Patent ID: 7690397

Claim:
A valve for controlling flow of coolant through a coolant system in a vehicle, the valve comprising: a substantially cylindrical valve body having an inlet passageway and at least two substantially circular discharge passageways including a first discharge passageway and a second discharge passageway; a substantially tubular flow diverter disposed within the body for receiving a flow of coolant from the inlet passageway in an inlet direction and for discharging the flow of coolant into one or the other of the first and second discharge passageways in a discharge direction that is different from the inlet direction, the flow diverter having a substantially cylindrical wall, an open end, and an end wall opposite the open end, the flow diverter being rotatable about a central axis with respect to the body to direct at least a portion of the flow of coolant to one or the other of the first and second discharge passageways, the flow diverter preventing flow from being simultaneously directed to both the first and second discharge passageways, the flow diverter including an asymmetric discharge opening bounded by a first edge having a radius of curvature substantially matching the radius of curvature of one or the other of the discharge passageways, a pair of substantially parallel second edges extending from the first edge, and a third edge projecting inwardly into the opening between the second edges, the third edge providing for faster opening and slower closing of the one or the other discharge passageway than a substantially circular edge as the flow diverter is rotated to cause the third edge to pass across the one or the other discharge passageway; and a motor coupled to the flow diverter for drivingly rotating the flow diverter with respect to the body, an output shaft of the motor being received into a blind socket in the end wall of the flow diverter.