Patent ID: 6902143

Claim:
In a pilot-operated valve having: a. a valve body, including an inlet portion and an outlet portion, said inlet and outlet portions adapted to be controllably interconnected via a main piston bore portion having a first orifice and a main piston, one relatively movable to the other; and an operator bore portion, having a second orifice, perpendicular to said main piston bore portion adapted to be controllably interconnected with said main piston bore portion and said outlet portion; and b. an operator/actuator assembly, operatively attached to said valve body operator bore portion, including a normally closed plunger assembly adapted to be in a sealing relationship relative to said second orifice, thereby blocking the communication between said main piston bore portion and said valve body outlet portion; and an actuating mechanism for controllably actuating said plunger assembly into a non-sealing relationship relative to said second orifice, said second orifice and said plunger assembly serving as a pilot portion of said valve, the improvement comprising: i. an override assembly bore located within said valve body substantially perpendicular and tangential to said main piston bore portion as well as being perpendicular and radial to said operator bore portion; and ii. a manual override assembly sealingly and controllably rotationally retained within said override assembly bore, said assembly including a generally cylindrical stem having a tool actuation portion, on one end of said stem, extending from said override assembly bore; a cam portion, on the other end of said stem, extending radially into said valve body operator bore portion and adapted, upon actuation of said override assembly, to physically separate said plunger assembly from a sealing relationship between said plunger assembly and said second orifice; and an actuating surface, intermediate said tool actuation portion and said cam portion, extending tangentially into said main piston bore portion and adapted, upon actuation of said override assembly, to physically separate said main piston from a sealing relationship between said main piston and said first orifice.