CA1073941A - Hose or pipe coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The hose or pipe coupling comprises inter-connectible male and female parts, the female part including an extensible internal ring adapted to clasp over the mating end of the male coupling part. The female part includes a cylindrical body of unitary construction.

Description

1 This invention concerns a hose or pipe coupling.
Existing hose couplings generally have a bayonet joint which requires both relative axial and rotational movements be-tween the respective male and female coupling parts in order to connect and disconnect the coupling. Such couplings have the disadvantage that slots of the bayonet joint can become blocked by ~ud, dirt or other matter so as to make difficult the operations of connecting and disconnecting the coupling. This is particularly disadvantageous in fire-fighting equipment where speed in connecting and disconnecting couplings is of great importance.
In order to avoid the above-mentioned disadvantage a hose coupling has been proposed in which a male coupling part includes a cylindrical body having a tapered mating end which is of larger diameter so as to provide a shoulder facing away from the said end of the body, and a collar mounted on the body for limlted sliding movement towards and away from the shoulder. A
complementary female coupling part includes a cylindrical body having a flanged mating end adapted to receive the tapered mating end of the male coupling part and having a threaded end piece engaged with the flange to form at the mating end an inwardly facing circumferential groove accommodating an expansible seg-mental ring having an internal surface which increases in dia-meter towards its outer end, this ring being expanded upon inser-tion of the male coupling part so as to ride over its tapered mating end and then contract to abut with the shoulder so that the coupling parts become locked together. The ring is also expanded to separate the coupling parts by movement of the collar on the male coupling part towards the shoulder, so that the coupling parts can then be separated.
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1 However, this proposed coupling has certain disad-vantages. For example, making the female coupling part as a two-piece member renders it expensive to manufacture and assemble. Furthermore, provision of the release collar on the male coupling part is unacceptable for security reasons where it might be required to use the coupling in a permanent or semi-permanent installation.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved coupling of the above type.
With this object in view the present invention provides a hose or pipe coupling comprising a male coupling part includ-ing a cylindrical body having a mating end which presents a shoulder facing away from the said end of the body, and a female coupling part including a cylindrical body and having a mating end adapted to receive and lock about the mating end of the male coupling part, the female cylindrical body being of unitary construction and presenting a radially inwardly open circum-ferential groove or recess accommodating an expansible segmental ring adapted to expand upon insertion therein of the mating end of the male coupling part so as to ride thereover and engage behind the shoulder to lock the coupling parts together.
The segmental ring may have an annular groove or recess in its radially outer surface accommodating a circular coiled spring which surrounds the ring to hold its segments in position.
Preferably the segmental ring consists of five segments although a ring having a greater or lesser number of segments may be used.
The female coupling part may be pro~ided with a sealing ring, seated axially inwardly of the segmental ring, for sealing against the mating end of the male coupling part when the parts are connected together.

1 The sealing ring may be accommodated in a second radially inwardly open circumferential groove or recess of the female cylindrical body, said second groove or recess being axially separated from the groove or recess accommodating the segmental ring by a radially inwardly extending annular wall of the cylindrical body, the wall presenting opposed annular sur-faces each defining a side face of the respective groove or recess.
An additional sealing ring may be provided in the fe-~0 male coupling part, being seated axially outwardly of the seg-mental ring.
Alternatively, or additionally, at least one sealing ring may be provided on the male coupling part for sealing against an appropriate internal surface of the female coupling part.
The or each sealing ring preferably consists of natural rubber or of synthetic rubber such as neoprene, butyl, ethylene-propylene, silicone, butadiene-acrylonitrile or fluorocarbon rubber, the last two being particularly suitable.
~ The male coupling part may have a release collar mounted on its cylindrical body for movement therealong towards and away from the shoulder, the collar when positioned adjacent the shoulder with the coupling parts joined together acting to expand the segmental ring to permit separation of the coupling parts.
The release collar preferably has a flange extending radially outwardly from its end remote from the shoulder, the flange providing a pressure plate by which the collar can be moved.
. Movement of the release collar away from the shoulder of the male coupling part may be limited by a circlip or the like ring accommodated in a circumferential groove in the male 1~73~4i 1 cylindrical body.
Preferably, however, the release collar comprises two semi-circular ring parts which may be releasably attached to-gether, as by bolting, to permit mounting and removal thereof on/from the male cylindrical body.
In an alternative release arrangement, the segmental ring may be made of a magnetizable material such as high tension carbon steel or a plastics material containing a metallic powder, the ring being expanded to permit separation of the coupling parts by placing a magnetic ring around the mating end of the female coupling part.
The male and female coupling parts may be provided with serrations or barbs to facilitate their firm mounting in respective ends of a flexible hose.
Alternatively the male and female coupling parts may be provided on respective ends of a rigid pipe section.
Two or more male coupling parts or two or more female coupling parts may be provided on respective pipe ends of a coupling unit adapted to couple together conduit ends which are each provided with identical female or male coupling parts, respectively.
Such a coupling unit may have two ends provided with female coupling parts for the reception of respective male coupl-ing parts, the un't comprising a hollow cylindrical body having annular end walls whose inner diameter is at least equal to the outer diameter of the mating ends of the male coupling parts, an expansible segmental ring of radially inwardly open U-section accommodated within the body for locking engagement with each of the male coupling parts, and a sealing member accommodated with-in the segmental ring for sealing engagement with each of themale coupling parts.

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1 The male and female coupling parts may be made of a rigid plastics material or metal such as steel, brass, aluminium or alloy.
Where the coupling parts are metal, they may be provid-ed with a corrosion-resistant coating such as fluorinated ethyl-ene propylene (F.E.P.), polyphenylene sulphide (P.P.S.), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (E.T.F.E.), nylon epoxy or low density and high density (LD & HD) polythene.
The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is an axial section through a preferred embodi-ment of hose coupling of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a similar section through a preferred embodi-ment of pipe coupling of the invention; and Fig. 3 is a similar section through a coupling unit having two female ends for coupling with two male coupling parts, the upper and lower parts of the figure respectively showing the unit in its coupled and uncoupled conditions.
The coupling shown in Fig. 1 comprises mutually inter-connectible male and female coupling parts 10 and 20 respectlvely.The male coupling part 10 includes a cylindrical tube 11 of which one end, its mating end 12, is of larger diameter so as to provide a shoulder 13 acing away from the end 12 of the tube 11. This larger-diameter portion is also tapered at 14 towards the end 12 of the tube to provide for mating with the female coupling part 20 as will hereinafter be described. In order to have two different applications, namely (a) high pressure and (b) vacuum - this tapered end 12 could also be made of neoprene or rubber coated with TEFLON (Registered Trade Mark) so as to act as a soft sealing with the female coupling part 20 to ensure a perfect vacuum. In particular for vacuum application, the large diameter portion (i.e. the tapered portion 14) can be 1~73~41 1 separately made of neoprene or nitrile rubber (or other similar soft material for different applications, such as chemicals and corrosive liquids) and pushed over the mating end 12. This soft tapered portion 14 could also prevent the possible damage of the male coupling part 10 if it should be dropped. A flanged collar 15 is mounted on the tube 11 for movement towards and away from the shoulder 13, movement away from the shoulder 13 being limited by a spring steel ring 16 accommodated in a circumferential groove in the tube 11, the steel ring 16 having a thickness greater than the depth of the groove so as to form an abutment or stop for the collar 15. The collar 15 is arranged with its flanged end 17 remote from the shoulder 13. The other end of the tube 11, i.e. its tail end, is provided with circumferential barbs or serrations (not shown) providing binding grips for engagement with the internal surface of a hose (also not shown) of appropriate diameter.
The female coupling part 20 includes a cylindrical tube 21 of the same diameter as that of the male coupling part, and has an enlarged mating end 22 adapted to receive the mating end 12 of the male coupling part 10. The mating end 22 of the tube 21 has a radially outwardly extending flange 23 from which a cylindrical portion 24 extends forwardly of the tube 2i and which has, at its front or free end, an internal groove 24a for receiving a circlip 25. The tube 21, the flange 23 and the cylindrical portion 24 are integrally formed, within this mating end 22 of the female coupling part 20, i.e. between the circlip groove 24a and the forward face 23a of the tube flange 23, there is pro~ided a radially inwardly open recess 26 accommodating a segmental ring 27 consisting of five segments, although it will be appreciated that a ring with a greater or lesser number of segments may be used. The ring segments are held together by .

1~3'7~41 1 a circular coiled spring Z8 which is located in aligned grooves in the outer surfaces of the segments and which together form a circumferential groove 29 of the ring 27. This circular spring 28 enables the segmental ring 27 to be expansible, whilst normally restraining the ring 27 to its smallest diameter. The ring 27 has an internal surface 27a which increases in diameter towards its front or outer end so as to provide an abutment surface for contact by the tapered mating end 12 of the male coupling part lO. The forward end of the groove 26 is defined by an annular ring 30 disposed between the circlip 25 and the segmental ring 27. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, annular ring 30 is L-shaped and provides a narrow lip unto which the segment-al ring 27 engages, which narrow lip thus restricts the radial inward movement of the segments of segmental ring 27.
The female coupling part 20 presents a further radial-ly inwardly open groove 31, axially separated from recess 26 by an integral annular wall 32, which groove 31 accommodates a rubber sealing ring 33 which seals against the tapered portion 14 of the male coupling part 10 when the coupling parts 10 and 20 are connected together. The sealing ring 33 is formed of natural or synthetic rubber such as neoprene, butyl, ethylene-propylene, silicone, butadiene-acrylonitrile, or fluorocarbon rubber, depending upon the substances intended to be conveyed through the coupling. For example, butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber is particularly suitable for use with petrols, kerosene, some solvents, most mineral oils and greases, fuel oils and similar hydrocarbons, while flurorcarbon rubbers have extremely good resistance to mineral oils, fuels and non-polar solvents, including high aromatic and chlorinated types, as well as water and steam.

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1 As with the male coupling part 10, the tail of the tube 21 of the female coupling part 20 is provided with cir-cumferential barbs or serrations (not shown) which provide binding grips for engagement with the internal surface of a hose (also not shown) of appropriate diameter. The coupling parts 10 and 20 may be made of a rigid plastics material or of a metal such as steel brass, or any other suitalbe metal alloy.
To connect together the coupling parts 10 and 20, the mating end 12 of the male coupling part 10 is simply thrust into the female coupling part 20. As this is done, the tapered portion 14 of the male coupling part 10 abuts with the segmental ring 27. As insertion continues, the segmental ring 27 is enlarged against the radially inwardly directed forces of its circular spring 28, so that the segmental ring 27 rides over the mating end 12 of the male coupling part 10 until its shoulder 13 passes the segmental ring 27. At this point the spring 28 contracts the segmental ring 27 to close behind the shoulder 13, so that withdrawal of the male coupling part 10 is then prevented by abutment of the shoulder 13 with the inner or rearward annular end of the segmental ring 27. At the same time, the tapered portion 14 of the male coupling part 10 enters and seals against the sealing ring 33 to prevent leakage through the segmental ring 27.
To disconnect the coupling parts, the collar 15 of the male coupling part 10 is moved, by simply pushing on its flange 17 which thus acts as a pressure plate, towards the shoulder 13.

This movement forces the collar 15 to slide into the segmental ring 27 which is thereby forced to expand to enable it to return over the enlarged mating 12 end of the male coupling part 10 and allow the coupling parts to separate.

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1 This hose coupling is therefore extremely simple and speedy to connect and disconnect, and there are no slots to become blocked by dirt. This renders the coupling particularly - suitable for fire hoses, although it is equally suitable for other applications such as for fuel hoses, for example for re-fueling aircraft or for delivering fuel to storage tanks, irrigation schemes, oil pipe lines, electrical cables (to high or low voltage cable joining devices), and hoses for other industrial and domestic purposes. In hydraulic tests carried out on a two-inch diameter coupling made of a rigid plastics material, the coupling withstood pressures of up to 500 p.s.i.
without showing any signs of failure, and withstood 15 inches of mercury vacuum with no leaks. In hydraulic tests carried out on a two inch diameter coupling made of mild steel, the coupling withstood pressures of up to 1000 p.s.i. without showing any signs of failure and withstood 30 inches of mercury vacuum with no leaks (this was the pump's rated maximum vacuum level).
Assembly of the segmental ring and its retaining means into the female coupling starts withthe arranging of the segments of the segmental ring 27 around the lip of annular ring 30 followed by the drawing of circular spring 28 into position.
This then results in a unitary component which can easily be inserted into the enlarged mating end 22 of female coupling part 20 as one piece, the assembly being completed by inserting cir- -clip 25 into internal groove 24a in the enlarged mating end 22 of female coupling part 20.
Conversely, in disassembly of this invention, upon withdrawal of circlip 25, withdrawal of annular ring 30 brings segmental ring 27 with it, with the result that the female coupl-ing part 20 is then completely empty with the exception of seal-ing ring 33.
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4~ ' 1 Thus this invention has the specific and definite advantage bf ease of construction, assembly and disassembly.
The one-piece construction of the female coupling part, with the exception of the segmental ring and its retaining means, facilitates its manufacture and renders it suitable for receiv-ing a corrosion-resistant coating of, for example, F.E.P., P.P.S., E.T.F.E., nylon, epoxy or L.D. & H.D. polythene. In particular, the omission of any threaded components renders such coating practicable, since coatings are difficult to apply to threaded areas and would be easily damaged during assembly of threaded components if they were to be coated.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, shown in Fig. 2, the male and female coupling parts 10 and 20 are provided on respective ends of a rigid pipe section so as to enable a pipeline to be constructed without the need for welding together of the pipe sections. Such a pipeline can, therefore, be constructed very rapidly. For such a requirement, the release collar 15 is omitted from the male coupling part 10 so as to render the pipeline secure against malicious disconnection of the pipe sections. Should it be necessary to disconnect any pipe sections, a release collar comprising two semi-circular sections 15a, 15b, which may be bolted or otherwise joined to-gether, is employed. The semicircular sections 15a, 15_, are placed around the male coupling part 10 and are bolted or other-wise joined together, the release collar then being used as previously described to disconnect the coupling. The release collar is removed from the coupling after use.

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3~41 In an alternative arrangement the segmental ring nay be made of a magnetizable material such as ~errous met~l or a plastics material containing a metallic powder. ~he male coupling part may be made of a similar material and the en-circling spring may be onitted from the segmental ring. Whensuch a coupling i8 connected together ~he segmental ring is held in contact with the male coupling part by magnetic force.

~ o separate the coupling parts a magnetic ring of stronger force is placed around the female coupling part 90 as to attract 10 the segmental ring away from the male coupling part. ~hus the segmental ring is expanded to enable the male coupling part to be withdrawn. ~gain, the magnetic ring is removed after use.
With reference to Fig. 3 there is shown a coupling or adaptor unit having a female coupling part 50 at each end, the 15 unit being adapted to receive two corresponding male coupling parts 40, one in each end. ~he unit consists of a hollow cylindrical body 51 having annular end walls 52 whose inner diameter is sufficiently large as to receive the mating end 42 of the male coupling part and a release collar 45 slidably 20 mounted thereon. Although the male coupling part 40 may be the same as illustrated in ~igs. 1 or 2, it is here shown as being a plain pipe ~nd having a circumferential groove 41 in its outer surface to provide a shoulder 43 facing away from the mating end 42.
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2~ ~he groove 41 receives the expansible segmental ring 57 of the female coupling part when the coupling Parts 40, 50 are 30ined together. ~he segmental ring 57 is of radially inwardly open U-section and is accommodated within the cylindrical body 51, the flanges or side walls 57a, of the ring 57 being adapted 30 for sinultaneous locking engagenent with each of two male coupling part~ 40, as sho~n in the top part of ~ig. 3. As in the embodiments of ~igs. 2 and 3, the segmental ring 57 is biased towards its snallest diameter by a circular spring 58 accommodated ~1 _ ~7~

in a circumferential groove in the outer cylindrical ~urface of the ring 57. A sealing member 53 is accom~odated within the segmental ring 57. ~he sealing member 53 is of cylindrical forn with a central inwardly extending annular wall 53a, against which the ends 42 of a pair of inserted male coupling parts 40 can butt, the inner diameter of the wall 53a being substantially equal to the internal dianeter of the male coupling parts 40 so as to permit a smooth fluid flow through the coupling. ~he inner cylindrical surfaces of the sealing 10 member 539 to each side of the wall 53a, each have a groove accommodating a 6ealing ring 54 which seals against the outer surface of a respective male coupling part 40 to prevent leakage past the segmental ring 57.

~o facilitate assembly, the outer di~meters of the ~ealing .15 member 53 and of the segmental ring 57 when at its smallest di~meter, are both ~lightly less than the inner dia~eter of the end walls 52 of the cylindrical body 51. ~hu~, to assemble the unit, the segmental ring 57 is first inserted into the cylindrical body 51 and is then expanded by use of a suitable 20 tool (not shown) until the inner diameter of its end walls 57a is increased to at least the diameter of the sealing member 53.
~he ~ealing ~e~ber 53 is then inserted axially into the cylindrical body 51 until it is centrally positioned therein as shown in the lower Part of Fig. 3. Finally the segmental ring 25 57 is released so that it is contracted by the spring 58 to assume a position (not shown) against the outer cylindrical surface of the sealing member 53.

~ o use the couplin ~ ember, a pair of male coupl-ng Parts 40 attached to suitable conduits are simply thrust into res-30 pective ends of the coupling member, the segmental ring 57 beingexpanded as the mating ends 42 enter, and finally contracting somewhat into the groo~es 41 to lock behind the shoulders 43 ~~ 1 0'~ ~ 4~
when the male coupling parts are fully inserted. ~he male coupling Parts 40 can be released by mean~ of the relea~e collar 45 a~ previously described.

It will be appreciated that detail modif~cations ma~y be 5 made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example~ additional sealing rings ~ay be providea on the ~ale or female coupling parts.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A coupling comprising mutually interconnectible male and female parts:
the male part including a tubular body having a through axial bore and a tapered mating end and a radially outwardly extending shoulder inboard of and facing away from the mating end;
a disconnect collar circumscribing the male part in-board of and slidable toward and away from the shoulder;
a stop on the male part for restricting collar movement away from the shoulder;
the female part including a tubular body having a through axial bore and an enlarged mating end and an internal surface with an intermediate radially inwardly opening circum-ferential recess and a first radially inwardly opening circum-ferential rabbet outboard of and axially spaced from the inter-mediate recess and a second radially inwardly opening circum-ferential rabbet inboard of and axially spaced from the inter-mediate recess;
a radially outwardly expansible segmented ring seated in the intermediate recess of the female part and having an in-ternal cam surface of increasing diameter toward its outboard side;
yieldable spring means circumscribing and normally restraining the segments of the segmented ring with a radially inwardly directed force;
an annular limit ring disposed adjacent and outboard of the segmented ring for limiting the radial inward movements

Claim 1 continued of the segments of the segmented ring under the force of the spring means, said limit ring providing a seating for location thereon of the segments of the segmented ring under the force of said spring means thereby to form the limit ring, the segmented ring and the spring means into a sub-assembly insertable into and withdrawable from the female part as a unitary component;
a circlip located in the first rabbet for holding the limit ring in continual bearing relationship with the segmented ring;
and a sealing ring seated in the second rabbet;
the male and female parts being selectively shiftable between connect and disconnect modes with the assumption of the connect mode ensuing upon insertion of the male part into the female part and the embracement of the tapered portion of the male part with the segmented ring for effecting enlargement thereof against the restraining force of the spring means and the overriding of the segmented ring on the mating end of the male part and the extending of the shoulder past the segmented ring with the spring means thereupon contracting the segmented ring in locked position behind the shoulder and the sealing of the tapered portion of the male part into sealing embracement with the sealing ring and the asssumption of the disconnect mode ensuing upon shifting of the disconnect collar toward the shoulder for sliding into the segmented ring and expansion there-of and allowance of the return thereof over the mating end of the male part.