Patent ID: 7757703

Claim:
A pressure regulator comprising: a housing including a first inner volume and a second inner volume, the housing having an inlet port and an outlet port to facilitate flow of a control medium through the first inner volume, wherein the housing fluidly isolates the first inner volume from the second inner volume; a piston disposed within the first inner volume and responsive to a change in pressure within the first inner volume, wherein the piston is configured to open the outlet port to vent the control medium from the first inner volume if the pressure within the first inner volume reaches a threshold pressure; and a conduit external to the housing and extending from the outlet port to an additional inlet port that is in fluid communication with the second inner volume through the housing, wherein the conduit enables fluid communication between the first and second inner volumes such that the control medium vented through the outlet port is routed outside of the housing through the conduit, into the second inner volume from the conduit via the additional inlet port, and out of the second inner volume through a bleed port in an exterior surface of the housing, and wherein the additional inlet port and the bleed port are located at opposite first and second ends of the second inner volume to enable flow of the vented control medium through the second inner volume from the additional inlet port at the first end of the second inner volume, by one or more components disposed within the second inner volume, and out the bleed port at the opposite second end of the second inner volume to flush water from the second inner volume during submerged operation of the pressure regulator.