A coupling assembly having abutting surfaces held together in sealed relationship by cooperable male and female nuts includes a gland member having one of the abutting surfaces thereon and being receivable in the male nut. At least one inwardly extending projection on the male nut is receivable in an external longitudinal groove in that portion of the gland member which is receivable in the male nut. Couplings for different fluids have different projection and groove arrangements such that a male nut having a given projection arrangement will receive only a gland member having a matching groove arrangement.
A container (1) is proposed for replenishing ink or solvent in an ink jet printer ink system. The container (1) has a plug-in connector (7) for attachment to a mating connector on the ink system along an axis so that fluid within the container (1) can be transferred to the ink system. Adjacent to the connector (7) a cam surface is disposed so as to cause the connector (7) to disconnect from the mating connector on rotation of the container (1) in a direction about the axis.
A combination of bottle, collar and cap where the bottle collar has a keying lug that interfits with a cap slot and which keying is necessary to screw the cap onto the bottle.
The present invention relates to a system for ensuring that the correct container (10) containing a replenishment fluid is connected to a vessel (26) for that fluid. The container carries one component (18) of a pair of axially engageable members (20). The other (28) is carried by the vessel (26, 27), notably around the necks extending therefrom, so that the members (20, 30) have to engage and nest so as to allow the necks of the container and the vessel to engage fully and thus mount the container on the vessel, one of the members (18, 28) being a moveable fit upon the container (10) or vessel (26), preferably by virtue of being a snap fit thereon, so that the member can be rotated to align its projections (20) with the recesses (30) on the other member. The invention is of especial application in ink jet printers to identify solvent and ink refill bottles and ensure that they are connected to the correct reservoir and by the use of the snap fit members allows a conventional refill bottle and reservoir to be used to achieve this.
The assembly comprises the tank-side connector 1 and the hose-side socket 2 detachably connected with the tank-side connector 1. The tank-side connector 1 is constructed of: a plug 4 in which a liquid-communication valve 5 for providing liquid communication is incorporated; and, a plug guide 3 for receiving the plug 4 therein. The plug guide 3 is provided with an opening portion in its upper surface. A ring 7 is embedded in the opening portion of the plug guide 3, and provided with at least one key projection 8 in a predetermined position. The key projection 8 is so arranged as to correspond to the type of liquid stored in a tank. The socket 2 is provided with an outer sleeve 21 an outer peripheral surface of which is provided with at least one key groove 25 in a position corresponding to that of the key projection 8. The key groove 25 slidably receives the key projection 8 therein in an insertion manner. Preferably, the ring 7 is colored a predetermined color indicating the type of liquid stored in the tank.
A tube coupling comprises first and second coupling components having transversely extending sealing end faces in aligned face-to-face relationship. First and second nut members are arranged to drive the sealing end faces toward each other. An annular anti-twist member is located between the first nut and the first coupling member for conducting axial forces from the first nut member to the first coupling component. The annular anti-twist member and the second nut member include axially engaged portions for preventing relative rotation therebetween.
