Fuel quality testing device

Claim 1

A CONTAMINATION SENSITIVE DEVICE FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH FUEL TRANSFER MEANS COMPRISING HOUSING MEANS HAVING FUEL INLET AND OUTLET PASSAGE MEANS, SAID FUEL INLET PASSAGE MEANS BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID FUEL TRANSFER MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE FULL FLOW OF FUEL THEREFROM, NORMALLY POROUS MEANS INERPOSED BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET PASSAGE MEANS FOR NORMALLY PERMITTING FLOW OF ALL OF SAID FUEL THERETHROUGH, SAID MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE UNITARY FUSE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF INLET PORTS IN THE SURFACE THEREOF AND AN OUTLET PORT AT ONE END THEREOF, A SERIES OF WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS IN REGISTERED FACE TO FACE CONTACT LOCATED WITHIN SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER AND CHARACTERIZED BY BEING INERT AT WATER CONTAMINATION LEVELS BELOW A PREDETERMINED VALUE AND SWELLING AT WATER CONTAMINATION LEVELS ABOVE A PRESDETERMINIED VALUE, SAID WATER-LIKE ELEMENTS BEING ARRANGED TO FORM A TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING RADIAL PORES EXTENDING THERETHROUGH THROUGH WHICH EXTREMELY FINE SOLID CONTAMINANTS MAY PASS WITH SAID FUEL FLOWING FROM OUTSIDE SAID TUBULAR MEMBER TO INSIDE SAID TUBLUAR MEMBER BUT NOT SOLID CONTAMINANTS ABOVE A PREDETERMINED SIZE, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER BEING FORMED FROM A PLURALITY OF SMALLER UNITS EACH OF WHICH COMPRISES A FIRST SERIES OF WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS FORMED OF A FIRST MATERIAL HAVING OPPOSED SMOOTH FACES AND A SECOND SERIES OF WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS FORMED OF A SECOND MATERIAL HAVING OPPOSED ROUGH RACES, SAID FIRST AND SECOND SERIES OF WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS BEING INTERLEAVED AND ARRANGED TO FORM UNITS HAVING OUTER LAYERS OF SAID FIRST MATERIAL, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING ONE END THEREOF ABUTTING SAID ONE END OF SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID OUTLET PORT, A MOVABLE NONPOROUS END PLATE LOCATED WITHIN SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER AND ABUTTING THE OTHER END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER FOR CLOSING OFF OF SAID END, AND MEANS LOCATED WITHIN SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER FOR MAINTAINING PREDETERMINED COMPRESSIVE FORCES ON SAID WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS TO LIMIT THE RADIAL PORE SIZE THEREBETWEEN, SAID RADIAL PORES BEING COMPLETELY CLOSED TO THEREBY PREVENT FLOW OF FUEL THERETHROUGH WHEN SWELLING OF SAID MATERIAL AND BLOCKING OF SAID PORES CAUSES A DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE ACROSS SAID END PLATE SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO CREATE ADDITIONAL COMPRESSIVE FORCES OF A GIVEN MAGNITUDE ON SAID WASHER-LIKE ELEMENTS.