Patent ID: 7828011
Filing Date: 2010-11-09
Classification: F16K,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A pneumatic safety valve for protecting a user of high-pressure pneumatic equipment from a rupture in a high-pressure air hose or from an accidental decoupling of the air hose from the pneumatic equipment, the valve comprising: a tubular housing having an inlet port and means for coupling the inlet port to the air hose; a tubular insert having an outlet port and means for coupling the outlet port to the pneumatic equipment, the tubular insert having an end cap and threads for engaging complementary threads on the tubular housing for securing the insert to the tubular housing such that the cap abuts an annular end of the tubular housing and an integral portion of the tubular insert extends into an interior of the tubular housing to define an air conduit between the interior of the tubular housing and the outlet port, the insert having a stepped shoulder between the threads and the conduit defining an annular gap between an outside wall of the conduit and an inside wall of the tubular housing; a flap pivotally mounted at an orifice of the conduit, the flap being pivotally movable between an open position for admitting high-pressure air from the tubular housing into the conduit and a closed position for preventing the high-pressure air from flowing into the conduit, the flap moving into the closed position when air pressure downstream of the outlet port suddenly decreases below the pressure inside the tubular housing; and biasing means for biasing the flap into an open position allowing high-pressure air to flow through the outlet port to thus power the pneumatic equipment, wherein the biasing means comprises a spring anchored at one end to a mounting point affixed to the stepped shoulder and connected at the other end to the flap.