Fluid conduit coupler

Claim 1

A SWIVEL FLUID COUPLER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SLEEVE HAVING A CYLINDRICAL CHANNEL EXTENDING THERETHROUGH AND AN OPENING EXTENDING THROUGH THE SLEEVE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A HOLLOW TUBE FOR CONDUCTING FLUID, SAID SLEEVE HAVING A CONTINUOUS GROOVE IN THE SURFACE OF THE CHANNEL THEREOF EXTENDING ABOUT THE CHANNEL IN A PLANE NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE CHANNEL, A MEMBER HAVING A FIRST PORTION WITH A CYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE, A SECOND PORTION WITH A CYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE COAXIAL WITH THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE FIRST PORTION AND SPACED FROM THE FIRST PORTION, AND A THIRD PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PORTIONS, THE MEMBER BEING ROTATABLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE SLEEVE AND THE FIRST AND SECOND PORTIONS ROTATABLY ABUTTING THE SURFACE OF THE CHANNEL AND BEING SEALED THERETO AGAINST THE PASSAGE OF FLUID, SAID MEMBER HAVING AN AXIAL BORE EXTENDING THROUGH THE SECOND AND THIRD PORTIONS AND HAVING A MOUTH REMOTE FROM THE FIRST PORTION AND AN ORIFICE EXTENDING THROUGH THE THIRD PORTION COMMUNICATING WITH THE BORE AND THE OPENING OF THE SLEEVE, THE SECOND PORTION OF THE MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A FLUID CONVEYING DEVICE WITH THE MEMBER EXTENDING THEREFROM AND THE MOUTH OF THE BORE OF THE MEMBER IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH THE FLUID CARRIED BY SAID DEVICE, WHEREBY FLUID MAY BE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE MOUTH AND BORE OF THE MEMBER, THE ORIFICE OF THE MEMBER, AND THE OPENING OF THE SLEEVE, THE FIRST PORTION OF THE MEMBER HAVING A SURFACE GENERALLY NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE BORE IMPERVIOUS TO THE PASSAGE OF FLUID AND PROVIDED WITH A RECESS IN SAID SURFACE EXTENDING THEREIN FROM THE END OF THE MEMBER, SAID FIRST PORTION HAVING AN APERTURE EXTENDING THERETHROUGH FROM THE RECESS TO THE CYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE THEREOF, SAID APERTURE BEING ALIGNED WITH THE GROOVE OF THE SLEEVE, A LOCKING MEMBER MOVABLY DISPOSED IN THE APERTURE, AND LATCH MEANS DISPOSED IN THE RECESS OF THE MEMBER FOR CONTROLLING THE POSITION OF THE LOCKING MEMBER, RESILIENT MEANS ACTING BETWEEN SAID NORMAL SURFACE AND SAID LATCH MEANS, REMOVABLE MEANS OPERATIVELY DISPOSED BETWEEN THE LATCH MEANS AND THE FIRST PORTION OF THE MEMBER TO LIMIT OUTWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID LATCH MEANS, SAID LATCH MEANS BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN TWO POSITIONS IN SAID RECESS, THE FIRST OF SAID POSITIONS FORCING THE LOCKING MEMBER OUTWARDLY FROM THE APERTURE INTO THE GROOVE AND THE SECOND POSITION, WHEREIN THE RESILIENT MEANS IS COMPRESSED, RELEASING THE LOCKING MEMBER FOR RETRACTION FROM THE GROOVE, WHEREBY THE SLEEVE MAY BE RELEASED FROM THE MEMBER AND SLIDABLY DISENGAGED FROM THE MEMBER BY ACTUATION OF THE CONTROL MEANS FOR THE LOCKING MEMBER LOCATED WITHIN THE RECESS AT THE END OF THE MEMBER, THUS DISCONNECTING THE HOLLOW TUBE FROM THE FLUID CARRYING DEVICE WITHOUT REMOVING THE MEMBER FROM THE FLUID CARRYING DEVICE.