US2608116A - Valve keeper inserter - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1952 w KULp 2,608,116

VALVE KEEPER INSERTER Filed Feb. 17, 1950 INVENTOR l/ar'r 'y BY i /dalcm ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 26, 1952 VALVE KEEPER INSERTER Harry W. Kulp, Lancaster, Pa., assignor to K-D Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 17, 1950, Serial No. 144,127

This invention relates to valve keeper inserters foruse in inserting and operatively positioning the usual removable split conical keepers about the valve stems of internal combustion motors.

The difiiculties inherent in inserting and properly maintaining-such keepers in position about their respective valve stems whil'e lowering the valve springs and retainers are Well known; Such difficulties have increased in recent typesof automotive motors, due to the increasingly close spacing between the valve sprin retainers and the tappets in these motors; This is particularly true in 1949 and 1950 Ford automobile motors.

.Thejaws of many keeper inserters heretofore known and'used are so thick as to prevent their use in the limited space between the valve spring retainers and tappets of such motors, and the construction of these jaws is such that they would not function reliably ifmade thin enough to adaptithem for such use." I I l .i'Withthis in mind; it' isva primar'y ob-ject of the present invention to provide a keeper inserter having a novel jaw construction which permits the jaws to be of exceedingly thin cross-section for use with such new types of motors without sacrificing strength'and reliability .of operation.

It is'a further object to provide'a'jawconstrum tion having the foregoing attributes which renders the tool capable of supporting itself and the valve keeper in operative :positiono-nth valve stem. leaving both of the operators hands free to operate the valve spring lifter to lower the'spring and retainer. into operative-engagement with the keeper. r 2

:A further important object is to, providesuch a tool in which each f;the keeper positioning 'jaws employs .butza single resilient gripping element arranged to rotate thekeeper an' arcuate socket into tangential engagement with/a fixed gripping element, said resilient element pressing against the keeper in adirection normal to-and hence not directly opposed by thetwisting force exerted by the weight of the tool when the latter;

said element responsive to downward insertion of the keepers in the tool; and, to provide a novel laminated jaw construction whereinsaid guide means and var'ious'of the jaw lparts or elements may be formed integrally and] in 'pre'assembled relation in one Of: the stamped metallamin'a tions, thus facilitat ing the production of such a tool and minimizing th cost thereof.

5 Claims. (01. 81' '5.1

In this application I show and describe only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the practice thereof as by law required; I However I recognize that the invention is capable of other and difi'erent embodiments and that the several details of the in-. vention may :be modified in various ways, all without departing from saidinvention. Accordingly, the drawings and description herein are to be considered as merely illustrative and not as exclusive. I Inthe accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a valve keeper inserterin accordance with the invention, having a pair of usual keepers operatively positioned and supported therein;

Figure 2, a fragmentary elevation showing the forward or jaw portions of the inserter tool together with the valve keepers positioned there-- in; v,

Figure 3, an enlarged perspective View of the jaw' portions of the inserter tool; Figure 4, an enlarged cross-section on the lin 4 -4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrows; 1'- 1 Figure 5, an enlarged detail perspective view of the spring finger employed in the jaw cons'truce tion; and,

Figure 6, an enlarged detail perspective view showing a sheet metal stamping .or plate such as is employed in the jaw construction of the preferred embodiment.

In the accompanyin drawings, the invention is exemplified in .a tool embodying rigidlevers .l and 2' which are medially pivotally connected; as at 3, for relative; pivotal movement ina lateral plane. The portions of these levers disposed rearwardly of the pivot 3 are formedto function as operating handles 4-4 for the tool, while G- -G through which the pivot 3 is disposed.

A spring 1 coiled around the pivot 3 with opposite ends pressing outwardly against the respectivehandlejportions 44 exemplifies any.

ofljvarious means which. are employed for normally urgingthefjaws 55 toward each other to maintain the'tool in operative position about a valve stem. or other work piece.

aeoaiie with relatively laterally opposed arcuate or substantially semi-cylindrical recesses or sockets 88, the axes of which extend perpendicularly to the plane of movement of the levers I and 2. It will be apparent that the arcuate walls of these recesses 8, due to being integrally embodied in the respective rigid levers l andZ, are themselves extremely rigid and inflexible to provide firm supporting surfaces for engagement with usual split conical keepers K such as are used in the valve assemblies of late model automobile engines. Such keepers are usually providedwith internal annular ribs or projections K adapted. for seating in an annular groove in a valve stem; as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Each said jaw 5 of the tool is provided with 4 registering lateral ears |4|4 integral therewith and projecting from its medial portion to lie above and below the cooperating jaw 5 and plate ll] of its respective lever, a rivet I5 being passed through said ears I4l4 and the intervening lever and plate portions to firmly secure said lever inoperative position. Preferably the inner edge of each lever I and I will be cutaway adjacent the free end of its cooperating spring finger I3, as at It, to avoid interference with the clamping or gripping action of said finger.

The rear end portion of each such finger extends rearwardly from the rivet I5, as at IT and I of the finger about the connection [5.

an arcuate keeper supporting ledge 9 projecting laterally inwardly at the bottom of its respective recess 8 to support a keeper; K therein at a preribs K of both in registry with the groovedipor- 4 tion of the valve stem and that the inner; edges of these ledges shall not project inwardly beyond their respective keepers, so as to. interfere; with the application thereof to the valve stem;

At one end of the recess 8 of each jaw is dis-. posed a fixedkeepergripping or positioning elej-J ment [2 which projects partially across saidrecess and in opera-tionlabuts'against one circumferential end edge of the keeper to limit the rotary movement thereof in the recess 8. While; suchv an. element It may, be. formed in-vvarious manners, I prefer. to form it as an; integral upwardly bent portion of. the aforementioned plate or. lamination l0, and to dispose it longi tudinally along the imier edge of its respective; jaw adjacent the..forward end of the recess. 8

therein. I c c At the other end of the recess 8 in each. of: the; levers land 2 is. disposed a movable resilient gripping or positioning element which may be in the form of a spring steel'fin'ger 13 extending longitudinally along the inner edge of andsecured to its respective lever with its tree end projecting partially across the recess 8and resiliently tangentially. defiectible relativei tothe arcuate wall of the recess 8, and-to anykeeper K disposed therein. n 4 The function of this removable gripping element l3 of each jaw is to exert resilient tangential pressure againstthe circumferentially 'prm sented end'edge of a keeper disposed inthe' re-- cess 8 and to rotate such keeper intofirmengagement with the fi'xedgripping element lz at theother end of the recess. Thus the keeper K. will be'firmly frictionallygripped in the jaw be tween the two grippi'ng elements l2 and 13, the keepers in both jaws being accurately supported at thesame level by the ledges 9-'9}." Furthermore the keepers will be firmly maintained against'displacem ent in their respective jaws ex cept in an upward direction, and this willbe permitted only upon the application of sufficient axial upward force to overcome the frictio'nal gripof thetwo elementsl'2and l3. jf

The spring finger 'l3l'sho'wn in" the preferred embodiment is provided with relatively spaced Thus I provide a novel, simple and easily applied element [3 which will firmly and efliciently grip any keeper disposed in the jaw with which it cooperates, and which has no laterally projecting portions which might obstruct the closing movement of the jaws 5 5-,about a valve stem.

It should be particularly noted that the two grippingor positioning elements 12-! of each jaw are insubstantial longitudinal alignment with each other on diametrically oppositesides: of the respective recesses 8, sothat when keepersare operatively positioned in these, jaws any force tending to tilt said keepers about their axes: in a plane longitudinally of the tool willibe; per.- pendicular to the tangential gripping force of eachof the elements I3, hence will not be exerted directly ontheseelements or release their respective-keepers. V

In order to prevent downward deflection of the free forward ends of the spring fingers or eleward insertionof keepers into theija'w recesses 8'8', Iprovide guide plates or: elements I81l.8- respectively carried by each jaw andvprojectingl laterally inwardly therefrom beneath the free; end portions of the spring fingers; It' will be seen thatthe-lower edgesof the spring fingers: Iii-may slidably. engagetliese respective plates l8 and be deflectedlaterally thereacross during insertion 01 the keepers, while being positively maintained;

againstdownward deflection. w

Such a guideplate for. each j'aw may be con-- veniently embodied in a laterally projecting por'-' tion l8 of the metal plate Hi'of eachjaw.

Thus the use of such a metal plate l0 permitsthe formation of the jaws of the tool in are extremely simple and economical manner, sucha plate being -easily produced by usual metal stamping operations and embodying the keeper supportingledges 8, fixed grippingelement I2 and'guide plate I8 of itsrespective jaw ln pre-" movable element I3, and-then rotated against said element to defiectjsame' sufliciently to permit insertion of thekee'per into the's'ocke't or reg. cess18"withit s omer cireumrerenua and edge. is" abutmentwitli' the fixed element 1'2, ,whe'rupozi 1 ,1 the keeper is pressed a t/ iii as itsibottomi-abuts against the supporting ledge 9.' With the keeper thus inserted in the socket of. its respective vjaw, thefresilie'nt element [3 willexert tangential pressure against same, tendingfto rotate and maintain ;it infirm engagement with the fixed element i2, thus, .the keeper will 'befirmly gripped between said elements l2 and i3.

In order to apply the keepers in operative position about a valve stem, as part of the operation of replacing the valve spring, the-spring is raised and maintained in raised position on the valve stem by a usual valve spring lifter. With. the spring in raised position, the jaws of the loaded inserter tool are spread in obvious manner and the keepers therein are placed on opposite sides of the valve stem with their inner projections'or ribs K in registry with the cooperating groove in the valve stem. The jaws are then permitted'to close about the valve stem, applying the keepers K in proper position thereon. With the keepers thus applied, it will be apparent that the handles 5-4 may be completely released, and the tool will firmly and reliably support itself and the keepers on the valve stem, leaving both of the operators hands free to then operate the valve spring lifter to lower the spring and its cooperating washer into operative relation about the keepers.

Such lowering of the spring and washers about the keepers will of course forcethe retainer tool downwardly about the valve stem and out of engagement with the keepers in known manner, so that it may be removed at the operators convenience.

The self-supporting ability of the tool as above described arises from the particular arrangement of the tool so that the movable gripping elements i3-l3 press against their respective keepers in directions normal to the twisting force exerted by the weight of the tool when same is applied to and projects radially from a valve stem. Thus such twisting force will not be exerted directly against the said elements is and in fact only a relatively small component of such force will be imparted to said fingers in a direction which will tend to reduce the grip of the fingers on their respective keepers. The particular construction and arrangement of the spring steel fingers or elements 13 also is of importance, inasmuch as such fingers are capable of exerting a strong gripping force on the keepers in the desired tangential direction relative to said keepers, but do not project laterally from the inner edges of the jaws to interfere with the closing movement thereof.

I claim:

1. A valve keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers and means medially connecting same for relative pivotal movement in a lateral plane, the rear ends of said levers comprising laterally opposed operating handles and the forward ends thereof comprising relatively movable jaw portions respectively formed with laterally-opposed arcuate keeper recesses the axes of which extend perpendicularly to the movement of said levers, resilient means being associated with said levers for urging said jaw portions toward each other, flat sheet metal plates secured flush against the lower faces of the respective jaw portions and defining arcuate keeper supporting ledges projecting radially concentrically inwardly of said recesses, upwardly bent portions of said respective plates projectin longitudinally of the respective levers partially across said recesses from the forward edges thereof to define fixed keeper positioning elements, lateral guide plates integral with said respective plates projecting toward each other from beneath the. opposed inner? edgessof said levers, rearwardly of .said recesses, in "come. 'bination with: longitudinally extending resilient spring fingers secured against, the inner :edges .of the respective levers above said guidejplates, .thefree end of each said fingerprojectingforwardly;

partially 1 across the recess of its respective jaw portion and being deflectible across the upper face of its respective guide plate tangentially to..its respective recess, whereby said free end can exert a tangential force againsta keeper element disjposed in its;cooperating recess to rotate said keeperelement into firm engagement with its cooperatingfixed positioning element. 1 r

2. A valve keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers and means medially connecting same'for relative pivotal movement in a lateral plane, the rear ends of said levers comprisingoperating handles and the forwardends thereof comprising relatively movable jaw portions respectively formed with laterally opposed arcuate keeper recesses the axes of which extend perpendicularly to the direction of relative movement of said jaw portions, resilient means associated with said levers for urging said jaw portions toward each other, flat sheet metal plates secured flush against the lower faces of the respective jaw portions and defining keeper supporting ledges projecting radially inwardly of said recesses, upwardly bent portions of said respective plates projecting longitudinally of the respective levers partially across said recesses from the forward edges thereof to define fixed keeper gripping elements, lateral guide plates integral with said respective plates projecting toward each other from beneath the adjacent inner edges of said levers rearwardly of said recesses, in combination with movable keeper gripping elements carried by the respective levers and projecting longitudinally thereof across said respective guide plates past the rear edges of the respective recesses, said movable gripping elements being deflectible on said guide plates tangentially to their respective recesses.

S. A keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers medially pivotally connected for relative pivotal movement, and means associated with said levers for resiliently urging the forward ends thereof toward each other, the rear ends of said levers comprising laterally opposed operating handles and the forward ends thereof comprising relatively laterally movable rigid jaws, said jaws being respectively formed with laterally opposed arcuate keeper recesses having axes perpendicular to the lateral movement of said jaws, each said jaw comprising a fixed keeper gripping element and a longitudinally extending resiliently laterally deflectible keeper gripping element secured against longitudinal movement and deflection on its respective jaws, said elements being disposed in relative longitudinal alignment on substantially diametrically opposite sides of their cooperating recesses and projecting partially thereacross, in combination with guide plates carried by said respective jaws beneath said respective defiectible keeper gripping elements to prevent downward deflection of the latter.

l. A keeper inserter comprising relatively opposed rigid jaws and means supporting same for movement in a lateral plane relative to each other, said jaws being respectively formed with relatively laterally opposed arcuate keeper recesses the axes of which extend perpendicularly to the relative movement of said jaws, and means for normally maintaining said jaws in relatively closed position, each said jaw comprising a fixed keeperrgripping element and a longitudinally extending resiliently laterally deflectible keeper gripping element secured against longitudinal movement and deflection on its respective jaw, said elements being'in relative longitudinal alignmerit. on their respective jaws.

5. In a keeper inserted comprising relatively laterally movable rigid jaws, each jaw being formed 'with an. arcuate keeper recess inoneedge thereof and having a fixed keeper gripping element projecting radially partially acrosssa'id recess from the forward end thereof, the combination' with each jaw of a resilient gripping finger extending along said edge of the jaw-rear'- wardly of the recess and having a free end projecting forwardly partially across said recess for resilient deflection tangentially thereto. said gripping finger comprising integral relatively spaced lateral ears projecting therefrom intermediately of its length, said ears being disposed 8 respectively above and below said .jaw and pivot.- ally connected thereto, the rearwardly' 7. projecting end of said finger abutting against the ad'- jacent edge of said Jaw to prevent pivoting 10! said finger about :the connection between said ears and jaw. i. HARRY W. KULP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,61%204 Susdorf V Nov. '1, 1927 1,775,022 Dodge Sept. 2, 1930 1,891,803 Falwell Dec. 20, 1932 1,909,175 Hawkins -.v May 16, 1933

Images