US2318157A

US2318157A - Suction-pressure-regulating valve

Info

Publication number: US2318157A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ferdinand F Heiser
Original assignee: AUTOMATIC PRODUCTS CO
Current assignee: AUTOMATIC PRODUCTS CO
Priority date: 1940-07-22
Filing date: 1940-07-22
Publication date: 1943-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 1960-05-04

Description

"SUCTION PRESSURE-REGULATING VALVE Y' Filed July 22, 1940` V Fzgff INVENTOR.

Fard'. FHEE er' ATTORNEY.

Patented May 4, 1943 SUCTION-PRESSURE-REGULATING VALVE Ferdinand F. Heiser, Wauwatosa, Wis., assigner.

to Automatic Products Company, Milwaukee, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsin Application July 22, 1940, serial No. 346,725

1 claim. '(01.137-153i This invention relates to an improvement in suction pressure-regulating valves for use with refrigerating systems.

An object of this invention is to provide a valve of this character which is effective to maintain the evaporator pressure at a desired level regardless of changes in load or variations in the suction pressure on the outlet side of the valve. The evaporator temperature maybe maintained within very close limits.

One of the advantages of the valve is that it provides a means which makes it practical to operate two or more evaporators at diil'erent temperatures with a single condensing unit. This is usually necessary in multiple installations. While thermostatic expansion valves may be used for this purpose when the temperature diiferences are not too great, nevertheless when the temperature difference is over five or six degrees Fahrenheit, then the use of a suction pressureregulating valve of the character disclosed in this application is most desirable and advantageous.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve of this character having these 4advantages, and which is simple, compact, and closely organized in its construction, reliable and efficient in operationI advantageously adapted for use on systems of ooded, semiooded, or dry expansion types, and also adapted to be manufactured with economy from materials and by means of facilities ordinarily available.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve of this character which may be set to maintain any one of a number of evaporator pressures over a wide range.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in central, vertical, longitudinal cross section, showing a suction pressureregulating valve involving the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the control knob of the valve and illustrating the dial or scale which facilitates accurate adjustment of the valve to select the desired pressure setting.

to the tail or outlet end of the evaporator coil. Internally the valve is provided with a valve chamber I with which the inlet 8' is in open communication. An outlet fitting 8 is threaded into the lower open end of this chamber 1, as indicated at 9. A washer i0 between the ange of -the fitting and the valve body hermetically seals the connection between these parts. The outlet fitting 8 is also externally threaded to adapt it to be connected to the suction side of the com pressor.

The upper end of the outlet fitting is provided with two counterbores I I and i2, the counterbore Il being adapted to have'a valve seat I3 fitted therein and secured thereto, and the counterbore I2 accommodating the head Il of the valve proper, designated generally at Il. The head Il of the valve is provided with a facing i6 which may take the form of a iiat annulus of fibrous material, molded composition material, rubber, leather, or the like. This facing is held in position by a stud I1 which has its shank secured to the valve and its head overlapping the inner periphery of the facing, and also by means of a retaining ring I8 suitably secured to the periphery of the head of the valve and having an inwardly directed flange I9 overlapping the outer periphery of the facing. The exposed portion of the facing coacts with the valve seat to control the flow through the valve. l

The valve I5 has a valve stem 20 integral with its head Il, and slidably ntted in a tubular valve guide 2i. 'I'he lower end of the valve guide 2I Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the body ofthe valve. Integral with they is enlarged and flanged as at 22, and the en' larged portion thereof has a circumferential series of openings 23 to provide for con'imunication between the valve chamber 'I and the counterbore or space I2 which accommodates the head of the valve. The under side of the flange of the enlarged end 22 of the valve guide 2| is engaged between the upper end of the outlet fitting 8 and the lower ring 24 of a strainer, designated generally at 25. The upper ring 26 of the strainer engages an inwardly directed shoulder 21 integrally formed with the valve body at the upper end of the valve chamber 'L The reticulated b ody portion of the strainer is suitably connected to the rings 2| and 28.

A coil spring 30 encircles the valve guide 2l and has its lower end abutting the enlarged portion 22 thereof and its upper end abutting a anged washer 3i secured by a nut 32 and lock washer 33 to the upper end of the valve stem. The spring 30 is under compression and tends vto kbias the valve I 5 to open position and causes the `pressure index or scale.

rected\peripheral portion 39 of a. diap.' ragm or casing member 40. The portion 59 oi' the dia- 10 phragm casing member 40 is spun'or rolled into secure mechanical engagement and hermetic sealing relationship with the periphery of the flange 38. The body of the casing 40 is provided with a vertical cylindrical or'tubular extension 15 4| which is internally threaded.

An adjusting knob, designated generally at 42, is provided and includes a cap 43. An exter-4 nally threaded sleeve 44 is combined with the cap 43 and has its lower end open and its upper end 20 closed. The upper closed end of the sleeve -44 fits against the under side of the-top of the cap and is rigidly interconnected therewith by virtue of provision of dowel pins 45 which may be formed integrally with the under side of the cap and 25 41 has its head engaged with the top of the cap 30 and has its threads interengaged with the bushing 56. The external threads of the sleeve 44 are interthreaded with the internal threads of the extension 4l of the diaphragm casing. A

spring 48 is interposed between the upper mem- 35 ber of the diaphraghm pressure pad 35 and the under side of the closed upper end of the sleeve. By turning the knob the compression of the spring 48 may :be varied. In order to facilitate adjustment of the spring 48, and consequently to 40 determine the pressure which the valve will maintain in the evaporator, the extension 4| of the diaphragm casingis provided with a series of graduations and numerals, designated at 50 in Figure 2. These graduations and numerals pro- 45 vide a pressure index or scale. Cooperable with this scale is a collar 5l which is carried by the sleeve 44 and has a lower edge 52 cooperable with the graduations and with the members of the is threadedly interconnected with the sleeve 44,

-and after it has been properly adjusted at the factory it is soldered in position ras indicated at 55.

'Ihe valve is also provided with a gauge con- 55 nectlon which is constituted oi.' an internally threaded passage communicating with passages 6I and B2 which lead to the valve chamber 1. A plug 63' is provided for the passage B0,

and when this plug is removed the gauge (not 60 nected with the valve body, being provided with 65 packing 65 and also with a cross slot 66 to facilitate its manipulation by a screw driver or the like. A cap 61 is provided for the outer end of Preferably the collar 5I 50 the opening which accommodates the needle valve, and aiter the gauge has served its purpose and is removed, the needle valve may be turned up to shut of! communication between the passages 42 and BI, thereby precluding the possibility of leakage when the gauge has been removed.

The suction pressure-regulating valve above described maintains an even evaporator temperaature by controlling the pressures in the evaporator. As the load increases in the evaporator, increasing the temperature and the evaporator pressure, the valve tends to open wider so as to maintain the predetermined pressure setting of l.

Then when the evaporator the regulating valve. temperature begins to fall and the evaporator pressure tends to decrease, the valve begins to close again, thus maintaining the original pressure setting of the valve. The valve is of the throttling type tending to close off gradually as the evaporator pressure is reduced beyond a certain point. There is no sudden change to cause erratic operation of the balance of the system.

The scale 50, with which the lower edge 52 ot the collar 5| coacts, is preferably graduated in pounds pressure, ranging from 10" vacuum to thirty pounds per square inch at which the valve operates. By turning the knob down until the edge 52 of its collar 5l coincides with the desired pressure setting, an immediate setting can be secured and it is. not necessary to wait several hours before the system has settled down sumciently to permit the valve to be adjusted to the proper pressure setting. After the knob adjustment described has been made, and the system has had a short time to settle down, the exact pressure setting can be secured by a gauge reading. The temporary setting will be accurate within a pound or so.

While I have shown and described one construction in which the invention may be vadvantageously embodied, it is to be understood that the construction shown has been selected merely for the purpose of illustration or example, and that various changes in the size, shape,.and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

I claim:

A pressure-regulating valve comprising a valve body having a chamber, an inlet to said chamber, said chamber having an opening to the exterior of said body, an outlet iitting inserted into said opening from the exterior thereof and connected thereto, two counterbores in said fitting, a valve seat carried in one of the counterbores in said tting, a valve having a nat-faced head accommodated in the other of said counterbores and cooperable with said seat and having a stem, a tubular guide slidable on said stem and having a flange at one end, a spring encircling said guide and reacting between said ilange and said stem, said valve, guide and spring being inserted as a unit into said chamber through said opening, said fitting being engaged with said ilange to position said valve, guide and spring in said charnber, and a diaphragm cooperable with said stem to control the position of said valve.

FERDINAND F. I-IEISER.