Abstract:
A manually actuated valve comprising a valve casing having an inlet and an outlet, and an actuator having an open position wherein the inlet and outlet are connected and a closed position wherein the inlet and the outlet are isolated. The valve has a handle movable between a first position and a second position, the handle controlling operation of the actuator. The valve further includes a member on the valve casing for receiving a locking member that maintains the handle in at least one of the first position and second position.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/042,180, filed Apr. 2, 1997, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/079,437, filed Mar. 26, 1998. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention pertains to the valve art, and more particularly to a diaphragm valve of the type used in fluid systems requiring high purity and high reliability. 
     The assignee of the present invention previously developed a related diaphragm valve as shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,627, herein incorporated by reference. That patent discloses a valve assembly that controls flow between inlet and outlet passages that selectively communicate with a valve chamber. A diaphragm is selectively brought into sealing engagement with a valve seat via an actuating stem. The embodiment shown in the drawings of the &#39;627 patent discloses an air actuated valve that reciprocates the stem between open and closed positions. 
     In selected situations, however, a manually actuated version is desired. The details of this invention are particularly directed to a manually actuated diaphragm valve of this type. It is important to convey to the operator whether the valve is in an open or closed position. Moreover, it may be necessary or advantageous to lock the valve in either its open or closed position, or both positions. It is these features that are particularly addressed in the subject invention. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawing and claims, which form a part of the specification. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the manually actuated diaphragm valve of the present invention, shown locked in the open position with a padlock; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the valve of FIG. 1, shown locked in the closed position with a padlock; 
     FIG. 3 is a left side view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a front end view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a back end view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a right side view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the valve of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the valve of the present invention, shown in the open position; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the valve of FIG. 9, shown locked in the closed position with a padlock; 
     FIG. 11 is a left side view of the valve of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a front end view of the valve of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13 is a back end view of the valve of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 14 is a right side view of the valve of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 15 is a top view of the valve of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the valve of FIG. 10; and 
     FIG. 17 is a side elevational view, in partial cross-section, of the valve of FIG. 2 shown in the closed position with the open position of the actuating handle shown in phantom. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 17, the subject new valve includes valve body 11 having an inlet 12 and outlet 14 that communicate with a valve chamber 16. Outer casing 10 includes a bonnet 20 and the valve body 11. A diaphragm 18 is sealed about its periphery between the valve body and the bonnet 20. The bonnet has a throughbore that receives an actuating stem, or actuator, 22 and a biasing spring 24 that urges the actuator 22, and thus the diaphragm 18, toward a closed position. The actuator 22 is pivotally secured to actuating handle 26. When the handle 26 is in the first, or closed position, the actuator impedes communication between the inlet 12 and outlet 14. When the handle 26 is in the second, or open, position, the actuator allows communications between the inlet 12 and the outlet 14. The handle is shown in its open position, in broken lines, as handle 26&#39; in FIG. 17. In a preferred embodiment, the handle 26 is axially rotated in a vertical plane through substantially 90° between its open and closed positions. Further preferably, the handle is generally horizontal when in the closed position and generally vertical when in the open position. However, the valve may be modified such that nearly any orientation or angle may correspond to the open position and a different orientation or angle may correspond to the closed position without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Additionally, a bracket, or member, 30 is received around the bonnet. The bracket includes indicia 32, 34 representative of the open and closed positions, respectively, of the handle. The bracket or member 30 may either be separate from, or integral with, the casing 10. The open indicia 32 and closed indicia 34 may consist of any symbols, drawings, text or the like, or combinations thereof, which serve to communicate the position of the handle 26 or actuator 22. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates the handle in an upright or open position. A lower flange 40 of the handle covers the closed indicia in this position of the handle. Thus it is quickly evident to an operator that the valve is in the open position allowing fluid communication between the inlet 12 and outlet 14. Moreover, the bracket 30 includes a pair of spaced flanges 42, 44 having respective openings 46, 48 to receive a locking member. The locking member may include any structural member which impedes the rotation of the handle 26 from the open position to the closed position, or vice versa. For example, a structural member passed through the openings 46, 48 may serve as the locking member. Furthermore, a single locking member may be used to lock multiple valves. A bar, flexible cable, chain or the like may be passed through the openings 46, 48 of multiple valves to retain each handle in the open or the closed position. In a preferred embodiment, a padlock 50 is used to lock a single valve. When the padlock 50 is positioned in place as shown in FIG. 1, the handle 26 is maintained in its open position and cannot be inadvertently moved to the closed position. Only upon removal of the lock 50 can the handle be rotated to the closed position shown in FIG. 3. 
     When rotated to the closed position, the handle covers the open indicia 32 and reveals the closed indicia 34. Moreover, and as evident in FIG. 2, the lock can be received in the flange openings 46, 48 to maintain the handle in its closed position. The closed position is more particularly illustrated in FIG. 7. An intermediate portion of the handle is received between the flanges of the bracket. Thus the handle 26 covers the open indicia 32 and the flange 40 at the lower end of the handle is disposed upright so as to reveal the closed indicia 34. 
     Still another feature provided by the valve is that the bracket 30 may be optionally keyed to the bonnet 20. In other words, the bracket cannot rotate relative to the bonnet which, in turn, prevents the handle 26 from being rotated in a radial plane. In a preferred manner of coupling the bracket to the bonnet, the bracket 30 has a downwardly-extending flange 31, as best shown in FIG. 4. The downwardly-extending flange 31 is received in cut-out 33 in the bonnet 20. Because the downwardly-extending flange 31 is captured within the cut-out 33, the bracket is prevented from rotating relative to the bonnet. The handle 26 is received in the bracket 30 which thereby limits the rotation of the handle 26. It is to be understood that a variety of other methods and arrangements may be used for coupling the bracket to the bonnet without departing from the scope of the invention. In one embodiment, the rotation of the handle is limited, therefore, to 90° within a vertical plane. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to have a valve wherein the bracket is not coupled to the bonnet. In this manner, the bracket and handle may radially rotated relative the bonnet. 
     There is an increasing demand for valves which can be locked in the first position, such as the closed position, but cannot be locked in the other position, such as the open position. Accordingly, in alternate embodiment of the invention, shown in FIGS. 9-16 , handle 26 can be locked in the closed position but not the open position. As shown in FIG. 9, the spaced flanges 42, 44 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 are replaced with a pair of generally &#34;U&#34; shaped flanges 60, 62. The flanges 60, 62 are shaped to receive a lock 50 (FIG. 10) or other locking member when the handle 26 is in the closed position, but the flanges do not retain the lock 50 when the handle 26 is in the open position. Each flange 60, 62 is coupled to the bracket or member 30, and is generally shaped as an inverted &#34;U&#34;. Each flange 60, 62 further has a cut-out 64, 66, each cut-out having an upper locking portion 68 (FIG. 11), 70 (FIG. 14). The flanges 60, 62 are spaced apart a sufficient distance so as to receive the actuating handle 26 therebetween. The open indicia 32 and closed indicia 34 are located on the bracket 30. 
     When the actuating handle 26 is in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 10, the open indicia 32 is covered and the closed indicia 34 is visible. A padlock 50 may be passed through the locking portions 68, 70 of the cut-outs 64, 66. In this manner, the padlock 50 is retained between the handle 26 and the flanges 60, 62, thereby preventing axial rotation of the actuating handle 26. In contrast, when the actuating handle is in the open position, as shown in FIG. 9, there is no support below the flanges 60, 62, for the locking member 50. Accordingly, the locking member cannot be retained in the bracket 30, and there is no impediment to the rotation of the handle 26 to the closed position. 
     The preferred form of the valve has been described above. However, with the present disclosure in mind it is believed that obvious alterations to the preferred embodiments, to achieve comparable features and advantages in other assemblies, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.