1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector for an oil drain valve to provide an excellent sealing effect and to keep the connector disengaging unintentionally from the oil drain valve during the oil-draining process.
2. Description of Related Art
To drain oil from a tank truck to an underground oil depot, an oil pipe is used and has two ends connected respectively with a drain connector and a depot connector. The drain connector is connected to an oil drain valve on the tank trunk to allow oil in the tank truck being input into the oil depot via the connectors and the oil pipe. To prevent oil leakage and a fire from occurring, an excellent sealing conjunction between the connector and the valve is an important issue. Additionally, a conventional connector does not have a locking mechanism to keep the connector from disengaging from the valve unintentionally, so the conventional connector may be detached from the valve due to an external force or carelessness of an operator.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a connector for an oil drain valve to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a connector for an oil drain valve to provide an excellent sealing effect and to keep the connector disengaging unintentionally from the oil drain valve during the oil-draining process.
The connector has a body and a locking arm. The body has a sleeve, a connection tube, a sealing ring, two pivotal ears and a notch. The sleeve is adapted to connect to the oil drain valve and has an outer surface and an end. The connection tube protrudes obliquely from the end of the sleeve. The sealing ring is mounted in the sleeve. The pivotal ears are separately formed on and protrude from the outer surface of the sleeve. Each pivotal ear has a pivotal hole and a locking hole. The pivoting hole aligns with the pivoting hole in the other pivotal ear. The locking hole aligns with the locking hole in the other pivotal ear. The notch is defined through the outer surface of the sleeve at a position between the pivotal ears. The locking arm is pivotally mounted between the pivotal ears and has a pivotal end, a pivoting hole, a pivotal pin, a cam segment and a locking hole. The pivoting hole is formed through the pivotal end of the locking arm and aligns with the pivoting holes in the pivotal ears on the body. The pivotal pin is mounted through the pivoting holes in the pivotal ears and the locking arm to pivotally connect the locking arm to the pivotal ears. The cam segment is formed on the pivotal end of the locking arm and is eccentric to the pivoting hole in the pivotal end. The locking hole is formed through the locking arm and selectively aligns with the locking holes in the pivotal ears of the body.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The locking arm 30 is pivotally mounted between the pivotal ears 16 of the body 10, may be curved corresponding to the round outer surface of the sleeve 12 and has a pivotal end, a pivoting hole 32, a pivotal pin 19, a cam segment 34, a locking hole 36 and a pulling ring 38. The pivoting hole 32 is formed through the pivotal end of the locking arm 30 and aligns with the pivoting holes 162 in the pivotal ears 16 on the body 10. The pivotal pin 19 is mounted through the pivoting holes 162,32 in the pivotal ears 16 and the locking arm 30 to pivotally connect the locking arm 30 to the pivotal ears 16. The cam segment 34 is formed on the pivotal end of the locking arm 30, is eccentric to the pivoting hole 32 in the pivotal end and selectively protrudes into the sleeve 12 via the notch 18. The cam segment 34 of the locking arm 30 has a side face facing to the connection tube 14, and the side face has two ends and a thickness gradually increasing from one end to the other end of the side face. The locking hole 36 is formed through the locking arm 30 and selectively aligns with the locking holes 164 in the pivotal ears 16 of the body 10. The pulling ring 38 is mounted on the locking arm 30 at an end opposite to the pivotal end of the locking arm 30. With the arrangement of the pulling ring 38, a user can pivot the locking arm 30 relative to the pivotal ears 16 of the body 10 easily.
With reference to
At the combined condition of the connector with the joint 40 of the oil drain valve, the locking hole 36 in the locking arm 30 aligns with the locking holes 164 in the pivotal ears 16 on the body 10. Consequently, a locker 50 or a locking pin can be mounted through the aligning locking holes 164,36 in the pivotal ears 16 and the locking arm 30 to make the connector at a locked condition. Accordingly, the connector is kept from disengaged from the joint 40 of the oil drain valve unintentionally even when an external force applied to the connector or the oil drain valve. The safety of using the connector and the oil-draining process can be improved.
With reference to
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.