Gear drive for a disk

A valve for controlling the flow of fluid, said valve including:

• a valve body having an inlet port and an outlet port separated by an internal cavity;
• an elongated rotator spool extending a substantial distance within said internal cavity having a fluid passageway extending longitudinally therethrough for conducting fluid from the inlet port of the valve body;
• gear means carried by said rotator spool for rotating said spool about an axis extending along the length of the internal cavity of the valve body;
• an upstream disk affixed to a downstream side of said rotator spool as an assembly unit within said internal cavity, said upstream disk having a fluid passageway extending therethrough for conducting fluid from the fluid passageway of the rotator spool;
• a downstream disk supported by the valve body in a confronting, face-to-face relationship with the upstream disk, said downstream disk having a fluid passageway extending therethrough for conducting fluid from the fluid passageway of the upstream disk;
• and
• drive means including gear teeth meshing with said gear means of the rotator spool for rotating the rotator spool and the upstream disk affixed thereto, such that the fluid passageways of the rotator spool and the upstream disk may be moved into and out of a fluid-conducting relationship with the fluid passageway of the downstream disk.