Patent Application
20190152762
The present invention relates broadly to a fluid coupling assembly and relates particularly, although not exclusively, to a quick-connect lubricant coupling assembly. The invention also relates broadly to a fluid receiver sub-assembly of a fluid coupling assembly of a dry-break configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,164 is broadly directed to a coupling device for supplying fluid from a pressurised source to an output conduit. The coupling device in its preferred embodiment includes a first coupling part 1 in the form of a female fitting which can be coupled to a second coupling part 2 in the form of male fitting in a quick-coupling arrangement. The female coupling part 1 includes a locking assembly which includes a locking ring 4 and locking ball 5 arranged to interlock with the second male coupling part 2. The female coupling part 1 includes an inner casing 14 which slides axially for opening and closure of a flow passage through the male coupling part 1. This axial sliding of the inner casing 14 is effected by a coaxial outer casing 46 which contacts the male coupling part 2 on coupling of the female and male parts 1 and 2. The female coupling part 1 includes a second valve 18 designed to seal about an outlet of the female coupling part on uncoupling of the male and female parts 2 and 1 respectively. The male coupling part 2 includes a third valve 29 arranged to abut the second valve 18 on coupling of the female and male coupling parts 1 and 2. The third valve 29 also functions to close an inlet of the male coupling part 2 on uncoupling of the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,897 is directed to a quick-action male coupling designed to be connected under pressure. In the preferred embodiment the male half 1 of the quick-action coupling includes a tubular base 3 connected to an adapter 5. The tubular base 3 houses an inner valve 9 which is slidably moved inwardly of the tubular base 3 when it is coupled with a female half 50 of the quick-action coupling. The inner valve 9 contacts a tubular body 20 which also slides inwardly of the tubular base 3 to permit the flow of fluid through the male half 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,833 is directed broadly to a fluid coupling for connecting fluid lines where a coupler socket (female half) and a nipple (male half) are connected together. In particular, the invention is directed to a quick-connect coupling of a flush-face configuration. In the preferred embodiment the body 112 of the male coupling 110 contacts and displaces an outer sleeve 60 on coupling of the assembly. The outer sleeve 60 contacts and displaces an inner valve sleeve 97 which opens the female coupling to provide fluid flow through a flow passage 64.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,141 is directed broadly to a leak-resistant fluid coupling arrangement. In the preferred embodiment a quick coupling 1 includes a female part 2 arranged to connect to a male part 3. The male part 3 on coupling of the assembly contacts and displaces an annular sleeve 9 inwardly of the female part 2. The annular sleeve 9 on continued axial displacement contacts a tubular shutoff body 7 which in turn slidably moves inwardly of the female part 2 to open the female part 2 and permit the flow of fluid. The male coupling part 3 includes a tubular part 15 which on coupling of the assembly contacts a bolt 5 housed centrally of the female part 2. The bolt 5 forces the tubular part 15 inwardly of the male coupling part 3 and opens a valve body 20 associated with the tubular part 15.
These US patents suffer from one or more of the following drawbacks:
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fluid coupling assembly comprising:
Preferably the fluid discharge opening is one of a plurality of radial openings formed by respective of a plurality of radially directed discharge passages within the nozzle body. More preferably the sleeve is arranged for sealing closure about the plurality of radial openings. Even more preferably the sleeve is configured relative to the discharge passages so that on the sliding movement of the sleeve for opening of the fluid discharge openings, the volume of pressurised fluid within the discharge passages and contained by the sleeve remains substantially constant.
Preferably the sleeve includes at least one fluid pocket formed in an inside surface of the sleeve at the fluid discharge opening, said fluid pocket designed to assist with closure of the sleeve under the inertia of fluid within the upstream fluid passageway. More preferably the fluid pocket is in the form of a conical frustum surrounding the fluid discharge opening and having a large diameter end located proximal a downstream end of the upstream fluid passageway, the large diameter end at least in part defining a surface of increased drag forces which assists in closing the sleeve. Even more preferably the nozzle body at an upstream edge of the discharge opening includes an undercut to promote the ingress of fluid into a narrow annular channel between the sleeve and the nozzle body, said fluid in the annular channel assisting the sliding movement of the sleeve about the nozzle body.
Preferably the sleeve is in the form of a piston arranged to axially slide along the nozzle body. More preferably the fluid coupling assembly also includes first and second seals mounted internally of the piston proximal to its respective opposite ends and designed to substantially maintain fluid pressure within the upstream fluid passageway on closure of the piston about the discharge opening.
Preferably the fluid nozzle sub-assembly also comprises sleeve biasing means operatively coupled to the sleeve to urge it closed about the discharge opening.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a fluid receiver sub-assembly of a fluid coupling assembly of a dry-break configuration, said receiver sub-assembly comprising:
Preferably the receiver poppet valve includes a poppet support within which the receiver poppet reciprocates for opening and closure of the inlet of the receiver body, the receiver poppet during coupling of the fluid nozzle sub-assembly to the fluid receiver sub-assembly being displaced axially on contact with the nozzle body to effect opening of the inlet to provide fluid within the downstream fluid passageway which is effective in hydraulic actuation of the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve for its opening and to permit the flow of fluid through the downstream fluid passageway. More preferably the poppet support is fixed within the downstream fluid passageway and provides internal mounting for the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve. Still more preferably the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve slidably mounts axially about the poppet support. Even more preferably the poppet support includes a seal disposed between the poppet support and the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve, and an outer seal disposed between said poppet valve and the receiver body. Even still more preferably the poppet support includes a frusto-conical mounting section secured internally of the receiver body proximal to its outlet, said mounting section including one or more fluid apertures arranged to permit fluid to flow through the downstream fluid passage from outside of the poppet support to inside of the poppet support via the fluid apertures.
Preferably the fluid receiver sub-assembly also comprises biasing means operatively coupled to the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve to urge it closed about the poppet support.
Preferably the fluid receiver sub-assembly also includes a bleed passage between a head of the receiver poppet and the receiver body proximal to its inlet, the bleed passage configured to permit the relief of any residual pressure from the downstream fluid passageway on an upstream side of the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve. More preferably the bleed passage is formed at least in part by a plurality of circumferentially spaced flat regions or cutouts removed from the head of the receiver poppet.
Preferably the coupling assembly is in the form of a quick-connect coupling assembly. More preferably the quick-connect coupling assembly is of a flush-face design.
In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the present invention a preferred embodiment of a fluid coupling assembly will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
As shown in
The fluid coupling assembly 10 comprises a fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 arranged to releasably couple to a fluid receiver sub-assembly 14. The nozzle sub-assembly 12 is typically connected to a fluid delivery system including a storage reservoir such as a lubricants reservoir via a supply hose (not shown). The delivery system will generally include a pump designed to supply pressurised fluid to the nozzle sub-assembly 12 together with a shut-off valve associated with the supply hose (not shown). The receiver sub-assembly 14 is typically connected to a fluid recipient in the form of a recipient tank such as a lubricants tank (not shown).
The fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 of this embodiment includes:
The fluid receiver sub-assembly 14 of this embodiment includes:
The fluid coupling assembly 10 of this embodiment is of a dry-break configuration and on coupling of the nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the receiver sub-assembly 14 the following steps occur:
The fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 of this embodiment also includes a tail fitting 34 screwed or otherwise connected to the inner body 36 and providing coupling to the supply hose (not shown). The nozzle body assembly 16 of this example includes the inner body 36 which connects coaxial with the tail fitting 34, and an outer body 38 fixed to the inner body 36. The outer body 38 supports a collar 40 which assists an operator in handling the nozzle sub-assembly 12, particularly when coupling it to the receiver sub-assembly 14. The nozzle sub-assembly 12 also includes an actuator 42 which slidably mounts about the outer body 38 and is axially biased outward of the receiver sub-assembly 12 via actuator spring 44. The actuator 42 cooperates with a ball lock mechanism 46 designed to provide inter-engagement between the nozzle sub-assembly 12 and receiver sub-assembly 14 upon their coupling in a conventional manner.
The fluid receiver sub-assembly 14 of this embodiment also includes a receiver poppet valve 48 mounted with the receiver body 26 adjacent its inlet 50. The receiver poppet valve 48 includes a poppet support 52 within which a secondary poppet 54 reciprocates for opening and closure of the inlet 50 of the receiver body 26. The poppet support 52 is fixed within the downstream fluid passageway 28 and also provides an internal mounting for the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve 30.
In coupling of the fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the fluid receiver sub-assembly 14, the receiver poppet 54 is contacted by the inner body 36 of the nozzle body 16 wherein the receiver poppet 54 is axially displaced relative to the poppet support 52. This axial displacement of the receiver poppet 54 effects opening of the inlet 50 to provide fluid within the downstream fluid passageway 28 which, as described earlier, hydraulically-actuates the hydraulically actuated poppet valve 30.
The fluid receiver sub-assembly 14 includes a receiver tail 56 connected to and provided coaxial with the receiver body 26. The receiver tail 56 includes the exit outlet 58. It will be appreciated that the receiver tail 56 is screwed or otherwise coupled directly or indirectly to the fluid recipient tank (not shown),
In this embodiment the discharge opening 20 is one of a plurality of radial openings such as 20a shown best in
The sleeve 22 is in this embodiment in the form of a piston and is arranged for sealing closure about the plurality of radial openings such as 20a. Importantly the piston 22 is configured relative to the discharge passages 60a/b so that on sliding movement of the piston 22 for opening of the fluid discharge openings such as 20a, the volume of pressurised fluid within the discharge passages 60a/b and contained by the piston 22 remains substantially constant. The piston 22 is thus axially displaced with relative ease without requiring compression of the fluid which is typically an incompressible liquid.
As best seen in
The fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 in this embodiment includes sleeve biasing means in the form of sleeve spring 66 operatively coupled to the sleeve or piston 22 to urge it closed about the discharge openings such as 20a. The combined biasing action of the sleeve spring 66 and the hydraulic or drag forces via the fluid pocket 62 means the spring 66 can apply a relative low biasing force to the sleeve or piston 22. This is advantageous because it means that less resistance is provided by the first sleeve spring 66 on coupling of the fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the fluid receiver sub-assembly 14.
As best shown in
This sealing arrangement for the sleeve 22 together with the annular channel 72 combines to reduce the friction or sliding resistance between the sleeve 22 and the inner body 36 of the nozzle body assembly 16. The sleeve spring 66 is thus required to provide less biasing force in promoting closure of the sleeve 22 on uncoupling of the fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 from the fluid receiver sub-assembly 14. This also means the sleeve 22 axially slides along the inner body 36 with relative ease during coupling of the fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the fluid receiver sub-assembly 14. The quick-connect coupling assembly 10 of this embodiment thus requires reduced effort by an operator in manually aligning and coupling the fluid nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the fluid receiver sub-assembly 14.
As best seen in
The poppet support 52 is also configured wherein its mounting section 82 includes one or more fluid apertures such as 94a to 94c arranged to permit fluid to flow through downstream fluid passage 28 from outside of the piston support 52 to inside of the piston support 52 via the fluid apertures such as 94a.
Thus, on coupling of the nozzle sub-assembly 12 to the receiver sub-assembly 14 and subsequent opening of the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve 30, the fluid exits the receiver sub-assembly 14 via the outlet 86.
As seen in
In this embodiment the receiver poppet 48 includes a receiver poppet spring 107 housed within a cylindrical section 108 of the secondary poppet 48 and a corresponding cavity 110 at an upstream end of the poppet support 52. The cylindrical section 108 includes slotted openings 112 which provide for venting of the cavity 110 during opening of the receiver poppet 48. At the limit of travel for the receiver poppet 48 (see
In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a fluid receiver sub-assembly such as 14 of the preceding embodiment. The receiver sub-assembly 14 is part of a fluid coupling assembly such as 10 and is of a dry-break configuration. The fluid receiver sub-assembly 14 may cooperate with a fluid nozzle sub-assembly such as 12 of the preceding embodiment or an alternative nozzle sub-assembly to which it can releasably couple.
Now that a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the fluid coupling assembly has at least the following advantages over the admitted prior art:
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For example, the male and female configuration of the fluid receiver sub-assembly and the fluid nozzle sub-assembly respectively may be reversed. The upstream and/or downstream flow passageways may be reconfigured or reoriented provided functionally the fluid coupling assembly operates as broadly defined. For example, the hydraulically-actuated poppet valve may cooperate with a central flow passage rather than the annular flow passage located outside the poppet support. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016901881 | May 2016 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2017/050464 | 5/18/2017 | WO | 00 |
