Patent Application
20140090713
The present application relates to a valve. Particularly, the present application relates to a ball valve with a vent structure that relieves pressure from the ball when the valve is in the closed position.
Ball valves are a common and well known means of selectively permitting the passage of gas or fluid. A typical ball valve includes a pipe with a ball located inside, the ball having a bore that communicates with the openings in the pipe when in the open position. The ball can be rotated into the open or closed position by a handle operable by a user. Before the ball is rotated, the bore aligns with the pipe and gas or fluid may pass through the pipe and ball. After the ball is rotated, the bore is blocked by the interior walls of the pipe and the remainder of the ball blocks gas or fluid from passing through either end of the pipe.
In the closed position, ball valves retain gas or fluid within the ball itself. The gas or fluid is trapped within the ball because the only opening in the ball, i.e., the bore, is blocked by the interior walls of the pipe. This can be especially problematic for ball valves used on boats that may encounter cold temperatures. Water can enter the ball during the day, when the ball valve is closed and when temperatures are warm. At night, however, temperatures can drop and the water trapped inside the ball can freeze and crack the interior of the ball.
Vented ball valves have been used to relieve pressure from components downstream from the valve. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,036 (the '036 Patent) discloses a ball valve having a pipe with first and second ends, as with a conventional ball valve. However, the ball valve of the '036 Patent also includes a third opening in the pipe that communicates with atmosphere, and a vent hole in the ball that communicates the third opening with a passage downstream of the ball valve. As a result, vapors downstream of the ball valve can travel through the vent hole in the ball, and through the third opening of the pipe, to be relieved into atmosphere. The '036 Patent ball valve therefore relieves pressure from vapors downstream from the ball rather than relieving vapors inside the ball itself Such a configuration requires a passage communicating with atmosphere, where such a passage may not be practical or convenient. Also, such a configuration ignores that gas or liquid may be trapped inside the ball itself, and instead focuses on pressure downstream of the valve.
The present application discloses a ball valve having a first end and a second end, where the ball selectively permits the passage of air or fluid through the first and second ends. The ball includes a vent hole that communicates with only one of the first and second ends in the closed configuration to allow gas or fluid trapped inside the ball to escape rather than expand and damage the ball.
In particular, the present application discloses a ball valve including a pipe having first and second ends, a ball movably disposed within the pipe and adapted to selectively permit passage of gas or fluid through the first and second ends, the ball having a bore defined therein adapted to communicate with the first and second ends when the ball is disposed in an open position, and having a vent hole adapted to communicate with only the first end when the ball is disposed in the closed position.
Also disclosed is a method of resisting pressure buildup in a ball disposed within a ball valve, the method including providing the ball valve having a pipe with first and second ends and a ball movably disposed within the pipe, the ball having a bore defined therein adapted to communicate with the first and second ends when in an open position, and further having a vent hole adapted to communicate with only the first end when in a closed position, and moving the ball from the open position to the closed position, and allowing gas or fluid inside the ball to escape the ball through the vent hole and through the first end, wherein interior structure of the pipe resists the gas or fluid from escaping from any opening other than the vent hole and the first end.
For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.
It should be understood that the comments included in the notes as well as the materials, dimensions and tolerances discussed therein are simply proposals such that one skilled in the art would be able to modify the proposals within the scope of the present application.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to embodiments illustrated.
The present application discloses a ball valve with a pipe having two openings. The ball valve selectively permits the passage of liquids or gasses through the two openings. The ball of the ball valve includes a vent hole that communicates with only one of the openings when the ball valve is in the closed position to allow gases or liquids trapped inside the ball to escape the ball rather than expand and damage the ball.
The first end 110 and the second end 115 can include threads that couple the pipe to other components upstream or downstream from the ball valve 100. For example, the ball valve 100 can be coupled to a live well for storing fish or other marine animals and can selectively permit the flow of water to the live well.
The ball valve 100 can be operated in either the open position, permitting the flow of gas or fluid, or can be operated in a closed position, where gas or fluid is prevented from passing through the ball valve 100. To select either the open or closed positions, a handle 125 is provided with a grip 130 that the user can hold when actuating the handle 125 and selecting either the open or closed position for the ball valve 100. The handle 125 is coupled to an extension 135 of the pipe 105, and further includes a stop 140 that can abut against a portion of the extension 135 when rotated to the open or closed position. The handle 125 can be coupled to the extension 135 by a fastener 145, as shown in
As shown in
The vent 165 is arranged inside the ball 150 so as to allow gas or fluid to escape from the ball 150 rather than freezing and/or increasing in pressure, thereby damaging the ball 150. The ball valve 100 can therefore protect the ball 150 without a complicated structure requiring an outlet to, for example, atmosphere or a reduced pressure area. Indeed, when in the closed position, the ball valve 100 permits air or fluid to escape only from the vent 165 and into one of the first 110 or second 115 ends, and does not allow gas or fluid to escape from any other opening in the ball valve 100. As shown in
As discussed above and illustrated in the figures, the ball valve 100 includes only first 110 and second 115 ends. However, the ball valve 100 can include any numbers of ends without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. For example, the ball valve 100 could include three or four ends where multiple balls 150 are used to selectively permit the flow or gas or fluid in the valve 100.
The vent 165 is disclosed above as being a simple opening in the valve 150 that communicates with the bore 160. However, the vent 165 need not communicate with the bore 160, and instead can communicate with a different shaped opening inside the ball 150. For example, the vent 165 can communicate with a rounded or rectangular opening inside the ball 150 to allow the passage of the internal gas or fluid of the ball 150 to the first 110 or second 115 ends. Any other means of communicating gas or fluid from inside the ball 150 to one of the first 110 or second 115 ends can be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.
The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of Applicants' contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.
