Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-12
2001-03-13
Rosenbaum, I Cuda (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
C029S890035, C029S422000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199261
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pressure vessel and to a method of manufacturing the pressure vessel. More particularly, this invention relates to a pressure vessel of the type used in an automotive air conditioning system such as a refrigerant receiver or an accumulator dehydrator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,775, (Shiina et al.) discloses a receiver of the type used in an automotive air conditioning system and a method for the manufacture of such receiver. The receiver of the Shiina et al. reference is composed of a generally cylindrical body having a thin annular wall, a first integral and unitary end, and a disk-shaped closure member, commonly referred to as a puck, inserted into an opposed open end of the cylindrical body. The closure member is secured to the cylindrical body, after insertion of a desiccant material or other elements of the receiver, as used in a refrigerant circuit, into the interior of the cylindrical body. Shiina et al. disclose that the open end of the cylindrical body is reshaped by electromagnetic forming, after insertion of the closure member, to closely conform the interior of the open end of the cylindrical body to the exterior of the closure member to thereby secure the closure member and the cylindrical body to one another. Shiina et al. teach that the closure member and cylindrical body are sealed using O-rings. Nevertheless, the assembly of the closure member and the cylindrical body to one another according to this reference does not result in a receiver that is pressure-tight, i.e., that it eliminates all leak paths for the molecules of refrigerant fluid. Consequently, the O-rings must be used between the exterior of the closure and the interior of the cylindrical body to retain the refrigerant fluid within the receiver of this reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,250, to Hutchinson et al., also discloses a receiver for an automotive air conditioning system that consists of a generally cylindrical aluminum body with a thin annular wall and an initially open end which is closed, after the insertion of a desiccant material or other elements into the cylindrical body, by a disk-shaped aluminum closure member, or puck, inserted into the open end of the cylindrical body. According to the Hutchinson et al. reference, the closure member is joined to the cylindrical body using an annular weld. However, it is very well known in the art that welded joints, or even brazed joints, in an air conditioning system receiver are subject to leakage, and, therefore, have not been totally satisfactory in service because of such phenomena.
It is also well known to use spin welding for pressure vessels in an air-conditioning circuit, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,628,704; 4,675,971; 5,245,842; and 5,375,327.
The disclosures of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,191,775; 5,425,250; 4,628,704; 4,675,971; 5,245,842; and 5,375,327 are incorporated by reference herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other problems of prior art refrigerant receivers are overcome by the receiver of the present invention, and by the method of its manufacture, in which an aluminum disk-shaped closure member, or puck, is secured to an initially open end of a generally cylindrical thin-walled aluminum body utilizing a spin welding process. The spin welding process of the present invention is preferably used in conjunction with a rolling operation to roll an annular portion of the wall of the cylindrical body into an annular recess in the exterior of the closure member to form a positive mechanical lock between the cylindrical body and the closure member. The positive mechanical lock between the closure member and the cylindrical body, which results from the rolling operation, serves to overcome the tendency of the closure member to eject from the receiver under significant internal pressure, and the spin welding step of the present invention results in a continuous, leak-free seam between the cylindrical body and the closure member, eliminating the need for an O-ring or other sealing member therebetween, and does so without using a conventional welding or brazing operation to form a seam between the closure member and the cylindrical body, thereby eliminating the known processing problems associated with any such conventional welding operation.
To effect the spin welding of the cylindrical body of the receiver of the present invention to the closure member, the closure member and the cylindrical body are provided with relatively thin annular flanges, which are spaced close to one another when the closure member and the cylindrical body are properly positioned for the beginning of the spin welding operation. In one embodiment of the present invention, the annular flanges of the closure member and the cylindrical body extend in a direction essentially parallel to a longitudinal central axis of the cylindrical body, in which case the spin welding step is preferably accomplished by spinning a spinning tool, whose axis of rotation is aligned with the longitudinal central axis of the cylindrical body, relative to the cylindrical body and the closure member while they are held in fixed positions. In another embodiment of the present invention, the annular flanges of the closure member and the cylindrical body extend substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of the cylindrical body, in which case the welding is preferably accomplished by rotating the closure member and the cylindrical body with respect to a tool moving rectilinearly along an axis that extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of the cylindrical body.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pressure vessel of a type having a cylindrical body having a thin annular wall and a closure member inserted into an initially open end of the cylindrical body and secured thereto, as well as an improved method for manufacturing such a pressure vessel.
For a further understanding of the present invention and the objects thereof, attention is directed to the drawings and the following brief description thereof, to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and to the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2257697 (1941-09-01), McClary
patent: 2388300 (1945-11-01), Wackman
patent: 3452897 (1969-07-01), Anthony
patent: 3779446 (1973-12-01), Lemelson
patent: 4675971 (1987-06-01), Masserang
patent: 5191775 (1993-03-01), Shiina et al.
patent: 5460317 (1995-10-01), Thomas et al.
Automotive Fluid Systems, Inc.
Cuda Rosenbaum I
Jimenez Marc
Vanophem Meeham & Vanophem, P.C.
LandOfFree
Pressure vessel and method of manufacture thereof does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Pressure vessel and method of manufacture thereof, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pressure vessel and method of manufacture thereof will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2487770