Automotive Fluid Systems, Inc.

Robert J Slais

Larry M Lafer

Jerry H Chisnell

Paul Matthews Pickett, Jr

Chhotubhai N Patel

Johnny R Blankenship

A cantilevered conduit connection including a connecting block circumscribing a conduit and mounting to a fluid component where an anti-cantilever fastener mounts to a back surface of the connecting block. The anti-cantilever fastener includes a cusp portion bent toward and in contact with the back surface and induces a positive bending moment across the back surface of the connecting block for urging the connecting block flat against the fluid component and for positioning the conduit squarely within the fluid component. A device for fastening the anti-cantilever fastener and connecting block to the fluid component is also provided.

Anti-cantilever fastener for a conduit connection

A dual-plane sealing configuration for a fluid-tight conduit connection that incorporates additional sealing areas and minimizes assembly misalignment. A gasket is mounted around a conduit, sandwiched between an end-form block and a receiver, and compressed therebetween using a fastener fitted through the end-form block and threaded into the receiver. The gasket has a formed pilot that pilots around the conduit and is sandwiched between the conduit and a chamfer in the receiver to establish a secondary seal. The gasket incorporates features such as a fold-over tab and a non-uniform embossment to counteract the cantilever behavior of the conduit connection.

Dual-plane seal for fluid-tight conduit connection

A body that slides over an end, opposite end, and outer diameter of a conduit is presented. A passage through the body has a groove in which a seal is located. A portion of the conduit is expanded to create an interference fit with the passage, groove, and ends of the body. As a result, an enlarged outer diameter of the conduit axially interlocks with the groove and compresses the seal therein to create a fluid-tight seal. In one embodiment of the present invention, a second enlarged outer diameter of the conduit is displaced outward over the opposite of the body to help lock the body to the conduit. Additionally, an outside diameter of the body can accommodate grooves for retaining seals. These seals can create a sealed engagement to a housing or another fitting, to form a complete conduit connection. The body can take the form of a housing, a male fitting, or a female fitting.

Fluid-tight conduit connection and method of making same

A conduit mounting device for entrapping a conduit that includes a body having a U-shaped channel formed longitudinally through the body. The U-shaped channel receives the conduit therethrough and defines a leg on either side of the U-shaped channel. A retainer insert is mounted transversely in the U-shaped channel to sandwich the conduit between the retainer insert and the body in the U-shaped channel. The legs of the body are folded behind the retainer insert in the U-shaped channel to transversely entrap the retainer insert and conduit in the U-shaped channel. A device for further longitudinally retaining the retainer insert within the U-shaped channel, in addition to a device for rotatably locking the conduit within the U-shaped channel, may also be provided.

Serviceable mounting device for conduit

A pressure vessel including a mounting block for supporting and retaining an inlet and an outlet tube to the pressure vessel. The mounting block includes a valve that communicates with an interior of the vessel and fastens the mounting block to a top of the pressure vessel. The mounting block enables access to the interior of the housing for accessories such as the valve, a sight glass, or a pressure switch, and the accessories can be either permanently or removably attached to the pressure vessel at the top or sides thereof. The mounting block may accommodate more than one valve.

Tube-to-vessel connection using a fastening valve

A pressure vessel suitable for use in an automotive air-conditioning system includes a cylindrical body (,) including an annular wall (,). The cylindrical body preferably includes an opposite closed end, an initially opened end (,), and a closure member (,) inserted into the open end of the cylindrical body. The closure member and the cylindrical body each have extensions or annular flanges (,) which are spin welded together. The cylindrical body is fused to the closure member when the annular flange (,) of the closure member is spin welded to an annular, outermost portion (,) of the cylindrical body. The closure member and the cylindrical body are further locked together by inwardly rolling a portion of the annular wall into an annular groove (,) and an outermost surface of the closure member.

Pressure vessel and method of manufacture thereof

An engagement device for a cantilevered conduit connection that provides an assembler with visible, audible, and tactile redundant verification that the connection is completely engaged. The engagement device assists in holding a connecting block in place to a housing. The housing includes a fastener port with a fastener fastened therein. The engagement device includes a locking portion at one end thereof, and circumscribes a portion of the fastener. The connecting block mounts to the housing and includes a fastener passage through the connecting block that mounts around the engagement device. The connecting block further includes an engagement surface that mates with the locking portion of the engagement device to assist in fastening the connecting block to the housing. The locking portion of the engagement device expands against the engagement surface of the connecting block to provide visible, audible, and tactile verification that the connecting block is completely engaged to the housing. Additionally, a method of using the engagement device with the cantilevered conduit connection is also disclosed.

Conduit and block connection indicator device

An accumulator dehydrator, for use in an automotive air-conditioning system, includes an inlet, an outlet tube located below the inlet, a deflector for preventing liquid refrigerant fluid from entering an inlet end of the outlet tube located just below the deflector and a deflector assembly for connecting the deflector to the outlet tube of the accumulator. The assembly includes a thermoplastic bushing connected to a passage in the deflector and having the outlet tube received therein, the bushing creating a sufficient interference fit between the deflector and the outlet tube to prevent the deflector from moving during operation. In an alternate embodiment, the bushing includes an extended skirt having a diameter coinciding with an inner diameter of the deflector, the extended skirt preventing liquid refrigerant fluid from wrapping around the lip of the deflector and entering the inlet end of the outlet tube.

Accumulator deflector having a plastic bushing

A tube mounting assembly for connecting a suction line tube and a liquid line tube to a housing, such as a compressor or evaporator, primarily consists of a mounting block having a first passage extending inwardly from one side thereof and a second passage also extending inwardly from a second side of the mounting block for receiving the suction line and liquid line tubes, respectively. Each of the first and second passages has a pair of opposing slots positioned adjacent their respective edges for receiving an insert designed to secure the respective suction line and inlet line tubes with the passages. The insert has a first side which corresponds with the suction line tube and a second side which corresponds with the inlet line tube and a pair of winged tabs for insertion into the opposing slots located adjacent the edge of the mounting block in the passage. The winged tabs of the inserts are designed to be press fit in the slots. The insert is designed such that the same insert can be used to retain either the suction line tube or the liquid line tube within the mounting block. In an alternative embodiment, the insert and tube have complimentary shaped portions to prevent rotation of the tube within the mounting assembly.

Connecting block with inserts

A pressure vessel suitable for use in an automotive air-conditioning system includes a cylindrical body (10, 40) including an annular wall (14, 44). The cylindrical body preferably includes an opposite closed end, an initially opened end (12, 42), and a closure member (20, 50) inserted into the open end of the cylindrical body. The closure member and the cylindrical body each have extensions or annular flanges (28, 58) which are spin welded together. The cylindrical body is fused to the closure member when the annular flange (28, 58) of the closure member is spin welded to an annular, outermost portion (18, 48) of the cylindrical body. The closure member and the cylindrical body are further locked together by inwardly rolling a portion of the annular wall into an annular groove (30, 60) and an outermost surface of the closure member.

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West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Robert J Slais