Ball valve

Claim 1

A VALVE, COMPRISING A VALVE BODY HAVING A FLOWWAY EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THERETHROUGH, A SPHERICALLY SHAPED CLOSURE MEMBER WITHIN THE VALVE BODY AND HAVING A PORT THERETHROUGH AND STEMS FIXED TO ITS OPPOSITE SIDES, SAID VALVE BODY INCLUDING SEPARATE PARTS EACH HAVING A BEARING THEREON FITTING OVER A STEM OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER TO MOUNT IT FOR ROTATION BETWEEN FLOWWAY OPENING AND CLOSING POSITIONS, SAID BODY PARTS HAVING LONGITUDINAL EDGES WELDED TO ONE ANOTHER ALONG A PLANE PASSING THROUGH THE AXIS OF THE FLOWWAY AND PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, THE INNER SURFACES OF SAID BODY PARTS BEING CURVED TO PROVIDE AN ENLARGED CENTRAL PORTION FITTING RELATIVELY CLOSELY ABOUT THE CLOSURE MEMBER INTERMEDIATE END OPENINGS ON SAID BODY PARTS WHICH ARE SMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, EACH BODY PART BEING UNITARY BETWEEN ITS BEARINGS, LONGITUDINAL EDGES, AND ITS PORTIONS OF THE END OPENINGS, AN ANNULAR SEAT ENGAGED WITH AN END OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, MEANS INCLUDING A TUBULAR MEMBER WELDED TO THE END OPENING IN THE WELDED BODY PARTS ADJACENT SAID END OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER AND HAVING AN INWARDLY FACING ABUTMENT SURFACE THEREON SPACED OUTWARDLY OF THE ENLARGED CENTRAL PORTION OF THE VALVE BODY, AND SPRING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE ABUTMENT SURFACE AND AN OUTWARDLY FACING ABUTMENT SURFACE ON SAID SEAT FOR RETAINING THE INNER END OF SAID SEAT IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, EACH OF THE PORT THROUGH SAID CLOSURE MEMBER AND THE OPENINGS THROUGH SAID SEAT AND TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIAMETER TO PROVIDE A FULL OPENING PASSAGEWAY THROUGH THE VALVE IN ITS OPEN POSITION.