Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
VALVE WITH STOP MECHANISM
David A. Buck
PRIORITY CLAIM
[001] This application claims priority from Application Serial No.
13/960,497, filed August
6, 2013, which application was a continuation-in-part of Application Serial
No. 13/863,918,
filed on April 16, 2013 and this application claims benefit from U.S.
Provisional Application
Serial No. 61/924,316,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] In many examples of drilling for oil or gas wells with standard U.S.
technology, a
drive bushing is turned by a rotary table. The drive bushing has a square or
hexagonal passage
therethrough slidably receiving a long square or hexagonal member known as a
kelly. One
potential hazard in drilling for oil or gas is encountering pressures which
are not balanced by
drilling fluid in the hole. One of many safety devices are valves on the
kelly, on the lower end
immediately above the uppermost drill pipe joint and on the upper end between
the kelly and
the swivel. The idea is to actuate the blowout preventer to seal around the
outside of the drill
string and to close the kelly valve or valves to keep well fluids from
returning through the drill
string. An analogous valve, known as a safety valve, is used in analogous
situations in
completion and workover operations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[003] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment described
herein.
[004] Figure 2 is a side elevation view of an embodiment described herein.
[005] Figure 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment described herein.
[006] Figure 4 is a side elevation view of an embodiment described herein.
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[007] Figure 5 is a sectional view of an embodiment described herein.
[008] Figure 6 is a sectional view of an embodiment described herein.
[009] Figure 7 is a sectional view of an embodiment described herein.
[0010] Figure 8 is a section view of one valve embodiment within a sub
housing.
[0011] Figure 9 is a side elevation view of an embodiment described herein.
[0012] Figure 10 is a side elevation view of an embodiment described herein.
[0013] Figure 11 is a perspective view of an embodiment described herein.
[0014] Figure 12 is a side elevation view of an embodiment described herein.
[0015] Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 12.
[0016] Figure 14 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment described
herein.
[0017] Figures 15A and 15B are views of an inter-locking structure for
securing the tongue
structures to the valve seat carriers.
[0018] Figure 16 is an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of valve
described herein.
[0019] Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view of the valve illustrated in Figure
16.
[0020] Figure 18 is an exploded view illustrating an alternative spring
arrangement.
[0021] Figure 19 is a cross-sectional view of a still further alternative
embodiment of the
valve described herein.
[0022] Figure 20 is an exploded view of the embodiment seen in Figure 19.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are
disclosed herein.
However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely
exemplary of the
invention, which can be embodied in various forms. As such, any feature(s)
used in one
embodiment can be used in another embodiment. Therefore, specific structural
and functional
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details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as
a basis for the claims
and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously
employ the present
invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the
terms and phrases used
herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather, to provide an
understandable description of the
invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features
of the invention
that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better
understood from a
consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing
figures, in which
like reference numerals are carried forward.
[0024] Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit
or the scope
of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments
of the
invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to
obscure the relevant
details of the invention.
[0025] Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be
understood that the
terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular
embodiments only and is not
intended to be limiting. The terms "a" or "an," as used herein, are defined as
one or more than
one. The term "plurality," as used herein, is defined as two or more than two.
The term
"another," as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms
"including" and/or
"having," as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The
terms
"connected" and/or "coupled," as used herein, are defined as connected,
although not
necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.
[0026] Relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like
may be used
solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action
without necessarily
requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such
entities or actions.
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The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof are
intended to cover a
non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus
that comprises a list
of elements does not include only those elements but may include other
elements not expressly
listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element
proceeded by
"comprises ... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence
of additional
identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that
comprises the element.
[0027] As used herein, the term "about" or "approximately" applies to all
numeric values,
whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of
numbers that one
of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e.,
having the same function
or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded
to the nearest
significant figure.
[0028] Herein various embodiments of the present invention are described. In
many of the
different embodiments, features are similar. Therefore, to avoid redundancy,
repetitive
description of these similar features may not be made in some circumstances.
It shall be
understood, however, that description of a first-appearing feature applies to
the later described
similar feature and each respective description, therefore, is to be
incorporated therein without
such repetition.
[0029] Described now are exemplary embodiments. Referring to the drawings,
beginning
with FIGS. 1 to 3, an exemplary embodiment of a valve 100 is shown. The valve
can be
employed as a kelly valve, a safety valve, or any other application where a
cartridge type valve
or ball valve is employed. The valve 100 (FIG. 2) includes a housing 102 with
a threaded drill
pipe pin 104 at the lower end and a threaded drill pipe box 106 at the upper
end. In one
embodiment, the housing 102 can be constructed of one piece, two pieces, or a
plurality of
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pieces. As shown in FIG. 3, the valve housing 102 has a cavity 108 therein
which can contain a
valve mechanism 110.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1, in this embodiment of valve mechanism 110
includes a bracket
112, an actuator or valve stem 114, an actuator key 116, a lower valve seat
cartridge 118
(sometimes also referred to as a "valve seat carrier"), a spring 120, a lower
valve seat 122, seals
124 and 126, a valve ball 128, an upper valve seat 130, and a ring 132. In the
embodiment of
FIG. 1, seals 124a are teflon rings, seals 124b rubber o-rings, seals 124c
parbak o-rings, and
seal 126 a poly-pak ring. Naturally, these seals are merely one example of the
many different
combinations of seals which could be employed.
[0031] The valve mechanism 110 can be secured within the housing 102 with cap
134 (FIG.
3). In one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, cap 134 may be formed by upper
sub housing
member 102a which threads into lower sub housing member 102b. Upper sub
housing member
102a presses against upper valve seat 130 to secure it in place within lower
sub housing
member 102b. In an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the cap 134 may be
an element
separate from the upper sub housing and includes threads which mate with
complementary
threads on the inner wall of the housing 102, thereby allowing the cap 134 to
be screwed into
the housing 102 in order to secure the valve mechanism 110 within the housing
102. The valve
mechanism 110 can be removed from the housing 102, for example in order to
replace the valve
mechanism 110 or to perform maintenance on the valve mechanism 110 (e.g.,
replace seals), by
unscrewing the cap 134 and removing the valve mechanism 110 from the housing
102.
[0032] In this embodiment, when the valve mechanism 110 is in an assembled
state, the lower
valve seat cartridge 118 is seated against the lower portion of the bracket
112. The lower valve
seat cartridge 118 can have one or more protrusions 136 which engage one or
more
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corresponding slots 138 formed in a first tongue 140 and a second tongue 142
of the bracket
112, thereby securing the lower valve seat cartridge 118 to the bracket 112.
All of the bracket
112 or portions of the bracket 112 (such as the first tongue 140 and the
second tongue 142) can
be constructed of a high strength, flexible material, such as a comparatively
thin steel sheeting,
including spring steel. In one example, the flexible material has a thickness
ranging between
about 50/1000 of an inch and about 3/8 of an inch, or any sub-range there
between, although
certain embodiments could be outside this range depending on the material
used. In one
preferred embodiment, bracket 112 is formed of spring steel about 100/1000 of
an inch thick.
In certain preferred embodiments, bracket 112 is formed by water jetting or
laser cutting the
steel sheeting. Certain embodiments of bracket 112 are intended to be flexible
by hand. In
other words, the tongues 140 and 142 may be flexed apart sufficiently to allow
the valve to be
assembled and disassembled as described below. One example of being flexible
by hand is
flexing under about 10 lbs to 100 lbs force (or any sub-range there between)
applied to the
tongues 140 and 142.
[0033] The spring 120 is seated against the lower valve seat cartridge 118.
The spring 120
can be a wave spring, a coiled spring, or any other type of spring or force
exerting device
(whether conventional or future developed). The lower valve seat 122 is
positioned against
spring 120 and valve ball 128 is seated against the lower valve seat 122.
Upper valve seat 130
is engaged with first tongue 140 and the second tongue 142 of the bracket (as
is further
described below), and the upper valve seat 130 is positioned against the valve
ball 128. Seal
1249, such as a Teflon 0-ring, is positioned between the lower valve seat 122
and the valve
ball 128, and seals against the passage of fluid between the lower valve seat
122 and the outer
surface of the valve ball 128. Similarly, seal 1249, such as a Teflon 0-ring,
is positioned
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between the upper valve seat 130 and the valve ball 128, and seals against the
passage of fluid
between the upper valve seat 130 and the outer surface of the valve ball 128.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment the upper valve seat 130
includes a channel
144 around its circumference. As depicted in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the upper
valve seat 130
includes a notch or planar section 146 and a side projection 168 extending
from notch 146 with
a channel or groove 148 formed in side projection 168. In this embodiment, the
groove 148 is
vertically extending in the sense that it extends into projection 168 in a
direction of the axis
along which the valve is assembled and disassembled, i.e., the line along
which the parts are
separated in FIG. 1. The first tongue 140 and second tongue 142 of the bracket
112 each include
a lip 150 that engage notches 146, thereby connecting the bracket 112 to the
upper valve seat
130.
[0035] In the illustrated embodiment, ring 132 is a split ring (as shown in
FIG. 1), which can
allow the ring 132 to be placed around or located about the upper valve seat
130, or removed
from the upper valve seat 130. This ring 130 includes a first recessed portion
152, a second
recessed portion 154, a first extended portion 156, and a second extended
portion 158. In an
assembled state, ring 132 sits within channel 144 and can be rotated around
the upper valve seat
130 while traveling through the channel 144.
[0036] Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 6, actuator 114 is connected to the
actuator key 116
through opening 160 in the second tongue 142 of the bracket 112. The actuator
key 116
includes a rib 162 that engages socket 164 of valve ball 128, thus
mechanically connecting the
actuator 114 with the valve ball 128. Rotation of the actuator 114 causes the
valve ball 128 to
rotate from a closed position (shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6) in which fluid is
prevented from
flowing through the valve mechanism 110, to an open position (not shown) in
which fluid is
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able to flow through the valve mechanism 110 by traveling through passageway
166 of valve
ball 128. FIG. 7 shows the valve mechanism of FIG. 6, but rotated 90 degrees
about its vertical
axis.
[0037] When the valve mechanism 110 is in an assembled state, the lower valve
seat 122 and
valve ball 128 are both biased toward the upper valve seat 130 by spring 120.
The spring 120
sits in the lower valve seat cartridge 118 and exerts a force on the lower
valve seat 122 which
presses the lower valve seat 122 towards the upper valve seat 130, resulting
in a compressive
force between the lower valve seat 122, seals 124 and 126, valve ball 128, an
upper valve seat
130. The compressive force can allow seals 124 and 126 to form a proper seal
around the valve
ball 128 which prevents the passage of fluids.
[0038] In operation of an embodiment, the valve mechanism 110 can be quickly
and easily
assembled without the use of specialized tools. For example, bracket 112,
lower valve seat
cartridge 118, spring 120, lower valve seat 122, seal 124, valve ball 128, and
seal 126 are first
seated against each other as described above. Next, first tongue 140 and
second tongue 142 are
flexed away from each other allowing side projections 168 of the upper valve
seat 130 to pass
between the lips 150 of the first tongue 140 and the second tongue 142, and
allowing the upper
valve seat 130 to be seated on the valve ball 128. The first tongue 140 and
second tongue 142
are then flexed towards each other to engage lips 150 with notches 146. Next,
the bracket 112
is moved downward such that the lips 150 additionally engage and sit within
the adjacent
grooves 148. The ring 132 is then located about the upper valve seat 130 and
placed within
channel 144. The ring 132 is next rotated around the upper valve seat 130
until the ring 132
reaches a second ring position (depicted in FIGS. 3 and 5) where the first
extended portion 156
and the second extended portion 158 are substantially aligned with the
respective projections
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168, and in which the lips 150 of the first tongue 140 and the second tongue
142 are obstructed
by, and are prevented from exiting the notches 146 by, the first extended
portion 156 and the
second extended portion 158, thereby securing the first tongue 140 and the
second tongue 142
of the bracket 112 to the upper valve seat 130. The valve mechanism 110 can
then be placed
within the housing 102 and the cap 134 can be screwed onto the housing 102.
[0039] In operation of this embodiment, in order to disassemble the valve 100
and valve
mechanism 110, the process described above is to a certain extent reversed.
For example, the
cap 134 can be unscrewed from the housing 102 and the valve mechanism 110 can
be removed
from the housing 102. The ring 132 is then rotated around the upper valve seat
130 until the
ring 132 reaches a first ring position (depicted in FIG. 6) where the first
recessed portion 152
and the second recessed portion 154 are substantially aligned with the
respective projections
168, and in which the lips 150 of the first tongue 140 and the second tongue
142 are
unobstructed by, and are able to exit the notches 146 by passage through, the
first recessed
portion 152 and the second recessed portion 154, thereby releasing the first
tongue 140 and the
second tongue 142 of the bracket 112 from the upper valve seat 130. If
desired, the ring 132
can then be removed from the upper valve seat 130. Alternatively, the ring 132
can remain
about the upper valve seat 130 located within channel 144, for example to
allow for the quick
and/or easy reassembly of the valve mechanism 110. Next, the bracket 112 is
moved upward
such that the lips 150 disengage from the grooves 148. The first tongue 140
and the second
tongue 142 are then flexed away from each other to disengage lips 150 from
notches 146. Next,
first tongue 140 and second tongue 142 are flexed further away from each other
(if necessary)
allowing projections 168 of the upper valve seat 130 to pass between the lips
150 of the first
tongue 140 and the second tongue 142, and allowing the upper valve seat 130 to
be unseated
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from the valve ball 128. Bracket 112, lower valve seat cartridge 118, spring
120, lower valve
seat 122, seal 124, valve ball 128, and seal 126 can then be unseated from
each other. The
above procedure can also allow the valve mechanism 110 to be quickly and
easily disassembled
without the use of specialized tools. If desired, seals 124, 126, and/or other
components of the
valve mechanism 110 can be repaired or replaced for example when the valve
mechanism is in
a disassembled or partially disassembled state. The valve 100 and valve
mechanism 110 can
then be reassembled for continued use.
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 9 to 14, an alternative embodiment of valve
mechanism 110 is
shown. In this embodiment, the first tongue 140 (Figure 10) and the second
tongue 142 (Figure
9) of the bracket are separate, independently formed pieces. The protrusions
136 of the lower
valve seat cartridge 118 engages the corresponding slots 138 of the first
tongue 140 and the
second tongue 142. The first tongue 140 and/or the second tongue 142 can be
secured to the
lower valve seat cartridge 118 by friction, such as friction between the outer
rim of the
protrusion 136 and the inner rim of the slot 138 and/or friction between the
protrusion 136 and
the slot 138, which is induced or increased by the biasing force of the spring
120 (Figure 13).
The first tongue 140 and/or the second tongue 142 can also be secured to the
lower valve seat
cartridge 118 by glue, such as a downholc epoxy, and/or a weld. Typically, the
tongues
140/142 are intended to be permanently attached to the lower valve seat
cartridge 118.
However, there can also be embodiments where the tongues 140/142 may be
secured to the
lower valve seat cartridge 118 (e.g., via epoxy or a weld) in a manner that
the connection of the
tongues 140/142 to the lower valve seat cartridge 118 is sufficiently weak
such that the tongues
140/142 can be detached from the lower valve seat cartridge 118 by hand.
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[0041] Another feature of this embodiment is seen in Figure 13. The side
projection 168
includes an upwardly sloped shoulder 170. This upwardly sloped shoulder 170 is
on the lower
side of side projection 168, i.e., the side more proximate lower valve seat
cartridge 118.
Although not explicitly shown, it can be understood how, during valve
assembly, sloped
shoulder 170 may assist tong 142 in spreading and being seated in channel 148
of side
projection 168. It may be visualized that when lip 150 is below side
projection 168 in the
assembly process, downward force placed on upper valve seat 130 will cause
sloping shoulder
170 to engage and to spread apart lip 150. Eventually lip 150 will spread
sufficiently to move
past side projection 168 and snap into place within channel 148.
[0042] Figures 15A and 15B illustrate a modified version of the tongues 140
and 142
engaging valve seat cartridge 118. In this embodiment, it can be seen that the
upper end of slots
138 in tongues 140 and 142 have a "lower" step 171 formed in them. A mating
"upper" step
172 is formed on the top end of protrusion 136. Figure 153 clearly illustrates
how steps 171
=and 172 form an inter-locking structure which acts to resist outward movement
of tongues
140/142 which would otherwise tend to allow the tongues to disengage from
protrusions 136.
Naturally, steps 171 and 172 are merely one example of an inter-locking
structure which could
be formed between tongues 140/142 and protrusions 136 and any number of
conventional or
future developed inter-locking structures could be employed in the
alternative.
[0043] Figures 16 and 17 illustrate a still further embodiment of the present
invention. Figure
16 is an exploded view of the valve which generally includes the first valve
seat carrier 218, the
second valve seat carrier 219, first valve seat 230 engaging valve seat
carrier 218, second valve
seat 231 engaging second valve seat carrier 219, and the ball valve 128
positioned between the
valve seats 230 and 231. This valve is similar to previous embodiments in that
the valve seat
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carriers are connected via tongues 140/142 engaging the projections 168 and
protrusions 136 on
the respective valve seat carriers. However, the particular manner of securing
the relative
positions of the valve seat carriers is not critical to this embodiment and
the bracket 112 in
Figure 1 could be employed or any other conventional or future developed
structure for
securing the two valve scat carriers could likewise be employed.
[0044] Valve seats 230/231 differ from previous embodiments of the valve
seats. As in
earlier embodiments, the valve seats include a body 232 with a seal groove 233
(i.e., a groove
for accepting a sealing member to prevent flow between the valve seats and the
internal wall of
the valve seat carriers), but this embodiment also includes at least one
tongue section 234
extending away from the surface of the valve seat which engages valve ball
128. The tongue
section 234 includes an outwardly projecting lip 235. In the Figure 16
embodiment, valve seat
230 has three tongue sections 234, but in other embodiments, the valve seat
could have more
than or fewer than three tongue sections.
[0045] Figure 16 also shows how the inside surface of valve seat carriers 218
and 219 will
have an inner circumferential groove 239 (seen on valve seat carrier 219 in
Figure 16). It will
be understood that the tongue section 234 on valve seats 230 will flex inward
to be inserted into
valve seat carriers 218/219, past shoulder 240, such that the projecting lips
235 rest in
circumferential groove 239. The cross-section of the assembled valve seen in
Figure 17 best
illustrates how the lips 235 rest in groove 239. Shoulder 240 limits movement
of valve seat 230
away from valve ball 128. It can also be seen how the springs 241 form a
biasing mechanism
which biases the valve seats 230/231 toward ball valve 128. However, as
suggested by the
position of valve seat 230, the lips 235 cannot move past the shoulder 243 of
seat groove 239
and thereby limit the movement of valve seat 230 towards the valve ball. Thus,
the valve seat
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tongue 234 and lip 235 act as a stop mechanism operating between the valve
seat carriers and
the valve seats and only allow limited movement between the valve seat
carriers and the valve
seats. The biasing mechanism shown in Figures 16 and 17 is a single larger
coil spring 237.
Howeverõ the biasing mechanism could be any conventional or future developed
biasing
device, . For example, Figure 18 illustrates a series of smaller coil springs
237 position in spring
apertures 241 formed in valve seat shoulder 240.
[0046] If it is assumed in Figure 17 that pressure is acting on the left side
of valve ball 128, it
may be visualized how this pressure will act (when the valve ball is in the
"closed" position) to
force valve seat 230 and valve ball 128 to the right toward valve seat 231.
However, the travel
of valve seat 230 is limited by the stop mechanism of lips 235 acting in
groove 239, while valve
ball 128 is allowed to continue moving to the right until its travel is
arrested by valve seat 231
engaging valve seat shoulder 240 on valve seat carrier 219. It can be seen
that in this position,
valve ball 128 engages the o-ring seal 124 on valve seat 231, but valve ball
128 has moved out
of sealing engagement with o-ring seal 124 on valve seat 230. Thus, this stop
mechanism limits
the travel of valve seat 230 towards valve ball 128 such that the valve ball
may be pushed away
from a sealing engagement with the valve seat 230. As one example, this travel
distance is
between about 0.0001 and about 0.75 inches, and most preferably about 0.1
inches, and
therefore allows that degree of travel by the valve seats. However, the degree
of allowable
travel of the valve seats could vary considerably from this range in different
embodiments.
[0047] Because the seal between valve ball 128 and valve seat 130 is not
maintained,
pressurized fluid may flow around valve ball 128 and equalize pressure on the
left side of the
ball and its hollow interior (see flow lines in Figure 17). It will be
understood that this differs
from certain prior art ball valves where the valve seat could follow the valve
ball and the seal
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would be maintained between both valve seats and the valve ball. This prior
art arrangement
resulted in the force of pressurized fluid acting on the left valve seat and
the left valve ball
surface being transmitted to the opposite valve seat and ultimately to the
structure maintaining
the relative position of the two valve seats (in Figure 1, tongues 140/142).
The operation of this
force over time may have undesirable effects by causing fatigue of the tongue
structure and
other parts of the ball valve.
[0048] Figures 19 and 20 illustrate an alternative stop mechanism structure.
Figure 20 shows
the valve seat carriers 218 and 219 with a pin aperture 254 formed through
their protrusions 136
and pin groove 252 formed on the outer surface of the valve seats 250 and 251,
along with the
seal grooves 256. The cross-sectional view of Figure 19 illustrates how the
retaining pin 253
extends through the pin aperture 254 to engage the pin groove 252, It can be
envisioned how
retaining pin 253 will act limit the movement of the valve seats to the width
of the pin groove
252 much like the of lips 235 acting in grooves 239 of Figure 15 to 18.
However, Figures 19
and 20 may be considered as disclosing the reverse structure of Figures 15 to
18, i.e., Figures 19
and 20 show a lip (retaining pin 253) formed on the valve scat carrier and a
groove formed on
the valve seat. It will be understood that Figures 15 to 20 disclose merely
two examples of stop
mechanisms and those skilled in the art will sec many different ways to
implement other stop
mechanisms between the valve seat carrier and the valve seat, all of which
should be considered
as falling within the scope of the present invention.
[0049] In Figures 16 to 20, the second valve seat and second valve seat
carrier have
substantially the same stop mechanism structure as valve seat /valve seat
carrier. however, in
alternate embodiments valve seat 231/valve seat carrier 219 may have a
different stop
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mechanism structure or potentially no stop mechanism structure (e.g., valve
seat 231 and valve
seat carrier 219 are formed as a single unitary structure).
[0050] The embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are exemplary
of
numerous embodiments that may be made within the scope of the appended claims.
For
example, while the illustrated embodiments disclose utilizing the ring 132 to
help retain the
tongues 140 and 142 of bracket 112, other embodiments could completely exclude
the ring 132
(e.g., Figures 9 to 14) and simply rely on the spring biasing lip 150 to
remain in groove 148.
Likewise, while protrusions 136 and side projections 168 are shown in the
figures as different
structures, other embodiments could utilize the same structure for protrusions
136 and side
projections 168. It is also contemplated that numerous other configurations
may be used, and
the material of each component may be selected from numerous materials other
than those
specifically disclosed. In short, it is the applicant's intention that the
scope of the patent issuing
herefrom will be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
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