Seal assembly

Claim 2

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage therethrough for fluid flow; B. a retaining ring having a passage therethrough communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers to form a recess therebetween open to the passage, the recess having a diverging, inverted "V" shaped section and a pair of shoulders, the shoulders being adjacent to the passage; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess, and extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, the width of said seat ring being slightly less than the corresponding width of the recess; D. a back-up means located in the recess communicating with said seat ring, whereby fluid entering between said seat ring and the chamfers on the inlet side of the recess forces said back-up means into co-operative engagement with said seat ring to form a fluid-tight seal between said seat ring and the valve closure means, and forces said back-up means and said seat ring into co-operative fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess when the valve closure means is positioned perpendicular to the passage.

Claim 3

The seal assembly of claim 1 wherein the recess has a substantially truncated-diamond shape configuration.

Claim 4

The seal assembly of claim 2 wherein said back-up means is a back-up ring.

Claim 5

The seal assembly of claim 3 wherein the surfaces of said seat ring adjacent to the chamfers are substantially complementary to the adjacent chamfers.

Claim 6

The seal assembly of claim 4 wherein the axis of rotation of the disc does not coincide with the centerline through said seat ring.

Claim 7

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing the leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage from the inlet to the outlet; B. a retaining ring communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers therein, said chamfers co-operating to form a recess having a generally truncated-diamond shape configuration; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess, said seat ring extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, the width of said seat ring being slightly less than the corresponding width of the recess to thereby form an inlet channel between the inlet side of the recess and said seat ring, and an outlet channel between the outlet side of the recess and said seat ring when said valve closure means is open; D. a back-up means located in the recess communicating with said seat ring whereby fluid enters the recess from the inlet channel and forces said back-up means and said seat ring into co-operative fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet channel and forces said back-up means into co-operative engagement with said seat ring to thereby form a fluid-tight seal between said seat ring and the valve closure means when the valve closure means is positioned to block flow through the valve.

Claim 8

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing the leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage from the inlet to the outlet; B. a retaining ring communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers therein, said chamfers co-operating to form a recess having a generally truncated-diamond shape configuration; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess, said seat ring extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, the width of said seat ring being slightly less than the corresponding width of the recess to thereby form an inlet channel between the inlet side of the recess and said seat ring, and an outlet channel between the outlet side of the recess and said seat ring when said valve closure means is open; D. a back-up means located in the recess communicating with said seat ring whereby fluid enters the recess from the inlet channel and forces said back-up means and said seat ring into co-operative fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet channel and forces said back-up means into co-operative engagement with said seat ring to thereby form a fluid-tight seal between said seat ring and the valve closure means when the valve closure means is positioned to block flow through the valve.

Claim 9

The seal assembly of claim 6 wherein said back-up means is a back-up ring.

Claim 10

The seal assembly of claim 7 wherein the surfaces of said seat ring adjacent to the chamfers are substantially complementary to the adjacent chamfers.

Claim 11

The seal assembly of claim 8 wherein said seat ring material is selected from the group of materials consisting of fluorocarbon polymers and urethanes and wherein the back-up ring material is selected from the group of materials consisting of natural rubber and synthetic elastomers.

Claim 12

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage therethrough for fluid flow; B. a retaining ring having a passage therethrough communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers to form a recess therebetween open to the passage, the recess having a diverging, inverted "V" shaped section and a pair of shoulders, the shoulders being adjacent to the passage; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess and extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, the width of said seat ring being slightly less than the corresponding width of the recess, whereby fluid from the inlet entering between said seat ring and the chamfers on the inlet side of the recess forces said seat ring into fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess and into fluid-tight engagement with the valve closure means when the valve closure means is positioned perpendicular to the passage.

Claim 13

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage therethrough for fluid flow; B. a retaining ring having a passage therethrough communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers to form a recess therebetween open to the passage, the recess having a diverging, inverted "V" shaped section and a pair of shoulders, the shoulders being adjacent to the passage; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess and extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, the width of said seat ring being slightly less than the corresponding width of the recess, whereby fluid from the inlet entering between said seat ring and the chamfers on the inlet side of the recess forces said seat ring into fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess and into fluid-tight engagement with the valve closure means when the valve closure means is positioned perpendicular to the passage.

Claim 14

The seal assembly of claim 10 wherein the recess has a substantially truncated-diamond shape configuration.

Claim 15

The seal assembly of claim 11 wherein said seat ring is substantially hollow.

Claim 16

The seal assembly of claim 12 further comprising a back-up spring located in said seat ring.

Claim 17

The seal assembly of claim 13 wherein the surfaces of said seat ring adjacent to the chamfers are substantially complementary to the adjacent chamfers.

Claim 18

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing the leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage from the inlet to the outlet; B. a retaining ring communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers therein, said chamfers co-operating to form a recess having a generally truncated-diamond shape configuration; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess, said seat ring extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, whereby fluid entering the recess between the chamfers on the inlet side of the recess and the inlet side of the seat ring forces the opposite side of said seat ring into sealing engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess and whereby said seat ring is compressed by, and forms a fluid-tight seal with, the valve closure means when the valve closure is positioned to block fluid flow through the valve.

Claim 19

A bi-directional valve seal assembly for preventing the leakage of fluid past the valve closure means comprising: A. a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a passage from the inlet to the outlet; B. a retaining ring communicating with said valve body, said valve body and said retaining ring each having a plurality of chamfers therein, said chamfers co-operating to form a recess having a generally truncated-diamond shape configuration; C. a seat ring disposed in the recess, said seat ring extending into the passage for engagement with the valve closure means, whereby fluid entering the recess between the chamfers on the inlet side of the recess and the inlet side of the seat ring forces the opposite side of said seat ring into sealing engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess and whereby said seat ring is compressed by, and forms a fluid-tight seal with, the valve closure means when the valve closure is positioned to block fluid flow through the valve.

Claim 20

The seal assembly of claim 15 wherein the surfaces of said seat ring adjacent to the chamfers are substantially complementary to the adjacent chamfers.

Claim 21

The seal assembly of claim 16 further comprising a back-up means located in the recess communicating with said seat ring, said back-up means co-operating with said seat ring to force said seat ring into fluid-tight engagement with a chamfer on the outlet side of the recess and to force said seat ring into fluid-tight engagement with the valve closure means when the valve closure means is positioned to prevent fluid flow.

Claim 22

The seal assembly of claim 17 wherein said back-up means is a back-up spring and wherein said seat ring is substantially hollow, said back-up spring being located in the hollow portion of said seat ring.

Claim 23

The seal assembly of claim 18 wherein said back-up spring and said seat ring are of metal construction.