WO2011001163A2

WO2011001163A2 - Spherical radiator drainage apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2011001163A2
Application number: PCT/GB2010/051030
Authority: WO
Inventors: Simon Johnson
Original assignee: Simon Johnson
Priority date: 2009-06-29
Filing date: 2010-06-22
Publication date: 2011-01-06
Also published as: GB2464365A; WO2011001163A3; GB2464365B; GB0911209D0

Abstract

A radiator drain valve is disclosed comprising: a substantially tubular hollow member (100) comprising an open end (101), a closed end (102), and two apertures (104); a drainage tube (106); and a spherical member (110) comprising a hollow tube (112), two engagement members (114) for engaging with said apertures, and turning means (116) which are preferably screw heads.

Description

Spherical radiator drainage apparatus

The present invention relates to drainage or drain-off valves for radiators and in particular to means for preventing leakage or spills when draining a radiator.

Radiator drain-off valves are known in the art which are fitted to a radiator when drainage is required. For example, US 6739352 to Munro discloses a self-piercing radiator drain valve which is implemented in a radiator requiring the coolant therein to be drained. A radiator foot has a blind bore. A self-piercing valve body including a piercing tip and a resilient seal is threadingly driven into the blind bore to cause the piercing tip to penetrate the bore end wall and enter into the coolant reservoir tank, thereby providing a valve orifice for draining the tank. The seal provides coolant tight sealing with respect to the valve orifice for the remaining life of the radiator. At any time in the future, coolant draining and refilling can again be performed by unthreading and the rethreading the self-piercing valve with respect to the blind bore, as recounted.

Furthermore, US 5433410 to Foltz discloses a drain valve for replacement of drain plugs or drain valves to facilitate the quick drainage of fluid from an equipment. The drain valve has a tubular housing assembly having a threaded section communicating with a threaded drain hole and a hexagonal nut section for assisting in mounting or removing the tubular housing assembly into or from the drain hole respectively. A valve stem assembly has a valve stem which extends through the tubular housing assembly and has an actuator which an operator can push to open the drain valve. A compression spring disposed between the valve stem assembly and the tubular housing assembly provides a force on the actuator to force the drain valve into a closed position. Inlets in the valve stem permit fluid to flow through a drainage bore in the valve stem when the drain valve is in the open position.

Radiator drain-off valves are known in the art which are a permanent part of a radiator. GB 2344634 to Haldenby, for example, discloses a drain valve for a wet central heating radiator comprising a tubular body with a least one radial bore in its wall and a sleeve formed with a radial outlet bore that is axially slidable between a closed position, wherein the bore(s) is sealingly isolated from the outlet bore, and an open position, wherein the bores are in communication. The tubular body may be formed integrally with a radiator control valve and may contain a plurality of spaced bores on the same circumference that open into an annular fluid flow recess with two further annular recesses either side of the fluid flow recess for retaining O-rings. Alternatively the recesses may be formed in the sleeve. The sleeve may be plastic, rotatable and is preferably locked in the closed position by a U-shaped removable clip or a grub screw located in the sleeve that engages a recess in the tubular body. The outlet can be defined by a spout configured for attachment to a hose.

US 5364069 to Minner discloses a draincock assembly for a radiator tank of the type that has a drain tube opening into a cylindrical valve body surface across a sharp aperture, with an O-ring seal on a movable valve member that is pulled back and forth across the aperture as the valve opens and closes. A guiding web is molded across the centre of the aperture, running in the axial direction. As the O-ring moves, its otherwise unsupported section is supported and guided by the web. The O-ring is prevented by the web from bulging out and being cut by the edge of the aperture.

It can be seen from the foregoing that a need has arisen for a means for quickly and easily draining liquid or coolant from a radiator without spillage.

It would be advantageous to have such a means which was built into a radiator and did not have to be added at the time of drainage. It would be further advantageous if there were no need to move external parts. It would be further advantageous to minimize the number of moving parts.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a radiator drainage valve which is permanently attached to a radiator, which provides easy, fast radiator drainage with minimal spillage and minimal moving parts.

To this end, disclosed is a radiator drain valve comprising: a substantially tubular hollow member comprising an open end, a closed end, and two apertures; a drainage tube; and a spherical member contained within the hollow member and comprising a hollow tube, two engagement members for engaging with said apertures, and turning means which are preferably screw heads.

An advantage of the present invention is that there is no need to add the valve when drainage is required. A further advantage is that there are no external moving parts which would be more subject to damage and wear than internal moving parts. A yet further advantage is that there is only one moving part which is robust in shape and material. A yet further advantage is that the mechanism for draining the radiator is simply the turning of a screw head which can be done quickly and easily without specialist equipment, using a simple screw driver, but which cannot be knocked by accident (as is possible with a tap, for example) causing accidental drainage.

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows the outside of the valve of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a blown-out diagram of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a cross section through the present invention in a closed state; and

Figure 4 shows a cross section through the present invention in a draining state.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in Figures 1 , 2, 3 and

4 in which like numerals refer to like components, a radiator drain valve is disclosed comprising: a substantially tubular hollow member 100 comprising an open end 101 , a closed end 102 and two apertures 104; a drainage tube 106; and a spherical member 1 10 comprising a hollow tube 1 12 through its centre, two engagement members 1 14 for engaging with said apertures, and turning means 1 16.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises washers 1 18 around the engagement members, and seal rings 120 around the spherical member to seal the join between the spherical member and the hollow member.

The substantially tubular hollow member is preferably shaped such that its open end communicates with the outlet of a radiator, heating system, hot water system, cold water system or other water system via a seal or connecting - A - means as widely known in the art. The closed end may be rounded squared, or any shape and may be closed by a separate member or moulded as one closed-ended piece.

The hollow member further comprises two apertures disposed 180 degrees apart at a point along the length of said hollow member. Preferably these are aligned with the horizontal plane since this gives the easiest access for drainage. However, they may be at any angle. The diameter of the apertures corresponds to that of the engagement members described below since the engagement members will protrude through the apertures. Preferably, due to the presence of the seal rings, the apertures and engagement members do not come into contact with any liquid and therefore there is no need for a further seal between the engagement members and the apertures. However, in the absence of seal rings as described below, a further seal may be necessary between the engagement members and the apertures and this falls within the scope of the invention.

The internal diameter of the hollow member is preferably largest at the point of the largest part of the spherical member, and shaped to fit around this spherical member as well as around the outer diameter of the seal rings. To each side of the spherical member and seal rings, the inner diameter of the hollow member is preferably constant and equal to the inner diameter of the seal rings.

Alternatively, the hollow member may be of constant cross section and the spherical member and seal rings may be dimensioned to fit inside it.

The hollow drainage tube preferably extends from the underside of the hollow member in order that liquid can drain easily through it assisted by gravity. However alternatively it may extend from any side. Preferably, the drainage tube has a jagged eternal profile to assist hoses and the like to be attached thereto, although it may have a smooth or any profile.

Preferably, the inlet of the drainage tube is disposed close to the spherical member such that in the case of a blockage, the spherical member can be accessed by a screwdriver or the like from the drainage tube. The spherical member preferably has an outer diameter substantially equal to the largest part of the inner diameter of the hollow member as described above, the hollow member being enlarged in the region of the spherical member to fit precisely around the largest part of the diameter of the spherical member. The spherical member further comprises a hollow tube through its centre through which fluid drains when in an open position. This tube is preferably cylindrical and of diameter the same order of magnitude as the hollow member, although it may be of any constant or non-constant cross section and diameter, the defining feature being that it is hollow, providing an aperture through which fluid can drain.

The spherical member further comprises two substantially cylindrical engagement members extending radially from the spherical member such that a line through the centres of the engagement members is perpendicular to the hollow tube. The engagement members have outer diameters equal to diameters of the apertures and are disposed inside the apertures. The engagement members are free to rotate within the apertures and thus to rotate the spherical member and thereby the hollow tube, to open and close the apparatus.

The spherical member further comprises turning means disposed at the end of each said engagement member. This turning means is preferably a screw head which may be a straight screw, Phillips style screw, Allen-key style screw or any screw head known in the art. An advantage of this is that it prevents accidental turning of the turning means to drain the radiator, for example by knocking or a child operating the turning means, as would be possible with a lever or tap mechanism. A further advantage is that it is very simple and quick to turn the turning means with readily and widely available tools. The screw head may be the same diameter as the engagement means and may protrude outside the aperture or be disposed inside the aperture or aligned with the aperture. Alternatively the screw head may have a diameter larger than the aperture and may be disposed radially outside the aperture. Alternatively the turning means may be a tap or a lever as known in the art. This may be used for example where the drainage valve is disposed in an inaccessible location such as a loft or cupboard and accidental drainage is not a significant risk. An advantage of this is that no tool is required to drain the radiator or other water system. As a further alternative, the turning means may be an uncommon shaped head, able to be turned only by a specific key. An advantage of this is that it provides control over who can drain the system.

Preferably, a washer as known in the art is disposed around each engagement member to assist turning and provide a tight seal as known in the art. Alternatively other means known in the art may be provided to seal and assist turning, or there may be no such means.

Preferably the valve further comprises at least one and preferably two seal rings. The seal rings are Teflon® rings disposed inside the tube such that its face is perpendicular to the axis of the tube. The seal rings are disposed to either side of the spherical member, between the points of largest and smallest diameter of the spherical member. Preferably the seal rings have a substantially square cross section, having an inner diameter equal to the smallest inner diameter of the hollow member, and around the outer diameter of which the hollow member is shaped. Thus the hollow member forms a close, right angled fit around the seal rings and a close, spherical fit around that part of the spherical member lying between the seal rings. An advantage of the seal rings being Teflon® rings is that this is a self-lubricating material which aids the spherical member in rotating. Furthermore, it provides a watertight seal.

In the case where there is one seal ring, the seal ring is preferably disposed on the wet side of the spherical member, that side in contact with the fluid and closest to the open end of the hollow member.

Alternatively there may be no seal rings and the hollow member may not be shaped to accommodate them.

In operation, a user uses a screwdriver, key or the like to turn the turning means by 90 degrees in either direction, which turns the hollow tube inside then spherical member from a position perpendicular to the axis of the hollow member - that is, closed as in Figure 3 where arrows 124 show the fluid flow - to a position in line with the axis of the hollow member - that is, open as in Figure 4 where arrows 125 show the fluid flow - such that the fluid drains from the radiator or water system. When the system is drained, the turning means is turned back 90 degrees to the closed position.

Claims

1. A radiator drain valve comprising:

a substantially tubular hollow member having:

- an open end;

- a closed end; and

- two apertures disposed 180 degrees apart at a point along the length of the said hollow member;

a hollow drainage tube;

a spherical member contained within the hollow member and having an outer diameter substantially equal to an inner diameter of said hollow member, the spherical member further comprising:

-a hollow tube through its centre; and

- two substantially cylindrical engagement members extending radially from said spherical member such that a line through the centres of said engagement members is perpendicular to said hollow tube, the engagement members having outer diameters equal to diameters of said apertures; and turning means disposed at the end of each said engagement member.

2. The valve of claim 1 further comprising a washer disposed around each engagement member.

3. The valve of claim 1 further comprising at least one seal ring.

4. The valve of claim 1 wherein said drainage tube has a jagged external profile to facilitate attachment of a hose.

5. The valve of claim 1 wherein an outer diameter of said spherical member is larger than an inner diameter of part of said hollow member, and wherein said hollow member comprises a section of inner profile having an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the spherical member and shaped exactly to accommodate said spherical member, whereby a risk of leakage is further reduced.

6. The valve of claim 3 wherein an outer diameter of said seal rings is larger than an inner diameter of said hollow member, wherein said hollow member comprises a section of inner profile shaped to exactly accommodate said seal rings.