Rotary slide valve with self-sealing housing

Abstract

Valve (100) with a self-sealing housing, the valve (100) comprising: a housing (1), a valve body (2), wherein the housing (1) forms a receiving space (3) for the valve body (2) and the valve body (2) is mounted in the receiving space (3) so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis (R), a sealing arrangement (5) which comprises an elastic element (6), and a sliding element (7) which is connected to the elastic element (6), characterized in that the sliding element (7) is elastically displaceable relative to the housing (1) or the valve body (2) when the valve body (2) rotates and thereby compensates for manufacturing tolerances of the housing (1) and the valve body (2).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a valve with a self-sealing housing. The valve comprises a housing and a valve body, wherein the housing forms a receiving space for the valve body and the valve body is mounted in the receiving space for rotation about a rotation axis, a sealing arrangement comprising an elastic element, and a sliding element connected to the elastic element. The sliding element is elastically displaceable relative to the housing or the valve body as the valve body rotates, thereby compensating for manufacturing tolerances of the housing and the valve body.

[0002] In vehicles with battery-assisted electric drives, such as hybrid vehicles, and vehicles powered solely by batteries, the requirement to use the required energy as effectively as possible is increasing. This means, for example, that waste heat generated when the batteries are discharged is used to heat the driver's cab. In order to effectively use the heat extracted from the system by a coolant in the vehicle's air conditioning system, so-called proportional valves or mixing valves are often used in the coolant circuit to divide the coolant flow between different heat sinks or heat sources. The proportional valves usually consist of a rotary slide valve that opens and closes various fluid channels on its outer surface. For cost reasons, the rotary slide valves and housings are not reworked after production.As a result, the distance between the rotary valve and the housing in the area of ​​a seal can vary considerably depending on the tolerance. This leads to different seal compression and thus to different friction forces on the rotary valve.

[0003] US 10 344 877 B2 discloses a valve comprising a valve housing and numerous inlets and outlets within the valve housing. The valve is designed for use in a thermal system of an electric vehicle. To seal the inlets and outlets from the valve housing, one-piece seals made of a suitable material, which may include a PTFE film, are proposed.

[0004] From EP 3 073 161 B1 and EP 3 306 154 A1 rotary slide valves are known which have a sealing system comprising complex multi-part sealing packages with metal springs.

[0005] The sealing system is expensive to manufacture and complicated to install. Due to its complexity, it is prone to failure.

[0006] DE 20 2017 000 564 U1 relates to a seal package for a multi-way valve, such as a rotary slide valve. The seal package comprises a holder that is sleeve-shaped and has a through opening from its first end to its second end, a sealing element that is arranged in a form-fitting manner on the outer circumference of the holder and projects beyond the holder at its first end, wherein the sealing element describes a first radius at its first end, which corresponds to the inner radius of a housing shell of the multi-way valve, and a receiving sleeve that positively receives the holder with the sealing element arranged thereon. The sealing element is constructed from at least two components, the first component being a plastic-elastic solid and the second component being a dry lubricant. The second component is applied at least to the outer side of the first component.

[0007] This means that the prior art includes sealing assemblies for rotary valves that are manufactured separately and consist of numerous individual parts, making them expensive to manufacture and store. These sealing assemblies are complex to assemble, which further increases costs due to the associated time expenditure. Finally, materials are proposed whose use should be avoided for environmental reasons.

[0008] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a valve, such as a rotary slide valve, with a self-sealing housing, with a sealing arrangement consisting of few parts, which is inexpensive to manufacture, wherein the use of environmentally harmful materials is at least reduced, wherein the assembly of the valve requires little to no assembly effort.

[0009] This object is achieved by the subject matter having the technical features of claim 1. The claims dependent on claim 1 can advantageously develop the subject matter. The invention further relates to a method for producing the subject matter of claim 1.

[0010] A first aspect of the invention relates to a valve, in particular a rotary slide valve, with a self-sealing housing. The valve comprises a housing and a valve body, wherein the housing forms a receiving space for the valve body and the valve body is mounted in the receiving space so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, a sealing arrangement comprising an elastic element, and a sliding element connected to the elastic element. The sliding element is elastically displaceable relative to the housing or the valve body when the valve body rotates and thereby compensates for manufacturing tolerances of the housing and the valve body. The sliding element and the elastic element can be formed from the same material. In one embodiment, the elastic element can form the sliding element. In one embodiment, the elastic element can be injection-molded onto the housing or the valve body.

[0011] The seal arrangement can completely surround a channel opening in the housing or in the valve body, thus sealing it against the housing. The seal can be arranged at at least one axial end of the valve, thus sealing a radial gap between the housing and the valve body.

[0012] In one embodiment, the housing or the housing with the elastic element and the sliding element, and the valve body or the valve body with the elastic element and the sliding element are manufactured using an injection molding process, multi-component injection molding process, sintering process, or metal powder injection molding process and are further processed off-the-tool, i.e., without further machining such as grinding or milling. As a result, any manufacturing tolerances cannot be corrected in the post-processing step. This means that a gap between the inner peripheral wall of the housing and the outer peripheral wall of the valve body can vary in the circumferential and axial directions.

[0013] In another embodiment, the sliding body is manufactured separately and joined to the elastic element during or after production.

[0014] The housing and valve body can be made of the same material or of different materials suitable for injection molding, sintering, or metal powder casting. For example, the material can be aluminum or an aluminum compound, stainless steel, or any other metal suitable for sintering in powdered form. The housing and / or valve body can be created using a 3D printing process. For certain applications of the valve or rotary valve, the housing and / or valve body can be manufactured from an engineering thermoplastic or high-performance thermoplastic using one of the aforementioned processes.

[0015] The receiving space can be cylindrical or partially cylindrical, with a diameter of the inner peripheral wall that essentially corresponds to the diameter of the outer peripheral wall of the valve body. The receiving space and the part of the valve body located within the receiving space can, in particular, have the shape of a vertical circular cylinder, whereby the housing need not have a closed peripheral surface.

[0016] The sliding element can be thick-walled or thin-walled. The sliding element, in particular the thick-walled sliding element, can comprise a sliding-optimized material or a sliding-optimized coating. The sliding element can consist of a first material, which forms a base body of the sliding element, and of the sliding-optimized material, which is connected to the first material. The connection can be a positive and / or non-positive connection, for example, adhesion, press-fitting, or another suitable fixed connection type known to those skilled in the art. The coating can be, for example, a film or a varnish. Finally, the sliding-optimized coating can be produced from the first material by irradiation with heat or subsequent compaction.

[0017] In one embodiment, the sliding element can be molded onto the housing or valve body via a connecting element. The connecting element can be a thin, flexible web that yields elastically under pressure without breaking.

[0018] The connecting element can be made of the same material as the housing or valve body. The sliding element and / or the sliding-optimized material can be made of the same material as the housing or valve body. The connecting element and the sliding element and / or the sliding-optimized material can be made of the same material as the housing or valve body.

[0019] In one design, the connecting element can be integrally bonded to the housing or valve body and molded in one piece. "Molded" here means that all parts are manufactured monolithically in one and the same mold. "Molded" can also mean "printed."

[0020] The sliding element can be connected to the connecting element, preferably by a material bond. The sliding-optimized material can be connected to the sliding element, preferably by a material bond. The sliding-optimized material or the sliding-optimized material layer can be laminated or sintered onto the sliding element, for example. Due to the high temperatures that may be required, this bonding can be carried out separately. The resulting semi-finished product can be inserted into the injection mold, for example, or joined to the off-the-tool part after its production.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the connecting element, the elastic element, and the sliding element are molded together with the housing or the valve body in one piece. In this case, the housing, the connecting element, the elastic element, and the sliding element are manufactured from the same material in a single process step and are automatically bonded to one another upon completion.

[0022] The valve body may comprise a shaft via which the valve body can be connected to a drive or rotary drive. The drive may be an electric actuator with which the valve body can be adjusted clockwise and counterclockwise through various angles. Furthermore, the valve body comprises a valve chamber with two, three, or more openings. At least one of the openings forms an inlet into the valve chamber, and at least one opening forms an outlet from the valve chamber. The valve body further comprises a base axially defining the valve chamber and / or a cover axially defining the valve chamber.

[0023] The housing may comprise at least one opening on its circumference which overlaps with the opening of the valve body forming the outlet when the medium flows out of the valve into the environment or a piping system.

[0024] The advantages of the valve are that the assembly step of inserting the seal can be eliminated, the use of environmentally harmful materials is avoided, the valve has small tolerance chains due to the reduced number of components, the contact force of the seal is less dependent on the actual dimensions of the valve body due to the elastic compliance of the sliding element, and the seal assembly cannot slip. Finally, the reduction in the number of components leads to less logistics effort, which can further save costs.

[0025] A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing a valve with a self-sealing housing according to the first aspect.

[0026] In a method for producing a valve with a self-sealing housing according to the first aspect, in a first method step the housing or the valve body together with the connecting element and the sliding element are produced from one material in a multi-component injection molding process.

[0027] In a second process step, the elastic element is injection-molded onto the housing or valve body and the sliding element using the multi-component injection molding process.

[0028] In an optional third process step, the sliding-optimized material can be injected onto the sliding element in the multi-component injection molding process.

[0029] In a fourth optional process step, the connecting element can be mechanically deformed or removed.

[0030] In a fifth process step, the housing and the valve body are assembled.

[0031] The numbering of the individual process steps does not mean that they must be performed in this order. For example, the third process step can be performed before the second if this is advantageous for production.

[0032] In another process, the sliding element is manufactured separately, with or without a sliding-optimized material. The housing or valve body with the elastic element and, optionally, the connecting element are manufactured off-the-tool using an injection molding process. The semi-finished "sliding element" can be inserted into the injection mold and molded onto the elastic element, or it can be joined to the elastic element in a separate process step.

[0033] Several exemplary embodiments of the valve are explained in more detail below using figures. These exemplary embodiments are a selection that does not exhaustively depict all possible variants based on the technical features of the claims. The figures show in detail: Fig. 1: a sectional view of a rotary slide valve with sealing arrangement; Fig. 2: a sealing arrangement connected to the housing; Fig. 3. a sealing arrangement connected to the valve body; Fig. 4: a sealing arrangement with a thin-walled sliding element; Fig. 5: a sealing arrangement with a thin-walled sliding element and a curved connecting element with a separated connecting element; Fig. 6: a sealing arrangement with a thick-walled sliding element; Fig. 7: a sealing arrangement with a thick-walled sliding element with a sliding-optimized coating; Fig. 8: a sealing arrangement with a thick-walled sliding element with a section made of sliding-optimized material; Fig. 9: a block diagram of the procedure.

[0034] The Fig. 1 shows a sectional view of a valve 100 along the rotation axis R of the valve body 2 or slide 2. The valve 100 comprises a housing 1 and the slide 2, as well as a sealing arrangement 5. The sealing arrangement 5 comprises an elastic element 6, a sliding element 7 and a connecting element 10, which connects the sliding element 7 in the illustrated embodiment to an outer peripheral wall 1b of the housing 1.

[0035] The elastic element 6 is positively and / or non-positively connected to the sliding element 7 at one end. A region of the elastic element 6 remote from the sliding element 7 is positively and / or non-positively connected to the housing, so that the elastic element 6 cannot slip on the outer peripheral wall 1b of the housing 1.

[0036] The housing 1, the connecting element 10, the elastic element 6, and the sliding element 7 can be manufactured together as a monolith in a single mold, for example, by means of an injection molding process. The workpiece thus produced can be used after removal from the mold without further processing, such as correcting manufacturing tolerances. The housing 1 forms a receiving space 3 for the valve body 2.

[0037] The connecting element 10 is designed as a thin, elastically flexible web, which can also be connected or joined to the elastic element 6. In one embodiment, the connecting element 10 and the elastic element 6 are not joined, so that the connecting element 10 can be removed after the elastic element 6 has been molded on.

[0038] The valve body 2 comprises a shaft 11 for connection to a rotary drive (not shown) which can rotate the valve body 2 at least clockwise and counterclockwise.

[0039] The rotary drive can, in particular, be an electric actuator (not shown). Adjacent to the shaft 11 is a valve chamber 12 having openings 13. At least one of the openings 13 can form an inlet into the valve chamber 12, through which a medium can flow into the valve chamber 12. At least one of the openings 13 can form an outlet from the valve chamber 12, from which the medium can flow out of the valve chamber 12 into the environment or a line (not shown). In the exemplary embodiment, the valve body 2 also comprises a cover 15 and a base 14, which delimit the valve chamber 12 at its axial ends.

[0040] The Fig. 2 shows a reduced view of a section of the valve 100 with the housing 1, the valve body 2 and the sealing arrangement 5 with the elastic element 6 and the sliding element 7. The connecting element 10 is missing, which may mean that it was mechanically removed after completion of the sealing device 5.

[0041] In the example shown, the Fig. 2, the sealing arrangement 5 is connected to the housing 1 in a channel 17 at its end facing the valve body 2 and seals an invisible opening 13, from which the medium can flow out of the valve 100 through the channel 17 in the housing 1 into the environment or a connecting line (not shown), such that no medium can flow into the gap between the inner peripheral wall 1a of the housing 1 and the outer peripheral wall 2b of the valve body 2. The sliding element 7 bears against the outer peripheral surface of the valve body 2 and is elastically prestressed in the contact direction by the elastic element 6. The elastic element 6 enables the sliding element 7 to elastically compensate for manufacturing tolerances on the housing 1 and / or on the valve body 2. In addition, the housing 1 has a further seal 16 on its outer side, which, like the elastic element 6, is formed from an elastomer or silicone or can comprise at least one of these materials.

[0042] The Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of the valve 100 in which the sealing arrangement 5 is connected to the valve body 2 or slide 2. In this embodiment, the valve body 2, the connecting element 10, and the sliding element 7 can be manufactured together as a monolith. The elastic element 6 can be formed from an elastomer or silicone and is connected to the valve body 2 in the region of the opening 13. The sliding element 7 is also connected to the elastic element 6 and can be elastically prestressed by it against an inner peripheral wall of the housing 1.

[0043] The sealing arrangement 5 of the Fig. 3 prevents the sealing arrangement of the Fig. 2, that in the shown switching position of the slide 2, medium can flow from the opening 13 into the gap between the inner peripheral wall 1a of the housing 1 and the outer peripheral wall 2b of the valve body 2. The medium can flow completely from the opening 13 of the valve body 2 into the channel 17 of the housing 1 and can be discharged from there into the environment or into a line or line system not shown.

[0044] The Fig. 4 shows a sketch of a first embodiment of the sealing arrangement 5 of the Fig. 2. First, the housing 1 with the connecting element 10 and the sliding element 7 is shown. Preferably, the housing 1, the connecting element 10, and the sliding element 7 are manufactured together in a single production step, for example, using an injection molding process, and used without further post-processing (off-the-tool). This means that the housing 1 and the sliding element 7 are made of the same material.

[0045] The connecting element 10 is designed as a thin web, and the sliding element 7 is a thin-walled plate with a pin on its underside that protrudes vertically downward from the plate. The connecting element 10 connects the sliding element 7 to the housing with an elastic flexibility that allows movement of the sliding element 7 relative to the housing 1, for example, to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of the valve body 2.

[0046] The second representation in the Fig. Figure 4 shows the sealing arrangement 2 supplemented by the elastic element 6. The elastic element 6 is connected to the housing 1 and the sliding element 7, with the mandrel engaging the elastic element 6. Due to the connection to the housing 1 and the sliding element 7, the sealing arrangement cannot be displaced on the housing 1, while the elastic element 6 can compress and rebound as needed. Also shown is the additional seal 16, which can be molded onto the housing 1 together with the elastic element 6.

[0047] The Fig. 5 shows essentially the same as the Fig. 4, with the difference that the connecting element 10 is not connected to the housing 1 in a straight line during manufacture, but rather holds the sliding element 7 in an assembly position via a curved connecting element 10. After the elastic element 6 is connected to the housing 1 and the sliding element 7, the curved connecting element 10 can be removed as shown or deformed (not shown).

[0048] The Fig. 6 shows a sealing arrangement 5 with a thick-walled sliding element 7, which is molded onto the housing 1 during the manufacturing process via a thin connecting element 10 and is thereby connected to the housing 1. The material of the thick-walled sliding element 7 and the material of the housing 1 are identical.

[0049] The elastic element 6 is joined, molded, or glued to the housing 1 and the sliding element 7 so that the sealing arrangement 5 cannot shift on the housing 1. The connection of the sliding element 7 to the housing 1 via the elastic element 6 enables an elastic movement of the sliding element 7 relative to the housing 1, for example, to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of the valve body 2 when the valve body 2 is rotated relative to the housing 1.

[0050] The connecting element 10 can be removed after the assembly of the elastic element 6, so that the elastic movement of the sliding element 7 is only determined by the elastic modulus of the elastic element 6.

[0051] The Fig. Figure 7 essentially shows the sealing arrangement of the Fig. 6. The only difference is that the sliding area of ​​the sliding element 7 is covered with a sliding-optimized coating 9, for example a film or a lacquer, which improves the sliding properties of the sliding element 7 and / or reduces wear of the sliding element 7 due to abrasion in the sliding area. Also in the sealing arrangement of the Fig. 7, the connecting element 10 can be removed after mounting the elastic element 6.

[0052] The Fig. 8 shows a sealing arrangement 5 with a thick-walled sliding element 7. The sliding element 7 consists partly of the material that corresponds to the material of the housing 1 and partly of a sliding-optimized material 8. The part of the sliding element 7 with the sliding-optimized material 8 forms the sliding surface of the sliding element 7.

[0053] The sliding-optimized material 8 can be inserted into the manufacturing mold for the housing 1 if the housing 1, the connecting element 10, and the sliding element 7 are manufactured, as is preferred, using an injection molding process. In one embodiment, the housing 1, the connecting element 10, the sliding element 7, the elastic element 6, the additional seal 16, and the sliding-optimized material 8 are joined together in the multi-component injection molding process. As with the previous embodiments, the connecting element 10 can be mechanically removed after the elastic element 6 has been installed.

[0054] The Fig. 9 shows in a block diagram the individual process steps of a method for producing a valve 100 with a sealing arrangement 5, as in the previous Fig. 1 to 8 shown.

[0055] In a first process step I, the housing 1 or the valve body 2 is manufactured together with the connecting element 10 and at least a portion of the sliding element 7, for example, by means of an injection molding process. The sliding element 7 is molded onto the housing 1 or the valve body 2 via the connecting element 10. The housing 1 or the valve body 2 and the sliding element 7 are made of the same material.

[0056] In a second process step II, the elastic element 6 is injection-molded onto the housing 1 or the valve body 2 and the sliding element 7.

[0057] In an optional third process step III, a sliding-optimized material 8 is injected onto the sliding element 7 in the injection molding process. The sliding-optimized material 8 can be a thin layer of, for example, a lacquer or a thick layer of the sliding-optimized material 8 or a thick material layer, for example of the same material as the housing 1, in which the sliding-optimized material 8 is incorporated.

[0058] In an optional fourth method step IV, the connecting element 10 can be deformed or partially or completely removed.

[0059] In a fifth process step V, the housing 1 and the valve body 2 are assembled to form the valve 100. List of reference symbols 100 valve 1 housing 1a inner peripheral wall 1b Outer peripheral wall 2 valve bodies, slide 2b Outer peripheral wall 3 Recording room 5 Sealing arrangement 6 elastic element 7 Sliding element 8 sliding-optimized material 9 Glide-optimized coating 10 Connecting element 11 shaft 12 Valve chamber 13 Opening 14 Floor 15 lids 16 Seal 17 Channel I Process step II Process step III Process step IV Process step V Process step R rotation axis QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 10 344 877 B2

[0003] EP 3 073 161 B1

[0004] EP 3 306 154 A1

[0004] DE 20 2017 000 564 U1

[0006]

Claims

[1] Valve (100) with self-sealing housing, the valve (100) comprising a housing (1), b. a valve body (2) c. wherein the housing (1) forms a receiving space (3) for the valve body (2) and the valve body (2) is mounted in the receiving space (3) so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis (R), d. a sealing arrangement (5) comprising an elastic element (6) and a sliding element (7) connected to the elastic element (6), characterized by , that e. the sliding element (7) is elastically displaceable relative to the housing (1) or the valve body (2) when the valve body (2) rotates and thereby compensates for manufacturing tolerances of the housing (1) and the valve body (2). [2] Valve (100) according to claim 1, wherein the sliding element (7) comprises a sliding-optimized material (8) or a sliding-optimized coating (9). [3] Valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sliding element (7) is injection-molded onto the housing (1) or the valve body (2) via a connecting element (10). [4] Valve (100) according to claim 3, wherein the connecting element (10) and the sliding element (7) consist of the material of the housing (1) or the valve body (2) [5] Valve (100) according to claim 2, wherein the sliding-optimized material (8) is joined to the sliding element (7), for example, injection-molded, laminated or sintered onto the sliding element (7). [6] Valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting element (10), the sliding element (7) and the elastic element (6) are molded in one part together with the housing (1) or the valve body (2). [7] Valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting element (10), the sliding element (7), the elastic element (6) and the sliding-optimized material (8) are molded in one part together with the housing (1) or the valve body (2). [8] Valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the valve body (2) comprises a shaft (11) for connection to a drive, a valve chamber (12) with at least two openings (13) forming an inlet into the valve chamber (12) and an outlet from the valve chamber (12), and a base (14) or cover (15) axially delimiting the valve chamber (12). [9] Valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the valve (100) is a rotary slide valve and the valve body (2) is the slide of the rotary slide valve. [10] Method for producing a valve (100) with a self-sealing housing (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which in a first process step (I) the sliding element (7) and the sliding-optimised material (8) are joined together, in particular sintered or laminated, in a second process step (II) the housing (1) with the elastic element (6) or the valve body (2) with the elastic element (6) is produced, in an optional third process step (III), the sliding element (7) is injection-moulded onto the elastic element (6), for example during injection moulding as an insert, or the sliding element (7) is joined to the elastic element (6) after completion of the second process step (II), in an optional fourth process step (IV) the connecting element (10) is deformed or removed, and In a fifth process step (V) the housing (1) and the valve body (2) are assembled.

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