Tube coupling with frangible ferrule

Claim 1

A COUPLING DEVICE FOR A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ELONGATED MALE MEMBER, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING A FEMALE BODY MEMBER PROVIDED WITH A GENERALLY AXIAL MALE MEMBER RECEIVING BORE HAVING AN OUTWARDLY FLARED CAMMING MOUTH, COUPLING NUT MEANS THREADABLY CONNECTED TO THE FEMALE BODY MEMBER FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT THEREALONG, SAID COUPLING NUT MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FORMING A TAPERED INSIDE WALL OF GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL CONFIGURATION HAVING A SLOP LESS THAN THE SLOPE OF THE FLARED CAMMING MOUTH AND FORMING A BORE WITH A FLARED CAMMING SURFACE GENERALLY COAXIAL WITH THE FLARED CAMMING MOUTH OF THE FEMALE BODY, AN ABUTMENT SURFACE EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CAMMING SURFACE AND DISPOSED IN SPACED OPPOSITION TO SAID FLARED CAMMING MOUTH; DEFORMABLE FERRULE MEANS FOR SEALING AGAINST AND GRIPPING THE MALE MEMBER, SAID FERRULE MEANS HAVING A FORWARD END PORTION AND A REARWARD END PORTION, AND A CENTRAL AXIAL MALE MEMBER RECEIVING BORE, SAID FERRULE MEANS HAVING ITS FORWARD END PORTION A GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE ANGLED IN A DIRECTION CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF FLARED CAMMING MOUTH OF THE FEMALE BODY BUT HAVING A SLOPE LESS THAN THE SLOPE OF THE FLARED CAMMING MOUTH, SAID FERRULE MEANS FURTHER HAVING A REARWARD TAPERED GENERALLY FRUSTO CONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF THE CAMMING BORE OF THE COUPLING NUT MEANS, A PLURALITY OF AXIALLY SPACED, RADIALLY INWARDLY DIRECTED RIDGE MEANS DISPOSED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ABOUT THE INNER PERIPHERY OF SAID FERRULE MEANS AND EXTENDING UNDER SAID REARWARD TAPERED EXTERNAL SURFACE FOR A MAJOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF, SAID FERRULE MEANS BEING CLAMPED BETWEEN THE MOUTH OF THE FEMALE BODY MEMBER AND THE CAMMING BORE OF THE COUPLING NUT FOR SUBSEQUENT AXIAL COMPRESSION THEREBETWEEN WITH THE FOWARD GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE FERRULE MEANS BEING RECEIVED WITHIN THE ENGAGING THE FLARED CAMMING MOUTH OF THE FEMALE BODY MEMBER FOR WEDGING COACTION THEREWITH AND WITH THE TAPERED REARWARD SURFACE BEING CONTIGUOUS WITH THE CAMMING BORE FOR WEDGING COACTION THEREWITH, SAID FERRULE MEANS BEING PROVIDED ON THE REARWARD END PORTION THEREOF WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY ANNULAR FRANGIBLE RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING ABUTMENT MEANS LYING IN A PLANE GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE COUPLING AND ENGAGING THE ABUTMENT MEANS LYING IN A COUPLING NUT MEANS; SAID FRANGIBLE FLANGE MEANS BEING CLOSELY ADJACENT THE REARMOST EXTREMITY OF SAID RIDGE MEANS AND SEPARATING AT LEAST A MAJOR PORTION OF THE TAPERED REARWARD SURFACE OF THE FERRULE MEANS FROM THE REARWARD TERMINUS OF SUCH FERRULE MEANS, THE SLOPE OF THE PORTION OF SAID FERRULE REARWARDLY OF SAID FRANGIBLE MEANS AND THE CORRESPONDING SLOPE OF SAID TAPERED INSIDE WALL MEANS OF SAID COUPLING NUT MEANS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED THAT SUBSTANTIALLY ALL FORCES EXERTED ON SAID FRANGIBLE ELEMENT AND SAID FERRULE ARE AXIALLY ACTING AND ESTBLISH A SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR SHEAR LINE BETWEEN SAID FRANGIBLE ELEMENT AND THE ADJACENT EXTERIOR SURFACE OF SAID FERRULE, THE SHEAR STRENGTH OF SAID FRANGIBLE ABUTMENT MEANS BEING SUCH AS TO RENDER THE SAME CAPABLE OF BEING SHEARED OFF UNDER AN AXIAL LOAD SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAT REQUIRED TO CAM THE FORWARD GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE FERRULE MEANS RADIALLY INWARDLY ALONG SAID FLARED CAMMING MOUTH TO DEFORM FIRST AND FORWARD END OF THE FERRULE MEANS AGAINST THE SURFACE OF THE MALE MEMBER TO BE COUPLED, WHEREBY UPON ROTATION OF THE COUPLING NUT MEANS THE COMPONENTS OF THE DEVICE COACT IN THE FOLLOWING SEQUENCE: THE FERRULE IS PLACED IN AXIAL COMPRESSION AND THE FORWARD GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE THEREOF COACTS WITH THE FLARED CAMMING MOUTH OF THE FEMALE BODY MEMBER TO CAUSE SAID FORWARD END TO CONTRACT RADIALLY UPON A MALE MEMBER TO GRIPPINGLY ENGAGE SAID MALE MEMBER AND PERFECT A PRINCIPAL SEAL, THE ANGULAR FRANGIBLE ABUTMENT MEANS IS SHEARED FROM THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE FERRULE MEANS, AND THE REARWARD TAPERED GENERALLY FRUSTOCONICAL EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE FERRULE COACTS WITH THE CAMMING BORE OF THE COUPLING NUT TO RADIALLY CONTRACT ON SAID REARWARD PORTION TO PLACE THE RIDGE MEANS ON THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF INTO GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MALE MEMBER.