Sanitary Tri-clamp Cap with Integrated Telescoping Slide Hammer

Abstract

A removable closure assembly has a cap making a liquid-tight seal with a tri-clamp assembly to the open end of a filter assembly body. The closure assembly has a filter which fits within the filter body. To aid in separating the closure assembly from the body, the cap has an outwardly extending shaft fixed thereto. The shaft is terminated by a radially protruding stop block. A handle is slidable on the shaft and functions as a slide hammer weight with an end wall facing the cap through which the shaft extends. The handle is movable to strike the shaft stop block and apply a force to the stop block and shaft for separating the cap from the body. The stop block has axial channels allowing a clean out of place system to exchange cleaning fluid with an interior volume of the handle.

Claims

1. A removable closure assembly for a filter assembly having a body with an opening therein which receives a filter member, the closure assembly comprising: a cap which is removably fitted to the filter assembly to close the opening therein in a liquid-tight seal; a shaft fixed to the cap and extending outwardly therefrom, the shaft being terminated at an outer end thereof by a stop block which protrudes radially outwardly of the shaft; and a handle having a tubular outer wall, the handle being slidably positioned on the shaft and movable outwardly along the shaft, the handle having an end wall facing the cap which extends radially inwardly from the tubular outer wall, the end wall having a shaft opening therein, the shaft extending through the shaft opening, wherein the handle is movable between a first position in which the handle end wall is closer to the cap, and a second position in which the handle end wall strikes the shaft stop block to thereby apply a force to the stop block and shaft which facilitates the separation of the cap from the body.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a body peripheral ferrule extending from an open end of the body; a cap peripheral ferrule extending from the cap; a gasket positioned between the strainer body peripheral ferrule and the cap peripheral ferrule; and a clamp engaging the body peripheral ferrule and the cap peripheral ferrule to define the liquid-tight seal between the cap and the body.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein when the handle is positioned abutting the cap, the shaft does not protrude axially beyond the handle.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle has an open end opposite the end wall, and further comprising a flange which protrudes radially outward from the handle beyond the outer wall at the open end, the flange providing an abutment for a user's grip when moving the handle against the stop block.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle has portions defining an interior opening within the tubular outer wall of a diameter greater than a diameter of the shaft, and wherein the shaft opening in the end wall of the handle engages the shaft as the handle travels along the shaft, and wherein the stop block has an exterior diameter which engages the interior shaft opening as it travels, thereby serving to guide the handle in its travel and prevent binding between the two parts.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the handle interior opening and the stop block are cylindrical.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the tubular outer wall of the shaft has portions defining an interior opening of a diameter greater than a diameter of the shaft, and wherein the stop block comprises an axially extending channel which runs along the stop block and communicating between the handle interior and a handle exterior, thereby facilitating the exchange of cleaning fluid into and out of the interior opening.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the stop block comprises a plurality of axially extending channels therein.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the stop block is entirely positioned within the handle in the second position.

10. A removable closure assembly for a filter assembly having a body with an opening therein which receives a filter member, the closure assembly comprising: a cap which is removably fitted to the filter assembly to close the opening therein; a shaft fixed to the cap at a first end and extending outwardly from the cap, the shaft having a first diameter; a stop block having a second diameter and fixed to a second end of the shaft at its outwardmost end, the stop block positioned on the shaft to extend radially outwardly of the shaft; and a handle having an end wall which faces the cap, and an outer wall and an interior wall which extend outwardly from the end wall, the interior wall defining an interior volume of the handle, and wherein the handle is positioned such that the shaft extends through an opening in the end wall and through the handle interior volume, the handle being slidably positioned on the shaft and movable outwardly along the shaft, wherein the interior wall has a third diameter which is greater than the first diameter of the shaft and the second diameter of the stop block; and wherein the handle is movable between a first position in which the handle end wall is closer to the cap, and a second position in which the handle end wall strikes the shaft stop block to thereby apply a force to the stop block and shaft which facilitates the separation of the cap from the body.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the shaft opening in the end wall of the handle engages the shaft as the handle travels along the shaft, and wherein the stop block engages the handle interior wall as the handle travels from the first position to the second position, thereby serving to guide the handle in its travel and prevent binding between the two parts.

12. The device of claim 10 wherein the handle interior wall and the stop block have cylindrical portions which engage one another.

13. The device of claim 10 wherein the stop block has portions defining at least one axially extending channel which runs between an outermost portion of the stop block and the interior wall of the handle, thereby facilitating the exchange of cleaning fluid into and out of the interior volume of the handle.

14. The device of claim 10 wherein the stop block is entirely positioned within the handle in the second position.

15. A removable closure assembly for a filter assembly having a body with an opening therein which receives a filter member and for use within a cleaning system configured for discharging cleaning fluid towards the closure assembly, the closure assembly comprising: a cap which is removably fitted to the filter assembly to close the opening therein; a shaft fixed to the cap at a first end and extending outwardly from the cap; a stop block fixed to a second end of the shaft at its outwardmost end, the stop block positioned on the shaft to extend radially outwardly of the shaft and having at least one axially extending channel which extends from an outwardmost portion of the stop block to an inwardmost portion of the stop block; and a handle having an end wall which faces the cap, and an outer wall and an interior wall which extend outwardly from the end wall, the interior wall defining an interior volume of the handle, and wherein the handle is positioned such that the shaft extends through an opening in the end wall and through the handle interior volume, the handle being slidably positioned on the shaft and movable outwardly along the shaft; and wherein the handle is movable between a first position in which the handle end wall is closer to the cap, and a second position in which the handle end wall strikes the shaft stop block to thereby apply a force to the stop block and shaft which facilitates the separation of the cap from the body, and wherein the stop block at least one axially extending channel extends along the stop block to communicate between an exterior of the handle and the interior volume of the handle, thereby facilitating the exchange of cleaning fluid discharged by the cleaning system into and out of the interior volume of the handle.

16. The closure assembly of claim 15 wherein the stop block has a plurality of axially extending channels formed therein for the introduction of cleaning fluid into the interior volume of the handle.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein the handle interior opening and the stop block are cylindrical.

18. The device of claim 15 wherein the stop block is entirely positioned within the handle in the second position.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 an exploded side view of the sanitary tri-clamp cap with integrated telescoping slide hammer of this invention in connection with filter and hygienic fitting.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section of the device of FIG. 1 with the hammer weight extended.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross section of the device of FIG. 1 with the slide hammer engaged against the cap.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary isometric view of the device of FIG. 1 with the slide hammer shown in phantom view.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary isometric view of the device of FIG. 1 with the slide hammer withdrawn and the clamp removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Referring to the FIGS. 1-5, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a sanitary tri-clamp cap with integrated telescoping slide hammer 20 is shown in FIG. 1. The device 20 facilitates removing sanitary tri-clamp caps and sanitary strainer insert elements. A cylindrical strainer body 26 is positioned to receive fluid in a food processing system which enters through an inlet 28. The fluid passes through a filter member 30 which is fixed to a rigid cap 24. After passing through the filter member 30, the fluid exits the strainer body 26 through an outlet 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the sanitary tri-clamp cap with integrated telescoping slide hammer 20 is releasably mounted to the strainer body 26 by a tri-clamp assembly 34 such as the TRI-CLOVER® hygienic fittings sold by Alfa Laval Corporate AB of Sweden. This clamping arrangement includes a releasable clamp 36 which engages a peripheral ferrule 38 extending from an open end of the strainer body 26 and a similar ferrule 40 formed on the cap 24. A flat annular gasket 42 is positioned between the strainer body ferrule 38 and the cap ferrule 40, such that a liquid tight seal is created when the clamp is secured. The device 20 has a metal shaft 22 which is permanently attached such as by welding directly to the sanitary tri-clamp cap 24, and which extends outwardly from the cap. The shaft 22 is of constant cross section, and may be cylindrical and is terminated at its outward end by a rigid protrusion or stop 44 which extends radially outwardly from the shaft. The stop 44 has an interior contact surface 44 which faces towards the cap 24 and an exterior peripheral wall which extends axially and is located at the outside diameter of the stop. The shaft 22 is received within a handle 46 which serves as a heavy impact weight. The handle 46 has a generally cylindrical outer wall 48 with a central cylindrical interior volume 50 through which the shaft 22 extends. The outer wall 48 may be formed with midpoint bulge to facilitate gripping by a user's hand.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, to facilitate cleaning of the device 20, the stop block 44 on the shaft 22 is formed as a fluted cylinder thus defining a plurality of channels 45 which extend between the exterior of the stop block and the interior volume 50 of the handle 46, thereby facilitating the exchange of cleaning fluid into and out of the tubular interior volume 50 of the handle. Thus, when the device is used with a clean out of place (COP) system, such as a cabinet washer or an immersion tank cleaner, the cleaning fluid can be discharged onto the device and pass into and out of the handle.

[0029] The handle 46 has a base 51 which faces the cap 24. The handle base 51 has a cap end wall 52 which faces the cap 24 and which extends radially inwardly from the outer wall 48 and which terminates in a shaft cap end opening 54 which is larger than the diameter of the shaft 22 but smaller than the diameter of the shaft stop 44. The opening 54 communicates with an axially extending interior travel wall 49 which extends from the cap end wall 52 to a base 51 of the handle which has an annular impact surface 53, shown in FIG. 2. The impact surface 53 is located on the interior of the handle 46 which is located at the cap end of the interior volume 50. The handle 46 has an outside end opening 56 opposite the end wall 52. The interior volume 50 extends from the base impact surface 53 to the outside end opening 56.

[0030] A flange 58 protrudes radially outward from the handle 46 beyond the outer wall 48 at the open end and provides an abutment for a user's grip when operating the slide hammer as discussed below. The handle 46 serves as a weight which is slidable along the shaft 22 away from the cap for controlled impact against the slide stop 44 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. The handle impact surface 53 of the base of the handle is configured to impact the contact surface 43 of the shaft stop 44 internal of the handle. Because the stop 44 impacts the handle 46 within the handle, the user's hand is protected from pinching between the handle and the shaft during operation. Furthermore, because the end wall 52 impacts the shaft stop 44, the overall linear dimension requirements of the slide hammer mechanism is reduced, resulting in the need for a smaller space to install and operate the device. The shaft 22 does not need to be any longer than the handle 46. The installation dimension required to insert and remove the element is equal to the overall length of the insert assembly. Therefore, the length of the handle directly affects the overall required installation dimension. The length of the handle may be, for example, 5.38″. The required operating dimension is 9.5″. Compared to a common slide hammer installation, allowing the same hammer travel distance, might require 10.13″ for installation and operation. It will be noted that the diameter of the shaft tubular interior volume 50 is generally greater than the diameter of the shaft. Thus the shaft axially extending travel wall 49 which extends from the opening 54 in the cap end wall 52 of the handle engages the shaft 22 as the handle travels along the shaft, and the exterior peripheral wall 41 of the stop block 44 engages the interior shaft opening 54 as it travels. These two engagements serve to guide the handle 46 in its travel along the shaft 22 and prevent binding between the two parts. Thus the shaft interior volume 50 and the stop block 44 are preferably generally cylindrical, although other shapes may be used so long as they mate with one another. The end cap, shaft and handle are preferably fabricated of stainless steel.

[0031] From time to time, when it is required to remove the strainer filter member 30 from the strainer body 26, the clamp 36 is removed as shown in FIGS. 3-5. The user then grips the heavyweight handle 46 and positions it on the shaft 22 adjacent the cap 24 of the assembly as shown in FIG. 4. The user then urges the handle 46 away from the cap, slamming it against the stop 44, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, driving the impact surface 53 of the handle base against the protruding stop 44. The impact force is thus transferred to the shaft 22, pulling the attached cap in the direction the weight had been moving and thus dislodging the tri-clamp cap 24 and all attached components such as the strainer insert element 30.

[0032] It should be noted that where space is not limited and pinch protection is not a concern, the device handle may be mounted on a shaft which extends beyond the handle in the retracted position a distance necessary to obtain the desired impact force.

[0033] It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.