AU698899B2 - Nozzle cap - Google Patents

Description

ReguLation 3.2 -1-

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 4- (11'Lj Emr E: S:Ec2(- IEF~ I G'T' GNM Sr--L I-)II m i>2r- FA 3E i r St a ~r

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APPLICANT:

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FILING DATE: SPRAY NOZZLE PN 0334/94 29/12/94 ENGINEERING PTY. LIMITED Invention Title: NOZZLE CAP The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: L~t 7C ~il_ 2 This invention relates to a nozzle cap and a nozzle cap/nozzle assembly.

s i: i There are many applications where nozzles may be located for use under a particular set of circumstances, and, because these circumstances are rare, there may be long periods during which the nozzles are not used.

o 0 0 'It I C tE I C C Cf IC C I I 0 $C One exemplification, which will be used to provide an indication of such circumstances, could be nozzles in a fire fighting system located in the engine bay of a heavy vehicle.

In such an application there may be a pipe extending around the periphery of the engine bay to which there is connected a number of nozzles.

S. 0 S S S. S A k If there should be a fire in the engine bay then the. can be automatic or manual actuation of fluid through the system and from the nozzles. This fluid may either be water or some specific fire fighting chemical.

It will be appreciated that such systems may indeed never be used during the life of the vehicle, although the system may be tested at predetermined intervals. However, the nozzles are in a "dirty" area and even over a short period of time D:/P51/. SPEC/SPRAY.CAP/ATKM/28 December, 1995 u I I 3 1 l l r there can be a build up of material around or over the orifice of the nozzle and this material, particularly if it is a mixture of dirt and oil, can set very hard so that, should the system be initiated, the nozzle may either work inefficiently or may not work at all.

There have previously been proposals to provide caps on nozzles of this type and in one form the cap is a metallic cap which is a relatively close fit over the nozzle and the nozzle c is mo:i fied by the incorporation of a peripheral groove thereabouts into which an O-ring is connected and this provides a good seal between the cap and the nozzle.

Practically the cap is normally connected to the pipe works or tt C 's otherwise connected adjacent the nozzle by means of a lanyard.

a The alternative has been to provide a plastic cap which is I moulded to fit closely over the nozzle and which again is connected to the pipe work or some adjacent part of the vehicle.

In each of these cases, when pressure is applied to the system, the cap is "blown-off" and because the nozzle has been protected the operation of the no .le will be unaffected by any material in the engine compartment.

ii D:/w51/.SPEC/SPRAY.CAP/AT. E/2B December, 1995

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4 Both systems have had disadvantages.

The metal cap arrangement has been very efficient but it necessitates the forming of the groove around the nozzle and this itself is undesirable.

it Nozzles of the type used, which may have an external diameter, of say 8 to 15 millimetres, although again these ranges are purely exemplary, are used in very high numbers and the j provision of the groove cannot be done during normal machining of the nozzle, so it necessitates an additional machining operation.

It is thus inefficient to provide the groove on all nozzles of the type, as, ultimately, only a very small percentage will be used with nozzle caps but it also means that there are extra items which must be held by suppliers and/or users of these nozzles each of which is identical to a standard nozzle of the particular type apart from the machined groove. Thus not only is it more expensive to manufacture these nozzles but they can lead to logistic problems as far as supply is concerned.

The plastics caps can be used with standard nozzles so they do not have the disadvantage of the previous type, but, tend to deteriorate with time, and it must be kept in mind that they D:/WP51/-SPEC/SPRAY.CAP/A-KM/28 December, 1995 I -r i. I ~I I I OZ MOON dMWA-MftO-ft will normally be used in areas where there can be extreme temperatures. We have found that there can be general failure of the plastics cap, enabling foreign material to pass beneath the plastics cap, or, that the cap fails and falls from the nozzle, again permitting material to then be deposited thereon.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cap which can be used with a standard nozzle and which is not substantially more expensive than standard caps.

t t r it; c r c t~ 44 4; 4( 4 4' #9 49 4 The invention includes a nozzle cap having a closed ended recess which is adapted to be passed over the nozzle tip of the nozzle with which it is to be used, characterised in that this recess is provided with internal means which are adapted to receive a sealing member whereby when the cap is placed on a nozzle there is an effective seal between the cap and the nozzle.

Prima facie this development looks extremely simple in relation to the prior art but it does save substantial cost and expense as the users can use standard nozzles in all applications, it removes the necessity of dealers and users carrying a stock of particular nozzles for applications where caps are to be used, and it does not add substantially to the D:/WP51/.SPEC/SPRAY.CAP/AT.II/28 December, 1995 rr r r 6 formation of the recess in the cap as it can be done effectively during the standard machining operation.

In order that the invention can be more readily understood we shall describe two embodiments thereof in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which: t Fig 1 is a side view, in section of a nozzle with one form rr cfm of the cap of the invention attached thereto; Fig 2 is a side view, similar to that of Fig 1, showing a modified version of cap; and Fig 3 is an end view of the cap, when in position with a lanyard attached to part of the associated structure.

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The nozzle 10 with which the cap 20 is to be used can be considered to be completely standard, it has one end 11 threaded, the body is formed at 12 to receive a spanner or the like adjacent the threaded end, and is preferably a hexagon having the required dimension for a standard spanner or socket and the nozzle body 13 itself is a cylindrical member extending forwardly from the hexagon portion 12.

SPCSP CA 2 December, 1995 0: /(.Pfl/sPR CAf.II2 December, 1995 C s J~T- I ,ft Ai 7 The nozzles could be cast and machined or machined from a bar of mc.tal. Conventionally they are usually brass but could be of stainless steel or some other metal.

Through the body there is a bore (not shown), which may, at the threaded end, be substantially larger than through the tt re 'tc' closed end 14 of the cylindrical member 13, and it may be provided with an internal device to provide swirling or the like of the liquid. This ij know in the art and is not part of the invention.

The nozzle can be fitted to a pipe 30 or an attachment thereto simply by being screwed into a formed thread 31 corresponding to that on the end 11 of the nozzle.

tThe nozzle may be of any required size but in one particular t 9 V embodiment the diameter of the actual nozzle portion itself could be of the order of 8 millimetres and the hexagon partition could receive a 10 millimetre spanner.

Conventionally the nozzle may be made of a metal but a composite metal/ceramic nozzle could be used.

The cap 20 can be a cylindrical brass member, closed at one end 21 and having a groove 22 adjacent the closed end which is i i adapted to receive a lanyard 23 or the like. For clarity, Fig D:/WPS1/.SPEC/SPAY.CAP/An-!K M/28 December, 1995

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j o 8 1 shows the groove without a lanyard and Fig 2 shows a lanyard.

A counter bore or recess 24 is provided at the other end of the cap which bore can be drilled or milled and has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the corresponding nozzle body 13.

rr SAs shown in Fig 1, formed in this counter bore a predetermined distance from the outer end thereof there is a peripheral groove 25 which is adapted to receive an 0-ring 26.

As shown in Fig 2, the outer end 26 of the counter bore is further milled out to provide a shoulder 27 which can receive j| an 0-ring 26.

(o S1 t t It will be seen that the nozzles 10 to be used in the invention are be completely conventional nozzles and are fitted to pipe works as mentioned above.

4 Where it is desired to protect the nozzles by the use of a nozzle cap it is only necessary that the cap of the invention be placed thereover and the 0-ring ensures a good seal between the nozzle end and the cap and thus a good seal of the nozzle end and the surround.

SD:/W5sl/.SPEC/SPRA.CAP/AT.E-M/2B December, 1995 .i 9 In use this nozzle cap is simply placed over the standard nozzles in the area to be protected and preferably a lanyard 23 is connected between the groove 22 in the cap and the pipe works or some adjacent body part. That is, that the cap is captive relative to the nozzle.

t When it is required to pass liquid through the nozzle it is t I only necessary to pressurise the pipe works 30 to which the c nozzles are connected and the pressure build-up inside the nozzle will be sufficient to "blow-off" the nozzle cap, as it will be appreciated that the O-ring not only prevents the ingress of material, it also provides a sealed chamber within

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S the cap, and because the nozzle has been protected there will be a required fluid dispersion from the nozzle which will t depend upon the particular design of the nozzle.

c Once use of the nozzle is completed, because of the connection of the cap by means of a lanyard this can readily be reconnected to the nozzle so that it is again protected for later use.

It will be seen that, notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of the nozzle and cap assembly of the invention, this gives great advantages to the manufacturing, the supplier and the .S C Decembr, 1995 D:/TO511.SPBCSPU.CAP/:.FaM/28 December, 1995 user of the caps, in areas where caps will generally be required to be used.

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Claims (9)

1. A nozzle cap having a closed ended recess which is adapted to be passed over the nozzle tip of the nozzle with which it is to be used, characterised in that this recess is provided with internal means which are adapted 1' to receive a sealing member whereby when the car s placed on a nczzle there is an effective seal between the cap and the nozzle.

2. A nozzle cap as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is an internal peripheral groove about the interior of the cap spaced from the open end thereof, which groove is adapted to receive the sealing member. St

3. A nozzle cap as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is an enlarged portion at the open end of the recess which is adapted to receive the sealing member.

4. A nozzle cap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the nozzle body and the cap recess are both cylindrical and wherein the sealing means is an 0-ring.

A nozzle cap as caimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the cap has, about its body, a recess adapted to D; /WP5VSgEC/SPIia L .ap/a3r.F2S Decnebr, 1995 Illi"" i ii i i:l: jl 12 receive a lanyard or the like whereby it can be connected in a position fixed relative to the nozzle. 0t on. a. o a a 4a

6. A nozzle and cap assembly comprising a nozzle attached to pipe works through which liquid which is to be expelled by the nozzle can pass, and a cap as claimed in any one of claim 1 to 5 the nozzle having a body over which the recess in the cap can pass.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the cap has a lanyard fixed relative to the nozzle.

8. A nozzle cap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A nozzle and cap assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 28th day of December 1995 SPRAY NOZZLE ENGINEERING PTY. LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys A. Tatlock Associates LO L.ri D,PSl.sEClsafP/a3.KM/21 September, 1998 D: 9, l I I. :-II:.rh -i~L 13 ABSTRACT A nozzle cap and a nozzle/nozzle cap assembly wherein the mozzle cap having a closed ended recess which is complementary with the nozzle, and normally cylindrical, adapted to be passed over the nozzle tip of the nozzle with which it is to be used, characterised in that this C C recess is provided with internal means which are adapted to receive a sealing member, preferably an 0-ring, whereby when the cap is placed on a nozzle there is an effective seal between the cap and the nozzle. The cap is preferably captive relative to the nozzle so Sit can be readily replaced on the nozzle after use. At I4 i 4 I t. 1SPEC/SPI; CAPI.. PMrz8 Deceiber, 1995