Vacuum system coupling

Claim 1

A quick connect coupling assembly for use with a coupling element defining a passageway and having a shoulder adjacent one end with said shoulder tapering radially inwardly towards said one end, the improvement comprising a tubular element defining a cylindrical passageway for receiving said shoulder and communicating with said coupling element passageway, an O-ring carried by said tubular element in said cylindrical passageway for engagement with said tapered shoulder to seal the surface of said shoulder against fluid passage, a radial slot in the wall of said tubular element communicating with a circumferentially extending recess formed in the internal wall of said tubular element, a spring clip comprising a slipring disposed solely in said cylindrical passage for expansion against the wall of said circumferentially extending recess with each end of said split ring having a tab extending radially through said slot, whereby said split ring is expanded in response to axial movement of said shoulder to enable passage of said shoulder and thereafter contracting behind said shoulder to prevent retraction of said coupling element, a reverse bend on one end of one of said tabs spaced from said one tab and extending radially inwardly to provide spaced grasping surfaces, an axially extending segment on the other one of said tabs with the outer surface of said tubular element having an axially extending recess communicating with said slot receiving said axially extending segment, and a deformed wall portion radially outwardly of said axial segment closing said axially extending recess intermediate the ends of said axially extending recess preventing radial outward movement of the axial segment.