Pipe joints or couplings – Essential catch – Leaf spring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-02
2001-06-26
Wilson, Neill (Department: 3627)
Pipe joints or couplings
Essential catch
Leaf spring
C285S351000, C285S921000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250692
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick connector assembly which is used to connect two pipes of a piping system of, for example, an automotive vehicle in which a fluid such as gasoline, oil, water, or air flows.
2. Related Art Statement
FIG. 7
shows a known quick connector assembly which is disclosed in, U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,088, U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,833, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,754, U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,315, U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,175, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,506, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,497, and FR 2,705,430 A1, JP (TOKU-KAI) 8-233181, JP (TOKU-KAI) 7-293771, JP (TOKU-KO) 6-31668. The known connector assembly includes a male member
101
having an end portion
111
with an annular projection
110
; and a female member
102
into which the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is fluid-tightly inserted so that two pipes of a piping system are fluid-tightly connected to each other.
The female member
102
is provided by a generally tubular member
120
which has an axial bore
123
into which the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is inserted. The axial bore
123
extends axially inwardly from an inlet
121
d
, and includes a third axial portion
123
c
, a second axial portion
123
b
, and a first axial portion
123
a
in the order of description. The second axial portion
123
b
has a diameter greater than a diameter of the first axial portion
123
a
and is smaller than a dimension of the third axial portion
123
c
. The female member
102
has, in relation with the axial hole
123
c
, a pair of engageable surfaces
125
,
125
which extend radially from an axis of the female member
102
and which are engageable with a retainer member
105
to hold the same
105
in the axial hole
123
c
. In a state in which the retainer member
105
is held in the axial hole
123
c
, the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is inserted into the female member
102
through the inlet
121
d
, while the annular projection
110
of the end portion
111
elastically deforms a pair of opposed portions
151
a
of a stopper portion
151
of the retainer member
105
and snaps in a pair of engageable holes of the retainer member
105
. Thus, the retainer member
105
prevents the male member
101
from disassembling from the female member
102
. Two annular seal members
106
,
108
are fluid-tightly fitted in an inner cylindrical wall surface of the female member
102
that defines the second axial bore
123
b
. Since the diameter of the first axial bore
123
a
is smaller than that of the second axial bore
123
b
, the female member
102
has an annular surface, A, which is located between the first and second axial bores
123
a
,
123
b
and which extend radially from the axis of the female member
102
. A free end of the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is tightly fitted in the first axial bore
123
a
and the two annular seal members
106
,
108
provided in the second axial bore
123
b.
However, the annular surface A of the female member
102
that is provided between the first and second axial bores
123
a
,
123
b
extends on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the female member
102
or the tubular member
120
. On the other hand, the two elastically deformable opposed portions
151
a
of the stopper member
150
that are inclined toward the axis of the tubular member
120
, are considerably largely deformed if the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is inserted through the inlet
121
d
in such a manner that an axis, C
2
, of the male member
101
is considerably largely inclined relative to an axis, C
1
, of the female member
102
. In addition, the quick connector assembly has some play between the male member
101
and the female member
102
, for the purpose of allowing the male member
101
to be smoothly inserted into the female member
102
. Accordingly, when the end portion
111
of the male member
101
is inserted in the female member
102
such that the axis C
2
of the male member
101
is largely inclined relative to the axis C
1
of the female member
102
, as shown in
FIG. 7
, or such that the axis C
2
is not aligned with the axis C
1
, the free end of the male member
101
partially or locally pushes the annular seal member
106
provided in the second axial bore
123
b
, so that the seal member
106
may be forcedly moved into the first axial bore
123
a
, as indicated at broken line. In this case, the prior connector assembly suffers from a serious problem that the seal member
106
can no longer fluid-tightly seal between the male member
101
and the female member
102
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a female member which is used with a male member of a quick connector assembly and which is free from the above-indicated problem.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a quick connector assembly which is free from the above-indicated problem.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a female member for use with a male member of a quick connector assembly, comprising a first tubular portion which has a first axial bore having a first diameter; a second tubular portion which is coaxial with the first tubular portion and which has a second axial bore which has a second diameter greater than the first diameter of the first axial bore, which is adapted to hold at least one annular seal member and which cooperates with the first axial bore to receive an end portion of the male member; and a connecting portion which connects between the first and second tubular portions and which has an annular recess which opens in the second axial bore, which is located radially outwardly of the first axial bore and which prevents the annular seal member from being moved from the second axial bore into the first axial bore when the end portion of the male member is inserted into the female member. The present female member has the annular recess which is recessed from a reference plane perpendicular to a common axis of the first and second tubular portions, which opens in the second axial bore and which is located radially outwardly of the first axial bore. When the end portion of the male member is inserted into the female member, an axis of the end portion of the male member may be inclined relative to an axis of the female member, or may be misaligned with the axis of the female member. In those cases, the annular seal member may be locally or partly pushed by the free end of the end portion of the male member when the end portion of the male member is inserted into the female member. In the present female member, however, the pushed portion of the seal member is received or supported by the annular recess and is prevented from being moved into the first axial bore. Accordingly, the male member can be fluid-tightly connected to the female member with reliability.
(2) According to a second feature of the present invention that includes the first feature (1), the connecting portion has (a) a tapered annular surface whose diameter decreases in an axial direction from the first axial bore toward the second axial bore, whose smallest diameter is not smaller than the first diameter of the first axial bore, and whose greatest diameter is not greater than the second diameter of the second axial bore, and (b) a first cylindrical surface which is continuous, in the axial direction, with a second cylindrical surface of the second tubular portion that defines the second axial bore, and the annular recess is at least partly defined by the tapered annular surface and the first cylindrical surface. The annular recess may be defined by only the tapered annular surface and the first cylindrical surface, or may be defined by those two surfaces and an annular bottom surface parallel to the above-indicated reference plane. The angle of tapering of the tapered annular surface may range from 45 degrees to 80 degrees with respect to the axial direction.
(3) According to a third feature of the present invention that includes
Ito Tomohide
Takayanagi Akira
Burr & Brown
Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd.
Wilson Neill
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