Fluid flow control valve

An apparatus for inhibiting the excess flow of fluid under pressure therethrough and for manually restoring flow controlling operation thereof without fluid seals on flexible members interposed between fluid under pressure therewith and the environment, the apparatus comprising:

• a body having an aperture between a vertically-aligned lower first chamber and upper second chamber for fluid flow therethrough from the first chamber to the second chamber, said aperture having a sealing face on the side thereof within the first chamber;
• a fluid inlet coupled to the first chamber at a location in the lower region thereof remote from the aperture, and a fluid outlet coupled to the second chamber;
• an element vertically disposed and slidably positioned within the first chamber intermediate the fluid inlet and the aperture and freely slidable vertically therein for movement between a normally-open reset position away from engagement with the aperture and a sealing position in contact with the aperture to form a fluid-tight seal therewith without any intervening resilient means for urging the element away from the sealing position, said element providing fluid passages of selected cross-sectional area from the fluid inlet to the aperture for imparting self-actuated moving force to the element to move the element to the sealing position in contact with the aperture in response to fluid under pressure flowing through said selected cross-sectional area momentarily in excess of a selected flow rate;
• an actuator disposed for vertical movement through the aperture for selectively repositioning the element in the first chamber to its reset position therein from the second chamber;
• control means including a magnet interposed between first and second biasing means for vertical sliding movement within the second chamber to selectively alter the position of the actuator, said first and second biasing means urging said control means away from the aperture to permit fluid under pressure at said fluid inlet to maintain said element in said sealing position closing said aperture following momentary excess rate of flow of the fluid under pressure;
• and,
• a magnet disposed outside the body to interact in direct alignment and in magnetic repulsion with the magnet of the control means for altering the position of the control means within the second chamber to apply force to the actuator.