Environmental-friendly plug for used oil filter

Abstract

A used oil filter plug has a flat circular disc having an upper surface and a lower surface. A pair of mouse ear projections extends upwardly from the upper surface of the flat circular disc for thumb and forefinger leverage in turning the flat circular disc. A threaded stud extends downwardly from center of the lower surface of the flat circular disc. The threaded stud is sized to thread into an internally threaded central oil passage opening in an endplate of the used oil filter. This causes the lower surface of the flat circular disc to cover a plurality of oil passage openings in the end plate and bear against the rubber gasket seal ring preventing oil leakage therefrom, so that the used oil filter can be safely discarded without adversely affecting the environment.

1 . A environmental-friendly plug for capping an oil filter having a generally cylindrical housing, an end plate with a plurality of oil passage openings extending through the end plate, an internally threaded central oil passage opening in the end plate, and a rubber gasket seal ring affixed about the circumference of the end plate, the plug comprising:
 a) a flat circular disc having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein a radius of the disc is the same or larger than a radius of the rubber gasket ring but smaller than the radius of rim of the oil filter;   b) a pair of mouse ear projections extending upwardly from the upper surface of the flat circular disc for thumb and forefinger leverage in turning the flat circular disc; and   c) a threaded stud extending downwardly from center of the lower surface of the flat circular disc, wherein the threaded stud is sized to thread into the internally threaded central oil passage opening in the end plate, causing the lower surface of the flat circular disc to cover the plurality of oil passage openings in the endplate and bear against the rubber gasket seal ring preventing oil leakage therefrom, so that the oil filter can be safely discarded without adversely affecting the environment.   
     
     
         2 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the flat circular disc, the pair of mouse ear projections and the threaded stud are constructed out of a one-piece molded unit from a single type of durable material. 
     
     
         3 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the location of the center of mouse ear projections is half (0.5) of the radius of the seal ring. 
     
     
         4 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the distance of the two center axis of the two mouse ear projections is exactly the same as the radius of the seal ring in order to have a maximum torque to turn the plug with a minimum material needed to the mouse ear projections. 
     
     
         5 . The plug as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the single type of durable material is plastic. 
     
     
         6 . The plug as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the single type of durable material is select from a group consisting of recycled plastic and recycled milk jug's material with hardener. 
     
     
         7 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the circumference of the flat circular disc approximates the circumference of the rubber gasket seal ring on the end plate of the cylindrical housing of the oil filter. 
     
     
         8 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the radius of the flat circular disc is in the range of 1 inches to 3 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the height of the mouse ear projections is equal to the length of the threaded stud. 
     
     
         10 . The plug as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the height of the mouse ear projections is equal to 0.3 inch to 0.5 inch. 
     
     
         11 . The plug as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the centers of each mouse ear projections are separated by a distance of two radius of the rubber gasket sealing ring.