# US 10,119,623 B2 · Safety device for installation in a gas-supply system, in particular, an acetylene-supply system

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- Number: US 10,119,623 B2
- Document ID: US10119623B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/239,231
- Filed: 2016-08-17
- Published: 2017-01-19
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2013-04-25
- Assignees: Spectron Gas Control Systems GmbH
- Applicants: Spectron Gas Control Systems GmbH
- Inventors: Johan van der Klift; Andreas Roncka
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10119623B2

## CPC

- F16K 17/048: {combined with other safety valves, or with pressure control devices}
- F16K 1/304: {Shut-off valves with additional means}
- F16K 17/025: {and remaining open after return of the normal pressure}
- F16K 17/06: with special arrangements for adjusting the opening pressure
- F16K 17/065: {with differential piston}
- F16K 17/10: with auxiliary valve for fluid operation of the main valve
- F16K 17/168: combined with manually-controlled valves, e.g. a valve combined with a safety valve
- F16K 17/32: acting on a servo-mechanism or on a catch-releasing mechanism
- F17C 13/04: Arrangement or mounting of valves (valves per se F16K {; snap-coupling of nipples F16L37/00})
- G05D 16/187: {using pistons within the main valve}
- F17C 2205/0332: Safety valves or pressure relief valves
- F17C 2205/0382: Constructional details of valves, regulators
- F17C 2205/0385: in blocks or units
- G05D 16/163: {using membranes within the main valve}
- G05D 16/166: {using pistons within the main valve}
- Y10T 137/7794: With relief valve
- Y10T 137/7922: Spring biased
- Y10T 137/877: With flow control means for branched passages
- Y10T 137/87756: Spring biased
- F16K: VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING {(devices for emptying and evacuating the excess liquid in valves or conduits F16L55/07)}
- F17C: VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES (storing fluids in natural or artificial cavities or chambers in the earth B65G5/00; construction or assembling of bulk storage containers employing civil-engineering techniques E04H7/00; variable-capacity gas-holders F17B; liquefaction or refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25)
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

Relevant specifications in the field of gas supply provide for different safety devices for installation in a gas-supply system, in particular, an acetylene-supply system. To provide such a safety device, which is characterized by a compact structure and a high level of operational reliability, this invention proposes that a valve body (1) incorporates an over-pressure valve (4; 104) of a quick-action shut-off device, a control valve (3; 103) of a pressure-limiting device, and a safety valve (2; 102), whereby the safety valve (2; 102) can be fluidically connected to the over-pressure valve (4; 104) and the control valve (3; 103), and closes either when the over-pressure valve (4; 104) opens due to an inlet pressure that is above the inlet-pressure limit value or when the control valve (3; 103) opens due to an outlet pressure that is above an outlet-pressure limit value.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A safety device for installation in a gas-supply system, where a main pressure regulator regulates an inlet pressure of a gas fed thereto to an outlet pressure, said safety device comprising:
a valve body to which the gas is fed at the inlet pressure and from which the gas is fed at the outlet pressure,
an over-pressure valve of a quick-action shut-off device, said over-pressure valve being configured to open responsive to the inlet pressure being above a predetermined inlet-pressure limit value,
a control valve of a pressure-limiting device, said control valve being configured to open responsive to the outlet pressure being above a predetermined outlet-pressure limit value, and
a safety valve in the valve body and through which the gas passes, said safety valve being fluidically connected to the over-pressure valve and the control valve, and
wherein the safety valve closes either when the over-pressure valve opens due to the inlet pressure being at an inlet pressure level that is above the inlet-pressure limit value, or when the control valve opens due to the outlet pressure being at an outlet pressure level that is above an outlet-pressure limit value,
wherein the safety valve has an inlet-pressure gas inlet, an inlet-pressure gas outlet, and a safety-valve chamber therebetween,
said chamber being configured to be closed via a safety-valve closing element that is supported so as to be movable inside the chamber in an axial direction and such that the safety-valve closing element moves such that the safety valve opens with the inlet pressure,
said chamber being divided into a front pressure chamber and a rear pressure chamber,
wherein the safety-valve closing element protrudes into the front pressure chamber facing the inlet-pressure gas inlet with a first effective cross-section,
wherein the safety-valve closing element protrudes into the rear pressure chamber facing the inlet-pressure gas outlet with a second effective cross-section that is larger than the first effective cross section, and
the rear pressure chamber and the front pressure chamber are both being configured to be fluidically connected to the over-pressure valve and the control valve via pressure-compensation lines,
wherein the control-valve closing element is a control-valve piston that moves inside the chamber, and
wherein the control-valve piston has a piston wall sealed off from the control-valve chamber, and
wherein the control-valve piston has a cavity that is fluidically connected to the rear pressure chamber and has at least one cross hole that extends through the piston wall and into an area that is sealed when the control valve is closed and fluidically connected to the front pressure chamber when the control valve is open.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control valve is connected to the safety valve via a pressure-compensation line, and
wherein gas flows through the pressure-compensation line into the control valve at the inlet pressure when the control valve is open, causing the safety valve to close.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control valve has an outlet-pressure gas inlet for the gas, and
wherein the outlet-pressure gas inlet is connected to a control-valve chamber closed against the outlet-pressure gas inlet up to the outlet-pressure limit value with a control-valve closing element that is supported so at be movable inside the chamber in an axial direction, and
wherein when the control valve is open, the pressure-compensation lines are open and fluidically connect the control-valve chamber to the front pressure chamber and the rear pressure chamber.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the control valve is open, a pressure acting in a closing direction has a larger effective cross-section than a pressure acting in an opening direction.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the over-pressure valve has an over-pressure chamber connected to the inlet-pressure gas inlet, and
wherein the chamber has an over-pressure-chamber opening that is closed with a closing element that is able to move i an axial direction thereof and is fluidically connected to the rear pressure chamber via a pressure-compensation line.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The safety device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the closing element is pressed against the over-pressure-chamber opening by a spring located in the over-pressure chamber, and
wherein the closing element has a larger effective pressure cross-section on a side thereof facing the over-pressure chamber than on an opposite side thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The safety device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the safety-valve closing element is a piston, and
wherein the over-pressure valve and the safety valve are coordinated with one another such that, if the safety valve is closed, the forces acting on the safety-valve piston in a closing direction are greater than the forces acting on the closing element in the closing direction.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve body incorporates a vent valve,
wherein the vent valve has a vent-valve chamber that is closed via a closing element that can be mechanically actuated and moved in the axial direction, and the vent-valve chamber is fluidically connected to the rear pressure chamber via a pressure-compensation line.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The safety device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the closing element can be moved by a threaded bolt.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve body has a display instrument with a hole containing an inspection element that is positioned on bearings that permit movement in an axial direction thereof,
wherein the inspection element seals the hole, and
wherein a display pressure chamber is located at the base of the hole said display pressure chamber being fluidically connected to the rear pressure chamber via a pressure line.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control valve or the over-pressure valve is a preassembled, encapsulated module.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The safety device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the preassembled module has a sealing cap that provides visual information on the maintenance status.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The safety device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the safety-valve closing element is a safety-valve piston.