US3662670A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Blast-actuated valve-closure system
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1970-05-26
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Granted: 1972-05-16
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Expires: 1990-05-26
Abstract
Abstract A blast-actuated valve-closure system for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast. The system comprises a plurality of louvers disposed across the opening in a normally open position. The louvers are fastened by cranks to a rod which is adapted to be moved by a rotatable actuating crank driven by a torsion spring. Normally, rotation of the actuating crank is blocked by two spring-loaded rollers interposed in a detent therein. A rotatable triggering crank is responsive to the impingement of a blast pressure wave on the louvers for unblocking the actuating crank which then effects movement of the rod for tilting the louvers to their closed position. A rotatable resetting crank is provided for restoring the actuating crank and the rod to their initial positions thereby moving the louvers to their open position. In addition, the actuating crank may alternatively be unblocked by electromechanical means which has its energization controlled either electrically by sensing devices or manually by an attendant.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert Gordon Mccoy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 22:26
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16K; F16K1/00; F16K1/16; F16K1/165; F16K17/00; F16K17/006; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S454/00; Y10S454/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, rotatable initiating means adapted for effecting by its rotation the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means, and rotatable control means adapted for effecting through its rotation the rotation of said initiating means, said control means being further adapted to be rotated in response to the impingement of a blast pressure wave on said covering means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
135 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, rotatable initiating means adapted for effecting by its rotation the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means, and rotatable control means adapted for effecting through its rotation the rotation of said initiating means, said control means being further adapted to be rotated in response to the impingement of a blast pressure wave on said covering means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
104 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising locking means having a first position adapted for blocking rotation of said actuating means, said locking means having a second position adapted for unblocking rotation of said actuating means, said rotatable initiating means including a roller adapted for effecting through its rotation the placing of said locking means in its second position and for thereby effecting the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means, and said rotatable control means having means adapted for carrying said initiating means during rotation of said control means and for thereby effecting rotation of said roller.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 2 and further comprising an instrumentality attached to said actuating means and adapted to bear against said roller with a frictional engagement adapted for producing rotation of said roller in response to the carrying of said roller by said control means during its rotation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said instrumentality is constituted by a spring-hinged lever-cam having a tilted portion for forming a ramp, said ramp being adapted for sloping in a direction away from said locking means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
126 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said covering means comprise a plurality of parallelly disposed louver blades, and further comprising coupling means for coupling said plurality of louver blades to a portion of said control means, said coupling means including an operating rod, a plurality of connecting means each having one end attached to the middle of a respective1y different one of said louver blades and having another end attached to said operating rod, said control means having means defining an arcuate slot formed in said portion thereof, and a pin attached to said operating rod and disposed in said slot, the position of said pin in said slot being adapted to be changed in response to rotation of said control means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
110 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 5 wherein said operating rod includes means defining a cavity formed therein, and further comprising an instrumentality extending through said rod and into said cavity, a block fixedly fastened inside said cavity, biasing means for normally forcing said pin to move toward one end of said slot, said biasing means including a blade having a shouldered end, said blade being slidably disposed within said cavity with said shouldered end in engagement with said instrumentality, and spring means encircling said blade for pressing in one direction against said shouldered end of said blade and for pressing in an opposite direction against said block.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising a shaft, and means for mounting both said actuating means and said control means on said shaft for rotation thereabout.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said actuating means has an unrotated position in which it normally rests and a rotated position to which it moves in response to its rotation, and further comprising rotatable resetting means adapted for returning said actuating means from its rotated position to its unrotated position.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising a shaft, and means for mounting said actuating means and said control means and said resetting means on said shaft for rotation thereabout.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
118 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, and rotatable control means adapted for effecting through its rotation the consequent rotation of said actuating means, said control means being further adapted to be rotated in response to the impingement of a blast pressure wave on said covering means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
118 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, and rotatable control means adapted for effecting through its rotation the consequent rotation of said actuating means, said control means being further adapted to be rotated in response to the impingement of a blast pressure wave on said covering means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising rotatable initiating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means, said initiating means having its rotation effected in response to the rotation of said control means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
115 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, control means for effecting the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means from an idle position to an active position, and resetting means for returning said actuating means from said active position to said idle position.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
115 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system adapted for closing an opening in response to the overpressure of a blast, said system comprising movable covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, said covering means having a surface adapted for receiving the force of a blast pressure wave, rotatable actuating means adapted for effecting through its rotation the movement of said covering means from said open position to said closed position, control means for effecting the initiation of the rotation of said actuating means from an idle position to an active position, and resetting means for returning said actuating means from said active position to said idle position.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
87 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 12 and further comprising locking means having a first position adapted for holding said actuating means in its idle position, said locking means having a second position adapted for releasing said actuating means from its idle position for movement to its operated position, said locking means including a composite detent having two holding means, one of said holding means being fixedly attached to said resetting means, and the other of said holding means being secured to said actuating means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
49 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 13 wherein one of said hoLding means includes a holding finger and the other of said holding means includes a double finger having two finger elements spaced apart by a distance at least equal to the width of said holding finger.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
56 words
A blast-actuated valve-closure system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said holding means that is fixedly attached to said resetting means is constituted by said holding finger, said holding finger having an end portion, and further comprising means defining an arcuate groove in said actuating means for receiving therein said end portion of said holding finger.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
82 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said actuating means include means defining a cavity therein and wherein said resetting means include means defining a cavity therein, and further comprising locking means adapted for locking said actuating means in its idle position, said locking means including a first portion and a second portion, said first portion being fixedly disposed in said cavity in said actuating means, and said second portion being fixedly disposed in said cavity in said resetting means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
58 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 16 wherein one of said portions of said locking means includes a single holding pin, and wherein the other of said portions of said locking means includes a double holding pin having two pin elements spaced apart by a distance at least equal to the diameter of said single holding pin.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
62 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 16 and further comprising roller means normally having a position interposed between said first and second portions of said locking means, and first pushing means positioned in a first one of said cavities and adapted for pushing said roller means into a second one of said cavities for effecting the unlocking of said actuating means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
47 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 18 and further comprising second pushing means positioned in said second one of said cavities and adapted for pushing said roller means out of said second one of said cavities after having been pushed therein by said first pushing means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
45 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 19 and further comprising activating means for effecting movement of said second pushing means, said activating means including spring means, and a cam-operable instrumentality adapted for compressing said spring means for effecting movement of said second pushing means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
90 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 16 and further comprising roller means normally having a position interposed between said first and second portions of said locking means, first pushing means positioned in a first one of said cavities and adapted for exerting pushing force against said roller means in a direction toward the second one of said cavities, second pushing means positioned in said second one of said cavities and adapted for exerting pushing force against said roller means in a direction toward said first one of said cavities.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
58 words
A valve-closure system in accordance with claim 21 and further comprising trigger means for effecting the movement of said roller means out of said interposed position, said trigger means including means for causing the pushing force exerted by one of said pushing means to become relatively stronger than the pushing force of the other of said pushing means.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
241 words
A system for alternatively covering and uncovering an opening, said system comprising covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, operating means adapted for moving said covering means alternatively from one of said positions to the other of said positions, said operating means having an unoperated position for holding said covering means in its open position and an operated position for holding said covering means in its closed position, actuating means adapted for moving said oPerating means from its unoperated position to its operated position, said actuating means having an idle position for holding said operating means in its unoperated position and an active position for holding said operating means in its operated position, locking means having a first position adapted for holding said actuating means in its idle position, said locking means having a second position adapted for releasing said actuating means from its idle position, trigger means adapted for moving said locking means from its first position to its second position for effecting the release of said actuating means from its idle position, rotatable driving means responsive to said release of said actuating means for driving said actuating means to its active position whereby said operating means is moved to its operated position thereby moving said covering means to its closed position, and resetting means adapted for returning said actuating means from its active position to its idle position.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
241 words
A system for alternatively covering and uncovering an opening, said system comprising covering means having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, operating means adapted for moving said covering means alternatively from one of said positions to the other of said positions, said operating means having an unoperated position for holding said covering means in its open position and an operated position for holding said covering means in its closed position, actuating means adapted for moving said oPerating means from its unoperated position to its operated position, said actuating means having an idle position for holding said operating means in its unoperated position and an active position for holding said operating means in its operated position, locking means having a first position adapted for holding said actuating means in its idle position, said locking means having a second position adapted for releasing said actuating means from its idle position, trigger means adapted for moving said locking means from its first position to its second position for effecting the release of said actuating means from its idle position, rotatable driving means responsive to said release of said actuating means for driving said actuating means to its active position whereby said operating means is moved to its operated position thereby moving said covering means to its closed position, and resetting means adapted for returning said actuating means from its active position to its idle position.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
70 words
A system in accordance with claim 23 wherein said rotatable driving means includes torsion means, and further comprising coupling means for coupling said torsion means to said actuating means, said torsion means being normally in a wound condition and in a state of torsional stress, and said torsion means being adapted to assume an at least partly unwound condition in response to driving said actuating means to its active position.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
70 words
A system in accordance with claim 24 wherein said resetting means has an unoperated position and alternatively has an operated position, said resetting means being normally in its unoperated position when said actuating means is in its idle position, and gear means adapted for producing a driving action for placing said resetting means in its operated position in response to the movement of said actuating means to its active position.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
107 words
A system in accordance with claim 25 and further comprising control means for reversing the driving action of said gear means for effecting the return of said resetting means from its operated position to its unoperated position, said actuating means being adapted to be returned from its active position to its idle position in response to the movement of said resetting means from its operated position to its unoperated position, and said torsion spring being adapted to resume its wound condition and return to its state of being torsionally stressed in response to the movement of said resetting means from its operated position to its unoperated position.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
188 words
A system for alternatively covering and uncovering an opening, said system comprising covering means including a plurality of parallelly disposed louver blades having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, an operating rod having means for connecting it individually to each of said louver blades for alternatively moving them from one of said positions to the other of said positions, said operating rod having an unoperated position for holding said louver blades in their open position and an operated position for holding them in their closed position, a rotatable actuating crank adapted for moving said operating rod from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said crank having two end portions, a pivot rod for rotatably supporting said actuating crank at a point intermediate said end portions, said actuating crank having an idle position for holding said operating rod in its unoperated position and an active position for holding said operating rod in its operated position, and connecting means for connecting one end portion of said rotatable actuating crank to said operating rod for effecting movement thereof.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
188 words
A system for alternatively covering and uncovering an opening, said system comprising covering means including a plurality of parallelly disposed louver blades having a closed position for covering said opening and an open position for uncovering said opening, an operating rod having means for connecting it individually to each of said louver blades for alternatively moving them from one of said positions to the other of said positions, said operating rod having an unoperated position for holding said louver blades in their open position and an operated position for holding them in their closed position, a rotatable actuating crank adapted for moving said operating rod from one of its positions to the other of its positions, said crank having two end portions, a pivot rod for rotatably supporting said actuating crank at a point intermediate said end portions, said actuating crank having an idle position for holding said operating rod in its unoperated position and an active position for holding said operating rod in its operated position, and connecting means for connecting one end portion of said rotatable actuating crank to said operating rod for effecting movement thereof.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
155 words
A system in accordance with claim 27 and further comprising torsion driving means adapted for imparting rotary motion to one of said end portions of said actuating crank for effecTing rotation of said actuating crank from its idle position to its active position, said connecting means being responsive to said rotation of said actuating crank for effecting movement of said operating rod from its unoperated position to its operated position and for thereby moving said louver blades from their open position to their closed position, and a rotatable resetting crank rotatably mounted on said pivot rod in a position adjacent to one side of said actuator crank, said resetting crank being adapted for effecting the return movement of said actuating crank from its active position to its idle position and for thereby effecting the return of said operating rod to its unoperated position and the consequent return of said louver blades to their open position.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
62 words
A system in accordance with claim 28 and further comprising gear means adapted for normally holding said resetting crank in a stationary condition, and locking means adapted for normally holding said actuator crank in a stationary condition thereby overcoming the driving influence of said torsion driving means, said locking means including means for normally pinning said actuator crank to said resetting crank.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
75 words
A system in accordance with claim 29 and further comprising trigger means for effecting the unpinning of said actuator crank from said resetting crank, said torsion driving means being responsive to said unpinning of said actuator crank for effecting the rotation of said actuator crank to its active position and for thereby effecting the movement of said operating rod to its operated position with the consequent movement of said louver blades to their closed position.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
92 words
A system in accordance with claim 30 and further comprising operating means adapted for operating said gear means for rotating said resetting crank in the same direction as that in which said actuator crank was rotated, and means for limiting the extent of said rotation of said resetting crank to the same extent as that in which said actuator crank was rotated from its idle position to its active position, and said locking means including means adapted for repinning said actuator crank while in its active position to said rotated resetting crank.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
85 words
A system in accordance with claim 31 and further comprising reversing means adapted for reversing the operation of said gear means for effecting the rotation of said resetting crank in a direction opposite to that of its previous rotation, and means for limiting the extent of said reverse rotation of said resetting crank to the same extent as that of its previous rotation, said reverse rotation of said resetting crank being adapted to effect the return of said repinned actuator crank to its idle position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3459114A
Cited
US3420155A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-05-16 | 1975-11-15 | 1976-05-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-05-16 | 1979-11-15 | 1980-05-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-05-16 | 1983-11-15 | 1984-05-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |