Lantern ring removal tool

An apparatus for removing a stuck lantern ring from the packing chamber of a valve assembly. The apparatus includes a guide collar which can be fixedly secured to the valve stem at a position above the packing chamber. The guide collar includes a plurality of equally spaced guide holes for guiding a drilling instrument used to form threaded openings in the lantern ring. After the holes are formed in the stuck lantern ring, thread connectors are inserted through the guide holes in the guide collar and are engaged with the threaded holes in the lantern ring. When the valve stem is raised, the removal tool applies a lifting force to the stuck lantern ring to lift the lantern ring out of the packing chamber.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a tool for use in disassembling 
a valve assembly, and more particularly to a tool and method for removing 
a stuck lantern ring from the packing chamber of a valve assembly. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The routine maintenance of valves usually includes the periodic removal and 
replacement of packing materials around the valve stem. The packing 
materials are disposed around the valve stem and are located in a chamber 
in the valve bonnet. The packing material will sometimes include a lantern 
ring which is disposed between upper and lower portions of the packing 
material. The lantern ring is a metal ring having a plurality of radial 
conduits. The radial conduits of the lantern ring are aligned with a 
lubrication port extending through the wall of the bonnet into the packing 
chamber. 
In some circumstances, the lantern ring will become stuck making it 
difficult to remove. To remove a stuck lantern ring, the mechanic usually 
uses a drill to form a series of circumferentially spaced holes on the 
lantern ring which are then tapped and threaded with a series of bolts. 
The bolts are pulled manually to lift the lantern ring out of the packing 
chamber. 
This method of removing a stuck lantern ring has numerous drawbacks. It is 
difficult at best to insert a drill into a packing chamber without 
damaging the highly polished surfaces of the packing chamber and/or valve 
stem. Damage to those surfaces may result in the failure of the packing to 
provide a complete seal around the valve stem. 
Various types of tools have been devised in the past for disassembling a 
valve. Such tools are disclosed in the patent to Fennema, U.S. Pat. No. 
2,641,052; Fisher, U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,825; Boler, U.S. Pat. No. 
1,934,255; and Sutton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,494. None of these 
references, however, disclose a tool for removing a stuck lantern ring 
from the packing chamber of a valve bonnet. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a lantern ring removal tool for removing a stuck 
lantern ring from the packing chamber of a valve bonnet. The lantern ring 
removal tool attaches to the valve stem of the valve assembly which is 
used to apply the lifting force to lift the stuck lantern ring from the 
packing chamber. 
The lantern ring removal tool includes a split ring guide collar which is 
disposed around the valve stem at a point above the packing chamber in the 
valve bonnet. The guide collar includes a series of guide holes which are 
equally spaced about the circumference of the collar. A drill extension 
passes through the guide holes in the collar and is used to drill and tap 
the lantern rings. Bolts are then passed through the guide holes and the 
collar and screwed into the lantern ring. The lantern ring can then be 
lifted out of the packing chamber by turning the valve stem to raise the 
collar. As the collar is raised, the lifting force is applied to the 
lantern ring through the bolts. This lifting force is applied equally 
around the circumference of the lantern ring, thus permitting the lantern 
ring to be removed without damage to the valve stem or packing chamber. 
Accordingly, it is primary object of the present invention to provide a 
tool for removing a stuck lantern ring from the packing chamber of the 
valve bonnet. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lantern ring 
removal tool which utilizes the valve stem to apply the lifting force to 
remove the lantern ring. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lantern ring 
removal tool which can be used with virtually any existing valve assembly. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lantern ring remove 
tool which substantially reduces the amount of time needed to make repairs 
to the valve assembly and to replace the valve packing therein. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lantern ring 
removal tool for a valve assembly which enables a stuck lantern ring to be 
removed without damaging the highly polished surface of the valve stem and 
the packing chamber. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying 
drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a 
typical valve assembly which is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The 
valve assembly 10 includes a valve body 12 defining a fluid chamber. The 
fluid chamber is divided by a partition 14 having an opening therein. The 
opening 16 is surrounded by a conical valve seat 18 which is formed in the 
partition 14. The valve seat 18 is engageable with a valve 20 which is 
mounted at one end of a valve stem 56. When the valve stem 56 is lowered, 
the valve 20 is brought into engagement with the valve seat 18 to stop the 
fluid flow through the fluid chamber. Conversely, when the valve stem 56 
is raised, the valve 20 is brought out of engagement with the valve seat 
18 thereby opening the fluid chamber. 
A bonnet indicated generally at 22 is mounted on top of the valve body 12. 
The bonnet 22 includes a base portion 24 and a yoke 26. The base portion 
24 includes an outwardly projecting flange 26 having a series of openings 
28 formed therein. The bonnet 22 is secured to the valve body 12 by bolts 
30 which pass through the openings 28 in the flange and threadably engage 
corresponding bolt holes 32 in the valve body 12. 
The yoke 26 extends upwardly from the base portion 24 and has a bushing 34 
mounted at the upper end thereof. A hand crank 36 is rotatably journalled 
in the bushing 34. The hand crank 36 includes a hub 38 having a threaded 
opening (not shown). An upper end portion 58 of the valve stem 56 is 
threadably engaged in the hub 38 of the hand crank 36. When the hand crank 
36 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the valve stem 56 is 
raised thereby opening the valve 20. When the hand crank 36 is rotated in 
a clockwise direction, the valve stem 56 is lowered until the valve 20 
makes contact with the valve seat 18. 
A cylindrical packing chamber 40 is formed in the base portion 24 of the 
bonnet 22. The bottom 42 of the packing chamber 40 includes an opening 44 
through which the valve stem 56 extends. The side walls of the opening 44 
serve as a guide to keep the valve stem 36 aligned. Valve packing 46 is 
disposed around the intermediate portion of the valve stem 56 within the 
packing chamber 40. The valve packing 46 typically consists of several 
annular rings of packing material such as graph foil ribbon, graphite 
impregnated asbestos fiber, wire reinforced packing rings, or other 
suitable materials. A metal lantern ring 48 is disposed in the packing 
chamber between upper and lower portions of the valve packing 46. Lantern 
ring 48 has a plurality of radial conduits (not shown) extending inwardly 
from the outer circumference of the lantern ring 48 to its outer 
circumference. The lantern ring 48 is mounted in the packing chamber with 
the radial conduits aligned with a fluid port 50 extending through the 
wall of the bonnet 22 into the packing chamber 40. The fluid port 50 is 
threaded at its outer end for engagement with a plug 52. 
The entire packing assembly is retained in the packing chamber 40 by a 
packing gland 54. The packing gland 54 typically includes an apertured 
flange through which a pair of swing bolts mounted on the bonnet 22 
extend. Nuts are threaded onto the ends of the swing bolts to tighten the 
packing gland 54 down against the packing assembly. The construction of 
the packing gland 54 is entirely conventional and is well known to those 
skilled in the art. 
To maintain the valve assembly in proper working order, it is necessary to 
periodically remove and replace the packing assembly from the packing 
chamber 40. Replacement of the packing assembly, however, can be made 
difficult by a stuck lantern ring 48. The lantern ring removal tool of the 
present invention has been devised to make the task of removing a stuck 
lantern ring less difficult. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of the removal tool 
is shown. The main components of the removal tool are a lifting member 
which is mountable on the valve stem 56, and a plurality of lifting rods. 
The lifting rods extend downwardly from the lifting member to engage the 
lantern ring. When the valve stem 56 is raised, a lifting force is applied 
by the lifting member and lifting rods to the stuck lantern ring to lift 
the lantern ring from the packing chamber 40. 
The lifting member in a preferred embodiment consists of a split ring, 
guide collar assembly 60. The guide collar assembly 60 includes an outer 
guide collar 62, an inner adapter ring 64, and a gripping pad 66. 
The guide collar 62 includes two semi-circular guide ring portions 62a and 
62b. One of the guide ring portions 62a is formed with a pair of recesses 
68 disposed closely adjacent to respective ends of the guide ring portions 
62a and 62b. A pair of clearance holes 70 extend from the end of the ring 
portion 62a to the recess 68. The opposite ring portion 62b includes a 
pair of threaded holes 72 which align with respective clearance holes 70 
in the first ring portion 62a. A pair of clamping screws 74 are inserted 
through respective clearance holes 70 in the first ring portion 62a and 
are threaded into the threaded hole 72 in the second ring portion 62b. The 
function of the clamping screw 74 is to draw the guide ring portions 62a 
and 62b together around the valve stem 56 to secure the guide collar 62 to 
the valve stem 56. 
A series of circumferentially spaced guide holes 84 are formed in the guide 
ring 64. One of the purposes of the guide holes 84, which are equally 
spaced, is to guide a drilling instrument used to form threaded openings 
in the lantern ring 48. The remaining purposes of the guide holes 84 will 
become apparent below. 
The adapter ring 64 is sized to fit inside the guide ring 62. That is, the 
outside diameter of the adapter ring 64 is approximately equal to the 
inside diameter of the guide ring 62. The inside diameter of the adapter 
ring 64 should be slightly larger than the diameter of the valve stem to 
accommodate the gripping pad 66. The adapter ring 64 consists of two 
semi-circular, half-ring portions 64a and 64b. Each half-ring portion, 64a 
and 64b, includes a locating pin 76 which projects radially from its outer 
circumference. The locating pin 76 fits into a locating hole 78 on the 
inner surface of the guide collar 62 to locate the adapter ring portions 
64a and 64b with respect to the guide ring portions 62a and 62b. The 
purpose of the adapter ring 64 is to allow the guide collar assembly 60 to 
be used with different valve assemblies having valve stems varying in 
diameter. The same guide collar 62 can be used by simply substituting one 
adapter ring set for a differently sized adapter ring set. 
The gripping pads 66 mount to the inner surface of the adapter ring 64. The 
pad 66 is made of a material which provides a relatively high coefficient 
of friction with the valve stem 56, such as rubber. To facilitate mounting 
of the gripping pad 66, the inner surface of the adapter rings 64a and 64b 
are formed with a circumferentially extending groove 80. A tongue 82 is 
formed on the back of the gripping pad 66 which is shaped to fit into the 
groove 80 in the adapter ring portions 64a and 64b. The tongue 82 prevents 
the gripping pad 66 from slipping out of the guide collar assembly 60 
during use. The inner surface of the gripping pad 66 is textured to 
provide a firm, non-slip grip on the valve stem 56. 
The lifting rods consist of a threaded connector 86, such as a hex head 
bolt. The threaded connector 86 includes threads at one end thereof and 
has a head at the opposite end. The threaded connectors are insertable 
through the openings 84 to the guide collar 62 until the head makes 
contact with a top surface of the guide collar 62. The threaded end of the 
threaded connectors are threadably engaged with the threaded holes in the 
lantern ring 48. 
In use, the guide collar assembly 60 is secured to the valve stem 56 at a 
point above the packing chamber 40. An adapter ring 64 of the appropriate 
size is selected and fitted inside the guide collar 62. The gripping pad 
66 is secured to the inner surface of the adapter ring 64 by inserting the 
tongue 82 into the groove 80 on the adapter ring 66. The two halves of the 
guide collar assembly 60 are then disposed around the valve stem 56. The 
clamping screws 74 are inserted through the clearance holes 70 in the 
first half of the guide ring 62 and are threaded into the threaded holes 
72 of the second half of the guide ring 62. When the clamping screws 74 
are tightened, the two halves of the guide ring 62 are pulled together to 
clamp the guide collar assembly 60 onto the valve stem 56. 
With the guide collar assembly 60 securely clamped in place on the valve 
stem 56, the extension of a directional drilling instrument can be 
inserted through the guide holes 84 on the guide ring 62. Using the 
directional drilling instrument, the lantern ring 48 is drilled and tapped 
as shown in FIG. 4A to form a threaded hole in the lantern ring 48. This 
process is repeated for each of the holes 84 in the guide rings 62. 
Once the lantern ring 48 is drilled and tapped, a plurality of threaded 
connectors 86, such as a hex-head bolt, are inserted through the guide 
holes 84 in the guide rings 62 and are threadably engaged with the holes 
formed in the lantern ring 48 as shown in FIG. 4B. The lantern ring 48 can 
then be lifted out of the packing chamber 40 by raising the valve stem 56. 
As the valve stem 56 is raised, the threaded connectors 86 apply a lifting 
force to the lantern ring 48. Since the threaded connectors 86 are equally 
spaced the lifting force applied to the lantern ring 48 is equally 
distributed, which limits twisting of the lantern ring 48 and makes 
removal easier. 
Based on the foregoing, it is apparent that the lantern ring removal tool 
of the present invention provides an easy and convenient method for 
removing a stuck lantern ring from the packing chamber of a valve 
assembly. The removal tool prevents damage to the surfaces of the packing 
chamber and valve stem and greatly reduces the time needed to remove and 
replace the packing material. 
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways 
than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and 
essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, 
therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not 
restrictive and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency 
range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.