Animal watering valve with deflectable elastomeric boot

An animal watering valve comprising:

• (A) a housing which has formed therein 1) an axial bore, 2) an inlet in fluid communication with said bore, and 3) an outlet in fluid communication with said bore;
• (B) a valve element which is located in said bore;
• (C) a valve stem which is located in said bore and which extends from said valve element, through said upstream portion of said bore, through a reduced diameter portion of said bore, and toward said outlet, said valve stem being radially deflectable with respect to said housing between 1) a relatively central, undeflected position in which said valve element is closed and 2) a radially deflected position in which said valve element is open;
• and
• (D) a generally cup-shaped elastomeric boot which is located in said housing and which includes
• (1) a cylindrical body portion which has an upstream end and a downstream end,
• (2) a peripheral ring at least a portion of which extends radially inwardly from said upstream end of said body portion and which surrounds a downstream axial end portion of a stationary interior surface of said housing so as to clamp said boot to said stationary interior surface, and
• (3) a membrane which covers said downstream end of said body portion and which has a central aperture formed therethrough for the passage of said valve stem, wherein
• a radial gap is formed between said membrane and an adjacent peripheral surface of said bore, said radial gap having a thickness .alpha. when said valve stem assumes said undeflected position,
• said membrane moves a maximum radial distance .beta. upon maximum radial deflection of said valve stem, and wherein
• .beta. is less than .alpha..

An animal watering valve comprising:

• (A) a cylindrical housing which has an inlet, an outlet, and a bore extending axially from said inlet to said outlet, said housing including
• (1) a body which has a boss at a downstream end thereof, a groove being formed in an outer peripheral surface of said boss,
• (2) a cap which is attached to said body and at least a portion of which is located upstream of said body, and
• (3) a guard which is attached to said body and at least a portion of which is located downstream of said body;
• (B) valve element including a diaphragm which is located at a junction between said cap and said body;
• (C) a valve stem which extends from said diaphragm, through said bore, and through said outlet, said valve stem being radially deflectable with respect to said housing between 1) a relatively central, undeflected position in which said valve element is closed and 2) a radially deflected position in which said valve element is open;
• and
• (D) a generally cup-shaped elastomeric boot which is located in said housing, which is formed of material having a hardness of less than 10 Durometer Shore A, and which includes
• (1) a cylindrical body portion which has an upstream end and a downstream end,
• (2) a peripheral ring at least a portion of which extends radially inwardly from said upstream end of said body portion and which is seated in said groove in said boss so as to clamp said boot to said boss, and
• (3) a membrane which covers said downstream end of said body portion and which has a central aperture formed therethrough for the passage of said valve stem, wherein
• a radial gap is formed between said membrane and an adjacent peripheral surface of said bore, said radial gap having a thickness .alpha. when said valve stem assumes said undeflected position,
• said membrane moves a maximum radial distance .beta. upon maximum radial deflection of said valve stem, and wherein
• .beta. is less than .alpha..

A method of actuating an animal watering valve comprising:

• (A) providing a valve including
• (1) a housing which has formed therein a) an axial bore, b) an inlet in fluid communication with said bore, and c) an outlet in fluid communication with said bore,
• (2) a valve element which is located in said bore,
• (3) a valve stem which is located in said bore and which extends from said valve element toward said outlet, and
• (4) a generally cup-shaped elastomeric boot which is located in said housing;
• and
• (B) deflecting said valve stem radially with respect to said housing from a relatively central, undeflected position to a deflected position thereby to open said valve element and to permit water to flow through said valve element and out of said outlet, wherein
• during said deflecting step, a downstream end of said boot moves with said valve stem throughout at least substantially all of a full range of radial deflection of said valve stem without contacting any peripheral surface of said bore.