Automatic shut-off valve
First Claim
1. An automatic shut-off valve comprising in combination:
- a valve body having an upper end and a lower end, first and second inlet means in the lower end of said valve body for receiving hot and cold water supplied to said valve, said valve body having at least one outlet through which discharged water flows;
a piston cylinder within said valve body, said cylinder having upper and lower ends;
a piston slidably disposed within said cylinder and having a larger effective area at its bottom end than its top end;
a spring arranged so as to urge said piston upward;
a first passageway for leading hot and cold water from said inlet means to a first volume of said cylinder above said piston;
a second passageway for leading hot and cold water from said inlet means to a second volume of said cylinder below said piston, said second passageway being arranged so that the rate of water flow into said second volume is a fraction of the rate of water flow via said first passageway into said first volume;
a third passageway for passing water from said second volume to said first volume around said piston;
means on said piston for substantially preventing flow of water from said second volume to said first volume via said third passageway when said piston is moving up in said cylinder;
a valve opening for passing mixed water from said first volume to said at least one outlet;
a valve seat in the upper end of said piston cylinder surrounding said valve opening;
a valve closure member attached to the upper portion of said piston in position to engage said valve seat when said piston moves upwardly in said piston cylinder;
a stem slidably attached to said valve body and arranged to engage and push said valve closure member down so as to open said valve opening;
a valve operating handle attached to said stem to facilitate pushing said stem downward so as to open said valve opening; and
adjustable valve means between said first and second inlet means and said cylinder for varying the proportion of hot and cold water delivered from said first and second inlet means to said first volume via said first passageway, whereby to control the temperature of mixed water discharged via said at least one outlet.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved automatic shut-off valve that allows the temperature of discharged water to be adjusted by rotating the valve operating handle. The means for shutting off the discharge of water is simplified by attaching a valve closure member directly to a piston which is pushed downward manually to initiate flow and then forced upward by a spring to seat the valve closure member and stop the water flow. The piston moves axially inside a piston cylinder that has a hole in its bottom, and a pin connected to the piston sits in the hole. The clearance between the hole and pin determines the rate at which water can flow into the cylinder, thereby controlling the rate at which the piston is returned to its normally shut position by the spring.
32 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An automatic shut-off valve comprising in combination:
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a valve body having an upper end and a lower end, first and second inlet means in the lower end of said valve body for receiving hot and cold water supplied to said valve, said valve body having at least one outlet through which discharged water flows; a piston cylinder within said valve body, said cylinder having upper and lower ends; a piston slidably disposed within said cylinder and having a larger effective area at its bottom end than its top end; a spring arranged so as to urge said piston upward; a first passageway for leading hot and cold water from said inlet means to a first volume of said cylinder above said piston; a second passageway for leading hot and cold water from said inlet means to a second volume of said cylinder below said piston, said second passageway being arranged so that the rate of water flow into said second volume is a fraction of the rate of water flow via said first passageway into said first volume; a third passageway for passing water from said second volume to said first volume around said piston; means on said piston for substantially preventing flow of water from said second volume to said first volume via said third passageway when said piston is moving up in said cylinder; a valve opening for passing mixed water from said first volume to said at least one outlet; a valve seat in the upper end of said piston cylinder surrounding said valve opening; a valve closure member attached to the upper portion of said piston in position to engage said valve seat when said piston moves upwardly in said piston cylinder; a stem slidably attached to said valve body and arranged to engage and push said valve closure member down so as to open said valve opening; a valve operating handle attached to said stem to facilitate pushing said stem downward so as to open said valve opening; and adjustable valve means between said first and second inlet means and said cylinder for varying the proportion of hot and cold water delivered from said first and second inlet means to said first volume via said first passageway, whereby to control the temperature of mixed water discharged via said at least one outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An automatic shutoff valve comprising:
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a valve body having first and second inlets for receiving hot and cold water and at least one outlet for discharging a mixture of hot and cold water; a piston cylinder within said valve body, said cylinder having first and second opposite ends and being arranged so as to provide a first passageway between it and said valve body which communicates with said first and second inlets, said cylinder also having a hole at its second end communicating with said first and second inlets, and at least one side port communicating with said passageway; an annular valve seat at said first end of said cylinder surrounding a discharge opening for passing water from said cylinder to said at least one outlet; a piston slidably disposed within said cylinder, said piston having first and second opposite ends facing said first and second ends, respectively, of said cylinder, said piston being sized so as to provide a second passageway between it and said cylinder for flow of water from said hole to said discharge opening, said cylinder having a larger effective area at its second end than its first end; a valve closure member attached to said first end of said piston and arranged so as to fully engage said valve seat and close off said discharge opening when said piston is moved toward said first end of said cylinder; a peripheral groove in said piston; at least one aperture in said piston leading from said groove to said first end of said cylinder; an O-ring disposed in said groove, said groove and O-ring being sized so that said O-ring engages the inside surface of said cylinder and also so that it can move in said groove axially of said piston, whereby said O-ring will tend to move in said groove (a) toward said first end of said piston when said piston moves toward said second end of said cylinder and (b) toward said second end of said piston when said piston moves toward said first end of said cylinder, said O-ring effectively blocking said at least one aperture when it moves in said groove toward said first end of said piston; a valve operating stem; means slidably mounting said stem in coaxial relation to said valve closure member and said piston; a piston spring urging said piston upward and away from said second end of said cylinder; a handle attached to said stem for pushing said stem toward said closure member and said second end of said cylinder; means on said valve closure member in position to be engaged by said stem and to cause said closure member to be moved by said stem away from said valve seat toward said second end of said cylinder, whereby water will flow from said first and second inlets to said at least one discharge opening via said first passageway; a pin attached to said piston and projecting into said hole in said cylinder, said pin being undersized relative to said hole so as to provide a bleed passageway therebetween whereby water may flow from said first and second inlets into the space -between said piston and said second end of said cylinder, whereby after said piston has been moved so as to disengage said valve closure member from said valve seat and said stem has been disengaged from said piston, flow of water into said space via said bleed passageway will gradually cause the piston to be hydraulically forced to move said valve closure member into flowblocking engagement with said valve seat; means rotatably mounting said cylinder in said valve body; and valve means on said cylinder for inversely blocking and unblocking said first and second inlets, respectively, as said cylinder is rotated relative to said valve body, whereby to vary the mixture of hot and cold water passing from said inlets to said at least one outlet. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An automatic shutoff valve comprising:
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a valve body having first and second inlets for receiving hot and cold water and at least one outlet for discharging a mixture of hot and cold water; a piston cylinder within said valve body, said cylinder having first and second opposite ends and being arranged so as to provide a first passageway between it and said valve body which communicates with said first and second inlets, said cylinder also having a hole at its second end communicating with said first and second inlets, and at least one side port communicating with said passageway; an annular valve seat at said first end of said cylinder surrounding a discharge opening for passing water from said cylinder to said at least one outlet; a piston slidably disposed within said cylinder, said piston having first and second opposite ends facing said first and second ends, respectively, of said cylinder, said piston being sized so as to provide a second passageway between it and said cylinder for flow of water from said hole to said discharge opening, said cylinder having a larger effective area at its second end than its first end; a valve closure member attached to said first end of said piston and arranged so as to fully engage said valve seat and close off said discharge opening when said piston is moved toward said first end of said cylinder; a peripheral groove in said piston; a resilient sealing member in said groove arranged so as to (a) allow flow of water past said piston when said piston is displaced toward said second end of said cylinder and (b) block flow of water past said piston when said piston moves toward said first end of said cylinder; a valve operating stem; means slidably mounting said stem in coaxial relation to said valve closure member and said piston; a piston spring urging said piston upward and away from said second end of said cylinder; a handle attached to said stem for pushing said stem toward said closure member and said second end of said cylinder; means on said valve closure member in position to be engaged by said stem and to cause said closure member to be moved by said stem away from said valve seat toward said second end of said cylinder, whereby water will flow from said first and second inlets to said at least one discharge opening via said first passageway; a pin attached to said piston and projecting into said hole in said cylinder, said pin being undersized relative to said hole so as to provide a bleed passageway therebetween whereby water may flow from said first and second inlets into the space between said piston and said second end of said cylinder, whereby after said piston has been moved so as to disengage said valve closure member from said valve seat and said stem has been disengaged from said piston, flow of water into said space via said bleed passageway will gradually cause the piston to be hydraulically forced to move said valve closure member into flowblocking engagement with said valve seat; means rotatably mounting said cylinder in said valve body; and valve means on said cylinder for inversely blocking and unblocking said first and second inlets, respectively, as said cylinder is rotated relative to said valve body, whereby to vary the mixture of hot and cold water passing from said inlets to said at least one outlet.
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Specification