IP Library Granted Patent US 12,460,743
Granted Patent B2
US 12,460,743 · App. 17/596,782 · Granted Nov 4, 2025

Compact control valve

Inventor: Lionel Billet (Dannemarie sur Crète, FR)
Assignee: Moving Magnet Technologies
F16K37/0033F16K31/047F25B41/35F16K31/043
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,460,743
App. No.
17/596,782
Granted
Nov 4, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A valve for controlling the circulation of a fluid, having a valve body comprising a movable control member, an electrical actuator comprising a stator and a rotor, a sealing cover extending from the valve body to the inside of the stator, the sealing cover being positioned at the interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the rotor is inside the cover and submerged in the fluid, the stator being isolated from the fluid, the rotor rotating about a first axis and being secured to a shaft extending along the first axis, the movable control member moving in a linear manner along a second axis or in rotation about the second axis, characterized in that the shaft has an end forming, with a toothed wheel driving the movable control member, a gear pair with non-intersecting or intersecting axes.

Claims (20)

1 . A fluid circulation control valve, comprising: a valve body having a movable control member, an electrical actuator comprising a stator and a rotor, a sealing cover extending from the valve body to the inside of the stator, the sealing cover being positioned at an interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the rotor is inside the sealing cover and submerged in the fluid, the stator being isolated from the fluid, the rotor configured to rotate about a first axis and being secured to a shaft extending along the first axis, the movable control member configured to move in a linear manner along a second axis or to rotate about the second axis, the shaft having an end that forms, together with a toothed wheel that drives the movable control member, a gear pair with non-intersecting or intersecting axes, wherein a base of the sealing cover is inserted into the valve body and comprises a groove, a seal member disposed within the groove and providing a fluid-tight seal between the valve body and the base of the sealing cover, and wherein the sealing cover is directly fixed to the valve body.

2 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the movable control member comprises a needle that moves in a linear manner.

3 . The valve of claim 2 , wherein the second axis is orthogonal to the first axis of the rotor and the end is threaded and drives a toothed wheel rotating about the second axis.

4 . The valve of claim 3 , wherein the toothed wheel rotates a hub, the hub is secured to a screw, a stationary nut is arranged upstream of the hub, the nut forcing the hub to move helically while the toothed wheel is rotating, and the hub is in contact with the needle.

5 . The valve of claim 4 , wherein the hub has a spherical end that bears against the needle, and a compression spring maintains constant contact between the needle and the hub.

6 . The valve of claim 5 , wherein the contact is sliding, eliminating the rotational component of the needle.

7 . The valve of claim 2 , wherein the end is toothed and drives the toothed wheel, the toothed end and the toothed wheel forming a bevel gear pair.

8 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the second axis of the movable control member and the first axis are such that planes orthogonal to the first and second axes are not mutually orthogonal.

9 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the movable control member is in the form of a plug configured to rotate about the second axis.

10 . The valve of claim 1 , further comprising a rotation sensor for the rotor, the rotation sensor including a magnetosensitive probe secured to a printed circuit outside the cover and at least one magnetic element secured to the rotor inside the cover and configured to generate a magnetic field.

11 . The valve of claim 1 , further comprising a linear position sensor for a needle, the linear position sensor comprising a magnetosensitive probe and of at least one magnetic element that is secured to the movable control member and generates a magnetic field.

12 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the stator of the electrical actuator has only three coils grouped together in an angular sector of less than 180°.

13 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a metal cover arranged in the electrical actuator.

14 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a plastic wall surrounding the stator of the actuator.

15 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the movable control member is configured to rotate about the second axis and the shaft is guided by only two bearings located at the ends thereof.

16 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the valve body comprises two cavities accommodating internal movable elements, one of the two cavities extending along the first axis and the other of the two cavities extending along the second axis.

17 . The valve of claim 1 , wherein the stator and an electronics board are attached to a casing, the stator, electronics board, and casing being fixed to a sealed valve block.

18 . The valve of claim 1 , further comprising a part forming a seat of a rotary plug or of a needle has a housing intended to receive connection elements of a conduit for heat transport fluid.

19 . An expansion device for an air conditioning circuit, comprising: a valve body having a movable control member, an electrical actuator comprising a stator and a rotor, a sealing cover extending from the valve body to the inside of the stator, the sealing cover being positioned at an interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the rotor is inside the sealing cover and submerged in a fluid, the stator being isolated from the fluid, the rotor configured to rotate about a first axis and being secured to a shaft extending along the first axis, the movable control member configured to move in a linear manner along a second axis or to rotate about the second axis, the shaft having an end that forms, together with a toothed wheel that drives the movable control member, a gear pair with non-intersecting or intersecting axes, wherein a base of the sealing cover is inserted into the valve body and comprises a groove, a seal member disposed within the groove and providing a fluid-tight seal between the valve body and the base of the sealing cover, and wherein the sealing cover is directly fixed to the valve body.

20 . An expansion device for cooling a battery, the expansion device having a valve body comprising a movable control member, an electrical actuator comprising a stator and a rotor, a sealing cover extending from the valve body to the inside of the stator, the sealing cover being positioned at an interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the rotor is inside the sealing cover and submerged in a fluid, the stator being isolated from the fluid, the rotor configured to rotate about a first axis and being secured to a shaft extending along the first axis, the movable control member configured to move in a linear manner along a second axis or to rotate about the second axis, the shaft having an end that forms, together with a toothed wheel that drives the movable control member, a gear pair with non-intersecting or intersecting axes, wherein a base of the sealing cover is inserted into the valve body and comprises a groove, a seal member disposed within the groove and providing a fluid-tight seal between the valve body and the base of the sealing cover, and wherein the sealing cover is directly fixed to the valve body.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 12, 2022
From: BILLET, LIONEL
To: MOVING MAGNET TECHNOLOGIES
Reel/Frame 058632/0691 →
Priority Claims (1)
FR 1906660 · Jun 20, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220316618A1 · Oct 6, 2022
References Cited (45)
US 2469794A · Sloan · 1949 [cited by examiner]
US 2930571A · Vogl · 1960 [cited by examiner]
US 3518891A · Denkowski · 1970 [cited by examiner]
US 3863888A · Hines · 1975 [cited by examiner]
US 4901977A · Hendrick · 1990 [cited by applicant]
US 5327856A · Schroeder · 1994 [cited by examiner]
US 5670852A · Chipperfield · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 6460567B1 · Hansen, III et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6561480B1 · Komiya · 2003 [cited by examiner]
US 6981428B2 · Donald · 2006 [cited by examiner]
US 20020112760A1 · Goni Usabiaga · 2002 [cited by examiner]
US 20060180780A1 · Arai et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20110031425A1 · Tyler · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120211687A1 · Benjey et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20160233734A1 · Biwersi · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20180219435A1 · Billet · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180372342A1 · Chan · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20190353271A1 · Uehara et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200025306A1 · Monnin · 2020 [cited by examiner]
CN 103370525A · 2013 [cited by applicant]
CN 106763813A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
DE 29616690 · 1998 [cited by applicant]
DE 102017107688 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
EP 2676027A1 · 2013 [cited by applicant]
EP 2725267B1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
JP 60263784A · 1985 [cited by applicant]
JP 63187562U · 1988 [cited by applicant]
JP 01288678A · 1989 [cited by applicant]
JP 08319956A · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP 08340656A · 1996 [cited by applicant]
JP 2000257689A · 2000 [cited by applicant]
JP 2001141094A · 2001 [cited by applicant]
JP 2015218777A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
JP 2018135908A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
KR 1020160071147 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO 2012110889A1 · 2012 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018096246A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018126214A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018180041A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2019110923A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/FR2020/051072 dated Oct. 30, 2020, 3 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/FR2020/051072 dated Oct. 30, 2020, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]
Chinese Search Report for Chinese Application No. 202080044811, dated Mar. 28, 2024, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Japanese Notice of Reasons for Refusal for Japanese Application No. 2021-574926, dated Mar. 12, 2024, 16 pages with English translation. [cited by applicant]
Chinese Office action for Chinese Application No. 202080044811, dated Mar. 20, 2025, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]