Like the valve in application Ser. No. 172,661, the present invention comprises a solenoid-operated cartridge valve for controlling the flow of a fluid with respect to a plurality of openings. It may, like that valve, be embodied as a three-way valve with two operating positions, one enabling fluid flow between the first opening and the second opening, and another which enables fluid flow between the second opening and the third opening. Another similarity is that there are normally open and normally closed forms of the invention, and the valve is readily convertible from one form to the other: first, a normally-open solenoid valve, in which fluid flow is directed between the third opening and the second opening when the solenoid is unactuated; and, second, a normally-closed solenoid valve, in which fluid flow is directed between the second opening and the first opening when the solenoid is unactuated. In both of these forms of the invention the alternate operating position is achieved when the solenoid is actuated, and both forms employ a similar overall design having a linear axial fluid passageway with two ball valves separated by a pin, with one opening lying between the valves and the other two openings at the two opposite ends of the valve.
However, there are important differences between the present invention and the earlier one, especially in the ball seat configuration and in the solenoid configuration. Also, the present invention may be applied to a two-way valve.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds