Connect-disconnect coupling for a plural-passage fluid line
AssigneeFoster Manufacturing Company
InventorLee H. Cruse
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A connect-disconnect coupling for a plural-passage fluid line has an outer socket which has an inner plug mounted therein; and an outer plug has an inner socket mounted in it. That inner plug includes a yieldable tube which has one end thereof in fluid-tight engagement with a partition in that outer socket; and the other end of that yieldable tube can automatically align itself with the inner socket in the outer plug as that outer plug is telescoped into that outer socket. The other end of that yieldable tube is capable of automatically returning to a position which is generally central of the outer socket even if that yieldable end had been moved all the way to one side of that outer socket.
Claims22
A connect-disconnect coupling for a plural-passage fluid line which comprises an outer socket and an outer plug which can be connected together to define an enclosure and to provide an outer passageway for a fluid and which can have outer fluid lines connected thereto, an inner socket and an inner plug which can be connected together to provide an inner passageway for a second fluid and which can have inner fluid lines connected thereto, and means mounting said inner socket and said inner plug at least partially within said enclosure defined by said outer socket and said outer plug so said inner socket and said inner plug will be connected together to complete said inner passageway whenever said outer socket and said outer plug are connected together to complete said outer passageway, said inner socket and said inner plug keeping fluid passing through said inner passageway from mixing with fluid passing through said outer passageway whenever said inner socket and said inner plug are connected together, said outer socket and said outer plug and said outer fluid lines enclosing and protecting said inner socket and said inner plug and said inner fluid lines whenever said outer socket and said outer plug are connected together, said means including a partition which extends tranversely of said outer passageway and which has a hole through it, and a flexible tube that has an inner end and an outer end and that has said inner end thereof in communication with said hole in said partition and that has said outer end thereof free to serve as a radially-displaceable part of said inner plug, said tube flexing intermediate said inner and outer ends thereof to automatically enable said outer end thereof to move radially and thereby dispose said inner plug in engagement with a complementary surface in said inner socket as said outer plug and said outer socket are connected together if said outer end of said tube and said inner socket are not aligned as said outer socket and said outer plug are connected together, said inner end of said tube being rigidly held against movement or shifting, and also being held in fluid-tight relation, relative to said hole in said partition.
A connect-disconnect coupling for a plural-passage fluid line which comprises an outer socket and an outer plug which can be telescoped together along a predetermined axis to provide an outer passageway for a fluid and which can have outer fluid lines connected thereto, an inner socket and an inner plug which can be telescoped together along said predetermined axis to provide an inner passageway for a second fluid and which can have inner fluid lines connected thereto, a partition that is within and transverse of said outer socket and that has a passage through it and that holds said inner plug at least partially within said outer socket, and means mounting said inner socket at least partially within said outer plug, said inner plug and said inner socket being telescoped together to complete said inner passageway whenever said outer socket and said outer plug are telescoped together to complete said outer passageway, said inner socket and said inner plug keeping fluid passing through said inner passageway from mixing with fluid passing through said outer passageway whenever said inner socket and said inner plug are connected together, said outer socket and said outer plug and said outer fluid lines enclosing and protecting said inner socket and said inner plug and said inner fluid lines whenever said outer socket and said outer plug are connected together, said inner plug including a relatively-stiff, moderately-bendable tube that has one end thereof rigidly held against movement relative to said partition and in communication with said passage through said partition, said tube having the other end thereof displaced from said partition and said tube being bendable intermediate said inner and other ends thereof so said other end thereof is able to move transversely of said outer passageway, said tube bending to enable said inner plug to automatically engage a complementary surface in said inner socket as said outer plug and said outer socket are telescoped together if said other end of said tube and said inner socket are not aligned as said outer socket and said outer plug are telescoped together, said inner socket including a recess that is fixedly mounted in said outer plug so it is parallel to said predetermined axis.
A method of mounting a conduit within an opening in a partition in a connect-disconnect coupling and of providing fluid-tight seals between said conduit and said partition which comprises selecting a tube of yieldable, non-metallic material with one end having an outer diameter substantially larger than the maximum transverse dimension of said opening, causing said one end of said tube to yield and telescoping said one end of said tube over one end of said conduit in a fluid-tight engagement and forcing said one end of said tube against said partition with sufficient force to cause said one end of said tube to yield and thereby form said fluid-tight engagement to provide one of said fluid-tight seals between said conduit and said partition, selecting a second tube of yieldable, non-metallic material with one end having an outer diameter substantially larger than the maximum transverse dimension of said opening, causing said one end of said second tube to yield and telescoping said one end of said second tube over the other end of said conduit in a fluid-tight engagement and forcing said one end of said second tube against said partition with sufficient force to cause said one end of said second tube to yield and thereby form said fluid-tight engagement to provide the other of said fluid-tight seals between said conduit and said partition, and causing said one ends of said tube to close the entire spaces between the exterior of said conduit and the periphery of said opening to automatically provide said fluid-tight seals between said conduit and said partition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.