Abstract:
A connector assembly for allowing a free-flowing medium to pass through includes: a hollow female element with a transverse closure wall and passage openings which are formed in the side wall, a male element which can be inserted into the female element and can be coupled thereto, an adapter socket, inside which the female element can be displaced in the axial direction between a position in which it closes off the flow of medium and in which the passage openings are closed off by the adapter socket, and a position in which it allows medium to flow through and in which the passage openings are not closed off by the adapter socket. The female element is provided, at a distance from the transverse closure wall, with connecting elements which can form a connection with connecting elements arranged on the male element and/or a coupling piece which is coupled thereto.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a connector assembly for optionally allowing a free-flowing medium to pass through, comprising:
         a hollow female element with a transverse closure wall and passage openings which are formed in the side wall,   a male element which can be inserted into the female element and can be coupled thereto,
 
an adapter socket, inside which the female element can be displaced in axial direction between a position in which it closes off the flow of medium and in which the passage openings are closed off by the adapter socket, and a position in which it allows medium to flow through and in which the passage openings are not closed off by the adapter socket, in which assembly the female element is provided, at a distance from the transverse closure wall, with connecting means which can form a connection with connecting means arranged on the male element or a coupling piece coupled to the male element, and in which assembly, as a result of actuation of the male element or said coupling piece coupled thereto, the female element can be displaced between the above-mentioned position in which it closes off the flow of medium and the above-mentioned position in which it allows medium to flow through, in which latter position the connecting means of the female element are accommodated in a relatively narrow cavity in the adapter socket, so as to form a connection to the male element or the coupling piece coupled thereto, while in the above-mentioned position in which the flow of medium is closed off, said connecting means are accommodated in a relatively wide cavity in the adapter socket, with the result that the connection between the female element and the male element or the coupling piece coupled thereto can be broken.
       

   A connector assembly of this nature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,551. 
   The drawback of the assembly described in this patent is that the elastic properties of the material of the assembly are crucial for it to function. In this connector assembly, the coupling between the male and female elements is brought about by the fact that outwardly projecting coupling means are moved radially inwards, by means of a stop on the adapter socket, when the female element is pushed out of the adapter socket. Consequently, the connecting means are in a deformed state when the male and female elements are coupled to one another. During uncoupling, the coupling means have to spring back outwards as a result of the memory effect of the material in order to release the male element again. It will be obvious that after a certain time the memory effect of the material in question tails off and the action of the assembly is no longer ensured. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the coupling means, in the position in which medium is allowed to flow through, are clamped in between the male and female elements. Consequently, these coupling means may be in the deformed state for a prolonged period, which has an adverse effect on the memory effect of the material. Another drawback of this is that the coupling means cannot be of circular symmetrical design. 
   The object of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks and therefore the coupling between the female element and the male element or the coupling piece coupled thereto takes place by pushing the connecting means of the female element and the connecting means of the male element or the coupling piece connected thereto on each other by which at least one of said connecting means deviates in radial direction from the neutral elastically non loaded position and returns in the radial direction into the coupling position by own elasticity. 
   To be able to use relatively small forces to bring about the coupling between female element and male element or coupling piece connected to the male element, the locking of the coupled connecting means of the female element and the male element or the coupling piece coupled to the male element takes place by further axial displacement of the male element with respect to the adapter socket into a locking position spaced from the coupling position, in which locking position of the connecting means radial displacement of the connecting means is made impossible. 
   Furthermore, it is preferable for the female element to be provided with means which limit the movement of the female element inside the adapter socket, and that these means as well as the connecting means of the female element are situated on the side of the passage openings which is remote from the end wall. Consequently, the movement which the female element has to make in order to open the passage openings can be relatively small. This has the advantage that the space which is required in the packaging in order to open the passage openings remains limited. An other advantage is that the female element can be of compact design, so that it is possible to safe on material. 
   It is also preferable that the assembly has blocking means on the female element and the adapter socket respectively which prevent axial movement of the female element and the adapter socket when the coupling between the female element and the male element or the coupling piece coupled to the male element is achieved, said blocking means being able to absorb an axial load greater than the axial load needed the couple said connecting means of the female element and the male element or the coupling piece connected thereto. This has the advantage that less force is required for coupling: it is only necessary to bring about the coupling between the male element and the female element, why the friction caused by the sealing of the passage openings does not have to be overcome. 
   Preferably the connecting means of the female element is an inward undercutting and the connecting means of the male element or the coupling piece connected to the male element is an inwardly projecting stop face. 
   A further drawback of the connector assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,551 is that it is possible for medium to flow through the passage openings in the male element when the male element has been completely uncoupled from the female element. This may be highly undesirable. Therefore, a further object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly in which flow through the male element is impossible when the male element is not in the through-flow position. 
   This object is achieved by the fact that the male element is accommodated in a coupling piece, and that the coupling piece in a starting position, seals off the passage openings in the male element, whereas when the connector assembly is in the position in which medium is allowed to flow through, the passage openings in the male element are not sealed off. 
   In a specific embodiment the coupling piece and the female element are provided with means which can be made to interact with one another so as to couple the coupling piece and the female element, the coupling piece and the male element being provided with means which can be made to interact with one another in order to enable the male element and the coupling piece to be fixed with respect to one another, and when the connector assembly is being moved into the open position, the connection formed by the means for fixing the male element and the coupling piece can absorb an axial load greater than the axial load which is required to bring about the connection formed by the means for fixing the coupling piece and the female element with respect to one another. 
   An appropriate selection of the type and strength of the connection between the male element, female element and the coupling piece ensures that, when the assembly is being coupled and uncoupled, the coupling piece firstly provides the connection between the female element and the male element and secondly ensures that flow through the male element is only possible in the position in which medium is allowed to flow through. This functionality is achieved by means of the measures described in claims  7  to  12 . 
   One particular function of an embodiment with the coupling piece may be that when the connector assembly is being moved into the open position, the connection formed by the means for fixing the female element and the adapter socket can absorb an axial load greater than the axial load absorbed by the connection formed by interacting means between the male element and the coupling piece. 
   The invention also relates to a method for producing a combination of the female and the adapter socket of the connector assembly according to the invention by injection moulding. 
   It is intended that it should be possible to produce the female element and the adapter socket in a joint operation by injection moulding. In this case the method is characterized in that the female element and the adapter socket are produced simultaneously in line with one another, in a single mould cavity, which is formed by a number of interacting mould parts, in such a manner that, after a number of mould parts have been removed, the female element can be pulled into the adapter socket by a mould part which, during the injection moulding, is releasably connected to the female element. Also the male element and the coupling piece could be produced in a joint operation by injection moulding. An appropriate selection of the mould parts allows the female element to function as an injection-moulding shield for the adapter socket. This ensures that the female element and the adapter socket are moulded symmetrically, which is advantageous since it is possible to counteract undesirable deformation of the product caused by non-uniform shrinkage. Furthermore, partial seams are prevented from forming on the sealing surfaces, so that the corresponding seals have a better action and can therefore withstand higher pressures. 
   Also the combination of male element in the coupling piece could be provided in a similar way in a joint operation. 
   The invention will now be explained with reference to the figures, which show two exemplary embodiments of connector assemblies according to the present invention. The figures also show an example of the injection mould for production of a female element and an adapter socket. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a longitudinal section through the four separate components of the connector assembly according to the invention, with the male element provided with a coupling piece. 
       FIGS. 2 to 6  show the connector assembly from  FIG. 1  during its movement from the position in which it closes off the flow of medium into the position in which it allows medium to flow through. 
       FIGS. 7 to 9  show the connector assembly from  FIG. 1  when it is moving from the position in which medium is allowed to flow through into the position in which the flow of medium is closed off. 
       FIGS. 10 to 13  show a cross section through part of an injection mould in various positions during the simultaneous production of the female element and the adapter socket. 
       FIG. 14  shows a perspective, cross-sectional view of the components of another embodiment according to the present invention. 
       FIGS. 15 to 17  show the positions of the components of the connector assembly according to the present invention during coupling. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The connector assembly comprises a closure assembly  2  and an opening assembly  4 , cf.  FIG. 2 . The closure assembly  2  comprises a female element  1 , in the form of a cap, and an adapter socket  5  in which the said female element  1  is slideably accommodated. The opening assembly  4  comprises a tubular male element  3  and a coupling piece  7  in which the said male element  3  is slideably positioned. In  FIG. 1 , the four components of the assembly are shown separately and the various details are denoted by reference numerals. 
     FIG. 2  shows how elements are positioned with respect to one another in the starting situation. The female element  1  is accommodated in the adapter socket  5  in order to form the closure assembly  2 . The male element  3  together with the coupling piece  7  forms the opening assembly  4 . 
   The female element  1  comprises an end wall  9  and four openings  11  which are arranged cylindrically near the said end wall  9 . Furthermore, the female element is provided with a stop face  13 , a locking protrusion  15 , a stop rib  17 , a stop face  19 , an end stop face  21  and a conical entry surface  23 . 
   The adapter socket  5  is provided with a part  25  which can be attached to a packaging or belongs to a packaging, a conical surface  27  and a stop face  29  with a bevelled end face  30 . The adapter socket  5  further comprises a narrow socket-like section  28  which is delimited by an inner wall  26 . 
   In the starting situation, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the female element  1  is positioned in the adapter socket  5 , so that the conical face  27  of the adapter socket  5  bears against the face  13  of the female element  1 . The locking protrusion  15  bears against the bevelled end face  30  and, together with the stop  13  and the conical surface  27 , forms a connection  13 ,  15 ,  27 ,  30  which ensures that the female element  1  is situated in the desired, fixed starting position with respect to the adapter socket  5 , cf.  FIG. 2 . In this situation, the cylindrical holes  11  in the female element  1  are sealed by the socket wall  24  of the adapter  5 . 
   The male element  3  comprises an end wall  31 , openings  33  formed in the cylindrical wall  34 , a first recess  35  in the outside of the cylindrical wall  34  and a second recess  39  in the cylindrical wall  34 . 
   The coupling piece  7  comprises a stop face  43 , a conical widening surface  45 , a run-on surface  53 , an enclosing stop  57 , an inner wall  59 , a first locking protrusion  51  and a second connecting protrusion  55 . 
   In the starting situation shown in  FIG. 2 , the male element  3  is partially accommodated in the coupling piece  7 . They are held in position with respect to one another by the fact that the first locking protrusion  51  on the coupling piece  7  fits into the first recess  35  in the male element  3  to form a connection  35 ,  51 . In the starting situation, the openings  33  are closed off by the inner wall  59  of the coupling piece  7 . In this situation, it is impossible for medium to flow either through the closing assembly  2  or the opening assembly  4 . 
   When the closing assembly and the opening assembly are coupled, the opening assembly is fitted into the closing assembly  2 , as denoted overall by the arrow A, cf.  FIGS. 2 and 3 . In the process, a force is exerted on the adapter socket  2  on the one hand and on the male element  3  or the coupling piece  7  on the other hand. The steps which are involved in the coupling operation are shown in  FIGS. 2 to 6 . 
   During coupling, the run-on surface  53  of the coupling piece  7  will centre itself around the conical surface  23  of the female element  1 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . When the opening assembly  4  is pushed further into the closing assembly  2 , the second connecting protrusion  55  will latch over the stop rib  17  of the female element  1 , forming a connection  17 ,  55 . This is shown in  FIG. 4 . Since the connection  17 ,  55  exerts a force which is directed in the direction of insertion on the coupling piece  7 , the stop face  43  and the end face  21  are pulled together. Consequently, as the openings  33  slide along the seam, it is impossible for any free-flowing medium to leak out of the male element  3  into the passage  32  in the adapter socket  5 . 
   To form the connection  17 ,  55  in this way, it is necessary for the connection  35 ,  51  between the male element  3  and the coupling piece  7  to be able to absorb a greater force than that which is required to form the connection  17 ,  55 . If this were not the case, the male element  3  would slide inside the female element  1  before the connection  17 ,  55  has been formed and therefore without the closing and opening assemblies having been coupled to one another. 
   Since the stop face  43  of the coupling piece  7  then bears against the female element  1 , the force exerted on the male element  3  is transmitted directly to the female element  1 . Since the connection  13 ,  15 ,  27 ,  30  can absorb a greater force than the connection  35 ,  51 , the latter will be broken. Consequently, the male element  3  slides into the female element  1  until its end wall  31  bears against the inside of the end wall  9  of the female element  1 , cf.  FIG. 5 . However, before the male element  3  reaches this limit position, the first locking protrusion  51  on the coupling piece  7  is moved into the second recess  39  in the male element  3 , with the result that a new connection  39 ,  51  is formed between the male element  3  and the coupling piece  7 . To achieve this, it is necessary for the connection  13 ,  15 ,  27 ,  30  to be able to apply a force which is great enough to produce the connection  39 ,  51 . When the male element  3  is in its position in which it has penetrated as far inwards as possible, openings  33  in the male element  3  and the openings  11  in the female element  1  are aligned with one another. 
   As a result of the male element  3  then being moved further into the female element  1 , the connection  13 ,  15 ,  27 ,  30  between the female element  1  and the adapter socket  5  will be broken. This is the only connection which is subjected to load, since the end face  31  of the male element  3  is supported against the end wall of the female element  1 , as can be seen in  FIG. 6 . As a result, the female element  1 , with the male element  3  which has been pushed into it, will slide out of the adapter socket  5  until the stop  19  bears against the stop face  29  and the aligned holes  11  and  33  open out freely into the packaging of which part  25  forms part (cf.  FIG. 6 ). It is now possible for medium to flow out of the male element  3 , through the openings  33  which are formed therein, through the aligned openings  11  in the female element, into the packaging, and also in the reverse direction. The friction between the enclosing stop  57  of the coupling piece  7  and the inner surface  26  of the adapter socket  5  ensures that the female element  1  does not slide back into the adapter socket  5 . To increase this frictional force, an additional snap-action connection may be fitted. 
   During uncoupling, the opening assembly  4  is pulled out of the closing assembly  2 , in the direction of arrow B, by on the one hand pulling on the male element  3  and on the other hand holding the adapter socket in place, cf.  FIG. 6 . In the process, the same steps as for coupling are passed through, but in the reverse order. These steps are shown in  FIGS. 6 to 9 . 
   Since connection  17 ,  55 , in the position in which it has been introduced to the greatest depth, is clamped in between the outer surface  34  of the male element  3  and the inner wall  26  of the narrow socket-like section  28  of the adapter socket  5 , this connection  17 ,  55  cannot be broken. This is shown in  FIG. 6 . This connection  17 ,  55  can only be broken when the enclosing stop  57  on the coupling piece  7  is pulled past the narrow socket-like section  28 . To enable the female element  1  to be pulled back into the adapter socket  5  before the male element  3  is pulled out of the female element  1 , the force which the connection  39 ,  51  is able to absorb must be greater than the force which is required to produce the connection  13 ,  15 ,  27 ,  30 . This state is shown in  FIG. 7 . 
   Since it is not possible to pull the female element  1  further into the adapter socket  5 , either connection  17 ,  55  or connection  39 ,  51  will be broken. Making connection  17 ,  55  stronger than connection  39 ,  51  ensures that the male element  3  is pulled back into the coupling piece  7  first, as shown in  FIG. 8 . Moreover, connection  17 ,  55  is strong enough to bring about connection  35 ,  51 . To break connection  35 ,  51  again, more force is required than that needed to break connection  17 ,  55 , and consequently the latter will then be broken and the closing-opening element will be fully uncoupled. This is shown in  FIG. 9 . 
   In one embodiment, it is ensured that, during uncoupling, if it is not the male element  3 , but rather the coupling piece  7 , which is pulled, the aligned openings  11 ,  33  are pulled back into the adapter socket  5 . Since, in this embodiment, the connection  17 ,  55  remains clamped between the outer surface  34  of the male element  3  and the inner wall  26  of the adapter socket  5 , the closing assembly  2  and the opening assembly  4  will remain coupled to one another via the coupling piece  7 . Only when the male element  3  is pulled out of the female element  1  is the connection  17 ,  55  no longer enclosed and the two members can be uncoupled. 
   By allowing the connector assembly, after the male element and the female element have been coupled, to execute a free movement between the position in which the flow of medium is closed off and the position in which medium is allowed to flow through, and providing the openings  11  in the female element  1  with non-return valves, it is possible to obtain a pumping action. In this way, the liquid, for example, in the packaging can be pressurized by pulling the male element  3  back and forth. This may be useful in order to remove a liquid from a packaging. By providing the male element  3  with non-return valves it is possible, for example, to place the packaging under a slight vacuum. 
     FIGS. 10 to 12  diagrammaticallly illustrate how the closing assembly  2  can be produced in an advantageous way. As stated previously, the female element  1  is used as an injection-moulding screen for the adapter socket  5 , cf.  FIG. 10 . The female element  1  is injected via the gate  60 , and via an integral hinge  61  the material can also reach the adapter socket  5 . Since both components of the closing assembly  2  are now produced in a single mould cavity, it is possible, by appropriately selecting the mould parts, to assemble the closure piece as soon as it is removed from the mould. To this end, the mould is split, as shown in  FIG. 10 . A further advantage of this mould splitting is that there is no partial seam formed on the closure surface  12  of the female element  1 . By selecting that part of the sealing surface  12  which is formed in mould part  1  to be as large as possible, it is possible to make the seal between the female element  1  and the adapter socket  5  more reliable. 
   After injection-moulding and solidification, first mould parts I, II and III are moved away, as shown in  FIG. 11 . By then moving mould part V away from the mould cavity, the female element  1  is pulled into the adapter socket  5 , and the membrane  61  between the female element  1  and the adapter socket  5  is broken. This is shown in  FIG. 12 . Since the female element then cannot be pulled along any further, since it does not fit through the opening in the adapter socket  5 , the mould part V is pulled off and the closure assembly  2  has been assembled and can be removed from the mould, as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
   Another embodiment of the connector assembly, without coupling piece  7 , is shown in  FIGS. 14 to 17 . In  FIG. 14 , the three components of this embodiment are shown: the female element  1 , the male element  3  and the adapter socket  5 . 
   The female element  1  is a cap-like housing with an end wall  9  on one side. In the vicinity of this end wall  9  there is a sealing surface  12  which is provided with passage openings  11  and is delimited on one side by a stop face  13 . On the other side, the female element  1  is provided with a connecting protrusion  17  and an enclosing stop  19 . 
   The adapter socket  5  is a socket-like housing in which the female element  1  can be accommodated. The inner wall of the housing is provided with a section of small diameter  26 , a stop protrusion  29  and a conical surface  27 . 
   The male element  3  is a tubular housing with an insertion end  72  and a stop face  73  which, on one side, is delimited by a connecting surface  55 . In the vicinity of the insertion end  72 , the male element  3  is provided with passage openings  33 . 
   The starting situation is shown in  FIG. 15 . In this situation, the female element  1  rests in the adapter socket  5 , together forming the closing assembly  2 , while the male element, which forms the opener  4 , is completely uncoupled. In this situation, the surfaces  13  and  27  of the female element  1  and the adapter socket  5 , respectively, bear against one another and the passage openings  11  in the female element  1  are sealed shut by the socket-like wall  24 . 
   As a result of the male element  3  being fitted into the female element  1 , the connecting protrusion  17  on the female element  1  engages behind the connecting surface  55  on the male element  3 , resulting in a connection ( 17 ,  55 ), cf.  FIG. 16 . In this situation, the passage openings  11 ,  33  in the female element  1  and male element  3  are aligned, but through-flow is not yet possible. The sealing surface  12  of the female element  1  and the socket-like wall  24  of the adapter socket  5  form a seal. This seal can be improved further by additional sealing means, for example a snap-action connection. 
   When the male element  3  is then pushed further into the adapter socket  5 , the female element  1 , together with the male element  3 , will move out of the adapter socket  5 , and the passage openings  11 ,  33  are exposed, cf.  FIG. 17 . The stop protrusion  29  and enclosing stop  19  prevent the female element  1  from being able to move completely out of the adapter socket  5 . It is essential for the overlap between the inner wall of the socket-like section  24  of the adapter socket  5  and the sealing surface  12  of the female element  1  to ensure a sufficient seal, so that it is impossible for any medium to flow through between the female element  1  and the adapter socket  5 . 
   When the male element  3  is pulled back out of the adapter socket  5 , the connection  17 ,  55  between the female element  1  and the male element  3  cannot be broken, since the locking protrusion  17  cannot bend outwards, because the enclosing stop  57  is resting against the inner wall of the section of the adapter socket  5  with the small diameter  26 . This ensures that the connection  17 ,  55  can only be broken when the enclosing protrusion  19  has moved past the section with the small diameter  26  and therefore the female element  1  has returned completely to the starting position, cf.  FIG. 16 . 
   By pulling on the male element  3  in the situation shown in  FIG. 16 , it is possible to break the connection  17 ,  55  and the male element  3  can be uncoupled. In this way, the starting situation shown in  FIG. 15  is reached once again.