ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,460,740, issued on Nov. 4.
"Blocking valve" was invented by Michael Harari (Panama, Panama).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A blocking valve has an outer valve body housing a weighted paddle, the weighted paddle having a narrow upper portion with a hitch groove and a wider lower portion, the weighted paddle rotatable around a horizontal pivot, the weighted paddle to lie in a horizontal position during an active flow of liquid and to rotate to a vertical position with the upper portion above the lower portion when the flow of liquid is stopped, and a locking mechanism to engage with the hitch groove to lock the weighted paddle into a vertica...