1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to power tools, and more particularly to a powered automatic gate valve wrench apparatus for use in rapidly opening and closing a gate valve.
2. Description of the Background Art
In sewage treatment plants, hydroelectric plants, and other facilities where liquids are controlled and moved from location to location, very large gate valves are used to regulate the flow of these liquids. Most of these gate valves are manually operated with a removable hand crank. Due to the high turns ratio of these gate valves, many revolutions are necessary to either open or shut the valves, requiring at least 10 to 15 minutes to either completely open or close each valve. Such manual procedures for both opening and closing gate valves make the task of adjusting fluid flow through the gate valve tedious, time-consuming and physically tiring. Since the number of gate valves can be numerous and located at a considerable distance from each other, providing a dedicated powered means to control each individual valve can be cost prohibitive.
Accordingly, there exists a need for portable powered tool capable of coupling to a gate valve and which provides for the rapid opening and closing of a gate valve. The present invention satisfies these needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies found in the background art.