In line oral inflation valve

Claim 1

A check valve, comprising: a generally cylindrical, elongate valve body having an open leading end into which a gaseous fluid is admitted and an open trailing end from which gaseous fluid is exhausted; a radially inwardly extending valve seat formed in said valve body, said valve seat being disposed a predetermined distance from said open leading end; a valve head having a leading fend adapted for seating against said valve seat, said valve head being disposed between said valve seat and said trailing end of said valve body; said valve seat having a central opening formed therein; a cone-shaped recess formed in a trailing end of said valve head; a cylindrically-shaped recess formed in said trailing end of said valve head, said cylindrically-shaped recess being in open communication with said cone-shaped recess; a valve stem having a cone-shaped leading end; an annular ring formed on said valve stem, said annular ring being positioned in trailing relation to said cone-shaped leading end and being positioned within said cylindrically-shaped recess; a plurality of radially-extending wings formed on said valve stem in trailing relation to said annular ring, said wings being positioned outside said cylindrical recess, and said wings having a collective radial extent slightly less than an inner diameter of said valve body; a bias means for urging said valve stem toward said valve seat so that said cone-shaped leading end of said valve stem is urged into said cone-shaped recess; whereby a vertex of said cone-shaped valve stem leading end is urged by said bias means into point-to-point contact with a vertex of said cone-shaped recess so that the connection between said valve stem leading end and said valve head is articulated and substantially free of friction; and whereby said valve head, when unseated by gaseous fluid flow through said valve body, is constrained against skewing to a predetermined extent by said annular ring and said wings.