US3787023A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bellows valve
Assignee: Nupro Co
•
Filing: 1971-08-05
•
Granted: 1974-01-22
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Expires: 1991-08-05
Abstract
Abstract A valve including a bonnet mounted on a body and having an actuator carried in a central passage in the bonnet. The body includes a fluid passageway connecting an inlet and an outlet, an annular sealing seat in the passageway and a bore intersecting the passageway substantially coaxially with said seat. The central passage in the bonnet is aligned substantially coaxially with the bore in the body, and the inner end of the actuator is connected to a non-rotatable stem which is reciprocated by the actuator into and out of sealing engagement with the seat. The connection between the stem and the actuator comprises a cup on the lower end of the actuator into which the upper end of the stem projects, and a groove around the periphery of the upper end of the stem into which a pair of detents project from the wall of the cup. Thereby the stem and actuator are locked together for coordinated axial movement while allowing relative rotational movement. The cup and the upper end of the stem present opposed, substantially cone-shaped surfaces for abutting a friction reducing ball held therebetween. The ball minimizes the amount of torque transmitted from the rotatable actuator to the nonrotatable stem. The lower end of the stem carries sealing means for co-acting with the valve seat and includes a plug mounted within a polygonal body having a plurality of rounded guiding corners for engaging the bore wall. A bellows surrounds a portion of the stem with its lower end bonded to the stem and its upper end bonded to a weld ring. The weld ring is sealingly clamped between the body and the bonnet. Concentric grooves are formed in the weld ring with at least one of the grooves opening upwardly toward a flat face on the lower end of the bonnet. The upwardly opening groove contains an O-ring sealingly compressed between the flat face of the bonnet and the bottom of the groove. Another groove is sufficiently close to an edge of the weld ring as to form an upstanding flange of radial thickness not substantially greater than the thickness of the bellows. An outwardly flaring surface merges with the terminus of the bonnet passage and its maximum diameter is greater than the diameter of the crest of the flange which is bonded to said bellows.
Inventors
- 👤 E Shufflebarger
- 👤 B Gallagher
- 👤 D Simko
- 👤 J Boylan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 08:42
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16K; F16K41/00; F16K41/10; F16K1/00; F16K1/32; F16K1/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
346 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage; a stem connected to said actuator, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with said seat upon movement of said actuator; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, the lower end of said bellows being bonded to said stem with the upper end being bonded to weld ring means, the bond between said bellows and said weld ring means comprising weld means substantially at the periphery of said bellows; concentric circumferential grooves in said weld ring means with at least one of said grooves opening upwardly toward a flat face on the lower end of said bonnet, said upwardly openIng groove retaining a sealing O-ring compressed between said flat face and the walls of said upwardly opening groove; another of said grooves being sufficiently close to an edge of said ring means as to form a projecting flange of radial thickness not substantially greater than the thickness of said bellows, said bellows periphery being welded to said flange substantially at its crest; said weld ring means being clamped between the valve body near the upper terminus of said bore and said bonnet near the lower terminus of said central passage, the internal diameter of said central passage being less than the internal diameter of said bore; a relieved surface adjacent said ring means merging with one of (a) said passage lower terminus or (b) said bore upper terminus; the maximum diameter of said relieved surface being greater than the diameter of the crest of the flange welded to said bellows; sealing means between said valve body and said weld ring means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
346 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage; a stem connected to said actuator, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with said seat upon movement of said actuator; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, the lower end of said bellows being bonded to said stem with the upper end being bonded to weld ring means, the bond between said bellows and said weld ring means comprising weld means substantially at the periphery of said bellows; concentric circumferential grooves in said weld ring means with at least one of said grooves opening upwardly toward a flat face on the lower end of said bonnet, said upwardly openIng groove retaining a sealing O-ring compressed between said flat face and the walls of said upwardly opening groove; another of said grooves being sufficiently close to an edge of said ring means as to form a projecting flange of radial thickness not substantially greater than the thickness of said bellows, said bellows periphery being welded to said flange substantially at its crest; said weld ring means being clamped between the valve body near the upper terminus of said bore and said bonnet near the lower terminus of said central passage, the internal diameter of said central passage being less than the internal diameter of said bore; a relieved surface adjacent said ring means merging with one of (a) said passage lower terminus or (b) said bore upper terminus; the maximum diameter of said relieved surface being greater than the diameter of the crest of the flange welded to said bellows; sealing means between said valve body and said weld ring means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention of claim 1 in which said sealing means comprises a sealing ring interposed between said valve body and said weld ring means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
The invention of claim 1 in which said relieved surface is an outwardly flared surface defined on said bonnet and said flange of said weld ring means is defined substantially adjacent the inner surface of said weld ring means with said bellows upper end welded to said flange in substantially a vertical position.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
56 words
The invention of claim 1 in which said relieved surface is an outwardly flared surface defined on said valve body and said flange of said weld ring means is defined at the bottom most surface of said weld ring means with said upper end of said bellows welded to said flange in substantially a horizontal position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The invention of claim 1 in which the width of the crest of the flange of said weld ring means is not substantially less than two times nor substantially greater than three and one-half times the thickness of said bellows.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The invention of claim 1 in which said sealing means comprises a weld bead at the external surface of said valve body and said weld ring means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The invention of claim 6 in which a cooperating rise and recess are defined in said body and said weld ring means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
250 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage and being selectively rotatable in said passage; a substantially non-rotatable stem having a lower end projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved along said bore into and out of engagement with said seat responsive to rotational movement of said actuator; connection means between said stem and said actuator; said connection means comprising a cup-shaped portion on one of said actuator and said stem and a projecting end on the other of said actuator and said stem with opposed semicircular shaped grooves defined in both said cup-shaped portion and said projecting end; a pair of detent means projecting from said cup-shaped portion and into said opposed grooves for locking said stem and said actuator together while allowing relative rotational movement therebetween; the opposed faces of said cup-shaped portion and said projecting end having a concave, substantially cone-shaped surface for engaging a friction reducing ball held therebetween to minimize the amount of torque transmitted from said actuator to said stem during rotation of said actuator to effect movement of said stem into and out of engagement with said seat.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
250 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage and being selectively rotatable in said passage; a substantially non-rotatable stem having a lower end projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved along said bore into and out of engagement with said seat responsive to rotational movement of said actuator; connection means between said stem and said actuator; said connection means comprising a cup-shaped portion on one of said actuator and said stem and a projecting end on the other of said actuator and said stem with opposed semicircular shaped grooves defined in both said cup-shaped portion and said projecting end; a pair of detent means projecting from said cup-shaped portion and into said opposed grooves for locking said stem and said actuator together while allowing relative rotational movement therebetween; the opposed faces of said cup-shaped portion and said projecting end having a concave, substantially cone-shaped surface for engaging a friction reducing ball held therebetween to minimize the amount of torque transmitted from said actuator to said stem during rotation of said actuator to effect movement of said stem into and out of engagement with said seat.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The invention of claim 8 in which said detents are positioned substantially 180* apart in order to impart balanceD thrust forces to said stem from said actuator.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention of claim 8 in which the diameter of the semicircular groove in said stem is greater than the diameter of said detents.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
239 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body portion having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage in threaded engagement with said bonnet; secondary seal means at said actuator and said bonnet and positioned above the threads of said actuator and said bonnet; a substantially non-rotatable stem, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with said seat in response to rotation of said actuator in said threaded engagement; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, the lower end of said bellows being bonded to said stem with the upper end being bonded to ring means; said ring means being clamped between said valve body and said bonnet; connection means between said actuator and said stem for locking said actuator and said stem together while allowing for relative rotational movement therebetween, said connection means being positioned above said ring means; an externally projecting shoulder extending from said actuator and positioned above said connection means, a complementary internally extending shoulder defined on said bonnet, said shoulders together defining a back seat seal.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
239 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body portion having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a bonnet connected to said body and having a central passage aligned substantially coaxial with said bore; an actuator projecting through said central passage in threaded engagement with said bonnet; secondary seal means at said actuator and said bonnet and positioned above the threads of said actuator and said bonnet; a substantially non-rotatable stem, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with said seat in response to rotation of said actuator in said threaded engagement; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, the lower end of said bellows being bonded to said stem with the upper end being bonded to ring means; said ring means being clamped between said valve body and said bonnet; connection means between said actuator and said stem for locking said actuator and said stem together while allowing for relative rotational movement therebetween, said connection means being positioned above said ring means; an externally projecting shoulder extending from said actuator and positioned above said connection means, a complementary internally extending shoulder defined on said bonnet, said shoulders together defining a back seat seal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
72 words
The invention of claim 11 in which the sealing means of said stem comprises a tip connected to the stem end, said tip including a polygonal body coaxially aligned with said stem, said polygonal body having a plurality of guiding corners for engaging the bore wall of said body, the lower end of said polygonal body including a cavity opening toward said annular sealing seat, and a plug disposed in said cavity.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
43 words
The invention of claim 11 wherein the interengaging threads of said actuator and said bonnet serve to reciprocate the stem between open and closed positions, the ratio of the axial length of the threads to thread diameter being not substantially less than 1.5.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
The invention of claim 11 in which at least one port is defined in said bonnet between said back seat seal and the interengaging threads of said actuator and said bonnet.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
81 words
The invention of claim 11 in which said connection means is defined as a cup-shaped member on either one of said actuator or said stem and a projecting end on the other of said actuator or said stem with the opposed faces of said cup-shaped member and said projecting end each having a concave, substantially cone-shaped surface for abutting a friction reducing ball held therebetween to minimize the amount of torque transmitted from the rotatable actuator to the vertically reciprocatable stem.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention of claim 15 in which the externally projecting shoulder of said actuator is defined by the upper surface of said cup-shaped portion.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
50 words
The invention of claim 15 in which opposed semi-circular shaped grooves are defined in said cup-shaped portion and said projecting end and a pair of detent means project from the wall of said cup-shaped portion into said grooves for locking the stem and actuator together while allowing relative rotational movement.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
The invention of claim 17 in which the detent means are spaced 180* apart so as to transmit balanced thrust forces to said stem from said actuator.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention of claim 17 in which the diameter of the groove in said stem is larger than the diameter of said detent means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
The invention of claim 11 in which the operating stroke of the stem from the fully closed position to the fully opened position moves tHe bellows from a state of extension to a state of compression.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
42 words
The invention of claim 20 in which the bellows in the valve closed position is extended 20 percent beyond the free state bellows position, and the bellows in the valve opened position is compressed 80 percent beyond the free state bellows position.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
176 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a substantially non-rotatable stem, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be selectively longitudinally moved within said bore into and out of sealing engagement with said seat; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, said bellows having one end bonded to seal means at said stem and the other end bonded to seal means at said body; said sealing means of said stem comprising a tip connected to the stem end, said tip including a polygonal body coaxially aligned with said stem, said polygonal body having a plurality of guiding corners for engaging the bore wall of said body, the lower end of said polygonal body including a cavity opening toward said annular sealing seat, and a plug disposed in said cavity.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
176 words
A valve comprising in combination: a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, a fluid passageway interconnecting said inlet, outlet and said bore, and an annular sealing seat in said passageway substantially coaxial with said bore; a substantially non-rotatable stem, the lower end of said stem projecting into said bore and including sealing means to engage said seat, said stem adapted to be selectively longitudinally moved within said bore into and out of sealing engagement with said seat; a bellows surrounding a portion of said stem, said bellows having one end bonded to seal means at said stem and the other end bonded to seal means at said body; said sealing means of said stem comprising a tip connected to the stem end, said tip including a polygonal body coaxially aligned with said stem, said polygonal body having a plurality of guiding corners for engaging the bore wall of said body, the lower end of said polygonal body including a cavity opening toward said annular sealing seat, and a plug disposed in said cavity.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-01-21 | 1977-07-23 | 1978-01-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-01-21 | 1981-07-23 | 1982-01-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-01-21 | 1985-07-23 | 1986-01-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |