US2778502A

US2778502A - Combined quick-coupler and hollow core for an oil-refining pack

Info

Publication number: US2778502A
Application number: US363214A
Authority: US
Inventors: Albert R White
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-06-22
Filing date: 1953-06-22
Publication date: 1957-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 1974-01-22

Description

Jan. 22, 1957 A. R. WHITE COMBINED QUICK-COUPLER AND HOLLOW CORE FOR AN OIL-REFINING PACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS ALBERT R. WHITE T H WV@ Jan. 22, 1957 A. R. WHITE 2,778,502

COMBINED Qu1cx-coUPLER AND HoLLow CORE FOR AN OIL-REFINING PACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1953 Lal.. EL

1N VEN TOR.

ATTOQNEYS COMBINED QUICK-COUPLER AND HOLLOW CORE FOR AN OIL-REFINING PACK Albert R. White, Glendale, Calif.

Application June 22, 1953, Serial No. 363,214

4 Claims. (Cl. 210-170) The present invention relates to improvements in a combined quick-coupler and hollowcore for an oil-refining pack. It consists of the combinations, constructions, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

It is a common practice to mount packs in housings so as to refine oil passing therethrough; and, of course, these packs must be changed, or renewed, from time tovtime in order to promote efficient refining of the oil.

An object of this invention is to provide a quick-coupler whereby an oil-refining pack maybe installed and coupled to an outlet fitting of its housing, or removed therefrom, with rapidity and ease. Broadly speaking, the quick-coupler forming the subject matter of this invention includes an elongated coil spring, which constitutes a hollow core for the pack. This spring is adapted to be telescoped over the outlet fitting with a turning action, and has its coils dimensioned for clamping themselves upon the fitting upon releasing the spring so that its coils will return to normal. The present invention differs in certain respects from my copending application on Quick- Couplers for Securing Oil-Refining Elements in Housings, Ser. No. 363,215, filed June 22, 1953. These differences will be set forth as the specification proceeds.

After the pack has been used for the proper length of time, it may be removed from the fitting by merely turning the pack slightly in a direction to cause the spring to relax its grip on the fitting, and thereupon the pack may be withdrawn. Both the installation and removal of the packs may be accomplished without requiring the use of wrenches.

Moreover, and as a further object, it is proposed to provide a modification of the pack, wherein a key member of rather simple construction is employed, which will effectively anchor the pack to its hollow core, thereby preventing relative turning movement therebetween. Also, in a further modification, a resilient sleeve is provided for precluding passage of oil between the adjacent coils of the core spring, which surround the outlet fitting. This arrangement assures passage of the oil through the refining material of the pack before it can flow into the outlet.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features will be set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

Drawings For a better understanding of -the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a housing having a plurality of oil-refining packs installed therein and coupled to the outlet fittings by my quick-coupler, portions being disclosed in section;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the first embodiment of the quick-coupler and hollow core, and showing the associated pack partly in elevation;

Figure 3 is a view of the coil spring for the hollow core on a reduced scale;

Figure 4 is a side view of the outlet fitting taken by itself;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating a modification in which a key member is provided for anchoring the pack to the hollow core;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the plane Vl--Vl of Figure 5, and showingthe key member arranged in operative position upon the coil spring of they hollow core;

Figure 7 is a view corresponding to the upper part of Figure 5, and including a further modification, wherein a resilient sleeve surrounds the top portion of the coil spring of the core; and

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken through resilient sleeve. v

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

, Detailed description Referring now to the first embodiment, as shown in Figures l to 4, inclusive, there is provided a housing indicated generally at A, which has head and base caps B and C, respectively, removably secured thereto. A plurality of oil-refining packs D are disposed in this housing for the purpose of refining oil E as the latter passes through the housing. p

It will be apparent that a partition 10 provides a compartment 11 within the head cap (see Figure l). Moreover, a plurality of outlet fittings F have their upper ends threaded at 12 so as to be screwed into the partition. The bores 14 of the fittings communicate with the compartment 11A for delivering refined oil to the latter. One of these fittings is provided for each pack.

As shown in Figure 1, an outlet conduit 15 extends from the compartment 11 through which oil maybe conveyed to a place where it is to be used. The incoming oil is delivered to the interior of the housing by a conduit 16, and this oil will fiow around all of the packs. before gaining access to the outlet bores 14, the oil must pass through an outery fabric casing 17, refining material 18, an inner fabric casing 19, and thence into the interior bore 20 of a hollow core G. A drain outlet 21 is arranged at the lower end of the housing.

In their structural details, the outlet fittings each define a cylindrical upper portion 22 on its exterior surface and bores Ztl of the hollow cores, as clearly shown in Figure 2. v

Each hollow core is formed from a coil spring G, which includes an upper section G1 having its coils disposed one against the other to normally prevent passage of oil therebetween. Further, each spring has an intermediate section G2 in which the coils thereof are spaced apart to form a spiral-shaped passageway 24 through which oil will flow from the refining material to the interior of the spring. At the lower end of each spring there is formed a section G3 of closely-related coils, which is closed by a plug 25.

When it is desired to attach a pack ting F, the upper end of the spring is telescoped upwardly over the selected fitting. At the same time the spring and its pack are rotated slightly (clockwise in Figure 2) so as to cause the top coils to enlarge and permit them to slide over the cylindrical portion 22. Upon releasing the coil spring, the tendency of the coils to return to no1'- mal will cause them to clamp themselves upon the fitting with considerable gripping power, thus retaining the pack coupled to the outlet fitting. Y

Patented Jan. 22, 1957 the l However, y

D to an outlet fitl atrasos It' will be apparent from this arrangement that a pack may be removed from its fitting merely by rotating the assembled pack in a clockwise direction in Figure 2, thereby enlarging the coils at the upper end of the section G1 to free their grip upon the fitting. Thereupon, the pack may be Withdrawn. Both the attachment of the pack to the fitting, or removal therefrom, may be accomplished with the utmost ease, Without requiring the use of a wrench. In fact no tool is necessary to use.

With respect to the second embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, it differs from the form just set forth by the addition of a key member H, The latter is made up of a coil spring that surrounds the spring G in snug relation so that both springs are anchored together. As shown in Figure 5, the pitch of the convolutions of the coils of the outer spring H are somewhat greater than that of the inner spring G, and extend in opposite directions to thereby cause the two springs to bind together. Fingers 26 project from the ends of the spring H into the interior of the pack D2 to thereby retain the latter from turning relative to its core spring G. In all other respects, the second embodiment is identical to the first; accordingly, like reference numerals have been applied to corresponding parts.

This brings us to consideration of the third form of the invention (Figures 7 and 8), which differs from the second embodiment only by the addition of a resilient sleeve J, such as neoprene rubber. This sleeve surrounds the upper part of the coil spring section G1, and its purpose is to prevent oil from entering the outlet bore 14 without first passing through the refining material 18 of the pack D3.

In all three embodiments, the inner casing 19 may be composed of a plurality of layers of cloth, which are wrapped around the spring G and held thereto by strings 27, or other suitable fastening means. It will be observed from both Figures 5 and 7 that the key member H is enclosed within this casing, The outer casing i7 likewise is made of fabric and defines a closed bottom 28, which is disposed below the plug 25. The upper end of the outer casing is secured by means of a string 29, or the like, to the core spring G, and then is turned downwardly to provide a cuff 36 surrounding the top of the pack. The refining material 18 of the packs may be composed of alternate layers of Clo-th 3l and cotton 32, as suggested in Figure 2 of the drawings. Other kinds of oil refining material may be housed within the outer casing 17 and surround the inner casing 19 and the iiexible core G.

The one common point in all three forms of the device lies in 4the flexible central core G that is made of a coil spring and extends substantially throughout the entire length of the pack. The core G performs three functions, namely: one, it constitutes the central liexible support for the pack; two, it constitutes the only outlet for the refined oil to leave the pack; and three, the upper or outlet end of the core constitutes the only quick-coupling means for rapidly and readily securing the oil refining pack to a hollow fitting and for removing it therefrom. The other end of the flexible core receives the plug 25. The portion G3 of the core may be closely wound as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5, or it may be loosely wound like the portion G2, in which event the plug 25 would engage with. fewer coils'.

The same type'of fiexible coil spring core is disclosed in the oil refining pack of my copending application, alrea'dyf referred to. In the copending case, however, a collar encloses the upper end of the coil and is keyed thereto. This collar has two sets of outwardly projecting integral fingers: a lower set that are enclosed in the pack body for keying the body to the core; and an upper set that are free of the pack body and are adapted to be manually gripped for quickly securing the core to the outletfitting'and for removing it therefrom. In the presentaca'se, the' two modified forms illustrate a key member H made of a heavy coil spring' and having' out wardly turned ends that act as fingers 26 for keying the member to the pack D. There are no second set of fingers that project clear of the pack.

The outlet fittings F need not be screwed in place to the partition 10 as illustrated. They may be wedged in place or otherwise secured to the partition. The conicalshaped lower ends of the fittings F are for the purpose of ease of telescoping the outlet ends of the flexible cores G over the fittings. rThe cylindrical portion 22 of each fitting assures the firm gripping of the top portion of the hollow core G to the fitting. This gripping is sufhcient to support the pack when it' depends from the fitting as illustrated and when it fills up with foreign matter that has been removed from the `oil as the oil passes through the pack and is refined.

lt is possible to have the axes of the outlet fittings arranged horizontally rather than vertically, and then the elongated iiexible packs D would also be arranged horizontally. The closely wound coil portions G1 would grip the fittings F to prevent any leakage' of` oil between the coils and the fittings. The drawings illustrate the contaminated oil flowing into the packs D from the outer surfaces thereof, and the refined oil entering the open sections G2 of the cores G and flowing out through the fittings F. The flow of oil may be reversed and the im pure oil enter the packs through the fittings and flexible cores. However, when the fiow of oil is as indicated in the drawings, the oil pressure will tend to press the oil refining material in the packs down upon the flexible cores rather than awayy from the cores.

I claim:

l. In combination: a hollow oil outlet fitting having a conical surface; an oil-refining pack having a centrally disposed coil spring that has an end extending at least to the top of the pack; the interior of the coil spring end being of a diameter to grip frictionally the conical surface when the spring end is telescoped for quick coupling the spring end to the fitting; the spring end being freed quickly from the fitting when the spring end is rotated slightly on the fitting in a direction for loosening the coils from the fitting; the spring end being simultaneously removed from the fitting while the coils are in a loosened condition.

2. In a combination: a stationary tubular fitting having a bore extending lengthwise therethrough for the passage of oil; the fitting having a relatively long tapered section on the exterior thereof; the tapered section being smooth and gradually increasing in diameter from an outer end of the fitting; an oil-refining pack of substantial thickness and material and having an elongated coil spring partially enclosed therein with the spring constituting a hollow, flexible core for the pack through which oil will fiow; the spring having one end section projecting through and beyond an end of the pack with the' interior bore defined by the spring being exposed; the tapered section of the fitting being exposed to facilitate the piloting and endwise slipping of the spring end thereover; the bore' defined by the coils inthe projecting end of the spring being less than the diameter at the larger end of the tapered section; whereby the outermost coils will grip the fitting when they reach a point on the taper of the fitting which isl slightly larger than the bore defined by the spring interior, and holds at this point when the'outermost coils are firmly shoved onto thetapere'd section; thereby providinga quick-coupling betweenA the pack andthe fitting; the pack being quickly uncoupled-whenthepackand spring are turned in a direction tending' to unwind and expand those spring coils that gripthe fitting; the fitting having sufficient length to extend into the pack and coii spring when the latter is quick-coupled to the fitting to prevent oil fiow around the fitting and into the pack; the spring coils adjacent to the end of the spring, contacting each other while the spring coils that lie farther within the pack, being spaced apart for thel passage of oil therethrough.

3. The combination as set forth in claim' 2","an'd in" which a key member formed from coiled wire, is secured to the coil spring and is contained within the pack; said key member having at least one outwardly extending linger that projects into the pack for keying it to the spring.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3; and in which a resilient sleeve telescopes over the spring end and extends from a point slightly beyond the spring outer end, to a point adjacent to the key member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 408,487 Jewell Aug. 6, 1889 6 Tice Apr. 19, 1898 Bower Feb. 26, 1929 Frolander et al Mar. 13, 1934 Wood Feb. 20, 1940 Russell et a1 Feb. 20, 1945 Butler Oct. l2, 1948 White Nov. 16, 1948 Gee Mar. 15, 1949 Ebert et al Nov. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Apr. 15, 1937