Ball and socket joint with internal stop

• US 6,042,155 A
• Filed: 09/18/1996
• Issued: 03/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lockwood Products Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lockwood Products Incorporated
• Inventors: Lockwood, Mark B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nicholson, Eric K.
• Application Number:
  US08/710,585
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 903/114, 903/115, 903/56, 138/120, 174/86, 174/68.3, 285/184, 285/261, 285/264, 285/146.1, 285/146.2, 285/146.3, 285/166
• US Class Current: 285/264
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 11/18 Articulated hoses, e.g. composed of a series of rings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4461 Articulated
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0475 formed by a succession of articulated units

Abstract

A first connector includes opposite ball and socket elements having a passageway formed therethrough. The socket element has a cavity formed therein for receiving a ball element of a second hose connector to form a hose assembly. A ring is disposed within the cavity for limiting pivotal movement of a ball element inserted therein to minimize the risk that the connectors, and thereby the hose assembly, will separate.

Claims

1. A connector comprising:

a body having first and second end portions and a longitudinal axis extending in the direction from the first to the second end portions, the body defining a passageway therethrough between the first and second end portions;

the body including a socket engaging end surface at the first end portion, the first end portion defining a stop receiving opening which is open through the socket engaging end surface and which is a portion of the passageway, the socket engaging end surface being the external surface of the first end portion of the body;

the body also including an internal socket receiving cavity or opening at the second end portion; and

the body including a stop projecting from the body and into the internal socket receiving cavity, the socket engaging end surface of a first of said connectors being sized to snap fit into the internal socket receiving cavity of a second of said connectors, and whereby when the socket engaging end surface of a first of said connectors is snap fit into the internal socket receiving cavity of a second of said connectors, the stop of the second connector is positioned for insertion into the stop receiving opening of the first connector to limit the relative pivoting of the connectors.

2. A connector according to claim 1 in which the stop is a projecting ring of circular cross section.

3. A flexible tubular assembly comprising:

at least two connectors, each having two oppositely arranged end portions and a passageway therethrough between the end portions defining a longitudinal axis, wherein the first end portion of the first connector and the second end portion of the second connector are sized to snap-fit together and are pivotal with respect to the longitudinal axis, the first end portion of the first connector having an inner coupling surface and the second end portion of the second connector having an outer coupling surface that terminates at an outer opening of the second connector, which coupling surfaces are in engagement with each other, wherein the diameter of the coupling surfaces decreases from a middle portion in axial direction towards the ends of the corresponding connector, the first end portion of the first connector including a cavity having a stop extending in the direction toward the outer opening of the second end portion of the second connector, wherein in a pivoted position of the connectors a wall of the outer opening of the second end portion of the second connector engages the stop to prevent further pivoting.

4. The flexible tubular assembly according to claim 3 wherein the stop extends into the outer opening of the second end portion of the second connector.

5. The flexible tubular assembly according to claim 3 wherein the stop is annular and surrounds the passageway.

6. The flexible tubular assembly according to claim 3 wherein the stop is in the form of a right cylinder having a circular cross section.

7. The flexible tubular assembly according to claim 3 wherein the wall of the outer opening of the second end portion of the second connector which comes into engagement with the stop is chamfered and diverges to the outer end.

8. A method of joining a first connector having a first longitudinal axis in series with a second connector having a second longitudinal axis comprising the steps of:

forming a stop with a longitudinal axis on one of the series of the connectors;

forming a stop engaging surface on the other of the series of the connectors;

snap-fitting the one connector to the other connector when the connectors are joined in series;

maintaining the stop and stop engaging surface in spaced apart relationship when the first longitudinal axis is parallel to the second longitudinal axis; and

pivoting the first connector relative to the second connector so that the stop abuts the stop engaging surface to generate a reaction force substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stop to minimize decoupling of the first connector from the second connector during said pivoting step.

9. A method of joining a first connector in series with a second connector comprising:

forming one of the connectors with a ball portion;

forming the other of the connectors with a socket portion;

snap-fitting the ball portion of the one connector into the socket portion of the other connector;

forming a stop on the other of the connectors with the stop extending within the socket portion of the other connector in spaced apart relationship to an inside surface of the socket portion; and

trapping the ball portion of the one connector between the inside surface of the socket portion of the other connector and an outer surface of the stop when the one connector is pivoted relative to the other connector.

10. A method of joining a first pivotal connector in series to a second pivotal connector comprising the steps of:

providing a stop having a longitudinal axis in one of the series of the connectors;

forming a stop engaging surface having a longitudinal axis in the other of the connectors;

snap-fitting the first connector to the second connector to join the first connector in series with the second connector;

maintaining the stop in spaced apart relationship from the stop engaging surface when the longitudinal axes of the stop and stop engaging surface are substantially in alignment;

pivoting one of the connectors relative to the other of the connectors for engaging at least a portion of the stop with at least a portion of the stop engaging surface; and

generating a reaction force acting substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stop as a result of engagement of the stop portion with the stop engaging surface portion to minimize possible decoupling of the one connector from the other connector during said pivoting step.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10 further including:

forming one of the connectors with a ball portion;

forming the other of the connectors with a socket portion;

snap-fitting the ball portion of the one connector into the socket portion of the other connector;

forming the stop to extend within the socket portion of the other connector in spaced apart relation to an inside surface of the socket portion; and

trapping the ball portion of the one connector between the inside surface of the socket portion of the other connector and an outer surface of the stop when the one connector is pivoted relative to the other connector.

12. A hose connector assembly comprising:

a first connector having a female portion and a first longitudinal axis;

a second connector having a male portion and a second longitudinal axis, the male portion having an interior wall defining a longitudinally extending stop receiving opening;

the male portion being sized so as to snap-fit into the female portion to interconnect the first and second connectors, with the first connector being free to pivot about the first longitudinal axis relative to the second connector and the second connector being free to pivot about the second longitudinal axis relative to the first connector; and

said female portion further comprising a stop extending parallel to said first longitudinal axis towards said stop receiving opening of said male portion, said stop extending within said stop receiving opening when the second connector is pivoted relative to the first connector to engage the interior wall of the male portion to limit the extent of pivoting movement of the second longitudinal axis out of alignment with the first longitudinal axis when the male portion is disposed within the female portion.

13. A connector assembly according to claim 12 wherein the first and second connectors each have a passageway formed therethrough, the passageways being in communication through the stop.

14. A connector assembly according to claim 12 wherein the stop has an exterior surface and said male portion has a chamfered surface which is positioned to abut the exterior surface of the stop as the second connector is pivoted relative to the first connector to thereby limit the extent to which the connectors pivot relative to each other.

15. A connector assembly according to claim 12 wherein the connectors are made of a non-electrically conductive polymer material.

16. A hose connector assembly comprising a plurality of interconnected connectors which together define a passageway through the interconnected connectors, the assembly comprising:

one connector having a first male portion and a first longitudinal axis;

another connector having a second female portion and a second longitudinal axis;

the first male portion being sized for insertion into the second female portion to interconnect the first and second connectors, a stop formed in one of the first male portion and second female portion and a stop engaging element formed in the other of the first male portion and second female portion, the stop and stop engaging elements engaging one another upon pivoting of the first and second connectors to position their longitudinal axes out of alignment to limit further misalignment of such longitudinal axes; and

at least two of said one connector and at least two of said another connector being interconnected directly to one another as the plurality of interconnected connectors;

in which said at least two of said one and said at least two of said another connector are sized to snap-fit together.

17. A hose connector assembly comprising:

a first connector formed in one piece having a female portion and a first longitudinal axis;

a second connector formed in one piece having a male portion and a second longitudinal axis, the male portion having an interior wall defining a longitudinally extending stop receiving opening, the stop receiving opening forming a portion of a passageway extending longitudinally through the second connector;

the male portion being sized to for insertion into the female portion to interconnect the first and second connectors, with the first connector being free to pivot about the first longitudinal axis relative to the second connector and the second connector being free to pivot about the second longitudinal axis relative to the first connector; and

said female portion further comprising a stop extending parallel to said first longitudinal axis towards said stop receiving opening of said male portion, said stop extending within said stop receiving opening when the second connector is pivoted relative to the first connector to engage the interior wall of the male portion to limit the extent of pivoting movement of the second longitudinal axis out of alignment with the first longitudinal axis when the male portion is disposed within the female portion.

18. A hose connector assembly comprising:

a first connector having a female portion and a first longitudinal axis;

a second connector having a male portion and a second longitudinal axis, the male portion having an interior wall defining a longitudinally extending stop receiving opening;

the male portion being sized to snap fit into the female portion to interconnect the first and second connectors, with the first connector being free to pivot about the first longitudinal axis relative to the second connector and the second connector being free to pivot about the second longitudinal axis relative to the first connector; and

said female portion further comprising stop means extending parallel to said first longitudinal axis towards said stop receiving opening of said male portion, said stop means extending within said stop receiving opening when the second connector is pivoted relative to the first connector and comprising means for engaging the interior wall of the male portion to limit the extent of pivoting movement of the second longitudinal axis out of alignment with the first longitudinal axis when the male portion is disposed within the female portion.

19. A hose connector assembly comprising a plurality of interconnected connectors which together define a passageway through the interconnected connectors, the assembly comprising:

one connector having a first male portion and a first longitudinal axis;

another connector having a second female portion and a second longitudinal axis;

the first male portion being sized for insertion into the first female portion to interconnect the first and second connectors, a stop formed in one of the first male portion and second female portion and a stop engaging element formed in the other of the first male portion and second female portion, the stop and stop engaging elements engaging one another upon pivoting of the first and second connectors to position their longitudinal axes out of alignment to limit further misalignment of such longitudinal axes;

at least two of said one and at least two of said another connectors being interconnected as the plurality of interconnected connectors; and

each of said at least two of said one and of said at least two of said another connectors being of one-piece construction and being interconnected without any seal forming components separate from said one-piece connectors being disposed between the interconnected connectors.