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US 12,692,945 B2Granted
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 having a body, a top side, a recess, and a cavity extending at least partially into the body, the cavity including:
- a first portion having a first diameter, and
- a second portion axially spaced by at least the first portion and having a second diameter greater than the first diameter;
- (b) one or more guide legs comprising:
- one or more legs, and
- a coupling member extending axially from the one or more legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers extending from the one or more legs to flex radially inward responsive to a force driving the plurality of fingers within the first portion;
- and
- (c) a sealing element positioned within the recess so that the upper portion connects to both the one or more guide legs and the sealing element, thereby to position the sealing element within the recess and to position the coupling member into the cavity.
5 more elements
A valve member comprising:
- (a) an upper portion comprising:
- a top side,
- an underside,
- a 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) one or more guide legs comprising:
- one or more legs, and
- a coupling member extending from the one or more legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers extending from the one or more legs to flex radially inward responsive to force, thereby to drive the plurality of fingers within the first portion;
- and
- (c) a sealing element configured to be positioned within the recess so that the upper portion connects to the one or more guide legs or the sealing element when force is applied thereto.
9 more elements
A method for forming a valve member, the method comprising:
- positioning one or more guide legs for connection to a carrier portion, the guide legs including a plurality of fingers extending therefrom;
- positioning, axially spaced from the one or more guide legs, a sealing element;
- positioning, axially spaced from the sealing element, the carrier portion;
- and
- applying force, thereby to flex the plurality of fingers radially inward, thereby 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 connected to one or more guide legs, a cavity within one of the upper portion or the one or more guide legs, and a coupling member associated with the other of the upper portion or the one or more guide legs, the coupling member comprising a plurality of fingers to flex inward responsive to force driving the plurality of fingers, so that the upper portion couples to the one or more guide legs when force is applied thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.