Patent ID: 8511640

Claim:
A ball valve, comprising: a valve housing having first and second pivot supports and having a media passage with an input part and an output part, said first pivot support having a first support cover with axially spaced inner and outer slide bearing bushes detachably mounted in said valve housing, said second pivot support having a second support cover with axially spaced inner and outer slide bearing bushes detachably mounted in said valve housing, each said support cover being an identical bearing sleeve and installable from an exterior of said valve housing in a spindle passage of said valve housing, each of said support covers being arranged between said valve housing and the respective inner and outer slide bearing bushes and having inside bearing seats receiving said slide bearing bushes, said inner slide bushes being identical, said outer slide bearing bushes being identical; a ball spindle pivoted about an axis in said valve housing and having first and second end sections mounted in said first and second pivot supports, and engaging said slide bearing bushes, respectively; a ball body connected to said end sections of said ball spindle on opposite sides of said ball body forming a blocking element in said media passage between said input and said output parts at an axial distance from said pivot supports; a flow opening located in said ball body alignable with said media passage for unblocking said media passage by turning said ball spindle; wherein each end of said spindle passage in said valve housing is stepped with an inner diameter in a region bordering said ball body being slightly larger than an outside diameter of said ball body and an outer diameter in a region nearer said exterior of said housing being larger than said inner diameter; and wherein said bearing sleeves have stepped inside surfaces forming said bearing seats for said slide bearing bushes therein, said slide bearing bushes in each said bearing sleeve being axially spaced a distance from one another and receiving an O-ring therebetween.