Patent ID: 8714184

Claim:
A valve rotator comprising: a main body segment and a body cap overlying the main body segment so that a space is defined between the main body segment and the body cap; and a ball cage assembly housed in the space between the main body segment and the body cap, the ball cage assembly including; a middle flange having an outer perimeter and upper surface, multiple ramps that are spaced from each other and extend upwardly from the upper surface of the middle flange; multiple wall assemblies that are connected to and extend upwardly from the outer perimeter of the middle flange, the multiple wall assemblies being circumferentially spaced from each other about the middle flange, each of the multiple wall assemblies including an outer wall and an end wall that is attached to and extends generally orthogonally with respect to the outer wall in a generally radial direction across the middle flange, the outer wall having an inner surface that faces inwardly toward the middle flange and an outer surface that faces outwardly away from the middle flange; wherein the middle flange defines an inner perimeter thereof and the ball cage assembly further includes an inner flange that extends from the inner perimeter of the middle flange and upwardly away from the upper surface of the middle flange and further comprises a ring that is arranged between the inner flange of the ball cage assembly and a spring disk that is housed within the space that is defined between the main body segment and the body cap so as to prevent frictional engagement of the inner flange of the ball cage assembly and the spring disk; wherein a pocket is defined between the ball cage assembly inner flange and each of the multiple ball assemblies, the pocket housing a bearing ball therein so that movement of the bearing ball in a radial direction inwardly across the middle flange is limited by the inner flange, and movement of the bearing ball in a radial direction outwardly across the middle flange is limited by the outer wall of the respective wall assembly; wherein a spring is arranged within each pocket so that a first end of the spring engages an end wall of a first wall assembly and a second end of the spring engages the respective ball bearing and biases the ball bearing against an end wall of a second wall assembly; and wherein the end wall of each of the wall assemblies includes a depression extending into a surface thereof that faces the respective ball bearing so that the ball bearing is biased by the spring so as to nest in the depression.