Locking device in the closing or opening position of a valve

A valve body with a retainer shoulder mounted on the side of the valve body. Inside the valve body is a valve obturator means which is rotatable inside the valve body and can open or block passages depending on the angle or position of the valve obturator means inside the valve body. A handle or lever is connected to the valve obturator means by a fastening means. A locking means is slidably mounted on the handle and has a stopping tooth which is positionable adjacent the retainer shoulder when the locking means is in a locked position. The stopping tooth and the retainer shoulder cooperate to block rotation of the handle when the locking means is in the locked position. The handle defines a bore which receives a bolt of a padlock. When the bolt of the padlock is in the bore, the locking means is prevented from moving out of the locked position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention pertains, in general, to valves having an operating 
handle with a lever that can be adjusted from a closing position to an 
opening position by means of a 90.degree. rotation, such as in ball 
valves. More specifically, the present invention is intended as a locking 
device for the operating lever and, through this lever, of the valve 
obturator of the valves is secured either in the closing position or in 
the opening position with the aid of a padlock. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A locking of the operating lever with the valve body by means of a padlock 
in order to prevent the uncontrolled opening or closing of the valve for 
purposes of safety and against tampering of the unit, has already been 
proposed for such valves. A locking element is wedged onto the operating 
lever, and according to the known method. When it is secured by means of 
the padlock, the locking element only achieves a bond of the lever with 
the valve body for preventing its rotation in any direction up to the time 
that the padlock is not removed and the element is shifted into the 
inoperative position. Nevertheless, such an element, even though it is 
functional with regard to the locking of the lever, has the serious 
shortcoming of leaving the means, usually a nut, which secures the lever 
itself on the working pin of the valve obturator, uncovered, and at any 
rate, exposed. Therefore, although locked in the closing or opening 
position, the lever can be literally disassembled by removing the nut, and 
therefore, it leaves open a possibility of tampering with the valve, 
since, with the lever removed, the valve obturator can be rotated. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
On the contrary, the scope of the present utility model is to find a 
solution for such a shortcoming by eliminating any possibility of 
tampering with the valve and any access to its obturator by inappropriate 
and inadmissible handling. 
In practice and in accordance with the present utility model, the locking 
device proposed here consists of a locking element which slides on the 
lever. When, the locking element is in the operating position and secured 
by a padlock, in addition to locking the lever in the desired position, 
the locking element extends to cover the fastening nut of the lever on the 
obturator pin. In this manner, the lever can neither be rotated nor 
disassembled for access and removal of the nut. This guarantees absolute 
safety and prevents tampering with the closed or opened valve, which is 
contrary to that which occurs with the known means which only lock the 
operating lever. 
The present invention has a valve body with a retainer shoulder mounted on 
the side of the valve body. Inside the valve body is a valve obturator 
means which is rotatable inside the valve body and can open or block 
passages depending on the angle or position of the valve obturator means 
inside the valve body. A handle or lever is connected to the valve 
obturator means by a fastening means. A locking means is slidably mounted 
on the handle and has a stopping tooth which is positionable adjacent the 
retainer shoulder when the locking means is in a locked position. The 
stopping tooth and the retainer shoulder cooperate to block rotation of 
the handle when the locking means is in the locked position. The handle 
defines a bore which receives a bolt of a padlock. When the bolt of the 
padlock is in the bore, the locking means is prevented from moving out of 
said locked position. 
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are 
pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part 
of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its 
operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference 
is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which 
preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated. 
FIG. 1 and 2 show, from two opposite views, a valve with a handle and a 
locked lever (in the closed valve position); 
FIG. 3 shows a side view of the device set in operation; 
FIG. 4 shows a view of the device from the top; and 
FIG. 5 shows a view in partial section according to the arrows V--V in FIG. 
4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In these drawings, the operating lever or handle 10 of a valve 11 is, 
attached by means of a nut 12 to the working shaft or pin 13 of the 
obturator (not shown), incorporated in the valve. The operating lever 10 
has, in the known manner, at least one lever 14 tooth (two in the 
drawing), interacting with at least one retainer shoulder 15 for defining 
the opening and closing positions of the valve through a 90.degree. 
rotation of the operating lever. The opening and closing positions can be 
stabilized, preferably with a locking device and with the use of a padlock 
16 with key. 
The locking device consists of an element 17 made from cutting and folding 
sheet metal and having: a tubular part 18, an upturned-U cover part 19 
delimiting a groove-type seat 19a opened towards the bottom and one or two 
stopping teeth 20. The tubular part 18 has a section with a shape and 
dimensions corresponding to those of the operating lever 10 and is 
threaded and slides longitudinally on the lever itself. The upturned-U 
part 19 extends continuously from the tubular part 18 towards the shaft or 
pin 13 of the lever 10 and is intended for being superimposed on the nut 
12 which fastens the lever to the pin. The sides delimiting the 
groove-type seat 19a are positionable on opposite sides of the nut. The 
upturned-U part 19 can also have a shaft groove 19b capable of 
accommodating the tip of the shaft or pin 13. Finally, the tooth (teeth) 
20 of the element 17 are intended for interacting with one of the retainer 
shoulders 15 of the valve body 11 for preventing the rotation of the lever 
when the locking device is in the operating or locked position. 
This operating position, or locked position, is obtained by shifting the 
element 17 on the lever 10 forward towards the shaft or pin 13, and it can 
be obtained either in the closed valve position as shown in the drawings, 
in particular in FIGS. 1 and 2, or in the opened valve position. 
When, when the element 17 is shifted forward, one of its stopping teeth 20 
rests against one of the retainer shoulders 15 which is in one piece with 
the valve body, and at the same time, the part 19 of the element is 
superimposed on the nut 12. 
Such a condition of the element is stabilized by means of the padlock 16, 
the bolt or arc 16a of which is made to pass in a hole 10a, if need be, 
made in the lever 10 in order to be behind the element when it is in the 
operating position. 
Therefore, on the one hand, the stopping tooth 20 prevents any rotation of 
the lever in the operating direction of the obturator and, on the other 
hand, the part 19 covers the nut 12 on the top and the sides, by 
preventing its access and a possible, uncontrolled removal which could 
lead to the disassembling of the lever. Therefore, the valve is locked in 
the desired opening and closing position without the possibility of 
tampering or unlocking, and the operating of the valve can be performed 
only by putting the padlock key in place and after having removed the 
latter for shifting the element backwards, in the inoperative or unlocked 
position.