MEASURING DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE CLOSING VALUE OF AN AUTHORIZED VALVE OF A HEATING CIRCUIT MANIFOLD OR A RADIATOR

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device for determining a closing dimension of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator according to claim 1, a measuring system with such a measuring device and with such an adapter according to claim 9, and a method for determining a closing dimension of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator according to claim 10.

[0002] For various technical applications, it may be necessary to regulate the flow of a fluid through a fluid line. Control valves, also known as regulating valves, can be used for this purpose. A control valve can be continuously adjusted between a fully open and a fully closed position, thus altering the fluid flow through it. Depending on the technical application, this can influence, for example, the pressure, temperature, or flow rate. Such fluids can be gases or liquids. These control valves can be used, for example, in buildings...

[0003] These control valves are used in hot water heating systems and building automation systems. In other words, they can be used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The valve's setting can be changed by means of an actuator, which can be electrically or pneumatically operated, for example.

[0004] To regulate the temperature of individual rooms in a building, these control valves can be used as the valves of the heating circuit manifold in underfloor heating systems. Individual control valves can also be used as the valves for individual radiators. Depending on this application, these control valves can also be referred to as thermal control valves, and their actuators as thermal actuators. In both cases, the control valves are connected to a fluid circuit in the form of the heating circuit's return line. Depending on the valve position, which is achieved by means of the thermal actuator, a predetermined amount of heating water flows into the radiator or into the pipes of a section of the underfloor heating system.The position of the control valve can be predetermined by a thermostat via the respective actuator, depending on a detected room temperature, so that a user-defined target room temperature can be reached and maintained.

[0005] When installing such actuators on a valve, for example in a heating system, it's important to remember that the control valve and the pipe (which carries the heating system's fluid) are usually not from the same manufacturer as the actuators. While actuators are typically mechatronic or electronic components, often with an electric drive, control valves and pipes are more commonly considered plumbing components than purely mechanical ones. Therefore, compatibility between the actuator and the control valve, regardless of the manufacturer, is essential to ensure proper interaction between the two.

[0006] Therefore, it is known to provide different adapters as a mechanical interface, which can be arranged between the various control valves and a standardized actuator to connect the control valve and actuator regardless of the manufacturer and enable them to interact as intended. In this way, only different adapters are needed for the various control valves commonly available on the market. The actuator, on the other hand, can be designed to fit the adapter uniformly. This avoids the need to provide a separate actuator for each of the different control valves available on the market, which would lead to a considerable variety of actuators and corresponding costs. An arrangement for attaching an actuator to a valve can be found, for example, in DE 201 09 774 U1.

[0007] Regarding the operation of such actuators and valves, it should be noted that the valve typically has a relatively weak valve spring or return spring. The spring force of this spring moves a valve stem along the same longitudinal axis, thereby opening the valve and allowing fluid to flow. The spring force of the valve's return spring is counteracted by a relatively strong compression spring in the actuator, so that the valve is normally closed by the actuator. The actuator also has an actuating element which, when activated, exerts an additional force on the actuator's compression spring, thereby assisting the movement of the valve's return spring.Thus, when the actuating element is activated, the actuating element of the actuator and the return spring of the valve can together overcome the comparatively strong spring force of the actuator's compression spring and thereby open the valve. The actuating element of the actuator can, for example, be implemented using an electric heating element in combination with a temperature-dependent expansion element, see DE 31 40 472 C2.

[0008] The advantage here is the comparatively simple and / or compact implementation of the drive force or the actuating force of the actuator. This can keep the costs and / or the installation space of the actuator low.

[0009] A particular advantage of this design is that the spring force of the actuator's compression spring is greater than the spring force of the valve element's return spring. This means that when the actuator's control element is unactuated or de-energized, the valve is closed in its normal position. Assuming that there is no heat demand during most of the operating time of, for example, a heating system, the fact that the valve is normally closed (NC) and the actuator's heating element remains de-energized minimizes the actuator's energy consumption.

[0010] The valve stem can thus be moved along the longitudinal axis of the valve, which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the actuator, by means of the valve's return spring in combination with the actuator's compression spring and the actuator's actuating element, as described previously. The position of the valve stem when the valve is closed is of particular importance, as any actuator used on the valve must be adjusted accordingly to open and close the valve as described above. This means that, with the actuating element in its unactuated position, the actuator's actuating element must rest precisely against the upper edge of the valve stem when the valve is closed, in order to utilize its full travel for opening the valve and to close the valve completely. This dimension of the valve stem is called the closing dimension and is defined as the distance between the valve stem and the valve when closed with a defined closing force of, for example, [insert value here].100 N, defined between the top edge of the valve plunger and the contact surface of the valve's connection thread.

[0011] To ensure the reliable closing of valves during the installation of, for example, heating systems, by means of an actuator such as an electrothermal actuator, a motorized actuator, or a thermostatic head, it is necessary to determine the closing dimension of the corresponding valve. Since there is no valid standard for the size of the connection thread and the closing dimension of such valves, different manufacturers offer valves with varying dimensions and closing dimensions.

[0012] While the closing dimension of a specific valve can be determined relatively easily in a workshop or measuring laboratory with appropriate measuring equipment, it is very difficult to determine the closing dimension of a specific valve with the required accuracy for valves already installed in, for example, heating systems, or if no measuring equipment is available.

[0013] One object of the present invention is to provide a means of determining the closing dimension of a control valve, so that the closing dimension of the control valve, particularly in its installed state, can be determined as simply, quickly, cost-effectively, space-savingly, and / or user-friendly as possible, especially by optical reading. This is intended to be particularly useful for a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator.

[0014] The object of the invention is achieved by a measuring device with the features of claim 1, by a measuring system with the features of claim 9, and by a method with the features of claim 10. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0015] The present invention thus relates to a measuring device for determining the closing dimension of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator, comprising a housing designed to be held directly or indirectly on the control valve, a measuring plunger movable relative to the housing along a longitudinal axis, and a spring element designed to press one end of the measuring plunger against the housing with a measuring force against an upper edge of a valve stem of the control valve, wherein the measuring force of the spring element of the measuring device is greater than a spring force of a return spring of the control valve, and wherein an opposite end of the measuring plunger is designed to determine the closing dimension of the control valve relative to a reference point.

[0016] In general, a control valve is understood to be a valve designed to be adjusted or regulated with respect to its flow opening or flow rate by means of an actuator, which can also be referred to as a servo drive. Such a control valve can be used within the scope of the invention in a heating circuit manifold or a radiator as described above to divide or regulate a fluid flow, such as heating water, between different circuits, for example, of an underfloor heating system.

[0017] The housing can generally be understood as the frame or body of the measuring device, which provides a holding connection between the other components of the measuring device and the control valve. Preferably, the housing can, in the sense of an enclosure, contain or enclose at least some components of the measuring device in order to protect and / or hold them, which can reduce the number of components of the measuring device.

[0018] The measuring plunger can be configured with one end, facing the control valve, for contact with the upper edge of the control valve stem, and with the other end, located opposite the control valve along its longitudinal axis and facing away from the control valve, for determining the closing dimension of the control valve relative to a reference point. For this purpose, a person using the measuring device can place another measuring instrument, such as a meter stick, ruler, or metal scale, against the measuring plunger and read the distance between the corresponding end of the measuring plunger and the reference point. This can also be done using a caliper or vernier caliper. The corresponding end of the measuring plunger facing away from the control valve can itself have a measuring scale, such as a meter stick, ruler, or metal scale, which allows for direct visual reading of the closing dimension.This reference point can preferably be the top edge of the housing, which can make implementation particularly simple, space-saving and / or intuitive to use.

[0019] The measuring device according to the invention can be used such that, in the unmounted state, the measuring plunger is pressed along its longitudinal axis by the spring force of the spring element against the housing in such a way that the end of the measuring plunger used to determine the closing dimension of the control valve, i.e., the end facing away from the control valve, is moved to zero relative to the reference point. This end can also be slightly offset, for example by a few millimeters, relative to the reference point along the longitudinal axis in the direction away from the control valve when the measuring device is unmounted, as such small values ​​for the closing dimension may be unusual. In any case, the reference point can preferably be provided on the housing, for example as a colored and / or tactile marking, or the housing itself can be designed as the reference point, as will be described in more detail below.

[0020] When the measuring device is mounted on the control valve, the measuring plunger of the measuring device comes into contact with the valve stem of the control valve. If the mounting of the measuring device on the control valve continues, the spring element of the measuring plunger and the valve stem of the control valve press against each other along their longitudinal axis. Since the spring force of the measuring plunger's spring element (e.g., 100 N) is significantly greater than the spring force of the valve stem of the control valve (e.g., 30 N), the valve stem of the control valve is thereby depressed, just as it is during operation by the compression spring of the actuator.

[0021] Once the measuring device is fully mounted on the control valve, the spring element of the measuring device's plunger, as well as the plunger itself, is dimensioned such that the control valve is fully closed in this state, as required to determine the closing dimension of the control valve. Since the control valve's return spring is thus fully compressed, the valve plunger now acts as a "hard" stop. Therefore, when the measuring device is finally mounted on the control valve, the end of the plunger facing away from the control valve, which is designed to determine the closing dimension, is pushed away from the control valve along its longitudinal axis until the measuring device is fully secured to the control valve, for example, by being completely screwed on.With the measuring device fully mounted on the control valve, the closing dimension of the control valve can be read by the user from the distance along the longitudinal axis between the end of the measuring plunger (designed for determining the closing dimension of the control valve) and the reference point, preferably the housing. In other words, the upper edge of the measuring plunger can correspond to a "zero point," which, by mounting the measuring device on the control valve, can be positioned relative to the reference point such that the distance between the upper edge of the measuring plunger and the reference point corresponds to the closing dimension to be determined.

[0022] The measuring device and its housing can be appropriately dimensioned relative to the control valve so that the closing dimension can be read in the fully assembled state, as described above. This allows for the design of a specific control valve type, enabling the creation of a dedicated measuring device for each type of control valve from a single manufacturer or from different manufacturers. This device can then be used to determine the closing dimension of precisely that type of control valve during direct mounting. Alternatively, an adapter can be used between the measuring device and the control valve, as described in more detail below. This allows a single measuring device with different adapters to be used with different control valves, enabling the determination of the closing dimension of each specific type of control valve during indirect mounting using the appropriate adapter.

[0023] In any case, according to the invention, the individual closing dimension of the corresponding type of control valve can be precisely determined using the measuring device according to the invention and can be determined by the person, in particular using, for example, a ruler or caliper, or read directly from a measuring scale. This can be implemented quickly, easily, cost-effectively, and / or intuitively. In particular, this can be done with the control valve already mounted on the heating circuit manifold. The determined closing dimension can then be used to adjust the actuator, as described above. This can enable the correct or optimal use of the actuator.

[0024] The control valve is a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator. Accordingly, the measuring device according to the invention is designed to be used with precisely this type of control valve in order to reduce or overcome the disadvantages described above, especially in such applications.

[0025] According to one aspect of the invention, the measuring plunger is movably arranged within the housing and through a through-opening in the housing along its longitudinal axis. In other words, in this case, the housing can be designed as an enclosure for at least the measuring plunger and preferably also for the spring element and the measuring plunger itself, in order to protect them from external contact with the person, from damage, from contamination, and the like. This can also simplify the handling of the measuring device for the person.

[0026] According to a further aspect of the invention, the reference point is formed by an upper edge of the housing, preferably by an upper edge of the housing's through-opening. This allows for the creation of a particularly simple, clear, and intuitively readable reference point. In particular, additional components of the measuring device for forming a reference point can be dispensed with, which can reduce manufacturing costs and save installation space.

[0027] According to a further aspect of the invention, the opposite end of the measuring plunger has a measuring scale designed to indicate the closing dimension of the control valve relative to the reference point. For this purpose, the measuring scale can, for example, be designed like the markings on a meter stick, ruler, or metal ruler, as mentioned previously, which allows the user to read the closing dimension particularly intuitively.

[0028] According to a further aspect of the invention, the end of the measuring plunger that presses against the upper edge of the valve stem of the control valve is designed as a measuring plate, with the spring element of the measuring device pressing against the measuring plate from the side facing away from the control valve. In other words, the end of the measuring plunger that presses against the upper edge of the valve stem of the control valve is flatter than the rest of the measuring plunger and preferably circular, so that at least in sections a radial edge of the measuring plunger is formed facing the spring element, against which an end of the spring element can rest and exert a force on the measuring plunger. This can enable a particularly simple pressing connection between the spring element and the measuring plunger along the longitudinal axis.

[0029] Preferably, the spring element of the measuring device is supported at its edge against the through-opening of the housing. In other words, the through-opening of the housing around the measuring plunger has, at least in sections, an edge or projection pointing towards the measuring plunger, against which the corresponding end of the spring element can be supported and from here exert a force on the measuring plunger along its longitudinal axis. This can enable a particularly simple pressing connection between the spring element and the housing along the longitudinal axis.

[0030] Preferably, the spring element of the measuring device is arranged as a coil spring around the measuring plunger. This can enable a particularly simple, cost-effective, and space-saving yet effective implementation of a spring element as described above.

[0031] According to a further aspect of the invention, the housing is designed to be held directly or indirectly on the control valve such that the longitudinal axis of the measuring plunger corresponds to a longitudinal axis of the valve plunger of the control valve. In other words, the longitudinal axis of the measuring plunger of the measuring device and the longitudinal axis of the valve plunger of the control valve coincide in the assembled state. This can facilitate a compact design of the measuring device as well as a compact arrangement of the measuring device on the control valve. Furthermore, this allows for direct force transmission between the measuring plunger and the valve plunger, thereby preventing tilting or bending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, which could impair the determination of the closing dimension.

[0032] According to the invention, the closing dimension of the control valve when closed is the distance along the longitudinal axis between the upper edge of the valve stem of the control valve and a bearing surface of a connection thread of the control valve. This allows, in particular, the determination of a closing dimension as described above.

[0033] According to a further aspect of the invention, the housing has a thread designed to be screwed onto a first thread of an adapter. This allows the measuring device to be connected to a corresponding adapter by screwing, similar to the subsequent mounting of the corresponding actuator onto the adapter. The adapter, in turn, must be connected to the control valve, as will be described in more detail below. Thus, the measuring device is mounted indirectly onto the control valve, since the adapter is positioned between them.

[0034] According to a further aspect of the invention, the housing has a thread designed to be screwed onto a connection thread of the control valve. This allows the measuring device to be mounted directly onto the control valve, thus avoiding the need for an adapter as previously described. However, this requires the measuring device to be designed to fit the corresponding thread of the control valve, which can lead to a correspondingly large variety of measuring device designs according to the invention.

[0035] An adapter for connecting a measuring device as described above to a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator is disclosed, but not claimed as such. The adapter has a first receptacle along its longitudinal axis for holding the measuring device and a second receptacle facing away from the first receptacle for being held on the control valve. As mentioned previously, this allows for the indirect mounting of a measuring device according to the invention on the corresponding control valve. Different adapters enable the adaptation of a uniform measuring device to the different threads of control valves from different manufacturers. This results in a correspondingly large variety of such adapters.

[0036] Preferably, the first receptacle is a first thread and / or the second receptacle is a second thread. This can be a particularly simple way to implement the respective connection between the measuring device and the adapter and / or between the adapter and the control valve.

[0037] Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the adapter corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the measuring plunger of the measuring device and / or the longitudinal axis of the valve plunger of the control valve. In other words, the respective longitudinal axes coincide in the assembled state. This can facilitate a compact design of the adapter as well as a compact arrangement of the adapter on the control valve. It also allows for direct force transmission between the adapter and the control valve, thereby preventing tilting or bending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, which could impair the determination of the closing dimension.

[0038] The present invention also relates to a measuring system for determining the closing dimension of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator, comprising a measuring device as described above and at least one adapter, preferably a plurality of different adapters, as described above. This provides a measuring system with a measuring device and adapter to enable indirect mounting of the measuring device on the control valve by means of the adapter. If a plurality of different adapters are used, each of which can be used with the measuring device but with different types of control valves, this can increase or enable the flexibility of using the measuring device with various control valves. In unclaimed application examples, the adapters can be used individually by one person to determine the dimensions of a control valve.The relevant dimension, such as a thread diameter and / or thread pitch, can be read on the respective adapter.

[0039] The present invention also relates to a method for determining the closing dimension of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold or a radiator by means of a measuring device, preferably by means of a measuring device as described above, or preferably by means of a measuring system as described above, wherein the measuring device has a measuring plunger which is movably designed along a longitudinal axis, and wherein an end of the measuring plunger opposite the control valve is designed to determine the closing dimension of the control valve relative to a reference point, preferably by means of a measuring scale relative to the reference point, wherein the closing dimension of the control valve when the control valve is closed is the distance along the longitudinal axis between the upper edge of the valve plunger of the control valve and a bearing surface of a connection thread of the control valve, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: Using the measuring device on the control valve so that the closing dimension of the control valve is determined from the measuring plunger relative to the reference point, capturing the end of the measuring plunger opposite the control valve at least sectionally and the reference point by means of an optical image acquisition unit of a computer unit, preferably a mobile device, and determining the closing dimension from the optically captured image data by means of a control unit of the computer unit.

[0040] In other words, this method provides support for users to determine the closing dimension of a control valve with the assistance of a computer unit. This support, or method, can be applied to the previously described measuring device or system, as well as to other measuring devices or systems that also use a measuring plunger and a reference point to determine the closing dimension of the control valve through their relative positioning. For this purpose, the control unit of the computer unit can employ known image processing and pattern recognition methods or algorithms.

[0041] In any case, the user can be relieved of the task of determining the closing dimension by capturing and evaluating corresponding optical image data with regard to the closing dimension, whereby the result of the evaluation or determination can be output acoustically, haptically and / or visually, i.e., in particular by means of speech output, vibration and / or visually readable information can be communicated to the user.

[0042] Using a mobile device as a computing unit can simplify the implementation or increase the user's comfort and availability of the method according to the invention.

[0043] An exemplary embodiment and further advantages of the invention are presented and explained in more detail below in purely schematic terms in connection with the following figures. These figures show: Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a control valve of a heating circuit manifold according to the prior art; Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view of the control valve of the Figure 1 with the adapter and measuring device according to the invention mounted; and Figure 3 a flowchart of a method according to the invention.

[0044] The figures above are viewed in cylindrical coordinates. A longitudinal axis X extends along the axis. Perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X, a radial direction R extends away from the longitudinal axis X. Perpendicular to the radial direction R and around the longitudinal axis X, a circumferential direction U extends.

[0045] Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a fluid distributor 1 in the form of a heating circuit distributor 1 of a heating system. The heating circuit distributor 1 has a wall 10 which encloses an interior space 11 as an interior volume 11. Inside the interior space 11 is a fluid 18 in the form of heating water 18.

[0046] The heating circuit distributor 1 has several control valves 12, which are arranged next to each other and of which only one control valve 12 is in the Figure 1 The control valve 12 has a line connection 13, which is shown in the illustration. Figure 1 The flow path leads downwards through the wall 10 of the heating circuit manifold 1. A fluid line 19 in the form of a pipe 19 is connected to the lower or outer end of the pipe connection 13. The control valve 12 has a valve stem 14 in the form of a cylindrical rod, which is guided through the heating water 18 and widens radially at its lower end, facing the pipe connection 13, into a circular valve disc 15. The valve disc 15 has an annular valve seal 16 made of an elastic material at its edge, facing the pipe connection 13.

[0047] Outside the wall 10 of the heating circuit manifold 1, the control valve 12 is fixedly mounted on the wall 10 such that the valve stem 14 extends along the longitudinal axis X through the control valve 12 and protrudes upwards from the control valve 12 with its upper edge 14a. Inside the control valve 12, a return spring 17 is arranged as a valve spring 17 and is connected to the control valve 12 and the valve stem 14 such that the spring force F of the return spring 17 moves the valve stem 14 away from the line connection 13 along the longitudinal axis X, thus opening the line connection 13 to allow fluid flow.If a higher spring force is applied along the longitudinal axis X over the upper edge 14a to the valve tappet 14 by a compression spring of an actuator (not shown) and the valve tappet 14 is fully pressed onto the line connection 13, so that the valve disc 15 with the valve seal 16 seals the line connection 13 fluid-tight, as in the . Figure 1 As shown, this completely prevents the flow of heating water 18 into pipe 19.

[0048] In order to use an actuator to actuate the control valve 12 in such a way that the actuator, by means of the spring force of a compression spring, presses the valve stem 14 completely fluid-tight onto the line connection 13 as described above, the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 must be known, which in the fully closed state of the Figure 1corresponds to the distance along the longitudinal axis X between the upper edge 14a of the valve plunger 14 of the control valve 12 and a bearing surface 17b of a connection thread 17a of the control valve 12.

[0049] According to the invention, an adapter 2 in the form of an adapter ring 2, which is designed as a one-piece adapter body 20, is first screwed onto the connection thread 17a of the control valve 12 as an external thread, with a second receptacle 22 in the form of a second thread 22 as an internal thread along the longitudinal axis X. Different adapters 2 can be used to be screwed onto control valves 12 of different types from different manufacturers, which, if the dimensions of the adapter 2 used are known, can also serve to determine the dimensions of the control valve 12.

[0050] Along the longitudinal axis X opposite the second thread 22, which can also be referred to as the valve thread 22 of the adapter 2, a first receptacle 21 in the form of a first thread 21 as an internal thread is provided on the adapter body 20. This receptacle is uniformly or identically designed and adapted to a measuring device 3 according to the invention. In this way, the measuring device 3 can be used with control valves 12 of different types from different manufacturers without having to be adapted to its connection thread 17a, since this is taken care of by the valve thread 22 of the adapter 2.

[0051] The measuring device 3 according to the invention, which can also be referred to as a measuring head 3, has a housing 30, which can also be referred to as a body 30. The housing 30 is essentially cylindrical around the longitudinal axis X and has a thread 31 as an external thread at its lower end, with which the housing 30 can be screwed to the first thread 21 of the adapter, which is why the thread 31 of the housing 30 can also be referred to as the adapter thread 31 of the measuring device 3.

[0052] Within the housing 30 of the measuring device 3, a cylindrical interior space (not designated) is formed, which is open upwards by a circular through-opening 32 along the longitudinal axis X. A substantially cylindrical measuring plunger 34 is arranged within the interior space, its lower end along the longitudinal axis X forming a circular measuring point 35. A spring element 33 in the form of a coil spring 33 is arranged around the cylindrical central section of the measuring plunger 34 as a compression spring 33. This spring element is supported along the longitudinal axis X at the upper inner edge of the through-opening 32 and exerts its spring force along the longitudinal axis X on the measuring point 35 to press it downwards along the longitudinal axis X. At its upper end along the longitudinal axis X, opposite the measuring plate 35, the measuring plunger 34 has a measuring scale 36, which is designed similarly to a meter stick, a ruler, or a metal scale.

[0053] By appropriately dimensioning the adapter body 20 and the two threads 21, 22 of the adapter 2 in combination with the dimensioning of the housing 30 and the thread 31 of the measuring device 3 and in combination with the dimensioning of the compression spring 33 and the measuring plunger 34, the measuring scale 36, with its upper end along the longitudinal axis X, which marks the dimension "zero", closes exactly with the upper edge of the housing 13 or the through-opening 32 as reference point 37 of the measuring scale 36, when the measuring device 3 is not mounted on the adapter 2 and thus the compression spring 33 can pull the measuring scale 36 maximally into the interior of the housing 30.

[0054] When the measuring device 3 is screwed onto the adapter 2, the lower side of the measuring plate 35 of the measuring device 3, along the longitudinal axis X, comes into contact with the upper edge 14a of the valve stem 14 of the control valve 12. Since the compression spring 33 of the measuring device 3 has a higher spring force than the return spring 17 of the control valve 12, when the measuring device 3 is screwed onto the adapter 2, the valve stem 14 of the control valve 12 is pressed by the measuring stem 34 of the measuring device 3 towards the line connection 13 until, when the measuring device 3 is fully screwed onto the adapter 2, the valve stem 14 completely seals the line connection 13, as when the actuator is used. This position of the control valve 12 can be referred to as the closing point.

[0055] When screwing on, the measuring plunger 34 is pushed out of the through-opening 32 along the longitudinal axis X by the fully depressed, i.e. closed, control valve 12 exactly so far that the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 can be read on the measuring scale 36 of the measuring plunger 34 where the upper edge of the housing 30 or the through-opening 32 lies at the height of the measuring scale 36 as reference point 37, see Figure 2 .

[0056] By using the measuring device 3 according to the invention in combination with the adapter 2 as the measuring system 2, 3 according to the invention, the closing dimension S of the control valve 12, which is already installed in a heating circuit manifold 1 and therefore cannot be measured individually to determine the closing dimension S, can be easily determined by a user. This can be done very simply and intuitively.

[0057] This can be done directly by the user by reading the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 on the measuring scale 36 of the measuring plunger 34 where the upper edge of the housing 30 or the through-opening 32 lies at the height of the measuring scale 36 as reference point 37. Alternatively, the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 can also be measured by the user using a caliper on the protruding measuring plunger 34 and read on the measuring scale of the caliper.

[0058] Alternatively, this can be done, especially in the case of a measuring plunger 34 without a measuring scale 36, with the aid of a computing unit 4 in the form of a mobile device 4, which is located in the Figure 2This is exemplified as a smartphone 4 or a tablet 4. The mobile device 4 has a housing 40 through which an image acquisition unit 41 is directed outwards. Inside the housing 40, a control unit 42 is arranged, which receives optical image data that has been optically acquired by the image acquisition unit 41 in its image acquisition area B and can process it using known methods for pattern recognition and image processing and evaluate it with regard to the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 in order to determine it. For this purpose, the control unit 42 can execute a procedure as follows: The user can now, as previously described, mount the measuring device 3 directly or indirectly on the control valve 12, so that the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 is measured from the measuring plunger 34 to the edge of the housing 30 or the control device 30.The reference point 37 is determined opposite the through-opening 32 and is preferably readable on the measuring scale 36. This can also be done without a measuring scale 36 by extending the measuring plunger 36 sufficiently far along the longitudinal axis X opposite the through-opening 32 as the reference point 37.

[0059] Then the user can, as a capture 200, direct the optical image capture unit 41 of the mobile device 4 with its image capture area B onto the measuring plunger 34 in its entirety and the reference point 37, if no measuring scale 36 is present, or at least onto the section of the measuring scale 36 at the height of the reference point 37, if a measuring scale 36 is present, and take a picture of it, whereby corresponding optical image data are captured and made available at least temporarily by a short-term memory of the mobile device 4 or its control unit 42.

[0060] Now, using the control unit 42 of the computer unit 4, the closing dimension S can be determined from the optically acquired image data. If the measuring scale 36 is used, the scaling of the measuring scale 36 can be extracted from the acquired optical image data using known image processing and pattern recognition methods, and the corresponding value of the measuring scale 36 at the height of the reference point 37 can be recognized and converted into a numerical value. If no measuring scale 36 is used, the length along the longitudinal axis between the reference point 37 and the upper end of the measuring plunger 34 opposite the control valve 12 can be determined from the acquired optical image data using known image processing and pattern recognition methods and also converted into a numerical value. For this purpose, if necessary,The known diameter of the measuring plunger 34 serves as a reference value to convert the length along the longitudinal axis between the reference point 37 and the upper end of the measuring plunger 34 opposite the control valve 12 into a concrete numerical value.

[0061] In any case, the specified closing dimension S can now be output to the user as a numerical value, so that the user is provided with the closing dimension S of the control valve 12 used as a numerical value and can use it to set the corresponding actuator. This output can be, for example, as a voice output and / or as a display on a screen (not shown) of the mobile device 4. REFERENCE MARK LIST

[0062] B Image acquisition area of ​​the image acquisition unit 41 F Spring force of the return spring 17 S Closing dimension of the control valve 12 R Radial direction U Circumferential direction X Longitudinal axis 1 Fluid distributor; heating circuit distributor 10 Wall 11 Interior; internal volume 12 Control valve 13 Line connection of the control valve 12 14 Valve stem 14a Top edge of the valve stem 14 15 Valve disc 16 Valve seal 17 Return spring; valve spring 17a Connection thread of the control valve 12 17b Contact surface of the connection thread 17a of the control valve 12 18 Fluid; heating water 19 Fluid line; pipe 2 Adapter; adapter ring 20 Adapter body 21 First receptacle or first thread of adapter 2; actuator thread of adapter 2 22 Second receptacle or second thread of adapter 2; Valve thread of adapter 2 3 Measuring device; measuring head 30 Housing; body 31 Thread of measuring device 3; adapter thread of measuring device 3 32 Through opening 33 Spring element; coil spring; compression spring 34 Measuring plunger 35 Measuring plate 36 Measuring scale 37 Reference point 4 Computer unit; mobile device; smartphone; tablet 40 Housing 41 Image acquisition unit 42 Control unit 100 Using the measuring device 3 on the control valve 12 200 Detecting the measuring plunger 34 and the reference point 37 300 Determining the closing dimension S from the optically detected image data 400 Outputting the determined closing dimension S

Claims

1. Measuring device (3) for determining a closing dimension (S) of a control valve (12) of a heating circuit distributor (1) or of a radiator, comprising a housing (30) which is designed to be held directly or indirectly on the control valve (12), comprising a measuring plunger (34) which is movable relative to the housing (30) along a longitudinal axis (X), and comprising a spring element (33) which is designed to press an end of the measuring plunger (34) against the housing (30) with a measuring force against an upper edge (14a) of a valve plunger (14) of the control valve (12), wherein the measuring force of the spring element (33) of the measuring device (3) is greater than a spring force of a return spring (17) of the control valve (12) and wherein an opposite end of the measuring plunger (34) is designed to determine the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) relative to a reference point (37), wherein the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) when the control valve (12) is closed is the distance along the longitudinal axis (X) between the upper edge (14a) of the valve plunger (14) of the control valve (12) and a bearing surface (17b) of a connection thread (17a) of the control valve (17).

2. Measuring device (3) according to claim 1, characterized in that the measuring plunger (34) is movably arranged inside the housing (30) and through a through-opening (32) of the housing (30) along the longitudinal axis (X).

3. Measuring device (3) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the reference point (37) is formed by an upper edge of the housing (30), preferably by an upper edge of the through-opening (32) of the housing (30).

4. Measuring device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the opposite end of the measuring plunger (34) has a measuring scale (36) which is designed to indicate the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) relative to the reference point (37).

5. Measuring device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end of the measuring plunger (34) that presses against the upper edge (14a) of the valve plunger (14) of the control valve (12) is designed as a measuring plate (35), the spring element (33) of the measuring device (3) pressing on the measuring plate (35) from the side facing away from the control valve (12).

6. Measuring device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (30) is designed to be held directly or indirectly on the control valve (12) such that the longitudinal axis (X) of the measuring plunger (34) corresponds to a longitudinal axis (X) of the valve plunger (14) of the control valve (12).

7. Measuring device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (30) has a thread (31) which is designed to be screwed to a first thread (21) of an adapter (2).

8. Measuring device (3) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing (30) has a thread (31) which is designed to be screwed to a connection thread (17a) of the control valve (12).

9. Measuring system (2, 3) for determining a closing dimension (S) of a control valve (12) of a heating circuit distributor (1) or of a radiator comprising a measuring device (3) according to any of claims 1 to 7, and comprising at least one adapter (2), preferably a plurality of different adapters (2), wherein the adapter (2) has a first receptacle (21) along the longitudinal axis (X) for holding the measuring device (3) and a second receptacle (22) facing away from the first receptacle (21) in order to be held on the control valve (12), wherein preferably the first receptacle (21) is a first thread (21) and / or the second receptacle (22) is a second thread (22).

10. Method for determining a closing dimension (S) of a control valve (12) of a heating circuit distributor (1) or of a radiator by means of a measuring device (3), preferably by means of a measuring device (3) according to any of claims 1 to 8, or preferably by means of a measuring system (2, 3) according to claim 9, wherein the measuring device (3) has a measuring plunger (34) which is designed to be movable along a longitudinal axis (X), and wherein an end of the measuring plunger (34) opposite the control valve (12) is designed to determine the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) relative to a reference point (37), preferably to indicate by means of a measuring scale (36) relative to the reference point (37), wherein the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) when the control valve (12) is closed is the distance along the longitudinal axis (X) between an upper edge (14a) of a valve plunger (14) of the control valve (12) and a bearing surface (17b) of a connection thread (17a) of the control valve (17), wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: • using (100) the measuring device (3) on the control valve (12) so that the closing dimension (S) of the control valve (12) is determined by the measuring plunger (34) relative to the reference point (37), • capturing (200) the end of the measuring plunger (34) opposite the control valve (12) at least portion by portion and the reference point (37) by means of an optical image capture unit (41) of a computer unit (4), preferably a mobile terminal (4), and • ascertaining (300) the closing dimension (S) from the optically captured image data by means of a control unit (42) of the computer unit (4).