Butterfly valve assembly having split body

Claim 1

A valve assembly for use between a pair of pipe flanges, comprising: an operating housing having opposite end faces and a bore extending therethrough intersecting said end faces; means for supporting the housing between the pipe flanges with the end faces of the housing engaging the pipe flanges and the housing bore aligned with the pipe flanges; first and second relatively rigid rings of a size to slide lengthwise into the opposite ends of the housing bore into abutting relation to form a valve body, the abutting ends of said rings having diametrically opposed and mating partial bores therein forming diametrically opposed valve stem journals at the opposite sides of the valve body; a valve disc in the valve body; valve stem means secured to the valve disc and rotatably supported in and by said journals, whereby one of said rings supports the load applied to the disc when the disc is closed; means journaled in the operating housing and connected to the valve stem means for rotating the valve disc to an open and a closed position; and an elastomer lining bonded around the inner periphery of each ring extending over a portion of the non-abutting end of the respective ring and protruding beyond the respective end of the housing when the rings are in assembled relation to sealingly engage the respective pipe flange, said linings being shaped to provide an aperture aligned with each valve stem journal having a diameter less than the diameter of the respective stem means to form a stem seal, and one of said linings being shaped to provide an annular seat for the disc.