Short-Stroke Adapter

TECHNICAL FIELD

The application relates to a short-stroke adapter for a stroke valve comprising a mounting cup, configured for the installation to the valve, a mounting piece having a transmission device, wherein the mounting cup is configured to be connected to the mounting piece, wherein the mounting piece is connectable to an actuator which is configured for the movement of a stem of the stroke valve via said transmission device; and a fastener, configured to fasten the mounting piece to the mounting cup. Furthermore, the application relates to a combination of the short-stroke adapter and an actuator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVAC) of buildings, in particular residential buildings, office buildings, commercial buildings and industrial buildings, automatic fluid flow measurement and regulation becomes more and more important. These HVAC systems comprise a plurality of valves which control and regulate the flow of the required fluids. Actuation of a stem of the valve changes the valve from an open position to a closed position and vice versa. The stem of a valve is driven by an actuator connected to the stem via an adapter. Such adapters are configured for automatic and remote-controlled operation of the valves. However, installation of an actuator may be complicated. The mounting position of the actuator relative to the valve may be predetermined and available space may be restricted in particular applications, e.g. in floor heating applications.

Furthermore, rotary actuators and short-stroke linear valves may not be compatible in the system.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a short-stroke adapter for a stroke valve for operating and moving of a stem of the valve using a rotary actuator, which is convenient to disassemble and reassemble, has a compact design and is capable of mounting the adapter to various short-stroke valves in any rotary orientation, regardless of the stem geometry of the valve. TECHNICAL SOLUTION

This object is attained by providing a short-stroke adapter for a control valve or a stroke valve according to claim 1, a combination of a short-stroke adapter and an actuator according to claim 11, and a method for mounting a short-stroke adapter according to claim 15.

A short-stroke adapter for a stroke valve according to the invention comprises: a mounting cup, configured for the installation to the valve; a mounting piece, wherein the mounting cup is configured for being connected to the mounting piece having a transmission device, wherein the mounting piece is configured to be fastened to the mounting cup, wherein the mounting piece is connectable to an actuator which is configured for the movement of a stem of the valve via said transmission device ; and a fastener, configured to fasten the mounting piece to the mounting cup, wherein the mounting piece, the mounting cup and the fastener are configured for installation and fastening of the mounting piece relative to the mounting cup in various relative positions.

The relative positions may be axial positions with respect to the mounting direction of the cup and the mounting piece. The mounting piece may consist of one or more components.

The adapter is preferably installed in a rotation position of 90° relative to the valve, i.e. 90° relative to the flow direction. However, there may be other rotation positions, e.g. 45°.

The actuator is configured for rotary movement and actuation, respectively. However, the rotary movement is transferred into a linear movement by the transmission device, for actuating the stem of the valve. Said movement of the stem is preferably a push movement, but it may alternatively be a pull movement. For that purpose, the actuator may comprise an actuator stem which is driven by the actuator. The actuator may be suitable for different stroke lengths of various short-stroke valves. The individual stroke length could be arranged at the actuator. The stroke length may be determined by determining a threshold value of the voltage of the actuator. The actuator preferably has a high linear power/ force with an energy efficient drive, particularly compared to thermal actuators.

Besides, the actuator is connected to the mounting piece. The actuator and the mounting piece could either be two separate components, or the actuator and the mounting piece could be integrally formed. The mounting cup may be suitable to receive the mounting piece in an inner space of the mounting cup, i.e. the mounting piece could be installed in the mounting cup.

The actuator could, for example, be a rotary "quarter-turn" actuator for short-stroke valves. Said quarterturn is an actuator which is capable of transmitting torque to the valve for a rotation of 90° or less.

Moreover, the adapter has a compact design which enables convenient mounting for applications with limited installation space, for example for use in heating manifolds for floor heating or heating distributers. The adapter may be suitable for easy mounting on various short-stroke valves, regardless of their stem geometry. There is a manual adaption to zero point (e.g. stem position 0% or 100%) during the installation of the adapter. Besides there is an automatic adaption to 100% (0%) stem/valve position (e.g. using a torque threshold value of a motor). The mounting piece may be fastened to the mounting cup in a position adapted to a starting position of the stem of the valve.

Furthermore, the fastener may be one of a clamp fastener, a push-in push-out clamp, a hose clamp, a ratchet clamp, a buckle fastener and a screw-in star screw. Preferably, the actuator may have a maximum stroke length of 7.5 mm relative to the stem of the valve.

It is preferred that the actuator has a maximum stroke force/ actuating force of at least 200 N.

In an embodiment of the invention the transmitter device comprises a transmission part and a transmission jacket. The transmission part may be a rod-like part having an outer thread. The transmission jacket may be a sleeve like part having an inner thread. Rotating the transmission part causes an axial (linear) movement of the transmission jacket.

The position corresponding to the starting position of the stem is the position of first abutment of the transmission jacket at the stem when connecting the mounting piece to the mounting cup, particularly when inserting the mounting piece into the inner space of the mounting cup. It is preferred that the mounting piece is insertable into the mounting cup.

In an advantageous embodiment, the mounting cup comprises at least one window for facilitating a user to control the position of the mounting piece inserted in the mounting cup and/ or the position of the transmission device relative to the position of the valve stem. There could be one or more windows, which may be arranged in the mounting cup. Particularly, the mounting cup may comprise a plurality of circumferentially arranged windows, enabling a user to check the position of the valve stem and the transmission device from various angular positions. In particular, during installation of the mounting cup to the mounting piece, the window allows a user to check the manual adaption to the zero point of the stem (the alignment to the stem in the starting position (spring decompressed)). No prepositioning is necessary.

In a preferred embodiment the transmission device is configured for the transmission of a rotary movement of a rotary actuator into a linear movement of the stem of the valve.

Furthermore, the short-stroke adapter may comprise a transmission part and a transmission jacket. The transmission part and the transmission jacket could be parts of the mounting piece or could be separate components.

The transmission part and the transmission jacket form a gear and could be, for example, a cardan drive. The transmission part is a rotating part, for example in form of a spindle, which generates a stroke as a linear movement in combination with the transmission jacket. The transmission jacket is a linear mover with anti -rotation mechanism which is guided by the installation in the housing of the mounting cup.

The mounting cup may comprise a plurality of circumferentially arranged fingers for insertion of the mounting piece in a space between the fingers. The ends of the fingers face the actuator side of the mounting cup. The fingers are flexible or flexibly connected to a wall of the cup, in order to facilitate squeezing of the end portion of the cup by actuating the fastener, after the mounting piece has been positioned within the mounting cup.

Furthermore, the adapter may comprise an axial fixation between the actuator and the mounting piece. The fixation prevents release of the mounting piece from the actuator, therefore reducing the risk of losing any set relative axial positions of the components of the adapter.

The object of the invention is also solved by providing a combination of a short-stroke adapter as described above and a rotary actuator. Various advantages of the combination have been described above.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuator is a rotary actuator and the transmission device as configured for the transmission of the rotary movement of the actuator into a linear movement of the stem of the valve.

Particularly, the actuator may have a maximum stroke force/ actuating force of at least 200 N.

In a particular embodiment, the mounting piece may be an integral part of the actuator.

Preferably, the valve is a short-stroke valve, particularly with an M30xl.5 fastening thread.

Furthermore, the actuator may be mounted in any rotary orientation relative to the valve.

Besides, the present invention also describes a method for mounting a short-stroke adapter to a shortstroke valve and to an actuator, particularly a short stroke adapter as described above, comprising the following steps: a) Providing an adapter according to the application, b) installing the mounting cup to the valve, c) providing the mounting piece connected to the actuator, d) inserting the mounting piece into the mounting cup, e) adapting the position of the mounting piece such that the actuator is arranged in a position corresponding to a start position of the stem of the valve, f) fixing the connection between the mounting piece and the mounting cup using a fastener. Optionally, the method includes, particularly at the first installation, setting up the valve via an application program or another software tool. I.e. the user may activate an application program before determining the starting position of the actuator (full opening or closing position of the valve) and the end position of the actuator (full closing and opening position, respectively).

The mounting piece may be positioned in the mounting cup by gravitation, until it abuts the valve stem.

The actuator could be mounted in any (rotary) orientation to the valve stem. No rotation of the actuator is required during inserting the mounting piece into the mounting cup in accordance with step d).

Step e) comprises the manual adaption to the zero point or starting point / starting position (spring decompressed) of the valve stem (e.g. stem position at 0%).

In an advantageous embodiment the method comprises the additional step: moving/ actuating the stem of the valve by operation of the actuator and determination of the end position of the stem of the valve by determining a stop position of the actuator, particularly by detecting a torque threshold value of the actuator.

Step g) may be triggered automatically or manually, particularly at the time of first mounting of the combination. The torque threshold may, for example, be a threshold voltage value or current value representing the torque threshold value.

Step g) includes the automatic adaption to 100% e .g . end position (spring fully pressed) of the stem/valve position (e.g. by using the torque threshold value of the actuator). The automatic adaption includes a movement of the stem of more than 100%. Using the so-called “overstroke” provides for compensating tolerance errors or assembly inaccuracies. Compensation is provided by an automatic adaptation of the start position and the end position of the valve stem. In particular, step g) is triggered by switching the actuator in a mode for determining and/or matching operation parameters of the valve.

Step e) may comprise inserting the mounting piece in the mounting cup until an actuator stem which may be driven by the actuator and/ or the transmission part and/or the transmission j acket abuts the stem of the valve.

Preferably, the fastener is a clamp, or a buckle fastener, and step f) comprises closing the clamp or the buckle of the fastener. Alternatively, it may be a hose clamp or a ratchet fastener. The fastener may be attached around the fingers of the mounting cup. All fasteners mentioned allow easy assembly and disassembly, either by using a tool or without the need for any tool.

In a preferred embodiment, step e) comprises inserting the mounting piece in the mounting cup until an actuator stem which may be driven by the actuator and/ or the transmission part and/or the transmission jacket abuts the stem of the valve. The position of the stem of the valve relative to the actuator stem/ actuator and/ or the transmission part and/or the transmission jacket can be aligned by the adapter's own weight, respectively the gravity of the actuator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subsequent figures show the following:

Fig 1 a perspective view of a first embodiment of the short-stroke adapter according to the invention with a mounting cup, a mounting piece and a fastener, a valve and an actuator;

Fig. 2A, 2B fasteners according to the invention;

Figs. 3A, 3B the functionality of short-stroke valves;

Fig. 3C a short-stroke valve 6 with M30 * 1.5 thread;

Fig. 4 an exploded side view of the short-stroke adapter;

Figs. 5A, 5B sectional side views of the short-stroke adapter mounted on a short-stroke valve;

Fig. 6 the mounting of the short-stroke adapter according to Fig. 1 on a short-stroke valve;

Figs. 7A, 7B the mounting of a second embodiment of a short-stroke adapter with screw-in star screws.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be explained in greater detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments which are illustrated in the drawings.

A first embodiment of the adapter 1 is illustrated in Fig 1, wherein the short-stroke adapter comprises a mounting piece 3 and a mounting cup 2 with fastener 5. The adapter 1 is mounted on a valve 6.

The adapter 1 comprises an actuator 4 with a mounting piece 3 and a mounting cup 2 with a hose clamp fastener 5. The adapter 1 is installed on a valve 6. The mounting cup 2 comprises fingers 22 and windows 21 there between.

The mounting cup 2 has a connecting portion at the bottom side thereof comprising e.g. an inner thread for fastening the mounting cup 2 to the valve 6. The mounting cup 2 may be an integral part as illustrated, or it may consist of components connected to each other (not shown). For example, the mounting cup 2 may be designed as a cap nut (coupling nut). The first component of the cap nut (coupling nut) may be an upper main body, and the second component may be a fastening component having an inner thread which is rotatable relative to the upper main body. In this embodiment only the fastening component must be rotated when fixing the adapter 1 to the valve 6. The fastener 5 may be a hose clamp 5 as shown in Fig, 2A and Fig, 2B.

The hose clamp 5 of Fig. 2A is a hose clamp having a clamp body 50, a toothed section 51, a locking element 57 and a fixing screw 58.

The hose clamp of Fig. 2B comprises a clamp body 50, a first toothed section 51, a second toothed section 52, a third toothed section 53 and a fourth toothed section 54. The toothed sections are provided on a first (male) portion 55 and a second (female) portion 56, respectively. When inserting the first portion 55 into a space of the second portion 56 the teethed sections engage and fix the portions 55 and 56 in an end position thereof.

Figs. 3 A, 3B show the functionality of short-stroke valves 6.

Fig. 3A shows the state of a normally open valve (NO) with two openings A and AB, wherein the flow direction is from opening A to opening AB. The stem 61 is at a released state.

According to Fig 3B a normally closed valve (NC) is shown. The stem 61 blocks the passage from opening A to opening AB.

Fig, 3C depicts a short-stroke valve 6 with a stem 61 and an M30 * 1.5 thread 62.

Fig, 4 shows all parts of the short-stroke adapter 1 in accordance with Fig. 1 in detail.

The adapter 1 is capable of being connected to a valve 6. The adapter 1 comprises a mounting piece 3, a fastener 5 and a mounting cup 2. Furthermore, an actuator 4 is provided.

The actuator 4 is configured for the connection with the mounting piece 3. Besides, the actuator 4 is configured for a rotational movement and the longitudinal driving of a stem 61 of the valve 6. Two transmission parts 31 and 32 transmit the rotational movement of the actuator 4 into a rotation of the helically threaded structure of transmission part 31 and then into a longitudinal movement of the transmission jacket 32. The actuator 4 can be mounted in any (rotary) orientation relative to the valve 6.

The mounting cup 2 is configured for the installation to the thread 62 of the valve 6. The mounting cup 2 comprises several windows 21 to position the linkage of the transmission parts 31 and 32 on the valve stem 61, hence no pre-positioning is necessary.

The mounting piece 3 could be installed in the mounting cup 2, hence the outer diameter of the mounting piece 3 is smaller than the inner diameter of the mounting cup 2.

A fastener 5 in the form of a hose clamp is configured to fasten a connection between the mounting cup 2 and the mounting piece 3.

Figs. 5A and 5B illustrate the short-stroke adapter in a mounted state and installed on a valve 6 in sectional side views.

According to Fig. 5B the mounting piece 3 is connected to the mounting cup 2 by a snap connection with elastic elements 33. The transmission part 31 is a rotating part in form of a spindle which generates a stroke movement in combination with the transmission jacket 32. The transmission jacket 32 is a linear mover with anti -rotation mechanism located in the housing of the mounting cup 2. The linear movement is guided by the installation in the housing.

According to Fig, 6 the mounting cup 2 is fully screwed onto the thread 62 (M30xl.5) of the valve 6

Afterwards, the mounting piece 3 which is connected to the actuator 4 is inserted into the mounting cup 2 so far that the transmission jacket 32 abuts the top of the valve stem 61. The status of said abutment could be checked through the window 21.

In this position the connection between the mounting piece 3/ actuator 4 and the mounting cup 2 is fixed by means of the fastener 5. The actuator 4 is held because of the surface pressure incurring by the pressure force applied by the fastener 5.

Fig, 7A shows the step of mounting of the short-stroke adapter 1 according to Figs. 1 and 4 on a shortstroke valve 6.

Fig, 7B depicts the mounted state of an actuator 4 to a valve 6 according to a second embodiment of the adapter 1 ' . The adapter 1 ' has a mounting cup 2 and mounting piece 3 with screw-in star screws 5 ' .

As shown in Fig. 7B the actuator 4 with the mounting piece 3 is inserted into the mounting cup 2 and the mounting piece 3 is fixed to the mounting cup 2 by means of screw-in star screws 5 ' .