Weir valve

Claim 1

A WEIR VALVE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A VALVE BODY DEFINING INLET AND OUTLET PASSAGES AND FORMING A TRANSVERSE WEIR BETWEEN SAID PASSAGES POSITIONED TO CAUSE ANY FLOW OF LIQUID BETWEEN THE PASSAGES TO PASS OVER THE WEIR, A VALVE BONNET REMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID BODY IN COVERING RELATION TO SAID WEIR, A FLEXIBLE DIAPHRAGM INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID BONNET AND SAID BODY IN COVERING RELATION TO SAID WEIR AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID BODY AND SAID BONNET, A MOVABLE DIAPHRAGM TO CONTROLLABLY MOVE THE LATTER TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID WEIR, SAID BODY DEFINING AN ENDLESS EDGE SURFACE SUPPORTING THE MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID DIAPHRAGM, SAID DIAPHRAGM HAVING AN ELASTOMERIC BODY, SAID PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID DIAPHRAGM DEFINING A GENERALLY FLAT ENDLESS EDGE SURFACE CONFRONTING SAID ENDLESS BODY SURFACE, SAID PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID DIAPHRAGM DEFINING WHEN IN ITS UNSTRESSED CONDITION AN ENDLESS RAISED BEAD PROTRUDING FROM SAID EDGE SURFACE ON THE DIAPHRAGM TOWARD SAID ENDLESS BODY SURFACE IN CONFRONTING RELATION THERETO, SAID BEAD EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY AROUND SAID PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID DIAPHRAGM IN INWARDLY SPACED RELATION TO THE EXTREME EDGE OF THE DIAPHRAGM, SAID BEAD BEING SHAPED TO DEFINE AS VIEWED IN TRANSVERSE SECTION A REVERSELY CURVING SURFACE WHICH INCLUDES A RAISED CENTRAL SURFACE THAT MERGES ALONG ITS OPPOSITE SIDES WITH TWO CONCAVE SIDE SURFACES WHICH IN TURN MERGE WITH PORTIONS OF SAID FLAT DIAPHRAGM EDGE SURFACE WHICH EXTEND ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE BEAD, SAID BEAD HAVING A TRANSVERSE WIDTH ACROSS SAID RAISED CENTRAL SURFACE AND BETWEEN THE JUNCTURES OF SAID CONCAVE SIDE SURFACES WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID RAISED CENTRAL SURFACE WHICH IS AT LEAST ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF SAID BEAD ABOVE THE ADJACENT DIAPHRAGM EDGE SURFACE AND NOT MORE THAN TWO AND ONE-HALF TIMES SAID BEAD HEIGHT, AND EACH OF SAID CONCAVE BEAD SURFACES HAVING A RADIUS OF CURVATURE AS VIEWED IN TRANSVERSE SECTION WHICH IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO SAID BEAD HEIGHT BUT NOT GREATER THAN ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES SAID BEAD HEIGHT WHEREBY SAID BEAD FORMS A LASTING HIGH PRESSURE SEAL BETWEEN SAID DIAPHRAGM AND SAID ENDLESS EDGE SURFACE ON SAID BODY AS AN INCIDENT TO CLAMPING OF SAID PERIPHERAL MARGINAL EDGE BETWEEN SAID BODY AND SAID BONNET.