Water safety shut-off valve
AssigneeCastlebridge Enterprises, Inc.
InventorsBrian J. Burlage, Roger A. Burlage, Alex Pesek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve assembly for use on locations which normally have intermittent water usage but need to indicate when there is constant water usage, such as a leak. The valve assembly has a valve body with a fluid pathway and a valve plug held in an open position allowing water to flow through the pathway. As water flows through the pathway, a sensing device detects water flowing through the pathway and starts a timer. The valve closes the pathway, stopping the flow of water through the valve assembly when the time elapses. The valve assembly indicates whether the valve plug is in an open or closed position.
Claims20
A fluid shut-off valve assembly comprising:
- a valve body having a fluid passageway, wherein in at least a portion of the fluid passageway is sensor monitored for flow detection;
- a valve stem having a valve plug moveable between an open position and a closed position;
- a cam lever having a radially graduated profile, wherein the valve stem follows the radially graduated profile;
- and
- a flow detection device having a moveable member within the portion of the fluid passageway monitored by a sensor for detecting displacement of the moveable member and thereby flow of fluid through the passageway.
A fluid shut-off valve assembly comprising:
- a valve body having a fluid passageway;
- a fluid ram within the fluid passageway moveable between first and second positions;
- a fluid ram detector external to the fluid passageway, the detector having a flux path extending into the fluid passageway for detecting the first or second position of the fluid ram;
- and
- a timing circuit having a timer activated by detecting the first or second position of the fluid ram.
A method of a fluid shut-off valve assembly, comprising:
- providing a valve body having a fluid passageway;
- detecting fluid flow through the passageway by monitoring displacement of a component within the fluid passageway;
- starting a timer upon detecting displacement of the component;
- and
- actuating a valve plug for closing the fluid passageway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.