Thereby, this invention especially relates to a leak indicator the help of which enables controlling, measuring and/or indicating a flow in a line or a piping system. With the help of this arrangement, damages caused by leaks can be minimized and unnecessary consumption can be indicated at an early stage.

The earlier known leak indication arrangements comprise several valves, in particular, current volume meters, control means for shut-off valves and/or components that very often are sensitive to impurities in the flowing medium, e. g. water. Due to their rather complicated configuration, they are expensive. In addition, these arrangements have the disadvantage of low sealing power when the valve is closed and the flow resistance in the flow is high.

The aim of this invention is to provide means for controlling, measuring and/or indicating a flow using a valve with high sealing power when the valve is closed and a minimal flow resistance during the flow. This is, primarily, achieved by keeping the valve closed by a permanent magnet or magnets, the power keeping the valve closed being highest by no flow, and the power for closing the valve being diminished with increasing flow due to the lower attracting force of the magnet when the distance of the magnet from the magnetic material or a magnet with opposite polarity increases.

The characteristics of the invention are disclosed in the appended Claims.

The invention and the characteristics achieved by it are described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings showing, in a schematic way, the different embodiments of the invention.

FIGURE 1 shows a cross-section of an embodiment of the invention where a magnetic coupling is keeping the valve closed.

FIGURE 2 shows a frontal view of a detail in Fig. 1.

FIGURE 3 shows another embodiment where a magnetic coupling is keeping the valve closed.

FIGURE 4 shows a detail of the embodiment of FIG 3 when the valve is kept open.

FIGURE 5 shows a piping system with the arrangement in accordance with this invention.

FIGURES 6a and 6b show cross-sections of another embodiment in accordance with the invention whereby, when the valve opens, a flow impulse is obtained using a springing expandable space.

FIGURE 7 shows a cross-section of yet another embodiment in accordance with the invention whereby, when the valve opens, a flowing impulse is obtained using an elastically expandable space in the valve.

FIGURE 8 shows a cross-section of a detail in Fig. 7.

FIGURES 9 and 10 show different embodiments of the springing and elastically expandable spaces.

The arrangement in accordance with the invention comprises (see Figs 1,3,6a, 6b, and 7) a valve house 8 with its valve seat 9 and a valve body 3 tightly connectable to the valve seat, and means for compelling the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 against each other with a force surpassing the force with which a certain predetermined pressure difference on the valve seat tends to remove the valve body 3 from it. The means comprises at least one magnet 1 arranged in contact with the valve body 3 and/or the valve seat 9, with an attracting force in the closed position surpassing said force, and which in the open position does not tend to drive the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 back against each other until the flow through the valve seat 9 has stopped or diminished to a predetermined value.

A piping system with an arrangement in accordance with the invention is shown in Fig. 5. The fluid or the gas is lead from the main line 26 through the valve 16 to a consumption line 25 through a meter 17 and the arrangement in accordance with the invention: the valve house 8, an indicating/measuring unit 27, and the shut-off valve 29 to consumption.

As the valve in the arrangement in accordance with the Figs. l & 2 is in the closed position and the pressure difference between the inlet 15 and the outlet 20 increases, due to a minimal flow on the outlet side, the flexible partition wall 10 and the valve seat 9 connected to the partition wall against the outlet 20 are pressed against the outlet 20 and the valve body 3 follows with it when the magnetic coupling is closed. The magnetic coupling is between the magnet 1 or the magnets 1 that are connected to the valve body 3 and the components 2 of the valve seat influenced by the magnet. The transition of the valve body

against the outlet 20 is counteracted by a spring 7 and the transition of the valve seat against the outlet 20 by another spring 6. When the pressure difference is further increased, the magnetic coupling will open and the spring 7 will draw the valve body 3 back against the inlet 15, simultaneously with the pushing of the partition wall 10 and the valve seat 9 further against the outlet 20, and the valve will open. When the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 are separated from each other the indicator 5 is activated and the light 27 is illuminated. When the flow stops or slows down to a predetermined value the spring 6 will press the valve seat back against the valve body 3 and the magnetic coupling will be restored and the valve will be closed.

When the valve in accordance with Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 is in the closed position and the pressure difference between the inlet 15 and the outlet 20 is increasing, the flexible partition wall 10 and the valve seat 9 connected with the partition wall are pressed against the outlet 20. The valve body 3 follows with it and the magnetic coupling between them is closed. The magnetic coupling is between the magnet 1 that is connected by a spindle to the valve body 3 and the components 2 of the valve seat 9 influenced by the magnet. The transition of the valve body into the valve seat 9 is counteracted by a spring 7 and the transition of the valve seat against the outlet 20 by another spring 6. When the difference between the pressures is further increased the magnetic coupling will open and the valve body 3 will be pressed in the valve seat against the spring 7 simultaneously with the pushing of the flexible partition wall 10 and the valve seat 9 back against the inlet 15 of the spring 6. When the valve body 3 is pushed into the valve seat 9 the valve will open when the valve body 3 is no longer pressed against the sealing 4 on the valve seat 9. The sealing 4 can also be placed on the valve body 3. When the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 are separated from each other the indicator 5'is activated and the light 27 is illuminated. In this arrangement a new magnetic coupling is established

between the magnet 1 and a springed 23 bracket 21 whereby the valve will be opened, which shall ensure that it will be totally open. When the flow stops or slows down to a predetermined value the springs 7,23 will open the magnetic coupling between the magnet 1 and the bracket 21, the spring 7 will press the valve body 3 against the ring-formed elastic sealing 4 on the valve seat 9 and the magnetic coupling between the magnet 1 an the valve seat 9 will be reactivated and the valve closed.

A third embodiment is shown in the Figs 6a and 6b. In this arrangement, a valve in accordance with the invention is used in connection with a flow meter 17 and a springing or elastically expandable space, a pulsator 19. With the help of this arrangement, even such small flows can be measured that normally cannot be measured by a meter, due to the minimal movement of the liquid or the gas in the direction of the flow, in case of small flows. Because the meter will show all kinds of flows, a meter with an impulse sensor or any other arrangement used for remote reading of the meter, it can also indicate leaks in a piping system and thereby function as a leak alarm.

In case of minimal flows in the third embodiment in accordance with the Figs.

6a and 6b when the flow meter would not normally react at all, the flow cannot pass through the meter 17 when the valve is closed (Fig. 6a) without the flow being forced to pass in a shunt piping 18 to the pulsator 19. The flow presses the bellows 13 against the spring 12. When the bellows 13 are pressed out against the seat 14 (Fig. 6b) the pressure increases on the valve kept closed by permanent ring magnets 1,2 that are attracting each other. One of the ring magnets 1 is on a spindle fixed on the valve body 3, the other ring magnet 2 is fixed on the bracket 11. When the valve is closed, the valve body 3 is pressed against the ring-formed elastic sealing 4 so that the valve is totally closed.

When the attracting force of the magnets 1,2 cannot any more resist the

pressure from the inlet 15 the magnet coupling between the magnets 1,2 opens, and the valve together with it (Fig. 6b). When the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 are separated from each other the indicator 5'is activated (Fig. 6b). The liquid or the gas accumulated in the pulsator 19 is pressed against the meter 17 by the power of the spring 12 pressing back the bellows 13, this being possible because the attracting force between the magnets 1,2 has been weakened as the distance between them has somewhat increased. In this way the accumulated amount of liquid or gas flows through the meter 17, indicating this.

The magnet 1 or the magnets 1,2 can be elastically or by using a spring fixed to the valve body 3 and/or to the valve seat 9 so that the valve can function as a back valve and in this way close the valve because the valve seat 9 can be pressed backwards against the sealing 4 without being stopped by the magnet 2 on the bracket 11.

The valve (Fig. 3) can even be used alone so that the valve seat 9 is tightly connected to a pipeline, so that the liquid or the gas can only pass the valve when the valve body 3 is opened by the inlet pressure and the flow passes by the valve body 3. The partition wall 10 and the bracket 21 and the spring 6 have then been removed. Then the valve can function as a back valve and as a simple flow sensor.

In the arrangement in accordance with the third embodiment in Fig. 6a and 6b, the pulsator can be constructed in various ways. The liquid or the gas can be accumulated by a pulsator 19 within the valve (Fig. 7) or in various ways in a separate pulsator 19 (Figs. 6a, 6b, 9, and 10).

The valve with an integrated pulsator 19 (Fig. 7) functions in the same way as the valve in the above arrangement in accordance with Figs. 6a and 6b. An

elastic hose 13 is fastened tightly at its both ends against the cylindrical valve so that the liquid or the gas is closed in it. The liquid or the gas can flow into and out from the inlet 15 of the valve through the holes 30 in the pipe 24 and into the pulsator 19. The liquid or the gas can even flow in and out to the outer side of the hose 13 and to the shunt pipeline 18 after the meter 17.

In case of minimal flows in the arrangement with integrated pulsator (Fig. 7) the valve is closed and the flow is directed through the holes 30 in the pipeline 24 and expands the hose 13 (Fig. 8). When the hose 13 has been expanded to the extent when the power needed to expand the hose 13 even further is higher than the attracting force of the magnets 1,2 holding the valve closed the valve opens and the flow will pass through the meter 17 indicating the flow. The flow then flows out into the pipe 24 and also into the shunt pipeline 18 and further to the outside of the hose 13. Afterwards, the hose 13 shrinks, as the pressure difference between the inlet 15 and the outlet 20 decreases. When the flow has slowed down sufficiently the spring 7 pushes the valve body 3 against the inlet 15 until the magnets 1,2 move so much closer to each other that they close the magnet coupling and the valve is closed. As long as there is a minimal flow going on the expansion of the pulsator 19 will be repeated, together with the discharge, as the valve alternately opens and closes. If the flow through the valve is increasing the valve is kept open and the hose 13 takes a balance position and shrinks as soon as the flow is stopped.

In addition to that described above (Figs. 6a and 6b), two embodiments of different pulsators 19 are shown in Figs. 9 and 10. In one of them (Fig. 9) the bellows of the pulsator 19 are an elastic hose 13'on a pipe 24 within the pulsator 19. The hose 13'is tightly fastened at both ends into the pipe 24 but it can be widened between them in case the pressure by the inlet 15 drives liquid or gas through the holes 30 on the pipe 24 to the inside of the hose 13'. In the

other one (Fig. 10) the expandable space is defined inside the pulsator 19 by a piston 13"with seals 31 that are activated by a spring 12 that takes the piston 13"back when the valve opens.

The valve can even be a magnet valve controlled by electric current and activated by the pressure difference before and after the valve, or it may be time-controlled and open after a certain period of time or via a contact that can be activated by bellows, like e. g. a hose 13'.

All of the embodiments described above (Figs. 1 to 4,6a, 6b, and 7) comprise one valve with a magnet coupling. This enables the use of a magnetic indicator or indicators 5,5'activated by the movement of the magnet or the magnets and can be activated when the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 are separated from each other. Other means can also be used to indicate that the valve body 3 and the valve seat 9 have been separated. Repeated short-time activation indicates minimal flow and/or leak. Long-time activation indicates flow.

The embodiments described above are examples of different ways to realize an arrangement in accordance with the invention. However, the invention comprises all kinds of embodiments of the invention that can be characterized by the appended Claims.