US 11,359,749 B2Granted

Conduit locking system for an appliance

AssigneeDuraVent, Inc.

InventorsLuis Borges, Zhaojia Wang

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Abstract

A conduit locking system includes a first cylindrical conduit having a male and female portion. The female portion includes an engagement protrusion that is radially disposed on an outer surface, and an inner surface that is configured to engage an outer surface of a male portion of a second cylindrical conduit to define a continuous fluid passageway. The conduit locking system comprises an annular band having a tensioner and is configured to engage the male portion of the second cylindrical conduit. The annular band may also comprise a plurality of fingers disposed radially about the annular band. The plurality of fingers may be configured to engage the engagement protrusion of the female portion of the first cylindrical conduit. The conduit locking system is manipulatable between an unclamped position to a clamped position.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A conduit locking system for defining an exhaust pathway, said conduit locking system comprising:

a first cylindrical conduit having a first end and an opposing second end, said first end including a male portion having an outer diameter and said second end including a female portion,
wherein said female portion comprises an outer surface including an engagement protrusion radially disposed on said outer surface;
wherein said female portion comprises an inner diameter sized to receive a second male portion of a second cylindrical conduit to couple said first cylindrical conduit to the second cylindrical conduit to define the exhaust pathway therethrough;
a conduit locking band comprising:
an annular band having a tensioner and configured to engage said male portion of said first cylindrical conduit;
a locking arrangement coupled to said annular band and comprising a plurality of fingers, said plurality of fingers disposed radially about said annular band and configured to engage an engagement protrusion of a female portion of the second cylindrical conduit when the second cylindrical conduit is coupled to said first cylindrical conduit;
wherein said conduit locking band is configured to move from an unclamped position to a clamped position, wherein said conduit locking band has a clamped circumference when in said clamped position, and has an unclamped circumference when in said unclamped position, and wherein said unclamped circumference is greater than said clamped circumference.

4 more elements

A method of securing a first cylindrical conduit to a second cylindrical conduit comprising the steps of:

providing a first cylindrical conduit comprising a male portion having an outer diameter;
providing a second cylindrical conduit comprising a female portion including an engagement protrusion extending radially outward and having an inner diameter, the inner diameter of the female portion being greater than the outer diameter of the male portion of the first cylindrical conduit and the engagement protrusion defining a recess in an outer surface of the female portion of the second cylindrical conduit;
providing an annular locking band comprising a tensioner and a plurality of fingers disposed radially thereabout;
positioning at least a portion of each of the plurality of the fingers within the recess and adjacent the engagement protrusion such that each of the plurality of the fingers engage the engagement protrusion on the outer surface of the female portion of the second cylindrical conduit;
sliding the male portion of the first cylindrical conduit within the female portion of the second cylindrical conduit and through the annular band, such that the plurality of fingers remain engaged with the engagement protrusion on the female portion to define a continuous fluid passageway;
and
manipulating the tensioner to apply a force to the annular band to move the annular band from an unclamped position to a clamped position thereby releasably locking the first cylindrical conduit to the second cylindrical conduit.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/794,386Filed 19 Feb 2020 · us provisional application
Priority: 19 Feb 2019
Published: US 2020/0263815 A120 Aug 2020
Granted: 14 Jun 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

F16L 21/03
With elastic sealing rings between pipe and sleeve or between pipe and socket, e.g. with rolling or other prefabricated profiled rings: placed in…
F16L 23/003
Flanged joints: auxiliary devices
F16L 21/08
Joints with sleeve or socket: with additional locking means
F16L 23/08
The flanges being connected by members tensioned in the radial plane: connection by tangentially arranged pin and nut