US3003328A - Internally heated slug valve - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 10,1961 c. c. BAUERLEIN mumm HEATED swc VALVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filbd lay 18, 1959 v LIP-2271b? 07,4 6' 541mm 5/ 1961 c. c. BAUERLEIN 3,003,328

INTERNALLY HEATED swc VALVE Filed llay 1a, 1959' s Sheets-Sheet 2 fla 2 Oct. 10, 1961 c. c. BAUERLEIN mumm mm) swc VALVE 3 Sheets-Shoot 3 Filed lay 18, 1959 Unid Swis Patsm 3,003,328" l INTERNALLY HEATEDSLUG VALVE Carl c. Bauerlein, Lincolnwood, 111., assignor to The pore ValvekCompany, Morton Grove, 11]., a corporation of Filed May 18, 1959, Ser. No. 814,041 s Claims, c1. 62-135) This invention relates to automatic ice makers and more particularly relates to an internally heated slug valve and associatd control mechanism foroperating a self releasingpivotal or rotatable ice tray.

invention/is particularly to a control means for a self releasing ice tray or mold of the type described and claimed in my copending application for patent entitled Self Releasing Ice Mold,.Serial No. 740,898, now PatentfNo. 2,93 9,298 granted June 7, 1960, which has been assigned to" the assignee hereof. Generally, the particular type of, icemold to which this application is directedis rotatable or pivotal about a horizontal axis and has multiple ice molds formedtherein in heat transferrelationship with respect to one another which face outwardly from the pivotal axis of the ice tray so that frozen ice cubes in one set of -molds will be released from the icemold into a collection tray by the heat of water a set of upwardly facingmolds.

In the copending application referred to above'the automatic ice making device is shown and described as having three oppositely facingfmolds defined by' radial walls spaced 120 apartjwhichhave a plurality of spaced 3,003,328 Patented Oct. 10, 1961 the continuous passage of fluid into the main fluid chamthe slugvalve during downwardmovement of the motion translation rod, the rod moves to theend of its -downward stroke, a movable contact within the switch is snapped 'outof engagement withone stationary contact and into engagement with a second stationary contact to open the energizing circuit to the inlet solenoid and to simultaneously close an energizing circuit to the outlet solenoid to thereby etfectclosure of the inlet port and substantially simultaneous opening of the outlet port. Upon opening of the outlet port the spring member within the slug valve body acts to move the diaphragm within the main fluid chamber upwardly to force water out through theoutlet and into an empty upwardly facing ice mold. When the motion transla-' tion rod approaches the upper end of its stroke the various movable electrical contacts within the switch are returned to theirtnormalposition to await the. beginning of another cycle and both main in their normal closed position, I r v 0 t The ice tray may be mounted. on a rotatable shaft journaled in a suitable support and withthe partitions therein dividing the molds into a plurality of individual cube molds for freezing thewater in the form of ice prisms, each mold beingso formed asto'diverge outwardlytfromthe radial axisthereof'and soarranged that the'hcat of relatively warm water filling an upwardly facing mold will efiect the release of the ice pieces in a downwardly facing f inold by heat transfer through the walls of the ice tray.

slug valve in such a. manner-that downward of the motion translation rod act 'to rotatably move the tray through a given angular displacement. Inasmuch as ejection of individual ice cubes'or prisms from the ice tr'ayis'efiected by melting of the surfaces of the cubes adhering to the "tray as a consequence ofithe heating' of the mold walls by thetemperature of water, filling an upwardly facing mold, it has been found desirable to provide a means for heating the water to be di rected to the mold prior to that time when it is from the slug valve to the ice tray.

Heaters: may, of course, be associated with the filler spout from me slug valve buthave nottb een found entirely satisfactoryin raising the meet fluid This invention isdire'cted to a slug valve of the which is adapted to be associated with sucha pivotal ice tray and'which is operable tofdispensef almeasurcd amount of water to the ice tray at predetermined iintervals and which may also be operable to rotatably move the ice tray to effect ejection of the cubes from the mold into a suitablecontainer and to presentan emptyice mold beneath the mold filler spout at predetermined intervals.

More particularly this invention is directed to a means I for heating the water directed to the ice tray to predetermined temperatures at selected intervals duringthe cycle of operation of the ice making apparatus.

The slug valve which forms a part of the present invention comprises generally a valve body having a flexible diaphragm extending thereacross and having an in let to an outlet fromthe chamber disposed therein which are formed onejsideof the diaphragm for admitting and dispensingta measured quantity of water from the slug valveto be used in filling the ice tray, Fluidpressureoperated solenoid controlled diaphragm valves are associated with the inlet and the outlet from the slug valve to control the passage of fluid into and out of the slug valve. Upon energization of ,the inlet solenoid, pressurized water enters the slug valve to move the diaphragm'downwardly against'the biasing force of a spring member and to thereby simultaneously move a mechanical transducer or motion translation rod associated with the diaphragm extending exteriorly of the valve body. downwardly ,also. The motion translation rod is associated with an electric switch in such emannet that initial downward movement ofthe rod acts to close a holding inlet solenoid to permit the molds Yule flowing to the ice tray to a suflicient'degreeparticularly when the temperature of fluid flowing to theslug valve is quite low, since the fluid remains in the tiller spoutonly momentarily as it passes from the slug valve to I'have found that the temperature of fluid fill it Y can a se e cient degree to etfect proper operation of the tray by heating the fluid while it is in the measuring chamber prior to the slug valve operation. To this end I have devised a means for positioning a heater in heat transfer relation with the fluid disposed within the slug valve which can be operated under thecyclic control of the ice making apparatus and which may also be operated asafunction of the temperature of the fluid within the slug valve in a manner which will hereinafter bedescribed.

'Ihus'by connecting theheater in series with the inlet solenoid to the slug'valve, the heater will be energized only during those intervals when theinlet solenoid valve is also energized so that the heater will notbe when there is no fluid within'theslug valve.- a a 1 ,I have found that a watertenrperature. of' approximately is desirable when it is fill'an ice tray of the type hereinbefore described and in order tomaina tain such a temperature I have provided an electrical switch means connected in serieswith the resistor heater which is operated by a thermal sensitiveelernent which, in turn, is sensitive to the fluid temperature the slug'valve so that the slug valve heater will be deenergized when the temperature of fluid within the slug valve-reaches 150. Obviously, however, different fluid temperatures may be attained throughthe useofther'nral sensitiveelememshaving different operating the. inlet and outlet "ports operative I I have found it desirable to effect heating of the fluid within the slug valve by means of placing a heater coil in heat transfer relation with the fluid chamber in the slug valve. The heater coil, if protected from the fluid may be disposed, within the fluid chamber or may merely be disposed inheat transfer relation therewith and be protected therefrom by a heat conducting liner or shell. The heat conducting shell may, in turn, be disposed within a housing or may comprise one of the confining walls of the chamber as desired. If the shell or lining and its asso-' ciated coil is not disposed within a complementary housing the heater coil wound about the exterior thereof will be unprotected.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the appended drawings, I provide a metallic liner or shell having a resistance coil wound therearound which may be fitted within the slug valve in juxtaposition to at least a portion of the walls therein defining the fluid chamber and which may be sealed thereto in fluid tight relation therewith.

Inorder to control the energization of the resistor heater, I have mounted a thermal sensitive element, of a type which is well known in the art, in one of the walls of the slug valve which has its thermal sensing portion disposed in abutment with the resistor heater shell and which has its piston or power member extensible from the slug valve body and engageable with a switch arm of an ordinary microswitch which is connected in series with the resistor heater.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved means for effecting ejection of ice pieces from an ice tray which comprises heating the fluid to be dispensed to the tray while it is in a slug valve as a function of the temperature of that fluid.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heater coil disposed in heat transfer relation with the fluid chamber in a slug valve to control the temperature thereof.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a means for encasing a suitable heater means within the slug valve in heat transfer relation with the fluiddisposed therein.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of a heater disposed in heat transfer relation with the fluid within a slug valve which is positioned adjacent the inlet to the fluid chamber within the chamber so that fluid turbulence adjacent "the inlet will act to thoroughly mix the heated with the non-heated fluid in the slug valve.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an internal resistor heater of the type above described which may be controlled under the cyclic control of the ice making apparatus and which may also be controlled by a thermal sensitive switch disposed in heat transfer relation within the slug valve.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the follow-ing specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a rotatable ice tray and an associated slug valve which are shown as being mounted on opposite sides of the wall of a freezing compartment;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the slug valve illustrated in FIGURE 1 which shows the resistor heater and its associated metallic liner or shell mounted therein;

FIGURE 3 is a fragment-a1 vertical sectional view through a portion of the slug valve illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 2 which shows the thermal sensitive element mounted within the slug valve operably associated with a microswitch for controlling energization of the heater coil;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view of the ice tray which is taken along lines IV--IV of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic diagram of the electrical 4 control circuit which might be used in operating a heater control assembly of the type which will hereinafter be described more fully in detail; and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the slug valve illustrated in vertical section in FIGURE 2.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, a freezing receptacle or ice tray 10 is shown as being generally triangular in cross-section and as having three ice molds 11 spaced apart, and as being rotatably mounted about the center axis thereof on the drive shaft 13 which is rotatably journaled in an aperture 14 in the sidewall 15 of a refrigerating compartment, such as the freezing compartment of a refrigerator or the like.

The molds 11 are partitioned to provide a series of individual prism-like molds by partitions or dividers 16 extending thereacross between radial walls'17 and extending from the center axis of the receptacle and connected between end walls 18. Each radial wall 17 has an advance face 21 facing in the direction of rotation of the mold, which is shown as being generally parallel to a radial line extending from the center axis of the receptacle. Each wall 17 also has a' retreating face \22 facing oppositely from the direction of rotation of the mold and extending at an angle with respect to a radial line extending through the center of the receptacle and inclined from the center of the receptacle toward-the face 21 to provide a tapered wall and a release face tilted with respect to the vertical, to facilitate the release of the ice prism 23 from the molds, as the surfaces of faces 21 and 22 are heated by the temperature of water filling an upwardly facing mold 11.

' Drip retainers 25 are provided to collect the drops of water running off the melting surfaces of the ice' prisms as the ice prisms are released by the heat of water filling an upwardly facing mold 11 to return the drops of water to the mold when the mold has been again rotated to a filling position. The drip retainers 25 also cooperate with a refreeze ledge 28 which extends inwardly from the upper wall of a storage basket 29, adapted to collect the ice prisms which are ejected from the ice tray, to support the ice prisms during freezing of the water in an upwardly facing mold and to accommodate the surface of the prisms to dry by freezing of the water in an upwardly facing mold prior to the discharge of the prism into the storage basket. Thus, if the Water freezes in an upwardly facing mold 11 and the receptacle is subsequently rotated tobring an empty mold into position to be filled with water, from the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, the ice prisms will be released from the drip retainers 25 to fall into the storage basket and in this manner each of the ice prisms will be thoroughly dry before dropping into the storage basket to thereby eliminate the tendency for individual ice prisms to stick together in the common storage basket.

'It will be noted that all of the walls of the individual molds taper inwardly and downwardly when the mold is in an ice release position, to provide ice prism molds which diverge outwardly and downwardly to facilitate releasing of the frozen ice prisms from their respective molds upon breaking of the bond between the walls of the individual molds and the ice prisms due to the melting of the surfaces of the ice prisms lying in juxtaposition to the walls of the respective molds.

The dividers 16 also have V-shaped notches 35 recessed in the outer faces 33 thereof which accommodate the flow of water from one individual ice mold to the other during the filling of the molds which, upon freezing of the water in the molds, serve to connect the ice prisms together as a composite mass to cam the ice prisms away from the surfaces 22 and during the ejection operation to thereby aid in the ejection of ice prisms from their respective molds.

Referringnow more particularly to the means for filling the rotatable ice tray, a 'slug valve'50 is mounted'on sidewall 15 by a bracket lz and' is a two-part structure comprising upper and lower sections 51 and 52, respectively, which are sealed together by means of an annular ring 53 which is C-shaped in cross-section. A boss 54 is formed integrally with the upper section 51 and has an inlet passage55 formed therein which is communicable with an'annular inlet chamber56 formed in the upper end of the upper section 51. The inlet passage 55 has a radially enlarged portion 58 formed within the boss 54 which is adapted to encompass a filter screen 59 placed therein to filter water flowing into the inlet passage 55 from a similar passage formed within a connectingnipple 60 which is attached'to the hollow boss 54.

-An upstanding boss 61 is formed at the upper end of theiipper section 55 centrally of the annular fluid inlet chamber 56, and has an inlet port 63 leading therethrough to communicate fluid from the fluid inlet chamber 56 to the main fluid chamber 65 within the slug valve 50. An

, valve 68. 'The diaphragm valve '68 is cooperable with theport to control fluid flow therethrough from the ammlar fluid inletchamber in a manner which is now well known inthe art, and is controlled by an electrically retractable armature 69 which forms a compositepart of an inlet solenoid 70.

, Another outlet boss 75 is also formed integrally with the upper section 51 of the slug valve 50 and hasan outlet passage 76 formed therein which is communicable with a similar passage in a connecting nipple 77 connected to the boss 75. An annular outlet chamber 78, whichis similar in nature to the annular inlet chamber 56 hereinbefore' described, is formed within the upper section of the slug valve 50 and is communicable through a passage 79 with the main fluid chamber 6530f the slug valve 50. A fluid pressure actuated solenoid controlled diaphragm valve-80, is associated with the annular outlet chamber 78 and theoutlet port 81 to control fluid flow therebetweenand is controlled by the actuation of an outlet solenoid 83 which is similar in nature and function to the inlet solenoid 70, j I A, diaphragm 90 is peripherally sealed to the body of the slug valve 50 intermediate the upper and lower sections 51 and 52, respectively, and is moved to its illustrated position by the pressure of fluid entering thechamber 65 through the port 63. A reciprocably movable piston 91 is positioned within a spring chamber 92 of the slug valve 50 and has a motion translation rod 93 connected therewith which is extensible from the slug valve body 50 through a central aperture 94 in the lower section 52. A compression spring 96 is also positioned within the springfchamber 92 intermediate the bottom wall of the lower section and the piston 91 and serves to oppose the fluid pressure within the chamber 65 andurge the piston 91, and consequently the diaphragm 90, to move upwardly within the slug valve body. It will further be noted that a vent port 97 is' formed within the lower section of the slug valve 50 to vent the spring chamber 92 tothe atmosphere'to prevent a fluid pressure buildup within the'sprin'g chamber 92.

As shown in FIGURE 1, an outlet conduit 98 is con- 96 will -urge"thepiston 91,'-and consequently the die phragm 9t), upwardly within the slug valve 50 to decrease thevolumetric capacity of the main fluid chamber 65 and to thereby force fluid within chamber 65 to the outlet passage 76 within theoutlet boss 75, andthence to the ice tray through the conduit 98 and the filler spout 99.,

Thus, the volumetric capacity of the main fluid chamber 65 will determine the amount of fluid directed to the ice cubetrayltif 1 p a g As shown in FIGURE 1, themoti'on translation rod 93 has a gear rack 93a formed'along one longitudinal edge thereof which is positioned in mesh with the peripheral gear teeth on a pinion gear 99a which, in turn, is afiixed to an input power shaft 100. The input power shaft 100 is, in turn, connecte'djto the output power shaft 13 which is connected to the ice tray'ltlthrough a one-way drive clutch C so that a reciprocable movement of the motion 7 section 52 of the valve'5 0 which is cooperable with and nected to the outlet nipple 77 which terminates in a filler spout 99 overhanging the ice tray 10 for filling the ice tray with water from the slug valve.

Assuming that the outlet valve is closed with respect to the fluid port 81 within the slug valve 50," energization of the inlet solenoid 70: will cause the inlet diaphragm valve 67 to become unseated from its respective post to permitthe free flow of fluid from the inlet passage 55 to the fluidcham-ber 65. The increasing force of fluid entering the chamber 65 through the port 63 will tendto act against and overcome the opposforcc of spring member 96 and to thereby move the diaphragm and the piston 91 downwardly translation rod 93 will effect rotatable movement of the ice tray 10 in one rotational direction. The gear teeth on the pinion gear 99a are so associated with the gear rack 98 that the output shaft '13, and consequently the ice tray '10 will be rotated exactly 120 by one complete downward stroke of the motion translation rod 93.

A multi-purpose switch 120 is mounted on thelower actuatedby'reciprocation of the motiontranslation rod 93 to control energization of the electrical circuit of the ice making apparatus, through a link associated with a plunger 107 of switch 120. i

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 4 of the drawings, it will be understood that when the rotatable ice tray is constructed of aluminum or some similar heat conducting materialthe heat of water filling upwardly facing mold A will readily be conducted through common wall B to heat the surface of the ice prisnr23 within mold D which lies in juxtaposition. to the common wall B. It has been found in practice, however, that the surface of the ice prism 23 which is bonded to wall E is not readily melted by the'heatof waterof usual temperatures used tofill mold A since heat is not readilyeonducted through such a long conduction path." On the other hand, it has been found that if the temperature of water usedto fill the upwardlyfacing, mold A is raised to approximately 150 before being directed to the moldA,

sufficient heat will be conducted through wall E to break the bond between the ice prism 23 and this wall to effect the ejection of the ice prism from the rotatable ice tray.

Heating of the water used to fill the upwardly facing molds in the ice tray is effected by means of a resistance heater coil 110 which is shown as being woundabout a brass liner or shell 111 which, in turn, is adapted to snugly fit within the upper portion 51 of the slug valve 7 50 in juxtaposition to the walls thereof defining the upper portion of the main fluid chamber 65. The shell 111 may, if so desired, comprise the upper portion of the slug valve '50. In such case, of course, the heater coil would not be protected. i

The shell 11.1 has an outwardly turned flange 112 formed integrally therewith which is adapted to be secured between the mating outwardly turned flanged surfaces of the upper and lower sections 51 and 52, respectively, and to be maintained in fluid tight relation therewith by means of the securing ring 53 which is C-shaped in cross-section and which engages the outwardly turned flanged lips of the upper and lower sections. The terminals of the "resistor 110 extend outwardly of the slug valve body in a manner not shown and are adapted to be 75 connected to theelectrical energizing circuit of the making assembly in a manner which will hereinafter be described more fully in detail.

A boss 115 protrudes from one side of the slug valve body and in conjunction with the heater coil shell 111 defines a chamber 116 within which a thermally sensitive element 117, of a type which is well known in the art, is disposed. The thermal sensitive element 117 is disposed with its thermal sensing portion 118 in abutment with the outer wall of the heater coilshell i111 and has its cylindrical portion 119 positioned within a central aperture 120 in the boss 115 so that the power member or piston 121, which is extensible from the cylindrical portion 119 of the thermal element 117 upon predetermined ambient temperature conditions about the thermal sensing portion 118 thereof, projects from the boss 115. A micro-switch 113 having a movable switch arm 122 is secured on the slug valve by a bracket 114 and is so positioned and constructed that extensible movement of the piston 121 from the cylindrical portion 119 of the thermal sensitive element 117 will act to engage and move the switch arm 122 to open a pair of electrical contacts therein. These contacts are, in turn, connected in series with the heater coil 110 so that the heater will be deenergized when the fusible thermally expansible material within the thermal sensitive element has reached its critical temperature and acted to move the piston 121 extensibly therefrom.

It would, of course, be impractical to effect energization of the heater coil 110 at those intervals when no fluid is within the slug valve since it would result in undue use of electricity and would tend to shorten the life of the thermal sensitive element 117. In order to obviate this, I control energization of the heater coil not only through the micro-switch 113 but also through an ice mold thermostatic switch 106 (shown only in FIGURE so that the heater coil will only be energized during these intervals when the inlet solenoid 70 is also energized and when, consequently, fluid is disposed within the main fluid chamber 65 in a manner which will hereinafter be described more fully in detail.

The circuit diagram of the control is illustrated in FIGURE 5 and includes generally inlet and outlet solenoid coils 70 and 8 3, respectively, mold thermostatic switch 106, multi-purpose switch 120, heater coil 110 and thermostatically actuated switch 113. It will be noted that the diagrammatic representation of the circuit in FIGURE 5 shows the various components of the multipurpose switch 120 as being directly connected to the plunger 107 actuated through the members 93, 105 and 107. The armatures for controlling operation of the fluid pressure operated diaphragm valves are normally biased into engagement with their respective valves by spring means or the like but are arranged to be retractably moved therefrom by energization of their respective actuating solenoids 70 and 83.

The solenoid 70 is initially energized through the movable contact 210 of the thermostatic switch 106 and the movable contact 125 of the multi-purpose switch 120 from the power supply conductors 112 and 113- when a line switch 114 is closed. It will be understood that the mold thermostat 106 is disposed within the ice tray 10 in heat transfer relation with the walls of the molds therein so that when relatively warm water is put in any of the molds the switch will be eflective to open an energizing circuit. The mold thermostat should be so arranged that it will not close an energizing circuit to the solenoid '70 until the water within the ice tray 10 is completely frozen. Thus, if it be assumed that the switches 106 and 113 are in the position illustrated in full lines in FIGURE 5, the inlet diaphragm valve 67 will be opened by fluid pressure in the matter hereinbefore described and fluid will begin to pour into the main fluid chamber 65 through the inlet port 63 to initiate downward movement of the piston 91 and the motion translation rod 93 connected therewith.

Since the movable contact in thermostatically actuated switch 113 is normally biased to the closed circuit position the resistor heater will be energized substantially simultaneously with opening of the inlet port to initiate heating of the fluid in the chamber 6-5.

When the temperature of the fluid within chamber 65 has been arranged to the critical point of the thermal sensitive element 117 the heat transmitted to the sensing portion 118 of element 117 through the shell 111 will act to fuse the expansible material within the element to effect extensible movement of the power member 121 to thereby move the switch arm within switch 113 to the open circuit position as shown in broken lines in FIG- URE 5. When this switch arm has thus been moved to an open circuit position the heater coil 110 will be deenergized but energization of the solenoid 70 will not be afieoted.

Downward movement of the motion translation rod 93 will move the plunger 107 axially downwardly as shown in FIGURE 5. The plunger 107 has a plurality of stops 221, 222, and 223 aflixed thereon which are axially spaced from one another along the plunger 107.

A spring steel snap acting movable contact member 125 has its opposite end portions received within suitable notches 126 in the body of multi-purpose switch and may be selectively positioned in engagement with either of the stationary contacts 118 or 119. The plunger 107 extends through the snap acting contact member and has stops 221 and 222 affixed thereon on opposite sides of the contact 125 to effect movement of the contact into or out of engagement with stationary contacts 118 or 119.

Accordingly, assuming that the various parts'of the electrical control mechanism are in the position illustrated in FIGURE 5, (the inlet port 63 will be opened and the outlet port 79 will be closed so that water will begin to flow into the chamber 65 to initiate downward movement of the piston 91 and the motion translation rod 93 connected therewith. Continuous downward movement of the piston 91 and the rod 93 will act to continuously move the plunger 107 downwardly (as shown in FIGURE 5) but the contact 125 will remain in the position illustrated in FIGURE 5 to effect energization of the solenoid 70 until the rod 93 has nearly completed its downward stroke. At such time the stop 122 will be moved into engagement with the contact 125 to snap the contact 125 out of engagement with stationary contacts 118 and into engagement with stationary contacts 119 to thereby eflect deenergization of the inlet solenoid 70 and substantially simultaneous energization of the outlet solenoid 83. Energization of the outlet solenoid '83 and closure of the inlet valve 68 will permit the expulsion of fluid from the chamber 65 through the outlet passage 76 by the action of spring member96 into the ice tray 10.

As a result of the fact that the heater coil 110 is energized through three serially connected switches the heater 110 is not energized during those intervals when the chamber 65 is empty nor during those intervals when the temperature of water within the chamber 65 is equal to or greater than the critical temperature of the thermal sensitive element 117.

It will further be understood that the fluid within the chamber 65 will be evenly heated due to the fact that the resistor heater 110 is positioned within the chamber at a point adjacent the inlet port 63 where the turbulence of incoming fluid acts to mix the relatively warm fluid ad jacent the walls of the chamber with the cooler fluid spaced from the walls of the chamber.

This embodiment of the invention has been used for illustrative purposes only and various modifications and variations in the invention may be effected without dcparting from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

l l 9 l I claim as my invention:

1. In a fluid control valve for delivering fluid to a receptacle as a function of the ambient temperature of the receptacle, said fluid control valve having a chamber and having an inlet and an outlet communicable with said chamber and having electrically energizable valve means at said inlet and said outlet for controlling fluid flow therethrough, the improvement for maintaining fluid diszposed within said chamber at a predetermined temperature comprising thermostatic switch means disposed in heat transfer relation with the receptacle for controlling energization of at least one of said valve means, switch means for controlling operation of said electrically energizable valve means and operable in one position to elfect of said inlet valve means and closure of said outlet valve means, a heater coil disposed said chamber, an energizing circuit to said heater coil through said thermostatic switch means and said second mentioned switch means when said second mentioned switch means is in position to eflect opening of said inlet valve means, means sensitiveto the temperature of fluid within said chamber for controlling energization of said heater coil and operable to deenergize said heater coil when the fluid within said chamber has reached a predetermined temperature, and a heat conducting shell sealed to the walls said heater coil-when the fluid within said chamber has and an outlet leading from said chamber, a diaphragm of said chamber and covering said heater coil for protecting said coil from the fluid within said chamber.

2, In a fluid control valve for delivering fluid to a receptacle as a function of the ambient temperature of the a receptacle, said fluid control valve having a chamber and having an inlet and an outlet communicable with said chamber and having electrically energizable valve means at said inlet and said outlet for controlling fluid flow therethrough, the improvement for maintaining fluid disposed within said chamber at a predeterminedtemperature comprising thermostatic switch means disposed in heat transfer relation with the receptacle for controlling energization of at least one of said valve means, switch means for controlling operation of said electrically energizable valve means and operable in one position to eflect opening of said inlet valve means and closure of said outlet valve means, a heater coil disposed within said chamber adjacent said inlet an energizing circuit to said heater coil through said thermostatic switch means and said second mentioned switch means when said second mentioned switch means is in position to effect opening of said inlet valve means, means sensitive to the temperature of fluid within said chamber for controlling energizationof said heater coil and operable to deenergize within said chamber conforming generally to the form of onehalf of said chamber when said chamber is full and to the form of the other half of said chamber when said chamber is empty, electrically energizable valve means cooperating with said inlet and energizable to effect the supply of fluid under pressure to said chamber through said inlet to extend said diaphragm along said chamber, spring means retractably moving said diaphragm with respect to said chamber, electrically energizable valve means cooperating with said outlet and energizable to accommod'ate said spring means to move said diaphragm along said chamber and force the discharge of a measured'volume of fluid through said outlet, a portion of the wall of said chamber adjacent said outlet comprising a heat conductor shell sealed to said chamber, and a heater coil encircling said heat conductor shellwithin said shell and sealed from fluid within said chamber by said shell, switch means effecting energization of said inlet valve means and having connection with said heater coil to efiect energization of said heater coil upon opening of said inlet valve' means and deenergization of said heater coil upon closing of said inlet valve means and opening of said outletvalve References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 981,481 Shoenberg Jan. 10, 1911 1,526,683 Seavey Feb. 17, 1925 1,704,021 Schott Mar. 5, 1929 1,764,139 Alex June l7, 1930 1,984,076 Monnot Dec. 11, 1934 2,026,227 Foraker Dec. 31, 1935 5 2,044,611 Hodges June 16, 1936 2,081,799 Doran May 25, 1937 2,123,604 Johnson Julyl2, 1938 2,419,993 Green May 6, 1947' 2,569,113 Munshower Sept. 25, 1951 2,744,390 Partsch May 8, 1956 2,778,198 Heath Jan. 22, 1957 2,928,409 Johnson Mar. 15, 1960

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