Universal fluid coupling assembly with interchangeable fitting members
First Claim
1. A fluid coupling assembly, comprising:
- a coupler housing having an inner bore that extends along an axis and opens onto a mating end of the coupler housing, the coupler housing having an outer perimeter that includes a coupler flange that extends about the outer perimeter the coupler flange having a periphery that follows a circumferential envelope and has at least one discontinuity to define a blank area in the envelope;
a fitting member with a mounting aperture there through, the mounting aperture having an inner diameter that is smaller than the envelope of the coupler flange, wherein the fitting member is mounted over the coupler flange onto the outer perimeter of the coupler housing by orienting the fitting member in a non-orthogonal relationship with the coupler housing such that the coupler flange passes through the aperture in the fitting member; and
a captive ring loaded over the outer perimeter of the coupler housing, the captive ring being held between the mounting aperture of the fitting member and the outer perimeter of the coupler housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An universal fluid coupling assembly is provided that includes a coupler housing that has an inner bore extending along an axis of, and opening onto a mating end of, the coupler housing. The coupler housing has an outer perimeter that includes an outer coupler flange that extends about the outer perimeter and that is located proximate to the mating end. The outer coupler flange has a periphery that follows a predetermined circumferential envelope and that has at least one discontinuity therein to define a blank area in the envelope. The assembly further includes a fitting member with an aperture there through. The aperture has an inner diameter that is smaller than the circumferential envelope of the outer coupler flange. The fitting member is loaded over the outer coupler flange onto the outer perimeter of the coupler housing by orienting the fitting member in a non-orthogonal relation with the coupler housing such that the outer coupler flange passes through the aperture. The circumferential envelope of the outer coupler flange may be generally circular, with the discontinuity including at least one flat cut across a portion of the circumferential envelope to define the blank area.
36 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A fluid coupling assembly, comprising:
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a coupler housing having an inner bore that extends along an axis and opens onto a mating end of the coupler housing, the coupler housing having an outer perimeter that includes a coupler flange that extends about the outer perimeter the coupler flange having a periphery that follows a circumferential envelope and has at least one discontinuity to define a blank area in the envelope; a fitting member with a mounting aperture there through, the mounting aperture having an inner diameter that is smaller than the envelope of the coupler flange, wherein the fitting member is mounted over the coupler flange onto the outer perimeter of the coupler housing by orienting the fitting member in a non-orthogonal relationship with the coupler housing such that the coupler flange passes through the aperture in the fitting member; and a captive ring loaded over the outer perimeter of the coupler housing, the captive ring being held between the mounting aperture of the fitting member and the outer perimeter of the coupler housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A universal fluid coupling assembly, comprising:
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a coupler housing having an outer perimeter that includes a coupler flange, the coupler flange having a periphery that follows an envelope and has at least one discontinuity to define a blank area in the envelope; a flange-type fitting with an aperture there through, the aperture having an inner diameter that is smaller than the envelope of the coupler flange; a threaded union-type fitting with an aperture there through, that has an inner diameter that is smaller than the envelope of the coupler flange, wherein a selected one of the flange-type and union-type fitting is mounted over the coupler flange onto the outer perimeter of the coupler housing by orienting the selected one of the flange-type and union-type fitting in a non-orthogonal relationship with the coupler housing such that the coupler flange passes through the corresponding aperture; and a captive ring loaded over the outer coupler flange, the captive ring engaging a back face of the coupler flange and being secured between the selected one of the flange-type and union-type fitting and the coupler flange. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of configuring a fluid coupling assembly for installation into a fluid distribution system based on a type of mating coupling, the method comprising:
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providing a coupler housing having an inner bore that extends along an axis and opens onto a mating end of the coupler housing, the coupler housing having an outer perimeter that includes a coupler flange that extends about the outer perimeter, the coupler flange having a periphery that follows a circumferential envelope and has at least one discontinuity to define a blank area in the envelope; providing first and second fitting members each having an aperture there through, the apertures each having an inner diameter that is smaller than the circumferential envelope of the coupler flange, the first fitting member constituting one of a union-type fitting, a flange-type fining, a sweat-type fitting and an NPT-type fitting, the second fitting member constituting a different one of the union-type fitting, the flange-type fitting, the sweat-type fitting and the NPT-type fining, wherein both of the first and second fitting members are configured to be used with the coupler housing; selecting one of the first and second fitting members for use with the coupler housing based on the type of mating coupling to be joined thereto; mounting the selected one of the first and second fitting members over the coupler flange onto the outer perimeter of the coupler housing by orienting the selected one of first and second fitting members in a non-orthogonal relationship with the coupler housing as the coupler flange passes through the corresponding aperture; after the selected one of the first and second fitting members is loaded onto the coupler housing, loading a captive ring over the coupler flange; and drawing the selected one of the first and second fitting members up onto the captive ring to seat the captive ring against the coupler flange and in the corresponding aperture. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification