阅读说明：本技术 一种非减压球阀 (Non-pressure reducing ball valve ) 是由 维卡斯·潘迪朗·尼格霍特 拉姆钱德拉·吉里什·莫尔 于 2018-04-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及球阀领域。本发明设计一种非减压球阀,包括：一个阀杆,连接手柄用于调节进入球阀的高压流体流速；一个球体,连接阀杆用于控制球阀内的高压流体流速；一个阀座,拼接球体以固定；一个密封垫圈,位于球阀内,用于当球阀处于闭合状态时限制球阀内的高压流体流动；一个开槽环,位于球阀的阀座与密封垫圈之间。调节开槽环,以允许高压流体进入开槽环的槽内,实现阀座任一侧的流体压力平衡。(The invention relates to the field of ball valves. The invention designs a non-pressure reducing ball valve, which comprises: a valve stem connected to the handle for regulating the flow rate of the high pressure fluid into the ball valve; a ball connected to the valve stem for controlling the flow rate of the high pressure fluid in the ball valve; a valve seat for fixing the ball body; a sealing washer positioned within the ball valve for restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within the ball valve when the ball valve is in a closed position; a slotted ring is positioned between the valve seat and the sealing washer of the ball valve. The slotted ring is adjusted to allow high pressure fluid to enter the slots of the slotted ring to achieve fluid pressure equalization on either side of the valve seat.)

1. A non-reducing ball valve (150), comprising:

-a valve stem (185) for performing an on-off operation of the ball valve (150) to facilitate high pressure fluid flow within said ball valve (150);

-a ball (155) connected to said valve stem (185) for restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within said ball valve (150);

-a valve seat (160) engaged with said ball (155) to limit leakage of high pressure fluid when the ball (155) is in a closed condition;

-a sealing gasket (165) for restricting the flow of said high pressure fluid through said ball valve (150) from either side of said ball valve (150);

-a slotted ring (170) mounted between the valve seat (160) and the sealing gasket (165) of the ball valve (150);

the slotted ring (170) is adjusted to allow high-pressure fluid to enter the slotted ring (170) gap, and the required additional force is applied to the ball (155) from the back of the valve seat (160) to achieve splicing of the valve seat (160) and the ball (155), thereby preventing high-pressure fluid from flowing from the valve cavity of the ball valve (150) to the upstream and downstream of the ball valve (150).

2. The non-reducing ball valve (150) as set forth in claim 1 wherein said slotted ring (170) is fabricated from metallic and non-metallic materials, typically sheet metal.

3. The non-reducing ball valve (150) according to claim 1, wherein the slotted ring (170) is mounted downstream, upstream, or both downstream and upstream of the ball valve (150).

4. A non-reducing ball valve (150) as set forth in claim 1 including a push ring (175) for compressing said sealing gasket (165) to seal against said valve seat (160) to restrict the flow of said high pressure fluid through said ball valve (150) from either side of said ball valve (150).

5. The non-pressure reducing ball valve (150) as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sealing gasket (165) is made of graphite and similar sealing material.

6. The non-reducing ball valve (150) as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ball valve (150) maintains a force of fluid acting in a direction of said ball (155) of said valve seat (160) greater than a force of fluid acting in an opposite direction of said ball (155) of said valve seat (160).

7. The non-reducing ball valve (150) of claim 1, with a valve body (180) containing the ball (155), the valve seat (160), the sealing washer (165), the push ring (175), the spring (190), and the slotted ring (170).

8. A non-reducing ball valve (150), comprising:

-a valve stem (185) for performing an on-off operation of the ball valve (150) to facilitate high pressure fluid flow within said ball valve (150);

-a ball (155) connected to said valve stem (185) for restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within said ball valve (150);

-a valve seat (160) engaged with said ball (155) to limit leakage of high pressure fluid when the ball (155) is in a closed condition;

-a sealing gasket (165) for restricting the flow of said high pressure fluid through said ball valve (150) from either side of said ball valve (150);

-a spring cartridge (195);

-a spring located within the spring cartridge (195) for applying pressure to the valve seat (160) against the ball (155) in a manner allowing fluid to enter the enclosed space of the spring cartridge (195) thereby increasing the sealing surface area where fluid applies equal or greater force to the valve seat (160) in the direction of the ball (155).

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of mechanical engineering. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of ball valve seat structures.

Background

Ball valves are commonly used in applications where the flow rate of a fluid through a pipe is restricted or allowed. The ball valve is frequently opened and closed during operation to control the flow rate of fluid through the ball valve. During opening and closing of the ball valve, fluid is trapped in the valve chamber multiple times. Continued opening and closing of the ball valve will result in continued retention of fluid within the valve chamber, creating excessive pressure in the valve chamber due to temperature changes. Too high a pressure in the valve cavity will damage the valve components and reduce the valve performance. Traditionally, ball valves use a self-depressurising mechanism to reduce pressure.

Conventional ball valves typically have a spherical surface formed by two valve seats that mate to limit the flow rate through the ball valve when the ball is in a closed position. The valve seat with the spliced spherical surfaces may be unidirectional (preventing one-sided flow) or bidirectional (preventing two-sided flow).

In some applications, it is desirable to provide a dual isolation mechanism within a ball valve, i.e., the fluid flow rate should be limited by the valve seat downstream of the ball valve when the valve seat upstream of the ball valve is damaged due to corrosion, rust, etc., and fails to perform its intended function. For such applications, ball valves of non-depressurising design are used.

The non-pressure reducing ball valve consists of one-way valve seat to limit the flow rate in one side and one two-way valve seat to limit the flow rate in two sides of the valve seat or two-way valve seats. Non-pressure reducing designs of ball valves are proposed in the following cases: when the fluid entering the ball valve fails to limit the flow rate to cause the system to fail, the other valve seat plays a role, and the continuously spliced spherical surface is in the ball valve closed state to prevent the fluid from flowing from the valve cavity to the downstream of the ball valve. The non-depressurising design of the ball valve creates additional isolation downstream of the ball valve.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, conventional bi-directional valve seats of non-pressure reducing type designs typically use an O-ring or lip seal as the seal. When one of the isolation mechanisms (i.e., the upstream valve seat) fails, fluid enters the ball valve chamber. The force exerted by the fluid against the valve seat areas a1 and a2 always pushes the valve seat against the ball. This ensures that the valve seat is continuously spliced into a spherical surface, preventing fluid from flowing from the valve cavity downstream of the ball valve.

However, if a graphite gasket is used to seal the ball valve, it is very difficult for such non-relief designs to achieve the desired area below the line of contact of the back of the valve seat, thereby not allowing fluid in the chamber to enter the area below the diameter of contact. Such non-pressure reducing dual isolation mechanisms are currently limited to applications using O-rings or lip seals only because such seals are self-energizing, whereas for certain applications where O-rings or lip seals are not suitable for sealing ball valves using graphite gaskets, such mechanisms are not suitable because such seals are not self-energizing.

Therefore, there is a need for a non-pressure reducing ball valve having a seat with a gasket seal that alleviates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Object of the Invention

Some of the objects of the invention are as follows and are met by at least one of the following embodiments:

it is an object of the present invention to provide a non-reducing ball valve with a seat equipped with a gasket seal.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a non-reducing ball valve that prevents downstream fluid flow, thereby reducing/eliminating the possibility of any damage occurring downstream of the pipe/equipment in the event of an isolation failure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a non-reducing ball valve that improves the performance and life of the valve.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-reducing ball valve that reduces maintenance costs.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a non-reducing ball valve suitable for high and low temperature applications and customization requirements. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, without limiting the scope of the invention.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention designs a non-pressure reducing ball valve, which comprises: (i) a valve stem for performing a ball valve opening and closing operation to promote the flow of high pressure fluid in the ball valve, (ii) a ball connected to the valve stem for restricting the flow rate of the high pressure fluid through the ball valve, (iii) a valve seat for receiving the ball to restrict the leakage of the high pressure fluid when the ball is in a closed state, (iv) a sealing washer disposed in the ball valve for restricting the flow of the high pressure fluid in the ball valve, and (v) a grooved ring disposed between the valve seat and the sealing washer of the valve body. The slotted ring of the non-reducing ball valve is adjusted to allow high pressure fluid to enter the slotted ring gap, and the required additional force is applied to the ball from the back of the valve seat, so that the valve seat and the ball are spliced. Applying additional force to the ball from the back of the valve seat prevents high pressure fluid from flowing from the ball valve cavity to the upstream/downstream of the ball valve.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the slotted ring of the non-pressure reducing ball valve is made of any metallic or non-metallic material. In a preferred embodiment, the slotted ring of the non-pressure reducing ball valve is made of sheet metal. In another embodiment, the slotted rings are installed downstream, upstream or both of the ball valves, depending on different requirements.

In one embodiment, the non-pressure reducing ball valve includes a push ring that compresses the sealing gasket to effect a seat seal when the ball valve is in a closed position, thereby restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within the ball valve. In another embodiment, the sealing gasket of the non-pressure reducing ball valve is made of graphite or any similar material that can be used for sealing.

In another embodiment, the force of the fluid acting on the valve seat in the direction of the ball is greater than the force of the fluid acting on the valve seat in the opposite direction of the ball.

In one embodiment, the non-pressure reducing ball valve further comprises a valve body housing the ball, the valve seat, the sealing washer, the push ring, the spring, and the slotted ring.

Drawings

The non-reducing ball valve of the present invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional non-reducing ball valve for O-ring and lip seal applications;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a non-reducing ball valve according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the non-reducing ball valve mechanism of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4a through 4d are different cross-sectional views of slotted rings having different shapes in a non-reducing ball valve according to different embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an alternative mechanism for a non-reducing ball valve, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

list of reference numbers

Detailed Description

Ball valves are commonly used in applications where the flow rate of a fluid through a pipe is restricted or allowed. The ball valve is frequently opened and closed during operation to control the flow rate of fluid through the ball valve. During opening and closing of the ball valve, fluid is trapped in the valve chamber multiple times. Continued opening and closing of the ball valve will result in continued retention of fluid within the valve chamber, creating excessive pressure in the valve chamber due to temperature changes. Too high a pressure in the valve cavity will damage the valve components and reduce the valve performance. Traditionally, ball valves use a self-depressurising mechanism to reduce pressure.

Conventional ball valves typically have a spherical surface formed by two valve seats that mate to limit the flow rate through the ball valve when the ball is in a closed position. The valve seat with the spliced spherical surfaces may be unidirectional (preventing one-sided flow) or bidirectional (preventing two-sided flow).

In some applications, it is desirable to provide a dual isolation mechanism within a ball valve, i.e., when the valve seat upstream of the ball valve is damaged or fails due to expected operation or due to corrosion, rust, etc., the fluid flow rate should be limited by the valve seat downstream of the ball valve, and vice versa. For such applications, ball valves of non-depressurising design are used.

The non-pressure reducing ball valve consists of one-way valve seat to limit the flow rate in one side and one two-way valve seat to limit the flow rate in two sides of the valve seat or two-way valve seats. Non-pressure reducing designs of such ball valves are proposed in the following cases: when the fluid entering the ball valve fails to limit the flow rate to cause the system to fail, the other valve seat plays a role, and the continuously spliced spherical surface is in a ball valve closed state to prevent the fluid from flowing from the valve cavity to the other side of the ball valve. The non-depressurising design of the ball valve creates additional isolation upstream/downstream of the ball valve.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, conventional bi-directional valve seats of non-pressure reducing type designs typically use an O-ring or lip seal as the seal. When one of the isolation mechanisms (i.e., the upstream/downstream valve seats) fails, fluid enters the ball valve chamber. The force exerted by the fluid against the valve seat areas a1 and a2 always pushes the valve seat against the ball. This ensures that the valve seat is continuously spliced into a spherical surface, preventing fluid from flowing from the valve chamber to the upstream/downstream of the ball valve.

However, if a graphite gasket is used to seal the ball valve, it is very difficult for such non-relief designs to achieve the desired area below the line of contact of the back of the valve seat, thereby not allowing fluid in the chamber to enter the area below the diameter of contact. Such non-decompression dual isolation mechanisms are currently limited to applications using O-rings and lip seals, and are not suitable for applications using graphite-sealed ball valves. The present invention relates to a non-reducing ball valve, the valve seat of which is equipped with a sealing gasket capable of alleviating the above-mentioned drawbacks. The non-reducing ball valve of the present invention will now be described by way of specific embodiments, which do not limit the scope and ambit of the invention. A non-reducing ball valve is illustrated purely by way of example and schematic. Referring now to fig. 2 to 4d, a non-reducing ball valve is illustrated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a non-reducing ball valve 150 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the mechanism of a non-reducing ball valve 150.

The non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 of the present invention includes a valve body 180, a valve stem 185, a ball 155, a valve seat 160, a sealing gasket 165, and a grooved ring 170. The valve stem 185 is used to perform an opening and closing operation of the ball valve 150, facilitating the flow of high-pressure fluid within the ball valve 150. The ball 155 is connected to the other end of the stem 185 for restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within the ball valve 150. The ball 155 employs a hollow perforated rotating mechanism, and when the ball valve 150 is in a closed state, the hollow region of the ball 155 remains perpendicular to the passage in the ball valve 150, restricting the flow of high pressure fluid. When the ball valve 150 is in the open state, the hollow region of the ball 155 remains parallel, i.e., the hollow region of the ball 155 remains open, exchanging fluid with the passage. In one embodiment, the valve stem 185 rotates or displaces the ball 155 to achieve the open and closed states of the ball valve 150.

When the ball 155 is in the closed state, the valve body 160 of the ball valve 150 engages the ball 155, thereby limiting high pressure fluid leakage.

A seal gasket 165 restricts the flow of high pressure fluid within the ball valve 150. A sealing gasket 165 is generally located between the body 180 and the slotted ring 170 of the ball valve 150. In one embodiment, non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 includes a push ring 175 for compressing sealing gasket 165. The compression seal gasket 165 may seal against the valve seat 160, thereby restricting the flow of high pressure fluid within the ball valve 150. In another embodiment, the sealing washer 165 of the non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 is made of graphite or any similar sealing material. In one embodiment, the body 180 of the non-reducing ball valve 150 includes a ball 155, a valve seat 160, a sealing washer 165, a push ring 175, a spring, and a slotted ring 170.

A slotted ring 170 is mounted between the valve seat 160 and a sealing washer 165 of the ball valve 150. The slotted ring 170 of the non-reducing ball valve 150 is adjusted to allow high pressure fluid to enter the gap of the slotted ring 170, applying the additional force required to the ball 155 from the back of the valve seat 160, thereby achieving the splicing of the valve seat 160 to the ball 155. Applying additional force to the ball 155 from the back of the valve seat 160 prevents high pressure fluid from flowing from the valve cavity of the ball valve 150 to the upstream/downstream of the ball valve 150. The sealing surface area is increased by allowing fluid to enter the gap of the slotted ring 170 where the fluid exerts an equal or greater force on the valve seat 160 in a direction toward the ball 155, such that the side of the valve seat 160 where the force is applied is at an excessive pressure in the area above the contact line (labeled in fig. 3) away from the ball 155. The fluid pressure applied on either side of the valve seat 160 prevents the high pressure fluid from flowing from the chamber of the ball valve 150 upstream/downstream of the ball valve 150. In one embodiment of the present invention, the slotted ring 170 of the non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 is made of any metallic or non-metallic material. In a preferred embodiment, the slotted ring 170 of the non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 is made of sheet metal.

In one embodiment, the slotted ring 170 is mounted downstream, upstream, or both downstream and upstream of the ball valve 150. Dual isolation is achieved by slotted rings 170 provided upstream and downstream in the form of upstream and downstream valve seats. The dual isolation restricts high pressure fluid flow within the valve chamber and downstream. In one embodiment, the upstream and downstream valve seats act as bidirectional isolation valve seats, i.e., block fluid on both sides. In such cases, a valve cavity pressure relief valve is required to reduce the valve cavity pressure. In another embodiment, one of the upstream or downstream valve seats is unidirectional and the other is bidirectional. In another embodiment, the non-reducing ball valve 150 of the present invention maintains a greater fluid pressure acting on the valve seat 160 in the direction of the ball 155 at all times than the fluid pressure acting on the valve seat 160 in the opposite direction of the ball 155.

Fig. 3 shows a non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 with a slotted ring 170 positioned between the valve seat 160 and the graphite seal 165. B1 represents the valve seat contact point area, moving the valve seat away from the ball. B2 denotes the seal point area, moving the valve seat towards the ball. As the chamber pressure increases, the force generated by regions B1 and B2 moves the valve seat toward the ball without depressurizing, thereby maintaining the valve seat in contact with the ball.

Comparing the non-pressure reducing ball valve 150 of the present invention with the conventional ball valve 100, it has been found that by having a slotted ring 170 between the valve seat 160 and the gasket seal 165, additional forces are generated to prevent the valve seat 160 from moving away from the ball 155, keeping the valve seat 160 engaged with the ball 155.

Fig. 4a to 4d are different cross-sectional views of a slotted ring 170 having different shapes in a non-reducing ball valve 100 according to different embodiments of the present invention. In one embodiment, the slotted ring 170 may be a drilled ring (as shown in fig. 4 a), a tooling ring having four protrusions (as shown in fig. 4 b), a tooling ring having steps on the ring (as shown in fig. 4 c), and a ring form having a plurality of slots (as shown in fig. 4 d). In one embodiment, the slotted ring 170 may have any shape or size, and the cross-sectional views shown in fig. 4a through 4d do not limit the scope and ambit of the present invention.

In an alternative embodiment as shown in fig. 5, the slotted ring 170 may be provided with a spring cylinder 195 having a spring 190 therein for applying pressure to the valve seat 160 in the direction of the ball 155, increasing the sealing surface area by allowing fluid to enter the enclosed space of the spring cylinder 195, the fluid in this area applying a greater force to the valve seat 160 in the direction of the ball 155. The spring force exerted by the spring 190 maintains the valve seat 160 in contact with the ball 155 of the ball valve 150. When the valve seat 160 moves away from the ball 155 under high pressure, the valve seat 160 prevents the high pressure fluid within the valve cavity of the ball valve 150 from moving by applying a higher fluid pressure to the valve seat 160 in the direction of the ball 155. C1 represents the force acting on the area of the valve seat above the ball-seat contact diameter of the valve seat, moving the valve seat away from the ball. C2 represents the force acting on the region of the valve seat above the seat seal diameter, moving the valve seat toward the ball. This force created is equal to the difference between C2 and C1, creating a double isolation of ball valve 150.

In another embodiment, the non-reducing ball valve may be used in gas, pump, oil and gas industry, fire protection, and the like applications. The advantages of a non-reducing ball valve include: (i) preventing or limiting fluid movement downstream of the ball and seat arrangement, thereby eliminating the possibility of fluid ingress downstream of the ball valve from the valve cavity, (ii) improving ball valve performance, (iii) reducing overall maintenance costs.

Technical advantages the invention described above has a number of technical advantages, including but not limited to the realization of a non-pressure reducing ball valve with a seat and gasket seal, having the following features:

preventing upstream and downstream fluid flow, thereby reducing/eliminating the possibility of damage to valve components in the event of any isolation failure;

the performance of the valve is improved, and the service life is prolonged;

reduction of maintenance costs;

suitable for high and low temperature applications and customization requirements.

The above invention is described by way of the accompanying specific embodiments, which do not limit the scope and ambit of the invention. Are illustrated purely by way of example and in schematic form.

The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments of the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, such examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments of the invention.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be included within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments described.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

The use of the word "at least" or "at least one" indicates the use of one or more elements or components or quantities, as used in embodiments of the invention to achieve one or more desired objects or results.

All discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the common general knowledge in the relevant art in any country prior to the filing date of this patent application.

The numerical values for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities mentioned are only approximate values, it being understood that values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to these parameters, dimensions or quantities also belong within the scope of the invention, unless specifically stated to the contrary in the present description.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure, whereby it is to be clearly understood that the above description of the embodiments is made only by way of illustration and not as a limitation of the present invention.