Ball valve and its assembly method

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of valve bodies, and provides a ball valve and an assembly method thereof. The ball valve includes a valve ball, a valve body and an upper end cover plate. A valve shaft is configured on the valve ball. The ball valve further includes a sealing cover plate and a snap ring. The sealing cover plate is fixedly connected to the upper end cover plate and both are installed at the port of the valve body. The sealing cover plate abuts against the root of the valve shaft of the valve ball. A groove is provided on the inner wall of the valve body, and the snap ring is clamped in the groove. The part of the snap ring exposed outside the groove is clamped between the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate. In the ball valve provided by the present invention, the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate are fixedly connected, and the snap ring can limit the axial movement of the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate along the valve shaft. Compared with the traditional ball valve structure, the liquid pressure in the ball valve is finally borne by the snap ring, thereby effectively avoiding the liquid pressure in the ball valve from impacting the upper end cover plate and causing leakage due to poor sealing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of valve bodies, and particularly relates to a ball valve and an assembly method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Ball valves have a wide range of applications in fields such as petroleum, chemical industry, energy, and minerals. They are important components in industrial pipelines and are mainly used to control the on-off of pipelines. Usually, during the assembly process of a ball valve, the valve ball needs to be inserted into the valve body from the upper end of the ball valve, resulting in a large diameter of the upper opening of the ball valve. Therefore, very high requirements are put forward for the installation and fixation of the upper cover plate for sealing the ball valve, especially for high-pressure ball valves. If the upper cover plate is not fixed reliably, it is easy to cause the explosion of the ball valve and lead to serious safety accidents.

[0003] Generally, the upper cover plate of a ball valve is usually fixed on the valve body of the ball valve by bolts. In this fixing method, the pressure of the internal medium of the valve on the upper cover plate is ultimately borne by the fastening bolts. Under long-term pressure fluctuations, driven by alternating tensile forces, on the one hand, the bolts are prone to looseness, resulting in poor sealing of the upper cover plate and leakage; on the other hand, it is easy to cause fatigue of the bolts, reduce the bolt strength, and form a safety hazard. [[ID=!2]] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a ball valve and an assembly method thereof to solve the problems that the bolt fixation of the upper cover plate and the valve body in the existing ball valve easily leads to leakage and low safety.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a ball valve, including a valve ball, a valve body, and an upper cover plate. A valve shaft is configured on the valve ball. The ball valve further includes a sealing cover plate and a snap ring. The sealing cover plate is fixedly connected to the upper cover plate and both are installed at the port of the valve body. The sealing cover plate abuts against the root of the valve shaft. A groove is provided on the inner wall of the valve body, and the snap ring is clamped in the groove. The part of the snap ring exposed outside the groove is clamped between the upper cover plate and the sealing cover plate.

[0006] Further, the outer walls of the valve body and the upper cover plate are circumferentially fixed by mutually cooperating limit grooves and limit blocks.

[0007] Further, there are several limit grooves, and all of the several limit grooves are located on the valve body and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the valve body.

[0008] Further, the snap ring includes at least three ring bodies, and the ring bodies are connected end to end in sequence.

[0009] Further, at least one of the two end faces of at least one of the ring bodies is parallel to a certain diameter of the snap ring.

[0010] Further, a first stepped surface is provided on one side of the upper end cover plate close to the sealing cover plate, and the part of the snap ring exposed outside the groove abuts against the first stepped surface.

[0011] Further, an annular groove is provided at the port of the valve body, and a flange is provided along the circumference of the upper end cover plate, and the flange is received in the annular groove.

[0012] Further, a snap block protrudes from the side of the sealing cover plate away from the valve ball, and a clamping groove is provided on the side of the upper end cover plate facing the valve ball, and the snap block is clamped in the clamping groove.

[0013] Further, the valve shaft is a stepped shaft, a stepped hole is provided in the middle of the sealing cover plate, and the stepped shaft is inserted into the stepped hole.

[0014] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides an assembly method for a ball valve, including the steps of:

[0015] Step S10, installing the valve ball with the valve shaft installed into the valve body, and clamping and fixing the sealing cover plate at the port of the valve body;

[0016] Step S20, respectively installing each ring body of the snap ring into the groove on the valve body, and one side of the snap ring abuts against the side of the sealing cover plate away from the valve ball;

[0017] Step S30, installing the upper end cover plate at the port of the valve body, pressing the side of the upper end cover plate facing the valve ball on the snap ring, and making the upper end cover plate engage with the limit block and limit groove on the valve body in a clamping manner;

[0018] Step S40, using fasteners to fixedly connect the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate.

[0019] For the ball valve provided by the present invention, the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate are fixedly connected, and the snap ring can limit the axial movement of the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate along the valve shaft. Compared with the traditional ball valve structure, the liquid pressure inside the ball valve is finally borne by the snap ring, thus effectively avoiding the situation that the liquid pressure inside the ball valve impacts the upper end cover plate and causes leakage due to poor sealing. Description of the Drawings

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the ball valve according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a partial sectional view of the valve body shown in

[0023] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the valve body and the upper end cover plate shown in

[0024] Figure 4 is Figure 1 a top view of the upper end cover plate shown in

[0025] Figure 5 is Figure 1 a schematic structural diagram of the snap ring shown in

[0026] Figure 6 is Figure 1 a sectional view of the upper end cover plate shown in

[0027] Figure 7 is Figure 1 a sectional view of the sealing cover plate shown in

[0028] In the figure: 1, valve ball; 11, valve shaft; 2, valve body; 21, groove; 22, limit groove; 3, upper end cover plate; 31, limit block; 32, first stepped surface; 33, flange; 34, card slot; 4, sealing cover plate; 41, through hole; 42, clamping block; 5, snap ring; 51, first ring body; 52, second ring body; 53, third ring body; 54, fourth ring body; 6, bolt. Specific embodiments

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the terms "first" and "second" are used for numbering the product components for clear description and do not represent any substantial difference. The directions of "up", "down", "left", and "right" are all based on the directions shown in the drawings. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0031] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installation", "connection", and "coupling" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0032] As Figure 1 shown, a ball valve includes a valve ball 1, a valve body 2, an upper end cover plate 3, a sealing cover plate 4, and a snap ring 5. Among them, the valve ball 1 is installed in the cavity inside the valve body 2, and the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 are fixedly connected by bolts and are both installed at the port of the valve body 2; the snap ring 5 is installed between the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4. Specifically, a valve shaft 11 is formed on the valve ball 1, and the valve shaft 11 is inserted into the sealing cover plate 4 and the upper end cover plate 3, and the valve shaft is slidably engaged with both the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4. The sealing cover plate 4 abuts against the root of the valve shaft 11, that is, compared with the upper end cover plate 3, the sealing cover plate 4 is closer to the sphere of the valve ball 1. As Figure 2 shown, a groove 21 is provided on the inner wall of the valve body 2, and the snap ring 5 is clamped in the groove 21, and the part of the snap ring 5 exposed outside the groove 21 is clamped between the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4.

[0033] For the ball valve provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 are fixedly connected, and the axial movement of the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 along the valve shaft can be restricted by the snap ring 5. Compared with the traditional ball valve structure, the liquid pressure inside the ball valve is finally borne by the snap ring 5, thereby effectively avoiding the situation that the liquid pressure inside the ball valve impacts the upper end cover plate 3 and causes leakage due to poor sealing.

[0034] Furthermore, the valve body 2 and the upper end cover plate 3 are circumferentially fixed by a limiting groove 22 and a limiting block 31. In one embodiment, as Figure 3 shown, a limiting groove 22 is provided at the port of the valve body 2, as Figure 3 and 4As shown in the figure, a limiting block 31 is convexly provided on the outer wall of the upper end cover plate 3. The number of the limiting blocks 31 is the same as that of the limiting grooves 22, and can be one or more. When there is one limiting block 31, it is directly installed in the limiting groove 22 to prevent the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 fixedly connected together from moving circumferentially along the valve shaft; when there are multiple limiting blocks 31, they are arranged in one-to-one correspondence. Preferably, there are multiple limiting grooves 22, and the multiple limiting grooves 22 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the valve body 2. Correspondingly, the limiting blocks 31 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the outer wall of the upper end cover plate 3. In this embodiment, with the cooperation of the limiting block 31 and the limiting groove 22, the circumferential rotation of the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 along the valve shaft is restricted, so as to realize the reliable fixation of the upper end cover plate 3. Thus, for the ball valve provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 cannot rotate circumferentially under the action of the limiting block 31 and the limiting groove 22, and under the action of the snap ring 5, the axial movement of the valve shaft can be restricted, thereby improving the reliability of the assembly of the ball valve and avoiding the poor sealing of the upper end cover plate 3 caused by the internal fluid pressure. In another embodiment, the valve body 2 is provided with a limiting block, and the upper end cover plate 3 is provided with a limiting groove. At this time, the port of the valve body 2 is a stepped hole, and the large-diameter section of the stepped hole is far away from the valve ball 1. A limiting block is convexly provided on the inner wall of the valve body 2 corresponding to the large-diameter section. Among them, the outermost end of the limiting block does not extend into the small-diameter section of the valve body 2 so as not to affect the installation of the valve ball 1; correspondingly, a limiting groove is provided in the area where the upper end cover plate 3 cooperates with the stepped hole to realize the circumferential locking of the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4. Similarly, the number and distribution of the limiting grooves and the limiting blocks can be set to be multiple evenly distributed or one or more randomly distributed according to needs. Of course, a limiting block and a limiting groove can also be provided on the valve body 2 at the same time, and a limiting groove and a limiting block are correspondingly provided on the upper end cover plate 3, and the embodiments of the present invention will not be described in detail herein.

[0035] Since the outer diameter of the snap ring 5 is larger than the inner diameter of the port of the valve body 2, in order to facilitate the smooth installation of the snap ring 5, the snap ring 5 provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes at least three ring bodies, and the at least three ring bodies are sequentially connected end to end to form a ring. For example, the snap ring 5 can be divided into three, four or five segments, and the embodiments of the present invention do not make specific requirements for this. During assembly, the ring bodies can be installed one by one to install the snap ring 5 in the groove 21.

[0036] Among them, at least one of the two end faces of the ring body is parallel to a certain diameter of the snap ring 5. During assembly, the ring body with two end faces parallel to a certain diameter of the snap ring 5 is finally snapped in to realize the smooth progress of the snap fit. Specifically, as Figure 5As shown, the snap ring 5 is formed by sequentially splicing four sections of a first ring body 51, a second ring body 52, a third ring body 53, and a fourth ring body 54 end to end. Among them, both end faces of the first ring body 51 extend along the radial direction of the snap ring 5 to form radial end faces; both end faces of the third ring body 53 extend along a direction parallel to the diameter of the snap ring 5, that is, parallel end faces are formed; the second ring body 52 and the fourth ring body 54 have the same structure, one end face is a radial end face, which is respectively butted against the two end faces of the first ring body 51, and the other end face is a parallel end face, which is used to butt against the two end faces of the third snap ring 53. In addition, there can be other separation methods, and the embodiments of the present invention will not list them one by one.

[0037] Specifically, as Figure 6 shown, on one side of the upper end cover plate 3 close to the sealing cover plate 4, there is a first stepped surface 32, and the part of the snap ring 5 exposed outside the groove 21 abuts against the first stepped surface 32. The snap ring 5 is clamped between the first stepped surface 32 and the sealing cover plate 4. Of course, a stepped surface can also be provided on the side of the sealing cover plate 4 facing away from the valve ball 1. One side of the snap ring 5 abuts against this stepped surface, and the other side of the snap ring 5 abuts against the end face of the flat upper end cover plate 3. The embodiments of the present invention do not make specific limitations on this, as long as the snap ring is arranged in the accommodation cavity formed by the groove 21, the upper end cover plate 3, and the sealing cover plate 4.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present invention, the port of the valve body 2 is provided with an annular groove, the large-diameter end of the annular groove is located outside the valve body 2, and the groove 21 is located in the small-diameter area of the annular groove. As Figure 6 shown, the upper end cover plate 3 is provided with a flange 33, and the flange 33 is received in the annular groove at the port of the valve body 2. Of course, the port of the valve body 2 can also be provided with a through hole with a consistent aperture, and the upper end cover plate 3 is installed in the through hole. While the limit block 31 on the upper end cover plate 3 and the limit groove 22 on the valve body 2 cooperate with each other to limit the circumferential movement of the two along the valve shaft 11, they can also position the axial position of the upper end cover plate 3.

[0039] Among them, as Figure 7 shown, the middle part of the sealing cover plate 4 is provided with a through hole 41, the valve shaft 11 is a stepped shaft, and the stepped shaft is inserted into the through hole 41. The valve shaft 11 is in sliding seal fit with the inner wall of the through hole 41, and a sealing ring is installed between the valve shaft 11 and the hole wall of the through hole 41. Specifically, the sealing cover plate 4 and the upper end cover plate 3 are fixedly connected by bolts.

[0040] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, a snap block 42 protrudes from the side of the sealing cover plate 4 away from the valve ball 1, and a clamping groove 34 is provided on the side of the upper end cover plate 3 facing the valve ball 1. The snap block 42 is clamped in the clamping groove 34, and the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4 are fixed together by tightening with bolts.

[0041] In addition, the present invention also provides an assembly method for a ball valve, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0042] Step S10: Install the valve ball 1 with the valve shaft 11 into the valve body 2, and snap and fix the sealing cover plate 4 at the port of the valve body 2. The outer wall of the sealing cover plate 4 fits and fixes with the inner wall of the valve body 2, and a sealing ring is installed between the outer wall of the sealing cover plate 4 and the inner wall of the valve body 2. The through hole 41 on the sealing cover plate 4 is in sliding seal with the valve shaft 11.

[0043] Step S20: Install the respective ring bodies of the snap ring 5 into the grooves 21 on the valve body 2 respectively, so that one side of the snap ring 5 abuts against the side of the sealing cover plate 4 away from the valve ball 1. Among them, as Figure 5 shown, first install the first ring body 51, the second ring body 52 and the fourth ring body 54 into the grooves 21 respectively, and finally install the third ring body 53 into the grooves 21, thus forming a complete ring body structure.

[0044] Step S30: Install the upper end cover plate 3 at the port of the valve body 2, and the side of the upper end cover plate 3 facing the valve ball 2 presses on the snap ring 5, so that the limit block 31 on the upper end cover plate 3 is snapped into the limit groove 22 of the valve body 2. Thus, the snap ring 5 is snapped into the groove 21 and clamped between the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4.

[0045] Step S40: Use fasteners such as bolts 6 to fixedly connect the upper end cover plate 3 and the sealing cover plate 4.

[0046] For the ball valve provided by the embodiment of the present invention, compared with the traditional method of directly fixing the upper end cover plate to the port of the valve body by bolts, the snap ring 5 installed in the groove 21 bears the impact force of the liquid inside the valve, with higher strength, improving the pressure resistance at the port of the valve body 2; moreover, the upper end cover plate 3 locks the snap ring 5 bearing the liquid impact force in the groove 21 by mechanical means, and it will not become detached or loose during long-term use, with high reliability and long service life.

[0047] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ball valve, comprising a valve ball, a valve body and an upper end cover plate, characterized in that, A valve shaft is constructed on the valve ball, and further includes a sealing cover plate and a snap ring. The sealing cover plate is fixedly connected to the upper end cover plate and both are installed at the port of the valve body; the sealing cover plate abuts against the root of the valve shaft; a groove is provided on the inner wall of the valve body, the snap ring is clamped in the groove, and the part of the snap ring exposed outside the groove is clamped between the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate; the outer walls of the valve body and the upper end cover plate are circumferentially fixed by a mutually matching limit groove and a limit block; the limit groove includes several ones, and several limit grooves are all located on the valve body and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the valve body; wherein, the snap ring includes at least three ring bodies, the ring bodies are connected end to end in sequence, and at least one of the two end faces of one of the ring bodies is parallel to a certain diameter of the snap ring.

2. The ball valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, A first stepped surface is provided on one side of the upper end cover plate close to the sealing cover plate, and the part of the snap ring exposed outside the groove abuts against the first stepped surface.

3. The ball valve according to claim 2, characterized in that, An annular groove is provided at the port of the valve body, and a flange is provided along the circumference of the upper end cover plate, and the flange is received in the annular groove.

4. The ball valve according to claim 1, wherein, A clamping block protrudes from one side of the sealing cover plate away from the valve ball, and a clamping groove is provided on one side of the upper end cover plate facing the valve ball, and the clamping block is clamped in the clamping groove.

5. The ball valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve shaft is a stepped shaft, and a through hole for the stepped shaft to pass through is provided in the middle of the sealing cover plate.

6. A method for assembling a ball valve according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Including steps: Step S10, loading the valve ball with the valve shaft installed into the valve body, and clamping and fixing the sealing cover plate at the port of the valve body; Step S20, respectively loading each ring body of the snap ring into the groove on the valve body, and one side of the snap ring abuts against one side of the sealing cover plate away from the valve ball; Step S30, installing the upper end cover plate at the port of the valve body, pressing one side of the upper end cover plate facing the valve ball on the snap ring, and making the upper end cover plate engage with the limit block and the limit groove on the valve body; Step S40, using fasteners to fixedly connect the upper end cover plate and the sealing cover plate.

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