QUARTER TURN BALL VALVE WITH LIFT-OFF SEATS

• US 20150137018A1
• Filed: 10/22/2014
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Larry Rayner Russell
• Original Assignee: Larry Rayner Russell
• Inventors: Russell, Larry Rayner
• Granted Patent: US 9,328,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 251/252
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 27/067 with spherical plugs
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/52425 with a ball-shaped valve member
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/528 with pin and slot
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 5/0605 with particular plug arrangements, e.g. particular shape or built-in means
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 5/0647 Spindles or actuating means
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 5/201 with the housing or parts of the housing mechanically pressing the seal against the plug
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 5/204 with the plugs or parts of the plugs mechanically pressing the seals against the housing

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlling fluid flow with a quarter-turn ball valve with seats operated to lift off the sealing surface of the ball valve prior to ball rotation and to reseat upon completion of the ball rotation. One embodiment shown relates to a quarter-turn ball valve having a rotatable cam with an eccentric camming disk that engages a cam pocket in the ball seats to reciprocally lift off the sealing surface of the ball valve prior to ball rotation and to reseat upon completion of the ball rotation. An embodiment is also shown that provides filler pieces that restrict that flow around the ball valve whenever the ball seats are lifted off the surface of the ball valve.

Claims

1. A quarter-turn valve comprising:

(a) a valve body having a tubular bore flow passage and an intersecting transverse port, wherein the transverse port is closed on one end with a bonnet flange;

(b) a ball valve housed within the valve body and having a valve flow passage, wherein the ball valve is rotatable about a rotational axis transverse to valve flow passage to either an open position, where said valve flow passage is aligned with the bore flow passage to permit flow, or a closed position, where the valve flow passage is misaligned with the bore flow passage to prevent flow;

(c) an arcuate groove concentric with the rotational axis on an upper face of the ball valve;

(d) a pair of opposed ball seats with each seat having a cam pocket, wherein the ball seats are axially reciprocal between a first seat position where each ball seat has a spherical sealing face sealingly comated with a sealing surface of the ball valve and a second seat position where each ball seat is displaced from the sealing surface of the ball valve;

(e) a rotatable cam attached to the valve ball with a cam axis of rotation concentric with the rotational axis of the ball valve, the cam having

(i) an eccentric camming disk selectably rotatable to engage the cam pocket of each ball seat, wherein the ball seats are reciprocated between the first seat position and the second seat position by rotation of the eccentric camming disk, and

(ii) a camming pin rotationally engaged in the arcuate groove of the ball valve;

(f) a rotatable valve stem rotationally engaged with the cam and the ball valve; and

(g) a flow restricting means for restricting the flow around the ball valve whenever the ball seats are in the second seat position.

2. The quarter-turn valve of claim 10, wherein the camming disk is elliptical and wherein the cam pocket of each ball seat has an elliptical face.

3. The quarter-turn valve of claim 1, wherein the camming disk is symmetrical about two orthogonal planes through a cam axis of rotation.

4. The quarter-turn valve of claim 3, wherein the axially reciprocable valve seats are selectably engagable by rotation of the cam, wherein when the cam is in a first cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is closed, when the cam is in a second cam position the ball seats are in the second seat position and the ball valve is closed, and when the cam is in a third cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is open.

5. The quarter-turn valve of claim 4, wherein ball valve is rotated ninety degrees between the open and closed positions and the cam is rotated one hundred eighty degrees by the valve stem to move the cam between the first cam position and the third cam position.

6. The quarter-turn valve of claim 5, wherein the camming pin is moved from a first end of the arcuate groove of the ball valve to an opposed second end of the groove prior to rotation of the ball valve.

7. The quarter-turn valve of claim 3, wherein the axially reciprocable valve seats are selectably engagable by rotation of the cam, wherein when the cam is in a first cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is open, when the cam is in a second cam position the ball seats are in the second seat position and the ball valve is open, and when the cam is in a third cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is closed.

8. The quarter-turn valve of claim 1, wherein flow restricting means comprises a non-rotatable cavity seal mounting a pair of diametrically opposed filler pieces that have a close fit to the flow bore passage, the spherical surface of the ball valve and a largest diameter portion of the camming disk.

9. The quarter-turn valve of claim 1, wherein each ball seat includes an antirotation key.

10. The quarter-turn valve of claim 1, further comprising a ball seat extension in communication with a side of each ball seat opposite the ball valve.

11. A quarter-turn valve comprising:

(a) a valve body having a tubular bore flow passage and an intersecting transverse port, wherein the transverse port is closed on one end with a bonnet flange;

(b) a ball valve housed within the valve body and having a valve flow passage, wherein the ball valve rotates ninety degrees about a rotational axis transverse to valve flow passage to either an open position, where the valve flow passage is aligned with the bore flow passage to permit flow, or a closed position, where the valve flow passage is misaligned with the bore flow passage to prevent flow;

(c) an arcuate groove concentric with the rotational axis on an upper face of the ball valve;

(d) a pair of opposed ball seats with each seat having a cam pocket, wherein the ball seats are axially reciprocable between a first seat position where each ball seat has a spherical sealing face sealingly comated with a sealing surface of the ball valve and a second seat position where each ball seat is displaced from the sealing surface of the ball valve;

(e) a rotatable cam attached to the valve ball wherein the cam rotates 180 degrees about a cam axis of rotation concentric with the rotational axis of the ball valve, the cam having

(i) an eccentric camming disk selectably rotatable to engage the cam pocket of each ball seat, wherein the ball seats are reciprocated between the first seat position and the second seat position by rotation of the eccentric camming disk, and

(ii) a camming pin rotationally engaged in the arcuate groove of the ball valve;

(f) a rotatable valve stem rotationally engaged with the cam and the ball valve, the valve stem passing from the ball valve through the bonnet; and

(g) a non-rotatable cavity seal mounting a pair of diametrically opposed filler pieces that have a close fit to the flow bore passage, the spherical surface of the ball valve and a largest diameter portion of the camming disk.

12. The quarter-turn valve of claim 11, wherein the camming disk is elliptical and wherein the cam pocket of each ball seat has an elliptical face.

13. The quarter-turn valve of claim 11, wherein the camming disk is symmetrical about two orthogonal planes through a cam axis of rotation.

14. The quarter-turn valve of claim 13, wherein the axially reciprocable valve seats are selectably engagable by rotation of the cam, wherein when the cam is in a first cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is closed, when the cam is in a second cam position the ball seats are in the second seat position and the ball valve is closed, and when the cam is in a third cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is open.

15. The quarter-turn valve of claim 14, wherein the camming pin is moved from a first end of the arcuate groove of the ball valve to an opposed second end of the groove prior to rotation of the ball valve.

16. The quarter-turn valve of claim 13, wherein the axially reciprocable valve seats are selectably engagable by rotation of the cam, wherein when the cam is in a first cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is open, when the cam is in a second cam position the ball seats are in the second seat position and the ball valve is open, and when the cam is in a third cam position the ball seats are in the first seat position and the ball valve is closed.

17. The quarter-turn valve of claim 11, wherein each ball seat includes an antirotation key.

18. The quarter-turn valve of claim 17, further comprising a ball seat extension in communication with a side of each ball seat opposite the ball valve.

19. The quarter-turn valve of claim 11, wherein the filler pieces have a hemispherical surface proximal the sealing surface of the ball valve.

20. A quarter-turn valve comprising:

(a) a valve body having a tubular bore flow passage and an intersecting transverse port, wherein the transverse port is closed on one end with a bonnet flange;

(b) a ball valve housed within the valve body and having a valve flow passage, wherein the ball valve rotates ninety degrees about a rotational axis transverse to valve flow passage to either an open position, where the valve flow passage is aligned with the bore flow passage to permit flow, or a closed position, where the valve flow passage is misaligned with the bore flow passage to prevent flow;

(c) an arcuate groove concentric with the rotational axis on an upper face of the ball valve;

(d) a pair of opposed ball seats with each seat having a cam pocket and an antirotation key, wherein the ball seats are axially reciprocable between a first seat position where each ball seat has a spherical sealing face sealingly comated with a sealing surface of the ball valve and a second seat position where each ball seat is displaced from the sealing surface of the ball valve;

(e) a rotatable cam attached to the valve ball wherein the cam rotates 180 degrees about a cam axis of rotation concentric with the rotational axis of the ball valve, the cam having

(i) an eccentric camming disk selectably rotatable to engage the cam pocket of each ball seat, wherein the ball seats are reciprocated between the first seat position and the second seat position by rotation of the eccentric camming disk, and

(ii) a camming pin rotationally engaged in the arcuate groove of the ball valve;

(f) a rotatable valve stein rotationally engaged with the cam and the ball valve, the valve stem passing from the ball valve through the bonnet; and

(g) a non-rotatable cavity seal mounting a pair of diametrically opposed filler pieces that have a close fit to the transverse port, the spherical surface of the ball valve and a largest diameter portion of the camming disk.

21. The quarter-turn valve of claim 20, wherein the camming disk is symmetrical about two orthogonal planes through the cam axis of rotation and wherein rotation of the cam by the valve stem initially displaces the ball seats from the ball sealing surface and subsequently rotates the ball valve from either an open or a closed position while permitting the ball seats to reseal to the sealing surface of the ball valve by the completion of the ball rotation