Patent ID: 8701781

Claim:
A flapper for use as a component of a safety valve designed for deployment in a well bore having well bore fluids, the flapper comprising a flapper body forming a flapper valve bore therethrough within a contact portion of a downstream face of the flapper body, the flapper body further forming a groove proximate to the flapper valve bore; a plunger member sized and configured to be received in the flapper valve bore, the plunger member comprising a first end portion and a second end portion, the first end portion of the plunger member configured to be contacted by an actuation member which is not attached to the flapper; and a leaf spring comprising a primary end portion and a secondary end portion, the primary end portion of the leaf spring detachably attached to the second end portion of the plunger member and unattached to the flapper body and the secondary end portion of the leaf spring being sized and configured to be received and retained in the groove and to bias the plunger member into the flapper valve bore, wherein forces exerted on the flapper body when rotating between an open state and a closed state during use of the safety valve urge at least a portion of the leaf spring into the groove.