US2472933A - Vacuum breaking and dump valve - Google Patents

Description

= June 14, 1949 D. M. ANDERSON 2,472,933 VACUUM BREAKING AND DUMP VALVE Filed Oct. 22, 1945 ZSheet's-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. j? flw/m/r-M ANDBQSO/V 3 BY v June 14, 1949.

D. M. ANDERSQN' .VACUUM BREAKING AND DUMP VALVE Filed/001.. 22. 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mug/me flw/a rM. filvoms'o/v Patented June 14, 1949 U N ITED S TATES 2,472,933

' VACUUM? BREAKING AND-DUMP VALVE ,DwightM. Anderson, SouthEuclid, .Ohio Application October 22, L945,-Serial=N:- 623,833

(CIJZWQSQ) Claims. 1 The invention relates to ffiuid-valve-structures, :.and: more particularly 'to' valve t structures-momcprising a combined vacuum break and. dump .valve: assembly.

wThewinvention will be 'Lierein described:in relaution to..the behavior of .a water pressure distribut- --ing system serving a building or the-like.

It is well known to: those skilled in thezpart that when there is a failure of pressure or a sub- "stantial .drop in pressure in :the mains serving;

a. building, and particularly a building of substantial height, the recession of water in'the 'pipes produces a partial vacuum which may result in several undesirable effects, For example, there may be a buckling or partial collapse of :"thin walled piping. More usually,. at outlets 'Where the water happens to be running at the :moment of failure of pressure, such as in wash bowls, toilet bowls, or similar appliances, there is a strong suction which reverses the. fiuidiflow,

and'may draw contaminated water back into the inlet piping or mains. This is particularly likely when a flexible hose connection, attached toian open faucet has its free end lying at the bottom of a wash bowl, bath tub, or the like.

For these and other reasons sanitary codes usually require that the water system serving buildings be provided with a vacuum break valve of some sort to vent the system to atmosphere on pressure failure.

In addition to the precautions above noted, it 1 is desirable that means be provided for discharg- "ing the water in the building supply piping toa "dump-or sewer outlet at the time of pressure failure, so as to prevent all possibility of contami- .nation and leave the system free and clean'so that it may be in readiness for the renewal of =-pressure.

An object of the invention, therefore, is the provision of a novel and improved valve structure which automatically vents to atmosphere when A there is a failure or substantialdrop of pressure sin the mains, while simultaneously providing outlet means for permitting the water in the building to drain to a sewer or otherwise.

Another object of the invention is to provide a --vacuum break valve assembly comprising-means to prevent flooding of the air vent in the vacuum break valve, and leakage out of the air vent valve,

by water from the building system even .when the vacuum break valve is, disposedon, one. of the lower floor levels.

While the invention .willbe specifically described as adapted to the control of the water system for a building,.it is apparent that the advantages of the invention may be achievedrin ,..fluid.'pressure distributingsystems of other types, suitable modificationsbeing apparentw-to llthose skilled .in the l art .without roleparting fromathe spirit and purpose scribed and defined-in theappended claims.

of the invention. as herein de- In =theijdrawings-which accompany :this specification:

rFig. 1:is =a'vertical sectionalview through-a vacuum'v break and dump valve embodying-my invention;

"Eig. ,:2 is a vertical sectional view similario Fig. l'but showing the operating parts .in-.a.-different operating; position;

Fig, 3 isa verticalsectional view :throughsla "vacuum breakwand dump valve representing :a somewhatmodifiedt form of :my invention;

- Fig.4 is a view similar-to Fig. 3, but showing ;.the operating parts in a-difierent operating; po-

sition;

Fig. 5 is arviewzpartlyin section, partly in end elevation,-of the. valve assembly shown in-Figal.

'The drawings show avacuum break. and dump valve elficiently combined in a, single housing.

The housing comprises .a-hollow body :member ;indicated generally by reference character .20,

and having an inlet port 2lin communication nwith thewater, supply main (not shown) :anda

service port or outlet port 22 in-communication with a buildingplumbing system (also not shown).

.In'its progress from said inlet port to said: service -rwater-passes through a vent chamberzz3eandza I eration of said chambers .being more v specifically described below.

indicated by'the-arrows in'Figu 1, the

dumping -.chamber '24, the construction andtop- Referring toFigs. 1 and 2 the-body member is providedwitha pair of annular walls, concentrically disposed, and consisting of aninner an- .nular wallZli defining central cylindrical-chamber 24 above noted,-and an outer annular wall 1'26, slightly higher than the said inner wall .25,

said'outer wall defining an annular chamberiZ'I through which the water flows after passage through the inlet port 2| and the vent. chamber. .23.

A vent .cap- 313 has a threaded connectionwith the upper, outer surface of wall 26 and a clearance .space is provided. between .said cap andthe top with vent openingtl in communication with the of the inner wall. 25. The vent. cap is provided atmosphere, said opening beingnormally closed by a valve 3?. freelycarried for vertical movement onfloat 32'. This valve seats upwardly, and is-normally in the closed position so long as pressure exists in the mains. The valve 32*has an annular facing 33 of resilient material adapted to contact an-annular seat 34. When the water "pressure fails; the valve dropsuto the. position shown in Fig. 2; the peripheraledge of the annular --valve coming to rest on .top' of the :inneryannular :wall 25jther'eby:opening the port;.3l,;and venting the :system to atmosphere so: as: ,to; prevent; vthe -r.developmentv of a vacuum (in- .the. system.

'-.Hndennormalvconditions,1asahereinaboveinoted when the water enters the inlet port 2| and proceeds through the venting chamber 23, so as to urge valve 32 to closed position, the water flows over the top of annular wall and through annular chamber from which it proceeds downwardly into and through the dumping chamber 24 which will now be described in detail.

The dumping chamber is defined by a hollow plug member generally referred to by reference character 36. It comprises an outer roughly cylindrical wall 37 having a threaded connection with an outer cylindrical portion 39 of the valve body 25. A hollow plug 38 provides an inner cylindrical wall threaded into portion 40 of body 26. A double seated valve member 43 is carried by the lower portion of plug 36 and is spring biased to normally seat upwardly upon a seat member M carried by the inner cylindrical wall of plug 38. Under normal conditions, when pressure exists in the mains, the water pressure is effective upon the upper inner face 45 of the valve to force it downwardly, against spring bias, to seat upon an annular bead t! carried on a shoulder on the interior of wall 37 thereby permitting the water to flow under the annular edge 48 of inner wall 33 and thereafter upwardly through the annular space 45 between the outer and inner walls 37 and 38 and thence to the service port 22 which is in communication with the building plumbing. When, however, there is a failure of pressure in the main, the spring 50, which seats on a spider 50a at the bottom of cap 35, moves the valve upwardly to its upper seat 53 thereby cutting off communication be tween the main at port 2! and the dumping outlet 5! in the lower portion of the plug 35. As a result the water in the building plumbing is urged by gravity to flow downwardly and inwardly through service port 22 and through the annular passage 39 to the dmnping outlet 51.

If the building is of considerable height, the body of water in flowing rapidly past the lower edge of inner annular wall 3% and past the lower face of valve 43, may have a tendency to create sufficient suction to cause the valve 43 to open partially and permit some of the water from the building to enter the chamber 24. If such is the case, it will be apparent that when pressure is again resumed, this water, which may be contaminated, will flow again through the building plumbing. In order to prevent this undesired effect, I have provided an additional choice valve member 55 which floats freely in the space 43 surrounding wall 35. Said choke valve has a vertical annular portion 56, and depending therefrom, an outwardly extending flared portion 57. The annular portion has a sliding fit on the outer surface of wall 38 so that it may move upwardly or downwardly rather freely, responsive to water pressure either on the upper or lower surface of the flared portion 57 which lies in the path of water flow. Normally, that is to say when water is flowing into the building supply system, it moves choke valve 55 upwardly to permit free flow of water past the lower, outer periphery of the flared portion 5?. However, when the main pressure fails, the water flowing from the building plumbing system to the dump outlet 5| impinges upon the upper surface of flared portion 57 moving it downwardly to its lowest position Where it contacts with shoulder 58. When in this position the water flowing to the dump outlet is permitted merely to trickle past the outer periphery of flange 51, such flow being insufiicient to produce enough suction to unseat valve 43 from its upper seat 4 I.

It will be apparent that the dump valve 43 prevents water in the building system from flowing outwardly through vent 3|. when pressure fails in the main, even though the valve housing 30 is disposed at one of the lower floor levels in the building, regardless of the pressure or absence of the dumping outlet 5 1.

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate another embodiment of my invention comprising a vacuum break valve and a dump valve. Referring to the drawings I show a fitting 60 having a water inlet port 81, and an outlet or service port '62. Projecting downwardly from the fitting is a vacuum break port 63 normally sealed by a downwardly seating valve 64 which has a resilient seating face 65 for contact with an up-turned bead 66 on the wall of the port 63. It will be apparent that when water from the main enters port '8! it maintains valve 64 in leak-proof relationship with valve seat 56, but if pressure fails in the main, atmospheric pressure unseats valve 64 and relieves the vacuum developed on pressure failure.

Associated with the vacuum break valve is a dump valve assembly housed in another project'- ing part 79 of the fitting, said projecting portion is of hollow cylindrical form internally in communication with the water inlet port 6!. A plug 7! has a screw threaded connection with projecting part l0, and the plug is provided with one or more externally opening apertures 12 constituting dumping ports. Plug also is threaded into part 70 and is provided with ports 79 extending through its outer annular flange. A

double seated valve 13 is normally maintained on its lower seat 74 by water pressure in the fitting, so as to permit the water to flow to the outlet port 62 through the passages l5, 16, ll, 78, 19, and 80. On failure of pressure in the main, the spring 83 biases the valve 13 upwardly (Fig. 4) to seat at 84 on plug 85, thereby closing passage 11 to prevent possible back-flow of contaminated water through service port 62. The structure simultaneously permits the water in the building to flow outwardly through dumping ports 72.

When a structure of the nature just disclosed is situated on a lower floor of a building, failure of main pressure while a water outlet is open as heretofore disclosed might induce a siphoning action by a rush of water to ports 12, entirely apart from the vacuum caused by drop of main pressure. In such case the action of valve 13 causes such siphoned water to be discharged to a sewer outlet, while at the same time sealing the passage between the building and the fresh water main. Even if dumping ports 72 are not present, upward seating of valve 73 effectively stops all siphoning action since it closes the outlet for fresh water.

It may be desirable at times to restrain or entirely prevent the discharge of water from the building water system serviced by port 62 (Figs. 1 to 3). As is apparent from the drawings, valve 73 has an upwardly extending stem portion or guide 73' which is movable vertically within the reduced upper cylindrical portion 85 of plug 85. Surrounding said reduced portion 85, and freely slidable vertically in passageway 83, is an annular valve which is seatable downwardly on a seat -9l, so as to substantially block retrograde flow of water from service port 62 through ports 7-9 whenever pressure drop in the main permits valve 73 to move upwardly to its seat 84.

As will appear from a study Of Figs. 3 and 4.

as long as water is flowin under pressure from port 6| to port 62, its upward flow in passages l9 and 89 raises valve 99 to the position shown in Fig. 3. This permits water to flow to service port 62. When water pressure fails in the main, choke valve 90, under retrograde water pressure from the building system, drops to the position shown in Fig. 4. If restrained flow of water past valve 90 is desired, the seat 9| may be perforated, grooved, or otherwise arranged to permit water to trickle past seat SI and leave by ports 19 and 12.

It is apparent, from a consideration of the structures herein illustrated and described, that there is a close cooperating relationship between the vacuum break valve and the dump valve shown in the several embodiments to such extent that while the vacuum break valve vents and breaks the vacuum resulting from pressure failure, the dump valve protects the vacuum break valve from flooding through gravity or siphoning.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprisin in combination, a casing having a fluid inlet port in communication with a source of pressure fluid, and a fluid outlet port in communication with a system to be serviced, a passageway through said casing normally establishing communication between said ports, there being a vent opening to atmosphere from said passageway through said casing, a vent valve for said vent opening and biased to closed position by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway, a dump opening in said casing disposed in said passageway between said vent opening and said outlet port, a dump valve for said dump opening, spring biased means engaging said dump valve in a direction tending to open said dump valve but said dump valve being normally maintained in closed position by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway, whereby, when fluid pressure drops in said passageway, said vent valve and said dump valve open substantially simultaneously to respectively vent said passageway to atmosphere, and provide a dumping outlet for reverse fluid flow from said system.

2. A device of the character described comprising in combination, a casing having a fluid inlet port in communication with a source of pressure fluid and a fluid outlet port in communication with a system to be serviced, a passageway through said casing normally establishing communication between said ports, there being a vent opening to atmosphere from said passageway through said casing, a vent valve for said vent opening and biased to closed position by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway, there being a dump opening in said casing disposed in said passageway between said vent opening and said outlet port, a valve seat in said passageway adjacent said dump opening and between said dump opening and said inlet port, a valve seat adjacent said dump opening, a dump valve disposed between the two said valve seats, said valve having opposed sealing faces wherewith in one position to maintain sealing contact with the seat in said passage so as to prevent reverse fluid flow through said passage towards said inlet port, and in the other position to establish sealing contact with the valve seat adjacent said dump opening so as to prevent fluid flow through said dump opening,

spring biased means engaging said dump valve in a direction tending towards sealing contact with the seat in said passageway, but said dump valve being normally maintained in sealing contact with the seat in said dump opening by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway, whereby, when fluid pressure drops in said passageway, said vent valve opens to vent said passageway to atmosphere, and said dump valve moves from a position in which it seals said dump opening to a position in which it prevents reverse fluid flow through said passageway, but permits dumping of fluid from said system through said dump opening.

3. In a fluid pressure transmission and valving arrangement such as defined in claim 1, the combination therewith of choke valve means disposed in said passage between said dump opening and said outlet port, said choke valve means opening towards said outlet port whereby direct fluid flow towards said outlet port is permitted, but reverse fluid flow from said outlet port is inhibited.

4, In a fluid pressure transmission and valving arrangement such as defined in claim 1, the combination therewith of a choke valve seat disposed in said passage between said dump opening and said outlet port, a choke valve in operative relationship with said seat, and opening towards said outlet port to permit free flow towards said outlet port, and means providing limited clearance between said choke valve and its seat even when the choke valve is in seated position whereby reverse flow of fluid from said outlet port towards said dump opening is inhibited.

5. In a fluid supply system having a fluid inlet port in communication with a source of pressure fluid and a fluid outlet port in communication with a system to be serviced, a passageway normally establishing communciation between said ports, their being a vent opening to atmosphere through the walls of said passageway, a vent valve for said vent opening biased toward closed position by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway, there being a dump opening disposed in said passageway between said vent opening and said outlet port, a dump valve for said dump opening, spring means biasing said dump valve in a direction tending to open said dump valve, said dump valve being normally maintained in closed position by the pressure of fluid normally transmitted through said passageway and sufficient to overcome said spring means, whereby when fluid pressure drops in said passageway, said vent valve and dump valve open substantially simultataneously, respectively to vent said passageway to atmosphere and to provide a dump outlet for reverse fluid flow from said system.

DWIGHT M. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,115,499 Salvoni Apr. 26, 1938 2,259,984 Anderson Oct. 21, 1941 2,310,586 Lehman Feb. 9, 1943 2,325,956 Holtman Aug. 3, 1943 2,399,996 Fitch May '7, 1946

Images