US3536095A - Valve assembly with indicator - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent lnventors John Demeter Carteret; Stephen Demeter, Linden and Daniel Nordoza, Keyport, New Jersey Appl. No. 619,805 Filed March 1, 1967 Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Assignee R.C. Industries, Inc.

Linden, New Jersey in corporation of New Jersey.

VALVE ASSEMBLY WITH INDICATOR 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

169/31, 251/321- Int. Cl ..F16k 35/00, Fl6k 31/44 Field ofSearch 137/382, 557, 229; 251/321, 323; 73/419; 169/31 References Cited 0 UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner1-lenry T. Klinksiek Attorney-Arthur A. March ABSTRACT: The invention is a valve particularly useful in a dispenser of pressurized finely divided solids that may tend to compact in the valve body and make operation impossible. 1n addition to a plunger with a conical scat which forms the main closure part, the invention includes a spring-biased cylinder which measures the pressure in the seat area by displacement into the valve body when the sealing plunger is moved to the open position. The inward movement of the spring biased plunger dislodges the coated material and clears the valve. Lack of pressure is shown by the distance that the spring- 256,510 4/1882 Stephenson 25l/323X biased plunger extends from the valve when the valve is 7/1912 Clarke 251/323 closed.

, 25 1 lo i i I3 I a l I 3 4 2 I I I l n I Pa tented Oct. 27, 1 970 $536,095

FIG 1 27 3e 31 4. 37 FIG. 2

1' INVENTORS f v DANIEL NARDOZA BY JOHN DEETER ATTORNEY x I STEPHEN DEME'TER VALVE ASSEMBLY wrrniNmcA'roR.

This invention relates to a valve assembly for a device for dispensing fluidized solid materials including a pressure indicating device, andgmore particularly, to valve assemblies used to control the flow of, and todispense afluidized solid material which, for exemplary purposes only, is described herein in connection with dry chemical fire extinguishers.

The extinguishing 'agent' utilized in this type of device covered by the invention is a finely divided powder contained in a pressure vessel and pressurized with 'an inert gas to heads ranging from 100 psi. to 200 p.s.i. In operation, the powder-is I expelled from the container through a syphon tube extending from a valve to the bottomof the container.

The valves heretofore'used in such devices have sealing means along the main axis of the syphon tube and-is so disposed that the intemal'pressure-inthe container assists in maintaining the valve in closed and sealed position until 'such' time as it is necessary to open said valve.

It can be readily seen that to open such a valve, force must and in many instances impossible. In order to qualify from list-' ing with Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., a fire extinguisher must, among other things, discharge without failure .under all conditions. To accomplish this result and 'obtain a listing, presently used apparatus include cumbersome. and complicated discharge levers.

Furthermore, pressure gauges utilized in presently conventional fire extinguisher devices are relatively expensive and prone to breakage. The point of attachment to the valve body is oftentimes'the place where leakage occurs from the pressure vessel. For the most part, they are of the well-known Bourdon type.

In addition, conventional fire extinguishers are provided with stems which may break and have no protection against such breakage.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a valve that may be operated in a simple manner by pressing a button and at the same time to obtain discharge without jamming under all conditions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a.

valve assembly for a device for dispensing fluidizedsolid materials which dispenses such materials without utilin'ng.

cumbersome complicated mechanism and is, therefore, relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide adevice for dispensing fluidized solid materials havingaccurate relatively inexpensive and sturdy means for indicating the pressure of the contents within the vessel.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing fluidized solid materials in which the operating stem is protected against breakage.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following description and specification accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the valve assembly of the present invention in its closed position. v

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the valve assembly of the present invention in its open position. i

In accordance with the drawings, the device for fluidized solid materials has a valve body 10 which is attached to the mouth of a container 1 1 whose contents are under pressure. A

gasket 12 seals the valve body to the container. Thevalve body has a chamber 13 which connects to the contents of the container through means of a syphon tube 14. The chamber also extends into a cavity 15 shaped to house a number of parts of the valve. The contents under pressure within the container are conducted into a cavity 15 viathe chamber 13. The contents are prevented from entering a chamber 16 by means of an .O" ring 17 pressing against the internal walls connect- I ing the cavity 15 with the chamber 16.. A duct 18 in the valve body, connects the chamber l6with an exit opening 19. Ac-

cordingly, when the O, ring 17 is situated within the cavity 15 so that-it doesnot seal the chamber 16 from the. cavity, the pressurized contents. are released into. the chamber 16 and hence out of the valve through a duct 18 and an exit 19.

The 0" ring,l7 'isheldinagroove.20Jin a valve stem 21.-

The valve stem is held and guided by a bearing 22 integral with the valve body. The valve stem hasv a. shoulder 23 against which a compression spring 24 bears toforce the valve stem 21 in the direction which causes the OZring 17 to seal off-the chamber 16 fromthe cavity;-15.-'I'he spring 24 is seatedon a retaining bushing 25, andis adjustedsothat it is under com-.

pression whenthevalve is closed, in'whichcondition,the0" ring 17 isolates theehamber 16afrom-the cavity 15.1To openthe valve the stem 21 is pushed against the, action of the spring, and this forces the O ring 171away from theinternal walls and into the cavity 15.'ln this position of the valve stem,

the chamber 16 opens into the cavity 15, and the pressurized.

contents may pass through and out of the valve.

To facilitate the pushing of. the valve stem 2l &against the spring 24 so as to open the valve, a stem button 26is provided at the end of the stem, for operationby thumb or finger pressure. To prevent accidental operation of the valve as, for example, in fire extinguishers, thebutton26-is situated within a cavity 27, which must be specifically entered to actuate the valve stem. More important cavity 27 serves as protecting means to prcventbreakage of the operating stemof the unit if accidently dropped. Underwritcr s Laboratories, Inc.s requirements today provide for a fourifootdrop without breakage. Further safety means maybe included for purposes of preventing accidental operation of the valve, by covering the cavity with a seal28. Such a seal may be made of paper or other easily penetrable material. With this arrangement it is only necessary that the seal 28 be broken before the valve can be opened. A recess 29in the valve body, serves as a stop for the motion of the button 26, which has a shoulder 30'that engages the recess as shown in F IG. 2.

The retaining bushing 25 isseated within an indicator housing 31 that supports the parts by which an indication is obtained of the pressure prevailing within the valve and hence within the container 11. The housing 3lzcontains a bearing surface 32 which'guides an indicating stem 33 that is part of a piston 34 which is retained and guided by the internal walls of the housing 31. A compression spring 35'acting against the housing 3l and a piston shoulder 36, tends to draw the stem 33 into the valve body. The pressurized contents within the cavity 15, on the other hand, bear against a piston surface 37 and counteract the motion of spring 35; Thus, by adjusting the spring 35in relation to the pressure. within the cavity 15, it is possible to obtain an indication .of the pressure prevailing in.

the cavity or container, by observing the amount that the stem 33' extends out of the valve body. Accordingly, stem 33 may include calibration marks 33 which indicate the numerical values of theprevailingpressure. An 0 ring 38 serves as a sealing means. to prevent the pressurized contents: from seeping between the valve body and the housing 31, and out of the valve. Similarly, an O ring 39 prevents seepage past the piston 34 and out'of the valve or into. the area of the spring 35. The housing 31 is held within the valve body 10 by means of a retaining washer 40. Although 0 rings have been designated as the sealing means for preventing leakage ofthe valve such sealing means can be in the form of gaskets or other similar sealing means commonly known to the art.

The piston 34.includes an opening which guides the valve stem 21 by means of a plunger-41 attached to the valve stem. Accordingly, the stem 22 is firmly guided between the bearing 22 and the bearing surface formed by the plunger 41 and the internal wall of the piston 34. This arrangement of the plunger 41 and the piston 34, also maintains the action of the valve ways possible. I

stem 21 independent from-the pressure indicating mechanism Thus, the stem 21 may be moved back and forth without: disturbing the setting of the indicating stem 33. The indicating stem 33 is related to the action of the valvestem'only to the extent that depression of the stem 21 opens the valve which releasesthe pressurized contents and causes, accordingly, a

drop in pressure within the .container. This pressure drop is' then registered by the stem 33 through a corresponding movement into the valve body.. 7

As aforesaid, the indicating mechanism and valve construc- Thus, the status of thecontents within the tire extinguisher is always revelaed by the indicating stem 33. When the pressure within the fire extinguisher drops below a predetermined safe level, this condition would be reported by the position and I tion is especiallyuseful in conjunction with fire extinguishers,

markings of the stem 33. Accidental operation of the fire extinguisher is also prevented by the manner in which the button 26 is protected by the cavity 27 and the seal 28.

It will be understood that in a properly charged extin-h V? guishe r, the extinguishing agent will be in the container 11.-

i The syphon tube 14 and chamber-13, and cavity 15 would normallybe filled with. the pressurizing agent'in gaseous form. In

" practiCeQhowever, it often happens that during the pressurizing operation there may be a momentary reversal of pressure from the container up towards chamber 15 which results in compacting the chamber with the powdered extinguishing agent.

In conventional valve assemblies where the valve stem is a axial with the syphon tube, initiating discharge against said compacted powder would be impossible. The construction of the present valve assembly is such that any compacted powder is displaced sideward by a' shearing action'thus counteracting the jamming action of the compacted mass. V Further, in operation under 'intermittant discharges, the

chamber 15 may become filled with powder. owever; according to the present invention and using its construction, during discharge there is a drop in pressure on piston 34 causing it to retract toward chamber 15. This action provides the space needed to displace the compacted powder sidewards by the force exerted on the valve stem 21 and transmitted to the indicating stem which can move outwardly. The movement is therefore without any jamming effect by the compacted mass I in cavity 15 and the opening and the closing of the valve is al- The present invention has been described in some detail in connection with fire extinguishers but this is merely todemon- .strate one manner of operation. It will be understood that it. may be used for dispensing other materials and these variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

i 4 trance and exit openingsand ducts connecting said openings, said body structure forming the supporting meansfor said assembly; a valve operating means for opening and closing said valve; and means for indicating'the presure within said valve 1 at the entrance opening, and wherein said valve operating means comprisesza sealing means to close said ducts between entrance and exit openings; a valve sternsupporting said sealing means and being slideable in bearings formed by said body structure of said valve; and a spring acting upon said valve stem to maintain said valve stem and sealing means in the position closing said entrance opening from said exit opening, said sealing means and said. valve stem beingremovable from said position to form' a freepath between entrance and exit openings through depression of said valve stem against the action of said spring, and wherein said for indicating the pressure within said valve at the entrance opening comprises: a piston communicating with a duct leading to said entrance opening, piston being subject to the pressure prevailing "within said entrance opening an indicating stem fixed to said piston and'extending out of said body structure of said valve; and an indicator spring actinguponsaid piston and against said pressure, the action of said indicator spring tending to draw said. indicating stem into said bodystructure of said valve, and wherein said body structure has a valve cavity shaped to house pam of the valve, and wherein the entrance and exit ducts extend obliquely from saidvalve cavity.

- 2. The valve assembly of claim 1 wherein said valve stem has a plunger moveably disposed in a bearing surface in the intemal wall of said piston.

I 3. The valve assembly of claim 1 ,including a housing wherein said' piston slides, said housing being seated within said body structureof said valve and enclosing said indicator spring. v i i 4. The valve asscmbly of claim 3 including a sealing means between said housing and said body structure, and a scaling means between said piston and sai di housing, said sealing means preventing leakage past said piston and said housing.

' 5. The' valve assembly of claim 1 wherein said indicating "stem has markings indicative of the pres sure acting upon said piston. g

6. The valve assembly of claim 1 wherein a pushbutton is fixed to said valve stem to facilitate depressing said valve stem against the action of said spring.

ducts between entrance and exit openings.

1. A valve assembly comprising: a body structure having en 5

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