July 21, 1959 A.L. FLADUNG OIL CAN SPOUTS Filed July 25, 1958 Fig/f INVENTOR.

Albert L. Flodung A 7' TOR/VE Y United States Patent 01L CAN SPOUTS Albert L. Fladuug, Akron, Colo., Feather Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Colorado assignor to Clark- Fort Morgan, Colo.,

This invention relates to an oil can spout, and has for its principal object the provision of a quick-attachable spout which can be quickly and easily applied to a conventional can of oil, more particularly to the familiar quart cans of oil as dispensed in automotive filling stations, and which will provide a relatively long, convenient, flexible spout for the can so that it may be used for general oil can oiling purposes.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the attachable spout that it can be used to pierce the top of the can and to provide means for attaching the spout to the can by means of a screwdriver or other simple tool.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efliciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved attachable oil can spout as it would appear prior to attachment to a can;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-section through the top of an oil can, illustrating a step in applying the spout to the can;

Fig. 3 is a similar cross-section illustrating the spout in the completely attached position;

Fig. 4 illustrates a sheet metal blank as used for forming a tubular nipple for use in the improved spout;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the completed nipple as formed from the blank of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section looking downwardly on the line 6-6, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional oil can with the improved spout applied thereto ready for use.

For the purposes of illustration, a conventional can of oil of the type used in automobile filling stations is illustrated at 10, with its top at 11.

The improved spout comprises a tubular nipple 12 formed by rolling a preformed blank of sheet metal into a tube. The preformed blank of sheet metal, shown in Fig. 4, is provided with spaced-apart longitudinally-extending slots 13 which divide a portion of the length of the blank into parallel, longitudinally extending, corrugated expansion strips 14. The preformed blank of Fig. 4 is rolled into a cylinder to produce the tubular nipple 12, there being one of the expansion strips 14 extending longitudinally along each side of the cylinder.

An internally threaded plug 15 is forced in, cast in, or soldered in the lower extremity of the nipple 12. A winged fitting 16, provided with a base pad 17, is forced over the upper portion of the nipple 12 and is preferably "ice soldered thereon, as indicated at 18. A resilient sealing washer 19 is forced over the cylinder against the pad 17 of the fitting 16 above the expansible corrugated expansion strips 14.

For intallation purposes, an elongated, threaded screw 20 is positioned in the nipple 12 and threaded through the plug 15. The screw 20 is provided with an enlarged head 21 at its upper extremity, arranged to receive a screw driver or similar tool, and with a relatively sharp point 22 at its lower extremity. The screw 20 is of a length to allow the point 22 to project slightly downward beyond the plug 15, when the head 21 is in contact with the top of the nipple 12, as shown in Fig. 1.

To apply the improved spout to the top 11 of the can 10, the point of the screw 20 is positioned at the desired point on the can top and the head 21 of the screw 20 is struck to cause the point 22 to perforate the can top 11 so as to provide an entrance opening therein through which the entire nipple is driven until the sealing washer 19 rests upon the top 11. The fitting 16 is now gripped by the fingers of one hand to prevent rotation of the nipple 12 and the screw 20 is tightened with the other hand to cause the plug 15 to travel upwardly along the threads of the screw. This upward movement of the plug 15 collapses the expansion strips 14 tightly against the under surface of the can top 11, as shown in Fig. 3, until a fluid-tight seal is attained between the sealing washer 19 and the top of the can.

The screw 20 is now unscrewed, withdrawn, and discarded, so that the nipple 12 will provide an open outlet tube through which the oil can be dispensed from the can. If a more extended outlet tube is desired, a length of flexible, resilient tubing 23, of flexible plastic or rubber is fitted snugly over the upwardly projecting nipple 12 for delivery of the oil. The tubing 23 can be used for dispensing oil from the can 10 into smaller containers or into the oil filling spouts of automotive vehicles.

For ordinary oil can uses, a hollow, tapered tip 24 is frictionally slipped into the upper extremity of the flexible tubing 23. The tip 24 provides a spout of the conventional oil can by means of which oil can be forced into oil holes in machinery and the like, by pressure on the bottom of the can similarly to the conventional oil can. Since the tubing 23 is flexible, the spout 24 may be bent into any desired position, as shown in broken line in Fig. 7.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

An attachable spout for a closed container comprising: an elongated tubular nipple; corrugated expansion strips extending longitudinally of said nipple, said strips being separated by longitudinally extending slots formed in said nipple adjacent the lower extremity of said nipple; an internally threaded tapered plug fixedly mounted in the lower extremity of said nipple; a winged fitting having a base pad mounted adjacent the upper extremity of said nipple; a sealing washer surrounding said nipple adjacent said fitting; a pointed penetrating screw extending longitudinally through said sleeve and projecting downwardly beyond said plug; and a head on said screw resting against the upper extremity of said nipple so that pressure on said head will force said screw and said nipple through the top of said container, and so that when said holding member is maintained stationary and said screw is rotated, it will cause said-plug to travel toward the inner surface of the top of said container compressing the expansion strips thereagainst to maintain said sealing washer against the top of said container so that when said screw is removed, said nippl'ewill forma pouringspout for said container, and a. tapered flexible dispensing tube mounted on said nipple.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Parkes Apr. 13, 1915 Owen Mar. 6, 1928 Croessant July 3, 1951