Metered delivery device with magnetic couplings

Abstract: It is well known how important it is to maintain sterility on the valve body, and on metered delivery devices in particular, in the cases of valves designed for the metered delivery of e.g. pharmaceutical products. It is for this reason that the valves are subjected to frequent dismantling so that they can be cleaned. Clearly, for economic purposes, these operations of disassembly and subsequent reassembly must be performed as quickly as possible and by one operator. The present invention solves the problem by providing a system for fastening the various members in question by means of magnetic couplings obtained by the insertion of permanent magnets in the vicinity of the contact surfaces.

Description: The present invention relates to the introduction of magnetic couplings into valves for the metered delivery of products for pharmaceutical, food or suchlike uses, to allow quick disassembly, and subsequent quick reassembly, of the metered delivery devices located inside the valves, these operations being very frequent in order to enable the requisite conditions of sterility to be maintained in the processing of the products. The prior art already includes metered delivery valves, some with a dual metered delivery system in which the first delivery system is coarse and takes the form of, for example, a throttle valve occupying the entire aperture of the valve body, while the second, which is formed within the body of the first, is of smaller dimensions and variously constructed, its control being independent of the coarse system. It is not relevant to discuss here the various types of shutoff members in existence as they do not form the subject of the invention. The explanation of the invention will therefore be limited to the case of a valve in which the shutoff condition is provided by single and double throttle valve systems, as what is said of these cases may also be extended to any other situation. In existing metered delivery valves, the process of assembling the valves, even if of rapid type, always requires screws, bolts, etc., and as a result the operations of disassembly and reassembly always require the presence of two people, owing to the weight of the shutoff member and the difficulty in bringing the flanges sufficiently centrally together. The object of the present invention is to enable the above operations to be carried out by one person. To achieve this object a system has been devised for fastening the various members in question by means of magnetic couplings obtained by the insertion of permanent magnets in the vicinity of the contact surfaces such that an attraction is set up between the two parts sufficient to support the weight of the mating shaft sections. The invention as characterized in the claims solves the problem of enabling one person to bring together the two surfaces and unite them by the simple force of attraction of the permanent magnets. The invention is described in greater detail below with the aid of the drawings which illustrate an example of an embodiment thereof. Referring to sheet No. 1, Fig. 1 shows the longitudinal cross section through a shaft (1) that accommodates, in its end, a permanent magnet (m) inserted in a circular annular groove with its magnetic axis coinciding with the axis of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 2. The method by which the magnet is fixed in the circular annular groove depends on the type of material of the shaft: if ferromagnetic, fixing is by the attraction of each permanent magnet, whereas if of diamagnetic material, such as stainless steels or plastic materials, the groove must be closed with, for example, a washer (v) welded or screwed into place, or secured by some other system. Fig. 3 shows lengths of shaft (1) and (1') joined magnetically: it is self-evident that the polarities of the opposing permanent magnets must be of opposite sign. Fig. 4 shows the application of the invention to a shaft with a flange (2). Sheet No. 2 shows the application of the above principles to a valve used for the metered delivery of granular, powdered or suchlike products employed in the pharmaceutical or food industry, and consists of a cylindrical body (3). The valve is of the double throttle-valve type, this being the configuration of the product shutoff members, namely that (4) occupying the entire cross section of the valve body, and that (5) occupying a central portion of the previous member and enabling finer control of the delivery of the product. As stated earlier, the considerations applied to this type of valve, insofar as they relate to the present patent, can be transferred to valves with single or dual shutoff members of any other type, as will readily be appreciated from a perusal of the rest of the description. Fig. 5 of sheet 2 depicts the control shaft (6) of shutoff member (4), and the control shaft (7) of shutoff member (5), these shafts being made up of segments held together by the magnetic coupling described earlier, and the two rings (8) and (9) connecting the valve to the rest of the system, which are also made integral with the body (3) of the valve by magnetic coupling. The figures show the permanent magnets (m1) which, by their magnetic attraction, give continuity to the shaft belonging to the whole shutoff member, the permanent magnets (m2) belonging to shutoff member (5), and the permanent magnets (m3) and (m4) belonging to the rings (8) and (9), respectively. Fig. 6 shows the valve seen from above. Fig. 7 of sheet 3 shows the longitudinal section through the valve on a plane normal to that of the section seen in Fig. 5 in sheet 2 illustrating the same components and with the two adapter rings (8) and (9) detached from the body (3) of the valve. Fig. 8 shows the valve seen from above. Sheet 4 shows a possible embodiment of the invention in a case in which the valve body (3) consists of two separable half-bodies (3') and (3'') plus, in order to keep the drawing simple, a single shutoff member, although the conclusions arrived at can also be applied to the case of a dual shutoff member. In this case the shaft interruption may be located outside of the valve body as well as inside it, as in the case described previously, with flanged or unflanged shafts. Sheet 4 indicates a possible embodiment of this type of valve with a flanged shaft. Figs. 9 and 10 show two mutually perpendicular longitudinal sections through the valve showing the shaft (6) with flanges (10) containing the permanent magnets (m5) for their coupling. Fig. 11 shows the top-down view of the half-body (3') of the valve, in which the electromagnet (6) placed in the circular annular groove in the half-body (3') of the valve can be seen, this groove now of course being interrupted at the bushes (11). All the other indications refer to parts already described earlier, including the permanent magnets (m3) and (m4) for coupling with the adapter rings (8) and (9) (not shown). In this case the interruption of the shaft (6) may be located outside of the valve body (3) in order to allow dismantling of the shutoff members after the two half-bodies (3') and (3'') have been separated. In the light of the above it will be obvious that the assembling of the two parts of the valve shutoff member and of the valve itself into the system can be carried out by one person, who has merely to place the two members in question together. The same may be said of the operations of disassembly which simply require separation of the mating faces of the parts in question.

Claims: Metered delivery device, used for the metered delivery of granular, powdered or suchlike products, consisting of a valve body (3) with a single or dual shutoff member, the said device being characterized in that a first control shaft (6) of a first shutoff member (4), which is made of a diamagnetic material, is made up of three segments, namely two external segments and one segment inside the valve body (3), the segments being made integral with each other by the magnetic attraction set up between the permanent magnets (m1) inserted in the circular annular grooves concentric with the cross sections of the shaft, on both segments that come together in the vicinity of their contact surfaces, which situation makes it possible for a single operator to quickly disassemble the first shutoff member (4) from the valve body. A device according to claim 1, in the case of a valve with a dual shutoff member, characterized in that the second shaft (7), which is made of a diamagnetic material, is formed by a central segment, to which the second shutoff member (5) is fixed, and two other segments, this central segment being made integral with the other two segments by the magnetic attraction set up between the permanent magnets (m2) inserted in the circular annular grooves concentric with the cross sections of the second shaft (7), on both segments that come together in the vicinity of their contact surfaces, inside the valve body (3), all in order to allow rapid dismantling of the second shutoff member (5) from the body of the first shutoff member (4) by a single operator. A device according to claim 1, in the case in which the valve body (3) is cylindrical and made from two separable cylindrical half-bodies (3') and (3''), with a single or dual shutoff member, the said device being characterized in that the two parts of the valve body are made integral with each other by the magnetic attraction exerted by permanent magnets (m6) inserted in the circular annular grooves concentric with the cross section of the valve body (3), on both half-bodies, in the vicinity of their contact surfaces. A device according to claim 3, in which the mating surfaces of the three segments into which the first shaft (6) is divided are situated on the outside of the valve body (3). A device according to the previous claim 4 in which the mating surfaces of the segments into which the first shaft (6) is divided and which contain the permanent magnets (m5) are located inside the valve body (3). A device according to Claim 4 in which the segments of the first shaft (6) have flanges at their mating ends into which the permanent magnets (m5) are inserted. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device is provided with rings (8) and (9) for connecting the cylindrical valve body (3) to the rest of the system, these rings being made integral with the valve body (3) by the attraction set up between the permanent magnets (m3) and (m4) inserted in the circular annulus-shaped grooves concentric with the cross section of the valve body (3), in the vicinity of their contact surfaces. A device according to one of the preceding claims, in the case in which it is made from a ferromagnetic material, the various connections described in the previous claims being effected by the insertion of the permanent magnets on only one of the two surfaces that come into contact.

Inventors: LARDIERI SALVATORE, LARDIERI, SALVATORE
Applicants: LARDIERI SALVATORE, LARDIERI, SALVATORE
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65G69
IPC codes: B65D90