US 5,507,531 AGranted

Seal enhancer for cylinder valve connection

AssigneeEwal Manufacturing Co., Inc.

InventorLewis L. Aldridge

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Abstract

A cylinder valve outlet includes a bore with a large cylindrical entry leading to a tapered seat. A nipple with a cylindrical neck is fit into the large diameter entry of the bore of the valve outlet. The nipple further includes an arcuately convex mating end for seating in the conically tapered seat of the valve outlet. A seal enhancer is between the valve outlet and the nipple. The seal enhancer is generally tubular with opposed leading and trailing ends and a cylindrical section therebetween. The leading end is tapered for engagement between the tapered seat of the valve outlet and the mating end of the nipple. The trailing end of the seal enhancer is flared outwardly. The seal enhancer is shorter than the mating portions of the nipple so that the outwardly flared trailing end is visually readily apparent. The outwardly flared trailing end also facilitates separation of the seal enhancer from either the nipple or the valve outlet when the gas cylinder is being replaced.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A connection comprising:

an outlet formed from a metallic material and having an outer end, an array of threads and a bore extending into the outlet from the outer end, the bore including a large diameter entry and a recessed tapered seat leading from the entry;
a metallic nipple having an arcuately convex mating end disposed in the bore in juxtaposed relationship to the tapered seat, a cylindrical neck extending from said arcuately convex mating end, a portion of the neck being disposed in the large diameter entry of the bore, and a radially aligned shoulder on a portion of the nipple spaced outwardly from the outer end of the outlet;
a nut having threads engaged with the threads of the outlet, said nut having a flange engaged with the shoulder of the nipple for urging nipple into the outlet;
and
a seal enhancer with a leading end, a trailing end and an intermediate cylindrical portion slidably mounted on the cylindrical neck of the nipple, the leading end of the seal enhancer being tapered inwardly and being sealingly engaged between the tapered seat of the outlet and the arcuately convex mating end of the nipple, the trailing end of the seal enhancer being flared outwardly and being spaced from the shoulder of the nipple for providing visual indication of the presence of the seal enhancer and for facilitating disassembly.

2 more elements

A gas cylinder valve outlet connection comprising:

a metallic gas cylinder valve having an outlet with an outer end, an array of external threads extending from the outer end and a bore extending into the outlet from the outer end, the bore including a cylindrical entry with a selected diameter and an inwardly tapered seat extending from the cylindrical entry;
a metallic nipple having an arcuately convex mating end disposed in the bore of the outlet in juxtaposed relationship to the tapered seat thereof, a cylindrical neck having a diameter less than the diameter of the entry to the bore extending from said arcuately convex mating end, a portion of the cylindrical neck being disposed in the entry to the bore, and a shoulder projecting radially outwardly from the neck and defining a selected outside diameter, the shoulder being disposed on a portion of the nipple spaced outwardly from the outer end of the outlet, and a shank adjacent the shoulder and projecting away from the mating end, said shank defining a diameter less than the shoulder;
a nut having internal threads engaged with the external threads of the valve outlet, said nut having an inwardly projecting flange engaged with portions of the shoulder of the nipple adjacent the shank thereof for urging the mating end of the nipple into the bore of the valve outlet;
and
a seal enhancer with an inwardly tapered leading end sealingly engaged between the tapered seat of the valve outlet and the arcuately convex mating end of the nipple, said seal enhancer further including a cylindrical portion projecting from the leading end and disposed intermediate the cylindrical neck of the nipple and the cylindrical entry to the bore of the cylinder valve outlet, and an outwardly flared trailing end spaced from the outer end of the cylinder valve outlet and from the shoulder of the nipple, whereby the outwardly flared shoulder provides visual indication of the seal enhancer and facilitates gripping and removal thereof.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.