Gas bypass device

1. A bypass device comprising:

a housing having a gas inlet port, a meter inlet port, a gas outlet port, a meter outlet port, a bypass passage extending between a bypass inlet and a bypass outlet, an inlet valve chamber located at an intersection of the gas inlet port, the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet, an outlet valve chamber located at an intersection of the gas outlet port, the meter outlet port, and the bypass outlet;

wherein the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet are positioned opposite one another across the inlet valve chamber and the gas inlet port is located at 90° from each of the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet, and wherein the meter outlet port and the bypass outlet are positioned opposite one another across the outlet valve chamber and the gas outlet port is located at 90° from each of the meter outlet port and the bypass outlet;

an inlet diverter ball positioned in the inlet valve chamber and having a 90° inlet flow passage with two openings, wherein the two openings in the inlet flow passage can be oriented to allow flow from the gas inlet port to the meter inlet port or to allow flow from the gas inlet port to the bypass inlet;

a first polymer annular inlet valve seat located adjacent to and having a center bore aligned with the bypass inlet to provide a seal between the inlet diverter ball and a portion of the housing surrounding the bypass inlet;

a second polymer annular inlet valve seat located adjacent a first end cap mounted in the meter inlet port and having a center bore aligned with a passage in the first end cap to provide a seal between the inlet diverter ball and the first end cap mounted in the meter inlet port;

an inlet control handle connected to rotate the inlet diverter ball by 90° between a meter inlet position in which the 90° inlet flow passage connects the gas inlet port and the meter inlet port and the inlet diverter ball blocks the bypass inlet, and a bypass inlet position in which the 90° inlet flow passage connects the gas inlet port and the bypass inlet and the inlet diverter ball blocks the meter inlet port;

an outlet diverter ball positioned in the outlet valve chamber and having a 90° outlet flow passage with two openings, wherein the two openings in the outlet flow passage can be oriented to allow flow from the meter outlet port to the gas outlet port or to allow flow from the bypass outlet to the gas outlet port;

a first polymer annular outlet valve seat located adjacent the bypass outlet and having a center bore along with the bypass inlet to provide a seal between the outlet diverter ball and a portion of the housing surrounding the bypass outlet;

a second polymer annular outlet valve seat located adjacent a second end cap mounted in the meter outlet port and having a center bore aligned with a passage in the second end cap to provide a seal between the outlet diverter ball and the second end cap;

an outlet control handle connected to rotate the outlet diverter ball by 90° between a meter outlet position in which the 90° outlet flow passage connects the gas outlet port and the meter outlet port and the outlet diverter ball blocks the bypass outlet, and a bypass outlet position in which the 90° outlet flow passage connects the gas outlet port and the bypass outlet and the outlet diverter ball blocks the meter outlet port;

wherein the first and second polymer annular inlet valve seats and the first and second polymer annular outlet valve seats are made of polytetrafluoroethylene;

wherein the inlet diverter ball is engaged by and held between the first and second polymer annular inlet valve seats; and

wherein the outlet diverter ball is engaged by and held between the first and second polymer annular outlet valve seats; and wherein, each of the polymer annular inlet valve seats and each of the polymer annular outlet valve seats comprises a polytetrafluoroethylene ring having a flat rear surface with a circular center bore extending between the front surface and the rear surface, the front surface including an outer rim section, a first conical section extending radially inward from the rim section toward the center bore, and a second conical section extending radially inward from the first conical section to the center bore.

2. The gas bypass device of claim 1 , wherein the inlet control handle is rotatable 90° in a clockwise direction from the meter inlet position to the bypass inlet position, and the outlet control handle is rotatable 90° in a counterclockwise direction from the meter outlet position to the bypass outlet position.

3. The bypass device of claim 1 , and further comprising:

an inlet handle mount which is mounted on the face of the body of the bypass device, wherein the inlet handle mount includes a locking hole that aligns with a locking hole on the inlet control handle when the inlet control handle is in the metering position allowing a lock to be passed through the inlet control handle and the inlet handle mount preventing unauthorized movement of the inlet control handle; and

an outlet handle mount which is mounted on the face of the body of the bypass device, wherein the outlet handle mount includes a locking hole that aligns with a locking hole on the outlet control handle when the outlet control handle is in the metering position allowing a lock to be passed through the outlet control handle and the outlet handle mount preventing unauthorized movement of the outlet control handle.

4. A bypass device for use in conjunction with a gas meter, the bypass device comprising:

a bypass body that defines a bypass path for gas flow, the bypass body having a gas inlet port and a gas outlet port;

an inlet ball valve in the bypass body having a rotatable inlet diverter ball positioned between a pair of polymer annular inlet valve seats, wherein the inlet diverter ball has a 90° inlet flow passage that can be oriented to allow the flow of gas from the gas inlet port into the bypass device or into a gas meter, wherein the pair of polymer annular inlet ports are positioned 180° from one another and 90° each from the gas inlet port;

an outlet ball valve in the bypass body having a rotatable outlet diverter ball positioned between a pair of polymer annular outlet valve seats wherein the outlet diverter ball has a 90° outlet flow passage that can be oriented to allow the flow of gas out of the bypass device or out of the gas meter into the gas outlet port, wherein the pair of polymer annular outlet valve seats are positioned 180° from one another and 90° each from the gas outlet port;

an inlet handle for moving the inlet diverter ball between a normal position and a bypass position; and

an outlet handle for moving the outlet diverter ball between a normal position and a bypass position;

wherein, when the inlet and outlet diverter balls are in the normal position, gas is routed through the gas meter, and when the inlet and outlet diverter balls are in the bypass position, gas is routed through the bypass path;

wherein, each of the polymer annular inlet valve seats and each of the polymer annular valve seats comprises a polytetrafluoroethylene ring having a flat rear surface with a circular center bore extending between the front surface and the rear surface, the front surface including an outer rim section, a first conical section extending radially inward from the rim section toward the center bore, and a second conical section extending radically inward from the first conical section to the center bore.

5. The bypass device of claim 4 , wherein the valve seats are made of polytetrafluoroethylene.

6. The bypass device of claim 4 , and further comprising:

an inlet handle mount positioned between the inlet handle and the bypass body and having rotation stops that limit rotation of the inlet handle to 90° between the normal position and the bypass position of the inlet handle, wherein the inlet handle mount includes a locking hole which aligns with a locking hole of the inlet handle when the inlet handle is in the metering position to prevent unauthorized turning of the inlet handle; and

an outlet handle mount positioned between the outlet handle and the bypass body and having rotation stops that limit rotation of the outlet handle to 90° between the normal position and the bypass position of the outlet handle, wherein the outlet handle mount includes a locking hole which aligns with a locking hole of the outlet handle when the outlet handle is in the metering position to prevent unauthorized turning of the outlet handle.

7. A bypass device comprising:

a housing having a gas inlet port, a meter inlet port, a gas outlet port, a meter outlet port, a bypass passage extending between a bypass inlet and a bypass outlet, an inlet valve chamber located between the gas inlet port, the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet, and an outlet valve chamber located between the gas outlet port, the meter outlet port, and the bypass outlet;

an inlet diverter ball positioned in the inlet valve chamber and having a 90° inlet flow passage with two openings, wherein the two openings in the inlet flow passage can be oriented to allow flow from the gas inlet port to the meter inlet port or to allow flow from the gas inlet port to the bypass inlet, wherein the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet are located 180° apart, and the gas inlet port is located 90° from each of the meter inlet port and the bypass inlet;

a first polymer annular inlet valve seat located between the inlet diverter ball and the bypass inlet and surrounding the bypass inlet;

a second polymer annular inlet valve seat located between the inlet diverter ball and a first end cap positioned in the meter inlet port and surrounding the passage in the first end cap;

an inlet control handle connected to rotate the inlet diverter ball between a meter inlet position in which the 90° inlet flow passage connects the gas inlet port and the meter inlet port, and a bypass inlet position in which the 90° inlet flow passage connects the gas inlet port and the bypass inlet;

an outlet diverter ball positioned in the outlet valve chamber and having a 90° outlet flow passage with two openings, wherein the two openings in the outlet flow passage can be oriented to allow flow from the meter outlet port to the gas outlet port or to allow flow from the bypass outlet to the gas outlet port;

a first polymer annular outlet valve seat between the outlet diverter ball and the bypass outlet;

a second polymer annular outlet valve seat between the outlet diverter ball and the meter outlet port; and

an outlet control handle connected to rotate the outlet diverter ball between a meter outlet position in which the 90° outlet flow passage connects the gas outlet port and the meter outlet port, and a bypass outlet position in which the 90° outlet flow passage connects the gas outlet port and the bypass outlet;

wherein the first and second polymer annular inlet valve seats and the first and second polymer annular outlet valve seats are made of polytetrafluoroethylene;

wherein the inlet diverter ball is engaged by and held between the first and second polymer annular inlet valve seats;

wherein the outlet diverter ball is engaged by and held between the first and second polymer annular outlet valve seats;

wherein the second polymer annular inlet valve seat is held against the inlet diverter ball by an end cap mounted in the meter inlet port; and

wherein the second polymer annular outlet valve seat is held against the outlet diverter ball by an end cap mounted in the meter outlet port; and wherein, each of the polymer annular inlet valve seats and each of the polymer annular outlet valve seats comprises a polytetrafluoroethylene ring having a flat rear surface with a circular center bore extending between the front surface and the rear surface, the front surface including an outer rim section, a first conical section extending radially inward from the rim section toward the center bore, and a second conical section extending radially inward from the first conical section to the center bore.

8. The gas bypass device of claim 7 , wherein the inlet control handle is rotatable 90° in a clockwise direction from the meter inlet position to the bypass inlet position, and the outlet control handle is rotatable 90° in a counterclockwise direction from the meter outlet position to the bypass outlet position.

9. The gas bypass device of claim 7 , and further comprising:

an inlet handle mount positioned between the inlet control handle and the housing and having rotation stops that limit rotation of the inlet control handle to 90°, wherein the inlet handle mount contains a locking hole and wherein the locking holes of the inlet control handle and the inlet handle mount align when the inlet control handle is in the metering position allowing a lock to be passed through the holes to prevent unauthorized movement of the inlet control handle; and

an outlet handle mount positioned between the outlet control handle and the housing and having rotation stops that limit rotation of the outlet control handle to 90°, wherein the outlet handle mount contains a locking hole and wherein the locking holes of the outlet control handle and the outlet handle mount align when the outlet control handle is in the metering position allowing a lock to be passed through the holes to prevent unauthorized movement of the outlet control handle.