Visual position indicator
AssigneeAutomatic Switch Company
InventorsGreg Volz, Drew LaMarca
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A position indication for an actuator of a rotary valve has a rotor of one color mountable on the shaft of the actuator and a stator of contrasting color, each with a plurality of volutes in one-to-one correspondence. The rotor volutes are hidden behind corresponding stator volutes to indicate a closed disposition and extend beyond their corresponding stator volutes to indicate an open disposition of the valve actuator when viewed from a radial direction. Web members on the rotor are rotated into and out of registration with windows in the base and cover of the stator for indicating valve disposition from above. The rotor and stator are congruent to permit the indicator to be inverted depending on the direction of rotation of the valve actuator shaft during opening and closing of the valve.
Claims13
A position indicator for indicating the position of a rotary valve actuator output shaft which is rotatable about an axis between an open position at which fluid flow through a valve is enabled and a closed position at which fluid flow through the valve is disabled, comprising,
- a stator having a base with a central axis, and a plurality of arcuate stator volutes mounted on said base, each stator volute having a leading edge radially displaced from said axis by a first distance and a trailing edge radially displaced from said axis by a second distance less than said first distance,
- a rotor coaxially rotatably mounted on said stator for relative rotation between a closed position corresponding to the closed position of said valve actuator output shaft and an open position corresponding to the open position of said valve actuator output shaft, said rotor having a hub with an axial bore, and a plurality of arcuate rotor volutes, each rotor volute corresponding to one of said stator volutes and having a leading edge radially displaced from said axis by a first distance less than the radial displacement of the leading edge of is corresponding stator volute from said axis and greater than the radial displacement of the trailing edge of another stator volute, proximate to the leading edge of said corresponding stator volute from said axis, and a trailing edge connected to said hub,
- the leading edge of each of said rotor volutes being in radial alignment with a portion of its corresponding stator volute when said rotor is in said closed position for hiding said rotor volute from, and extending circumferentially beyond said corresponding stator volute for exposing said rotor volute to, a point external to said indicator along a radial line of sight to the axis thereof when said rotor is in said open position.
A position indicator for indicating the position of a rotary valve actuator output shaft which is rotatable about an axis between an open position at which fluid flow through the valve is enabled and a closed position at which fluid flow through the valve is disabled, comprising,
- a stator having a first plurality of arcuate stator volutes symmetrically spaced about a central axis thereof, each stator volute having a leading edge radially displaced from said axis by a first distance and a trailing edge radially displaced from said axis by a second distance less than said first distance,
- a rotor coaxially rotatably mounted on said stator for relative rotation between a closed position corresponding to the closed position of said valve actuator output shaft and an open position corresponding to the open position of said valve actuator output shaft, said rotor having a second plurality of arcuate rotor volutes in one-to-one correspondence with said stator volutes, each rotor volute having a leading edge radially displaced from said axis by a first distance less than the radial displacement of the leading edge of is corresponding stator volute from said axis and greater than the radial displacement of the trailing edge of another stator volute, proximate to the leading edge of said corresponding stator volute from said axis, and a trailing edge connected to said hub,
- the leading edge of each of said rotor volutes being in radial alignment with a portion of its corresponding stator volute when said rotor is in said closed position for hiding said rotor volute from, and extending circumferentially beyond said corresponding stator volute for exposing said rotor volute to, a point external to said indicator along a radial line of sight to the axis thereof when said rotor is in said open position.
A position indicator for indicating the position of a rotary valve actuator output shaft which is rotatable about an axis between an open position at which fluid flow through the valve is enabled and a closed position at which fluid flow through the valve is disabled, comprising,
- a stator having a first plurality of spaced arcuate stator volutes symmetrically spaced about a central axis thereof,
- a rotor having a second plurality of arcuate rotor volutes in one-to-one correspondence with said stator volutes, said rotor coaxially rotatably mounted on said stator for relative rotation between a closed position corresponding to the closed position of said valve actuator output shaft at which each of said rotor volutes is hidden by its corresponding stator volute and an open position corresponding to the open position of said valve actuator output shaft, at which each rotor volute extends into a space intermediate its corresponding stator volute and an adjacent stator volute whereat at least a portion of said rotor volute is circumferentially displaced from its corresponding stator volute for rendering said portion visible.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.