Receptacles – Closures – Combined or convertible
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-26
2004-12-28
Newhouse, Nathan J. (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Closures
Combined or convertible
C220S255000, C220S801000, C220S762000, C220S086100, C220SDIG003, C138S089000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834770
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel inlet structure for mounting in the deck of a vessel to control the filling hole of the fuel tank of the vessel and, more particularly, to such a fuel inlet structure that can conveniently be closed and opened by hand without tools.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1
illustrates a fuel inlet structure for vessel according to the prior art. According to this design, the fuel inlet structure comprises a hollow cylindrical metal casing
10
and a screw cap
12
threaded into the top side of the metal casing
10
to close the passage. The metal casing
10
has an annular top flange
11
and three screw holes
13
equiangularly spaced in the annular top flange
11
. During installation, the metal casing
10
is inserted into a hole in the deck
14
, and tie screws (not shown) are driven through the screw holes
13
into the deck
14
to fixedly secure the metal casing
10
to the deck
14
. Because the fuel inlet structure is mounted in the deck
14
of the vessel, the top side of the fuel inlet structure must be maintained smooth so that people do not trip on the screw cap
12
of the fuel inlet structure. Therefore, a driving tool must be used when opening the screw cap
12
. As illustrated in
FIG. 2
, the driving tool is a substantially
-shaped member having a transversely extended handle
16
and two driving rods
162
vertically downwardly extended from two ends of the handle
16
. Fitting the driving rods
162
into the polygonal top recess
18
of the screw cap
12
and then rotating the handle
16
with the hand remove the screw cap
12
removed from the metal casing
10
. However, because the driving tool is not attached to the fuel inlet structure, it must be separately received. The worker may not be able to get the driving tool soon when wishing to open the fuel inlet structure. Further, because the tie screws fastening the metal casing
10
to the deck
14
are exposed to the weather, they tend to be covered with rust quickly.
It is therefore desirable to provide a fuel inlet structure that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a fuel inlet structure for vessel, which is maintained in flush with the deck without hindering people from passing when closed. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fuel inlet structure for vessel, which can conveniently be opened or closed by hand without tools. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fuel inlet structure for vessel, which protects tie screws against the weather. According to one aspect of the present invention, the fuel inlet structure comprises a hollow cylindrical casing for mounting in the deck of a vessel, a plug adapted to close the casing, a movable handle supported on a spring inside the plug and vertically movable between an extended operative position for pulling by hand to remote the plug from the casing and a received non-operative position maintained in flush with the top of the plug and deck of the vessel, and a coupling member fixedly fastened to the movable handle and coupled to a track at a vertical locating plate inside the plug body and adapted to guide movement of the movable handle along the track and to selectively lock the movable handle between the extended operative position and the received non-operative position. According to another aspect of the present invention, the casing has a top mounting flange for fastening to the deck of the vessel by tie screws, and the plug has a cover plate fitting over the top mounting flange to keep the tie screws from the effect of the weather.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4930657 (1990-06-01), Walker
patent: 5285917 (1994-02-01), Hoffmann
patent: 5385256 (1995-01-01), Brown
patent: 5692542 (1997-12-01), Smith
patent: 6209585 (2001-04-01), Lin
patent: 6209745 (2001-04-01), Jansson
patent: 6648160 (2003-11-01), Hotch
Hsiang Tzer Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Newhouse Nathan J.
Rosenberg , Klein & Lee
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