Abstract A venturi-ball valve including a body having inwardly tapering, coaxial inlet and outlet passages and an opening extending downwardly from the top of the body and communicating with the inner ends of the passages. Projecting into the body opening and extending beyond the inner ends of the inlet and outlet passages is a tubular retainer which carries a pair of spaced, removable seat rings, one of the seat rings being positioned at the juncture of the body opening and the inlet passage and the other at the juncture of the body opening and the outlet passage. A ball cage containing a sealing ball is slidable along the interior of the retainer and the inner ends of the seat rings by means of an operating stem which projects into the retainer. The ball permits or prevents fluid flow through the outlet passage depending on the position of the cage in the tubular retainer. The tubular retainer, the seat rings, the ball cage and the operating stem constitute a subassembly which may be readily positioned in the body opening at the time of assembly and removed therefrom for purposes of inspection or replacement of parts subject to wear, such as the seat rings, without disconnecting the valve from the flow line.
A valve comprising a body having inwardly tapering coaxial horizontal inlet an outlet passages and a vertical opening extending downwardly from the top of said body, said opening communicating with and terminating below said passages; a generally tubular seat retainer removably affixed to said body and provided with a depending portion fitted into said vertical opening and extending downwardly below said inlet and outlet passages, said depending portion being provided with an opposed pair of outwardly stepped openings coaxial with said inlet and outlet when said seat retainer is in its installed position, a valve seat ring removably fitted into each of said stepped openings and having an inwardly exposed annular valve seat of progressively decreasing diameter from its exposed inner face toward it opposite face, said seat rings being readily removable from said outwardly stepped openings whenever said seat retainer is removed from said body; removable means for retaining said seat retainer in its normally installed position; a ball cage reciprocably mounted within the said depending portion of said seat retainer and provided with a valve ball freely movable therein; means operably connected to said ball cage for reciprocating same between upper and lower positions; said ball cage, when in its lower position, being effective to permit said ball to move into position for line-contact seating against the annular seat of that seat ring that is associated with said outlet passage and close said passage, and when in an upper position, being effective to at least partly displace said ball out of its seated relation with respect to said annular seat; and means carried by said body for preventing said ball from moving below a predetermined lower limit of travel as said ball cage approaches it lower limit of movement.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
291 words
A valve comprising a body having inwardly tapering coaxial horizontal inlet an outlet passages and a vertical opening extending downwardly from the top of said body, said opening communicating with and terminating below said passages; a generally tubular seat retainer removably affixed to said body and provided with a depending portion fitted into said vertical opening and extending downwardly below said inlet and outlet passages, said depending portion being provided with an opposed pair of outwardly stepped openings coaxial with said inlet and outlet when said seat retainer is in its installed position, a valve seat ring removably fitted into each of said stepped openings and having an inwardly exposed annular valve seat of progressively decreasing diameter from its exposed inner face toward it opposite face, said seat rings being readily removable from said outwardly stepped openings whenever said seat retainer is removed from said body; removable means for retaining said seat retainer in its normally installed position; a ball cage reciprocably mounted within the said depending portion of said seat retainer and provided with a valve ball freely movable therein; means operably connected to said ball cage for reciprocating same between upper and lower positions; said ball cage, when in its lower position, being effective to permit said ball to move into position for line-contact seating against the annular seat of that seat ring that is associated with said outlet passage and close said passage, and when in an upper position, being effective to at least partly displace said ball out of its seated relation with respect to said annular seat; and means carried by said body for preventing said ball from moving below a predetermined lower limit of travel as said ball cage approaches it lower limit of movement.