Patent attributes
A valve assembly includes a housing, a segmented stem, a ball segment, a biasing element, and an adjustment bolt. The housing includes a flow duct connecting a first flow opening to a second flow opening and a neck defining an elongated chamber. The segmented stem includes an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the upper portion is positioned within the elongated chamber and the lower portion is coupled to the housing. The ball segment includes a first attachment portion, a second attachment portion, and a curved portion extending between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion. The biasing element is positioned between the first attachment portion and the upper portion. The adjustment bolt is coupled to the lower portion, wherein the biasing element and the adjustment bolt adjusts the ball segment toward a seated position when the ball segment is rotated to a closed position.
