US2034958A - Combination breather pipe and oil can opener - Google Patents

Description

March-24,1936. H. F. PLASTER COMBINATION BREATHER PIPE -AND OIL CAN OPENER Filed April 2, 1935 "ll ....lii

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v gmc/who@ m17T/nlug Zei 1 .Patenti-.a Mar; 24,' 1936 'PATENT OFFICE COMBINATION BREATHER PIPE AND O CAN OPENER4 i Henry F. Plaster, Socorro, N. Mex., assig'nor of forty-nine per cent Alvan S. Fair, Socorro,

vN. Mex.

Application April 2, 1935,' Serial o. 14,337 2 Claims.. (C1. 1844-105) This invention relates to devices for supplying 4oil to crank cases of automobile engines, and

particularly to those devices which in practice are associated with the breather pipe so as to permit -5 the oil tov iiow from a can or other container through the breather pipe into the crank case.

y 4When a motorist buys oil at a service station it is dispensed usually, in order to avoid spilling,

through a quart measure, whether the oil be in bulk or canned oil. A greatmany stations use .the swing spout measure which, when the spout is up after being' used, will have at least two ounces of oil left in the measure.l This settles in the opening of the spout and then contaminates l5 or mixes with oil which is ,being subsequently dispensed, so that sometimes an expensive grade of oil is contaminated by an inferior grade and sometimes an inferior `grade of oil becomes mixed slightly with a superior grade of oil. Furthermore, where the attendant opens a sealedcan of oil and pours the oil into a dispensing can, there is'al chance of the attendant switching the oil ani-as a matter of fact, dispensing an inferlor grade of oil for the good grade, for which he has been paid. v The general objectof my invention' is to pro-- vide an oil can opening means which also constitutes an extension of the breather pipe of the engine or which is disposed around or within the breather vpipe and 'which extends upwardly from the breather -pipe to any desired height and is l adapted to receive the lower end of a can of goil.

A further object, in this connection, is t9 provide a puncturing means mounted upon' the bot-` tom of that portion of the device which receives the can of oil so that when the attendant or owner lnverts the can of oil within the holder .and forces the can downward, the can will be l punctured and the contents will ow downward through the breather pipe into the crank case,

the can remaining in this position until it-'is entirely drained of oil.

l A further vobject is to provide means for puncturing the top of the can to permit the inlet of i air so that the oil may now and, in this connection, to provide a top for the can holder so designed that it constitutes thetop of the breather pipe as it were, and permits the inlet of air under normal circumstances,v this cap being provided with a spike whereby the top of the can may be punctured.

Afurther object is torprovide a device of this character which isso designed as to fit any autol mobile engine and which will permit a round ysealed quart can of oil to be inserted readily and as readily removed without chance of the operator soiling his lingers. Y

Other objects will appear in thecourse of the following description.

My invention isillustrated in the accompany- 5 ing drawing wherein:

Figure vl is a vertical sectional View through a can holder opener and breather pipe extension Constructed in accordance with my invention, a portion of the breather pipe being shown in 10 section.

Figure 2 is a section at right angles to the section shown in Figure l, this view showing a can of oil disposed within the holder and the cap in place to puncture the top of the can of oil. 15

Figure 3 is a plan view of the holder, the cap and can being removed.

Figure 4 is an elevation showing a slightly modified form of can holder and breather pipe extension. 20

Referring to this drawing, I Il designates a cylindrical can holder-and breather pipe extension which is of metal or any other suitable material and which is formed with a conical or downwardly and centrally inclined bottom II '25 and terminates at' its lower end in a downwardly extending neck I2, which is adapted to be inserted withinthe upper end of a breather pipe I3.

At the lower end of the conical portion Il there is attached to the wall of the-portion I2 a cutter 30 which is of still sheet metal. Y'I'his has a portion I4 which. conforms in curvature to the curvature of the neck I2 for a portion of the width oi the cutter and itis f ormed to provide two inwardly lcurved wings I 5 which extend across the opening 354 I6 leading' from the body of the can holder into the neck I2. .The upper end of the cutter is upwardly and medially inclined at II from each wing I5 so as to form a sharp-edged and sharp pointed prong so that when a can of oil is dis- 40 posed within the holder I0 and frced downward, this cutter will cut a curved opening within the top of the can. The resistance oiered to the cutting of the can willA tend to force the metal cut out by the edges II ,upward so that oil will 45 readily iiow from the can through the spout formed by the portion I4 and the wings I5, this oil discharging through the openings `I6 and neck i2 into the breather pipe I3 and so into the crank case in the usual and ordinary manner. 50

For the purpose of puncturing the top of the can to permit the inletof air, I provide a cap or cover designated generally I8 and shown in Figure 2, as in place upon the top of the can. This cover, when a can has been drained of its oil, rests 55 I 0. This cylindrical can holder when the can has III) been drained of oiland removed, constitutes an extension of the breather pipe I3 and the cap I8 -constitutesthen a breather pipe cap. To this end, this cap is formed with the inner circular wall I9 which extends upward to the top of the capand the top-of the cap is carried downward and outward to form a skirt 20, there being openy ings 2| through this wall I9 into the space defined by or erhung by the skirt 20. Thus air can pass up from beneath the skirt 20, pass through the openings 2| and pass downward through the breather pipe. The cap I8 may be formed to filter the air thus passing into the breather pipe and to that end may/be -provided with a loose Ipacking of copper wool or the like, though I do not wish to be limited to this.

For the purpose 'of puncturing the can, I have providedA the cap I8 with a spike 22 which is afxed to the cover and extends downward therethrough so that when acan is inserted within the holder I and the cap ,I8 is mounted on top punctured, will force the can downward upon the -4 can cutterll. Wheny this has been done, the cap I8 is removed and then, of course, oil will flow downward through the punctured bottonir of the .can into the breather pipe. After the can has been entirely' drained oi oil, the can may be re- I moved from the holder and the cap put in place upon the top of the holder whereupon it acts like the usual cap to a breatherpipe. l

Inasmuch as the bottom of the usual oil can is Vila-t, the puncture at the center of the can will not drain oi all the oil, and for the purpose yof saving this oil, which does not drain out through the central opening, I provide a spike or prong4 23 which extends upward from the upper end of the conical portion II closely adjacent the side bom-,0m Il interne opening le.

wall.

When the can is forced downward against the cutter I4, the bottom of the can will also-be punctured by the spike 23, but no oil will flow out of this puncture becausethe spikeI 23 willI act as a plug. Y If however, there should be some slight leakage of oil, this will run down the inclined with my structure to secure practically every particle of oil that there is in the can, and without any danger of the oil being contaminated or adulterated, or a poor grade of oil being substituted for a good grade. a

In Figure 4, I have shown a slight modiication of the neck I2 in which the neck instead of extending straight downward, extends laterally outward, as at IZa, and then downward, as at I2b. This modification permits my device to be used on those cars in which it is necessary to oset the can holder from the breather pipe in order.

. to get room for the can holder.

It will be seen that I have provided means adapted to be detachably mounted upon the ordinary breather pipe whereby a can of oil may be held while it is draining. and whereby the bottom apegarse of thecan and the top of the can too may be l punctured to permit the discharge of oil.

It will be seen that the oil can holder which 'I constitutes an extension of the breather pipe is Ycovered when not in use, thus keeping out dirt and grit. 'Ihe can' may be left to drain within the holder without any attention and without any danger of falling and in the meanwhile, 'other car services maybe performed. 'I'he device eliminates the likelihood of spilling oil on fenders, motors and other' parts, and while it is particularly adapted for canned oil, yet it' is also perfectly capableof being used for bulk oil as it constitutes a funnel or hopper-shaped receiving end for the breather pipe. t

With my construction, it will be seen that thev oil will have plenty of room to back up should air in the oil chamber` of the motor cause it to flow more slowly down the breather pipe thanit does out of the can. 'I'his 'is permitted. by the space between the bottom of the can, which rests upon the holder at the upper end of the inclined portion II, and the bottom of the holder. 'I'he neck may, ofcourse, be constructed to t any standard size of breather pipe and the holder itself to receive the lower end of any size can.

While I- have illustrated the holder as cylindrical in form, it is obvious that it might be rectangular in plan, without departing from the spirit of the invention. i

`wane I have illustrated the cutter was being' made separate from rthe neck I2, it is to be understood that this cutter III might be integral with the Wall I2 or II,l and that I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction illustrated,

except asdened in the claims. .1

What is claimed is:- 1. An oil can holder for automobiles including a body adapted to receive the lower end of an oil can, the lowerend of the bodyextending downward and centrally, the lower end of the downwardly and centrally extending portion having a downwardly extending neck adapted to be inserted within the oil pipe of a motor, the body having a diameter such that the oil can will rest upon the upper end ,of the downwardly and centrally inclined portion, and a cutter extending straight upward from the neck at the junction of the neck with the downwardly inclined portion, the cutter conforming to the curvature of th'e neck and the side margins of the cutter being bent inward .to extend partly-across the opening of the neck.\

2. An oil can holder including a body portion adapted to receive an oil can, lthe lower end of the body portion being downwardly and centrally tapered and terminating in a neck portion adapted to extend downward into the oil intake of an engine crank case, the lower end of the downwardly tapering portion being provided with an upwardly projecting cutter formed to cut an opening in the bottom ofthe oil can at the center thereof when the can is forced downward into the holder, the upper end of the downwardly tapering portionof the holder being provided with an upwardly projecting spike located closely adjacent the wall of the holder whereby to puncture the bottom of

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