Connecting device for conduits

A device for connecting conduits in an air-tight seal while excluding the introduction of exterior gases comprising:

• a female connecting element including an elongated, open-ended pipe defining an elongated cyindrical bore which narrows at one end to a smaller diameter pipe for communication with a conduit;
• a male connecting element including a cylindrical member with an outer diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of said elongated cylindrical bore so that said cylindrical member is slidably receivable in said cylindrical bore, said male connecting element further including an inner pipe, coaxial with said cylindrical member, for communication at one end with a conduit and at the opposite end with said smaller diameter pipe of said female connecting element;
• first ball valve means including a first housing adapted to be fitted in a sealed relationship at its one end to said female connecting element, said first housing including an interior cavity, a first mating surface at its other end, and a bore from one end to the other with a diameter sufficient to pass the male connecting element therethrough;
• a first spherical valve mounted in a sealed relationship within the cavity of said first housing, said first spherical valve having a diametrically extending through-hole with a diameter sufficient to pass the male connecting element therethrough;
• second ball valve means including a second housing with a bore from one end to the other with a diameter sufficient to slidably receive in a sealed relationship said male connecting element, said second housing further including an interior cavity and a second mating surface at one end of said bore adapted for mating engagement in a sealed relationship with said first mating surface;
• a second spherical valve mounted in a sealed relationship within the cavity of said second housing, said second spherical valve having a diametrically extending through-hole with a diameter sufficient to pass the male connecting element therethrough;
• the bores at said first and second mating surfaces defining openings which align when the mating surfaces are engaged with each other;
• one of said first and second spherical valves projecting beyond the mating surface corresponding to its respective housing, and the other spherical valve having a partial spherical recess sized to receive the projecting portion of said one spherical valve when said first and second mating surfaces are engaged with each other;
• first actuating means for moving the first spherical valve between an open position where its through-hole is aligned with the opening in the first mating surface and a closed position where the opening in the first mating surface is closed by the first spherical valve;
• and
• second actuating means for moving the second spherical valve between an open position where its through-hole is aligned with the opening in the second mating surface and a closed position where the opening in the second mating surface is closed by the second spherical valve and the partial spherical recess is aligned with the opening in the corresponding mating surface;
• whereby when said first and second mating surfaces are engaged in a sealed relationship and said first spherical valve and said second spherical valve are moved to the open positions, said male connecting element is slidably insertable into said female connecting element so that the inner pipe of said male connecting element is connected in a fluid-flow relationship with the smaller diameter pipe of said female connection element.