US 4,801,125 AGranted

Valve body comprising sheet metal hemispheres and method for making same

AssigneeVilter Manufacturing Corporation

InventorErich J. Kocher

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Abstract

A large manually operated leak-proof corrosion-proof low-cost shut-off or stop valve for handling high pressure refrigerant liquid and/or gases is disclosed. The valve comprises a valve body formed of two sheet metal hemispheres electron-welded to the periphery of a circular metal valve plate which has an aperture therethrough. Hollow cylindrical metal tubes entend into circular holes formed in the hemispheres and are electron-welded to the hemispheres along the edge of the circular holes. One tube on each hemisphere serves for fluid flow. Another internally and externally threaded tube on one hemisphere serves as valve sleeve through which a manually rotatable and axially shiftable externally threaded valve spindle extends. The inner end of the valve spindle is secured to a valve disc which cooperates with the aperture in the valve plate. In the method, components to be welded together are assembled and rotated with respect to a stationary electron welding beam. The weld is formed solely of melted and resolidified materials from the components being joined. The electron welding beam is applied to the interior of each hemisphere to attach the metal tubes thereto. The electron welding beam is applied to the exterior of each hemisphere to secure it to the metal valve plate. This ensures that a weld extends entirely through the mating surfaces being joined.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A spherical valve comprising:

a circular valve plate having opposite surfaces and an aperture therethrough between said surfaces, each plate surface having an annular flat-bottomed groove extending inwardly and along its circumferential edge;
first and second hemispherical sections disposed on opposite sides of said plate and overlying said aperture, each hemispherical section having inner and outer surfaces and a flat circular circumferential edge for engagement with the associated annular flat-bottomed groove in said plate, the first hemispherical section having at least one circular hole therethrough and the second hemispherical section having at least two circular holes therethrough, one of the two circular holes lying in a place parallel to said plate;
a first electron beam weld joining each hemispherical section to said plate, each first weld extending around said plate and extending inwardly from the exterior of a hemispherical section between the flat circumferential edge of a hemispherical section and the associated annular flat-bottomed groove in said plate;
a plurality of tubes, each tube having a cylindrical portion with a circular cross-sectional configuration of the same diameter as its associated hole extending into one of said holes and having a shoulder abutting the outer surface of its associated hemispherical section;
a second electron beam weld joining each tube to a respective hemispherical section and extending outwardly from the interior of a hemispherical section entirely around and between the cylindrical tube portion and the edge of its associated hole;
a valve spindle mounted for movement in a tube on said second hemispherical section which is disposed perpendicular to said plate;
and a valve member located between said plate and one of said hemispherical sections and axially movable by said valve spindle relative to said aperture;
each first and second electron beam weld extending for a distance equal to the thickness between the inner and outer surfaces of an associated hemispherical section and comprised solely melted and re-solidified material from the hemispherical section and from the plate or tube joined to the hemispherical section.

5 more elements

A method of making a valve comprising components which are secured together solely by electron bear welds, each weld comprising solely of melted and re-solidified material from two adjacent components, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a pair of first components, each of which is hemispherically-shaped and have an inner surface, an outer surface and a flat annular rim surface, one hemispherically-shaped first component having a plurality of circular holes therethrough and the other hemispherically-shaped component having at least one circular hole therethrough, each circular hole being defined by a flat annular hole edge surface;
providing a plurality of cylindrical tubular components, one for each of said circular holes, each tubular component having a cylindrical end portion for insertion within an associated circular hole and for mating engagement with said flat annular hole edge surface and having a shoulder adjacent thereto for engaging the outer surface of an associated hemispherically-shaped first component to limit insertion of said end portion into its associated hole;
providing a circular valve plate component having opposite surfaces and an aperture therethrough, each one of said opposite surface having an annular groove extending around the circumferential edge of said valve plate component, each groove extending radially inwardly from said circumferential edge and having a flat bottom surface for mating engagement with said annular rim surface of an associated hemispherically-shaped first component;
mounting a tubular component on the outer surface of a hemispherically-shaped first component so that the end portion of the tubular component extends into a circular hole and the shoulder engages the outer surface of the associated hemispherically-shaped first component;
directing an electron welding beam into the interior of a hemispherically-shaped first component on which a tubular component is mounted and effecting relative motion between the beam and the hemispherically-shaped fist component so as to effect an electron beam weld along and around a flat hole edge surface and a mating cylindrical end portion of a tubular component and so that the weld penetrates outwardly from the inner surface toward the outer surface of the hemispherically-shaped first component,
repeating the steps of mounting and directing until all of said tubular components have been electron beam welded;
disposing a hemispherically-shaped first component with all of its tubular components welded thereon on one side of said circular valve plate component so that the flat annular rim surface of the hemispherically-shaped first component engages the flat bottom surface of the annular groove on said one side of said circular valve plate;
projecting an electron welding beam toward the exterior of the hemispherically-shaped first component which is disposed on said one side of said circular valve plate and effecting relative motion between the beam and the circular plate component with the hemispherically-shaped first component disposed thereon so as to effect an electron beam weld along and around a flat annular rim surface and the mating flat bottom surface of a groove and so that the weld penetrates inwardly from the outer surface toward the inner surface of the hemispherically-shaped first component;
and repeating the steps of disposing and projecting until both hemispherically-shaped first components have been welded to said valve plate component.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.