Patent ID: 8033295

Claim:
A valve useful for feeding gas to one or more than one outlets at a total flow rate that is controlled independently of the number of such outlets, comprising a valve body having a valve chamber therein having opposed first and second ends and a side surface extending between said ends, the valve chamber including a first region that extends from the first end of the valve chamber and that has an axis, a valve distributor within the valve chamber and rotatable therein in said first region about said axis, the valve distributor having opposed first and second ends and a side surface between said ends, that is positioned with its first end facing the first end of the valve chamber and with its side surface facing at least a portion of the first region of the valve chamber, said valve chamber including an open space that is bounded by the second end of said valve distributor, the second end of the valve chamber, and the side surface of said valve chamber, the valve body having an inlet extending therethrough from the outer surface of said valve body to said open space, the valve distributor containing a channel extending inwardly from the side surface of the valve distributor and extending from the second end of the valve distributor at least a portion of the distance toward the first end of the valve distributor, to receive gas from said open space, the valve body having two or more outlets extending therethrough from the outer surface of said valve body to points in the first region of the valve chamber that face the side surface of the valve distributor or at least a portion of said channel, wherein the outlets are dimensioned and located with respect to each other so that at any rotational orientation of the valve distributor the channel is open to one outlet or to more than one outlet, and so that when the channel is open to more than one outlet at the same time the sum of the interfacial areas at said outlets stays within 90% above or below the maximum interfacial area when the channel is open to only one outlet, and wherein the space between the side surface of the valve distributor and the side surface of the valve chamber, and the space between the first end of the valve distributor and the first end of the valve chamber, are small enough that when gas is fed into said inlet the amount that flows through said spaces to an outlet that is not open to the channel is less than the amount of gas that flows through the channel to the outlet or outlets to which at least a portion of the channel is open.