Conduit connection

• US 5,799,984 A
• Filed: 03/07/1996
• Issued: 09/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ANR Manufacturing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ANR Manufacturing, Inc.
• Inventors: Reynolds, Russell T. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Arola, Dave W.
• Application Number:
  US08/612,081
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 285/319, 285/902, 285/317, 285/340, 285/403, 285/383, 285/320, 285/195, 285/218, 285/90, 285/417, 285/404, 285/38, 285/906, 285/382, 285/194, 174/215 S, 174/60, 174/64, 174/65 R, 403/328, 403/329
• US Class Current: 285/38
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 21/08 with additional locking means F16L17/035, F16L17/04, F16L21/04, F16L21/06 take precedence; screwed joints F16L19/08; couplings of the quick-acting type F16L37/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 25/01 specially adapted for realising electrical conduction between the two pipe ends of the joint or between parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 285/906 Equivalents

Abstract

A connector for a rigid electrical conduit has an internal cylindrical socket sized to snugly receive the end of the conduit. A spring leaf detent is externally mounted on the connector body, with a free end of the leaf extending through a slot in the connector body side wall. Inserting a conduit into the socket deflects the spring leaf away from the socket axis, thereby generating a resilient stress in the leaf that enables the free end of the leaf to exert a gripping action on the conduit. The grip action can be removed by unloosening a screw that is used to mount the leaf spring on the connector body.

Claims

1. A method for securing a conduit to a member having an inner surface defining an opening for receiving said conduit, said member further comprising flexible locking means for locking said conduit to said member manually engageable from the exterior of said member and communicating with the interior of said member by means of a slot through said member, said locking means being controlled by adjustable control means for engagement and disengagement of said member with said conduit, said adjustable control means being engageable to move either toward or away from said member, said method comprising:

inserting the conduit into the member so that the outer surface of said conduit matingly corresponds to the inner surface of the member substantially throughout the circumference of the conduit;

engaging said adjustable control means to move relative to said member to urge said flexible locking means to biasingly contact and exert a resilient detent upon said conduit; and

disconnecting said conduit from said member solely by disengagement of said adjustable controls means to move relative to said member to disengage said flexible locking means from said conduit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said flexible locking means includes a leaf spring having a flat planar mounting portion and an arm portion and wherein the step of engaging said adjustable control means includes engaging said adjustable control means to move relative to said member and urge said flat planar mounting portion to directly contact said member whereby said arm portion biasingly contacts said conduit.

3. A connector into which a rigid tubular electrical conduit having a smooth exterior surface can be secured, comprising:

an annular socket member that includes a tubular sidewall having an external surface and an internal cylindrical surface defining a socket axis, said internal surface being adapted to have a slidable fit with a tubular electrical conduit inserted into the socket member and to conform matingly with the exterior surface of said tubular electrical conduit throughout the circumference of both surfaces;

a slot formed in said tubular wall;

a mounting area on the external surface of the tubular wall;

a securement device; and

a spring leaf detent being secured to said mounting area by said securement device, said spring leaf detent extending through said slot and being engageable with any point along the smooth exterior surface of said conduit.

4. The connector of claim 3 wherein said spring leaf detent includes a flat planar mounting portion seated on said mounting area on said external surface and a second integral deflectable planar portion extending angularly from said flat planar mounting portion through said slot for engaging an electrical conduit inserted into the socket member by means of the fixed securement of said detent to said external surface by said securement device.

5. The connector of claim 4 wherein said spring leaf detent further includes a tab projecting from said second integral deflectable planar portion.

6. The connector of claim 4 wherein said flat planar mounting portion is secured directly to said mounting area on said external surface by said securement device.

7. A connector into which a tubular electrical conduit can be secured, comprising:

an annular socket member that includes a tubular sidewall having an exterior surface and an internal cylindrical surface defining a socket axis, said internal surface being adapted to have a slidable fit on a tubular electrical conduit inserted into the socket member, wherein mating correspondence exists between the outer surface of said electrical conduit and the internal surface of said connector in at least one plane perpendicularly intersecting said socket axis and substantially throughout the length of the socket member axis correspondent with the axis of the electrical conduit;

a slot formed in said tubular wall;

a mechanism to biasingly engage and exert a resilient detent between said conduit and said annular socket member together, said mechanism including a first portion secured to said external surface of said socket member and a second portion extending through said slot and being movable between an engaged position wherein said second portion biasingly contacts said conduit and a disengaged position wherein said second portion is disengaged from said conduit; and

a securement device securing said first portion of said mechanism to said exterior surface of said socket member.

8. The connector of claim 7 wherein said socket member includes a raised mount on said exterior surface and said first portion of said mechanism is secured to said mount by said securement device.

9. The connector of claim 8 wherein said mechanism is a leaf spring.

10. The connector of claim 9 wherein said securement device includes an adjustable control means movable relative to said socket member to selectively urge said leaf spring between said engaged and said disengaged positions.

11. The connector of claim 9 wherein said leaf spring includes a tab projecting therefrom, said tab manually engageable from the exterior of said socket member to remove said leaf spring from said slot.

12. The connector of claim 7, wherein a cross section of said inner surface of said socket member taken along a plane perpendicular to the socket member axis is a circle, said tubular electrical conduit has a conduit axis, and a cross section of said outer surface of said electrical conduit along a plane perpendicular to said conduit axis is a circle.

13. A connector into which a tubular electrical conduit having a smooth exterior surface can be secured, comprising:

an annular socket member that includes a tubular side wall having an external surface and an internal cylindrical surface defining a socket axis, said internal surface being adapted to have a slidable fit with a tubular electrical conduit inserted into the socket member;

a slot formed in said tubular wall;

a mounting area on the external surface of the tubular wall;

a securement device; and

a spring leaf detent being secured to said mounting area by said securement device, said spring leaf detent extending through said slot and being engageable with any point along the smooth exterior surface of said conduit, said spring leaf detent having a tab engageable to remove said spring leaf detent from said slot.

14. The connector of claim 13 wherein said spring leaf detent further includes a flat mounting portion and a second integral deflector planar portion, said flat mounting portion seated on said mounting area, said second integral deflector planar portion extending angularly from said flat planar mounting portion through said slot for engaging an electrical conduit inserted into the socket member by means of affixed securement of said flat mounting portion to said external surface by said securement device, said tab projecting from said second integral deflectable planar portion.

15. The connector of claim 14 wherein said securement device includes a rivet securing said flat planar mounting portion directly to said mounting area on said external surface.

16. A method for securing a conduit to a member having an inner surface defining an opening for receiving said conduit, said member further comprising flexible locking means biased toward an engaged position for locking said conduit to said member, said flexible locking means coupled to said member and having a tab manually engageable from the exterior of said member for moving said flexible locking means toward a disengaged position with said conduit, said method comprising:

engaging said tab to move said locking means into said disengaged position;

inserting the conduit into the member; and

releasing said tab to allow said flexible locking means to move toward said engaged position, to biasingly contact said conduit, and to exert a resilient detent between said conduit and said member.

17. The method of claim 16 further including the step of disconnecting said conduit from said member solely by engaging said tab and moving said locking means into said disengaged position.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said flexible locking means is a leaf spring that deflects upon movement from said engaged position.