Patent ID: 7722010

Claim:
A valve holding member for holding a valve displaceably along a fluid passage of a pipe coupling for opening and closing the fluid passage, the valve holding member being made of a sheet metal, the valve holding member comprising: a hub part having a shape of a flat plate that extends normal to an axis of the fluid passage and having a guide hole extending through the hub part along the axis of the fluid passage, the guide hole being configured so that a valve stem of the valve extends therethrough; three arm parts formed at a peripheral edge of the hub part at a regular interval, the arm parts extending from the peripheral edge in an axial direction and in a radially outward direction with respect to the axis of the fluid passage; and a plurality of spring retaining parts each centrally formed between the arm parts at the peripheral edge of the hub part so as to extend in an axial direction opposite to the axial direction in which the arm parts extend, the spring retaining part having a width smaller than the arm part; wherein the arm parts each have an elongated reinforcing protrusion that is located centrally relative to a width of the arm part, extends along a longitudinal axis of the arm part, and protrudes radially outward or inward relative to the axis of the fluid passage, wherein the arm parts each have a distal end edge extending normal to the longitudinal axis of the arm part and engageable with an annular holding shoulder portion formed on an inner wall of the fluid passage of the pipe coupling, the distal end edge having at the central portion thereof a triangular shape recess a base edge of which is aligned with the distal end edge so that the distal end edge is engageable with the annular holding shoulder portion at opposite ends thereof; and, wherein the valve holding member further comprises a tubular reinforcing part extending from a peripheral edge of the guide hole of the hub part in the axial direction in which the arm parts extend.