US3460560A - Sequencing valve - Google Patents

Description

112,. 1969 c, c. KAH, JR., ETAL y3,460,560

sEQUENoING VALVE Filed July 5. 1966 40 INVENTORS FIG. 2 CARL L. C. KAH, Jr.

a ROGER D. SLAGEL United States Patent O 3,460,560 SEQUENCING VALVE 'Carl L. C. Kah, Jr., 716 Ibis Way, North Palm Beach, Fla., 33403, and Roger D. Slagel, 294 Balsam St., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 33480 Filed July 5, 1966, Ser. No. 562,653 Int. Cl. F16k 1/24, 11/02 U.S. Cl. 137-119 9 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLGSURE A sequencing valve comprising a cylindrical housing having a plurality of outlet ports through the lower end thereof and a tangential disposed inlet port at the upper side thereof is provided. A valve element in the form of a ported disc is disposed between the inlet and outlet ports and is supported for axial and rotational movement by a top cover located on the cylinder. The cover carries upper and lower cams which are engaged by a cam follower iixed to the disc, at the extreme axial positions of travel 0f the disc. The disc in addition carries vanes which are contacted by the tluid entering through the tangentially disposed inlet. The inlet and vanes arrangement aids in rotating the disc during changes in inlet line pressure. Suspension of all of the moving parts of the assembly from the cover facilitates removal for maintenance and repair.

This invention relates to a sequencing valve automatically responsive to the application and reduction of line pressure to supply a plurality of outlets in sequence.

Examples of the prior art over which the present invention provides improvements appear in the patents to Berry 2,666,450, dated Jan. 19, 1954, Bird 2,833,309, dated May 6, 195'8, and Cameron 3,124,162, dated Mar. 10, 1964.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a sequencing Valve automatically responsive to the application and reduction of line pressure comprising a housing having an inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports, a valving member, containing at least one port, rotatable and reciprocable in the housing for selectively closing at least one of the outlet ports, a cam element carried by the valving member, a plurality of cam members carried by the housing engageable with the cam element for indexing the valving member, spring means biasing the valving member away from the outlet ports, and means responsive to fluid flow upon the application of line pressure to impart rotation to the valving member. The inlet port is disposed tangentially wi-th respect to the valving member so that lluid flow will -assist in eifecting rotation of the valving member. The valving member assumes the form of a ported disk having an upstream surface proximate to the inlet port and a downstream surface proximate to the outlet ports. yResilient sealing elements suround the outlet ports and project therefrom towards the valving member. The downstream surface of the valving member carries projecting ridge means engageable with the resilient sealing elements surounding the outlet ports to facilitate separation when line pressure is reduced. Spring means is carried by the valving member serving to bias the valving member away from the outlet ports upon the reduction of line pressure. The spring means has a force less than that imposed by line pressure upon the closed area of the valving member. The fflow responsive means includes iin means carried by the valving member for cooperation with the tangential flow through the inlet port into the housing. The valving means includes 'ilange means extending axially towards the inlet port by virtue of which greater tolerance between the moving parts will be possible without the re- 3,460,560 Patented Aug. 12, 1969 quirement of an increase in liow through the valve to produce actuation of the valve. The outlet ports are surrounded by grooves in which resilient O-rings are retained to eiect the sealing engagement with the valving member and for cooperation with the projecting ridge means carried by the valving member.

A more complete understanding of the invention will follow from a description of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section depicting an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the lower cam member carried by the housing of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the cam member of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a development depicting the relationship of the cam surfaces of the upper and lower cam members carried by the housing.

The housing 10 depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 is composed of a lower section 12, an intermediate section 14 and an upper or closure section 16. The three sections are as sembled by means of bolts 18 and lmaintained in sealed relationship by means of an O-ring 20 received in an annular groove 22 formed in the lower section 12 and an -O-ring 24 received in an annular groove 26 formed in the upper section 16.

The intermediate section 14 of the housing contains an inlet port 28 provided with internal threads and disposed tangentially with respect to the housing so as to impart the proper direction of How to the incoming liquid.

The lower section 12 of the housing contains a desired number of internally threaded :axially disposed outlet ports 30, four of which have been depicted for purposes of example in the accompanying drawings. The upper surface 32 of the housing lower section 12 contains a groove 34 surrounding the upstream end of each outlet port and into each such groove an O-ring 36 is introduced with a pressed lit so as to project above the surface 32 for sealing engagement with a valving member. Also projecting from the upper surface 32 of the housing lower section 12 is a guide rod 38 whose lower end can be staked into the lower section 12 or otherwise suitably secured thereto. The outer wall of the lower section 12, centrally of the outlet ports, may be provided with suitable reinforcing webs 40.

A valving member 42 is depicted as comprising a ported disk 44 and a tubular shaft 46 extending axially and centrally therefrom and secured thereto by means of one or more screws or other fastenings 48. One end of a coil spring 50 bears against a wall of the closed upper end 52 of the tubular shaft and the other end of the spring bears against a ball 54 which is maintained in engagement with the end of the guide rod 38, whereby the valving member 42 will be biased by the spring 50 in a direction away from the outlet ports 30.

The ported disk 44 contains a port 56 which is sequentially registered with the outlet ports 30, in sealing engagement with their O-rings 36, in a manner to be described. The ported disk 44 is is formed with an upwardly directed peripheral ange 58, whose presence permits a greater tolerance between the valving member and housing than would otherwise be possible for a given minimum actuating ilow through the valve. The upper inlet pressure reaction surface of the ported disk carries a plurality of radially disposed vanes or ribs 60, so as to lie in the llow path of liquid introduced through the inlet port 28, to produce a tendency for the valving member to rotate under the influence of the tangential low. Moreover, the application of line pressure in the inlet pressure chamber defined between the upper surface of valving member 42 and closure member 16 will impose sufficient flow through the valve to create a pressure differential across the valving member of sufiicient force on the valve member, in opposition to its biasing spring 50 to move the valving member downwardly towards the outlet ports.

The tubular shaft 46 is slidably and rotatably received in a tubular sleeve 62 depending from the upper or closure section 16 of the housing. An upper cam member 64 is formed integral with the sleeve for cooperation with a follower 66 carried by the tubular shaft 46. A lower cam member 68 is received in the lower open end of the tubular sleeve 62 and by means of a lobe 70 formed on the radial flange 72 of the lower cam member, a screw 74, extending through an opening in the lobe, secures the lower cam member to the tubular sleeve 62, so that this cam member also cooperates with the follower 66 carried by the tubular sleeve 62.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower cam member 68 carries four cam surfaces 76, spaced by slots 78, since there are four outlet ports 30. It will be understood that any desired number of outlet ports can be provided, and accommodated by selecting cams having a corresponding number of cam surfaces.

As will be apparent from an inspection of the somewhat diagrammatic development of the upper and lower cams depicted in FIG. 5, application of line pressure to the inlet port 28 will impart a downward movement to the valving member and a rotational movement by virtue of the reaction of the tangential ow on the vanes or ribs 60, and the follower -66 will receive a movement in the direction of the arrow 80 along the surface 82 of the lower cam member 68.

With the cam element or follower 66 in the lowermost position in the slot 78 below the surface 82, the valving member 42 will engage the O-rings 36 surrounding the outlet ports, with the port 56 communicating with only one of the outlet ports through which the fluid ow will occur. This condition will prevail so long as the line pressure is maintained. When the line pressure is sufficiently reduced or entirely removed, the force of the spring 50 will elevate the valving member 42, permitting the cam element or follower 66 to move in the direction of the arrow 84 and the arrow 86 along the surface 88 of the upper cam 64, imparting rotation to the valving member so that its port 56 will be in readiness for alignment with the next of the outlet ports 30 in the desired sequence. Renewed application of line pressure will cause the valving member to be moved downwardly and the cam element 66 to follow the path indicated by the arrow 90 for engagement with the surface 92 of the lower cam 68 whereby further rotation of the valving member will occur until its port 56 is actually in registry with the next outlet port to be served. This mode of operation will be repeated each time line pressure is applied andy removed. It will be noted that the upper limit of travel of valving member 42 is defined by the upper limits of the cam grooves in upper cam 64 which maintains the valving member at a sufficient distance from closure member 16 to define an inlet pressure chamber of substantial volume.

It will be evident, that the positioning of the cam members 64 and 68, and the spring 50, so as to be protected from the direct flow of liquid, will reduce the likelihood of the intrusion of foreign matter to these components, and assure better operation with reduced need for service and maintenance. In addition, the tangential flow through the inlet port 28 will tend to prevent the accumulation of foreign material within the housing itself.

The lower or downstream surface 94 of the valving member is provided with annular projecting ridges 9 6 for engagement with the O-rings 36 surrounding the outlet ports. The projecting ridges 96, in the lowermost posi,- tion of the valving member 42, will intersect the resilient O-rings 36 and depress them to a greater degree than the remaining portions of the O-rings which are engaged directly by the downstream surface 94 where the projections do not exist. This additional deformation of the O-rings provides an added separation force, due to the resiliency of the O-rings, to initiate upward movement of the valving member from the outlet ports when line pressure is reduced.

It will be understood, that the total force to move the valving member towards the oulet ports is produced by the flow of liquid from a point upstream of the valving member to a point downstream thereof.

A sequencing valve embodying the present invention is admirably suited for the sequential sprinkling of areas to which water is to be applied. Such devices are extremely useful in the maintenance of golf courses, for general irrigation, and other applications.

Whereas only one specific embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, variations will be suggested to those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A sequencing valve automatically responsive to the application and reduction of line pressure, comprising; a housing defining a valve chamber, an inlet pressure port adjacent one end of said chamber and a plurality of outlet ports adjacent the other end of said chamber; a valving member containing at least one port; first means carried by said housing mounting said valving member for rotation and reciprocation intermediate opposite ends of said chamber in response to fluid flow upon the application of line pressure for selectively closing at least one of said outlet ports; said inlet port being tangentially disposed with respect to said valving member; vane means carried by said valving member; second means carried by said housing biasing said valving member toward said one end of said chamber; said second means constituting the sole structure carried by said housing for imparting motion to the valving member in the direction of the reciprocating movement thereof; stop means carried by said housing limiting the travel of said valving member in the direction of said one end of said chamber to define an inlet pressure chamber between the valving member and said one end of said valve chamber of substantial volume, whereby inlet line pressure may exert a substantial pressure differential across said valving member in opposition to the force exerted by said second means;

cam element means carried by said valving member; and

camming means carried by said housing positioned for engagement with said cam element means upon reciprocation of the valving member under the influence of inlet line pressure and said second means for imparting a rotary indexing movement to the valving member.

2. A sequencing valve according to claim 1 wherein said valving member is a ported disk having an upstream surface proximate to said inlet port and a downstream surface proximate to said outlet ports.

3. A sequencing valve according to claim 2 wherein resilient sealing elements surround said outlet ports and project therefrom toward said valving member for effecting sealing engagement with the downstream surface of said disk.

4. A sequencing valve according to claim 3 wherein said downstream surface carries projecting ridge means engageable lwith said resilient sealing elements for producing deformations in said elements in addition to the deformation effected by the aforesaid sealing engagement whereby an additional separating force is available to aid in unseating the valving member against residual system pressure.

5. A sequencing valve according to claim 1 wherein said second means is carried by said valving member.

6. A sequencing Valve according to claim 1 wherein said second means has a biasing force less than that imposed by line pressure upon the unported area of the valving member, said camming means including a pair of spaced annular cam members each having a plurality of staggered cam surfaces engageable with said cam element means as said valving member undergoes reciprocation and indexing rotation, and an annular ange formed integrally with said valving member and extending axially therefrom in the direction of said inlet port.

7. A sequencing valve according to claim l wherein said outlet ports are surrounded by grooves in which resilient O-rings are retained for sealing engagement with said valving member.

8. A sequencing Valve automatically responsive to the application and reduction of line pressure, comprising; a housing defining a valve chamber, an inlet pressure port adjacent one end of said chamber and a plurality of outlet ports adjacent the other end of said chamber; a valving member containing at least one port; said valving member including a pressure reaction surface area and an oppositely facing sealing surface area; first means carried by said housing mounting said valving member for rotation and reciprocation intermediate opposite ends of said valve chamber in response to fluid flow upon the application of line pressure for selectively closing at least one of said outlet ports; second means carried by said housing biasing said valving member toward said one end of said valve chamber, the total pressure reaction surface area of said valving member facing in the direction of lsaid one end of said valve chamber and dening a variable volume pressure chamber between said total pressure reaction surface area and said one end of said valve chamber whereby the total pressure in said pressure chamber will be exerted as a pressure differential across said valving member in opposition to the bias exerted by said second means; cam element means carried. by said valving member; and camming means carried by said housing positioned for engagement with said cam element means upon reciprocation of the valving member under the influence of inlet line pressure and said second means for imparting a rotary indexing movement to the valving member.

9. A sequencing valve automatically responsive to the application and reduction of line lpressure, comprising; a housing having an inlet port, a plurality of outlet ports, and an imperforate closure section; a valving member in said housing containing at least one port; said valving member being rotatable and reciprocable in response to uid flow upon the application of line pressure for selectively closing at least one of said outlet ports, cam element means carried by said valving member; camming means carried by said closure section engageable with said cam element means for indexing said valving member; and means carried by said closure section biasing said valving member away from said outlet ports whereby the actuating mechanism may be readily disassembled for inspection, alteration or repair in unit-handled fashion Without disconnecting the inlet pressure line.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,666,450 1/1954 Berry IS7- 624.11 3,181,550 5/1965 Okabe 137-119 2,871,883 2/1959 Dunlap 137-625.11 XR 3,008,490 11/1961 Angelos 137-,625.11 3,124,162 3/1964 Cameron 137-625.11

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner R. l. SMITH, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. XR.

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