Patent ID: 7077158

Claim:
A valve assembly for controlling a discharge of a pressurized fluid, said valve assembly comprising: a valve body configured to define a chamber forming a primary flowpath between an inlet port and a discharge port, said valve body including a valve seat disposed in said primary flowpath between said inlet port and said discharge port ; an isolator defined by a skirt and a stem, said isolator disposed inside said chamber, said stem coupled to said valve body, said skirt affixed to said stem, said skirt including a skirt seal for sealing against said bore, and said isolator further including a charging aperture and a charging passage, said charging aperture being in fluid communication with said inlet port, said charging passage being in fluid communication with said charging aperture; and a poppet having a bore, said poppet being disposed inside said chamber, said poppet being slidably received over said skirt via said bore, said poppet further having a poppet seal facing said valve seat, said bore extending along a centerline axis of said poppet from said poppet seal away from said valve seat, said poppet being movable between a first position along said centerline axis and a second position along said centerline axis, said first position and said second position defining a stroke of said poppet along said centerline axis, and said poppet further including a cap having a cap area, wherein said isolator is configured to guide said poppet relative to said valve body, said skirt configured to shield said bore and isolate said poppet from substantially all of a dynamic pressure component of said pressurized fluid when said pressurized fluid flows from said inlet port past a portion of said poppet and then through said discharge port; and wherein said skirt and said poppet form a poppet chamber exposed to said pressurized fluid via said inlet port, said charging aperture, and said charging passage, for allowing said pressurized fluid to act upon said cap area of said cap of said poppet to urge said poppet along said centerline axis.