Patent ID: 8573244

Claim:
A valve assembly comprising: a housing with an inlet and an outlet to form a conduit for a pressurized fluid; a normally closed valve member axially displaceable within the housing to engage a valve seat to prevent a flow of the pressurized fluid along the conduit; a biasing member which applies a bias force to the valve member to retain the valve member against the valve seat; a piston disposed within the valve member which contactingly engages the pressurized fluid; and a mechanically collapsible member coupled to the piston which resists axial movement of the piston responsive to said contacting engagement of the pressurized fluid, the piston and collapsible member decoupling the bias force supplied by the biasing member from the pressurized fluid, the collapsible member being a buckling pin coupled to the piston that is collapsed when the pressurized fluid reaches a predetermined pressure level, facilitating contacting engagement of the piston against the valve member and movement of the valve member away from the valve seat by the pressurized fluid in opposition to the biasing force supplied by the biasing member.