Packed joint and components thereof

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION, AN INTERNALLY THREADED COUPLING MEMBER TERMINATING AT ONE END IN A SMOOTH, COAXIAL COUNTERSINK OF RELATIVELY SMALL INCLUDED ANGLE OF ABOUT 24* TO 30* WHICH IS OF DIAMETER AT ITS SMALL END APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE MAJOR DIAMETER OF THE INTERNAL THREADS, AN EXTERNALLY THREADED COUPLING MEMBR SCREWED INTO SAID INTERNALLY THREADED COUPLING MEMBER SCREWED INTO WITH A CYLINDRICAL PERIPHERAL GROOVE WHICH IS OF UNIFORM DIAMETER SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE MINOR DIAMETER OF THE EXTERNAL THREADS AND WHICH IS RADIALLY SPACED CONCENTRICALLY WITHIN SAID COUNTERSINK, SAID EXTERNALLY THREADED COUPLING MEMBER PROVIDING A RIGID AND SMOOTH TRANSVERSE END WALL WHICH EXTENDS ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID GROOVE AND COUNTERSINK TO FORM A GAPLESS JOINT WITH SAID GROOVE AND WHICH ABUTS THE END OF SAID INTERNALLY THREADED COUPLING MEMBER TO ELIMINATE A GAP THEREAT; AND AN O-RING OF RUBBER-LIKE DEFORMABLE, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY INCOMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL WEDGED IN THE ANNULAR PACKING CHAMBER DEFINED BY SAID COUNTERSINK, SAID GROOVE, AND SAID END WALL; SAID O-RING BEING INITIALLY POSITIONED IN CONTACT AROUND SAID GROOVE AND AGAINST SAID END WALL FOR WEDGING INTO SAID COUNTERSINK DURING SCREWING TOGETHER OF SAID COUPLING MEMBERS, SAID O-RING WHEN THUS POSITIONED HAVING AN OUTSIDE DIAMETER WHICH IS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE MAXIMUM DIAMETER OF SAID COUNTERSINK, THE AXIAL LENGTH OF THE COUNTERSINK AND GROOVE FROM SUCH TRANSVERSE END WALL TO THE THREADS OF SAID COUPLING MEMBERS BEING GREATER THAN THE RADIAL CROSS-SECTION DIAMETER OF SAID O-RING BY AN AMOUNT EXCEEDING THE AXIAL DIMENSION OF SAID O-RING WHEN RADIALLY SQUEEZED IN SUCH MANNER AND SUCH THAT THE RADIAL CROSS-SECTION AREA OFE THE CHAMBER BONDED BY SMOOTH UNINTERRRUPTED SURFACES OF SAID GROOVE, TRANSVERSE END WALL AND COUNTERSINK, EXCEEDS THE RADIAL CROSS SECTION AREA OF SAID O-RING, AND THE RADIAL WIDTH OF PACKING CHAMBER AT THE MIDDLE OF THE AXIAL LENGTH OF SAID COUNTERSINK BEING ABOUT 75 TO 80% OF THE RADIAL CROSS SECTION DIAMETER OF SAID O-RING AND AT THE SMALL END OF SAID COUNERSINK BEING APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE MEANS DIAMETER OF SAID O-RING AS INITIALLY POSITIONED AROUND SAID GROOVE.