Fluid handling – Line condition change responsive valves – Fluid opened valve requiring reset
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2001-06-26
Rivell, John (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Line condition change responsive valves
Fluid opened valve requiring reset
C137S536000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250329
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pressure relief valves are commonly used in the fluid processing industry to control fluid flow, sometimes fluids that are highly corrosive. Typically, such valves are designed to open at a predetermined pressure to direct the fluid through a passageway and reduce the pressure in a container, pipe or other vessel or reservoir that holds the fluid. This avoids excessive pressures building up in the fluid that could cause damage or even an explosion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims that follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled, “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS,” one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits, which include, but are not limited to, resistant to corrosive fluids, and precise control to open and close the valve at a predetermined fluid pressure.
The first feature of the pressure relief valve of this invention is that opens at a predetermined pressure of fluid flowing into the valve. The valve includes a body member having a passageway with an inlet and an outlet and a barrier member between the inlet and outlet that prevents fluid from flowing between said inlet and outlet. The body member has a longitudinal axis and, in one embodiment, the inlet and outlet are along this longitudinal axis. In another embodiment, passageway has a right angle bend therein and the inlet and outlet are at opposite ends of the passageway.
The second feature is that there is a port along the passageway between the inlet and the outlet and a moveable sealing element or plug having a closed position where the plug is seated in the port and an open position where the plug is withdrawn from the port. In one embodiment, the plug includes a ball member that is seated in the port when in the closed position. The ball member has a gap therein that compensates for thermal expansion and contraction without moving the plug between an open or closed position. The port is in fluid communication with the outlet when the plug is moved to the open position. Preferably, the plug and the passageway each have faces that contacts the fluid made of a fluorocarbon polymer. In one embodiment, the barrier member has an upstream side and a downstream side, with a first port in communication with the passageway on the upstream side of the barrier member and a second port in communication with the passageway on the downstream side of the barrier member.
The third feature is a disc spring engaging the plug. The disc spring has a first position holding the plug in the port when the pressure of the fluid is below the predetermined pressure and a second position withdrawing the plug from the port when the pressure of the fluid exceeds the predetermined pressure. The disc spring has a shape that is a segment of a cone.
The fourth, an optional feature, is a reset member that is manually activated to position the disc spring in the first position to insert the plug in the port.
The fifth, an optional feature, is a drain outlet with a manually controllable valve that has an open position allowing fluid to flow out the drain outlet and a closed position preventing fluid from exiting the valve through the drain outlet.
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patent: 4983104 (1991-01-01), Kingsford
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patent: 0009371 (1982-01-01), None
The Engineering Handbook, By: Key Bellville, Inc., pp. 1 & 2, Aug. 1994.
Connors John J.
Connors & Assoc.
Rivell John
Schoenfeld Meredith H
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