AU765626B2 - Valve and method of installing same - Google Patents

Description

P/00/0oII Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT 0 a.

:..0a a 0. 0 a -:000 Invention Title: VALVE AND METHOD OF INSTALLING SAME the best method of performing it known to me:

CAWINWORD\DELILAHMWORKWVANG.DOC

-2- VALVE AND METHOD OF INSTALLING SAME This invention relates to a valve and more particularly a valve which is suitable for mounting to and obtaining fluid supply from a mains pipe which is carrying fluid under pressure without having to isolate that portion of the mains pipe wherein the valve is to be installed.

It is frequently necessary to tap into a mains pipe to obtain a supply of fluid carried by that mains pipe and it is also frequently desirable not to have to interfere with the operations of the mains pipe in order to tap into that pipe. This 10 situation occurs, for example, in domestic water supply networks wherein it is desired to tap into the mains water supply for the provision of new household connections and the like. It is undesirable to have to switch off the mains water supply in order that each new connection can be connected thereto since this would interfere with the normal operation of the mains system and would greatly inconvenience other household users since switching off the mains supply would mean interruption of their household supply on a reasonably frequent basis.

This problem has been overcome in the past by the development of apparatus which allows a valve to be connected to the mains pipe whilst the "mains system is maintained at high pressure. This involves the location of a S. 20 tapping band around the mains pipe and a special valve which connects to that tapping band. A tapping machine is mounted atop the valve and the tapping machine seals against the valve. The machine includes a drill tool for drilling through the valve and through the mains pipe to form an outlet opening in the mains pipe. Seals in the machine prevent fluid escaping from the mains pipe after the hole has been drilled into the pipe. Thereafter, the drill tool is removed, the valve is closed, and household conduits can be connected to the installed valve.

The valve fitted to the tapping band has, in the past, comprised a valve body having two valve closure members. The first valve closure member is operative only to close off the flow passage through the valve when the tapping machine is removed from the valve. The second valve is operative to close off the outlet from the mains pipe as and when required and it is the normal DG C:\WINWORDkDELILAH\PROV\VALVE.DOC -3operating means for operating the valve. In prior art arrangements the first valve has comprised a rotary valve and the second valve has comprised a disc type valve movable axially with respect to the flow passages through the valve to engage or disengage a valve seat located within the valve. A valve which has two valve closure members has a significant axial length and accordingly this type of valve can be inappropriate where the mains pipe is relatively close to the surface or in other situations where a valve of significant axial length is undesirable. Such a valve is also of complex construction and is expensive to manufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide a valve suitable for tapping into main supply pipes which is simple to install, is of simple construction, and is of shorter axial length than the valves used heretofore.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a valve of the above type which can be operated from different positions.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a valve including a valve closure member of rotary form said closure member having a first flow passage extending therethrough and through which a drill tool can pass for drilling a hole in a pipe, and a second flow passage extending laterally from said first passage and comprising the main outlet passage from said valve upon fitting of said valve to said pipe.

According to a second aspect of the invention. there is provided a valve including a valve closure member of rotary form and a valve body defining an internal chamber within which said valve closure member is disposed, said valve closure member having at least two flow passages therethrough and being rotatable about at least two axes of rotation, a first of said axes being coincident with an outlet opening of said chamber and a second of said axes being coincident with an axis passing through both an inlet opening of said chamber and an access opening thereof which is normally closed by a plug, said valve including first and second engagement means thereon, by means of which an operating spindle may engage and rotate said valve closure member separately, S 30 about said two axes of rotation, rotation to said valve closure member about a first of said two axes of rotation being operable to provide for communication between said access opening and said inlet opening through a first of said two flow passages in a first rotational position to facilitate passage of a drill tool for drilling a hole in a pipe, and rotation of said valve closure member about a second -4of said two axes of rotation being operable to provide for communication between said inlet opening and said outlet opening through a second of said two flow passages in a second rotational position, seal means being provided within said chamber to prevent leakage past said valve closure member.

A valve having the above features can be constructed in various ways and the following description relates to a preferred construction which is suitable for providing the advantageous features of the invention. The following description will be made in relation to the attached drawings which show example embodiments of the invention. The particularity of those drawings and the associated description does not supersede the generality of the preceding broad description of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a pipe to which is fitted a valve according to one aspect of the invention and a tapping machine.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 2, but employed according to another aspect of the invention.

Figures 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of a further alternative valve according to the invention.

A valve 10 according to the invention is shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 20 comprises a valve body 11 having a chamber 12 therein in which a rotary valve closure member is located. An inlet 13 is located into the chamber through one .end of the body and that inlet is preferably defined by a tubular member 14 with screw threads 15 formed on the outer surface thereof. A fluid outlet 16 is preferably located to one side of the body 11 at substantially right angles to the axis of the inlet. That outlet may have an adaptor 17 fitted thereto which is replaceable as required so that the valve 10 can be fitted into any suitable system.

A valve closure member 18 which may be in the form of a hollow sphere is located in the valve chamber 12 and operation of the valve closure member 18 is effected by a spindle 19 which extends through the body 11 of the valve 10 and is o .mounted to the valve closure member 18. Rotation of the spindle 19 is effective to rotate the valve closure member 18 within the chamber 12 and thereby cause flow passages which extend through the valve closure member 18 either to be brought into alignment such that there is flow connection between the inlet 13 and outlet 16 of the valve 10, or out of alignment such that flow between the inlet 13 and outlet 16 is not possible. Thus, the valve 10 operates in substantially the manner of a ball valve.

An access opening 20 into the top of the valve body 11 is provided. That access opening 20 will normally be sealed off by a plug which may screw into a threaded bore 21 in the top of the valve in order to close off the access opening In normal operating conditions the access opening 20 will be sealed off by that plug and, once the valve has been installed, there will generally be no reason for the access opening 20 to be opened. However, the access opening 20 is adapted to receive a tapping machine 21 (Figure 1) thereon to enable the valve to be operatively installed onto a mains pipe 22 by simple tapping procedure as will be described in more detail herebelow.

The valve closure member 18 has openings therein which define the flow passages through the valve closure member when the valve closure member is in its open position. The valve closure member 18 has an axis of rotation which is coincident with the axis of the valve operating spindle 19. Two diametrically opposed openings 23 and 24 are formed in the closure member 18 and lie on an axis which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation. When the valve closure member is in its open position those two openings will be aligned with the axis of the inlet 13. A third opening 25 (Fin,,re is nrmliiar nt n nnition through the closure member 18 extending from the passage which defines the openings 23 and 24 perpendicular thereto.

Seal means 26 may be located between the valve closure member 18 and the body 11 such that when the valve closure member 18 is rotated to its closed position fluid is unable to pass between the outer surface of the valve closure member 18 and the inner surface of the chamber 12.

To fit a valve according to the invention to a mains pipe a tapping band 27 will firstly be fitted around the mains pipe 22. The tapping band 27 has a pair of annular seals 28 fitted to the inner face thereof which contact the outer surface of S 30 the mains pipe 22 and define between them sealed spaces which in use will fill with the fluid carried by the mains pipe 22. The tapping band 27 has a threaded opening 29 formed therein which opens into the sealed spaces between the two annular seals 28 and a valve according to the invention includes a threaded tubular inlet 14 which is arranged to screw into that threaded bore 29 when the -6valve 10 is fitted to the tapping band 27. Once the valve 10 has been screwed into the threaded bore 29 in the tapping band 27 the closure plug will be removed from the access opening 20 in the valve 10 and a tapping machine 21, of known configuration, will be screwed into the access opening 20. Seal means will be located at the interface between the tapping machine 21 and the upper side of the valve Once the tapping machine 21 has been fitted to the valve 10 the valve will be turned to its open position (as depicted in Figure 2) in which the two diametrically opposed openings 23 and 24 in the valve closure member 18 are in alignment with the access opening 20 and with the inlet 13 of the valve Thereafter a drilling bit will be passed through the valve and a hole will be drilled through the wall of the mains pipe in known fashion. As soon as the drilling bit enters the interior of the mains pipe high pressure fluid will be able to enter the valve. While there is no passage communication through the valve closure member 18 with the outlet 16, nevertheless optionally the outlet 16 from the valve can be sealed at this time so that no leakage occurs through this outlet.

When drilling through the wall of the mains pipe is complete, the drilling bit will then be removed from the valve 10 and the valve closure member 18 will be rotated to its closed position (shown in Figure 3) in which the openings 23 and 24 20 are rotated to be perpendicular to the position shown in Figure 2, to close fluid passage from the inlet 13 to the access opening 20. This prevents high pressure fluid escaping through the valve. Once the valve closure member 18 has been rotated to its closed position the tapping machine 21 may be removed from the access opening 20 and the access opening closed by screwing a closure plug therein.

Communication between the inlet 13 and the outlet 16 can be achieved by subsequent rotation of the valve closure member 18, 900 from the position shown in Figure 3, to align the opening 23 with the outlet 16. The procedure for this is described later, although by reference to Figure 3, it will be seen that by alignment of the opening 23 with the outlet 16, a flow passage is established through the inlet 13, the opening 25, the opening 23 and the outlet 16.

Where the valve 10 is to be fitted to a dry mains pipe it may be desirable for a tubular extension 30 to the inlet to be introduced into the hole drilled in the mains pipe. The hole drilled into the mains pipe will thus be of slightly larger -7diameter than the bore through the inlet. Preferably, the tubular extension has an external diameter of no greater dimension than the root diameter of the external threads on the tubular inlet. This tubular extension will enter the bore formed in the mains pipe and the length of the tubular extension will preferably be such that when the threaded portion of the inlet contacts the outer face of the mains pipe the tip of the tubular extension will be substantially flush with the inner wall of the mains pipe. The tubular extension will thus form a flow passage through the wall of the mains pipe. In prior art arrangements where the tubular extension has not been provided deposits which attach to the drilled bore through the mains pipe often enter the valve and contaminate the system connected to the valve. The tubular extension thus forms a smooth insert into the drilled bore and deposits or growths which form in that region are thus less likely to pass through the valve.

Clearly it will be possible in use for the access opening to be used as the outlet opening from the valve. To do this, a relevant fitting is attached to the access opening 20, and the valve closure member 18 is rotated to return it to the position shown in Figure 2, to establish fluid communication between the inlet 13 and the access opening 20. This has the advantage that the valve can be utilized with either the outlet on the top of the valve, or the side of the valve, or indeed, outlets could be provided in both the top and the side of the valve. The spindle 2 0 Uand spherical valve closure member would rate to close both outlets.

It will be appreciated that the valve described herein has many advantages over prior art systems including the fact that the valve of the invention has no .'jumper valve' to wear out or cause water hammer. Also, a two valve p.

arrangement would replace the five valve arrangement presently being used in domestic systems.

There may be many variations to the above described embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, it is not essential for the rotary valve member to be of spherical form. Clearly, other types of rotary valve are possible.

S 30 Clearly, because the valve has only one valve member therein it can be made less expensive than prior art valves used for this type of application which .have used two valve closure members. Also, since the valve includes only one valve closure member it can be made shorter than prior art valves and this -8decreased length can have advantages in situations where there are minimum heights available for the valve.

An alternative version of the above valve facilitates opening and closing of the valve, after it has been installed and is operational. This is particularly desirable where the valve is located below ground so that access to the valve must be by way of excavation. In this situation, it is desirable that the valve be opened and closed by an operating handle located in the upper side of the valve, as it is far simpler if the operating handle is at the top of the valve rather than on the side. Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 3, in relation to the valve already described above.

When fitting a valve according to the invention to a mains pipe in the manner described above, during the operation the operating spindle 19 will be located in a first position (Figure that is, coincident with the first axis of rotation and in engagement with first engagement means 31 on the valve closure member 18. The spindle 19 can be rotated to rotate the valve member 18 about its first axis of rotation to a position in which the second engagement means 32 is accessible through the access opening 20 in the top of the valve 10. In this position the spindle 19 may be removed from the body 11 and mounted in the access opening 20 (Figure 3) to engage the second engagement means 32 on the valve member 18 t hri ougnh that nrc nnpening 20. Onnce the spindle 19 is son ***mounted it can be used to rotate the valve member 18 on its second axis of rotation to a closed position (Figure 3) in which no flow through the valve 10 from inlet to outlet is possible and to an open position by 900 rotation, to align the opening 23 with the outlet 16. With the valve closed, the closure plug on the outlet can be removed and further conduits or connections fitted to the valve, whereafter the valve can be returned to the open position. It will be appreciated that the operating spindle is located at the upper side of the valve for easier access, for opening and closing the valve outlet 16.

To enable the spindle 19 to be operatively mounted in both the access opening 20 and the opening diametrically opposite the outlet 16, it is preferred that both spindle mounting openings are of the same configuration. For this purpose a convenient arrangement is for both openings to have similarly configured internally threaded bores 33 with an inwardly directed shoulder 34 at the inner ends thereof (see Figure The spindle 19 is preferably mounted in an -9externally threaded annular mounting plug 35 which is arranged to screw into each of those bores 33, as required, and to butt up against the shoulder 34.

When operatively mounted in the respective bore 33 the inner end of the spindle 19 will be in operative engagement with the respective engagement means 31, 32 in the valve member 18. That engagement means 31, 32 may comprise, in each instance a slot 36 formed in the outer surface of the valve member 18, and the inner end of the spindle may include a cooperably configured blade 37 to locate in the slot and thereby provide means for rotating the valve member 18.

It will be appreciated that both shoulders 34 are equidistantly spaced from the centre of the spherical valve member (ie. the intersection of the two axes of rotation). Thus the valve member 18 is able to be rotated by the spindle whichever of the two threaded bores in which the spindle is mounted.

Figures 4 and 5 show a further embodiment of the invention whereby like parts from Figures 1 to 3 have the same reference numeral, plus 100. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the valve body 40 is provided with a first opening 41 on the side thereof which serves as both a socket for an operating spindle 119 (see Figure 4) and an outlet opening (see Figure The valve depicted in Figures 4 and 5 is operated in substantially the same manner as that described above. That is, with an operating spindle 119 located in the side of the valve body 111 the spnherical valve closure member 118 can hbe 0*l 0 rotated so that a straight passage 42 through the closure member 118 is aligned with the inlet opening 113. In this position (as shown in Figure 4) a tapping machine can be fitted to the top of the valve body 111 in order to fit the valve body to a mains pipe as previously described.

Thereafter, the operating spindle 119 can be fitted into the access opening 120 at the top of the valve 110 (as shown in Figure 5) in which position the valve closure member 118 can be rotated between open and closed positions. Figure .shows the closure member 118 in its open position, that is, with a passage -extending through the closure member flow connecting the inlet and the outlet.

It will be appreciated that with the valve shown in Figures 4 and 5 no closure plug will be required as is depicted in Figure 3.

It may, in some instances, be desirable to electrically isolate the valve from the conduits connected to the valve. For this reason it is envisaged to include a 9a coupling intermediate the valve and those conduits, the coupling being formed of an electrically insulating material.

It is also desirable, in some instances, for a ferrule bend type connector to be mounted to the valve, and this can conveniently be done by mounting such a bend to the valve with a rotating nut coupling.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

S

Claims (19)

1. A valve including a valve closure member of rotary form said closure member having a first flow passage extending therethrough and through which a drill tool can pass for drilling a hole in a pipe, and a second flow passage extending laterally from said first passage and comprising the main outlet passage from said valve upon fitting of said valve to said pipe.

2. A valve according to claim 1, said valve including a valve body defining an internal chamber and said valve closure member being located within said chamber, said chamber including an inlet and an outlet substantially perpendicular to each other.

S"3. A valve according to claim 2, said inlet being defined by a tubular member 15 for screw threaded connection to said body.

4. A valve according to claim 2 or 3, said inlet being located at one end of said valve body and said outlet being located to one side of said body. *444*4 4

5. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 4, said outlet having an adaptor fitted thereto, which is replaceable for permitting fitment of the valve into two or more different systems.

6. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 5, said valve closure member being of hollow spherical form and being operable by a spindle which extends through said body and is mounted to said valve closure member, and whereby rotation of said spindle is effective to rotate said valve closure member to cause said flow passages which extend through said member either to be brought into an aligned state such that there is flow connection between the inlet and the outlet of the valve, or to an out of alignment state, such that flow between the inlet and outlet is prevented. DG C:\WINWORDDELILAHFROVkVALVE.DOC -11

7. A valve according to claim 6, said valve closure member having an axis of rotation coincident with the axis of said spindle and having two openings therein that define flow passages therethrough when said valve closure member is in an open position, said openings being diametrically opposed and disposed on an axis perpendicular to said axis of valve closure member rotation, said openings being aligned with the axis of said inlet in the open position of said valve closure member.

8. A valve according to claim 7, said valve closure member including a third opening being provided in a position opposite to the spindle mounting position, said third opening being aligned with said outlet of said valve closure member in all positions of valve closure member rotation.

9. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 8, further including an access opening into the top of the valve body, said access opening being provided to receive a tapping machine thereon for installing the valve onto the pipe, said access opening having an open state suitable to receive said tapping machine and having a sealed state at other times.

10. A valve according to claim 9, said access opening being sealed by a plug which is screw threaded into a threaded bore in the top of the valve.

11. A valve according to any one of claims 1 to 10, seal means being located between said valve closure member and said valve body, to seal against passage of fluid between the outer surface of said valve closure member and the inner surface of said chamber when said valve closure member is rotated to a closed position. l S

12. A method of fitting a valve according to claim 6, including fitting a tapping band around said pipe, said tapping band having a pair of annular seals fitted to .the inner face thereof which engage the outer surface of said pipe and define between them a sealed space which in use will fill with the fluid carried by the pipe, said tapping band further having a threaded opening formed therein, which opens into said sealed space, said valve including a threaded tubular inlet for -12- threaded connection to said threaded opening, positioning said spindle in engagement with first engagement means and coincident with said first axis of rotation, removing said access opening closure plug and inserting a tapping machine into said access opening, seal means being located between said tapping machine and the upper side of said valve, turning said valve closure member to its open position to align said two diametrically opposed openings with said access opening and with said valve inlet, passing a drilling bit through said valve to drill through said pipe, removing said drilling bit from said valve and rotating said valve closure member to said closed position, thereafter removing said tapping machine from said access opening and closing said access opening.

13. A method according to claim 12, further including sealing said valve outlet when said pipe is being drilled to prevent fluid leakage therethrough.

14. A method according to claim 12 and applied when said pipe is dry, further including drilling a hole in said pipe of slightly larger diameter than the bore through said inlet and fitting a tubular extension to said inlet into said hole.

A valve including a valve closure member of rotary form and a valve body defining an internal chamber within which said valve closure member is disposed, o said valve closure member having at least two flow passages therethrough and being rotatable about at least two axes of rotation, a first of said axes being coincident with an outlet opening of said chamber and a second of said axes being coincident with an axis passing through both an inlet opening of said chamber and an access opening thereof which is normally closed by a plug, said valve including first and second engagement means thereon, by means of which an operating spindle may engage and rotate said valve closure member separately, about said two axes of rotation, rotation of said valve closure member :about a first of said two axes of rotation being operable to provide for communication between said access opening and said inlet opening through a first of said two flow passages in a first rotational position to facilitate passage of a drill tool for drilling a hole in a pipe, and rotation of said valve closure member about a second of said two axes of rotation being operable to provide for communication between said inlet opening and said outlet opening through a -13- second of said two flow passages in a second rotational position, seal means being provided within said chamber to prevent leakage past said valve closure member.

16. A valve according to claim 15, said spindle being mountable in said access opening and an opening diametrically opposite said valve outlet in mounting openings of the same configuration, and when mounted therein, the inner end of said spindle being in operative engagement with said first and second engagement means of said valve.

17. A valve according to claim 16, said mounting openings including internally threaded bores and an inwardly directed shoulder.

18. A valve according to any one of claims 15 to 17, said engagement means including a slot formed in the outer surface of said valve member and said spindle including a cooperably configured blade on the inner end thereof.

19. A method of fitting a valve according to claim 15 to a pipe, including fitting a tapping band around said pipe said tapping band having a pair of annular seals fitted to the inner face thereof which engage the outer surface of the pipe and define between them a sealed space which in use will fill with fluid carried by the pipe, said tapping band further having a threaded opening formed therein, which opens into said sealed space, said valve including a threaded tubular inlet for threaded connection to said threaded opening, positioning said spindle in engagement with said first engagement means and coincident with said first axis of rotation, removing said access opening closure plug and inserting a tapping machine into said access opening, seal means being located between said tapping machine and the upper side of said valve, turning said valve closure member to its open position to align a first of said flow passages with said access opening and with said valve inlet, passing a drilling bit through said first flow passage to drill through said pipe, removing said drilling bit from said first flow 0W passage and rotating said valve closure member to said closed position, thereafter removing said tapping machine from said access opening and closing said access opening, rotating said spindle to rotate said valve member about said -14- first axis of rotation to a position in which said second engagement means is accessible through said access opening, removing said spindle from said valve body and mounting said spindle in said access opening to engage said second engagement means, rotating said valve closure member on its second axis of rotation to a closed position to prevent flow of fluid from said inlet to said outlet. A valve substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. DATED: 22 July, 2003 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: WANG INDUSTRIES PTY LTD j S °t ft*oe oft ft tgf f ft• ft