The present application is based on, and claims priority from, German Application Number 10 2005 027 282.7, filed on 14 Jun. 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention relates to valves for automobile bodies.
Water may collect in low-lying automobile body parts. Accordingly collecting water must be allowed to drain. One approach is using a mere hole. On the other hand the water also must be prevented from moving from underneath to the top side of the automobile body part, where corrosion might then occur.
Valves already are known which allow sealing off the water while the automobile is operating. The water moreover can drain only when a given water pressure is exceeded. This design furthermore incurs the drawback that the valve body, i.e. the valve element, can be mounted only in a predetermined position, the valve itself consisting three individual parts.
The objective of the present invention is to create a valve allowing draining the water regardless of any defined water pressure and furthermore providing sealing against water independently of vehicle operation, this new valve design moreover being exceedingly simple.
As regards the valve of the present invention, its valve element is designed in a manner that it shall be buoyed up in the presence of water pressure and be moved into it dosed position. Said valve element comprises a conical segment which in its closed position rests in sealing manner against the opposite edge of the circular aperture or circular passage in said seat. This feature offers the advantage that, as regards the gravity-driven open position, the water shall drain in the absence of a defined water pressure. The valve element being rotationally symmetrical. It may be mounted in any rotational position. Also the present invention allows designing two-part valves, namely comprising the valve body configured in said aperture and said valve element.
In one embodiment mode of the present invention, the valve body is fitted underneath the passage with a further peripheral sealing edge or face which cooperates with another peripheral sealing edge or face of the valve element when latter is in its dosed position. Sealing is attained in this manner, that shall unfailingly prevent water passing from below through the passage to the automobile body top side.
In a further embodiment mode of the present invention, the valve body is fitted with an upper radial flange and with a lower radial flange configured a distance below, said two flanges when deformed resting against the facing side of the automobile body part when the valve body is moved into the open position.
In yet another embodiment mode of the present invention, the valve element is conical and hollow and comprises a radial, peripheral collar fitted with the sealing face. Preferably the hollow element is open downward and is reinforced mutually on the inside by diametrically configured braces or the like. Said braces moreover make it feasible to assemble the valve element by merely applying thumb pressure on them. The water moves from below into the cavity of the valve element and buoys up the said element and allows the element to come to rest against the valve body sealing faces.
In yet another embodiment mode of the present invention, the valve element is fitted with a head by means of which said element rests radially outside the passage in the valve body when it is in the open position. Preferably said head consists of radial arms which during valve element assembly can be deformed to pass through the passage in the valve body.
In a further embodiment mode of the present invention, the valve body comprises a cylindrical surface situated underneath the passage and the valve element is fitted at its conical surface with integrated protrusions having arcuate outer surface elements of which the radius is slightly less than the inside radius of the cylindrical surface.
The invention is elucidated below by means of an illustrative embodiment shown in the appended drawings.
The valve body 10 is hollow and is fitted with a cylindrical guide surface 22 underneath the passage 16. A sealing edge 24 is subtended from the lower end of the said cylindrical guide surface. This sealing edge is formed by the radially Inner edge of a radial surface 26 which is adjoined by a conical surface 28. Be it borne in mind that all said parts and surfaces or edges are circular, the valve body 10 being manufactured to be rotationally symmetrical. However, non-symmetrical variations are not excluded.
Four protrusions 54 configured 90° apart and adjoining then circular segment 46 arise at the outside of the cover 42 and are fitted with an arcuate outer surface 56 of a lesser radius than the radius of the cylindrical surface 22 of the valve body 10. Another number of protrusions also may be used. Consequently the protrusions 54 provide guidance when moving the valve element 40 into the closed position shown in
During assembly to said sheetmetal, the valve element 40 is inserted by its arms 44 through the passage 46, as a result of which, in the open position, the arms 44 brace the valve element 40 against the valve body 10. Water can drain unimpeded from the op side of the sheetmetal through the passage 16. When water pressure is applied form below, the valve element 40 will rise as shown in
The valve element 40 and the valve body 10 may be made of different materials. Illustratively the valve body made be made of a somewhat softer plastic than the valve element 40.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2005 027 282.7 | Jun 2005 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2006/001596 | 6/14/2006 | WO | 00 | 12/9/2007 |