Fitting with separable gripping device for pipe and tube
US7066496B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 15, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jun 27, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 15, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16L19/14
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A tube fitting for a tube end has a female threaded member that cooperates with a male threaded member. The female member includes a tube gripping device in the form of a gripping ring or ferrule that is attached to the female member by a frangible web. Upon a partial pull-up the ferrule engages a camming surface on the male threaded member and breaks off or separates from the female threaded member to become a separate piece so that the fitting then functions as a single ferrule tube fitting. Additional features include a steep camming angle on the camming surface to cause the ferrule to grip the tube end with a bite-type action and to form a primary seal between the camming surface and a front end of the separated ferrule. The ferrule front end, and optionally the entire female threaded member including the initially integral tube gripping device, are hardened to have a hardness ratio that is at least about 3.3 times the hardness of the material of the tube end on the Vickers scale.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.