Valve for pressurized fluid and reservoir with such a valve

[0001] The present invention relates to a pressure fluid valve and a tank with such a valve.

[0002] The invention relates in particular to a pressure fluid valve, with or without an integrated pressure reducer, comprising a fluid housing housing having an inlet end for connection to a pressure fluid reservoir and an outlet end for connection to a user device; the fluid circuit is equipped with a shut-off valve, whose task is to selectively block the circuit, and which is controlled by a lever mounted on the body between the rest position, in which the shut-off valve is kept in the closed position, and the active position, in which the lever moves the valve shut off to the open position of this circuit.

[0003] The invention relates in particular to valves for pressure fluids, in particular gases under pressure, equipped with a manual control device in the form of a rotary lever.

[0004] Examples of such valves, which are not limiting, are described in documents EP747796 or EP1421305.

[0005] Document EP1421305B1 describes a valve in which the lever comprises at least one opening and in which the lever is in at least one of: active position, rest position or intermediate position between these two positions, the opening houses part of the valve body and / or part of a functional member mounted on the valve body. According to this document, the lever includes an opening for housing the permanent axis of the articulated lever.

[0006] Patent document US3035605 describes a valve according to the preamble of claim 1, wherein, in the closed position, the end of the fork-like lever extends with a fork onto the filling / discharge nipple to allow the nut then attached to the nip to lock the lever in the closed position.

[0007] The inventors are making efforts to continuously improve technical solutions for users of pressure fluid valves.

[0008] In particular, it is desirable to have valves for pressure fluids that maintain or increase the number of their functions, without increasing their overall dimensions or building surface (and preferably, while reducing these sizes). In particular, as a convenient solution, the valves should be able to adapt to different sizes and shapes of protective caps.

[0009] Furthermore, increasing the strength and / or safety of such devices is always desirable.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to improve, at least in part, some of the features of the pressure fluid valves.

[0011] To this end, a valve made according to the invention, according to the general definition given in said preamble, is defined in claim 1.

[0012] The invention thus makes it possible to improve the compactness of the valve and, in this case, provides additional protection for the valve.

[0013] According to other possible special features:

- the valve is equipped with a device for measuring physical parameters of the fluid in the circuit, the measuring device is equipped with a display; the lever hole has a shape coupled to the display of the measuring device when the lever is in its resting position, at least part of the display of the measuring device is placed in the lever hole, i.e. the display is surrounded at least partly by the lever body and is included in its volume .

- the valve is equipped with a device for measuring physical parameters of the fluid in the circuit, the measuring device is equipped with a display; the lever hole has a shape coupled to the display of the measuring device when the lever is in its active position or in an intermediate position, between the active position and the rest position, at least part of the display of the measuring device is placed in the lever hole, i.e. the display is surrounded by at least partly through the lever body and is included in its volume,

- the measuring device is a pressure gauge, pressure or content indicator,

- the lever has one or more reinforcing elements forming crossbars between the two ends of the hole,

- when the lever is in at least one of the active positions or in the rest position, at least one part of the lever, called the "thrust", cooperates with the valve body resting on it in such a way as to limit the movement of the lever,

- one end of the lever is articulated with the body, and at least the thrust portion of the lever is located near the articulated axis of the lever,

- at least the thrust part of the lever is located near the end of the lever opposite the articulated axis,

- the hole is round, oval, square, rectangular or rectangular and located near the end of the lever,

- the lever is made of plastic and / or molded metal,

- the lever is made of extruded metal.

[0014] The invention also relates to a pressurized fluid reservoir fitted with a valve in accordance with any of the characteristics listed above or below.

[0015] Other special features and advantages of the invention will appear after reading the following description made with reference to the drawings, in which:

- Fig. 1 is a perspective, schematic and partial view illustrating one possible example of a pressurized gas valve mounted in the neck of a pressure fluid cylinder,

- Fig. 2 is a side view and schematic view of the detail in Fig. 1 illustrating the structure and operation of the rotary lever actuating the shut-off valve,

- Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a detail of another possible embodiment of the valve lever according to the invention.

[0016] The valve, shown in Fig. 1, by way of non-limiting example, comprises a body 1 having a threaded base 14 mounted in the opening of the pressure gas tank 12. The body 1 houses a fluid removal circuit 2 having an inlet end 3 to be connected to the storage volume of the reservoir 12 containing the pressure fluid and an outlet end 4 to be connected to the user equipment.

[0017] The outlet end 4 of the circuit 2 may lead to an outlet fitting 13 for connection to a hose and / or to a gas user device provided by the valve. The valve may in this case have a separate coupling 13 for filling the tank equipped with a shut-off valve (not shown) enabling gas to be introduced into the tank 12 by means of the internal circulation in the valve (separate or partly common with the discharge circuit 2).

[0018] Traditionally, the discharge circuit 2 may include control members, such as a pressure reducer, residual pressure valve, ...

[0019] The discharge circuit 2 is in particular equipped with a shut-off valve 5 (see diagram in Fig. 2), enabling selective shut-off of the gas flow. In the case where the valve is integrated with the pressure reducer, the shut-off valve 5 may be located before or after the reducer.

[0020] The valve is also equipped with a pressure gauge 7 measuring the pressure in the withdrawal circuit 2, for example upstream of the shut-off valve 5.

[0021] The valve may also include a knob 15 for manually controlling the flow rate and / or pressure provided by the valve.

[0022] The shut-off valve 5 is controlled by a lever 8 rotatably mounted on the valve body 1 between the rest position in which the shut-off valve 5 is kept in the closed position of circuit 2 (solid lines in Figs. 1 and 2) and the active position in which lever 8 moves the shut-off valve 5 to the open position of circuit 2 (see dashed lines in Fig. 2).

[0023] For example, the rotation of the lever 8 selectively activates the valve member drive member 16.

[0024] For example, in its resting position, the lever 8 is located on or along the valve body 1, preferably in a stable position.

[0025] In its active (preferably stable) position, the lever 8 is, for example, offset by an angle other than zero relative to the rest position. [0026] In this non-limiting embodiment, the lever 8 is articulated (axis 11) at one of its ends a, in the rest position, the free end of the lever 8 is oriented towards the base 14 of the valve. Of course, this configuration is not limiting in any way. For example, a resting position may be envisaged with the lever 8 facing away from the base (upwards), or in any direction (sideways) and at any angle considered suitable. The same applies to the active position, which can be determined in any other orientation and at any angle relative to the body 1.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the lever 8 comprises at least one opening 6, and when the lever 8 is in its resting position, the opening 6 houses at least part of the pressure gauge 7.

[0028] This means that the pressure gauge 7 (at least a part with the display) is included in the volume of the lever 8.

[0029] This configuration allows increasing the compactness of the assembly. In addition, the lever 8 thus provides additional protection to the pressure gauge 7, but also to the valve user. By positioning around the pressure gauge 7, the lever 8 creates an additional protective frame for the pressure gauge 7, protecting it from direct or indirect impacts, without the need for additional components. Moreover, this frame formed by the lever 8 also forms a frame supporting the pressure gauge in the event of its failure (for example, in the event of risk of falling out of the pressure gauge 7 when exposed to high pressure).

[0030] This allows increasing the reliability and service life of the entire assembly.

[0031] Of course, the invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0032] Thus, an alternative or cumulative configuration may be considered in which, when the lever 8 is in the active position, the orifice 6 houses a distal portion of the valve body 1 and / or a functional device mounted on the valve body 1.

[0033] Similarly, as an alternative or cumulative, a configuration may be considered in which, when the lever 8 is in an intermediate position (when it is moved between its rest position and the active position), the opening 6 passes around at least part of the valve body 1 and / or a functional member mounted on the valve body 1.

[0034] This allows the compactness of the assembly to be increased.

[0035] In the example described, the opening 6 is circular and associated with the circular shape of the pressure gauge 7. Of course, the shape and / or orientation of the opening 6 may differ and be complementary to any other shapes of any other valve member (flow meter, float selector, temperature sensor ...).

[0036] Similarly, the opening 6 can be made by cutting and / or bending or bending the lever 8.

[0037] The opening 6 can therefore be delimited by a closed contour, as illustrated in the drawings. Of course, in embodiments, the opening 6 may be defined by an open contour, i.e., for example, by bending material that does not close on itself (e.g., in a manner that forms a loop in the shape of a question mark).

[0038] As shown in Fig. 2, when the lever 8 is in its resting position, the portion 10 of the lever 8, called the "thrust" cooperates with the valve body 1, resting on it in such a way as to limit the movement of the lever 8 towards the body 1.

[0039] The stop part 10 of the lever 8 is, for example, located near the axis 11 of the lever articulation 6. Of course, a similar stop part can be provided at the free end of the lever or in its central part. This makes it possible to further strengthen the strength of the assembly, since in this case support can limit deformation of the lever 8 in the event of larger impacts.

[0040] In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the lever 8 has one or more reinforcing elements 9 forming crossbars between the two ends of the opening 6. These reinforcing elements 9 provide additional protection (shocks, falling out) of the pressure gauge 7, without affecting the possibility of permanent reading the manometer scale 7.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 2, the free end 116 of the lever 8 may have a tapered shape, reducing the risk of possible hooking on user's fingers during operation.

[0042] Preferably, when the valve opening 6 accommodates part of the valve body and / or part of the functional device, mechanical engagement of the opening 6 with the part located therein does not occur.

[0043] It is therefore readily understood that being simple and cheap, the design of the subject matter of the invention makes it possible to improve the compactness and, in this case, the strength of the structure. [0044] The invention may also apply to all kinds of alternative devices or methods, including any combination of the above features.