Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Processes – Including dissolving or entraining in liquid stream
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-10
2001-05-15
Scherbel, David A. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Processes
Including dissolving or entraining in liquid stream
C239S410000, C239S533130, C239S533150, C239S562000, C239S571000, C239S589000, C239S600000, C239S310000, C137S540000, C137S843000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230982
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to valves for dispersing a fluid into a flowing liquid stream; and, more particularly to a check valve system for intimately admixing an amount of a fluidic substance into a flowing stream.
2. Related Art
Valves for dispersing a fluid into a flowing liquid stream are well known. The typical operation of these valves involve a remote operator or automated controller that opens and closes the valves through an actuator. Common actuators include knobs, cranks, solenoids, motors and the like. Gate valves and ball valves are particularly well suited to being turned on and shut off by an actuator. Unfortunately, these valves usually remain open for at least a short time after they have finished dispersing fluid, and the flowing liquid stream backflows into the valve feed lines. This backflow commonly results in the premature corrosion of the valve and unwanted contamination of the dispersing fluid.
One type of valve which automatically shuts to prevent backflow is, a so called, check valve. These valves are opened by the fluidic pressure of the fluid flowing through the valve assembly, usually against a constant force, such that when the opening pressure is terminated, the valve automatically shuts to prevent inadvertent leakage or mixing of the flowing fluid with the fluid to be distributed through the valve. Such valves are particularly useful for protecting an ecosystem where failure to maintain flow could allow back seepage into, for example, a reservoir, causing contamination. This is especially important with chemicals, sewage systems, portable water systems and the like. In many systems, especially aqueous systems, chemicals and other substances which can be highly toxic and sometimes highly insoluble in the aqueous stream are required to be mixed at a fairly high rate requiring the intimate dispersion of the substance flowing through the valve within the flowing stream to afford an even distribution and therefore admixing of the substance with the flowing stream. In these applications the valve configuration is particularly important.
One application of the valve is for adding agrochemicals to farmlands. This procedure has come to be known as chemigation and involves the introduction of agriculturally based chemicals into irrigation water to provide for intimate admixing of the chemicals and the irrigation water stream such that the subsequent dispersion of the irrigation water carries, well admixed therein, the agrochemicals onto the cropland. Chemicals such as fertilizers, insecticide, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc., can be dispersed by this method in order to be effective. Such chemicals must be well dispersed in the irrigation water prior to the water being sprayed upon the cropland. Care must be taken in order to assure that in the event of a shutdown in the flow of irrigation water, the chemical will not flow into the water source causing contamination of the source of water. Also, it is necessary that irrigation water does not flow into the chemical supply system causing overflow and area contamination.
Although some agricultural chemicals are soluble in water, it is also desirable to effectively disperse chemicals which are not readily soluble or are insoluble in water. These chemicals are often dissolved in solvents such as kerosene which is water insoluble. Certain chemicals, such as fertilizers, are available as a slurry of solids in a liquid. Therefore, it is desirable to effectively disperse a water insoluble (or minimally soluble) material into a stream of irrigation water. Such a process requires production of small droplets or micelle like moieties of the substance proximate a current in the stream to intimately admix the substance in the irrigation water stream. The traditional gate valve or even the ball check valve do not posses the dynamics required to effect thorough, intimate admixing required. Even center posted flexible mixing valves lack the structure to provide the required mixing dynamics.
In addition to the need to disperse such agrochemicals in the large scale agri-industry, there is also a need to disperse chemicals in semi-commercial and domestic arenas. For example, golf courses, athletic fields, public parks and the like require fertilization, and control of unwanted vegetation, such as weeds. The irrigation system of choice for these applications is the “pop up” type head sprinkler systems. By the use of the above referenced dispersion techniques for placing herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers directly into existing sprinkler systems, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year can be saved. Thus, golf greens, parkways, fairways, soccer, football and baseball fields, and public parks could be fertilized and otherwise treated by application of these chemicals through a pre-existing sprinkler system. However, in this application the dispersion mechanism must provide for very minute adjustments because the amount of water applied is significantly reduced from the standard type agricultural application. Likewise, in the domestic market the ability to simultaneously fertilize, apply insecticides, herbicides and the like through domestic sprinkler systems would be very desirable.
In addition to the agricultural industry, fluid dispersing valves find use in the petrochemical industry and other manufacturing processes, such as the food and beverage industry, where the intimate admixing of one fluid, liquid or gas into one or more fluids, liquids or gases is necessary. Such fluid dispersal can involve highly toxic or corrosive chemicals, and chemicals to be admixed at temperatures elevated or depressed from typical room temperatures. These applications require a dispersal valve which can function reliably in chemically hostile environments without the need for frequent cleaning of the valve causing significant downtime in the refining or manufacturing process.
Although there are many valves in the art, including check valves, they all suffer from one or more drawbacks which make them less than desirable, especially in maintenance free applications. Since the valve must be inserted directly into the flowing stream, they are hidden from view. This makes a maintenance free, simple system a must. This is especially true for domestic applications. The major drawback with the prior art valves is that they tend to clog or jam by buildup of chemicals not dispersed into the flowing stream. To remove any chemical buildup, the valve and the valve mechanism have to be continually “cleansed” with a portion of the flowing stream. Additionally, since many of the chemicals are marginally water soluble, as the valve opened, large amounts of undispersed material are released into the stream.
Examples of prior art valves are the Raguse valve sold under the trade name ShurMix In-Stream™ by Raguse & Co., Inc., P.O. Box 470507, Tulsa, Okla.
74147-0507.
This valve is a ball valve designed such that as the ball is raised from the valve seat by the pressure of the fluid to be dispersed, the dispersion pattern becomes conical in shape flowing up and around the ball. The material is not forced outwardly into the flowing stream to intimately admix the chemical substance with the flowing stream. Additionally, the valve spring used to tension the ball in the valve seat has to be continually cleansed.
In order to overcome the disadvantage of the ball valve, a flat seated valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,393. This valve places all the operating parts of the check valve in the flowing stream to provide uniform and rapid dispersion of the fluid as well as a cleansing of the check valve mechanism to prevent jamming, sticking or the like. This flat valve then provides a radial dispersion pattern of the fluid parallel to the flowing stream as opposed to a conical dispersion pattern of the ball valve. The radial dispersion pattern provides for more intimate admixing of the fluidic substances into the flowing stream, while simultaneously preventing the clogging or jamming of the va
Ganey Steven J.
Meyer Lee G.
Scherbel David A.
Snell & Wilmer LLP
LandOfFree
Fluid dispersing valve does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Fluid dispersing valve, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Fluid dispersing valve will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2449377