GB2272045A

GB2272045A - Handle for rotational operation.

Info

Publication number: GB2272045A
Application number: GB9321965A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald B Wafer; Michael R Williams; Orsdale Richard D Van; Orlando A Mejia
Original assignee: FMC Corp
Current assignee: FMC Corp
Priority date: 1992-10-29
Filing date: 1993-10-25
Publication date: 1994-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 2013-10-25
Also published as: GB9321965D0; NO933865D0; FR2697608A1; BR9304401A; NO302198B1; GB2272045B; FR2697608B1; NO933865L

Abstract

A handle 10, 100, 300 for imparting rotational motion to a rotationally-operable device such as a valve stem (not shown) and shear pin 336 assembly, comprises an elongated arm 12, 312 having a hub section 14, 314 for receiving a modular hub 310, a hand grip 16, 316 attached to one end of the arm, and a yoke 18, 318 attached to the distal end of the arm, the yoke means 18, 318 being engageable with the hand grip of another such handle (Fig. 5) to provide an increased moment arm when desired. The modular hub has protrusions 320 for linking it to the hub section 314 to provide for the transfer of torque between the handle and the modular hub and internal voids for engageably receiving the valve stem and shear pin assembly. A set of different modular hubs may be provided, for engageably receiving corresponding different standard valve stem and shear pin assemblies. <IMAGE>

Description

HANDLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to handles used to impart rotational motion to rotationally-operable devices, such as manually-operable valves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An example of a rotationally-operable device in connection with which a handle is used to impart the rotational motion is a gate valve, such as is used in a wellhead. Typically, the type of handle used to open and close a gate valve is a handwheel. The size of the handwheel is usually dictated by the diameter of the flange of the gate valve; and since flange dimensions are established by an independent organization responsible for standardizing wellhead equipment, the size of the handwheel is normally limited and unchangeable. While under normal conditions the handwheel may be sufficient to open and close the gate valve, many times the valve will become stuck, thus requiring additional torque to open or close the valve.

In these instances, the standard handwheel may not provide a moment arm long enough to allow the operator to generate the additional torque without the assistance of special tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a handle for imparting rotational motion to a rotationally-operable device, comprising: an elongate arm having an operative end, and a hub for detachably connecting the handle to the rotationally-operable device; and connecting means attachable to a further such handle, whereby the moment arm of the handle may be increased.

The handle of the invention can be used in applications, such as wellhead gate valves, in which the size of the handle is limited by industry standards or practical considerations.

Further, the handle is adaptable to effectively increase the moment arm of the handle in order to generate additional torque, when required. Preferably the handle is of rugged construction.

In the preferred embodiment the operative end comprises a hand grip extending perpendicularly upwardly from the arm.

The connecting means is preferably located at a conjunctive end of the arm opposite the hand grip and preferably comprises a yoke, an opening adjacent the yoke, an aperture or slot extending longitudinally from the hub section and a brace member located between the opening and the slot. The length of the handle can be selected to allow it to be used in applications where size is limited by industry standards or practical considerations. Furthermore, the handle may be constructed of a strong, durable material, such as steel, and it is portable and easily transferable from valve to valve due to the detachable connection of the hub section to the valve stem.

In many applications, multiple valves are located in close proximity to each other. The fewest number of valves on a wellhead is normally two. Thus, if one or more of the valves becomes stuck or otherwise requires more torque be applied than is possible to generate with a single handle, two handles can be advantageously connected in order to create a longer moment arm, or effectively increase the moment arm of the first handle which is connected to the valve stem. This eliminates the need for special tools or torque multipliers.

The handles of the present invention may be connected by coupling the connecting means or conjunctive end of a second handle with the hand grip end of the first handle, or vice versa. In the case of the preferred embodiment, the opening of the second handle is placed over the hand grip of the first handle, and the second handle is rotated in a plane defined by the arm and grip of the first handle until the top of the grip projects though the slot of the second handle. The second handle is then rotated further until the bottom of the brace member of the second handle engages the top of the arm of the first handle. In this position, the portion of the arm of the first handle adjacent the grip is trapped within the yoke and between the top of the bottom portion of the yoke and the underside of the brace member of the second handle.In addition, rotational motion of the second handle with respect to the first handle in a plane transverse to the valve stem is prevented by the engagement of the hand grip and arm of the first handle within the slot and yoke, respectively, of the second handle. The moment arm applied to the valve stem is therefore lengthened. Thus, applying a force to the grip of the second handle results in a greater torque being generated at the valve stem than is possible by applying the same force to the grip of the first handle.

An additional advantage of the preferred embodiment is that, due to the advantageous design of the hand-grip and conjunctive ends, any size handle of the present invention can be interlocked with any other size such handle.

In another embodiment of the invention, the handle described above is adapted to be mounted to any of a plurality of connectors or modular hubs, each of which is designed to connect with one of several different stem and shear pin sizes and configurations existing on various hand operated gate valves. According to this embodiment of the present invention, each modular hub comprises internal voids corresponding to the size and configuration of a gate valve stem and shear pin over which it is to be fit. The modular hub also comprises preferably two holes for mounting to a handle and preferably four symmetrically located protrusions.

The handle in this embodiment of the invention comprises a hub section having four symmetrical recesses corresponding to the protrusions and two holes through which, for examples, bolts extend to removably connect the modular hub to the handle.

Thus, by combining the handle with one of any number of modular hubs, the handle can be used in connection with any number of gate valves having different stem and shear pin sizes and configurations. In another embodiment of the invention, a standard handwheel can be adapted to be connected to the modular hubs so that the handwheel can be used with any number of gate valves having different stem and shear pin sizes and configurations.

From another aspect, the invention thus provides a connector for mounting a handle upon a rotationally-operable device, the connector comprising: a hub; means for linking the hub to the handle to provide for the transfer of torque between the hub and the handle, and means for removably securing the hub to the handle; the hub having means for engageably receiving the rotationally operable device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a system for imparting rotational motion to at least a first and a second rotationally-operable device, which comprises a first handle and a second handle, the second handle being connectable to the first handle, whereby the moment arm of the first handle may be augmented by the moment arm of the second handle.

Other preferred features of the invention are in the dependent claims. Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a handle forming a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the handle of the present invention taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1= Fig. 3 is a front elevation view of two handles of the present invention in the initial stage of coupling; Fig. 4 is a front elevation view of the handles of Fig. 3 in an intermediate stage of coupling; Fig. 5 is a front elevation view of the handles of Fig. 4 fully coupled; Fig. 6 is a front elevation view of two handles in the initial stage of coupling in another manner; Fig. 7 is a front elevation view of the handles of Fig. 6 in an intermediate stage of coupling; Fig. 8 is front elevation view of three handles of the present invention fully coupled;; Fig. 9 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the handle of the present invention combined with the modular hub component of the present invention; Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the handle depicted in Figure 9, the modular hub component being eliminated from this Figure for purposes of clarity; Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the modular hub component of the present invention; and Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the modular hub taken along line 12-12 of Fig. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the handle of the present invention, indicated generally by reference numeral 10, comprises an elongated arm 12 having a centrally located hub section 14 which is adapted to be detachably connected with the valve stem and shear pin assembly of a valve (not shown), as is well known in the art. Arm 12 further comprises an operative end 16 and a conjunctive end 18, which, when handle 10 is used in combination with a second such handle, is designed to be coupleable with end 16 to effectively increase the moment arm of handle 10, as will be described.

More specifically, operative end 16 comprises a hand grip 20 which preferably extends perpendicularly upwardly from arm 12. Conjunctive end 18 comprises a U-shaped yoke 22 extending perpendicularly downwardly from arm 12, an opening 24 adjacent yoke 22, an elongated slot 26 extending longitudinally from adjacent hub section 14 toward opening 24, and a brace member 28 located between opening 24 and slot 26. The vertical distance between the top 30 of the bottom portion of yoke 22 and the underside of brace member 28 generally corresponds to the thickness of the portion of arm 12 between grip 20 and hub section 14.

Handle 10 is preferably constructed of a strong, durable material, such as steel, and grip 20, yoke 22 and brace 28 may be either manufactured together with arm 12 in a single casting operation or manufactured separately and attached to arm 12 by any appropriate means.

In operation, handle 10 is removably connected via hub section 14 to the valve stem of a valve (not shown) to provide a convenient means for manually opening and closing the valve.

When a valve requires more torque be applied to open or close it, additional such handles can be coupled with handle 10 to effectively increase the moment arm of handle 10 and thereby enable additional torque to be generated while reducing the amount of force a person would otherwise be required to exert to open or close the valve. To simplify this description, a second and third such handles will be referred to and indicated in the drawings by reference numerals 100 and 200.

It is to be understood that handles 100 and 200 are identical to handle 10, and therefore the same reference numerals will be used to describe elements identical to those previously described for handle 10. Handles 100 and 200 may be of different lengths than handle 10; however, a preferred feature of the present invention is that handles of different sizes may be combined as hereinafter described to achieve the desirous effects of the present invention.

The coupling of handles 10 and 100 is best described by reference to Figures 3 through 5. Referring to Figure 3, handles 10 and 100 are coupled by initially placing the conjunctive end of handle 100 over the operative end of handle 10 so that grip 20 of handle 10 extends through opening 24 of handle 100. Handle 100 is then rotated, clockwise as viewed in Figure 4, until grip 20 of handle 10 projects through slot 26 of handle 100, as shown in Figure 4. Handle 100 is then rotated further until the underside of brace 28 of handle 100 engages the top of arm 12 of handle 10, as shown in Figure 5.

In this position, the portion of arm 12 of handle 10 between hub section 14 and grip 20 is captured firmly within yoke 22 of handle 100 and between the underside of brace 28 and the top 30 of yoke 22 of handle 100. Handle 100 may also be coupled with handle 10 as shown in Figures 6 and 7, wherein grip 20 of handle 100 is inserted through opening 24 of handle 10 and handle 100 is rotated, counterclockwise as viewed in Figures 6 and 7, until the top of arm 12 of handle 100 engages the underside of brace 28 of handle 10. Relative movement of handle 100 with respect to handle 10 is prevented by the engagement of arm 12 and grip 20 of handle 10 within yoke 22 and slot 26, respectively, of handle 100.Applying a force to hand grip 20 of handle 100 (for the engagement illustrated in Figures 3 and 4), or to conjunctive end 18 of handle 100 (for the engagement illustrated in Figures 6 and 7), results in a greater torque being applied to the valve stem connected to hub section 14 of handle 10 than would be generated by applying the same force to grip 20 of handle 10.

It should be understood from the above description that additional handles may be combined with handle 10 to more easily generate the additional torque that may be required to open or close a particular valve. For example, Figure 8 illustrates two additional handles, handles 100 and 200, in combination with handle 10, which would be connected to the valve stem of a valve (not shown). Handles 100 and 200 are coupled with handle 10 in a manner described above to effectively increase the moment arm of handle 10.

In another embodiment of the invention, depicted in Figures 9 through 12, a handle 300 is coupled to a modular hub 310 to increase the ability of handle 300 to connect to any of a number of gate valves having different sizes and configurations of stem and shear pin assemblies. Referring to Figures 9 and 10, handle 300 is recognized as being similar to handle 10 in that it comprises an elongated arm 312 having a centrally located hub section 314, an operative end 316 and a conjunctive end 318. Operative end 316 and conjunctive end 318 are identical to operative end 16 and conjunctive end 18 described in reference to the previous embodiments. In this embodiment, however, hub section 314 is adapted to be mounted to modular hub 310, as will be described. In all other respects, handle 300 operates in the same manner as handle 10.

Referring to Figures 9, 11 and 12, modular hub 310 is preferably constructed of a single piece of cast or machined metal and comprises means for linking modular hub 310 with handle 300 to provide for the transfer of torque from handle 300 to modular hub 310. In the preferred embodiment, this means includes four symmetrically located protrusions 320 extending from the relative top of modular hub 310.

Protrusions 320 mate with four circular recesses 322 in hub section 314 to transfer the torque from handle 300 to modular hub 310. Figures 9 and 10 are partially broken away to show bolts 328 and holes 326 located in the central vertical plane of the handle, and the protrusions 320 and holes 322 lying rearwardly of this plane. The holes 322 in modular hub 310 align with holes 326 in hub section 314 when protrusions 320 are received within recesses 322. Bolts 328 extend through holes 324 and 326 and are secured by nuts 330 and preferably lock washers 332 (Figure 9) to removably connect modular hub 310 to handle 300. Of course, bolts 328 extending through holes 324 and 326 can be used as means for linking modular hub 310 with handle 300 to provide for the transfer of torque between these two elements in the absence of or in addition to protrusions 320.

Referring to Figures 11 and 12, modular hub 310 also includes internal voids, generally 334, which engageably receive any one of a number of different stem and shear pin sizes and configurations, these sizes and configurations being known to those skilled in the art. Modular hub 310 also preferably includes a removable pin 336 (Figure 9) for coupling modular hub 310 to the valve stem. In this regard, modular hub 310 also includes an opening 338 (Figure 12) of circular cross-section for pin 336 which is aligned with a groove on the valve stem (not shown) so that insertion of pin 336 into opening 338 will secure modular hub 310 to the valve stem.

Any of a number of modular hubs 310 may be provided, each with different internal voids 334 corresponding to different stem and shear pin assemblies. Thus, by connecting the appropriate modular hub 310 to handle 300, handle 300 can be used on any number of gate valves. This eliminates the need for providing different handles for different gate valves.

Modular hub 310 can also be used on any conventional handwheel having a flat, diametrical cross-piece, provided the handwheel is provided with means for linking the handwheel to modular hub 310. One manner of providing such means would be to drill recesses 322, described above, into the cross-piece.

It should be recognized that, while the present invention has been described by reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art may develop a wide variation of structural details without departing from the principles of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are to be construed to cover all equivalents falling within the true scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A handle for imparting rotational motion to a rotationally-operable device, comprising: an elongate arm having an operative end and a hub for detachably connecting the handle to the rotationally-operable device; and connecting means attachable to a further such handle, whereby the moment arm of the handle may be increased.

2. A handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operative end comprises a hand grip extending perpendicularly to the arm and the connecting means comprises an aperture in the arm.

3. A handle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting means comprises a yoke at the other end of the arm.

4. A handle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the yoke comprises a U-shaped member extending perpendicularly from said other end of the arm.

5. A handle as claimed in claims 3 or 4 wherein the connecting means comprises an aperture in the arm between the hub and said other end and the arm comprises an opening adjacent the yoke and a brace member between the opening and the aperture.

6. A system for imparting rotational motion to at least a first and a second rotationally-operable device, which comprises a first handle and a second handle, the second handle being connectable to the first handle, whereby the moment arm of the first handle may be augmented by the moment arm of the second handle.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6, said first and second handles being as claimed in any of claims 1-5.

8. A connector for mounting a handle upon a rotationallyoperable device, the connector comprising: a hub; means for linking the hub to the handle to provide for the transfer of torque between the hub and the handle, and means for removably securing the hub to the handle; the hub having means for engageably receiving the rotationally-operable device.

9. A connector as claimed in claim 8 wherein the device comprises a valve stem.

10. A connector as claimed in claim 8 or 9 wherein the receiving means engages the device via a shear pin.

11. A connector as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10 wherein the linking means comprises a plurality of circular recesses provided on one of the hub or the handle engageable with a plurality of corresponding projections provided on the other of the hub or the handle.

12. A connector as claimed in claim 8, 9, 10 or 11 being one of a set of such connectors each having substantially identical linking means, the connectors of the set having a variety of different valve stem receiving means for engageably receiving a corresponding variety of standard valve stem configurations.

13. A connector as claimed in any of claims 8-12 in combination with a handle as claimed in any of claims 1-5.

14. A connector as claimed in any of claims 8-12 in combination with a system of handles as claimed in claim 6.

15. A handle for imparting rotational motion to a rotationally-operable device substantially as described with reference to or as shown in Figs. 1-7 of the drawings.

16. A connector for mounting a handle upon a rotationallyoperable device substantially as described with reference to or as shown in Figs. 9-12 of the drawings.