Valve with a welded valve housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10344884-B2
Application number	US-201515327410-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2015
Priority date	Sep 1, 2014
Publication date	Jul 9, 2019
Grant date	Jul 9, 2019

Abstract

A valve ( 1 ) comprising a first housing part ( 2 ) and a second housing part ( 3 ), the first housing part ( 2 ) and the second housing part ( 3 ) being made from a sheet metal material, and being joined by means of welding, preferably laser welding, to form a closed housing of the valve ( 1 ). An actuator ( 9 ) is arranged inside the housing for driving movements of a first valve member ( 7 ) and/or a second valve member ( 8 ), said actuator ( 9 ) being arranged directly in a flow of fluid flowing in the fluid flow path during operation of the valve ( 1 ). The valve ( 1 ) is hermetically sealed due to the welding of the housing parts ( 2, 3 ).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A valve comprising:
a first housing part and a second housing part, the first housing part and the second housing part forming a closed housing of the valve,
an inlet connector arranged to receive fluid from a fluid flow line to an interior part of the closed housing, and an outlet connector arranged to deliver fluid to the fluid flow line from the interior part of the closed housing, a fluid flow path through the valve thereby being defined, the fluid flow path providing a fluid connection from the inlet connector to the outlet connector,
a first valve member and a second valve member arranged inside the housing, the first valve member and the second valve member being movable relative to each other, and the first valve member and the second valve member defining a fluid passage arranged in the fluid flow path, a size of the fluid passage being determined by a relative position of the first valve member and the second valve member,
an actuator arranged inside the housing for driving movements of the first valve member and/or the second valve member, said actuator being arranged directly in a flow of fluid flowing in the fluid flow path during operation of the valve,

wherein the first housing part and the second housing part are made from a sheet metal material, and wherein the first housing part and the second housing part have been joined to form the closed housing by means of welding,
wherein the first valve member, the second valve member and the actuator are assembled to form a valve cartridge, and wherein the valve cartridge is attached to the first housing part or the second housing part by means of welding.

2. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the first housing part and the second housing part have been joined to form the closed housing by means of laser welding.

3. The valve according to claim 2 , wherein the first housing part and the second housing part are arranged with an overlap, and wherein the valve comprises a first welding seam arranged at an edge of the first housing part or the second housing part, and a second welding seam arranged in a region defined by the overlap of the first housing part and the second housing part.

4. The valve according to claim 2 , wherein the first housing part and/or the second housing part is/are made from deep drawn sheet metal material.

5. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the first housing part and the second housing part are arranged with an overlap, and wherein the valve comprises a first welding seam arranged at an edge of the first housing part or the second housing part, and a second welding seam arranged in a region defined by the overlap of the first housing part and the second housing part.

6. The valve according to claim 5 , wherein the first welding seam is a full welding seam, extending entirely along a circumference defined by the closed housing, and wherein the second welding seam is a partial welding seam, extending only partly along the circumference defined by the closed housing.

7. The valve according to claim 6 , wherein the first housing part and/or the second housing part is/are made from deep drawn sheet metal material.

8. The valve according to claim 5 , wherein the first housing part and/or the second housing part is/are made from deep drawn sheet metal material.

9. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the first housing part and/or the second housing part is/are made from deep drawn sheet metal material.

10. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the inlet connector and/or the outlet connector is/are attached to the first housing part or the second housing part by means of welding.

11. The valve according to claim 10 , wherein the inlet connector and/or the outlet connector is/are arranged with an overlap with respect to the first housing part or the second housing part, and wherein at least one welding of a connector and a housing part comprises at least two welding seams.

12. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the first valve member comprises one or more orifices and the second valve member comprises one or more closing elements being arranged to cover a part of the one or more orifices, and wherein the relative position of the first valve member and the second valve member determines a portion of the one or more orifices being covered by the one or more closing elements of the second valve member.

13. The valve according to claim 1 , further comprising a first sealing member arranged to provide sealing between the first valve member and the second valve member at an outlet side of the fluid passage, and a second sealing member arranged to provide sealing between the first valve member and the second valve member at an inlet side of the fluid passage.

14. The valve according to claim 13 , wherein the first sealing member is arranged to provide sealing between the first valve member and the second valve member only when the valve is in a closed position.

15. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the second valve member is linearly movable with respect to the first valve member, and wherein the second valve member is formed with surfaces in a high pressure region in the valve so that forces acting on the surfaces of the second valve member, due to a pressure prevailing at the high pressure region in the valve, along a first direction of movement and along a second, opposite, direction of movement of the second valve member are substantially equal.

16. The valve according to claim 1 , further comprising an encapsulation of at least a part of the actuator, said encapsulation providing shielding of at least a part of the actuator against a direct fluid flow of fluid flowing through the fluid flow path during operation of the valve.

17. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the valve comprises at least one element which is unable to withstand temperatures above 120° C.

18. The valve according to claim 17 , wherein at least one of the elements is arranged in the interior part of the closed housing.

19. A valve comprising:
a first housing part and a second housing part, the first housing part and the second housing part forming a closed housing of the valve,
an inlet connector arranged to receive fluid from a fluid flow line to an interior part of the closed housing, and an outlet connector arranged to deliver fluid to the fluid flow line from the interior part of the closed housing, a fluid flow path through the valve thereby being defined, the fluid flow path providing a fluid connection from the inlet connector to the outlet connector,
a first valve member and a second valve member arranged inside the housing, the first valve member and the second valve member being movable relative to each other, and the first valve member and the second valve member defining a fluid passage arranged in the fluid flow path, a size of the fluid passage being determined by a relative position of the first valve member and the second valve member,
an actuator arranged inside the housing for driving movements of the first valve member and/or the second valve member, said actuator being arranged directly in a flow of fluid flowing in the fluid flow path during operation of the valve,

wherein the first housing part and the second housing part are made from a sheet metal material, and wherein the first housing part and the second housing part have been joined to form the closed housing by means of welding,
wherein the valve further comprises a first sealing member arranged to provide sealing between the first valve

Assignees

• Danfoss As

Inventors

• Harck Kurt
• Pawlik Jens
• Larsen Sigurd

Classifications

• F16K27/105

  for gate valves · CPC title

• F16K27/102 Primary

  for lift-valves · CPC title

• F16K1/123 Primary

  with stationary valve member and moving sleeve · CPC title

• F16K3/265

  with a sleeve sliding in the direction of the flow line · CPC title

• F16K1/12

  with streamlined valve member around which the fluid flows when the valve is opened · CPC title