Quick disconnect couplings

Claim 1

A QUICK DISCONNECT COUPLING COMPRISING: A MALE COUPLING PART HAVING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL FORWARD END, A FEMALE COUPLING PART HAVING A GENERALLY CIRCULAR OPENING THROUGH ITS FORWARD END RECEIVING THE FORWARD END OF SAID MALE PART, SAID MALE PART HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE IN ITS EXTERNAL SURFACE OPENING RADIALLY FORWARD SAID FEMALE PART, AND SAID FEMALE PART HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE IN ITS INTERNAL SURFACE OPENING RADIALLY TOWARD SAID MALE PART, THE GROOVE IN ONE OF SAID PARTS COMPRISING A LOCKING GROOVE AND GROOVE IN THE OTHER PART COMPRISING A STEPPED LOCK RING CONTAINING GROOVE HAVING A RELATIVELY SHALLOW FORWARD END AND A RELATIVELY DEEP REAR END AND A ANNULAR REARWARDLY PRESENTED THRUST SHOULDER AT THE REAR FORWARD END OF SAID CONTAINING GROOVE DISPOSED IN A TRANSVERSE PLANE OF SAID OTHER PART, THE SHALLOW END OF SAID CONTAINING GROOVE DEFINING A COAXIAL, CYLINDRICAL, RADIALLY PRESENTED LOCKING SHOULDER HAVING AN AXIAL LENGTH APPROXIMATING THE AXIAL WIDTH OF SAID LOCKING GROOVE, A RADIALLY YIELDABLE LOCK SLEEVE EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF SAID OTHER PART WITHIN SAID CONTAINING GROOVE AND HAVING A RADIALLY PROJECTING LOCKING BEAD AT ITS FORWARD END ENGAGING IN SAID LOCKING GROOVE, THE REAR END OF SAID LOCK SLEEVE BEING LOCATED EXTERNALLY OF SAID FEMALE PART, SAID COUPLING PARTS BEING RELATIVELY AXIALLY MOVABLE TOWARD ONE ANOTHER TO UNLOCKED POSITIONS, WHEREIN THE DEEP END OF SAID CONTAINING GROOVE IS RADIALLY ALIGED WITH SAID LOCKING GROOVE, AND SAID COUPLING PARTS BEING RELATIVELY AXIALLY MOVABLE AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER TO LOCKED POSITIONS, WHEREIN SAID LOCKING SHOULDER IS RADIALLY ALIGNED WITH SAID LOCKING GROOVE, THE RADIAL DEPTH OF THE SHALLOW END OF SAID CONTAINING GROOVE BEING LESS THAN THE RADIAL CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENTION OF THE FORWARD END OF SAID LOCK SLEEVE AT SAID LOCKING BEAD AND THE RADIAL DEPTH OF THE DEEP END OF SAID CONTAINING GROOVE BEING GRATER THAN SAID RADIAL CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION,