Speed slip-on hose coupler

Claim 1

In a speed slip-on hose coupler comprising: (A) a male hose attachable body formed with a nipple having a detent; (B) a female hose attachable body formed with a sleeve for receiving said nipple with a slip-on fit to a locking position, said sleeve having a wall portion defining a plurality of spaced openings therethrough; (C) locking means for interlocking said male and female bodies, said locking means being movable between locking and unlocking positions; and (D) a releasing device mounted on said female body and having a part engageable with said locking means, said releasing device being axially slidable on said female body between coupler connecting and disconnecting positions, movement of said releasing device to its coupler connecting position acting to permit said locking means to move to its locking position and reverse movement of said releasing device to its coupler disconnection position acting on said locking means to move the same to its unlocking position; the improvement wherein said locking means comprises a unitary element having an arcuate portion disposed at least partially around said sleeve wall portion and a plurality of spaced locking portions disposed along and in substantially the same plane as said arcuate portions, said arcuate portion being resiliently arcuately expansible from a relatively unstressed configuration to a stressed configuration, said locking element being movable between locking and unlocking positions, said locking element in its locking position having said arcuate portion in its unstressed configuration and said locking portions extending through said openings and engaging said nipple detent and in its unlocking position having said arcuate portion in its stressed configuration and said locking portions disengaged from said nipple detent; said arcuate portion biasing said releasing device to its coupler connecting position and said locking element to its locking position; and said openings being configured and dimensioned so that said reverse movement of said releasing device to its coupler disconnection position displaces said locking element to its unlocking position, without pivoting said locking portions, by causing said locking portions to cam along said sleeve wall portion defining said openings in a movement having a radially outward component relative to the axis of said nipple and thereby causing said arcuate portion to expand radially outwardly and said locking portions to disengage from said nipple detent.