Conduit Fitting Stroke Stop for Reliable Remake Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conduit fittings, such as flareless fittings, face challenges in maintaining a secure fluid-tight connection during remakes, as the initial tightening process can compromise the seal and grip, leading to potential leaks and reduced performance over multiple assembly cycles.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a stroke resisting surface on the fitting components, which engages after the initial finger-tight position, allows for increased axial advancement torque, enabling both pull-up by turns and torque, and incorporates radially extending recesses for leak detection, ensuring consistent sealing and grip performance across multiple assembly cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fittings are tightened by controlling the number of turns past finger tight position, then the initial grip and seal are achieved, but the seal and grip are compromised during remakes
Solution Approach 1:
The stroke resisting surface is pre-configured on the fitting components to engage after a predetermined axial advancement distance from the finger tight position. This preliminary structural feature ensures that during remakes, the stroke resisting surface again engages at the correct position to maintain proper ferrule compression, eliminating the need to recount turns and ensuring consistent seal and grip across multiple assembly cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the turn-counting mechanical system with a stroke-based mechanical system. Instead of relying on operators to count and control the number of turns, the stroke resisting surface provides a mechanical stop that automatically limits axial advancement to the correct amount, substituting human measurement and control with a purely mechanical constraint that works consistently across all assembly cycles.
2Ease of repair
If fittings are loosened and re-tightened for maintenance, then repairs can be performed, but the initial tightening process compromises the seal and grip
Solution Approach 1:
The stroke resisting surface is pre-configured to engage after a predetermined axial advancement distance, creating a reliable reference point that works both for initial assembly and for remakes. This preliminary structural feature ensures that after loosening for maintenance, re-tightening will again engage the stroke resisting surface at the correct position, restoring the proper ferrule compression and fluid-tight connection without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the control parameter from angular displacement (number of turns) to linear displacement (axial advancement distance). By using the stroke resisting surface to limit axial movement to a predetermined distance, the system maintains consistent ferrule compression regardless of how many times the fitting is loosened and re-tightened, ensuring reliable fluid-tight connections after maintenance activities.
3Manufacturing precision
If the number of turns is controlled to achieve proper pull-up, then grip and seal are established, but measurement precision is difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the turn-counting measurement system with a stroke-limiting mechanical system. The stroke resisting surface provides a physical constraint that automatically stops axial advancement at the correct position, eliminating the need for operators to measure and control the number of turns. This mechanical substitution ensures precise axial advancement control without relying on human measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The stroke resisting surface performs the measurement and control function automatically through its geometric design. The predetermined axial advancement distance is built into the geometry of the stroke resisting surface and mating surface, allowing the fitting itself to self-regulate the pull-up distance without external measurement or counting, ensuring consistent manufacturing precision across all assemblies.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1A
Figure 2
AI summary
A fitting (100) includes first (104) and second (106) fitting components adapted to be joined on a conduit to a first relative axial position to effect a seal between the conduit (C) and a sealing element (108, 110), sealing the conduit from a non-wetted fitting interior volume at least partially defined by the first and second fitting components. When the first and second fitting components are joined to the first relative axial position, first and second annular surfaces of the fitting axially engage, resulting in resistance to additional axial stroke of the first and second fitting components. At least one (130) of the first and second annular surfaces includes a recess (133) extending from an inner diameter to an outer diameter of the corresponding annular surface, and defining a leak detection port in fluid communication with the fitting interior volume when the first annular surface is in engagement with the second annular surface.