Patent Application
20170284572
The present invention relates to liquid-tight conduit fittings, and more particularly to liquid-tight conduit fittings used to terminate flexible conduit to electrical enclosures.
In the field of wiring homes and buildings, whether for new construction or for improvements or expansion, substantial development and product improvements may be necessary. Typically, these improvements are directed to enabling installers to securely mount any desired wiring in any desired location in the most efficient and quickest manner.
In any particular installation or location, various cables must be interconnected to each other as well as connected to the primary power supply in a suitable power distributing junction box or fuse box. In each of these instances, metal sheath cables, within which the electric power carrying wires are contained, must be securely mounted to the housing of the junction box or outlet box, or connected to appropriate devices, in a protected area.
Liquid tight conduit fittings are commonly used to terminate an end extent of a length of flexible conduit to an electrical enclosure such as a junction box. It will be appreciated that such conduit fittings, which are often formed from a plastic material such as UV resistant PVC, may be used in both exterior and interior applications. The fittings must be able to withstand certain environmental and/or physical conditions without failure.
As shown in
It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid-tight connector that can be used to easily secure both ends of the conduit to the terminals.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a liquid-tight connector that can be used to secure one end of the conduit to one terminal and the enable the other end of the conduit to rotate to be secured to the other terminal.
In one aspect, a liquid-tight connector may include a riveting cap, a rotating connector, a threading unit, a sealing ring and a conduit locknut. In one embodiment, an O-ring may be disposed between the rotating connector and the threading unit to enhance the liquid-tight effect of the connector. It is important to note that the rotating connector is configured to engage with the riveting cap through a threaded section, while the rotating connector can freely rotate on the threading unit, so when one end of the conduit is secured to one terminal, the other end of the conduit can still be rotated with the liquid-tight connector to be secured to the other terminal.
More specifically, the threading unit has an engaging groove to engage with a corresponding engaging portion. In one embodiment, the engaging portion has a pair of protrusions to movably engage with the engaging groove, so the rotating connector can freely rotate on the threading unit. In another embodiment, the threading unit has a threaded section to engage with the conduit locking unit.
When in use, a conduit is provided and the connector can be attached to each end of the conduit. It is noted that even though the conduit is connected to the connectors, the rotating connector can still freely rotate on the threading unit. Thus, the conduit 300 can be easily secured on terminals with the connectors. More specifically, as discussed above, the riveting cap and the rotating connector are engaged with each other, while the rotating connector can still freely rotate on the threading unit. Therefore, when one end of the conduit is being secured on the terminal, the other end of the conduit can be easily secured on the other terminal because the conduit can be rotated due to the rotation movement of the rotating connector on the threading unit. In another embodiment, the conduit can be secured at junction boxes on both ends.
a illustrate a schematic view of the liquid-tight connector on both end of the conduit to secure the conduit to two terminals.
The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now described.
All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologies that are described in the publications that might be used in connection with the presently described invention. The publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”, “contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
In one aspect, as shown in
More specifically, the threading unit 230 has an engaging groove 231 surrounding a front portion thereof to engage with a corresponding engaging portion 222 of the rotating connector 220. In one embodiment, the engaging portion 222 has a pair of protrusions 223 to movably engage with the engaging groove 231, so the rotating connector 220 can freely rotate on the threading unit 230. In another embodiment, the threading unit 230 has a threaded section 232 to engage with the conduit locking unit 250.
When in use, a conduit 300 is provided and the connector 200 can be attached to each end of the conduit 300 as shown in
Having described the invention by the description and illustrations above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, but includes any equivalents.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/318,699, filed on Apr. 5, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62318699 | Apr 2016 | US |
