Patent ID: 7165568

Claim:
A valve assembly comprising: a) a valve housing having an upper body portion and a lower body portion, the upper and lower body portions defining an internal chamber for accommodating a valve member and a central axis for the valve, the housing having axially aligned inlet and outlet ports formed in the upper and lower body portions, respectively; b) a generally spherical valve member seated within the internal chamber of the valve housing and having an axial bore extending therethrough, the valve member mounted for movement between an open position wherein the axial bore of the valve member is axially aligned with the inlet and outlet ports of the valve housing, and a closed position wherein the axial bore of the valve member is out of alignment with the inlet and outlet ports of the valve housing; and c) a camming mechanism for moving the valve member between the open position and the closed position, including cam surfaces formed on the exterior surface of the valve member and a cam pin formed on the interior surface of the upper body portion of the housing, wherein the cam surfaces formed on the exterior surface of the valve member are defined by a pair of arcuate cam lobes formed at angles to one another.