Enclosed indicator for a piston in a control valve
First Claim
1. Apparatus for indicating a position of a movable device inside an assembly comprising:
- a housing;
a shaft slidably mounted inside said housing;
a first end of said shaft positioned inside said housing;
a second end of said shaft protruding from an opening in said housing into said assembly;
a groove around the circumference of said shaft proximate said second end that receives teeth from a toothed retainer ring affixed to said movable device to fixedly engage said shaft and said movable device;
said first end of said shaft sliding inside said housing responsive to said movable device moving inside said assembly; and
means on said outside of said housing for indicating a position of said first end of said shaft inside said housing.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for indicating a position of a piston inside a cylinder of a control valve. The indicator of the present invention has an enclosed shaft which prevents the use of the shaft to tamper with the piston. The position of the shaft inside a shaft housing is indicated using a pair of magnets a first magnet is connected to a first end of the shaft and a second magnet is slidably mounted to an outside of the shaft housing. As the shaft moves the first magnet inside the housing, the second magnet moves outside the housing. The second magnet and shaft housing are enclosed in a transparent housing to prevent damage. The shaft housing has a threaded connector for connecting the shaft housing to a valve housing over the piston to prevent leakage through the shaft housing. A groove in a second end of the shaft receives teeth from a toothed retaining ring affix the shaft to the piston. The second end of the shaft also has a tapered end to allow the shaft to be connected to the piston without removing the piston from the housing.
24 Citations
11 Claims
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1. Apparatus for indicating a position of a movable device inside an assembly comprising:
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a housing; a shaft slidably mounted inside said housing; a first end of said shaft positioned inside said housing; a second end of said shaft protruding from an opening in said housing into said assembly; a groove around the circumference of said shaft proximate said second end that receives teeth from a toothed retainer ring affixed to said movable device to fixedly engage said shaft and said movable device; said first end of said shaft sliding inside said housing responsive to said movable device moving inside said assembly; and means on said outside of said housing for indicating a position of said first end of said shaft inside said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. Apparatus for indicating a position of a movable device inside an assembly comprising:
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an indicator housing; a first magnet means inside said indicator housing; a shaft; a first end of said shaft protruding into said indicator housing and engaged with said first magnet means for sliding said first magnet means inside said housing to a position in said indicator housing indicating a position of said device in said assembly; a second end of said shaft protruding from an opening in said housing into said assembly; a groove around the circumference of said shaft proximate said second end that receives teeth from a toothed retainer ring affixed to said movable device to fixedly engage said shaft and said movable device; and a second magnet means slidably mounted on an exterior said indicator housing and magnetically attracted to said first magnet means which causes said second magnet means to move to a position along the exterior of said indicator housing to display an indication of said position of said device.
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11. An apparatus for indicating a position of a movable piston inside a cylinder comprising:
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a shaft housing; a shaft; a first end of said shaft slidably mounted inside said shaft housing; a second end of said shaft protruding through an opening in said shaft housing into said cylinder; a groove around the circumference of said shaft proximate said second end for receiving teeth from a toothed retainer ring affixed to an end of said piston to fixedly engage said shaft to said piston; a first magnet means affixed to said first end of said shaft inside said housing; a second magnet means slidably mounted on an outside of said shaft housing and magnetically attracted to said first magnet means which causes said second magnet means to slide to a position along said shaft housing to indicate said position of said piston in said cylinder; a transparent housing enclosing said second magnet means and said shaft housing; and a threaded means for connecting said shaft housing to a cylinder housing.
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Specification