Ball type valve rotator
OwnerBronislaw B. Florekinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved ball type valve rotator is provided that includes a main body segment having a bottom wall with an upper surface, and a body cap that overlies the main body segment. A ball cages assembly is housed between the main body segment and the body cap. The ball cages assembly includes multiple ramps with lower surfaces that are spaced from the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment. This allows the multiple ramps to deflect toward the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment. The multiple ramps can deflect independently of each other, so that different distances can be defined between the different ramps and the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment. In so doing, the ball cage assembly can accommodate non-uniform applications of force into the valve rotator.
Claims20
A valve rotator comprising:
- (a) a main body segment having a bottom wall with an upper surface thereof;
- (b) a body cap overlying the main body segment;
- and
- (c) a ball cage assembly including multiple ramps having lower surfaces that are spaced from the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment, allowing the multiple ramps to deflect toward the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment,
- wherein the multiple ramps are deflected independently of each other, facilitating establishment of different distances between respective ramps and the bottom wall upper surface of the main body segment for accommodating non-uniform applications of force into the valve rotator.
A valve rotator comprising:
- (a) a housing assembly having a generally circular perimeter and defining a void space therein;
- and
- (b) a ball cage assembly that is separate from the housing assembly and housed within the void space of the housing assembly, and having
- (i) multiple ramps extending upwardly from a lower portion thereof and tangentially or obliquely with respect to the housing assembly perimeter;
- (ii) multiple bearing balls supported by the multiple ramps,
- wherein the multiple ramps are deflectable during instances of axial compressive loading of the valve rotator, and wherein the ramps maintain angles of inclination while deflecting such that the bearing balls roll down the respective ramps during such instances of axial compressive loading of the valve rotator.
A valve rotator comprising:
- (a) a main body segment having a generally circular perimeter and accepting a valve component therethrough;
- (b) a body cap overlying the main body segment, the main body segment and the body cap being axially and rotationally movable with respect to each other;
- and
- (c) a ball cage assembly that is separate from and housed between the main body segment and the body cap, and having
- (i) multiple ramps that are deflectable toward the main body segment;
- (ii) multiple bearing balls supported by the multiple ramps,
- wherein reducing an axial distance between the body cap and main body segment increases a pinch force between the bearing balls and the body cap and correspondingly forces the bearing balls to roll down the ramps, such that in an event of non-uniform axial force application to the valve rotator, at least one of the ramps is deflected relatively further than the others and correspondingly balances a distribution of the non-uniform axial force application between the multiple bearing balls.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.