Accumulator desiccant bag retaining clip

An accumulator for use in an air conditioning system for an automotive vehicle, comprising:

• a cylindrical housing having two cylindrical portions joined together in abutting relationship at a predefined seam location to define a closed chamber, said housing having an upper housing wall and a lower housing wall;
• an inlet tube extending through said upper wall of said housing;
• an outlet tube extending through said upper wall of said housing and extending through said housing substantially the entire length thereof, said outlet tube having first and second pipe portions connected by a curved portion disposed at a lower extremity of said housing, said second pipe portion extending upwardly through said housing to a point proximate said upper wall of said housing;
• retaining means surrounding a flexible bag of dessicant material for securing said bag between said first and second pipe portions of said outlet tube proximate said predefined seam location, said means comprising a generally rectangular jaw-like member including:
• a first sidewall hingedly connected to a second sidewall, each of said first and second sidewalls comprising a generally U-shaped member having a generally planar base portion and a pair of walls extending generally perpendicularly therefrom, said first sidewall including a tab disposed on one of said walls and including a plurality of indentations for mating engagement with a plurality of ribs disposed on a wall of said second sidewall;
• and
• an arcuate shaped groove molded in each of said first and second sidewalls, the diameter of said groove being slightly smaller than the diameter of said first and second pipe portions for mating engagement therewith.

An apparatus for retaining an adsorbent device between a pair of tubular members in an accumulator of an automotive air conditioning system, comprising:

• a pair of generally planar, opposite facing sidewalls, each sidewall having a tube engaging means formed integrally therewith for mating engagement with said tubular members;
• a third side interconnecting one end of said pair of sidewalls and including hinge means for relative open and close movement of said pair of sidewalls;
• and
• a fourth side interconnecting an opposite end of said pair of sidewalls and including locking means for securing said retaining means around said adsorbent device.