30 against the peripheral wall 20 of the bore 16.

A particularly advantageous feature of this new design of the rod 40 is that it avoids any interference with a central portion of the bore 16. Indeed, as has been seen previously, the body 12 comprises a shaft 27 which extends from the bottom wall 18 of the bore 16, and which receives the hub 28. As illustrated in Figure 2, a rod 40 extending in a single plane necessarily implies that the transverse branch 42 cuts the bore substantially diametrically. Therefore, the transverse branch 42 must necessarily be arranged above the shaft 27. The transverse branch 42 of a rod 40 made according to the invention can advantageously bypass the shaft 27, which allows, for example and in a manner non-limiting of the invention to provide a barrel 27 of greater length providing a guide of greater length for the axis 29. The guide accuracy of the segment 30 is then improved.

Furthermore, the transverse branch 42 of the segment 40 may according to this new design be advantageously mounted near the bottom wall 18 of the bore 16, as illustrated in FIG.

This design makes it possible to avoid any interference of the branch 42 near the face 14 for fixing the body 12 of the valve 10, which makes it possible in particular to avoid any risk of attachment of the rod 40 with a foreign body.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the arch-shaped profile of the branch 42 is a curved profile having a first radius of curvature "R" determined greater than the radius "r" of the barrel 27. This configuration n ' is not limited to the invention and it will be understood that the transverse branch 42 may take any form allowing the contour of the drum 27, in particular a non-curved shape. Nevertheless, a curved profile makes it possible to obtain better flexion of the transverse branch 42 and a better efficiency of the forces applied by the rod.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the transverse branch 42 of the rod 40 comprises an intermediate section 52 having the curved profile, on either side of which are arranged sections 54, 56 of connection to the vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod 40. which are each respectively oriented in a general direction "D1", "D2" opening the gutter 48, 50 corresponding. The connection sections 54 and 56 advantageously make it possible to disengage the transverse branch 42 of the gutters 48, 50. This allows folding of the transverse branch 42 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the absence of connection sections 54 and 56, the transverse branch 42 should be arranged above or below the segment 30 and out of the gutters 48, 50 and would be axially more bulky. For this, said connection sections 54, 56 form somehow chamfers between said vertical branches 44, 46 and said transverse branch 42.35 This configuration allows, in case of disassembly, to facilitate the extraction of the rod 40 out of the gutters 48, 50. This configuration also makes it possible to avoid a separation of the branches 44, 46 which could be detrimental to their support in the gutters 48, 50. Such a transverse branch 42 and the associated connection sections 54 and 56 also allow easy mounting of the rush in the segment. It will be noted that each connecting section 54, 56 forms with the intermediate section 52 a bend of a second determined curvature.

Preferably, the ring 40 is made of a metal wire of which each leg 42, 44, 46 has a cylindrical section, and each receiving channel 48, 50 is formed as an angular portion of a cylinder of corresponding radius. This configuration makes it possible to manufacture the rod 40 according to a folding process from a wire in large quantities in an industrial environment. Nevertheless, this configuration is not limiting of the invention. The stiffness of the transverse branch 42 conditions in part the value of the spaced return force exerted by the branches 44, 46 on the gutters 48, 50 of the segment 30, and is therefore an essential characteristic of the invention. In addition, the points of contact between the rod 40 and the gutters 48, 50 are as already seen, arranged along the vertical branches 44, 46 of the rod 40. It is then the entire length of the branches 44, 46 between the two points of contact that works. The vertical branches 44, 46 thus provide a damping function and distribution of the force along the gutters 48, 50 of reception, which limits the transverse stiffness of the rod 40, which would be too high if only the branch transversal participated in this stiffness.

For obvious reasons of simplicity of manufacture, it will be understood that the entire rod 40 wire is preferably made of spring steel. The invention therefore proposes a valve 10 comprising a rod 40 for a sealing segment 30, which makes it possible to ensure optimum distribution of the return forces exerted by the vertical branches 44, 46 on said segment 30. prevent the ring from coming into conflict with foreign bodies at the valve.

Claims (15)

REVENDICATIONS1. Control valve plug (10) for a fluid circulation circuit, said plug being configured to be rotatable about an axis (A) and comprising a sealing segment (30) in the form of an angular portion of a cylindrical envelope , able to occupy at least two angular positions to open / close the lateral orifices 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 (40 ) capable of exerting a transverse elastic return force enabling the free ends (41, 43) of the segment (30) to be displaced from one another, said rod (40) comprising a transverse branch (42) arranged in a plane (P2) inclined, especially perpendicular to the axial direction (A). 2. A bushel according to claim 1 wherein said rod has substantially the shape of a U and comprises two parallel vertical branches (44, 46), arranged on either side of the branch (42) of the rod. 3. bushel according to the preceding claim wherein said vertical legs (44, 46) of the rod are fixed in corresponding gutters (48, 50) of the corresponding sealing segment (40), said sealing gutters extending along vertical edges of the two free ends (41, 43) of said sealing segment (30). 4. Bushel according to the preceding claim wherein the leg (42) of the rod is made of a resilient material, to exert after introduction of the rod (40) in the grooves (48, 50) for receiving the segment, a return force on the vertical branches (44, 46) of said rod (40) adapted to press the segment (30) against a wall of the valve. 5. Bushel according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the rod (40) is 5réalisé a wire whose each leg (42, 44, 46) has a cylindrical section, and wherein each gutter (48, 50) is shaped as an angular portion of a cylinder of corresponding radius. 6. bushel according to any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein the transverse branch (42) of the rod (40) comprises an intermediate section (52) having a curved profile, on either side of which are arranged sections ( 54, 56) in connection with the vertical branches (44, 46) of the rod (40) which are each oriented in a general direction (D1, D2) of opening of the corresponding gutter (48, 50) to facilitate the extraction of the rod (40) out of the gutters (48, 50). 7. Bushel according to the preceding claim, wherein each connecting section (54, 56) forms with the intermediate section a bend of a second determined curvature. 8. A plug according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rod (40) is made of spring steel. 9. Control valve (10) for a fluid circulation circuit comprising a plug according to any one of the preceding claims. 10. Control valve (10) according to claim 9 comprising a valve body (12) in a face (14) which opens an axial bore (16) having a bottom wall (18) and a peripheral wall (20), said bore (16) receiving said plug, said plug (26) having an axial hub (28) rotatably mounted on a fixed axial shaft (27) extending from the bottom wall (18) of the bore ( 16). 11. Control valve (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein the transverse branch (42) of the rod (40) substantially has an arch-shaped profile of radial size greater than the radial space (r) of the barrel (27) allowing rotation of the rod (40) with the segment (30) around the barrel (27), without interference with said barrel (27). 12. Control valve (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the branch (42) transverse segment is mounted near the bottom wall (18) of the bore (16). 13. Control valve (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein the arch-shaped profile of the transverse branch (42) is a curved profile having a first radius of curvature (R) determined greater than the radius (r) of the barrel (27). 14. Control valve (10) according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein said segment (30) surrounds said hub (28), provided in the form of a finger. 15. Control valve (10) according to any one of claims 10 to 14 wherein said segment (30) is integral in rotation with said hub (28).