Patent ID: 6079693
Filing Date: 2000-06-27
Classification: F16K

Abstract:
An isolation valve comprising:a housing defining a channel between a first port and a second port;a gate disposed within the housing and displaceable between a stowed position which opens the channel and a deployed position which closes the channel, the gate including:(a) first and second sealing members; and(b) an expandable member disposed between the first sealing member and the second sealing member, wherein the expandable member is expandable from a first condition to a second condition and is contractable from the second condition to the first condition, wherein, in the first condition, the gate is moveable between the stowed and deployed positions, and in the second condition, with the gate in the deployed position, the first and second sealing members are biased apart from each other by expansion of the expandable member to close the channel;an actuator for selectively moving the gate between the stowed and deployed positions;a frame coupling the actuator to the gate, the frame including a transverse cross-member coupled to the actuator and having first and second ends and first and second post members at the first and second ends of the cross-member, respectively; andfirst and second flexures, each of which has an upper edge and a lower edge, the lower edges of the flexures secured to the cross-member, the upper edge of the first flexure secured to the first sealing member, and the upper edge of the second flexure secured to the second sealing member.