Quick Connector Verifier for Reliable Tube Lock Confirmation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quick connector systems lack a reliable and accurate means to verify proper connection between the mating tube and female receptacle, leading to potential leaks and dangerous consequences, especially in pressurized fluid systems.
Innovation Solution
A quick connector design that includes a removable verifier with resilient legs and releasing members, which confirms proper connection by engaging with the tube's upset and allowing extraction verification, ensuring secure locking and easy disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a quick connector system uses manual sheath pushing to engage or separate mating tube, then the operation is simple, but there is no reliable means to verify proper connection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a verifier as an intermediary component that mediates between the connector housing and the tube. The verifier includes resilient legs with releasing members that engage the tube during insertion and provide tactile feedback to confirm proper connection. This intermediary element enables reliable verification without fundamentally changing the basic quick connector operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The verifier is designed to be automatically engaged and disengaged through the normal insertion and removal of the tube. The resilient legs self-actuate during tube insertion, and the releasing members automatically provide verification feedback. The system serves itself by using the tube's own insertion motion to activate the verification mechanism, eliminating the need for separate verification actions.
2Reliability
If the verifier includes resilient legs with releasing members engaging wall members, then connection verification is reliable, but the verifier cannot be easily removed
Solution Approach 1:
The verifier employs resilient (flexible) legs that can dynamically change their engagement state. During normal operation, the legs are engaged and provide reliable verification. When tube removal is intended, the legs can flex and transition to a disengaged state, allowing easy extraction. The dynamic flexibility of the resilient legs resolves the contradiction between secure engagement and easy removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The verifier is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after a single use. The resilient legs are intentionally designed to remain engaged during proper operation but allow easy removal when the connector is being disassembled. After verification of one tube installation, the verifier is removed and discarded, eliminating the need for complex retrieval mechanisms while maintaining ease of operation during the brief extraction phase.
3Reliability
If the tube insertion locks the tube to the connector housing, then the connection is secure, but the tube cannot be easily disconnected
Solution Approach 1:
The quick connector uses a dynamic locking mechanism where the retainer with engagement claws can transition between locked and unlocked states. During proper tube insertion, the claws engage the tube securely. When disconnection is intended, the claws can be actuated to release the tube, allowing easy one-handed disconnection. The dynamic nature of the claw engagement resolves the contradiction between secure locking and easy release.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a reliable and verifiable connection, preventing leaks and ensuring safe operation by confirming proper tube installation and allowing easy disconnection with one hand, enhancing safety and efficiency in fluid line systems.
Implementation Method 1
A verifier includes a pair of legs extending from a base portion of the verifier with each leg having a releasing member. Each leg extends through a respective channel into the interior of the socket portion with each releasing member engaging an interior surface of each wall member, preventing the extraction of the verifier from the connector housing.
Data Source
AI summary
A quick connector for making a verifiable connection with a tube includes a connector housing having a socket portion and a pair of channels extending into the socket portion from the exterior of the connector housing. A verifier has a pair of resilient legs each including a releasing member extending through a respective channel into the interior of the socket portion. A retainer having claws is held by spring bridging portions within an opening of the socket portion. An upset formed on an exterior surface of the tube is installed into the opening of the socket portion and captured by the retainer claws to lock the tube to the connector housing and deform each resilient leg so as to move and position each releasing member in alignment with its respective channel allowing extraction of the verifier from the connector housing.