Patent ID: 7975720

Claim:
A ball valve cartridge and stem assembly for use in a hydrant tube having a hydrant valve seat at one end and a rotatable ball valve actuator support at the other end, said ball valve cartridge and stem assembly comprising a cartridge housing having a first end and a second end, said cartridge housing comprising a fluid inlet at said first end, a fluid outlet, a hydrant valve seat seal, a hydrant valve seat rotational stop, a first stop surface, a second stop surface and a ball seat, a ball rotationally supported inside said cartridge housing for rotation between a first position and a second position, said ball comprising a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet and a keyway, a ball key comprising a key for engaging said ball keyway for transmitting torque from said ball key to said ball to cause it to rotate between said first position and said second position, a shaft extending to and through said second end of said cartridge housing, a first shoulder for slidingly engaging said first stop surface of said cartridge housing so that axial movement of said ball key towards said second end of said cartridge housing is prevented by said engagement, a second shoulder which engages said second stop surface of said cartridge housing to prevent rotation of said ball beyond said first or second position, and a stem connected to said ball key so that torque applied to said stem is transmitted to said ball key.