Multiple way pinch valve

Claim 1

A valve for controlling the flow of fluid therethrough, comprising an elongated valve housing having a valve body at one longitudinal end thereof provided with a longitudinally extending entrance passage having an inlet at an outer face of said valve body and two separate outlets at an inner face thereof, said valve body including two separate, non-intersecting exit passages, each having an inlet at the inner face of said valve body and an outlet at the outer face thereof, the valve housing having a case with an open end receiving the inner face of said valve body, a pair of resilient tubes connecting said outlets of said entrance passage to said inlets of said exit passages, said tubes being arranged in juxtaposition within said valve case, a set of aligned pinch elements mounted within said case with one of the resilient tubes being located between first and second pinch elements and the other resilient tube being located between said second and third pinch elements, said first and third pinch elements being fixed and said second pinch element being shiftable relative to said first and third pinch elements to selectively pinch said tubes closed to the flow of fluid therethrough, and actuator means mounted on the valve housing for selectively shifting said second pinch element toward said first and third pinch elements to close one of said resilient tubes and open the other tube to control the fluid flow from said entrance passage to said exit passages.