Patent ID: 7419132

Claim:
A bladder valve comprising: a valve body having an inlet, an outlet and a flow passage connecting the inlet and outlet the inlet, outlet and flow passage being in axial alignment with each other: a valve seat surrounding said flow passage; a mounting hub mounted to the valve body within the flow passage by means of one or more fixed vanes or web members which extend radially between the hub and the valve body, said mounting hub being axially aligned with the flow passage: a bladder support member extending downstream of said hub, said bladder support member having a frusto conical configuration and being axially aligned with said flow passage: a bladder surrounding said bladder support member having a generally cylindrical configuration, said bladder being inflatable from a deflated condition in which the inner surface of the bladder is in contact with and supported by the bladder support member and the flow passage is open and an inflated condition in which the outer surface of the bladder is in contact with the said valve seat and the flow passage is closed; an inflation passage extending through said hub and said bladder support member along one of said vanes or web members for inflating said bladder, said inflation passage bifurcates into two arms at a point along its length at a position remote from the bladder support, one arm serving as an inlet passage for the supply of fluid under pressure to inflate said bladder, and the other arm serving as an exhaust passage through which said fluid under pressure is evacuated from the bladder to deflate the bladder.