GB2305490A

GB2305490A - A closure valve for a flow passage

Info

Publication number: GB2305490A
Application number: GB9616941A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dietrich Klingler; Klaus Voigt; Rolf Weischedel
Original assignee: Behr GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Mahle Behr GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1995-08-19
Filing date: 1996-08-13
Publication date: 1997-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 2016-08-13
Also published as: DE19530582A1; DE19530582C2; ES2128237B1; ES2128237A1; FR2737864A1; GB2305490B; GB9616941D0; FR2737864B1

Description

2305490 1 A closure valve for a flow passage The invention relates to a

closure valve f or a flow passage with an interior member connected by means for movably mounting the valve and transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member and with a sealing lip around the edge of the valve. Such valves are used for example as air valves in heating and/or air conditioning systems of motor vehicles.

A closure valve of this type is described in Utility Model DE 84 11 581 as a regulating valve of an air supply duct of a heating and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle. In the case of that valve, the outer rim of the sealing lip which extends along the edge of the valve is angled over in the direction of a sealing edge formed by the corresponding walls of the air feed passage. The intention thereby is for the air feed passage to be capable of being closed reliably by the valve, the sealing lip bearing thereby with a constant force against the sealing edge at all times regardless of any final position tolerances of the valve. The force with which the sealing lip is applied and which remains substantially the same over the range of tolerances of the extreme position of the control valve is achieved in that the part of the sealing lip which extends in the direction of the control valve plane is deformed elastically crosswise to the direction of movement without this occasioning notable changes in the sealing lip pressure which is applied to the sealing edge. And so it is possible to dispense with adjusting means on the valve actuating members.

The present invention seeks to provide a closure valve of the type mentioned at the outset and which ensures a constant and reliable sealing function even with comparatively large production and positional tolerances of the valves in the closed position.

According to the present invention there is provided a closure valve for a flow passage with an interior 2 member connected by means for movably mounting the valve and transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member and, around the edge of the valve, a sealing lip, wherein the sealing lip around the edge of the valve is on the outside disposed on a frame part which is connected to the interior member via a resilient connecting element.

Where this valve is concerned, the marginal sealing lip is disposed on the outside on a frame part which is in turn connected via an elastic connecting element to the valve interior member, i.e. the insert, on which the actuating forces for moving the valve act. The sealing lip around the rim of the valve is consequently not mounted rigidly on the valve interior member on which the actuating f orces are able to act, but on. the f rame part which is adapted for an elastic movement in respect of the interior member. Thus, even comparatively high production and positional tolerances of the installed valve, particularly of the valve interior member, in relation to the sealing edge of the flow passage which co-operates in sealing-tight manner with the sealing lip when the valve is in the closed position, can without problem be compensated by the fact that the frame part moves fittingly and elastically in respect of the interior member. The sealing lip around the edge of the valve is in this way able, without any noticeable additional force of application, always to come to bear in a reliably sealing manner with its entire surface pressed against the sealing edge. Advantageously, the sealing lip does not itself need to be of tolerance compensating design but can be made with a view to the best possible sealing effect. Consequently and in particular, there is no need for the sealing lip to be made relatively wide and softly elastic in order to compensate the tolerances, which might increase the danger of leaks, but instead it is adequate to provide a narrow and comparatively hard-elastic sealing lip which has a reliable sealing effect.

Furthermore, such a sealing lip has less of a 3 tendency to flutter which would cause disturbing noises.

A further development of the invention according to claim 2 is of particular advantage from the point of view of production in that the same material as is used for the sealing lip around the edge of the valve is used for the elastic connecting element between frame part and valve interior member. This makes it possible in particular to fit the elastic connecting element between frame part and interior member in the same production stage as the sealing lip around the edge of the valve, e.g. by injection moulding of an elastomeric material on the one hand as a sealing lip on the outer rim of the f rame part and on the other as an elastic connecting element between frame part and interior member.

A further development of the invention according to claim 3 allows a controlled choice of various elastomeric materials for sealing lip and elastic connecting element for the purpose of optimum adaptation to their particular functions. For the sealing lip, thereby, an elastomeric material of greater Shore-hardness is chosen, which minimises its tendency to flutter and guarantees a reliable sealing function while the elastic connecting element is made from a material of a lower Shore- hardness in order to allow a softly elastic yielding of the frame part in respect of the valve interior member.

In the case of a further development of the invention according to claim 4, there is between a bearing journal for the rotatingly movable mounting of the valve and the valve interior member a coupling member which is elastically resilient at least in the axial direction so that it is possible in a very advantageous manner to ensure that axial bearing clearance of the valve in the flow passage is avoided so that the valve can easily be incorporated between rigid flow passage walls, the coupling member being compressed axially. A further advantage from the point of view of manufacture can be found in a development of the invention according to claim 5 in which 4 it is envisaged that axially elastically yielding coupling members are produced in one piece with the. elastic connecting element between the f rame part and the valve interior member.

A further development of the invention according to claim 6 results in a particularly smoothly running valve in that the conical construction of the bearing ring surf ace of the respective pivot mounting journal leads to a substantially line contact instead of a flat bearing of the pivot mounting journal against the corresponding bearing receiving edge on the flow passage side. This type of valve mounting has furthermore the advantage that in conjunction with the axially elastically initially tensioned insertion of the valve any axial or radial clearance is automatically and reliably compensated. Furthermore, the bearing points are reliably sealed without any additional measures being needed for this.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and is described hereinafter. In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of a closure valve f or a heating and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle, and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section view of the area of a pivot mounting journal of the closure valve according to Fig. 1 af ter f itment into a f low passage of a heating and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle.

The closure valve shown in Fig.1 comprises an insert in the f orm of a rectangular plate-shaped interior member 1 which is relatively flexurally rigid and consists for example of reinforced polypropylene material. The valve interior member 1 is in its outer rim enclosed by a frame 2 of an elastomeric material which is in turn enclosed by a fitting frame part 3 which is again markedly more flexurally rigid than the inner elastomeric frame 2 and can in particular consist of the same material as the valve interior member 1. The elastomeric frame 2 is for its part injection moulded onto the interior member 1 and is on the other injection moulded onto the f rame part 3 so that it f orms an elastic connecting element between the interior member 1 and the f rame part 3. On the outer edge of the frame part 3 there is in conventional manner a sealing lip 4 which is integrally moulded into place with a reinforcing strip 4a. The sealing lip 4 forms the outer rim of the closure valve and, when the valve is in the closed position, serves to ensure a reliable seal on the flow passage into which the valve is inserted. The sealing lip 4 can thereby be injection moulded into place in the same production step as the elastomeric frame 2 whereby preferably the same material is used for the sealing lip 4 and the elastomeric frame 2, for example the thermoplastic elastomer marketed under the Santoprene trade mark or some related elastomeric material. On two oppositely disposed sides, the closure valve has two bearing journals 5, 6 with which the valve can be mounted for rotary movement in the associated flow passage of the heating and/or air conditioning system of the motor vehicle. Two shafts 7, 8 with a rotation preventing profiling,, in this case having for instance a square cross- section, can be inserted from the outside into respective apertures in the respective bearing journal 5, 6 as shown in Fig. 1. Alternatively, it is also possible to use a single continuous shaft. The square section shafts 7, 8 are thereby rotationally rigidly inserted into a reinforced portion 9 of the valve interior member 1 in which there is a matching square section push-in aperture and which extends over the entire width of the interior member 1 along the axis of rotation of the valve as defined by the aligned longitudinal axes of the two bearing journals 5, 6. The torque needed to actuate the valves is transmitted to the valve interior member 1 via the shaf ts 7, 8. The two bearing journals 5, 6 are rigidly connected to the f rame part 3 and are respectively coupled to the reinforced portion 9 of the interior member 1 via respective elastic 6 coupling members 10, 11. The two elastic coupling members lo, 11 are respectively at the height of a portion of the elastomeric frame 2 which is adjacent to and cross-wise to the axis of rotation. Preferably, the two elastic coupling members 10, 11 are formed as an integral part of the elastomeric frame 2. The coupling members 10, 11 are then injection moulded in the same production stage as and jointly with the elastomeric frame 2 so that in the same stage, the frame part 3 on the one hand and the two bearing journals 5, 6 on the other are elastically coupled to the interior member 1 which minimises production costs. The push-through apertures of the bearing journals 5, 6 have a square cross-section which is selected to be larger than that of the shafts 7, 8 so that the shafts 7, 8 can extend through the bearing journals 5, 6 with a certain clearance to allow an angle of rotation. This clearance consequently does on the one hand permit a rotatability of the frame part 3 in respect of the interior member 1 while on the other hand it restricts it. This latter fact prevents an excessive elongation due to too great a loading on the elastomeric frame.

Integrally formed on the outer ends of the two bearing journals 5, 6 are radial outer ring flanges 14, 15 of which the surfaces which are directed axially outwardly in respect of the valve serve as bearing ring surfaces 12, 13 which, when the valve is installed in the flow passage, press against opening edges of bearing receiving apertures which are mounted flush in oppositely disposed walls of the respective flow passage of which one 16 is shown in Fig. 2. These bearing ring surfaces 12, 13 are, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2 for the right-hand bearing journal 5 in Fig. 1, formed so that they rise radially and conically outwardly. The ef f ect of this is that the two bearing journals 5, 6 have the conical bearing ring surfaces 12, 13 pressed to a great extent but with only linear contact and not f lat surface contact against their associated bearing housing opening edges in the flow passage walls 16. The 7 linear instead of surface contact results in reduced friction forces for the functional rotary movement of the valve. The closure valve is thus adapted f or very smooth rotation without the need for any lubricating measures.

By an axial compression of the two bearing journals 5, 6 with an elastic yielding of the coupling members 10, 11, the valve can without problem be inserted between fixed flow passage walls in which case the elastic coupling members 10, 11 can, after the valve has been installed, exert a minimal axial pressure 17 on the linear bearing contacts. As a result of the conically constructed bearing ring surface, it is possible in conjunction with the axial initial tension in the bearing resulting from the coupling members 10, 11 effectively to compensate for comparatively large axial and radial bearing clearance tolerances. In addition, the bearing p?ints are reliably sealed without any further sealing measures being adopted so that no secondary air can flow through the bearing points, which would be undesirable.

Since the frame part 3 on which the sealing lip 4 is injection moulded, is, via the elastomer frame 2 elastically and not rigidly coupled to the valve interior member 1, to which the functional rotary movement is transmitted via the square section shaft 7, 8, then it is possible in the closed position of the valve and independently of production and positional tolerances, always to have the sealing lip 4 bearing with its entire surface against an associated sealing edge on the walls of the flow passage so guaranteeing a lastingly reliable seal of the flow passage. The sealing lip 4 does not need to be designed to compensate the indicated tolerances since these are compensated by a corresponding relative movement of the frame part 3 in respect of the valve interior member 1 with an elastic yielding of the elastomeric frame 2, until the sealing lip 4 has its entire sealing length bearing in parallel and with an equivalent pressing force against the sealing edge with co-operates with it.

8 The sealing lip 4 can therefore be designed precisely to fulfil its sealing function. In particular, it is advantageous to construct it without any sharp edges and with minimal width, which prevents the sealing lip flapping and which helps to reduce the noise of the valve. As a further advantage, the valve, which contains a thermoplastic elastomeric material for the elastomeric frame 2 with the bearing journal coupling members 10, 11 and for the sealing lip 4 and which consists furthermore of a thermoplastics synthetic material, e.g. reinforced polypropylene, can be recycled without problem. if necessary, it is also possible to use for the sealing lip 4 and the elastomeric frame 2 different elastomeric materials specifically adapted to the relevant function and which have different Shore-hardnesses. For example, the elastomeric frame can consist of an elastically soft yielding material of lesser Shore-hardness while the sealing lip consists of an elastically harder material with a greater Shore-hardness to guarantee freedom from flutter and reliable sealing tightness.

It will be understood that in addition to the valve shown, further valves according to the invention are feasible and that for each of these it is characteristic that a frame part on which there is around the rim a sealing lip is elastically and yieldingly coupled to a valve interior member on which the actuating forces act.

9

Claims

1. A closure valve for a flow passage with an interior member connected.by means for movably mounting the valve and transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member and, around the edge of the valve, a sealing lip, wherein the sealing lip around the edge of the valve is on the outside disposed on a frame part which is connected to the interior member via a resilient connecting element.

2. A closure valve according to claim 1, wherein the resilient connecting element is formed by introducing the same material as that used for the sealing lip around the edge of the valve and between the frame part and the interior member.

3. A closure valve according to claim 1, wherein the resilient connecting element and the sealing lip are made from different elastomeric materials, the material for the sealing lip having a greater Shore-hardness than the material used for the elastic connecting element.

4.

A closure valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for movably supporting the valve and transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member comprise at least one pivot bearing journal coupled to the interior member via a coupling member which is elastically yielding in an axial direction.

5. A closure valve according to claim 4, wherein the elastically yielding coupling member is formed in one piece with the elastic connecting element between the frame part and interior member.

6. A closure valve according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the at least one pivot bearing journal is at its outer end provided with a conically extending bearing ring surface.

7. A closure valve for a flow passage substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawing.

1 Amendments to the claims have been f lied as follows 1. A closure valve for a f low passage, the valve having an interior member connected to means f or movably mounting the valve and f or transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member and, a sealing lip around the edge of the valve, wherein the sealing lip is on the outside disposed on a frame part which is connected to the interior member via a resilient connecting element.

4. A closure valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for movably supporting the valve and transmitting valve actuating forces to the interior member comprise at least one pivot bearing journal coupled to the interior member via a coupling member which is elastically yielding in an axial direction.