Liquid flow regulator
The simplified design of fluid flow regulators with plastic components and adjustable throttles addresses instability and complexity, ensuring stable flow regulation and cost-effective operation.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- RU · RU
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ НАУЧНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВСЕРОССИЙСКИЙ НАУЧНО-ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ СИСТЕМ ОРОШЕНИЯ СЕЛЬХОЗВОДОСНАБЖЕНИЯ РАДУГА (ФГБНУ ВНИИ РАДУГА ) (RU)
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-07
AI Technical Summary
Existing fluid flow regulators suffer from instability in output flow, complex design, operational inconvenience, and limited adjustability, leading to inefficiencies and high maintenance costs.
A simplified design incorporating washers of varying thickness, a plug valve throttle, and an automatic adjustable throttle, allowing for stable flow regulation and easy maintenance, with components made from plastic via hot pressing.
The solution achieves stable flow regulation with minimal deviation (<1.5%) and reduced maintenance effort, expanding the operating pressure range and lowering production costs.
Smart Images
Figure 00000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The utility model relates to auxiliary units of hydraulic systems and is designed to maintain a constant flow rate of liquid supplied to the consumer when the pressure value changes in both the supply and discharge hydraulic lines, as well as to reduce the hydraulic resistance of the flow path during the reverse flow of liquid.
[0002] Fluid flow regulators are known that contain a housing with inlet and outlet pipes and a movable regulating element made in the form of a spring-loaded piston or an elastic membrane [Author's certificate USSR 645130, class G05D 7 / 01; Author's certificate USSR 1550484, class G05D 7 / 01].
[0003] The disadvantage of these flow controllers is that the output flow is not stable enough with an error exceeding 5%.
[0004] The closest in technical essence to the claimed liquid flow regulator is the flow regulator selected as a prototype, which includes a housing with inlet and outlet channels and a movable spring-loaded regulating element dividing the internal cavity of the housing into three parts, communicated with each other by means of two sequentially installed throttles (one that sets the flow value and one that is automatically regulated), and is made in the form of a membrane drive, the membrane of which is clamped along the periphery between the flanges of the housing, where the membrane of the movable regulating element in the center is freely seated on the rod, forming a check valve with its plate [RU Patent 2216021, class G05D 7 / 01, published 10.11.02003 Bulletin No. 31, prototype].
[0005] The disadvantage of this flow regulator is its complex design and inconvenient operation. The flow-setting throttle "D2" is complex and inconvenient to operate, as it consists of several components, and removing and installing plug valve 6 during maintenance creates certain difficulties. The design of the automatically adjustable flow throttle "D1" is formed by the cross-section of the inlet pipe 2 and the movable control element 4 with head 13, resulting in a small neck size for head 13 given the small dimensions of the fluid flow regulator. This precludes the inexpensive production of movable control element 4 from plastic by hot pressing due to the instability of the neck of head 13.The liquid flow regulator is not provided with the ability to change the compression force of spring 5, which eliminates the possibility of changing the pressure difference between cavities "b" and "c" and narrows the range of change of the operating pressure of the liquid flow regulator.
[0006] The purpose of the proposed utility model is to simplify the design of a liquid flow regulator, increasing its reliability and efficiency.
[0007] The said objective is achieved by the fact that in the liquid flow regulator, comprising a housing with an inlet and a cover with an outlet branch pipe and a movable spring-loaded regulating element with a rod, made in the form of a membrane drive, and dividing the internal cavity of the liquid flow regulator into cavities "a", "b" and "c", communicated with each other by means of sequentially installed setting value and automatically regulated flow throttles "D1" and "D2", the flow regulator is provided with washers of different thickness, the throttle setting the flow value "D1" is made in the form of a plug valve, consisting of a sleeve in the body of the housing with a radial channel at the bottom, a cylindrical surface in the middle and an annular groove with window cutouts at the top and a plug with axial and radial channels, a sealing ring, hooks at the level of the annular groove of the sleeve and a handle,and the automatic adjustable throttle "D2" is made by means of the interaction of the lower end of the rod of the movable spring-loaded control element and the outlet channel of the cover.
[0008] The essence of the proposed utility model is shown in the drawings, where Fig. 1 is a general view of the liquid flow regulator; Fig. 2 is view A in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is view B in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section B - B in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section of the liquid flow regulator body with a throttle sleeve that sets the liquid flow rate; Fig. 6 is view G in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a general view of the throttle plug that sets the flow rate value; Fig. 8 is view D in Fig. 7.
[0009] The liquid flow regulator contains a body 1 with an inlet 2 and a cover 3 with an outlet 4 branch pipe, a movable spring-loaded control element 5, a spring 6, washers 7 of different thicknesses and a plug valve 8. The cover 3 is made with a glass 9, which serves as a guide for the spring 6 and washers 7 of different thicknesses (Figs. 1 and 4).
[0010] The regulating element 5 contains a rod 10 and a membrane 11, which is clamped along the periphery between the body 1 and the cover 3. In the center, the membrane 11 is loosely seated on the rod 10, which has a hollow cylindrical guide 12 with radial channels 13, a plate 14, a guide 15 with channels for a spring 6 and an regulating head 16. The upper part of the spring 6 is mounted on the guide 15 with channels, and the lower part is on washers 7 of different thicknesses, as a result of which it presses the rod 10 to the extreme upper position (Fig. 4).
[0011] The regulating element 5 divides the internal cavity of the liquid flow regulator into cavities “a”, “b” and “c”, which are connected to each other by means of a sequentially installed throttle “D1” that sets the flow value and an automatically adjustable throttle “D2”.
[0012] The control throttle "D1" is a plug valve 8 (Fig. 1), which includes a sleeve 17 (Fig. 5), made in the body 1 and a plug 18 (Fig. 7), having an axial channel 19 with a radial channel 20, a sealing ring 21, hooks 22 and a handle 23 with an indicator 24. The sleeve 17 in its inner part has a cylindrical shape 25 with a radial channel 26, an annular groove 27 with window cutouts 28 on the upper side (Fig. 5). The plug 18 is pivotally mounted in the sleeve 17 (Fig. 4). Due to the relative position of the flow sections of the radial channel 20, hooks 22 and indicator 24 (Fig. 2, 3, 7 and 8), radial channel 26, annular groove 27, window cutouts 28 (Fig. 5 and 6), when the throttle "D1" is fully open, the flow sections of the radial channels 20 and 26 coincide completely (Fig. 3), indicator 24 is directed to the right side (Fig.2 and 3), and the hooks 22, located in the annular groove 27, are offset from the axis of the window cutouts 28 by 45° clockwise, which allows the plug 18 to be in a stable position under water pressure in the cavities of the liquid flow regulator. The flow rate of the throttle "D1" is changed by rotating the handle 23 (indicator 24) clockwise in a sector in the range of 0...90° (Fig. 2), which maintains a secure location of the hooks 22 in the annular groove 27, the sealing ring 21 in the area of the cylindrical shape 25 and eliminates water leaks and prevents the plug 18 from moving upward under water pressure in cavity "b" of the liquid flow regulator.
[0013] The automatically adjustable throttle "D2" is formed by the outlet channel 29 of the outlet pipe 4 and the adjusting head 16, the end of which is installed at a distance from the flow section of the outlet channel 29 by a quarter of its diameter.
[0014] The liquid flow regulator works as follows.
[0015] Pressed liquid enters chamber "a" through inlet pipe 2, hollow cylindrical guide 12, radial channels 13, and then through control throttle "D1," or more specifically, radial channels 26 and 20, axial channel 19, and channels formed in membrane 11 and cover body 3, entering chamber "b." From chamber "b," through channels in guide 15 and the flow section between the end of control head 16 and outlet channel 19 (i.e., through automatically adjustable throttle "D2"), the liquid enters cavity "c" and then through outlet pipe 4 to the consumer.
[0016] Control element 5, loaded by spring 6, will move downward under the pressure differential in chambers "a" and "b" and settle in a position where the force of spring 6 is balanced by this pressure differential. If the fluid flow rate increases, the pressure differential will also increase, causing control element 5 and its control head 16 to move downward. As a result, the cross-section of throttle "D2" will decrease, reducing the flow rate to a value that corresponds to the setpoint, i.e., the cross-section of setting throttle "D1." When the flow rate decreases below the setpoint, the pressure differential between chambers "a" and "b" decreases, control element 5 moves upward under the force of spring 6 and increases the cross-section of throttle "D2", restoring the flow rate to the setpoint.
[0017] The set flow rate is changed by changing the cross-section of the throttle "D1." This operation can be performed while the regulator is operating by moving handle 23 (pointer 24) to the desired position in the 0-90° segment, located counterclockwise from pointer 24 (Fig. 2). Washers 7 of varying thicknesses allow, through various combinations, to achieve different values of the compression force of spring 6, which leads to the possibility of reducing the pressure drop between cavities "a" and "b" and lowering the lower limit of the operating pressure of the liquid flow regulator, expanding the range of its applicability.
[0018] The design of the liquid flow regulator ensures the operation of the automatically adjustable throttle "D2" without the passage of the regulating head 16 through the outlet channel 19, which makes it possible to achieve the required dimensions for the stability of the regulating head 16, to make the movable adjustable element 5 from plastic by hot pressing under pressure at low cost and to increase the reliability and efficiency of the liquid flow regulator.
[0019] The maintenance work associated with the plug valve 8 is reduced to a minimum, since the installation and removal of the plug 18 from the sleeve 17 is performed using two movements, which reduces the cost of maintenance work and increases the efficiency of the liquid flow regulator. To install the plug 18 (Fig. 7) into the sleeve 17 (Fig. 5), it is necessary to direct the hooks 22 into the window cutouts 28 (Fig. 6), press on the handle 23 and set the pointer 24 to the right position (Figs. 2 and 3). To remove the plug 18 from the sleeve 17, it is necessary to set the pointer 24 by 45° counterclockwise compared to the original position (Figs. 2, 3 and 4), which leads to the coincidence of the hooks 22 with the window cutouts 28 and pull the handle upward.
[0020] When the direction of the fluid flow changes, the control element 5 takes the extreme upper position under the action of the spring 6, in which the flow section of the throttle "D2" opens to the maximum, the fluid from the cavity "b" flows into the cavity "a" with a small hydraulic resistance, pressing the membrane 11 away from the plate 14. This makes it possible to reduce energy losses when using a flow regulator for piston hydraulic drives.
[0021] Thus, by equipping the liquid flow regulator with washers of varying thickness, making the throttle setting the flow value "D1" in the form of a plug valve consisting of a sleeve in the body of the housing with a radial channel at the bottom, a cylindrical surface in the middle and an annular groove with window cutouts at the top and a plug with axial and radial channels, a sealing ring, hooks at the level of the annular groove of the sleeve and the handle, and an automatic adjustable throttle "D2" through the interaction of the lower end of the rod of the movable spring-loaded regulating element and the outlet channel of the cover, a change in the pressure drop between cavities "a" and "b" is achieved and the range of change in the operating pressure of the flow regulator is expanded, the design of the throttle "D1" is simplified and reduced the costs of its prevention, provided the possibility of manufacturing a movable spring-loaded control element 5 and an adjustable throttle "D2" from plastic, reduced the cost of their production and increased the reliability and efficiency of the liquid flow regulator as a whole.
[0022] The set flow rate is changed by changing the flow area of the throttle "D1". This can be done during operation of the flow regulator by moving the handle 23 (pointer 24) to the required position in the 0-90° segment, located on the side of the pointer 24 counterclockwise (Fig. 2).
[0023] In 2026, an experimental plastic fluid flow regulator prototype was developed and manufactured using additive technologies in the research departments of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution All-Russian Research Institute Raduga. The prototype was tested on a laboratory bench. The test demonstrated its operability and ease of use when changing the flow rate and during preventive maintenance. A combination of washers 7 of varying thicknesses made it possible to obtain different pressure drops between cavities "a" and "b" and expand the operating pressure range of the flow regulator. The connecting size of the inlet 2 and outlet 4 pipes was selected as G 1 / 2 '', the diameters of the radial channels were 20.26 and the outlet channel 29-6 mm, and the diameter of the plate 14 of the movable spring-loaded regulating element 5 was 34 mm. The test was carried out in the pressure change range before the flow regulator from 0.2 ... 0.7 MPa and after from 0 ... 0.5 MPa. The deviation of the flow rate from the average value did not exceed 1.5% with adjustable flow rates from 0.01 to 0.16 l / s.
[0024] The application of the proposed utility model in agriculture will improve the reliability and efficiency of crop irrigation systems and agricultural production.
Claims
A liquid flow regulator comprising a housing with an inlet and a cover with an outlet branch pipe and a movable spring-loaded regulating element with a rod, made in the form of a membrane drive, and dividing the internal cavity of the liquid flow regulator into cavities "a", "b" and "c", communicated with each other by means of sequentially installed throttles "D1" and "D2" that set the value and automatically regulate the flow, characterized in that the flow regulator is provided with washers of different thicknesses, the throttle that sets the flow value "D1" is made in the form of a plug valve consisting of a sleeve in the body of the housing with a radial channel at the bottom, a cylindrical surface in the middle and an annular groove with window cutouts at the top, and a plug with axial and radial channels, a sealing ring, hooks at the level of the annular groove of the sleeve and a handle,and the automatic adjustable throttle "D2" is made by means of the interaction of the lower end of the rod of the movable spring-loaded control element and the outlet channel of the cover.