NZ239610A - Water flow meter mounted above non-return valve: removal of meter allows removal of valve - Google Patents

Description

239 6 i Q Priority . .3ft £*59, <4tt&3f...

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; . . . Patents Form No. 5 HEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION WATER METER ASSEMBLIES WE, HYDROTECH DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED, a New Zealand company \AJou»-V=»-* GAreaA- ofALevin, NEW ZEALAND hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: fix. I (followed by page la) 2 5 9 n " ^ lo w w s This invention relates to connector assemblies and nonreturn valves for controlling fluid flow.

This invention is particularly adapted for connecting water services to mains supplies, however the present invention is not 5 limited to such application and can be utilized in other applications as required. Furthermore this invention has particular application to providing connector assemblies for monitoring water flows but of course it is not limited to such application as for example, it may be used as a serviceable non-10 return valve assembly. For illustrative purposes only, particular reference will be made hereinafter to the application of this invention to water meter assemblies. Of course this invention can be utilised for metering other fluid and gaseous flows.

Water meter assemblies are traditionally installed below the ground in covered housings in order to record usage of mains water through branch lines supplied by the mains. Because such meter assemblies are often located at or adjacent property boundaries, such meter assemblies must be extremely reliable in 20 use and require only infrequent servicing. Traditionally water meter assemblies include separate components for performing the desired functions required by local authorities for protecting the water mains from contamination due to back flow through branch lines. Typically the separate components include a stop 25 cock at the upstream end of the meter assembly such that the branch line may be isolated from the mains, a non-return valve /A 0 (followed by page 2)^ f"3 OCT 1991? 239610 means downstream from the stop cock and a measuring element for monitoring flow through the branch line.

While such assemblies operate efficiently they are often cumbersome, difficult to service and expensive to install. For 5 example it may be necessary to freeze the water in the branch line upstream of the stop cock in order that the separate components of the assembly may be serviced. Of course this is an expensive procedure- The present invention aims to alleviate the abovementioned 10 disadvantages and to provide connector assemblies and non-return valves for controlling fluid flow which will alleviate the abovementioned disadvantages and which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become apparent.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a connector assembly including a connector body having an inlet, an outlet and a flow passage extending between the inlet and the outlet; an access opening to said flow passage and remote from said 20 inlet and outlet; support means for supporting a selected non-return valve assembly in the flow passage whereby the selected non-return valve assembly may isolate opposite end portions of the flow passage; (followed by page 2a) 239610 2a a removable closure means for closing the access opening adapted to support a flow measuring element, wherein said closure means is adapted to direct the flow in said flow passage through the flow measuring element, and wherein this closure means alone is adapted to retain the selected non-return valve assembly in the flow passage against-the support means; and the access opening being so arranged that the non-return valve assembly may be inserted for support in the support means or removed from said support means through said access opening after removal of the removable closure means. (followed by page 3) 2 3 0 0 3 The access opening may be closed by standard closure means but preferably the closure means is adapted to operatively retain the non-return valve assembly in the support means. The closure means may direct the flow through the flow passage through a flow 5 measuring element and if desired a selectively operable valve assembly may be arranged in the flow passage upstream ox the access opening. The closure means may be adapted to support the flow measuring element- Suitably the selectively operable valve assembly is arranged to be operable adjacent the access opening, 10 preferably on the same side of the connector assembly.

In one form of the invention the closure means supports a measuring element whereby a outlet from the measuring element communicates sealably with the inlet of the non-return valve and the inlet to the measuring element communicates with the flow 15 passage upstream of the access opening. In a preferred form the support means for supporting the non-return valve assembly is an annular shoulder disposed co-axially with the access opening. Of course if desired the measuring element could be arranged downstream of the non-return valve and adapted to communicate 20 with tha outlet of the non-return valve. The non-return valve assembly may be retained by being mechanically interlocked with the support means such as by screwed into the support means or it may be retained by the measuring element or the closure means for the access opening such that the non-return valve 25 assembly may be removed for servicing upon removal of the measuring element or the closure means. 239 4 The closure means may include adaptor means whereby the inflow to the measuring element is directed to a central base opening of the measuring element and flow from side outlets in the measuring element is directed towards the central inlet to 5 the non-return valve assembly- The adaptor may include a baffle assembly in the inlet thereto to provide a suitable flow regime for the fluid entering the measuring element, and may also include by-pass means for selective by-pass of the measuring element- Preferably, the adaptor is so formed as to minimise 10 head loss in the flow therethrough.

The non-return valve assembly may be adjustably supported by said support means whereby the position of its upstream face may engage sealably with the outlet from the measuring element or an adaptor therefore. In this respect measuring elements are 15 generally available in a common configuration without conforming to any standard relating to position and size of inlet and outlet openings and have a central outlet in the base thereof and a side inlet spaced from said central outlet. To accommodate such variations, the non-return valve assembly may be adjustably 20 mounted within the connector body whereby its position relative to the body may be selectively varied. This may be achieved by mounting the non-return valve assembly reciprocally within a suitable guide within the body and providing selectively adjustable stop means such as an adjustable nut or spaced circlip 25 grooves for positioning the upstream end face of the non-return valve assembly at the desired position relative to the access opening. Furthermore it is preferred that the upstream end of 2 3^ (o |o the insert is in the form of a broad annular face whereby the face may engage sealably with measuring element outlets of different sizes. Alternatively a series of non-return valve assemblies may be provided, each adapted to co-operate with a 5 specific measuring element. In a preferred embodiment, the nonreturn valve assembly is a poppet type valve having a valve member including a frusto-conical peripheral portion and a substantially flat inner barrier portion. The non-return valve assemblies may be formed of plastics material and they may be 10 coded such as by being colour coded to facilitate correct replacement upon servicing. It .is-also preferred that the nonreturn valve assembly include a pair of non-return valves arranged in tandem.

The selectively operable valve assembly may be in the form 15 of a ball valve or a conventional faucet type valve or it may be in the form of a diaphragm valve or other form as desired. Preferably however the selectively operable valve is so mounted that it may be removed from the body without disconnecting the body from the inlet and outlet pipes to which it may be 20 connected. The connector assembly may be formed from a non- corrosive metal or a plastics material or metal such as brass as desired.

The non-return valve assembly which may be incorporated in the connector assembly of the present invention, preferably ccanprises: a valve body having an inlet and an outlet and a flow passage extending therebetween; a resilient valve seat extending around the passage circumference; a valve member supported by the body for reciprocal movement to and from the resilient valve seat; retaining means for retaining the resilient valve seat, and limiting means for limiting engagement of the valve member with said resilient valve seat. Preferably the valve member is biassed towards engagement with the seat. The biassing means may be in the form of coil spring arranged about a stem which supports the valve member for reciprocal movement to and from the seat.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the engagement surfaces of the valve member and the seat are formed as frusto-conical surfaces or other complementary surfaces whereby they co-act to centre the valva member on the seat and wherein the stem is formed integrally with the valve member and extends rearwardly thereof to pass through a guide sleeve which permits free movement of the stem therethrough with sufficient lateral clearance to enable the valve member to move laterally for centering purposes. It is also preferred that the limiting means be formed on the retaining means and that the latter component incorporate seal locating means for a seal adapted to engage with a passage wall in which the non-return valve is accommodated.

It is also preferred that the non-return valve assembly be formed of plastics material and that the retaining means be adapted for solvent welding to the body whereby the valve assembly may be formed as non-dismantleable unit. For this purpose the body may include stop means for accurately positioning the retaining means on the body and in a position at 2~5°>(o\o 7 which the necessary clamping force is applied between the body and the resilient valve seat to ensure sealable engagement between the exterior surface of the seal member and the valve body.

A diaphragm type valve assembly which may be used in cor junction with the connector assembly of the present invention is described and claimed in New Zealand Patent Specification No. which has been divided from this specification. That diaphragm type valve assembly has a bonnet and a diaphragm retained between the bonnet and a supporting collar, the bonnet having an outer skirt which limits outward bulging and hence creep of the diaphragm due to compression of the peripheral portion of the diaphragm„ Suitably the underside of the bonnet which overlies the supporting collar includes a narrow rib which extends downwardly and suitably for a distance of about one third the thickness of the adjacent peripheral portion of the diaphragm. The underside of the bonnet which overlies the supporting collar may also include retaining means spaced inwardly of the rib for restraining inwards creep of the diaphragm.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of the invention and whereins- FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 illustrates a further embodiments of the invention; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred form of nonreturn valve used with ' one embodiment of the present FIG. 4 illustrates the adaption of the present invention to various forms of measuring elements; FIG. 5 is an sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is an end view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5? FIG. 7 illustrates a preferred form of non-return valve, and FIG. 8 collectively illustrates an alternative adaptor according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The flow metering assembly 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a moulded plastics body portion 11 which accommodates a ball valve assembly 12 at its inlet end 13. The latter is provided with an adaptor 14 which engages the ball valve member 15 about the inlet to the through passage 16. The body also supports a flow measuring element 17 which extends into an annular chamber 18 and is retained sealably therein by a threaded collar 19 such that the central outlet 20 of the measuring element 17 engages sealably with the annular end face 21 of the inner wall of the annular chamber 18. For this purpose an o-ring is supported in the groove 22. The end face 21 extends about the upstream part of an outlet flow passage 23 which includes a first cylindrical portion co-axial with the end face 21. The flow passage extends upwardly from an internal shoulder 25 against which the complementary shoulder of a non-return valve assembly 27 locates.

The arrangement is such that water supplied from a mains distribution line may flow through a branch line to the inlet 13 9 through the ball valve in the flow passage 30 to the annular inlet extending around the base of the measuring element 17 as indicated by the arrows 29. Water returns from the measuring element 17 through a central outlet 20 through the non-return 5 valve assembly 27 for discharge through the outlet 28 to a supply line- The flow metering assembly 10 has the advantage that the non-return valve assembly 27 is retained sealably in position by the outlet 20 of the measuring element 17 such that when the latter is removed subsequent to withdrawing the collar 19, the 10 non-return valve may be lifted from its operative position and replaced or serviced as desired.

As such flow metering assemblies are normally located below ground this facility enables quick and simple servicing of the metering element and non-return valve. Of course for this 15 purpose the ball valve assembly 12 is turned to the off position prior to release of the collar 19.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig- 2 is similar to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. However it includes a conventional jumper valve assembly 40 as the selectively operable 20 valve means at the upstream end of the valve body 41 whereby it may be withdrawn from the valve body without the necessity of removing the latter from its installed position. Furthermore in this embodiment a pair of non-return valves 42 and 43 are disposed in the outlet passage 44 and arranged in tandem. 25 Referring specifically to Fig. 3 it will be seen that each non-return valve assembly 27 is formed of plastics material as an integral unit including a body 70 having an inlet 71, an outlet \ t N T 2 72 and a locating shoulder 73. The body has an upstanding collar 74 about the outlet 72 which is adapted to engage within a groove in a resilient seat member 75 to locate the resilient seat member 75 in its operative position about the inlet 71. The inner face 5 76 of the resilient seat member 75 is of frusto-conical form and is complementary to the frusto-conical side face 77 of the valve or jumper member 80. This member is supported within the body 70 by the stem 81 such that the valve side face 77 may move to and from the valve seat member 75. The latter is further retained in 10 position by an annular retainer 82 which projects inwardly beyond the valve member 75 so as to provide a stop at 83 which limits movement of the jumper in an upstream direction. This arrangement is provided so as to prevent jamming of the jumper in the seat 75 due to excessive engagement pressure being applied 15 between the jumper and the valve seat member 75 which in the absence of the stop 83 may sufficiently deform the resilient valve seat to enable the jamming to occur.

The upper end of the retainer 82 is recessed around its outer periphery to enable an o-ring 85 to be located thereabout 20 for suitable engagement within the passage in which the nonreturn valve assembly 27 is supported while the outer lower portion of the retainer 82 extends downwardly to form a collar 86, the end face of which engages against the complementary collar 87 of the body 70- The tolerances between the plastics 25 components of the invention are such that when the components are operatively located with the end face 86 abutting the collar 87, the resilient seat 75 is compressed and maintained in sealing 2 3 v; 11 engagement with the body 70 to prevent bypassage of water about the outer face of the valve seat member 75. The retainer 82 is secured in position by solvent welding, the solvent being introduced to the join at 87 and spreading by capillary action 5 through the mating faces to weld the retainer 82 in position.

A return spring 90 may be supported about the stem so as to bias the jumper to its closed position. Furthermore the tolerance between the stem 81 and the guide passage 92 in the lower part of the body 70 is such that the jumper has a degree of 10 freedom of movement sufficient to enable it to self centre through engagement of the complementary frusto-conical faces 77 and 76.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 also has a common cylindrical mounting sleeve 60 which is slidably and sealably 15 supported in the outlet passage 44, sealing engagement with the body being effected by o-ring 58. The upper end 61 of the sleeve abuts the end face of the outlet passage from the measuring element 17. The sleeve 60 is retained in its operative position by a circlip 62 engaged in a selected one of the circlip grooves 20 63 formed in the outer surface of the sleeve 60. This arrangement is provided so that the end face 61 may be height adjusted by engaging the circlip 62 in the appropriate groove 63 so as to position the end face 61 to suit different measuring elements- This adjustability is illustrated in Fig. 4- It will 25 also be seen that the end face 61 has a relatively broad radial width so as to accommodate 0-ring seals of different diameters associated with the different measuring elements. 2 3>^>(olo 12 FIG- 5 illustrates an embodiment in which the body portion is in the form of a brass connector assembly 45 adapted for forming an sub-surface branch connection to a water mains whereby the branch flow may be metered, shut off if desired and whereby 5 the mains may be protected from backflow. For this purpose the connector assembly 45 supports a metering part 24a through an adaptor 26, a non-return valve assembly 46 downstream of the metering part 24a and a diaphragm valve 38 upstream of the metering part 24a. The connector assembly 45 has complementary 10 threaded inlet and outlet connections for fitting in conventional manner» The adaptor 26 is adapted for receiving annular flow from the annular chamber 18 in the direction of arrows 29 and delivering liquid with substantially axial flow to the measuring 15 element 17. The inlet port 34 to the adaptor 26 has a baffle assembly 31 inserted therein to minimize turbulence in liquid flowing into the measuring element 17. The adaptor 26 is provided with a by-pass aperture 32 which is plugged with a bypass plug 33. For security, the by-pass plug 33 is covered by a 20 security plug 35. Flow from the adaptor 26 is through the outlet port 36 in the direction of arrows 37.

The non-return valve assembly 64 is substantially identical to the non-return valve assembly 27 illustrated in FIG. 3.

However in order to improve flow characteristics therethrough the 25 upstream face 78 of the jumper member 85 is substantially flat.

The sleeve 60 is made non-adjustable to suit a particular metering element and supports a pair of non-return valve 2 3^ <o I o 13 assemblies 46 in tandem in a similar manner to those illustrated in Fig. 2. The tandem valve assemblies 46 may be supported at and/or withdrawn as a unit with or from the sleeve 60. Suitably the body 70, the retainer 66 and a spacer 39 are formed of a 5 plastics material sold under the trade mark NORYL 7315 while the resilient valve seat 49 is formed of a synthetic rubber sold as KRATON rubber.

The diaphragm type valve assembly 38 has a diaphragm 52 adapted to be moved into or released from engagement with a weir 10 53 in the inlet passage 54 by operation of the valve by rotation of the valve handle 55. This embodiment also has the advantages of the Fig* 2 embodiment but it has the additional advantage that the operating handle 55 and its associated control stem 56 is separated from the flow passage 54 by the diaphragm 52 and thus 15 does not require independent sealing means for effective operation. Furthermore it may be removed and replaced against operational water pressure by forcing the bonnet assembly 47 onto engagement with rhe connector assembly 45 and secured by the studs 48. For this purpose the bonnet supports a rectangular 20 diaphragm and stud layout so that the bonnet assembly can not be replaced with the diaphragm 52 misaligned with the weir 53.

The configuration of the weir 53 and the diaphragm 52 is illustrated in FIGS 5 and 6. In addition, the bonnet assembly 47 includes a skirt 49 surrounding and enclosing the periphery of 25 the diaphragm 52. The bonnet assembly 47 further includes a berm 50 and a ridge 59 which press into the resilient material of the diaphragm 52. The skirt 49, berm 50 and ridge 59 serve to 2 3 9 G 1 0 14 substantially restrain the diaphragm 52 from lateral movement and/or creep* In reference to FIG. 8, an alternative adaptor 88 adapted for receiving annular fluid upflow and downflow and producing axial upflow and down flow in fluid isolation from the respective annular flows- The annular upflow is in the direction of arrows 89 and is delivered with substantially axial flow indicated by arrows 93„ Annular downflow is received from around the outer circumference 95 to the adaptor 88 as indicated by arrows 91. The annular downflow 91 is directed into an adaptor outlet passage for axial downflow indicated by arrows 94. The alternative adaptor 88 is provided with a by-pass aperture 97. The respective flows to and from the adaptor are separated by o-rings 98 and 99 disposed in suitable respective recesses in the lower face of the adaptor 88 and the sealing engagement of an apparatus such as the water meter assembly 17 against the upper face or inner surface 101 of the adaptor 88.

In the embodiment of the adaptor 88 shown, the annular upflow 89 is directed by a pair of ramps 65 and 66, one ramp 65 being sloping in the opposite direction when the adaptor 88 is viewd from the side. The ramps 65 and 66 preferably are sloped to horizintal at an angle of between 20° and 40°, preferably at an angle of 28°» It is considered that a water meter assembly incorporating a non-return valve assembly as illustrated in Fig. 7 will provide reduced head loss in the flow therethrough compared to other conventional forms of non-return valve assemblies and that in a <C>\ % % f-3 OCTI99H £ i ^ / water meter assembly utilizing an adaptor to adapt to adapt a water meter of the type illustrated in Fig. 5 decreases in head loss may be achieved by tilizing an adaptor as illustrated in Fig. 8. Thus it is considered that a very efficient water meter assembly may be provided by utilizing tandemly arranged nonreturn valves illustrated in Fig. 7, an adaptor assembly as illustrated in Fig. 8 and a water meter assembly of the type illustrated in Fig. 5.

A connector assembly as hereinbefore described may be installed on a branch for connecting a water supply service to a water main through a branch. The connector assembly may be in-ground or above the surface as desired and/or required. The connector assembly is easily maintained since the assembly is top servicable for disassembly and re-assembly. The handle of the diaphragm valva is preferably spaced from the bonnet assembly a distance suitable for the nuts to be started on the studs with the fingers of one hand whilst the bonnet is held against the supply water pressure with the palm of that hand. Furthermore, the handle of the diaphragm valve is shaped so as to accommodate a tool such as box or tube spanner to tighten the nuts onto the studs» It will be seen from the above that a non-return valve assembly may be formed economically as a unit which may be serviced by simple replacement as a module.

It will of course be realised that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to 2 3 9 n •; persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as claimed in the following claims2-

Claims (23)

WHAI^WE CLAIM IS: 17 239610

1. A connector assembly includings- a connector body having an inlet, an outlet and a flow passage extending between said inlet and said outlet; an access opening to said flow passage and remote from said inlet and outlet; support means for supporting a selected non-return valve assembly in said flow passage whereby the selected non-return valve assembly may isolate opposite end portions of the flow passage from each other; a removable closure means for closing the access opening adapted to support a flow measuring element, wherein said closure means is adapted to direct the flow in said flow passage through the flow measuring element, and wherein this closure means alone is adapted to retain the selected non-return valve assembly in the flow passage against the support means; and said access opening being so formed that the selected nonreturn valve assembly may be inserted for support in said support means or removed from said support means through said access opening, after removal of the removable closure means only.

2. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the removable closure means is an integral part of a flow measuring element. 2396 1 18

3. A connector assembly as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said connector body includes a valve seat and an associated valve mounting for a selectively operable valve assembly co-operable with said valve seat to selectively close or open said flow passage-

4. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said valve mounting and said access opening are disposed at a common side of said connector body*

5. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 4 and including a selectively operable valve assembly mounted in said valve mounting <,

6. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said selectively operable valve assembly is a diaphragm type valve assembly-

7. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said support means is a shoulder extending about the flow passage.

8. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein said shoulder is an annular shoulder disposed co-axially with said access opening* 239610

9. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said closure means includes adaptor means whereby the inflow to a measuring element supported thereby is directed to a central base opening of said measuring element and outflow from said measuring element is directed through said non-return valve assembly-

10. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein said adaptor is so formed as to minimise head loss in the flow therethrough.

11. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including a selected non-return valve assembly supported in the support means of the flow passage.

12. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 11 / wherein said non-return valve assembly comprises at least one poppet type valve having a valve member including a frusto-conical peripheral portion and a substantially flat inner barrier portion.

13. A connector assembly as claimed in either one of claims 11 or 12, wherein said non-return valve assembly includes a pair of non-return valves arranged in tandem. 239610

14. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the non-return valve assembly comprises at least one non-retum valve, each valve comprising:- a valve body having an inlet and an outlet and a flow passage extending therebetween; a resilient valve seat extending around the said passage circumference; a valve member supported by said body for reciprocal movement to and from said resilient valve seat; retaining means for retaining said resilient valve seat within said body,, and limiting means for limiting engagement of said valve member with said resilient valve seat*

15. A connector, assembly as claimed in claim. 14 wherein each valve of the non-return valve assembly further comprises biassing means for biassing said valve member towards engagement with said seat.

16. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein said biassing means is a coil spring arranged about a stem which supports said valve member for reciprocal movement to and from said seat.

17. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein said valve member includes a frusto-conical valve seat engaging peripheral portion and said limiting means is ) a collar disposed concentrically with said valve seat engageable with said peripheral portion.

18. A connector assembly as claimed in claim IV, wherein said valve member has a substantially flat inner barrier portion within said peripheral portion»

19. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 18'wherein each non-return valve is formed of plastics material and said retaining means is solvent welded to said body.

20. A connector assembly including:- a connector body having a threaded inlet, a threaded outlet and a flow passage extending between said threaded inlet and said threaded outlet? a threaded access opening to said flow passage and remote from said threaded inlet and said threaded outlet and adapted to sealably retain a removable closure means therein; said flow passage having a cylindrical portion arranged substantially co-axially with said access opening whereby a nonreturn valve assembly having an outer annular sealing member may be sealably engaged therein whereby the non-return valve assembly may isolate said threaded inlet from said threaded outlet; a removable closure means for closing the access opening adapted to support a flow measuring element, wherein said closure means is adapted to direct the flow in the flow passage through the flow measuring element, and wherein this closure means alone is adapted to retain the selected non-return valve assembly in the flow passage; and a valve seat in said flow passage and an associated valve mounting for mounting a selectively operable valve assembly on said connector body for co-operation with said valve seat to enable said flow passage to be selectively closed or opened. 23961 22

21. A connector assembly according to claim 1 substantially as herein described.

22. A connector assembly according to claim 20 substantially as herein described.

23. A connector assembly substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the drawings. HYDROTECH DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED By their attorneys BALDWIN* SON & CAREY