Valve having multi-part valve housing

Abstract

A vent valve for a gasoline tank has a multi-piece valve housing that is inserted into the tank through a tank wall opening. The multi-piece housing includes a valve member of acetal resin and a cap member of high density polyethylene (HDPE) that has a flange that is ultrasonically welded to the gasoline tank and a coupling skirt that has minimal protrusion into the gas tank. The coupling skirt fits into upper a portion of the valve member and has a plurality of key-ways that receive inwardly projecting lugs of the valve member to couple the valve and cap members to each other. The valve and cap members are retained in the coupled position by resilient lock fingers of the valve member that engage notches in the bottom of the coupling skirt. The resilient lock fingers are cantilever beams that extend radially outwardly from an anchor spaced radially inwardly of an outer cylindrical wall of the valve member. The resilient lock fingers do not extend outwardly of the cylindrical wall to provide a snag free coupling arrangement. In a modification the notches coincide with entrance portions of the key-ways. The cap member of a second embodiment has a coupling skirt with key ways that fits over an upper portion of the valve member that has outwardly projecting lugs and resilient lock fingers that are cut out of the wall of the valve member. In a modification of the second embodiment the outwardly projecting lugs and lock fingers are part of the coupling skirt and the key-ways are part of the valve member.