Valve control mechanism

Abstract

A valve control mechanism includes a butterfly valve having a pivotable valve disk controlled by a linkage system. The linkage includes a pivot arm connected to the frame, a control arm attached to the control lever, and a swing arm connecting the pivot arm with the control arm. The arrangement enables the mechanism to alternately switch between an open configuration and a closed configuration. In the open state, the pivot point of the pivot arm is in the open position, and the control arm rotates the control lever to open the valve. In the closed state, the pivot point of the pivot arm is in the closed position, and the control arm rotates the control lever to close the valve. In addition, the control shaft and the actuator extend and retract based on the linkage position, where the extended control shaft prevents the pivot arm pivot point from moving to the open position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve control mechanism that can be used to control a control valve of a hydrostatic potential - kinetic energy conversion system in PCT patent application PCT / AU2021 / 051315, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0002] The inventor of this patent, Tutureski, disclosed a hydrostatic - kinetic energy conversion system in the international patent application PCT / AU2021 / 051315 (published on May 12, 2022). The hydrostatic - kinetic energy conversion system includes a water column structure of a water head, and the lower end of the water column structure bifurcates to form a pair of pressure channels.

[0003] A valve system connects the water column to the pressure channels such that the hydrostatic pressure generated by the water column alternately pressurizes each channel.

[0004] The system also includes racks that are driven by pistons to move in opposite directions, thereby rotating a drive shaft located therebetween. A retractable airbag in the channel is forced to deploy under pressure, thereby pushing the piston.

[0005] According to FIG. 6, Tutureski taught a hydraulic disc actuator that includes a hydraulically driven piston having a distal end that extends to clamp a valve disc in a closed position and retracts to open the valve disc.

[0006] When the area below the piston head is pressurized, the piston moves upward, enabling the valve disc to move to the open position.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide an alternative to this arrangement.

[0008] It should be understood that if any prior art information is mentioned herein, such mention does not constitute an admission that such information forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or any other country. Summary of the Invention

[0009] There is provided herein a valve control mechanism that includes a butterfly valve having a valve disc that pivots between an open position and a closed position via a control rod.

[0010] The mechanism further includes a linkage that connects the control rod to a frame.

[0011] The linkage includes: a pivot arm pivotally connected to the frame; a control arm fixed to the control rod; and a swing arm connecting the pivot arm and the control arm.

[0012] Specifically, the swing arm is connected to the pivot arm at a pivot arm pivot point, and the swing arm is further connected to the control arm at a control arm pivot point.

[0013] The linkage reciprocates (ie collapses and extends) between an open configuration and a closed configuration to open and close the butterfly valve. When the control arm pivots, the control lever rotates therewith, thereby opening or closing the valve disc of the valve.

[0014] Specifically, in the open configuration, the pivot arm pivot point is in the open position and the control arm has rotated the control lever to position the valve disc to open the valve.

[0015] In the closed configuration, the pivot arm pivot point is in the closed position and the control arm has rotated the control lever to position the valve disc to close the valve.

[0016] In addition, the angle between the pivot arm and the swing arm is greater when the linkage is in the closed configuration than when the linkage is in the open configuration. In other words, the linkage unfolds toward the closed position and folds toward the open position.

[0017] The mechanism also includes a control shaft and a control shaft actuator mechanism that extends the control shaft to the extended position and retracts the control shaft to the retracted position when the linkage is in the closed configuration.

[0018] When the linkage is in the closed configuration, the control shaft extends to the extended configuration, thereby being caught under the pivot point of the pivot arm to prevent the pivot point of the pivot arm from moving from the closed position to the open position.

[0019] Thus, the present mechanism opens and closes the butterfly valve and locks the butterfly valve in a closed state.

[0020] Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed herein. Description of the Drawings

[0021] Although any other forms may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 shows a side view of a valve control mechanism; and

[0023] Figure 2 An end view of the valve control mechanism is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] A valve control mechanism comprises a butterfly valve having a valve disc 2 pivoted between an open position and a closed position by a control lever 3. The butterfly valve may be valve number 5 of the aforementioned Tutureski PCT specification.

[0025] Reference Figure 2 As shown in Figure 2 , the valve disc 2 can be circular and located within a matching cylindrical pipe. In the closed position, the valve disc 2 is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, thereby preventing fluid flow through the pipe. In the open position, the valve disc 2 is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis such that fluid can flow through the pipe. In the open position, the valve disc 2 is preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis to maximize the fluid flow rate.

[0026] The mechanism further includes a linkage that connects the control rod 3 to the frame 1.

[0027] The linkage includes a pivot arm 7 pivotally connected to the frame 1 at a frame pivot point 10.

[0028] The linkage further includes a control arm 5 fixed to the control rod 3.

[0029] The linkage further includes a swing arm 6 that is connected to the pivot arm 7 at a pivot arm pivot point 9 and to the control arm 5 at a control arm pivot point 8.

[0030] The linkage reciprocates between an open configuration for opening the butterfly valve and a closed configuration for closing the butterfly valve. Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the closed configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”.

[0031] In the open configuration, the pivot arm pivot point 9 is in the open position, as shown by the solid lines in Figure 1 . Additionally, in the open configuration, the control arm 5 has rotated the control rod 3 to position the valve disc 2 to an open position of the butterfly valve. Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the closed configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”.

[0032] However, in the closed configuration, the pivot arm pivot point 9 is located at the closed position 9A, as shown by the dashed lines in Figure 1 . Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the closed configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”.

[0033] As shown, the upper included angle between the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6 is larger when the linkage is in the closed configuration compared to when the linkage is in the open configuration (with the orientation shown in Figure 1 ). In other words, the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6 are more aligned with each other in the closed configuration. In other words, the distance between the pivot arm pivot point 9 and the control arm pivot point 8 is larger when the linkage is in the open position (shown by the dashed lines in Figure 1 ) compared to when the linkage is in the closed position (shown by the solid lines in Figure 1 ). Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the closed configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”. Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the closed configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”. Figure 1 In Figure 1 , the open configuration is shown in dashed lines, and the corresponding reference numerals all have the suffix “A”.

[0034] The mechanism further includes a control shaft 11 slidably held within a housing 12 and a control shaft actuator mechanism 13 operatively coupled to the control shaft. The actuator mechanism is configured to actuate the control shaft when the linkage is in the closed configuration (as shown in Figure 1 ) Figure 1extends the control shaft 11 to the extended position (as shown by the dashed line), and retracts the control shaft to the retracted position (as shown by the solid line) when the linkage is in the open configuration. Figure 1 When the control shaft 11 is in the extended position, the control shaft 11 prevents the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm from moving from the closed position (

[0035] (shown by the dashed line) to the open position ( Figure 1 (shown by the solid line). Figure 1 More specifically, when the linkage is converted to the closed configuration, the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm moves along an arc that intersects the longitudinal axis of the control shaft 11. When the linkage is in the closed position, the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm has moved along an arc above the longitudinal axis of the control shaft 11 (

[0036] in the orientation shown), and then the actuator mechanism 13 of the control shaft 11 extends the control shaft 11 below the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm, thereby supporting the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm and preventing the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm from falling back to the open position. Figure 1 The arms 5-7 can be dimensioned relative to each other such that the control arm 5 is longer than each of the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6. The lengths of the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6 can be substantially the same.

[0037] According to this configuration, when the linkage is converted from the closed configuration to the open configuration, the pivot angle of the pivot arm 7 is less than the pivot angle of the control arm 5. According to

[0038] the configuration shown, the control arm 5 can pivot approximately 90°, while the pivot arm 7 can pivot approximately 43°. The frame limiter can prevent the linkage from overextending in the closed position. In other words, the frame limiter can limit the further upward pivoting of the pivot arm 7 so that it does not exceed Figure 1 the closed configuration shown by the dashed line. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the pivot arm 7 can be located at a position approximately 2° below the horizontal line in the closed configuration, thereby forming a slight bend between the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6, so as to ensure that the pivot arm 7 and the swing arm 6 fold downward when switching to the open position (

[0039] in the orientation shown). Figure 1 The mechanism can also include a biasing mechanism 4 that biases the control rod 3 to return the valve disk 2 to the closed position. As

[0040] shown, the biasing mechanism 4 can include a cylindrical housing that includes a helical spring that biases the control rod 3 to return the valve disk 2 to the closed position. Figure 2 As shown, the biasing mechanism 4 can include a cylindrical housing that includes a helical spring that biases the control rod 3 to return the valve disk 2 to the closed position.

[0041] The mechanism can be used to quickly fully open or fully close the valve, mainly for static pressure load conditions, to achieve instantaneous release and cut-off of the medium, such as for fire dampers that need to be quickly opened and closed.

[0042] The helical spring of the biasing mechanism 4 can be set to a tension spring load to drive the linkage to rotate to the closed configuration, and wherein the piston shaft 11 locks the linkage in the closed configuration, thereby closing the valve 2. When the piston shaft 11 disengages from the pivot point 9 of the pivot arm under the action of the actuator 13, the linkage folds into the open configuration, and since the pressure acting on the valve 2 overcomes the force exerted by the biasing mechanism 4, the valve will be opened. Once the pressure is released, the force exerted by the biasing mechanism 4 can no longer be counteracted, causing the linkage to rotate back to the closed configuration under the rotational force exerted by the biasing mechanism 4.

[0043] For purposes of illustration, the foregoing description uses specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the practice of the present invention does not require specific details. Accordingly, the description of the specific embodiments of the present invention above is presented for purposes of illustration and explanation only. These descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, since many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The selected and described embodiments are intended to clearly illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application so that those skilled in the art can best utilize the invention with various modifications suitable for the particular purposes contemplated. The following claims and their equivalents are intended to define the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A valve control mechanism, comprising: A butterfly valve, comprising a valve disc pivotable between an open position and a closed position by a control rod; A linkage device connecting the control rod and the frame, the linkage device comprising: A pivot arm pivotally connected to the frame; A control arm fixed to the control rod; A swing arm, the swing arm: Connected to the pivot arm at a pivot point of the pivot arm; Connected to the control arm at a pivot point of the control arm, wherein the linkage device reciprocates between an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein: In the open configuration: The pivot point of the pivot arm is in the open position; and The control arm has rotated the control rod to position the valve disc in a position to open the valve; In the closed configuration: The pivot point of the pivot arm is in the closed position; The control arm has rotated the control rod to position the valve disc in a position to close the valve; and The distance between the pivot point of the pivot arm and the pivot point of the control arm is greater when the linkage device is in the closed configuration than when the linkage device is in the open configuration; A control shaft and a control shaft actuator mechanism, the control shaft actuator mechanism performing the following operations: When the linkage device is in the closed configuration, extending the control shaft to an extended position; When the linkage device is in the open configuration, retracting the control shaft to a retracted position; and wherein, in the extended position, the control shaft prevents the pivot point of the pivot arm from moving from the closed position to the open position.

2. The mechanism according to claim 1, wherein The control arm is longer than each of the pivot arm and the swing arm.

3. The mechanism according to claim 1, wherein, The pivot arm and the swing arm are substantially the same length.

4. The mechanism according to claim 2, wherein The control arm pivots the control rod between the open position and the closed position by approximately 90°.

5. The mechanism according to claim 2, wherein The pivot arm pivots between the open position and the closed position by approximately 43°.

6. The mechanism according to claim 1, wherein The distal end of the control shaft has an inclined surface oriented to be able to catch under the pivot point of the pivot arm.

7. The mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing mechanism that biases the control rod to return the valve disc to the closed position.

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