Patent ID: 7814931

Claim:
A regulating valve for receiving fluid at a variable inlet pressure from a fluid source and for delivering said fluid at a substantially constant outlet pressure and flow rate to a fluid applicator or the like, said valve comprising: a housing internally subdivided by a barrier wall into a head section and a base section; a port in said barrier wall; a modulating assembly internally subdividing said base section into a fluid chamber and a spring chamber, said modulating assembly having a stem projecting along an axis through said port into said head section, and having a flexible diaphragm supporting said modulating assembly for movement in opposite directions along said axis; an inlet in said housing for connecting said head section to said fluid source; an outlet in said housing communicating with said fluid chamber; a spring in said spring chamber, said spring being responsive to inlet pressures below a threshold level to maintain said modulating assembly against said barrier wall and to thereby prevent fluid through flow from said head section via said port and fluid chamber to said outlet, said spring being yieldably responsive to inlet pressures above said threshold level to thereby accommodate movement of said modulating assembly away from said barrier wall, with an accompanying fluid through flow from said head section via said port and said fluid chamber to said outlet, and with said stem serving to modulate the size of the flow path through said port as an inverse function of variations in said inlet pressure above said threshold level, whereby said outlet pressure and flow rate is maintained at a substantially constant level; closure means acting independently of said spring, said closure means comprising a rod axially movable between a holding position in contact with and maintaining said modulating assembly against said barrier wall when said inlet pressure is both above and below said threshold level, and a deactivated position spaced from said modulating assembly; and operating means for selectively deactivating said closure means.