Fluid flow regulators

Claim 1

A fluid flow regulator adapted for operative intercalation in a conduit through which flows a medium to be regulated, comprising, in combination: a housing including interengaging inner and outer housing members; said inner member being in the form of a substantially axial core portion; a plurality of intermittent larger and smaller protuberances on said core portion; an elastically deformable sealing member, having a substantially circular cross-section, surrounding said protuberances and constituting flow throttling means in cooperation with said protuberances and also with a seating surface provided on said outer housing member; said sealing member being variably inwardly pressed against said protuberances during the flow of the medium; said core portion having intermittent fluid flow passages between said protuberances and said sealing member; and means for changing the cross-section of said passages and the contact areas in the direction of flow of the medium between said sealing member, on the one hand, and said protuberances and said seating surface, on the other hand, depending on increasing and decreasing differential-pressure values of the medium flow through the regulator, whereby substantially linear contact is made by the outside of said sealing member with said seating surface in the outer housing member, while substantially punctiform contact results by the inside of said sealing member where the latter faces said larger protuberances of the of the inner housing member, but practically no contact by said inside of the sealing member where it faces said smaller protuberances in the absence of the medium flow.