Abstract:
A flow valve that may act as either an excess flow valve or a pressure relief valve has a seat and a valve body for sealing against the seat. The valve body has an integral spring arm for biasing the valve body towards or away from the seat to seal or open a flow of fluid, and a magnet cooperating with the spring arm to position the body relative to the seat to maintain the body in a first position during a normal flow condition and maintain the body in a second position in an abnormal flow condition.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Many fluid flow control devices, such as check valves, are spring or magnetically biased towards an open position. If a differential pressure exceeds a predetermined value, the valve is biased closed. 
         [0002]    However, there are certain disadvantages in using spring biased devices like spring biased poppet-type check valves. The spring exerts increasing force against the flow as the poppet is closing and, thus, closing action is less positive and less reproducible. 
         [0003]    Further, poppet valves and associated springs are relatively heavy, are adversely affected by gravity, and may be indifferently oriented relative to the direction of gravity forces, thereby making low flow pressure operating conditions difficult for proper operation. 
         [0004]    Similarly, magnets that hold check valves may be required to be larger under certain operating conditions and may minimize the effective flow capacity of fluid flowing through a pipe. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    According to an embodiment, a flow valve that may act as either an excess flow valve or a pressure relief valve has a seat and a valve body for sealing against the seat. The valve body has an integral spring arm for biasing the valve body towards or away from the seat to seal or open a flow of fluid, and a magnet cooperating with the spring arm to position the body relative to the seat to maintain the body in a first position during a normal flow condition and maintain the body in a second position in an abnormal flow condition. 
         [0006]    These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a valve. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the valve of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the valve of  FIG. 1  and a first operating condition. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the valve of  FIG. 1  and a second operating condition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0011]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of the present valve  10  is shown. The valve consists of a magnet  15  having a cylindrical shape (other magnet shapes are contemplated herein), a magnet body  20 , a valve plate  25 , and a cartridge  30 . 
         [0012]    The magnet body  20  has a cylindrical, ring-like base  35 , a pair of arms  40  extending from the cylindrical base, a pair of shoulders  45  attaching to the arms  40 , and a pair of transverse supports  50  connecting to the shoulders  45  and holding a cylindrical body  55  having a bore  60  therethrough. The bore  60  holds the magnet  15  securely therein by friction fit or otherwise. 
         [0013]    The valve plate  25  has a body  65  that is flat and cylindrical (though other shapes are contemplated herein) from which a pair of spring arms  70  extend outwardly and then there around the body. Each spring arm has an opening  75  at a distal end  80  thereof. Each opening  75  is placed over a stake  85  disposed in the shoulder  45  of the magnet body  20  to secure the valve plate  25  to the magnet body  20 . After placing the spring arms  70  on the magnet body, the stakes  85  are melted to secure the valve plate  25  on the magnet body. 
         [0014]    The cartridge  30  has an inner bore  90  through which fluid flows and an outer shoulder  95  upon which the cylindrical base  35  of the magnet body  20  is disposed. The cylindrical base  35  and the cartridge  30  are dimensioned to fit securely within a vessel such as a pipe  100 , or the like, through which fluid flows. The cartridge has a seat or face  105  over which the body  65  is designed to rest to impede flow through the cartridge  30 . One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the cartridge  30  may be integral with a pipe. 
         [0015]    The magnet body  20  and the cartridge  30  may be constructed of a suitable material such as plastic or metal. Similarly, the valve plate  25  may be constructed of a light, hard material that is attracted to magnets. 
         [0016]    In operation and referring to  FIGS. 3 , the magnet may be in one or several positions within the magnet body, e.g., parallel  110  to supports  50 , between  115  the supports  50  and the valve plate  25 , or touching  120  the body  65  or other positions depending on the requirements of the valve  10 . 
         [0017]    During normal operation indicated by normal flow arrows  125 , the body  65  is static. If there is such a condition to create excess flow through the pipe  100 , the excess flow forces (arrows  135  in  FIGS. 3 and 4 ), the body  35  is pushed away from the forces of the magnet  15  against the spring forces of spring arms  70  towards the cartridge  30  to seat against the face  105  thereby cut off flow through the pipe. As the body  65  is pushed towards the face, the spring arms  70  thereon deform and create a force pulling the plate away from the face  105  so that if the excess flow condition  135  abates the springs will pull, in conjunction with the magnet  15 , the body  65  back to allow regular flow there through. To vary the time required to allow the body  65  to move away from the face  105  in the cartridge  30 , the magnet  15  may be placed at within the bore  60  as desired. 
         [0018]    The tension of the spring arms and the force of the magnet combine to allow a user to design a valve  10  for particular flow requirements. For instance, if the magnet is closer to the body  65 , the attractive force is greater and the body  65  will move away from the face  105  with higher pressure against it. Similarly, moving the magnet away will provide less force on the body  65  and lower pressures are required to bias the spring arms away from a static position. Also, if the spring arms  70  are made stronger, more pressure may be required to move the body  65  towards the face  105 . If the spring arms  70  are made weaker, less pressure may be required to move the body  65  towards the face  105 . A user may then vary the strength of the spring arms and the placement and strength of the magnet to tune a valve for the particular results required. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the valve  10  may be utilized as a pressure relief valve. In this Figure, the body  65  and its integral spring arms  70  are biased away from the face  105 . The magnet  15 , as above may be placed in several positions  140 ,  145  depending on requirements of the valve. Because the valve plate is biased towards the seat, the valve will not move away from the plate unless an excess flow condition pushes the valve away as shown by solid lines. By allowing the magnet to have several different positions within the magnet body, one can tune the valve to work with different pressures. 
         [0020]    For instance, if the magnet is closer to the body  65 , the attractive force is greater and the body  65  will move away from the face  105  with lesser pressure against it. Similarly, moving the magnet away will provide less force on the body  65  and higher pressures are required to bias the spring arms away from a static position. Also, if the spring arms  70  are made stronger, more pressure may be required to move the body  65  away from the face  105 . If the spring arms  70  are made weaker, less pressure may be required to move the body  65  away from the face  105 . A user may then vary the strength of the spring arms and the placement and strength of the magnet to tune a valve for the particular results required. As such, this valve and magnet arrangement can be used for excess flow or pressure relief depending on the means of an operator. 
         [0021]    By utilizing a combination of a spring arms  70  and a magnet  15 , the cooperating forces thereof allow for the design envelope to increase flow capacity without affecting the closing flow of fluid through the valve  10 . 
         [0022]    Although a combination of features is shown in the illustrated examples, not all of them need to be combined to realize the benefits of various embodiments of this disclosure. In other words, a system designed according to an embodiment of this disclosure will not necessarily include all of the features shown in any one of the Figures or all of the portions schematically shown in the Figures. Moreover, selected features of one example embodiment may be combined with selected features of other example embodiments. 
         [0023]    The preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed examples may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this disclosure. The scope of legal protection given to this disclosure can only be determined by studying the following claims.