An object of the invention is to provide a BUTTERFLY VALVES which is arranged to facilitate removal from and replacement in a piping system without disturbing the piping system.

Another object of the invention is to provide a butterfly valve which, after installation in a piping system, can be rotated 360° without disturbing the piping system.

A further object of the invention is to provide a butterfly valve having a valve body and other components which can be fabricated by conventional powder-metallurgy processes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reviewing the following detailed description, the drawing and the appended claims.

The butterfly valve provided by the invention includes a pair of tailpieces which are adapted to be mounted on the ends of adjacent sections of a fluid system and have a radially extending flange, a pair of annular clamping members which encircle the tailpieces, are arranged to clampingly engage the tailpiece flanges, and have a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures, and a valve unit having a wafer-like body which fits between the inner faces of the tailpiece flanges and has a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures axially alignable with the apertures of the clamping members. Butterfly ValvesThe tailpieces are held in sealing engagement with the opposite end faces of the valve unit body by mounting means such as bolts which extend through the aligned apertures of the clamping members and the valve unit body and which, upon tightening, clamp the tailpieces onto the valve unit body via the clamping members.

The valve unit can be removed without disturbing the piping system by simply removing the mounting bolts from the clamping members and the valve unit body so that the valve unit can be pulled from between the tailpieces. Butterfly Valves When the mounting bolts are not fully tightened, the clamping members and the valve unit can be rotated relative to the tailpieces, permitting the valve unit to be rotated to any desired position without disturbing the piping system.

Since the valve unit and the means for connecting it to the piping system are separate components, the body can be made shorter than the bodies for conventional butterfly valves threadably mounted in a piping system. Thus, the valve body, as well as the tailpieces and the clamping members, can be, and preferably is, fabricated by a conventional powder-metallurgy process.

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