Patent ID: 8215613

Claim:
An assembly for controlling the flow of a gas, said assembly comprising: a first casing having an entry opening through which to receive the gas to be controlled; a second casing having an exit conduit projecting outwardly therefrom, said exit conduit communicating with the entry opening of said first casing such that said exit conduit receives the gas that is received through the entry opening of said first casing; a third casing having an exit opening sized to receive the exit conduit of said second casing therethrough; an adjustable iris shutter system located between said first and second casings, said iris shutter system having a plurality of blades where each of said blades overlaps an adjacent blade so that said blades surround an orifice through said iris shutter system for the receipt of the gas to be controlled, each of said blades having a front and a back and a pin projecting outwardly from said front and said back, the pins projecting from the fronts of said blades being pivotably connected to said first casing at respective pin holes formed therein; a first rotary disc coupled to said adjustable iris shutter system, said first rotary disc having a plurality of radial grooves formed therein, such that the pins projecting from the backs of the plurality of blades of said iris shutter system are slidably received by respective ones of said radial grooves formed in said rotary disc; and a second rotary disc surrounding and rotating around the exit conduit said exit conduit projecting through said second rotary disk outwardly from said second casing, said second rotary disc being coupled to said first rotary disc such that a rotation of said second rotary disc around the exit conduit of said second casing is imparted to said first rotary disc to cause said first rotary disc to rotate relative to said first casing, whereby the pins which project from the backs of said plurality of blades of said adjustable iris system slide through respective ones of the radial grooves of said first rotary disc to cause a corresponding change in the size of the orifice surrounded by said plurality of blades in order to control the gas received through said orifice.