Volume flow controllers

Abstract

Volume flow controller with a channel (1) and a control flap (2), wherein the control flap (2) is pivotably arranged in the channel (1) about a transverse axis (3), wherein the transverse axis (3) is pre-tensioned by a spring, wherein the channel (1) has, on one side, a spring bearing housing by means of a spring bearing cover (5), wherein a spring force control mechanism (7) is arranged in the spring bearing housing, wherein the transverse axis (3) forms a pressure lever (6) which is arranged to bear against a leaf spring (9) of the spring force control mechanism (7) by means of a force transmitter pin (8), wherein the spring force control mechanism (7) is arranged in the spring bearing housing in a manually adjustable manner, characterized in that the channel (1) forms, on the other side, a counter-bearing housing by means of a counter-bearing cover (4), wherein the counter-bearing housing has, on the other side, a gear (16) which is rotationally fixed to the transverse axis (3), wherein the gear (16) is in a second gear (17) engages,wherein the second gear (17) is mounted on a rotary damper (27), wherein the gear (16) or the second gear (17) can be released or rotate-locked by means of a locking lever (18), wherein the locking lever (18) engages through a cutout (23) of the counter bearing cover (4).

Description

Technical FieldThe invention relates to a volume flow regulator according to the preamble of claim 1.Prior ArtSuch devices, referred to as volume flow controllers, are of a variety of forms and designs on the market and sometimes also very complicated in design and thus require precise adjustment during their assembly. The regulating flap cannot even be fixed, but must be able to move in the flowing medium, in particular in air, and to adapt to the quantity of the flowing medium. It should be borne in mind that such flaps are usually located at very inaccessible locations, so that they must be adjusted in a simple manner if necessary.For example, DE 100 14 901 C2 discloses a volume flow regulator with a flap projecting into a channel piece and rotatable by means of a pivot shaft with a lever arm, wherein a spring force generated by a spring system of a flap restoring mechanism acts on the lever arm. The spring system consists of a leaf spring or a leaf spring pack, one end of which is fixed in place but rotatably and the other end of which transmits a spring force to the flap. A force generating device is also provided for generating a force acting only at one point of the leaf spring for deflecting the leaf spring between its two ends, as well as a fixing device for fixing the deflection of the leaf spring.Furthermore, EP 1 840 477 B1 discloses a regulating flap for a volume flow regulator, in which a corresponding adjustable spring is connected to the flap blade via a connecting element.EP 2 993 422 B1 describes a volume flow regulator in which the flap leaf is coupled to a bending spring, so that the movement of the flap leaf causes a movement of the bending spring. Furthermore, an adjustment element is provided which forms a stop for the bending spring. This adjusting element is a cantilever which is adjustably held at one end and the other end of which is in the form of a blade which forms the stop for the bending spring and slides along the bending spring as the movement of the bending spring continues.In this context, reference is made to DE 20 2004 003 811 U1. There, a volume flow controller, in particular for air conditioning and ventilation systems, is disclosed, having a pivotable regulating flap arranged transversely to the flow direction and a stop limiting the open position. The regulating flap is pivoted from the open position into a closed position by medium flowing through against a restoring force and returns to the open position with a reduced volume flow. The stop can be adjusted and fixed in its position relative to the shaft for changing the volume flow. The restoring device is connected to the stop in such a way that the spring characteristic remains substantially unchanged when the stop position changes.Reference is also made to EP 1 881 278 B1, which discloses a volume flow regulator, in particular for air conditioning and ventilation systems, having a regulating flap which is mounted in the interior of a flow duct such that it can rotate about a pivot axis oriented transversely to the flow direction and can be pivoted into a closed position by medium flowing in against a restoring force and returns into the open position with a reduced volume flow. An adjustable, fixable stop delimits the open position and is mounted via an axis of rotation, wherein at least one bearing point is accessible from the outside and a bearing point element which can be inserted from the outside forms the mounting on one side.Object of the InventionThe object of the present invention is to show a very simple but effectively operating setting device for a flap blade in a volume flow regulator.Solution of the ProblemTo achieve the object, the features of claim 1 lead.The volume flow regulator according to the invention has a channel and a regulating flap, wherein the regulating flap is arranged in the channel so as to be pivotable about a transverse axis, wherein the transverse axis is pre-contained by a spring. It is essential here that the channel has at one end a counter bearing housing by means of a counter bearing cover and at the other end a spring bearing housing by means of a spring bearing cover, wherein a spring force control mechanism is arranged in the spring bearing housing, wherein the transverse axis forms a pressure lever which is arranged by means of a force transmitter pin in contact with a leaf spring of the spring force control mechanism, wherein the spring force control mechanism is arranged in the spring bearing housing in a manually adjustable manner.It is advantageous here that the spring force control mechanism can be adjusted manually by means of the pressure lever in such a way that the force transmitter pin can be adjusted in position along the leaf spring by the spring force control mechanism. Due to the fact that the leaf spring has a shape tapering away from a holding region, it is achieved that the spring force is stronger the closer one is to the holding region of the leaf spring by means of the force transmitter pin. If the force transmitter pin is set further away from the holding region, the spring force is correspondingly weaker. Accordingly, the incoming medium must also pass a stronger or weaker hurdle at the regulating flap.If the spring force which has been transmitted through the force transmission pin by means of the leaf spring is particularly high, the regulating flap is set such that it substantially releases the cross section of the channel. This means, in turn, that the medium flowing through the channel is not impaired. If the spring force is set to be weaker, the cross section of the channel is substantially covered by the regulating flap, wherein the medium flowing through only has to overcome a weaker spring force.In order to achieve the force transmission from the leaf spring to the transverse axis of the regulating flap, the pressure lever is formed radially with respect to the transverse axis and the pressure lever in turn forms the force transmission pin axially offset with respect to the transverse axis. This produces a crank shape at one end of the transverse axis, which functionally merges in one piece or in multiple parts via a linkage into the transverse axis of the regulating flap. This facilitates the design of the spring force by means of the necessary adjustment paths in the spring bearing housing.The spring force regulating mechanism consists primarily of a holding-down device and a base body, wherein the leaf spring is arranged parallel to almost parallel to the holding-down device in the initial position and in the process between the holding-down device and the base body. In this context, in the initial position means before the spring force control mechanism is installed in the spring bearing housing.The force transmitter pin is arranged in the use position, i.e. after the installation of the spring force regulating mechanism in the spring bearing housing, between the leaf spring and the hold-down device. Position-adjustable in this context means that the force transmitter pin can be position-adjusted along the leaf spring between the leaf spring and the hold-down device toward a holding region of the leaf spring or away from the holding region of the leaf spring, whereby the position of the regulating flap in the channel is reserved with the spring force previously defined for this purpose.The base body has, on the one hand, an adjuster lever and, on the other hand, a channel-groove spring, wherein the adjuster lever engages through a partially circular recess of the spring bearing cover and the channel-groove spring engages into a partially circular channel groove on an outer side of the channel in the spring bearing housing. As a result, the base body ensures that the spring force control mechanism is positioned by means of the adjuster lever, which in turn enables adjustment of the control flap with preset spring force as a function of the position relative to the channel.For this purpose, the base body additionally forms a spring stop arc on its end face facing the leaf spring. The spring stop curve is designed in such a way that it abuts near the holding region of the leaf spring or almost abuts the leaf spring when the force transmitter pin is attached. This arises from the fact that the leaf spring does not yield or yields only slightly when it is attached at this point by the force transmitter pin and accordingly also has to be supported only slightly in order to prevent the leaf spring from breaking or overstretching. The situation is different if the force transmitter pin starts as far away as possible from the holding region of the leaf spring and the leaf spring opposes only a small spring force. The spring stop arc which falls off in the initial position assists a greater yielding of the leaf spring with a low spring force action and at the same time prevents the leaf spring from overstretching or breaking even in this position.The base body also forms a latching arm running in a tapering manner, wherein the latching arm interacts with a latching on an inner side of the spring bearing cover. This is effected by means of a grid elevation which extends on the grid arm parallel to the adjuster lever away from the base body. This facilitates a better and simpler adjustment of the spring force regulating mechanism.At the other end, the channel forms a counter bearing housing by means of a counter bearing cover. In the counter bearing housing, at the other end of the transverse axis, a gear wheel is present which is connected to the transverse axis in a rotationally fixed manner. Rotationally fixed means that each pivoting movement of the transverse axis acts directly on the gearwheel and likewise triggers a rotational movement of the gearwheel.The gearwheel in turn engages in a second gearwheel in the counter-bearing housing, wherein the second gearwheel is placed on a rotation damper. The rotation damper in turn is connected to the outer surface of the channel in the region of the counter bearing housing and on the one hand allows the free rotation of the second gearwheel and on the other hand prevents any rattling noises during the adjustment of the regulating flap or when the medium in the channel impinges on the regulating flap.The gearwheel or the second gearwheel can be released or rotationally locked by means of a locking lever, wherein the locking lever engages through a cutout of the counter bearing cover. The locking is effected by engaging a lock of the locking lever in the gearwheel or the second gearwheel. In this case, the release or locking is possible by means of the part of the locking lever projecting from the counter bearing cover.The regulating flap has a bend in the direction of flow. This has the advantageous result that a better response to the medium flowing through is achieved and even very small differences in the volume flowing through are accommodated and therefore set in the desired shape.Contrary to the prior art, the present invention therefore only consists of a pressure element coupled to the regulating flap, which pressure element presses on a spring. It is preferred that the lever is connected to the regulating flap via a simple linkage, so that a direct transmission of the movement of the regulating flap to the spring takes place. In the preferred embodiment, the connection of the linkage to the regulating flap takes place from the outside, wherein a pin on the linkage is inserted through the channel housing into a sleeve in the transverse axis of the regulating flap.To fix the spring at one end of the spring, an adjustment block is preferably provided, which for adjusting the tension of the spring is either rotatable about an axis or displaceable along the housing of the volume flow regulator, so that a distance from adjustment block to levers increases or decreases.This adjustment block preferably has a rounded portion which, together with a holding-down device, forms a gap which receives the end of the spring to be fixed in itself. If the adjusting block is rotated, the spring can adapt to the curvature of the adjusting block and thus change the tension for the lever and for the rotation of the regulating flap.In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the adjusting block is formed integrally together with the hold-down device.Furthermore, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it is also provided that a damping element is assigned to the regulating flap. For example, this damping element can be a separate airbag or the like.DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURESFurther advantages, features and details of the invention are evident from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and on the basis of the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is an oblique view from above of a volume flow regulator according to the invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded view of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view of a leaf spring 9; FIG. 4 is a partially transparent view of a side view of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 5 is an opened side view of a counter bearing housing; FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the counter bearing housing; FIG. 7 is an opened side view of the spring bearing housing from FIG. 6 ; FIG. 8 is an inner view of a spring bearing cover 6; FIG. 9 is a first side view of a spring force control mechanism 7; FIG. 10 is a second side view of the spring force control mechanism 7; FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the apparatus for controlling the volume of a flowing medium, not according to the present invention; FIG. 12 is a perspective view of parts of a control unit for the apparatus of FIG. 11; FIG. 13 is a plan view of parts of a further exemplary embodiment of a control unit for the device according to FIG. 11.Exemplary EmbodimentFIGS. 1 and 2 show a volume flow regulator with a channel 1 and a regulating flap 2, the regulating flap 2 being more clearly visible in FIG. 2. In the channel 1, the regulating flap 2 is arranged pivotably about a transverse axis 3, wherein the transverse axis 3 is pre-contained by a leaf spring 9. The channel 1 has, on the one hand, a spring bearing housing which is formed by means of a spring bearing cover 5 and the outer surface of the channel 1.A spring force control mechanism 7 is arranged in the spring bearing housing, wherein the transverse axis 3 forms a pressure lever 6, which is arranged in contact with the leaf spring 9 of the spring force control mechanism 7 by means of a force transmitter pin 8, wherein the spring force control mechanism 7 is arranged in the spring bearing housing so as to be manually adjustable.In FIG. 1, the spring bearing cover 5 is shown on one outer side of the channel 1 and the counter bearing cover 4 is shown on the opposite outer side of the channel 1. The channel 1 at the other end forms a counter bearing housing by means of the counter bearing cover 4. A partially circular recess 19 is formed in the spring bearing cover 5, through which a lever 12 extends. The adjuster lever 12 is shown as part of the spring force regulating mechanism 7, which is also partially visible.It can also be seen in FIG. 2 that the counter bearing cover 4 has a cutout 23. In the assembled position, a part of a locking lever 18 engages through, so that a user can actuate the locking lever 18.It is further shown in FIG. 2 that the counter bearing housing 5 has, at the other end of the channel 1 and the transverse axis 3, a gearwheel 16 which is connected to the transverse axis 3 in a rotationally fixed manner.The gearwheel 16 engages in a second gearwheel 17 in the assembled position. The second gearwheel 17 is mounted on a rotation damper 27.The gearwheel 16 or the second gearwheel 17 can be released or rotationally locked by means of the locking lever 18, wherein the locking lever 18 engages through the cutout 23 of the counter bearing cover 4.The force transmitter pin 8 can be adjusted in position along the leaf spring 9 by the spring force control mechanism 7.It is also shown in FIG. 2 that the transverse axis 3 at one end forms the pressure lever 6 radially with respect to the transverse axis 3 and the pressure lever 6 forms the force transmitter pin 8 axially offset with respect to the transverse axis 3.The regulating flap 2 has a bend 22 in addition to the transverse axis 3.The spring bearing cover 5 has a partially circular recess 19. In addition, a passage 29 is shown in the region of the spring bearing housing in the outer wall of the channel 1, through which the transverse axis 3 runs and merges into the pressure lever 6 running radially with respect to the transverse axis 3, which in turn forms the force transmitter pin 8 at the other end of the transverse axis 3.Furthermore, a partially circular channel groove 20 is let into the outer wall of the channel 1.Also shown is the spring force regulating mechanism 7, which consists of a holding-down device 10 and a base body 11, wherein the leaf spring 9 is arranged in the initial position parallel to almost parallel to the holding-down device 10 and between the holding-down device 10 and the base body 11. The details of the spring force control mechanism 7 are shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9 to 10.FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the leaf spring 9. The leaf spring 9 forms a holding region 28 on the end side. The leaf spring 9 has a shape tapering away from the holding region 28. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, this is a trapezoidal shape.FIG. 4 shows a partially transparent illustration of a side view of FIG. 1, the arrangement of the transverse axis 3, and also the regulating flap 2 and its bend 22 are clearly shown there. Further, the locking lever 18 is shown in the locked state. For this purpose, the locking lever 18 engages in the gearwheel 16 and therefore locks the transverse axis 3 and thus the pivotability of the regulating flap 2. The regulating flap 2 has the bend 22 in the flow direction. In the direction of flow means that the bend 22 points in the direction of the target direction of the flow of the medium which passes through the channel 1.FIG. 5 shows an enlarged opened side view of a counter bearing housing. The explanations made with respect to FIG. 4 also apply to FIG. 5.FIG. 6 shows an enlarged side view of the spring bearing housing. The spring bearing cover 5 with the partially circular recess 19 is shown there.On the outside, i.e. the side of the spring bearing cover 5 facing away from the channel 1 along the partially circular recess 19, a grid display 24 is provided. It can also be seen in the installed position how the adjuster lever 12 reaches through the partially circular recess 19 and is thus accessible to a user for adjustment. A part of the base body 11 is also visible through the partially circular recess 19 in the spring bearing housing.FIG. 7 shows an open side view of the spring bearing housing from FIG. 6. There, the spring bearing cover 5 from FIG. 6 is removed. There, the spring force control mechanism 7 is arranged in the spring bearing housing, wherein the base body 11 has, on the one hand, the adjuster lever 12 and, on the other hand, a channel-groove spring 13, wherein the adjuster lever 12 engages through the partially circular recess 19 of the spring bearing cover 5, as shown in FIG. 6, and the channel-groove spring 13 simultaneously engages into the partially circular channel groove 20 of the outer side of the channel 1 in the region of the spring bearing housing.Furthermore, the force transmitter pin 8 is arranged between the leaf spring 9 and the hold-down 10.It can also be clearly seen that the base body 11 forms a latching arm 14 on the one hand, wherein the latching arm 14 interacts with a latching arrangement 15 on an inner side of the spring bearing cover 6. The latching arm 14 forms a latching elevation 25 parallel to the adjuster lever 12. In this context, the term "coaction" means that, when the spring force regulating mechanism 7 is adjusted by means of the adjuster lever 12, the channel groove spring 13 is displaced in the partially circular channel groove 20, wherein the force transmitter pin 8 is thereby in turn simultaneously displaced along the leaf spring 9 toward a spring receptacle 26 or away from the spring receptacle 26, with the result that the spring force of the leaf spring 9 to be applied and the associated position of the regulating flap 2 are also simultaneously adjusted.In FIG. 8, the inner surface of the spring-loaded cover 5 is shown. The inner surface is the surface which in the assembled state faces the channel 1. There is the latching arrangement 15 running parallel to the partially circular recess 19.FIGS. 9 and 10 show again enlarged views of the spring force regulating mechanism 7. Repetition of the features already described in the preceding figures is omitted. In particular, if the same features have identical reference numerals, the explanations also apply to FIGS. 9 and 10.In addition to the features already described from the preceding figures, it is again pointed out here that the base body 11 forms a spring stop arc 21 on its end face pointing toward the leaf spring 9. It is also pointed out in particular that the grid arm 14 in FIG. 9 has a taper in order to enable grid adjustment.A device for regulating the volume of a flowing medium, which device is not according to the invention and is shown in FIG. 11, has a channel 31 in which the flowing medium is guided. For regulating the volume of the flowing medium, a regulating flap 32 is located in the channel, which flap is arranged rotatably about a transverse axis 33. At least one end of the transverse axis 33 is designed as a sleeve 34.A bolt 35 is insertable into the sleeve 34, which is connected via a tongue 36 to a lever 37.It can be seen in FIG. 12 that this lever 37 presses on a spring 38 which is inserted into a gap 39 of an adjustment block 40. A holding-down device 41 engages over the spring 38 so that the lever 37 is guided between the holding-down device 41 and the spring 38. However, this is only one of many possibilities. A snap connection of the spring 38 to the adjustment block 40 is also preferred.Below the spring 38, the adjustment block 40 has a rounded portion 42 which can be unrolled from the spring 38, as a result of which the tension of the spring 38 is varied.The adjusting block 40 is rotatable about an axis, so that a prestress of the spring 38 relative to the lever 37 can already be determined as a result. This position of the adjustment block 40 can also be assigned a scale.FIG. 13 shows another possibility of the adjustment block 40, wherein here the adjustment block 40.1 is guided with two spaced-apart bolts 43.1 and 43.2 in two slotted guides 44.1 and 44.2 of a housing plate 45. The tension of the spring 38 is determined by the removal of the bolt 43.1 from the lever 37. It is also within the scope of the invention, of course, that, for example, the link 44.1 is bent and is located in the housing plate 45, while the other link 44.2 has a straight shape and is located in the adjustment block 40.1. Of course, further embodiments are conceivable here.List of reference characters1 Channel 2 control flap 3 transverse axis 4 counter bearing cover 5 spring bearing cover 6 pressure lever 7 spring force control mechanism 8 force transfer pin 9 leaf spring 10 holding-down device 11 base body 12 adjuster lever 13 channel groove spring 14 grid arm 15 catch 16 gearwheel 17 second gearwheel 18 locking lever 19 part-circular recess 20 channel groove 21 spring stop arc 22 bend 23 cutout 24 grid display 25 grid elevation 26 spring receptacle 27 rotation damper 28 holding region 29 penetration 30 31 channel 32 control flap 33 transverse axis 34 sleeve 35 bolt 36 tongue 37 levers 38 spring 39 gap 40 adjustment block 40.1 adjustment block 41 holding-down device 42 rounded portion 43.1 axis 43.2 axis 44.1 slotted link 44.2 slotted link 45 housing plate

Claims

Volume flow regulator with a channel (1) and a regulating flap (2), wherein the regulating flap (2) is arranged in the channel (1) so as to be pivotable about a transverse axis (3), wherein the transverse axis (3) is reserved by a spring, wherein the channel (1) has, on the one hand, a spring bearing housing by means of a spring bearing cover (5), wherein a spring force regulating mechanism (7) is arranged in the spring bearing housing, wherein the transverse axis (3) forms a pressure lever (6) which is arranged by means of a force transmitter pin (8) so as to bear against a leaf spring (9) of the spring force regulating mechanism (7), wherein the spring force regulating mechanism (7) is arranged in the spring bearing housing so as to be manually adjustable, characterized in that, on the other hand, the channel (1) forms a counter bearing housing by means of a counter bearing cover (4), wherein the counter bearing housing has at its other end a gearwheel (16) which is connected to the transverse axis (3) in a rotationally fixed manner, wherein the gearwheel (16) engages in a second gearwheel (17), wherein the second gearwheel (17) is placed on a rotary damper (27), wherein the gearwheel (16) or the second gearwheel (17) can be released or rotationally locked by means of a locking lever (18), wherein the locking lever (18) engages through a cutout (23) in the counter bearing cover (4).Volume flow regulator according to Claim 1, characterized in that the force transmitter pin (8) can be adjusted in position along the leaf spring (9) by the spring force regulating mechanism (7).Volume flow regulator according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the leaf spring (9) has a shape which narrows away from a holding region (28).Volume flow regulator according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the transverse axis (3) at one end forms the pressure lever (6) radially with respect to the transverse axis (3), and the pressure lever (6) forms the force transmission pin (8) axially offset with respect to the transverse axis (3).Volume flow regulator according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the spring force regulating mechanism (7) consists of a holding-down device (10) and a base body (11), wherein the leaf spring (9) is arranged in the initial position parallel to almost parallel to the holding-down device (10) and between the holding-down device (10) and the base body (11).Volume flow regulator according to Claim 5, characterized in that the force transfer pin (8) is arranged between the leaf spring (9) and the hold-down device (10).Volume flow regulator according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the base body (11) has, on the one hand, an adjuster lever (12) and, on the other hand, a channel-groove spring (13), wherein the adjuster lever (12) engages through a partially circular recess (19) of the spring bearing cover (5) and the channel-groove spring (13) engages into a partially circular channel groove (20) on an outer side of the channel (1) in the spring bearing housing.Volume flow regulator according to one of Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the base body (11) forms a spring stop arc (21) on its end face pointing towards the leaf spring (9).Volume flow regulator according to one of Claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the basic body (11) forms, on the one hand, a latching arm (14), the latching arm (14) interacting with a latching (15) on an inner side of the spring bearing cover (5).Volume flow regulator according to Claim 9, characterized in that the latching arm (14) forms a latching elevation (25) parallel to the adjuster lever (12).Volume flow regulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the regulating flap (2) has a bend (22) in the direction of flow.

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