Valve structure group for gas tank and gas tank

Abstract

The invention relates to a valve assembly (1) for a gas tank (2), comprising a valve block (3) having a bore (4) into which a controllable shut-off valve (5) and a pressure-controlled, springless check valve (6) are integrated, the check valve (6) having a valve element (7) which can be axially displaced between two end positions in the bore (4), the invention relates to a valve element (7) which is disc-shaped and is penetrated by at least one eccentrically arranged flow-through opening (8) which is closed in a first end position of the valve element (7) by a valve seat (9) and which is open in a second end position. The invention further relates to a gas tank (2) having a valve assembly (1) according to the invention.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a valve assembly for a gas tank and a gas tank having the valve assembly according to the invention. The gas can be, in particular, hydrogen or natural gas which is stored under high pressure in the gas tank.

[0002] Preferred areas of application of the invention are fuel cell vehicles and / or gas vehicles which are powered by gas. Background Art

[0003] Mobile gas tank systems with at least one gas tank are known, which are used to store gas, such as hydrogen or natural gas. In this case, the gas tanks are usually designed as high-pressure tanks. Tank valves are usually screwed onto these tanks, via which not only the filling of the gas but also the extraction of the gas is controlled. Therefore, two gas paths are constructed in the tank valve, namely a filling path and an extraction path. For the two paths, the tank valve has its own high-pressure attachment end or a common high-pressure attachment end. In the latter case, the two paths are interconnected with the help of a valve so that the filling path or the extraction path is connected to the high-pressure attachment end depending on the switching state.

[0004] Usually, a non-return valve is integrated into the withdrawal path, which prevents the stop valve, which is also integrated into the withdrawal path, from flowing through in the opposite direction of the withdrawal during filling. In this way, water should be prevented from entering the stop valve, since water may freeze and clog the stop valve.

[0005] Known spring-loaded non-return valves include a valve element that is pressed against a valve seat by the spring force of a closing spring in the filling direction. In the case of an open stop valve, the non-return valve downstream of the stop valve causes throttling of the withdrawal amount in this way. Summary of the invention

[0006] The invention is based on the object of specifying a valve assembly having a nonreturn valve which allows gas withdrawal without throttling the withdrawal amount and which at the same time has a simple and compact design.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a valve assembly is proposed. Advantageous further developments of the invention can be seen from the description. In addition, a gas cylinder having a valve assembly according to the invention is provided.

[0008] The proposed valve assembly for a gas cylinder comprises a valve block with a bore, into which a controllable shut-off valve and a pressure-controlled, springless non-return valve are integrated. The non-return valve has a valve element that can be axially displaced between two end positions in the bore, which valve element is disk-shaped and penetrated by at least one eccentrically arranged throughflow opening, which is closed by a valve seat in a first end position of the valve element and is open in a second end position.

[0009] Since the check valve is implemented as a pressure-controlled, springless check valve, the check valve is opened and closed only by the pneumatic force acting on the disc-shaped valve element. Since it is not necessary to overcome the spring force to open or keep the check valve open, only a small force is required for this purpose.

[0010] This is particularly advantageous if the withdrawal path leads through a bore that receives a nonreturn valve and opens the nonreturn valve in the withdrawal direction, because due to the small pressure difference across the valve element - even in the case of very small withdrawal quantities - the full stroke of the valve element can be achieved without throttling of the withdrawal quantity.

[0011] In addition, by eliminating the spring, the number of components of the check valve can be reduced. In the simplest embodiment, the check valve can consist only of a disc-shaped valve element received in the hole of the valve block. Therefore, the check valve can be constructed very simply and compactly. Due to the disc-shaped shape, the check valve requires very little structural space, especially in the axial direction. In addition, the two end positions of the valve element can be defined in such a way that the valve element only requires a small stroke to be fully opened. This in turn has the advantage that the risk of the valve element tilting in the hole is minimized, so that the guidance of the valve element can be omitted if necessary. The size of the valve element, in particular the outer diameter of the valve element, is not subject to strict manufacturing tolerances in this case, so that the manufacture of the valve element is simplified.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the valve seat is formed by a component of a stop valve. In this case, the check valve is directly arranged on the stop valve, so that the structural space requirement is further minimized.

[0013] Furthermore, the valve seat is preferably designed as a flat seat. In this way, the production can be further simplified. Furthermore, if the valve seat is formed by a component of the shut-off valve, no changes need to be made to the shut-off valve. The component can be, in particular, a housing part of the shut-off valve, which, on the one hand, forms the valve seat of the nonreturn valve and, on the other hand, forms the valve seat for the shut-off valve. For this purpose, the housing part can be penetrated by a central hole.

[0014] It is further proposed that the disc-shaped valve element has a sealing surface cooperating with the valve seat, which is arranged radially inwardly relative to the at least one throughflow opening. In order to safely close the valve seat, the sealing surface must be larger than the inner diameter of the valve seat. The sealing surface then rests reliably on the sealing seat in the first end position of the valve element. Preferably, the sealing surface of the valve element cooperating with the valve seat is designed to be flat in order to simplify the manufacture of the valve element.

[0015] Preferably, a shoulder defining the second end position is formed in the bore for receiving the non-return valve. The valve element of the non-return valve thus moves back and forth between the valve seat defining the first end position and the shoulder. The shoulder thus forms a travel stop for the valve element. Preferably, the shoulder has an inner diameter which is dimensioned such that when the valve element rests on the shoulder or is in the second end position, at least one throughflow opening formed in the valve element is not covered or only partially covered by the shoulder. This ensures that, in the case of a completely opened non-return valve, a sufficient opening cross section of the at least one throughflow opening is available as a flow cross section, for example for extracting gas from a gas tank.

[0016] Furthermore, the disc-shaped valve element preferably has a stop surface cooperating with the shoulder, which is arranged radially outside the at least one flow opening. This arrangement of the stop surface enables at least one flow opening formed in the valve element to remain unobstructed when the valve element rests on the shoulder.

[0017] Advantageously, the disk-shaped valve element is penetrated by a plurality of throughflow openings which are arranged at equal angular distances from one another. In this way, the flow forces acting on the valve element when the nonreturn valve is opened are Furthermore, the total opening cross section can be increased by means of a plurality of through-flow openings.

[0018] In addition, it is proposed that the disc-shaped valve element has an annular groove at least on the side facing the valve seat, in which a plurality of flow openings are arranged. Therefore, the annular groove connects the plurality of flow openings to each other, so that the valve element is evenly flowed. and being penetrated.

[0019] Preferably, the inner diameter of the annular groove is larger than the inner diameter of the valve seat. In this way, the annular groove can realize a sufficiently large sealing surface of the valve element that cooperates with the valve seat. For this purpose, the sealing surface can extend until it reaches the annular groove.

[0020] In a further development of the invention, it is proposed that the bore receiving the non-return valve forms the withdrawal path and merges with a further bore downstream of the non-return valve in the withdrawal direction, which further bore forms the filling path. In this case, the non-return valve can be used to prevent gas and water from entering the stop valve when filling the gas tank with gas. For this purpose, the stop valve is arranged in the withdrawal path upstream of the non-return valve in the withdrawal direction.

[0021] Since the preferred field of application of the valve assembly according to the invention is gas cylinders, a gas cylinder having a valve assembly according to the invention is furthermore proposed. The compactness of the non-return valve integrated into the valve assembly reduces the installation space requirement of the valve assembly, which is advantageous when used in gas cylinders, since the available installation space is usually very limited. This applies in particular when the valve assembly is used in the area of ​​the bottleneck of a gas cylinder. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Below, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail according to the accompanying drawings. These drawings show:

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic longitudinal section shows a valve assembly according to the invention for a gas tank during a filling process,

[0024] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 Schematic longitudinal section of the valve structure assembly during the extraction process,

[0025] Figure 3 Show Figure 1 and Figure 2 A perspective view of a valve element of a check valve of a valve assembly, and

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a gas cylinder with a valve assembly is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] from Figure 1 and 2 1 , which is shown only in fragments in each of the two figures. The fragments show the valve assembly 1 in the region of a controllable stop valve 5 and a pressure-controlled springless non-return valve 6, which are integrated into a valve block 3 of the valve assembly 1. For this purpose, a bore 4 is formed in the valve block 3, in which the stop valve 5 and the non-return valve 6 are accommodated.

[0028] exist Figure 1 and 2 The valve assembly 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be particularly - as exemplified in FIG. Figure 44 - is inserted into the gas tank 2. Then, a withdrawal path 15 extends through the opening 4, from which a further opening 16 branches off in the withdrawal direction downstream of the non-return valve 6, through which a filling path 17 extends. When the gas tank 2 is then filled with gas via the filling path 17, the non-return valve 6 prevents the ingress of gas and therefore also water into the shut-off valve 5.

[0029] exist Figure 1 , that is, the shut-off valve 5 and the non-return valve 6 are closed. In the closed position, the disk-shaped valve element 7 of the non-return valve 6 is pressed against the valve seat 9 by the applied pneumatic pressure, which exerts a pressure acting in the closing direction on the valve element 7, which is formed in the present case by the component 10 of the shut-off valve 5. The inner diameter ID of the valve seat 9 S smaller than the inner diameter ID of the annular groove 14 formed in the valve element 7 N , which defines a sealing surface 11 (see also Figure 3 ). Therefore, the sealing surface 11 rests on the valve seat 9 in a sealing manner.

[0030] exist Figure 2 4 shows the extraction situation, that is, the stop valve 5 and the non-return valve 6 are open. When the stop valve 5 is open, the gas from the gas tank flows to the valve element 7 of the non-return valve 6. In this way, a pneumatic pressure acting in the opening direction is applied to the valve element 7, which presses the valve element 7 against the shoulder 12 in the hole 4. In this way, the shoulder 12 serves as a travel stop. The valve element 7 has an annular stop surface 13 that cooperates with the shoulder 12 and is defined by a further annular groove 14. The annular grooves 14 formed on both sides of the valve element 7 are designed identically in the present case, so that the installation position of the valve element 7 is unimportant. Therefore, incorrect installation is excluded.

[0031] In the open position, the valve element 7 rests on the shoulder 12 and thus releases a plurality of eccentrically arranged throughflow openings 8 which extend through the valve element 7. The throughflow openings 8 are arranged at equal angular distances from one another in the region of the annular groove 14. This ensures that, when the nonreturn valve 6 is open, the throughflow openings 8 are not covered by the shoulder 12 of the bore 4.

[0032] from Figure 3 In the single schematic diagram, the disk-shaped valve element 7 of the non-return valve 6 can be seen. The side facing away from the valve seat 9 is shown with the sealing surface 11. However, the side facing away from the valve seat 9 is designed identically in order to prevent errors when installing the valve element 7.

[0033] Figure 4The valve assembly 1 is shown by way of example in conjunction with a gas tank 2. The valve assembly 1 according to the invention can be constructed similarly. In particular, the valve assembly 1 according to the invention can have additional valves 18 and / or filters 19, as shown by way of example in FIG. Figure 4 As shown in .

Claims

1. A valve assembly (1) for a gas cylinder (2), comprising a valve block (3) with a bore (4), into which a controllable shut-off valve (5) and a pressure-controlled, spring-free non-return valve (6) are integrated, wherein: The non-return valve (6) has a valve element (7) which can be axially displaced between two end positions in the bore (4), the valve element being of disk-shaped design and penetrated by at least one eccentrically arranged flow opening (8), which is closed by a valve seat (9) in a first end position of the valve element (7) and is open in a second end position.

2. The valve structure assembly (1) according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The valve seat (9) is formed by a component (10) of the shut-off valve (5) and / or is designed as a flat seat.

3. The valve structure assembly (1) according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The disk-shaped valve element (7) has a sealing surface (11) cooperating with the valve seat (9), which is arranged radially inwardly with respect to the at least one throughflow opening (8) and / or is of flat design.

4. The valve assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that A shoulder (12) is formed in the hole (4) and defines the second end position.

5. The valve structure assembly (1) according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The disk-shaped valve element (7) has a stop surface (13) cooperating with the shoulder (12), which stop surface is arranged radially outwardly relative to the at least one throughflow opening (8).

6. The valve assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The disk-shaped valve element (7) is penetrated by a plurality of throughflow openings (8), which are arranged at equal angular distances from one another.

7. The valve assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The disk-shaped valve element (7) has an annular groove (14) at least on the side facing the valve seat (9), in which a plurality of flow openings (8) are arranged.

8. The valve assembly (1) according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The inner diameter (ID N ) is larger than the inner diameter (ID S ).

9. The valve assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The bore (4) forms a withdrawal path (15) and merges downstream of the non-return valve (6) in the withdrawal direction with a further bore (16) which forms a filling path (17).

10. A gas cylinder (2) having a valve assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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