Fluid handling – With indicator – register – recorder – alarm or inspection means – Fluid pressure responsive indicator – recorder or alarm
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-22
2001-02-06
Lee, Kevin (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
With indicator, register, recorder, alarm or inspection means
Fluid pressure responsive indicator, recorder or alarm
C285S093000, C116S266000, C222S023000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182692
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application Serial No. 199 13 230.5, filed Mar. 23, 1999, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a valve assembly for an apparatus under pressure, such as a vessel under gas or vapor pressure.
There are many designs of valve assemblies available to date. Through continuous optimization of the design and improvement of the manufacturing process as well as through use of latest tools, valves assemblies can be made increasingly lighter and more compact whereby their design should be limited only by standardized connection sizes, safety aspects and ergonomic configuration. Valve assemblies may frequently include a valve body fitted in a valve casing and having a manometer that is integrated in a handwheel of the valve body so as to protect the manometer against impacts and to configure the valve assembly more compact and lighter. The placement of the manometer in this fashion suffers, however, shortcomings, because the manometer rotates conjointly with the handwheel so that the display may be upside down for an observer and thus becomes more difficult to read. Not only is this disadvantageous as far as ergonomics is concerned but also compromises safety aspects as the observer may incorrectly read the display and thereby may possibly cause disastrous results.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved valve assembly, obviating the afore-stated drawbacks.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved valve assembly for an apparatus under pressure, such as a vessel under gas or vapor pressure, which is ergonomically superior and is optimized as far as safety is concerned.
These objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are attained in accordance with the present invention by providing a valve assembly which includes a valve body with a connecting pipe having formed therein a fluid passageway; a valve body received in the valve casing and movable against a valve seat for sealing the fluid passageway and thereby separate a high-pressure zone from a low-pressure zone; and a manometer so integrated in a handwheel of the valve body as to be constraint against rotation, whereas the handwheel is rotatably supported with respect to the manometer.
In accordance with the present invention, the manometer is so integrated in the handwheel as to be constraint against executing a rotation relative to the handwheel. Thus, the handwheel may be turned, without having the manometer follow the rotation, so that the position of the display to read the manometer remains always the same. This is ergonomically desired and advantageous. The observer can now easily and conveniently read the display, and there is no need to ponder on the correctness of the reading or even to adjust the handwheel in order to enhance the legibility of the display. This facilitates the daily use and is particularly valuable in emergency situations when immediate availability of important information, such as pressure of the filled contents, is required.
The valve assembly according to the invention may be a shut-off valve with a shut-off valve body or a pressure control valve, e.g. as diaphragm-operated pressure control valve or piston-operated pressure control valve with a corresponding control valve body. A shut-off valve body of a shut-off valve assembly or a control valve body of a pressure control valve assembly can rest against a valve seat to seal the fluid passageway to thereby define the high-pressure zone and the low-pressure zone in the valve casing.
According to another feature of the present invention, the manometer is in communication with the high-pressure zone, thereby permitting the operator to monitor the filling degree in the vessel under pressure, in particular high-pressure gas bottles. This is especially advantageous when configuring the valve assembly according to the present invention as a shut-off valve, whereby the manometer communicates with the high-pressure zone even when the valve seat is closed. Thus, the prevalent pressure in the pressure vessel can be read, without requiring any manipulations to open the shut-off valve. The communication of the manometer with the high-pressure zone is assured in any position of the shut-off valve body or control valve body.
Heretofore, it was normally required for determination of the pressure inside the pressure vessel to first attach a manometer via a screwed connection and subsequently to open the shut-off valve, wherein small amounts of gas can always escape when the manometer is removed. With the configuration of a valve assembly in accordance with the present invention, the pressure inside the pressure vessel can now be read at any time, without removal of the manometer and the accompanying risk of escape of gas into the ambient atmosphere.
Suitably, the handwheel and the manometer define coinciding longitudinal axes, in particular an identical longitudinal axis, so that the manometer is centered inside the handwheel. This configuration facilitates the manufacturing process, and the manometer, which is integrated in the handwheel, can communicate with the high-pressure zone of the valve assembly via a capillary tube or capillary bore that extends centrally through the shut-off valve body or control valve body.
Although the manometer is normally fixed in place in the handwheel, it may be suitable for some applications to arrange the manometer axially movably with respect to the handwheel. Persons skilled in the art will also understand that it is certainly within the scope of the present invention, in particular when the valve assembly is a piston-operated pressure control device, to use a handwheel that is movable linearly as well as rotatably, for example, for adjusting and regulating the low pressure.
In a configuration of the valve assembly as pressure control device, in particular as piston-operated pressure control device, with a piston-type control valve body for regulating a pressure in the low-pressure zone through axial displacement in the valve housing, the capillary tube, connected to the manometer, should follow the linear movements of the control valve body, without adversely affecting the precision of control of the control valve. For this purpose, the friction between the rotationally fixed manometer and the rotatable handwheel and other components of the valve assembly should be minimized through incorporation of suitable sealing elements.
According to another feature of the present invention, a cover plate is secured to the handwheel for protection of the manometer so that the manometer is protected inside the handwheel not only in circumferential direction but also its sight glass is now protected at the end face of the manometer. The cover plate can be secured in fluid-tight fashion and protects the manometer against environmental impacts such as splash water or saline water during scuba diving.
Suitably, the handwheel and the cover plate form a housing for the manometer. In this way, the need for a separate manometer housing is eliminated, so that the valve assembly can be produced more cost-efficient and of lighter weight.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the manometer may be secured against rotation at least indirectly in the valve casing. The securement against rotation may be provided in the shut-off valve body as well as in the control valve body, in particular in the area of the shut-off element or control element. For example, the capillary tube may be secured in a plastics seal of the shut-off valve body or the control valve body. It is, however, also possible to secure the manometer in a manometer holder linked to the shut-off valve body or the control valve body, with the holder being in fixed rotative engagement with a solely linearly movable valve stem, e.g. via a tetragonal surface configuration.
REFERENCES:
patent: 39632
Fischer Andreas
Kamp Franz
Feiereisen Henry M.
Lee Kevin
VTI Ventil Technik GmbH
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