Snap acting thermostatic fluid valve and electrical switch coupled thereto

A thermostatic gas control valve mechanism comprising a valve housing having an internal valve port, a valve closure member, biasing means interposed between said closure member and said housing and urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port, a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to act in opposition to said biasing means, a snap acting member imposed between said thermostatic actuator and said closure member and operable by said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move alternate stable positions, a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in an alternative stable position, and electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means coupled to move with said valve closure member, adjustable securing means for securing said electric switch to said housing, and wherein said securing means releasably secures said electric switch in a selected position of orientation relative to said housing, whereby the distance between said valve port and said electric switch is adjustably variable, a saddle shaped electric switch mounting bracket defining a channel with opposing walls between which said electric switch is positioned, and said channel spans a cavity in said housing and end flanges extend from said channel, and fasteners secure said bracket to said housing intermediate the extremities of said flanges and rib on said flanges, and one of said fasteners is located proximate thereto and passes through said cavity into said housing and is tightenable to deform the extremity of said flange in contact with said rib to thereby selectively vary the orientation of said channel relative to said cavity.

A thermostatic gas control valve mechanism comprising:

• a valve housing having an inlet port, and outlet port, and internal valve port,
• a valve closure member,
• biasing means interposed between said closure member and said housing and urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port,
• a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to act in opposition to said biasing means,
• a snap acting member interposed between said thermostatic actuator and said closure member and operable by said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move between alternate stable positions,
• a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in an alternative stable position;
• an electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means coupled to move with said valve closure member and including a pair of normally closed contacts and a manually operable pushbutton which when depressed opens said normally closed contacts;
• auxiliary circuit means for performing an operation auxiliary to the flow of gas through said valve housing, said auxiliary circuit means being electrically coupled to said switch and activated through said switch,
• whereby auxiliary operations including activation of a blower, flue damper and electric burner igniter may be controlled by said gas control valve mechanism.

A thermostatic gas control valve mechanism comprising

• a valve housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, and an internal valve port,
• a valve closure member,
• biasing means interposed between said closure member and said housing and urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port,
• a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to act in opposition to said biasing means,
• a snap acting member interposed between said thermostatic actuator and said closure member and operable by said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move between alternate stable positions,
• a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in an alternative stable position;
• an electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means coupled to move with said valve closure member;
• said electric switch has normally open electric contacts and said housing has an inlet on one side of said valve port and an outlet on the other side thereof;
• a gas supply conduit coupled to said inlet;
• a gas burner conduit terminating in a gas burner coupled to said outlet;
• an enabling electrical voltage supply;
• and
• an igniter circuit and spark electrode for ignition of gas discharged through said gas burner conduit from said burner electrically connected in circuit to said electrical voltage supply in circuit through normally open electric contacts of said electric switch.

A thermostatic gas control valve mechanism comprising:

• a valve housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, and an internal valve port;
• a valve closure member;
• biasing means interposed between said closure member and said housing and urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port;
• a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to act in opposition to said biasing means;
• a snap acting member interposed between said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move between alternate stable positions;
• a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in an alternative stable position;
• an electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means coupled to move with said valve closure member;
• adjustable securing means for securing said electric switch to said housing, said securing means releasably securing said electric switch in a selected position of orientation relative to said housing whereby the distance between said valve port and said electric switch is adjustably variable;
• auxiliary circuit means for performing an operation auxiliary to the flow of gas through said valve housing, said auxiliary circuit means being electrically coupled to said switch and activated through said switch whereby auxiliary operations, including activation of a blower, flue damper and electric burner igniter, may be controlled by said gas control valve mechanism;
• and
• a saddle shaped electric switch mounting bracket defining a channel with opposing walls between which said electric switch is positioned, and end flanges extending from said channel and secured to said housing, said channel walls having aligned pairs of apertures therethrough separated in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said reciprocal rod, one of said pairs of apertures being remote from axial alignment with said reciprocal rod, said electric switch including an encompassing body having a circular aperture therethrough aligned with said apertures in said channel walls remote from axial alignment with said reciprocal rod, and further having an arcuate aperture therethrough aligned with said apertures in said channel walls proximate to axial alignment with said reciprocal rod, said adjustable securing means being releasable fasteners which extend through said apertures in said channel walls and through said body of said electric switch, whereby the rotational orientation of said electric switch in said switch mounting bracket is adjustable within limits defined by said arcuate aperture.

A thermostatic gas control valve mechanism comprising:

• a valve housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, and an internal valve port;
• a valve closure member;
• biasing means interposed between said closure member and said housing and urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port;
• a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to act in opposition to said biasing means;
• a snap acting member interposed between said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move between alternate stable positions;
• a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in an alternative stable position;
• an electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means coupled to move with said valve closure member;
• adjustable securing means for securing said electric switch to said housing, said securing means releasably securing said electric switch in a selected position of orientation relative to said housing whereby the distance between said valve port and said electric switch is adjustably variable;
• auxiliary circuit means for performing an operation auxiliary to the flow of gas through said valve housing, said auxiliary circuit means being electrically coupled to said switch and activated through said switch whereby auxiliary operations, including activation of a blower, flue damper and electric burner igniter, may be controlled by said gas control valve mechanism;
• and
• a saddle shaped electric switch mounting bracket defining a channel with opposing walls between which said electric switch is positioned, said channel spanning a cavity in said housing, end flanges extending from said channel, fasteners securing said bracket to said housing intermediate the extremities of said flanges, said housing having a rib contacting the extremity of at least one of said flanges, and one of said fasteners being located proximate thereto and passing through said cavity into said housing and being tightenable to deform the extremity of said flange in contact with said rib to thereby selectively vary the orientation of said channel relative to said cavity.

An improvement in a thermostatic gas control valve mechanism including a valve housing, an internal valve port, a value closure member, biasing means interposed between said valve closure member and said housing for urging said closure member to seal said internal valve port and configured to travel toward and away from said valve closure member, a thermostatic actuator secured to said housing with a force transmitting end received within said housing and coupled to active opposition to said biasing means, a snap acting member interposed between said thermostatic actuator and said closure member and operable by said thermostatic actuator and said biasing means to move between two alternate stable positions, a reciprocal rod interposed between said snap acting member and said closure member to drive said closure member against the bias of said biasing means to unseal said valve port when said snap acting member is in one of its said alternate stable positions and to allow said closure member to close said internal valve port when said snap acting member is in the other one of said two alternative stable positions, and an electric switch having a pushbutton actuating means engaged by said biasing member to move said biasing member and in turn said closure member, reciprocal rod and said snap acting member, said improvement comprising:

• adjustable securing means for securing said electric switch to said housing in a selective position and orientation so that said pushbutton actuating means of said electric switch is engaged by said biasing means only after a calibrated amount of travel of said biasing means, whereby said snap acting member moves between said one of said two alternate stable positions to said other one of said alternate stable positions and in turn moves said reciprocal rod, closure member and biasing means towards said pushbutton of said electric switch, the distance of said calibrated amount of travel between said pushbutton and said biasing means selected through adjustment of said adjustable securing means so that engagement between said pushbutton and biasing means occurs only after said snap acting member has transitioned beyond a predetermined degree from said one stable alternative position to said other stable alternative position so that resistive force exerted on said biasing means by said pushbutton and in turn through said closure member to said snap acting member does not prevent the transition of said snap acting member between said two stable alternative positions.