FIELD OF THE INVENTION

On a general level, the invention concerns a device for determining offset value of a movable valve part with respect to a stationary valve part, and a valve assembly comprising such a device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are methods to efficiently move living fish, typically Atlantic salmon (Lat: Salmo Salar), from one location to another, for instance between a fish farm and a well boat. A common way to achieve this is to employ a system including water pumps, pipes and hoses. Since a well boat typically has several fish tanks, such a fish moving system normally includes means for routing the flow of water carrying fish to a desired tank.

Flow directing means of this type is disclosed in W02020/096464. Said flow directing means is a valve comprising a housing having one water inlet and four water outlets, where each outlet is connected to a separate fish tank. The housing encloses a rotatable member that determines which outlet is to be connected with the water inlet. Structurally, the rotatable member is solid and has a plane surface facing the water inlet, wherein a surface opposite said plane surface is curved. Furthermore, a curved path/passage is made in the member, said passage extending between the plane surface and the curved surface. This curved passage serves as a water conduit, and is also referred to as a conduit. Accordingly, water carrying fish is led from the fish farm, via the water inlet, said curved passage and the water outlet to, ultimately, reach the fish tank.

It is important that the moving process is gentle to the fish. For that reason, the shape of an opening of the curved passage/inner conduit needs to be congruent with the shape of the pipe at the water outlet in order to obtain a seamless transition between said member and the water outlet. However, even a perfect congruency of the two shapes doesn’t guarantee a smooth fish moving process. In this context, even the slightest misalignment of the passage/conduit opening at the curved surface and the pipe at the water outlet results in formation of sharp edges. Considering the speed with which fish passes through the curved passage serving as the water conduit, a collision with a sharp edge could cause serious damage to the fish.

Accordingly, a very precise alignment of the passage/conduit opening and the pipe at the water outlet is required. Obviously, it is desirable to be able to verify that the alignment is acceptable. However, accessing interior components of the flow directing means of the above kind to obtain a visual confirmation is a very timedemanding and tedious process. In addition, in certain cases, removing the housing and tampering with the interior components results in manufacturer’s guarantees being voided.

The above-discussed alignment process could be fully automated, i.e. a processing unit may be receiving commands and relevant feedback from various sensors and, based on these, providing instructions to a motor that controls motion of the rotatable member. However, such an automated process doesn’t take into account possible physical deformations of the passage/conduit opening and/or the pipe at the water outlet. In the related context, biological material, e.g. sea weed or different aquatic animals, may become stuck between the valve housing and the rotatable member, thus displacing the member with respect to the valve housing and resulting in misalignment. Moreover, feedback received from said sensors could be inaccurate, due to sensor malfunction.

On the above background, one object of the invention at hand is to at least alleviate drawbacks associated with the current art. More specifically, one object is to provide a simple, robust and reliable way of establishing position of the rotatable valve component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above stated object is achieved by means of a device for detecting offset of a movable valve part with respect to a stationary valve part. Said device comprises a substantially cylindrical body, said body being arranged to be inserted into a through- hole provided in the stationary valve part. The substantially cylindrical body comprises an eccentrically provided pin that protrudes from a distal base of said body, said pin being arranged to, when said body is inserted in the through-hole, be received in a blind hole provided in the movable valve part. The body further comprises an indicator arranged at a proximal base of said body, wherein, when said pin is received in the blind hole, a deviation of the position of the indicator with respect to a predetermined indicator position indicates offset of the movable valve part with respect to the stationary valve part. Particular embodiments of said device for detecting offset of a movable valve part are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

The distal or proximal base may be an end surface, crosswise to the length of the cylindrical body. The end surfaces, and any radial cross section of the cylindrical body should be circular. The eccentrically provided pin may protrude in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, perpendicularly from the distal base. The indicator may protrude radially of the cylindrical body, from the proximal base.

The invention further encompasses a valve assembly comprising a device for detecting offset of a movable valve part with respect to a stationary valve part in accordance with claim 5. Particular embodiments of the valve are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

For the purposes of this application, the term "offset" is to be construed as a positional deviation of the movable valve part with respect to the stationary valve part. Moreover, the term "distal" is to be interpreted as situated away from the point of reference, in this case the position indicator. Proximal is the opposite of distal. The distal end of the device is the end being inserted into the through hole in the stationary valve part when the device is in use, while the proximal end is the end remaining on the outside. The valve is preferably a valve as described above, comprising a stationary valve part that is a valve housing and a moveable valve part, wherein the valve housing surrounds and encloses the moveable part. The valve housing comprises a number of inlets and outlets, and the moveable part has a curved passage being open in both ends. The moveable part moves in order to connect the different inlets and outlets of the stationary part by the passage.

The moveable valve part is preferably an at least partially spherical valve member, having an inner curved passage being open in both ends, which is also referred to as a conduit. The moveable valve part may rotate inside the valve housing, between different predetermined positions wherein the openings of the curved passage align with the inlets and/or outlets of the stationary valve part, and thereby connect them. Further, the movable valve part has at least one blind hole on its outer surface. By "blind hole" it is herein meant a blinded hole not being through but having a bottom, such as a recess, groove or cavity of any shape. Preferably, the number of blind holes on the surface of the moveable valve part corresponds to the number of inlets/outlets of the valve housing.

By "at least partially spherical" it is herein meant any shape wherein at least a part is shaped as a ball, such as a dome or a hemisphere, but should also include any shapes resembling a ball, egg, ellipsoid or sphere. Truncated balls or domes etc should also be considered to be encompassed by the term.

When the moveable valve part is rotating between the different predetermined positions, it should be symmetrical along an axis of rotation. The preferred shape of the moveable part is a dome or a truncated dome having a circular flat surface on one side and a rounded top opposite the flat surface, wherein the axis of rotation is in center of, and perpendicular to the circular flat surface.

As described above, once the moveable valve part is at a standstill, it is possible that there is a misalignment, i.e. offset, between the opening of the passage/conduit provided in the moveable part and a pipe at an outlet of the housing. In order to determine whether an offset is present, the body of the device according to the invention is inserted into a through-hole provided in the stationary valve part, with the distal end first. The cylindrical body, including the indicator at the proximal end, is rotated about an axially extending axis until the protruding pin at the distal end, is received in a blind hole provided in the movable valve part. Accordingly, the indicator may adopt a new position. Any deviation of the new indicator position with respect to a predetermined starting position indicates offset of the moveable valve part with respect to the valve housing. When the indicator is at the predetermined starting position, the openings of the passage/conduit in the moveable part are in perfect alignment with the inlets/outlets of the valve housing.

The indicator position may also indicate the size of the offset, and thereby a correction of the position of the moveable part may be carried out, until the indicator of the device of the invention is at the predetermined starting position. To indicate the size of the offset, the outer surface of the stationary valve part, surrounding the through hole, may comprise a graduation, wherein the indicator of the device will point to the different numbers of the graduation. The correction of the position may be performed by manually adjusting the movable part until the indicator of the device points to the center position of the graduation, which indicates no offset. This position is also referred to as a predetermined starting position.

The eccentrically provided pin on the distal base may have a length less than 20 mm, more preferred between 5 and 15 mm, most preferred 10 mm. The blind hole should have a corresponding depth, such as 5-20 mm, preferably about 10 mm. When the device is arranged in the through hole of the stationary valve part, the device should be inserted until the distal base is in contact with the surface of the movable part. If the moveable valve part is offset, the tip of the pin will be in contact with the surface of the moveable valve part, and the device can not be sufficiently inserted. Then the device must be rotated until the pin enters the blinded hole, and the device can be further inserted into the hole. The length of the cylindrical body may correspond to the thickness of the stationary valve part, in such a way that the indicator, when the device is inserted into the through hole, will be close to the outer surface of the stationary valve part. The cylindrical body of the device may comprise labels to indicate when it is sufficiently inserted.

The indicator of the device may be pivotable about a radially extending axis of the device, and the cylindrical body may comprise a superficial, axially extending groove for receiving said indicator. When the device is to be inserted into the valve, the indicator should be in an upright position, perpendicular to the length of the cylindrical body of the device. However, when the device is not in use, the indicator may be folded onto the body, and preferably into the groove, to protect it from breaking.

During use, water and dirt may access the space between the stationary valve part and the movable valve part, and thus the space should be flushed and cleaned. A valve as described above, may have one or more wash ports to perform this washing, the wash port may simply be hole through the stationary part of the valve, to access the space between the stationary valve part and the movable valve part. The through-hole wherein the body of a device according to the invention is arranged to be inserted, may be such a wash port.

The blind hole on the surface of the movable valve part, may have an oval cross section. The expression "oval cross section" should also encompass any shape appearing as oval, oblong, elliptical or the similar, when seen from above, having a longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction of the oval shape should preferably be perpendicular to the direction of movement of the movable valve part, that is parallel to the axis of rotation. When the movable valve part is a hemisphere or the similar, the longitudinal direction of the oval blind hole should be perpendicular to the flat surface. When the movable valve part is offset in the stationary part, the blind hole would be to the side of the center of the through-hole, however, as the pin is eccentric, and the hole has a longitudinal direction, the pin will enter the blind hole when the device is rotated. Further, the blind hole should have a length and width corresponding the thickness of the pin. If the width of the blind hole is larger than the thickness of the pin, the difference will reflect an accepted offset of the movable part, as the pin will be received in the hole, and the indicator will be at the predetermined starting position. How large an acceptable offset may be, may vary with the intended use and size of the valve. The pin may be cylindrical, and have a cross section of about 10 mm. The blind hole may preferably be oval or oblong, and may be twice or even three times as long as width. The length of the hole may be about 28 mm, and the width may be about 10,1 mm, giving a tolerance of about 0,1 mm, when the cross section of the pin is about 10 mm. As said above, the depth of the blinded hole may correspond to the length of the pin, and be about 10 mm.

An edge of the blind hole may be chamfered, while the opposite edge may be straight. Providing a straight edge optimizes capturing of the pin in the blind hole, while the chamfered end may slide the pin out of the hole if the movable part moves while the pin is in the hole. When the moveable valve part is a hemisphere or dome, the chamfered edge of the blind hole should be closer to the flat surface, than the straight edge.

The material of the valve must be convenient for the intended use of the valve, such as PA (polyamide) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The stationary part of the valve may be in PA and the movable part may be of PET. Further, the device according to the invention, to detect an offset of the movable valve part, may be of PET. The protruding pin may be of steel, and may be forced in position by pressuring the pin into a bore hole in the cylindrical body. The indicator may be of steel.

By the device according to the invention, a simple and robust way of establishing presence of offset is achieved. A further advantage is that the proposed solution may be used in case of power outage. Yet another advantage is that obtaining information with respect to the presence of offset is achieved without any dismantling of the valve. Accordingly, product guarantees issued by the manufacturer are not consumed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, advantages and features of the invention will appear more clearly in the following description made with reference to the non-limiting embodiments, illustrated by the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exterior perspective view of a flow directing valve in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exterior perspective view of a rotatable part of said flow directing valve in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an exterior perspective view of a device for detecting offset of a movable valve part with respect to a stationary valve part in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective transparent view visualizing a device for detecting offset when a cylindrical body is inserted into a through-hole provided in a valve housing.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a close-up of a blind hole provided in the movable valve part.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like reference signs refer to like elements.

Fig. 1 is an exterior perspective view of a flow directing valve 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It is shown a stationary part 4, i.e. a valve housing. In this embodiment, the housing 4 comprises a hemispherical part 5 and a bottom plate 7. The hemispherical part 5 comprises four water outlets (only two of these 9, 11 are visible here), where each outlet is, via cables and hoses, connected to a fish tank (not shown). The bottom plate 7, fixedly attached to the hemispherical part 5, comprises a water inlet 13. A position of each water outlet represents a desired position for a rotatable valve part, shown and discussed in connection with Fig. 2. In this desired position, a pipe at the water outlet and a conduit opening shown in Fig. 2 are aligned. A cavity 14 is provided below respective water outlet 9, 11 . A cover 15 protects the cavity 14 from external damage. A sensor could be provided in the cavity 14. A processing unit 17 and a motor 19 that drive the rotatable part are positioned on top of the hemispherical part 5. Above-mentioned rotatable part, discussed in conjunction with Fig. 2, is fully surrounded by the shown valve housing 4. A wash port 51 used for accessing a space between the stationary valve part and the movable valve part also shown. For clarity, when the fish and water flow in opposite direction, the inlet will be the outlet and vice versa.

Fig. 2 is an exterior perspective view of a rotatable part 6 of said flow directing valve in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In the shown embodiment, the rotatable valve part 6 is hemispherically shaped. Said hemispherically shaped valve part 6 is rotatable about an axis 12 passing through the centrum of the hemisphere. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the rotatable valve part is spherically shaped and rotatable about an axis passing through the centrum of the sphere. As seen, the rotatable member 6 has a plane base surface 21 facing the bottom plate described in conjunction with Fig. 1 . As discussed above, a curved path or passage that serves as a water conduit is made in the member 6. The passage extends between an opening in the plane surface 23 and an opening 25 to be aligned with a water pipe belonging to the valve housing (shown in Fig. 1 ). On an outer surface of the rotatable valve part 6 there is a blind hole 50. This blind hole 50 will be discussed in greater detail in conjunction with Figs. 4 and 6. Fig. 3 is an exterior perspective view of a device 40 for detecting offset of a movable valve part with respect to a stationary valve part in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A substantially cylindrical body 42 is shown. It comprises an eccentrically provided pin 46 that protrudes axially from a distal base 48 of said body 42. The length of the protrusion of said pin 46 is below 20 mm, more preferred between 5 and 15 mm, most preferred 10 mm. The pin is preferably cylindrical, having a diameter of about 10 mm. In one embodiment, said pin 46 tapers in diameter in a direction away from said distal base 48, having a diameter at the tip of about 10 mm. The body 42 further comprises an indicator 52 being arranged at a proximal base 54 of said body 42. The indicator 52 is pivotable about a radially extending axis 57 of the body. In addition, the body 42 comprises a superficial, axially extending groove 56 for receiving said indicator 52. As it will be discussed in greater detail in conjunction with Fig. 4, the cylindrical body 42, including the indicator 52, is rotated about an axially extending axis 59 until the protruding pin 46 is received in the blind hole 50 of the movable valve part. Said blind hole will be more thoroughly described in conjunction with Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 is a perspective transparent view visualizing a device 40 for detecting offset when a cylindrical body of the device 40 is inserted into a through-hole provided in a stationary valve part, i.e. valve housing 4. In this configuration, a protruding pin is received in the blind hole. Moreover, an arc-shaped graduation 43 is provided on an outer surface (55; shown in Fig. 5) of the stationary valve part 4. Accordingly, a reading of the position of the indicator 52 on the graduation 43 indicates an offset value of the movable valve part 6 with respect to the stationary valve part 4. After the reading, the cylindrical body is to be removed from the through-hole. A simple and robust way of establishing presence of offset is hereby achieved. For instance, the proposed solution may be employed in case of power outage. Moreover and as easily inferred, obtaining information with respect to the presence of offset is achieved without any dismantling of the valve. Accordingly, product guarantees issued by the manufacturer are not consumed. Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the configuration shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a close-up of a blind hole 50 provided in the movable valve part. In the shown embodiment, the blind hole 50 has oval cross-section, having a length about 25-30 mm, preferably 28 mm, a width about 10 mm, preferably 10,1 mm. The depth of the shown blind hole is about 10 mm. The blind hole 50 predominantly extends in a meridional direction of the rotatable hemispherical valve member of Fig. 2, i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the hemispherical valve member. A lower section 58 of an edge of the blind hole 60 is chamfered, whereas an upper section 60 of the edge of said blind hole is straight. Providing a straight edge in the upper section 60 optimizes capturing of the pin in the blind hole. More specifically, in consequence of its direction of movement, the pin abruptly drops into the blind hole. As disclosed above, the device (shown for instance in Fig. 3) is to be removed from the through-hole after a reading. In case an operator forgets to remove the device, next rotation of the hemispherical valve part would result in the pin breaking down. In order to avoid this, the blind hole has a chamfered edge in its lower section 58. In this way, the protruding pin of the forgotten device may slide out of the blind hole 50 intact via section 58 having chamfered edge.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.