US3203445A

US3203445A - Combination vent cap and valve for automobile radiators

Info

Publication number: US3203445A
Application number: US308439A
Authority: US
Inventors: Maurice D Mccormick
Original assignee: Dole Valve Co
Current assignee: Dole Valve Co
Priority date: 1963-09-12
Filing date: 1963-09-12
Publication date: 1965-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-31
Also published as: GB1034986A; DE1297936B

Description

Aug. 31, 1965 D MCCORMICK 3,203,445

COMBINATION VENT CAP AND VALVE FOR AUTOMOBILE RADIATORS Filed Sept. 12, 1965 8 Z9 10 if 7.! 2 Z INVENTOR.

A TTORNE YS United States Patent 3,203,445 CUMBINATION VENT CAP AND VALVE FOR AUTOMQBHJE RAD1ATOR Maurice D. McCormick, Prospect Heights, 111., assignor to The Dole Valve Company, Morton Grove, Ill., a

corporation of Illinois Fiied Sept. 12, 1963, Ser. No.308,439 4 Claims. ('Cl. 137-4934) This invention is primarily directed to an improvement in a vent cap construction. Vent caps are often employed as closures for the filling conduits of automobile radiators and the like and serve to contain pressurized fluid within the conduit. My invention pertains more specifically to a vent cap construction in which means are provided to permit venting of the steam within the radiator to the atmosphere prior to removing the cap from the conduit.

The cap hereinafter disclosed has a button formed there on which, when depressed, will be effective to vent the radiator to the atmosphere through the radiator overflow tube. The cap is designed so that the button will remain in its depressed or venting position once it has been moved to that position and until the cap is removed from the radiator. Means are then provided to reset the button upon removal of the cap.

Also, the venting flow passageway through the vent cap preferably has a flow area equal to or greater than the effective flow area of the overflow tube.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that the cap hereinafter disclosed is also preferably adapted for the usual venting operation of pressure caps in which a partial turn of the cap on the radiator will vent the radiator so that this new cap can be used interchangeably with prior types of caps.

It is therefore, a principle object of my invention to provide an improved closure for containing a highly pressurized fluid within a conduit which has means formed thereon to permit venting of the fluid prior to the removal of the cap from the conduit.

It is more particularly an object of my invention to provide an improved closure of the type often referred to as a radiator cap which will be effective to vent steam from the conduit to the atmosphere in a manner which will not harm the hands of the operator prior to removal of the cap from the conduit.

These and other objects, advantages and features of my invention will become apparent from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view through a radiator cap constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is another vertical sectional view of the cap showing various elements thereof and a different operating position; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal plan view taken from a plane immediately above the spider 53 in FIG- URE 1;

As shown in FIGURE 1, a vent cap is mounted on a conduit 11 to cap the conduit and to thereby prevent the passage of fluid therefrom. The conduit 11 may constitute the filling neck of an automobile radiator and has a reduced diameter upstream passage portion 12 and a relatively large diameter downstream neck 13. A flat annular shoulder 14 interconnects the neck 13 with the small diameter passage 12. The neck 13 has a curvilinear outturned lip 14 which terminates in a circular edge 15. A vent tube 16 opens through a wall of the neck 13 to the chamber 17 formed within the enlarged diameter neck portion 13 of the conduit 11 to communicate the chamber 17 with the atmosphere. Generally the vent tube extends from the filling neck to a point adjacent the under- 3,233,445 Patented Aug. 31, 1965 carriage of the auto so that the steam can be released through the vent tube to the atmosphere at a point near the ground.

The vent cap 10 comprises in general a cover plate 20 having a stud 21 connected thereto and depending therefrom, a valve bonnet 22 connected to said stud 21 for axial movement relative thereto and a compression spring 23 interposed between the cover plate 20 and the bonnet 22.

The cover plate 219 is a two-part structure including a base section 24 which has a center recess 25 which, in turn, is centrally apertured at 26 to receive the upper end portion of the stud 21. A shelter recess 26 is formed within the upper surface of the base section 24 and serves as a seat for an upper shell 27. The shell 27 has a central upturned bead 28 formed therein which defines a deep recess 29 centrally of the cover plate 20.

The stud 21 has a bore 30 formed axially therethrough which opens to the deep well 29. The stud 21 is secured to the upper section 20 by a retaining member 31 and any suitable securing means and serves to sandwich the

members

24 and 27 together to maintain them in the fixed relation shown in the drawings.

A plunger 32 has a head 33 formed on the inner end thereof which abuts the lower end 34 of the stud 21 and has a button 35 aflixed to the upper end thereof. A compression spring 36 is interposed between the retainer 31 and the button 35 to normally bias the plunger 32 to the position shown in FIGURE 1.

An outwardly extending flange 37 is formed on the lower end of the stud 21 and has a groove 38 formed immediately adjacent to the upper surface thereof. A spring lock 39 is mounted on the stud 21 and has one leg 40 mounted on the upper surface of the flange 37 and seated Within the groove 38 so that it is maintained in a fixed axial position relative to the stud 21. The leg 40 curves backward on itself in the form of a finger 41 and this finger has its free end positioned in engagement with the side wall of the enlarged plunger head 33.

As heretofore noted, the plunger is normally biased to the position shown in FIGURE 1 by the spring 36. The spring lock 39 is formed of spring steel or some other similar material so that when the button 35 is depressed to move the plunger 32 axially downwardly the spring lock 39, remaining in engagement with the enlarged head 33 of the plunger 32, will permit downward movement of the plunger. The side Wall of the enlarged head 33 is threaded or has a plurality of concentric rings 43 formed thereon so that once the plunger and head 32 and 33 have been moved to the positions shown in FIGURE 2, the free end of the spring lock. finger 41 will engage the rings on the head to prevent spring urged return movement of the plunger 32.

The bonnet 22 is basically a two-part structure and includes a base plate 44 and a hood 45. The base plate 44 is faced on its undersurface with a resilient annulus 46 and a small annular bracket 47 fits over the base plate 44 and the annulus 46 to maintain these members in fixed relation with one another and to define a port 48. Segments of the periphery of the base plate 44 are bent upwardly and over an outturned flange of the hood as indicated at 49 to positively secure these members to one another. The bonnet is mounted on the stud 21 with a center aperture 50 in the hood slidably positioned over the stud 21. The diameter of the aperture 50 is less than that of the flange 37 so that the bonnet is positively maintained on the stud although it is permitted some freedom of axial movement. It will be observed that a plurality of apertures 51 are formed within the hood 45 so that fluid can freely pass from the port 48 through the apertures 51 to the chamber 17.

A valve head 52 is carried on the undersurface'of the resilient annulus 46 by a spider 53 and a depending pin 54. The spider 53 has a plurality of outwardly extending fingers 55 which serve to prevent movement thereof through the port 48. A pin 54 depends from this spider and carries the valve head 52. The valve head 52 is cupshaped in configuration and has an annular lip 56 formed therearound which seats against the resilient annulus 46 to prevent the flow of fluid from the interior of the conduit 12 to the port 48.

A single leaf spring 57 has its outer ends seated on the upper surface of the base plate 44 and is centrally secured to or abuts the spider 53 to urge the valve head 52 to the position shown in FIGURE 1. The spring 57 can be dispensed with entirely if a normally vented pressure cap rather than a normally positive pressure cap is desired. In this case the valve head 52 would normally remain open and would be closed only by large pressure build-ups in the radiator.

In operation, the valve cap is placed over the conduit with the resilient annulus 46 in engagement with the a shoulder 14 and the entire cap is then depressed to compress the spring 23 and move the bonnet and the cover relatively closer to one another and the cap is then rotated slightly to move a plurality of inturned fingers 59 formed on the cap into relieved portions of the generally annular rolled lip 14 until the fingers 53 underlie the edges 15 of the lip. At that point the cap will then be secured in the position shown in FIGURE 1.

In this normal position of the cap fluid pressure within the interior of the relatively small diameter section 12 of the conduit may build up and there will be no passage of fluid from this portion of the conduit to the chamber 17 or vent tube 16. It is desirable to retain the pressure within the conduit 12 in order to insure that water or other liquid contained within the radiator will not be lost under normal hot running conditions.

When an operator desires to remove the cap however he first depresses the button and this acts to move the plunger 32 and enlarged head 33 to the position shown in FIGURE 2. As the enlarged head 33 moves downwardly the head engages the upper surface of the spider 53 and moves the spider against the pressure of fluid within the small diameter portion of the conduit 12 and against the bias of the leaf spring 57 to the position shown in FIGURE 2 so that the valve head 52 becomes unseated from the resilient annulus 46. The free end of spring lock finger 41 rides up and over each of the ridges or rings on the head 33 as the head moves downwardly and is biased into engagement with the head by its inherent resiliency whereby to act as a one-way dog clutch to prevent return movement of the head 33 from the FIGURE 2 to the FIGURE 1 position. When the valve head 52 is unseated fluid is then free to escape from the small diameter portion of the conduit between the lip 56 of the valve head 52 and the annulus 46 and then through the port 48 and the aperture 51 to the chamber 17 and thence through the vent tube 16 to the atmosphere. It will be observed that in venting the conduit in this manner by depression of the button 35 no fluid is permitted to escape past the cover plate 20. In order to insure that no seepage of highly pressurized fluid will occur at this point a spring metal baffie 60 is secured to the undersurface of the member 24 and extends freely in a lateral direction a sufficient distance to engage the lip 14 of the conduit 11. The bafile is preferably formed of a noncorrosive material such as phosphor bronze or spring brass. The baflle 60 may be dished slightly and placed under a slight spring load when the cap is mounted in the position shown in FIGURE 1 to insure that a positive seal will be provided between the baflle and the lip 14.

A very important feature of my invention resides in the fact that I have provided a means wherein the button 35 and its associated structure will automatically be reset upon removal of the cap 10 from the conduit 11. In order to provide this feature I have formed a pair of upwardly extending cars 62 on the free end of the finger 41. These ears extend upwardly from the finger 41 on each side of the head 33 and flange 37 a distance such that they can be engaged by the top surface 63 of the hood (one of the cars 62 shown in FIGURE 1 has been broken away and thereby shown only fragmentarily in order to show the cooperation between the free end of the finger and the ridges on the head 33). It will be observed that when the button 35 has been depressed and the enlarged head 33 is maintained in its lowermost position by the free end of the finger 41, the ears 62 extend upwardly a small distance past the flange 37 of the stud 21. When the cap 10 is unscrewed and removed from the conduit 11 the compression spring 23 will act to bias the entire bonnet 22 relatively away from the cover plate of the cap and the top 63 of the hood 45 will be moved into engagement with the free ends of the cars 62 to force the finger 41 out of engagement with the rings 43 and to thereby permit the compression spring 36 to return the plunger 32 and button 35 to the normal position shown in FIGURE 1.

It should be understood that, if desired, the head 33 need have no serrations formed thereon so that the head can have an infinite number of spring finger holding positions. In such an embodiment it may be desirable to form the head of other materials than steel (materials which may provide a better friction grip on the fingers) but such substitution of material will be evident to those skilled in this art.

In addition, in practice, the springs are balanced to the desired pressure of the radiator system to give selective operational characteristics.

It will be understood that various modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A vent cap comprising a cover plate having a stud projecting outwardly therefrom,

a bonnet mounted on said stud for axial sliding movement relative thereto having an end face extending across the projecting end of said stud,

a port formed within said end face,

a valve member positioned so as to cover and uncover said port to control the flow of fluid therethrough,

a plunger slidably mounted for axial movement within said stud and movable to said first position to engage said valve member to move said valve member to a port open position,

locking means engageable with said plunger to hold said plunger in said first position,

and means responsive to the position of said bonnet on said stud for releasing said locking means to permit said valve member to be moved to a port closed position.

2. A vent cap comprising a cover plate having a stud projecting outwardly therefrom,

a port formed within said end face,

a plunger slidably mounted for axial movement within said stud and movable to a first position to engage said valve member to a port open position,

a spring lock mounted on said stud and being engageable with said plunger to hold said plunger in said firsit position,

and means engageable with said bonnet and responsive to the position thereof on said stud for releasing said spring lock to permit said valve member to be moved to a port closed position.

3. A vent cap comprising an upper plate having a stud projecting outwardly therefrom,

a bonneit mounted on said stud ror actual sliding movement relative thereto having an end face extending across the projecting end of said stud,

a port formed within said end face,

a plunger slidably mounted for axial movement within said stud and movable to a first position to engage said valve member to move said valve member to a port open position,

a spring arm mounted on said stud having a free end engageable with said plunger to hold said plunger in said first position,

a finger extending outwardly from said free end of said arm and positioned in the path of movement of a wall of said bonnet,

whereby movement of said bonnet in one direction will act through said finger to release the free end of said arm from said plunger to permit said valve member to be moved to a port closed position.

4. A vent cap comprising a cover plate having a stud projecting outwardly therefrom,

a bonnet mounted on said stud for axial sliding movement therealong and having an end face extending across the projecting end of said stud,

a port formed within said end face,

a valve head cooperable with the outer surface of said end face of said bonnet defining said port to control |the flow of fluid through said port and having a stem projecting from said valve head through said port,

means biasing said valve head to a seated position on said end face,

a plunger slidably mounted for axial movement within said stud and movable into engagement with said stem to unseat said valve head from said end face,

a roughened side surface on the outer end of said plunger,

a spring arm mounted on said s tuds having a free end engageable with the said roughened surface of said plunger to hold said plunger in a valve head unseating position,

whereby movement of said bonnet in one direction will act through said finger to release {the free end of said arm from said plunger to permit said valve member to be moved to a port closed position, biasing means urging said bonnet for movement in said one direction, and means for counteracting said biasing means and urging said bonnet in an opposite direction on said stud.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/52 Levell 137-493.4 XR 7/63 Comtella l37493.2 XR

Claims

1. A VENT CAP COMPRISING A COVER PLATE HAVING A STUD PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, A BONNET MOUNTED ON SAID STUD FOR AXIAL SLIDING MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO HAVING AN END FACE EXTENDING ACROSS THE PROJECTING END OF SAID STUD, A PORT FORMED WITHIN SAID END FACE, A VALVE MEMBER POSITIONED SO AS TO COVER AND UNCOVER SAID PORT TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF FLUID THERETHROUGH, A PLUNGER SLIDABLY MOUNTED FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT WITHIN SAID STUD AND MOVABLE TO SAID FIRST POSITION TO ENGAGE SAID VALVE MEMBER TO MOVE SAID VALVE MEMBER TO A PORT OPEN POSITION, LOCKING MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PLUNGER TO HOLD SAID PLUNGER IN SAID FIRST POSITION,