US 8,944,404 B2 · Gas safety valve

Abstract

A gas safety valve (1) capable of avoiding unwanted or inadvertent opening and possible closing, with maximum safety and allowing an opening, and possible closing, of these safety valves only through a double intentional and reliable maneuver includes a knob (22) for controlling the shutter (7) of the valve (1), during the opening and closing rotation movement, stop projections (32, 33) of the valve (1) slide on sliding segments (37, 38; 37B, 38B) provided in the knob (22) coplanar or flat-like inclined and associated to relative positioning projections (41, 42), a spring (28) housed in a chamber between a threaded end (19) of a screw (11), and a chamber (23) of the knob (22).

Drawings

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Drawings

Claims14

Dependent claims

A gas safety valve, comprising:

a valve body having a through conduit with an inlet and an outlet, and an intermediate chamber located between the inlet and the outlet for sealing a ball shutter,
the ball shutter having a through hole and an upper seat adapted to house the lower end of a control screw,
wherein the control screw is positioned rotatable and axially not displaceable in a neck of the valve body,
wherein the control screw has a threaded end with a profiled enlargement,
a control knob having a profiled seat surrounded by a first annular chamber, the profiled seat housing, with geometric coupling, the profiled enlargement of the control screw, the profiled seat having a through hole though which an upper threaded end of the control screw is inserted,
said control knob being provided with two positioning projections extending from a bottom of the first annular chamber and being equally opposite from each other,
wherein the neck of the valve body comprises two diametrically opposite stop projections adapted to cooperate with the two positioning projections equally opposite and provided in said control knob, wherein,
i) in said control knob there is provided a tubular collar on a side of the control knob opposite to a side of the control knob housing the profiled seat, the tubular collar housing the threaded end of the control screw and forming with the threaded end a second annular chamber adapted to house a spring, one end of the spring resting on a bottom of said second annular chamber and another, opposite end of the spring resting on a head of a stop screw which is screwed in the upper threaded end of said control screw and which is housed in the tubular collar of said control knob, and
ii) the bottom of the first annular chamber is provided with two sliding circular segments diametrically opposite each other and projecting at a first height from said bottom, each of said sliding circular segments being followed by one of the two equally opposite positioning projections projecting at a second height from said bottom, the second height being greater than the first height, the two positioning projections being diametrically opposite from each other, wherein between a free end of each of two sliding circular segments and each of the two positioning projections a positioning seat is formed for respectively housing one of two opposite stop projections of the neck of the valve.

6 more elements

A gas safety valve, comprising:

a valve body that includes i) a through conduit with an inlet located at a first conduit end, an outlet located at a second conduit end, and an intermediate chamber located between the inlet and the outlet, and ii) a neck located above the intermediate chamber with two opposing stop projections projecting upwards from an upper edge of the neck, upper sliding sides of the stop projections defining sliding sides;
a ball shutter rotatably and sealingly housed in the intermediate chamber;
a control screw rotatable and axially not displaceable in the neck of the valve body, the control screw having i) a threaded end located at a top end of the control screw, ii) a groove located at a lower end of the control screw, and iii) a profiled enlargement located between the threaded end and the groove;
and
a control knob positioned on the control screw, the control knob further comprising
i) an outer annular chamber having a bottom surface, two opposing circular segments located above the bottom surface, the circular segments defining two coplanar sliding planes and, at a first end of each circular segment, a step with respect to the bottom surface, and at a second end of each circular segment, a positioning projection, and two opposing seats located on the bottom surface between an end surface of each of the steps and an end wall of an adjacent one of the positioning projections, and
ii) a collar forming a circular seat with a bottom surface, and a hole in the middle of the bottom surface for housing the threaded end of the control screw, the inner walls of the collar and the threaded end forming an inner annular chamber;
a stop screw screwed into the threaded end of the control screw, the stop screw having a head with a lower surface facing the bottom surface of the inner annular chamber;
and
a spring housed in the inner annular chamber around the control screw bearing against the lower surface of the head of the stop screw and the bottom surface of the inner annular chamber,
wherein, in a closed state of the valve, a lower end of the stop screw extends through the hole of the bottom surface of the inner annular chamber so that the stop screw locks the control knob so that an opening motion on the control knob does not open the valve, unless the control knob is first lifted axially upwards.

8 more elements

A gas safety valve, comprising:

a valve body that includes i) a through conduit having an inlet and an outlet with an intermediate chamber located between the inlet and the outlet, and ii) a neck located above the intermediate chamber, the neck including two opposing stop projections projecting upwards from an upper edge of the neck, upper sliding sides of the stop projections defining sliding sides;
a ball shutter rotatably and sealingly housed in the intermediate chamber;
a control screw rotatable and axially not displaceable in the neck, the control screw having i) a top threaded end, ii) a lower end with a groove, and iii) a profiled enlargement located between the threaded end and the groove;
and
a control knob, positioned on the control screw, and axially displaceable to open the valve, the control knob comprising
i) an outer annular chamber having
a bottom surface,
two opposing circular segments located above the bottom surface and defining two coplanar sliding planes with a step with respect to the bottom surface at a first end, and a positioning projection at a second end, and
two opposing seats located on the bottom surface between an end surface of each of the steps and an end wall of an adjacent one of the positioning projections, and
ii) a collar forming a circular seat with a bottom surface having a hole, the hole of the circular seat housing the threaded end of the control screw and defining an inner annular chamber with the threaded end;
a stop screw screwed into the threaded end of the control screw, the stop screw having a head with a lower surface facing the bottom surface of the inner annular chamber;
and
a spring housed in the annular chamber around the control screw bearing against the lower surface of the head of the stop screw and the bottom surface of the inner annular chamber,
wherein, the valve is opened only by i) first lifting the control knob axially upwards so that the upper sliding sides of the stop projections are beneath two sliding planes of two circular segments, and ii) second making a 90° rotation of the control knob in a first opening direction delimited by inner abutment sides of the positioning projections, and iii) third releasing the control knob after the 90° opening rotation causes the stop projections to rest with the upper sliding sides thereof on two circular segments maintaining the control knob at a lifted position, with the spring compressed.

11 more elements

A gas safety valve, comprising:

a valve body having a through conduit with an inlet, an outlet, and an intermediate chamber located between said inlet and said outlet;
a ball shutter housed in the intermediate chamber, the ball shutter comprising a through hole and an upper seat;
a control screw comprising i) a lower end adapted to be housed in the upper seat of the ball shutter and ii) a threaded end, positioned at the upper end of the control screw, the threaded end including a profiled enlargement, the control screw being positioned rotatable and axially not displaceable in a neck of the valve body;
and
a knob comprising a profiled seat surrounded by a first annular chamber, and a collar provided on a side of the knob opposite to the profiled seat,
wherein the profiled seat houses the profiled enlargement of the control screw and is provided with a through hole wherein the threaded end of the control screw is located,
wherein the first annular chamber comprises a bottom on which are formed two diametrically opposite circular segments, each circular segment comprising a sliding plane that at a first end forms a step with respect to said bottom, each circular segment further comprising a respective stop projection projecting from the sliding plane at a second end of the sliding plane opposite to the step with the bottom of the annular chamber, the two circular segments being spaced by two seats adapted for housing two respective stop projections projecting from the neck of the valve body,
wherein the collar houses a portion of the threaded end that is located in the through hole of the profiled seat, and
wherein inner walls of the collar form with outer walls of the threaded end a second annular chamber,
wherein a spring is housed in said second annular chamber, a first end of the spring resting on a bottom of said second annular chamber and a second oppositer end of the spring resting on head of a stop screw which is housed in the collar and is screwed in the upper threaded end of the control screw.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Description2,885 words

Summary901 words

#The present invention refers to a gas safety valve, according to the preamble of claim 1.

#Gas safety valves are usually used in gas distribution systems to safely avoid gas leakage, and possible ensuing damage, in case of incorrect handling.

#Such safety valves have a ball shutter and a control rotation member in form of a knob with one or two gripping fins, or a lever or the like, where solely the representative term of a knob will be used hereinafter for the sake of simplicity. Such knobs are generally rotatable for a ninety-degree rotation to rotate the ball shutter from the opening position to the closing position and vice versa.

Brief description of the drawings15 figures

#Further characteristics advantages and details of the gas safety valve according to the invention, as well as of the implementation thereof, will be clearer from the following description of some preferred embodiments of such gas safety valves illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example in the attached drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a gas safety valve according to the invention,

#FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the control knob,

Detailed description1,669 words

#In various figures identical parts have identical reference numbers.

#First, reference is made to FIG. 1, in which a gas safety valve according to the invention is indicated in its entirety with 1 and it has a valve body 2 having a through conduit 3 with an inlet 4 and an outlet 5, or vice versa, same case applying to an intermediate chamber 6, FIG. 6, in which there is rotatably and sealingly housed a ball shutter 7 with a through hole 8. The ball shutter 7 has—at the upper part—a seat 9, for example a fissure, in which the lower end 10, for example in form of a tang, of a control screw 11 is engaged. This screw 11 is rotatably sealingly housed and axially not displaceable in a portion of neck 12 of the valve body 2. For such purpose there are provided removable positioning means formed, in the illustrated example, by a sealing ring 13, by a metal ring 14 flared at the top part and by an elastic metal ring 15 provided with slots which can be housed in a groove 16 formed in the neck 12 of the valve 1. A sealing O-ring housed in a groove 18 made in the screw 11 is indicated with 17. The screw 11 has—at the upper part—a threaded end 19 in which, in the known valves, there can be screwed a screw which traverses a hole provided in a control knob to lock said knob on the screw. The required 90 degree rotation movement to move the shutter 7 from the closing position to the opening position, and vice versa, is determined by a pair of stop projections provided on the neck and by a pair of positioning projections provided on the knob, as per se known in various implementations, for example in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,236 A.

#At the upper part of the screw 11 there is a profiled enlargement 20 which can be housed in a corresponding profiled hole 21 provided in the control knob 22.

Facts

Application

13/417,455Filed 12 Mar 2012

Published

US 2013/0234056 A112 Sep 2013

Granted

3 Feb 2015

Term ends

19 Apr 2032

Estimated · how

20 years from earliest known nonprovisional domestic filing plus recorded patent term adjustment, including 38 days of adjustment. Maintenance-fee lapses, terminal disclaimers and statutory extensions have not been checked. The continuity chain may be incomplete; this is not an enforceability determination.

Classification2 codes

F16K 35/027
To be locked or disconnected by means of a pushing or pulling action: the locking mechanism being actuated by pushing or pulling the valve…
F16K
Valves

Timeline

12 Mar 2012Application filedUS 13/417,455
23 May 2012Assigned to Giacomini S.P.A.assignment of assignor's interest
12 Sep 2013PublishedUS 2013/0234056 A1
3 Feb 2015GrantedUS 8,944,404 B2
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
19 Apr 2032Term endsEstimated, includes 38 days of adjustment

Gas safety valve

Life of this patent

Gas safety valve

Life of this patent

Life of this patent

Abstract

Drawings

Drawings

Claims14

Description2,885 words

Drawings

Classification2 codes

Life of this patent

Description2,885 words