Patent ID: 7681865

Claim:
A ball valve assembly comprising a housing defining a flow passage therethrough, a valve chamber in said flow passage, a ball valve rotatably disposed in said valve chamber, the ball valve having a bore therethrough and being rotatable about an axis between an open position in which the bore is in fluid communication with the flow passage and a closed position in which the communication is blocked, and a valve stem connected to the ball valve and rotatable about the axis so as to move the ball valve between the open and closed positions, the stem being connected to the ball valve by an end of the valve stem being received in an elongate slot defined in the ball valve, the elongate slot having opposed side walls and a length that extend in a direction substantially along a direction of the bore extending through the ball valve and having an open end opening in a direction transverse to the axis and the open end laterally spaced from the axis for entry or exit of the stem from the slot when the ball valve is moved relative to the stem in the direction of the slot during assembly or disassembly, characterised in that the assembly further comprises a separate stop member for releasable attachment to the ball valve after receipt of the end of the stem in the slot to prevent exit of the end of the stem from the open end of the slot, the stop member located adjacent the open end of the slot laterally spaced from the axis and laterally offset to one side of the stem.