Patent Application
20080006328
The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description of the invention.
Turning now to
The shaft 126 extends across the air passage 122 and has ends 132 that extend through openings 134 formed in the valve housing 118. Additionally, the valve plate 128 is mounted to the shaft 126 to thereby block and unblock the air passage 122 in response to actuation thereof. Actuation of the shaft 126 is controlled by the actuation assembly 114. In particular, the actuation assembly 114 includes a plurality of actuation components 136 which are disposed in an actuation housing 138, and a portion of the shaft 126 extends through an opening 140 of the actuation housing 138 to couple to the actuation components 136.
In some cases, liquid may accumulate in the air passage 122 and may leak through the valve housing 118 out one of the valve housing openings 134. Consequently, the liquid may travel along the shaft 126 through the actuation housing opening 140. To prevent the liquid from reaching the actuation housing opening 140, the relief plate 116 is included. With reference to
The second side 144 includes an annular collection channel 152 and a plurality of grooves 154. The annular collection channel 152 collects liquid that may be present along the shaft 126 and is thus disposed concentric to the shaft opening 158 and communicates therewith. The plurality of grooves 154 are formed in the second side 144 and each extends radially outwardly from, and includes an inlet 160 that communicates with and receives liquid that may be present in, the annular collection channel 152. Each groove 154 also includes an outlet 162 that is formed at a corresponding one of the plurality of side walls 146. The outlet 162 is preferably sized to allow the collected liquid traveling radially outwardly along the groove 154 to be directed out of the motorized valve assembly 110 and to prevent liquid from being directed radially inwardly when the relief plate 116 is coupled to the valve housing 118. In some embodiments, a cap 164 may be coupled to the outlet 162 to further prevent entry of liquid. It will be appreciated that any one of the plurality of grooves 154 may include the cap 164. In other embodiments, a check valve 166 may be included on one or more of the grooves 154. In this regard, the check valve 166 is preferably disposed and configured to allow liquid to pass radially outwardly, while preventing liquid from passing radially inwardly. In still other embodiments, an air pressure source (not shown) may be provided to force air or liquid radially outwardly along the grooves 154.
Some or all of the grooves 154 may have uniform or non-uniform depths or may be linear or non-linear. In embodiments in which a non-uniform depth is included, the deepest section of the groove 154 may be used to trap the liquid. In these cases, the liquid may be removed from the groove 154 using any suitable technique, such as by supplying a suitable magnitude of air pressure from the air pressure source (not shown). Non-linear grooves 154 may have a spiral or other non-linear shape. It will be appreciated that the grooves 154 may have any suitably shaped cross section, such as square-shaped, or U-shaped. Although four grooves 154 are shown in
There has now been provided a motorized valve assembly 110 that drains liquid, while preventing more liquid from entering therein. Specifically, the grooves 154 are sized and configured to prevent entry into the assembly 110. In some embodiments, the grooves 154 are not pressurized relative to the spaces therearound so that the surface tension of liquid itself also prevents entry thereof into the grooves 154. Moreover, modifications to include the above-described relief plate 114 in prior art valve assemblies are relatively inexpensive and simple to implement. In addition, existing motorized valve assemblies may be easily retrofitted with the configurations described above.
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt to a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
