Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5895078?dq=U.S.+Patent+No.+4,528,643)
Timestamp: 2017-10-20 22:49:59
Document Index: 561899437

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1']

Patent US5895078 - Quick coupling device for coupling a tube to a rigid endpiece - Google Patents
A quick coupling device comprising a female part (1) secured to the rigid endpiece (2) and in which a stepped bore is provided that presents a large diameter section (13) beyond an axial latch (15) that is movable between two positions, together with a banding ring (14) housed in removable manner inside...http://www.google.com/patents/US5895078?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5895078 - Quick coupling device for coupling a tube to a rigid endpiece
Publication number US5895078 A
Application number US 08/849,929
PCT number PCT/FR1995/001561
Also published as DE69500693D1, DE69500693T2, EP0715111A1, EP0715111B1, WO1996017201A1
Publication number 08849929, 849929, PCT/1995/1561, PCT/FR/1995/001561, PCT/FR/1995/01561, PCT/FR/95/001561, PCT/FR/95/01561, PCT/FR1995/001561, PCT/FR1995/01561, PCT/FR1995001561, PCT/FR199501561, PCT/FR95/001561, PCT/FR95/01561, PCT/FR95001561, PCT/FR9501561, US 5895078 A, US 5895078A, US-A-5895078, US5895078 A, US5895078A
Inventors Pascal Le Clinche
Original Assignee Legris, S.A.
US 5895078 A
A quick coupling device comprising a female part (1) secured to the rigid endpiece (2) and in which a stepped bore is provided that presents a large diameter section (13) beyond an axial latch (15) that is movable between two positions, together with a banding ring (14) housed in removable manner inside the large diameter section (13) and fitted on its inside surface with at least one retaining projection (25) forming mechanism for axially linking the tube (7) to the banding ring (14) by biting into the outside surface of the tube, the axial latch (15) in one of its two positions opposing axial displacement of the banding ring (14) away from the rigid endpiece (2), and in its other position, releasing the banding ring.
1. A quickly coupled device for joining a tube to a mating member having an internal bore for receiving said tube, said quickly coupled device comprising:
a tube having an outer diameter supporting a banding ring thereupon, said banding ring comprising a split ring construction including a pair of engaging members, whose engaging surfaces slide past each other and lock into position in order to capture said tube within an internal bore of an elongated mating member; and
said elongated mating member having an outer surface defined by at least one given diameter, and said bore disposed along an elongate axis thereof for receiving said tube as it is inserted within said internal bore elongated, said mating member including a latching member having biasing means, said latching member being disposed transversely of said internal bore and extending to said at least one given outer diameter, said latching means being movable against said biasing means transversely of said elongate axis between a first latching position and a second latching position as said tube is initially inserted into said internal bore of said elongated mating member and said tube thereafter engages with said banding ring, said banding ring becoming axially disposed beyond said latching member upon further insertion of said tube, whereby said tube becomes coupled to said elongated mating member as said latching member moves back to said first latching position and entraps said banding ring, thereby preventing said tube from being extracted from said elongated mating member.
2. The quickly coupled device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said internal bore of said elongated mating member further comprises an O-ring seal disposed therein.
3. The quickly coupled device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said split ring construction includes locking means by which said banding ring becomes intractable within said internal bore as it axially moves past said latching means.
4. The quickly coupled device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said split ring construction includes expansion means by which said banding ring becomes intractably expandable within said internal bore as it axially moves past said latching means.
5. The quickly coupled device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said engaging surfaces comprise interlocking teeth that cause said banding ring to become locked into position.
6. The quickly coupled device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said engaging surfaces comprise interlocking members that cause said banding ring to become locked into position.
Quick coupling devices are also known for coupling a tube to a rigid endpiece, which devices comprise a female part secured to the rigid endpiece and a male tubular part fitted to the end of the tube to be coupled. The female part has a stepped bore including a large diameter portion capable of receiving a shoulder of the male part beyond an axial latch. The male part generally has an elongate portion with a cylindrical outside surface fitted with retention projections (e.g. Christmas-tree shaped teeth) for providing non-dismountable connection between the tube and the male part.
With reference to the figures, and in particular with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the coupling device comprises a female part 1 integrally formed with a rigid endpiece 2 having an inside channel 3, and outside means 4 referred to as "Christmas-tree-like" teeth, suitable for being inserted into a tube (not shown).
At its end open to the outside, i.e. remote from the rigid endpiece 2, the third portion 12 of the female part 1 has an axial latch for preventing the ring 14 being extracted once properly inserted in the female part 1. This latch is constituted by a locking ring 15 capable of sliding radially in an open housing in the female part 1. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, the locking ring 15 has two resilient outer tabs 16 which tend to displace the inside bore of the locking ring 15 relative to the axis of the bore 13. The portion of the inside bore of the locking ring 15 which is situated adjacent to the tabs 16 is in the form of a conical surface 17 converging towards the rigid endpiece 2.
The banding ring 14 has a conical bore 24 and is disposed inside the bore 13 so that the conical bore converges towards the rigid endpiece 2. In addition, the small diameter of the conical bore is slightly smaller than the diameter of the tube, whereas its large diameter is equal to or slightly greater than said diameter. In practice, best performance has been obtained with a conical surface having a half-angle at the apex lying in the range 2° to 6°, and preferably at an angle of 4° for a tube made of polyamide. For tubes of ordinary sizes, i.e. having an outside diameter lying in the range a few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters, the best mechanical performance has been obtained for a difference of the order of a few tens of millimeters between the outside diameter of the tube and the small diameter of the banding ring 14.
To recouple the tube 7 in the female part 1, it suffices to cause said tube to penetrate together with its banding ring 14 into the female part 1, as symbolized by arrow D. As the banding ring 14 passes through the locking ring 15, the conical surface 17 forms a ramp for bringing the axes of the bore of the locking ring 15 and of the bore 13 back into alignment, with the locking ring 15 moving radially against the effect of the resilient tabs 16 until the banding ring 14 is received in the bore 13 beyond the locking ring 15. The tabs 16 are then released and the locking ring returns to its free position, i.e. its position that is eccentric relative to the bore 13, thereby constituting an abutment opposing extraction of the banding ring 14. The coupling is thus completed and the device is back in the configuration shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 shows a first variant embodiment of the banding ring which is given reference 114 in this case. This ring comprises a split ring 115 mounted in a cage 116 which co-operates with the ring 115 via a conical contact surface that diverges towards the rigid endpiece 2. The split ring 115 also has a cylindrical inside bore 117 which is fitted with two circular ribs 118 that project into the ring 115 with an inside diameter that is slightly less than the outside diameter of the tube 7. In addition, at each of its axial ends, the cage 116 has respective inside shoulders 119 and 120 which limit axial displacement of the split ring 115 inside the cage 116.
During initial coupling of the tube to the rigid endpiece, the tube is inserted inside the banding ring 114 and slides against the circular ribs 118 of the split ring 115 pushing the split ring 115 back towards the rigid endpiece, as represented by arrow E in FIG. 5. Since the contact area between the ring 115 and the cage 116 is conical, this displacement causes the split ring 115 to enlarge, thereby facilitating insertion of the tube while preventing the outside surface of the tube being marked by the ribs 118. After the tube has been fully inserted into the female part of the device, any attempt at extracting the tube constrains the split ring 115 to move away from the rigid endpiece, i.e. in the direction opposite to arrow E. Such axial displacement is accompanied by shrinking of the split ring because of the conical shape of the contact surface between the ring 115 and the cage 116, thereby tending to strengthen the retention of the ring on the tube 7.
On initial coupling of the tube 7 to the rigid endpiece, the tube 7 is inserted inside the banding ring 214 as represented by arrow F in FIG. 6. The outside surface of the tube slides against the tooth 218, thereby entraining the split ring 215 towards the shoulder 220 of the cage 216. Since the contact surface between the ring 215 and the cage 216 is conical, this axial displacement is accompanied by enlargement of the split ring 215 under the effect of its own resilience, thereby facilitating passage of the tube 7 and avoiding the outside surface thereof being marked by the tooth 218. After the tube 7 has been fully inserted inside the female part of the device, any extraction force applied to the tube 7 as symbolized by arrow G in FIG. 7 and due either to the tube 7 being put under pressure or to manually exerted force entrains the ring 215 together with the tube 7 by co-operation between the tooth 218 and the outside surface of the tube. When the cage 216 comes into abutment against the locking ring 15, the rounded end of the catch 221 slides over the chamfer of the shoulder 219 and the catch 221 deforms elastically. Once the catch 221 has gone past the shoulder 219 it springs back under the effect of its own elasticity into its free position. Simultaneously, since the contact surface between the ring and its cage is conical, axial displacement of the ring 215 is accompanied by tightening of the ring, thereby reinforcing the retention of the ring 215 on the tube 7. The banding ring 214 is then in a configuration shown in FIG. 7. When the extraction force on the tube 7 is interrupted, the resilience of the split ring 15 tends to return it towards the shoulder 220. However, the catch 221 now constitutes an abutment against axial sliding of the ring 215 in this direction, as shown in FIG. 8. Thus, the split ring 215 continues to be clamped on the tube 7, thereby ensuring retention on the banding ring 214 on the tube 7, even when the assembly constituted by those two elements is extracted from the female part 1 of the device.
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U.S. Classification 285/305, 285/319, 285/308
International Classification F16L37/084, F16L33/22, F16L37/12
European Classification F16L33/22J, F16L37/084B
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:LE CLINCHE, PASCAL;REEL/FRAME:008640/0459