Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Disassembling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-27
2001-02-13
Hughes, S. Thomas (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Disassembling
C029S426500, C029S264000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185804
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the removal of failed cold start devices, herein referred to as glow plugs from diesel engines. The invention is applicable in instances, e.g. where a glow plug has failed due to overheating and has caused the heating element of the glow plug to swell at or about the tip of the heating element. This failure would, under normal situations, necessitate the removal of the diesel engine's head assembly and associated hardware to facilitate the removal of a failed glow plug.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
We are not aware of any closely related prior art structures. Known prior art methods include the use of force to remove the failed glow plugs by applying a type of locking pliers to the exposed end of the glow plug, inserting a pry bar or large screwdriver between the locking pliers and the diesel engine head and attempting to forcefully extract the failed glow plug from the chamber. This is often unsuccessful and will usually result in the breakage of the glow plug's heating element. If the force used to extract the failed glow plug is uneven, the side load force applied to the glow plug will cause the heating element to snap off of the glow plug body and fall inside the diesel engine's head assembly thus necessitating the complete removal of the head assembly and all associated hardware.
Even if the aforementioned techniques were typically successful, performing these techniques is very difficult due to the crowded engine compartments on today's vehicles. A significant portion of the associated hardware surrounding the glow plug needs to be removed in order to accommodate the locking pliers and provide sufficient clearance in which to leverage the pry bar enough to apply adequate force to extract the failed glow plug.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides novel tooling for, and an improved method of removing failed glow plugs from diesel engines, while ensuring no damage to the engine components. Once a glow plug fails, the cold start of a diesel engine becomes more difficult. Because of the failure, the glow plug must be replaced to insure proper starting of the diesel engine. In situations where more than one glow plug fails on the same engine, the cold start becomes nearly impossible. In lieu of disassembling the diesel engine head assemblies and removing all associated components, which is an extremely lengthy and costly exercise, the current invention allows for the easiest and most cost effective method of removing the failed glow plugs.
By removing the electronic sensor wire from the electronic sensor wire connector, a simple socket or wrench can be applied to the glow plug. The socket or wrench is used to unscrew the glow plug as far as possible. Once all of the glow plug threads are exposed, simply apply the pivoting split nut to the glow plug threads by opening the pivoting split nut and installing the pivoting split nut around the threads of the glow plug. The threads of the glow plug and the threads of the pivoting split nut are in alignment when the pivoting split nut closes with minimal closure gap. A spacer, if needed, can be applied by sliding the spacer between the head assembly and the pivoting split nut. Using a spacer enhances the stable, straight extraction of the failed glow plug. A gripping tool, e.g. an open-end wrench, is applied to the pivoting split nut to hold the pivoting split nut in place during the removal procedure. A wrenching tool, e.g. a socket wrench, is re-applied to the glow plug and by using the additional threads provided by the pivoting split nut the extraction procedure is completed by continuing to unscrew the glow plug until the failed portion of the heating element has been completely removed from the head.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 275548 (1984-09-01), McDaniel
patent: D. 370608 (1996-06-01), Wagner
patent: 4572032 (1986-02-01), Kinzler
patent: 4724608 (1988-02-01), Parrott
patent: 5416963 (1995-05-01), Boynton
patent: 5623761 (1997-04-01), Chiang
patent: 5848460 (1998-12-01), Rasmussen et al.
Burns Brian D.
Hammon Robert J.
Cozart Jermie E.
Hughes S. Thomas
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