Flow regulator as well as method for setting a predefinable volume flow

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10248136-B2
Application number	US-201514979644-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2015
Priority date	Jan 9, 2015
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

A flow regulator includes a first sensor determining a first actual value of a first flow parameter of the fluid, a pre-pressure regulator setting a predefinable pre-pressure at a pre-pressure outlet of the pre-pressure regulator, and a regulating pump. The fluid is capable of being supplied to the pre-pressure regulator at a plant pressure in an operating state via an inflow line and a pre-pressure inlet and capable of being conducted further to the regulating pump at the pre-pressure via a flow connection disposed between the pre-pressure outlet and the regulating pump, the pre-pressure outlet being connected to a high pressure connection of the regulating pump in a flow communicating manner via the flow connection such that the fluid is capable of being supplied from the pre-pressure regulator of the regulating pump and guided away from the regulating pump via a low pressure connection into an outflow line.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flow regulator for setting a predefinable volume flow of a fluid, comprising:
a first sensor configured to determine a first actual value of a first flow parameter of the fluid;
a pre-pressure regulator configured to set a predefinable pre-pressure at a pre-pressure outlet of the pre-pressure regulator; and
a regulating pump in the form of a rotary pump,
the fluid capable of being supplied to the pre-pressure regulator at a plant pressure in an operating state via an inflow line and a pre-pressure inlet and capable of being conducted further to the regulating pump at the pre-pressure via a flow connection disposed between the pre-pressure outlet and the regulating pump, the pre-pressure outlet being connected to a high pressure connection of the regulating pump in a flow communicating manner via the flow connection such that the fluid is capable of being supplied from the pre-pressure regulator of the regulating pump and guided away from the regulating pump via a low pressure connection into an outflow line, a speed of rotation of the regulating pump capable of being set by a regulating control using a first desired value in dependence on the first actual value of the first flow parameter such that a limiting pressure acting against the pre-pressure is capable of being produced by the regulating pump so that the predefinable volume flow of the fluid is set in the outflow line.

2. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is a first through-flow sensor and the first flow parameter is a fluid flow of the Fluid.

3. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is a first pressure sensor and the first flow parameter is a fluid pressure in the fluid.

4. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is disposed at the outflow line downstream of the low pressure connection of the regulating pump.

5. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is disposed at the flow connection between the pre-pressure regulator and the regulating pump.

6. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein an additional pump is disposed at the outflow line as a booster pump.

7. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 6 , wherein a second sensor configured to determine a second actual value of a second flow parameter of the fluid is disposed at the outflow line downstream of the additional pump such that a speed of rotation of the additional pump is capable of being controlled or regulated by an additional control using a second desired value in dependence on the second current actual value of the second flow parameter, such that the predefinable volume flow of the fluid is capable of being set in the outflow line.

8. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the second sensor is a second through-flow sensor and, for setting the volume flow, the regulating control and the additional control are connected in parallel in a signal conducting manner to the second through flow sensor for reading in the second actual value and the regulating control and the additional control are fed in parallel with a common desired value.

9. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the second sensor is a second pressure sensor and, for setting the volume flow, the regulating control and the additional control are connected to the second pressure sensor in parallel in a signal conducting manner for the reading in of the second actual value and the regulating control and the additional control are fed in parallel with the common desired value.

10. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein, for setting the pre-pressure, the pre-pressure regulator is an active pre-pressure regulator, or a pre-pressure sensor is disposed at the inflow line or at the outflow connection or at the outflow line and is connected to the active pre-pressure regulator in a signal conducting manner such that the pre-pressure is capable of being actively set.

11. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the pre-pressure regulator is a pressure reducing unit.

12. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the regulating pump or the additional pump is a centrifugal pump or an axial flow pump or a side passage pump or a diagonal flow pump, or a drive of the regulating pump or of the additional pump is a bearing-free motor.

13. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein a rotor of the regulating pump or of the additional pump comprises a permanent magnet, or the rotor of the regulating pump or of the additional pump is a flat disc rotor.

14. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein a pump housing or a rotor of the regulating pump or of the additional pump is a single use product.

15. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the additional pump is a rotary pump disposed at the outflow line as a booster.

16. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 10 , wherein the active pre-pressure regulator is configured to be influenced by the first sensor or by the second sensor.

17. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the pre-pressure regulator is one of a manual pressure regulator, a pneumatic pressure regulator, an electric pressure regulator, and a proportional valve.

18. A flow regulator in accordance with claim 7 , wherein a rotor of the regulating pump or of the additional pump is a disc rotor having a height smaller than or equal to half a diameter of the disc rotor.

19. A method of setting a predefinable volume flow of a fluid by a flow regulator, comprising:
providing a flow regulator including a first sensor, a pre-pressure regulator and a regulating pump in the form of a rotary pump,
determining, with the first sensor, a first actual value of a first flow parameter of the fluid;
setting, with the pre-pressure regulator a predefinable pre-pressure at a pre-pressure outlet of the pre-pressure regulator; and
supplying the fluid being to the pre-pressure regulator at a plant pressure in an operating state via an inflow line and a pre-pressure inlet and conducted further to the regulating pump at the pre-pressure via a flow connection disposed between the pre-pressure outlet and the regulating pump, the pre-pressure outlet being connected to a high pressure connection of the regulating pump in a flow communicating manner via the flow connection so as to supply the fluid from the pre-pressure regulator of the regulating pump and be guided away from the regulating pump via a low pressure connection into an outflow line, a speed of rotation of the regulating pump capable of being set by a regulating control using a first desired value in dependence on the first actual value of the first flow parameter such that a limiting pressure acting against the pre-pressure is produced by the regulating pump so that the predefinable volume flow of the fluid is set in the outflow line; and
regulating one of a volume flow of a highly sensitive liquid, a highly pure liquid, a physically aggressive liquid or a chemically aggressive liquid, a medical liquid, a biological liquid or a pharmaceutical liquid.

20. A method of claim 19 , wherein
the regulating includes regulating blood or a slurry.

Assignees

• Levitronix Gmbh

Inventors

• Stöckli Simon
• Kalapos Andreas
• Zentner Patrick
• Burkart Jürg

Classifications

• F04B49/065

  and making use of computers · CPC title

• G05D7/0682

  using a plurality of flow sources · CPC title

• E04B1/348

  Structures composed of units comprising at least considerable parts of two sides of a room, e.g. box-like or cell-like units closed or in skeleton form · CPC title

• G05D7/0676 Primary

  by action on flow sources (G05D7/0688, G05D7/0694 take precedence) · CPC title

• E04B1/34352 Primary

  Base structures or supporting means therefor · CPC title