The present invention relates to a connecting device for coupling a tubular member having on one end an outer shoulder or flange, in particular an inlet piping of a water supply electric control valve (such as a so-called “water-stop” control valve) for a washing machine (such as a clothes washing machine or a dishwasher), to a threaded tubular port, in particular an outlet port of a water supply line or a tap.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved connecting device, which allows to easily and quickly achieve a highly reliable connection between a tubular member and a threaded tubular port.
This and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by a connecting device comprising
a nut with a first threaded end portion adapted to be screw-coupled with said port and a second end portion adapted to receive said end of the tubular member, and
a coupling ring adapted to be interposed between the tubular member and said second end portion of the nut for connecting them to one another;
the coupling ring being resiliently deformable in the radial direction and being adapted to be mounted around the tubular member, in proximity of the end shoulder or flange thereof, such as to be prevented by said end shoulder or flange from being taken away from the tubular member, but to be allowed to freely rotate around said tubular member;
the second end portion of the nut and the coupling ring being threaded such as to allow the nut to be screw-fastened to the coupling member after the latter has been mounted on the tubular member, before the nut is screw-fastened to said tubular port;
the nut and the coupling ring being provided with respective first and second engagement means adapted to prevent them from being unscrewed one from the other.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description provided merely by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
In the following description a connecting device 1 according to the present invention will be described in details, with reference to an exemplary application thereto to a water-stop arrangement indicated as a whole with WSA.
In a per se known manner, the water-stop arrangement WSA comprises a water-stop electric control valve WSV in a housing H, typically made of a plastic material, having an inlet tubular member for receiving in the operation a flow of water from a water supply line and an outlet 3 for forwarding such a flow of water to a washing machine.
The outlet 3 is connected to an outer flexible tube 4, inside which another flexible tube 5 is provided. The latter is actually coupled with the water outlet of the water-stop valve WSV, whereas the annular chamber defined between the tubes 4 and is normally dry. Inside said annular chamber there are provided electric cables 6 to be connected with a control unit of a washing machine, for controlling the operation of the water-stop valve WSV.
The inner tube 5, which normally conveys water to the washing machine, ends with a hydraulic connector 7 (or other device, such as for instance a valve or a flow-meter) to be coupled with an internal pipe of the washing machine for conveying the flow of water to the washing tube or chamber of said machine.
The electric cables 6 are provided with an end connector 8, for connection with a control unit of the washing machine.
In
With reference in particular to
With reference in particular to
The first threaded end portion 11a of the nut 1 is adapted to be screw-coupled with the external thread of the tubular outlet port 9 of the tap 10 (
The nut 11 is provided with a plurality of external longitudinal ribs 13, adapted to allow a reliable grip when said nut 11 is to be screwed.
As it can be seen in
The coupling ring 12 is adapted to be interposed between the tubular inlet member 2 of the water-stop valve WSV and the second end portion 11b of the nut 11, for connecting them to one another, as it can be seen in particular in
With reference to
The petal-like formations 12a can be resiliently deflected in an essentially radial direction, to allow the end shoulder or flange 2a of the tubular member 2, to pass therethrough as shown by the sequence of
In the illustrated embodiment the petal-like formations 12c of the coupling ring 12 are externally provided with respective thread portions which all together form a threading adapted to engage with the internal threading of the second end portion 11b of the nut 11 (as shown in
As it can be seen in particular in
After the coupling ring 12 has been mounted around the tubular member 2, as shown by the sequence of
The nut 11 and the coupling ring 12 can be conveniently provided with respective first and second engagement members adapted to prevent them from being unscrewed one from the other after they have been screw-fastened to each other.
In the embodiment shown in the appended drawings (see for instance
The arrangement is such that when the nut 11 is screwed onto the coupling ring 12, towards the end of the screwing one every two teeth 17 of the nut 11 with its slanted surface engages a corresponding slanted surface of a tooth 18 of the coupling ring 12. By prosecuting the screwing rotation of the nut 11, due to the resiliency of the materials with which the nut 11 and the coupling ring 12 are made, the teeth 17 of the nut 11 will “overcome” the “peaks” of the teeth 18 of the coupling ring 12, and this process continues until when no further screwing of the nut is possible.
The shape of the saw-teeth 17 of the nut 11 and the teeth 19 of the coupling ring 12 is such that it is thereafter impossible to unscrew the nut from the coupling ring 12: thus, they are so tightly screw-fastened to one another that they subsequently behave like a single body when the nut 11 is screwed onto the threaded port 9 of the tap 10.
The connecting device of the present invention can be easily manufactured and installed, and is extremely reliable.
Naturally the principle of the invention remaining the same, many details of constructions may be changed with respect to the embodiment described and illustrated herein, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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P.420480 | Feb 2017 | PL | national |