Fluid handling – Destructible or deformable element controlled – Heat destructible or fusible
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-09
2004-02-17
Hepperle, Stephen M. (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Destructible or deformable element controlled
Heat destructible or fusible
C062S050700, C137S601140, C137S601210, C137S613000, C222S003000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06691729
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve assembly which is attached to a fuel gas storing cylinder or the like of an engine using compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas as a fuel.
2. Explanation of Related Art
Japanese Patent No. 2,945,984 discloses a conventional example of the valve assembly which is employed for a fuel supply device of an engine using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel. This conventional example comprises a cylinder valve attached to a gas cylinder. The cylinder valve and an engine are connected to each other through a fuel supply passage. The fuel supply passage has a mid portion provided with an electromagnetically opening and closing valve. The cylinder valve is manually opened and closed. The electromagnetically opening and closing valve is interlockingly connected to a key switch of the engine for opening and closing.
The conventional technique connects the cylinder valve to the electromagnetically opening and closing valve through a pipe line of the fuel supply passage. This entails a problem that it should be still improved on the following points.
The valve assembly must be connected to the pipe line at many portions and therefore the piping work is too troublesome to be effected inexpensively. Besides, it increases portions to be inspected as regards the airtightness, gas conductivity and the like with the result of making the maintenance work troublesome.
Although it can be considered to incorporate the electromagnetically opening and closing valve into a housing of the cylinder valve, a long non-use requires to manually close it with assuredness. When the cylinder valve comprising a manually opening and closing valve and the electromagnetically opening and closing valve are incorporated into one housing, the structure becomes so complicated that it cannot be put into practice at a low cost. In addition, as for the valve assembly used for the engine fuel supply device of this type, a high reliability is required. However, it is not easy to maintain at a high level of quality both of the manually opening and closing valve and the electromagnetically opening and closing valve incorporated into one housing. Further, in the case where the electromagnetically opening and closing valve has a defect, there is a problem that the maintenance costs high since the whole valve assembly must be replaced or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at making it possible to effect an inexpensive piping, to enhance the reliability and to perform the maintenance easily.
In order to accomplish the above aim, the present invention has constructed a valve assembly in the following manner, for example, as shown in
FIGS. 1
to
13
.
A housing
16
comprises a first housing
17
and a second housing
18
. The first housing
17
is fixed to a gas cylinder
1
. The first housing
17
is formed with a gas inlet
20
to be communicated with an interior space
19
of the gas cylinder
1
, a gas inlet passage
23
, a first opening and closing valve
3
, a first communication passage
24
, and a communication outlet
25
. The first opening and closing valve
3
is provided with a first valve seat
45
and a first valve chamber
44
, into which a first closure member
46
is inserted. An actuation means
42
is interlockingly connected to the first closure member
46
through a transmission member
47
. The actuation means
42
is manually operated so as to actuate the first closure member
46
for opening and closing with respect to the first valve seat
45
.
On the other hand, the second housing
18
is formed with a communication inlet
29
, a second communication passage
30
, a second opening and closing valve
4
, a gas outlet passage
31
and a gas outlet
32
. The second opening and closing valve
4
is provided with a second valve seat
64
, a valve closing spring
68
, an electromagnetic device
43
and a second chamber
63
, into which a second closure member
66
is inserted. The second closure member
66
is pushed to the second valve set
64
by a resilient force of the valve closing spring
68
and is moved in a valve-opening direction by energizing the electromagnetic device
43
.
The second housing
18
is removably fixed to the first housing
17
through a fixing means
39
. When the former is fixed to the latter, the communication inlet
29
communicates with the communication outlet
25
.
The present invention functions as follows.
The first opening and closing valve
3
as well as the second opening and closing valve
4
is subjected to an inspection for its performance and quality independently before the second housing is assembled to the first housing
18
. Then both of the housing
17
and
18
respectively provided with the opening and closing valves
3
and
4
, each of which has a reliability high enough to have passed the inspection, are assembled to each other through the fixing means
39
into a valve assembly
2
. In a state where the second housing
18
is fixed to the first housing
17
, the first housing
17
has the communication outlet
25
mutually communicated with the communication inlet
29
of the second housing
18
. Therefore, for example, as shown in
FIG. 2
, a fuel supply passage
5
to an engine
8
can have its piping completed only if it is connected to the gas outlet
32
of the second housing
18
.
In the event that the second opening and closing valve
4
of the electromagnetically opening and closing valve undergoes maintenance or is replaced, the fixing means
39
is cancelled from fixing operation while closing the first opening and closing valve
3
of the first housing
17
fixed to the gas cylinder
1
to thereby remove the second housing
18
from the first housing
17
.
The present invention offers the following advantages since it is constructed and functions as mentioned above:
(1) it is sufficient if the fuel supply device to the engine is connected to the gas outlet of the second housing. This reduces the portions to be connected for piping with the result of being able to effect the piping simply and inexpensively, to facilitate the inspection work for the gas leakage and the like and besides to enhance the reliability of the piping;
(2) The first opening and closing valve as well as the second opening and closing valve can be readily subjected to an inspection for its performance and quality independently before the second housing is assembled to the first housing. This can enhance the quality and reliability of whole the valve assembly; and
(3) The second housing can be readily removed from the first housing only by closing the first opening and closing valve with the first housing fixed to the gas cylinder and cancelling the fixing operation of the fixing means. This makes it possible to easily repair and replace the second opening and closing valve provided in the second housing when the second opening and closing valve of the electromagnetically opening and closing valve experiences a misoperation or disorder, which results in an easy maintenance of the valve assembly.
The present invention includes the following valve assembly.
As for the fixing means
39
, concretely speaking, a tightening bolt can be employed. However, the fixing means
39
is sufficient if it can removably fix the second housing
18
to the first housing
17
and therefore may employ other fixing means.
The second housing
18
can be brought into direct contact with the first housing
17
for fixing, for example, as shown in
FIG. 5
,
8
,
10
or
12
. This case is more preferable because whole the valve assembly can be formed compact and there are fewer portions which need to be connected between mutual gas flow passages within the housing. Further, the second housing
18
, for example, as shown in
FIG. 13
, may be fixed to the first housing
17
through a spacer block
78
or the like. In this case, the spacer block
78
and the like has an interior area formed with a gas passage
79
, through which the communic
Nagasawa Ken
Ono Junichi
Sakai Mitsunori
Satoh Yorikazu
Takeda Masaru
Hepperle Stephen M.
Kabushiki Kaisha Neriki
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