US3149817A

US3149817A - Hermetic service valve

Info

Publication number: US3149817A
Application number: US198785A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Mullins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-05-31
Filing date: 1962-05-31
Publication date: 1964-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 1981-09-22

Description

Sept. 22, 1964 J- w. MULLINS 3,149,817

HERMEIIC SERVICE VALVE Filed May 31, 1962 l IIU 28 llllll 32 FIG. 3

JOHN W. MULLINS INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,149,317 l-IERMETIC SERVICE VALVE John W. Mullins, 105th) Sunnymeade Place, Oklahoma tlity, Okla. Filed May 31, 1962, Ser. No. 198,785 2 Claims. (Ci. 251-1493) The present invention relates to the refrigerating industry and more particularly to refrigerant hermetic service valves.

. It is frequently necessary to check the refrigerant contained by a refrigeration system to determine the trouble or reason why the unit is not functioning properly. Many sealed refrigerating systems are not provided with service valves on either the high pressure or low pressure refrigerant conductor. Some of the reasons why the refrigerating system fails to function are on the low pressure side of the refrigerator and include a broken discharge or suction valve, stopped-up capillary tube and moisture in the system. It is highly desirable to provide a means for ascertaining the amount of refrigerant, or lack of it, contained by the system or to determine on which side of the compressor the trouble lies without disassembling the system.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention to provide a service valve which may be easily and permanently connected to a refrigerant conductor line on either the high or low pressure side of the compressor or on both sides.

Another object is to provide a service valve which may I be connected by brazing or soldering to existing sealed or open type refrigerating systems without damaging the valve by the heat applied to the valve in making the conneotion.

A further object is to provide a valve of this class which permits servicing refrigerant lines of refrigerating systems of any type and size of system.

An additional object is to provide a service valve which may be repeatedly used for adding or removing refrigerant to or from the system.

Still another object is to provide a service valve which is relatively small in overall dimensions thereby requiring very little additional space and rendering the valve adaptable for use in confined areas such as air-conditioners installed on automobiles or the like.

In testing refrigerating units for malfunction, it is frequently necessary to remove the unit housing cover in order to reach service valves in the conductor lines; therefore, when the housing cover is removed and the unit is in operation, a false or inaccurate reading of the system condition is obtained, which is occasioned by the removal of the housing cover allowing currents of air to by-pass the condenser coils other than those currents that are drawn or forced across the condensing coils when operating normally with the cover closed.

Still another object is to provide a service valve which, when installed, remains a part of a refrigerant system and which in no way affects the operation of the system yet permits servicing of the system.

Yet another object is to provide a service valve which includes a pin threadedly engaged with a valve body and having a beveled end portion adapted for seating and unseating engagement with a cooperating seat in the valve body by rotation of the pin.

A further object is to provide a service valve having a tube wall piercing projection formed on its innermost end for puncturing the wall of a refrigerant line to which the valve body has been connected whereby none of the refrigerant gas is lost or wasted in connecting the service valve to the refrigerant line.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providing a tubular housing having a counterbored end and having its other end portion adapted to be connected with a refrigerant line. The counterbored end of the housing is internally threaded for receiving a gas by-passing valve pin.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the device connected with a fragment of a refrigerant line and illustrating, pantly in cross-section, its connection with a valve depressor;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, to an enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the valve pin, per se; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view, to a similarly enlarged scale, illustrating an alternate embodiment of the device connected with a fragment of a refrigerant line.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole, comprising a tubular housing 12 having one externally step diametered end portion 14 and externally threaded adjacent its other end, as at 16. The housing 12 includes an intermediate hexagonal portion 18 for receiving a wrench, or the like. The threaded end portion of the housing is provided with an external beveled portion 20 for sealing with a resilient seat 19 within a connector 21 of a conventional valve depressor 22 which is threaded engaged with the housing threads 16.

The housing 12 is connected to one end of a refrigerant line 24 by inserting one end of the line 24 into the bore of the step diametered end of the housing 12 or, when connecting the device with larger diameter refrigerant lines, one of the step diameters 14 may be inserted into the cooperating bore of the refrigerant line.

The externally threaded end portion of the housing is counterbored, as at 23, to form a seat 36 and is internally threaded, as at 31, for receiving a cylindrical like valve pin 26. The inwardly directed end portion of the valve pin 26 is diametrically reduced with respect to the diameter of the counterbore 23 to form an annular space 27. The inward end portion of the pin 26 is tapered, as at 28, for cooperative engagement with the valve seat 30. The outwardly disposed end portion of the valve pin 26 is similarly diametrically reduced with respect to the size of the counterbore 23 and projects outwardly beyond the adjacent end of the housing. This outwardly directed end portion of the valve pin is transversely slotted, as at 32, for receiving the valve depressing end portion 34 of the valve depressor 2.2. The valve pin 26 is further provided with a longitudinally extending slot 36, aligned with the slot 32, which extends inwardly beyond the threads 31 and communicates with the annular space 27.

FIGURE 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the valve pin, indicated by the numeral 26A. In this instance the free end of the housing step diameter portion 14 is soldered, as at 38, to the periphery of a refrigerant line 24A. The inwardly directed end portion of the pin 26A is provided with an axially connected elongated shaft portion 40, diametrically reduced with respect to the bore of the housing and as the pin 26A is threadedly screwed into the housing 12, the pointed end 42 pierces the adjacent wall portion of the refrigerant line 24A to form a hole therein before the tapered surface 28 seals with the housing seat 30.

Operation The operation of the device is quite simple.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2, the device 10 is connected with the refrigerant line 24, as described hereinabove, and a depressor unit 22, connected by its tubing 44 to a source of refrigerant gas, is connected to the threaded end of the housing 12. The tubing 44 and valve depressor end portion 34 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, in a valve pin thread unscrewing direction which unscrews the pin 26 and separates the tapered end '28 of the valve pin from the seat 30. Refrigerant gas then enters the refrigerant line through the longitudinal valve pin slot 36 and annular space 27. When the refrigerant line 24 has been sufficiently charged, the depressor tubing 44' is rotated toward the right, in a valve pin threaded tightening direction, which reseats thevalve pin 26, thereafter the depressor unit 22 is disconnected from the housing 12.

Operation of the alternate device, shown by FIG. 4,

is similar to that described hereinabove for FIG. 2.

After the housing 12 has been connected to the refrigerant line 24A, the pin 26A is threadedly inserted into the housing and tightened until the pin seat 28 contacts the housing seat 30 wherein the sharpened end 42 of the shaft 4t) has pierced the refrigerant line Wall. The depressor unit 22 is similarly connected to the housing 12 and rotation of the depressor tubing 44, in a valve pin unscrewing direction, unseats the valve pin seat 28 from the housing seat 30 and simultaneously removes the pointed end portion 42 from engagement with the refrigerant line wall 24A thus permitting passage of refrigerant gas through the valve slot 36 and annular space 27 into the refrigerant line 24A through the bore of the housing.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alternation without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hermetic service valve for a refrigerant system having refrigerant conducting lines, comprising: a tubular valve housing having a step diameter reduced end portion, said housing having external and internal threads adjacent its other end portion and having an outer tapered seat formed on the outer surface of the last mentioned end portion; an inner tapered valve seat formed on the wall of the bore of said housing medially the length of the latter; a valve pin threadedly engaged with the inter- N nal threads in said housing, said valve pin having a seat formed on its innermost end sealing with the inner tapered seat in said housing, said valve pin having a longitudinal slot forming a gas passageway between said valve pin and the threaded wall of said housing, the end of said valve pin opposite said seat projecting outward beyond the end of said housing opposite its step diametered end and having a transverse slot in its end opposite said seat; and a valve depressor connected with said housing, said valve depressor including a connector threadedly engaged with the external threads of said housing, a resilient seat within said connector contacting the outer taperedseat of said housing in sealing relation, a tubular member journaledby the end of said connector opposite its connection with" said housing, said tubular member having a valve depressing end portion freely received 'bythe transverse slot in the end of said valve pin whereby saidtubular member may be manually rotated in opposing directions within said connector for seating and unseating said valve pin;

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in'which the step diametered end portion of said tubular housing is adapted to be secured to the periphery of one said refrigerant line and in which said valve pin is provided with-a diametricallyreduced elongated shaft portion coaxially secured at one end to the end 'portion of said valve pin forming the seat and projecting, at-its other end, beyond the connected end of said tubular housing, said shaft portion having a conical-shaped pointed end piercing and entering said refrigerant line when said valve pin'is seated on the inner tapered seatof said housing wherein rotation of said valve depressor tubular member, ina counterclockwise direction, unseats said valve pin and withdraws the conical-shaped point of saidshaft from said refrigerant line.

References (liter! in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,001 Lukens Mar. 14, 1911 1,716,195 Stockstrom June 4, 1929" 1,830,894 Ullstrand Nov. 10, 1931 1,984,375 Johnston Dec. 18, 1934 2,827,913 Wagner Mar. 25, 1958 2,952,270 Fulton Sept. 13, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 505,046 Great Britain May 4, 1939

Claims

1. A HERMETIC SERVICE VALVE FOR A REFRIGERANT SYSTEM HAVING REFRIGERANT CONDUCTING LINES, COMPRISING: A TUBULAR VALVE HOUSING HAVING A STEP DIAMETER REDUCED END PORTION, SAID HOUSING HAVING EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL THREADS ADJACENT ITS OTHER END PORTION AND HAVING AN OUTER TAPERED SEAT FORMED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE LAST MENTIONED END PORTION; AN INNER TAPERED VALVE SEAT FORMED ON THE WALL OF THE BORE OF SAID HOUSING MEDIALLY THE LENGTH OF THE LATTER; A VALVE PIN THREADEDLY ENGAGED WITH THE INTERNAL THREADS IN SAID HOUSING, SAID VALVE PIN HAVING A SEAT FORMED ON ITS INNERMOST END SEALING WITH THE INNER TAPERED SEAT IN SAID HOUSING, SAID VALVE PIN HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT FORMING A GAS PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID VALVE PIN AND THE THREADED WALL OF SAID HOUSING, THE END OF SAID VALVE PIN OPPOSITE SAID SEAT PROJECTING OUTWARD BEYOND THE END OF SAID HOUSING OPPOSITE ITS STEP DIAMETERED END AND HAVING A TRANSVERSE SLOT IN ITS END OPPOSITE SAID SEAT; AND A VALVE DEPRESSOR CONNECTED WITH SAID HOUSING, SAID VALVE DEPRESSOR INCLUDING A CONNECTOR THREADEDLY ENGAGED WITH THE EXTERNAL THREADS OF SAID HOUSING, A RESILIENT SEAT WITHIN SAID CONNECTOR CONTACTING THE OUTER TAPERED SEAT OF SAID HOUSING IN SEALING RELATION, A TUBULAR MEMBER JOURNALED BY THE END OF SAID CONNECTOR OPPOSITE ITS CONNECTION WITH SAID HOUSING, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A VALVE DEPRESSING END PORTION FREELY RECEIVED BY THE TRANSVERSE SLOT IN THE END OF SAID VALVE PIN WHEREBY SAID TUBULAR MEMBER MAY BE MANUALLY ROTATED IN OPPOSING DIRECTIONS WITHIN SAID CONNECTOR FOR SEATING AND UNSEATING SAID VALVE PIN.