Quick-locking union connector
AssigneeTop Great Pneumatic Machinery Co., Ltd.
InventorsChieh-Yao Ting, Shang-Chieh Ting
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a quick-locking union connector. A sealing groove is arranged on the outside peripheral surface of a male inner sleeve to retain an o-ring seal. Close contact of the o-ring seal with the inside peripheral surface of a female outer sleeve leads to a robust sealing effect. The female outer sleeve is provided with a bore slot that penetrates through the inside peripheral surface, in an outside-to-inside manner. A locking unit rotates within the bore slot to quickly lock and unlock the engaged interior male unit and exterior female unit. Locked connection of pipes via obstructing protrusion of the locking unit into an annular locking groove can be readily and quickly executed, facilitating accelerated deployment of pipe networks.
Claims9
A quick-locking union connector for connecting a first pipe with a second pipe, comprising:
- an interior male unit, one end of the interior male unit configured to have a male connection portion that is connected to the first pipe, the opposite end of the interior male unit configured to have a male inner sleeve, the male inner sleeve comprising a outside peripheral surface, wherein an annular locking groove and at least one sealing groove are formed circumferentially on the outside peripheral surface, the annular locking groove is adjacent to the male connection portion, and the sealing groove, installed with an o-ring seal, is distant to the male connection portion;
- an exterior female unit engaging the interior male unit, one end of the exterior female unit configured to have a female connection portion that is attached to the second pipe, the opposite end of the exterior female unit configured to have a female outer sleeve that comprises an inside peripheral surface, and at least one bore slot penetrating through the female outer sleeve in an outside-to-inside manner, wherein when the interior male unit and exterior female unit are brought into engagement with each other, the inside peripheral surface of the female outer sleeve corresponds spatially to the outside peripheral surface of the male inner sleeve, and the inside peripheral surface of the female outer sleeve is in close contact with the o-ring seal, and the bore slot is situated in a position coincided with the annular locking groove on the interior male unit being engaged;
- and
- at least one locking unit, each locking unit comprising a rod body, a non-circular head and an elastic fastener member, the rod body coaxially inserted into and fittingly engaged with the bore slot of the exterior female unit, and the rod body comprises a notched configuration including a solid portion and a concave notch, wherein the rod body rotates relative to the bore slot to have a first rotational position that the solid portion of the rod body protrudes fittingly into a space occupied by the annular locking groove of the male inner sleeve, and a second rotational position that the concave notch encompasses the annular locking groove, the non-circular head and the elastic fastener member respectively arranged at two ends of the rod body, and a slotted recess formed at the end associated with the elastic fastener member, wherein the rod body slides longitudinally within the bore slot of the female outer sleeve to allow the non-circular head to have a first state that the non-circular head is not in contact with the female outer sleeve, and a second state that the non-circular head is brought into contact interference with the female outer sleeve;
- and
- wherein the non-circular head comprises a straight edge and a curved edge adjoining to the straight edge, the straight edge is aligned to contact the exterior female unit when the rod body is in the first rotational position, and the curved edge contacts the exterior female unit when the rod body is in the second rotational position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.