US2711303A - Fuel cutoff and reset valve operable from plural positions - Google Patents

Description

M. EPHRAIM, JR, ETAL 2,711,303 FUEL CUTOFF AND RESET VALVE OPERABLE FROM PLURAL POSITIONS Filed July 1, 1952 June 21, 1955 w 4 x y a w M M y 6 l 5 u "k m lllllMNlllllllll I- z x w a u a z United States Patent 0.

FUEL CUTGFF AND RESET VAL'VE OPERABLE FROM PLURAL POSITIONS Max Ephraim, In, Chicago, and Robert I. Traver, La Grange, EL, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Delaware Application July 1, 1952, Serial No. 296,534 1 Claim. (Cl. 251-263) This invention relates generally to trip and reset mechanisms for fuel cutofi valves and more particularly to trip and reset mechanisms for emergency fuel cut-ofii valves as used on diesel electric locomotives.

It has been determined that for safe operation of diesel locomotives used on the various railroads an emergency fuel cutoft valve should be required and located between the fuel tank of the diesel engine and the fuel pump. This emergency fuel cutoff valve should be capable of being manually tripped to off in three separate locations,

namely, on each side of the outside of the locomotive and within the engine cab of the locomotive. These requirements have caused the use of an emergency fuel cutoff valve which has been located at a point below the fuel tank of a diesel locomotive. This location, however, has given rise to some difiiculties, the most important of which is that once the valve has been tripped its location makes it very difficult to reset. One of the methods used to reset the valve has been to provide a trap door in the bottom of the locomotive floor which may be opened to gain access to the valve. The disadvantages of this method, however, are that it cannot always be determined whether the valve has been tripped or not, it is-laborious and cumbersome, and it is expensive to provide this trap door. Other reset mechanisms not using the trap door have made it necessary for someone to crawl beneath the locomotive to reset the valve to the open position. The disadvantages of this method are obvious since, for one thing, there is always a certain amount of danger involved for anyone who is beneath a locomotive.

One of the reasons that a means has not been devised for resetting the emergency fuel cutoff valve from a remote and easily accessible location has been the inadequate structure of the present trip and reset mechanism which has not lent itself to easy reset.

It therefore becomes an object of this invention to provide a unique trip and reset mechanism for emergency fuel cutoff valves which may be controlled by means located remotely from the valve trip and reset mechanism in an easily accessible position.

It becomes another object of this invention to provide a remotely controlled sliding cam means for tripping and resetting an emergency fuel cutoff valve.

It is a further object of this invention to provide remotely controlled means to trip a cut-off valve and to provide separate remotely controlled means to reset such a valve.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a trip and reset mechanism which is simple to operate, inexpensive to manufacture and uses a minimum of parts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a top view of a section of an emergency fuel cutoif valve with the new improved trip and reset mechanism attached to the stern of the valve and the new' remote control means for resetting the valve.

Figure 2 is a side view of the tripping and resetting mechanism and shows a cutaway portion of the axle yoke R 2,711,303 Patented June 21, 1955 used to operatively connect the stem the tripping and resetting cam means.

Figure 3 is a cutaway view of a cam portion ofthe trip and reset mechanism showinga cam and the axle yoke in the reset or set position.

Figure 4 is a partial cutaway view of the cam portion of the trip and reset mechanism showing the cam and the valve in the tripped position.

Referring now to Figure 1, a valve assembly indicated generally by the numeral 2 is shown. This valve assembly 2 includes a valve housing 4, a valve seat .6, a valve8, a valve cap 10 having integrally formed therewith a packing cap 12, a valve stem 14 and a valve spring 16. The valve 8 is attached to the valve stem 14 and is urged toward its seat 6 by the helical spring 16.

Referring now to the accompanying figures, the trip and of the valve to reset mechanism for the fuel cutofI' valve will be described.

Fastened to the valve stem 14'is a yoke axle 18. This.

yoke axle 18 is fastened to the valve stem 14 by means of a washer 20 and a nut 22 to prevent the axle yoke' 18 from sliding too far on the valve stem 14. The axle yoke 18 has two oppositely disposed axles 26 each provided with a roller 28. These rollers 28 are retained on the axle:

26 by flat washers 30 and cotter pins 32. Placed against the valve cap 10 and surrounding the packing cap 12 is a U-shaped member 34. The U-shaped member 34'is provided with a pair of cam surfaces 36, which include a pair of jumps or lobes 38. Connected between the open ends of the member 34 is a block having a lug 42 integrally formed therewith. Attached to the lug 42 by-means of a ring 44 are three trip cables 46 which lead to the locomotive cab and opposite sides of the locomotive respectively. The block is provided with threads which mate with threads on a reset rod 48. The reset rod 48 is secured to the block 40 by means of these threads and a locking nut 50. The other end of the reset rod 48 is slidingly fastened to the side sump plate of the locomotive fuel tank 52 by means of a flat plate 54 tacked to the side sump plate 52 and containing a grommet 56. On the extreme end of the reset rod 48 a push plate or kick plate 58 is attached for actuating the reset rod.

The operation of the trip and reset mechanism is as follows:

In normal locomotive operation theU-shaped member 34 is in the position shown in Figure 1. When for some reason it is desired to trip the valve 8 so that it seats on its seat 6, one of the cables 46 is pulled, either from one side of the locomotive or from the locomotive cab. When one of these cables 46 is pulled it will cause the U-shaped member 34 to move toward the side sump plate 52. The rollers 28 on the axle yoke 18 will roll along the cam surfaces 36 riding over the jumps or lobes 38 down the inclines of the surfaces 36 to the lower portions of the cam surfaces 36, the valve and the tripping mechanism then being in the position shown in Figure 4. To reset the valve to the open position it is only necessary to either push the kick plate 58 or kick it with the foot. This will cause the cam surfaces 36 to move under therollers 26 and lift the valve 8 off its seat 6.

It may be readily appreciated that this type of emergency fuel cut-off valve with its trip and reset mechanism may be used for purposes other than to shut olf and open the fuel supply on diesel electric locomotives. It would threaded end extending through said cap and said projection, a yoke having a hole in the center thereof through which said stem extends, said yoke being retained on said stem by an adjustable nut engaging said threaded end, said yoke having oppositely disposed rollers attached thereto, a U-shaped member having legs straddling said projection and said stem and interposed between said rollers and said surface, said legs having opposite edges which form cam surfaces bearing against said rollers and said bearing surface, an insert extending between the ends of the legs of said U-shaped member and secured thereto, means to move said U-shaped member including a plurality of cables and a reset push rod secured to said insert and operable remote from said valve, the base of said U- shaped member and said projection forming a limit stop to limit movement of said U-shaped member in one direction, said insert and said projection forming a limit stop to limit movement of said U-shaped member in a direction opposite to said first-mentioned direction, the cam surfaces bearing against said outer bearing surface being substantially fiat, the cam surfaces bearing against said rollers having stepped portions joined by intermediate inclined portions, said spring means biasing said valve stem to resiliently clamp the legs of said U-shaped member between said rollers and said bearing surface, and detent means on the cam surfaces bearing against said rollers tending to prevent initial movement of said rollers along said inclined surfaces, said cap being removably attached to said housing so that said valve and said valve actuating assembly may be attached to and removed from said housing as a single composite sub-assembly.

FOREIGN PATENTS Norway Ian. 29, 1934 Germany Oct. 30, 1936 Vermere June 17, 1941 V

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