Filter having drain valve with mechanical lock

A filter with a drain valve is provided. The drain valve mounts within an opening of a housing of the filter. The drain valve has a knob mounted to a valve member thereof. At least one locking structure is disposed between the knob and the valve member to mechanically lock the knob to the valve member. Such a configuration reduces the likelihood that the knob will become inadvertently dislodged during operation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to fuel/water separators and more particularly to drain valves associated therewith.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fuel/water separation filters are commonly used in contemporary internal combustion engines. As fuel flows through the filter, water and other contaminants are separated from the fuel and collect in a chamber of the filter. Periodically, the water and other contaminants must be drained from the filter. As a result, the above filters often include drain valves to effectuate drainage of the water and other contaminants. One such filter incorporating a drain valve can be found at U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,978 to Brown et al., the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to improvements in the design and function of the aforementioned filters.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention provide a filter with a drain valve assembly that overcomes existing problems in the art. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide a drain valve assembly that incorporates a mechanical lock between a knob and a valve member thereof. With such a configuration, there is a reduced likelihood that the knob will become dislodged from the valve member in the field.

In one claimed aspect, a filter having a drain valve is provided. A filter according to this embodiment includes a filter housing having media therein. The filter housing has a threaded opening with a valve seat surrounding the opening. The filter also has a valve assembly that includes a valve member and a knob. The valve member has a valve head adapted to seal against the valve seat. The valve member also has a valve stem positioned within the threaded opening. The valve stem has at least one tab projecting from an end thereof. The at least one tab of the valve stem engages the knob to fixedly retain the knob on the valve stem.

In another claimed aspect, a filter having a drain valve is provided. The filter according to this embodiment includes a housing having a canister with an opening and a valve seat surrounding the opening. The filter also includes a valve assembly carried by the canister. The valve assembly has a rotatable valve member adapted to seal against the valve seat. The rotatable valve member has an outer periphery defining a lip. A knob having an aperture for receipt of a portion of the rotatable valve member is also provided. The aperture has an inner periphery radially spaced apart from the outer periphery of the portion of the rotatable valve member by a clearance gap. A locking structure is disposed between the knob and the rotatable valve member and axially extends across the clearance gap. The locking structure is operable to bias an abutting surface of the knob against the lip such that the knob is fixedly positioned along the rotatable valve member.

In yet another claimed aspect, a filter is provided. A filter according to this embodiment includes a filter housing having filter media therein. The filter housing has an opening with a valve seat surrounding the opening. A valve assembly extends through the opening. The valve assembly has an axially movable valve member and a knob. The axially movable valve member is adapted to move toward and away from the valve seat and seal against the valve seat in a closed position. The knob is mounted to the axially movable valve member with a deformed portion of the valve assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated inFIG. 1an exemplary embodiment of a filter10incorporating a drain valve assembly12mounted to a housing14of the filter10according to the present invention. As will be discussed in greater detail in the following, the drain valve assembly12allows for periodic draining of water and other contaminants collected within the housing14during filtration. With reference toFIG. 2, the housing14has a canister portion that carries filter media16within a chamber18therein. During the filtration process, water and other contaminants will collect in a bottom of the chamber18as illustrated. Periodically, the water and other contaminants within the chamber18must be drained to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the filter10. As will be discussed in greater detail below, a user of the filter10can selectively open and close the drain valve assembly12by hand to facilitate such drainage.

Still referring toFIG. 2, the drain valve assembly12is positioned within an opening20of the housing14. The drain valve assembly12includes a rotatable valve member22with a knob24connected thereto by a deformed portion therebetween. The deformed portion may be part of the valve and/or part of the knob, and in one embodiment, is shown taking the form of locking structures or tabs50. The knob24is configured for hand manipulation, and rotation of the knob24will also result in rotation of the rotatable valve member22. The valve member22has a valve head26that moves linearly towards and away from a valve seat28that surrounds the opening20upon rotation of the knob24and valve member22. When the valve head26, and more particularly a sealing surface30thereof, is in contact with the valve seat28, the drain valve assembly12is in a closed position such that water and other contaminants cannot drain out of the chamber18.

Turning now toFIG. 3, the drain valve assembly12is illustrated in the open position. When in the open position, air is permitted to flow from the exterior of the filter10through a vent32of the valve member22and into the chamber18of the housing14. When this occurs, the water and other contaminants contained within the chamber18will flow out of the housing14through a drain34formed in the valve member22. As such, the drain valve assembly12generally moves along direction line42to facilitate the periodic draining of water and other contaminants contained within the chamber18of the housing14.

Movement along direction line42is provided in part by a threaded nut40mounted to the housing and in threaded engagement with the valve member22. As a user rotates the knob24, the valve member22will move into and out of engagement with the valve seat28. Although illustrated as incorporating a threaded nut40, it is recognized that the opening20of the housing14can be threaded to allow for the linear movement of the valve member22relative to the housing14without the use of an additional threaded nut40.

The valve seat28is situated within the chamber18of the housing14and surrounds the opening20thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the valve seat28is a compressible gasket. The gasket is held in place by the threaded nut40.

Turning now toFIG. 4, the valve member22has a valve stem44that extends away from the valve head26. The valve stem44has threads36formed on an outer surface38of the valve stem44. The threads36engage the threaded nut40(seeFIGS. 2 and 3) to allow for the selective engagement and disengagement of the sealing surface30of the valve head26with the valve seat28.

The valve stem44also includes a lip46for location of the knob24. As illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3, when the knob24is fully installed on the valve member22, the knob24is in abutted contact with the lip46. The valve stem44also has a keyed portion48that matches a keyed aperture60of the knob24. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the keyed portion48and knob24maintain a keyed relationship when fully assembled such that the knob24cannot rotate relative to the valve member22.

Still referring toFIG. 4, one or more locking structures50extend away from the keyed portion48. The locking structures50are located at an outer peripheral edge52of the keyed portion48. The locking structures50may be intermittently situated around the outer peripheral edge52, as illustrated, or can be provided by a continuous lid or edge extending from the outer peripheral edge52of the keyed portion48.

Referring now toFIGS. 4 and 5, the locking structures50are deformable generally in direction58such that they engage a relief54formed into a top surface56of the knob24. The locking structures50are deformed against the relief54of the knob24such that the knob24is biased against the lip46(seeFIG. 3) formed on the valve stem44of the valve member22. As such, the knob24is advantageously fixed to the valve member22such that the knob24is generally prevented from axial displacement along the valve member22.

Turning back toFIG. 4, the locking structures50are illustrated as a deformed portion of the valve stem22that generally extends across a clearance gap formed between the valve member22and the knob24. The locking structures50can be deformed in a variety of ways including but not limited to, swaging, punching or similar processes.

Referring back toFIGS. 2 and 3, the locking structures50hold the knob26in place along the valve member22and against the lip46thereof. As the knob24is rotated by hand, there is reduced likelihood that the knob24will become dislodged from the valve member22. As such, the filter10generally presents a more robust construction with a reduced failure mode in the field.

As described herein, the filter10incorporates a drain valve assembly12that overcomes existing problems in the art by providing a reliable assembly that can be repeatedly opened and closed with a reduced likelihood that the knob24will fall off of the valve member22.