Receptacles – Closures – Removable closure retained by friction
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-18
2001-09-18
Newhouse, Nathan J. (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Closures
Removable closure retained by friction
C220S802000, C220S805000, C138S089000, C138S09600T
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290092
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures and, more particularly, pertains to disposable closures for protecting exposed connecting portions of components during handling, processing and shipping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disposable closures, such as plugs and caps, for protecting openings, pipes, tubing, fittings, or rodlike members during handling and shipping are well known in the art.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,312 issued on Apr. 13, 1971 to Miller discloses a closure comprising a hollow cylindrical body having a closed end and an open end surrounded by an integral peripheral flange. This type of closure may be used either as a plug for insertion in bores or as a cap for installation over the ends of cylindrical members. A lip extends axially from the periphery of the flange to facilitate removal of the closure from a bore when it is desired to connect an associated fitting to the bore. The flange and the lip are made of a flexible material to ensure that the same will deform in the presence of nearby objects.
When the closure is used as a plug, the peripheral flange overlies the surface surrounding the bore in which the plug is inserted to prevent the plug from being accidentally pushed into the bore. However, in some situations, for instance, where the outer diameter of the peripheral flange is smaller than the inside diameter of the fitting to be engaged with the tube in which the plug is installed, nothing will systematically prevent the fitting to be assembled to the tube while the closure is still installed. This may result in substantial damages.
Accordingly, it has been proposed to use closures with a wide flange. Although, this solves the problem to some extent, it has been found that such closures could not be used in a great number of applications where surrounding structures interfere with the installation of this particular type of closure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a disposable closure which is adapted to prevent a component from being erroneously connected to another component while the disposable closure is still installed on one of the components.
It is also an aim of the present invention to provide a disposable closure which is relatively simple and economical to manufacture.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a disposable closure for protecting a port of a component, comprising a body adapted to enclose an opening defined by the port, and a projection extending away from the body relative to the port offset from the opening, whereby the projection will interfere with the connection of another component with the port while the disposable closure is still positioned to enclose the opening.
According to another general aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disposable closure for protecting an article, comprising a body configured to be installed on the article to cover a portion thereof, and a projection extending from the body to a position spaced lengthwise from a trailing end of the body and in a direction away from the article, the projection having a portion spaced from a central axis of the body, thereby providing visual indication of the presence of the disposable closure on the article.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3065767 (1962-11-01), Topf
patent: 3574312 (1971-04-01), Miller
patent: 3996966 (1976-12-01), Princell
patent: 4046168 (1977-09-01), Milne
patent: 4342337 (1982-08-01), Underwood
patent: 4379472 (1983-04-01), Cunningham
patent: 4915137 (1990-04-01), Hall et al.
patent: 5224515 (1993-07-01), Foster et al.
patent: 5265752 (1993-11-01), Olson
patent: 5385372 (1995-01-01), Utterberg
patent: 5496141 (1996-03-01), Popsys
patent: 5518033 (1996-05-01), Webster
patent: 5674209 (1997-10-01), Yarger
Caplugs, Product Protection Catalog, Catalog 698, Protective Closures Co., 1998.
Côté Steeve Stephen
Judson David Alexander
Urac Tibor
Astle Jeffrey W.
Newhouse Nathan J.
Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
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