Abstract:
A system for controlling with safety the transfer or control of high pressure fluids from a container for use as to an inflatable escape slide. The pressurized container houses valve mechanisms such as a first and second valve mechanism, with the first valve mechanism controlling by actuation the on off flow of high pressure fluids to the second valve mechanism. The second valve mechanism controls the rate of flow by reducing the pressure for delivery to the inflatable escape slide. A safety valve operates in conjunction with the first valve mechanism and upon breaking of the valve mechanisms from the pressurized container to prevent the contents of the pressurized container from rapid escape or uncontrolled release.

Description:
This application is a divisional of application number 09/476,969, filed on Dec. 31, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,770. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a system for controlling the flow of pressurized fluids and more particularly to valve devices or mechanisms for use with high pressure gas release vessels or containers on an aircraft emergency escape slide and off-shore emergency escape slides or as valve mechanisms on high pressure vessels to eliminate potential catastrophic problems of high pressure gas release. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The inflatable escape slide and the pressure vessel along with its regulating valve system is stored adjacent to an egress door of an aircraft in a deflated condition. When necessary to evacuate the passengers and the crew members as quickly as possible, the deflated slide is deployed outwardly from the aircraft. As the slide is extended outwardly from the egress door, a lanyard is actuated to permit the escape slide to be pressurized from a pressurized pressure vessel or container and its regulatory valve. 
     The pressurized vessel or container and its valve system for safety reasons, must be constructed such that when inadvertently or by some accident such vessel is dropped, that the valves may sustain extensive damage without precipitating hazardous discharge of the stored gas. Under ordinary circumstance the rupture of the body of the regulating valves would cause an uncontrolled release of the pressurized gas or fluid and would cause the pressurized container to become self-propelled, thus putting any personnel or equipment close thereto in great danger. The escaping gases could propel the container or pressurized vessel at an alarming high velocity. One of the devices used to prevent these mishaps is a cage that encloses and protects the regulating valves. The cage prevents the separation of the valves from the pressurized container upon impact or inadvertent damage. The use of the cage adds extra weight to the escape slide system and since this is an aerospace application, the addition of weight is undesirable and should be avoided. In addition, the cage adds considerable volume to the system thus requiring the aircraft manufacturer to allot additional space on the aircraft for the auxiliary equipment. Further, the cage requires additional machining and welding which adds cost to the system. 
     The present invention eliminates the need for a cage and designs the valves with two portions: an upper portion that projects out of the container, a lower portion that is located within the body portion of the container that contains the high pressure fluid, and an integral safety valve that upon rupture of or any breaking of the upper portions of the valves will prevent the contents of the pressurized container from rapid escape or uncontrolled release. Such valves are lightweight in construction, compact, reliable and maintain a cost advantage over present structures. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A system for controlling with safety the transfer of pressurized fluids through valve mechanisms from a pressurized container at a lower controlled pressure to inflate an inflatable escape slide or otherwise provide a controlled measured flow. The container is mounted on the escape slide and has control and regulating valves, such as first and second valve mechanisms, secured thereto. The container has a necked portion to receive a nipple portion of the valve housing which contains the first and second valve mechanisms. The first valve mechanism is operative when actuated by suitable devices such as a lanyard to direct fluids at high pressures to the second valve mechanism whose function is to transfer the high pressure fluids at a lower controlled rate to the inflatable escape slide. 
     A safety valve is operated in conjunction with the valve mechanisms to insure the delivery of the high pressure fluids as required by the actuation. The safety valve is located in the nipple portion of the valve housing so that in the event the valve housing, which contains the first valve mechanism and the second valve mechanism, is broken off by accident as by dropping the container, the high pressure fluids are blocked from leaving the container. This action prevents the uncontrolled release of the pressurized gas or fluid which would cause the pressurized container to become self propelled at dangerously high velocities. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an escape slide deployed from the fuselage of an aircraft, illustrating the slide fully deployed with a pressurized container mounted on the underside of the slide; 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary bottom view of that portion of the escape slide taken on line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1 showing a pressurized fluid container located on the escape slide; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a prior art container and valve mechanism with a portion broken away illustrating the container as falling and prior to impact with a hard surface; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the prior art container illustrated in FIG. 3 after impact, with the valve mechanism broken off and the container being propelled by the escaping high pressure fluid; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the present container and valve mechanism with a portion broken away illustrating the container as falling and prior to impact with a hard surface; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the present invention illustrating the container and valve mechanism immediately after impact with a hard surface with the valve mechanism broken off; 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the valve housing containing the valve mechanisms embodying the invention mounted on a fluid container or bottle; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  in FIG. 7 with parts being broken away; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  in FIG. 7 with parts being broken away; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged view in perspective of a disc with a portion broken away; 
     FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the first valve mechanism and safety valve showing the central support member retracted with the disc in the burst condition showing the top portion of the safety valve and illustrating the high pressure fluid flowing through the opening in the disc towards the second valve mechanism where the fluid pressure is reduced for delivery to the escape slide; 
     FIG. 12 is a side elevational view similar to that in FIG. 8 with portions of the valve mechanism broken away illustrating the breaking away of the valve housing from the fluid container and the safety valve blocking the flow of high pressure fluid; 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of a valve housing and valve mechanism with safety valve and first valve mechanism in the non-actuated condition; 
     FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the safety valve and nipple portion of the valve housing taken on line  14 — 14  of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 is a plan view of the valve housing containing the valve mechanism taken on line  15 — 15  of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the valve housing and valve mechanism similar to that shown in FIG. 13 but with the first valve mechanism and safety valve in the actuated condition; 
     FIG. 17 is a side elevational view similar to that in FIG. 13 with portions of the valve housing and valve mechanisms broken away illustrating the breaking away of the valve housing from the fluid container with the safety valve blocking the flow of high pressure fluid. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 an inflatable evacuation escape slide  1  shown in the fully inflated condition extending from a supporting structure such as an aircraft&#39;s fuselage  2 . The escape slide  1  is a conventional slide that is deployed through an egress door  3  during a period of on ground emergency to provide for the rapid evacuation of passengers and crew members. 
     The escape slide  1  is releasably fastened to the fuselage  2  at its upper end adjacent the doorway or egress door  3  by a rod or girt bar  4 , which girt bar is mounted on the fuselage  2  in brackets  4 A or by suitable means fastened to the fuselage  2 . A positioning tube may be employed and located between the escape slide and the fuselage  2  to aid in the proper positioning of the slide  1  during deployment, but since it forms no part of the invention no further description nor depiction is necessary. 
     The inflatable escape slide  1  includes a head end  5 A and a toe end  5 B. The entire escape slide  1  is fabricated from a fabric or other suitable material coated with an elastomer. The various inflatable parts are joined together with a suitable adhesive whereby the composite structure will preclude air flow from the various chambers or tubes during operation in the inflated state. The escape slide  1  is of a multi-tubular construction having at least a pair of longitudinally extending tubes or tube members  6 A and  6 B on the respective sides and suitable inflatable cross tubes  7 . A sheet  8  with a slide surface is suitably fastened to the respective side tubes and cross tubes in a manner old and well known in the art. 
     A suitable source of high pressurized gas or fluid such as a container or bottle  12  of compressed gas is suitably mounted on the underside of the escape slide  1 , which bottle  12  is connected via a valve housing  10  and suitable conduits to aspirators  9  located on the side portion of tubes  6 A and  6 B. Additional containers of compressed gas, aspirators and hoses or conduits or any combination of them may be used. 
     Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the valve housing  10  which may be a machined casting is shown as mounted on the high pressure container or metal bottle  12  for containing gases at pressures up to approximately 5,000 pounds per square inch (351.5 kilograms per square centimeter). A generally cylindrical fluid passageway or conduit  14  having an axis A—A is located in the valve housing  10  in communication with an inlet passage, passageway or opening  16  which extends through a nipple  18  connected to the bottle or container  12  by a threaded connection  20  between the nipple  18  and a necked portion or neck  22  of the bottle or container  12 . An O-ring  24  may be positioned between the nipple  18  and neck  22  to provide a fluid tight seal between the bottle  12  and the valve housing  10 . The lower end portion of nipple  18  terminates into an annular surface  11  having an inner tapered or beveled sealing surface or seal  13 . 
     To seal the bottle  12  against the flow of high pressure gas through the inlet opening  16  a cartridge member or release cartridge  28  is positioned and secured to valve housing  10  in the fluid passageway or conduit  14  in the closed condition of the cartridge  28  as shown in FIG.  8  and to be described. A metallic plate member such as disc member or disc  30  shown in greater detail in FIGS. 10 and 11 is mounted over the lower end of the cartridge  28 . The disc  30  has a cylindrical wall  32  and a circular base  34  with a central portion  36  and a peripheral edge  38  with a beveled configuration to conform with a conical surface defining a valve seat surface  40  in the fluid passageway or fluid conduit  14  adjacent the inlet passage  16 . Preferably the disc  30  is of a soft metal such as aluminum (1100-0 alloy) so that when the cartridge  28  is pressed downwardly towards the inlet passage  16  the metal of the disc  30  will be crushed against the valve seat surface  40  providing a fluid tight seal. A recessed shoulder  37  (FIG. 11) is provided between the inlet passageway  16  and the conical valve seat surface  40 . A longitudinally extending cylindrical safety valve  21  is located within the inlet passageway  16  and has an enlarged circumferentially extending upper edge portion  23  that is seated on the recessed shoulder  37 . Safety valve  21  has a central bore  25 . The lower end portion of safety valve  21  has a circular plug  27  suitably connected thereto. Plug  27  has an annular portion that defines a beveled seating surface  17  which is adapted to frictional seat on the beveled seating surface  13  of nipple  18  for a purpose to be described. A narrow vent, aperture or bore  29  extends through the plug  25  to communicate the main high pressure reservoir of container  12  with the central bore  25 . The lower end portion of cylindrical safety valve  21  has a plurality of apertures  31  to communicate the reservoir of container  12  with the central bore  25  to permit the high pressure fluid from container  12  to be maintained on the bottom surface of circular base  34 . Referring to FIG. 8, the cartridge  28  has a generally cylindrical wall  44  with a threaded connection  46  with the valve housing  10 . Hexagonal flanges  48  may be provided which are adaptable for gripping by a wrench to rotate the cartridge  28  to move it towards or away from the inlet passage  16 . A disc support is provided which includes the thrust collar  50  mounted on the lower end of the wall  44  and a central support member such as engagement sleeve  52  (FIG. 8) which is positioned adjacent the thrust collar  50  and in supporting relationship with the central portion  36  of the disc  30 . 
     As shown in FIG. 8 the engagement sleeve  52  is held in the cartridge  28  by a latch providing a mechanical advantage which includes latching balls  54  movable into holes in the engagement sleeve  52  and a groove in a ball retainer sleeve  56  mounted in the wall  44  of the cartridge. The latching balls  54  are moved into the holes in the engagement sleeve by ramps  58  in a trigger pin  60  movable axially of the fluid conduit  14 . The trigger pin  60  is part of a release means including a swivel cap  62  mounted for rotation on the wall  44  and held in position by retainer wires  63 . The swivel cap  62  has a bore  64  in which the trigger pin  60  is slidable and a release pin  66  movable through an intersecting bore into position to block the bore and hold the trigger pin  60  down in the cocked position as shown in FIG. 8. A safety pin  68  may be inserted through the swivel cap  62  and the release pin  66  to prevent the accidental operation of the apparatus. The safety pin  68  may be removed when the apparatus is ready for use. 
     An actuator spring  70  may be positioned within the engagement sleeve  52  and in engagement with the trigger pin  60  to urge the trigger pin upwardly (FIG. 8) into engagement with the release pin  66  for providing sufficient pressure against the release pin  66  to hold it in place while at the same time limiting the pressure so that an aircraft attendant can remove the release pin manually. Also when the release pin  66  is removed, the actuator spring  70  and the action of the latching balls  54  will raise the trigger pin  60  actuating the latch by allowing the latching balls  54  to move into the ramps  58  and out of the groove in the ball retainer sleeve  56  and the holes in the engagement sleeve  52 . 
     The above described cooperative elements of the cartridge member  28  including the disc  30 , thrust collar  50 , engagement sleeve  52 , latch balls  54 , ramp  58 , trigger pin  60 , release pin  66 , and swivel cap  62  define a first valve mechanism that operates as an on off valve that releases the reservoir of high pressure gas upon actuation. This first valve mechanism routes the high pressure gas to a second valve mechanism to be described which controls the output pressure of the device described. The first valve mechanism and the second valve mechanism is referred to as a valve means or the overall valve mechanism. 
     In the operation, when the engagement sleeve  52  is released in this manner described above, the high pressure of the fluid in the bottle  12  will rupture the unsupported control portion  36  of the disc  30  and force the engagement sleeve  52  upwardly to a position such as that shown in FIG.  11 . The gases or fluids from the bottle  12  move in the direction shown by the arrows in FIG. 11 into a cartridge chamber  72  within the walls  44  and then through holes  74  in the wall  44  through an outlet passage  76 . Impact dampers such as O-rings  78  of resilient material (Nitrile rubber) may be mounted in the ball retainer sleeve  56  of the cartridge  28  to cushion the impact of the trigger pin  60  and engagement sleeve  52  which are propelled upwardly by the high pressure gases into engagement with the cartridge upon rupture of the disc  30 . 
     The outlet passage  76  is in communication with an inlet port  80  of a generally cylindrical pressure regulator chamber  82  in the valve housing  10  (FIG.  9 ). The pressure regulator chamber  82  has an axis B-B which is in cross configuration with the axis A-A of the fluid conduit  14  so that at a cross over point  84 , the outlet passage  76  of the fluid conduit  14  and the inlet port  80  of the pressure regulator chamber  82  are combined in an intersecting passage  86 . 
     Axially movable within the pressure regulator chamber  82  is a regulator member or piston  88  having a piston rod  90  slidably movable in a cylindrical opening  92  at the right end of the housing as shown in FIG. 9. A spool member  94  is mounted on the piston rod  90  and is movable to the left as shown in FIG. 9 into the cylindrical opening  96  providing a gas discharge orifice  98  between an edge  100  of the cylindrical opening  92  and an edge  102  of the spool member  94 . The pressure regulator also includes a spring  104  and a spring adjuster  106  threaded in the pressure regulator chamber  82  for increasing or decreasing the compression of the spring acting on the piston  88 . As shown in FIG. 9, a stop means such as spool stop screw  108  may be threaded in the spring adjuster  106  during charging of the bottle  12  with high pressure fluid to prevent over stroking the piston  88 . 
     The piston  88  has an end area  110 , the diameter of which is indicated by letter “a” in FIG. 9 which is greater than the end area  112  at the left side of the spool member  94 , the diameter of which is indicated by letter “b” in FIG.  9 . The spool also has a small end area  114  at the right side as shown in FIG.  9 . 
     The second valve mechanism of the valve means referred to earlier includes the regulator member or piston  88  operative in chamber  82 , rod  90 , spool member  94 , edge  102 , and spring adjuster  106 . 
     In operation the high pressure gas is communicated to a high pressure section  116  of the pressure regulator chamber  82  upon opening of the bottle  12  by rupturing the disc  30 . This high pressure gas acts on the end area  110  of the piston  88  causing the piston and piston rod  90  to move to the left as shown in FIG. 9 to a position where the force of the spring  104  plus the force of the gas against the end area  112  of the spool member  94  is equal to the force from the gas pressure against the end area  110  of the piston and the pressure of the low pressure gas against the end area  114  of the spool. The gas discharge orifice  98  is then at a position to provide low pressure gas in a low pressure section  118  of the pressure regulator chamber  82  which is then communicated through outlet ports such as discharge ports  120  and  122  connected by hoses  124  and  126  to aspirators  9 . 
     Seals such as O-rings  128  and  130  may be provided in the regulator chamber  82 . In operation the high pressure gas from the intersecting passage  86  is at approximately 3,000 pounds per square inch (210.92 kilograms per square centimeter). 
     With this apparatus the bottle  12  may be charged with high pressure gas by closing one of the discharge ports  120  or  122  and connecting the other port to a source of high pressure gas. 
     Where there is an accidental dropping of the container or bottle  12  and the valve housing  10  is broken off at the neck  22  of the container  12 , the safety valve  21  is moved upwardly by the pressure from the gas in the reservoir of the container  12  acting on the bottom surface of plug  27 . The plug  27  of the safety valve  21  blocks the flow of pressurized fluid via apertures  31  since the plug  27  moves into engagement with the lower end portion of the inlet passageway  16 . The beveled seating surface  17  of plug  27  comes into sealing engagement with the beveled seating surface  13  of nipple  18 . 
     Such action blocks the flow path and reduces the discharge rate from the pressurized container  12  to prevent any propulsive reaction of the container. A small amount of leakage past the safety valve as via vent aperture  29  would allow the reservoir of container  12  to bleed down slowly without generating any propulsive forces. This installation of the safety valve  21  on the pressurized container  12  as described above allows the valve housing to sustain severe impact loads, without becoming self-propelled providing the container  12  is not itself significantly deformed 
     A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 13 through 17 where the container that houses the pressurized fluid is designated  12   a  and is identical to the container  12  of the first described embodiment. 
     A valve housing  140 , which may be a machined casting, is shown as mounted on the high pressure container  12   a . The valve housing  140  has a nipple portion  141  that threadedly engages the necked portion  142  of container  12   a . The nipple portion  141  extends downward beyond the necked portion into the container  12   a  and is referred to as the lower end portion  144  of valve housing  140 . Such lower end portion  144  has a stepped bore  145  extending crosswise through the valve housing  140 . One side of such stepped bore  145  has a bore portion designated  146  and the other side of such stepped bore  145  has a bore portion  147  whose diameter is designated D 1 . The side wall of the stepped bore  145  at the juncture of bore portion  146  and bore portion  147  is circumferentially recessed to receive an annular seal  148  having an outside diameter D 2  that is substantially smaller than diameter D 1  for bore portion  147 . The side wall of the stepped bore  145  that receives seal  148  may be arcuately recessed to receive one side of a ball valve  150 . The diametrically opposite one side of such ball valve  150  abuttingly engages an annular thrust seal  152  that is arcuately contoured on its one side to frictionally engage such ball valve  150  and allows the rotation of a ball valve  150  while maintaining a pressure on ball valve  150 . Annular thrust seal  152  has a diameter D 1 , identical to that of bore portion  147 . 
     Ball valve  150  is journaled for rotation in the central portion of stepped bore  145 . Ball valve  150  has a cylindrical bore  153  that extends therethrough for communicating with bore portion  146  when such ball valve  150  is rotated ninety (90) degrees from that position shown in FIG. 13 to that position shown in FIG.  16 . The upper portion of ball valve  150  has a hexagonal shaped recess  154  that communicates with the cylindrically shaped bore in such valve  150  for a purpose to be described. 
     Valve housing  140  has a central stepped bore that extends from the uppermost end portion to the stepped bore  145  in the lower end portion  144 . Mounted in such central stepped bore is a first valve mechanism or sleeve  157  with an upper solid cylindrical flange  158  that is frictionally received by bore or bore portion  159  of the central stepped bore and a lower annular flange  160  that is frictionally received by bore or bore portion  161  of the central stepped bore. In addition sleeve  157  has an annular flange  163  at its middle portion which is frictionally received by bore portion  161 . The respective flanges  158 , 160  and  163  have annular seals to inhibit fluid leakage as is well known in the art. Immediately above the upper cylindrical flanges  158 , the first valve mechanism or sleeve  157  has a cylindrically shaped shaft or rod  166  which receives an annular cap  167 , which cap  167  is threadedly secured to the threaded upper end portion  168  of the central stepped bore. The lower portion of annular cap  167  has an annular recess to receive a thrust bearing  170 . The annular cap  167  is suitably threaded onto the valve housing  140  to bear upon thrust bearing  170 , which in turn frictionally bears onto upper flange  158  of sleeve  157  to permit selective rotation but maintains the vertical altitude and position (as viewed in FIG.  13 ). The lowermost end portion  172  of sleeve  157  is a hexagonal shape and is securely received by the hexagonally shaped recess  154  in top portion of ball valve  150 . Rotation of sleeve  157  controls the ball valve  150  and controls the precise alignment of the cylindrical bore  153  in ball valve  150  with the bore or bore portion  146  and with the pressurized reservoir of the container  12   a . Sleeve  157  is hollow from the upper cylindrical flange  158  to the hexagonal shaped end portion  172  (FIG. 14) that defines a central bore  174 . A plurality of circumferentially and vertical spaced apertures  173  in the sleeve  157  adjacent to the upper cylindrical flange  158  communicate the central bore  174  with a pressure chamber  175 , which in turn communicate with a bore or a pressure regulator chamber  82 ′. Such regulator chamber  82 ′ is identical to the previously described regulator chamber  82  described in the first embodiment and receives the identical regulator member or second valve mechanism as described in the first embodiment and operates in the same manner. 
     The shaft  166  terminates in a reduced shaft or shaft portion  177  and journals for rotation therewith a circular flange member  179 . The shaft portion  177  is centrally threaded to receive a bolt  180  which firmly secures the flange member  179  onto the shaft  177  with the aid of a washer  181 . Circular flange member  179  has a circumferentially extending groove as at  182  along a portion of its periphery to receive and guide a lanyard  184  (FIG. 15) whose one end portion is secured to a pin  185  which in turn is frictionally held in a groove  186  (FIG. 15) on the flange  179 . Such lanyard and pin  185  are subjected to being disengaged from the circular flange member  179  upon pulling on the lanyard as depicted by the dotted lines in FIG.  15 . 
     The top portion of the valve housing  140  has an arcuate guide member  188  along a portion of the flange member  179  to insure the retention of the pin  185  and lanyard  184  within the groove  186  until the flange member was rotated ninety degrees which would rotate the sleeve or first valve mechanism  157  ninety degrees to align the cylindrical bore  153  in ball valve  150  with the high pressure fluids in container  12   a  via bore or bore portion  146 . An abutment or stop member  190  on the flange member  179  is operative to engage the end of arcuate guide member  188  to limit the rotation of flange member  179  to ninety degrees. 
     In the operation of the described embodiment, the lanyard  184  is rotated ninety degrees which rotates sleeve  157  and ball valve  150  to align cylindrical bore  153  with bore  146  as shown in FIG. 16 to conduct the high pressure fluids through the central bore  174 , through the apertures  173  and into the pressure regulator chamber  82 ′ for processing to a reduced controlled pressure by the regulator member or second valve mechanism as described in the first embodiment wherein the inflatable member as the escape slide is inflated by a controlled fluid pressure. 
     In the accidental dropping of container  12   a , breakage of the valve housing  140  would ordinarily result at the neck portion  142  as depicted by FIG. 17 wherein the first valve mechanism is in the non-actuated condition such that the cylindrical bore  153  in ball valve  150  is not aligned with bore  146  and thus block the flow of high pressure fluids out of bore  161 . Such action prevents any propulsive reaction of the container  12   a . To further insure the safe release of the high pressure fluid a vent bore  192  is located in the lower nipple portion  141  of valve housing  140  communicating with the bore  161 . In the normal inoperative condition of the valves in the valve housing  140 , an additional vent bore  193  is located in the upper portion of valve housing  140  communicating bore  161  with an outlet opening  194 , suitably capped by a removable threaded bolt  195 . A pressure gauge  197  may be suitably connected to a chamber  198  and vent bore  193 . 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the prior art problem of where the valves or valve mechanism which is mounted on the neck of a pressurized fluid container  12  when broken off, as by an accidental dropping of the container, would cause an uncontrolled release of the pressurized gas or fluid and would cause the pressurized container to become propelled at an alarming high velocity without specific direction. FIG. 5 and 6 illustrate the same condition of droppage with the valve mechanism broken off but because of the improved safety valve  21  as safety ball valve  150  would block the flow of high pressure fluid and permit the eventual venting of the high pressure fluids at a controlled safe rate and pressure. 
     The ball valve  150  in the second embodiment is held firmly and positively in its non-actuated position at all time by a pressurized force F (seat) exerted upon the ball valve  150  as represented by the following formula. 
     
       
           F  (seat)= P  (reservoir)− P  (atmosphere) divided by the quantity (A 1 −A 2 ). 
       
     
     Where F (seat) is the force exerted upon the ball valve  150  to force it into its seat. 
     P (reservoir) is the gage pressure of the fluid in the reservoir. 
     P (atmosphere) is the atmospheric pressure. 
     A 1  is (diameter D 1  divided by 2) quantity squared×Pi (where Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximated at times as 3.1416). 
     A 2  is (diameter D 2  divided by 2) quantity squared×Pi (where Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximated at times as 3.1416). 
     It is to be noted that without this force, F (seat), the seal would leak and be ineffective as a seal or safety valve, resulting in damages and injury caused by an uncontrolled release of the highly pressurized fluids from the container as discussed above. 
     While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown and described for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications other than those referred to may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.