Connector

A manually operable high pressure tubular gas connector for aircraft comprising a connector sleeve and a connector tube, said connector sleeve having opposed ends and wall formations shaped to form a radially extending inwardly open groove, said inwardly open groove having opposed radially projecting planar walls communicating with the inner surface of the connector sleeve, a planar radially inwardly projecting circular flange on at least one end of the connector sleeve forming a planar wall of said inwardly open groove, a part of said circular flange removed to provide an external spiral lock ring receiving opening to said groove, the arc length of said opening small in comparison to the circumference of said flange but sized to permit a spiral lock ring to be wound through said opening into said inwardly open groove, said connector tube having a flange thereon, said flange having at least one planar radially projecting wall facing said circular flange for engagement with a spiral lock ring, said connector tube mounted inside the connector sleeve with said flange of said connector tube positioned inside said connector sleeve beyond the axial location of said inwardly open groove, a spiral lock ring formed from flat spring material associated with said connector sleeve, the diameter of said spiral lock ring generally equal to the internal diameter of the depth of the groove, said spiral lock ring having planar walls and a thickness generally equal to the width of said groove whereby the planar walls of the groove engage and support the planar walls of the spiral lock ring to prevent vibration movement of the spiral lock ring in said groove, the walls of the spiral lock ring having a length generally larger than the depth of said groove, said spiral lock ring removably positioned in said groove through said opening so a portion of said planar walls of the spiral lock ring projects inwardly beyond the depth of said groove to close the opening in said flange and to provide a wall for continuous abutment with the planar wall of the flange on the connector tube to releasably hold the connector sleeve and connector tube together whereby the connector tube can be locked in the sleeve whenever the flange on the connector tube is located anywhere inside the connector sleeve beyond the inwardly open groove and the spiral lock ring is then wound into said groove so the connector sleeve and the connector tube can be connected together without precisely positioning the connector tube inside the connector sleeve, the walls of the spiral lock ring sufficiently flexible to permit the spiral lock ring to be manually wound through said opening in said flange into said groove against a resistance which is generally constant and independent of the number of turns of the spiral lock ring, the size of the connector sleeve, and the size of the connector tube, whereby the connector sleeve and the connector tube can be manually connected together in the dark without tools.