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US 12,729,785 B2Granted
Plumbing connector
AssigneeReliance Worldwide Corporation (UK) Limited
InventorGlen Ansell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pipe connector having a body with a tubular part to seal with a pipe. The tubular part has an outer face with a projecting feature to seal with the pipe. A collet is fixed to the body and spaced from the tubular part to form a cavity for the pipe. A locking cap is captive on and screwed onto collet to deflect the collet onto the pipe and the pipe onto the tubular part to seal between the body and the pipe. The collet has through slots at its distal end allowing the pipe to be visible when the connector is locked and unlocked. The inner diameter at an open end of the collet is optionally greater than the inner diameter of the distal part that receives the pipe. A method of forming the connector is also disclosed.
Claims17
A pipe connector comprising:
- a hollow body having a central throughway defining an axis, the hollow body comprising a tubular part at at least one end, the tubular part having an outer face to seal, in use, with an inner diameter of a pipe placed over the tubular part;
- a collet fitted over the tubular part of the hollow body so as to be axially fixed with respect to the hollow body and being spaced from the tubular part to form a cavity for the pipe, the inner face of the collet having at least one tooth to grip the pipe, in use, and the outer face of the collet having a first screw thread;
- and
- a locking cap fitted over the collet and having an inner face with a second screw thread which is complementary to the to the first screw thread, wherein screwing the locking cap onto the collet from an unlocked configuration to a locked configuration causes inward deflection of the collet to press, in use, the collet onto the pipe and the pipe onto the tubular part to seal the interface between the hollow body and the pipe;
- wherein in the unlocked configuration, an inner diameter of a first constriction at an open end of the collet is greater than an inner diameter of a distal part of the collet that receives the pipe;
- wherein the tubular part has a groove retaining an elastically deformable sealing ring to provide the seal, in use, with the inner diameter of the pipe placed over the tubular part;
- and
- wherein the groove is provided with a projecting feature which provides an enhanced leakage path around the seal in the unlocked configuration.
5 more elements
A pipe connector comprising:
- a hollow body having a central throughway defining an axis, the hollow body comprising a tubular part at at least one end, the tubular part having an outer face to seal, in use, with an inner diameter of a pipe placed over the tubular part;
- a collet fitted over the tubular part of the hollow body so as to be axially fixed with respect to the hollow body and being spaced from the tubular part to form a cavity for the pipe, the inner face of the collet having at least one tooth to grip the pipe, in use, and the outer face of the collet having a first screw thread;
- and
- a locking cap captive on the collet and having an inner face with a second screw thread which is complementary to the first screw thread, wherein screwing the locking cap onto the collet from an unlocked configuration to a locked configuration causes inward deflection of the collet to press, in use, the collet onto the pipe and the pipe onto the tubular part to seal the interface between the hollow body and the pipe;
- wherein the tubular part has a groove retaining an elastically deformable sealing ring to provide the seal, in use, with the inner diameter of the pipe placed over the tubular part;
- and
- wherein the groove is provided with a projecting feature which provides an enhanced leakage path around the seal in the unlocked configuration.
4 more elements
A pipe connector comprising:
- a hollow body having a central throughway defining an axis, the hollow body comprising a tubular part at at least one end, the tubular part having an outer face to seal, in use, with an inner diameter of a pipe placed over the tubular part;
- a collet fitted over the tubular part of the hollow body so as to be axially fixed with respect to the hollow body and being spaced from the tubular part to form a cavity for the pipe, the inner face of the collet having at least one tooth to grip the pipe, in use, and the outer face of the collet having a first screw thread;
- and
- a locking cap having an inner face with a second screw thread which is complementary to the to the first screw thread, wherein screwing the locking cap onto the collet from an unlocked configuration to a locked configuration causes inward deflection of the collet to press, in use, the collet onto the pipe and the pipe onto the tubular part to seal the interface between the hollow body and the pipe;
- wherein the collet and locking cap have complementary features to produce an audible click when the locking cap reaches the locked configuration;
- wherein the tubular part has a groove retaining an elastically deformable sealing ring to provide the seal, in use, with the inner diameter of the pipe placed over the tubular part;
- and wherein the groove is provided with a projecting feature which provides an enhanced leakage path around the seal in the unlocked configuration.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.