Air bleed-off valve
OwnerJoseph G. Elnarinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic air bleed valve which allows air to escape from water lines. Allowing air to thus escape, prevents pump cavitation and/or air in the heater. The air bleed valve is positioned between a pump and the heater, and is higher than the heater, and no higher than the water level in the spa. The air bleed valve comprises a vertically disposed cylinder containing a piston and having a valve bottom, a valve inlet proximal to the valve bottom, valve top, and a valve outlet proximal to the valve top. The piston moves vertically in the cylinder. While water is present in the cylinder, the piston raises and cooperates with a seal to prevent a flow of water through the valve. While air is present in the cylinder, the piston drops and allows the air to flow past the piston to the valve outlet.
Claims21
An air bleed valve comprising:
- a valve body comprising:
- an inlet proximal to a valve body bottom;
- an outlet proximal to a valve body top;
- and
- a vertically aligned interior in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet;
- a piston residing in the interior between the inlet and the outlet;
- a seal residing in the interior and above the piston;
- stop ribs limiting the downward vertical travel of the piston;
- and
- a bypass for allowing air to pass around the piston and restricting a flow of water around the piston,
- wherein, an air flow into the valve inlet passes between the piston and the interior and past the seal and out the outlet, and a water flow into the valve inlet urges the piston against the seal thereby closing the air bleed valve.
An improved spa having a drain, a pump receiving a first flow from the drain, a heater receiving a second flow from the pump, and at least one jet receiving a third flow from the heater, the improvement comprising:
- an air bleed valve in fluid communication with the second flow, the valve comprising:
- an inlet proximal to a valve bottom;
- an outlet proximal to a valve top;
- a vertically aligned interior in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet;
- a piston residing in the interior between the inlet and the outlet;
- a seal disposed in the interior and above the piston;
- and
- a bypass for allowing air to pass around the piston,
- wherein, an air flow into the valve inlet passes between the piston and the seal and out the valve outlet, and a water flow into the valve inlet urges the piston against the seal.
An automatic air bleed valve comprising:
- a valve body comprising:
- an inlet proximal to a valve body bottom;
- an outlet proximal to a valve body top;
- and
- a vertically aligned cylindrical interior in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet;
- a cylindrical piston residing in the interior between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the piston has a low position and a high position, and wherein the piston resides in the low position in the absence of a flow through the cylinder, solely due to the influence of gravity on the piston;
- ribs for vertically aligning the piston in the interior and forming a bypass for allowing air to pass around the piston and restricting a flow of water around the piston;
- stop ribs limiting the downward vertical travel of the piston;
- and
- a seal residing in the interior and above the piston,
- wherein, an air flow into the valve inlet passes between the piston and the seal and out the valve outlet, and a water flow into the valve inlet urges the piston against the seal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.