Patent Application
20170291743
This is a Non-Provisional Application of Provisional 62/321,329 filed on Apr. 12, 2016.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates generally to improved sealing devices and, particularly, to a lockable compressible plug for hermetically sealing an opening having a smooth flush-domed security cap and a key for locking and unlocking the plug.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
The problems presented by openings that require plugging, and attempts to solve these problems have a long history. For example, in the age-old profession of wine and spirits making, “bung holes”, the holes drilled into beech wood casks used in the fermentation process, required plugging. Such plugs were often made of materials such as cork and wood that with age would rot or dry and shrink. As alcoholic beverages continue to be aged in wooden casks having bung holes, there is still a need for secure, reliable stoppers. As technology progresses, both the kinds of holes that need plugging and the means to plug those holes are required to be more sophisticated, and the ability to provide for a tight seal more challenging.
The plumbing industry is especially demanding in its needs for sealing plugs. Plumbers require sealing plugs when testing for leaks in drain and vent pipes and in the pipe connections of a plumbing system. To conduct mandated pressure tests, plumbers need plugs or stoppers to seal drain, waste, or vent pipes so that these pipes can be tested for their ability to withstand the predetermined internal pressures.
In addition, plumbers, especially those that service the plumbing in our homes, have a need for inexpensive, yet reliable, plugs so that they can achieve the air-tight and liquid-tight conditions required for successful “plugging”. The piping from which plumbing is constructed come in various sizes and are made of various materials, including cast iron, copper, clay, and polyvinylchloride accordingly the plugs and stoppers must be able to create the needed seal regardless of the size of the pipe or the material of which the piping is made.
The insulation industry also has a need for hermetically sealing plugs to plug the holes that are drilled into the side of houses and mobile homes to facilitate the installation of insulation material. After holes are drilled through which the insulation is installed, the holes must be plugged to protect the insulation from the environment and to keep it inside the wall space.
Containers and especially containers carrying explosive or toxic materials require leak-proof stoppers that will prevent their accidental or unauthorized removal.
The coating industry often is faced with applying a coating to parts, such as piping, but there are times when the coating must not be applied to the internal surface of the pipes. For example, when the coating would be incompatible with the fluids or gases that will come into contact with the internal surface area of the pipe, the internal surfaces of the pipe must be sealed off during the coating procedure. Thus, there is a need for the means to mask or to close the openings to prevent coating material from coming into contact with those parts that are not to be coated.
Environmental ground water monitoring requires not only tight sealing plugs, but also plugs that have the ability to be locked. When, for example, a spill such as leakage of gasoline from a gas station's underground gasoline storage tanks is reported by a gas station, environmental regulations now require that monitoring wells be installed in the area of concern. The wells are used to collect ground water samples to first determine the extent of the spill and, subsequently, to monitor the success of the clean-up efforts or of the containment program. Once a monitoring well is put into place; samples of ground water from each well are collected for testing to see if the contaminant remains present in the ground water that flows into that well. It is well-accepted that this system works well, but only, of course, as long as no extraneous contaminate is allowed to enter into the well. If a monitoring well opening is left uncapped contamination of the well is likely. It is easy to understand that monitoring wells need to be capped (plugged). Contamination, however, can occur even when a well is capped. For example, when a driver of a gasoline delivery truck mistakes the monitoring well inlet for a gas storage tank inlet and pumps gasoline into the monitoring well. In such a case, the need for a lockable well cover is apparent. Sometimes the introduction of a contaminant into a monitoring well is deliberate. This may occur as a mischievous act; or can be malevolent. In either case, deliberate contamination can destroy, at least a part of if not all of, a monitoring well program. This can be prevented by the use of a hermetically sealed well cover that can be locked.
There have been several attempts at fulfilling the need for a hermetically sealing plug that can be locked, but none provide the advantages of the plug introduced herein.
The inventive concept developed by the present Inventor progressed into a set of inventive principles that provide for the construction of a reusable, lockable, domed, hermetically sealing, flush-mount compression plug for hermetically sealing an opening. The plug comes with several novel features. One is the completely removable rotatable compression key that is required to lock and unlock the plug. The plug is locked in place by the rotational action of the compression key that causes the vertical compression and radial extension of the sealing compression gasket body of the plug. Once the compression gasket has been radially extended against the inner walls of the pipe to be sealed, the pressure of the gasket against the inner walls of the pipe to be sealed prevents any movement of the plug, thus, locking the plug in place. In the example, illustrated herein, the compression key is structurally designed to work with a threaded mating central bolt. When the plug is in place in the opening of the tubular orifice, well pipe or other acceptable opening the plug is designed to seal and the key is fitted onto the accepting mating part of the bolt, rotating the key rotates the bolt causing compression and extension of the sealing compression gasket, locking the plug in place. The compression key's design provides for a secure hand grip on the key making turning the key, in either direction, a comfortable action. Once the key results in causing the plug to be locked in place, the key is then removed from the plug making the plug un-lockable only to those who have the key and know how to remove the domed cap that is fitted onto the plug after the key is removed. Once the domed-cap is in place on the plug, its design conveys to the capped plug the look of a one-piece structure making it unobvious as to how the inner workings of the lock can be accessed. And, although the cap is designed to be removed from the plug without the assistance of tools, its friction-fit closure misleads the casual passerby as to how the cap is removed. Once the cap is in place, its flush mount design allows unimpeded placement of the man-hole cover. This is to be contrasted from currently available high profile capped plugs that, because of their above the plug locking mechanisms, stick-up out of the casing (man-hole) creating problems for man-hole covers to be connected. Moreover, the dome shape of the cap assures that no moisture, liquids or foreign objects will collect on the surface of the cap.
The inventive principles additionally provide the lockable plug with a “quad sealing assembly” to hermetically seal an opening. In other words, the plug offers a system of seals that together comprise four individual seals. In the example described herein the four seals are: (1) an O-ring type seal that seals the domed flush-mount cap to the body of the plug to keep contaminants from getting into the orifice of the plug; (2) the seal that is formed to protect against the entry of any contaminant entering the interior of the plug while the cap is removed, provided by a gasket seal; (3) the seal that is formed to prevent contaminant entry into the interior of the plug through the boundary between the compression gasket top plate and the compression gasket provided by a flange of the compression gasket capping plate; and (4) the seal that is formed when the body of the compression gasket is expanded to completely seal the opening. Additionally, the material of the compression gasket is sensitive to changes in its environment and will expand due to changes in environmental or physical conditions and the body of the gasket is constructed with additional length to add extra sealing protection. Increasing the length of the gasket body increases seal security by increasing the area of contact between the sealing compression gasket and the pipe that the plug is sealing. The sealing compression gasket body of the plug offers advantages that cannot be provided by a plug body constructed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The inside diameter of a pipe to be sealed, such as a well casing, is not a constant. The wall thickness of the pipe to be plugged determines, in part, the inside diameter of the pipe. Moreover, the interior surface of the pipe to be plugged is generally not as smooth as outside surface which adds to the variation of the inside diameter of the pipe which varies between manufactures. Thus, a plug made of a material that cannot conform to such deviations in the size of the inner diameter of the pipe it is plugging, cannot provide a secure seal and thus, offers greater chances for entrance of contaminants. This sealing assembly although advantageously improved is of simple construction, easy to make and use, reusable, not subject to rot or microbial degradation, will not transfer undesirable odors, and is economical to manufacture.
Still other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings.
In order that these and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, may be more fully comprehended, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, and in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein, but encompasses many embodiments as are discussed throughout the specification.
Hermetic seal, as used herein, is the quality of something being airtight (excluding passage of air, oxygen, or other gases).
Keyhole or keyway, as used herein, is a hole or aperture (as in a lock) for receiving a key. Lock keyway shapes vary widely with lock manufacturer, and many manufacturers have a number of unique profiles requiring a specifically milled key blank to engage the lock's tumblers.
Opening, as used herein, refers to any opening that requires a lockable hermetically sealing plug to secure the opening from unauthorized entrance, including, but not limited to pipes, such as monitoring well or other types of well piping, drain and vent pipes, and in pipes of pipe connections of a plumbing system. The invention is also contemplated for use in conducting mandated pressure tests, plugging bung holes, holes drilled into surfaces, and any type of container requiring plugging.
Referring now particularly to the drawings, it should be noted that the disclosed invention is disposed to embodiments in various sizes, shapes, and forms. It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that, for example, the shape of the key illustrated could change considerably while still complying with the principles of the inventive concept that require a lock that is easy to grasp, that is easy to carry, such as having a means for carrying the lock on a key chain or the like, and that is fabricated to have a shaped mechanism that controls the locking and unlocking ability of the plug. The shape of the key-hole mechanism, can course, be of many designs and still perform the requirements of the inventive principles. Therefore, the embodiments described herein are provided with the understanding that the present disclosure is intended as illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments described herein.
The major components of the plug illustrated in
Annular elastomeric sealing gasket 40 comprises hollow gasket sleeve 46 having axial opening 44 and outwardly extending flange 42 having an outer diameter of larger than the opening to be sealed by plug 10. This provides for the following three advantages. The first is that the size-extended outer diameter of flange 42 provides for gasket 40 to be supported on the rim of the opening to be sealed. Secondly, the size-extended outer-diameter of flange 42 supports flange 22 of compression gasket capping plate 30. The third advantage of the size-extended outer diameter of flange 42 is that it provides for a compressible, moldable seal between the underside of flange 42 and the rim of the opening to be sealed. Compressible flange 42 conforms to any irregularities present on the surface of the rim of the opening to be sealed, ensuring the formation of a water and air-tight seal. Upper side 43 of flange 42 faces under-side 24 of compression gasket capping plate 30. The unflanged end of gasket sleeve 46 faces compression gasket base plate 50, as is described below.
Compression gasket capping plate 30 supplies counter support for gasket 40 when gasket 40 is in the state of compression. Axial neck 28 of compression gasket capping plate 30 extends into opening 44 from lower side 24 of compression gasket capping plate 30. The diameter of the outer-surface of neck 28 is complementary to the diameter of the inner-surface of hollow sleeve 46 of gasket 40. Constructed as a unitary molded piece, annular inner-surface of flange 42 and annular inner-surface of the hollow gasket sleeve 46 receive support from the annular outer-surface of axial downwardly facing internal first shoulder 28 providing lateral support for gasket 40 especially while gasket 40 is under compression (which compression is discussed more fully below). It should be noted here that axial downwardly facing internal neck 28 is manufactured integrally, that is, it is constructed as a unitary molded piece with compression gasket capping plate 30. Flange 22 of compression sealing gasket capping plate 30 sits on and is supported by upper side 43 of flange 42. The outer rim 23 of flange 22 like the outer rim of flange 42 has its diameters greater than the opening in the part to be sealed, thereby permitting the plug to rest of the rim of the opening to be sealed (see
Plug 10 has a “Quad sealing assembly”, that in the example described herein, comprises: (1) the seal that is formed when O-ring 14a (see
Once the plug is locked, the key, in this example, is removed and replaced by cap 90 as seen in
Plug 10, key 20 and cap 90 are reusable. Moreover, plug 10 is easily and inexpensively manufactured by injection molding using a variety of thermoplastics, including, but not limited to, polyvinyl chloride, Teflon, Nylon and glass filled Nylon, Valox and glass filled Valox.
Annular resilient elastomeric sealing gasket 40 is also reusable, if desired. Sealing gasket 40 is easily and inexpensively manufactured by injection molding using a variety of thermoplastic materials having appropriate properties, such as hardness, resiliency, resistance to heat and cold, and resistance to the corrosive effect of certain liquids. The thermoplastics that can be used, include, but not limited to, Santoprene, natural or man-made rubber, Viton and Buna Nitrile. The preferred embodiment of gasket 40 was manufactured with the required hardness as measured by a durometer, wall thickness, and length to obtain maximum compression and to achieve the maximum contact area between sleeve 46 of gasket 40 and the interior surface of the device whose opening is to be sealed in order to ensure the formation of a hermetic seal and to prohibit the sealing plug from becoming dislodged from forces incurred during use.
Compressible sealing plug assemblies made according to this invention may be of any suitable size and configuration required to achieve a hermetic seal with an opening in a part, as required or desired.
The compressible plug assemblies according to the invention cannot be dislodged from an opening by the expanding gas, liquid, or solid forces within a heated or cooled part with an opening to be sealed. In addition, the elastomeric, resilient, compressible sealing gasket can form a hermetic seal with an opening even when the opening is threaded; because the gasket is made of material which can conform to the spaces inherent in a threaded surface.
Although the embodiment discussed above was described as used to seal a monitoring well pipe, the invention is contemplated to be used to hermetically seal a number of different openings, including, but not limited to drain and vent pipes and in the pipe connections of a plumbing system. The plug according to the present invention would be most useful in conducting mandated pressure tests, to plug bung holes, holes drilled into surfaces for various reasons, bottles, and end of pipe and other part openings that need to be coated with a material that cannot, for whatever reason, be applied onto the interior surface of the part to be coated. Another contemplated use in for sealing those pipes that are used for transporting items that are especially well-stored in pipe-like containers. This use would be especially useful for locking the pipe-like containers that so often must be left standing out in the open, such as when the pipe-like containers are anchored on the top of a truck meant to carry piping supplies, when that truck is parked in the street for some length of time. Accordingly, the ways that the domed, lockable, hermetically sealing compression plug for an opening are used are limited only by the imagination of the user.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific and defined nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specific embodiment of the lockable compression plug are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the features, embodiments, and methods of making the embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the described methods, embodiments, features or combinations of features but include all the variation, methods, modifications, and combinations of features within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is limited only by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62321329 | Apr 2016 | US |
