Slam shut safety device having disc anti-rotation

A slam-shut safety device, comprising:

• a valve body, the valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and defining a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the valve body including a valve seat surrounding an orifice disposed between the inlet and the outlet;
• a valve disc support shiftably mounted within the valve body;
• a valve disc mounted to the valve disc support;
• the valve disc support and the valve disc shiftably disposed within the valve body and movable between an open first position in which the valve disc is spaced away from the valve seat, and a closed second position in which the valve disc is seated against the valve seat;
• a reset pin operatively coupled to the valve disc support and shiftable relative to the valve body between an untripped position placing the valve disc in the open first position and a tripped position placing the valve disc in the closed second position, the reset pin arranged to respond to an actuator to shift the reset pin from the untripped position toward the tripped position;
• an anti-rotation assembly carried by cooperating portions of the valve disc and the valve disc support, the anti-rotation assembly comprising at least one protrusion and at least one receiving area sized to receive the protrusion, the anti-rotation assembly arranged to stop rotation of the valve disc relative to the valve disc support;
• and
• wherein the valve disc is mounted to a backing plate and the at least one protrusion is formed integrally with the backing plate.

A method of stopping rotation of a valve disc in a slam-shut safety device, the method comprising:

• Providing a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and defining a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the valve body including a valve seat surrounding an orifice disposed between the inlet and the outlet;
• providing a valve disc support shiftably mounted within the valve body;
• mounting a valve disc to the valve disc support;
• shiftably disposing the valve disc support and the valve disc within the valve body to permit movement of the valve disc between an open first position in which the valve disc is spaced away from the valve seat, and a closed second position in which the valve disc is seated against the valve seat;
• operatively coupling a reset pin to the valve disc support and arranging the reset pin for movement relative to the valve body between an untripped position placing the valve disc in the open first position and a tripped position placing the valve disc in the closed second position;
• arranging the reset pin to respond to an actuator to allow the reset pin to shift from the untripped position toward the tripped position;
• providing an anti-rotation assembly carried by cooperating portions of the valve disc and the valve disc support;
• providing the anti-rotation assembly with at least one protrusion and at least one receiving area sized to receive the protrusion, the anti-rotation assembly arranged to stop rotation of the valve disc relative to the valve disc support;
• and
• providing a spring at least partially disposed within the valve disc support, and operatively coupling the spring to the valve disc to bias the valve disc toward the closed second position.

A method of stopping rotation of a valve disc in a slam-shut safety device, the method comprising:

• Providing a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and defining a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the valve body including a valve seat surrounding an orifice disposed between the inlet and the outlet;
• providing a valve disc support shiftably mounted within the valve body;
• mounting a valve disc to the valve disc support;
• shiftably disposing the valve disc support and the valve disc within the valve body to permit movement of the valve disc between an open first position in which the valve disc is spaced away from the valve seat, and a closed second position in which the valve disc is seated against the valve seat;
• operatively coupling a reset pin to the valve disc support and arranging the reset pin for movement relative to the valve body between an untripped position placing the valve disc in the open first position and a tripped position placing the valve disc in the closed second position;
• arranging the reset pin to respond to an actuator to allow the reset pin to shift from the untripped position toward the tripped position;
• providing an anti-rotation assembly carried by cooperating portions of the valve disc and the valve disc support;
• providing the anti-rotation assembly with at least one protrusion and at least one receiving area sized to receive the protrusion, the anti-rotation assembly arranged to stop rotation of the valve disc relative to the valve disc support;
• and
• providing a backing plate on the valve disc and forming a pair of fins extending from the backing plate, and forming the at least one receiving area from a pair of surfaces carried by the valve disc support, and sizing the pair of fins to engage the pair of surfaces.

A method of stopping rotation of a valve disc in a slam-shut safety device, the method comprising:

• Providing a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and defining a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the valve body including a valve seat surrounding an orifice disposed between the inlet and the outlet;
• providing a valve disc support shiftably mounted within the valve body;
• mounting a valve disc to the valve disc support;
• shiftably disposing the valve disc support and the valve disc within the valve body to permit movement of the valve disc between an open first position in which the valve disc is spaced away from the valve seat, and a closed second position in which the valve disc is seated against the valve seat;
• operatively coupling a reset pin to the valve disc support and arranging the reset pin for movement relative to the valve body between an untripped position placing the valve disc in the open first position and a tripped position placing the valve disc in the closed second position;
• arranging the reset pin to respond to an actuator to allow the reset pin to shift from the untripped position toward the tripped position;
• and
• providing an anti-rotation assembly carried by cooperating portions of the valve disc and the valve disc support;
• providing the anti-rotation assembly with at least one protrusion and at least one receiving area sized to receive the protrusion, the anti-rotation assembly arranged to stop rotation of the valve disc relative to the valve disc support;
• providing a spring disposed within the valve body, and operatively coupling the spring to the valve disc support to bias the valve disc toward the closed second position;
• providing a backing plate on the valve disc and forming a pair of fins extending from the backing plate, and forming the at least one receiving area from a pair of surfaces carried by the valve disc support, and sizing the pair of fins to engage the pair of surfaces;
• and
• forming the at least one receiving area from an arc-shaped cutout in the valve disc support, and forming the at least one protrusion as an arc-shaped fin having a flat surface and extending from the valve disc, and sizing the flat surface of the arc-shaped fin to engage the flat surface of the receiving area.