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US 5,392,844 AGranted
Quick connect coupling
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
InventorsCurtis Lomax, Bruce Webbon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cooling apparatus includes a container filled with a quantity of coolant fluid initially cooled to a solid phase, a cooling loop disposed between a heat load and the container. A pump for circulating a quantity of the same type of coolant fluid in a liquid phase through the cooling loop, a pair of couplings for communicating the liquid phase coolant fluid into the container in a direct interface with the solid phase coolant fluid.
Claims6
A quick connect coupling having both liquid and solid phases comprising:
- a female portion having a housing with a wall section for engaging a piston, an open end and a closed end, a piston slideable within the housing and biased toward the open end, said piston preventing flow of liquid phase coolant from said open end to said closed end, means for stopping the travel of said piston in said housing, said wall section having, at least one passage that is blocked when said piston is biased against said stopping means.
- a male portion cooperatively engaging the female portion at the open end of said housing, said male portion having a liquid phase coolant inlet and a liquid phase coolant outlet, means in said male portion for permitting liquid phase coolant to flow in said inlet and out said outlet when said male portion contacts and moves said piston in said female housing when said passage is blocked by solid phase coolant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.