Valve construction
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A gate valve construction comprising;
- a valve body having an inlet and a circular discharge orifice;
a flat flexible gate for said discharge orifice;
means for supporting and moving said gate in front of and away from said orifice;
said gate being adapted to be sealed against said orifice by upstream fluid pressure to define a dished configuration therein which is concave toward said inlet;
a rigid back-up disc fixed against the central portion of said gate;
said disc having a peripheral outline which is substantially less than the diameter of said orifice thereby enabling the outer portion of said flexible gate to define said dished configuration; and
positioning means for said gate comprising, a bar having a central portion and a pair of projections extending in parallel relation from opposite ends thereof, means pivotally attaching said central portion to said backup disc, said means pivotally attaching including a pivot pin, said projections being disposed radially outwardly of said orifice with said gate disposed upstream of said orifice, each of said projections having a positioning surface thereon, and a pair of positioning members fixed in said valve body at diametrically opposed positions thereof and also radially outwardly of said orifice, each of said members having an inclined surface which is adapted to be engaged by an associated positioning surface, said inclined surfaces serving as cam surfaces which engage said positioning surfaces and position said bar and gate in front of said orifice while allowing free pivoting movement of said bar and gate about said pivot pin and also allowing unobstructed forming of said dished configuration.
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Abstract
A gate valve construction is provided and comprises, a valve body having an inlet and a discharge orifice, a flexible gate for the discharge orifice, and a mechanism for supporting and moving the gate in front of and away from the orifice with the gate being adapted to be sealed against the orifice by upstream pressure defining a dished configuration in the gate which is concave toward the inlet.
21 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A gate valve construction comprising;
- a valve body having an inlet and a circular discharge orifice;
a flat flexible gate for said discharge orifice;
means for supporting and moving said gate in front of and away from said orifice;
said gate being adapted to be sealed against said orifice by upstream fluid pressure to define a dished configuration therein which is concave toward said inlet;
a rigid back-up disc fixed against the central portion of said gate;
said disc having a peripheral outline which is substantially less than the diameter of said orifice thereby enabling the outer portion of said flexible gate to define said dished configuration; and
positioning means for said gate comprising, a bar having a central portion and a pair of projections extending in parallel relation from opposite ends thereof, means pivotally attaching said central portion to said backup disc, said means pivotally attaching including a pivot pin, said projections being disposed radially outwardly of said orifice with said gate disposed upstream of said orifice, each of said projections having a positioning surface thereon, and a pair of positioning members fixed in said valve body at diametrically opposed positions thereof and also radially outwardly of said orifice, each of said members having an inclined surface which is adapted to be engaged by an associated positioning surface, said inclined surfaces serving as cam surfaces which engage said positioning surfaces and position said bar and gate in front of said orifice while allowing free pivoting movement of said bar and gate about said pivot pin and also allowing unobstructed forming of said dished configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- a valve body having an inlet and a circular discharge orifice;
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8. A gate valve construction comprising;
- a valve body having an inlet and circular discharge orifice generally of the order of several feet in diameter;
a flexible gate for said discharge orifice;
means for supporting and moving said gate in suspended relation in front of and away from said orifice;
said gate being adapted to be sealed against said orifice by upstream fluid pressure to define a dished configuration therein which is concave toward said inlet;
said gate being of rectangular outline having a width and a length each of which is greater than the diameter of said orifice;
said gate being in the form of a flat metal sheet having a comparatively small thickness generally of the order of a fraction of an inch;
a centrally disposed circular back-up disc fixed against the central portion of said gate;
said disc having a diameter which is substantially less than the diameter of said orifice thereby enabling the outer portion of said flexible gate to define said dished configuration; and
positioning means for said gate comprising, a bar having a central portion and a pair of projections extending in parallel relation from opposite ends thereof, means pivotally attaching said central portion to said back-up disc, said means pivotally attaching including a pivot pin, said projections being disposed radially outwardly of said orifice with said gate disposed upstream of said orifice, each of said projections having a positioning surface thereon, and a pair of positioning members fixed in said valve body at diametrically opposed positions thereof and also radially outwardly of said orifice, each of said members having an inclined surface which is adapted to be engaged by an associated positioning surface, said inclined surfaces serving as cam surfaces which engage said positioning surfaces and position said bar and gate in front of said orifice while allowing free pivoting movement of said bar and gate about said pivot pin and also allowing unobstructed forming of said dished configuration. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
- a valve body having an inlet and circular discharge orifice generally of the order of several feet in diameter;
- 12. A gate valve construction comprising, a valve body having an inlet and a discharge orifice, a flexible gate of flat sheet material for said discharge orifice, and means for supporting and moving said gate in front of and away from said orifice, said gate being adapted to be sealed against said orifice by upstream fluid pressure to define a dished configuration therein which is concave toward said inlet, said supporting and moving means comprising track means together with cooperating antifriction rollers and a plurality of support shafts fixed to said gate and supporting said rollers on said gate, said orifice being of circular outline and said gate being of rectangular outline having a width and a length each of which is greater than the diameter of said orifice, said track means comprising a pair of spaced tracks of U-shaped cross section and said rollers comprise a plurality of sets of antifriction rollers corresponding in number to said plurality of said support shafts, each set of rollers being rotatably supported on its support shaft and each set of rollers comprising a pair of rollers disposed within an associated track with their axes of rotation in mutually perpendicular planes.
Specification