Valve device, valve assembly and method for calibrating a valve assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9441758-B2
Application number	US-201314097699-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 5, 2013
Priority date	Dec 12, 2012
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

A valve device including a valve housing which bounds a valve chamber in which a valve member is accommodated for movement between a blocking position and a release position in order to influence a free flow cross-section for a fluid in a flow path between an inlet passage terminating into the valve chamber and an outlet passage leading from the valve chamber, further including a first absolute pressure sensor for providing a first pressure signal as a function of an operating pressure in the flow path, and further including an evaluation circuit for processing the first pressure signal. It is provided that a second absolute pressure sensor is located outside the flow path, which is designed to provide a second pressure signal as a function of an operating pressure outside the flow path and which is connected to the evaluation circuit for enabling a differential pressure between the first and second pressure signals to be determined.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A valve device comprising a valve housing which bounds a valve chamber in which a valve member is accommodated for movement between a blocking position and a release position in order to influence a flow for a fluid in a flow path between an inlet passage terminating into the valve chamber and an outlet passage leading from the valve chamber, the valve device further comprising:
a first absolute pressure sensor disposed in the outlet passage for providing a first pressure signal as a function of an operating pressure in the flow path;
an evaluation circuit for processing the first pressure signal;
a second absolute pressure sensor located outside the flow path, which is configured to provide a second pressure signal as a function of a reference pressure outside the flow path and which is connected to the evaluation circuit; and
a third absolute pressure sensor disposed in the inlet passage or in the valve chamber in order to make available a third pressure signal dependent on an inlet pressure in the inlet passage or on an operating pressure in the valve chamber to the evaluation circuit,
wherein the evaluation circuit compares the first, second and third pressure signals for enabling a differential pressure between the first, second and third pressure signals to be determined.

2. A valve assembly comprising a plurality of valve devices and an evaluation circuit, each valve device comprising a valve housing which bounds a valve chamber in which a valve member is accommodated for movement between a blocking position and a release position in order to influence a flow for a fluid in a flow path between an net passage terminating into the valve chamber and an outlet passage leading from the valve chamber, wherein each valve device further comprises a first absolute pressure sensor for providing a first pressure signal as a function of an operating pressure in the flow path, the first pressure signal being processed by the evaluation circuit, wherein a second absolute pressure sensor is located outside the flow path of each valve device, the second absolute pressure sensor being configured to provide a second pressure signal as a function of a reference pressure outside the flow path and which is connected to the evaluation circuit, the evaluation circuit comparing the first and second pressure signals for enabling a differential pressure between the first and second pressure signals to be determined, and wherein the second absolute pressure sensor is a common absolute pressure sensor shared by at least two valve devices.

3. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the first absolute pressure sensor of each valve device is located in the valve chamber or in the outlet passage in order to make available a first pressure signal depending on an operating position of the valve member to the evaluation circuit.

4. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the second absolute pressure sensor is located on an outer surface of the valve assembly, in order to make available a second pressure signal dependent on ambient pressure to the evaluation circuit.

5. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the first absolute pressure sensor of each valve device is located in the outlet passage and a third absolute pressure sensor is located in the inlet passage or in the valve chamber of at least one valve device, in order to make available a third pressure signal dependent on an inlet pressure in the inlet passage or on an operating pressure in the valve chamber to the evaluation circuit.

6. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the evaluation circuit is configured for calibrating the first and the second absolute pressure sensor or the first and a third absolute pressure sensor or the first, the second and a third absolute pressure sensor as a function of an operating position of the valve member.

7. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein each absolute pressure sensor and/or the evaluation circuit comprise(s) analogue-to-digital converter means for an AD conversion of measuring signals, and/or a memory device for storing measuring signal values or of measuring signal values and time stamps assigned to the measuring signal values.

8. A valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein each first absolute pressure sensor has a measuring range which is at least two to five times as large as a measuring range of the second absolute pressure sensor.

9. A method for calibrating a valve assembly according to claim 2 , wherein at least two pressure values from the group: ambient pressure, determined from the second pressure signal of the second absolute pressure sensor; first operating pressure, determined in the flow path between the inlet passage and the outlet passage by means of the first pressure signal of the first absolute pressure sensor at a first presettable operating position of the valve member; second operating pressure, determined in the flow path between the inlet passage and the outlet passage by means of the first pressure signal of the first absolute pressure sensor at a second presettable operating position of the valve member which differs from the first operating position of the valve member; third operating pressure, determined in the flow path between the inlet passage and the outlet passage by means of the third pressure signal of the third absolute pressure sensor at a first presettable operating position of the valve member; fourth operating pressure, determined in the flow path between the inlet passage and the outlet passage by means of the third pressure signal of the third absolute pressure sensor at a second presettable operating position of the valve member which differs from the first operating position of the valve member; are determined, followed by a determination of a correction value for the first absolute pressure sensor using the detected differential pressures between the ambient pressure and the first operating pressure and/or between the ambient pressure and the second operating pressure and/or between the first operating pressure and the third operating pressure and/or between the second operating pressure and the fourth operating pressure; and/or a determination of a correction value for the third absolute pressure sensor using the detected differential pressures between the ambient pressure and the third operating pressure and/or between the ambient pressure and the fourth operating pressure and/or between the first operating pressure and the third operating pressure and/or between the second operating pressure and the fourth operating pressure; in the evaluation circuit.

Assignees

• Festo Ag & Co Kg

Inventors

• Maichl Martin
• Meier Martin
• Dickhoff Andreas

Classifications

• F15B2211/6309

  the pressure being a pressure source supply pressure · CPC title

• F15B2211/30575

  in a Wheatstone Bridge arrangement (also half bridges) · CPC title

• Y10T137/0402

  Cleaning, repairing, or assembling · CPC title

• F15B19/005

  Fault detection or monitoring · CPC title

• F15B2211/8855

  Compressible fluids, e.g. specific to pneumatics · CPC title