Press-on plastic baffle for accumulator-dehydrator

Claim 1

A suction accumulator for an automotive air conditioning system including an evaporator comprising, a hollow tubular casing, a suction outlet tube extending vertically within said casing on the principal axis thereof from a point adjacent the casing bottom and terminating in an upper open end located a predetermined distance from the casing top, an inlet connected to the output of the evaporator for injection of high pressure refrigerant fluid into said casing, said inlet located in the casing side wall below said tube upper open end, a plastic baffle member slidably mounted on said tube upper end in substantially concentric relation with said casing, said baffle member including an outer truncated conical baffle and inner central press-fit securing means, said baffle having an open lower end located below said casing inlet and a closed upper end located above said casing inlet, said baffle having an outer wall upwardly decreasing in cross sectional area with its maximum cross sectional area sufficiently less than said casing side wall to provide an annular flow gap therebetween, whereby refrigerant fluid from said inlet impacts against the outer wall of said baffle for gravity flow via said annular gap to the bottom of said casing, said securing means in the form of a plurality of equally spaced, vertically extending, substantially obtuse and triangular-shaped radial webs; each said web having a base portion integrally molded on the inner wall of said baffle and upper and lower leg portions, each of said lower leg portions providing an upwardly tapered lead-in edge so as to align said baffle for slidable reception on said tube upper end, an arcuate sectioned rib coextensive with each upper leg portion, each said rib subtending a predetermined angle, said ribs dimensioned to establish a telescopic press-fit with said tube, each said rib having a notched portion adjacent its upper end defining a stop shoulder operative to engage the tube upper open end, whereby said baffle closed upper end is spaced a predetermined distance above said tube open end to define with said arcuate ribs a plurality of vapor passages therebetween, such that vaporous refrigerant fluid moves upwardly from said casing bottom along said baffle inner wall for entrance into said tube open end via the vapor passages.