Molded in place rubber seat butterfly valve

Claim 1

A BUTTERFLY VALVE, COMPRISING: A UNITARY VALVE BODY OF UNITIZED PORTIONS INCLUDING AN OUTER ANNULAR METAL PORTION HAVING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CENTERED OPENING THERETHROUGH, THE WALLS OF WHICH WITH AN INNER PORTION OF VULCANIZED RUBBER MATERIAL BONDED THERETO FORM A PASSAGE FOR FLUID; THE METAL PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSITE TRUNNIONS ON A COMMON CENTER LINE EXTENDING ACROSS THE VALVE BODY, THE WALLS OF SAID VALVE BODY METAL PORTION FORMING SAID CENTRAL OPENING HAVING IRREGULARITIES THEREIN; THE VULCANIZED RUBBER MATERIAL HAVNG A SMOOTH INNER SURFACE ACCURATELY CENTERED IN SAID METAL PORTION IN RELATION TO SAID TRUNNIONS AND FORMING A VALVE SEATING SURFACE, SAID RUBBER MATERIAL EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE UNITARY VALVE BODY IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE COMMON CENTER LINE OF THE TRUNNIONS SO THAT SAID TRUNNION CENTER LINE PASSES THROUGH THE SEATING SURFACE PORTION, THE OUTER PORTION OF SAID RUBBER SEAT MATERIAL BONDED TO SAID IRREGULAR WALLS AND BEING UNITED WITH SAID WALLS SO AS TO BE COMBINED THEREWITH THROUGHOUT THE CONTIGUOUS AREA OF THE SEAT MATERIAL AND SAID METAL BODY PORTION, SAID SEAT MATERIAL HAVING A NON-UNIFORM THICKNESS BETWEEN SAID SMOOTH INNER SURFACE AND IRREGULAR WALLS DUE TO ITS FOLLOWING SAID IRREGULARITIES, SAID RUBBER SEAT MATERIAL CONSISTING OF A MASS OF MOLDED IN PLACE RUBBER MATERIAL MAINTAINED IN SAID RELATIVE POSITION TO THE TRUNNIONS IN SAID VALVE BODY METAL PORTION; A VALVE DISC IN SAID VALVE BODY HAVING AN OUTER EDGE COOPERATING WITH SAID VALVE SEATING SURFACE TO CLOSE THE VALVE, AND A VALVE SHAFT IN SAID TRUNNIONS SECURED TO SAID DISC.