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Locking gate device

  • US 9,066,376 B2
  • Filed: 03/13/2013
  • Issued: 06/23/2015
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A locking gate device comprising:

  • a pair of spaced apart fixed members presenting opposing sealing surfaces and defining a gate-receiving space between said sealing surfaces, wherein each of said fixed members defines a flow-through opening circumscribed by one of said sealing surfaces, wherein said flow-through openings are substantially aligned with one another,wherein a first of said fixed members defines a first of said flow-through openings, and wherein said first flow-through opening separates a first pressurized zone from said gate receiving space,wherein a second of said fixed members defines a second of said flow-through openings, and wherein said second flow-through opening separates a second pressurized zone from said gate receiving space;

    a gate assembly shiftable within said gate-receiving space between a closed position where said gate assembly substantially blocks said flow-through openings and an open position where said gate assembly does not substantially block said flow-through openings,wherein said gate assembly comprises a pair of spaced apart sealing plates and a drive member disposed between said sealing plates, wherein when said gate assembly is in said closed position said drive member is shiftable relative to said sealing plates between a retracted position and an extended position,wherein said gate assembly further comprises at least one pair of bearings disposed between said sealing plates, wherein shifting of said drive member from said retracted position to said extended position causes said bearings to force said sealing plates apart from one another and into a sealed position where said sealing plates engage said opposing sealing surfaces, wherein shifting of said drive member from said extended position to said retracted position allows said sealing plates to retract towards one another and into an unsealed position where said sealing plates are disengaged from said opposing sealing surfaces;

    an equilibration valve configured to selectively connect, via a fluid connection, said first pressurized zone and said second pressurized zone and operable to equalize pressures between said first and second pressurized zones while said gate assembly is in said sealed position; and

    a separate one-way valve located between said first pressurized zone and said gate receiving space or between said gate-receiving space and said second pressurized zone, wherein said one-way valve is operable to prevent substantial transfer of incompressible fluids between said first pressurized zone and said second pressurized zone when said gate assembly is in said open position.

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