Patent ID: 6419463
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: F04B,F16K,Y10T

Abstract:
A valve arrangement comprising a valve housing that includes an inlet port and two outlet ports for fluid passing through the housing, a valve element accommodated in the valve housing and moveable freely between two end positions, wherein said valve element includes two surfaces each adapted for co-action with a respective outlet port to close an associated outlet port in one and the other of said two end positions of said valve element, resetting means for resetting the valve element between said positions, a double-action pump for co-ordinating with said valve arrangement and said pump including two spaces with valve-controlled inlets and outlets for drive fluid and pump transported working fluid respectively, each said space is divided into an operating chamber and a working chamber by a respective partition wall which is reciprocatingly moveable between end positions, said partition walls are interconnected by a movement transmission means and perform alternating working strokes under the influence of said drive fluid, during which working strokes working fluid is pressed from one of the working chambers and drawn into the other of said working chambers, and vice versa, and each of the operating chamber inlets is connected to said respective outlet port of said valve arrangement, and said pump includes pump resetting means which causes the valve element to move along only a part of the movement path to the opposite end position, and said each operating chamber is connected to an associated outlet port of the valve arrangement via a conduit which is adapted to be closed by the associated partition wall when said wall is located in one of its end positions; and in that a fluid bleed passageway extends between the outlet ports and the inlet port common to said outlet ports.