Back to results
US 4,287,432 AGranted
Valve position detecting apparatus
AssigneeDavid Sensibar Irrevocable Trust
InventorEzra Sensibar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeDavid Sensibar Irrevocable Trust
InventorEzra Sensibar
Estimating the term…
A hopper valve module is adapted to be removably mounted in the well of a hopper of a hopper dredge vessel and includes a housing and a valve member movable with respect to the housing for opening and closing the hopper outlet. A transmitter tube containing longitudinally spaced-apart magnetic switches and associated resistors is carried by the housing, the switches being connected in circuit with resistors and coupled to power supply and indicating means in the vessel. A hollow sleeve is fixedly secured to the valve member and is disposed in surrounding telescopic relationship with the tube, the sleeve carrying a permanent magnet therein for sequentially actuating the magnetic switches as the valve member moves between its open and closed positions, the varying current through the assembly of switches and resistors indicating the position of the valve member.
Position detecting apparatus for a hopper valve member which is movable between open and closed positions with respect to a hopper outlet at the bottom of a hopper in a hopper dredge vessel provided with power supply and indicator means, said detecting apparatus comprising an elongated transmitter tube disposed in the hopper and fixedly positioned with respect thereto, a plurality of sensing devices disposed in said tube and spaced apart longitudinally thereof respectively to correspond to predetermined positions of the valve member, said sensing devices being operable between two conditions and being adapted for coupling to the associated power supply and indicator means to provide signals indicative of the conditions of said sensing devices, an elongated protective sleeve fixedly secured to the valve member and movable therewith in surrounding telescopic relationship with said transmitter tube, said sleeve having a length sufficient to accommodate therein substantially the entire length of the transmitter tube, and actuator means carried by said sleeve for movement past said sensing devices sequentially to operate same as said sleeve moves with the valve member between the open and closed positions thereof thereby to detect and indicate the position of the valve member.
In a hopper valve module removably mountable as a unit in the hopper of a hopper dredge vessel provided with power supply and indicator means, wherein the module includes housing means mountable adjacent to the hopper outlet, a valve member movable between open and closed positions with respect to the hopper outlet, and drive means carried by the housing and coupled to the valve member for effecting movement thereof between the open and closed positions thereof, the improvement comprising an elongated transmitter tube carried by the housing and fixedly positioned with respect thereto, a plurality of sensing devices disposed in said tube and spaced apart longitudinally thereof respectively to correspond to predetermined positions of the valve member, said sensing devices being operable between two conditions and being adapted for coupling to the associated power supply and indicator means to provide signals indicative of the conditions of said sensing devices, an elongated protective sleeve fixedly secured to the valve member and movable therewith in surrounding telescopic relationship with said transmitter tube, said sleeve having a length sufficient to accommodate therein substantially the entire length of the transmitter tube, and actuator means carried by said sleeve for movement past said sensing devices sequentially to operate same as said sleeve moves with the valve member between the open and closed positions thereof thereby to detect and indicate the position of the valve member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.