Fitting for smooth wall tubes

Claim 1

A fitting for mounting to the ends of smooth wall tubes, said fitting being adapted to seal the inside diameter of the tube and to grip the outside diameter of the tube in the same point so that the counter forces are such as to eliminate tube distortion, said fitting comprising a body having a passageway extending longitudinally through it and an opening for receiving external means which provide a fluid flow to said fitting; a collet operator at one end of said body having an aperture in it in axial alignment with said passageway in said body; a fluid chamber between said body and the top of said collet operator; a shaft slidably disposed within and extending through said passageway in said body and said aperture in said collet operator, said shaft having an axial bore in it in communication with said opening in said body and said fluid chamber; a handle at the other end of said body having a cam surface thereon coupled to said shaft and operable to slidably reciprocate said shaft when said handle is pivotally operated to engage said cam surface with the said other end of said body; a split collet slidably disposed within said collet operator having stop shoulder means on the interior wall thereof, said split collet and said collet operator having complimentary cam surfaces which are operatively engaged to operate said split collet to grip the outside diameter of a tube when said split collet is forcibly urged into said collet operator; the end of said shaft opposite the end thereof having said handle coupled to it having sealing means and a tube stop retained thereon, said tube stop engaging said stop shoulder means, said split collet and said collet operator being forcibly urged together to engage said complimentary cam surfaces to thereby cause said split collet to grip the outside diameter of a tube and said sealing means being compressed into sealing engagement with the inside diameter of the tube when said handle is operated to slidably reciprocate said shaft, said sealing means and said split collet being disposed with respect to one another that the sealing and the gripping of the tube are substantially at the same point; fluid flow from an external source coupled to said opening in said body and from said fitting flowing into said fluid chamber and exerting a fluid pressure on said collet operator to forcibly urge said collet operator in engagement with said split collet to thereby provide a more secure grip on the outside diameter of a tube.