Controlled phase sequential gripping device

Claim 1

A PHASE CONTROLLED SEQUENTIAL GRIPPING DEVICE FOR A MALE MEMBER HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A COUPLING BODY HAVING A PASSAGEWAY FOR RECEIVING THE MALE MEMBER, SAID PASSAGEWAY BEING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL THROUGHOUT A PORTION OF ITS LENGTH AND BEING PROVIDED WITH A FIRST COAXIAL REARWARDLY OPENING, GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL CAMMING MOUTH OF PREDETERMINED AXIAL EXTENT ADAPTED TO SURROUND THE MALE MEMBER WHEN INSERTED IN THE COUPLING BODY, SAID CAMMING MOUTH FORMING A PREDETERMINED FORWARDLY EXTENDING ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF THE PASSAGEWAY; A FRONT FERRULE ADAPTED TO BE SNUGLY RECEIVED UPON THE MALE MEMBER AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FORM OF A CYLINDRICALLY HOLLOW, RIGHT CIRCULAR FORWARDLY CONVERGING CONICAL FRUSTUM PROVIDING A BORE COAXIAL WITH SAID PASSAGEWAY, A TAPERED EXTERNAL SURFACE HAVING AN AXIAL LENGTH GREATER THAN THAT OF THE FIRST CAMMING MOUTH AND DEFINING AN ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF SAID PASSAGEWAY LESS THAN THAT DEFINED BY THE CAMMING MOUTH, THE TAPERED SURFACE TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END OF THE FRONT FERRULE WITH A CURVED APICAL ZONE SEATED AGAINST THE FIRST CAMMING MOUTH IN INITIAL NON-PRESSURE CONTACT ALONG A LINE OF PREDETERMINED DIAMETER AND ADJACENT TO BUT SPACED FROM THE SMALLER END OF THE FIRST CAMMING MOUTH, SAID CURVED APICAL ZONE BEING JOINED TO THE BORE OF THE FRONT FERRULE BY A GENERALLY FLAT RADIALLY EXTENDING FRONT FACE, THE FRONT FERRULE BEING PROVIDED AT THE REARWARD END THEREOF WITH A SECOND COAXIAL REARWARDLY OPENING GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL UNDERCUT CAMMING MOUTH JOINING THE RADIAL BASE WITH THE BORE OF THE FRONT FERRULE, SAID SECOND CAMMING MOUTH HAVING A RADIAL EXTENT, AT ITS INTERSECTION WITH THE RADIAL BASE, ABOUT EQUAL TO HALF THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER DIAMETERS OF THE FRONT FERRULES; A BACK FERRULE ADAPTED TO BE SNUGLY RECEIVED UPON THE MALE MEMBER ADJACENT THE FRONT FERRULE AND REARWARDLY THEREOF, THE BACK FERRULE BEING IN THE FORM OF AN ANNULAR SLEEVE PROVIDING A BORE COAXIAL WITH SAID PASSAGEWAY AND HAVING A WALL THICKNESS MATERIALLY LESS THAN THE GREATEST WALL THICKNESS OF THE FRONT FERRULE, THE FORWARD END OF THE SLEEVE HAVING AN EXTERNAL FORWARDLY CONVERGING GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL SURFACE RECEIVED WITHIN THE SECOND CAMMING MOUTH, THE FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACE OF THE BACK FERRULE BEING FORMED ON AN ANGLE LESS THAN THAT OF THE SECOND CAMMING MOUTH AND TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END OF THE BACK FERRULE WITH A CURVED APICAL ZONE SEATED AGAINST THE SECOND CAMMING MOUTH IN INITIAL NON-PRESSURE CONTACT ALONG A LINE OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THAT ALONG WHICH THE FRONT FERRULE AND FIRST CAMMING MOUTH CONTACT ONE ANOTHER AND ADJACENT BUT SPACED REARWARDLY FROM THE FORWARD SMALLER END OF THE SECOND CAMMING MOUTH, THE REARWARD END OF THE BACK FERRULE BEING PROVIDED WITH AN ANNULAR RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE PROVIDING A COAXIAL GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL REARWARDLY CONVERGING BACK FACE, THE ANNULAR FLANGE AND THE GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE BACK FERRULE BEING JOINED BY AN ANNULAR MEDIATE SECTION OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DIAMETER THROUGHOUT, THE DIAMETER OF THE MEDIATE SECTION HAVING A MAGNITUDE FALLING WITHIN THE DIAMETRAL RANGE DEFINED BY THE INTERSECTION OF THE SECOND CAMMING MOUTH WITH THE RADIAL BASE SURFACE, AND BY THE LINE ALONG WHICH THE APICAL ZONE OF THE FRONT FERRULE CONTACTS THE FIRST CAMMING MOUTH; A COUPLING NUT THREADEDLY ENGAGED WITH THE BODY AND PROVIDED WITH A COAXIAL INTERNAL REARWARDLY CONVERGING GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL THRUST SURFACE DISPOSED IN AXIALLY SPACED OPPOSITION TO THE FIRST CAMMING MOUTH AND ENGAGING THE BACK FACE OF THE ANNULAR FLANGE, THE COUPLING NUT AND FIRST CAMMING MOUTH TOGETHER DEFINING AN ANNULAR CHAMBER SURROUNDING THE MALE MEMBER, WHEN INSERTED IN THE COUPLING BODY, WITHIN WHICH THE FRONT AND BACK FERRULES ARE RECEIVED WITH RADIAL CLEARANCE BETWEEN SUCH FERRULES AND THE COUPLING NUT AT NORMAL TORQUE LOADS, THE FIRST AND SECOND CAMMING MOUTHS TOGETHER WITH THE FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACES OF THE FRONT AND BACK FERRULES BEING PROVIDED WITH A CONTROLLED SURFACE FINISH OF FROM ABOUT 4 TO 32 MICROINCHES, THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ABOVE PARTS BEING SUCH THAT UPON INITIAL TORQUING OF THE COUPLING NUT, THE BACK FERRULE EXERTS A SUBSTANTIALLY AXIAL THRUST AGAINST THE FRONT FERRULE TO CAUSE A MAJOR PART OF THE TOTAL FRONT FERRULE DEFORMATION TO BE ACCOMPLISHED PRIOR TO THE TIME DEFORMATION OF THE BACK FERRULE IS INITIATED.