Flexible seating structure for rotary valves

A high performance seal for a rotary valve having a valve body with a fluid passage, and a rotatable closure member to close off the fluid passage, comprising in combination:

• a valve seat formed on one of said valve body and said closure member;
• a flexible seat ring of relatively thin material mounted to the other of said valve body and said closure member, said flexible seat ring being adjustably positionable through adjustable mounting means to said other of said valve body and closure member during assembly and initial closure of said rotary valve and thereafter firmly secured thereto by said adjustable mounting means, after said flexible seat ring has been properly positioned said flexible seat ring having at least one cylindrical segment cantilevered adjacent said other of said valve body and said closure member to present a flexible seating surface to said valve seat;
• and
• resilient bias means retained between said one cylindrical segment of said flexible seat ring to bias said flexible seat ring to its proper seated position on said other of said valve body and said closure member relative to said valve seat during assembly and initial closure of said rotary valve, and further to continuously bias said flexible seat ring against said valve seat during closure of said closure member, after said flexible seat ring has been properly positioned and firmly secured.

The method of providing a watertight seal for a rotary valve having a valve body, and a rotatable closure member for closing off a fluid passage through the valve body, comprising the steps of:

• providing a sealing seat to one of the valve body and the rotatable closure member;
• loosely mounting a flexible seating ring formed of a relatively thin material to the other of said valve body and said rotatable closure member with adjustable mounting members, such that said flexible seating ring presents a flexible seating surface to said sealing seat during valve closure;
• positioning a resilient bias member between said flexible seating ring and said other of said valve body and said closure member to bias said flexible seating ring against said sealing seat when said closure member is initially closed, thereby permitting proper centered positioning of said flexible seating ring relative to said sealing seat during assembly of said rotary valve, as well as thereafter providing continuous biasing of said flexible seating ring during normal valve closure;
• closing said closure member during assembly of said rotary valve such that said flexible seating ring finds its proper sealing position with said sealing seat;
• and
• firmly securing said adjustable mounting members whereby said flexible seating ring is firmly secured in said proper centered sealing position.

The method of fabricating a rotary valve having a high performance seal, comprising the steps of:

• providing a valve body having a fluid flow passage;
• providing a rotatable closure member within said valve body to control fluid flow through said passage;
• providing a sealing seat on one of said valve body and said rotatable closure member;
• providing an adjustably mounted flexible seating ring on the other of said valve body and said rotatable closure member, whereby initially during rotary valve assembly said flexible seating ring is loosely mounted thereto;
• providing a resilient biasing member between said flexible seating ring and said other of said valve body and said rotatable closure member, for biasing said flexible seating ring against said sealing seat;
• closing said rotatable closure member during said initial rotary valve assembly to properly position said loosely mounted flexible seating ring relative to said sealing seat;
• and
• firmly securing said flexible seating ring once in its proper sealing position to the other of said valve body and said rotatable closure member, whereby said flexible seating ring presents a continuously biased flexible seating surface to said sealing seat during rotary valve closure after said flexible seating ring has been firmly secured.