AU2018100443A4 - Valve with Self-aligning Seal System - Google Patents

Abstract

A valve comprising of: a valve body; a plug with a shape of a dome, a spheroid or a cone; a yoke which comprises of a cover plate with an orifice, connected to the body by fastening means; and at least one orifice seal in the shape of an annulus with at least one annular bead, and/or a series of beads arranged tangentially with the orifice seal annulus, that fits into a groove and/or series of grooves in the cover plate or body which controls movement of the orifice seal to accomplish central alignment of the orifice seal, which is composed of a resilient elastomeric material and is mounted between the valve body and plate, so that when the plug is pressed against the orifice seal in the location of the orifice of the cover plate, the orifice seal prevents the passage of fluid through the orifice. Figure 1

Description

Valve with Self-aligning Seal System

Authors:

John Meerabux Russell Mccabe

Hygrade Water Australia Pty Ltd Hynds Pipe Systems Revision 0 Dated 6/04/18

Description

The present innovation is related to seals used in valves where a ball, cone, plug or dome is used to cover an orifice to stop flow of liquid or gas which may be used in machines, tools or devices, for example, hydrants, air valves or other valved devices and/or any other devices or equipment designed to perform a specific task.

An advantage of this innovation is an annular bead on the seal that fits into a groove in the cover plate, which controls the movement of the seal so that it is centrally aligned during operation.

This innovation provides a set position for the cover plate so that the seal may not be overcompressed, which extends the life of the seal. A further advantage may be achieved with this innovation by providing a lip seal over the surface of the orifice to prevent ingress of dirt behind the seal. The lip seal also controls movement of the seal so that it is centrally aligned when the cover plate is returned after removal. Some hydrants have internal components which may be removed so the pipeline may be accessed for maintenance. A problem is that removal and reassembly of the components may be difficult as the hydrant is accessed through a narrow opening hydrant box beneath ground level. An advantage of this innovation is the lip seal is retained on the surface of the orifice allowing the yoke and the orifice seal to be removed together during maintenance.

Preferred embodiments

The attached drawings are:

Figure 1 - Cross-Sectional Front View of Valve Assembly Figure 2 - Detail of Cross Sectional View of Seal Arrangement Figure 3 - Side View of Valve

One embodiment for the valve with self-aligning seal system is a spring hydrant comprising of a valve body (1) with a polymeric-coated surface (12), a plug (3) comprised of a dome, yoke (4) comprised of a cover plate with a polymeric-coated surface (11) connected to the valve body (1) by fastening means of two bolts (6), two washers (13) for the bolts, two nuts (8) and two washers for the nuts (9) with a circular orifice (C), and an orifice seal (5) with an annular bead (B) that fits into a groove in the yoke which controls movement of the orifice seal to accomplish central alignment of the orifice seal to the orifice. The orifice seal is composed of elastomeric material and is mounted between the valve body and the yoke, so that when the plug (3) is pressed against the orifice seal, the orifice seal prevents the passage of fluid through the orifice in the cover plate. The orifice seal (5) has a lip seal feature (A) which prevents the passage of soil between the orifice seal (5) and the yoke (4). The orifice seal is retained on the yoke by the lip seal feature (A) on the inside surface of the yoke orifice (D) so that the orifice seal may be removed together with the yoke during maintenance. The plug is pressed by a spring (7) so that the valve may be opened by placing a load on the plug and will close itself when the load is released. The spring (7) and plug (3) are mounted on a shaft guide (2) and may be held captive by means of an enlarged end on the shaft of the plug (3) by forming a cap (14). The shaft guide (2) has two feet which are mounted on moulded seats in the valve body (1).

Retaining means to hold the seal in place is provided by the yoke (4) which is fixed to the body by means of two or more bolts (6), and/or other means of fastening that results in a set position to control compression of the self- aligning seal (5) and of the circumferential seal (10). The yoke and the body have annular beads so that when the bolts on the yoke are tensioned, the circumferential seal (10) is compressed between the annular beads.

Claims (6)

1. Claims 1) A valve comprising of: a valve body; a plug with a shape of a dome, a spheroid or a cone; a yoke which comprises of a cover plate with an orifice, connected to the body by fastening means; and at least one orifice seal in the shape of an annulus with at least one annular bead, and/or a series of beads arranged tangentially with the orifice seal annulus, that fits into a groove and/or series of grooves in the cover plate or body which controls movement of the orifice seal to accomplish central alignment of the orifice seal, which is composed of a resilient elastomeric material and is mounted between the valve body and plate, so that when the plug is pressed against the orifice seal in the location of the orifice of the cover plate, the orifice seal prevents the passage of fluid through the orifice.
2. 2) A valve according to Claim 1, with the body and yoke shaped with an annular tongue and groove or with an annular bead on the opposing surfaces to provide a specific axial and radial position for the yoke to be held in, which limits the compression and miss-alignment of the orifice seal when the yoke is fastened to the body during assembly.
3. 3) A valve according to Claim 1, with a lip seal feature which is fitted tightly over the inside surface of the orifice, so that particles are restricted from entering between the seal and the surface of the yoke.
4. 4) A valve according to Claim 3, with a lip seal feature which is fitted over the inside surface of the mouth of the orifice so that the seal is centrally aligned by the lip seal feature to the orifice, and the lip seal covers a surface on the opposite side of the orifice so that when the yoke cover plate is removed from the body, the lip seal feature holds the orifice seal onto the cover plate.
5. 5) A valve according to Claim 2, with a circumferential seal located between the surfaces of the annular beads of the yoke and the body which restricts flow of fluid radially.
6. 6) A valve according to Claim 2, with a circumferential seal compressed within the groove by the tongue which restricts flow of fluid radially.