Pipe joints or couplings – Nonmetal to metal – Internal member
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-20
2001-03-13
Arola, Dave W. (Department: 3627)
Pipe joints or couplings
Nonmetal to metal
Internal member
C285S347000, C285S910000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199915
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to a connector element for tubing or hoses of elastically expandable material with a tubular part of inelastic material that can be inserted in a tightly sealed manner into a tubing or hose end and that has a so-called pine-cone or thorn profile.
Connector or coupling elements with such insertion ends are already known in a variety of forms. They are used with tubing and hose lines that are designed for water or other fluids with at most a few bar of positive pressure with respect to ambient pressure. The pine-cone or thorn profiles formed on the tubular part are intended to guarantee that tubing or hose ends can be connected in a tightly sealed manner to the connector element without additional fastening parts, a friction and form-fit connection generally being produced, in which the tubing or hose end is slightly expanded and exerts radially inward-directed restoring forces, while the sharp edges of the pine-cone or thorn profile made of inelastic material dig into the inside wall of the tubing or hose end-like barbs.
It ought to be immediately obvious that the success of such a combined insertion connection depends to quite a considerable extent on the manufacturing tolerances of the components involved and on their material properties. In order to improve the sealing of such insertion connections, it has already been proposed to provide a circular section on the front end of the tubular part and to form a circumferential groove therein for an O-ring. In this way, the sealing effect could be improved. It has turned out, however, that an improved sealing effect can be achieved only if the insertion of the tubular part into the tubing or hose end is done with great care; because, otherwise, the O-ring is pressed out of the groove or twisted about itself to a differing extend across its circumference whereby its sealing effect is lost. Due to the tight matching with the circular area on the inner diameter of the tubing or hose end, considerable shearing forces on the O-ring arise during insertion, which moreover are dependent on the surface roughness of the inside wall of the tubing or hose end, so that displacement or damaging of the O-ring cannot be reliably avoided even with careful handling.
The invention is based on the problem of avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages in a connector element of the type mentioned initially and forming the insertable tubular part such that a reliable sealing of the insertion connection is achieved and displacement or damaging of the sealing element can be avoided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This problem is solved according to the invention in that an axially extending circular area on the front end of the tubular part is provided with an outer diameter matched to the inner diameter of the tubing or hose end and in that, in this area, a circumferential groove with a rectangular cross section is formed, in which an annular seal with noncircular cross section is arranged. It is particularly practical if the seal element has a rectangular cross section completely filling out the groove.
The advantages of such cross-sectional shapes for the groove and seal is that shearing forces on the seal can be safely absorbed, without the seal being driven out of the groove or being deformed within itself such that its sealing effect is lost. The rectangular groove bottom and the matched cross section of the annular seal guarantee a secure form-fit connection between the tubular part and the seal, which holds reliably even when inserted into a tubing or hose end, without any extraordinarily careful handling being required.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 2453997 (1948-11-01), MacWilliam
patent: 2508306 (1950-05-01), Thurston et al.
patent: 4589688 (1986-05-01), Johnson
patent: 4597594 (1986-07-01), Kacalieff et al.
patent: 4603890 (1986-08-01), Huppee
patent: 5096231 (1992-03-01), Chisnell et al.
patent: 34 39 522 (1985-08-01), None
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patent: 0 222 051 (1987-05-01), None
patent: 2 081 406 (1982-02-01), None
patent: 1528995 (1989-12-01), None
patent: WO95/33157 (1995-12-01), None
Arola Dave W.
ITT Manufacturing Enterprises Inc.
Seitter Robert P.
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