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Self cleaning irrigation valve with offset manual on actuator, body/bonnet alignment, and captured screws

  • US 6,263,901 B1
  • Filed: 05/26/1999
  • Issued: 07/24/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An irrigation valve, which comprises:

  • (a) a valve housing having an inlet, an outlet, a flow passageway between the inlet and outlet, a valve seat in the flow passageway, and a valve member which closes the valve by moving into engagement with the valve seat for blocking flow between the inlet and the outlet and which opens the valve by moving out of engagement with the valve seat for permitting flow between the inlet and the outlet;

    (b) a pressure chamber in the valve housing, wherein one side of the valve member is exposed to inlet fluid pressure tending to move the valve member away from the valve seat and the other side of the valve member is exposed to fluid pressure in the pressure chamber tending to move the valve member towards the valve seat;

    (c) a vertically extending boss in the valve housing, the boss having a lower end extending into the pressure chamber;

    (d) a flow control stem extending vertically through the boss in the valve housing, the flow control stem having a lower end received inside the pressure chamber with the flow control stem being rotatably received within the boss to allow the flow control stem to be moved up and down within the boss, the flow control stem extending upwardly through the boss to terminate in an upper end that is located outside the valve housing to allow the user to rotate the flow control stem relative to the valve housing from above and outside of the valve housing, and wherein the flow control stem includes a hollow interior bore therein which passes upwardly through the flow control stem from an open lower end of the bore to a closed upper end of the bore, the bore having a length which extends over a majority of the length of the flow control stem such that the closed upper end of the bore is located relatively closely adjacent the upper end of the flow control stem;

    (e) a metering pin supported in the valve housing, the metering pin extending through a metering hole in the valve member with a clearance fit and with the valve member sliding up and down on the metering pin as the valve member moves relative to the valve seat during opening and closing of the valve, and wherein inlet fluid pressure passes from the one side of the valve member through the metering hole in the clearance fit between the metering hole and the metering pin to fill the pressure chamber with inlet fluid pressure to close the valve; and

    (f) wherein the metering pin is configured and supported within the valve housing with a top end of the metering pin being supported in the closed upper end of the bore in the flow control stem in a cantilever manner to thereby provide a metering pin which is sufficiently long to be flexible about the cantilever support to thereby allow the metering pin to flex from side-to-side within the metering hole as the valve member slides up and down on the metering pin during opening and closing of the valve, thereby to help prevent debris from causing the valve member to stick or hang up on the metering pin.

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