Fluid handling – With casing – support – protector or static constructional... – Guards and shields
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-11
2001-02-06
Rivell, John (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
With casing, support, protector or static constructional...
Guards and shields
C251S295000, C074S512000, C074S561000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182686
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to safety enclosures and foot valves, and more particularly to a foot valve safety cover apparatus that protects the foot and upper body of the operator from injury in the event of a failure.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the waterblast industry high-pressure fluids are conducted through a valve and spray gun or cleaning lance for directing a high-pressure blast of fluid, such as water, against various surfaces such as concrete, metal, and the inside of tubes and vessels to clean unwanted deposits therefrom. Typically the fluid stream employed has a pressure in the range of from about 5,000-40,000 psi.
Foot-operated valves are commonly used in tube cleaning operations where the operator must manipulate the cleaning lance by hand. Typically, the foot valve consists of a base, a valve (typically mounted to the base), a pedal for operating the valve, and a pedal guard.
The primary function of prior art foot pedal guards is to merely protect the pedal from accidental contact by foreign objects, much like the trigger guard of a firearm. Most prior art pedal guards are from round bar, tubing, or sheet metal bent into a generally U-shaped configuration.
Although these types of pedal guards protect the foot pedal from accidental contact by foreign objects, they do not protect the operator in the event of a valve, lance, fitting or hose failure. Thus, even though a pedal guard may cover the foot valve, the operator is still exposed to injury from flying valve or lance components, hoses, fittings, and high-pressure fluid streams in the event of a failure. The prior art pedal guards are also not effective in protecting the lance, hose and fittings of a high-pressure valve from accidental breakage from the foot of the operator.
A typical foot valve and a U-shaped skeletal enclosure formed of tubing of the type used in the waterblast industry is shown and described with reference to
FIG. 4
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,348 commonly owned with this application and hereby incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,811 discloses a box-like safety enclosure having an open top and four upstanding side walls for enclosing the sides of a foot switch to prevent accidental actuation of the switch. One of the upstanding walls of the enclosure is pivotally movable against the urging of a closure spring to a lowered position the enable the foot of the operator to engage the switch.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a safety cover for foot valves that has a base plate for supporting a valve body and a foot pedal cover portion including a front wall and laterally opposed side walls extending upwardly from the base plate and a top wall extending between upper ends thereof. The front wall has an aperture through which the foot lever of the valve extends and laterally opposed side extensions having a vertical portion extending outward from respective lateral sides of the front wall and a forwardly extending horizontal top portion at the upper end thereof spaced a distance above the base plate. A valve body having a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a valve element therein connected with a foot lever extending outwardly from the body is secured into the base plate with its foot lever extending through the aperture in the front wall of the cover. The front, top and side walls of the cover partially surround the foot receiving portion of the foot lever and protect the foot of the operator from injury in the event of a failure. The laterally opposed side extensions partially surround hose and lance fittings that are connected with and extend outwardly from the valve body and protect the upper body of the operator from injury in the event of a failure, and also protect the fittings from damage by the foot of the operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a foot valve cover that will effectively protect the operator from injury from flying valve components, hose fittings and lance fittings, and high-pressure fluid streams in the event of a failure.
It is another object of this invention to provide a foot valve cover having a plate between the high-pressure valve and the foot pedal that will shield the foot of the operator from high-pressure fluid streams in the event of a failure.
Another object of this invention is to provide a foot valve cover having an upper plate extending over the high-pressure hose and lance fittings that will shield the upper body of the operator in the event of a failure.
Another object of this invention is to provide a foot valve cover that will protect lance, hose and fittings of a high-pressure valve from accidental breakage from the foot of the operator.
Another object of this invention is to provide a foot valve cover that is stable and cannot be easily tipped over accidentally.
A further object of this invention is to provide a foot valve cover that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and rugged and reliable in operation.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a foot operated valve having a safety cover that partially encloses the foot receiving end of its foot lever to protect the foot of the operator from injury and laterally opposed side extensions that partially surround hose and lance fittings extending outwardly from the valve body to protect the upper body of the operator from injury in the event of a failure.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a safety cover for foot valves that has a base plate for supporting a valve body and a foot pedal cover portion including a front wall and laterally opposed side walls extending upwardly from the base plate and a top wall extending between upper ends thereof. The front wall has an aperture through which the foot lever of the valve extends and laterally opposed side extensions having a vertical portion extending outward from respective lateral sides of the front wall and a forwardly extending horizontal top portion at the upper end thereof spaced a distance above the base plate. A valve body having a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a valve element therein connected with a foot lever extending outwardly from the body is secured into the base plate with its foot lever extending through the aperture in the front wall of the cover. The front, top and side walls of the cover partially surround the foot receiving portion of the foot lever and protect the foot of the operator from injury in the event of a failure. The laterally opposed side extensions partially surround hose and lance fittings that are connected with and extend outwardly from the valve body and protect the upper body of the operator from injury in the event of a failure, and also protect the fittings from damage by the foot of the operator.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3759115 (1973-09-01), Dibonaventura et al.
patent: 3785222 (1974-01-01), Dawson
patent: 3916722 (1975-11-01), Grobe
patent: 5423348 (1995-06-01), Jezek et al.
Jetstream of Houston, Inc.
Rivell John
Roddy Kenneth A.
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