Adjustable T-Handle Ball Valve Lockout for Secure Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve lockout devices face challenges in accommodating variously sized valves and handles due to size variance, leading to the need for multiple devices and potential improper sizing, which can result in the lockout device being removed or falling off during use.
Innovation Solution
A handle lockout device with adjustable slides that can be secured around a valve handle, allowing the stem opening to be reduced in size but not enlarged, ensuring a secure fit and preventing removal, featuring a bifurcated housing with ratcheting teeth and a lockable structure for added security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single lockout device is designed to accommodate variously sized handles, then the need for multiple devices is eliminated, but the device complexity increases due to the need for adjustable components
Solution Approach 1:
The lockout device incorporates adjustable slides that can move radially to adapt the stem opening size to different handle dimensions. The slides are movable during installation to accommodate various handle sizes, then lock into position to provide a secure fit. This dynamic adjustability allows a single device to serve multiple handle sizes without requiring multiple fixed-size devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the physical parameter of the stem opening size through the radial movement of adjustable slides. By modifying the opening dimension to match the specific handle size, the device achieves versatility across different handle dimensions while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Reliability
If the stem opening is made smaller to fit smaller handles, then the fit security improves, but the device cannot be removed when it should be accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The lockout device is divided into a stationary housing and movable adjustable slides. The housing remains fixed and provides the basic locking structure, while the slides can be independently adjusted and locked. This segmentation allows the opening size to be reduced for security while maintaining the ability to release the slides for removal when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable slides act as intermediaries between the housing and the handle. They provide the adaptive fit security by conforming to the handle size, while their ability to be released allows the overall device to be removed when necessary. The slides mediate between the conflicting requirements of secure fit and removable design.
3Ease of manufacture
If the lockout device is designed with fixed dimensions, then the manufacturing precision is easier to maintain, but it cannot accommodate handles of varying sizes
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than manufacturing different fixed-size devices for different handle sizes, the invention uses a single housing design with dynamic adjustable slides. The housing itself can be manufactured with standard dimensions, while the slides provide the variable adjustment capability. This approach maintains manufacturing precision for the housing while adding versatility through the adjustable mechanism.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the stem opening is made larger to accommodate larger handles, then the adaptability improves, but the device may be removed or fall off from smaller handles
Solution Approach 1:
The lockout device applies local quality by having the stem opening size adjusted locally at the point of contact with the handle. The adjustable slides can be positioned to match the specific handle size, creating a locally optimized fit. This ensures that the opening is neither too large (which would allow removal) nor too small (which would prevent installation), providing reliable retention for each specific handle size.
Data Source
AI summary
A handle lockout device can be placed around a handle of a valve to prevent operation of the handle by rotation of the handle about a stem. The handle lockout device includes a housing and one or more adjustable slides. The housing has an internal cavity, in which the housing is bifurcated into two halves at a parting line with a stem opening positioned on the housing along the parting line. The two halves are movable relative to one another between an opened position in which the two halves are separated at the parting line to provide access to the internal cavity and a closed position in which the two halves are bought together at the parting line. The adjustable slide(s) are positioned adjacent to the stem opening, are slidable relative to the housing, and have an edge that can alter a size of the stem opening of the housing.