Rotary multiposition valve

Claim 1

A rotary multiposition valve for selectively directing the flow of a fluid through a plurality of paths comprising: a. a housing, said housing having a portion defining a hollow tube; b. a plurality of ducts, said ducts being disposed longitudinally in a spaced-apart relationship on the periphery of said housing and being in fluid communication with said hollow tube; and c. an inner member having an engaging section and a base section connected thereto, said engaging section being received in said hollow tube and having a seal means disposed within and dividing said engaging section into a hollow inlet segment and a hollow outlet segment, said base section being outside of said hollow tube and having a hollow interior segment in fluid communication with said inlet segment, said inlet segment having portions defining a plurality of inlet apertures, said plurality of inlet apertures being disposed in a longitudinally and radially spaced-apart pattern in said inlet segment, said outlet segment having portions defining a plurality of outlet apertures, said plurality of outlet apertures being disposed in a corresponding spaced-apart pattern in said outlet segment, so that as said inner member is rotated relative to said housing, whenever an inlet aperture overlaps with one of said ducts, the corresponding outlet aperture will overlap with a different duct, whereby a fluid pathway is formed through which fluid introduced into said base section can flow when the corresponding ducts are connected.