Patent ID: 6102447
Filing Date: 2000-08-15
Classification: F16L

Abstract:
An adjustable telescopic connector adapted to be force responsive, comprising:a male member and a female member which are engageable in telescopic relation and configured to provide a gap therebetween sufficient to allow relative axial movement;an expandable spring for selectively restricting said members against relative movement of either of said members in an axial direction, and for releasing said members for unrestricted axial movement, said spring having two ends and an engageable circular portion between said members, at least one of said ends connecting to a release finger, the release finger being operable to expand the engageable circular portion of the spring away from the male member;said female member having a circular recess around its internal surface in communication with said gap, the circular recess having portions engageable with said engageable circular portion of the spring, and the circular recess having a depth for sufficiently receiving the engageable circular portion of the spring such that the spring is free of the male member when the spring expands;said female member further having an opening in communication with said circular recess, the opening being sufficient to accommodate the release finger when it operates to expand the engageable circular portion of the spring;said male member having a circumferential circular notch axially alignable with the circular recess in said female member, and into which circumferential circular notch the engageable circular portion of the spring may be seated when not expanded;said male member having opening means for urging said release finger to expand the engageable circular portion of the spring upon predetermined rotatable motion between said members;said opening means comprising a raised portion in said circumferential circular notch in said male member; andsaid engageable circular portion of the spring when the spring is not expanded having a thickness so that the engageable circular portion extends across the gap between said members so that it is engageable with at least one of one of said portions of said circular recess upon axial movement to restrict axial movement, and said engageable circular portion when the spring is sufficiently expanded to be received in the circular recess of said female member to release said members for relative axial movement.