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US 5,623,958 AGranted
Low pressure relief valve
OwnerNorman R. Bumpersinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A low pressure relief valve having a flow passage therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of a vessel the interior of which is under a low positive or negative pressure. A valve port in the flow passage has a valve seat therearound and a closure member is carried in said valve body for engagement with the valve seat to block fluid communication between the interior and exterior of said vessel. The closure member is of a preselected weight and is free to disengage the valve seat in response to a predetermined increased pressure differential between the vessel interior and exterior, without being affected by any other force than gravity, to permit fluid communication through the flow passage for reducing the pressure differential.
Claims15
A low pressure relief valve comprising:
- a valve body having a flow passage therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of a vessel the interior of which is under a low positive or negative pressure;
- first and second valve ports in said valve flow passage having corresponding valve seats therearound;
- first and second closure members of preselected weights carried in said valve body and engageable with corresponding ones of said valve seats to block said fluid communication between said interior and said exterior of said vessel, said first closure member being responsive to an increased negative pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said first valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit fluid flow from the exterior of said vessel to the interior thereof to decrease said negative pressure, said second closure member being responsive to an increased positive pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said second valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit fluid flow from the interior of said vessel to the exterior thereof to decrease said positive pressure, said valve therefore maintaining said vessel at pressures between a preselected negative pressure and a preselected positive pressure;
- and
- at least one other valve port and one other corresponding closure member carried in said valve body, all of said closure members being exposed to the pressure within said vessel through a common plenum, said other valve port and closure member cooperating with one of said first and second valve ports and closure members to provide additional fluid flow between the interior and exterior of said vessel upon a further increase in pressure, negative or positive, depending upon which of said first and second valve ports and closure members said other valve port and closure member cooperates with, said other closure member being of a weight greater than the weight of the first or second closure member with which it cooperates.
2 more elements
A low pressure relief valve comprising:
- a valve body having a flow passage therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of a vessel the interior of which is under a low positive or negative pressure;
- first and second valve ports in said valve flow passage having corresponding valve seats therearound;
- first and second closure members of preselected weights carried in said valve body and engageable with corresponding ones of said valve seats to block said fluid communication between said interior and said exterior of said vessel, said first closure member being responsive to an increased negative pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said first valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit fluid flow from the exterior of said vessel to the interior thereof to decrease said negative pressure, said second closure member being responsive to an increased positive pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said second valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit fluid flow from the interior of said vessel to the exterior thereof to decrease said positive pressure, said valve therefore maintaining said vessel at pressures between a preselected negative pressure and a preselected positive pressure;
- and
- third and forth valve ports and closure members carried in said valve body, all of said closure members being exposed to the pressure within said vessel through a common plenum, said third closure member being of a weight greater than the weight of said first closure member and being responsive to a further increased negative pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said third valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit additional fluid flow from the exterior of said vessel to the interior thereof to cooperate with said first valve port and closure member to further decrease said negative pressure, said forth closure member being of a weight greater than the weight of said second closure member and being responsive to a further increased positive pressure within said vessel to disengage the valve seat of said fourth valve port, free of any other force than gravity, to permit additional fluid flow from the interior of said vessel to the exterior thereof to cooperate with said second valve port and closure member to further decrease said positive pressure.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.