GB2166847A

GB2166847A - Axial flow valve

Info

Publication number: GB2166847A
Application number: GB08512258A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jozsef Banyai; Attila Fodor; Ferenc Szokolai
Original assignee: ALFOELDI KOEOLAJIPARI GEPGYAR
Current assignee: ALFOELDI KOEOLAJIPARI GEPGYAR
Priority date: 1984-05-21
Filing date: 1985-05-15
Publication date: 1986-05-14
Also published as: NL8501405A; DE3515989A1; FR2564555A1; HU196480B; HUT37664A; GB8512258D0

Abstract

This invention relates to a valve with axial flow and large nominal diameter having a housing (1) and at least one valve member (4) displaceable therein. A sleeve (2) which is coaxial with the flow axis is fixed inside the housing (1) by ribs (3) which are attached to the housing (1) and arranged in the direction of flow, and the one or more than one valve member (4) which is displaceable in the direction of the flow axis and a mechanism for displacing said one or more than one locking member is provided in the sleeve (2). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Axial flow valve This invention relates to a valve with axial flow and large nominal diameter having a housing and at least one locking member displaceable therein.

The above-mentioned valves with large nominal diameter are used primarily in large, long-distance pipelines for carrying gas or oil under high pressure. Considerable force is required for closing and opening the locking members of these valves, i.e. for operating the valves, with the result that the valves are fairly complicated in construction.

In the known, conventional valve constructions, the fluid passing through is in most cases deflected twice through 90". This not only increases the flow resistance but also necessitates the application of such a great closing force that it becomes impossible to displace the locking member by hand to close the valve. The opposing forces acting on the locking member become extremely great at the end of the closing process. In such cases, external transmissions connected to the valve from outside the housing are used for producing the high closing forces required.

These external transmissions are driven by motors, e.g. by electric or hydraulic motors.

Such external transmissions are generally also used in conjunction with remote controlled valves.

The known valves equipped with external transmissions dimension perpendicular to the direction of flow amounts to 6 to 8 times the nominal diameter. They therefore take up a considerable amount of space, and their considerable weight is also a significant factor.

These disadvantages make it difficult to transport and assemble the valves, and the transmissions require a considerable expenditure in material and labour for their manufacture and are therefore very expensive.

Valves with axial flow through them have already become known in the state of the art.

In these valves, the change in direction of flow of the medium is less, with the result that the amount of space required for these valves is also less, but the disadvantages of the high forces required for closing the valves and the transmissions required for producing these forces remain. The external transmission displaces a toothed rack in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the valve.

This toothed rack is connected with another, helically geared rack which is arranged in the longitudinal axis of the valve. The locking member is connected to one end of this helically geared toothed rack.

It may be considered to be the most serious disadvantage of these known valves that the transmission of force by means of the toothed racks is relatively inefficient, whereby the force available for displacing the locking member is even further reduced. As already mentioned above, the great weight and large dimensions due to the presence of the external transmission are also disadvantages of these known valves. Moreover, the manufacturing costs could not be reduced with this solution, in most cases quite the contrary.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the disadvantages of the known solutions and at the same time provide a valve with axial throughflow which has a large nominal diameter and can be used in long distance pipelines with high internal pressure but has smaller dimensions, less weight, a simpler design and more compact structure and in which operation of the valve is also simpler and easier to carry out.

It may be seen as the basic idea of the invention for solving the above composite problem that the transmission is not to be built on the outside of the valve but to be integrated with the interior of the housing of the valve.

The further development according to the invention lies in the fact that a sleeve coaxial with the axis of flow is attached in the interior of the valve housing by ribs which are arranged in the direction of flow and connected to the housing, and that the one or more than one locking member which is displaceable in the direction of the flow axis and a mechanism for displacing this locking member are provided in the sleeve.

According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, an annular flow chamber is formed between the housing and the sleeve, and the one or each locking member is arranged to cooperate with a valve seat in the housing.

According to the invention, the mechanism displacing the locking member may be provided with a worm drive having a worm-spindle which may be connected to an operating hand-wheel and a worm-wheel which may be associated with at least one locking member.

It is advantageous according to the invention if the worm-spindle is fixed to a shaft connected to the hand-wheel, which shaft extends through the housing, one of the ribs and the sleeve and is rotatably mounted therein, and the worm-spindle extends into the interior of the sleeve and engages with the worm-wheel which is rotatably mounted in the sleeve, and the worm-wheel has a threaded bore coaxial with the flow axis and engaging with an externally threaded spindle of a longitudinally displaceable rod which is supported to move in a straight line along the central axis, and the locking member which is guided in the sleeve is fixed to the rod.The sleeve may be closed at its end remote from the locking member and may have a central bore coaxial with the flow axis, in which bore are inserted a support disc holding the worm wheel, another disc supporting the wormwheel from the other side, and the locking member. Furthermore, the said support disc, which is secured against rotation in relation to the sleeve, may have a bore in which the rod is seated and a groove which receives a sliding key fixed to the rod and guides the rod to move in a straight line. The other disc, which is held in its axial position by locking rings, may have a bore in which the rod is guided.

The locking member may be attached to the rod by a screw connection.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the sleeve again has a central bore coaxial with the flow axis and containing, on each side of the worm wheel, a support disc holding this wheel while at each end of the rod, the sleeve contains a locking member connected to the rod by screw connections, and each of the supporting discs, which are secured against rotation in relation to the sleeve, has a bore in which the rod is seated and a groove which receives a sliding key attached to the rod and guides the rod to move in a straight line.

According to the invention, the mechanism displacing the locking member may comprise not only a worm-gear but also an eccentric mechanism. It is then advantageous if the sleeve is closed at its end remote from the locking member and has a central bore coaxial with the flow axis into which is inserted a cup-shaped retaining sleeve which is closed off against the locking member and is shorter than the sleeve, and the worm-spindle is ri gidly attached to a shaft connected to the hand-wheel, said shaft extending through the housing, one of the ribs, the sleeve and the retaining sleeve and being rotatably mounted therein. Moreover, the worm-spindle advantageously extends into the interior of the retaining sleeve and engages with the worm-wheel which is mounted in the retaining sleeve to rotate about a pin.The worm wheel is connected to the locking member by means of a longitudinally displaceable rod which extends through a closure cover of the retaining sleeve and is guided therein to move in a straight line. The eccentric mechanism may provide the connection to the locking member by way of the rod.

In one eccentric mechanism which is an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a spindle is provided on each side of the worm wheel in an eccentric position with respect to the pin, and carries an arm. The two arms extend on either side of the worm wheel and worm spindle and may be connected to the rod on each side at their other end to be freely rotatable about a pin.

In another advantageous embodiment of the eccentric mechanism, a positively guiding track placed eccentrically to the pin may be provided on each side of the worm wheel, and the rod may be forked to extend down each side of the worm spindle and worm wheel inside the retaining sleeve, both arms of the fork having attached thereto a pin engaging in the corresponding positively guiding track.

In another advantageous embodiment of the mechanism for displacing the locking member, a gear wheel is attached to the pin of the worm wheel on each side of said wheel, and the rod extends as a fork into the interior of the retaining sleeve on both sides of the worm spindle and worm wheel, and each arm of the fork of the rod has a toothing in the form of a toothed rack on the surface facing the gear-wheels.

Instead of providing an eccentric mechanism, it is also advantageous for the purpose of the invention to provide a bevel-wheel drive for the mechanism displacing the locking member. In that case, at least one cone bevelwheel of the drive may be connected to the operating hand-wheel of the valve by a shaft and at least one ring bevel-wheel may be connected to the locking member by means of a rod which is longitudinally displaceable in the flow axis. The said shaft may be rotatably mounted in a bushing extending through the housing, one of the ribs and the sleeve.

In this embodiment, the sleeve may be closed at its end remote from the locking member and may be provided with a central bore coaxial with the flow axis and containing a disc which is secured against rotation and axially supports the ring beve!-wheel, another disc which is supported against axial displacement and supports the ring bevel-wheel axially from the other side, and the locking member.

The first-mentioned disc may have a centralaxial threaded bore to which is connected a threaded spindle which is continuous with the rod but has a larger diameter, and the ring bevel wheel may be mounted on the rod to be longitudinally displaceable but torque transmitting. For this purpose, the bevel wheel may have a groove designed to receive a sliding key fixed in the rod. Moreover, a circular ball-bearing may be provided between the discs and the ring bevel-wheel.

In another advantageous embodiment of the bevel-wheel drive, the sleeve is again closed at its end remote from the locking member and has a central bore coaxial with the flow axis, in which are seated a rotatably mounted first ring bevel-wheel which is supported against axial displacement towards the closed end of the bore, a second ring bevel-wheel which is axially supported against the first ring bevel-wheel and is mounted on the rod to be tongue transmitting and longitudinally displaceable thereon, and a disc which is secured against axial displacement and axially supports the second ring bevel-wheel, the first ring bevel-wheel having a greater diameter than the second. A first cone bevel-wheel engaging with the first ring bevel-wheel and a second cone bevel-wheel engaging with the second ring bevel-wheel are connected to the shaft of the hand-wheel.The first ring bevel-wheel has a central threaded bore engaging with a threaded spindle which is continuous with the rod but has a larger diameter.

The second ring bevel-wheel may have a groove which receives a sliding key fixed in the rod.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the mechanism displacing the locking member may be provided with an arrangement converting the rotation of the operating hand-wheel into a longitudinal displacement and a second arrangement which is connected with the first arrangement and converts the first longitudinal displacement into a second longitudinal displacement perpendicular thereto, which second arrangement is connected to the locking member.

In this variation of the embodiment, the first arrangement may be situated in a bore extending through the housing, one of the ribs and the sleeve while the second arrangement may be arranged in a central bore of the sleeve coaxial with the flow axis, which sleeve is closed at its end remote from the locking member.

The bore of the first arrangement may contain a rotatable but axially secured threaded nut which is connected to the hand wheel and engages with a threaded spindle of a longitudinally displaceable control block which is supported to move in a straight line. In this arrangement, a rod guided to move in a straight line may be connected to the locking member, which rod has flattened ends to each side of which is attached a pin projecting prependicularly from the flattened end. Furthermore, the control block may have an opening in the form of a slot to receive the flattened end, the boundary surfaces of which slot have each a control track in which the pins of the rod engage.

In another variation of this advantageous embodiment, the control block has a bore parallel to the flow axis, said bore containing a longitudinally displaceable compensating rod having connecting arms rotatably attached to a pin at each end of the rod. These arms are mounted to be freely rotatable at their other end,those attached to one end of the rod being rotatable on a rod connected to the locking member while those at the other end of the compensatinq rod are rotatable on a lug attached to the closed end of the sleeve. The locking member in this case extends into the sleeve to a depth beyond the threaded nut, the said nut extending through an opening in the locking member.

According to the invention, a preferred embodiment of the mechanism displacing the locking member may be in the form of a working cylinder which is arranged in a central bore of the sleeve, which bore is coaxial with the flow axis and is closed at the end remote from the locking member.

In an advantageous variation of this embodiment, a rear closure disc and, adjacent thereto, a cylinder jacket of the working cylinder, and a front closure disc and the longitudinally displaceable locking member may be arranged in the central bore of the sleeve. In this arrangement, a rod attached to the locking member and sealed off in the fron closure disc has a piston of the working cylinder connected to its other end. A duct carrying the pressure fluid for operating the working cylinder is arranged in the vicinity of each of the closure discs and extends through the housing, one of the ribs and the cylinder jacket.

Lastly, in this embodiment, a compensating piston may be provided in the rear closure disc, which piston is axially displaceable against a disc spring in a bore of the closure disc.

Further details of the invention are explained below with reference to examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a section through a first embodiment of the valve according to the invention, Fig.2 is a section taken on the line ll-ll of the embodiment of Fig.1, Fig.3 is a section through another embodiment with worm-drive, Fig.4 is a section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig.3, Fig.5 is a section through another embodiment with worm-drive and eccentric mechanism, Fig.6 is a section taken on the line VI-VI of Fig.5, Fig.7 is a section through a variation of the embodiment with worm drive and eccentric mechanism, Fig.8 is a section taken on the line VIII-VIII of Fig.7, Fig.9 is a section through another embodiment with worm-drive and toothed rack, Fig.10 is a section taken on the line X-X of Fig.9, Fig. 11 is a section through another embodiment with bevel-wheel drive, Fig.12 is a section through a variation of the embodiment of Fig.1 1 with bevel wheel drive, Fig.13 is a section through another embodiment with conversion of the displacement, Fig.14 is a section taken on the line XIV XIV of Fig.13, Fig.15 is a section through a variation of the embodiment of Figs.13 and 14, and Fig. 16 is a section through another embodiment with working cylinder.

The embodiments illustrated in the Figures of the valve according to the invention with axial flow and relatively large nominal diameter have a housing 1 containing a sleeve 2 fixed to the housing by ribs 3 arranged in the direction of flow. The sleeve 2 is centered on the flow axis of the valve so that an annular flow chamber is formed between the outside of the sleeve 2 and the housing 1. The sleeve 2 contains at least one locking member 4 displaceable in the direction of the flow axis and a mechanism for displacing this one or more than one locking member 4. At least one outlet of the valve has at least one valve seat 5 with which the locking member 4 cooperates when the valve is locked.

The mechanism displacing the locking member 4 is operated from outside the housing 1, in these examples by a hand-wheel 20. Instead of the hand-wheel 20, some other operating means could, of course, be provided, e.g. a motor, which may also be connected to a remote control means. The valve has the usual flanges and bores for fastening means.

In Fig.1, the sleeve 2 is closed at its end remote from the locking member 4 and has a central bore 102 coaxial with the flow axis.

The part of the bore near the closed end of the sleeve 2 has a smaller diameter, so that a shoulder 11 is formed in the central bore 102.

A support disc 10 lies on this shoulder 11 and is secured by a bolt 12 which prevents its rotation in relation to the sleeve 2.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment using a worm-drive in the mechanism for displacing the locking member. The worm-drive comprises a worm-spindle 18 connected to the hand-wheel 20 and a worm-wheel 7 associated with the locking member 4.

The support disc 10 is cup-shaped to receive the worm-wheel 7 which engages with the worm-spindle 18 which in turn is connected to the hand-wheel 20 by a shaft 19.

The worm wheel 7 is also supported on its other side by a cup-shaped disc 13 which is secured against axial displacement by locking rings 14 and 15 in the sleeve 2. In addition, a locking member 4 is readily displaceable and guided in a straight line in the central bore 102 of the sleeve 2.

The worm-wheel 7 has a threaded bore 107 which is coaxial with the flow axis and engages with a threaded spindle 8 of a rod 6 which is connected to the locking member 4 by a screw connection 104. The threaded spindle 8 has a larger diameter than the other parts of the rod 6. Both the support disc 10 and the disc 13 have a bore coaxial with the flow axis. The rod 6 extends displaceably through the disc 13 in which it is sealed by a seal 22.

The bore in the support disc 10 has a groove receiving a sliding key 9 fixed in the part of the rod 6 situated behind the threaded spindle 8. The rod 6 is guided in a straight line by the cooperation of the groove of the bore of the support disc 10 with the sliding key 9 of the rod 6.

A seal 21 between the sleeve 2 and disc 13 and the seal 22 between the rod 6 and disc 13 seal off the interior of the worm-gear against the fluid transported through the valve.

The valve seat 5 may be conventional in construction and therefore requires no detailed description here.

The parts mentioned above are clearly shown in the section of Fig.2. The annular flow chamber 101 through which the fluid flows is situated between the housing 1 and sleeve 2 and interrupted by ribs 3. The shaft 19 connecting the worm spindle 18 to the hand-wheel 20 extends through the housing 1 and one of the ribs 3 and, in the region of the spindle 18, also through the sleeve 2, and is rotatable mounted in bushings 17 and 17 and sealed off by seals.

This embodiment of the valve according to the invention is shown in the open position in Figs. 1 and 2. That part of the threaded bore 107 in the worm-wheel 7 not occupied by the threaded spindle 8 in this position is not shorter than the distance by which the locking member 4 moves to the right in the figure to close the valve. That part of the rod 6 which carries the sliding key 9 also has this length.

For closing the valve in this embodiment, the hand-wheel 20 is turned anticlockwise, whereby the shaft 19 rotates the worm-spindle 18 and worm-wheel 7. The directions of rotation are indicated by small arrows in Figs.1 and 2. Since the sliding key 9 guides the rod 6 to move in a straight line in the support disc 10, the engagement between the thread of the bore 107 and the thread of the spindle 8 forces the rod 6 to undergo an axial displacement. The locking member 4 is thereby displaced in the direction of the valve seat 5 until the valve is closed.

The variation of ebodiment of the valve with worm drive according to the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4 has two locking members 4 cooperating with corresponding valve seats 5.

The mixing or distributor valve illustrated here has three outlets, two of which lie in the flow axis and are provided with the valve seats 5.

The central bore 102 of the sleeve 2 is in this case open at both ends and a locking member 4 is attached to each end of the rod 6. A support disc 10 is provided on each side of the worm wheel 7 and each of these support discs has a groove near the central bore 102 cooperating with a sliding key 9 fixed in the rod 6 on either side of the threaded spindle 8 to guide the rod in a straight line. The support discs 10 are sealed off by the seals 21 and 22 and secured against rotation relative to the housing 1 by pins 23 (Fig. 4).

In operation, the locking members 4 are displaced in the direction of the flow axis by the cooperation of the worm wheel 7 with the threaded spindle 8 of the rod 6 and the cooperation of the sliding keys 9 with the support discs 10. In this movement, the locking member 4 shown on the right in the figure leaves its valve seat 5 while the left hand locking member 4 approaches the lefthand valve seat 5.

In the advantageous embodiments of the valve according to the invention shown in Figs.5 to 8, an eccentric mechanism is associated with the worm-drive in the mechanism for displacing the locking member 4.

In Fig.5, a retaining sleeve 55 is inserted in the central bore 102, and the sleeve 2 is closed at the end remote from the locking member 4. The retaining sleeve 55 is cupshaped and is closed on the side of the locking member 4 by a closure cover 155. The closure cover 155 has a bore which is coaxial with the flow axis and in which the rod, connected to the locking member 4 at the screw connection 104, is guided in a straight line.

The retaining sleeve 55 is shorter than the central bore 102 so that the locking member 4 can still be displaced in the central bore 102.

The shaft 19 which is connected to the hand-wheel 20 and carries the worm-spindle 18 is rotatably mounted and sealed off in a bushing 56 which extends not only through the housing, one of the ribs 3 and the sleeve 2 but also through the retaining sleeve 55.

The shaft 19 is also rotatably mounted at its other end, in a bushing 57 which extends through the retaining sleeve 55 and is fixed in the sleeve 2.

In this embodiment, the central axis of the shaft 19 and hence of the worm-spindle 18 intersects the flow axis. The worm-wheel 7, which engages with the worm-spindle 18 and is also arranged in the flow axis, is mounted to rotate about a pin 58 in the retaining sleeve 55. On each side of the worm wheel 7, a spindle 59 is mounted on or forms an integral part of the worm wheel 7. The spindles 59 on the two sides of the worm wheel 7 have the same eccentricity with respect to the pin 58. On these spindles 59, an arm 60 is rotatably mounted on each side of the worm wheel 7 and worm spindle 18.

These arms 60 are mounted to rotate freely about a pin 61 on the rod 6, the rod 6 having a flattened end 62 for this purpose.

When the worm spindle 18 and worm wheel 7 are rotated, the spindles 59 turn upwards or downwards from their rear position shown in Fig. 5, corresponding to the open position of the valve, until they are brought as close as possible to the worm spindle 18.

The displacement is transmitted to the rod 6 by the arms 60, the rod 6 being thereby moved forwards inside the bore of the closure cover 155 of the retaining sleeve 55 to push the locking member in the direction of the valve seat 5 until the valve is closed.

The variation shown in Figs. 7 and 8 differs from the previous variation in that the eccentric mechanism comprises positive displacement tracks 63 formed eccentrically to the pin 58 on either side of the worm wheel 7 (Fig.

8). The rod 6 has a forked part, the arms 64 of which embrace the worm spindle 18 and worm wheel 7 on each side and extend down inside the retaining sleeve to the pin 58 when the valve is in the open position. Each arm 64 of the fork has a pin 65 attached thereto which extends into the corresponding track 63 and cooperates therewith, and a roller is provided on the pin to facilitate the relative movement.

When the worm-wheel 7 in the embodiment of Figs.7 and 8 is rotated, the displacement tracks 63 force the pins 65 on the arms 64 of the rod 6 to move in the direction of the worm-spindle 18, thereby causing the locking member 4 to be displaced in the axial direction until it is seated on the valve seat 5 and closes the valve.

In the valve embodiment according to the invention shown in Figs.9 and 10, gear-wheels 69 are connected with the worm-drive of the mechanism displacing the locking member, and these gear-wheels 69 mesh with a system of teeth 68 which take the form of a toothed rack. The pin 58 is rigidly connected to the worm-wheel 7 by a sunk key and the gear-wheels 69 on the two sides of the worm-wheel 7 are also rigidly connected to the pin 58. The pin 58 is freely rotatable with respect to the retaining sleeve 55.

The rod 6 is in this case again subdivided into fork elements 64 on either side of the worm-spindle 18 and worm-wheel 7, but these fork elements are cut out in the region of the gear wheels 69 to form openings longer than the length of displacement of the locking member 4, as indicated at 67 in Fig.9.

In the resulting lower surfaces 66 of the forked parts 64, i.e. the surfaces facing the gear-wheels 69, a system of teeth 68 in the form of a toothed rack is formed to engage with the corresponding gear-wheel 69 on each side.

When the worm-wheel 7 is rotated, the pin 58 also rotatesthe gear wheels 69 which, by engaging with the teeth 68, displace the fork elements 64 and hence the rod 6 and locking member 4 towards the valve seat 5 until the valve is closed.

In the valve embodiments according to the invention shown in Figs.1 1 and 12, a bevelwheel drive is used in the mechanism for displacing the locking member 4. The bevelwheel drive has at least one cone bevel-wheel connected to the hand-wheel 20 by the shaft 19. At least one ring bevel wheel engages with this cone bevel-wheel but this ring bevelwheel is also connected to the locking member 4 by the rod 6 which is longitudinally displaceable in the direction of the flow axis.

Fig. 11 shows only one cone bevel-wheel 25 and one ring bevel-wheel 26. The shaft 19 connecting the cone bevel-wheel 25 to the hand-wheel 20 is rotatably mounted in the bushing 56 which extends through the housing 1, one of the ribs 3 and the sleeve 2. This embodiment resembles that illustrated in Fig.1 in that the sleeve 2 has a central bore 102 coaxial with the flow axis and a shoulder 11 in said central bore and in that the sleeve 2 is closed at its end remote from the locking member 4.

This central bore 102 has the disc 10 seated on the shoulder 11. This disc 10, which is secured against rotation in relation to the sleeve 2 fixed in the housing 1. by the pin 12, supports the ring bevel-wheel 26 in the axial direction, the ring bevel-wheel 26 bearing axially against the disc 10 by way of a circular ball-bearing 110. The disc 10 has a threaded bore centered on its axis and engaging with the threaded spindle 8 of the rod 6. The threaded spindle 8 also in this case has a larger diameter than the other parts of the rod 6.

The ring bevel wheel 26 is mounted on the rod 6 in such a manner that the wheel 26 and rod 6 are only capable of longitudinal displacement relative to each other. For this purpose, the ring bevel-wheel 26 is provided not only with a central bore but also with a groove receiving a sliding key 9 attached to the rod 6.

On the other side of the ring bevel wheel 26, the disc 13 is connected to the wheel 26 by way of a circular ball-bearing 113 and is secured against axial displacement by the locking rings 14 and 15. The disc 13 has a central axial bore in which the rod 6 is sealed off and through which the said rod extends outwards. In this embodiment, the possibility of rotation is necessary in the connection between the rod 6 and the locking member 4, but the longitudinally directed forces displacing the locking member 4 must be transmitted.

For this purpose, a seating is formed at this end of the rod 6, and a ring 106 is placed in the seating. The ring 106 is pressed against the locking member 4 by a screw 116 inserted in a threaded bore at the tip of the locking member 4. The rod 6 is then freely rotatable in the central bore of the locking member 4 and of the screw 116 and in the seating for the ring 106.

When this embodiment of the valve is operated, the rotation of the hand-wheel 20 is transmitted to the rod 6 and hence the threaded spindle 8 by the shaft 19, the cone bevel-wheel 25 and the ring bevel-wheel 26, so that an axial displacement of the rod 6 is produced by the cooperation of the threaded spindle 8 with the threaded bore of the disc 10. As the rod 6 rotates and moves forwards, it finally presses the locking member 4 against the valve seat 5, thereby closing the valve.

The bevel drive in the variation of the invention illustrated in Fig. 12 has two cone bevelwheels 27 and 28 engaging with two ring bevel-wheels 29 and 30. The first ring-wheel 29 is freely rotatable about the axis of the central bore 102 of the sleeve 2 and bears against the shoulder 11 of the central bore 102 by way of a bushing 32. second ring bevel-wheel is required to be supported in this first ring bevel-wheel 29 and to be mounted on the rod 6 so as to be longitudinally displaceable thereon but capable of transmitting torque. This problem is solved by means of the sliding key 9 attached to the rod 6 and engaging in a groove of the second ring bevelwheel 30. The disc 13 on the other side of the second ring bevel-wheel 30 is also secured against axial displacement in the central bore 102 by the locking rings 14 and 15.

The first ring bevel-wheel 29 has a greater diameter than the second ring bevel wheel 30, the first wheel 29 engaging with the first cone bevel-wheel 27 while the second wheel 30 engages with the cone bevel-wheel 28. There is no significant difference in diameter between the cone bevel-wheels 27 and 28.

Rotation of the shaft 19 causes rotation of both the ring bevel wheels 29 and 30 but the first wheel 29, which has the greater diameter, rotates more rapidly than the second wheel 30, which is smaller. The longitudinal displacement of the rod 6 takes place according to the difference in speed of rotation between the two ring bevel-wheels 29, 30. As a result, a high transmission ratio can be obtained between the drive (e.g. a hand-wheel 20) and the locking member 4, so that the valve can be operated even when extremely powerful opposing forces act on the locking member 4. The high transmission ratio also facilitates fine adjustment of the locking member 4 in its relation to the valve seat 5 so that the amount of fluid passing through the valve can be fine adjusted.

Figs.13 to 15 show an embodiment of the valve according to the invention in which the mechanism for displacing the locking member 4 comprises an arrangement for converting the rotation of the hand-wheel into a longitudinal displacement and, connected to this arrangement, a second arrangement converting the first longitudinal displacement into a second longitudinal displacement perpendicular thereto. The second arrangement is also connected with the locking member 4.

The first arrangement is situated in a bore 133 which extends through the housing 1, one of the ribs 3 and the sleeve 2. Sealed into the bore 133 is a threaded nut 33 which is fixed in the axial direction of the bore 133 but freely rotatable and connected to the hand-wheel 20.

In the variation illustrated in Fig.13, the threaded nut 33 bears against the housing 1 by its flange 34 and is held in position by a lid 35 but still rotatable. The bore 133 in addition contains a longitudinally displaceable control block 37 having a threaded spindle 36 connected to the threaded bore of the nut 33.

In this embodiment, the sleeve 2 and central bore 102 are very short so that the valve may be exceptionally compact.

When the valve is open, the flattened end 39 of the rectilinearly guided rod 6 extends into the bore 133 and is received in an opening in the form of a slot 38 in the control block 37. Each of the boundary surfaces of the opening 38 facing the flattened end 39 has a control track 40 formed in it. These tracks extend in a more or less diagonal direction of the control block 37 and are curved downwards and forwards as seen in the figure.

Attached to each side of the flattened end 39 of the rod is a pin 41 which engages in the corresponding track 40.

When this embodiment is put into operation, the threaded nut 33 is rotated and the rotation of the spindle 36 raises the control block 37. The rotation of the hand-wheel 20 is thus converted into a linear displacement of the control block 37. As the control block 37 is moved upwards, the pins 41 cooperating with the control tracks 40 push the rod 6 and hence the locking member 4 forwards towards the valve seat 5. The linear displacement of the control block 37 is thus converted into a displacement of the locking member 4 at right angles thereto.

In the variation shown in Fig. 14 of the embodiment having arrangements for converting the movement, the bore 133 tapers in the form 'of a cone and has a shoulder formed in it for the flange 34 of the nut 33. This shoulder is supported both at the top and the bottom by a bushing 43 and 44, respectively, and the bushing 43 is held in position on the housing 1 by the lid 35.

The control block 37, which is connected with the threaded nut 33 by way of the threaded spindle 36, has a bore which is parallel to the flow axis and in which a compensating rod 47 is longitudinally displaceable.

The two ends of the compensating rod 47 are flattened off and each end carries two connecting arms 49, one on each side, rotatably attached to the rod by pins 48. At one end of the compensating rod 47, the connecting arms 49 are attached by their other end to a flattened end 54 of the rod 6 by a pin 53 about which they are freely rotatable. The connecting arms 49 on the other end of the compensating rod 47 are attached at their far end to a lug 51 by a pin 50 about which they are freely rotatable. The rod of the lug 51 is attached to the closed end of the sleeve 2 by an externally threaded bushing 52 inserted in a screw 152. A streamlined hood 151 is screwed to the end of the rod of the lug 51 so that the means for fixing the lug 51 are sealed off against the stream of fluid.

The locking member 4 has a special cupshaped form in this embodiment and when the valve is open, this member 4 extends into the sleeve 2 to a depth beyond the threaded nut 33 to reach the end of the central bore 102.

The cylindrical wall 145 of the locking member 4 is interrupted by a window 45 through which the threaded nut 33 extends into the interior of the locking member 4. The rod 6 is rigidly connected to the locking member 4 at the screw connection 104 and the wall surface 145 of the locking member 4 provides for the straight guidance of the arrangement.

In this variation, the control block 37 is raised by the cooperation of the threaded spindle 36 with the threaded nut 33 so that the connecting arms 49 which are connected to the lug 51 push the compensating rod 47 to the left in the figure. This displacement is transmitted to the locking member 4 by the connecting arms 49 which are attached to the rod 6, whereby the locking member 4 is displaced towards the valve seat 5 until it reaches the position for closing the valve, indicated in broken lines.

In the embodiment of the valve according to the invention illustrated in Fig.16, the mechanism for displacing the locking member 4 is a working cylinder arranged in the central bore 102 of the sleeve 2, which sleeve is closed at its rear end. A rear closure disc 72 lies on the shoulder 11 of the central bore 102, and a cylinder disc 72. At the other end, the cylinder jacket 70 is supported in the axial direction by a front closure disc 71 which is held in position by the locking ring 15. The cylinder jacket 70 contains a piston 73 which is connected to the rod 6. The rod 6 extends through the front closure disc 71 and is sealed in this disc, and is connected to the locking member 4 by the screw connection 104.Ducts 77 open into the interior of the working cylinder through openings 76 in the vicinity of the closure discs 71 and 72 to admit and discharge the pressure fluid operating the working cylinder. The ducts 77 extend through the housing 1, one of the ribs 3 and the cylinder jacket 70.

A compensating piston 75 is provided in a central bore 74 in the rear closure disc 72.

The rod 79 of this compensating piston 75 is held in position by screws 80 on the outside of the rear closure disc 72. The compensating piston 75 is urged in the direction of the piston 73 of the working cylinder by disc springs 78, thereby compensating for any change in volume of the pressure fluid due to thermal expansion. Under the operating pressure, the compensating piston 75 can make up for losses in pressure fluid caused by any leakage in the system. The operational reliability of this embodiment of the valve according to the invention is thereby increased.

When this embodiment of the invention is in operation, the pressure fluid is conducted through the duct 77 at the rear closure disc 72 and the bores 76 into the space between the piston 73 of the working cylinder and the rear closure disc 72. At the same time, pressure fluid leaves the space between the piston 73 and the front closure disc 71 so that the piston 73 and hence also the locking member 4 are displaced towards the valve seat 5 until the valve is closed.

Other embodiments of the valve according to the invention are, of course, conceivable within the scope of protection covered by the Patent Claims. For example, the individual so lutions given in the various embodiments de scribed and illustrated may also be varied among each other.

The most important advantages of the valve according to the invention may be summarized as follows.

The external dimensions are extremely small since for the given nominal diameter and the standardized dimensions prescribed for the given pressure stage, the spindle at righ tangles to the direction of flow and the transmission attached thereto as well as addi tional parts are eliminated. The weight of the valve is therefore considerably less than that normally required for conventional valves used under the same operating conditions. The ex penditure in material and labour for manufac ture of the valve is also reduced, and this is advantageously reflected in the manufacturing cost. The mechanism displacing the locking member 4 is contained within a closed, sealed chamber inside the valve, and the parts can easily be lubricated. The mechanical driving and transmission chain for the valve facilitates the indication of the operating state of the valve.

Claims

1. Valve with axial flow and large nominal diameter, having a housing and at least one locking member displaceable therein, charac terised in that a sleeve (2) coaxial with the flow axis is fixed inside the housing (1) by ribs (3) which are attached to the housing (1) and arranged in the direction of flow, and the one or more than one locking member (4) which is displaceable in the direction of the flow axis and a mechanism displacing said locking member are situated in the sleeve (2).

2. Valve according to claim 1, characterised in that an annular flow chamber (101) is formed between the housing (1) and the sleeve (2), and the one or more than one locking member (4) is arranged to cooperate with a valve seat (5) in the housing (1).

3. Valve according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the mechanism has a worm-drive having its worm-spindie (18) con nected to an operating hand-wheel (20) and its worm-wheel (7) associated with the one or more than one locking member (4).

4. Valve according to claim 3, characterised in that the worm-spindle (18) is mounted on a shaft (19) connected to the hand-wheel (20), which shaft extends through the housing (1), one of the ribs (3) and the sleeve (2) and is rotatably mounted therein, and the worm-spindle (18) extends into the interior of the sleeve (2) and engages with the worm-wheel (7) which is rotatably mounted in the sleeve (2), and the worm-wheel (7) has a threaded bore (107) extending coaxially with the flow axis and engaging with an externally threaded spindle (8) of a longitudinally displaceable rod (6) which is guided to move in a straight line along the central axis, and the locking member (4) guided in the sleeve (2) is mounted on the rod (6).

5. Valve according to claim 4, characterised in that the sleeve (2) is closed at its end remote from the locking member (4) and has a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis, in which bore is placed a support disc (10) holding the worm-wheel (7), a disc (13) supporting the worm-wheel (7) from the other end, and the locking member (4), and the support disc (10), which is secured against rotation in relation to the sleeve (2), has a bore in which the rod (6) is mounted and a groove which guides the rod (6) in a straight line and receives a sliding key (9) attached to the rod (6), while the disc (13), which is secured against axial displacement by locking rings (14,15), has a bore in which the rod (6) is seated, and the locking member (4) is attached to the rod (6) by a screw connection (104).

6. Valve according to claim 4, characterised in that a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis extends right through the sleeve (2), said bore (102) having inserted therein a support disc (10) at each end of the member (4) at each end of the rod (6) and connected to said rod by screw connections (104), and each support disc (10), which is secured against rotation relatively to the sleeve (2), has a bore in which the rod (6) is mounted and a groove which guides the rod (6) in a straight line and receives a sliding key (9) fixed in said rod (6).

7. Valve according to claim 3, characterised in that the sleeve (2) is closed at its end remote from the locking member (4) and has a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis, in which bore (102) is inserted a cup-shaped retaining sleeve (55) which is closed towards the locking member (4) and is shorter than the sleeve (2), and the worm-spindle (18) is rigidly mounted on a shaft (19) connected to the hand-wheel (20), which shaft (19) extends through the housing (1), one of the ribs (3), the sleeve (2) and the retaining sleeve (55) and is rotatably mounted therein, and the worm-spindle (18) extends into the interior of the retaining sleeve (55) and engages with the worm-wheel (7) which is rotatably mounted on a pin (58) in the retaining sleeve (55), which worm-wheel (7) is connected to the locking member (4) by means of a longitudinally displaceable rod (6), which rod (6) extends through a closing cover (155) of the retaining sleeve (55) and is supported to move in a straight line therein.

8. Valve according to claim 7, characterised in that in the mechanism for displacing the locking member (4), an eccentric mechanism connected to the locking member (4) by the rod (6) is associated with the worm-drive.

9. Valve according to claim 8, characterised in that a spindle 59 is placed eccentrically to the pin on each side of the worm wheel (7) and engages with an arm (60) on each side of the worm-wheel (7) and of the worm-spindle (18), which arms (60) are rotatably connected to the rod (6) by a pin (61) on each side.

10. Valve according to claim 8, characterised in that a positively guiding track (63) arranged eccentrically to the pin (58) is provided on both sides of the worm-wheel (7) and in that the rod (6) extends as a fork on both r sides of the worm-spindle (18) and of the worm-wheel (7) inside the retaining sleeve (55), each arm (64) of the fork of the rod (6) having attached thereto a pin (65) gripping into the corresponding positively guiding track (63).

11. Valve according to claim 7, characterised in that a gear-wheel (69) is attached to the pin (58) on each side of the worm-wheel (7) and that the rod (6) extends as a fork into the interior of the retaining sleeve (55) on each side of the worm-spindle (18) and wormwheel (7), each arm (64) of the fork of the rod (6) having a toothing (68) in the form of a rack on the surface (66) facing the gearwheels (69).

12. Valve according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the mechanism displacing the locking member (4) has a bevel gear drive of which the one or more than one one bevel gear wheel (25) is connected to an operating hand-wheel (20) by a shaft (19) while at least one ring bevel gear (26) is connected to the locking member (4) by way of a rod (6) which is longitudinally displaceable in the direction of the flow axis, the shaft (19) being rotatably mounted in a bushing (56) extending through the housing (1), one of the ribs (3) and the sleeve (2).

13. Valve according to claim 12, characterised in that the sleeve (2) is closed at its end remote from the locking member (4) and has a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis, in which bore are inserted a disc (10) which is secured against rotation and supports the bevel gear (26) in the axial direction and, on the other side of the gear (26), a disc (13) which is secured against axial displacement and supports the gear (26) in the axial direction, and the locking member (4), the first disc (10) having a central axial threaded bore engaging with a threaded spindle (8) which is continuous with but has a large diameter than the rod (6), and the bevel gear (26) is mounted on the rod (6) to be longitudinally displaceable thereon but torque transmitting.

14. Valve according to claim 13, characterised in that the ring bevel gear (26) has a groove which receives a sliding key (9) fixed in the rod (6).

15. Valve according to claim 13 or claim 14, characterised in that circular ball bearings (110, 113) are provided between the discs (10,13) and the ring bevel gear (26).

16. Valve according to claim 12, characterised in that the sleeve (2) is closed at its end remote from the locking member (4) and has a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis, in which bore are arranged a rotatably mounted first ring bevel wheel (29) axially supported on the side facing the closed end of the bore (102), a second ring bevel wheel (30) mounted to be torque transmitting and longitudinally displaceable on the rod (6) and axially supported against the first ring bevel wheel (29), and a disc (13) which is secured against axial displacement and supports the second ring bevel wheel (30) in the axial direction, the first ring bevel wheel (29) having a greater diameter than the second ring bevel wheel (30), and a first cone bevel wheel (27) which engages with the first ring bevel wheel (29) and a second cone bevel wheel (28) which engages with the second ring bevel wheel (30) are mounted on the shaft (19), and the first ring bevel wheel (29) has a central threaded bore (31) engaging with a threaded spindle (8) which has a larger diameter than the rod (6) with which it is continuous.

17. Valve according to claim 16, characterised in that the second ring bevel wheel (30) has a groove which receives a sliding key (9) fixed to the rod (6).

18. Valve according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the mechanism for displacing the locking member (4) comprises an arrangement converting the rotation of an operating hand-wheel (20) into a longitudinal displacement and a second arrangement connected with the first arrangement to convert the said longitudinal displacement into a second longitudinal displacement perpendicular to the first, the second arrangement being connected with the locking member (4).

19. Valve according to claim 18, characterised in that the first arrangement is situated in a bore (133) extending through the housing (1), one of the ribs (3) and the sleeve (2) while the second arrangement is situated in a central bore (102) of the sleeve (2), which bore is coaxial with the flow axis, the said sleeve (2) being closed at its end remote from the locking member (4).

20. Valve according to claim 19, characterised in that the bore (133) of the first arrangement contains a rotatable but axially supported threaded nut (33) which is connected to the hand-wheel (20) and engages with a threaded spindle (36) of a longitudinally displaceable control block (37) which is guided to move in a straight line.

21. Valve according to claim 20, character ised in that a rod (6) supported to move in a straight line is connected to the locking member (4), which rod (6) has a flattened end (39) on each side of which is attached a pin (41) projecting perpendicularly from said flattened end (39), and the control block (37) has an opening in the form of a slot receiving the flattened end (39), each boundary surface of said slot having a control track (40) in which the pins (41) engage.

22. Valve according to claim 19, characterised in that the control block (37) has a bore parallel to the flow axis, in which bore is arranged a longitudinally displaceable compensating rod (47) to both ends of which are attached connecting arms (49) rotatable about pins (48), the connecting arms at one end of the compensating rod being connected in a freely rotatable manner to a rod (6) attached to the locking member (4) while the connecting arms at the other end of the rodare connected in a freely rotatable manner to a lug (51) attached to the closed end of the sleeve (2), the locking member (4) having a side wall (145) which extends into the sleeve (2) to a depth beyond the threaded nut (33), said threaded nut (33) extending through a window (45) in the side wall (145).

23. Valve according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the sleeve (2) has a central bore (102) coaxial with the flow axis, which bore is closed at its end remote from the locking member and contains a working cylinder which serves as the mechanism for displacing the locking member (4) in the central bore (102).

24. Valve according to claim 23, characterised in that a rear closure disc (72) and, adjacent thereto, a cylinder jacket (70) of the working cylinder, and a front closure disc (71) as well the longitudinally displaceable locking member (4) are arranged in the central bore (102) of the sleeve (2), a rod (6) supported to move in a straight line being fixed in the locking member (4), to the other end of which rod (6) is attached a piston (73) of the working cylinder, while in the vicinity of each of the closure discs (71 ,72) there is provided a conduit (77) extending, in each case, through the housing (1), one of the ribs (3) and the cylinder jacket (70) to conduct the pressure medium which operates the working cylinder.

25. Valve according to claim 24, characterised in that a compensating piston (75) is provided in the rear closure disc (72), which piston (75) is arranged to be axially displaceable against a disc spring (78) in a bore (74) of the closure disc (72).