Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~635S
VALVE ASSEMBLY
This is a di~ision of copending Canadian Pa~ent
Application Serial No~ 401,074, which was filed on
April 15r 1982.
Background of the Invention
The present invention pertains to stuffing box
assemblies, and more specifically, to an improved structure
allowing easier access to the adjusting means by which the
gland is tightened against the seal between a shaft and
housing. The invention is particularly applicable to
valve assemblies, wherein the necessity for mounting a
valve actuator Glosely adjacent to the stuffing box makes
access to such adjusting means difficult. However,
various principles of the invention can also be applied to
other types of apparatus, and will be particularly useful
in those in which access to the adjusting means for a
stuffing box gland is made difficult because of adjacent
apparatus.
U.S. Patents No. 2,711,333 and No. 3,223,425
illustrate generally what is probably the most common
arrangement for providing adjustment of a packing gland
for a stuffing ~ox assembly. As shown in those patents,
the gland is provided with a radial flange, and one or
more studs mounted in the housing extend through that
flange. On the opposite side of the flange from the
housing, each stud is provided with an adjustable nut
which, when threaded inwardly toward the housing, urges
the gland ahead of it thus compressing the seal. U.S.
Patent No. 860,035 illustrates a variation for an
apparatus in which there are two generally oppositely
directed glands arranged such that both of them can be
tightened by a common set of studs and adjusting nuts.
One of the primary difficulties in accommodating the
general scheme illustrated in U.S. Patents No. 2,711,333
and No. 3,223,425, discussed above, to valve assemblies is
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that which occurs when a valve actuator must be mounted
on the housing closely adjacent the stuffing box. This
requires that some portion of the housing, or an appendage
thereto extend past the stuffing box and the gland
adjusting system while still allowiny access to the
latter. One ap~raoch to this problem is illustrated in
U.S. Patent No. 4,156,529. As shown in this patent, the
actuator is not mounted directly on the neck of the valve
body or housing, but rather, is mounted on supports spaced
laterally outwardly from the valve stem and valve neck,
the latter being truncated. This appraoch has several
disadvantages. In the first place, it is expensive in
that it requires a greater amount of material and
machining thereof to form the actuator support structure,
whether it is formed integrally with the valve housing or
attached thereto~ Furthermore, access to the actuating
nuts for adjusting the packing gland is still relatively
difficult in that the nuts must be reached through windows
formed by the actuator support structure, and in some
cases, parts of the actuator and~or other ancillary
apparatus may even overhang these windows.
Another approach is illustrated in U.S. Patent No.
2,587,474. In this structure a sleeve which bears on the
upper end of the packing gland to force it downwardly is
threaded about the exterior of the neck portion of the
housing. This arrangement is also undesirable,
particularly in valve assemblies, in that it requires
external machining of the neck and a more extensive gland
structure, including a bulky sleeve which consumes
additional space about the exterior of the neck.
i:~.9635~ '
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Summa~y of the Invent on
~ he p~esent invention p.ovides a stuEfincl box and gland
adjustin~ s~stem which not only allo~s easy access to the
adjusting means, even where an actuator or like apparatus must
be mounted closely adjacent the housing, but also minimizes the
amount of material and structure which must be provided in the
general ~alve neck/actuator support area, and further ~ithout
compensatory enlaryement or embelishment of the structure of
the gland itself.
One important eature of the pr~sent invention is that the
housing is provided with one or more flange3 extending
cgenerally laterally out~ardly from the v~lve neck, and spaced
longitudinally along the valve neck from the main body portion
- of the valve housing. The engagement portion of the gland
adjusting means, e.g. nut or screw head, which must be engaged
and rotated to tighten the packing is looated in the space thus
provided, i.e. longitudinally between the aforementioned
housing flange and the main body portion oE the valve housing,
whereas the actuator is mounted on a s`econd flange located on
the opposite side of the first mentioned flange from the main
body portion of the housing.
Another important feature of the assembly of the present
inven.ion is that, preferably between the housing flange means
and actuator mounting flange described above, the housing is
provided witl-a slot opening radially through the valve neck and
communicating with the bore of the valve neck. The packin~
gland, which has a compression portion extending into the bore
for engagement with the seal, also has a flange extending
laterally outwardly through the slot for engagement ~7ith its
adjusting means.
The structure described above allows for the elimination
of bulky lateral actuator supports or the like which not only
increase the expense of the apparatus but interfere ~;th access
to the engagement portion of the adjusting means. Such access
is further facilitated by the fact that said enga~ement portion
is located on the opposite side o~ the housing ~lange from the
actuator.
~ lthough these features can be emplo~ecl ~ith adjusting
~96~5~
means in which a stud is ~i~edly secur~d to th~ gland flange,
loosely extended thcough the housing Elange, and threadedly
engaged by an adjusting nut, even further advantages are
achieved by providing the adjusting means in the form o~ a screw
threadedly connected to the gland flange, loosely extending
through the housing flange, and having a head which abuts the
latter flange to not only serve as the aforementioned engaye-
ment portion, but also to cooperate with the housing flange in
limiting movement of the screw generally longitudinally away
from the seal. Accordingly, when the screw is rotated in a
direction which would tend to move it away from the seal, the
gland will instead be moved toward the seal. However, because
the screw need not move, it will not advance into the space
between the housing flange and the main body of the valve
housing, and this simplifies spaciny problems.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present
invention to provide an improved stuf f ing box assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such
an assembly which provides ready access to the adjusting means
for the packing gland by eliminating the need for lateral
support structures for ancillary apparatus such as a valve
actuator.
Still another object of the present invention is to
provide such an assembly which minimizes the amount of material
or structure which must be employed in the neck area of the
housing.
A further object of the present invention is to provide
such an assembly which eliminates adjusting nuts, utilizing
only adjusting screws, the latter remaining longitudinally
fixed during adjustment of the gland.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such
an assembly in which the housing has a lateral slot or hole
through which the gland flange extends.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide
such an apparatus in ~hich both the gland flange and a coop-
~rative housing flange are longitudinally spaced from the main
body portion of the housing, with the engagement portion of the
gland adjusting means being located in the space thus provided
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In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is
provided a valve assembly comprising a valve housing
including; a main body portion, a generally tubular neck
portion extending outwardly from said main body portiol~,
and housing flange means extending generally radially
outwardly from said neck portion and longitudinally spaced
from said main body portion, said valve housing having a
bore through said neck portion and the adjacent part of
said main body portion; a valve stem received in said bore
for movement with respect to said valve housing; annular
seal means within said bore surrounding said valve stem;
gland means comprising; compression means disposed at
least partially within said bore adjacent one end of said
seal means, and gland flange means adjoining said
compression means ana extending laterally outwardly
therefrom and longitudinally spaced from said main portion
of said valve housing, said gland means being movable in a
first longitudinal direction toward said seal means to
compress said seal means; and threaded adjusting means
engaged with said housing flange means and said gland
flange means and operative to move said gland means in
said first direction, said ad~usting means having a
rotatable engagement portion disposed longitudinally
between said housing flange means and said main body
portion of said valve housing and engageable to operate
said adjusting means.
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BrieE Description of the Drawings
The present invention taken in conjunction with the
invention described in copending Canadian Patent
Application Serial No. 401,074 which was filed on April
15 r 1982 r will be discussed in detail hereinbelow with the
aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of the stuffing
box area of a valve assembly.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the
apparatus of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section taken along the
line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the
arrows.
Fig. 4 is a transverse cross-section taken along the
line 4-4 in Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the
arrows.
Fig. 5 is a detailed view, similar to the upper right
portion of Fig. 2, showing a modification of the invention.
Description of the PreEerred Embodiments
ReEerrincJ Eirst to Fig. 1 there is shown the upper portion
o~ a valve assembly, more specifically a butterfly valve. The
~alve assembly includes a housing 10 comprising a gene~ally
annular main body portion 12 defining a fluid flot~way 14.
Housing 10 also includes a generally tubular nec~ portion 16
formed integrally with main body portion 12. In the normal
opeL-ating position, neck 16 will extend yenerally up-,~ardly from
main body portion 1~, and in any event, tne length of neck
1~ portion 16 extends generally radially with respect to flowway
14. As used herein, terms such as "radially," "longitu-
dinally," "laterally," etc., unless otherwise indicated, will
denote orientation with respect to neck 16.
~eferring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 in conjunction with ~ig.
lS 1, the valve housing or valve body 10 has a bore 18 extending
longitudinally through neck 16 and through the adjacent part of
main body portion 12 into com~unication with flowway 1~. In a
manner t~ell known in the art, a valve element in the for~ of a
disk (not shown? is rotatably mounted in flowway 14 to open and
close the latter. Specifically, the valve element is mounted
on a shaft or valve stem 20 which extends outwardly through bore
18 and is rotatably mounted therein. The outer end OL valve
stem 20 extends beyond housing 10 and has wrench formations 22
thereon for engagement with a valve actuator to be mounted on
25 top of housing 10. Main body 12 of housins 10 also includes
integral tabs 24 formed on the upper side of main body portion
12 generally on opposite sides of neck 16. Each tab 24 has a
bore 26 therethrough for receipt of a stud or the like used in
mounting the valve assembly in a pipeline or the like. Housins
10 further includes housing flange means in the form of a pair
of diametrically opposed flanges or ears 28 extending laterally
outwardly from neck 16 at a position spaced longitudinally
along neck 16 from main body portion 12 of the valve housing.
Extending upwardly from the upper side of flanges 28 are a pair
of slots 30 each communicating with bore 18 and opening radially
outwardly through neck 16 directly above a respective one of the
flanges 28. Finally, inteyrally formed at the upper end of neck
16 i5 an annular mounting flange 32 on which the valve actuator
~196~5 i
would be mounted. }~lange 32 has a plurality o~ b~res 34 for
receiving bolts or the lilce to secure the valve actuator to the
~lange~ ~lange 32 also has a pair of diame~rically opposed
r~cesses 36 each continuous with and forming the upper portion
S of a respective one of the slots 30 .
The upper portion o bore 18 is counterbored as shown in
Fig. 2 to provide an annular space between valve stem 20 and the
surrounding portion of housin~ 10 to receive a stack of packing
rings diagramatically indicated at 38. Rings 38 may be of any
conventional type, usually ~t least partially comprised o~ an
elastomer, and in any event, deformable so that, when com-
pressed longitudinally, they will expand radially and seal
tightly between valve stem 20 and housing 10. A rigid support
ring 40 rests on the shoulder formed between the large and sm~ll
diameter portions of bore 18 to support packing rings 38
thereabove. A packing gland has a cylindrical compression
portion 40 surrounding valve stem 20 and extending into bore 18
to rest on the upper end of the stack of packing rings 38.
Integrally formed with compression portion 40 are a pair of
gland flange arms 42 each extending laterally outwardly through
a respective one o~ the slots 30 in the housing. In the
longitudinally outermost position, flange arms 42 are received
in recesses 36. The fit of compression portion 40 àbout shaft
20 and within bore 18 is loose enough to permit it to move
longitudinally inward, the lower portions of slots 30 (in neck
163 permitting movement of flange arms 42. It can be seen that,
if the gland 40, 42 is driven inwardly, i.e., towa;d the stack
of seal rings 38, it will compress the seal rings. Thus, the
gland can be used to tighten the seal between the valve stem and
3C housing as desired.
In order to provide for such longitudinal adjustment of
gland ~t 42, a pair of adju ting screws 44 are provided. Each
of the screws 44 is oriented with its head 4~a lowermost and its
shank extending upwardly therefrom. As shown, the head 44a of
each screw abuts the underside of a respective one o~ the
housing flanges 2B, with the shank being rotatably but non-
threadedly received in a slot ~.6 in that flange. Tnence, the
shank of the scre~/44 extends fuLther longitudin311y outwardly
~635S
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and i5 threadedly connected to a respective one oE the cJland
flanges 42. Itcan be seen that th~ abutment oE the screw heads
4~a with the flanges 28 will prevent movement of screws 4~ in
an upward direction, i~e., a~1ay from the stack of seal rings 3~.
Thus, i~ screws 44 are engaged by their heads ~a and rotated
in the direction which would tend to drive them-upwardly, the
gland ~0, 42 will instead be driven downwardly against the seal
rings 38 to tighten their sealing engagement as desc-ibed
above.
It can be seen that the arrangement described above has
numerous advantages over prior art stuffing box arrangements,
particularly those commonly used on valves. The heads 44a which
form the engagement portions of the adjusting screws 44, are
disposed in the spaces formed between flanges 28 and tabs 24 and
are readily accessible for engagement to adjust the gland 40,
42. This represents a great advantage over prior art arrange-
ments ~herein the adjusting nuts were not only disposed close
to the actuator, but were also blocked laterally out~Jardl~ by
the actuator support formations paralleling the valve neck
proper. Nevertheless, this advantage is obtained i7ithout
significantly increasing the amount of material used in the
valve neck area, the only valve housin~ structures specifically
provided for the purpose of cooperating with the adjusting
system being the two relatively small ~langes 28.
Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown a modification of
the invention inwhich li~e parts have beengiven like reference
numerals. More specifically, all parts of the structure oE Fig.
S are identical to that of Figs. 1-4 except for the gland
adjusting means. In the structure of Fig. 5, the screw 44 ~Jith
its integral head 44a has been replaced by a scre~7 48 having an
adjustable nut 50 threadedly connected thereto. One end of
screw 48 is fixedly secured to gland flange 42 by a pin 52. Erom
flange 42, screw ~.8 extends downwardly and is non-threadedly
received in an oversized bore 54 in housing flange 28'. Nut 50
is secured to the lower end of screw 48 so that it abuts the
underside of flange 28'. Thus, if n~t 5~ is rotated in the
proper direction, screw 48 and glarld 40, 42 will be jointly
drawn downwardly to compress the seal rinss 38. ~lthough both
1 ~355 `
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embodiments o~ the invention achieve the general ad~anta~es o~
~oviding ready access to tne engagement portion (44a or 50) of
the ~land adjusting means, ~,hile reducing the amount of metal
which must be provided in the neck area oE the valve housing,
5 the embodiment of Figs. 1-4 may be preferred since it does not
require that any por,ion of the gland adjustin~ means move
do~nwardly along with the gland, such movement being limited by
the upper end of tab 2~.
Numerous modifications of the preferred embodiments
described above will suggest themselves to those of skill in the
art. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention be
li~ited only by the claims which follow.
