Collet compression connection

Claim 1

An improvement in a collet-type of joint for connecting an end portion of a smooth wall pipe to fittings or other pipes comprising: a ring-type compression nut having an opening therethrough of a diameter sufficient to insert the smooth wall pipe and having an interior camming surface, said compression nut also having threads thereon; a hollow body having a passageway therethrough, an axially extending end portion on said body member and through which a portion of said passageway extends, said end portion of said body member terminating in a nose having an exterior camming surface for cooperating with the camming surface on said nut and said nose having a plurality of longitudinal slots therein which provide constrictable arcuate fingers on the end portion of said body member, said portion of said passageway in said end portion of said body member having an annular shoulder at its inner end facing outwardly and having an interior diameter less than the outside diameter of the pipe and arranged for initial abutting of the end of the pipe and further having an annular groove therein adjacent to said nose and spaced outwardly of said shoulder, said annular groove being defined by an outwardly facing wall, a bottom wall, and a rearwardly facing wall in said nose and into which said slots extend, a fiRst interiorly extending tooth on said nose defined by arcuate tooth segments adjacent the end of the fingers thereof, a second interiorly extending tooth on said nose defined by arcuate tooth segments of the fingers thereof, said second interiorly extending tooth being spaced inwardly from said first interiorly extending tooth to define between said first and second teeth an annular space, and said second tooth having one face defining the rearwardly facing wall of said annular groove, said first tooth having a crest diameter sufficient to receive said pipe prior to constriction of the fingers of said nose and said second tooth having a crest diameter prior to constriction of the fingers of said nose greater than the crest diameter of said first tooth, and threads on the end portion of said body member for cooperating with the threads on said compression nut; and a sealing ring in said annular groove in the end portion of said body member, said sealing ring being deformed into sealing engagement with said pipe by the one face of said second tooth when the arcuate fingers of said nose are constricted by said compression nut, said first tooth initially engaging and gripping said pipe and any material of said sealing ring flowing outwardly along said pipe being received into said space between said first tooth and said smooth tooth until said second tooth subsequently just engages said pipe and provides a block for further flow of said sealing ring outwardly along said pipe.