초록 ▼

A stepper-motor gas valve control is disclosed that includes a main diaphragm in a chamber that controllably displaces a valve relative to an opening in response to changes in pressure, to adjust fuel flow through the valve. A servo-regulator diaphragm is provided to regulate flow to the main diaphr

A stepper-motor gas valve control is disclosed that includes a main diaphragm in a chamber that controllably displaces a valve relative to an opening in response to changes in pressure, to adjust fuel flow through the valve. A servo-regulator diaphragm is provided to regulate flow to the main diaphragm, to thereby control the rate of fuel flow. A stepper motor is configured to move in a stepwise manner to displace the servo-regulator diaphragm, to control fluid flow to the main diaphragm. A controller mounted on the stepper-motor regulated gas valve control receives and converts an input control signal from a heating system to a reference value between 0 and 5 volts, and selects a corresponding motor step value. The control responsively moves the stepper-motor in a step wise manner to displace the servo-regulator diaphragm and thereby regulates the rate of fuel flow through the valve.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A stepper-motor regulated gas valve, comprising: an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path therebetween;a main diaphragm coupled to and configured to displace a main valve relative to a main valve opening in response to changes in pressure in a main diaphragm chamber;a servo-regulator diaphragm config

1. A stepper-motor regulated gas valve, comprising: an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path therebetween;a main diaphragm coupled to and configured to displace a main valve relative to a main valve opening in response to changes in pressure in a main diaphragm chamber;a servo-regulator diaphragm configured to regulate fluid flow to the main diaphragm chamber, to control a rate of fluid flow through the main valve opening;a stepper motor coupled to the servo-regulator diaphragm and configured to move in a stepwise manner to displace the servo-regulator diaphragm to regulate fluid flow into the main diaphragm chamber; anda control circuit coupled to the stepper motor for adapting the gas valve to use the same current signal control input for modulating fuel flow as, and to provide the same outlet pressure as, any one of a plurality of different gas valve types that receive a current signal control input but in which a stepper motor is not used to perform fuel regulation, the stepper-motor regulated gas valve being adaptable by the control circuit for use in a fuel-fired heating system in place of any one of the plurality of different gas valve types, the control circuit further configured to: receive a current signal control input configured to produce a desired outlet pressure in a selected one of the plurality of different gas valve types,convert the received current signal control input to a reference value having a voltage of between 0 and 5 volts,using the reference value, determine a stepper motor step value for regulating the fluid flow to produce the desired outlet pressure, andenergize the stepper motor according to the determined motor step value. 2. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the received current signal control input is configured as a current signal of between 0 and 180 milliamps. 3. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to select the motor step value from a lookup table of motor step values corresponding to a number of reference values. 4. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve control of claim 3, wherein the motor step values correspond to a plurality of positions of the stepper motor ranging from a closed no-flow position to a full capacity position. 5. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the servo-regulator diaphragm is fluidly connected to the outlet when the main valve is open. 6. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the servo-regulator diaphragm is configured to regulate fluid flow through a servo-regulator diaphragm chamber having no more than two ports. 7. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the received current signal control input is configured as input to a voice coil and/or as a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal. 8. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, comprised by a heating system wherein a furnace controller provides the received current signal control input to the control circuit. 9. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 8, where the furnace controller is selectively configurable to provide an opening characteristic for the stepper-motor regulated gas valve that is a function of the stepper-motor regulated valve's outlet pressure over time. 10. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 8, where the furnace controller is selectively configurable by a dip switch having a setting for at least one of a step-opening gas valve characteristic, a slow-opening gas valve characteristic, and a fast-opening gas valve characteristic. 11. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein the motor step value further corresponds to a valve outlet pressure in a first range of about 0.50 inches H2O to about 4.0 inches H2O for natural gas and a second range of about 5.0 inches H2O to about 11.0 inches H2O for liquid propane gas. 12. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, wherein: the stepper-motor regulated gas valve is configured to be selectively operable with first and second different types of fuel sources; andthe control circuit is configured to determine the motor step value based on the type of fuel source, whereby the motor step value for the first type of fuel source is different than the motor step value of the second type of fuel source to account for differences in fuel densities and pressures. 13. The stepper-motor regulated gas valve of claim 1, configured to provide for adjustment of valve outlet pressure to set the stepper-motor regulated valve for different altitudes. 14. A fuel-fired heating system comprising: a burner for receiving a supply of fuel flow for combustion;a stepper-motor regulated gas valve for supplying fuel flow to the burner, the stepper-motor regulated gas valve adaptable for use in place of any one of a plurality of different gas valve types for use in fuel-fired heating systems and that are not stepper-motor regulated, the stepper-motor regulated gas valve including: an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path therebetween;a main diaphragm, in a main diaphragm chamber, that controllably displaces a main valve relative to a main valve opening in response to changes in pressure in the main diaphragm chamber;a servo-regulator diaphragm configured to regulate fluid flow to the main diaphragm chamber to control a rate of fuel flow through the main valve opening; anda stepper motor coupled to the servo-regulator diaphragm and configured to move in a stepwise manner to displace the servo-regulator diaphragm to regulate the rate of fuel flow through the valve opening;the heating system further comprising: a control circuit for adapting the stepper-motor regulated gas valve to use the same current signal control input for modulating fuel flow as, and to provide the same outlet pressure, any one of the plurality of different gas valve types; anda furnace controller configured to generate a current signal control input indicative of a fuel flow through a selected one of the plurality of different gas valve types;the control circuit configured to receive the generated current signal control input and control the movement of the stepper motor based on the generated current signal control input, to provide an opening characteristic of the stepper-motor regulated gas valve that is a function of the stepper-motor regulated gas valve's outlet pressure over time;the stepper-motor regulated gas valve selectively operable through the control circuit to provide each of a plurality of different opening characteristics provided through the selected one of the plurality of different gas types. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the control circuit is included in the furnace control, or in a gas valve control that includes the gas valve. 16. The fuel-fired heating system of claim 14, wherein the control circuit is selectively configured such that each time the stepper-motor regulated gas valve is opened, the stepper motor is moved to provide an initial low pressure supply of fuel and within an interval thereafter is moved to provide an increased higher pressure supply of fuel, to thereby provide a step-opening characteristic. 17. The fuel-fired heating system of claim 14, wherein the control circuit is selectively configured such that each time the stepper-motor regulated gas valve is opened, the stepper motor is gradually moved from a closed no-flow position to a full-capacity supply of fuel flow over a minimum time interval of at least three seconds, to thereby provide a slow-opening characteristic. 18. The fuel-fired heating system of claim 14, wherein the system controller is selectively configured such that each time the stepper-motor regulated gas valve is opened, the stepper motor is moved from a closed no-flow position to a full-capacity supply of fuel flow in less than a three second time interval, to thereby provide a fast-opening characteristic. 19. The fuel-fired heating system of claim 14, wherein the servo-regulator diaphragm is fluidly connected to the outlet when the main valve is open. 20. The fuel-fired heating system of claim 14, wherein the servo-regulator diaphragm is configured to regulate fluid flow through a servo-regulator diaphragm chamber having no more than two ports. 21. A method for controlling fluid flow through a stepper-motor regulated gas valve of a heating system, the method comprising: adapting a stepper-motor regulated gas valve for use in a heating system, the stepper-motor regulated gas valve being adaptable to use the same current signal control input for modulating fuel flow as, and to provide the same outlet pressure as, any one of a plurality of different gas valve types for use in various heating systems in which the different gas valve types receive current signal control input but are not stepper-motor regulated, the stepper-motor regulated gas valve including a main diaphragm chamber, a main diaphragm coupled to a main valve and configured to displace the main valve relative to a valve opening in response to changes in pressure in the main diaphragm chamber, a servo-regulator diaphragm configured to regulate fluid flow to the main diaphragm chamber, and a stepper motor coupled to the servo-regulator diaphragm;receiving and storing characteristic input from a furnace control of the heating system, the characteristic input defining a gas valve opening characteristic;receiving a current signal control input in milliamps from the furnace control, the current signal control input indicative of a requested fluid flow through a selected one of the plurality of different gas valve types;converting the current signal control input to a reference value between 0 and 5 volts;determining a motor step value based on the reference value and a type of fuel source coupled to the stepper-motor regulated gas valve; andbased on the determined motor step value, causing the stepper motor to displace the servo-regulator diaphragm to selectively restrict fluid flow into the main diaphragm chamber, to thereby provide the requested fluid flow through the stepper-motor regulated gas valve in accordance with the defined gas valve opening characteristic;said method performed by a control circuit, where the control circuit is included in the furnace control or is included in a gas valve control that includes the stepper-motor regulated gas valve. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: gradually moving the stepper motor from a closed no-flow position to a full-capacity supply of fuel flow over a minimum time interval of at least three seconds, in accordance with a defined slow-opening characteristic; ormoving the stepper motor from a closed no-flow position to a full-capacity supply of fuel flow in less than a three second time interval, in accordance with a defined fast-opening characteristic. 23. The method of claim 21, wherein determining a motor step value based on the reference value and a type of the fuel source coupled to the valve comprises determining a motor step value that corresponds to a valve outlet pressure in a first range of about 0.50 inches H2O to about 4.0 inches H2O for a first type of fuel from the fuel source and a second range of about 5.0 inches H2O to about 11.0 inches H2O for a second type of fuel from the fuel source.