Pipe temperature control valve
AssigneeRestivo & Holland, LLC
InventorsAngelo S. Restivo, Sr., Clifford D. Holland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control valve for preventing freezing in a pipe. A ball valve selectively biased against a valve seat is controlled by a bimetallic snap disk. The control valve is connected to one or more water pipes. When the temperature in the pipe or in the control valve is below a certain temperature, the valve opens to allow a small quantity of water to flow through the valve to allow warmer ground water to warm liquid in the pipes. When the water is warmed to a set temperature the valve closes again allowing normal operation of the supply pipes.
Claims18
A temperature control device for preventing liquid in a pipe from freezing comprising:
- a control valve having a housing in fluid communication with the liquid in the pipe, a valve seat, a ball valve and a bimetallic disk, an inlet and an outlet;
- wherein said bimetallic disk has a first deactivated position wherein said bimetallic valve presses said ball valve against said valve seat to prevent flow through said control valve body, and a second activated position wherein said bimetallic releases said ball valve from said valve seat to allow flow through said control valve body;
- wherein when the temperature of liquid in said housing is above a first predetermined temperature the bimetallic disk moves to said first position and when the temperature is below a second predetermined temperature the bimetallic disk moves to said second position to allow liquid in said pipe to flow through said control valve, and
- a perforated spring seat is positioned within said control valve to permit the flow of liquid through said control valve.
A temperature control device for preventing fluid in a pipe from freezing comprising:
- a) a control valve having a housing;
- b) said housing having a coupler for attaching said housing to a fluid supply pipe;
- c) said housing further including a chamber having a fluid inlet opening and a fluid outlet opening;
- d) a valve mechanism located within said chamber for controlling the flow of fluid from said fluid inlet opening through said chamber to exit through said fluid outlet opening;
- e) said valve mechanism having a temperature sensitive bimetallic disk having an outer edge and a central portion;
- f) said bimetallic disk having a first configuration in which said central portion of said disk and said edge form a flat surface and upon a change in temperature said bimetallic disk has a second configuration in which said central portion is displaced from said edge to form a curved surface;
- g) an inlet closure device located in said chamber adjacent said bimetallic disk and being operable in conjunction with said bimetallic disk to open and close said inlet in response to a change in temperature of fluid in said fluid supply pipe, and
- a perforated spring seat is positioned within said chamber to permit the flow of fluid from said chamber to said fluid outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.