Sexless ball valve coupling

In a ball valve unit having a valve body defining a central flow passage extending therethrough to an end face, a ball valve mounted within said flow passage for movement between open and closed positions, handle means for moving said ball valve between said open and closed positions, a lock lug protruding from said end face, a lug recess formed in said end face, and an undercut lock channel formed in said end face with an entrance end opening to said lug recess, the improvement comprising:

• a safety lock-out key mounted within a track formed in said valve body for sliding movement between an advanced position protruding into said lug recess, and a retracted position withdrawn from said lug recess;
• means for urging said lock-out key normally to said advanced position;
• and
• a stem pin carried by the ball valve for movement therewith, said stem pin being oriented when the ball valve is closed for reception into a keyway formed on said lock-out key to permit movement of said lock-out key between said advanced and retracted positions, said lock-out key engaging said stem pin when said stem pin is received into said keyway to prevent movement of the ball valve from said closed position to said open position;
• said stem pin being spaced from said keyway when said lock-out key is in the advanced position to permit movement of the ball valve between said open and closed positions, said stem pin engaging said lock-out key when the ball valve is in said open position to block movement of said lock-out key from said advanced position.

A ball vale coupling, comprising:

• a pair of ball valve units adapted for respective connection to a pair of fluid flow conduits, and further adapted for interconnection with each other in in-line, face-to-face relation;
• each of said ball valve units including a valve body defining an end face, a central flow passage extending through said valve body to said end face, a face seal mounted at said end face in surrounding relation to said central flow passage, a ball valve mounted within said central flow passage for rotation between open and closed positions, a valve handle mounted on said valve body in an externally accessible position for manually displacing said ball valve between said open and closed positions, a lock lug protruding outwardly from said end face, a lug recess formed in said end face for slide-in reception of the lock lug on the other ball valve unit when said ball valve units are interconnected, and means forming an undercut lock channel for receiving the lock lug on the other ball valve unit upon slide-in reception of said lock lug into said lug recess and coaxial rotation of said ball valve units relative to each other;
• each of said ball valve units further including a safety lock-out key mounted within a track formed in said valve body and movable between an advanced position protruding at least partially into said lug recess and a retracted position withdrawn from said lug recess, means for urging said lock-out key normally to said advanced position, and a stem pin carried by said ball valve for movement therewith;
• said stem pin having a size and shape for reception into a keyway formed in said lock-out key when said ball valve is in the closed position to permit movement of said lock-out key to said retracted position when said lock-out key is engaged by the lock lug on the other ball valve unit as said ball valve units are interconnected, said lock-out key engaging said stem pin while said lock-out key is in the retracted position to prevent movement of said ball valve to the open position, said stem pin being spaced from said keyway when said lock-out key is in said advanced position to permit movement of said ball valve to the open position, said stem pin being oriented when said ball valve is in the open position to block movement of said lock-out key from said advanced position toward said retracted position.