Angle ball valve having integrated sensor

Abstract

An angle ball valve includes a housing, valve chamber, and first and second fluid ports. A hollow ball is disposed within the valve chamber and in abutment to sealing elements, and includes a first surface opening and second surface opening and is rotatable within the valve chamber about an axis of ball rotation between open and closed ball valve positions. A first sensor orifice is formed within the valve housing coaxial with the axis of ball rotation and receives a sensor, which extends into a second sensor orifice of the ball. A valve stem is operatively connected to the ball and extends along the axis of ball rotation opposite the first sensor orifice. The valve stem rotates the ball into and out of open and closed ball valve positions.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to the field of ball valves, and more particularly, this invention relates to an angle ball valve having a sensor that measures a physical parameter of fluid such as temperature.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Many heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems use different piping packages that include pipes, valves, flexible hoses, and fittings that connect different distributed piping units in a building. These piping packages provide for the supply and return of hot water, chilled water, or refrigerant gas to HVAC coils and related HVAC components. Different HVAC components and systems are used depending on the HVAC system design, including convection heating systems, forced-air systems using various types of heat exchangers, and systems that employ HVAC air coils. Vertical fan units and similar HVAC designs are commonly used in many industrial, commercial and residential buildings and may include a heating an...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a ball valve that has a sealing element at each end, allowing the valve to control fluid flow. The valve has a hollow ball that can be rotated between open and closed positions. In the open position, the ball aligns with the fluid ports, allowing fluid flow. In the closed position, the ball blocks fluid flow. This design helps to prevent leaks and improve the performance of the valve.

Problems solved by technology

In piping assemblies that are configured for use with vertical fan units and similar HVAC units, there is usually some friction or head loss in the middle of the air duct because the different valves, meters, pipes, flexible hoses and fittings are positioned within the air path of either the air discharge, the air intake or both.

The footprint of the HVAC unit and its components, for example, in a vertical fan unit, cannot be changed since the unit design does not permit these types of changes.

There are also dimensional constraints for placement of the unit, making it difficult or impossible to change the footprint.

In these close confines, it becomes difficult to service the valves and fittings, and difficult to maintain the different components, and even more difficult to replace some components after normal wear and tear because of the close confines of the system design.

Because of the constraints in the system design, for example, in a vertical fan unit, there is usually some high friction, e.g., high head loss, as the air is blown or drawn over different components of the piping package.

This creates inefficiency in the HVAC unit operation, increases energy consumption, raises costs of operation, and increases maintenance time and costs.

This is difficult in many system designs since the HVAC units have dedicated piping packages that are incorporated in the HVAC units.

It is not possible to change unit dimensions and it would not be advantageous to avoid the pressure loss, also termed friction loss, due to the air resistance caused by so many components and parts making up the piping package that are located in the middle of the air duct.

Reducing the friction loss would reduce the load on the fan motor, which otherwise could be loaded to excess in order to move the same amount of air through the coil, thus increasing energy consumption and reducing the life of the motor.

The ball valves disclosed in both Chinese Patent No. 2466450 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,462 incorporate temperature sensors, but use straight through flow designs that are conventional, and still may increase overall size.

This configuration may be impractical for some vertical fan units and related designs, where the top handle to turn the valve off and on is impractical to reach.

That valve also includes a temperature probe, but its sensor may interfere with the ball valve rotation, because the ball requires a long cut as a circumferentially extending slot that covers a large segment of the outer surface of the ball.

That type of design compromises the ball valve operation, makes assembly more difficult, and requires utmost care in its manual assembly.

That design also does not lend itself to long-lasting performance and the slot design and placement of the temperature and gaskets compromise the life of the valve, and over time, gasket tears may occur, resulting in greater fluid leakage and fluid consumption.

Once the gaskets are torn or damaged, the floating ball may be damaged or move out of axis.

Overall, that type of ball valve may not withstand the higher pressures associated with some HVAC systems, increasing even more the possibility of gasket tears or that the “floating ball” will move and go out of axis.

Images