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A vertical shock responsive fluid valve assembly capable of automatically closing a fluid valve in response to earthquake forces or other shock forces of a predetermined magnitude. The vertical shock responsive valve assembly has a flow control mechanism having a cradle that holds a movable ball in

A vertical shock responsive fluid valve assembly capable of automatically closing a fluid valve in response to earthquake forces or other shock forces of a predetermined magnitude. The vertical shock responsive valve assembly has a flow control mechanism having a cradle that holds a movable ball in a recess at a point perpendicular in relation to a horizontal base plate, where the ball can be rotated 360° in any direction during seismic actions or other shock forces and rolls out of its recess at a predetermined force such that it ricochets off a housing cover covering the cradle and pushes a trip fork mechanism having elongated walls to provide additional leverage when the force strikes the trip fork mechanism that is mounted on a pivoting mechanism, thereby releasing a swing arm which has a disc on the end that functions as a plug for the hole in the valve body to interrupt gas or fluid flow therein.

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1. A vertical shock actuated valve assembly adapted to automatically close off the flow of a controlled fluid through a conduit in response to a shock or vibration force of a predetermined magnitude and having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. a cradle having a horizontal base plat

1. A vertical shock actuated valve assembly adapted to automatically close off the flow of a controlled fluid through a conduit in response to a shock or vibration force of a predetermined magnitude and having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. a cradle having a horizontal base plate and a pair of arms extending away from the horizontal base plate and opposing each other and attached to a vertical plate which in turn is attachable to a main body of said valve assembly, the horizontal base plate having a central circular bore therethrough in which a weight in the form of a ball is supported and retained thereon;b. a mechanism including a projection trip arm, a pair of parallel links extending from said trip arm, the mechanism movably attached to the valve assembly by pin means extending through said pair of parallel links;c. a trip fork mechanism having a contoured semicircular base member and a pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls by which the trip fork mechanism is secured between said parallel links of said mechanism by pin means, the elongated vertical walls providing additional leverage when a force is applied on the semicircular base plate, the trip fork mechanism located adjacent to said horizontal base plate such that the contoured semicircular base member faces said ball; andd. a housing cover enclosing said ball, said cradle, said mechanism, and said trip fork mechanism so that when said ball is moved out of said central circular bore and retained on said horizontal base plate by the housing cover and rattles around and ricochets off the interior of the housing cover, the ball thereby strikes said contoured semicircular base member of said trip fork mechanism to cause a cross pin to release a swing arm to cause a valve member to move against a valve seat and thereby activate said valve assembly to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.2. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said ball is made of steel.3. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said contour of said semicircular base member is at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal.4. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said contoured semicircular base member faces a lower portion of the ball and said pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend upwardly therefrom.5. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein the contoured semicircular base member faces an upper portion of the ball and the pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend downwardly therefrom.6. A vertical shock actuated valve assembly having valve closing means and adapted to automatically close off the flow of a fluid through a conduit in response to a shock or vibration force of a predetermined magnitude and having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. a cradle having a horizontal plate and at least two arms extending away from the horizontal plate and attached to a vertical plate which in turn is attachable to a main body of said valve assembly, the horizontal plate having a central bore therethrough in which a weight is supported and retained thereon;b. a mechanism including a projection trip arm having attachment means extending therefrom, the mechanism movably attached to the valve assembly by said attachment means;c. a trip fork mechanism having a base member and a pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls by which the trip fork mechanism is secured between said attachment means of said mechanism, the elongated vertical walls providing additional leverage when a force is applied on said horizontal base member, the trip fork mechanism located adjacent to said horizontal base plate such that the base member faces said weight; andd. a cover enclosing said weight, said cradle, said mechanism, and said trip fork mechanism so that when said weight is moved out of said central bore and retained on said horizontal plate by the cover and rattles around and ricochets off the interior of the cover, the ball thereby strikes said base member of said trip fork mechanism to activate valve closing means of said valve assembly to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.7. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 4, wherein said weight is a ball.8. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 5, wherein said ball is made of steel.9. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 4, wherein said base member is configured to be semicircular in shape and has a contoured surface which faces the weight.10. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 7, wherein said contour of said base member is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal.11. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 6, wherein said base member faces a lower portion of the weight and said pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend upwardly therefrom.12. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 6, wherein the base member faces an upper portion of the ball and the pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend downwardly therefrom.13. A vertical shock actuated valve assembly having a valve closing means and having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. a horizontal plate having a bore therethrough in which a weight is supported and retained centrally on the horizontal plate, the horizontal plate attached to the valve assembly;b. a movable mechanism movably attached to the valve assembly;c. a trip fork mechanism having a base member and a pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls by which the trip fork mechanism is movably attached to said movable mechanism, the elongated vertical walls providing additional leverage when a force is applied on said base member, the trip fork mechanism located adjacent to said horizontal plate such that the base member faces said weight; andd. a cover enclosing said weight, said horizontal plate, said movable mechanism, and said trip fork mechanism so that when said weight is moved out of said bore and retained on said horizontal plate by the cover and rattles around and ricochets off the interior of the cover, the ball thereby strikes said base member of said trip fork mechanism to activate the valve closing means of said valve assembly to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.14. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 13, wherein said weight is a ball.15. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 14, wherein said ball is made of steel.16. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 13, wherein said base member is configured to be semicircular in shape and has a contoured surface which faces the weight.17. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 16, wherein said contour of said base member is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal.18. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 13, wherein the base member faces a lower portion of the weight and said pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend upwardly therefrom.19. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 13, wherein the base member faces an upper portion of the weight and the pair of elongated spaced apart vertical walls extend downwardly therefrom.20. A shock actuated valve assembly having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. a horizontal plate having a bore therethrough in which a weight is supported and retained centrally on the horizontal plate, the horizontal plate attached to the valve assembly;b. a movable mechanism movably attached to the valve assembly;c. a trip fork mechanism having a base member and elongated means to movably attach the trip fork mechanism to said movable mechanism, the elongated means providing additional leverage when a force is applied to the base member, the trip fork mechanism located adjacent to the horizontal plate such that the base member faces said weight; andd. a cover enclosing said weight, said horizontal plate, said movable mechanism, and said trip fork mechanism so that when said weight is moved out of said bore and retained on said horizontal plate by the cover and rattles around and ricochets off the interior of the cover, the weight thereby strikes said base member of said trip fork mechanism to activate said valve assembly to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.21. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 20, wherein said weight is a ball.22. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 21, wherein said ball is made of steel.23. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 20, wherein said base member is configured to be semicircular in shape and has a contoured surface which faces the weight.24. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 23, wherein said contour of said base member is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal.25. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 20, wherein said base member faces a lower portion of the weight and said elongated means extend upwardly therefrom.26. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 20, wherein the base member faces an upper portion of the weight and the elongated means extend downwardly therefrom.27. A vertical shock actuated valve assembly adapted to automatically close off the flow of a controlled fluid through a conduit in response to a shock or vibration force of a predetermined magnitude and having a shock actuated responsive mechanism comprising:a. horizontal plate having a bore therethrough in which a weight is supported and retained centrally on the horizontal plate, the horizontal plate attached to the valve assembly;b. a movable mechanism movably attached to the valve assembly; andc. a trip fork mechanism having a base member and elongated means to movably attach the trip fork mechanism to said movable mechanism, the elongated means providing additional leverage when a force is applied to the base member, the trip fork mechanism located adjacent to the horizontal plate such that the base member faces said weight;d. whereby when the shock or vibration force is experienced by said shock actuated responsive mechanism, said weight is displaced when such force reaches the predetermined magnitude causing said weight to roll out of said bore to strike said trip fork mechanism to cause the trip fork mechanism to move in a horizontal direction to thereby actuate and close said valve assembly to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.28. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 27, wherein said weight is a ball.29. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 28, wherein said ball is made of steel.30. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 27, wherein said base member is configured to be semicircular in shape and has a contoured surface which faces the weight.31. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 30, wherein said contour of said base member is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal.32. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 27, wherein said base member faces a lower portion of the weight and said elongated means extend upwardly therefrom.33. The shock actuated responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 27, wherein the base member faces an upper portion of the weight and the elongated means extend downwardly therefrom.34. A shock actuated valve having a shock responsive mechanism comprising:a. a horizontal plate having a bore therethrough in which a weight is supported and retained centrally on the horizontal plate and means for attaching to a main body of said shock actuated valve; andb. a trip fork mechanism having elongated walls and having at least a portion located adjacent to said weight;c. whereby when the shock or vibration force is experienced by said shock responsive mechanism, said weight is displaced when such force reaches the predetermined magnitude causing said weight to move out of said bore to strike said trip fork mechanism and cause it to move in a horizontal direction to thereby actuate and close said shock actuated valve to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.35. The shock responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 34, wherein said weight is a ball.36. The shock responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 35, wherein said ball is made of steel.37. The shock responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 34, wherein said one end of said horizontal tube further comprises a beveled interior surface facing said weight.38. The shock responsive mechanism in accordance with claim 34, further comprising a housing cover enclosing said weight and said horizontal plate so that when said weight is moved out of said bore and retained on said horizontal plate by the housing cover and rattles around and ricochets off the interior of the housing cover, the weight thereby strikes said trip fork mechanism to activate said shock actuated valve to stop the flow of the fluid therethrough.