Thermoelement and thermovalve incorporating thermoelement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9400062-B2
Application number	US-201314649718-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2013
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

A thermoelement and a thermovalve incorporating the same, in which reliable operation is achieved with a simple internal structure, and there is no risk of contaminant jamming. The thermoelement includes a casing, a mounting portion, a shaft, a heat-sensitive medium, and a seal member for drawing the shaft into the casing when the heat-sensitive medium expands. The thermovalve includes a body including a valve body linked to a shaft of a thermoelement, and a seating part on/from which the valve body can be seated/separated.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A thermoelement comprising:
a casing;
a mount formed integrally with the casing and which is attached to an object;
a shaft arranged displaceably in an interior of the casing with one end thereof being exposed to an exterior from the mount;
a thermosensitive medium enclosed in the interior of the casing and which expands and contracts responsive to a change in ambient temperature surrounding the casing; and
a seal member that pulls the shaft toward a side of the casing upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium.

2. The thermoelement according to claim 1 , wherein the seal member engages with another end of the shaft, and the shaft is pulled into the casing by flexure of the seal member in response to expansion of the thermosensitive medium.

3. The thermoelement according to claim 1 , wherein a tapered surface, which expands in diameter toward the other end, is formed on a side of the other end of the shaft.

4. The thermoelement according to claim 3 , wherein:
a portion of the seal member is in contact with the tapered surface; and
upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium, the portion of the seal member is pressed against the tapered surface of the shaft, and the shaft is displaced toward the other end side.

5. A thermovalve includes a thermoelement, and a valve main body in which the thermoelement is incorporated;
the thermoelement comprising:
a casing;
a mount formed integrally with the casing and which is attached to an object;
a shaft arranged displaceably in an interior of the casing with one end thereof being exposed to an exterior from the mount;
a thermosensitive medium enclosed in the interior of the casing and which expands and contracts responsive to a change in ambient temperature surrounding the casing; and
a seal member that pulls the shaft toward a side of the casing upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium;
the valve main body including a body formed with an inlet port into which a fluid is introduced and an outlet port through which the fluid is led out, a seat member disposed between the inlet port and the outlet port, and a valve plug that presses against and separates away from the seat member;
wherein one end of the shaft constituting the thermoelement is connected to the valve plug; and
upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium, the seal member pulls the shaft, whereby the valve plug is made to separate away from the seat member and allow communication between the inlet port and the outlet port.

6. The thermovalve according to claim 5 in which a thermoelement is incorporated, wherein the thermovalve is a direct-acting type of thermovalve.

7. The thermovalve according to claim 5 in which a thermoelement is incorporated, wherein the thermovalve is a pilot type of thermovalve.

Assignees

• Smc Corp

Inventors

• Fukano Yoshihiro
• Murai Takayuki
• TSUYUKI Hikaru

Classifications

• F16K31/002 Primary

  actuated by temperature variation (thermo-electric F16K31/025) · CPC title

• F03G7/06 Primary

  using expansion or contraction of bodies due to heating, cooling, moistening, drying or the like (using thermal expansion of non-vaporising liquids F01K) · CPC title

• Y10T137/1963

  Temperature · CPC title

• G05D23/021

  the sensing element being a non-metallic solid, e.g. elastomer, paste · CPC title

• F03G7/06113

  the fluids subjected to phase change · CPC title