US2064769A

US2064769A - Valve

Info

Publication number: US2064769A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wayne B Thompson
Original assignee: SPRAY ENGINEERING CO
Current assignee: SPRAY ENGINEERING Co
Priority date: 1933-12-07
Filing date: 1933-12-07
Publication date: 1936-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1953-12-15

Description

Dec- 15, 1936- v w. B. THOMPSON v 2,064,769

,VALVE Filed Dec. 7, 1933 Hffirl Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VALVE Wayne. Thompson, Winchester,

to Spray Engineering Company,

Mass., assignor Somerville,

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to valves.

In the art of industrial coating or finishing, in which the coating or finishing material is discharged in an atomized condition from a spray device, such as an air brush or spray gun, an essential element is the pressure reducing valve which controls the pressure under which the compressed air is delivered to the spray device and/ or the receptacle in which the coating is stored and from which it is forced to the spray device. It is highly important that the pressure reducing valve deliver the compressed air under that pressure calculated beforehand to be the best for the particular conditions under which the coating or finishing operation is to be performed'. Considerable skill and experience are required to enable the supervisor to determine beforehand the most desirable air pressure to use. Often, after the supervisor has adjusted the pressure reducing valve in accordance with his superior judgment, the operative, actually performing the coating or finishing operation, will change the adjustment of the pressure reducing valve to suit himself and thus defeat the supervisors efforts to maintain efficiency.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide locking devices for preventing valves from being tampered with by an unauthorized person, but

these locking devices are impraeticable for use in I connection with a pressure reducing valve. Heretofore, these devices have comprised rotatable and stationary members associated With the valve regulating means. In one form, one of these members has had a single opening while the other has had a plurality of openings adapted to register with the single opening. With such a construction rotation of the rotatable member effected successive opening registrations, so that by inserting a locking device through the registered openings the rotatable member could not be moved and it was not possible to tamper with the adjustment of the valve. But this type of device is practicable only in cases where the adjustment is coarse and when the different positions of adjustment are few in number. If it is desired that the number of adjustment positions be increased, the size of both members must be correspondingly increased until they become relatively large in proportion to the apparatus with which they are associated'. Moreover, the number of positions in which the members can be locked together during a rotation of 360 can beno greater than the number of openings in one of the members, and therefore the amount of angular adjustment between successive opening registry positions cannot be less than As a variant of the above construction, it has been proposed' heretofore to provide both the rotatable member and the stationary member with a plurality of openings all of which are in registry, respectively, when any two are in registry. Such a construction is advantageous in that the locking means may be applied in any one of a plurality of positions, but the disadvantage still remains that throughout a rotation of 360 the number of different positions in which the members can be locked together can neverbemore than the number of apertures in one of the members. In addition, this typer of valve locking device offers the same objections as to size aswas pointed out in connection with the first type mentioned. The greater the number of adjustment positions desired, the more openings there must be andthe greater must be the size of the members which are locked together.

The principal object of the present invention is to produce a practicable valve lock.

To the accomplishment of this object a feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in a valve provided With a bonnet and a hand-Wheel, each provided with a plurality of openings, the hand-wheel openings being registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, and means for obtaining, during said angular adjustment, a plurality of different positions in which a bonnet opening and a hand-Wheel opening register, the number of which is greater than the number of openings in the hand-wheel, of means for locking the bonnet and hand-wheel in their positions of opening registry.

Broadly considered, the number of different positions in which a bonnet opening and a handwheel opening register may be a multiple of the number of openings in the hand-Wheel, or may merely exceed the hand-wheel openings numerically. Preferably, the number of different positions in which a bonnet opening and a hand- Wheel opening register is the square of the number of hand-Wheel openings. Such a construction is particularly adapted to a pressure reducing valve as the minimum amount of angular adjustment between successive positions of opening registry is sul where N is the number of openings in the handwheel. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention six hand-wheel openings are provided and consequentlythe amount of angular adjustment between successive positions of opening registry is 10. The present invention contemplates the use, if found necessary or desirable, of ay greater number than six hand-wheel openings, such for instance, as ten or twelve, thereby obtaining amounts of angular adjustments between successive positions of opening registry as small as 3 36 and 2 30', respectively.

Other features of the present invention reside in certain devices, combinations, and arrangements of parts fully set forth hereinafter. All the features are pointed out broadly and in detail in the appended claims, possessing advantages which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The illustrated embodiment of the present invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawing illustrating the best form of the invention at present known to the inventor, in which,

Figure 1 is a View in left side sectional elevation of the valve bonnet, with the padlock shown in full line;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation, partially in construction line to show underlying parts;

Fig. 3 is a view in front sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view in left side elevation Showing the bonnet, the hand-wheel and the padlock;

Fig. 5 is a view in sectional plan taken on the line 5 5, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing how the center lines of the bonnet openings may be plotted.

The present invention is shown, for purposes of illustration only, as being embodied in a pressure reducing valve, and is provided with a bonnet 8 (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) for holding a threaded stem 9 and for enclosing the regulating mechanism of the valve I0 (Fig. 5). The construction of the pressure reducing valve is well known and forms no part of this invention, so that the construction of the mechanism of the valve itself will not be referred to further herein except when necessary for purposes of disclosure of the present invention.

The bonnet 8 is conveniently bell-shaped and the belled end is externally threaded as shown at II so that it may be received by the casing I2 (Fig. 5) of the pressure reducing valve. The bonnet 8 is provided with a hexagonal shoulder I3 adjacent the. threading II to facilitate the application of a wrench thereto.

'I'he forward end of the bonnet 8 is provided with a frontal wall I4 having a central opening I5 through which the forward, unthreaded end I6 of the stem 9 projects. A circular flange I'I (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5) is formed integral with the wall I4 and extends back along the exterior of the bonnet 8 so as to be somewhat thicker than the wall I4. About the opening I5 the wall I4 is provided with a slight, smooth-faced boss I8.

Mounted upon the projecting end I6 of the stem 9 is a hand-wheel I9 (Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5) for regulating the adjustment of the pressure reducing valve. This hand-wheel is provided with a peripheral skirt 20 extending rearwardly so as to cover and be spaced from the periphery of the flange I'I (Figs. 1 and 5). The hand-wheel is also provided with a forwardly extending hub 2I adapted to fit over the projecting end IB of the stem 9 to which it is rigidly secured by means of a pin 22 in a well-known manner as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. The inner face 23 (Fig. 5) of the hand-wheel I 9 abuts the boss I8 on the bonnet wall I4. 'I'he exterior surface of the skirt 20 may be roughened or provided with ridges 24 (Fig. 2) to facilitate manipulation.

In order to hold the inner face 23 of the handwheel `I9 in abutment with the boss I8, the stem 9 is provided with a flange 25 (Figs. 1 and 5) which is slightly spaced from the inner surface of the frontal wall I4 when the hand-wheel I9 is in abutment with the boss I8. Interposed between the flange 25 and the frontal wall I4 is a soft washer 26 (Fig. 5) which minimizes wear.

The threaded portion of the stem 9 is received inside the bonnet 8 by an internally threaded collar 21 (Figs. l, 3 and 5) provided with a flange 28 and with a pair of oppositely disposed lugs 29 extending therefrom which fit in channels 3D formed in the inside wall surface of the bonnet. In abutment with the flange 28 is one end of a coiled spring 3| (Fig. 5), the other end of which abuts the head of a plunger 32 which presses against the diaphragm 33 of the pressure reducing valve. With this construction, which is well known, the lugs 29 prevent the rotation of the collar, with the result that when the hand-wheel I9 is rotated clockwise o-r counter clockwise the collar 21 is moved longitudinally to vary the tension of the spring 3l and the pressure exerted on the diaphragm 33 by the plunger 32.

In order that the hand-wheel I9 may be locked to the bonnet 8 to prevent adjustment of the pressure reducing valve by an unauthorized person, the flange I'I of the bonnet 8 is provided with a circular series of re-entrant peripheral openings 34, herein shown as six in number, and numbered I, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The handwheel I9 is provided with a circular series of internal openings 35, herein shown as six in number and numbered Ix, 2m, 3x, 4r, 5:1: and 6a.', respectively. Each of the hand-wheel openings 35 is registrable successively with the bonnet openings 34 during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360. With this construction when a hand-wheel opening registers with a bonnet opening, the hasp 36 of a padlock 31 may be inserted through the registered openings, (Figs. 1 and 4). When the padlock is locked, it cannot be removed from the hand- Wheel I9 and since the skirt 23 thereof extends over the periphery of the flange I'I, the hasp 36 cannot be withdrawn from the peripheral reentrant opening 34 in which it lies. Thus, the hand-wheel 2,9 cannot be rotated to change the adjustment of the pressure reducing valveafter the hand-wheel has been locked to the bonnet.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that if. when one of the six openings 35 in the hand-wheel I9 is registered with one of the six openings 34 in the bonnet 8, the other handwheel openings 35 registered with the other bonm net openings 34, respectively, there would be, during the angular adjustment of the handwheel throughout 360, but six different positions in which a hand-wheel opening could be made to register with a bonnet opening for locking purposes, and that the minimum amount of angular adjustment of the hand-wheel between successive positions of opening registry would be 60.

In order to increase the number of different positions in which a hand-wheel opening may be made to register with a bonnet opening and to decrease the minimum amount of angular adjustment between successive positions of opening registry, the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and the hand-wheel, respectively, are such that only one hand-wheel opening and only one bonnet opening may register simultaneously.

As shown in Fig. 2 the centers of the handwheel openings 35 are spaced equally apart by `'arcs of60 and are spaced., equally distant from the axis of rotation of the hand-wheel. The centers of the bonnet openings are spaced also equally distant from the axis of rotation of the hand-wheel, but successive pairs of these bonnet openings are not spaced apart by equal arcs.

The position of the bonnet open-ing centers may be plotted or may be determined empirically. To plot the bonnet openings the shape of the front end of the flange I1 may be delineated on p-aper. The horizontal center line A--B (Fig. 6) is then drawn to represent the parting line of the pattern employed in casting the bonnet 8. The line C--D is then drawn normal tothe center line A-B, the lines intersectingV at a point representing the axis of rotation of the handwheel.

From this axis, a circle 39, having. a radius equal to the distance from the center of a hand. wheel opening to said axis, is drawn. The center of bonnet opening No. 1 is determined by crossing the circumference of the circle 39 with a radius f'from the axis or center of thel circle at a point from the point where the line C-D crosses the circumference of the circle 39. As shown in Fig. 6 the radius 40 is extended and numbered I. Short portions of similar extended radial lines may then be drawn apart in the space surrounding the periphery of the bonnet 8. As shown in Fig. 6 partial radial lines are numbered 2 to 36, both inclusive, and the corresponding portion of the extended radius 40 is numbered I. In effect, these radial lines divide the periphery of the bonnet fiange I1 into 36 10 arcs.

To determine the centers of bonnet openings No. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, radial lines 5, I5, 20, 24 and 34 are extended, in a manner similar to the radius '40, and these extended lines are numbered, re-

spectively, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The bonnet openings numbered I, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lare then formed in any manner found desirablev and expedient as indicated in Fig. 6.

With this construction successive pairs of the bonnet openings are spaced apart diierentially, -a 40 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. I and 2, a 100 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. 2 and 3, a 50 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. 3 and 4, a 40 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. 4 and 5, a 100 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. 5 and 6, and a 30 arc separating the bonnet opening centers Nos. 6 and I.

From an inspection of Fig. 2 it appears that during the angular adjustment of the hand-wheel opening throughout 360 each hand-wheel opening registers successively with the bonnet, but that, when one hand-wheel opening is registered with one of the bonnet openings, all of the other hand-Wheel openings and bonnet openings are out of registry.

It is thus apparent that during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360 the hand-wheel will occupy thirty-six different positions of adjustment in each of which a hand-Wheel opening will register With a bonnet opening.

As has been explained heretofore, rotation of the hand-wheel I9 causes the tensioning collar 21 to move so as to Vary the tension of the spring 3l. If the threading on the stem 9 is coarse, a rotation of the hand-wheel I9 throughout 360 will cause a relatively large movement of the collar 21. Stated in another way, the finer the threading on the stem 9, the shorter will be the movement of the collar 21 during a rotation of the hand-wheel t9 throughout 360. This, of course, opens up the possibilities of a micrometric adjustment of' the movement of the collar 21, since the distance the collar 21 moves when the hand-Wheel I9.v is; only partially rotated is but a fraction of the distance moved, however small, when the hand-wheel is given one complete revelution.

Experiencer has demonstrated that a suiciently 'ne micrometric'adjustment can be secured when the hand-wheel is rotated arcuate distances of 10. Statedv in another way, the difference between a given position of the hand-wheel I9 relative to the bonnet 8 and a. position resulting vfrom a rotation of the wheel in either direction through 10 is suicient for a minimum variation in the adjustment of the valve I6. Accordingly, the

openings

34 and 35 are positioned on the bonnet and hand-Wheel, respectively, inthe manner explained heretofore so that, starting from a position where a hand-wheel opening regist-ers with a bonnet opening and rotating the hand-wheel throughout 360 in either direction, a hand-wheel opening will register with a bonnet opening upon each angular adjustment of 10. With this mode of operation it will be seen that the successive registry of bonnet and hand-wheel openings causes equal amounts of valve adjustment.

This may be demonstrated by reference to the following chart. Starting with the position of opening registry illustrated in Fig. 2 in which hand-Wheel opening No. 4 registers with bonnet opening No. 4x, the chart showsv the position of opening registry for each 10 angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout its 360 rotation in both a clockwise and a counter-clockwise direetion.

Clockwise Counterclockwise Bonnet opening Hand-wheel openingl Bonnet opening Since the hasp 36 of the padlock 3l' may be inserted through any combination of registered openings, it is apparentthat any 10 micrometric angular adjustment of the valve or multiple thereof may be maintained free from tampering.

The provision of spacing the bonnet openings differentially or irregularly and of spacing the hand-wheel openings regularly provides that the hand-wheel, during one revolution, may be locked in a maximum number of different positionsof adjustment with a minimum number of openings to receive the lock. If the hand-wheel I9 had but one opening to register successively with the six bonnet openings, it is clear that only six different positions of adjustment would be possible with one revolution of the-hand-wheel. If the six bonnet openings were equally spaced apart there would likewise be only six positions of adjustment with one revolution of the hand-wheel i9, since every time one hand-wheel opening and one bonnet opening registered, all the other handwheel and bonnet openings would be in registry, respectively.v But by having the hand-wheel openings and bonnet openings arranged as disclosed, there occur, during only one revolution of the hand-wheel I9, not six, but thirty-six entirely different opening registrations. The number of different opening registry positions is greater than the number of hand-wheel openings. Actually the number of different opening registry positions is the square of the number of handwheel openings.

This multiplicity of adjustments is of great practical importance. If a hand-wheel has but one opening, the bonnet flange must have thirtysix openings to produce the results achieved by the illustrated embodiment of the present invention. But this means that the bonnet flange and the hand-wheel would have to be much larger than those disclosed herein. TheA same result follows where a plurality of hand-wheel openings 4always register with a plurality of bonnet openings because to obtain thirty-six positions of adjustment the hand-wheel and the bonnet flange would have to be provided with thirtysix openings each. This, too, would require a relatively large wheel and bonnet flange. The present invention avoids this large size in regulating wheels and provides that the hand-wheel I9 may be smaller than the palm of the hand and yet achieve the results given by much larger constructions; As a consequence, when a pressure reducing valve, or any other type of valve, forms but a part of the apparatus, the sizes of the regulating wheel I9 and bonnet ange Il are not out of all proportion to the size of the apparatus regulated, and the whole may be as compact as the circumstances of use will allow.

As a matter of construction, certain practical matters arise. The bonnet flange l has been shown as provided with peripheral re-entrant openings, while the hand-wheel I9 has been shown as provided with internal openings. Of course, this arrangement might be reversed or the bonnet flange and hand-wheel might both have internal openings. But as a practical matter the bonnet 3 is conveniently a casting, and it is easier to form peripheral re-entrant openings therein than internal openings. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 1, the padlock 3l is applied to the device by drawing the free end of the hasp 36 towards the operative, that is, by inserting the hasp from the rear. Wi n this mode of application the peripheral re-entrant openings form a better passageway for the hasp than internal openings would form.

As stated above, the present invention is shown as embodied in a pressure reducing valve only for purposes of illustration. It use is obviously not conned to this type of valve. Moreover, the choice of six bonnet openings and six hand-wheel openings has been made only for purposes of illustration and because the thirty-six positions of adjustment in which the hand-wheel I9 may be locked are well suited for use with the illustrated valve. It will be apparent that the number of the regularly spaced hand-wheel openings and the number and spacing of the irregularly spaced bonnet openings may be varied without departing from the scope of the actual invention. Accordingly. nothing herein explained is to be interpreted as limiting the Various features of the present invention in the scope of its application to use in connection with the particular mechanisrn, or the particular mode of operation, or both, selected for purposes of explanation and illustration. While the particulars of construction herein set forth are well suited to one structural form of the invention and to the use to which it is put, it is not limited to this use, nor to these details of construction, nor to the conjoint use of all its features, nor is it to be understood that these particulars are essential since they may be modied within the skill of the artisan without departing from the true scope of the actual invention, characterizing features of which are set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed as new, is:

l. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, and a hand-wheel provided with a plurality of openings, each of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, and means for obtaining, during said angular adjustment, a plurality of dierent positions, in which a bonnet opening and a hand-wheel opening register, the number of which is the square of the number of openings in the hand-wheel, of means for locking the bonnet and the hand-wheel in their positions of opening registry.

2. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, and a handwheel provided with a plurality of openings, each of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, and means for obtaining, during said angular adjustment, a plurality of different successive positions, in which a bonnet opening and a hand-wheel opening register, the minimum amount of angular adjustment between successive positions of opening registry being where N is the number of openings in the handwheel, of means for locking the bonnet and handwheel in their positions of opening registry.

3. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, successive pairs of which are spaced irregularly, and a handwhe-el, provided with a plurality of openings, successive pairs of which are spaced regularly, each opening of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and the hand-wheel, respectively, being such that only one hand-wheel opening and only one bonnet opening may register simultaneously and such that the successive registry of bonnet and handwheel openings causes equal amounts of valve adjustment, of means for locking the bonnet and fi l.

the hand-wheel in any position of opening registry.

4. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a hand-wheel provided with an equal number of openings, each hand-wheel opening being registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, and means for registering only one bonnet opening and only one hand-wheel opening simultaneously, of means for locking the bonnet and the hand-wheel in their positions of opening registry.

5. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, a handwheel provided with an equal plurality of openings, each of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, and means for obtaining, during said angular adjustment, a plurality of different positions in which a bonnet opening and a hand-wheel lopening register, the number of which is greater than the number of openings in the hand-wheel, of means for locking the bonnet and hand-wheel in their positions of opening registry.

6. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, a handwheel, provided with an equal plurality of openings, each of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and hand-wheel, respectively, being such that only one hand-wheel opening and one bonnet opening may register simultaneously, of means for locking the bonnet and hand-wheel in any position of opening registry.

7. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a single circular series of openings, and a hand-wheel, provided with a single circular series of openings, each opening of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the handwheel throughout 360, the openings in the bonnet being equal in number to the openings in the hand-wheel and the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and hand-wheel, respectively, being such that only one hand-wheel opening and one bonnet opening may register simultaneously, of means for locking the bonnet and hand-wheel in any position of opening registry.

8. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a single circular series of openings, and a hand-wheel, provided with a single circular series of openings, each opening of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the handwheel throughout 360, the spacing between the plurality of openings, and av openings in the bonnet and hand-wheel, respectively, being such that only one hand-wheel opening and one bonnet opening may register simultaneously and such that the successive registry of bonnet and handV wheel openings, while causing equal amounts of valve adjustment, occurs in an order other than the consecutive order of the hand-wheel openings, of means for llocking the bonnet and the hand-wheel in any position of opening registry.

9. In a valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a single circular series of openings, and a hand-wheel, provided with a single circular series of openings, each opening of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, the bonnet openings being equal in number to the hand-wheel openings and the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and hand-wheel. respectively, being such that only one hand-wheel opening and one bonnet opening may register simultaneously and such that the successive registry of bonnet and hand-wheel openings occurs in an order other than the consecutive order of the hand-wheel openings, of means for locking the bonnet and the hand-wheel in any position of opening registry.

10. In a pressure reducing valve, the combination with a bonnet, provided with a plurality of openings, a hand-wheel, provided with a plurality of openings, each of which is registrable successively with the bonnet openings during an angular adjustment of the hand-wheel throughout 360, a diaphragm, and means responsive to the angular adjustment of the hand-wheel for adjusting the pressure on the diaphragm, the spacing between the openings in the bonnet and the hand-wheel, respectively, being such that only one bonnet opening and one hand-wheel opening may register simultaneously and such that the successive registry of bonnet and handwheel openings causes equal amounts of adjustment of the pressure on the diaphragm, of means for locking the bonnet and the hand-wheel in any position of opening registry,

11. In a device of the character described, the combination with a valve casing member and a valve control member requiring relative movement for valve operation, of a pair of ange elements nonrotatably applied to the respective members and having apertures at like radii but at different circumferential spacing in the respective members, whereby said apertures may successively be brought into registration in pairs to receive a lock on the occurrence of relatively slight angular movement between said members.

WAYNE B. THOMPSON.