Patent ID: 7658366

Claim:
A high pressure fluid control device, comprising: a valve body defining an inlet accommodating an inlet pressure, an outlet accommodating an outlet pressure, and a throat disposed between the inlet and the outlet; a valve seat mounted in the throat of the valve body and defining a bore; a control element disposed within the valve body and movable between an open position and a closed position, the control element comprising a stem having an upper portion and a lower portion, and defining a reduced diameter portion between the upper and lower portions and a seating surface disposed adjacent to the reduced diameter portion, at least a portion of the reduced diameter portion being disposed within the bore of the valve seat when the control element is in the closed position such that the seating surface seats against the valve seat and the seating surface and the reduced diameter portion are in fluid communication with the outlet; a valve insert carried by the valve body, the valve insert defining a bore slidably receiving the upper portion of the stem of the control element, the bore in the valve insert having a diameter that is substantially equal to a diameter of the bore in the valve seat such that the outlet pressure applies an outlet force to the stem that is substantially equal to zero when the control element is in the closed position; a shoulder disposed on the stem at a location opposite the throat from the outlet and in fluid communication with the inlet; a guide bore defined by the valve body and disposed opposite the throat from the outlet and in fluid communication with the inlet, the guide bore slidably receiving the lower portion of the stem and having a diameter that is less than the diameter of the bore in the valve insert such that the inlet pressure applies an inlet force to the stem that is greater than the outlet force applied by the outlet pressure when the control element is in the closed position, thereby biasing the control element into the closed position; and a spring carried by the valve insert and engaging the control element to bias the control element into the closed position.