Patent ID: 11898676
Assignee: MERCURY PLASTICS LLC
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 18:
19. A waterway connection assembly comprising:
a male fitting comprising a recess;
a female fitting comprising a saddle and a first aperture and a second aperture within opposing sidewalls of the female fitting;
a clip comprising a first leg and a second leg extending from a seat where the first leg comprises a first leg protrusion and a first tab and the second leg comprises a second leg protrusion, where the first tab extends from a base of the first leg in an axial direction;
wherein the clip is positioned about the female fitting with the seat positioned at the saddle and the first leg and the second leg extending about the saddle into the first aperture and the second aperture, respectively, where the first leg protrusion and the second leg protrusion extend from the first leg and the second leg through the first aperture and the second aperture, respectively;
wherein a sidewall of the male fitting is configured to drive the first leg protrusion and the second leg protrusion apart to advance the male fitting into the female fitting and wherein the first leg protrusion and the second leg protrusion snap towards each other into the recess of the male fitting upon fully advancing the male fitting into the female fitting, a gap being defined between the seat of the clip and the saddle of the female fitting when the first leg protrusion and the second leg protrusion are disposed in the recess of the male fitting whereby the clip secures the male fitting and the female fitting together;
wherein a base of the first aperture and a base of the second aperture widen outwardly in a radial direction, relative to the female fitting, and the base of the first leg and a base of the second leg each have an opposing tapered surface, relative to the base of the first aperture and the base of the second aperture, respectively;
the clip is moveable to release the male fitting from the female fitting by forcibly biasing the clip into a position where the clip is fully seated into the saddle of the female fitting, the base of the first aperture biases the opposing tapered surface of the base of the first leg radially outwardly and the base of the second aperture biases the opposing tapered surface of the base of the second leg radially outwardly whereby the first leg protrusion and the second leg protrusion are biased out of the recess of the male fitting thereby releasing the male fitting from the female fitting; and
a pivotable clip, the pivotable clip including a pair of pivot pins pivotally disposed in a pair of pivot recesses defined by the female fitting, the pivotable clip being engageable with the male fitting when the male fitting is disposed within the female fitting to thereby secure the male fitting to the female fitting.