Shut-off valve and tank system with a shut-off valve

Description

[0001] The presented invention relates to a shut-off valve and a tank system with a shut-off valve. State of the art

[0002] Mobile hydrogen tank systems, for example for use in motor vehicles, include tank valves for filling with fuel, such as hydrogen, to supply propulsion systems like fuel cells or hydrogen combustion engines. In the event of a line rupture or accident, the hydrogen tanks must automatically shut off using a so-called "shut-off valve" to prevent uncontrolled fuel leakage.

[0003] DE 10 2020 201162 A1 discloses a tank device for a fuel cell tank, in particular for storing hydrogen, for example for use in vehicles with fuel cell propulsion.

[0004] From US patent 2009 / 236551 A1, a valve device is known comprising a temperature sensor arranged to project from a housing into the interior of a tank in order to detect the temperature inside the tank. This temperature sensor can detect the temperature without being affected by the heat capacity of the housing.

[0005] US Patent 2022 / 049790 A1 discloses a valve device for a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen, comprising a valve housing and a first magnetic armature arranged therein and movable along a longitudinal axis, which first magnetic armature interacts with a first sealing seat to open and close an outlet opening.

[0006] US Patent 5,735,852 A discloses a clamp for a spinal fixation device comprising: a base body traversed by a channel for receiving a longitudinal support, the channel having a longitudinal axis, and a locking means for rotating and longitudinally locking the longitudinal support to the body, the locking device having a locking means relative to the longitudinal axis Disclosure of the invention

[0007] Within the scope of the presented invention, a shut-off valve and a tank system are introduced. Further features and details of the invention will become apparent from the respective dependent claims, the description, and the drawings. Features and details described in connection with the shut-off valve according to the invention naturally also apply in connection with the tank system according to the invention, and vice versa, so that the disclosure regarding the individual aspects of the invention always refers, or can refer, to each other.

[0008] The invention presented here serves in particular to provide a compact shut-off valve which can be arranged in a bottle neck of a pressure tank.

[0009] Thus, according to a first aspect of the presented invention, a shut-off valve for closing a tank is presented. The shut-off valve comprises a control chamber, a pilot valve, a main valve, an electromagnet, a drive element, and a base plate.

[0010] The electromagnet comprises a magnetic armature and a coil, wherein the magnetic armature is arranged to be movable, so that when the coil is energized, the magnetic armature moves by one magnetic armature stroke towards the base plate.

[0011] The pilot valve is movably mounted in the magnetic armature.

[0012] The actuator is configured to move the pilot valve into a pilot position by one pilot valve stroke in the direction of the base plate when the magnetic armature is moved from a pilot valve home position.

[0013] The main valve is movable by one main valve stroke towards the base plate and is configured to move the pilot valve further towards the base plate from the pilot position when moving by the main valve stroke.

[0014] In the context of the presented invention, a driver is understood to be a component that is movable and configured to contact a moving partner, such as the pilot valve provided according to the invention, during movement and to at least partially guide it along during its movement. In particular, the driver according to the invention is a protrusion of the magnetic armature according to the invention, which is configured to engage with a protrusion of the pilot valve provided according to the invention.

[0015] The presented shut-off valve is based on a very small pilot valve stroke of the pilot valve, which is generated by a movement of the magnetic armature, and a larger main valve stroke of the main valve, which is generated by a pressure difference between the control chamber and a high-pressure connection of the shut-off valve.

[0016] Since the electromagnet provided according to the invention is only required for moving the magnetic armature by a small pilot valve stroke, the electromagnet can be designed to be smaller compared to known shut-off valves where a larger pilot valve stroke is provided. Accordingly, the presented shut-off valve itself can be designed to be very small and arranged in a cylinder holder of a pressure vessel of a tank.

[0017] It may be provided that the pilot valve stroke is smaller than the main valve stroke.

[0018] By using a pilot valve stroke that is smaller than the main valve stroke, the force required for the pilot valve stroke is minimized. Consequently, the electromagnet can be made particularly weak and correspondingly small.

[0019] It may also be provided that the magnetic armature stroke is the same as the pilot valve stroke.

[0020] Since a movement of the magnetic armature is transferred to the pilot valve by the driver, the magnetic armature stroke can be directly converted into a movement of the pilot valve and a corresponding pilot valve stroke, so that the pilot valve and the magnetic armature move simultaneously and for the same length or over the same distance towards the base plate.

[0021] It may also be provided that the pilot valve, in the rest position, seals a connection extending through the main valve from the control chamber to a low-pressure connection of the shut-off valve, and in the pilot position releases the connection so that in the pilot position the low-pressure connection can be filled in order to reduce pressure in the control chamber and move the main valve by the main valve stroke towards the base plate.

[0022] The pilot valve is essentially mounted to move between a rest position, in which it seals a connection extending through the main valve from the control chamber to a low-pressure connection of the shut-off valve, a pilot position, and a deflected position in which the connection is released. Accordingly, the movement, or stroke, of the pilot valve initiates the escape of fluid from the control chamber through the connection, thereby triggering the stroke of the main valve. The stroke of the main valve occurs without current or assistance from the electromagnet, but is driven solely by a pressure differential between a high-pressure connection or the pressure in a tank connected to the shut-off valve and the pressure in the control chamber, which varies depending on the position of the pilot valve.

[0023] It may also be provided that the shut-off valve includes a sealing element that prevents an inflow to the control chamber from a high-pressure system coupled to the shut-off valve when the main valve has moved by the main valve stroke towards the base plate.

[0024] To prevent pressure equalization between a high-pressure connection of the shut-off valve and the control chamber, and thus a blockage of movement of the main valve, a sealing element, such as a foam or a sealing ring, can be provided at an inlet point of the high-pressure connection, so that, for example, the main valve presses the sealing element onto the inlet point when the main valve has moved by the main valve stroke towards the base plate.

[0025] It may also be provided that a residual air gap disc is arranged between the magnetic armature and the base plate.

[0026] A residual air gap disc between the magnetic armature and the base plate prevents, on the one hand, the magnetic armature from sticking to the base plate and, on the other hand, the control chamber from being filled through a gap between the magnetic armature and the base plate.

[0027] It may further be provided that the shut-off valve includes a pilot valve spring that pushes the pilot valve from the pilot position to the rest position, the shut-off valve includes a position spring that pushes the main valve onto a low-pressure connection of the shut-off valve, and the shut-off valve includes a main valve spring that pushes the main valve towards the pilot valve.

[0028] By means of individual springs, i.e. mechanical spring elements of the shut-off valve, forces and counterforces, in particular a force to be provided by the electromagnet for the pilot valve stroke, can be precisely adjusted.

[0029] According to a second aspect, the presented invention relates to a tank system for storing a fluid. The tank system comprises a tank and a possible embodiment of the presented shut-off valve.

[0030] It may be intended that the presented tank system is configured for storing hydrogen.

[0031] The presented shut-off valve is particularly suitable for preventing hydrogen from escaping from a tank, making the presented tank system a particularly safe tank system for storing hydrogen.

[0032] It may also be provided that the shut-off valve is located in a bottleneck of a pressure vessel of the tank.

[0033] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings. The features mentioned in the claims and in the description can each be essential to the invention individually or in any combination.

[0034] They show: Figure 1 a schematic representation of a possible design of the presented shut-off valve, Figure 2 a schematic representation of a possible design of the presented tank system.

[0035] In Figure 1 A shut-off valve 100 is shown. The shut-off valve comprises a control chamber 101, a pilot valve 103, a main valve 105, an electromagnet 107, a drive element 109 and a base plate 111.

[0036] The base plate 111 can, for example, be part of a housing in which the shut-off valve is installed. Therefore, the base plate 111 can be connected to the shut-off valve 100 via an interface of the shut-off valve 100, in particular a thread, so that the housing or the base plate 111 provides for a magnetic flux or return path of the electromagnet 107.

[0037] The opening and holding forces of the pilot valve 103 are achieved by actuating or energizing a coil 113. When the coil 113 is electrically actuated, a magnetic field 139 is generated, which moves a magnetic armature 115 of the electromagnet 107 downwards towards the base plate against a pilot valve spring 117 by one magnetic armature stroke, as indicated by arrow 119.

[0038] The mechanical actuator 109 moves the pilot valve 103 by one pilot valve stroke, as indicated by arrow 121, analogous to the movement of the magnetic armature. In doing so, the pilot valve 103 lifts out of its sealing seat on the main valve 105 and fills a low-pressure connection 123, as indicated by arrow 125, with fluid from the control chamber 101.

[0039] Until the pilot valve 103 is released from the main valve 105, the same pressure is present in the control chamber 101 as in a high-pressure connection 127 or a tank coupled to the high-pressure connection 127. This is because the control chamber is filled from the high-pressure connection 127 via guide slots.

[0040] The filling process and the associated pressure build-up in the low-pressure connection 123 alter the pressure conditions at the main valve 105 such that a pressurized area in the control chamber 101 at the main valve 105 experiences a lower pressure level, while the pressure is increased up to a sealing element 129. Together with the pressurized area from the high-pressure connection 127, this results in the opening forces at the main valve 105, which are additionally supported by a main valve spring 131, but act against the force of a very small position spring 141.

[0041] The main valve 105 moves by one main valve stroke, as indicated by arrow 135, in the direction of the pilot valve 103 until it comes into contact with it.

[0042] As the main valve 105 moves further towards the base plate 111, the pilot valve 103 is lifted out of the mechanical actuator 109 and continues to follow the path of the main valve 105.

[0043] The main valve 105 moves constructively until it touches the sealing element 133 of the magnetic armature 115 and its main valve stroke is limited, as indicated by arrow 135.

[0044] The sealing element 133 is arranged in such a way that, during prolonged activation or when the main valve 105 is open, refilling of the control chamber 101 from the high-pressure connection 127 is prevented or excluded.

[0045] Additionally, between the magnetic armature 115 and the base plate 111 there is a residual air gap disc 137, designed, for example, as a sealing element, which prevents the magnetic armature 115 from sticking magnetically to the base plate 111 and the control chamber 101 from being filled.

[0046] If the electrical control of the coil 113 is terminated or interrupted by another event, the magnetic holding force drops and the magnetic armature 115 moves away from the sealing element 133, so that fluid flows into the control chamber 101 via the sealing element 133 or corresponding free areas and, together with the pilot valve spring 117, exerts a closing force on the main valve 105 via the pilot valve 103 and closes the low-pressure connection 123.

[0047] In Figure 2 A tank system 200 is shown. The tank system 200 comprises a tank 201 with a pressure vessel 203 in the form of a pressure bottle with a bottleneck 205.

[0048] The shut-off valve 100 is located in the bottleneck 205.

Claims

1. Shut-off valve (100) for closing off a tank (201), wherein the shut-off valve (100) comprises: - a control chamber (101), - a pilot-control valve (103), - a main valve (105), - an electromagnet (107), - a driver (109), - a base plate (111), wherein the electromagnet (107) comprises a magnet armature (115) and a coil (113), characterized in that the pilot-control valve (103) is mounted in a movable manner in the magnet armature (115), wherein the magnet armature (115) is arranged in a movable manner such that, when the coil (113) is energized, the magnet armature (115) is moved through a magnet-armature stroke (119) in the direction of the base plate (111), wherein the driver (109) is configured to move the pilot-control valve (103) along, from a home position of the pilot-control valve (103) through a pilot-control-valve stroke (121), in the direction of the base plate (111) into a pilot-control position during a movement of the magnet armature (115), wherein the main valve (105) is movable through a main-valve stroke (135) in the direction of the base plate (111), wherein the main valve (105) is configured to move the pilot-control valve (103) from the pilot-control position further in the direction of the base plate (111) during a movement through the main-valve stroke (135).

2. Shut-off valve (100) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the pilot-control-valve stroke (121) is shorter than the main-valve stroke (135).

3. Shut-off valve (100) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the magnet-armature stroke (119) is of the same magnitude as the pilot-control-valve stroke (121).

4. Shut-off valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pilot-control valve (103), in the rest position, seals off a connection, extending through the main valve (105), of the control chamber (101) to a low-pressure connection (123) of the shut-off valve (100) and, in the pilot-control position, opens up the connection, so that, in the pilot-control position, the low-pressure connection (123) is able to be filled, so as to lower a pressure in the control chamber (101) and to move the main valve (105) through the main-valve stroke (135) in the direction of the base plate (111).

5. Shut-off valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shut-off valve (100) comprises a sealing element (133) which, when the main valve (105) has moved through the main-valve stroke (135) in the direction of the base plate (111), prevents an inflow to the control chamber (101) from a high-pressure system coupled to the shut-off valve (100).

6. Shut-off valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a residual-air-gap disc (137) is arranged between the magnet armature (115) and the base plate (111).

7. Shut-off valve (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shut-off valve (100) comprises a pilot-control-valve spring (139) which pushes the pilot-control valve (103) into the rest position, the shut-off valve (100) comprises a position spring (141) which pushes the main valve (105) to a low-pressure connection (123) of the shut-off valve (100), and the shut-off valve (100) comprises a main-valve spring (131) which pushes the main valve (105) in the direction of the pilot-control valve (103).

8. Tank system (200) for storing a fluid, wherein the tank system (200) comprises: - a tank (201), - a shut-off valve (100) according to one of Claims 1 to 7.

9. Tank system (200) according to Claim 8, wherein the tank system (200) is configured to store hydrogen.

10. Tank system (200) according to Claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the shut-off valve (100) is arranged in a bottle neck (205) of a pressure vessel (203) of the tank (201).