Patent ID: 7575021

Claim:
A gas pressure regulator comprising a housing having inlet and outlet ports, a valve member moveable in a bore in the housing between positions opening and closing communication between the inlet and outlet and means biasing the valve member toward the valve open position, the valve member having a peripheral wall providing a through passage for communicating the inlet with the outlet and a surface presented to the outlet such that downstream pressure on said surface will urge the valve member to the valve closed position against the action of the biasing means, wherein an end portion of the valve member remote from said surface presented to the outlet is tubular and said tubular end portion slideably receives a piston element maintained in a gas-tight fit with said tubular end portion, the valve member having one or more lateral openings through said peripheral wall communicating with said through passage at a position such that when the valve member is urged to the valve closed position said opening(s) will be occluded by said piston element and when in the valve open position said opening(s) will be spaced from said piston element allowing communication between the inlet and the through passage via said opening(s).