Thermal relief vent and method of manufacturing the same
OwnerNeal L. Keefer, Kenneth A. Watson +1inventors
InventorsNeal L. Keefer, Kenneth A. Watson, John A. Loffink
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved thermal relief vent for a fuel tank, and a method of manufacturing the same, includes a thermal relief ring that is used to create a mechanical seal within the vent. The thermal relief ring, at room temperature, is crimped in place by use of the vent cap itself. The crimped thermal relief ring creates a mechanical seal between the vent and the vent cap, up until a predetermined thermal relief point, at which time the thermal relief ring will soften and/or yield and release the vent cap from the vent body.
Claims23
A method of manufacturing a thermal relief vent, comprising the steps of:
- providing a vent cap including a neck region having a shoulder, wherein an outermost surface of said neck region defines an outer diameter of said neck region;
- providing a rigid vent body including a seat region having a shoulder, wherein an innermost surface of said seat region defines an inner diameter of said seat region that is larger than said outer diameter of said neck region of said cap;
- providing a ring of deformable material in said seat region of said body;
- and
- providing a compression force to at least one of said cap and said body such that said ring of deformable material conforms in shape to said neck region of said cap and said seat region of said body such that said conformed ring abuts said cap shoulder and said body shoulder to mechanically secure said cap and said body together;
- wherein said cap shoulder defines a substantially upwardly facing surface and said body shoulder defines a substantially downwardly facing surface.
A method of manufacturing a thermal relief vent, comprising the steps of:
- providing a rigid vent body including securement means;
- providing a vent cap including securement means;
- providing a solid ring of fusible material between said rigid vent body and said vent cap;
- and
- crimping said vent cap and said rigid vent body together such that said ring is deformed so as to contact said vent body securement means and said vent cap securement means to mechanically secure said cap and said body together, wherein said cap and said body are secured together only by said deformed ring of fusible material;
- wherein said cap securement means defines a substantially upwardly facing surface and said body securement means defines a substantially downwardly facing surface.
A thermal relief vent comprising:
- a rigid vent body;
- and
- a vent cap that is fixedly secured to said rigid vent body only by a ring of thermal relief material manufactured as a solid ring prior to placement in said vent, said ring deformed into securing engagement with a substantially upwardly facing surface of said body by substantially downwardly facing surface of said body by compression of said cap and said body together.
A thermal relief vent comprising:
- a rigid vent body including a downwardly facing surface;
- a vent cap including an upwardly facing surface;
- and
- a deformable thermal relief material in direct physical contact with said downwardly facing surface of said body and in direct physical contact with said upwardly facing surface of said cap such that said deformable thermal relief material alone physically secures said cap on said body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.