Patent Application
20080048440
Referring now to the drawings in detail, in
The male nut 145 has an axially extending through bore through which a tube 150 extends. The bore in the male nut 145 preferably is sized so that it can be freely rotated about the tube 150 generally without resistance that otherwise might make tightening of the male nut 145 more difficult or impart an unwanted torque on the tube 150. Accordingly, the inside diameter of the male nut 145 may be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the tube 150.
The male nut 145 includes a head portion 155 and the external thread portion 160 that can be threaded into the bore 120. The head portion 155 preferably is provided with wrenching surfaces to facilitate rotation and tightening of the male nut 145 in the bore 120.
The male nut 145 has an inner end surface 147 for engaging a radially outwardly extending flange 165 on the tube 150. As will be described herein, the flange 165 can be formed integrally with the tube 150, or can be part of a separate member attached to the tube 150. In
The flange 165 abuts an annular sealing member 168 that is interposed between the flange 165 and the shoulder 135 of the bore 120. Accordingly, when the male nut 145 is tightened, the sealing member 168 is compressed between the flange 165 and the shoulder 135 thereby sealing the tube 150 and bore 120. For this purpose, the shoulder 135 preferably resides in a plane perpendicular to the center axis of the bore 120. That is, the shoulder surface that is engaged by the sealing member 168 is perpendicular to the bore's center axis. The annular sealing member 168 may be a separate piece that is inserted into the bore 120 prior to insertion of the tube 150 and male nut 145, or it may be joined to the flange 165 or a surface of the shoulder 135.
Any suitable sealing member 168 may be employed, such as that illustrated in detail in
Returning to
To assemble the direct port connection 110, the sealing member 168 is inserted into the bore 120. As described, tabs 173 can be provided on the sealing member 168 for retaining the sealing member 168 in the bore 120 prior to assembly of the direct port connection 110. Accordingly, the sealing member 168 can be inserted into the bore 120 well in advance of final assembly of the direct port connection 110. After inserting the sealing member 168 into the bore 120, the male nut 145, with the tube 150 inserted therethrough, is screwed into the bore 120 until the flange 165 contacts the seal member 168. The male nut 145 is tightened to press the flange 165 and the sealing member 168 against the shoulder portion 135, thereby to effect a seal between the end of the tube and the port body 115.
Turning to the remaining figures, in
Turning to
It will now be appreciated that the direct port connection 110 of the present invention provides a connection that, compared to traditional adapter fittings, is more economic and compact, reduces potential leak points, and requires fewer parts to be assembled.
Further, it also will be appreciated that the shape of the bore 120, including the angled seat portion 125 and shoulder portion 135, permits the use of a direct port connection as set forth, as well as a conventional adapter fitting 10 as shown and described in connection with
It will now be appreciated that a port can be configured in the manner set forth to accommodate a direct port connection as described, as well as traditional adaptor style connectors. Consequently, the present invention provides for the use of fittings already in use in the field, as well as the direct port connection as described. Standard ports are those for which specifications have been adopted by industry-recognized agencies such as SAE, ISO, BS and JIS.
The various embodiments of the invention have been described in relation to a tube. Unless otherwise indicated, the term “tube” or “tubes” is intended to encompass not only a tube or tubes, but also tubing, tubular fittings provided on the ends of hoses, and like tubular members, including those of generally uniform diameter extending from an end flange on the tubular member.
Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described elements (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such elements are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any element which performs the specified function of the described element (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been described above with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
