Liquid Fill Assembly

Abstract

A liquid fill assembly that includes an L-shaped fill pipe provided with a bifurcated and pivotally mounted cam means that includes rollers that rollingly and cammingly bear against a flanged operating member that is slidable and rotatable on the fill pipe.

Description

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in liquid fill assemblies, and pertains more particularly to such an assembly of the type that includes antifriction and antiwear means in the cam means for effecting an annular seal about the fill pipe.

The instant invention has to do with the field of and has the same general purposes as the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,428 which issued to G. M. Ransom on Aug. 7, 1962 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,958 which issued to M. B. Rath on Sept. 17, 1963.

The primary objective is to increase the useful life and reliability of liquid fill assemblies, and to provide apparatus of such character that will exceed specifications, codes and regulations by governmental and industrial agencies and departments presently in existence as well as those which may be anticipated in the future.

Another objective is to provide apparatus of the character specified above which will seldom if ever need adjustment or repair, and which will be physically less strenuous to operate and which will allow the fill pipe to be adjusted angularly while the annular seal is being or has been effected.

A broad aspect of the invention involves in a liquid fill assembly of the type wherein a cam means of bifurcated form is provided for actuating an annular sealing means is disposed about and straddles a fill pipe and is pivoted to the latter for oscillatory movement about an oscillatory axis lying in a plane normal to the axis of the fill pipe between sealing and unsealing positions, and wherein said sealing means includes a tubular seal operating member disposed about and axially slidable on the fill pipe with the cam means including two portions in camming engagement with the operating member on substantially opposite sides of the fill pipe; the improvement comprising each of said positions of said cam means being constituted of a roller that is mounted for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to said oscillatory axis and which is in rolling engagement with the operating member.

These and other objectives and aspects are realized by the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which is described hereinafter; such description being given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrative thereof, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the liquid fill assembly with the same in its unsealing condition;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1, the outer wall of the fill pipe being shown in dashed outline;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the plane of the section line 3--3 in FIG. 2, with the hidden outline of the rollers being shown in dashed outline;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the assembly with the same in sealing condition, and an arrow illustrating the direction that the handle or lever of the cam means is swung in effecting the seal;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of the cam means taken alone; and,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the assembly and illustrating particularly the axial adjustability of the pivotal connection of the cam means along the axis of the fill pipe.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the various views, the reference numeral 10 designates the liquid fill assembly generally.

The assembly 10 comprises an elbow or L-shaped fill pipe 12 that includes a bend portion 14 integrally connected to a short horizontal inlet section 16 that is provided with a conventional means 18 for detachably and sealingly coupling the inlet end 20 of the fill pipe 12 to the discharge end of a flexible delivery hose, not shown.

The inlet section 16 is provided, adjacent the bend 14, with a pair of diametrically opposed conventional window means 22 and 24 through which the interior of the fill pipe 12 can be viewed.

The bend portion 14 of the fill pipe 12 is also integrally connected to a depending or vertical discharge section 26 that is, adjacent the bend portion 14, externally threaded at 28 for a relatively shore vertical distance, with such vertical extent 30 of the same from the threaded portion 28. The cylindrical extent is of lesser outside diameter than the threaded portion 28, as clearly shown in the drawings.

A short cylindrical sleeve 32 is fitted about and secured to the lower end portion of the cylindrical pipe section 30 by rivets such as indicated at 34.

A sleeve 36 of elastomeric material, such as neoprene, is disposed about the cylindrical portion 30 of the fill pipe 12, it being noted that the seal sleeve 36 has approximately the same wall thickness as the sleeve or annular stop collar 32 with the lower end of the seal sleeve 36 abutting the upper end of the stop collar 32 at 38.

The sealing sleeve 36 is of conventional character and as is well known will expand radially on axial compression to increase in diameter so as to effect a seal against the inner surface of a fill pipe, not shown, in which the pipe portion 30 and the seal 36 thereabout may be loosely inserted when the assembly 10 is in the condition shown thereof in FIG. 1. Such radial expansion or bulging occurs intermediate the axial extent of the seal 36 as shown at 40 in FIG. 4. To assure bulging at the position 40 shown, the wall thickness of the seal sleeve 36 may be reduced at such position as by providing an annular groove, not shown, on the inner side thereof. Provisions of such character to effect the desired bulging to effect an annular seal on axial compression about a cylindrical member therein are well known in the art and the actual structure of the seal can be a matter of choice in the practice of the present invention, provided that the same is (a) sufficiently resilient to retract radially against a considerable axial compressive force to assume the repose or unsealing condition shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, (b) resistance to chemical or physical attack by the material being sealed off, such as gasolene, and (c) will expand radially on the application of sufficient axially compressive force. It is deemed within the skill of the art and the practitioner can suit his particular needs or preferences in providing a vertical series of (abutting or spaced) seal sleeves, or a single seal sleeve with more than one expansion location.

A seal operating member is provided, the same being a tubular member 46 that is rotatable and slidable on the fill pipe portion 30, and abuts the upper end of the seal 36 as shown at 48. The elements 32, 36 and 46 have the same outside diameter when the seal 36 is in repose. The seal 36 preferably has a sliding and rotating fit on the pipe portion 30. The upper end of the tubular member 46 is provided with a radially outwardly extending integral flange 50 that has a flat annular upper surface 52. The flange 50 serves to limit the insertion of the vertical part of the assembly 10 into a storage tank inlet pipe, not shown. In addition, the flat annular surface 52 constitutes a surface against which a cam means hereinafter described can bear to move the seal operating member 46 axially downward from the unsealing position shown in FIG. 1 to the sealing position shown in FIG. 4 to cause radial sealing expansion of the annular seal 36.

The cam means referred to in the preceding paragraph is designated generally at 60 and is pivotally mounted on the fill pipe 12 by means comprising a collar 62 threaded on the threaded portion 28 on the fill pipe 12. The collar 62 can be threadingly adjusted vertically along the upstanding or vertical part of the fill pipe 12 and releasably secured in adjusted position by any conventional or suitable means, such as a set screw 64 in the collar 62 for engagement in a vertical groove 66 in but of greater depth than the threads 28. This will releasably retain the collar 62 in both its axial and angularly adjusted position. In the use of this assembly 10, any future need for adjusting the collar 62 is virtually nonexistent, and consequently the collar 62 can, if desired, be made integral with the depending vertical section 26.

The collar 62 is provided with a pair of integral, oppositely extending trunnions or pivot pins 70 and 72 to constitute a pivotal support for the cam means 60.

The cam means 60 comprises a pair of spaced and parallel legs 74 and 76 that are integrally joined by a rod 78 at one end and by a bar 80 intermediate their ends as clearly shown in FIG. 5.

The legs 74 and 76 project or extend freely from their junctures with the bar 80 so that the cam means is of a generally bifurcated form and so that such freely projecting ends 82 and 84 of the legs 74 and 76 can straddle and be disposed on opposite sides of the fill pipe portion 30. The free end leg portions 82 and 84 are provided with integral laterally extending projections 86 and 88 that are slotted at 90 and 92, respectively, to receive rotatably the trunnions 70 and 72. The trunnions 70 and 72 are secured against inadvertent dislodgment by drift pins 94 removably driven into suitable openings in the projections 86 and 88 as best shown in FIG. 5. As thus far described, the cam means 60 can be swung or oscillated between the positions shown thereof in FIGS. 1 and 4 with engagement of the bar 80 respectively with the fill pipe bend 14 and the flange 50 limiting such oscillatory movement at such positions.

Whereas the extremities of the free end leg portions 82 and 84 could be contoured to cam against the flange surface 52, such arrangement would not serve the objectives of the invention, and entail large fricitional forces, promote wear at points of important dimensional character, and substantially preclude turning of the fill pipe 12 (and the cam means 60 jointly therewith) relative to the seal operating member 46.

In accordance with the present invention, the free end extremities of the free end leg portions 82 and 84 are each bifurcated by provision of slots 100 and 102 therein to accommodate rotatably therein rollers or wheels 104 and 106 are journaled on pivot pins or axles 108 and 110 that extend through the leg portions 82 and 84 as shown.

The rollers 104 and 106 rollingly engage and cam against the flange surface 52 as the rod 78 (or the upper part of either leg 76 and 78) is used as a handle to move the cam means from the position of FIG. 1 to that in FIG. 4 as indicated by the arrow 112. Such movement of the cam means forces the seal operating member 46 downwardly to expand the seal 36, with the line of contact of the rollers 104 and 106 with the flange surface 52 passing top dead center shortly before the position shown in FIG. 4 is reached so that the cam means 60 is retained in the sealing position of FIG. 4 by the resilience of the seal 36 until the cam means 60 is manually raised to move the line of roller contact back across dead center.

It will be appreciated that relative rotational movement of the fill pipe portion 30 and the operating member 46 can occur relatively easily because of and accompanied by rotation of the rollers 104 and 106 in opposite directions. The rollers are of a synthetic high density resin such as nylon in the interest of reducing friction and wear. The rollers 104 and 106 establish a line of contact with the flange surface 52 as close as practicable to the dead center position so that relatively more rotation than sliding occurs between the rollers and the flange on relative rotation of the pipe portion 30 and the operating member 46. The latter relative rotation can involve still less friction if antifriction rings of polytetrafluoroethylene (such as the Teflon of DuPont) are used as axial spacers above and below the opposite ends of the sleeve, and may be deemed necessary and/or expedient by those skilled in the art.

Except for antifriction rings or spacers such as suggested above, the rollers 104 and 106, the seal sleeve 36, and the transparent parts of the window structures 22 and 24, the assembly 10 can be virtually entirely made of aluminum to keep the weight minimized.

Attention is now directed to the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a liquid fill assembly of the type wherein a cam means of bifurcated form is provided for actuating radial movement of an annular sealing means and is disposed about and straddles a fill pipe and is pivoted to the latter for oscillatory movement about an oscillatory axis lying in a plane normal to the axis of the fill pipe between sealing and unsealing positions, and wherein said sealing means includes a tubular seal operating member disposed exteriorly about and which is axially slidable on the fill pipe with the cam means including two portions in camming engagement with the operating member on substantially opposite sides of the fill pipe; the improvement comprising each of said portions of said cam means being constituted of a roller that is mounted for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to said oscillatory axis and which is in rolling engagement with the operating member.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said rollers are of synthetic resin.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said rollers are of nylon.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein said operating member is rotatably mounted on said fill pipe, and said rollers having axes of rotation, the projections of which approximately intersect the axis of the fill pipe in an arrangement such that the rollers serve as an antifriction means by rolling during rotation of the operating member when the cam means is cammingly bearing against the operating member in the axial direction of fill pipe.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein the bifurcated form of the cam means comprises a manually operable handle joined to a pair of spaced legs thereby to constitute the bifurcated form of the cam means, each of said legs having a free end, said free ends of the legs each having a slot therein rotatably receiving one of said rollers, with each of said rollers being retained in its respective slot by a pivot pin that extends through its respective leg.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said operating member has a flanged end, and said rollers rollingly engaging said flange.

7. The combination of claim 1, wherein said operating member has a flanged end, and said rollers rollingly engaging said flange.

8. The combination of claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises an elastomeric sleeve embracing said fill pipe intermediate the operating member and radially enlarged portion of the fill pipe.