US2653729A - Pressure responsive cover for containers - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1953 J, RlcHTER 2,653,729

PRESSURE RESPONSIVE COVER FOR CONTAINERS Filed June 19. 1951 INVENTOR. Jugeph Rich er* i fw MEW ATTORNE YS Patented Sept. 29, 1953 PRESSURE RESPONSIVE COVER FOR CONTAINERS Joseph Richter, Farlawn, N. J., Yatssi'gnor ,"to "the United States of America as 'represented by 'the Secretary of the Army Application June 19, 1951, Serial No. 232,437

(o1. le20-:44)

(Granted under Title 35, U. VS. Code (1952),

vvsec. 266i Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government lfor governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a novel sealing means for pressure containers wherein the component elements of the sealing means oi' closure cooperate to act as a pressure release or safety valve when the pressure in the container exceeds a predetermined amount.

While my invention isdisclosed as providing `a closure and pressure relief valve for a powder container it is to be understood that the inventon is capable of use, for example, in a conduit carrying nuid under pressure, and in vrany tank, vat or container requiring the use 'of a closure which is fluid tight below a predetermined pressure but which will be forced open to act as a safety valve to relieve the pressure when the predetermined pressure is exceeded.

An object of my invention is to provide a sealing and closure device for pressure containers which insures a tight pressure t, is easily applied to a container in closing and sealing position thereon, and which is capable of being released or sprung by a force which is diiferent frf'i'm. and opposite to the closing force originally apfplied, to effect opening of the sealing means.

Another object of my invention is the design of a cover for a container which is tightened in l place by a force outside the container` but which may be acted upon by a different4 force, viz pressure within the container, to release the cover and dissipate the original force which tightened the cover in place. c

A further object of my invention is to provide a simple design for a combination safety relief valve and closure for pressure containers which embodies a combination gasket and flexible diaphragm sealed upon the container in response to an outside force applied to a handle and screw and acting through the medium of detent balls, a split tapered ring and tapered retainer all arranged in a novel manner to maintain the cover in place to provide an hermetic seal, 'the same elements cooperating to dissipate the force applied, to force open the cover in response to excess pressure developed in the container.

With the foregoing general objects inview, as well as other more speciiic objects and results which will appear from a reading of the following specification, my invention consists in a certain novel construction and arrangement of elements more fully and particularly referred to and speci-- fied hereinafter.

Referring to 'the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the combination closure and safety valve mounted in operative relation upon a 'container or pressure containing enclosure.

Figure 2 isa section to an enlarged scale taken on line 52--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 `is a section taken on line 33--3 yd'5 Figure "2, showing the arrangement of screw, detent balls, and other retaining means.

The principles and several lfeatures of my 'invention can be mechanically 'expressed in 'a vae riety of other forms and embodiments, and `'my invention contemplates 'and includes all such other expressions thereof within its broad scope.

In the illustrated example my invention includes a container 5 to which lugs 6 have been spot welded or xed in any convenient manner, to receive a spider 'I which is held in place in a manner to be hereinafter described. The spider 'l is provided with a central boss 8 having a vertical internally threaded bore 9 to receive a screw I0 which 'is provided with a handle I I to be manually grasped when an outside force is applied to the cover. The lower end of the screw is beveled as at I2 to provide a reduced portion for receiving detent balls I3 for a purpose to be later described. Disposed below the spider is a stepped cylindrical retainer I4 shaped to form a shallow T in vertical cross section. Retainer I4 has a vertical bore I5 of diameter approximately equal to and in axial alignment with bore 9 in vspider 1. Screw I0 extends into bore I5 and is axially slidable relative to retainer I4 vwhen the screw handle is turned either clockwise or counterclockwise in actuating the sealing means. Two diametrically opposed radial bores I vIi are formed in vthe upright section of T-shaped retainer I4, to receive the major portion of detent ballsI3, the remaining portion of the detent balls fitting into the space defined by the reduced section of screw III `to lock 'retainer I4 with respect to screw I0 and vprevent relative axial movement therebetween when the balls are confined tothe position shown upon Figure 2.

'Concentrically disposed about ythe upright section of retainer III and in radial alignment with the radial bores 'formed therein is arranged a tapered split ring fI'I which serves to contain each detent ball within its bore I6 and in contact with the beveled portion of yscrew I0, the split ring in turn being maintained in this locked position by virtue of a tapered collar or slide I8 which is slida'ble relative to the outer surface of tapered split ring I1, and which in 'closureelocking posi'- tion fits about the split ring and prevents it from opening, to thereby prevent outward movement of the detent balls within their radial bores.

The closure per se of the sealing device is dishshaped in configuration and comprises a cover I9 of sheet metal which is removed from and concentric with collar IB. Cover I 9 is a generally frusto-conical disc having its peripheral edge turned reversely as at toward the apex and its rim again turned through 180 to form an inverted U having a short leg 2I engaging the rim defining an opening in the container, as clearly shown in Figure 2. The apex of the frustoconical cover I9 is fixed to the fiat under surface of the horizontal portion of retainer I4 as at 22 in any convenient manner so that the retainer and cover are actuable as a unitary structure. A combination gasket and flexible diaphragm is incorporated in the closure to insure an hermetic seal with the container as at 23 and comprises a flexible diaphragm 24 contoured to follow the curved portion of cover I9, the central extension of the diaphragm forming a base of the :frustoconical section encompassed by cover I9. A perforated metallic baille 25 is xedly secured to the flexible diaphragm substantially coextensive with that portion of the diaphragm forming the base of the frusto-conical cover I9.

The base of tapered collar I8 is turned outwardly to form a fiange 26 which is crimped as at 2'I to provide a recess for receiving one end oi a compression spring 28, the other end of spring 28 being received by the under surface of retainer I4 within the area included by the upper base of frusto-conical disc I9. Flange 26 of collar I8 is in contact with and urged against diaphragm 24 so that pressure exerted against the fiexible diaphragm from within the container will move the diaphragm and baffle upwardly to cause collar I8 to slide upwardly relative to tapered split ring il.

The device operates in the following manner. Spring 23 is biased to exert a force between retainer I4 and collar I8 to maintain the parts in operative relation. So also, spider 'I is maintained in force contact with lugs I. The extremities of spider 'l are applied to the lugs distributed about the periphery of the container or opening and the short legr of the U forming the extremity of cover I9 is set to engage the rim of the container opening. Although screw Iii is retracted so that a portion of the detent balls are disposed within the lower extremity of the recess formed by the beveled portion of screw I0, the compression spring exerts sufficient force to retain the spider within the lugs and the remaining elements in locked and operative relation. In this position the ring I'I is not fully closed and the force applied is insufficient to provide a seal at 2". The handle of screw I0 is then turned clockwise and the bevel on the screw applies radially outward forces to the detent balls. Since the balls are held against movement at this time by ring I'I and collar I8, the force is transmitted to retainer Ill and cover i9 to seal the container at 23. The compression in spring 28 serves to bias collar I?. downwardly relatively7 to cover i9 to thus force the collar against the tapered split ring I'|' so that the detent balls are in position to prevent relative axial movement between retainer I4 and screw I9, as previously explained.

The closure will remain in hermetically sealed position until pressure in the container becomes greater than the set pressure which can readily be determined by a calibration of the spring and associated parts. When the maximum set pressure within the container is exceeded, the force exerted by spring 28 is overcome and the diaphragm and perforated baflle are displaced upwardly to force collar I8 upwardly thereby leaving a gap between the collar and tapered split ring I8, as a result of which split ring I7 separates sufficiently to permit detent ball I3 to move outwardly to clear the smooth surface of screw I0 so that retainer I4 is free to move upwardly relative to screw I0. Cover I9 which is secured to retainer I4 also moves upwardly thereby destroying the seal at 23 and dissipating the excess pressure within the container.

What I claim for my invention is:

l. A combination pressure relief valve and sealing means for a container having an opening comprising, diametrically opposed lugs on said container about said opening, a spider engaging said lugs for removably supporting said sealing means in said opening, said spider having a centrally disposed internally threaded bore, a dish-shaped sealing member on said sealing means for sealing engagement with the rim of said opening, a screw threaded into said bore actuable to engage said sealing means for applying a force to said sealing member to move said member into sealing engagement with the rim of said opening, detent means concentric with and coacting with said screw to lock said sealing member in sealed position, and means secured to said sealing member movable in response to an increase in pressure in said container to release said detent means whereby said sealing member is released to move upwardly to dissipate the pressure in said container.

2. A combination pressure relief valve and sealing means for a container having an opening comprising, diametricaily opposed lugs mounted on said container about said opening, a spider engaging said lugs for removably supporting said sealing means in said opening, said spider having a central internally threaded bore, a screw in said bore having a tapered end extending below said spider and having a handle secured to its upper end adapted to be turned to apply a sealing force to said sealing means, a sleeve concentric about the tapered end of said screw and slidable relative thereto, said sleeve having an upper radially elongated fiange, a lower radially shorter flange and a pair of diametrically opposed radial slots adjacent said lower flange, said sealing means comprising a frusto-conical dish-shaped member adapted to peripherally engage said container about said opening and having a central aperture to peripherally engage the lower side of said upper flange, a gasketed resilient diaphragm partly secured to the under side of said dish-shaped member and forming with the frustoconical portion of said sleeve and said upper fiange a frusto-conical space, a pair of detent balls received in said radial slots movable from a first inward position to abut the taper of said screw to lock said sleeve against sliding, to an outward position to release said sleeve for upward sliding movement, a split ring concentrically disposed about said detent balls and lying on said lower flange adapted to yieldingly retain said balls in abutting engagement with the taper of said screw, a frusto-conical collar having its upper end slidable engaging said split ring and its lower end turned radially outwardly and secured to the upper surface of said resilient diaphragm, and a helical spring concentric about said collar having its upper end abutting said upper flange and its lower end abutting the radially outwardly turned end of said collar, whereby a rise in pressure in said container above a predetermined amount urges said resilient diaphragm and said collar upwardly against the bias of said spring to permit expansion of said split ring to thereby release said balls for outward movementl `and said sleeve and sealing means for upward movement to dissipate the pressure in said container.

3. A gasketed cover for sealing the opening of a pressure container comprising, lugs secured to the wall of said container, a spider engaging said lugs and removably supporting said cover in said opening, said spider having a centrally disposed internally threaded vertical bore, a screw threaded in said bore for applying an external force to said cover to effect a seal between said cover and said container, detent means intermediate said cover and said screw to lock said cover in sealed position, and means secured to said cover to unlock said detent means in response to an internal force opposed to the originally applied sealing force to unseal said cover and dissipate said internal force.

4. A gasketed cover for sealing the opening of a pressure container comprising, lugs secured to the wall of said container, a spider engaging said lugs, said spider having a centrally disposed vertical bore, a handle screw threaded into said bore and extending downwardly beyond said spider, a cylindrical member concentric about said screw and slidable axially relatively thereto, detent means intermediate said cylindrical member and said screw for locking said cylindrical member against axial movement, means secured to said cover adapted to engage said cylindrical member whereby an external force applied to said screw handle is transmitted to said cover to seal the same to said container, and slide means secured to said cover and operable in response to an internal force on said cover opposed to said original force to unlock said detent means and release said cylindrical member and cover for upward movement to break the seal and dissipate said internal force.

5. In combination, a pressure container having an open end and a combined closure device and pressure relief valve for unitary mounting in and removal from said container and comprising, a sealing member for peripheral engagement with said opening, first means mounted on said container about said opening, means engaging said first means for supporting said sealing member in juxtaposition with said opening, means on said support means axially movable to apply an external force to said sealing member, detent means concentric about and releasably secured to said force applying means, said detent means cooperating with said sealing member to maintain the same in sealing engagement with said container below a predetermined pressure in said container, and means secured to said sealing member and movable in response to a rise in pressure in said container above said predetermined pressure to disengage and release said detent means whereby said force applying means and sealing member are unitarily moved out of sealing engagement with said container.

JCSEPH RICHTER.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,273,347 Ferris July 23, 1918 1,821,726 Saporta Sept. 1, 1931 2,297,003 Larson Sept. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 474,095 Germany Mar. 26, 1929

Images