Valve assembly with check valve for gas cylinder

Details Valve assembly with check valve for gas cylinder Valve assembly with check valve for gas cylinder

2001-03-22

2001-09-25

Lee, Kevin (Department: 3753)

Fluid handling

Systems

Flow path with serial valves and/or closures

C137S460000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06293307

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve assembly which is attached to a gas cylinder for storing compressed gas and liquefied gas.
2. Explanation of Related Art
There is a conventional example of the valve assembly with a check valve of this type, disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-50234 proposed earlier by an Assignee of the present invention.
The conventional example comprises a housing within which an inlet bore communicates with an outlet bore through a shut off valve chamber, a check valve seat and a check valve chamber in the mentioned order. A check spring resiliently pushes for valve closing, a check valve member inserted into the check valve chamber to the check valve seat. The check valve member is formed with a cavity for valve opening, which is opposed to the outlet bore.
And when charging new gas into a gas cylinder, a valve opening means provided at a leading end of a gas charging mouthpiece is hermetically fitted into the cavity and a pressure of the charging gas separates the check valve member from the check valve seat.
The conventional technique can forcedly open the check valve with the pressure of the charging gas. Further, the check valve member can be opened or cancelled from being opened at the same time as the gas charging mouthpiece is attached to or detached from an outlet nozzle of the valve assembly. Therefore, it is excellent because of easiness in operation during the gas charging. However, the conventional technique has to be still improved on the following points.
(1) It takes lots of time to effect the gas charging.
Since the gas charging mouthpiece is inserted into the outlet bore having a narrow and limited size, a gas charging passage within the leading end portion of the mouthpiece cannot help having a reduced flow passage sectional area. Besides, it is necessary to make a hermetically sealing and sliding portion of the cavity provided in the check valve member larger than a valve face of the check valve member in sectional area. Therefore, the valve opening means cannot help but have an increased outer diameter. In addition, a flow passage sectional area is reduced between an inner peripheral surface of the outlet bore and an outer peripheral surface of the valve opening means. As such, at the time of charging gas, the flow passage sectional area is so small that it takes a long time to charge the gas. In the case where the gas to be charged is liquefied gas, this problem appears as a more remarkable disadvantage because flow resistance becomes larger.
(2) Low workability at the time of effecting the gas charging.
As the check valve becomes smaller, it is harder to hermetically fit into the cavity the valve opening means provided at the leading end of the gas charging mouthpiece. Further, there is a necessity of interposing an O-ring or the like sealing means in a space defined between the hermetically sealing and sliding surface of the cavity and the outer peripheral surface of the valve opening means. However, if this sealing means is damaged because of biting dust and the like foreign matters and so on, it causes an erroneous valve opening with the result of decreasing the working efficiency at the time of charging gas.
(3) It is impossible to reduce a diameter of a connecting threaded portion which is formed in the outlet nozzle.
The valve opening means has to be inserted into the outlet bore. Therefore, the outlet nozzle cannot help but increase its outer diameter. This results in the problem of being able to put into practice only the threaded portion of large diameter for the connecting one which is formed in an outer periphery of the outlet nozzle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has an object to shorten the time taken for charging gas, to improve the working efficiency when effecting the charging work and to reduce the outer diameter of the outlet nozzle.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention has constructed a valve assembly with a check valve in the following manner, for example, as shown in
FIGS. 1
to
6
.
It comprises a housing
4
formed with a bore
31
for attaching an inlet bore
6
,
7
, a shut off valve chamber
10
,
21
, an outlet bore
18
and a check valve
80
. A cylinder
32
is hermetically attached into the attaching bore
31
and is made to advance and retreat between a take-out position (A) and a charging position (B). The cylinder
32
has an interior area provided with a check valve chamber
28
. The check valve chamber
28
has a chamber inlet
40
which communicates with the inlet bore
6
,
7
through the shut off valve chamber
10
,
21
and has a chamber outlet
41
which communicates with the outlet bore
18
. A check valve seat
42
is formed on a periphery of the chamber inlet
40
. A check valve member
29
and a check spring
43
are inserted into the check valve chamber
28
. The check spring
43
resiliently pushes the check valve member
29
toward the check valve seat
42
. The cylinder
32
has an outer surface provided with an actuation portion
50
between the attaching bore
31
and itself. If this actuation portion
50
is pushed, the cylinder
32
retreats from the take-out position (A) to the charging position (B). And a receiving portion
46
receives the check valve member
29
on a halfway while the cylinder
32
is retreating from the take-out position (A) to the charging position (B).
The present invention functions as follows.
As for a gas cylinder which fluid has been taken out of, the cylinder
32
is switched over to the take-out position (A) where it has advanced in a fluid take-out direction (X). When recharging liquefied gas or compressed gas into this evacuated gas cylinder, first a gas charging mouthpiece
58
is connected to an outlet nozzle
34
provided with the outlet bore
18
and the actuation portion
50
of the cylinder
32
is pushed.
By pushing the actuation portion
50
, if the cylinder
32
is retreating in a fluid charging direction (Y), it is accompanied by the check valve member
29
resiliently pushed to the check valve seat
42
through the check spring
43
. However, the check valve member
29
is received by the receiving portion
46
on the halfway of its movement and is limited from moving further in the fluid charging direction (Y). On the other hand, the cylinder
32
further retreats in the fluid charging direction (Y) and is switched over to the charging position (B). This separates the check valve member
29
from the valve seat
42
and forcedly opens the valve.
Thereafter, when a shut-off valve opening and closing device
13
,
23
opens a shut off valve member
12
,
22
, thereby allowing charging gas to flow in, the charging gas is charged from the outlet bore
18
into the gas cylinder
1
through the check valve chamber
28
, the shut off valve chamber
10
,
21
and the inlet bore
6
,
7
in the mentioned order.
After the gas has been charged, the shut off valve member
12
,
22
is closed and the gas charging mouthpiece
58
is removed from the outlet nozzle
34
. Further, the actuation portion
50
is rid of the pushing force added thereto. This advances the cylinder
32
with a resilient pushing force of the check spring
43
in the fluid takeout direction (X). Meanwhile, the resilient pushing force of the check spring
43
pushes the check valve member
29
to the check valve seat
42
to thereby close the valve. The check valve chamber
28
communicates with the atmosphere through the outlet bore
18
owing to the removal of the gas charging mouthpiece. However, the flow passage present on the side of the shut of f valve chamber
10
,
21
rather than on the side of the cylinder
32
has an interior area having a pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure since the check valve member
29
is closed. The thus resulting pressure difference moves the cylinder
32
together with the check valve member
29
in the fluid take-out direction (X) and switches it over to the take-out position (A).
The present invention is constr

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