Ball valve with sealing means for the closure part

• US 5,332,193 A
• Filed: 08/17/1993
• Issued: 07/26/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Giacomini Industriale SPA
• Original Assignee: Giacomini Industriale SPA
• Inventors: Giacomini, Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): Fox, John C.
• Application Number:
  US08/107,507
• Time in Patent Office: 343 Days
• Field of Search: 251/314, 251/317, 251/315 BC
• US Class Current: 251/315.16
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 5/0684 on the plug

Abstract

A ball valve with seals for the closure part, each seal is profiled in cross section and can be blocked in the closure part with the assistance of annular flanges which can be bent over against the seals.

Claims

1. A ball valve, comprising:

a) a housing having a duct extending along a longitudinal axis between an inlet and an outlet, and an annular valve seat within the duct;

b) a ball mounted in the duct for turning movement, and having a bore and a pair of annular projections extending outwardly of, and being of one-piece with, the ball, said projections bounding an annular groove therebetween;

c) an annular sealing ring mounted in the groove;

d) said projections being constituted of a bendable material that is deformable from an initial position in which the projections are concentric with the longitudinal axis and spaced radially apart to receive the sealing ring, to a final position in which the projections are bent towards each other to engage and fixedly secure the sealing ring in the groove; and

e) means for jointly turning the ball and the ring secured thereon between open and closed positions in which the bore is aligned and misaligned, respectively, with the duct, said ring sealingly engaging the valve seat in the closed position.

2. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the ring has an inner cylindrical surface extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, and an inclined bottom surface bounding with the inner cylindrical surface an angle of inclination that ranges from about 90°

to about 95°

.

3. The valve according to claim 2, wherein the angle of inclination is an obtuse angle.

4. The valve according to claim 2, wherein the groove has an annular base that bounds a wedge-shaped clearance with the inclined bottom surface of the ring in the initial position.

5. The valve according to claim 2, wherein the ring has an outer curved sealing surface that sealingly engages the valve seat, and wherein the ring has an outer boundary surface radially outwardly of the sealing surface and engaged by an outer one of the projections in the final position, and wherein the ring has an inner boundary surface radially inwardly of the sealing surface and engaged by an inner one of the projections in the final position.

6. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the groove has a generally U-shaped cross-section.

7. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the ball has opposite sides relative to a central turning axis about which the turning means turns the ball, and wherein the sealing ring and the pair of projections are located at one of said sides.

8. The valve according to claim 7, and further comprising another pair of projections and another sealing ring identical to said first-mentioned pair of projections and ring, and wherein the rings and pairs of projections are located at both said sides of the ball and are symmetrically arranged relative to the turning axis.

9. The valve according to claim 8, wherein the rings are generally arranged in mutually parallel planes.