Valve device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10975975-B2
Application number	US-201916361356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 22, 2019
Priority date	Sep 27, 2016
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

A valve device includes a valve housing, a valve member, a limiter, a contact portion and a shaft. The valve housing has an inside space and a plurality of housing-side openings. The housing-side openings communicate between the inside space and an outside of the valve housing. The valve member is rotatably received in the valve housing and has: a plurality of valve-member-side openings, each of which is configured to communicate with a corresponding one of the housing-side openings; and a communication passage, through which the valve-member-side openings is communicated with each other. The limiter is configured to limit rotation of the valve member. The contact portion is provided in a space of the valve member and is configured to contact the limiter. The shaft rotatably supports the valve member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A valve device comprising:
a valve housing that has an inside space and a plurality of housing-side openings, wherein the plurality of housing-side openings communicates between the inside space and an outside of the valve housing;
a valve member that is rotatably received in the valve housing and has:
a plurality of valve-member-side openings, each of which is configured to communicate with a corresponding one of the plurality of housing-side openings; and
a communication passage, through which the plurality of valve-member-side openings is communicated with each other;

a limiter that is configured to limit rotation of the valve member;
a contact portion that is provided in a space of the valve member and is configured to contact the limiter in a circumferential direction to limit the rotation of the valve member; and
a shaft that rotatably supports the valve member, wherein the limiter is axially immovable relative to the contact portion along a rotational axis of the shaft.

2. The valve device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the valve member is shaped into a bottomed tubular form;
the shaft is placed such that the rotational axis of the shaft coincides with a central axis of the valve member;
one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings is communicated with one housing-side opening among the plurality of housing-side openings and opens at one end part of the valve member in a direction along the rotational axis;
at least one remaining valve-member-side opening, which is other than the one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings, is configured to communicate with at least one remaining housing-side opening, which is other than the one housing-side opening among the plurality of housing-side openings, while the at least one remaining valve-member-side opening is formed at an outer peripheral wall of the valve member;
the space of the valve member, in which the contact portion is provided, is a recess that is recessed at a valve member bottom of the valve member, which forms another end part of the valve member opposite from the one end part of the valve member in the direction along the rotational axis; and
the limiter is formed at a portion of the valve housing that is opposed to the valve member bottom.

3. The valve device according to claim 2 , wherein a depth of the recess is progressively reduced from a center part of the valve member bottom, at which the shaft is placed, toward a radially outer side.

4. The valve device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the at least one remaining valve-member-side opening is a plurality of remaining valve-member-side openings; and
when an adjacent valve-member-side opening, which is closest to the contact portion among the plurality of remaining valve-member-side openings, and the contact portion are projected onto an imaginary plane, which is perpendicular to the shaft, a projected figure of the contact portion, which is projected onto the imaginary plane, is formed at a location that is different from a location of a projected figure of the adjacent valve-member-side opening, which is projected onto the imaginary plane.

5. The valve device according to claim 2 , wherein the valve member includes a plurality of ribs that are formed at an opposite side of the valve member bottom, which is opposite from the contact portion, while the plurality of ribs is radiated to extend radially outward from a center part of the valve member bottom, at which the shaft is placed, toward a radially outer side.

6. The valve device according to claim 5 , wherein the valve member has the one valve-member-side opening at the opposite side of the valve member bottom, which is opposite from the contact portion.

7. The valve device according to claim 2 , wherein the limiter is formed integrally with the valve housing in one piece.

8. The valve device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the valve member is shaped into a bottomed tubular form;
the shaft is placed such that the rotational axis of the shaft coincides with a central axis of the valve member;
one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings is communicated with one housing-side opening among the plurality of housing-side openings and opens at one end part of the valve member in a direction along the rotational axis;
at least one remaining valve-member-side opening, which is other than the one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings, is configured to communicate with at least one remaining housing-side opening, which is other than the one housing-side opening among the plurality of housing-side openings, while the at least one remaining valve-member-side opening is formed at an outer peripheral wall of the valve member;
the space of the valve member, in which the contact portion is provided, is the communication passage; and
the limiter is formed at a bearing that is placed in the one valve-member-side opening and rotatably supports one end part of the shaft.

9. The valve device according to claim 8 , wherein the contact portion is provided at a connecting member that couples between the one end part of the valve member and the shaft.

10. The valve device according to claim 8 , wherein the contact portion is provided to the one end part of the valve member and projects radially inward from the one end part of the valve member.

11. The valve device according to claim 1 , wherein a surface of the contact portion, which is configured to contact the limiter, and a surface of the limiter, which is configured to contact the contact portion, radially outwardly extend in a view taken from the rotational axis.

12. A valve device comprising:
a valve housing that has an inside space and a plurality of housing-side openings, wherein the plurality of housing-side openings communicates between the inside space and an outside of the valve housing;
a valve member that is rotatably received in the valve housing and has:
a plurality of valve-member-side openings, each of which is configured to communicate with a corresponding one of the plurality of housing-side openings; and
a communication passage, through which the plurality of valve-member-side openings is communicated with each other;

a limiter that is configured to limit rotation of the valve member;
a contact portion that is provided in a space of the valve member and is configured to contact the limiter; and
a shaft that rotatably supports the valve member, wherein:
the space of the valve member, in which the contact portion is provided, is a recess that is recessed at a valve member bottom, which is an end part of the valve member in a direction along a rotational axis of the shaft; and
a depth of a bottom surface of the recess is progressively reduced from a center part of the valve member bottom, at which the shaft is placed, toward a radially outer side.

13. The valve device according to claim 12 , wherein:
the valve member is shaped into a bottomed tubular form;
the shaft is placed such that the rotational axis of the shaft coincides with a central axis of the valve member;
one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings is communicated with one housing-side opening among the plurality of housing-side openings and opens at one end part of the valve member in the direction along the rotational axis;
at least one remaining valve-member-side opening, which is other than the one valve-member-side opening among the plurality of valve-member-side openings, is configured to communicate with at least one remaining hous

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Sato Shingo

Classifications

• F16K31/535 Primary

  for rotating valves (F16K31/54 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16K11/0873

  the plug being only rotatable around one spindle · CPC title

• F16K27/067

  with spherical plugs · CPC title

• F01P7/165

  characterised by systems with two or more loops · CPC title

• F01P3/02

  Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads · CPC title