Ferrule assembly for conduit fitting
AssigneeSwagelok Company
InventorsMark A. Bennett, Cal R. Brown, John D. Karkosiak, Peter C. Williams, Mark A. Clason, Jeffrey S. Rayle, Mark D. Bearer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Two conduit gripping devices that are to be used together in a conduit fitting assembly are interconnected or held together as a cartridge or subassembly prior to assembly with fitting components to form a fitting assembly. In a more specific embodiment, one or both of the conduit gripping devices comprises a retaining structure by which the devices are mechanically connected together as a subassembly. For example, in one embodiment a front ferrule and a back ferrule for a tube fitting may be snapped together.
Claims36
A subassembly for a conduit fitting, comprising:
- a first conduit gripping device and a second conduit gripping device, said first conduit gripping device having a camming surface at a back portion thereof, said second conduit gripping device having a contact surface at a front portion thereof that contacts said camming surface when said first and second conduit gripping devices are axially moved together during pull-up,
- a retaining structure that holds said first and second conduit gripping devices together as a discrete subassembly, said retaining structure holding said first and second conduit gripping devices loosely together, said first and second conduit gripping devices disengaging from the retaining structure during pull-up.
A subassembly for a conduit fitting, comprising:
- a first conduit gripping device and a second conduit gripping device, said first conduit gripping device having a camming surface at a back portion thereof, said second conduit gripping device having a contact surface at a front portion thereof that contacts said camming surface when said first and second conduit gripping devices are axially moved together during pull-up,
- a retaining structure that holds said first and second conduit gripping devices together as a discrete subassembly, said retaining structure holding said first and second conduit gripping devices together with an axial contact load between said camming surface and said contact surface, said first and second conduit gripping devices disengaging from the retaining structure during pull-up.
A conduit fitting, comprising:
- a first fitting component and a second fitting component that can be joined to said first fitting component to form a fitting assembly,
- a ferrule cartridge assembly that can be assembled with said first and second fitting components on a conduit to provide a fluid tight mechanical connection,
- said ferrule cartridge comprising a first conduit gripping device and a second conduit gripping device, said first conduit gripping device comprising a retaining member extending from a back end wall, said retaining member holding a forward portion of said second conduit gripping device to hold said first and second conduit gripping devices together as a discrete subassembly, said second conduit gripping device disengaging from said retaining member during pull-up of the fitting assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.