Patent ID: 8387944

Claim:
A valve assembly comprising a valve housing, the valve assembly having an open position and a closed position, a valve seat formed on a movable valve member, and a valve body adapted to fit in closing relationship on said valve seat in the closed position of the valve assembly; said housing having an inlet and an outlet for a pressurized fluid, positioned upstream and downstream of said moveable valve member, respectively, the valve housing having a spring space, said closed position of the valve assembly being maintained by a closing force from a compression spring located in the spring space, wherein the valve seat and the valve body can be moved away from each other by an activating mechanism to the valve assembly open position, wherein said valve assembly further comprises a pressure balancing line through which fluid downstream of the moveable valve member is in fluid connection with an upstream part of said valve member, the balancing line providing a fluid connection between an outlet area downstream of the movable valve member and a balancing cavity, the balancing cavity being separate from and not in fluid communication with the spring space, said balancing cavity surrounding the movable valve member and being defined radially between an outer surface of the movable valve member and, an inner surface of the valve housing and axially between, on its upstream end, a stop in the valve housing and, on its downstream end, a radially extending shoulder on the valve member.