Abstract:
A gas valve assembly for use with a gas grill includes a t-shaped manifold with an inlet fluid port that branches out into a pair of valve ports. A pair of gas valves each have an outwardly extending neck that is received within the valve ports of the manifold. A stop means locates the valves a predetermined distance from one another to improve manufacturability. An anti-rotation means minimizes rotation between each valve and the manifold.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/232,547 filed on Jan. 18, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a fluid fitting assembly, and more particularly, to a staked dual valve and manifold system.  
         BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Contemporary outdoor gas grills often utilize dual gas burners that are controlled by a common dual gas valve assembly. A typical dual gas valve assembly has a single feed supply line that delivers gas to a pair of valves which in turn selectively supplies gas to the individual burners in the gas grill. Conventional methods of connecting the gas supply line to the valves include using a manifold fitting with a plurality of ports. The ports are often threaded internally or externally, in order to enhance connectability of the gas inlet line and the valves.  
           [0004]    The problem with conventional threaded pipe connections is that they are slow to assemble in a high-speed manufacturing environment. Further, they require additional manufacturing steps including cutting threads, either internally or externally, into the fitting or the manifold. Also, the pipe or member that is to be connected to the manifold must be threaded. Such designs increase the per unit cost and require special machines for production.  
           [0005]    Other problems with conventional threaded pipe connections for gas valve assemblies is the difficulty of obtaining the proper alignment of the two valves relative to the face plate of the gas grill. Typical face plates for gas grills include prepunched holes that allow the valve stems to extend therethrough. Thus, the valve stems must be concentric with the prepunched holes in the face plate. Failure to maintain such alignment creates a visually displeasing appearance. It has been problematic to maintain the distal relationship between the valve stems when the gas manifold assembly is threaded. This in part because the angular displacement caused by threading the parts together creates a variable in the manufacturing process. It is preferred to remove this variable from the manufacturing process in order to improve product quality. This can be accomplished in part by maintaining the distal relationship of the centerline of each valve stem by creating a stop between the valves and the manifold.  
           [0006]    Therefore, there is a need to provide a dual gas valve assembly that either eliminates or minimizes the number of threaded connections, has enhanced manufacturability, can be formed in a minimal number of steps, can be mass produced, yet still produce a gas tight connection by way of a threadless mechanical stake. There is also a need for an assembly that has an alignment feature for promptly and accurately joining a valve to a manifold in high speed manufacturing environments.  
           [0007]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual valve and manifold system that overcomes the problems mentioned above. Such a manifold system should be simple in design, minimize the number of operations required by an operator to create such an assembly, and minimize the number of tools that are required to perform such an operation while still being capable of providing a mechanical joint with significant joint integrity.  
           [0008]    One of the preferred forms of the present invention provides as one of its aspects, a fitting having a fluid delivery bore connected to a central chamber, a first elongated section extending from the central chamber, a second elongated section extending from the central chamber, and a crimped portion located at an end of the elongated sections for securing the fitting to first and second control valves. A first control valve has a main body with a central fluid passage. The first control valve further has an outwardly extending member with an internal fluid passage. A second control valve with a main body has a central fluid passage. The second valve further has a member with an internal fluid passage and a member which extends outwardly from the main body.  
           [0009]    For a more complete understanding of the dual valve assembly, reference is made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which the presently preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. Because the invention may take on several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it is expressly understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Throughout the following description and drawings, identical reference numbers refer to the same component throughout the several views.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a top view of the present invention illustrating a T-shaped manifold connecting two valves;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view looking along lines  2 - 2  of FIG. 1, illustrating the flattened portion of the valve that extends into the manifold;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a sectional view looking along lines  3 - 3  of FIG. 1, illustrating the manifold crimped to portions of the valves;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is an alternative embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the manifold crimped to the valve;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a sectional view looking along the lines  5 - 5  of FIG. 4, illustrating the connection between the manifold and the valves;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a seal between the manifold and the valves and a mounting pad; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a sectional view looking along lines  7 - 7  of FIG. 6, illustrating the manifold and valve connection.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    A dual gas valve assembly  10  is shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. The valve assembly  10  is comprised of a manifold  12  and a pair of control valves  14  and  16 . FIG. 1 illustrates these components with sections of the valves broken away to illustrate the connection between the manifold  12  and the control valves  14  and  16 .  
         [0018]    The manifold  12  is preferably T-shaped and is made of malleable metal in order to allow it to deform as needed. An inlet side of the manifold  12  has external threads  18  and an internal fluid delivery passageway  20 . A central chamber  22  delivers fluid, such as gas, to a large bore  24  and into a pair of fluid passages  26 . The fluid passages  26  are defined in part by a pair of outwardly extending elongated members  28  which extend in a direction that is normal to the inlet  20 . The manifold  12  is symmetrical about a center axis which extends through inlet  20 . Each fluid passage  26  has a chamfered corner  29 .  
         [0019]    Each control valve  14  and  16  is of the same construction and thus only a discussion of control valve  14  will follow. With reference to FIGS. 1 through 3, control valve  14  includes a valve stem  30 , a main body  32  and a cover plate  34  that clamps the valve stem  30  to the main body  32  via fasteners  36 . The main body  32  has a longitudinally extending fluid passage  38  and an outwardly extending member  40  having a fluid passage  42 . The outwardly extending member  40  is preferably a continuous extension of the main body  32 , both of which are preferably made of metal by casting or forging. The member  40  has a neck  44  and a shoulder  46  that mates with the chamfered edge  29  to create a stop  43  and seat. This self aligning feature allows the valve  14  to be located relative to the manifold  12  in a precise position very fast compared to conventional threaded methods of assembly. When both valves  14  and  16  are assembled together with the manifold  12 , the valves are located at a predetermined distal relationship to one another. This will ensure that the valve stems are properly centered within the holes in the face plate of the gas grill.  
         [0020]    As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a portion of the neck  44  has flattened sections  48  and a semi-circular section  50  with the fluid passage  42  extending therethrough. The flattened section  48  provides an anti-rotation feature to minimize rotation of the control valve  14  relative to the manifold  12 . Rotation of the valve relative to the manifold is further minimized by displacing a portion of the fitting within a recess  52  in the control valve  14  near the flattened section  48 . This is accomplished in part by the ends  54  of the elongated members  28  being crimped which also forms a tight seal between the manifold  12  and the control valve  14 . The crimping action further forces the end  46  of the valve against the shoulder  56  of the manifold. Thus, a plurality of seals are created by virtue of this gas valve assembly.  
         [0021]    With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an alternative embodiment gas valve assembly  100  is illustrated. The primary difference between the gas valve assembly  100  and the gas valve assembly  10  as shown in FIG. 1 is that the alternative assembly  100  does not have a flattened neck extending from the valve body. Instead, the neck is substantially in circular form and is crimped around its entire perimeter by the ends of the manifold.  
         [0022]    The primary components of the gas valve assembly  100  includes the T-shaped manifold  12  and a pair of control valves  102  and  104 . The control valves are similar in configuration and thus only a discussion of control valve  102  will be presented. Control valve  102  includes a valve stem  30 , a main body  32 , a cover  34 , and a pair of fasteners  36 . The main body has a central fluid passage  38  and an outwardly extending member  40  at a substantially right angle to the fluid passage. The configuration of the neck  106  is substantially circular in cross section and is elongated with a smooth exterior surface  108 . The neck  106  further has a first shoulder  110  and a second shoulder  112  at distal ends. When assembled, the shoulder  112  abuts against shoulder  56  of the manifold to create a seal therebetween once the end  54  is crimped. The crimped end  54  extends around the entire circumference of the first shoulder  110  which acts as a securing means to lock together the manifold  12  and the control valve  102 . The resulting assembly creates seals  114 ,  116  and  118 .  
         [0023]    During operation, fluid enters inlet passageway  20 , then flows to central chamber  22 , is then split bi-directionally into fluid passages  42  and is finally directed into the fluid chamber or passage  38  of the valves  102  and  104 . Gas then exits out of the control valve at outlet  120 . The rate of flow of gas through the control valve  102  is controlled in part by adjusting the arm  30  and its inter-connected components (not disclosed herein).  
         [0024]    With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a second alternative embodiment gas valve and manifold assembly  200  is disclosed which employs many of the components of the FIG. 1 dual valve gas assembly  10 . However, an O-ring has been added to provide an extra seal and the fitting now has a mounting pad. It will be appreciated that the embodiments depicted in FIGS.  1 - 5  could include this unique seal and mounting pad. The gas valve assembly  200  includes control valves  14  and  16 , a manifold fitting  202  with a mounting pad and an O-ring  204 . The control valves  14  and  16  are essentially the same construction and thus only discussion of control valve  14  will be presented.  
         [0025]    Control valve  14  includes a groove  206  near the outer end of the neck  208 . The O-ring  204  is seated within the groove  206  and provides yet a fourth additional seal  210  between the manifold fitting  202  and the valve assembly. The outer ends  54  of the fitting  202  are crimped to encapsulate the neck within the passage  26 . Thus, seals  114 ,  116 ,  118  and  210  are created once the assembly  200  is completed. The gas valve assembly  200  further employs the same anti-rotation feature because the neck  208  has the same flattened section  48  and semi-circular section  50  as disclosed in FIG. 2.  
         [0026]    The fitting  202  has an inlet  212  with an exterior having a hose barb type configuration, a pair of outwardly extending members  214  and a mounting pad  216 . The mounting pad  216  extends outwardly from the members  214  and has a flattened surface  218  with a pair of holes  220  for securing the assembly  200  to a front panel on a gas grill. It will be appreciated that the fitting can be configured differently to accommodate various types of mounting arrangements.  
         [0027]    It will also be appreciated that other configurations of the anti-rotation components are permissibly within the scope of this invention. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 is exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the scope of this invention.