Butterfly valve utilizing spring for consistent disk placement

A butterfly valve for controlling gas flow, the butterfly valve comprising:

• a valve body, the valve body defining a bore and including, at least, a first wall and a second wall, the first wall and the second wall being substantially parallel with respect to one another;
• a shaft disposed substantially perpendicular to the first and second walls and configured for rotatable motion with respect to the valve body, the shaft including a first portion, a second portion, and a center portion, the first portion including a shoulder and intersecting with the first wall, the second portion intersecting with the second wall, and the center portion disposed within the bore;
• a disk housed within the bore, operatively coupled with the center portion of the shaft, and configured to control gas flow through the bore based on a rotational position of the shaft relative to the valve body;
• a ball bearing operatively coupled with the first portion of the shaft and disposed proximate to the first wall, the ball bearing including a ball and a race;
• and
• a spring disposed proximate to the second wall and the second portion of the shaft and configured to provide an axial force on the shaft, the axial force configured to press the shoulder of the first portion of the shaft against the race of the ball bearing to prevent an outer edge of the disk from contacting an inner wall of the bore.

An apparatus for controlling gas flow, the apparatus comprising:

• a valve body, the valve body defining a bore and including, at least, a first wall and a second wall, the first wall and the second wall being substantially parallel with respect to one another;
• a shaft disposed substantially perpendicular to the first and second walls and configured for rotatable motion with respect to the valve body, the shaft including a first portion, a second portion, and a center portion, the first portion including a shoulder and intersecting with the first wall, the second portion intersecting with the second wall, and the center portion disposed within the bore, and the shaft defining a disk slot positioned proximately about a center rotational axis of the shaft;
• a disk housed within the bore, operatively coupled with the center portion of the shaft via the disk slot, and configured to control gas flow through the bore based on a rotational position of the shaft relative to the valve body;
• a ball bearing operatively coupled with the first portion of the shaft and disposed proximate to the first wall, the ball bearing including a ball and a race;
• a spring disposed proximate to the second wall and the second portion of the shaft and configured to provide an axial force on the shaft, the axial force configured to press the shoulder of the first portion of the shaft against the race of the ball bearing to prevent an outer edge of the disk from contacting an inner wall of the bore;
• and
• a spring plug, the spring plug disposed proximate to the second portion of the shaft and the second wall, the spring plug housing the spring and, in part, the second portion.