GB2163080A

GB2163080A - Oil filter removing tool

Info

Publication number: GB2163080A
Application number: GB08420220A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Robert Horton
Original assignee: Morgan Ltd R H
Current assignee: Morgan Ltd R H
Priority date: 1984-08-09
Filing date: 1984-08-09
Publication date: 1986-02-19
Also published as: GB8420220D0

Abstract

For removing a screw-on cartridge type oil filter from an engine, a tool is provided having opposed L-shaped members 1, 2 which engage at gripping limbs 5, 6 with the filter's housing at opposite sides thereof and parallel to its rotational axis, and are urged to grip the housing by operation of a rack and pinion 4. The pinion is turned by eg. a spanner, or it may have an attached lever or handle, and as it is turned to tighten the grip on the housing a turning moment is caused to be applied to the L-shaped members to release the housing. The L-shaped members are retained slidably together at base limbs 7, 8 which are drivingly interengaged by the rack and pinion. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Oil filter removing tool This invention relates to an oil filter removing tool.

It is common now for oil filters for vehicles to be of the cartridge type in which the filter proper is supplied enclosed in a housing which has a screwthreaded entry by which it is screwed into position on an engine for the engine oil to be circulated through the filter, the filter and housing being a self-contained unit which is intended to be thrown away when the filter needs to be changed and replaced by another such unit. Such oil filters are hereinafter referred to as "of the kind described".

In the course of use of an oil filter of the kind described the screw-threaded connection of the housing at the entry to the engine can become very tight and consequently subsequent removal of the oil filter can be made difficult. The present invention seeks to aid the removal.

According to the present invention an oil filter removing tool is provided being adapted for use with an oil filter of the kind described and comprising a pair of L-shaped members each having a gripping limb and a base limb, the members being disposed with their gripping limbs in opposed parallel relationship, being retained together at their base limbs and being connected at those limbs by a rack and pinion whereby the members can be moved relative to one another lengthwise of the base limbs to adjust the spacing apart of the gripping limbs, the pinion having means whereby it is rotatable and a turning moment can be applied to the members about an axis intermediate and parallel to the gripping limbs, and the arrangement being such that the tool can be fitted to the oil filter with the gripping limbs engaging the housing at opposite sides of and extending parallel to the rotational axis of the housing and by rotating the pinion to tighten the grip of the gripping limbs on the housing a turning moment can be applied to the members to rotate the housing in the releasing direction.

The means by which the pinion is rotated may comprise a part or element which rotates with the pinion and is adapted to be releasably engaged by a spanner, key, tommy bar or the like for turning the pinion. Alternatively the means may comprise a lever or handle fixed to the pinion for rotating it.

Preferably the gripping limbs are of channel-section longitudinally for strength, and also for the edges of the opposed side walls of the channelsection to engage with the housing and concentrate the grip on the housing.

One of the base limbs may be tubular and the other be slidable in that limb thereby to guide the L-shaped members in their relative movement effected by means of the rack and pinion. There may be other provision for guiding the L-shaped members in their relative movement, for example at least one of the base limbs may be of channel-section and the other be slidable in the channel, or there may be a key and key-way interconnection between the base limbs.

There may be co-operation between the base limbs which prevents the L-shaped members from being disconnected from one another. Alternatively the rack and pinion may be arranged to prevent their running out of driving engagement with one another, and in consequence prevent disconnection of the L-shaped members in that manner.

For ease of manufacture and to reduce cost the rack may be formed as an integral part of one of the base limbs.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an oil filter removing tool in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is a plan view of the tool.

The oil filter removing tool comprises first and second L-shaped members 1 and 2 respectively, a rack 3 and a pinion 4. Each L-shaped member has a gripping limb 5, 6 and a base limb 7, 8. The two members are connected together at their base limbs 7, 8 with their gripping limbs 5, 6 opposite and parallel to one another.

The gripping limbs 5, 6 of the L-shaped members 1, 2 are of channel-section longitudinally.They are disposed with the open sides of their channel sections facing so that side walls 9 of the channelsection of the one gripping limb are directed towards those of the other gripping limb.

The first L-shaped member 1 has its base limb 7 formed from a flat strip secured at one end to one end of the gripping limb 5 of the member so that it extends from the open side of the channel section of the gripping limb. Teeth 10 are cut out of one of the longitudinal side edges of the base limb to form the rack 3. The base limb 8 of the second Lshaped member 2 is tubular.It is made up of a channel-section piece 11 and a co-extensive flat strip 12 secured to close off the open-side of the channel-section piece.This tubular base limb 8 is secured at one end by its channel-section piece 11 to one end of the gripping limb 6 of the L-shaped member 2 so that it also extends from the open side of the channel section of that gripping limb.The interior of the tubular base limb 8 is substantially complementary in cross-section to and slidably receives the flat strip base limb 7 of the first L-shaped member.

At the end of the tubular base limb 8 remote from the gripping limb 5 of the first L-shaped member 1, the side wall of the channel-section piece 11 adjacent to the rack 3 is opened out and a laterally projecting flange 13 is presented. A similar flange 14 is presented on the flat strip 12 directly opposite and parallel to the flange 13. The pinion 4 is rotatably supported between these two flanges 13, 14 with its teeth 15 in mesh with the teeth 10 of the rack. A pivot pin 16 of the pinion 4 has a square-section intermediate portion 17 which is engaged in a complementary square-section axial hole in the pinion, and cylindrical end portions 18, which are rotatable in holes in the flanges 13, 14.

That cylindrical end portion 18 which rotates in the flange 13 of the channel-section piece 11 is formed into a head 19 outside the flange by upsetting. A hexagonal block 20 is fixed co-axially on the end of the other cylindrical end portion 18 outside the associated flange 14 of the flat strip 12.

The gripping limbs 5, 6 of the two L-shaped members 1, 2 and the channel-section piece 11 of the tubular base limb 8 are conveniently all made from similar channel-section steel stock. The flat strip base limb 7 of the first L-shaped member 1 and the flat strip 12 of the tubular base limb 8 may be blanked out of steel sheet. The components of each L-shaped member are rigidly secured together as by welding. For convenience the hexagonal block 20 may be a nut blank of appropriate size. It is not esential for-the head 19 to be formed on the one cylindrical end portion 18 for retaining the pivot pin 16 to the flange 13.

To prevent the L-shaped members 1, 2 from separating, the teeth 10 of the rack 3 extend along an intermediate portion only of the length of the side edge of the base limb 7 of the first L-shaped member 1, and the pinion 4 is not toothed entirely around its circumference. The teeth of the rack and pinion are rounded and of a pitch to minimise interference between them.Typically the pitch circle diameter of the pinion is 27/32 inch (21.4 mm), the pitch of the teeth is 4/inch (1.6/cm), and the rack and pinion allow the L-shaped members to be moved from a minimum spacing apart of the gripping limbs, as measured from the facing free edges of the side walls 9, of 21/8" (54 mm) to a maximum spacing apart of 33/4" (95.25 mm).

For use in removing an oil filter of the kind described fitted to a vehicle engine, the tool is applied to the outer end of the oil filter 21, Figure 2, such thatthe base limbs 7,8 of the L-shaped members are disposed diametrically of the oil filter, as shown in Figure 2, and the gripping limbs 5, 6 extend longitudinally at opposite sides of the oil filter. The pinion may be turned by direct manual rotation of the hexagonal block 20 to bring the gripping limbs into initial engagement with the oil filter, the engagement being at the edges of the side walls 9. A spanner 22, Figure 2, applied to the block 20 is then used to turn the pinion to tighten the grip of the gripping limbs on the oil filter and at the same time apply a turning moment to the tool through the pinion which urges the L-shaped members to turn about the central longitudinal axis of the oil filter in the direction for releasing the screwed connection of the oil filter to the engine. As the leverage exerted by the spanner is increased-the grip on the oil filter is increased so that the oil filter is firmly held whilst the turning moment is applied to release the oil filter.

Claims

1. An oil filter removing tool adapted for use with an oil filter of the kind described and comprising a pair of L-shaped members each having a gripping limb and a base limb, the members being disposed with their gripping limbs in opposed parallel relationship, being retained together at their base limbs and being connected at those limbs by a rack and pinion whereby the members can be moved relative to one another lengthwise of the base limbs to adjust the spacing apart of the gripping limbs, the pinion having means whereby it is rotatable and a turning moment can be applied to the members about an axis intermediate and parallel to the gripping limbs, and the arrangement being such that the tool can be fitted to the oil filter with the gripping limbs engaging the housing at opposite sides of and extending parallel to the rotational axis of the housing and by rotating the pinion to tighten the grip of the gripping limbs on the housing a turning moment can be applied to the members to rotate the housing in the releasing direction.

2. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 1 wherein the means whereby the pinion is rotatable comprises a part or element which rotates with the pinion and is adapted to be releasably engaged by a spanner, key, tommy bar or the like for turning the pinion.

3. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 2 wherein said- means comprises a block at one end of a- pivot pin of the pinion having opposed faces engageable by a spanner for turning the pinion.

4. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 1 wherein the means whereby the pinion is rotatable comprises a lever or handle fixed to the pinion

5. An oil filter removing tool according to any preceding claim wherein the gripping limbs of the L-shaped members are of channel-section longitudinally, the edges of the opposed side walls of the channel-section being directed towards said axis intermediate and parallel to the gripping limbs for engagement with the housing of the oil filter.

6. An oil filter removing tool according to any preceding claim wherein the base limbs of the Lshaped members have an interengagement which guides the L-shaped members in their relative movement effected by means of the rack and pinion.

7. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 6 wherein a first one of the base limbs is tubular at least in part and the other, second, base limb is slidable in the first base limb thereby to guide the L-shaped members in their relative movement.

8. An oil filter removing tool according to any preceding claim wherein the rack is formed as an integral part of one of the base limbs.

9. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 7 or claim 8 as dependent from claim 7 wherein the first base limb has a pair of spaced flanges between which the pinion is rotatably supported in mesh with the rack.

10. An oil filter removing tool according to claim 9 as dependent from claim 8 wherein the second base limb comprises a flat strip having teeth at one ot its longitudinal side edges to form the rack, the interior of the tubular first base limb is substantially complementary in cross section to the flat strip, the flanges extend from the first base limb adjacent the rack formed on the flat strip and the pinion meshes with the rack internally of the first base limb.

11. An oil filter removing tool according to any preceding claim wherein the rack extends along an intermediate portion only of one of the base limbs, and the pinion is toothed only partially around its circumference, the arrangement being such that the rack and pinion are prevented from running out of driving engagement with one another.

12. An oil filter removing tool substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.