US1460996A - Flushing valve - Google Patents

Flushing valve Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US1460996A
US1460996A US466565A US46656521A US1460996A US 1460996 A US1460996 A US 1460996A US 466565 A US466565 A US 466565A US 46656521 A US46656521 A US 46656521A US 1460996 A US1460996 A US 1460996A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
valve
piston
reservoir
cylinder
outlet
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US466565A
Inventor
White William Sears
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to US466565A priority Critical patent/US1460996A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US1460996A publication Critical patent/US1460996A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E03WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
    • E03DWATER-CLOSETS OR URINALS WITH FLUSHING DEVICES; FLUSHING VALVES THEREFOR
    • E03D3/00Flushing devices operated by pressure of the water supply system flushing valves not connected to the water-supply main, also if air is blown in the water seal for a quick flushing
    • E03D3/02Self-closing flushing valves
    • E03D3/04Self-closing flushing valves with piston valve and pressure chamber for retarding the valve-closing movement

Definitions

  • the object of the present-invention is to 0 provide a valve improved in various particulars more especially with respect to the form of the; piston valve which in accord-.
  • a piston and a pendent valve movable vertically relatively to the piston to function in a particular manner thatwill clearly ap pear together with other important features as the description proceeds, one ofthe important results obtained being that the flow of flushing water will not cause the valve to bind.
  • Figure 1 is a vertical section ofa flushing valve embodying my present invention
  • Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22, Figure 1; s
  • Figure 3 is a detail in vertical section on the line 3-3, Figure 2;
  • Figure 4 isa horizontal line 44, Figure 1;
  • Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cylinder. i
  • a reservoir 10 in which is fitted a cylinder 11, said reservoir having an inlet 12 to which a supply pipe 13 is connected and having an outlet 14below theinlet.
  • a valve'seat 15 In the outlet passage is a valve'seat 15 on which a vertically movable valve 16 is adapted toseat, said valve being pendent from a trunk piston 17 operating in the cylinder 11.
  • piston 17 in the illustrated form is as fol- -ows':
  • a nut 19 within the piston 17 engages the threaded upper end of an auxiliary valve 18 clamping the bottom of the piston between said nut and shoulder 20 on the valve 18.
  • a further annular shoulder 21 is formed on valve 18 receiving a flanged nut 22 which en gages an externally threaded ring 23 supported by posts 24 rigid with the valve 16.
  • On the valve 16 is a seat 25 for the lower end of the valve 18,said seat being at'the upper end of a central port 26 in the valve 16 from which port lateral ports 26 emanate to the periphery ofvalve 16.
  • the cylinder 11 has an annular flange 27 seating on an annular ledge 28 formed in that the valve 32 may not tightly close the passage 31 but may allow a predetermined flow, the valve 32 has a. slot 33 and a trans verse pin 34 passes through said slot and through the tubular lower end 35 of a stem 36, the upper end of which is accommodated in a screw plug 37 closing the internally threaded neck 38 on the cap 30.
  • On the stem 36 is an externally threaded flange 39 engaging the internal threads of neck 38.
  • the stem may be raised or lowered to cause the valve 32 to hang pendent in more or'less close relation to its seat on the bottom of the reservoir 29 at the top of the passage 31.
  • the auxiliary reservoir 29 is in communication through lateral openings 40 with the space in the reservoir 10 between the walls of the reservoir and the cylinder 11, from which. space leads a passage 41 to side chamber 42 having a' plug 43 formed with a tubular lower end in which a solid ball valve 45 may rise.
  • the ball valve 45 is adapted to seat on the upper end of a vertical passage 46 leading from'the chamber 42.
  • a rock shaft 47 on which is hung a flap or butter-fly valve 48, said shaft turning at one end in a bearingg49 within the reservoir 10 and having a bear ing 50 at its other end in the casing of the reservoir, said casing having a transverse llO ' said sleeve.
  • said handle maybe caused to slidetheplun.
  • ' is an arm 61 having'a flange 62 lying against hole through which the shaft is inserted, the hole being closed by a screw plug-51.
  • On the valve t8 is a protuberance 52 against which the end of a plunger53 is adapted to contact, said plunger operating in a lateral cylinder 50 tapped into a side of thetresere voir 10.
  • the plunger 53 has a head 55 at its outer end and a spring 56 is coiled insaid cylinder about a flanged rubber sleeve 57 on the plunger-53, the'inner end ,ofrthe spring bearing-against a washer'58 lying against the adjacent flange ofsleeve 57 and the outer.
  • a handle60 extends into the: outer end Of the icylinderba and lies-against. the. plunger head 55 so that a. movement of;
  • the lower end of the cylinder 11 is bevelled and the bevelled portion is formed withan annular series of flutes.
  • the body otthe valve at the interior adjacent to the inner end of the-inlet 12 is formed flaring as at 12 directly beneath. the tapered and fluted lower end of the cylinder. lVater will bedirected from the inlet 12 separately into the flutes 11 downward 1y to and through the flared portion 12 to the outlet, the purpose being to prevent side pressure of the water which when per- V mitted to flow in a solid body may sometimes cause flow at the opposite side of inlet 12 to eddy against the bottom of the piston 17, thereby reducing the pulling force of the suction created by the outflowing water.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a piston in the reservoir above the inlet, a valve pendent from the piston and movable relatively thereto and adapted to close said outlet, said alve having a passage therethrough, and an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by a movement of the piston toward the first-mentioned valve.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a valve con trolling communication between the inlet and outlet, a valved passage through said valve, and manually movable means adapted to be disposed across the outlet beneath the valve to cause back pressure by the water flowing from the inlet through said valve passage.
  • A. flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a. piston in the reservoir above the inlet, a valve pendent from the piston and movable relatively thereto and adapted to close said outlet, said valve having a passage therethrough, and an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by a movement of the piston toward the first-mentioned valve; together with a valve adapted to vent the reservoir above the piston, and means to open the last-mentioned valve with the raising of said piston.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a piston in said reservoir above the inlet, a valve controlling the outlet, said valve having a passage therethrough, an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by the descent of the piston after the first-mentioned valve has seated.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and ans outlet, a vertically movable piston in said reservoir above the inlet, a valve controlling said outlet and atfording passage through said valve when seated to permit water to flow through the valve to the outlet, said valve being suspended from said piston and subject to the suction of the water flowing from the inlet to the outlet when said valve is raised for drawing down the valve and piston, and means to close said passage in the valve with the descent of the piston.
  • a flushing'valve including a main reservoir having an inlet and an outlet,'a separate cylinder accommodated in said reservoir and seating on a member appurtenant thereto, an auxiliary reservoir on the cylinder and serving to hold the latter to its seat, a cap on the main reservoir above said auxiliary reservoir, a piston in said cylinder, and a valve carried by said piston and controlling said outlet.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder being bevelled at its lower edge, the body of the valve at the interior below said bevelled edge, flaring upwardly and said bevelled edge terminating adjacent to the plane of and radially inward of said flaring portion of the body to determine the direction of the flushing water toward the outlet and to pre vent side pressure.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder having an annular series of flutes at the lower end thereof.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder having an annular series 01 flutes at the lower end thereof, there being a flared portion within the body directly below the flutes of the cylinder.
  • a flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder being bevelled at its lower edge, said bevelled portion of the cylinder bein fluted.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
  • Lift Valve (AREA)

Description

M 3, 192a. 114M996 W. 8. WHITE FLUSHING VALVE Filed May 3, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet MH/E/VTUR J lA/ILLIHM SEAPS WHITE July 3, 1923. mw w W. S. WHITE 'FLUSHING VALVE Filed May 5, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNl/E/VTOR WILL/AM Sexes WHITE efaww Morin/Em Patented July 3, 1923.
UNITED? STATES WILLIAM SEARS WHITE, OF DENVER, COLORADO.
e 7 rnusnnve VALVE.
Application filed May 3,
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that I, VVILLIAM SEARS WHITE, a citizen otthe United States, and a resident of Denver, in the county of Denverand Stateof Colorado, have invented a new 'and Improved Flushing Valve, of which the following is a description. My invention relates to flushing valves and more particularly is designed as an improve- 1 ment on aflushing valve forming the sub jectmatter ofPatent No. 1,311,365 granted tome July 29, 1919." a The patented flushing valvereferred to in cludes a valve in the form of 'atrunk piston and controlling'the passageofwater from the inlet to the outlet} Included also, is an auxiliary valve for venting a chamber above the piston. y Y
The object of the present-invention is to 0 provide a valve improved in various particulars more especially with respect to the form of the; piston valve which in accord-.
ance with the present invention comprises a piston and a pendent valve movable vertically; relatively to the piston to function in a particular manner thatwill clearly ap pear together with other important features as the description proceeds, one ofthe important results obtained being that the flow of flushing water will not cause the valve to bind. Reference'is-to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, it being understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one example of the invention.
Figure 1, is a vertical section ofa flushing valve embodying my present invention; Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22, Figure 1; s
Figure 3 is a detail in vertical section on the line 3-3, Figure 2;,
Figure 4 isa horizontal line 44, Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cylinder. i
- In the illustrated form of the invention a reservoir 10 in which is fitted a cylinder 11, said reservoir having an inlet 12 to which a supply pipe 13 is connected and having an outlet 14below theinlet. In the outlet passage is a valve'seat 15 on which a vertically movable valve 16 is adapted toseat, said valve being pendent from a trunk piston 17 operating in the cylinder 11.
section on the i The Co n ction b t een "the val e '16 and 1921. Serial No. 466,565.
piston 17 in the illustrated form is as fol- -ows': A nut 19 within the piston 17 engages the threaded upper end of an auxiliary valve 18 clamping the bottom of the piston between said nut and shoulder 20 on the valve 18. A further annular shoulder 21 is formed on valve 18 receiving a flanged nut 22 which en gages an externally threaded ring 23 supported by posts 24 rigid with the valve 16. On the valve 16 is a seat 25 for the lower end of the valve 18,said seat being at'the upper end of a central port 26 in the valve 16 from which port lateral ports 26 emanate to the periphery ofvalve 16. The cylinder 11 has an annular flange 27 seating on an annular ledge 28 formed in that the valve 32 may not tightly close the passage 31 but may allow a predetermined flow, the valve 32 has a. slot 33 and a trans verse pin 34 passes through said slot and through the tubular lower end 35 of a stem 36, the upper end of which is accommodated in a screw plug 37 closing the internally threaded neck 38 on the cap 30. On the stem 36 is an externally threaded flange 39 engaging the internal threads of neck 38.
Thereby said stem may be raised or lowered to cause the valve 32 to hang pendent in more or'less close relation to its seat on the bottom of the reservoir 29 at the top of the passage 31. The auxiliary reservoir 29 is in communication through lateral openings 40 with the space in the reservoir 10 between the walls of the reservoir and the cylinder 11, from which. space leads a passage 41 to side chamber 42 having a' plug 43 formed with a tubular lower end in which a solid ball valve 45 may rise. Y
The ball valve 45 is adapted to seat on the upper end of a vertical passage 46 leading from'the chamber 42. In the reservoir 10 below the valve 16 is a rock shaft 47 on which is hung a flap or butter-fly valve 48, said shaft turning at one end in a bearingg49 within the reservoir 10 and having a bear ing 50 at its other end in the casing of the reservoir, said casing having a transverse llO ' said sleeve.
said handle maybe caused to slidetheplun.
' is an arm 61 having'a flange 62 lying against hole through which the shaft is inserted, the hole being closed by a screw plug-51., On the valve t8is a protuberance 52 against which the end of a plunger53 is adapted to contact, said plunger operating in a lateral cylinder 50 tapped into a side of thetresere voir 10. The plunger 53 has a head 55 at its outer end and a spring 56 is coiled insaid cylinder about a flanged rubber sleeve 57 on the plunger-53, the'inner end ,ofrthe spring bearing-against a washer'58 lying against the adjacent flange ofsleeve 57 and the outer. end of the springubea ringagainst a washer 59 lying against-the outer flange of. A handle60 extends into the: outer end Of the icylinderba and lies-against. the. plunger head 55 so that a. movement of;
ger against the contactmember 52 and will'rockthevalve i8to a horizontal posi-- tionin theloutlet 1 1 directly. beneath the valve: 16. The spring 56 will restore the parts after-.- operation bythehandle 60. Rigid with the valve 18 and extending laterally therefrom the bearing 59 to guide the valve 18m its movements, said arm 61 having also a cam 63 adapted with the swingingoil the valve 48 and arm 61 on the shaft -17 as an'axisto bear against the lower end of a verticalv plunger 6 1 having guided movement in. brackets 65 on the reservoir 10 at the .interior, saidplunger 64: acting against ball valve 15 to unseat the latter.-
It will be'observed that the lower end of the cylinder 11 is bevelled and the bevelled portion is formed withan annular series of flutes. The body otthe valve at the interior adjacent to the inner end of the-inlet 12 is formed flaring as at 12 directly beneath. the tapered and fluted lower end of the cylinder. lVater will bedirected from the inlet 12 separately into the flutes 11 downward 1y to and through the flared portion 12 to the outlet, the purpose being to prevent side pressure of the water which when per- V mitted to flow in a solid body may sometimes cause flow at the opposite side of inlet 12 to eddy against the bottom of the piston 17, thereby reducing the pulling force of the suction created by the outflowing water.
WVith the above described construction when the handle 60 is moved, the shaft 61 and cam 63 areswung through an arc with V the shaft 17 as an axis, said cam engaging the plunger 64: and unseating the-valve a5, thereby venting the auxiliary reservoir 29. The. valve 18 will be positioned-across the outlet beneath the valve 16 and cause back pressure so that the waterwill back up cans-1.- ingthe piston" 17 andvalve 16 to rise. ,Any. unduelateral' pressure of the flushing water escapingfrom theinlet 12totheloutlet 1a the passage26, the wateri ti ally so ,ese
endof the valve 18 leaving an opening which v eventually is closedby descent of piston 17 and valve 18 after the seating of the valve 16.
.The port 26 and passages .QG iperm it-ithe; water .when first flowing to pass-through the valve and :into, theyoutlet ,ltabove the" :valve 48-.to produce a back,1prcssurel' tweenthe valve. 4E8 andthe valve 116 andseat;
15,;when the valve 18 is raised-and before;
the valve 16 rises. The..provision for? they;
flow of water-between ethevalves- 18 andrlfi also is for. the r-pu-rposeof not allowing-"the.
the main valve seats, a limited: amount i0f- I water being permitted toescape while the wateris backing up around-the pistonand into the cylinder 11 and; auxiliary reservoir: I
:29 to force down piston 17 I and valve 18,
the final stopping of the flow takingzplace' T by closing the small area at the valve; seat- 25 instead of closing a large area. The pisf ton 17 does notdescendi' across the inlet 12,
the object being: to keep-the; outer surface of the complete piston flangedagainst then inner wallsjof the cylinder 11, so ,that'rust a. will-not have a chance to accumulate'ojn. the:
outersuriace ofthe piston whichmighhbe the case ,were the: piston allowed to :projectw:
below the cylinder 11. The water outflowr lilll ing between the tapered and fiutedelower endv oat the cylinderll vand the fiared portion 12 is directed downwardly to flow over the seat 12 and below and awayiirom theivalve.
16 and piston 17, the downward flow ofthe water causing a suction onnvalve 16 and piston 17 which effectively draws these downward causing them-to approach a closed 1 small. water-by-pass or other expedient to lVith the downward: suction on. the
position during the :early, stages-10f their-- .descent, thereby avoidlng the necessity ofa ile piston there is a vacuum PXOClUOGClQEtbOVG-thG bysthe valve 32 space above the choking in 1 said is insured abovepassageso that-the seating-oi the parts-wand stoppage of thee-flow 1s 1101361658:OIWBSSBH'I:
A. transverse hole 1.67 Qis formed in t-henl cylinder 11 and it factors :in -;regulatingithe.
descent of the pistons-17 -an,d therefore legi V latingthe period oftflushing' since the. downwill tilt the valve '16. instead.otcausingthe ,Ward 11103 681611 5 i't P S OHVWlllibBiG IBJ piston 17 to bindiincthe. cylinderll. 1 By. ,paratively slow lllltlly'tllfijphol eiifi z lSjllII j covered, breaking the vacuum above the piston.
I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a. practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same :an be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Having thus described my invention, I claim:
1. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a piston in the reservoir above the inlet, a valve pendent from the piston and movable relatively thereto and adapted to close said outlet, said alve having a passage therethrough, and an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by a movement of the piston toward the first-mentioned valve.
2. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a valve con trolling communication between the inlet and outlet, a valved passage through said valve, and manually movable means adapted to be disposed across the outlet beneath the valve to cause back pressure by the water flowing from the inlet through said valve passage.
3. A. flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a. piston in the reservoir above the inlet, a valve pendent from the piston and movable relatively thereto and adapted to close said outlet, said valve having a passage therethrough, and an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by a movement of the piston toward the first-mentioned valve; together with a valve adapted to vent the reservoir above the piston, and means to open the last-mentioned valve with the raising of said piston.
at. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a piston in said reservoir above the inlet, a valve controlling the outlet, said valve having a passage therethrough, an auxiliary valve carried by the piston and adapted to close said passage by the descent of the piston after the first-mentioned valve has seated.
5. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and ans outlet, a vertically movable piston in said reservoir above the inlet, a valve controlling said outlet and atfording passage through said valve when seated to permit water to flow through the valve to the outlet, said valve being suspended from said piston and subject to the suction of the water flowing from the inlet to the outlet when said valve is raised for drawing down the valve and piston, and means to close said passage in the valve with the descent of the piston.
6. A flushing'valve including a main reservoir having an inlet and an outlet,'a separate cylinder accommodated in said reservoir and seating on a member appurtenant thereto, an auxiliary reservoir on the cylinder and serving to hold the latter to its seat, a cap on the main reservoir above said auxiliary reservoir, a piston in said cylinder, and a valve carried by said piston and controlling said outlet.
7. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder being bevelled at its lower edge, the body of the valve at the interior below said bevelled edge, flaring upwardly and said bevelled edge terminating adjacent to the plane of and radially inward of said flaring portion of the body to determine the direction of the flushing water toward the outlet and to pre vent side pressure.
8. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder having an annular series of flutes at the lower end thereof.
9. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder having an annular series 01 flutes at the lower end thereof, there being a flared portion within the body directly below the flutes of the cylinder.
10. A flushing valve including a reservoir having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder in said reservoir, the lower portion of said cylinder being presented at said inlet and there being a space below the cylinder for the flow of water to the outlet, said cylinder being bevelled at its lower edge, said bevelled portion of the cylinder bein fluted.
WVILLIAM EEIARS WHITE.
US466565A 1921-05-03 1921-05-03 Flushing valve Expired - Lifetime US1460996A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US466565A US1460996A (en) 1921-05-03 1921-05-03 Flushing valve

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US466565A US1460996A (en) 1921-05-03 1921-05-03 Flushing valve

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US1460996A true US1460996A (en) 1923-07-03

Family

ID=23852245

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US466565A Expired - Lifetime US1460996A (en) 1921-05-03 1921-05-03 Flushing valve

Country Status (1)

Country Link
US (1) US1460996A (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2624365A (en) * 1948-11-18 1953-01-06 Cardox Corp Pilot controlled valve for fire extinguishing systems
US2674230A (en) * 1950-06-27 1954-04-06 Green John Chrysostom Cedrie Automatic hydraulic control for molding presses and the like

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2624365A (en) * 1948-11-18 1953-01-06 Cardox Corp Pilot controlled valve for fire extinguishing systems
US2674230A (en) * 1950-06-27 1954-04-06 Green John Chrysostom Cedrie Automatic hydraulic control for molding presses and the like

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US2213753A (en) Valve
US1248650A (en) Automatic valve.
US1460996A (en) Flushing valve
US1488799A (en) Valve
US1722155A (en) Flush valve
US1474472A (en) Water-flushing device
US2069364A (en) Valve
US1322076A (en) Abeam w
US977723A (en) Valve mechanism.
US1494786A (en) Ball valve
US738026A (en) Hopper-closet valve.
US1483392A (en) Automatic pressure valve for flushing tanks
US1221178A (en) Valve.
US1714591A (en) Flush valve
US1132795A (en) Safety appliance for steam-engines.
US1214664A (en) Flushing-valve.
US2230806A (en) Ball cock valve
US1303472A (en) Frost proof valve mechanism
US857896A (en) Flushing-valve.
US1505650A (en) Valve
US675635A (en) Self-closing faucet.
US1228653A (en) Flushing device.
US1346289A (en) Valve
US1534877A (en) Flushing apparatus
US1486291A (en) Valve device