U.S. patent application number 10/452370 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-29 for refrigerant charging/pressure testing hose assembly.
Invention is credited to Ferris, James E., Quest, William J..
Application Number | 20040079092 10/452370 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27757491 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040079092 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ferris, James E. ; et
al. |
April 29, 2004 |
Refrigerant charging/pressure testing hose assembly
Abstract
A refrigerant charging/pressure testing hose assembly meeting
SAE standard J2196 is useable to both (1) check the pressure in a
refrigerant circuit and, (2) if necessary, add refrigerant to the
circuit. The assembly includes a length of refrigerant charging
hose having a quick disconnect coupler disposed at one end and
connectable to a service fitting portion of the circuit, a
piercing-type shutoff valve disposed at the other hose end and
connectable to a refrigerant charging canister, a pressure gauge
installed in a longitudinally intermediate portion of the hose, and
a check valve installed in the hose between the shutoff valve and
the pressure gauge and permitting flow through the hose only toward
the quick coupler.
Inventors: |
Ferris, James E.;
(Richardson, TX) ; Quest, William J.; (Dallas,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ERIC B. MEYERTONS
MEYERTONS, HOOD, KIVLIN, KOWERT & GOETZEL, P.C.
P.O. Box 398
AUSTIN
TX
78767-0398
US
|
Family ID: |
27757491 |
Appl. No.: |
10/452370 |
Filed: |
June 2, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10452370 |
Jun 2, 2003 |
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10280041 |
Oct 24, 2002 |
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6609385 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/77 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 2345/001 20130101;
B60H 1/00585 20130101; F25B 45/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/077 |
International
Class: |
F25B 045/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. For use in charging and pressure testing a refrigerant circuit
having an inlet fitting, a refrigerant charging/pressure testing
assembly interconnectable between the inlet fitting and an outlet
portion of a pressurized refrigerant container, said refrigerant
charging/pressure testing assembly comprising: a conduit having
first and second ends; a coupling structure secured to said first
end of said conduit and lo being connectable to the refrigerant
circuit inlet fitting; a shutoff valve secured to said second end
of said conduit and being connectable to the refrigerant container
outlet portion; a pressure gauge connected in said conduit between
said coupling structure and said shutoff valve and being
communicated with the interior of said conduit; and a check valve
connected in said conduit between said pressure gauge and said
shutoff valve, said check valve being operative to block fluid flow
therethrough toward said shutoff valve.
2. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: said conduit is a length of flexible refrigerant charging
hose.
3. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: the inlet fitting is a service fitting, and said coupling
structure is a quick disconnect type coupling structure.
4. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: said shutoff valve is a piercing-type shutoff valve.
5. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: said pressure gauge is a dial-type pressure gauge.
6. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 5
wherein: said dial-type pressure gauge has a face with a normal
range marked thereon and being indicative of an adequate
refrigerant charge in a refrigerant circuit to which said
refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly is operatively
coupled.
7. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: said pressure gauge visually provides an indicia of an
adequate refrigerant charge range in the refrigerant circuit to
which said refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly is
operatively coupled.
8. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 1
wherein: said assembly complies with SAE standard J2196.
9. For use in charging and pressure testing an air conditioning
system having a service fitting, a refrigerant charging/pressure
testing assembly interconnectable between the inlet fitting and a
pierceable outlet portion of a pressurized refrigerant canister,
said refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly comprising: a
length of flexible refrigerant charging hose; a quick disconnect
coupler secured to said first end of said hose and being releasably
connectable to the service fitting; a piercing-type shutoff valve
secured to said second end of said lo conduit and being releasably
connectable to the canister outlet portion; a pressure gauge
connected in said hose between said quick disconnect coupler and
said shutoff valve; and a check valve connected in said hose
between said pressure gauge and said shutoff valve, said check
valve being operative to block fluid flow therethrough toward said
shutoff valve.
10. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 9
wherein: said pressure gauge is a dial-type pressure gauge having a
face with a normal range marked thereon and being indicative of an
adequate refrigerant charge in an air conditioning circuit to which
said refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly is operatively
coupled.
11. The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly of claim 10
wherein: said assembly complies with SAE standard J2196.
12. A method of pressure testing and charging a refrigerant circuit
having an inlet fitting, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly having a
conduit with first and second ends, a coupling structure secured to
said first end, a shutoff valve secure to said second end, a
pressure gauge connected in said conduit between said coupling
structure and said shutoff valve, and a check valve connected in
said conduit between said pressure gauge and said shutoff valve,
said check valve being operative to block fluid flow therethrough
toward said shutoff valve; connecting said coupling structure to
said inlet fitting; and determining the adequacy of the refrigerant
charge in the refrigerant circuit by reading said pressure
gauge.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of:
connecting said shutoff valve to an outlet portion of a pressurized
refrigerant container.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of: using
said shutoff valve to flow refrigerant from said container into
said refrigerant circuit through said conduit until the pressure
gauge reading is indicative of an adequate refrigerant charge in
said refrigerant circuit.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein: the pressure gauge has a visual
normal pressure range marked thereon, and said using step is
performed by using said shutoff valve until the pressure gauge
reading is in said normal range.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein: said using step is performed by
alternately opening and closing said shutoff valve, to thereby flow
separate amounts of refrigerant from said s container into said
circuit, until the pressure gauge reading is indicative of an
adequate refrigerant charge in said refrigerant circuit.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/280,041 entitled "Refrigerant
Charging/Pressure Testing Hose Assembly" filed on Oct. 24,
2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to refrigerant
charging apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more
particularly provides a specially designed refrigerant
charging/pressure testing hose assembly useable to charge a
refrigerant circuit.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A common technique for checking the refrigerant charge of a
refrigerant circuit, for example in an automotive vehicle air
conditioning system, and adding a relatively small quantity of
refrigerant to the circuit if necessary, is to first check the
pressure within the circuit by providing a hose with a pressure
gauge operatively connected thereto, coupling an end of the hose to
a service fitting portion of the circuit and then reading the
pressure gauge. If the pressure gauge reading indicates that
additional refrigerant needs to be added to the circuit, the
pressure gauge hose is removed from the service fitting, and a
separate charging hose assembly is used to add refrigerant to the
circuit.
[0006] The charging hose assembly typically includes a coupling at
one end, which is releasably securable to the service fitting, and
a shutoff valve at its opposite end that may be secured to the
outlet of a pressurized refrigerant container. The coupling is
secured to the service fitting, and the valve is opened to flow
refrigerant into the circuit. After this is done, the charging hose
assembly is removed from the service fitting, and the pressure
gauge hose is again connected to the service fitting to provide a
pressure reading indicative of the new refrigerant charge level in
the circuit.
[0007] If the pressure reading is not sufficiently high, the
pressure gauge hose assembly is removed and the charging hose
assembly reattached to the service fitting to add still more
refrigerant to the circuit. The circuit is then pressure tested
again using the separate pressure gauge hose assembly. These two
separate steps are repeated, using the separate hose assemblies,
until the measured pressure within the circuit indicates that the
circuit is adequately charged with refrigerant.
[0008] This conventionally required use of separate pressure
reading and refrigerant charging hose assemblies to check and
adjust the refrigerant charge in a refrigerant circuit such as an
automotive air conditioning system tends to be both tedious and
time consuming. A need thus exists for improved apparatus and
methods for measuring the pressure of a refrigerant circuit and
adding refrigerant thereto if necessary. It is to this need that
the present invention is directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In carrying out principles of the present invention, in
accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, a specially
designed refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly is provided
for use in charging and pressure testing a refrigerant circuit,
such as in an automotive air conditioning circuit, having a service
inlet fitting.
[0010] The assembly, which representatively complies with SAE
standard J2196, is interconnectable between the service fitting and
an outlet portion of a pressurized refrigerant container and, in a
preferred embodiment thereof, comprises (1) a conduit,
representatively a length of flexible refrigerant charging hose,
having first and second ends; (2) a coupling structure,
representatively a quick disconnect fitting, secured to the first
conduit end and being connectable to the service fitting; (3) a
shutoff valve, representatively a piercing-type shutoff valve,
secured to the second conduit end and being connectable to the
refrigerant container outlet portion; (4) a pressure gauge
connected in the conduit between the coupling structure and the
shutoff valve and being communicated with the interior of the
conduit; and (5) a check valve connected in the conduit between the
pressure gauge and the shutoff valve, the check valve being
operative to block fluid flow therethrough toward the shutoff
valve.
[0011] To check the adequacy of the refrigerant charge in the
circuit, the coupling structure is simply connected to the service
fitting of the circuit and the pressure gauge is read.
Illustratively, and not by way of limitation, the pressure gauge is
a dial-type gauge having a face on which a normal pressure range is
marked, such range being indicative of an adequate refrigerant
charge in the circuit. Thus, when the gauge needle is within the
marked normal range, the circuit does not need an additional
refrigerant charge.
[0012] If the circuit does need additional refrigerant (and the
shutoff valve has not been previously connected to the refrigerant
container outlet) the shutoff valve is connected to the refrigerant
container outlet and used, representatively by opening and closing
it to inject separate amounts of refrigerant from the container
into the circuit via the conduit, until the gauge pressure
indicates that the circuit is adequately charged.
[0013] Using conventional apparatus and methods, this circuit
pressure testing and refrigerant charging process previously
required two items of equipment--(1) a pressure gauge and
associated hose, and (2) a separate charging hose which was used in
conjunction with a refrigerant supply canister if additional
refrigerant was needed in the circuit as indicated by the prior use
of the separate pressure gauge/hose assembly. By using the
specially designed refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly
of the present invention, this previous necessity of testing the
circuit pressure with one structure and then removing the first
structure and replacing it with a second structure used to add
refrigerant, if needed, to the circuit is eliminated.
[0014] The refrigerant charging/pressure testing assembly thus
advantageously provides for easier and quicker refrigerant checking
and charging compared to conventional techniques and apparatus. The
assembly permits the addition of refrigerant to the circuit in
metered amounts, does not require the disconnection of the charging
hose to measure pressure, and eliminates guesswork with respect to
the amount of additional refrigerant needed by the circuit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0015] The single drawing herein schematically depicts a specially
designed refrigerant charging/pressure testing hose assembly
embodying principles of the present invention and being used to
flow pressurized refrigerant from a refrigerant supply canister
into an automotive air conditioning circuit through a service
fitting portion of the circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] As indicated in the single drawing herein, this invention
provides a refrigerant charging/pressure testing hose assembly 10
adapted to flow pressurized refrigerant 12 from a suitable canister
14 or other container into an air conditioning circuit,
representatively an automotive vehicle air conditioning circuit 16,
through a service fitting portion 18 of the circuit.
[0017] Assembly 10 includes a length of flexible charging hose 20
having a quick disconnect fitting 22 or other suitable coupling
device at its left end and a shutoff valve, representatively a
piercing-type shutoff valve 24, at its right end, a pressure gauge
26 connected in a longitudinally intermediate portion of the hose
20, and a check valve 28 connected in the hose 20 between the
pressure gauge 26 and the shutoff valve 24. Illustratively, the
assembly 10 complies with SAE standard J2196, with the shutoff
valve 24 being within 30 .mu.m of the quick disconnect fitting
22.
[0018] The pressure gauge 26 is representatively a dial-type
pressure gauge having a pressure indicating needle 30, and a face
32 with a "normal range" 33 (indicating a normal pressure range
when the circuit is adequately charged with refrigerant) suitably
indicated thereon. Check valve 28 permits only leftward flow of the
refrigerant 12 through the hose 20, as indicated by the arrow
directly above the check valve 28. Shutoff valve 24 has a rotatable
handle 34 on the top end of its body 35, handle 34 being connected
to a stem 36 rotatably secured to the body 35 and having a lower
piercing end 36a. Canister 14 has an open-topped upper end 38 with
an interior pierceable outlet portion 40.
[0019] The assembly 10 may be used without the canister 14, to
check the pressure within the air conditioning circuit 16, and thus
quickly determine whether it is adequately charged with refrigerant
or needs to have refrigerant added thereto, by simply connecting
the quick disconnect fitting 22 to the service fitting 18 and then
reading the pressure gauge 26 to quickly determine whether the
circuit 16 needs additional refrigerant. When the quick disconnect
fitting 22 is connected to the service fitting 18, the check valve
28 prevents fluid flow rightwardly past the valve 28, thereby
assuring an accurate pressure reading.
[0020] To use the assembly 10 for the first time in conjunction
with the unopened canister 14, the shutoff valve 24 is readied for
its initial connection to the canister 14 by rotating the handle 24
to upwardly retract the stem 36, and the valve body 35 is secured
to the pierceable canister portion 40. The quick disconnect fitting
22 at the other end of the hose 20 is then removably secured to the
refrigerant circuit service fitting 18. At this point, there is no
communication between the interior of the canister 14 and the
interior of the hose 20.
[0021] Upon connection of the disconnect fitting 22 to the service
fitting 18, the gauge needle 30 will indicate the pressure within
the air conditioning circuit 16. If the needle 30 is within the
normal range 33, no refrigerant needs to be added to the circuit
16, and the disconnect fitting 22 is removed from the service
fitting 18.
[0022] However, if the gauge needle 30 is below the range 33 the
shutoff valve handle 34 is rotated in one direction to downwardly
drive the lower stem end 36a to pierce the canister portion 40, and
then rotated in the opposite direction to communicate the interior
of the canister 14 with the interior of the hose 20. In this
manner, refrigerant 12 is caused to flow leftwardly through the
hose 20 and into the circuit 16 through the service fitting 18.
After a quantity of refrigerant is forced into the circuit 16 in
this manner, the valve handle 34 is rotated to close the shutoff
valve 24 and thereby permit the pressure gauge 26 to provide a
reading indicating the new, higher level of refrigerant charge
within the circuit 16. If this initially added quantity of
refrigerant does not cause the pressure gauge needle 30 to move
into the "normal" gauge zone 33 the valve 34 is reopened, to permit
more refrigerant to be forced into the circuit 16, and then closed
to provide a refrigerant charge-indicative pressure reading on the
gauge 26.
[0023] When the gauge pressure reading is satisfactory, the quick
disconnect fitting 22 is removed from the service fitting of the
now correctly charged circuit 16. In a conventional manner, the
quick disconnect fitting 22, when removed from the service fitting
18, snaps lo shut to prevent refrigerant outflow therethrough from
the canister 14 in the event that the operator neglects to close
the shutoff valve 24 before uncoupling the quick disconnect fitting
22 from the service fitting 18.
[0024] Using conventional apparatus and methods, this circuit
pressure testing and refrigerant charging process previously
required two items of equipment--(1) a pressure gauge and
associated hose, and (2) a separate charging hose which was used in
conjunction with a refrigerant supply canister if additional
refrigerant was needed in the circuit as indicated by the prior use
of the separate pressure gauge/hose assembly. By using the
specially designed assembly 10, this previous necessity of testing
the circuit pressure with one structure and then removing the first
structure and replacing it with a second structure used to add
refrigerant, if needed, to the circuit is eliminated. Accordingly,
as can be readily seen from the foregoing, the assembly 10
advantageously provides for easier and quicker refrigerant checking
and charging compared to conventional techniques and apparatus. The
assembly 10 permits the addition of refrigerant to the circuit 16
in metered amounts, does not require the disconnection of the
charging hose 20 to measure pressure, and eliminates guesswork with
respect to the amount of additional refrigerant needed by the
circuit 16.
[0025] The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly
understood as being given by way of illustration and example only,
the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited solely
by the appended claims.
* * * * *