Back to results
US 11,885,451 B2Granted
Low-spill coupling assembly
AssigneeColder Products Company
InventorDavid J. Vranish
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a low-spill coupling assembly including a female coupling device and a male coupling device.
Claims19
A low-spill coupling system, comprising:
- a male coupling device configured to releasably mate within a female coupling device, wherein the male coupling device includes:
- a male insert body defining a front face, an exterior circumferential surface of the male coupling device extending continuously rearward for a first axial length from the front face to an exterior circumferential shoulder that ramps outwardly from the exterior circumferential surface and extends rearward to an exterior circumferential groove for mating with a quick disconnect clip such that both the exterior circumferential shoulder and the exterior circumferential groove are no less in diameter than the exterior circumferential surface, a circular front opening at the front face of the male coupling device, and an interior fluid passageway which has a first bore diameter extending continuously rearward from the front face to an interior shoulder tapering to a larger second bore diameter that extends continuously rearward for a majority of an overall axial length of the male coupling device;
- a rear terminal mounted to a rear end of the male insert body and defining a maximum lateral width of the male coupling device, wherein the exterior circumferential groove for mating with the quick disconnect clip is positioned axially closer to the rear end of the male insert body than the front face of the male insert body, and wherein the rear terminal of the male coupling device defines a rear terminal central bore axially aligned with the interior fluid passageway defined by the male insert body, wherein the rear terminal central bore of the rear terminal is sized no less than the first bore diameter;
- and
- a valve member that is longitudinally slidable within the male insert body and configured to abut the interior shoulder, the valve member having a valve seal mounted thereto and having a frontmost valve face with a diameter greater than half a diameter of the exterior circumferential surface of male insert body, wherein the valve member is spring biased toward the front face so that the frontmost valve face is parallel with the front face of the male insert body and the valve seal releasably engages with the first bore diameter of the male insert body, and wherein valve member has a maximum axial length that is less than the first axial length extending from the front face to the exterior circumferential shoulder.
2 more elements
A low-spill coupling system, comprising:
- a male coupling device configured to releasably mate within a female coupling device, wherein the male coupling device includes:
- a male insert body defining a front face, an exterior circumferential surface of the male coupling device extending continuously rearward for a first axial length from the front face to an exterior circumferential shoulder that ramps outwardly from the exterior circumferential surface and extends rearward to an exterior circumferential groove for mating with a quick disconnect clip such that both the exterior circumferential shoulder and the exterior circumferential groove are no less in diameter than the exterior circumferential surface, a circular front opening at the front face of the male coupling device, and an interior fluid passageway which has a first bore diameter extending continuously rearward from the front face to an interior shoulder tapering to a larger second bore diameter that extends continuously rearward for a majority of an overall axial length of the male coupling device;
- a rear terminal located at a rear end of the male insert body and defining a maximum lateral width of the male coupling device;
- and
- a valve member that is longitudinally slidable within the male insert body and configured to abut the interior shoulder, the valve member having a valve seal mounted thereto and having a frontmost valve face with a diameter greater than half a diameter of the exterior circumferential surface of male insert body, wherein the valve member is spring biased toward the front face so that the frontmost valve face is parallel with the front face of the male insert body and the valve seal releasably engages with the first bore diameter of the male insert body, and wherein valve member has a maximum axial length that is less than the first axial length extending from the front face to the exterior circumferential shoulder,
- wherein the male insert body is a one-piece main body of the male coupling device, and the rear terminal that defines the maximum lateral width of the male coupling device is mounted to the one-piece main body with a ring seal positioned radially inward of the maximum lateral width and radially outward of the one-piece main body,
- wherein the rear terminal of the male coupling device defines a rear terminal central bore axially aligned with the interior fluid passageway defined by the one-piece main body of the male coupling device, the rear terminal central bore having a maximum diameter that is smaller than the larger second bore diameter of the interior fluid passageway defined by the one-piece main body of the male coupling device,
- wherein the exterior circumferential shoulder of the male insert body is positioned closer to the front face of the male insert body than to a rear face of the rear terminal,
- wherein the valve member is spring biased toward the front face by a spring abutting a rearmost face of the valve member and abutting the rear terminal, and
- wherein the rear terminal central bore of the rear terminal is sized no less than the first bore diameter.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.