Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
117 words
A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supply and delivery pipes, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into which the said ports open respectively, in combination with means having ports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receive the ends of the pipes and act as coupling means therefor so that the ends of the pipes have no direct connection with the unit, the ports in said coupling means opening into sealing faces which oppose those of the unit, means for sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, and means for securing the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
117 words
A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supply and delivery pipes, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into which the said ports open respectively, in combination with means having ports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receive the ends of the pipes and act as coupling means therefor so that the ends of the pipes have no direct connection with the unit, the ports in said coupling means opening into sealing faces which oppose those of the unit, means for sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, and means for securing the unit in sealed relation to the coupling means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
130 words
A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supply and delivery pipes having screw-threaded ends, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into which said ports open, in combination with pipe coupling means having screw-threaded ports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receive the screw-threaded ends of the pipes, the ports in said coupling means opening into sealing faces thereof which oppose those of the unit, means for securing the unit and the coupling means together and means for sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, whereby one and the same unit may be used with threaded pipe ends of different size or type of thread by selection of the coupling means from a range.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
130 words
A fluid control or conditioning unit for connection between supply and delivery pipes having screw-threaded ends, comprising inlet and outlet ports and oppositely facing external sealing faces into which said ports open, in combination with pipe coupling means having screw-threaded ports which register with those in the unit and are adapted to receive the screw-threaded ends of the pipes, the ports in said coupling means opening into sealing faces thereof which oppose those of the unit, means for securing the unit and the coupling means together and means for sealing the ports of the unit with those of the coupling means, whereby one and the same unit may be used with threaded pipe ends of different size or type of thread by selection of the coupling means from a range.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
79 words
The combination according to claim 1, in which said sealing faces are plane faces and the unit and the coupling means are secured with the plane faces of the unit and the opposed plane faces of the coupling means in close or contacting relationship, said sealing means sealing said faces to one another around the ports, the unit being releasable from the coupling means and withdrawable therefrom by displacement perpendicularly to the axis of the ports in the unit.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The combination to claim 1, in which the unit is any one of an air filter unit, an air-pressure regulating unit or a mist lubricating unit incorporated in a compressed air line.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The combination according to claim 1, incorporating a plurality of said units in series, said units being an air filter unit, and an air-regulating and mist lubricating unit all with their ports in axial alignment.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
56 words
The combination according to claim 1, comprising at least two such units having sealing faces which are plane and in parallelism and their ports in axial alignment, the coupling means having sealing faces which are also plane and in the same parallelism and witH their ports opening into said plane faces thereof in the same alignment.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
64 words
The combination according to claim 1, comprising a valve having inlet and outlet ports and having opposite facing sealing faces into which said ports respectively open, means for securing the valve with its ports in alignment with the ports in the coupling means and the adjacent unit and sealed to the said ports, so that flow through the unit can be stopped or controlled.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The combination according to claim 7, in which the valve is secured to the coupling means so that a unit can be removed while the valve remains connected to the coupling means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination according to claim 1, in which the coupling means comprise separate members mounted one at opposite ends of at least one of said units.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The combination according to claim 9, in which the coupling members serve as mounting members.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The combination according to claim 1 in which at least one of said units and the coupling members are connected by tie rods.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
The combination according to claim 9, in which at least one of the coupling members has a through-port which is screw threaded and is in alignment with the ports in the unit.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
73 words
The combination according to claim 9, in which at least one of the coupling members comprises a plane ported member associated with a separate mounting member having a port which is screw-threaded to form the female component of the screw pipe connection and permits entry to or outlet from the coupling member in a direction angularly or abaxial in relation to the axis of the ports in at least one of the units.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The combination according to claim 9, in which the coupling members are of plate-like form for compact stacking with others.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
142 words
The method of assembling a fluid control or conditioning unit in a fluid line, wherein the unit has ports opening into external oppositely facing sealing faces thereof, which consists in selecting pipe coupling means having ports adapted to conform respectively to the end of a supply pipe and the end of a delivery pipe and opening into external sealing faces of said coupling means, connecting the unit and the said coupling means so that each sealing face of the unit faces a sealing face of the said coupling means and so that the ports of said coupling means are sealed in relation to the adjacent ports in the unit, and securing the pipes to the ports in said coupling means to facilitate connecting a standard unit to pipes of different size or type by coupling means selected from a range of sizes.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
142 words
The method of assembling a fluid control or conditioning unit in a fluid line, wherein the unit has ports opening into external oppositely facing sealing faces thereof, which consists in selecting pipe coupling means having ports adapted to conform respectively to the end of a supply pipe and the end of a delivery pipe and opening into external sealing faces of said coupling means, connecting the unit and the said coupling means so that each sealing face of the unit faces a sealing face of the said coupling means and so that the ports of said coupling means are sealed in relation to the adjacent ports in the unit, and securing the pipes to the ports in said coupling means to facilitate connecting a standard unit to pipes of different size or type by coupling means selected from a range of sizes.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method according to claim 15, in which the ports in the coupling means are formed by screw-threaded bores and the co-operating ends of the pipes are correspondingly externally screw-threaded.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method according to claim 15, in which said unit is releasably secured and said unit is withdrawable substantially soley by displacement perpendicular to the axis of the ports while the coupling means remain in connection with the pipes.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to claim 16 in which the coupling means are adapted for screwing to at least one of the pipes in a direction at an angle to, or abaxial to, the axis of the ports in the unit.