GB2421296A

GB2421296A - Valve assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2421296A
Application number: GB0420099A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Peter Matthams; Steve John Sansom
Original assignee: EUROPLAZ TECHNOLOGIES Ltd; RAPID REFILL Ltd
Current assignee: RAPID REFILL LIMITED
Priority date: 2004-09-10
Filing date: 2004-09-10
Publication date: 2006-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2024-09-10
Also published as: GB0420099D0; GB2421296B

Abstract

A transfer valve assembly for a product contained within a container having a threaded neck includes a tubular component 14 having threads 15 for engaging those of the container neck. The tubular component 14 is adapted to fit within a mounting sleeve 13, configured for connection to a receiver for the product. The tubular component 14 has a transverse wall 17 with ports 18 formed therein and a valve member 19 is pivoted to the tubular component 14 so as to be movable between port open and closed positions. A valve operating pin 34 projects internally of the sleeve 13 and a bayonet connection 27,29,30 is provided between the tubular component and the mounting sleeve, such that fitting the tubular component to the mounting sleeve using the bayonet connection initially engages the valve operating pin 34 and then relative rotation between the mounting sleeve and tubular component thereby moves the valve member 19 to the port open position.

Description

VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR FLOWABLE MATERIAL This invention relates to a transfer valve assembly for a flowable product. In particular, but not exclusively, this invention is concerned with the transfer of a granular or pulverulent material such as a fertiliser from a container therefor, to a receiver from which the material may be utilised, such as a hopper of a fertiliser distributor, for spreading the material over the ground. Though this invention may be used in various areas of industry, it will hereinafter primarily be described with reference to agro-chemicals. Many granular, powder or other flowable, non-liquid agro-chemicals are supplied to the end user in containers typically of 5, 10, 20 or 40kg capacity. Such containers may have an externally-threaded neck projecting from the container, the chemicals being sealed within the container by a membrane bonded to the neck over the opening therethrough. An internally-threaded cap is tightened down on to the neck to complete the closing of the container and to protect the seal. The end user typically removes the cap, tears the seal from the neck and then man-handles the container to tip the contents into a hopper, for example of a fertiliser distributor. Unfortunately, this process is somewhat hazardous, both for the end user and also for the environment.It is easily possible for the chemical to billow up and be inhaled by the end user and there is also a likelihood of spillage, leading to contamination of the surrounding soil. In an attempt to address the above problem on both health and safety and environmental grounds, it is known to provide a transfer valve assembly which threads to the neck of the container once the cap and seal have been removed. The valve has an external operating member which is moved to the closed position and then the container is inverted over a hopper for the material, whereafter the valve is opened by means of its operating member. Even by having the transfer valve assembly received within a socket provided on the hopper, there is still a risk of some leakage since the operating member must communicate from within the valve assembly to the exterior. Moreover, there is a risk that the end user might accidentally move the operating member when man-handling the container so opening the valve prematurely, with the result that there will be spillage of the material. It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a transfer valve assembly which addresses the problems discussed above of the described form of transfer valve assembly and so which minimises the risk of inadvertent leakage or spillage. According to this invention, there is provided a transfer valve assembly for a flowable product comprising: - a mounting sleeve one end portion of which is adapted for connection to a receiver for the product and having a valve operating member projecting internally of the sleeve away from said one end portion; - a tubular component provided at one end with threads for engagement with corresponding threads formed on a neck of a container containing said product and the other end of the sleeve being adapted to fit within the other end of the mounting sleeve; - a transverse wall provided within the tubular component and having a port therethrough; - a valve member pivoted to the tubular component and movable between a closed and open positions where said port in the transverse wall is respectively closed and open;and - a bayonet-type connection arranged between the mounting sleeve and the tubular component whereby the other end of the tubular component is receivable within the other end of the mounting sleeve by axial movement of the sleeve with respect to the tubular component, said movement engaging the valve operating member with the valve member, and then the sleeve is rotatable through a pre-set angle with respect to the sleeve to hold the sleeve against axial movement, said rotation pivoting the valve member from its closed position to its open position. It will be appreciated that with the transfer valve assembly of this invention, the valve is provided within a tubular component and has no external operating member. The valve remains closed throughout the procedure of fitting the tubular component to the threaded neck of a container and inverting the container to connect with the mounting sleeve pre-fitted to a receiver for the material, such as a hopper of a fertiliser distributor. As the connection of the tubular component to the mounting sleeve is completed, the valve is automatically opened to allow the material within the container to flow into the receiver, without risk of leakage or spillage. Preferably, the valve member is circular and is rotatably mounted within the tubular component coaxially therewith, for rotation about the axis of that component. In a preferred embodiment, the valve member is in the form of a circular plate having an aperture therein which is brought into registration with the port of the transverse wall when the valve member is rotated to its open position. Typically, there may be four ports in the transverse wall and a like number of apertures in the valve member each of which comes into registration with a corresponding port when the valve is moved to its open position. In this case, the pre-set angle is set to about or a little less than 45[deg]. The valve operating member advantageously projects coaxially within the sleeve and has a non-circular head which engages with a correspondinglyshaped recess in the valve member, the operating member being held against rotation with respect to the sleeve. Thus, when the valve member is engaged with its operating member and the tubular component is turned to be held against axial movement with respect to the sleeve, the valve member will be held against rotation with respect to the sleeve, so opening the valve. The preferred form of transfer valve assembly has internal threads provided within said one end of the tubular component whereby that component may be engaged with external threads formed around the neck of a container, following the removal of a screw-threaded cap from the neck. The mounting sleeve should be configured as appropriate for connection to a receiver such as the hopper of a fertiliser distributor. Typically, such a hopper may have an upstanding cylindrical boss; in this case, said one end portion of the mounting sleeve may have a generally circular outer form for reception within that boss. The sleeve should be locked within that boss and a bayonet-type connection may be provided for this purpose. In an alternative embodiment, the mounting sleeve may be provided with a flange for attachment to a lid or cover plate of a hopper for the material, in registration with an opening through the lid or cover plate. By way of example only, one specific embodiment of transfer valve assembly of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a side view of the complete transfer valve assembly, fitted into a carrier therefor; Figure 2 is an axial section through the assembly and carrier of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view on the assembly; Figure 4 is an underplan view on the assembly; Figure 5 is an axial section through the mounting sleeve of the transfer valve assembly of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a plan view on the mounting sleeve of Figure 5; Figure 7 is an isometric view of the mounting sleeve; Figure 8 is an isometric view of an alternative form of mounting sleeve intended for use without the carrier shown in Figure 1; Figure 9 is a side view of the tubular component of the valve assembly;Figure 10 is an axial section through the tubular component of Figure 9; Figure 11 is an isometric view of the carrier shown in Figure 1; and Figure 12 is an isometric view of the carrier of Figure 1 together with the mounting sleeve of Figure 7 fitted therein. The transfer valve assembly described hereinafter is intended for use in conjunction with a container containing a granular or pulverulent fertiliser material and also a fertiliser distributor to which the contained material is to be supplied. Figures 1 to 4 show the complete embodiment of valve assembly together with a carrier therefor, which carrier forms a part of the fertiliser distributor with which the valve assembly is to be used. The carrier is often referred to as a "tractor fitting" and does not, in itself, form a part of this invention. Though shown with a tractor fitting, the mounting sleeve may be modified to connect directly to the fertiliser distributor so obviating the need for the tractor fitting. The carrier 10 is of generally cylindrical form and has a flange 11 at its lower end by means of which the carrier is secured to a cover plate (not shown) of a fertiliser distributor hopper (also not shown). The carrier 10 defines a bore 12 within which is received a mounting sleeve 13 also of generally cylindrical form. A tubular component 14 provides a valve to be described below for controlling the flow of material through the tubular component and is received within the mounting sleeve 13. At its end remote from the mounting sleeve, the tubular component 14 has internal threads 15 adapted for engagement with the external threads on the neck (not shown) of a fertiliser material container, once a closure cap has been removed from that neck. The valve within the tubular component 14 comprises a transverse wall 17 extending across the end of the tubular component opposed to its threaded end. That transverse wall 17 has four generally sector-shaped ports 18 (Figure 4) formed therethrough in an equi-spaced disposition about the axis of the component 14. A circular valve member 19 is rotatably fitted within the bore of the component 14, to lie against the transverse wall 17. The valve member 19 is held in position by four tabs 20 projecting inwardly from the side wall 21 of the component 14. The valve member itself has two opposed lugs 22 (Figures 2 and 3) which bear against the side wall 21 of the tubular component and serve to limit rotation of the valve member about the axis of the component, by engaging a tab 20.Further, the component may include a projecting nib (not shown) which will engage with the recess defined by a lug 22 when the valve member is in the appropriate angular setting shown in Figure 3, to resist rotation of that member away from that setting. The valve member has four apertures 23 therethrough, the arrangement of those apertures corresponding to that of the ports 18 in the transverse wall 17. The configuration of the ports and apertures is such that with the valve member 19 in the angular setting shown in Figure 3, the valve member closes off all four ports 18. Rotation of the valve member through approximately 45[deg] brings the lugs 22 into engagement with two of the tabs 20 and also brings the apertures 23 into full registration with the ports 18, so opening the valve. The valve member 19 has a hub 24 upstanding from the general plane of the valve member, that hub being formed internally with a generally crossshaped recess accessible from the side of the valve member lying against the transverse wall 17. That transverse wall includes a central hole 25 of a sufficient size to give full access to the recess in the valve member hub. The walls defining the recess may be flared away from the closed end of the hub, to facilitate the connection of that recess to a valve operating pin, to be described below. As mentioned above, the tubular component 14 is received within the mounting sleeve 13 and a bayonet-type connection is provided therebetween, to hold the tubular component 14 within the mounting sleeve 13. That connection comprises four ribs 27 disposed within the bore 28 of the mounting sleeve 13, mutually at right-angles (Figures 7 and 8). The external surface of the corresponding portion of the tubular component 14 has webs which provide a respective axially-extending channel 29 for each rib 27, leading into a circumferential recess 30 having an end wall 31 so limiting angular movement of the component 14 with respect to the sleeve 13 to a little less than 45[deg].Thus, the component 14 is fitted to the sleeve 13 by moving the component axially when the channels 29 are aligned with the ribs 27 until those ribs are disposed in the respective recesses 30, and then turning the component 14 with respect to the sleeve 13 until the ribs 27 engage the respective end walls 31. Two diametral arms 32 extend at 90[deg] across the sleeve 13 at the end thereof remote from the ribs 27, the intersection of the arms defining a hub 33 within which is formed a square hole. Received within that hole is the valve operating pin 34 referred to above, the operating pin having a square shank 35 which fits within the hole of the hub 33 such that the pin cannot turn. The pin is held in position by means of a screw (not shown) threaded into the pin through a bore formed in the end of the hole. The pin 34 has a head disposed above the arms which head has four projections 36 disposed in the same configuration as the recess 30 of the valve member hub 24 whereby the fitting of the tubular component 14 to the mounting sleeve 13 engages the head of the pin 34 in the recess in hub 24, in a non-rotatable manner.Thus, during the 45. rotation of the tubular component 14 with respect to the mounting sleeve 13, the valve member 19 is held stationary and the 45[deg] of relative rotation with respect to the tubular component 14 opens the valve. The external surface of the mounting sleeve 13 is also configured for a bayonet-type connection to the carrier 10. In Figure 11, there is shown one of the two diametrically opposed L-shaped grooves 38 formed internally within the bore 12 of the carrier for that bayonet-type connection. The external surface of the mounting sleeve 13 is a close sliding fit within the bore 12 and is provided with a pair of opposed lugs 39 (Figure 7) receivable in the grooves 38. The sleeve 13 may thus be engaged with the carrier by initial axial movement followed by angular movement, so taking the lugs 39 to the blind ends of the grooves 38. When fully connected, the mounting sleeve 13 is locked in position within the carrier 10 by means of a pair of anti-rotation pegs 40 (Figure 12). These pegs are pressed axially into the grooves 38 and also are received in respective slots 41 formed in the upper rim of the tubular component 14. Figure 8 shows an alternative design of mounting sleeve, intended for direct attachment to a hopper cover, so obviating a need for a separate carrier. The mounting sleeve 43 shown in Figure 8 is configured internally in essentially the same manner as has been described above, but externally the sleeve is provided with a flange 44 having four holes 45. The sleeve 43 may thus be bolted direct to a hopper cover, over an opening therein but in all other respects the use of the tubular component 14 with this mounting sleeve is as has been described above. In use, the mounting sleeve 13 is fitted to the carrier 10 and locked in position by means of the pegs 40. A container of the granular fertiliser material is opened and the tubular component is fitted thereto by engaging the threads 15 with the threads of the container neck. Before fitting the component 14 to the neck, the position of the valve member 19 should be checked, in order to ensure that the ports 18 are closed. The container together with the tubular component 14 is inverted and the component 14 is offered to the bore of the mounting sleeve 13, to engage the ribs 27 with the channels 29. As the component 14 is fully received within the sleeve 13, the valve operating pin projections 36 are received in the recess of the valve member hub 24. Turning the container will then turn the component 14 while the valve member 19 remains stationary, thus opening the ports 18 and allowing the granular material to flow into the fertiliser distributor hopper. Once the container has emptied, it may be removed from the mounting sleeve 13, the valve member 19 automatically returning to its initial position where the ports 18 are closed. The tubular component 14 may then be removed from the container, for re-use with a fresh container.

Claims

1. A transfer valve assembly for a flowable product comprising: - a mounting sleeve one end portion of which is adapted for connection to a receiver for the product and having a valve operating member projecting internally of the sleeve away from said one end portion; - a tubular component provided at one end with threads for engagement with corresponding threads formed on a neck of a container containing said product and the other end of the sleeve being adapted to fit within the other end of the mounting sleeve; - a transverse wall provided within the tubular component and having a port therethrough; - a valve member pivoted to the tubular component and movable between a closed and open positions where said port in the transverse wall is respectively closed and open; and - a bayonet-type connection arranged between the mounting sleeve and the tubular component whereby the other end of the tubular component is receivable within the other end of the mounting sleeve by axial movement of the sleeve with respect to the tubular component, said movement engaging the valve operating member with the valve member, and then the sleeve is rotatable through a pre-set angle with respect to the sleeve to hold the sleeve against axial movement, said rotation pivoting the valve member from its closed position to its open position.

2. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve member is circular and is rotatably mounted within the tubular component for rotation about the axis thereof.

3. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the valve member is in the form of a plate having an aperture therein which is brought into registration with said port when the valve member is pivoted to its open position.

4. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the transverse wall has a plurality of ports and the valve member has a like plurality of apertures disposed so that all of the ports are closed when the valve member is in its closed position and all of the ports are open when the valve member is in its open position.

5. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein all of the ports are of the same configuration and the ports are arranged around the sleeve axis in an equi-spaced manner.

6. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein there are four ports and four apertures, and the pre-set angle is set to about 45 deg.

7. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the valve operating member projects coaxially within the sleeve.

8. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the operating pin is held against rotation with respect to the sleeve and has a non-circular head which engages with a correspondingly-shaped recess in the valve member.

9. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the head of the operating member has a plurality of arms which engage in corresponding recesses in the valve member.

10. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said one end of the tubular component is provided with internal threads to engage external threads formed around the neck of a container, following the removal of a screw-threaded cap from the neck.

11. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said one end portion of the mounting sleeve is provided with a mounting flange adapted to be secured to a product receiver by screw-threaded fasteners.

12. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said one end portion of the mounting sleeve has a generally circular outer form and is adapted to be received in a cylindrical boss provided as a part of the product receiver.

13. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein a bayonettype connection is provided between said one end portion of the mounting sleeve and the boss within which the sleeve may be received.

14. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein a locking arrangement is associated with the one end of the sleeve, so as to hold the sleeve against rotation with respect to the boss, once fully engaged therewith.

15. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the locking arrangement comprises a pin insertable into a groove formed in the external surface of the sleeve and extending parallel to the sleeve axis, which pin is also received in a corresponding groove formed in the boss.

16. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided a releasable catch to restrain the valve member in its closed position.

17. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the catch is released by the application of a sufficiently high pivoting force to the valve member.

18. A transfer valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.