Patent ID: 7350541

Claim:
A valve assembly comprising: a valve base comprising a generally annular seat disposed along a periphery of a hole and a flange disposed radially outward of said generally annular seat; and a valve element coupled to said valve base for opening said hole in a first state and closing said hole in a second state, said valve element comprising a diaphragm that is deformable and configured to contact said generally annular seat to close said hole in a first diaphragm state and to separate at least partially from said generally annular seat to allow fluid flow through said hole in a second diaphragm state, said diaphragm transitioning from said first diaphragm state to said second diaphragm state by deformation, wherein said flange of said valve base comprises a first generally annular planar surface, and a first bead projecting from said first generally annular planar surface and not in contact with said diaphragm.