Patent Publication Number: US-2023160645-A1

Title: Radiator valve

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present invention claims priority to United Kingdom (UK) Patent Application No. 2018423.0, filed on 24 Nov. 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a radiator valve, in particular a radiator valve to assist in the removal of a radiator from a central heating system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Radiators are common components of most central heating systems and are typically mounted to walls of buildings to radiate heat from hot water that is pumped through them. 
     Radiators are therefore plumbed into a hot water circuit, which can be problematic when the need arises to remove the radiator from the wall, for example to redecorate the wall behind the radiator, or to replace/maintain the main core of the radiator. 
     Radiators are typically connected to two fluid pipes, one that delivers fluid to the radiator and one that returns the fluid from the radiator. It is common for radiators to have a flow valve at the connection to one of the fluid pipes, which the user can control to regulate the heat output from the radiator, and a lockshield valve at the connection to the other one of the fluid pipes, which a plumber typically sets to balance the flow between the various radiators in the system when the system is first installed. 
     It is possible to close both the flow valve and the lockshield valve when a radiator is to be removed, in order to prevent fluid spilling out from the rest of the central heating system. However, the liquid residing inside the core of the radiator that is being removed, drains from the core of the radiator when the radiator is disconnected from the central heating system. This typically requires the plumber to hold a washing up bowl or similar to catch the dirty water exiting the core of the radiator as the radiator is removed, which is inconvenient, and can easily result in spillages. 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved radiator valve. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a radiator valve comprising a pipe, a valve member mounted inside of the pipe for controlling fluid flow through the pipe, a control element exposed on a side of the pipe for controlling the valve member, and a nut with female threads, wherein the pipe comprises first and second opposing ends, the first end being a male connector that comprises male threads for screwing into a radiator, and the second end retaining the nut with the female threads. 
     A first one of those radiator valves can be fitted between the flow valve and the core of the radiator, and a second one of those radiator valves fitted between the core of the radiator and the lockshield valve. Then, those first and second radiator valves can be closed as well as the flow valve and the lockshield valve when the radiator is to be removed, enabling the connection between the flow valve and the first radiator valve, and the connection between the second radiator valve and the lockshield valve, to be both disconnected without any significant spillage of water. 
     Preferably, the pipe consists of a single length of pipe, and so can easily be integrated into radiators having short distances between the radiator core and the flow and lockshield valves. The pipe is preferably a straight pipe, again to allow easy integration into radiators. The whole outer surface of the radiator valve may be in the shape of a cylinder, except for the nut which is typically hexagonal, and except for maybe the control element which may protrude from or be inset into the side of the cylinder shape, if not flush with the shape of the cylinder. The cylinder shape may have a constant radius along the length of the cylinder, except for in the region of the male threads where the cylinder shape may have a larger or smaller radius to provide a nominal thread diameter. 
     The exposure of the control element on the side of the pipe makes the valve compact and easy to control. The control element may comprise a stem and the valve member may be a rotational valve connected to the stem, allowing the valve to be opened and closed by rotating the stem. The control element may comprise a lever attached to a head of the stem, to allow actuation of the valve by pushing on the lever to rotate the stem, however the stem preferably comprises a shaped head configured for rotation by a tool such as an Allen key or a screwdriver, since this is more compact. The rotational valve may for example be a ball valve. 
     The female connector nut may be configured to screw over threads of a male connector of another valve, for example the flow valve or the lockshield valve, to connect the radiator valve from the core of the radiator to the flow valve/lockshield valve. 
     The male threads may be of the same thread size as the female threads. For example, the male threads may be ½″ BSP threads and the female threads may also be ½″ BSP threads, allowing the radiator valve to be easily integrated into existing radiator designs. 
     There is further provided a radiator for connecting to first and second fluid pipes, the radiator comprising a first control valve for controlling fluid flow via the first pipe, a second control valve for controlling fluid flow via the second pipe, and a core portion between the first and second control valves for radiating heat from the fluid, further comprising a first one of the radiator valves between the first control valve and the core portion, and a second one of the radiator valves between the core portion and the second control valve. The first control valve may be a flow valve, such as a thermostatic valve, and the second control valve may be a lockshield valve. 
     The first end of the first radiator valve may be screwed into the core portion, and the first end of the second radiator valve may also be screwed into the core portion. The first control valve may be screwed into the nut of the first radiator valve, and the second control valve may be screwed into the nut of the second radiator valve. Thus, the first radiator valve may directly connect the first control valve to the core portion of the radiator, and the second radiator valve may directly connect the core portion of the radiator to the second control valve. 
     There is further provided a method for removing the radiator core of the radiator, wherein the method comprises moving each of the first and second control valves and the first and second radiator valves to a closed position that blocks fluid flow through the valves, unscrewing the nut at the second end of the first radiator valve from the first control valve, unscrewing the nut at the second end of the second radiator valve from the second control valve, and removing the radiator core and the first and second radiator valves from the first and second valves and from a radiator support provided on a wall. This provides a very easy procedure for a user to follow when removing a radiator from a wall, without any significant spillage of liquid. 
     There is further provided a method for replacing the radiator core of the radiator, the radiator core being filled with a liquid that is retained inside the radiator core by the first and second radiator valves in a closed position, wherein the method comprises attaching the radiator core with the first and second radiator valves to a radiator support on a wall, screwing the nut at the second end of the first radiator valve onto the first control valve, screwing the nut at the second end of the second radiator valve onto the second control valve, and moving each of the first and second control valves and the first and second radiator valves to an open position that allows fluid flow through the valves. The radiator system can therefore be returned to normal operation without introducing a large volume of air into the radiator system. 
     Optionally, the method may further comprise removing some of the liquid from the radiator core by opening the first or second radiator valves, replacing the removed liquid with a liquid additive, and closing the opened radiator valve, prior to the step of attaching the radiator core with the first and second radiator valves to the radiator support on the wall. Liquid additives are commonly added to radiator systems to help maintain the radiator system, for example by inhibiting corrosion, and the first and second radiator valves provide an effective method of introducing a liquid additive into the system when the radiator is removed, without any need to open up another part of the radiator system. 
     The core portion typically comprises a plurality of passageways for fluid and a plurality of fins extending from the plurality of passageways to radiate heat from the fluid. The terms “radiator core” and “core portion” are equivalent and are used interchangeably herein. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    shows a schematic perspective diagram of a radiator valve according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG.  2    shows another schematic perspective diagram of the radiator valve of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    shows a schematic cross-sectional diagram taken along line XS1 of  FIG.  2   ; and 
         FIG.  4    shows a schematic diagram of a radiator incorporating two of the radiator valves of  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
     The figures are not to scale, and same or similar reference signs denote same or similar features. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The schematic diagrams of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2    show a radiator valve  10 , comprising a cylindrical pipe  12  having a first end  14  and a second end  16  that is opposite from the first end  14 .  FIG.  1    shows the radiator valve when viewed from the end  14 , whereas  FIG.  2    shows the radiator valve when viewed from the second end  16 . 
     The cylindrical pipe  12  may be straight and have a constant diameter between the first and second ends  14  and  16 . The first end  14  may have an enlarged diameter to provide male threads  13  of ½″ BSP, and the second end  16  may have an enlarged diameter boss 20. The nut  17  comprises female threads  18  that are also of ½″ BSP inside the nut and may comprise a partial closure  17   a  at an end of the nut that faces toward the first end  14 . The partial closure  17   a  reduces the diameter of an opening  17   b  at the end of the nut to less than the diameter of the female threads  18  inside the nut. The boss  20  may have an external diameter of a size that is in between the size of the diameter of the opening  17   b  and the size of the diameter of the female threads  18 . 
     The partial closure  17   a  and the boss  20  may therefore abut against one another inside of the nut  17  to retain the nut on the second end  16  of the pipe, with the boss  20  fully inside the nut  17 . However, other ways of retaining the nut at the second end of the pipe could also be implemented in alternate embodiments. 
     The boss  20  may have a length that is short enough to leave most of the length of the female threads  18  exposed inside the nut and available for accepting male threads, the lengths being in a same direction as the axial length of the pipe at the second end. 
     The radiator valve  10  also comprises a control element, of which a head  19  slightly protrudes from the side of the pipe  12 . The head  19  is shaped to receive a tool for actuating the control element, and in this embodiment the head is shaped with a socket to receive an Allen key tool, although it could alternatively be shaped to fit other tools. For example, the head  19  could be shaped with a slot to receive a flat headed screwdriver. It would also be possible to fix a lever to the head  19 , so the control element could be turned by pushing on the lever. 
     The schematic diagram of  FIG.  3    shows a cross-sectional view of the radiator valve  10 , taken looking in along the line XS 1  marked in  FIG.  1   .  FIG.  3    illustrates the internal details of the radiator valve so it can be appreciated how the valve is opened and closed. As shown, the control element comprises the head  19  and a stem  22  that is attached to or integrally formed with the head  19 . The stem  22  is attached or integrally formed with a valve member in the form of a spherical ball  26  at an opposite end of the stem from the head  19 ..Accordingly, the valve may be described as a ball valve. 
     The spherical ball  26  has a circular hole  28  passing through it, and the circular hole  28  appears elliptical in  FIG.  3    since the ball  26  is shown at a rotation where the axis of the hole is around 45° to the axis of the pipe. The spherical ball  26  is mounted within a valve seating  24 , which is mounted inside the pipe  12 . 
     In use, the head  19  is rotated using a tool, to rotate the spherical ball  26  and either align the axis of the hole  28  with the axis of the pipe  12  to fully open the valve, or to align the axis of the hole  28  at 90° to the axis of the pipe  12  to fully close the valve. 
     Two of the radiator valves  10  may be incorporated into a radiator, as will now be described with reference to  FIG.  4   .  FIG.  4    shows a radiator  30 , comprising a flow valve  32 , a first radiator valve  10   a , a core portion  34 , a second radiator valve  10   b , and a lockshield valve  36 . The radiator is connected to an incoming pipe  31 , which supplies hot water to the radiator, and an outgoing pipe  37 , which returns the water from the radiator towards a source of heat. The first and second radiator valves  10   a  and  10   b  are both the same as the radiator valve  10  described further above. The radiator may also comprise a radiator support  35  for supporting the radiator against a wall. 
     The flow valve  32  may be connected directly to the incoming pipe  31  and connected directly to the first radiator valve  10   a , to control fluid flow between the incoming pipe  31  and the first radiator valve  10   a . Accordingly, the flow valve  32  can be opened when the radiator is required to radiate more heat and closed when less heat is required. The flow valve  32  is a thermostatic valve, however, could be manually controlled in alternate embodiments. 
     The first radiator valve  10   a  may be connected directly to the flow valve  32  and connected directly to the radiator core  34 . The first end of the radiator valve  10   a  with the male screw threads is screwed into female screw threads of the radiator core  34 , and the female threads of the nut  17  at the second end of the radiator valve  10   a  are screwed over male threads at an outlet of the flow valve, to receive hot water from the flow valve. The first radiator valve  10   a  is left in the fully on position during normal radiator operation. 
     The radiator core  34  may be directly connected to the first radiator valve  10   a  and directly connected to the second radiator valve  10   b , to allow the hot water to flow through the radiator. The radiator core  34  comprises a plurality of passageways for carrying the hot water and a plurality of fins extending from the plurality of passageways to radiate heat from the hot water. The radiator core comprises an inlet and an outlet, the inlet and the outlet both comprising female screw threads that receive male screw threads of the first and second radiator valves  10   a  and  10   b . 
     The second radiator valve  10   b  may be connected directly to the radiator core and connected directly to the lockshield valve  36 . The first end of the radiator valve  10   b  with the male screw threads is screwed into the female screw threads of the outlet of the radiator core  34 , and the female threads of the nut  17  at the second end of the radiator valve  10   b  are screwed over male threads at an inlet of the lockshield valve, to send water from the radiator core to the lockshield valve. The second radiator valve  10   b  is left in the fully on position during normal radiator operation. 
     The lockshield valve  36  may be connected directly to the second radiator valve  10   b  and connected directly to the outgoing pipe  37 , to control fluid flow between the second radiator valve  10   b  and the outgoing pipe  37 . Accordingly, the lockshield valve  36  may be set by a plumber during installation to balance the water flow between this radiator and the other radiators connected to the same system. 
     Whilst the hot water flows from the pipe  31  to the pipe  37  in this embodiment, the direction of flow of the hot water through the radiator could be reversed and flow from pipe  37  to pipe  31  instead if desired. 
     Whenever there is a need to remove the radiator core  34  from the system, for example to decorate the wall behind it, the flow valve  32  and the lockshield valve  36  can be fully closed to isolate the radiator from the rest of the radiator system and block any further fluid flow through the radiator. The first and second radiator valves  10   a  and  10   b  can also be both closed, to prevent the water inside of the radiator core from flowing out. Then, the nuts  17  of the first and second radiator valves can both be unscrewed, allowing the radiator core  34  and the first and second radiator valves  10   a  and  10   b  to be removed from the radiator support  35  and the wall with minimal loss of water. 
     The radiator core can later be replaced on the radiator support  35  and the nuts  17  screwed back onto the flow valve  32  and the lockshield valve  36 , and then the valves  32 ,  10   a ,  10   b  and  36  opened to allow normal operation to resume. Since all the water inside the radiator is retained instead of being drained and replaced with air, much less air is introduced into the radiator system when operation is restarted, improving the operation of the overall radiator system. Optionally, some of the water inside the radiator can be replaced with a liquid additive via the first or second radiator valve, prior to replacing the radiator core on the support  35 . 
     Many other variations of the described embodiments falling within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.