The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 16, 2000
Filed:
Nov. 10, 1998
William T Hubler, Sheboygan Falls, WI (US);
Thomas Industries Inc., Sheboygan, WI (US);
Abstract
A drain cock device for venting or draining gas or liquid from a pressurized vessel, such as an air compressor, that provides occlusive closure of an opening in the pressurized vessel. When the drain cock is in an open position, gas or liquid may exit the vessel though an open cavity in a valve stem. The drain cock includes primary and back up seals that form by threading a stem through a housing aperture to a closed position. The primary seal is formed by a resilient sealing member tightly contacting the housing valve seat. The back up seal is formed by the rigid, conical surface of the valve stem mating with a rigid valve seat in the housing aperture. The double seal arrangement provides a dependable occlusive seal because the back up seal safeguards leakage in the event of primary seal failure. The drain cock reduces the likelihood of such failure because the surface to surface back up seal alleviates the transverse forces to which the primary resilient seal is subjected. Additionally, because the valve and valve seat are rigid members, the backup valve is not susceptible to deformation or costly repair.