Rotary selector permitting variable communications to be established between an assembly of passageways traversed by a fluid

Claim 1

A ROTARY SELECTOR VALVE HAVING AN AXIS OF ROTATION COMPRISING A STATIONARY VALVE CASING, AN INTERNAL CHAMBER IN SAID CASING, A BASE MEMBER FIXED TO SAID CASING, A PLURALITY OF FIRST PORTS IN SAID MEMBER SPACED AT A PREDETERMINED ANGULAR DISTANCE, TWO OF SAID PORTS BEING SPACED AT A MULTIPLE OF THIS DISTANCE ABOUT A CIRCLE CENTERED ON SAID AXIS, A PLURALITY OF FLUID CONDUITS EACH COMMUNICATED WITH ONE OF SAID FIRST PORTS, PLATE MEANS IN SAID CHAMBER SPACED FROM SAID BASE MEMBER AND ROTATABLY MOUNTED ABOUT SAID AXIS, A PLURALITY OF SECOND PORTS IN SAID PLATE MEANS FOR REGISTRATION WITH SAID FIRST PORTS, A PLURALITY OF CLOSURE MEMBERS CARRIED BY SAID PLATE MEANS BETWEEN SAID SECOND PORTS FOR CLOSING SAID FIRST PORTS, A CONTROL DEVICE FOR STEP-BY-STEP ROTATION OF SAID PLATE MEANS IN EITHER DIRECTION IN STEPS EQUAL TO THE ANGULAR DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT CLOSURE MEMBERS, AND LOST MOTION CONNECTING MEANS BETWEEN SAID CONTROL DEVICE AND SAID PLATE MEANS HAVING A PREDETERMINED ANGLE OF LOST MOTION, THE NUMBER OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBERS BEING GREATER BY AT LEAST ONE THAN THE NUMBER OF SAID FIRST PORTS AND ALL BUT ONE OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBERS BEING ANGULARLY SPACED FROM ONE OF SAID SECOND PORTS BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO SAID ANGLE OF LOST MOTION.