Selective back seat valve

Claim 1

In a non-rising stem valve in which a valve body is mounted in a valve chamber that intersects a flow passage within a valve housing, and in which a valve stem projects out through a transverse passageway in the housing from an operative relation with the valve body, a structural improvement comprising: means defining an annular seat on said valve housing within said valve chamber peripherally of where said transverse passageway intersects said valve chamber; means defining an annular shoulder on said valve stem spaced axially below said annular seat; a first, abrupt radial enlargement in said transverse passageway, providing a first upwardly facing shoulder therein spaced axially above said annular seat; a second, abrupt radial enlargement in said transverse passageway, providing a second upwardly facing shoulder therein spaced axially above said first upwardly facing shoulder; an annulus of packing surrounding said stem in said transverse passageway, said annulus of packing being bottomed on said first upwardly facing shoulder; an annular packing gland surrounding said stem in said transverse passageway, said annular packing gland being bottomed on said second upwardly facing shoulder and having a tubular portion extending downwardly into engagement with said annulus of packing; an annular bonnet gland surrounding said stem; means providing a band of external threading on the bonnet gland and a band of internal threading on the housing, within said transverse passageway, above said second upwardly facing shoulder, said bands being threadably engaged to compress said packing gland axially against said annulus of packing, bearing means for said stem, said bearing means being secured between said stem and said bonnet gland; whereby, the annulus of packing may be replaced even while the valve remains open and in service, by threadably backing out the bonnet gland, axially raising the stem until said annular shoulder on the stem abuts and seals against said annular seat on the valve housing, removing the bonnet gland, packing gland and annulus of packing from the transverse passageway, installing a sound replacement for said annulus of packing, reinstalling the packing gland and bonnet gland, and threadably tightening the bonnet gland and again lowering the valve stem to disengage said annular shoulder on the stem from the annular seat on the valve housing; removable securement means between the housing and the bonnet gland for preventing the bonnet gland from being unintentionally backed out while the bonnet gland is in place compressing said packing gland against said packing assembly and including a bonnet gland retainer wire means coaxially, removably received in means defining a coaxially annular pocket between the housing, within said transverse passageway, and said bonnet gland, the pocket being axially broader than the gage of said retainer wire means by an amount sufficient to permit the bonnet gland to be backed out, once said securement means is removed, enough to permit said annular shoulder on the valve stem to engage with said annular seat on the valve housing, but insufficient to permit further backing out of the bonnet gland unless said retainer wire means is removed.