Eccentric ball type valve

Claim 1

A valve comprising: A. a casing, having aligned inlet and outlet passages, a bonnet opening, at right angles to the axis of said inlet and outlet passages, a valve chamber for provision of a valve member to effect closure, an annular valve seat surrounding one of said passages; B. a bonnet for said casing, said bonnet having a bore axially aligned parallel to the centerline of said bonnet opening; C. a valve stem rotatably journaled in the bore of said bonnet and extending into said casing at one end and projecting out of said casing at the other; D. packing surrounding said valve stem; E. a spherical valve member, having a cylindrical fluid passage therethrough and mounted on said valve stem for movement between an open position in which said cylindrical fluid passage is in parallel axial alignment with said axis of said inlet and outlet passages and a closed position in which said cylindrical fluid passage is disposed transversely across said valve chamber, normal to said axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages, and F. means to rotate said valve stem; G. said spherical valve member being mounted so that its centerline is offset relative to the centerline of said stem; H. the improvement wherein: 1. the centerline of said bonnet opening is offset from the axis of said inlet and outlet passages, and 2. said stem is mounted so that its centerline is offset from the centerline of said bonnet, and 3. the spherical valve member moves in an arc between open and closed positions, so as to engage the valve seat tangentially with a wiping action and defines an angle of approach to said valve seat of greater than 0° so as to be self-locking; I. the further combination therewith of: 1. movement means including the co-action of the bore of said bonnet and the stem of said valve member responsive to the rotation of said bonnet for moving said spherical valve member in an effective straight line into seating and engagement with said seat during assembly; and 2. means for permanently securing said bonnet in fixed position.

Claim 7

A method of assembling a valve from an assemblage of complementary parts which includes: A. a casing, having aligned inlet and outlet passages, a valve chamber opening at the top, the centerline of said opening being offset from the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages and an annular valve seat surrounding one of said passages; B. a bonnet for said opening, said bonnet having a bore extending through said bonnet with its centerline offset relative to the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages; C. a valve stem, D. a spherical valve member, having a cylindrical fluid passages therethrough, E. movement means including the co-action of said valve stem and the bore of said bonnet, responsive to the rotation of said bonnet, F. the stems which comprise: 1. attaching said spherical valve member to said valve stem so that the centerline of the spherical valve member is offset relative to the centerline of said valve stem; 2. inserting said spherical valve member through said opening at the top of said valve casing into said valve chamber and aligning said spherical valve member so that said cylindrical fluid passage lies perpendicular to the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages; 3. placing said bonnet into position in the opening at the top of said valve chamber with said valve stem protruding through the bore of said bonnet; 4. holding said valve stem and said spherical valve member in position and rotating said bonnet until the spherical valve member engages said seat in sealing engagement, 5. permanently securing said bonnet into position in said valve casing and 6. inserting packing around said valve stem and securing said packing into place.

Claim 8

A method of assembling a valve from an assemblage of complementary parts which includes: A. a casing, having aligned inlet and outlet passages, a valve chamber opening at the top, the centerline of said opening being offset from the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages and an annular valve seat surrounding one of said passages; B. a bonnet for said opening, said bonnet having a bore extending through said bonnet with its centerline offset relative to the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages; C. a valve stem, D. a spherical valve member, having a cylindrical fluid passages therethrough, E. movement means including the co-action of said valve stem and the bore of said bonnet, responsive to the rotation of said bonnet, F. the stems which comprise: 1. attaching said spherical valve member to said valve stem so that the centerline of the spherical valve member is offset relative to the centerline of said valve stem; 2. inserting said spherical valve member through said opening at the top of said valve casing into said valve chamber and aligning said spherical valve member so that said cylindrical fluid passage lies perpendicular to the axis of said aligned inlet and outlet passages; 3. placing said bonnet into position in the opening at the top of said valve chamber with said valve stem protruding through the bore of said bonnet; 4. holding said valve stem and said spherical valve member in position and rotating said bonnet until the spherical valve member engages said seat in sealing engagement, 5. permanently securing said bonnet into position in said valve casing and 6. inserting packing around said valve stem and securing said packing into place.