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US 12,292,120 B1Granted
System and method for valve assembly
AssigneeVulcan Industrial Holdings, LLC
InventorsChance Ray Mullins, Jason David Smith, Steven Zachary Newberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A valve assembly includes an upper portion to be coupled to guide legs, a cavity being formed within one of the upper portion or the guide legs and a coupling member being associated with the other of the upper portion or the guide legs, wherein the upper portion is coupled to the guide legs via a single force application process.
Claims18
A valve member comprising:
- (a) an upper portion comprising:
- a top side,
- an underside,
- an annular recess positioned between the top side and the underside, and
- a cavity extending at least partially into a body of the upper portion, the cavity arranged at the underside and having:
- a first portion adjacent the underside, the first portion having a first diameter, and
- a second portion axially spaced from the underside by at least the first portion and having a second diameter greater than the first diameter;
- (b) guide legs comprising:
- a plurality of legs, and
- a coupling member extending axially from the plurality of legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers extending from the plurality of legs and configured to flex radially inward responsive to a force driving the plurality of fingers within the first portion;
- and
- (c) a sealing element configured to be installed within the annular recess so that the upper portion couples to both the guide legs and the sealing element when a force is applied thereto, thereby to axially position the sealing element within the annular recess and to position the coupling member into the cavity.
9 more elements
A valve member comprising:
- (a) an upper portion comprising:
- a top side,
- an underside,
- an annular recess positioned between the top side and the underside, and
- a cavity extending at least partially into a body of the upper portion, the cavity arranged at the underside and having:
- a first portion adjacent the underside, the first portion having a first diameter, and
- a second portion axially spaced from the underside by at least the first portion and having a second diameter greater than the first diameter;
- (b) guide legs comprising:
- a plurality of legs, and
- a coupling member extending axially from the plurality of legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers extending from the plurality of legs and configured to flex radially inward responsive to a force, thereby to drive the plurality of fingers within the first portion;
- and
- (c) a sealing element configured to be positioned within the annular recess so that the upper portion couples to at least one of the guide legs or the sealing element when a force is applied thereto.
9 more elements
A method for forming a valve member, the method comprising:
- positioning guide legs for connection to a carrier portion, the guide legs including a plurality of fingers extending therefrom;
- positioning, axially spaced from the guide legs, a sealing element;
- positioning, axially spaced from the sealing element, the carrier portion;
- and
- applying a linear force, thereby to flex the plurality of fingers radially inward, to drive the guide legs, the sealing element, and the carrier portion into a mating relationship.
2 more elements
A valve assembly comprising:
- an upper portion to be coupled to guide legs, a cavity formed within one of the upper portion or the guide legs, and a coupling member associated with the other of the upper portion or the guide legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers extending from the guide legs and configured to flex radially inward responsive to a force driving the plurality of fingers within the first portion, so that the upper portion couples to the guide legs when the force is applied thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.