Locking Device For A Hand Operated Valve

Technical Field

This invention relates generally to a locking device for a hand operated valve and more particularly to a locking device which enables the selective operation of the valve without the necessity of first removing the locking device from the valve.

Background Art

Earthmoving vehicles are typically powered by diesel engines and have large fuel tanks for supplying diesel fuel to such engines. Small amounts of water frequently accumulates in such tanks, which if allowed to remain, would be injurious to the operation of the diesel engine. Consequently, such fuel tanks are typically equipped with a fuel drain line to allow any water accumulation at the bottom of the tank to be drained away before operation of the engine. It is common practice to provide the drain line with a hand operated or drain valve for facilitating this maintenance procedure at the beginning of work each day. It will also be appreciated that such drain valve also allows the complete draining of the tank when such is desired.

Unfortunately, this fuel drain valve also allows the unauthorized draining of fuel from the tank. With the recent rapid rise in fuel prices, the unauthorized draining of fuel from the tanks of earthmoving vehicles has become a major concern of many owners and operators of such vehicles.

In the past, anti-vandalism guards and the like have been placed around such valves, but such guards must be disassembled from the vehicle to allow routine operation of the valve. As a result, such guards are a great inconvenience and the parts thereof are susceptible to not being replaced and to being subsequently lost. Other permanent guards have been used in association with a linkage mechanism to permit the operation of the fuel drain valve from a remote location. Means for locking or otherwise protecting the linkage mechanism at the remote location is also typically provided. Such mechanisms are generally complex and add undue cost to the vehicle.

Thus from the foregoing, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide a solution to the above problems.

Disclosure Of The Invention

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a locking device is provided for a hand operated valve having a valve body and a handle rotatable between respective open and closed positions. The locking device is provided with a guard having a base portion disposed in overlying relationship to the handle of the valve and an anti-rotational stop extending from the base portion toward the valve body. Means for non-rotatably and reciprocally mounting the guard to the handle is provided for movement of the guard toward and away from the valve body between respective locked and unlocked positions of the guard. In the locked position, the anti-rotational stop is disposed in a position to engage the valve body and prevent rotation of the handle. In the unlocked position, the stop is spaced free of the valve body to permit the rotation and opening of the valve.

Prior locking devices which had to be removed to provide access to the valve are sometimes not immediately remounted on the vehicle. This allows the guard to be inadvertently misplaced or lost, thus allowing future unauthorized operation of the valve or mandating the costly replacement of the missing components.

The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a locking device which is movable to an unlocked position while remaining attached to the valve. In addition, a padlock which is used to lock the guard in its locked position may be conveniently reattached in the same location when the guard is in its unlocked position to provide a convenient storage place for the padlock. This prevents the padlock from becoming inadvertently misplaced or lost.

Brief Description Of The Drawings In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a fuel drain line equipped with a hand operated valve and a locking device embodying the present invention and further showing fragmentary portions of a vehicle and a fuel tank. Fig. 2 is a plan view taken generally along lines II of Fig. 1 and showing the locking device embodying the present invention in a locked position and having a portion thereof broken away and certain components shown in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the locking device in an unlocked position.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the locking device of Fig. 1 and showing, in phantom, the position of the locking device when the valve is in an open position.

Best Mode For Carrying Out The Invention

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a locking device, embodying the principles of the present invention, is generally indicated at 10 in Fig. 1. The locking device 10 is mounted to a hand operated valve, such as a fuel drain valve 12. The drain valve 12 is disposed in a fuel drain line 13 which is in communication with a fuel tank, partially shown at 15, of an earthmoving vehicle, a fragmentary portion of

10 which is shown at 16.

The hand operated or drain valve 12 may be of any commercially available type, for instance, valve part number P 40533 from Hirada Valve Company Ltd. or part number 30014300 from Gould Inc., Valve and Fitting τ_5 Division. Such valve 12 include a valve body 1 ^' 8 having a longitudinally disposed through"passage 19, shown in Fig. 2, connected in communication with the drain line 13. The drain valve 12 also includes a ball type valving element, not shown, coupled for rotation by a

2o handle 21 by means of a transversely disposed valve stem, also not shown.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the handle 21 is rotatable through a 90° arc A between an off or valve closing position, at which the handle 21 is oriented 25 transversely to the passage 19, and an on or valve opening position at which the handle 21 is disposed in the direction of the passage 19, as represented in phantom at 21' in Fig. 4. The handle 21 is also provided with a pair of spaced apertures 22 and 23. 0 It will be appreciated that the preceding description of the valve 12 is provided for a complete understanding of the operation of the present invention, as well hereinafter be more fully described,

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and is not intended to limit the locking device of the present invention, except as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

The locking device 10 of the present invention includes a guard 25 disposed over the handle 21. In the illustrated embodiment, the guard 25 is of a generally U-shaped channel configuration having a pair of spaced apart leg portions 27 and 28 and a base portion 30 interconnecting the leg portions 27 and 28. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the base portion 30 is of a construction to closely overlie the handle 21 when such handle is disposed in its closed position. As best shown in Fig. 2, each leg portion 27 and 28 is provided with a centrally disposed cutout 31 forming a passage through which the valve body 18 transversely extends when the handle 21 is in its closed position. Each cutout 31 has a pair of opposed side edges defining anti-rotational stops 33,34. The anti-rotational stops 33,34 are oriented to engage the valve body 18 for preventing the rotation of such handle 21.

The locking device 10 also includes means 36 for non-rotatably and reciprocally mounting the guard 25 to the handle 21. Such mounting means 36 provides for the lowering and raising of the guard 25 between a locked position, shown in Fig. 2 and an unlocked position, shown in Fig. 3.

It will be appreciated that the locked position of the guard 25 is only obtainable when the handle 21 is in its closed position. When in the locked position, the anti-rotational stops 33,34 are on such a construction and orientation so as to be disposed in close fitting relationship on opposite sides of the valve body 18 such that rotation of the handle 21 is prevented through the engagement of the stops 33,34 with the valve body 18.

With the guard 25 in the raised or unlocked position, shown in Fig. 3, the leg portions 27 and 28 are disposed above the valve body 18 such that the stops 33,34 are in a non-engaging relationship with the valve body 18, thus permitting free rotation of the handle 21.

The means 36 for non-rotatably and reciprocally mounting the guard 25 to the handle 21 preferably includes a pair of elongated pins 37 and 38. Each pin 37,38 is preferably secured to the base portion 30 and is of a construction and orientation so as to be slideably received within a respective one of the apertures 22,23 of the handle 21.

Means 40 for retaining the pins in slideable engagement with their apertures and preventing their withdrawal therefrom is also provided. As best shown in Fig. 2, such retaining means 40 includes a pair of cotter pins 41 disposed through a hole 42 in the distal end portions of each pin 37,38. The locking device 10 also preferably includes means, such as coil springs 44, for biasing the guard 25 toward its locked position. Such springs 44 are disposed about the pins 37,38 between a washer 45 abutting the cotter pins 41 and the handle 21. The locking device 10 is further provided with means 46 for locking the guard in its locked position and preventing the unauthorized rotation of the handle 21. The locking means 46 includes mating shackle receiving openings 48 through each of the leg portions 27,28 and the adjoining edge portions of the base portion 30 of the guard 25 for receiving a U-shaped shackle 50 of a conventional padlock 51. The openings 48 are disposed in a location such that the shackle 50 is disposed in an underlying relationship to the handle 21 when the guard 25 is in its locked position. When

the guard 25 is in its unlocked position as shown in Fig. 3, the padlock 51 can be re-attached in the same shackle receiving openings 48, but with the shackle 50 being in an overlying relationship to the handle 21.

Industrial Applicability

Fuel drain valves 12 used on earthmoving vehicles are typically located on the exterior of such vehicles and, thus, are exposed and subject to unauthorized use, resulting in the frequent loss of diesel fuel from fuel tanks of such vehicles.

By the use of a conventional padlock 51, the present locking device 10 can effectively eliminate such fuel loss. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, when the handle 21 of the valve 12 is rotated to its transversely oriented closed position, a guard 25 is urged to its lowered or locked position by the springs 44. In this locked position, the opposing edges or stops 33,34 provided by the cutout 31 are disposed on opposite sides of the valve body 18 to prevent the rotation of the guard 25 and handle 21 via the abutting engagement of such stops 33,34 with the valve body 18. By inserting and locking the padlock 51 when the guard

25 is in its locked position, the valve handle 21 is effectively captured between the base portion 30 of a guard 25 and the shackle 50 of the padlock 51, thus preventing the guard from being raised to its unlocked position shown in Fig. 3. It will be appreciated that without the guard being raised, the handle 21 of the valve 12 cannot be turned to its open position.

To open the valve 12, the padlock 51 is unlocked and removed. When this is accomplished, the guard 25 can be raised to its unlocked position to allow the turning of the handle 21, along with the guard, to its open position, as shown in phantom in

Fig. 4. It will be noted that the guard 25, itself, does not have to be moved from the valve 12 to allow the rotation of the handle 21 to its open position. In fact, the retaining means 40 keeps the guard 25 attached to the handle 21. Thus, the mounting means 36 and the retaining means 40 cooperate to eliminate the possible loss or misplacement of the guard 25 after operation of the fuel drain valve 12.

If for some reason it is desired to have the valve 12 fully functional over an extended period of time without being locked by the padlock 51, the padlock 51 can be conveniently secured onto the guard 25 through the same shackle receiving openings 48 as before, but with the shackle 50 being disposed in an overlying, non-capturing relationship to the handle 21, as shown in Fig. 3. In such a location, the padlock 51 does not hinder the raising of the guard 25 to its unlocked position _. and, in addition, provides a convenient place for storing the padlock 51 during such period to prevent its misplacement or loss.

Other aspects, objects and advantages of this invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

OMPI