Method of making and reconditioning ball valves

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF RECONDITIONING A WORN, ANNULAR, CENTRALLY APERTURED, VALVE SEAT AND A MATING AND CORRESPONDINGLY WORN, FLUID-PRESSURE-RESPONSIVE, DOME-HEADED VALVE OF THE TYPE DISPOSABLE WITHIN A FLUID CONDUIT IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPRING-URGED GUIDE MEANS FOR LONGITUDINAL RECIPROCATION ALONG THE CONDUIT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM A SEATING POSITION OVERLYING AND CLOSING THE CENTRAL APERTURE OF SAID VALVE SEAT, WITH AN APICAL END OF THE VALVE GENERALLY CENTERED IN SAID APERTURE, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES: (1) EXPURGING THE EXISTING SEATING AREA OF THE WORN VALVE SEAT AND RESHAPING AN ANNULAR AREA TO FORM A NEW SEATING AREA HAVING AN ARCUATE CURVATURE OF A THEORETICAL SPHERE, (2) RESHAPING SAID DOME-HEADED VALVE (A) BY AXIALLY SHORTENING SAID APICAL END, (B) BY RESHAPING THE WORN, ANNULAR SEATING AREA SURROUNDING SAID HEAD ADJACENT ITS APICAL END, TO FORM A CONICAL SHAPE OF MORE ACUTE ANGLE THAN THAT OF THE WORN VALVE, (C) BY FORMING ADJACENT THE APICAL MARGIN OF SAID RESHAPED CONICAL AREA, AN ANNULAR AREA OF ARCUATE CURVATURE BASED ON A THEORETRICAL SPHERE OF SLIGHTLY SHORTER RADIUS THAN THE ARCUATE CURVATURE OF SAID RESHAPED VALVE SEAT, WHEREBY A THIN, ANNULAR, LINE-CONTACT OF LESS AXIAL THICKNESS THAN THAT OF THE PREVIOUS CONTACT BETWEEN THE WORN VALVE AND THE WORN VALVE SEAT IS FORMED BETWEEN THE RECONDITIONED VALVE WHEN SEATED AND THE RECONDITIONED VALVE SEAT, SAID CONTACT THUS BEING AT THE CONVERGED END OF A THIN, ARCUATE, WEDGESHAPED SPACE WHICH IS DEFINED JOINTLY BY THE TWO SPERICAL CURVATURES OF SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RADII, SAID SPACE BEING THUS ADAPTED TO BE FILLED BY FLUID-FLOW DISPOSED TO CUSHION THE VALVE IN SEATING.