Quick Connector Sealing-Ring Locking Without Housing Undercuts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quick connectors face challenges with material brittleness at high temperatures, increased manufacturing costs due to complex geometries, and misalignment of sealing rings, leading to reduced sealing effectiveness and potential mechanical damage during replacement.
Innovation Solution
A quick connector design featuring a housing with a receiving space and sealing space surrounded by a closure unit with extendable arms that lock the sealing rings in place without undercuts, allowing for the use of high-temperature-resistant brittle materials and simplifying manufacturing, while maintaining sealing effectiveness and preventing mechanical damage during ring replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sleeve with projection and circumferential groove is used to secure sealing rings, then the sealing rings can be securely positioned, but the quick connector and sleeve must be flexible or elastic which prevents use of high-temperature-resistant materials
Solution Approach 1:
The closure unit is divided into separate functional components: the sleeve that supports the sealing rings and the arms that provide locking. This segmentation allows the sleeve to be made of brittle high-temperature-resistant material while the arms provide the necessary flexibility for locking, resolving the contradiction between sealing reliability and temperature resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the sleeve flexible to achieve locking, the invention inverts the approach by making the arms flexible and the sleeve rigid. The arms are designed to be elastically deformable to enable snap-in mounting, while the sleeve can be made of brittle high-temperature-resistant material without compromising locking functionality.
2Reliability
If a circumferential groove designed as an undercut is used to secure the sleeve, then the sleeve can be locked in position, but manufacturing effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The undercut geometry is extracted from the housing and transferred to the arms of the closure unit. Instead of requiring complex undercut grooves in the housing, the arms are designed with undercut features that engage with simple grooves or surfaces in the housing, simplifying housing manufacturing while maintaining secure positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking feature is inverted from the stationary housing to the movable arms. Rather than the housing having complex undercut grooves, the arms carry the undercut geometry and snap into simpler receptacles in the housing, reversing which component requires complex geometry and reducing overall manufacturing difficulty.
3Ease of repair
If sealing rings are replaced in existing quick connectors, then material is removed by the sleeve resulting in increasing misalignment and reduced sealing effect
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve is designed with sufficient material thickness and robust geometry to withstand repeated sealing ring replacement operations without degradation. This beforehand cushioning of material reserves prevents the sleeve from being worn away or misaligned over time, maintaining sealing effectiveness throughout the service life of the quick connector.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure unit is designed as a separable assembly where the sleeve supporting the sealing rings can be independently replaced or serviced. This segmentation allows the sleeve to be protected from wear during sealing ring replacement, and if needed, only the sleeve assembly needs to be replaced rather than the entire quick connector, maintaining sealing reliability.
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 enables the use of high-temperature-resistant materials, reduces manufacturing complexity and costs, maintains sealing effectiveness, and prevents mechanical damage during sealing ring replacement, ensuring reliable fluid-tight connections.
Implementation Method 1
Due to a greater axial expansion, the at least one arm can exhibit a slight elasticity despite the brittle material properties and can thus be inserted into the housing in a snap-in manner to position the sleeve
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a quick connector (1) comprising: a housing (2) having a receiving chamber (10) for receiving, in a fluid-tight manner, a connecting piece (8), the receiving chamber (10) transitioning into a line portion (4) for conveying a fluid; comprising a sealing chamber (12), which surrounds at least parts of the circumference of the receiving chamber (10) and has at least one sealing ring (14) arranged in the sealing chamber (12); and comprising a closure unit (18) for locking the at least one sealing ring (14) in the sealing chamber (12); characterised in that the closure unit (18) comprises a sleeve (20), which delimits at least parts of the sealing chamber (12) and has at least one arm (22) extending from the sleeve (20), which arm is designed to lock the closure unit (18) on the housing (2). The invention also relates to a connection assembly (30).