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Claim 1

SAFETY ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR UNIVERSAL APPLICATION IN PREVENTING UNINTENTIONAL ACTUATION OF A CONVEN TIONAL ROTARY TYPE VALVE HAVING A PAIR OF AXIALLY ALIGNED AND SPACED APART CYLINDRICAL VALVE STEM SECTIONS WHEREIN ONE OF SAID STEM SECTION IS CONNECTED WITH THE VALVE AND THE OTHER STEM SECTION HAS AN OPERATING HANDLE THEREON, SLEEVE MEANS HAVING AN AXIAL BORE WHEREBY IT IS ROTATABLE ON AND ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE VALVE STEM SECTIONS, SAID SLEEVE MEANS INCLUDING MEANS WHEREBY IT IS ROTATABLE WITH ONE OF SAID CYLINDRICAL STEM SECTIONS OF THE VALVE, SAID SLEEVE MEANS HAVING AXIAL COUNTERBORE MEANS THEREIN FORMING A DIAMETRAL WALL THEREIN INTERMEDIATE THE LENGTH OF THE SLEEVE MEANS, CLUTCH TEETH MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID DIAMETRAL WALL WITHIN THE LARGER BORE PORTION OF SAID AXIAL COUNTERBORE MEANS, SAID CLUTCH TEETH MEANS EXTENDING RADIALLY AND IN A LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION OF THE SLEEVE MEANS AND SPACED INWARDLY OF THE OUTER PERIPHERAL SURFACE THEREOF, COLLAR MEANS, SAID COLLAR MEANS BEING REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON AND ROTATABLE WITH THE OTHER OF SAID CYLINDRICAL VALVE STEM SECTIONS AND IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SLEEVE MEANS, ONE OF SAID SLEEVE AND COLLAR MEANS COMPRISING THE SOLE SUPPORT OF THE OTHER, SAID COLLAR MEANS HAVING CLUTCH TEETH FORMED ON THE OUTER PERIPHERY AND TERMINATING AT ONE END THEREOF, SAID COLLAR CLUTCH TEETH BEING COMPLEMENTARY TO THE CLUTCH TEETH OF SAID SLEEVE MEANS AND POSITIONED WITHIN SAID LARGER BORE PORTION OF THE COUNTERBORE THEREOF, SAID LARGER BORE OF THE COUNTERBORE OF SAID SLEEVE MEANS BEING OF A SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO PROVIDE FOR RELATIVE AXIAL MOVEMENT OF THE TEETH OF THE COLLAR MEANS BETWEEN AN INTER-ENGAGED POSITION WITH SAID TEETH OF SAID SLEEVE MEANS AND A ROTATABLY FREE DISENGAGED POSITION THEREIN, SPRING MEANS OF A DIAMETER GREATER THAN SAID CYLINDRICAL STEM SECTIONS AND DISPOSED INWARDLY OF SAID INTER-ENGAGEABLE CLUTCH TEETH OF SAID SLEEVE AND SAID COLLAR MEANS REACTING BETWEEN SAID SLEEVE MEANS AND SAID COLLAR MEANS NORMALLY TO BIAS SAID SLEEVE MEANS AND COLLAR MEANS IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION TO MAINTAIN SAID INTERENGAGEABLE CLUTCH TEETH MEANS APART IN A DISENGAGED RELATION, MEANS AT THE END OF SAID LARGER BORE PORTION OF THE SLEEVE COUNTERBORE NORMALLY ABUTTINGLY ENGAGED BY THE CLUTCH TEETH MEANS ON SAID COLLAR MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID COLLAR CLUTCH TEETH MEANS CONFINED WITHIN SAID LARGER BORE PORTION AND TO MAINTAIN THE SAFETY ACTUATING MECHANISM IN ASSEMBLED RELATION, SAID SAFETY MECHANISM BEING OPERATIVE WHEN AXIAL AND ROTATIONAL PRESSURE IS SEQUENTIALLY APPLIED TO THE HANDLE STEM SECTION OF THE VALVE TO FIRST OVERCOME THE BIASING ACTION OF SAID SPRING MEANS TO RELATIVELY AXIALLY MOVE SAID SLEEVE MEANS AND SAID COLLAR MEANS TO EFFECT INTERENGAGEMENT OF SAID INTER-ENGAGEABLE CLUTCH TEETH MEANS AND THEN ROTATE THE VALVE STEM TO EFFECT VALVE ACTIVATION.