Patent ID: 9273794
Filing Date: 2016-03-01
CPC Classification: F16K

Claim Text:
1. A pneumatic valve actuator having a built-in, pop-out visual indicator of an actuated versus unactuated condition of the actuator, said actuator comprising: an actuator housing having a recessed bore therein and the visual indicator reciprocatingly received in said recessed bore and configured for longitudinal reciprocation therein; an actuating pressure chamber formed as part of a cylinder within the pneumatic valve actuator and in which a piston reciprocates, said actuating pressure chamber being in fluid communication with an external fluid pressure supply and said visual indicator coupled to said piston so that said visual indicator reciprocates within the recessed bore when said piston reciprocates within the cylinder responsively to fluid pressure build-up in said actuating pressure chamber from the external fluid pressure supply; an outermost exposed end of the visual indicator forming a fluid coupling passage, which connects the visual indicator to the external fluid pressure supply; an innermost end of the visual indicator opposite the outermost end having external thread formed thereon and configured to threadingly couple the visual indicator via a corresponding inner thread formed within the piston; said visual indicator having a passage formed therein, wherein the passage is in fluid communication with the actuating pressure chamber and the fluid coupling passage, so that fluid can be supplied from the external fluid pressure supply through the fluid coupling passage of the visual indicator to the passage of the visual indicator and then to the actuating pressure chamber; and said visual indicator being in a retracted configuration and predominantly within said recessed bore when actuating pressure is not present in said actuating pressure chamber and said visual indicator being in an extended configuration predominantly outside said recessed bore when actuating pressure is present in said actuating pressure chamber.