Ball valve

Claim 1

A HIGH PRESSURE BALL VALVE ADAPTED TO BE DISASSEMBLED WITH EASE AND REASSEMBLED AFTER LONG EXPOSURE TO A CORROSIVE ATMOSPHERE AND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A VALVE BODY DEFINING AN INTERNAL VALVE CHAMBER AND TWO FLOW PASSAGES OPENING INTO SAID CHAMBER, A FLOW CONTROL BALL DEFINING A FLOW BORE THEREIN AND BEING ROTATABLY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CHAMBER, VALVE SEAT MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAID VALVE BODY IN ENCIRCLING RELATION TO ONE OF SAID FLOW PASSAGES AND SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID BALL TO FORM A SEAL THEREWITH, SAID VALVE BODY INCLUDING AN ANNULAR PORTION DEFINING BETWEEN SAID FLOW PASSAGES A CIRCULAR BONNET WELL OPENING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CHAMBER AND HAVING A MINIMUM DIAMETER WHICH IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID BALL TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF SAID BALL THROUGH SAID WELL INTO AND OUT OF SAID CHAMBER, SAID WELL BEING DEFINED IN PART BY A HIGH PRESSURE SEALING SURFACE OF CYLINDRICAL FORM ON SAID ANNULAR BODY PORTION, A VALVE BONNET REMOVABLY DISPOSED IN SAID BONNET WELL AND HAVING A GENERALLY CIRCULAR PERIPHERY FITTING INTO THE WELL AND HAVING A DIAMETER LIMITED TO THAT OF THE WELL, A BONNET SEALING RING ENCIRCLING SAID BONNET AND BEING CLOSELY ENCIRCLED BY SAID HIGH PRESSURE SEALING SURFACE, SAID BONNET SEALING RING DEFINING ON THE AXIALLY INWARD SIDE THEREOF A SEAL EXPANDING FACE OF INWARDLY DIVERGING TRUCATED CONICAL SHAPE, SAID BONNET DEFINING A SEAL TIGHTENING CAM OF INWARDLY DIVERGING TRUNCATED CONICAL SHAPE CONFRONTING SAID FITTING AGAINST SAID SEAL EXPANDING FACE ON SAID BONNET SEALING RING, SAID ANNULAR WELL DEFINING PORTION OF SAID BODY HAVING THEREIN AN ANNULAR ANCHOR GROOVE OPENING RADIALLY INWARD ON THE AXIALLY OUTWARD SIDE OF SAID HIGH PRESSURE SEALING SURFACE, AN ANCHOR RING CONTRACTIBLE IN DIAMETER AND BEING REMOVABLY DISPOSED IN SAID ANCHOR GROOVE AND PROJECTING RADIALLY INWARD IN RELATION TO SAID HIGH PRESSURE SEALING SURFACE, AN ANNULAR GLAND DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID ANCHOR RING AND THE AXIALLY OUTWARD SIDE OF SAID BONNET SEALING RING TO ANCHOR THE LATTER AGAINST AXIALLY OUTWARD DISPLACEMENT, SAID ANNULAR WELL DEFINING PORTION OF SAID BODY DEFINING A FIRST LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE OF CONCAVE CYLINDRICAL FORM EXTENDING AXIALLY OUTWARD FROM SAID ANCHOR GROOVE AND DEFINING A PORTION OF SAID WELL, SAID BONNET DEFINING A SECOND LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE OF CONVEX CYLINDRICAL FORM DISPOSED IN AXIALLY PROXIMATE RELATION TO SAID FIRST LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE AND HAVING A DIAMETER MUCH LESS THAN THAT OF SAID FIRST LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE, AN OUTER BASE RING OF ANNULAR FORM DIMENSIONED AND SHAPED TO EXTEND REMOVABLY INTO SAID WELL IN ENCIRCLING RELATION TO SAID BONNET AND FIT FIRMLY AGAINST SAID ANCHOR RING, SAID OUTER BASE RING HAVING AN OUTER PERIPHERY OF CIRCULAR FORM CLOSELY ENCIRCLED BY SAID FIRST LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE ON SAID BODY AND HAVING AN INNER PERIPHERY OF CIRCULAR FORM CLOSELY ENCIRCLING SAID SECOND LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE ON SAID BONNET, A FIRST O-RING SEAL FORMING A LUBRICANT SEAL BETWEEN SAID BASE RING OUTER PERIPHERY AND SAID FIRST LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE, A SECOND O-RING SEAL FORMING A SEAL BETWEEN THE INNER PERIPHERY OF SAID BASE RING AND SAID SECOND LUBRICANT SEALING SURFACE ON SAID BONNET, SAID BASE RING DEFINING THEREIN A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED STUD HOLES EXTENDING AXIALLY THERETHROUGH, AN ANNULAR WASHER DISPOSED IN OVERLYING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BASE RING AND DEFINING A PLURALITY OF STUD APERTURES THEREIN ALIGNED WITH SAID RESPECTIVE STUD HOLES IN SAID BASE RING, A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED STUDS THREADED INTO SAID BONNET INWARDLY OF SAID BASE RING AND EXTENDING AXIALLY OUTWARD THROUGH SAID RESPECTIVE STUD HOLES IN SAID BASE RING AND THROUGH SAID RESPECTIVE STUD APERTURES IN SAID WASHER, THREADS ON THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID STUDS, A PLURALITY OF NUTS THREADED ONTO THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID RESPECTIVE STUDS TO REACT INWARDLY THROUGH SAID WASHER AND SAID BASE RING ON SAID ANCHOR RING AND TO REACT OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID STUDS ON SAID BONNET TO URGE SAID SEAL TIGHTENING CAM ON SAID BONNET AXIALLY OUTWARD AGAINST SAID SEAL EXPANDING FACE ON SAID BONNET SEALING RING TO SWELL SAID BONNET SEALING RING RADIALLY AGAINST SAID HIGH PRESSURE SEALING SURFACE ON SAID BODY TO PRODUCE A HIGH INTENSITY SEALING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID BONNET SEALING RING WITH SAID SEALING SURFACE AND A HIGH INTENSITY SEALING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID BONNET SEALING RING WITH SAID BONNET WHICH ARE INTENSIFIED BY THE FORCE OF FLUID PRESSURE WITHIN SAID CHAMBER ACTING AXIALLY OUTWARD ON SAID BONNET, SAID BASE RING AND THE ANNULAR PORTION OF SAID BONNET DISPOSED AXIALLY INWARD OF SAID BASE RING BEING SHAPED AND POSITIONED IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO SAID ANCHOR RING TO DEFINE THEREBETWEEN WHEN SAID NUTS ARE TIGHTENED ON SAID STUDS AN ANNULAR LUBRICANT SPACE DISPOSED INWARDLY OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND O-RING SEALS ON SAID BASE RING AND OUTWARDLY OF SAID BONNET SEALING RING, A CHARGE OF LUBRICANT DISPOSED WITHIN SAID LUBRICANT SPACE, SAID LUBRICANT SPACE CONTAINING SAID CHARGE OF LUBRICANT BEING POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO SAID STUDS SO THAT SAID STUDS EXTEND OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID LUBRICANT SPACE IN CONTACT WITH LUBRICANT THEREIN WHICH IS FREE TO MOVE INWARDLY ALONG THE STUDS TO CONTINUOUSLY LUBRICATE THE THREADED INNER ENDS THEREOF AND WHICH LUBRICANT IS FREE TO MOVE OUTWARDLY ALONG SAID STUDS THROUGH SAID BASE RING AND SAID WASHER TO SAID NUTS TO PROVIDE LASTING LUBRICATION TO MUTUALLY ENGAGED THREADS ON SAID NUTS AND SAID STUDS BY CAPILLARY MOVEMENT OF THE LUBRICANT OUTWARDLY BETWEEN THE THREADS ON THE STUDS AND ADJACENT THREADS ON SAID NUTS, A CONTROL STEM CONNECTED IN ROTARY DRIVING RELATION TO SAID BALL AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID BONNET, SEALING MEANS FORING A SEAL BETWEEN SAID BONNET AND SAID CONTROL STEM, SAID WASHER DEFINING THEREON A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED ANCHORING LUGS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARD, SAID WELL DEFINING PORTION OF SAID BODY DEFINING A PLURALITY OF ABUTMENTS COACTING WITH SAID WASHER ANCHORING LUGS TO ANCHOR SAID WASHER AND SAID BONNET AGAINST ROTATION UPON TURNING OF SAID CONTROL STEM TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE VALVE.