GB2314516A

GB2314516A - Integral oil reservoir, filter and tamper-proof valve unit

Info

Publication number: GB2314516A
Application number: GB9623688A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Dobson; John Dobson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-06-26
Filing date: 1996-11-14
Publication date: 1998-01-07
Also published as: GB9613408D0; GB9623688D0

Abstract

An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit, which is designed for use only once, combines the engine oil reservoir 1 and filter 2 in a separate unit to the engine to enable the engine oil and filter to be changed quickly, and is fitted with tamperproof non-return valves eg 14, 15, on all orifices to prevent leakage or attempts at reusage. A preferred tamperproof valve, Fig. 2, mates with an oil connection pipe such as 19 so that the pipe once unconnected, it cannot be reconnected due to a lock out device. As shown, before use of the valve, a spring-urged ball 9 is retained in a retracted position by a sleeve 15. When the pipe 19 is inserted in passageway 18 it opens a spring-loaded valve 12 and also causes crushing of a thin section 14 of the sleeve 15 so that the sleeve is contracted to allow the ball 9 to rest against the pipe 19. When the pipe is retracted after use, the ball is urged by spring 5 into an indent 16 where it is retained by spring loaded pins 7 entering recesses 10. The unit is preferably made totally of plastic, in any shape, for fitment to any part of the vehicle and connected by pipework to the engine. The used unit is returned to the supplier for overhaul to reuse, and oil recycled, or the total unit and contents to be recycled.

Description

INTEGRAL OIL RESERVOIR, FILTH UNIT & TAMPER PROOF VALVE This invention relates to an integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit to be fitted to the engines of motor vehicles including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses, coaches, motor cycles, agricultural vehicles, contractors plant and equipment, boats, planes, plus any other equipment having an engine sump and oil filter fitted.

For brevity, the integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit will hereafter be termed "The Unit" or "Unit" during the rest of this patent application except where deemed necessary to give the full title.

Throughout the history of the motor vehicle one of the dirtiest and most difficult jobs to undertake is the draining of the engine sump oil and replacement of the oil filter element. Without the aid of a ramp or pit it is very difficult to complete this task due to the low ground clearance and inaccessible positioning of the sump drain plug, plus the oil filter unit is often hidden beneath other equipment. Even with the aid of a ramp or pit, the job is still dirty and a health hazard, due to the natural spillage of engine oil when these tasks are undertaken. Another major problem with the present systems used is that, apart from the spillage factor during this operation, which is known to be carcegenic when used engine oil comes into contact with the skin, the "Do It Yourself" man, plus a lot of unscrupulous smaller motor vehicle repairers, haulage companies, farmers and plant operatives do not dispose of the waste oil either for recycling or in an environmentally friendly manner. They just dump it, either down the town drains or direct on the land, causing massive problems for Water Boards' Purification Plants or Ecological Disasters as oil enters water systems through the land. Apart from the environmental and health problems that exist due to the present systems, a major amount of oil is not being recycled which, apart from the saving of natural resources in the form of crude oil it also takes less natural resources to remanufacture it into a reusable product.

This unit enables the total oil, plus filter, to be changed in a quick and efficient manner with no spillage of oil due to tamperproof non return valves preventing any oil leaking or for any person to be able to extract the oil to recycle the unit.

Apart from the tamperproof valves, a further valve arrangement is incorporated which works in connection with the oil pipe unions to prevent them being reconnected once removed thus preventing the more resourceful from trying to recycle the unit. The main aim of this unit is to ensure the engine/equipment manufacturer is the only provider of a replacement and only on the return of the used unit, thus preventing waste oil and filters being disposed of in an unsound environmental way.

"The Unit" can also be built with tamperproof non return valves which are akin to airline connectors which are connected by means of a male oil pipe being inserted into the female orifice of the unit and an outside sliding locking ring, holding the two parts together both to seal and to maintain integrity or indeed an arrangement that encompasses both schemes at the same time whereby the male pipe can be designed in conjunction with the special non reusable valve with slide locking arrangement.

According to the present invention the Integral Oil Reservoir and Filter Unit are built as a separate unit to the engine being lubricated and are not primarily designed to be encompassed within the structure of the engine, although it could be if so desired. The e principle is that "The Unit" is positioned in a convenient location near to the engine and the oil taken to and from the engine by pipework or hoses using a dry sump lubrication system.

"The Unit" is designed with fixing brackets/lugs or to be held down with straps to hold it in position so that it can be attached adjacent to or within the engine and the oil pipes are connected to the lubrication system by means of quick release self sealing tamperproof couplings or unions. A handle may be incorporated on one end or side to assist removal of the unit and also to facilitate carrying to and from the place from which a new unit may be obtained. The oil reservoir part of the system can be made of any durable material including, but not limited to, metal, plastic, rubber, fibre or composite material. The primary filtering assembly of "The Unit" can be integrally moulded into the inside of the reservoir or, if desired, be arranged so that it sits on a moulded ledge on the inside of the reservoir and held in position with a fixing arrangement.

The shape and size of "The Unit" will vary from application to application and it can be positioned either vertically, horizontally or at an angle. The oil level can be indicated in several ways such as; by making the reservoir of a translucent material so that it can be seen from the outside to be between predetermined markers; by means of a dip stick; by way of an electronic unit positioned in the reservoir which operates a gauge elsewhere. An oil filter restriction or blockage warning device may be fitted or indeed any other telemetry systems so desired. A breather pipe with a tamperproof non return device may be fitted if desired. An oil top up orifice will be required with a tamperproof non return valve. Tamperprof non return valves should ideally be fitted on each and every passageway which connects to the reservoir so that no oil can escape either during operation, removal or maintenance. The filter, oil connection pipes/unions, breather pipe(s), oil level indicators or top up devices may be positioned in any area to suit the application.

It is envisaged that, in many applications, both the suction and return pipes will be mounted on the upper face of the unit adjacent to the carrying handle.

With such arrangements all passageways will be moulded integrally with the unit body. An additional filter may be fitted to the oil suction pipe if required. As the primary function of "The Unit" is to make "The Unit" self sealing to prevent oil leaking from it either in service or during removal, plus making it impossible for people to reuse it by draining the old oil out to refill it themselves, it is desirable to make the topping up orifice with a special connection or one way valve arrangement which will allow oil in but which is tamperproof to prevent the extraction of oil.

A primary feature of this unit is that special oil pipe connection unions need to be used. The object of these unions is to make the system once only usable so that the unit is sent for recycling. The system could also operate without the special unions and valve arrangement and be fitted with just tamperproof self sealing unions.

Although the primary idea is that "The Unit" has a once only life and then the contents and constituent parts are broken down and recycled, it could also be designed so that a manufacturer devises a way of gaining access to the inside to replace the filter(s) and other necessary parts and then reseal "The Unit and fill it with new oil ready for re-use. Due to "The Unit" being tailor made to fit each application, it obliges the owner, user or repairer to obtain an identical unit to operate his engine. This means that the engine/vehicle supplier or licensed manufacturer will have total control over the marketing of both engine oil and filter sales. The primary reason for making "The Unit" is so that owners, users or repairers cannot dump either the old oil or filter but are required to obtain a completely new sealed unit. To achieve this, the seller of new units can either refuse to sell a unit without an old one in exchange or levy a surcharge so high as to make it prohibitive not to, thus achieving "The Unit's" aim of total recyclability of oil, filter, container and sundry fittings.

A special embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 and 2.

None of the drawings are to scale and are schematic.

Figure 1 : Shows the unit in its most basic form, primarily for ease of description and simplicity of drawing. The positioning of all unions, valves, fittings, breaker outlets, filling orifice, handle, fixing methods and telemetry units can be accommodated in any position to suit the application.

Figure 2 : Shows one arrangement for a tamperproof non resuable valve and union system.

Referring to the drawing Fig. 1, this shows "The Unit" in a side view of either a round or square configuration.

Item 1 is "The Unit", 2 the primary filter, 3 the oil supply pipe, 4 the oil return pipe, 5 & 6 the special valve units which prevent a second usage of the system, 7 an anti-frothing and filter device, 8 the filler neck, 9 the filler top, 10 the carrying handle, 11 the breather, 12/13/14/15 self sealing tamperproof one way valves, 16 large bosses where the unit is joined together, 17 the oil level indicator marks, 18 the oil level, 19 a fixing lug, 20 a fixing bolt, 21 a ball and 22 a spring.

"The Unit" works as follows. "The Unit" illustrated is one made from a plastic type material and is designed to be made in two halves and joined by plastic welding at item 16. It can also be recycled by the manufacturer by cutting it in half at this point to overhaul it and then resealed.

If necessary it can be made in two halves in order to fit the filter 2 and assemble the valve units 5 & 6. Although the filter 2 is depicted as a flat unit resting on a ledge in "The Unit", the filter could be a circular unit the shape of a thimble resting on the floor of the unit with the suction pipe drawing its oil from inside the filter, suitably sealed so that all oil is drawn through the filtering medium.

It could, if desired, be made so that any section of the unit is made to be split and resealed for recycling. It could be designed so that all connections are at the top of "The Unit" with the oil pickup pipe 3 extending down through filter 2 to enable a fitment where side connections were undesirable, in which case it may be split for assembly and recycling, at the top.

"The Unit" is supplied by the manufacturers with the requisite amount of oil installed in the unit and, on the type in Fig. 1, being made out of translucent plastic the oil level is determined by checking it against the level indicator marks 17. The only time cap 9 needs to be unscrewed is for top ups during operation. The oil is put in through orifice 8 and forces the non return valve open.

When "The Unit" is installed in the vehicle the connection of the oil unions 3 & 4 perform two tasks. Firstly, when the unions are screwed up it lifts the non return valves 14 & 15. Secondly and more importantly, the action of screwing in the union crushes a sleeve which supports a ball 21.

To remove "The Unit" for replacement, the unions have to be removed; when the unions are removed the sleeve being crushed no longer supports the ball which, being pressed by spring 22, drops down into the space occupied by the union.

Because the ball is locked into place, described in Fig. 2, the unions cannot be connected again thus making "The Unit" unusable again until it is either replaced by another new unit or the one removed is recycled by the manufacturer.

The primary intention of this device is to stop non authorised persons trying to extract the old oil to refill it with new oil. Whilst it may be possible to make "The Unit" totally tamperproof, the cost of doing so is likely to make the unit uneconomical. With this device, even if someone can remove the oil, they will not be able to connect it again. It may be in some applications that the manufacturers deem that only one of these valves is necessary to prevent tampering. Other manufacturers may feel that none is required and rely solely on the tamperproof non return valves, in which case the oil unions 3 & 4 will merely lift the non return valves 14 & 15.

In operation the oil is sucked into the engine, via union and pipe 3, through the lifted non return valve 14 after being filtered through filter 2.

Using this system the engine has a dry sump system which means that all the oil having lubricated the engine falls to the bottom of the engine sump and is sucked out to be returned to the unit through union and pipe 4.

This system ensures that 95% plus, of all engine oil is returned to "The Unit" which is greater than the amount usually removed from an engine using the standard system of the oil draining into the sump for removal by the usual method of draining the sump by means of a drain bung situated on the underneath of same.

Referring to the drawing Fig. 2 : This illustrates a variety of special tamperproof non reusable connection systems. It is envisaged that another system could be used in its place, this drawing merely reflects one method of achieving the aim of being non reusable. It is also envisaged that some manufacturers may not want the unit to be dismantled and recycled and it could be constructed together with "The Unit" to be made totally out of plastic components so that when the oil and filter are removed the total "Unit" is melted down for recycling "The Unit" material.

If "The Unit" was designed for use only once, the items on the drawing which enable the valve unit to be disassembled for further use could be assembled by means of press-fit or adhesives rather than screwthreads.

It is also envisaged that some manufacturers would wish to assemble units such as this valve unit as a separate item and install it into "The Unit" by means of inserting it in the desired position by leaving a hole in "The Unit" when it was made and welding or fixing it in with adhesives or other suitable fix arrangement.

The valve unit comprises the following components. 1 is the wall of "The Unit", 2 the valve block, 3 the removable assembly which houses the valve activating mechanism, 4 the screw which holds the tension on spring No.5, 6 is the locking mechanism assembly which holds the ball 9 in place, 7 is one of the locking pins which is activated by spring 8, 10 the open space the locking pins 7 expand into, 11 is an open space, 12 the non return valve, 13 the spring which presses 12 against its seat 22, 14 is the compressible section of 15 which is a sleeve that supports the ball 15 before the union 19 is screwed into position, 16 is the indentation the ball sits in after the union 19 is withdrawn, 17 is the solid washer part of the sleeve 15, 18 is the passage through which oil travels to the engine, 20 is the screwthread that the union 19 screws on to. The union nut of 19 is not shown in order to keep the drawing to its maximum size, but is of normal construction with a thread that mates up with 20. 21 is the shoulder on union 19, 22 is the valve seat and removable screw which facilitates removal of the sleeve 15 for recycling.

The valve system operates as follows: Item 19 is part of the oil pipe connection union as described above the union is of a type to screw onto 20. The union 19 being connected to a pipe which passes the oil from "The Unit" to the engine. When the union 19 is inserted into the valve block 2 it slides into the unit and down the centre of the sleeve 15 and engages the threads on "The Unit" at 20. As the union is screwed onto the thread it completes two functions. Firstly the flat end of 19 pushes non return valve 12 open against the spring pressure of 13, at the same time the shoulder 21 starts to press against end of compressible sleeve 15, as the union 19 is screwed in further the pressure exerted by 21 on 15 pushes the solid washer 17 part of 15 against 22. Further pressure on 15 forces section 14, due to its reduced thickness, to crush up into the space 11. When union 19 is fully screwed up the non return valve 12 is pushed into the fully open position to allow oil down the curved holes at the end of 19 into the passageway 18 and onto the lubrication system. Also, when 19 is fully screwed up the compressible part of sleeve 15 will be totally crushed into space 11 and the main body of 19 will now support ball 9.

To remove "The Unit" the unions have to be unscrewed and, as this is done, non return valve 12 is forced back into its seat to prevent oil leakage. Also, as the union is unscrewed, due to the sleeve 15 being crushed the ball 9 is pressing on the union 19 due to the spring pressure exerted by 5. As the union is finally drawn out the union 19 no longer supports ball 9 and it is forced by spring 5 to block the passageway and rest in indentation 16. As the spring 5 forces the ball 9 downwards, locking mechanism 6 is also forced down until it is opposite open space 10, at which point the spring pressure from 8 forces locking pins 7 to expand into open space 10. Once this movement has taken place ball 9 is locked into position and cannot be moved, thus preventing the union 19 from being inserted again and making it necessary to purchase a new unit from the supplier to ensure the oil and "Unit" are disposed of or recycled in an approved manner.

As mentioned previously, some manufacturers may not want to disassemble "The Unit" or the valve assemblies. The version illustrated here allows for the following dismantling to recondition the valve mechanism. No. 22 not only acts as the seat for non return valve 12, but also acts as the backstop to prevent solid washer 17 from moving backwards. In order to recondition the valve mechanism the crushed sleeve needs to be removed and by unscrewing 22 this can be achieved. No.3, the removable assembly housing, enables the locking mechanism 6 to be removed and so release ball 9 ready for reuse.

No.4, the screw which holds the tension on 5, may not be deemed necessary if 3 is used as the position 4 takes, could be substituted for a solid piece integral with 3. The inclusion of 4 is for manufacturers who do not wish to recycle the valve unit and makes for ease of assembly.

Claims

CLAIM 1 According to the present invention, the integral reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit is built in many shapes, sizes and variety of designs as part of the lubrication system for an internal combustion engine. This utilises a container to carry all the lubricating oil, the oil filter, the connections to convey the oil both into and back out of the engine, a breather pipe to vent excess pressure, an orifice with sealing device to allow oil replenishment, a handle for carrying the unit, with tamperproof non return valves fitted to all orifices to prevent oil leakage before the unit is fitted, due to it being supplied with oil already in the container, or to prevent leakage after it has been used. It can be fitted with extra oil filters on the oil suction pipe and the oil return pipe, the oil return pipe also having an anti oil frothing device fitted plus one or more special valves if desired, which operate in such a way that when the oil connections are removed a locking device comes into operation which prevents the oil connection from being connected again, but if it is required simple push together oil connections could be fitted to obviate the need of tools to undo threaded unions. It is also constructed in a manner in which it can be both made in two or more parts and be dismantled with special equipment for overhaul to be made serviceable again. It can also be fitted with all sorts of telemetry if required, such as oil level indicator, oil temperature indicator, high oil pressure indicator or filter blockage indicator and may be secured by any means including lugs with bolts, straps, etc and can be made of a variety of materials including, but not limited to, plastics, metal, fibre and composite materials.

CLAIM 2 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as claimed in Claim 1 provides a means of separating the engine's reservoir of lubricating oil from the engine.

CLAIM 3 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 provides a system to hold and filter the engine's lubricating oil.

CLAIM 4 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 provides a method to affix telemetry for oil level, oil temperature and filter blockage without the need for building an engine with such adaptations to monitor these functions.

CLAIM 5 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 provides a system that can have a variety of filter sizes and positions which is not possible if they were fitted to the engine.

CLAIM 6 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 provides a system that can be fitted to any engine even though the engine was not designed originally for this system.

CLAIM 7 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 provides a system that encompasses the oil replenishment orifice thus negating any intrusions to the engine for this purpose.

CLAIM 8 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 is fitted with a handle for easy removal and safe transportation, without damage, to storage area.

CLAIM 9 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 is fitted with a breather to prevent undue pressure buildups.

CLAIM 10 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 is fitted with unions and pipes which connect to the engine's lubrication system to transport oil to and from said engine.

CLAIM 11 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 has unions which not only perform the tasks as in Claim 10, but are constructed in such a way as to open the tamperproof non return valves to allow oil to flow but also to interact with a special valve as in Claim 12.

CLAIM 12 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 has unions described in Claim 10 and 11 that interact with a special valve which consists of a crushable sleeve and a ball under spring pressure with a locking device which, when the union is inserted to the valve, it crushes the sleeve and uncovers the ball which presses on the union's outer surface. When the union is withdrawn the spring pressure forces the ball down to occupy the space where the union was previously and, due to the locking device, it is impossible to remove the ball from this position which prevents the union from being coupled up again to make a second usage of the system impossible.

CLAIM 13 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made into any shape or size to suit the application and can be cylindrical, round, square, oblong, trapezoid or totally irregular to fit into the space available, the only proviso being that the breather pipe and oil filler are above the level of oil and the oil suction pipe always covered to a maximum depth.

CLAIM 14 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made out of plastic type material to enable it to be made into any shape or design required.

CLAIM 15 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made by injection moulding of plastic or suitable moulding material.

CLAIM 16 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made in two or more parts and built up to make intrusion without destroying it impossible, save for the manufacturer with the correct tooling.

CLAIM 17 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made in two pieces to allow assembly of the filter and valve arrangements.

CLAIM 18 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be made in a plastic type material in two pieces and " plastic welded" together to make dismantling without destruction impossible.

CLAIM 19 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1, referring to Claim 13, the position of all connections to this unit are of the designers discretion and not limited by mounting arrangements or engine design or configuration.

CLAIM 20 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 has an integral oil filter and anti-frothing device to ensure clean homogeneous oil quality is maintained.

CLAIM 21 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1, referring to Claim 12, can have said valve arrangement to be made so that it can be disassembled to replace worn and damaged parts and unlock the device, which otherwise without this feature makes the valve assembly unusable again.

CLAIM 22 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 is made out of plastic or other suitable material components in its entirety so that it can be melted down for recycling after the oil and main filter are removed to prevent the necessity of stripping down components normally made of metal and which would contaminate the melted material.

CLAIM 23 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 enables a system of changing the engine oil without removing the oil from the engine into the atmosphere.

CLAIM 24 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 enables the filter to be changed without any spillage of oil.

CLAIM 25 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 enables the engine oil and filter to be replaced without the aid of any tools if the option of male and female slide connections are used.

CLAIM 26 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 does not rely on any gaskets or '0' rings to seal the unit when it is replaced.

CLAIM 27 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1 can be fitted in locations outwith the engine compartment such as inside the wheel arch, in the boot or under the seats.

CLAIM 28 An integral oil reservoir, filter and tamperproof valve unit as in Claim 1, in relation to Claim 25, a modification to the non reusable valve using the male "airline" type sliding mechanism so that both features of a complete oil and filter change without tools, coupled with a non reusable system, is possible.