Breakaway Fire Hydrant Shutoff Valve With Mechanical Auto-Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fire hydrants often suffer damage in collisions, leading to uncontrolled water discharge, which poses safety risks and causes significant economic damage due to flooding, and existing shutoff valves are difficult to access and operate underground, resulting in delayed water cessation.
Innovation Solution
An automatic shutoff valve system for breakaway wet barrel fire hydrants, featuring a valve assembly that activates upon hydrant separation, using a breakaway collar and activation rod to mechanically engage the valve pedal with a lockout tab, ensuring immediate water shut-off when the hydrant breaks away.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If an automatic shutoff valve system with activation rod and lockout tab is used, then water shutoff speed is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve pedal is pre-positioned in the open position by the lockout tab and activation rod mechanism before any emergency occurs. This preliminary action ensures that when the hydrant breaks away, the valve is already prepared to shut off immediately without requiring manual intervention or complex control systems during the emergency event.
Solution Approach 2:
The activation rod serves as an intermediary mechanical element that transmits the force from the breaking hydrant to the valve pedal, causing it to move from the open to closed position. This intermediary mechanism simplifies the overall system by providing a direct mechanical linkage rather than requiring complex sensors, actuators, or control systems.
2Reliability
If existing shutoff valves are accessed and operated underground, then water flow control is achieved, but operation time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The valve system performs self-service by automatically shutting off water flow through the mechanical action of the hydrant breaking away. The activation rod is directly coupled to the hydrant, so when the hydrant breaks, the rod moves and automatically actuates the valve pedal to close the valve, eliminating the need for human operators to manually access and operate underground valves.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve is pre-configured in the open position during normal operation through the lockout tab mechanism, allowing water flow. When the hydrant breaks away, the preliminary positioning mechanism releases, and the valve automatically transitions to the closed position, ensuring rapid response without requiring operational decisions or manual intervention during the emergency.
3Reliability
If a lockout tab and activation rod mechanism is implemented, then automatic shutoff reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: the lockout tab fixed to the valve body, the activation rod coupled to the hydrant, and the valve pedal that moves between open and closed positions. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using standard machining processes, simplifying production while ensuring reliable automatic shutoff through their coordinated interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex control logic for automatic shutoff is extracted from electronic or hydraulic systems and replaced with a simple mechanical linkage system. The activation rod and lockout tab mechanism extracts the essential function of automatic valve actuation through pure mechanical means, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining high reliability through the inherent mechanical advantage and direct force transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic shutoff valve for breakaway wet barrel fire hydrant is disclosed. In general, one aspect disclosed features an apparatus comprising: a valve housing comprising a valve body, a flange, and a valve seat; a valve pedal configured to engage the valve seat and prevent fluid flow through the valve seat in a closed position, and to permit fluid flow through the valve seat in an open position; a lockout tab disposed within the valve body, wherein the lockout tab maintains the valve pedal in the open position; a lockout bar disposed distally from the valve body; and an activation rod mechanically coupled to the lockout bar and configured to keep the valve pedal engaged with the lockout tab.