Plug in coupling for pressure fluid

Details Plug in coupling for pressure fluid Plug in coupling for pressure fluid

1998-02-25

2001-05-15

Arola, Dave W. (Department: 3627)

Pipe joints or couplings

With assembly means or feature

With holding means functioning only during transportation...

C285S081000, C285S305000, C285S307000, C285S906000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06231084

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention concerns a plug-in coupling for systems involving pressurized media, where the coupling consists of two parts, and more particularly of one housing part and one connector part. The connector part can be inserted into a receiving opening of the housing part, while it is being sealed, and when it is in a plugged-in assembled condition, it can be locked in place and prevented from being released by means of a locking device. The locking device includes a retaining element, which is supported on one side of one of the coupling parts, and, while in the assembled state, engages a retaining groove of the other coupling part by means of a form-fit or a form-and-friction-fit. A release device is provided in such a manner that, starting from the assembled state, the retaining element is brought into a release position by means of a further insertion of the connector part, in which position the retaining groove is released, and it is maintained in this position in such a manner that the connector part can be removed from the receiving opening.
Such a coupling is known from the WO-A-96/35906 or the parallel SE-C-503 937. Here the locking device includes several individual locking parts as a retaining element, which are distributed along the circumference and are located inside an inner circular groove of the housing or the bushing part (female connector), respectively, in such a manner, that they are always at an angle to the direction of insertion and tilted radially toward the inside and thus collectively generate a practically conical shape. In the region of the radially interior ends, the locking parts are surrounded by an elastic ring (O-ring), which ensures that the locking parts only engage a circular groove of the connector part with their radially interior “locking ends”, in order to lock the connector in place and keep it from loosening. In order to facilitate a subsequent release, a ring is located inside the circular groove of the connector part, which has a radial thickness corresponding to the depth of the circular groove. Viewed from an axial direction, this ring has a length that is smaller than the width of the groove, so that it can be disposed inside the retaining groove in a manner allowing it to be shifted back and forth. Because of this ring it is possible to spread the locking parts outwardly by means of a further insertion movement of the connector; subsequently, they are caused to have their locking ends superimposed upon the ring. Subsequently, a release of the connector is, therefore, possible, because the locking parts are kept spread apart by the ring when the connector is pulled out. This known coupling is relatively complicated and expensive with respect to its design and its ability to be manufactured, because it consists of quite a number of individual parts. Above all, the individual locking parts, as compared with the elastic O-ring, require a special process for their assembly as well as a special assembly device (feeding head), by means of which the individual locking parts are inserted and held in place for such a time period until they practically hold each other in place.
Other types of plug-in couplings are sufficiently known from many publications; the GB-A-799 155 and the EP-B-O005 865 are mentioned here merely as examples. In the first-mentioned publication a coupling is described, where an elastic retaining ring is pre-installed in an outer circular groove at the connector part as a retaining element. Subsequently, the retaining ring, in the assembled condition and after the connector part has been inserted, engages an interior groove in the housing part. Here, a subsequent release of the plug-in coupling is no longer possible, because the retaining ring is not accessible from the outside, and, therefore, cannot be unlocked. The second publication mentioned above describes several embodiments of plug-in couplings, where an elastic retaining ring inside the housing part is supported in an annular chamber, and after it is inserted, it engages the groove of the outer ring of the connector, and in fact, it does so with its total thickness as measured in the axial insertion direction, so that a genuine form-fit is achieved. Because here the annular chamber receiving the retaining ring is generated between a housing part and a threaded part, which is connected to it in a manner that allows it to be released, a release is possible for this known coupling by removing the threaded part, and then removing the connector along with the retaining ring, which had been in engagement with the circular groove.
In the last described kind of couplings, the retaining element, which consists of one part and is radially elastic, can, of course, be assembled more simply and more quickly than would be possible with the multiplicity of locking parts in accordance with the first mentioned publication, which establishes its own particular type, according to which, however, the release of the connector part is simpler and more convenient.
The present invention is thus based on the task of creating a plug-in coupling, where the connector part can be released by especially simple and economical means with respect to its design and manufacturing or its assembly, and where a release of the connector part is possible in a simple and rapid manner with respect to its operation.
According to the invention, this is achieved in that the release device contains a sleeve-like locking bar for use with the retaining groove, which locking bar is located on the side of the connector part containing the retaining groove, and which is arranged in such a manner that it is relatively moveable, and which can be actuated by moving the connector part, where the locking bar is provided in such a manner, that the retaining element, when it is in the release position, is superimposed radially on a circumferential area of the locking bar, and is thus held in the release position, and when the movement to remove the connector takes place, it is moved into the region of the retaining groove in such a manner, that a radial engagement of the retaining element with the retaining groove is impossible. Thus, the retaining groove according to the invention can be completely closed off by an axial displacement of the locking bar, or it can be completely, i.e. across the entire axial width of the groove, opened. Therefore, it is advantageous that a retaining element can be used, especially one which is made of one piece and has radial elasticity, and which, in the assembled position, is engaged by the retaining groove along practically its entire length as measured in the axial direction, or its thickness, respectively, and where the axial thickness of the retaining element is about equal to or slightly smaller than the axial length or the width, respectively, of the retaining groove.
In order to release the connector part, the locking bar (according to the invention) of the release device can be actuated in a very convenient manner by movement of the connector part alone, which when compared to the disassembly of a threaded insert, can, of course, be accomplished very much more simply and quickly, especially so because no tool will be required any more. The release device according to the invention thus at first sees to it that the retaining element is unlocked, and after that, a renewed engagement of the retaining element in the retaining groove during a release movement is impossible.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is initially contemplated that in order to unlock the retaining element, the retaining groove be bounded on one side by an inclined surface (conical surface) in such a manner, that by the continued insertion of the connector part the retaining element is plastically deformed by way of the inclined surface and thus brought into the release position. In order to avoid at this point, that during the subsequent release movement of the connector part (during which, of course, the retaining element must again pass by the retai

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