Valve operator

• US 4,760,989 A
• Filed: 02/02/1987
• Issued: 08/02/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lynn T. Elliott, Ronald G. Hune
• Original Assignee: Lynn T. Elliott, Ronald G. Hune
• Inventors: Hune, Ronald G., Elliott, Lynn T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walton, George L.
• Application Number:
  US07/009,875
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 74/25, 74/89.15, 74/424.8 VA, 74/625, 74/626, 74/665 B, 74/665 Q, 74/674, 74/675, 192/141, 192/150, 137/330, 137/331, 137/243, 137/243.1, 137/243.6, 251/129.03, 251/129.12, 251/229, 251/248, 251/249.5, 251/264, 251/267
• US Class Current: 251/129.03
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/05 specially adapted for operating hand-operated valves or for combined motor and hand operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/18056 Rotary to or from reciprocating or oscillating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/18576 including screw and nut
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19056 Parallel
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/1914 Alternate drivers and driven

Abstract

A valve operator powered selectively either by an electric motor or by a manually operable handwheel, the driving connections from both the motor and the handwheel to the valve including one or more planetary gear sets each having a central pinion rotatable by the motor, a ring gear surrounding the pinion, and planet gears interposed between and meshed with the pinion and the ring gear, the planet gears being rotatable about their own axes and mounted eccentrically on a spider member rotatable about the gear axis, the spider member being operable by its rotation to transmit operating power to the valve being controlled. The ring gears of all of the gear sets are fixed in a rotatable gear case which is turned by the handwheel. A pair of non-reversing torque control devices, disposed respectively between the gear set and the motor, and between the gear set and the handwheel, prevent rotation of the motor by operation of the handwheel, and rotation of the handwheel by operation of the motor.

Claims

1. A valve operator comprising:

a. valve actuating means operable when driven to open or close a valve, depending on the direction of drive,

b. a motor,

c. a manually operable handwheel,

d. a pair of drive trains respectively interconnecting said motor and said handwheel to said valve actuating means whereby each may be caused to drive said valve actuating means selectively in either direction and

e. a pair of non-reversing torque control device interposed respectively in each of said drive trains, each of said torque control devices having a driving member interconnected to and driven by either said motor or said handwheel, and a driven member connecting said driving member to said valve actuating actuating means, and each being operable to allow either said motor or said handwheel to drive said valve actuating means in either direction, but to lock to prevent turning of the driven member thereof in either direction in response to torque applied to said driven member by any means other than said driving member, each of said torque control devices comprising a rotatable driving sleeve directly connected to and driven by said motor or by said handwheel, as the case may be, a rotatable driven sleeve axially aligned with said driving sleeve and connected to said valve actuating means by the remainder of its associated drive train, said driving and driven sleeves having axially extending segmental portions projecting into axially overlapping, transversely non-aligned relation, a fixed lock ring surrounding the axially overlapping segmental portions of said driving and driven sleeves, a generally straight lock bar extending generally diametrically between said axially overlapping segmental sleeve portions, and being of slightly less length than the internal diameter of said lock ring, and a spring biasing said lock bar transversely of itself toward the segmental portion of said driving sleeve to wedge between generally opposite interior walls of said lock ring to lock said driven sleeve against rotation by torque applied thereto, torque applied to said driving sleeve being operable to move said lock bar transversely of itself toward the segmental portion of said driven sleeve to release it from its wedging engagement in said lock ring, whereby rotation of said driving sleeve functions to turn said driven sleeve through said lock bar.