Valves and valve actuation – Detachable actuator
Patent
1999-07-16
2000-10-24
Chambers, A. Michael
Valves and valve actuation
Detachable actuator
251292, F16K 3100
Patent
active
061354171
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an actuator for controlling the rotation of a valve spindle relative to a valve body.
Manually operated valves are actuated by applying torque to a valve spindle using a hand wheel, lever or other actuating device secured to the valve spindle. With only rare exceptions valve spindles define flat surfaces to provide a non-circular cross-section. The associated lever or hand wheel is provided with a mating cross-section and is retained on the spindle by a lock-nut or the like. The mating flat surfaces defined by the spindle and the hand wheel or lever ensure that one cannot rotate without the other.
It is often necessary to retro-fit a valve with a replacement actuating member. For example, it is often the case that a decision is taken to incorporate valve locks on an existing installation. In the petrochemical industry it is often the case that flow through a complex network of pipes is controlled by a series of valves which should only be actuated in a predetermined order. In such circumstances it is known to provide lockable valves which can only be actuated after insertion of an appropriate key. For example in an installation where there are three valves A, B and C which must be actuated in that order, actuation of valve A will be prevented until a first key has been inserted. a second key normally retained by valve A can be removed from valve A only after the valve has been actuated, valve B can only be actuated after the second key has been inserted into it, thereby releasing a third key, and valve C can only be actuated after insertion of the third key. With such an interlocked series of valves complex installations can be controlled in a substantially foolproof manner.
It is clearly desirable to be able to retro-fit lockable valve actuators to existing valves. This requires a mechanical linkage between the existing valve spindle and the lock mechanism. The conventional approach to providing the necessary mechanical linkage is to remove the original hand wheel or lever from the installed valve, and to replace the original hand wheel or lever with a lockable mechanism which comprises two basic components, that is an actuator body which must be secured in some way to the body of the existing valve and a hub which must be secured in some way to the spindle of the existing valve. Given the wide variety of spindle cross-sections that are known, and the variety of valve bodies which are known, these two interconnection problems make it very difficult to supply standard components which can be fitted to a wide range of valve body and spindle configurations. Accordingly before an existing valve can be reliably modified to incorporate a valve locking mechanism, it is necessary to accurately identify the exact characteristics of the valve spindle cross-section and the valve body. This is a time consuming and uncertain process which adds significantly to the overall cost of a retro-fitted valve interlock system.
In an attempt to overcome the problem of achieving the required interconnection between a valve lock mechanism and the spindle of a previously installed valve. a system has recently been introduced which claims to make it possible to mount a valve interlock on an existing valve using the existing valve hand wheel or lever. In the arrangement proposed for a lever operated valve, a clamping system engages the existing lever and is coupled by a series of interconnected links to a locking mechanism which is clamped to pipework connected to the valve body. In a hand wheel operated arrangement, a locking mechanism is clamped around the valve body beneath the existing hand wheel and connected to the hand wheel by an appropriate clamp. Thus in this known solution to the problem it has been assumed that there is no acceptable way to make reliable connections to a valve spindle of unknown cross-section, and the need for making such a reliable interconnection has been avoided by making interconnections to the original valve lever or hand wheel. Unfortunately, the overall effect of t
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Foster Stephen L.
Wadsworth Martin J.
Amin Himanshu S.
Chambers A. Michael
EJA Engineering Ltd.
Horn John J.
McShane Thomas L.
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