Pendulum vacuum gate valve

• US 7,731,151 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2007
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kenneth K.L. Lee
• Original Assignee: Kenneth K.L. Lee
• Inventors: Lee, Kenneth K L
• Primary Examiner(s): Bastianelli; John
• Application Number:
  US11/904,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20090084997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 985 Days
• Field of Search: 251/195, 251/193, 251/302, 251/301, 251/335.2, 251/175, 251/61
• US Class Current: 251/61
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 3/06 in the form of closure plates arranged between supply and discharge passages F16K3/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 3/10 with special arrangements for separating the sealing faces or for pressing them together
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/043 characterised by mechanical means between the motor and the valve, e.g. lost motion means reducing backlash, clutches, brakes or return means

Abstract

A pendulum vacuum gate valve comprised of a housing for enclosing a valve plate assembly having a pair of air pressure actuated floating seal plates disposed on opposite sides of the valve plate assembly which is actuated by a gate arm to reciprocate between open and closed positions and intermediate stop positions for controlling gas flow between intake and exhaust conduits connected to the housing.

Claims

1. A pendulum vacuum gate valve comprising

a housing for enclosing a valve plate assembly, said housing having a pair of aligned openings disposed on opposite sides of said housing for attachment of intake and exhaust conduits thereto, said housing being formed to permit said valve plate assembly to be reciprocated from an open position, out of alignment with said opposed openings, through an infinite number of intermediate stop positions, to a closed position between said aligned openings not in contact there with,

said valve plate assembly attached to an actuating gate arm disposed internally of said housing and formed to reciprocate said valve plate assembly between said open and closed positions and said intermediate stop positions as a primary throttle control for controlling relatively large scale gas flow between said intake and exhaust conduits,

a pair of floating seal plates disposed on opposite sides of said valve plate assembly and constrained within the circumference thereof by flanges projecting from opposite sides of said valve plate assembly proximate to the circumferences of said seal plates and restraining said seal plates therein, said seal plates formed to mate and seal with the interior surfaces of said aligned openings of said housing when said valve plate assembly is aligned therewith in said closed position and actuated to move said seal plates outward longitudinally along a longitudinal axis to the seal position which seals said valve,

a pair of air actuated diaphragms disposed generally parallel to the seal plates and trapped between the seal plates and valve plate assembly, traversing the longitudinal axis and secured to opposite sides of said valve plate assembly and formed to move said seal plates outward from said valve plate assembly into contact with the interior surfaces of said aligned openings to seal said valve when said valve plate assembly is aligned with said openings and said diaphragms are fully actuated to the seal position or to an infinite number of intermediate positions short of said seal positions to provide a secondary throttle control for fine tuning the gas flow between said intake and exhaust conduits,

a motor powered drive assembly secured to said actuating gate arm to reciprocate it through a portion of an arc to move said valve plate assembly within said housing between said open and said closed positions and to variable throttling positions there between, and

means for expanding and contracting said diaphragms to move said adjacent seal plates respectively.

2. The pendulum gate valve of claim 1 wherein said valve plate assembly is formed of a first ring member having said actuating arm secured thereto, said pair of diaphragms being sealed to opposite sides of said first ring member, said ring member having flanges projecting outward from the periphery thereof on opposite sides thereof for retaining said seal plates within said flanges respectively.

3. The pendulum gate valve of claim 2 wherein said valve plate assembly includes a pair of second ring members formed for deposition on opposite sides of said first ring member concentric thereto and forming said flanges, said second ring members formed to encircle said diaphragms on opposite sides of said first ring member between said second ring members.

4. The pendulum gate valve of claim 2 wherein the motor powered drive assembly is secured to the exterior of said housing and extends through said housing.

5. The pendulum valve of claim 2 including an air pressure communication channel extending from an inlet on said motor powered drive assembly through said assembly and said actuating arm and communicating with the space formed internally of said first ring member whereby changes in air pressure induced into said air communication channel expand or collapse said diaphragms actuating said seal plates to expand or contract and thereby allowing said seal plates to infinitely change position in said housing between said closed and said seal positions for fine tune throttling the gas flow or to seal it off.

6. A pendulum vacuum gate valve comprising

a housing for enclosing a valve plate assembly, said housing having a pair of aligned openings disposed on opposite sides of said housing for attachment of intake and exhaust conduits thereto, said housing formed to permit said valve plate assembly to be reciprocated from an open position, out of alignment with said opposed openings, to a closed position between said aligned openings, not in contact therewith,

said valve plate assembly having a first ring member secured to an actuating gate arm disposed internally of said housing, said gate arm formed to reciprocate said valve plate assembly between said open and closed positions and an infinite number of throttling positions there between as a primary throttle control for gas flow between said intake and exhaust conduits,

a pair of second ring members disposed on opposite sides of said first ring member concentric thereto and forming flanges projecting outward from the periphery of said first ring member for constraining seal plates within said flanges respectively,

a pair of floating seal plates disposed on opposite sides of said valve plate first ring member within the peripheries of said second ring members and formed to mate and seal with the interior surfaces of said aligned openings when actuated to a seal position when said valve plate assembly is aligned therewith in said closed position,

a pair of air actuated diaphragms disposed generally parallel to the seal plates and trapped between the seal plates and valve plate assembly, traversing a longitudinal axis and sealed to opposite sides of said first ring member of said valve plate assembly between said first and second ring members and formed to move said seal plates along the longitudinal axis outward from said valve plate assembly between said closed position through an infinite number of throttling positions to said seal position to provide a secondary throttle control for fine tuning gas flow between said intake and exhaust conduits and to seal said valve when said valve plate assembly is aligned with said openings and said diaphragms are fully actuated to said seal position,

a motor powered drive assembly secured to the exterior of said housing and extending there through and engaging said actuating gate arm to reciprocate it through a portion of an arc to move said valve plate assembly between said open and said closed positions of movement, and

means for expanding and contracting said diaphragms to move said respective adjacent seal plates, said means including an air pressure communication channel extending from an inlet on said motor driven rotor assembly through said assembly and said actuating arm and communicating with the space formed internally of said first ring member between said diaphragms whereby changes in air pressure induced into said air communication channel expand or collapse said diaphragms actuating said seal plates to expand or contract and thereby allowing said seal plates to change position in said housing to infinitely open or close said valve for throttling gas flow or seal it off.

7. The valve of claim 1 comprising means for moving the seal plate along the longitudinal axis that consists essentially of the air actuated diaphragms and means for changing air pressure acting on the diaphragms.

8. The valve of claim 6 comprising means for moving the seal plate along the longitudinal axis that consists essentially of the air actuated diaphragms and means for changing air pressure acting on the diaphragms.