US2557460A - Slide valve - Google Patents

Description

R. J. OTT

SLIDE VALVE June 19, 1951 Filed OGC. 16, 1946 Patented June 19, 1951 D ST TS PATNT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to slide valves and more particularly to valves employed in the actuating mechanism of gas meters.

The valve construction heretofore employed in gas meters has resulted in undue chatter after the metei has been in use sufficiently long for gum and impurities in the gas to accumulate on the valve surface. I have found that when the valve actuating rod is attached to the valve at a point in proximity to the plane of the valve seat or seating surface of the valve and approximately on a line normal to said plane and intersecting the center of mass of the valve body, valve seat chatter is entirely eliminated even after long periods of use.

.An object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a slide valve having its point of attachment with the actuating rod as close as possible to the plane of the seating surface of the valve and either at the center of mass of the valve body or at least on or closely adjacent to the line normal to said plane which intersects said center.

A further object of my invention is to provide a slide valve constructed so that access is afforded for attachment of the valve rod to the valve body at or near said desirable point.

The invention resides further in certain structural details contributing to the aforesaid primary ends, said details being hereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View showing details of the valve socket and valve rod attachment, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional elevational views showing modied forms of valve socket construction.

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

While certain novel features of the invention are disclosed'herein in considerable detail with respect to certain particular forms of thelinvention, it is not desired that the invention be limited to such details since many changes and modifications may well be made without departure from the spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.

Referring now to the drawings, valve body IIJ with its semi-cylindrical chamber 9 opening to the seating face of the valve is generally similar to slide valves commonly used in gas meters.

The valve assembly includes guide rods II and I2 which operate in guide posts I3 and I4 to retain the valve body IIJ in alignment with the valve seat I5 of the gas meter I6. Valve seat I 5 has a plurality of ports Il, I8 and i9 arranged in conventional manner. Guides I I and I2 as well as aligning posts I3 and I4 may be positioned diagonally opposite each other as i1- lustrated in Fig. l or centrally opposite or in any other manner which may be preferred.

In operation, the valve is reciprocated on the seat I5 through the medium of a valve rod 23, this rod being actuated in turn from a crank arm 24. As stated above, tendency of the valve to chatter may be eliminated by attaching the rod to the valve body at a point having specified relation to the seating surface and the center of mass of said body.

The point of attachment should if possible lie in the plane of the seating surface of the valve and at the center of mass of the valve body, and otherwise as close as possible to said plane and at least on or near a line normal to the plane and intersecting said center. In the conventional construction, however, a point having the required relation both to the seating surface and to the center of mass is contained within the charnber 9 and is not accessible for attachment of the external actuating rod. The present invention provides a valve construction aifording such access.

In accordance with the invention, valve body I0 is provided with a central pocket or recess 2G which extends downwardly through the chamber 9 substantially to the valve seat I 5 there being suiicient clearance to prevent scufing in the event of wear on the seating surface 2I of valve member Ill. The pocket is located so as to contain the center of mass of the valve body. Located on the inside 0f the pocket 2c is pin 22 securely attached to the base of the pocket and either containing or in substantial alignment vertically with the said center of mass. In assembly recess 2t receives one terminal end, 26, of a valve rod 23 which is connected at the other end to a crank arm 24. The end 2S is bifurcated and is provided at the extremity with an aperture 25 for reception of the pin 22, said aperture being in alignment with the longitudinal center line of the said terminal end portion of the rod which occupies the recess 20. Valve rod 23 has a goose neck conguration to provide clearance with the valve body, the only contact between rod and valve body being through pin 22 and the end surface of the rod. The portion 3 of the rod 23 which adjoins the crank arm 24 and extends to the base of the goose neck is in substantial alignment with the pin 22. It will be noted that the said end surface of rod 23` which rests on the bottom pocket 20 is rounded and that the inner face of aperture 25 may also be rounded if desired and is tted to the pin in a manner to preclude any substantial lost motion. It is apparent that with this construction the point of attachment of the rodl 23 fwith the valve body is in close proximity to the seating Asurface of the valve and is either at the center of mass of the valve body or on the aforesaid normal line intersecting the center. It is to ,be noted that loss of volumetric capacity in the chamber 9 resulting from the intersection thereof by the pocket 20 may be compensated-byV correspondingly enlarging the chamber.

Fig. 4 illustrates 'a modied form of `pocket in the valve wherein the sides of the pocket are substantially parallel as in'Fig. 3 but the bottom of pocket is rounded to receive the ,ball end Fig. shows a still furthermodication in the shape oi the pocket in that it is constructedwith tapered sides and a rounded bottom. Arm 232 in this construction terminates in a generally cylindrical portion 28 with a rounded end 29 ,which nts the rounded bottom of the pocket.

It will be apparent that in all of the aforedescribed embodiments the attachment between the rod 23 and of the valve i9 is in the nature of a ball and socket joint affording the valve entire freedom for self adjustment to the seat i5 without lost In each case the point of attachment at which the force is applied to the valve body through the valve rod is at or near the center of mass of the valve and also closely adjacent to Valve seat I5.

Having thus describedmy invention, I claim:

1. In a mechanically actuated, horizontally movable slide valve of the gas meter type comprising a, chamber arranged for selective registration with a plurality of portson a horizontally isposed seat for directing a how of fluid between said ports and wherein contact between the slide valve elenientand said horizontally disposed seat upon which said element slides is maintained primarily by gravity, an actuating member, and means for connecting said member to the valve element at a point substantially within the plane of the seating surface of the element on said seat and approximately on a line normal to said seatinotion between the rod and the valve.-

Vof Asaid element,

pocket and approximately on a line intersecting the center of mass of said element and normal to the plane of said seating surface.

3.A slidevalve according to claim 1 wherein the said valve element is provided with a pocket in thewtop thereof extending downwardly toward y theseating surface and terminating in a bottom portion located in a p lane substantially within the plane of said seating surface, and wherein -further the. actuating member takes the form of a longitudinally reciprocatory rod extending in major part substantially parallel and in proximity .to the. plane of the seating surface of the valve, said rod having an offset portion extending upwardly over theA top of .the valve element and `downwardly into said pocket, and having a driving connection with said element at a point in the bottom of said pocket in a plane substantially within the plane of saidseating surface.

ROBERT J. OTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED lSTATES PATENTS Number lName Date 113,616 1 Barrett Apr. 11, 1871 543,634 Scoville July 30, 1895 630,334 Mann Aug. 8, 1899 649,028 .Wrenn .May 8, 1900 979,084 Mulder Dec. 20, 1910 1,241,326 VBartholomew Sept. 25, 1917 1,275,920 Hibbard Aug. 13, 1918 1,790,168 .Paul Jan. 27, 1931 1,854,918 Adams Apr. 19, 1932 1,863,759 1 McGraw June 21, 1932 IETOREIGNA PATENTS Number Country Date 505,535 Germany Feb. 4, 1927 585,695 France Mai-.5, 1925

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