Patent Application
20180119830
The present invention relates generally to valves, and more particularly to check valves, pressure relief valves and other types of valves.
At their most basic, a valve controls the flow of a fluid or gas. Valves are integral components in almost every gas or fluid system. There are many types of valves in use today. In the case of check valves, there are ball, dual plate or double-door, spring assisted, piston or lift, and swing checks. While no one type of valve is good for all applications, each has its advantages.
The pressure relief valve is a type of valve used to control or limit the pressure in a system. The pressure is relieved by allowing the pressurized fluid to flow through the valve out of the system. The relief valve is designed to open at a predetermined pressure to protect pressure vessels and other equipment from being subjected to pressures that exceed their design limits. When the set pressure is exceeded, the relief valve becomes the “path of least resistance” as the valve is forced open and the fluid or gas is allowed to escape. As the fluid or gas escapes, the pressure inside the vessel will decrease. Once it reaches the valve's reseating pressure, the valve will close.
However, in most systems that use moving parts, there are problems specific to the part. Common valve problems include noise, vibration, reverse flow, sticking, leakage, component wear, or damage. One of the most common problems with valves are reverse flow. Reverse flow can be costly, depending upon the system in which the valve is employed.
In addition, valves are subject to wear—whenever one part rubs against another part, wear is a result, which leads to leakage and eventual failure of one or more components. A component failure can result in the valve not performing its function, which in the case of a check valve is primarily to prevent reverse flow and in the case of a pressure relief valve, preventing vessel overpressure.
Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations in the above-described, existing art. The discussion of the background to the invention included herein is included to explain the context of the invention. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the claims.
It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The Figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the valve apparatus and system (“VS”) that embodies principals of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the valve apparatus and system may be practiced without some of these specific details. Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on the valve apparatus and system. That is, the following description provides examples, and the accompanying drawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide examples of the valve apparatus and system rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations of the valve apparatus and system.
Specific embodiments of the valve apparatus and system invention will now be further described by the following, non-limiting examples which will serve to illustrate various features. The examples are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. In addition, reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
The valve apparatus and system (“VS”) of the present invention provides many novel and advantageous features. The VS can be used as a check valve or a pressure relief valve. That is, the VS can either be employed to increase the pressure in a system, or to decrease the pressure in a system. One feature of the VS is that instead of sliding or rocking over a seat to uncover an inlet or outlet port, the VS lifts from the seat with a movement perpendicular to the plane of the port. Therefore, no lubrication is required, and wear is kept to a minimum. In addition, because the VS does not require lubricants, it can operate at extremely hot or cold temperatures, that may range from 400 degrees to −70 degrees Fahrenheit.
As defined herein, “fluid” refers to fluid in the form of a gas, such as air from the atmosphere, or isolated gasses, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide or other gasses. The VS may be employed in any fluid system.
Referring now to
Attached between the mounting flange 30 and the outlet 25 is the support assembly that includes three struts 40 and a positioning chamber, or guide cylinder 45 that is attached to the struts 40 by locating member 50.
As shown in the
Referring now to
The sealing element, or O-ring 70, is shown in detail in
Referring again to
The sealing element 70 is fabricated by joining the two ends of a silicone tube using a silicone adhesive that is cured through a room-temperature cure or a heat cycle. This allows the joint to retain the same deformable characteristics. It will be appreciated that the sealing element 70 may be constructed of other materials, such as plastics, polymers, polyesters, polyolefins, polycarbonates, polyamides, polyethers, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone rubber, rubber, polyurethane, nylon and latex rubber. Other embodiments of the sealing element 70 may comprise an O-ring made without a joint, or an O-ring that is not hollow (i.e., having a solid cross-section).
The VS 10 may be used as a check valve, one-way valve or a pressure relief valve. Generally, a check valve is used to prevent any back flow, or leakage, and is used to increase pressure in a vessel or system by allowing fluid into the vessel. A pressure relief valve is used to control or limit the pressure in a system or vessel. The pressure is relieved by allowing the pressurized fluid to flow out of the system.
When the VS 10 used as a check valve, the inlet 20 may be coupled to a centrifugal compressor or other device that provides air, or other fluid. Coupled to the mounting flange 30 via fasteners positioned in the mounting apertures 35, may be any enclosed volume, such as a balloon, or other pressure vessel. For example, the VS 10 may be installed on a balloon, and used as part of a system that pumps air into the balloon. In this embodiment, the inlet 20 is coupled to a centrifugal compressor (not shown) that compresses the air. The spring 65, pushing against the diaphragm 60, keeps the sealing element 70 in contact with the sealing region 27, as shown in
The force or pressure required to compress the spring 65, and thus “open” the VS 10, allowing air to pass past the diaphragm 60 may be adjusted by changing the spring rate or preload of the spring 65. “Closing” the VS 10 (i.e., the sealing element 70 contacts the sealing region 27) occurs when the centrifugal compressor shuts off. In addition, pressure within pressure vessel will push against the diaphragm 60 and locking ring 75 providing additional force to keep the sealing element 70 in contact with the sealing region 27.
One feature of the VS 10 is that the piston 55 and guide cylinder 45 are sized to have an “precision fit.” That is, the clearance between the piston 55 and the guide cylinder 45 may generally range from 0.002 to 0.020 of an inch. As the piston 55 moves within the guide cylinder 45, air is either drawn into the guide cylinder 45 or forced out. But, due to the selected clearance between the piston 55 and the guide cylinder 45, the air cannot move freely, but instead moves at a controlled rate, thereby acting as a dampening force. Specifically, the tight fit between the piston 55 and the guide cylinder 45 restricts the passage of air into and out of the guide cylinder 45, which controls movement of the piston 55 relative to the guide cylinder 45. This restriction of movement acts to dampen any spring 65 oscillations during operation of the VS 10. Another embodiment of the present invention may eliminate the spring 65 and replace it with an electromechanical device, such as a solenoid or other actuator. Also, the piston 55 and/or guide cylinder 45 may have a surface coating to minimize friction and wear.
In another embodiment, shown in
Referring now to
As shown in
The valve system 10 and 90 may be used in virtually any industry that employs pressure vessels, such as aerospace, medical, oil/gas, cryogenics, automotive, chemical processing, agriculture, and other industries.
It is to be noticed that the term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means or elements listed thereafter. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising elements A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.
Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “coupled”, also used in the claims, may include a direct connection (for example, A is “part of” B). But, “coupled” should not be interpreted as being limitative to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device A coupled to a device B” should not be limited to devices or systems where device A is directly connected to device B. It means that there exists a path between A and B which may be a path including other devices, elements or means. Finally, the terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
Thus, it is seen that a valve apparatus, system and method is provided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above-described embodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. It is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well. That is, while the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibits differences from one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside the scope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of the following claims.
