Connector seal

Claim 1

A FITTING COMPRISING INNER AND OUTER DIRECTLY ENGAGED METAL ELEMENTS CONNECTED BY A NUT ELEMENT THREADED TO ONE OF SAID DIRECTLY ENGAGED ELEMENTS AND WITH A PORTION DESIGNED TO ACT ON A PART OF THE OTHER ELEMENT TO WEDINGLY URGE SAID ELEMENTS TOGETHER UPON ASSEMBLY THEREOF AND TIGHTENING OF SAID NUT IN ORDER TO HOLD FLUID UNDER PRESSURE, THE THREADED OF SAID NUT-CONNECTED ELEMENTS HAVING AN ANNULAR GROOVE APPROXIMATELY TRIANGULAR IN CROSS-SECTION, DEFINED BY SURFACES ONE OF WHICH IS CONVEX CYLINDRICAL AND ANOTHER FLAT ANNULAR, AND BRIDGED BY A PORTION OF SAID OTHER NUT-CONNECTED ELEMENT AND IN METAL-TO-METAL AREA CONTACT THEREWITH, WHEREBY LEAKAGE OF SAID FLUID ALONG THE ENGAGED SURFACES IS NORMALLY PREVENTED, AN ANNULAR PROTRUSION ON SAID FLAT ANNULAR SURFACE, A FLEXIBLE ANNULAR AUXILIARY SEALING ELEMENT DISPOSED IN SAID GROOVE AND HAVING A PAIR OF ANGULARLY-DISPOSED FLANGES, AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF ONE OF WHICH ENGAGES THE PROTRUSION AND THE OTHER OF WHICH ENGAGES THE ADJACENT SURFACE OF THE OTHER ELEMENT WHICH BRIDGES SAID GROOVE ALONG ONLY A PORTION OF THE BRIDGING SURFACE, WHEREBY IF THERE OCCURS LEAKAGE BETWEEN SAID METAL ELEMENTS OF SAID FLUID WHEN UNDER PRESSURE, SAID FLUID PASSES INTO SAID GROOVE THROUGH THE SPACE LEFT BY THE FLANGE ALONG THE BRIDGING SURFACE AND INTO THE ANGLE BETWEEN SAID FLANGES, SO THAT SAID FLANGES ARE DEFORMED BY THE LEAKING FLUID AND FORCED INTO TIGHTER ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RESPECTIVELY ENGAGED SURFACES, TO CHECK SUCH LEAKAGE AND IMPROVE THE SEALING ACTION OF SAID FITTING.