| (11) | EP 1 077 339 A3 |
(12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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(54) | Reinforced tide gate valve |
(57) A support mechanism for a tide gate valve having an internal cavity, wherein the support mechanism includes a support body receivable in the tide gate valve cavity to help prevent the tide gate valve from collapsing in on itself when subjected to backflow pressure. The support mechanism is positioned adjacent to a pipe end and can take the shape of a ring (24) having legs or flanges, a cage, a partial or more than partial cone, or other suitable shape. Moreover, arms can extend from the ring to provide further support and orifices can be added to the support mechanism to increase or decrease flow characteristics. |