Patent ID: 7334773

Claim:
An outflow valve, comprising: a valve body adapted to mount on the fuselage of an aircraft and having at least a first flow port, a second flow port, and a flow passage therebetween; a valve element rotationally disposed within the flow passage and configured to rotate between at least a closed position and a full-open position; and a closure mechanism coupled to the valve body, the closure mechanism including: a pulley coupled to the valve element and configured to eccentrically rotate therewith, the pulley including a cable insertion cavity, a load plate including a cable opening extending therethrough, a cable extending through the load plate cable opening and having a first end, a second end, a first retention ball, and a second retention ball, the first retention ball coupled to the first end and disposed within the cable insertion cavity, the second retention ball coupled to the second end and engaging the load plate, and a spring disposed between the valve body and the load plate and surrounding a portion of the cable, the spring configured to supply a bias force, via the load plate and the cable, to the pulley that biases the valve element toward the closed position wherein the closure mechanism is configured such that, when the valve element is in the closed position, the spring supplies a non-zero pre-load force to the valve element.