Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to seals, and more particularly, to a bellows seal for use in valves, pipe connections and the like.

Prior Art:

Seals for sealing against fluid loss in valves and pipelines, for example, currently include various designs embodying one or a combination of o-rings, gaskets, diaphragms, bellows and the like. The use of o-rings and gaskets is probably most common, but in some installations involving corrosive materials such seals may not be suitable because of their exposure to the corrosive environment and the resultant need to make the seals of an expensive material capable of resisting the corrosive environment. Moreover, in order for an o- ring to provide an effective seal in situations requir¬ ing reliable sealing against fluid loss, the tolerances of mating or adjacent components must be kept within carefully controlled limits.

Bellows type seals are sometimes used in situations where an o-ring seal would not be satisfactory. Such bellows seals are generally relatively expensive, how¬ ever, requiring particular manufacturing processes such as molding, etc. to form the bellows. In some appli¬ cations, a bellows is manufactured by molding, etc. and steel reinforcing rings are then placed around the bellows to give it radial strength to resist internal pressures. Further, in the manufacture of various glass shut off and metering valves used in the chemical industry, there is a major problem of increasing costs in

materials and the highly skilled labor needed to make such apparatus. For instance, glass valve bodies used in such apparatus frequently require side-opening passages. In the presently designed valves which use o- rings to form a seal between the inner surface of the glass valve body and the outer surface of the actuator or valve member, there are three principal factors affecting the skill and cost required in making such valves. They are: the glass tubing used in forming the valve body must be precision bore tubing; the side- opening passage must be precisely located; and the distortion of the inner glass wall must be kept to a minimum to stay within the tolerance limits of the o- ring seal, requiring a high degree of skill by the glass worker. Valves are usually made longer than necessary in order to minimize these problems, although without much success.

Summary of the Invention:

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a seal which eliminates the need for an o-ring, thereby avoiding the problems associated with the use of an o-ring as discussed above, including the need for use of precision bore tubing, the need to precisely locate side-openings and the need to control distortion. Another object of the invention is to provide a bellows seal for use in glass valves as used in the chemical industry, for example, thereby eliminating the need for o-ring seals.

A further object is to provide a unique method of making a bellows seal, in which the bellows is machined from a solid piece of stock material and subsequently shaped with a pleated configuration.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bellows seal for a valve actuator, in which the seal has a first end portion with a left-hand thread therein

and a second end portion with a right-hand thread, for cooperation with an actuator stem having spaced apart, oppositely threaded portions thereon, so that the linear pitches of the two threaded portions are additive during operation of the valve to double the rate of movement of the valve upon turning of the actuator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bellows seal for a valve actuator, which, by a simple modification, enables the valve to be actuated by a screw-threaded shaft, a positive pressure piston or a vacuum responsive piston, depending upon the selection and arrangement of actuator components.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered with the accompany¬ ing drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a glass- bodied valve incorporating therein a first form of the bellows seal of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view of the bellows seal used in the invention shown in figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the bellows seal and actuator of the invention, and is taken along line 3-3 in figure 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view of a ^'" first modification of the invention, in which a normally closed valve is modified to be actuated by application of a vacuum to the actuator;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view of a second modification of the invention, in which a normally open valve is modified to be actuated by

application of a positive pressure to the actuator;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a piece of solid stock material used to make the bellows seal of the invention; Fig. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a first step in manufacturing the bellows seal in accordance with the invention, i.e., drilling out the center of the solid piece of stock material;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the bellows seal of the invention, showing parts in section and parts in elevation, after a second step in the manufacturing process, i.e. machining to form a tubular body with annular reinforcing rings thereon and body portions at opposite ends; Fig. 9 is a partial longitudinal sectional side view of the bellows seal of figure 8 after a second manufacturing step, i.e. axial displacement of one end of the tubular body to form the bellows or accordion¬ like pleated configuration; and Fig. 10 is a schematic view in partial longitudinal section showing the manner in which the threaded actuator may be attached to the bellows seal.

Detailed Description of the Preferred' Embodiments: Referring more particularly to the drawings, a first form of the bellows seal according to the invention is indicated generally at 10 in figures 1 through 3, and comprises a glass valve body 11 having an inlet port 12 and side-opening outlet port 13. A valve seat 14 is formed in the body between the inlet and outlet ports, and an extension 15 is formed on the body adjacent the outlet port for attachment of a valve actuator.

A valve member 16 is mounted in the body 11 for reciprocating movement toward and away from the seat 14, and in the specific example shown has a tapered nose 17

with an annular recess 18 and an o-ring seating member 19 fitted in the recess 17 for cooperation with the seat 14. Alternatively, the seating member could be formed integrally with the tapered nose. The valve member 16 is caused to reciprocate by a threaded actuator shaft 20 extending through the glass body 11 and projecting beyond the extension 15, where a suitable hand grip 21 is provided on the end of the actuator shaft. An actuator seal 22 extends coaxially around the actuator shaft, and comprises an elongate, tubular, bellows-like body 23 with a first internally threaded end portion 24 secured relative to the valve body 11, and a second internally threaded end portion 25, on which the valve member 16 is formed. The actuator shaft 20 has a pair of axially spaced apart, externally threaded portions 26 and 27 thereon threadably engaged with the internally threaded portions 24 and 25, respectively, whereby when the actuator shaft is turned, the interengaged screw threaded portions on the seal and shaft cause the valve member 16 to move toward and away from the valve seat, depending upon the direction of' rotation of the shaft. The bellows 23 seals the actuator shaft from the fluid being controlled by the valve.

If desired, and as shown in the preferred embodiment of figures 1-3, the interengaged screw threaded portions 24,26 and 25,27, respectively, may be oppositely threaded. Thus, the screw threads 24 and 26 may be left-hand threads while the screw threads 25 and 27 may be right-hand threads, for a right-hand opening valve, for example, although these directions could be reversed. VJith this arrangement, the linear pitches of the two interengaged threaded portions are additive during actuation of the valve, effectively doubling the rate of movement of the valve member 16 for a given

rotational movement of the actuator.

A valve body sealing means 28 for sealing the bellows and actuator assembly to the valve body comprises a gripping saddle and o-ring assembly, as described in my earlier patent number 4,669,763, for example. The seal 26 may comprise a separate gripping saddle with an o-ring held therein as shown in my earlier patent, or an annular channel 29 may be formed in the outer surface of the internally threaded end portion 24 and the o-ring 30 received in the channel, as shown in figure 2.

The bellows seal 23 is formed with a plurality of axially spaced apart annular reinforcing rings 31 thereon to increase the ability of the bellows to with- stand internal pressures.

The bellows seal 23 is unique, and the method of making it is unique, as schematically illustrated in figures 6-10. As shown in figures 6 and 7, a solid piece of cylindrical bar stock "B" of suitable material is selected and an axial bore 32 formed therethrough by drilling or the like. The tubular piece resulting from this operation is then machined on a suitable apparatus such as a screw machine or the like (not shown) to form a cylindrical body 23A with opposite end portions 24 and 25, the valving member 16, and annular reinforcing rings 31, as shown in figure 8. The body 23A is then collapsed axially to form the bellows-like configuration as shown in figure 9.

To assemble the threaded actuator shaft 20 to the bellows seal 23, the bellows is stretched out and one end 27 of the shaft is inserted through the internally threaded end portion 24 of the seal and into engagement with the other threaded end 25 of the seal as shown in figure 10. It should be noted that the inside diameter of the end portion 24 is greater than that of end portion 25, and is also greater than the threaded end 27

of the shaft 20. Thus, it is possible to threadably engage the end 27 with portion 25 prior to engagement of end 26 with internally threaded portion 24. The parts are then threaded together until the bellows returns to its normal state as shown in figure 9, or in dot-and- dash lines in figure 10, and the assembled actuator shaft and bellows seal are placed in the valve body and secured by end cap 33.

In use, with the actuator and bellows seal assembled to the valve body as shown in figure 1, rotation of the actuator in one direction causes the valving member 16 to move away from the valve seat and rotation of the actuator in the opposite direction causes the valving member to move toward the seat. The bellows seal 23 is preferably made from a high molecular weight material having memory so that it will return to its at-rest configuration after being collapsed or stretched and having adequate strength so as not to crack or tear after it is flexed several thousand times during use. A high molecular Teflon has been found suitable, although other materials such as stainless steel, copper, brass, steel, or other alloys may be used, depending upon the environment in which the valve is to be used. For example, the material must have sufficient density that the fluid being controlled will not diffuse or penetrate through the thin wall of the bellows. An example of one suitable material is known as "Hi T Rod", catalogue number 800, by Chemglass. In one particular embodiment incorporating the principles of the invention, the bellows seal has a minimum inside diameter of about 10mm, a wall thickness of about .25mm, a maximum outer diameter of about 12- 13mm, and the reinforcing rings have a radial dimension of about 1.5mm. Further, although the bellows seal has been described as using the saddle and o-ring sealing

assembly for sealing the bellows seal and actuator relative to the valve body, in a non-corrosive environment, an ordinary rubber faced type gasket can be used for this purpose. A first modification of the invention is shown at 40 in figure 4. In this form of the invention, a cylinder 41 is attached to the extension 15 on the housing or valve body and the actuator shaft 20 is replaced with a much longer shaft 42 having a piston 43 on the outer end thereof and reciprocable in the cylinder. A slightly modified bellows seal 23A is used in this form of the invention, in that the fixed end 24A of the bellows seal is not internally threaded and the shaft 42 simply extends therethrough with radial clearance. Additionally, the inner end 44 of the shaft is in fixed threaded engagement with the end 25A of the bellows seal, whereby reciprocating movement of the shaft results in reciprocating movement of the end 25A and associated valving member 16. Alternatively, the bellows seal 23 could be identical to that described in relation to figures 1-3, in which case the inner end 44 of the shaft 42 would be threadably engaged with the internally threaded end portion 25 of the bellows seal. In this case, the threads in the end portion 24 would not have any function, and the shaft 42 would simply extend, with radial clearance, through the end 24.

The cylinder 41 is attached to the valve body by means of an adaptor sleeve 45 having a radially outwardly directed flange 46 and internal threads 47. The flange has a slightly downwardly and outwardly tapered end surface for enhancing the clamping effect on the saddle and o-ring seal assembly, and is held to the valve body in clamped relationship against the saddle and o-ring assembly by threaded collar 48 engaged on the extension 15. The cylinder 41 has an externally thread¬ ed attaching nipple 49 on the end thereof, engaged in

the threaded adaptor sleeve to hold the cylinder to the valve body, and the shaft 42 is sealed relative to the cylinder by means of an o-ring engaged between the shaft and the inside bore of the nipple 49. A fitting 50 is engaged on the outer end of the cylinder for attachment to a source of vacuum, and a spring 51 is engaged between the fitting and the piston 43 to normally urge the piston, valve shaft and valving member to the right into closing engagement on the valve seat.

As shown at 52, a flat is formed axially through the threads on the nipple 49 to vent air from inside the bellows 23.

A second modification of the invention is indicated generally at 60 in figure 5. In this form of the invention, a spring 61 is engaged between the piston 43 and the inner end of the cylinder 62 for urging the piston, shaft and valve member to the left to a normally open position. Of course, this relationship could be reversed as shown in figure 4, whereby the valve is normally closed. In addition, a fitting 63 is connected to the cylinder to admit air or other fluid under pressure to the outer end of the piston to urge it to the right to close the valve. It should be noted that if the spring is positioned to normally close the valve, then the air passage would be positioned to admit air to the other side of the piston to open the valve. In all other respects, this form of the invention is the same as that shown in figure 4. The forms of the invention shown in figures 4 and 5 both enable remote, programmed operation of the valve. These forms of the invention are very reliable in operation and may be desired, for example, when hazardous materials (explosive, radioactive, poisonous, etc.) are being controlled by the valve.

The bellows itself has uses other than as a valve

actuator seal as described above. For example, the bellows could be used to join two out-of-line pipes, or to make a right angle connection, etc. It is not limited to a valve as particularly shown and described herein.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it is to be under¬ stood that this embodiment is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made therein and other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.