Closure member for automotive oil filters and similar filters

Claim 1

In an automotive oil filter, a housing defining a chamber therein, said housing including a cupshaped member having a circumferentially extending wall defining an axis and an open end and a closure member closing said open end, an annular fluid permeable filtering element within said housing chamber, said filtering element dividing said chamber into a pair of compartments, said closure member including a threaded opening communicating with one of said compartments, another opening in said closure member communicating with the other of said compartments, an annular seal mounted on said closure member, characterized in that said open end of said cup-shaped member is defined by a circumferentially extending marginal edge, said closure member being a stamping consisting of a single member having a circumferentially extending marginal edge, the marginal edges of said cup-shaped member and of said closure member having cooperating means for effecting a fluid-tight seal between the closure member and the cup-shaped member, the thickness of said closure member at the marginal edge of the latter being substantially the same as the thickness of said closure member adjacent to said threaded opening, the marginal edge of said closure member being bent upwardly toward the closed end of the cup-shaped housing to define a rim circumscribing said closure member and projecting perpendicularly from the latter toward the closed end of the cup-shaped housing, said cooperating means including an outwardly projecting bead circumscribing the marginal edge of said cup-shaped member, said marginal edge of said closure member extending generally parallel to the circumferentially extending wall of said cup-shaped member, and a circumferentially extending channel defined on said marginal edge of said closure member for receiving said bead, the marginal edge of said closure member terminating in a section projecting inwardly toward the circumferentially extending wall of the cup-shaped member, said inwardly projecting section cooperating with the rest of the closure member to define said channel, wherein said fluid-tight seal is effected by crimping the marginal edge of said closure member against said bead.