Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to flow control devices
particularly to heavy duty valve assemblies in which the
valve seat and the valve means, such as a flap or ball
valve, can easily be replaced.
Flow control devices such as flap vàlve and`ball
valve assemblies are well known in the art. However, they
either are not well suited for heavy duty use such as, for
example, for use in the oil fields, or their wearing parts
cannot be repaired or replaced without moving or replacing
a portion of the pipe in which the device is mounted.
This tends to make repairs difficult and costly and can
give rise to excessive equipment down-time. Representative
of the known devices of this type are those described
in Canadian patents 38,790 and 822,459.
The present invention seeks to overcome these and
other disadvantages of the known flow control devices.
It is an ob~ect of the present invention to provide
flow control devices in which the valve seat and the valve
means can be replaced without dislocating the pipes leading
to and away from the valve.
It is a further object of this invention to provide
flow control devices which have a housing which is easy
to remove and insert in a pipeline and into which either
a flap valve and seat, a ball valve and seat or other
suitable flow control device can be removably inserted.
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It is a further object of the invention to provide
heavy duty flow control devices which are easy to install
into an existing pipe line.
The flow control device according to the pxesent
invention comprises:
a) a pair of coupling sleeves;
b) a hollow body having an inlet and an outlet, said
inlet and said outlet each abut~ing a respective one of
said coupling sleeves;
c) a coupling means engageable with said body and
said coupling sleeves so as to connect said body with said
coupling sleeves, said coupling means being removable in
directions away from said body so as to allow the body
to be removed laterally without dislocation o~ the coupling
sleeves as when the latter are connected in a pipe line;
d) a valve assembly including a valve seat removably
disposed within said body, the valve assembly being adapted
to control the passage of fluid through the axial flow passage
of the body.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided
a check valve adapted to be installed in a pipeline of a
given internal diameter comprising in combination:
a~ a pair of identical coupling sleeves each having
an axial flow passage therethrough, the flow passage
having an internal diameter substantially equal to the
given diameter, one axial end of each of the coupling
sleeves being threadably engageable with the end portion
of a respective pipe and the opposite end of each of
the coupling sleeves having a flat annular end surface;
b~ an integral generally tubular body having an
axial flow passage therethrough in communication with an
inlet and an outlet end, a coaxial counter bore being
provided in the inlet end of the body, the counter bore
extending from the inlet end to an annular radially in-
wardly directed shoulder and having an internal diameter
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larger than the given diameter of the pipe, the inlet
and outlet end each having a flat annular face thereon
which is adapted to come ir.to close juxtaposition with the
flat annular surface of a respective one of the coupling
sleeves with the flow passages communicating with one
another and being generally aligned;
c) valve means for controlling the passage of
fluid through the axial flow passage of the body, the
valve means including a generally annular valve seat having
an internal diameter generally equal to the given diameter
and a substantially circular flap connected to the valve
seat, the valve seat and flap being slidingly disposed
within the counter bore in the body and being axially
removable from the inlet end of the body, the upstream end
of the valve seat having a flat annular face thereon
which, when the valve seat and flap are disposed within
the body, is flush with the flat annular face of the
inlet end of the body and the downstream end of the
valve seat having a flat radial face thereon from the
periphery of which extends an annular flange in axial
direction, the annular flange abutting the annular
shoulder in the body, the flap being provided with a
hinge tangentially secured to its periphery, the hinge
being received in a recess in the annular flange and
cooperating with a transversely oriented hinge pin fixedly
anchored in the annular flange to pivotally connect the
flap to the downstream end of the valve seat for movement
between a closed position in which the flap is sealingly
received on the radial face and an open position in which
the flap is extended downstream of the valve seat
within the body, and the flap having a diameter larger
than the given diameter such that, when the flap is dis-
connected from the valve seat, the flap is prevented from
entering the flow passage through the coupling sleeves
and pipeline;
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d) a pair of coupling nuts for connecting the
body with the coupling sleeves, each of the coupling nuts
fitting over and being threadably engageable with a respec-
tive oppos;te end portion of the body such that, when the
coupling nuts are tightened, the nuts urge the flat
annular end surface of one coupling sleeve axially into
close juxtaposition with the flat annular faces on the
inlet end of the body and on the valve seat and the flat
annular end surface of the other coupling sleeve axially
into close juxtaposition with the flat annular face on
the outlet end of the body so as to effect sealing con-
nection therebetween, and when the coupling nuts are
loosened, the nuts are movable in directions away from
the body so as to allow the body to be removed laterally
from between the coupling sleeves without dislocation
of the coupling sleeves as when the latter are connected
in a pipeline;
the body being shaped that, in use, when the
valve seat and flap are disposed within the body and
the flap is in the open position, the diameter of the flow
passage through the body is at least as great as the
diameter of the flow passage through the coupling sleeve
so as to provide substantially unobstructed fluid flow
between the two coupling sleeves and to allow passage of
pipeline cleaning implements through the body.
In a typical embodiment of the invention, the coupling
sleeves are threaded over the ends of the pipe into which
the valve is mounted. The body fits between the two coupling
sleeves such that each end of the body is flush with the
end of a respective one of the coupling sleeves. Inserted
into the body from the inlet side is a suitable flow
control means such as a flap valve and seat or a ball valve
and seat. The valve seat is preferably situated such that
it ends flush with the inlet side of the body and is engaged
and held in position by an associated one of the coupling
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sleeves. The coupling means comprise a pair of coupling
nuts each of which has a flange engaging a shoulder on the
respective coupling sleeve and is threaded over one end of
the body, thus tightly connecting the body with the coupling
sleeves.
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In a valve assembly the parts which usually wear out
and need to be replaced first are the valve means and the
valve seat. Valves with replaceable valve means such as
replaceable flaps etc. are known. However, the valve
seat is also sub]ect to excessive wear, particularly when
placed in heavy duty lines, such as lines used for the
transport of raw oil or the like. Consequently, it is
important that not only the valve itself but also the
valve seat can easily be replaced.
In the flow control device according to the present
invention the valve means and valve seat can be repaired
or exchanged without dislocating or replacing the pipes
leading to and away from the valve assembly. To remove
the valve seat and valve means the coupling nuts are un-
screwed and slid away from the body to rest on the coupling
sleeves. The body is then removed laterally from between
the coupling sleeves. The dama~ed valve seat and valve means
is removed from the body and replaced with a new set. The
body is reinserted between the coupling sleeves and the
coupling nuts are tightened.
The fact that valve seat and valve means are separate
from the body of the valve assembly have the urther
advantage that these parts can be made of expensive wear
resistant material without the necessity of having to make
the whole body or flow control device of the same expensive
material.
The flow control device according to the invention
can also be installed into an existing pipe line, should
the need arise. For this purpose a piece is cut out of
the pipe, the pipe ends are threaded, a coupling nut is
slid over each of the pipe ends, the coupling sleeves are
screwed to the pipe ends, the body with the appropriate
valve means ancl seat is inserted and the coupling nuts
screwed onto the ends of the body.
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The flap valve assembly according to the invention
may be constructed so that when the flap is pushed open
by fluid entering from the inlet side of the body the
cross-section of free flow within the flow control device
is nowhere smaller than the cross-section of the pipe line.
In this way friction and turbulence within the flow control
device are kept to a minimum. This also allows the
unrestricted passage of cleaning implements, such as a
rubber ball or the like, through the flow control device.
These balls are pushed through the line under pressure to
remove deposits in the line. Such balls, also called
"pigs", are frequently used in oil lines to clear the lines
from wax deposits and the like.
The present invention will now be described in more
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which
illustrate, by way of example, several embodiments of the
invention, and in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a valve assembly
according to the invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a
flap valve assembly according to the invention;
Figure 3 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional
view of the embodiment shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional
view of an embodiment of a ball valve assembly according
to the invention.
Referring to Figure 1 valve assembly 1 comprises a pair
of couplins sleeves 10, a pair of coupling nuts 15 and a
hollow body 20. Body 20 can hold a flap valve assembly
(shown in Figures 2 and 3) a ball valve assembly (shown
in Figure 4) or another suitable valve assembly. Coupling
sleeves 10, coupling nuts 15 and body 20 have an annular
cross-section.
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Coupling sleeves 10 are each provided with an interior
thread 11 so as to enable them to fit over and engage with
respective threaded pipe ends ~shown in dashed lines in
Fig. 3). At the end which faces body 20 each coupling
sleeve 10 has a flat annular end surface 12 with an annular
groove to hold sealing O-ring 13. The outside of each
coupling sleeve 10 is provided with an annular shoulder 14
disposed immediately adjacent end surface 12.
The internal diameter of body 20 is largest at the
inlet side. About one quarter way through the length of
body 20 in the axial direction (as defined by the flow
passage through the body) there is an annular shoulder 21
extending radially inwardly. This shoulder 21 serves as
seat for valve seats 41 (Fig. 3) or 51 (Fig. 4). Shoulder
21 has a small recess 22 to provide clearance for the
hinge of the flap valve. About halfway through body 20
the diameter of the flow passage becomes progressively
smaller until it is, at the outlet end, the same as the
interior diameter of the coupling sleeves and the pipe.
The body 20 is provided at its outlet end with a flat end
face 20a which will be referred to hereinafter. At both
ends body 20 is provided with exterior thr~ads 23. Threads
23 are preferably of the same hand to facilitate tightening
of coupling nuts 15 thereon.
Coupling nuts 15 are each provided with a thread 16
on the inside thereof. ~ach of the threads16 cooperates
with one of the threads 23. The interior diameter of
coupling nuts 15 is large enough to allow the coupling
nuts to be slid over coupling sleeves 10. At the end which
is remote from body 20 each coupling nut 15 is provided
with an annular flange 17 which,in use, abuts against a
respective one of the shoulders 14 of each coupling sleeve
10 as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Thus, when the coupling
nuts 15 are ti~htened, the coupling sleeves are drawn
axially toward the opposing ends of body 20.
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The flap valve assembly 2 shown in Figures 2 and
3 further comprises an annular valve seat 41 which seats
in a bore 41a in the end o~ body 20 against the shoulder
21. A groove holding an o-ring 42 is provided in the
peripheral surface of valve seat 41 to prevent leakage of
fluid between seat 41 and bore 41a. Valve seat 41 also
includes an annular flange 48 wllich extends in the a~ial
direction to make contact with the shoulder 21 whereby to
axially locate the seat 41. A groove in radial surface 44
of valve seat 41 holds O-ring 43. A flap 45 is hingedly
mounted to flange 48. Hinge 46 is integral with flap 45
and hinge pin 47 is anchored in flange 48. Flap 45 has
a diameter larger than the diameter of the central aperture
defined by the annular valve seat 41. When flap 45 is in
the closed position O-ring 43 provides the seal between
the flat sealing face of flap 45 and valve seat 41.
It will be noted that the outer annular face 41b is
substantially flush with the associated end of body 20.
Hence when body 20 is moved laterally into position and
coupling nuts 15 are tightened, the associated coupling
sleeve comes into sealing contact with the valve seat 41
and also secures it in place. No additional means are
required to secure the valve seat 41 in position and the
latter can be easily removed from body 20 for repair or
replacement.
The ball valve assembly 3 shown in Figure 4
comprises in addition to coupling sleeves 10, coupling
- nuts 15 and body 20,an annular ball seat 51 with groove
and O-ring 52, a ball 55, a spring 56 resiliently biasing
ball 55 against ball seat 51, and a cage 60 containing ball
55 when the valve is in the open position.
The valve assembly 1 is installed by sliding coupling
nuts 15 over the pipe ends and screwing coupling sleeves
10 onto the threaded parts of the pipe ends. Following this
flap 45 and valve seat 41 are inserted into body 20 from the
inlet side. O-ring 42 provides a tight seal between the
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valve seat and the body. Valve seat 41 with flap 45 are
placed such that flange 48 abuts shoulder 21 and the center
of hinge 47 coincides with recess 22 in shoulder 21. Body
20 containing the valve assembly is inserted between the
two coupling sleeves 10 such that the valve opens under
normal flow conditions and closes when the direction of
flow is interrupted or reversed. Coupling nuts 15 are
screwed onto body 20 until their flanges 17 abut the
shoulders and press coupling sleeves 10 against body 20
and O-rings 13 against flat outer face 41b of valve seat
41 and the flat annular outlet end face 20a of body 20,
respectively. In this way tight seals between body 20 and
coupling sleeves 10 are established.
In place of flap 45 and valve seat 41 cage 60, spring
56, ball 55 and ball seat 51 can be inserted from the inlet
side into body 20.
In operation, fluid flowing in the direction of
arrow 5 enters the flow control device. In valve assembly
2 flap 45 opens and is pressed against the top of the
interior surface of body 20. In this way the diameter of
free flow 8 is nowhere smaller than the diameter of the
pipe. In valve assembly 3 ball 55 is pushed away from
ball seat 51 allowing the fluid to pass through cage 60.
In valve assembly 2 interruption of the fluid flow
allows the flap to shut and any flow in the reverse
direction will press flap 45 against O-ring 43, thus
preventing fluid from escaping. In valve assembly 3
interruption or reversal of the fluid flow removes any
pressure on the ball from the inlet side of the body and
allows spring 66 to pressball 55 ~ightly against ball
seat 51.
The diameter of flap 45 in valve assembly 2 is
larger than the diameter of the coupling sleeves and the
pipe. Therefore, should the hinge break or the flap get
otherwise disconnected, the flap cannot escape down the
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line and cause damage to other ~alves, but is trapped within
the valve assemblyO
From the foregoing description further modifications
and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the
art and the embodiments disclosed are intended only to
illustrate the invention without limiting -the scope thereof.
