Claims
- 1. A valve device for controlling flow of a fluid, comprising:
- a valve housing, said valve housing having an inwardly extending circumferential rim;
- a valve body located within said housing for abutment against and displacement from a valve seat, said valve body including an integrally formed membrane of a resilient material;
- a first portion of said membrane forming inner and outer concentric permanent seals spaced a predetermined distance apart and formed in cooperation with said valve housing, said first portion being substantially L-shaped with a vertical leg and a horizontally extending outer flange, said inner seal formed between said rim of said housing and said vertical leg and said outer seal formed between said housing and one end of said horizontally extending outer flange;
- a second portion of said membrane acting as an adjustable flow-controlling seal which cooperates with said valve seat, said first and second portions and said housing being substantially smooth so as to not trap contaminants;
- a third portion of said membrane defining a well in the side of said membrane that faces away from the fluid;
- a manoeuvering pin which has an enlarged head gripped by the bottom of the well of said third portion, the remainder of the well generating no friction with the manoeuvering pin;
- wherein, when no membrane deforming forces are acting on said membrane, said membrane forms a flow opening between said valve seat and said valve body.
- 2. A valve device as in claim 1, wherein said rim has a substantially triangular cross-section.
- 3. A valve device as in claim 1, wherein said horizontally extending outer flange has a double rim.
- 4. A valve device as in claim 1, wherein the valve device comprises a member operatively connected to the pin and having means for indicating the position of the pin and therefore the valve body.
- 5. A valve device as in claim 4, wherein the pin is manoeuvrable by means of a manually operated screw device.
- 6. A valve device as in claim 4, wherein the pin is manoeuvrable by means of a pneumatic or hydraulic device.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 921,238, filed Oct. 21, 1986, and now abandoned.
The present invention relates to a valve device preferably for use as a valve having the functions "open" and "closed", respectively, in a fluid system, including also a water vapor system, where high hygiene standards prevail and retortability is a necessity. The structure as such does not exclude a valve which for instance also may be used for controlling the flow rate.
The problem of the present invention is to provide a valve structure well suited for a fluid system and the structure of which does not disturb the sterile total concept of the system. Furtheron, the problem is to design the valve such that it allows in-line retortion or autoclaving of a flow system in which the valve is used for the time being.
Previously, valves have implied problems as to the retortion or autoclaving procedure. It has not been possible to guarantee an acceptable result when attempting to proceed by in-line autoclaving.
The assembling, autoclaving and a sterile re-assembling of the valve parts and the mounting of the valve in a fluid system under sterile conditions is a very time demanding and expensive, frequently necessary, operation which the known systems necessitate.
Known valve devices for a sterile environment frequently meet high standards of exterior design and shape of the valve. However, the known valves are not workedthrough interiorly with due consideration of a sterile concept. Such valves are acceptable when processing very long series of one and the same sterile fluid or when the valve is to be placed in a continuously operating sterile system.
However, if the conditions of operation are such that it is necessary to change fluid at short time intervals, for instance from a sterile liquid or paste to another one, the interior environment implies problems with the known valves as soon as a fluid is changed, also if the fluids happen to be sterile fluids.
The objects of the present invention is to eliminate the problems of the known devices. Therefore the invention, in the broadest sense thereof, provides a valve device comprising a valve body arranged for abutment against and displacement from, respectively, a valve seat in a valve housing. The valve device is characterized in that at least a portion of the valve body is an integral part of a membrane arranged for permanently sealing the valve body against the valve housing at a first portion thereof and for sealing the valve body fluid flow adjustably at a second portion thereof, said membrane being manufactured from a resilient material and having such natural or unstressed shape that a fluid flow opening is obtained between the valve seat and the valve body, and in that at the side facing away from the fluid the membrane has a portion for substantially friction free embracement of a member to manoeuvring the membrane.
For symmetry reasons and the uniform force distribution of the membrane due to such symmetry, said portion embracing the manoeuvring member preferably is formed in the central region of a membrane manufactured from a resilient material, for instance latex.
Optimum abutment against the valve seat preferably is accomplished by arranging said embracing portion with a valve body for sealing against the valve seat.
A simple mechanical structure is obtained by arranging the manoeuvring member for displacing said embracing portion axially towards and away, respectively, from the valve seat.
In order to guarantee a sterile enviroment also during difficult conditions, the membrane and/or the valve housing preferably are arranged for providing an outer as well as an inner sealing circumferentially around the outer sealing.
In a preferred embodiment the manoeuvring member comprises a pin having an enlarged head arranged for being firmly gripped by the wall of a well in the portion of the membrane embracing the manoeuvring member.
In order to exteriorly signal the position of the valve, the valve device preferably comprises a member operatively connected to the pin and provided with means indicting the position of the pin and thus the position of the valve body.
In one embodiment the pin is manoeuvreable by means of a manually operated screw device.
In another embodiment the pin is manoeuvreable by a pneumatic or hydraulic device.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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921238 |
Oct 1986 |
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Patent Grant
4819691
