Constrictor valve with webbing, cementitious slurry mixing and dispensing assembly, and method for making cementitious product

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10537863-B2
Application number	US-201615296874-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2016
Priority date	Dec 31, 2015
Publication date	Jan 21, 2020
Grant date	Jan 21, 2020

Abstract

A constrictor valve can be associated with a conduit in fluid communication with a mixer to control a flow of cementitious slurry discharged from the mixer through the conduit. The constrictor valve can include a constrictor housing, a webbing constriction assembly, and a drive mechanism. The webbing constriction assembly includes a pair of rotatable members rotatably mounted to the constrictor housing and a plurality of webbing straps connected to the rotatable members and wrapped around the conduit. The drive mechanism includes a drive shaft and a gear assembly configured to rotate the rotatable members in opposing winding directions in response to the drive shaft rotating in a tighten direction to wrap the webbing straps tighter around the conduit to compress it and to rotate in opposing unwinding directions in response to the drive shaft rotating in a loosen direction to loosen the grip of the webbing straps on the conduit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A constrictor valve for selectively constricting a resiliently flexible conduit in a gypsum slurry dispensing apparatus, the constrictor valve comprising:
a constrictor housing, the constrictor housing defining a first conduit opening and a second conduit opening, the first and second conduit openings in spaced relationship to each other along a longitudinal axis defined therebetween;
a webbing constriction assembly, the webbing constriction assembly including a first rotatable member, a second rotatable member, and a plurality of webbing straps, the first and second rotatable members being rotatably mounted to the constrictor housing such that the first and second rotatable members are rotatable about the longitudinal axis, the first and second rotatable members being in spaced relationship to each other along the longitudinal axis, the webbing straps connected to the first and second rotatable members; and
a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism including a drive shaft and a gear assembly, the drive shaft defining a shaft axis, the drive shaft rotatably movable about the shaft axis in a tighten direction and a loosen direction, the loosen direction being in opposing relationship to the tighten direction, the gear assembly arranged with the drive shaft and the first and second rotatable members such that the gear assembly is configured to rotate the first and second rotatable members in opposing first and second winding directions about the longitudinal axis in response to the drive shaft rotating in the tighten direction and to rotate the first and second rotatable members in opposing first and second unwinding directions about the longitudinal axis in response to the drive shaft rotating in the loosen direction, the first and second winding directions being in opposing relationship to the first and second unwinding directions, respectively.

2. The constrictor valve of claim 1 , wherein the constrictor housing includes a first end plate, a second end plate, and a plurality of stretchers, the first and second end plates respectively defining the first and second conduit openings, and the stretchers extending along the longitudinal axis and being connected to the first and second end plates.

3. The constrictor valve of claim 2 , wherein the constrictor housing includes a first bearing mounting ring, a second bearing mounting ring, and a plurality of rotatable member bearings, the first and second bearing mounting rings respectively connected to the first and second end plates such that the first and second bearing mounting rings circumscribe the first and second conduit openings, respectively, and the first and second bearing mounting rings respectively rotatably supporting at least one rotatable member bearing, the first and second rotatable members being rotatably supported, respectively, by the first and second bearing mounting rings such that at least one rotatable member bearing rotatably supports the respective first and second rotatable members.

4. The constrictor valve of claim 3 , wherein the first and second rotatable members include a first bearing cover ring and a second bearing cover ring, respectively, the first bearing cover ring in radially outward relationship to the first bearing mounting ring with at least one rotatable member bearing being radially interposed therebetween, and the second bearing cover ring in radially outward relationship to the second bearing mounting ring with at least one rotatable member bearing being radially interposed therebetween.

5. The constrictor valve of claim 2 , wherein the first and second end plates each define a shaft opening therethrough, the drive shaft of the drive mechanism extending through the shaft opening of both of the first and second end plates.

6. The constrictor valve of claim 5 , wherein the constrictor housing includes a first shaft bearing support and a second shaft bearing support, the first and second shaft bearing supports respectively connected to the first and second end plates, the first and second shaft bearing supports supporting a shaft bearing therein, the drive shaft extending through the first and second shaft bearing supports such that the shaft bearings rotatably support the drive shaft such that the drive shaft is rotatable about the shaft axis.

7. The constrictor valve of claim 1 , wherein each of the webbing straps has a first end and a second end, the first end being connected to the first rotatable member with at least two degrees of freedom, and the second end being connected to the second rotatable member with at least two degrees of freedom.

8. The constrictor valve of claim 7 , wherein each first end of the webbing straps is connected to the first rotatable member via an attachment base and an attachment fork, the attachment base being connected to the first rotatable member, the attachment fork being pivotally mounted to the attachment base such that the attachment fork is rotatable with respect to the attachment base about a fork pivot axis, the respective first end of the webbing straps being pivotally mounted to the attachment fork such that the webbing strap is rotatable with respect to the attachment fork about a webbing strap pivot axis, the webbing strap pivot axis being perpendicular to the fork pivot axis.

9. The constrictor valve of claim 8 , wherein each attachment fork includes a pair of arms and a fork pin extending between the arms, the fork pin defining the webbing strap pivot axis, and each first end of the webbing straps comprises a closed loop, the fork pin extending through the closed loop of the first end of the respective webbing strap.

10. The constrictor valve of claim 8 , wherein the first rotatable member includes a plate portion having a plate surface, a mounting ledge, a track, and at least one connector, the mounting ledge projecting from the plate surface, the track connected to the plate portion, and wherein at least one of the attachment bases is disposed in contacting relationship with the mounting ledge and adjustably secured to the track via a respective connector.

11. The constrictor valve of claim 1 , wherein each of the webbing straps has a first end and a second end, the first end being movably connected to the first rotatable member, and the second end being movably connected to the second rotatable member.

12. The constrictor valve of claim 1 , wherein the first rotatable member includes a plate portion having a plate surface, a mounting ledge, a track, and at least one connector, the mounting ledge projecting from the plate surface, the track connected to the plate portion and wherein at least one of the first ends of the webbing straps is movably connected to the first rotatable member via an attachment base, the attachment base being disposed in contacting relationship with the mounting ledge and adjustably secured to the track via a respective connector.

13. The constrictor valve of claim 1 , wherein the gear assembly of the drive mechanism includes first and second drive gears, first and second ring gears, and first and second worm gear assemblies, the first and second drive gears mounted to the drive shaft in spaced relationship to each other along the shaft axis, the first and second ring gears in fixed connection with the first and second rotatable members, respectively, the first and second worm gear assemblies supported by the constrictor housing, the first worm gear assembly interposed between, and enmeshingly engaged with, the first drive gear and the first ring gear such that the first drive gear engages the first worm gear assembly and, in response, the first worm gear engages the first ring gear to rotate the fir

Assignees

• United States Gypsum Co

Inventors

• Schenck Ronald E

Classifications

• C04B11/00

  Calcium sulfate cements · CPC title

• F16K7/06 Primary

  by means of a screw-spindle, cam, or other mechanical means {(F16K7/045 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B28C7/16

  Discharge means {, e.g. with intermediate storage of fresh concrete} · CPC title

• F16K7/08

  constrictable by twisting · CPC title

• B28C5/003

  Methods for mixing (B28C5/386, B28C5/402 take precedence) · CPC title