Title of Invention	"AXIAL ACTUATOR"
Abstract	An axial actuator includes an embodiment made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures (1, 3) having differential height. Farthest away from the valve, a piston disk (4) divides the space (A and B) between the two enclosures. A cavity (18) or series of cylindrical cavities (18a) encircle the inner enclosure to acccomodate compression springs (17) and arms of rack gear (4B), projected toward the valve from the rim of said piston disk (4), which engage compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4) where the opposite ends of the compounds pinions are engaged to a main bevel gear (2) nearest to the valve. When the piston (4) is actuated by actuating means, the hub (23) of the bevel gear (2) actuates the shaft (A) of the quarter turn valve.

Title of Invention

"AXIAL ACTUATOR"

Abstract

An axial actuator includes an embodiment made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures (1, 3) having differential height. Farthest away from the valve, a piston disk (4) divides the space (A and B) between the two enclosures. A cavity (18) or series of cylindrical cavities (18a) encircle the inner enclosure to acccomodate compression springs (17) and arms of rack gear (4B), projected toward the valve from the rim of said piston disk (4), which engage compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4) where the opposite ends of the compounds pinions are engaged to a main bevel gear (2) nearest to the valve. When the piston (4) is actuated by actuating means, the hub (23) of the bevel gear (2) actuates the shaft (A) of the quarter turn valve.

Full Text	BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is in the field of quarter or full turn calves like butterfly or ball valves. There are various types of actuators available to turn the shaft of the valves. There are actuators where the rotatable shaft of the valve is actuated by an acme drive screw or by ninety degree pneumatic actuators such as Keystone actuators. There are pneumatic rack and pinion rotary actuators; where racks are mounted at ninety degrees to the pinion on the shaft of the valve; pneumatic scotch yoke actuators; and a helical groove design actuator manufactured by Helac Corporation (Enumclaw, Washington). There are also eccentric multi-gear actuators. Engineers have tried to incorporate as many utilizable features in the actuators as possible. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a universal actuator which will meet the wider needs of the industry. It is an object of this invention to provide an actuator which is compact, economical; concentric and symmetric to the shaft of the valve in its geometrical design, and has an axial orientation in the direction of the shaft which drives the valve. It is an object of this invention to provide an actuator which readily can be modified to meet the various requirements of valves, while retaining its central core feature. It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which is efficient and can provide maximum torque, with respect to its relative size, compared to other actuators. It is an other object of this invention to provide manual override which is self locking. It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator having dependable fail safe closure, by means of springs, in the event of electric or air supply failure. It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which can be actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic means, or by means of an electric motor, or manually. It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which can incorporate in its design multi-springs in multi-locations of its body. It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator where springs can quickly and easily be taken out from any chamber or cavity or cavities to modify the functions of the actuator. It is an other object of this invention that the parts of the actuator can be inspected or replaced readily in the field when the manual override drive takes control of the valve. It is also an object of this invention to provide an actuator where a number of springs and their reaction time can be changed to provide customized torque output to a specific application. It is an other object of this invention that the actuator can also be operated hydraulically by reversible pump. It is an other object of this invention that the actuator will have a minimum number of moving seals. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, an axial actuator includes an outer enclosure forming an interior space with an inner enclosure within the interior space. A piston is linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure. A rotation device such as a gear is positioned at least partially within the inner enclosure and is adapted to be secured to the stem of a valve to be rotated by the actuator. Interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure interconnects the piston and the rotation device so that linear movement of the piston is connected into rotation of the rotation device. The interconnection structure can take the form of gears mounted on the inner enclosure which mate with the rotation device, when also a gear, and a rack extending from the piston. Movement of the piston and attached rack causes rotation of the gear which causes rotation of the rotation device. In a preferred embodiment of the actuator of the invention, the axial actuator has a body made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures of differential height. The space above the inner enclosure is divided by a piston disk into two parts, and a third part includes space which lies inside and around the inner enclosure. Thus, said three parts create three chambers A, B, and C in the axial direction of the shaft of the valve; chamber A being farthest from the valve, chamber B being the intermediate chamber, and C being nearest to the valve, around the shaft of the valve. A cavity is also provided to encircle said inner enclosure. Under the first alternative, said chambers and said encircling cavity around the inner enclosure accommodate synchronized functionary means. These means include the piston disk between chambers A and B; the compression spring in chamber B, which reacts against said piston disk. Also included, in chamber C nearest to the valve, is a main bevel gear, which is connected to the shaft of the valve by means of its hub while at the same time, on its opposite side its teeth are engaged with the bevel pinions of the compounded pinions. And on the opposite ends of said compounded pinions there are spur pinions engaged with rack gears which project radially like the arms from the rim of said piston disk into said cavity encircling chamber C. Also, said cavity, encircling Chamber C, is shared by compression springs which react against said piston disk. The compounded pinion is an assembly of two pinions having a spur pinion gear on one end and a bevel pinion gear on the other end of a common shaft. By actuating said piston all the synchronized functionary components are actuated to actuate the shaft to open or to close the valve. Under the second alternative, individual cavities are provided for compression springs. There are also individual cavities provided for spur pinions which are engaged with the rack gears. Said individual cavities lie on a circle around Chamber C. The difference between this second alternative, compared to the first, is that the wall of the inner enclosure is now integrated with the wall of the outer enclosure. The height of the inner cylindrical enclosure is designed to be lesser than the height of outer cylindrical enclosure by a predetermined difference, to accommodate the stroke of a piston which divides Chamber A from Chamber B. The piston can be actuated by various means: pneumatic, hydraulic; or by means of an electric motor or compression springs. Other means include using a screw shaft or a shaft having helical grooves around its outer surface, or using a worm and a worm gear override drive. The invented actuator is designed on the principle that the vertical distance the rack gears travel, in unison, must produce a quarter turn of the shaft of the valve through synchronous means; said means being the compounded pinions, the main bevel gear and compression springs. If a customer needs it, the actuator can be provided with a manual override drive. The manual override drive consists of a shaft which is driven from outside the actuator; two spur gears and two worms are held in tandem around a worm gear, where said worms act as a couple to rotate said worm gear which is integrated with the main bevel gear in chamber C. Said worm gear rotates the shaft of the valve. As the actuator is designed to meet universal needs of quarter turn valves, the invented actuator can easily be modified in the shop or in the field according to the needs of the customer. THE DRAWINGS The best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the basic design of the axial actuator of the invention, taken through the two compounded pinions engaged to the main bevel gear. Fig. 2 is the same vertical section as in Fig. 1, where an override drive is installed in the chamber C of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is the horizontal transverse'section taken at line 1-1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is the vertical section taken at line 2-2 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is transverse section 4-4 in Fig. 1, to show the concept of the invention. Fig. 6 is the vertical section as shown in Fig. 1, where a threaded screw drive is installed in chambers A and C to drive the piston. Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6, except, instead of a threaded screw drive, helical grooves are used. Fig. 8 is the top view of Fig. 4 taken at line 3-3 by removing the covers, the piston, and all the gears to expose the override drive. Fig. 9 is the same section as in Fig. 3 showing the alternate design of the override drive. Fig. 10 is a transverse section 5-5, shown in Fig. 13, for the second alternative design to mount the compression springs and compounded pinions, where the main bevel gear in chamber C is not shown, but compounded pinion are included. Fig. 11 is a vertical section of the alternate design of the compounded pinions. Fig. 12 is a vertical section of another alternate design of compounded pinions. Fig. 13 is a vertical section of the actuator for the second alternative, where a series of individual cavities for compression springs and racks and compounded pinions encircle the inner enclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Except for the manual override drive, all the elements of the axial actuator are concentric or symmetrically located about the shaft of the valve, and therefore all of the figures in the drawings can be studied together. It should be noticed that the drawings are not to any true scale. To grasp the concept of this invention quickly, first the basic design of the actuator in Figs. 1 and 5, and 10 and 13 will be studied. Figs. 1 and 5 together and Figs 10 and 13 together depict two different alternatives for the installation of the compression springs, the racks, and the compounded pinions. Under both alternatives, to accommodate functionary means to actuate the shaft of the valve, the invented actuator has three chambers A, B and C, located in the axial direction of the shaft A. The difference between the two alternatives is only in the design of the cavities in which compression springs 17 and racks 4B are installed. In Figs 1,2, 5 and 10 the inside diameter or inner surface of enclosures 1 and 3 are shown by 3M and 1P. Under the first alternative, the actuator has a body made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures which have walls 1 and 3 and covers 1F and 3A. The actuator is assembled from inside chamber C. First, the compounded pinions depicted by Gl, G2, G3 and G4 are mounted in walls 1 and 3, into the matching opening 13A in wall 3 and matching hole 16 in wall 1. The compounded pinion" shown in Figs. 1, 11 and 12 is made of two pinions; a bevel pinion gear 14 and a spur pinion gear 15. The pinions are held together by means of a common stem 13 as shown in Fig. 1 and^Fig. 11, or by a stem 13 which is a shaft for 15 as shown in Fig. 12. It is equally possible that in the compounded pinion both pinions can share a common shaft. It is equally possible that both pinions can share a common shaft which is mounted through an opening from outside the actuator, and it is kept in place by capping its outer end with a threaded bolt mounted in wall 1. It is understood that the word "shaft" defines a shaft which can have composite cross sections; where it can be circular in cross section in one portion of the shaft and also it can be rectangular or square in cross section in another portion of the same shaft, and the diameter of the shaft can also vary from section to section. The word "stem" will be synonymous with the word "shaft" as just described. Once the compounded pinions are installed in their places then bevel gear 2 along with hub worm gear 2 3 with cavity 2B is installed over said compounded pinions and over and around shaft A of the valve. It should be noted that if override drive is not installed then 23 is not a worm gear, but only a hub of gear 2 as shown in Figs. 6 and 9 The length of shaft A is depicted by its two ends 5 and .6. Gear 2 is rotatable, and is held in place by means of cover 3A, which cover is fastened by bolts 3C and a partitioner bolt 50. Gear 2 remains rotatable by creating a gap 2E between bevel gear 2 and cover 3A. After placing 3A in place, ring 18A, bearing spikes 18B, and compression springs 17, are installed in cavity 18. After this, spring 16A is installed over cover 3A. After installing spring 16A, piston disk 4, bearing bolts 4K, spikes 18C and rack gears 4B are installed where said rack gears 4B engage teeth 12 of spur pinions 15 of compounded pinions shown by Gl, G2, G3 and G4. The rack gears 4B are recessed minutely, asu indicated by 1M in Fig. 5, into wall 1 or into both walls 1 and 3 to prevent their separation by rotating away from compounded pinions 15. After this, cover 1F is bolted down by screwing bolts 1H into the threaded holes 1C. The spikes 18B and 18C keep springs, 17 in place. If desired, then springs 17 can be welded to 18A. Springs can also be installed by providing corresponding holes in floor 1L and in cylindrical portion 4J of piston 4. By sinking bolts 4K to different depths in holes 4A in piston 4, the initial pressure of the springs against cover 4 can be varied. The geometry of the heads of bolts 4K is such that once they are installed in chamber A, then the bolts cannot rotate. Thus the bolts will maintained their constant height in chamber A. The rack gears 4B shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 10 are situated in clockwise position so that the racks' action on the compounded pinions produce unidirectional rotation of gear 2. The use of more than two compounded pinion gears is preferable. In a large size actuator more than four compounded pinion gears can be used. With the aid of Figs. 10 and 13, a preferable second alternative to the installation of springs, compounded pinions, and racks will be explained now: In Figs. 10 and 13 a portion of wall 1 and the entire wall 3 are integrated to become a single expanse which is depicted by l in Fig. 10. Each spring is provided a circular cavity 18A of predetermined depth which keeps the spring in place. Each cavity parallel to the shaft of the valve lie on a circle concentric to that shaft between inner surfaces 3M and 1P. Cavities depicted by 1Z are provided for racks 4B, and cavities depicted by ly are provided for compounded pinions Gl„ G2, G3,and G4 . The true orientation of two bolts 78 and 79 shown by axis 1-1, and the true orientation of handle 42, shown by axis 2-2 with respect to the compounded pinions, are depicted in the Figs 5 and 10. To keep the number of Figs, to a minimum, different orientations (as shown in the drawings) of handle 42 and bolts 78 and 79 were assumed. From here on, the words "shaff'and "stem", when used in explaining the override drive, will be considered synonymous. Fig. 1 shows the valve in fully opened position. Air or any hydraulic media is used in chamber A to push piston 4 away from cover 1F. Along with piston disk 4 rack gears 4B move parallel to shaft A, and their engagement with compounded pinions Gl, G2, G3 and G4 cause the rotation of gear 2 which rotates the shaft of the valve. Figs. 1, 2 and 4 show the hub of bevel gear 2 to be a worm gear 23, while it is shown as hub 23B in Figs. 6, 7 and 13. Said hub rotates shaft A to open or to close the valve. The bolts 3C provide a limit beyond which the piston disk 4 cannot travel, thus 3c limits the torque which can be applied against the shaft and the valve. Bolts 3C arrest any damaging excessive torque. The springs 17 and 16A provide dependable fail safe closure in the event of air supply failure. When the air supply fails, the springs automatically relax to push the piston disk 4 back to close the valve. The actuator can also function without the springs where pressurized air or any pressurized fluid is used to create differential pressure in chamber A and chamber B. Chambers B and C are hydraulically communicative, and, therefore, the same pressure will prevail through them. The actuator depicted in Figs. 13 and 10 can be operated with a reversible pump, where chambers A and B are completely filled with the fluid, preferably lubricating oil. It will be preferred that the chamber C is also filled with the same media. Chamber B is isolated from chamber C and from cavities 1Z for the compounded pinions, by providing gasket 3G and seal 3J, and also by lengthening cylinder 4J for the full stroke of piston 4. The inlet openings IN and 3K are connected to the reversible pump via tubes ( not shown). Bored duct 3H opens into chamber B at 3L. The reversible pump empties one chamber while filling the other chamber. Thus, the piston disk is moved and the shaft of the valve is rotated to close or to open the valve. It is not required by the invention, but it is preferred that inlet opening 1T be connected to a small spring gage pressurized reservoir to maintain constant volume of oil in chambers A and B. If any leak occurs it can be detected. This type of actuator is powered strictly by the fluid held in its own reservoir made of chambers A and B, and no outside reservoir for pressurized fluid is needed, and no springs are required. Therefore, cavities 18A for springs can be eliminated. Restriction barriers 3 9 and 48, used for the manual override located in chamber C, will be explained later with the override drive. The invented actuator is simply placed over flange 9 of the valve by mounting hub hole 2B of worm gear 2 3 or hub 2 3B over shaft A. The actuator is bolted down by screwing bolts 7 into threaded openings 8. Bushing and seals are shown by 10, 1B and 4C and 1E. Figs. 2,3,4 and 8 depict the actuator when it is equipped with an override drive; therefore these Figs, will be explained together. For clarity, bolt 50 is not shown in Fig. 2. The override drive can be engaged or disengaged by means of two bolts 78 and 79 as shown in Fig. 3 or by means of two pins 80 and 81 shown on opposite sides of the actuator in Figs. 4 and 8, which pins can be actuated simultaneously by mean of the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 of split ring 84. As shown in Figs, 3, 4 and 8, the manual override drive has a common driving spur gear 29 engaged with two spur gears 30 and 31 in chamber C. Gear 2 9 has stem 25 installed through openings 41 in walls 1 and 3, where shaft 25 is driven by means of handle 42 by mounting it over end portion 26 of 25, and 42 is held to 2 5 by means of bolt 43. Two spur gears 30 and 31 and two worms 2 7 and 2 0 are held in tandem by means of stems 21 and 22 around worm gear 2 3 where, worms 2 7 and 20 act together as a couple to rotate worm gear 23 which is integrated with the main bevel gear 2 in chamber C. Worm gear 2 3 is located in cavity 5 3 and it is connected to shaft A of valve. Worm 27 with stem 21, and worm 2 0 with stem 22 are installed inside the opened ended cavities 54 and 28 created in blocks 34 and 35. Ends of 21 and 22 are depicted by 33 and 32. In Fig. 2 two opposite sides of block 34 are depicted by 45. The movable blocks 34 and 35 act as carriages for the override drive which are held in place by the sides 49 and 49A of barriers 39 and 48. Blocks 34 and 35 share common compression springs 37 and 38 mounted in oppositely matching cavities provided in the bodies of the block. Such two cavities 37A and 38A are depicted in block 34. Two bolts on opposite sides of the actuator in Figs. 3 and 5 are shown by 78 and 79. Stems of bolts 7 8 and 7 9 are held in place by means of openings depicted by 76 in 1 and threaded opening 74 in 3. Each bolt is engaged in hole 72 against surface 73 of the block. Bolts 78 and 79, and springs 37 and 38 mounted in said blocks form a mechanism which engages or disengages the override drive. Shown in Fig. 3 these bolts keep block 34 and 35 in check to engage two helix worms 2 7 and 2 0 with worm gear 23 to make a couple, where one worm is the right hand worm and the other worm is the left hand worm. When bolts 78 and 79 are receded, springs 37 and 38 relax to push blocks 34 and 35 apart, which disengage worms 2 7 and 2 0 C- from the worm gear 23. Also, it simultaneously disengages spur gears 30 and 31 from spur gear 29. The transverse movement of block 34 is permitted by space 46 provided between side 47 of block 34 and inner face 3E of 3; and transverse movement of block 35 is permitted by space 4 6A provided between side 4 7A of 35 and inner face 3E of 3. Cuts 65 and 66 in wall 3 allow the transverse movement of spur gears 30 and 31. Broken ring 84 in Fig. 8 which provides the quickest means to engage or disengage the override drive will be explained now: The ring 84 can be rotated around cylindrical wall 1 using bolt handle 74A. The ring 84 rides on ring 85 installed in a groove around 1. The locking position of pins 80 and 81 against ring 84 is shown by 73A, where threaded bolt handle 74A secures the locking of ring 84 with 1. By releasing bolt 74A from 1 the ring can be rotated counter clockwise till ends 70E of the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 move over heads 7 3A of pins 80 and 81. Springs 37 and 38 push the blocks 34 and 35 apart along with assemblies of gears in tandem. Pins 80 and 81 also are pushed apart against the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 when the override drive is disengaged. The length of each camming groove 82 and 83 is depicted by 7 0D and 7 0 E respectively. The ring 84 can be a full ring if it is installed above or below hub 44. This would eliminate conflict with handle 44. , Fig. 6 is the same as Fig. 1 except that springs are removed. Operated manually, screw drive is made of diametrically expansive screw 4G having threads 4J. Screw 4G is installed in chamber A and chamber B by passing 4G through threaded opening 4H of 4'. Lower stem 4K keeps cover 3A and bevel gear 2 separated. Narrow sections 4L and 4M keep screw 4G in rotatable position between covers 1F and 3A. Stem 4S is for the handle to drive the screw. A weather seal in Fig. 6 is shown by 4T. To cut the weight of the screw, the body of the screw 4G can be hollowed out by creating cavities like 4W. This type of screw drive can meet the requirements of valves requiring very high torque, and it also keeps the valve locked at any setting. The actuator shown in Fig. 6 also can be operated by electric motor. Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6 except screw drive of Fig. 6 now is a helical drive. The diametrically expansive cylindrical body 4G is provided external helical grooves. Outlines of one groove is depicted by 4N. Each groove is fitted with a tooth 4Z provided by a circular opening at the center of cover 4. Two opposite teeth to travel in their separated grooves are shown by 4Z. Chamber A is provided with compression springs 17A. The helical drive shown in Fig. 7 is needed when a quick action quarter turn valve is required in the process. The electric motor rotates 4S. Upon electrical failure, the springs 17A relax, and 4 is pushed back to shut the valve in a position as shown in Fig. 7. The valve of Fig. 7 can be used as an emergency valve such as a fire sorinkler system valve, so that upon a fire alarm sensing an alarm condition, electrical power to the motor is interrupted to operate the actuator. In this case, operation of the actuator by springs 17A would be arranged to open the valve rather than shut it, although, in some cases, it may be desirable to shut a valve in case of fire or other alarm condition. An alternate arrangement for emergency valve operation is to hold or lock the actuator in actuated position with a solenoid or other remotely operated device and upon sensing of an alarm condition, release the device to allow the springs or other biasing means to operate the actuator and move it to the unactuated position as shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is the same as Fig. 3 except, that spur gear 29 is eliminated and spur gear 3 0 is linked directly to stem 2 5 which, as in Fig 3, is rotated by handle 4 2 to actuate the override drive. In this modification of design, before the separation of blocks 34 and 35, stem 25 has to be freed from the spur gear 30. Stem 25 along with compression spring 98 is mounted from inside the actuator before assembling other parts of the actuator. Once stem 25 with spring 98 is mounted in place, then two halves of a split nut 101 are mounted over the threaded portion of 103 of stem 25. The nut 101 has internal and external threads depicted by 102 and 100. Then nut 99 is mounted over nut 101, and handle 42 locks nut 101 in place. By advancing nut 99 toward the actuator, end portion 95 and 96, of 25, is pulled out of spur gear 30, and blocks 34 and 35 can be separated as explained earlier. On relaxing the spring 98, end 95 of 25 is linked again with the spur gear 30. The advantage of using only two spur gears as in Fig. 9 is that when 25 is rotated clockwise the spur gear 3 0 is also rotated clockwise and spur gear 31 is rotated counterclockwise. Thus two right hand helix worms can be used to make a couple around worm gear 23. But in Fig 3. one worm has to be the right hand worm and the other worm has to be the left hand worm to create a couple around worm gear 23. Unlike any other actuator, the invented actuator needs only a single moving seal 4C which is a benefit in many applications. This Actuator is symmetric, compact and versatile comparative to other actuators. It is understood that the actuator is made of metals. The embodiment and the components of the actuator can equally be made from various types of engineering material including plastics currently used in the industry. It is understood that the design and the number of seals and bushing can be modified according to the requirements of the customer. Further, springs can be mounted in any chamber or chambers or springs can be eliminated from any chamber or chambers, as required by the customer. It is understood that means to hold an electric motor, and other accessories to mount hydraulic or pneumatic means, will be incorporated on or around the actuator. It is also understood that if springs 16A are not used in chamber B in Fig. 1 and 2 then cover 3A is not required; washers fastened to 3 by means of bolts 3C will be sufficient to keep gear 2 in rotatable position. It also is understood that various types of covers for enclosures different from the covers shown in the drawings can be used without changing the functionality of the actuator. It is understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein and comprehended by the claims that follow. We claim: 1. An axial actuator is an actuator to actuate the shaft of quarter turn valves, comprising: a cylindrical outer enclosure (1) integrally contains another enclosure (3) of a lesser inner diameter (3M) and lesser height than the outer enclosure, where the space (A & B) between the covers (IF & 3A) of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk (4) creating at least three chambers A, B and C in the axial direction of the shaft (5a) of the valve to accommodate functionary synchronized means including compression springs (17) installed in a cavity (18) or cavities which lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of said two enclosures to actuate the shaft (5a) of the valve, where the common bottom of enclosures have a circular opening at its center to receive the shaft of the valve (5a):and means for its attachment with the flange of the house of the shaft of the valve, and means for attachment for covers to close the tops of said enclosures, and means to separate the piston disk from the covers of said two enclosures; first chamber A is farthest away from the valve situated between the cover (1F\ of the outer enclosure (1) from the piston disk (14) which disk bears radial arms (4B) of rack gears projecting from the rim of said disk (14) into the cavity or cavities (18) directed toward the valve parallel to the shaft (5a), and said rack gears (4B) engage spur pinions (15) of compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4), and the first enclosure is designed to accommodate means for inward or outward pressurized air or fluid flow, through threaded openings, to actuate said piston disk; second chamber B is the intermediate chamber between the piston disk (4) and the cover (3A) of the inner enclosure (3) to accommodate a compression spring or springs (6A), and said cover (3A) of inner enclosure (3) to accommodate a compression spring or springs 16A, and said cover 3A of inner enclosure 3 at its center is provided with a partitioner bolt (50), or with other means, to keep the main level gear (2) separated from the cover (3A) of the inner enclosure (3); third chamber C is inside the inner enclosure (3) to accommodate the main bevel gear (2) with a hub (23), or said main bevel gear with a worm gear, mounted around said circular common opening in the bottom of the actuator to receive shaft (5a) of the valve, and to accommodate bevel pinions (14) of compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4) to drive said main bevel gear (2), and to accommodate override drive to drive said worm gear (23). 2. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means to attach the common bottom of two enclosures with the flange of the house of the shaft of the valve, are bolts and corresponding openings provided in said common bottom and said flange to hold the flange and said bottom together. 3. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for attachment for covers to close the tops of said enclosures are bolts and corresponding openings in the covers, and threaded holes in the walls of the enclosures. 4. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, where rack gears engage spur pinions of compounded pinions which are installed in a cavity or cavities constructed parallel to the shaft of the valve and said cavity or cavities lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of said two enclosures, when bevel pinions making the opposite ends of said compounded pinions are situated inside said third chamber C to engage main bevel gear, and the common shaft of each compounded pinion is held, and is rotatable. in the body of the actuator. 5. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main 30 bevel gear, integrated with a worm gear at its center, which worm gear is installed around a circular opening at the center of said common bottom of said two enclosures to receive shaft of the valve, when main bevel gear is engaged to the compounded pinions by mounting it over a set of bevel pinions of the compounded pinions situated radially inside chamber C. 6. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1. wherein the main bevel gear, integrated with a hub at its center, which hub is installed around a circular opening at the center of said common bottom of said two enclosures to receive shaft of the valve, when main bevel gear is engaged to the compounded pinions by mounting it over a set of bevel pinions of the compounded pinions situated radially inside chamber C. 7. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end of the stem of a partitioned bolt is screwed through a threaded opening in the center of the cover of the inner enclosure, to a predetermined distance, to check the main bevel gear without inhibiting its rotation. 8. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein in chamber B between the cover of inner enclosure and said pistonO disk, a compression spring or springs are installed to react against the piston disk when it is actuated by air or hydraulic pressure in chamber A. 9. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein compression springs are installed in a cavity or cavities which run parallel to the shaft of the valve and lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of the said two enclosures to react against the piston disk which is actuated by pressurized air or hydraulic fluid in chamber A. 10. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein chamber C accommodates override drive held in position by separable means to drive a worm gear integrated with the main bevel gear; the override drive is made of two worms, each worm in tandem shares a common shaft with a spur gear, and spur gears are synchronized to be driven by means of a common drive wherein said worms act as a couple to rotate a worm gear which is a hub of the main bevel gear engaged with the shaft which rotates the valve; 11. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive, held in position by separable means which are carriages made of two separable opposing blocks installed in chamber C, and means to separate them and, two bolts to hold said blocks in position or two movable pins engaged against the inner two camming surfaces of a rotatable ring which by its clockwise rotation can urge said pins to move toward the blocks to exert pressure against the blocks to engage said worms with said worm gear and by its counter clockwise rotation it allows the blocks to move toward itself. 12. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the two bolts on opposite sides of the actuator is mounted from outside the actuator through the threaded opening into the threadless hole in the body of the block to hold that block in a position to engage the helix worm with the worm gear which rotates the shaft of the valve. 13. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 11, wherein a camming ring, which encircles the actuator and holds two pins to keep said two blocks in a position, is a broken or whole ring which is provided with two camming grooves inside its body on its opposite sides to hold said two pins against said two camming surfaces of a rotatable ring which, by its clockwise rotation, can urge said pins to move toward the blocks to exert pressure against the blocks to engage said worms with said worm gear and by its counter clockwise rotation it allows the blocks to move toward itself where, the blocks are pushed apart by the springs shared by the blocks in their opposite cavities. 14. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein in first alternative two spur gears held in tandem with two worms are synchronized to be driven by means of a common drive which consists of a shaft connected to one of said spur gears in said tandem and that spur gear is held in engagement with another spur gear on its side; and in the second alternative a shaft is connected to a spur gear which gear, by its common position, is engaged to two spur gears in said tandem, and said shaft exits out of the body of the actuator through the opening or openings, and its end is connected to a wheel or a shaft of electric motor which drives it. 15. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive is held in position by separable means which are carriages made of separable blocks, and each block contains a cavity to accommodate and to hold the helix worm and the spur gear in tandem by means of a shaft, which shaft drives the worm, which worm drives said worm gear. 16. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein means to separate the piston disk from the covers of said two enclosures are bolts mounted on the piston disk and on the inner enclosure, wherein the heads of the bolts project into the chambers A and B. 17. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk which disk is provided with a threaded opening at its center for the mounting of the externally threaded expansive shaft of a larger diameter to actuate said piston disk to actuate the valve manually, and said expansive shaft is rotatable between said covers of the two cylindrical enclosures while the two ends of its driving stem exit at the centers of said covers of said enclosures; and the end of that stem nearest to the valve keeps the main bevel gear in check while the farthest end of the shaft outside the actuator can be coupled with the hand wheel or the shaft of an electric mot or to actuate the valve. 18. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 17, wherein space 10 between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk which disk is provided with an opening, bearing teeth, to ride inside the helical grooves provided externally in the outer surface of an expansive shaft of a larger diameter; said expansive shaft is rotatable between said covers of two cylindrical enclosures while the two ends of its driving stem exit at the centers of said covers of said enclosures; and the end of that stem nearest to the valve keeps the main bevel gear in check while the farthest end of the shaft outside the actuator is coupled with electric motor to actuate the valve. 19. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk creating chambers A, and B which piston disk on its both sides is energized pneumatically or hydraulically by the same media to actuate said disk and the valve, and inlets for fluid to chamber A and B are connected through a reversible pump mounted on top of the actuator; at least one inlet is provided through the cover of outer enclosure to chamber A, and an other inlet to chamber B is provided through an open ended duct bored through the wall of inner enclosure; where, one end of said duct opens inside chamber B and an other end opens to the outside through the bottom of enclosure C; and the actuator itself is the reservoir for the energizing fluid which is shifted around between said chambers A and B which actuates the piston disk and the valve. 20. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive held in position by separable means which are carriages made of two separable opposing blocks installed in chamber C, and said blocks share common compression springs in the opposing cavities; when the springs are relaxed they push the blocks apart along with what they carry. 21. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk, and said piston disk is provided with at least one seal between the outer enclosure and the disk, to prevent leakage between chambers A and B. 22. An axial actuator to actuate a valve by turning the shaft of such valve, comprising: an outer enclosure forming an interior space; an inner enclosure within the interior space of the outer enclosure; a piston linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure to divide the interior space into two chambers, one chamber including the inner enclosure; a rotation device positioned at least partially within the inner enclosure and adapted to be secured to the stem of a valve to be rotated by the actuator; and interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure interconnecting the movable piston and the rotation device to cause rotational movement of the rotation device upon linear 30 movement of the piston within the interior space. 23. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22 wherein the bevel pinion gear and the spur pinion gear are positioned at opposite ends of a stem, wherein the inner enclosure is formed by a wall, and wherein the stem is joumaled in the wall forming the inner enclosure. 24. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 23, including a plurality of cavities separated from the interior space formed by the inner enclosure by the wall forming the inner enclosure; wherein the pinion spur gears are positioned in the cavities, and wherein the racks extend from the piston into the cavities. 25. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 24, where in the piston is biased to a rest position in the interior space. 26.An axial actuator as claimed in claim 25, wherein the piston is hydraulically moved by pressurized fluid admitted to the interior space on one side of the piston. 27. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22, where in the piston is biased to a rest position in the interior space. 28.An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22, wherein the piston is hydraulically moved by pressurized fluid admitted to the interior space on one side of the piston. 29. An axial actuator to actuate a valve by turning the shaft of such valve, comprising: an outer enclosure (1) forming an interior space; an inner enclosure (3) within the interior space of the outer enclosure; a piston (4) linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure (1) to divide the interior space into two chambers (A & B), one chamber (A) including the inner enclosure (3), said piston (4) having racks (4B) extending therefrom; a rotation device positioned at least partially within the inner enclosure (3) and adapted to be secured to the shaft (5a) of the valve to be rotated by the actuator, said rotation device including a bevel gear (2) having a hub (23) adapted to receive the shaft (5a) of the valve to be rotated by the device; and interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure (3) interconnecting the movable piston (4) and the rotation device to cause rotational movement of the rotation device upon linear movement of the piston (4) within the interior space, said interconnection structure including mating compound pinion gears (G1, G2, G3, G4) each having a bevel pinion gear (14) and a spur pinion gear (15), each said compound pinion gear (G1, G2, G3, G4) being positioned so that the bevel pinion gear (14) mates with the rotation device bevel gear (2) and the spur pinion gear (15) mates with one of the racks (4B) extending from the piston (4).

Full Text

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is in the field of quarter or full turn calves like butterfly or ball valves. There are various types of actuators available to turn the shaft of the valves. There are actuators where the rotatable shaft of the valve is actuated by an acme drive screw or by ninety degree pneumatic actuators such as Keystone actuators. There are pneumatic rack and pinion rotary actuators; where racks are mounted at ninety degrees to the pinion on the shaft of the valve; pneumatic scotch yoke actuators; and a helical groove design actuator manufactured by Helac Corporation (Enumclaw, Washington). There are also eccentric multi-gear actuators. Engineers have tried to incorporate as many utilizable features in the actuators as possible. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a universal actuator which will meet the wider needs of the industry.
It is an object of this invention to provide an actuator which is compact, economical; concentric and symmetric to the shaft of the valve in its geometrical design, and has an axial orientation in the direction of the shaft which drives the valve.
It is an object of this invention to provide an actuator which readily can be modified to meet the various requirements of valves, while retaining its central core feature.
It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which is efficient and can provide maximum torque, with respect to its relative size, compared to other actuators.
It is an other object of this invention to provide manual override which is self locking.

It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator having dependable fail safe closure, by means of springs, in the event of electric or air supply failure.
It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which can be actuated by hydraulic or pneumatic means, or by means of an electric motor, or manually.
It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator which can incorporate in its design multi-springs in multi-locations of its body.
It is an other object of this invention to provide an actuator where springs can quickly and easily be taken out from any chamber or cavity or cavities to modify the functions of the actuator.
It is an other object of this invention that the parts of the actuator can be inspected or replaced readily in the field when the manual override drive takes control of the valve.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an actuator where a number of springs and their reaction time can be changed to provide customized torque output to a specific application.
It is an other object of this invention that the actuator can also be operated hydraulically by reversible pump.
It is an other object of this invention that the actuator will have a minimum number of moving seals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, an axial actuator includes an outer enclosure forming an interior space with an inner enclosure within the interior space. A piston is linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure. A rotation device such as a gear is positioned at least partially

within the inner enclosure and is adapted to be secured to the stem of a valve to be rotated by the actuator. Interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure interconnects the piston and the rotation device so that linear movement of the piston is connected into rotation of the rotation device. The interconnection structure can take the form of gears mounted on the inner enclosure which mate with the rotation device, when also a gear, and a rack extending from the piston. Movement of the piston and attached rack causes rotation of the gear which causes rotation of the rotation device.
In a preferred embodiment of the actuator of the invention, the axial actuator has a body made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures of differential height. The space above the inner enclosure is divided by a piston disk into two parts, and a third part includes space which lies inside and around the inner enclosure. Thus, said three parts create three chambers
A, B, and C in the axial direction of the shaft of the valve;
chamber A being farthest from the valve, chamber B being the
intermediate chamber, and C being nearest to the valve, around
the shaft of the valve. A cavity is also provided to encircle
said inner enclosure.
Under the first alternative, said chambers and said encircling cavity around the inner enclosure accommodate synchronized functionary means. These means include the piston disk between chambers A and B; the compression spring in chamber
B, which reacts against said piston disk. Also included, in
chamber C nearest to the valve, is a main bevel gear, which is
connected to the shaft of the valve by means of its hub while at
the same time, on its opposite side its teeth are engaged with
the bevel pinions of the compounded pinions. And on the

opposite ends of said compounded pinions there are spur pinions engaged with rack gears which project radially like the arms from the rim of said piston disk into said cavity encircling chamber C. Also, said cavity, encircling Chamber C, is shared by compression springs which react against said piston disk. The compounded pinion is an assembly of two pinions having a spur pinion gear on one end and a bevel pinion gear on the other end of a common shaft. By actuating said piston all the synchronized functionary components are actuated to actuate the shaft to open or to close the valve.
Under the second alternative, individual cavities are provided for compression springs. There are also individual cavities provided for spur pinions which are engaged with the rack gears. Said individual cavities lie on a circle around Chamber C. The difference between this second alternative, compared to the first, is that the wall of the inner enclosure is now integrated with the wall of the outer enclosure. The height of the inner cylindrical enclosure is designed to be lesser than the height of outer cylindrical enclosure by a predetermined difference, to accommodate the stroke of a piston which divides Chamber A from Chamber B. The piston can be actuated by various means: pneumatic, hydraulic; or by means of an electric motor or compression springs. Other means include using a screw shaft or a shaft having helical grooves around its outer surface, or using a worm and a worm gear override drive. The invented actuator is designed on the principle that the vertical distance the rack gears travel, in unison, must produce a quarter turn of the shaft of the valve through synchronous means; said means being the compounded pinions, the main bevel gear and compression springs.

If a customer needs it, the actuator can be provided with a manual override drive. The manual override drive consists of a shaft which is driven from outside the actuator; two spur gears and two worms are held in tandem around a worm gear, where said worms act as a couple to rotate said worm gear which is integrated with the main bevel gear in chamber C. Said worm gear rotates the shaft of the valve. As the actuator is designed to meet universal needs of quarter turn valves, the invented actuator can easily be modified in the shop or in the field according to the needs of the customer.
THE DRAWINGS The best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the basic design of the axial actuator of the invention, taken through the two compounded pinions engaged to the main bevel gear.
Fig. 2 is the same vertical section as in Fig. 1, where an override drive is installed in the chamber C of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is the horizontal transverse'section taken at line 1-1 in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is the vertical section taken at line 2-2 in Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is transverse section 4-4 in Fig. 1, to show the concept of the invention.
Fig. 6 is the vertical section as shown in Fig. 1, where a threaded screw drive is installed in chambers A and C to drive the piston.
Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6, except, instead of a threaded screw drive, helical grooves are used.

Fig. 8 is the top view of Fig. 4 taken at line 3-3 by removing the covers, the piston, and all the gears to expose the override drive.
Fig. 9 is the same section as in Fig. 3 showing the alternate design of the override drive.
Fig. 10 is a transverse section 5-5, shown in Fig. 13, for the second alternative design to mount the compression springs and compounded pinions, where the main bevel gear in chamber C is not shown, but compounded pinion are included.
Fig. 11 is a vertical section of the alternate design of the compounded pinions.
Fig. 12 is a vertical section of another alternate design of compounded pinions.
Fig. 13 is a vertical section of the actuator for the second alternative, where a series of individual cavities for compression springs and racks and compounded pinions encircle the inner enclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Except for the manual override drive, all the elements of the axial actuator are concentric or symmetrically located about the shaft of the valve, and therefore all of the figures in the drawings can be studied together. It should be noticed that the drawings are not to any true scale.
To grasp the concept of this invention quickly, first the basic design of the actuator in Figs. 1 and 5, and 10 and 13 will be studied. Figs. 1 and 5 together and Figs 10 and 13 together depict two different alternatives for the installation of the compression springs, the racks, and the compounded pinions. Under both alternatives, to accommodate functionary

means to actuate the shaft of the valve, the invented actuator has three chambers A, B and C, located in the axial direction of the shaft A. The difference between the two alternatives is only in the design of the cavities in which compression springs 17 and racks 4B are installed. In Figs 1,2, 5 and 10 the inside diameter or inner surface of enclosures 1 and 3 are shown by 3M and 1P.
Under the first alternative, the actuator has a body made of two integrated concentric cylindrical enclosures which have walls 1 and 3 and covers 1F and 3A. The actuator is assembled from inside chamber C. First, the compounded pinions depicted by Gl, G2, G3 and G4 are mounted in walls 1 and 3, into the matching opening 13A in wall 3 and matching hole 16 in wall 1. The compounded pinion" shown in Figs. 1, 11 and 12 is made of two pinions; a bevel pinion gear 14 and a spur pinion gear 15. The pinions are held together by means of a common stem 13 as shown in Fig. 1 and^Fig. 11, or by a stem 13 which is a shaft for 15 as shown in Fig. 12. It is equally possible that in the compounded pinion both pinions can share a common shaft. It is equally possible that both pinions can share a common shaft which is mounted through an opening from outside the actuator, and it is kept in place by capping its outer end with a threaded bolt mounted in wall 1. It is understood that the word "shaft" defines a shaft which can have composite cross sections; where it can be circular in cross section in one portion of the shaft and also it can be rectangular or square in cross section in another portion of the same shaft, and the diameter of the shaft can also vary from section to section. The word "stem" will be synonymous with the word "shaft" as just described. Once the compounded pinions are installed in their places then bevel gear

2 along with hub worm gear 2 3 with cavity 2B is installed over
said compounded pinions and over and around shaft A of the
valve. It should be noted that if override drive is not
installed then 23 is not a worm gear, but only a hub of gear 2
as shown in Figs. 6 and 9 The length of shaft A is depicted by
its two ends 5 and .6. Gear 2 is rotatable, and is held in place
by means of cover 3A, which cover is fastened by bolts 3C and a
partitioner bolt 50. Gear 2 remains rotatable by creating a gap
2E between bevel gear 2 and cover 3A. After placing 3A in
place, ring 18A, bearing spikes 18B, and compression springs 17,
are installed in cavity 18. After this, spring 16A is installed
over cover 3A. After installing spring 16A, piston disk 4,
bearing bolts 4K, spikes 18C and rack gears 4B are installed
where said rack gears 4B engage teeth 12 of spur pinions 15 of
compounded pinions shown by Gl, G2, G3 and G4. The rack gears
4B are recessed minutely, asu indicated by 1M in Fig. 5, into
wall 1 or into both walls 1 and 3 to prevent their separation by
rotating away from compounded pinions 15. After this, cover 1F
is bolted down by screwing bolts 1H into the threaded holes 1C.
The spikes 18B and 18C keep springs, 17 in place. If desired,
then springs 17 can be welded to 18A. Springs can also be
installed by providing corresponding holes in floor 1L and in
cylindrical portion 4J of piston 4. By sinking bolts 4K to
different depths in holes 4A in piston 4, the initial pressure
of the springs against cover 4 can be varied. The geometry of
the heads of bolts 4K is such that once they are installed in
chamber A, then the bolts cannot rotate. Thus the bolts will
maintained their constant height in chamber A. The rack gears
4B shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 10 are situated in clockwise
position so that the racks' action on the compounded pinions

produce unidirectional rotation of gear 2. The use of more than two compounded pinion gears is preferable. In a large size actuator more than four compounded pinion gears can be used.
With the aid of Figs. 10 and 13, a preferable second alternative to the installation of springs, compounded pinions, and racks will be explained now: In Figs. 10 and 13 a portion of wall 1 and the entire wall 3 are integrated to become a single expanse which is depicted by l in Fig. 10. Each spring is provided a circular cavity 18A of predetermined depth which keeps the spring in place. Each cavity parallel to the shaft of the valve lie on a circle concentric to that shaft between inner surfaces 3M and 1P. Cavities depicted by 1Z are provided for racks 4B, and cavities depicted by ly are provided for compounded pinions Gl„ G2, G3,and G4 . The true orientation of two bolts 78 and 79 shown by axis 1-1, and the true orientation of handle 42, shown by axis 2-2 with respect to the compounded pinions, are depicted in the Figs 5 and 10. To keep the number of Figs, to a minimum, different orientations (as shown in the drawings) of handle 42 and bolts 78 and 79 were assumed. From here on, the words "shaff'and "stem", when used in explaining the override drive, will be considered synonymous.
Fig. 1 shows the valve in fully opened position. Air or any hydraulic media is used in chamber A to push piston 4 away from cover 1F. Along with piston disk 4 rack gears 4B move parallel to shaft A, and their engagement with compounded pinions Gl, G2, G3 and G4 cause the rotation of gear 2 which rotates the shaft of the valve. Figs. 1, 2 and 4 show the hub of bevel gear 2 to be a worm gear 23, while it is shown as hub 23B in Figs. 6, 7 and 13. Said hub rotates shaft A to open or to close the valve. The bolts 3C provide a limit beyond which

the piston disk 4 cannot travel, thus 3c limits the torque which can be applied against the shaft and the valve. Bolts 3C arrest any damaging excessive torque. The springs 17 and 16A provide dependable fail safe closure in the event of air supply failure. When the air supply fails, the springs automatically relax to push the piston disk 4 back to close the valve.
The actuator can also function without the springs where pressurized air or any pressurized fluid is used to create differential pressure in chamber A and chamber B. Chambers B and C are hydraulically communicative, and, therefore, the same pressure will prevail through them. The actuator depicted in Figs. 13 and 10 can be operated with a reversible pump, where chambers A and B are completely filled with the fluid, preferably lubricating oil. It will be preferred that the chamber C is also filled with the same media. Chamber B is isolated from chamber C and from cavities 1Z for the compounded pinions, by providing gasket 3G and seal 3J, and also by lengthening cylinder 4J for the full stroke of piston 4. The inlet openings IN and 3K are connected to the reversible pump via tubes ( not shown). Bored duct 3H opens into chamber B at 3L. The reversible pump empties one chamber while filling the other chamber. Thus, the piston disk is moved and the shaft of the valve is rotated to close or to open the valve. It is not required by the invention, but it is preferred that inlet opening 1T be connected to a small spring gage pressurized reservoir to maintain constant volume of oil in chambers A and B. If any leak occurs it can be detected. This type of actuator is powered strictly by the fluid held in its own reservoir made of chambers A and B, and no outside reservoir for pressurized fluid is needed, and no springs are required.

Therefore, cavities 18A for springs can be eliminated. Restriction barriers 3 9 and 48, used for the manual override located in chamber C, will be explained later with the override drive. The invented actuator is simply placed over flange 9 of the valve by mounting hub hole 2B of worm gear 2 3 or hub 2 3B over shaft A. The actuator is bolted down by screwing bolts 7 into threaded openings 8. Bushing and seals are shown by 10, 1B and 4C and 1E.
Figs. 2,3,4 and 8 depict the actuator when it is equipped with an override drive; therefore these Figs, will be explained together. For clarity, bolt 50 is not shown in Fig. 2. The override drive can be engaged or disengaged by means of two bolts 78 and 79 as shown in Fig. 3 or by means of two pins 80 and 81 shown on opposite sides of the actuator in Figs. 4 and 8, which pins can be actuated simultaneously by mean of the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 of split ring 84.
As shown in Figs, 3, 4 and 8, the manual override drive has a common driving spur gear 29 engaged with two spur gears 30 and 31 in chamber C. Gear 2 9 has stem 25 installed through openings
41 in walls 1 and 3, where shaft 25 is driven by means of handle
42 by mounting it over end portion 26 of 25, and 42 is held to 2 5 by means of bolt 43. Two spur gears 30 and 31 and two worms 2 7 and 2 0 are held in tandem by means of stems 21 and 22 around worm gear 2 3 where, worms 2 7 and 20 act together as a couple to rotate worm gear 23 which is integrated with the main bevel gear 2 in chamber C. Worm gear 2 3 is located in cavity 5 3 and it is connected to shaft A of valve. Worm 27 with stem 21, and worm 2 0 with stem 22 are installed inside the opened ended cavities 54 and 28 created in blocks 34 and 35. Ends of 21 and 22 are depicted by 33 and 32. In Fig. 2 two opposite sides of block 34

are depicted by 45. The movable blocks 34 and 35 act as carriages for the override drive which are held in place by the sides 49 and 49A of barriers 39 and 48. Blocks 34 and 35 share common compression springs 37 and 38 mounted in oppositely matching cavities provided in the bodies of the block. Such two cavities 37A and 38A are depicted in block 34. Two bolts on opposite sides of the actuator in Figs. 3 and 5 are shown by 78 and 79. Stems of bolts 7 8 and 7 9 are held in place by means of openings depicted by 76 in 1 and threaded opening 74 in 3. Each bolt is engaged in hole 72 against surface 73 of the block. Bolts 78 and 79, and springs 37 and 38 mounted in said blocks form a mechanism which engages or disengages the override drive. Shown in Fig. 3 these bolts keep block 34 and 35 in check to engage two helix worms 2 7 and 2 0 with worm gear 23 to make a couple, where one worm is the right hand worm and the other worm is the left hand worm.
When bolts 78 and 79 are receded, springs 37 and 38 relax to push blocks 34 and 35 apart, which disengage worms 2 7 and 2 0
C-
from the worm gear 23. Also, it simultaneously disengages spur gears 30 and 31 from spur gear 29. The transverse movement of block 34 is permitted by space 46 provided between side 47 of block 34 and inner face 3E of 3; and transverse movement of block 35 is permitted by space 4 6A provided between side 4 7A of 35 and inner face 3E of 3. Cuts 65 and 66 in wall 3 allow the transverse movement of spur gears 30 and 31.
Broken ring 84 in Fig. 8 which provides the quickest means to engage or disengage the override drive will be explained now: The ring 84 can be rotated around cylindrical wall 1 using bolt handle 74A. The ring 84 rides on ring 85 installed in a groove around 1. The locking position of pins 80 and 81 against ring

84 is shown by 73A, where threaded bolt handle 74A secures the locking of ring 84 with 1. By releasing bolt 74A from 1 the ring can be rotated counter clockwise till ends 70E of the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 move over heads 7 3A of pins 80 and 81. Springs 37 and 38 push the blocks 34 and 35 apart along with assemblies of gears in tandem. Pins 80 and 81 also are pushed apart against the camming surfaces of grooves 82 and 83 when the override drive is disengaged. The length of each camming groove 82 and 83 is depicted by 7 0D and 7 0 E respectively. The ring 84 can be a full ring if it is installed above or below hub 44. This would eliminate conflict with handle 44.
, Fig. 6 is the same as Fig. 1 except that springs are removed. Operated manually, screw drive is made of diametrically expansive screw 4G having threads 4J. Screw 4G is installed in chamber A and chamber B by passing 4G through threaded opening 4H of 4'. Lower stem 4K keeps cover 3A and bevel gear 2 separated. Narrow sections 4L and 4M keep screw 4G in rotatable position between covers 1F and 3A. Stem 4S is for the handle to drive the screw. A weather seal in Fig. 6 is shown by 4T. To cut the weight of the screw, the body of the screw 4G can be hollowed out by creating cavities like 4W. This type of screw drive can meet the requirements of valves requiring very high torque, and it also keeps the valve locked at any setting. The actuator shown in Fig. 6 also can be operated by electric motor.
Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6 except screw drive of Fig. 6 now is a helical drive. The diametrically expansive cylindrical body 4G is provided external helical grooves. Outlines of one groove is depicted by 4N. Each groove is fitted with a tooth 4Z

provided by a circular opening at the center of cover 4. Two opposite teeth to travel in their separated grooves are shown by 4Z. Chamber A is provided with compression springs 17A. The helical drive shown in Fig. 7 is needed when a quick action quarter turn valve is required in the process. The electric motor rotates 4S. Upon electrical failure, the springs 17A relax, and 4 is pushed back to shut the valve in a position as shown in Fig. 7.
The valve of Fig. 7 can be used as an emergency valve such as a fire sorinkler system valve, so that upon a fire alarm sensing an alarm condition, electrical power to the motor is interrupted to operate the actuator. In this case, operation of the actuator by springs 17A would be arranged to open the valve rather than shut it, although, in some cases, it may be desirable to shut a valve in case of fire or other alarm condition. An alternate arrangement for emergency valve operation is to hold or lock the actuator in actuated position with a solenoid or other remotely operated device and upon sensing of an alarm condition, release the device to allow the springs or other biasing means to operate the actuator and move it to the unactuated position as shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is the same as Fig. 3 except, that spur gear 29 is eliminated and spur gear 3 0 is linked directly to stem 2 5 which, as in Fig 3, is rotated by handle 4 2 to actuate the override drive. In this modification of design, before the separation of blocks 34 and 35, stem 25 has to be freed from the spur gear 30. Stem 25 along with compression spring 98 is mounted from inside the actuator before assembling other parts of the actuator. Once stem 25 with spring 98 is mounted in place, then two halves of a split nut 101 are mounted over the threaded portion of 103

of stem 25. The nut 101 has internal and external threads depicted by 102 and 100. Then nut 99 is mounted over nut 101, and handle 42 locks nut 101 in place. By advancing nut 99 toward the actuator, end portion 95 and 96, of 25, is pulled out of spur gear 30, and blocks 34 and 35 can be separated as explained earlier. On relaxing the spring 98, end 95 of 25 is linked again with the spur gear 30. The advantage of using only two spur gears as in Fig. 9 is that when 25 is rotated clockwise the spur gear 3 0 is also rotated clockwise and spur gear 31 is rotated counterclockwise. Thus two right hand helix worms can be used to make a couple around worm gear 23. But in Fig 3. one worm has to be the right hand worm and the other worm has to be the left hand worm to create a couple around worm gear 23.
Unlike any other actuator, the invented actuator needs only a single moving seal 4C which is a benefit in many applications. This Actuator is symmetric, compact and versatile comparative to other actuators. It is understood that the actuator is made of metals. The embodiment and the components of the actuator can equally be made from various types of engineering material including plastics currently used in the industry. It is understood that the design and the number of seals and bushing can be modified according to the requirements of the customer. Further, springs can be mounted in any chamber or chambers or springs can be eliminated from any chamber or chambers, as required by the customer. It is understood that means to hold an electric motor, and other accessories to mount hydraulic or pneumatic means, will be incorporated on or around the actuator. It is also understood that if springs 16A are not used in chamber B in Fig. 1 and 2 then cover 3A is not required; washers fastened to 3 by means of bolts 3C will be sufficient to keep

gear 2 in rotatable position. It also is understood that various types of covers for enclosures different from the covers shown in the drawings can be used without changing the functionality of the actuator. It is understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein and comprehended by the claims that follow.

We claim:
1. An axial actuator is an actuator to actuate the shaft of quarter turn valves, comprising:
a cylindrical outer enclosure (1) integrally contains another enclosure (3) of a lesser inner diameter (3M) and lesser height than the outer enclosure, where the space (A & B) between the covers (IF & 3A) of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk (4) creating at least three chambers A, B and C in the axial direction of the shaft (5a) of the valve to accommodate functionary synchronized means including compression springs (17) installed in a cavity (18) or cavities which lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of said two enclosures to actuate the shaft (5a) of the valve, where the common bottom of enclosures have a circular opening at its center to receive the shaft of the valve (5a):and means for its attachment with the flange of the house of the shaft of the valve, and means for attachment for covers to close the tops of said enclosures, and means to separate the piston disk from the covers of said two enclosures;
first chamber A is farthest away from the valve situated between the cover (1F\ of the outer enclosure (1) from the piston disk (14) which disk bears radial arms (4B) of rack gears projecting from the rim of said disk (14) into the cavity or cavities (18) directed toward the valve parallel to the shaft (5a), and said rack gears (4B) engage spur pinions (15) of compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4), and the first enclosure is designed to accommodate means for inward or outward pressurized air or fluid flow, through threaded openings, to actuate said piston disk;
second chamber B is the intermediate chamber between the piston disk (4) and the cover (3A) of the inner enclosure (3) to accommodate a compression spring or springs (6A), and said cover (3A) of inner enclosure (3) to accommodate a compression spring or springs 16A, and said cover 3A of inner enclosure 3 at its center is provided with a partitioner bolt (50), or with other means, to keep the main level gear (2) separated from the cover (3A) of the inner enclosure (3);
third chamber C is inside the inner enclosure (3) to accommodate the main bevel gear (2) with a hub (23), or said main bevel gear with a worm gear, mounted around said circular common opening in the bottom of the actuator to receive shaft (5a) of the valve, and to accommodate bevel pinions (14) of compounded pinions (G1, G2, G3, G4) to drive said main bevel gear (2), and to accommodate override drive to drive said worm gear (23).

2. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means to attach the common bottom of two enclosures with the flange of the house of the shaft of the valve, are bolts and corresponding openings provided in said common bottom and said flange to hold the flange and said bottom together.
3. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for attachment for covers to close the tops of said enclosures are bolts and corresponding openings in the covers, and threaded holes in the walls of the enclosures.
4. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, where rack gears engage spur pinions of compounded pinions which are installed in a cavity or cavities constructed parallel to the shaft of the valve and said cavity or cavities lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of said two enclosures, when bevel pinions making the opposite ends of said compounded pinions are situated inside said third chamber C to engage main bevel gear, and the common shaft of each compounded pinion is held, and is rotatable. in the body of the actuator.
5. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main 30 bevel gear, integrated with a worm gear at its center, which worm gear is installed around a circular opening at the center of said common bottom of said two enclosures to receive shaft of the valve, when main bevel gear is engaged to the compounded pinions by mounting it over a set of bevel pinions of the compounded pinions situated radially inside chamber C.

6. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1. wherein the main bevel gear, integrated with a hub at its center, which hub is installed around a circular opening at the center of said common bottom of said two enclosures to receive shaft of the valve, when main bevel gear is engaged to the compounded pinions by mounting it over a set of bevel pinions of the compounded pinions situated radially inside chamber C.
7. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end of the stem of a partitioned bolt is screwed through a threaded opening in the center of the cover of the inner enclosure, to a predetermined distance, to check the main bevel gear without inhibiting its rotation.
8. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein in chamber B between the cover of inner enclosure and said pistonO disk, a compression spring or springs are installed to react against the piston disk when it is actuated by air or hydraulic pressure in chamber A.

9. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein compression springs are installed in a cavity or cavities which run parallel to the shaft of the valve and lie on a circle between the inner surfaces of the said two enclosures to react against the piston disk which is actuated by pressurized air or hydraulic fluid in chamber A.
10. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein chamber C accommodates override drive held in position by separable means to drive a worm gear integrated with the main bevel gear; the override drive is made of two worms, each worm in tandem shares a common shaft with a spur gear, and spur gears are synchronized to be driven by means of a common drive wherein said worms act as a couple to rotate a worm gear which is a hub of the main bevel gear engaged with the shaft which rotates the valve;

11. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive, held in position by separable means which are carriages made of two separable opposing blocks installed in chamber C, and means to separate them and, two bolts to hold said blocks in position or two movable pins engaged against the inner two camming surfaces of a rotatable ring which by its clockwise rotation can urge said pins to move toward the blocks to exert pressure against the blocks to engage said worms with said worm gear and by its counter clockwise rotation it allows the blocks to move toward itself.
12. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the two bolts on opposite sides of the actuator is mounted from outside the actuator through the threaded opening into the threadless hole in the body of the block to hold that block in a position to engage the helix worm with the worm gear which rotates the shaft of the valve.
13. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 11, wherein a camming ring, which encircles the actuator and holds two pins to keep said two blocks in a position, is a broken or whole ring which is provided with two camming grooves inside its body on its opposite sides to hold said two pins against said two camming surfaces of a rotatable ring which, by its clockwise rotation, can urge said pins to move toward the blocks to exert pressure against the blocks to engage said worms with said worm gear and by its counter clockwise rotation it allows the blocks to move toward itself where, the blocks are pushed apart by the springs shared by the blocks in their opposite cavities.

14. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein in first alternative two spur gears held in tandem with two worms are synchronized to be driven by means of a common drive which consists of a shaft connected to one of said spur gears in said tandem and that spur gear is held in engagement with another spur gear on its side; and in the second alternative a shaft is connected to a spur gear which gear, by its common position, is engaged to two spur gears in said tandem, and said shaft exits out of the body of the actuator through the opening or openings, and its end is connected to a wheel or a shaft of electric motor which drives it.
15. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive is held in position by separable means which are carriages made of separable blocks, and each block contains a cavity to accommodate and to hold the helix worm and the spur gear in tandem by means of a shaft, which shaft drives the worm, which worm drives said worm gear.
16. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein means to separate the piston disk from the covers of said two enclosures are bolts mounted on the piston disk and on the inner enclosure, wherein the heads of the bolts project into the chambers A and B.

17. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk which disk is provided with a threaded opening at its center for the mounting of the externally threaded expansive shaft of a larger diameter to actuate said piston disk to actuate the valve manually, and said expansive shaft is rotatable between said covers of the two cylindrical enclosures while the two ends of its driving stem exit at the centers of said covers of said enclosures; and the end of that stem nearest to the valve keeps the main bevel gear in check while the farthest end of the shaft outside the actuator can be coupled with the hand wheel or the shaft of an electric mot or to actuate the valve.
18. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 17, wherein space 10 between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk which disk is provided with an opening, bearing teeth, to ride inside the helical grooves provided externally in the outer surface of an expansive shaft of a larger diameter; said expansive shaft is rotatable between said covers of two cylindrical enclosures while the two ends of its driving stem exit at the centers of said covers of said enclosures; and the end of that stem nearest to the valve keeps the main bevel gear in check while the farthest end of the shaft outside the actuator is coupled with electric motor to actuate the valve.

19. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk creating chambers A, and B which piston disk on its both sides is energized pneumatically or hydraulically by the same media to actuate said disk and the valve, and inlets for fluid to chamber A and B are connected through a reversible pump mounted on top of the actuator; at least one inlet is provided through the cover of outer enclosure to chamber A, and an other inlet to chamber B is provided through an open ended duct bored through the wall of inner enclosure; where, one end of said duct opens inside chamber B and an other end opens to the outside through the bottom of enclosure C; and the actuator itself is the reservoir for the energizing fluid which is shifted around between said chambers A and B which actuates the piston disk and the valve.
20. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the override drive held in position by separable means which are carriages made of two separable opposing blocks installed in chamber C, and said blocks share common compression springs in the opposing cavities; when the springs are relaxed they push the blocks apart along with what they carry.

21. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the space between the covers of the enclosures is divided by a piston disk, and said piston disk is provided with at least one seal between the outer enclosure and the disk, to prevent leakage between chambers A and B.
22. An axial actuator to actuate a valve by turning the shaft of such valve, comprising: an outer enclosure forming an interior space; an inner enclosure within the interior space of the outer enclosure; a piston linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure to divide the interior space into two chambers, one chamber including the inner enclosure; a rotation device positioned at least partially within the inner enclosure and adapted to be secured to the stem of a valve to be rotated by the actuator; and interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure interconnecting the movable piston and the rotation device to cause rotational movement of the rotation device upon linear 30 movement of the piston within the interior space.
23. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22 wherein the bevel pinion gear and the spur pinion gear are positioned at opposite ends of a stem, wherein the inner enclosure is formed by a wall, and wherein the stem is joumaled in the wall forming the inner enclosure.

24. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 23, including a plurality of cavities separated from the interior space formed by the inner enclosure by the wall forming the inner enclosure; wherein the pinion spur gears are positioned in the cavities, and wherein the racks extend from the piston into the cavities.
25. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 24, where in the piston is biased to a rest position in the interior space.
26.An axial actuator as claimed in claim 25, wherein the piston is hydraulically moved by pressurized fluid admitted to the interior space on one side of the piston.
27. An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22, where in the piston is biased to a rest position in the interior space.
28.An axial actuator as claimed in claim 22, wherein the piston is hydraulically moved by pressurized fluid admitted to the interior space on one side of the piston.
29. An axial actuator to actuate a valve by turning the shaft of such valve, comprising:
an outer enclosure (1) forming an interior space;
an inner enclosure (3) within the interior space of the outer enclosure;
a piston (4) linearly movable within the interior space of the outer enclosure (1) to divide the interior space into two chambers (A & B), one chamber (A) including the inner enclosure (3), said piston (4) having racks (4B) extending therefrom;
a rotation device positioned at least partially within the inner enclosure (3) and adapted to be secured to the shaft (5a) of the valve to be rotated by the actuator, said rotation device including a bevel gear (2) having a hub (23) adapted to receive the shaft (5a) of the valve to be rotated by the device; and
interconnection structure supported by the inner enclosure (3) interconnecting the movable piston (4) and the rotation device to cause rotational movement of the rotation device upon linear movement of the piston (4) within the interior space, said interconnection structure including mating compound pinion gears (G1, G2, G3, G4) each having a bevel pinion gear (14) and a spur pinion gear (15), each said compound pinion gear (G1, G2, G3, G4) being positioned so that the bevel pinion gear (14) mates with the rotation device bevel gear (2) and the spur pinion gear (15) mates with one of the racks (4B) extending from the piston (4).

Documents:

1483-delnp-2003-abstract.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-claims-cancelled.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-claims.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-complete specification (granted).pdf

1483-delnp-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-correspondence-po.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-description (complete).pdf

1483-delnp-2003-drawings.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-form-1.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-form-18.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-form-2.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-form-3.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-form-5.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-gpa.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-pa.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-pct-101.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-pct-409.pdf

1483-delnp-2003-petition-137.pdf

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Patent Number

218389

Indian Patent Application Number

1483/DELNP/2003

PG Journal Number

22/2008

Publication Date

30-May-2008

Grant Date

31-Mar-2008

Date of Filing

16-Sep-2003

Name of Patentee

GILL AJIT SINGH

Applicant Address

4196 BENNION ROAD, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84119, U.S.A.

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	NA	NA
2	GILL AJIT SINGH	4196 BENNION ROAD, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84119, U.S.A.

PCT International Classification Number

A61K 7/16

PCT International Application Number

PCT/US/01/08843

PCT International Filing date

2001-03-20

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	PCT/US01/08843	2001-03-20	PCT