Double flanged off-set valve assembly

Abstract

A valve assembly for mounting a pump to a storage tank of a vehicle includes an upper flange, a lower flange, and a wall extending axially between the upper flange and the lower flange, the lower flange being offset by the wall relative to the upper flange to facilitate installation of the pump on the vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for mounting a pump to a storage tank of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
 providing a valve assembly including a valve and a valve body coupled to the valve, the valve body having an upper flange, a lower flange being parallel to the upper flange and vertically offset from the upper flange, and a cylindrical wall extending between and non-rotatably fixed to the upper flange and the lower flange, the wall having an angled portion oriented at an acute angle with respect to the lower flange;   attaching the pump to the lower flange of the valve body;   attaching the upper flange of the valve body to an outlet sump of the storage tank; and   controlling an amount of the offset between the upper flange and the lower flange when attaching the valve body to the outlet sump of the storage tank to space the pump away from a frame of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said step of controlling comprises reducing the offset between the upper flange and the lower flange based on a particular horizontal point of view of the valve body. 
     
     
         3 . A method as set forth in  claim 2  wherein said step of reducing comprises rotating the valve body in either direction when attaching the valve body to the outlet sump of the storage tank. 
     
     
         4 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the acute angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees. 
     
     
         5 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the acute angle is about 10 degrees to about 80 degrees. 
     
     
         6 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the acute angle is about 40 degrees to about 75 degrees. 
     
     
         7 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the upper flange has an upper surface and the lower flange has an upper surface. 
     
     
         8 . A method as set forth in  claim 7  wherein a distance between the upper surface of the upper flange and the upper surface of the lower flange is from about 4 inches to about 24 inches. 
     
     
         9 . A method as set forth in  claim 7  wherein a distance between the upper surface of the upper flange and the upper surface of the lower flange is from about 4 inches to about 20 inches. 
     
     
         10 . A method as set forth in  claim 7  wherein a distance between the upper surface of the upper flange and the upper surface of the lower flange is from about 4 inches to about 12 inches. 
     
     
         11 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the upper flange includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced through bores. 
     
     
         12 . A method as set forth in  claim 11  wherein said step of controlling comprises rotating the valve body by one throughbore in either direction when attaching the valve body to the sump. 
     
     
         13 . A method as set forth in  claim 12  including the steps of extending a plurality of fasteners through the through bores and connecting the upper flange to the storage tank. 
     
     
         14 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the lower flange includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced threaded bores. 
     
     
         15 . A method as set forth in  claim 14  including the steps of threadably engaging a plurality of fasteners with the threaded bores and connecting the lower flange to the pump. 
     
     
         16 . A method for mounting a pump to a storage tank of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
 providing a valve assembly including a valve body, the valve body having an upper flange, a lower flange being parallel to the upper flange and vertically offset from the upper flange, and a cylindrical wall extending between and non-rotatably fixed to the upper flange and the lower flange, the wall having an angled portion oriented at an acute angle with respect to the lower flange, a mesh cage disposed over an upper portion of the valve body for installation inside the storage tank, a main valve member partially disposed in the valve body to control fluid flow through the valve body, the main valve member being moveable between an open position and a closed position, and an actuator extending through the wall to move the main valve member between the open position and the closed position;   attaching the pump to the lower flange of the valve body;   attaching the upper flange of the valve body to an outlet sump of the storage tank; and   controlling an amount of the offset between the upper flange and the lower flange when attaching the valve body to the outlet sump of the storage tank to space the pump away from a frame of the vehicle.   
     
     
         17 . A method as set forth in  claim 16  wherein said step of controlling comprises reducing the offset between the upper flange and the lower flange based on a particular horizontal point of view of the valve body. 
     
     
         18 . A method as set forth in  claim 17  wherein said step of reducing comprises rotating the valve body in either direction when attaching the valve body to the outlet sump of the storage tank. 
     
     
         19 . A method as set forth in  claim 16  wherein the upper flange includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced through bores. 
     
     
         20 . A method as set forth in  claim 19  wherein said step of controlling comprises rotating the valve body by one throughbore in either direction when attaching the valve body to the sump. 
     
     
         21 . A method as set forth in  claim 20  including the steps of extending a plurality of fasteners through the through bores and connecting the upper flange to the storage tank.