Valve device for bottles of liquefied gas

Abstract: The invention discloses a valve device for bottles of liquefied gas, especially for use with the bottles that are directly attached to the gas consumer appliance, such as a stove, a gas-ring, a lamp or the like, and which is provided with means for adapting the pressure of the gas in the bottle to the pressure at which the appliance consumes the gas, such as a pressure reducer, and which is formed by a monoblock unit including a valve (3) for regulating the incoming flow of the high pressure gas from the bottle, a pressure reducer (4) or reducer of the said high pressure of the gas to the pressure of use thereof, a safety valve (5) for no-flame situations, an upper coupling (2) to the consumer appliance and a lower coupling (6) to the filler mouth of the bottle.

Description: Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a valve device for bottles of liquefied gas, especially for use with the bottles that are directly attached to a gas consumer appliance, such as a stove, a gas-ring, a lamp or the like, and which is provided with means for adapting the pressure of the gas in the bottle to the pressure at which the appliance consumes the gas. Prior Art At the present time, the fitting of one of the above gas consumer appliances to the liquefied gas bottle requires the use of a flow regulator valve provided with a threaded coupling to the neck of the bottle and with threaded means for coupling to a pressure reducer, which, in turn, requires threaded means for coupling to a safety valve which should also be provided with threaded coupling means to the consumer appliance. As an example of prior art, document FR-A-2440579 discloses a valve device for bottles of liquefied gas having means of adapting the pressure of the gas in the bottle to the pressure at which a consumer appliance consumes the gas. The gas device is formed by a monoblock unit including a valve for regulating the incoming flow of the gas at high pressure from the bottle, a pressure reducer or reducer of said high pressure of the gas to the pressure of consumption thereof, a safety valve for no-flame situations, an upper coupling to the consumer appliance and a lower coupling to the filler mouth of the bottles. Also documents FR-A-1143276 and EP-A2-0275242 disclose a monoblock valve device for bottles of liquefied gas, comprising a shut-off valve, a pressure reducer and a safety valve. This foregoing arrangement involves a substantial assembly time, a larger volume of material necessary for the intermediate couplings and a plurality of seals to be located between said intermediate couplings. All of this gives rise to equipment liable to multiple points of gas leaks that, further to the cost of assembly and material, make such equipment not very reliable and prone to cause accidents. Summary of the Invention With the purpose of avoiding such drawbacks, the solution has been adopted of gathering all the previously mentioned devices into a single monoblock unit. According to the foregoing solution, the valve device of the invention has been developed, which is formed by a monoblock unit including a valve for regulating the incoming flow of gas at high pressure from the bottle, a pressure reducer or reducer of the said high pressure of the gas to the pressure of use thereof, a safety valve for no-flame situations, a coupling to the consumer appliance and a coupling to the filler mouth of the bottle. A feature of the invention consists of the coupling to the filler mouth of the bottle, the fixed portion of the flow regulator valve and a first portion of the pressure reducer subjected to pressure being formed in a single second body member, while a second portion of the pressure reducer in communication with the atmosphere, the fixed portion of the safety valve and the coupling for the consumer appliance are formed in a single first body member, the association of said first and second body members forming a monoblock unit that may not be taken apart once the body members have been coupled together. Another feature of the invention is that the gas flow regulator valve, which is of the needle valve type, comprises a small-sized enclosure through which the needle of the valve passes and having a wall in the centre of which there is open a passage in communication with the high pressure gas in the bottle and which has a valve seat for said needle and in which there is open an offset passage that debouches in the pressure chamber of the pressure reducer through a rocking stopper member. It is also a feature of the invention that a pressure chamber of the pressure reducer, formed in the second body member of the device and an flexible diaphragm inserted therein, is in communication with the safety valve by means of a moving pin having an axial bore that is associated at one end with the flexible diaphragm and the rocking stopper member. The invention contemplates as features that the moving pin associated at one end with the rocking stopper member, is associated at the other end thereof with a tube of the safety valve wherein it slides in O-rings, or with the centre of a second flexible diaphragm that, fixed around the perimeter thereof in the second portion of the pressure reducer, forms a chamber for the gas at the pressure of use which is in communication with an inlet of the safety valve. Similarly, the invention also contemplates that the association of the moving pin with the rocking stopper member is achieved by way of a support arrangement formed by a hemi-spherical button of the stopper member and an application surface thereof, the latter being formed in a attachment washer of the moving pin to the flexible diaphragm, or by means of a joint formed by a throat of the former and a forked gap of the latter. Finally, the invention contemplates that the safety valve is one of the type having a gas outlet for supplying a pilot burner, the flame of which is applied to the bulb of a thermocouple connected to the electromagnet acting on the stopper member of said valve. Brief Description of the Drawings To facilitate the understanding of the foregoing ideas, there is described hereinbelow the object of the invention, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a valve device for bottles of liquefied gas according to the invention. Figure 2 is a view, partly in cross section, of the device of Figure 1 along the line II-II of a diametrical plane thereof. Figure 3 is a cross section view of a detail of a variant of the arrangement of the gas flow from the pressure reducer to the safety valve that is different from the one contemplated in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross section view along the line IV-IV of Figure 1 of the upper portion of the device of the invention. Figure 5 is a cross section view of a detail of the sealing chamber with the needle seat hole of the gas flow regulation valve and of the gas passage to the stopper member of the pressure reducer. Figure 6 is a view along the line VI-VI of Figure 3. Detailed Description of the Invention According to the invention, the valve device for liquefied gas bottle is formed by a monoblock unit formed by a first body member 1A and a second body member 1B that once coupled together form a monoblock unit that cannot be taken apart. The valve device, as shown in Figure 1, incorporates in the first body member 1A and the second body member 1B of the monoblock unit, an upper coupling 2 for the consumer appliance, a flow regulator valve 3, a pressure reducer 4, a safety valve 5 and an lower coupling 6 to the filler mouth of the bottle. Figure 1 also shows the gas outlet 7 for the pilot burner, the push button 8 for activation of the safety valve 5, the connection 9 for the thermocouple of said safety valve 5, the control knob 10 of the flow regulator valve 3 and the release pin 11 that acts on the automatic closing valve of the liquefied gas bottle. As may be seen in Figure 1, the lower coupling 6 to the filler mouth of the bottle, the fixed portion of the flow regulator valve 3 and a first portion under pressure of the pressure reducer 4 are formed in the second body member 1B, while a second portion of the pressure reducer 4 in communication with the atmosphere through the hole 12, the fixed portion of the safety valve 5 and the upper coupling 2 for the consumer appliance are formed in the first body member 1A. The upper coupling 2 is formed by a short threaded neck of the first body member 1A having an axial passage 13, as may be seen in Figures 1 and 4, which extends to the stopping chamber 14 of the safety valve 5 and the port thereof is threaded for the installation of the corresponding jet. The gas flow regulator valve 3, which is of the needle valve type 15, comprises a small-sized stopping enclosure 16 through which the needle of the valve 15 passes and having a wall 17, see Figure 5, in the centre of which there is open a passage 18 in communication with the passage 19 carrying the high pressure gas from the bottle and which has a valve seat for said needle 15 and in which there is open an offset passage 20 that debouches in the pressure chamber 21 of the pressure reducer 4 through a rocking stopper member 23. The pressure chamber 21 of the pressure reducer 4, formed in the second body member 1B of the device and an flexible diaphragm 24 inserted between the first body member 1A and said second body member 1B, is in communication with the safety valve by means of a moving pin 25 having an axial bore and which is associated with said flexible diaphragm 24 and the rocking stopper member 23 at one end, while at the other end it is associated with a tube 26 of the safety valve 5 in which it slides in 0-rings. According to another embodiment, see Figure 3, the moving pin 25 associated at one end with the rocking stopper member 23, is associated at the other end thereof with the centre of a second flexible diaphragm 27 that, fixed around the perimeter thereof in the second portion of the pressure reducer 4, forms a chamber 28 for the gas at the pressure of use in communication with the gas inlet 29 of the safety valve 5. The association between the moving pin 25 and the rocking stopper member 23 is formed, in Figure 2, by a support arrangement formed by a hemi-spherical button 30 of the rocking stopper member 23 and an application surface formed by a washer 31 attaching the moving pin 25 to the flexible diaphragm 24. In another case, shown in Figure 3, said association is achieved by means of a throat 32 of the moving pin 25 and a forked gap 33 of the rocking stopper member 23. In the example shown in the drawings, the safety valve 5 is of the type having a gas outlet 7 for supplying a pilot burner, the flame of which is applied to the bulb of a thermocouple connected to the electromagnet 34 that acts on the stopper 35 of said safety valve 5, so that, when retaining the stopper, it allows the gas at the pressure of use of the chamber 28 to flow to the axial passage 13 and, when releasing the stopper, it cuts off said flow, thereby preventing the flow of unburnt gas.

Claims: A valve device for bottles of liquefied gas having means for adapting the pressure of the gas in the bottle to the pressure at which a consumer appliance consumes the gas, said valve device formed by a monoblock unit including a valve (3) for regulating the incoming flow of the gas at high pressure from the bottle, a pressure reducer (4) or reducer of the said high pressure of the gas to the pressure of consumption thereof, a safety valve (5) for no-flame situations, an upper coupling (2) to the consumer appliance and a lower coupling (6) to the filler mouth of the bottle, characterized in that the lower coupling (6) to the filler mouth of the bottle, the fixed portion of the flow regulator valve (3) and a first portion of the pressure reducer (4) subjected to pressure are formed in a single second body member (1 B), while a second portion of the pressure reducer (4) in communication with the atmosphere, the fixed portion of the safety valve (5) and the upper coupling (2) for the consumer appliance are formed in a single first body member (1A), the association of said first and second body members (1A, 1B) forming a monoblock unit that may not be taken apart once the body members have been coupled together. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas flow regulator valve (3), which is of the needle valve type, comprises a small-sized enclosure (16) through which the needle of the valve (15) passes and has a wall (17) in the centre of which there is open a passage (18) in communication with the high pressure gas in the bottle and which has a valve seat for said needle and in which there is open an offset passage (20) that debouches in a pressure chamber (21) of the pressure reducer (4) through a rocking stopper member (23). The device according to claim 2, characterized in that a pressure chamber (21) of the pressure reducer (4), formed in the second body member (1B) of the device and an flexible diaphragm (24) inserted between the first body member (1A) and the second body member (1B) is in communication with the safety valve by means of an axially perforated moving pin (25) that is associated at one end with the flexible diaphragm (24) and the rocking stopper member (23). The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the moving pin (25) associated at one end with the rocking stopper member (23) is associated at the other end thereof with a tube (26) of the safety valve (5) wherein it slides in O-rings. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the moving pin (25) associated at one end with the rocking stopper member (23), is associated at the other end thereof with the centre of a second flexible diaphragm (27) that, fixed around the perimeter thereof in the second portion of the pressure reducer (4), forms a chamber (28) for the gas at the pressure of use which is in communication with an inlet (29) of the safety valve (5). The device according to claim 3, characterized that the association of the moving pin (25) with the rocking stopper member (23) is achieved by way of a support arrangement formed by a hemi-spherical button (30) of the stopper member (23) and an application surface thereof, the latter being formed in a attachment washer (31) of the moving pin (25) to the flexible diaphragm (24). The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the association of the moving pin (25) with the rocking stopper member (23) is achieved by means of a joint formed by a throat (32) of the moving pin (25) and a forked gap (33) of the rocking stopper member (23). The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the safety valve (5) is the type having a gas outlet (7) for supplying a pilot burner, the flame of which is applied to the bulb from a thermocouple connected to an electromagnet (34) acting on a stopper (35) of said safety valve (5). Use of a device according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, in bottles that are directly connected to a consumer appliance of the gas, Use according to claim 9, characterized in that said gas consumer appliance is of the group formed by a stove, a gas ring, and a lamp.

Inventors: PASCUAL BARRACHINA JUAN, PASCUAL BARRACHINA, JUAN
Applicants: BUTSIR C E S A, BUTSIR C.E., S.A.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: F17C13
IPC codes: G05D16, F17C13, F17C7