Pneumatic coupling
AssigneeSMC Corporation of America
InventorsRick D. Pelfrey, Christina G. Santiago, William O. Hodge, Edward E. Kohl, Michael D. Nowling
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pneumatic coupling is provided. The pneumatic coupling is configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic lines together. According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the pneumatic coupling includes first and second housings and a plurality of fittings sized to receive the pneumatic lines.
Claims46
A pneumatic device configured to supply pressurized air, the pneumatic device comprising
- a plurality of pneumatic supply lines,
- a plurality of pneumatic receiving lines configured to receive pressurized air from the plurality of pneumatic supply lines,
- a pneumatic coupling configured to couple and uncouple the plurality of pneumatic receiving lines from the plurality of pneumatic supply lines, the pneumatic coupling including a two-piece housing, a plurality of supply line fittings configured to receive the plurality of pneumatic supply lines, a plurality of receiving line fittings configured to receive the plurality of pneumatic receiving lines, and an over-center latch configured to couple the two-piece housing together, the two-piece housing including a pair of identical housings, each identical housing including a plurality of channel bodies defining channels sized to receive the plurality of supply and receiving line fittings and a plurality of parallel ribs coupled to the channel bodies, each of the ribs having a cantilevered portion extending away from at least one of the channel bodies, the channels having an exterior end and an interior end, the plurality of supply and receiving pneumatic lines being positioned within the exterior ends of the channels, the interior ends of the channels of one of the identical housings being positioned adjacent to the interior ends of the channels of the other identical housing, each of the plurality of supply and receiving line fittings being sized for insertion through the interior ends of the channels to couple with at least one of the supply and pneumatic receiving lines, the over-center latch being configured to couple the cantilevered portions of the ribs of one of the identical housings to the cantilevered portions of the ribs of the other identical housing to separably couple the two-piece housing together.
A pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic lines, the pneumatic coupling comprising
- a first housing having at least one aperture sized to receive a first pneumatic line of the plurality of the pneumatic lines,
- a second housing having at least one aperture sized to receive a second pneumatic line of the plurality of pneumatic lines, and
- a coupler configured to couple the second housing to the first housing to couple the first and second pneumatic lines in fluid communication, the coupler including a link pivotably coupled to the first housing and a latch member pivotably coupled to the link and configured to couple the second housing to the first housing.
A pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic lines, the pneumatic coupling comprising
- a first housing adapted to receive a first pneumatic line of the plurality of pneumatic lines, and
- a second housing adapted to receive a second pneumatic line of the plurality of pneumatic lines, the second housing being movable relative to the first housing between a first position coupled to the first housing and second position coupled to the first housing, when the second housing is in the first position, the first and second pneumatic lines are in sealed fluid communication permitting air to flow therebetween, when the second housing is in the second position, the first and second pneumatic lines are unsealed permitting air from the first pneumatic line to flow externally of the first and second pneumatic lines.
A pneumatic device comprising
- a first pneumatic component configured to receive pressurized air,
- a second pneumatic component configured to receive pressurized air, and
- a pneumatic coupling configured to couple the first pneumatic component to the second pneumatic, the pneumatic coupling being configured to move from a first position with the first and second components fluidly coupled to permit the flow of pressurized air from the first pneumatic component to the second pneumatic component and a second position with the first and second pneumatic components fluidly uncoupled to permit the flow of pressurized air from the first pneumatic component to a location external of the first and second pneumatic components, the second pneumatic component being restrained from moving beyond a predetermined distance from the first pneumatic component when the pneumatic coupling is in the second position.
A pneumatic device comprising
- a first pneumatic component configured to receive pressurized air,
- a second pneumatic component configured to receive pressured air, and
- a two-stage pneumatic coupling configured to move between a first coupled position, a second coupled position, and a third uncoupled position, the first and second pneumatic components being coupled together and in sealed fluid communication when the two-stage pneumatic coupling is in the first coupled position, the first and second pneumatic components being coupled together and unsealed when the two-stage pneumatic coupling is in the second coupled position, the first and second pneumatic components being uncoupled when the two-stage pneumatic coupling is in the uncoupled position.
A pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic lines, the pneumatic coupling comprising
- a housing adapted to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines, the housing including an interior region and a plurality of exterior edges defining a plurality of apertures sized to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines, the plurality of edges defining a minimum width across the plurality of apertures, and
- a plurality of fittings sized to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines, at least a portion of the plurality of fittings being positioned in the interior region of the housing in a position aligned with a corresponding one of the plurality of apertures, the portions of the plurality of fittings having a maximum width that is greater than the minimum width of the corresponding aperture of the housing.
The pneumatic coupling of 19, wherein the housing includes a first housing and a second housing separable from the first housing, the first and second housings include a plurality of channels sized to receive the plurality of fittings, the plurality of fittings includes a plurality of first fittings positioned in the channels of the first housing and adapted to seal with a plurality of pneumatic lines extending into the first housing, and the plurality of fittings includes a plurality of second fittings positioned for sealed contact with the plurality of first fittings and adapted to seal with a plurality of pneumatic lines extending into the second housing.
A pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic lines, the pneumatic coupling comprising
- an exterior housing adapted to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines, the housing including an interior region and a plurality of apertures sized to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines,
- a plurality of fittings positioned in the interior region of the external housing and adapted to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines, and
- an interior housing positioned in the interior region of the external housing and configured to align the plurality of fittings with the plurality of apertures in the exterior housing to receive the plurality of pneumatic lines.
A pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic components, the pneumatic coupling comprising
- a housing configured to receive a plurality of pneumatic components and fluidly couple first and second pneumatic components of the plurality of pneumatic components together, the housing including a plurality of parallel ribs defining a plurality of grooves therebetween.
A pneumatic device comprising
- a first pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic supply lines to a plurality of pneumatic receiving lines, and
- a second pneumatic coupling configured to couple a plurality of pneumatic supply lines to a plurality of pneumatic receiving lines, the first and second pneumatic couplings being configured to couple together.
A method of coupling and uncoupling first and second pneumatic components using a pneumatic coupling, the method comprising the steps of
- coupling the first pneumatic component to the second pneumatic component using the pneumatic coupling so that the first and second pneumatic components are in sealed fluid communication,
- unsealing the first pneumatic component from the second pneumatic component by permitting movement of the second pneumatic component relative to the first pneumatic component,
- restraining movement of the second pneumatic component beyond a predetermined location relative to the first pneumatic component with the pneumatic coupling after the unsealing step, and
- uncoupling the first pneumatic component from the second pneumatic component so that the movement of the second pneumatic component is no longer restrained by the pneumatic coupling.
A method of assembling a pneumatic device comprising the steps of
- providing a pneumatic coupling including a housing and a fitting, the housing defining an interior region and an exterior aperture, and
- inserting the fitting into the interior region of the housing to a position aligned with the exterior aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.