Patent ID: 7841229

Claim:
An apparatus for testing a sealed fluid system for leakage, said fluid system including an interior fluid chamber and a fluid inlet tube having a forward end portion and terminating in an opening for receiving and communicating pressurized fluid into said fluid chamber, the apparatus comprising: an adapter body, said body including a base member having an endwall, a sidewall conjoined to and extending forwardly from said endwall to form an outwardly open cup shaped receptacle and a cylindrical annular channel at the junction of said walls and interiorly of said receptacle, said receptacle being sized to receive and fit about the forward end portion of said inlet tube, a cylindrical seal assembly disposed in said receptacle and juxtaposed, at least in part, above and in covering relation with said annular channel, said seal assembly in spaced circumposed encircling relation with said sidewall wherein to form a cylindrical annular gap therebetween and in fluid relation with said annular channel, said seal assembly including at least one fluid inlet port and a hollow cylindrical bladder seal of compressible material, said bladder seal having inner and outer surfaces and said fluid port being adapted to direct pressurized air from said annular gap against the outer surface of said bladder seal and compress said inner surface into a fluid sealed engagement with said forward end portion when the inlet tube is in said receptacle, and, first and second fluid passages, said fluid passages being separate and apart from one another and connectible to a respective source of fluid at high pressure to supply fluid into said receptacle, said first passage being fluidly connected to the annular channel to supply pressurized air into the annular gap formed between the seal assembly and the sidewall, and said second passage being adapted to supply pressurized air into the opening of said inlet tube when the tube is received in said receptacle, wherein pressurized air from the first fluid passage is received by and passes through said inlet port and circumferentially compresses the bladder seal radially inwardly and into air tight sealed relation with the forward end portion of the inlet tube, and the second passage supplies pressurized air into the inlet tube and pressurizes said fluid chamber.