Assemblies for coupling two elements and coupled assemblies

1 ASSEMBLIES FOR COUPLING TWO ELEMENTS AND COUPLED ASSEMBLIES

The present invention relates to assemblies for coupling together two elements and to coupled assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to such assemblies which are relatively straightforward in construction, easy to manufacture and use and/or light weight, and provide couplings or joints between two elements which are very strong, can provide pressure tight seals and are resistive to being broken apart into separate elements.

Final or finished products are often made from two or more individual elements wl1ich are coupled or joined together in manufacturing the products. A great many couplings or joints have been suggested and used in the past to facilitate coupling or joining elements together. Examples of such prior art joints include conventional tongue and groove structures in which an elongated member (the tongue) is placed into a hollow space (the groove). Such tongue and groove joints often require application of large defonnations of one or both elements, for example, by ultrasonic or other friction bonding techniques, and/or use of adhesives and/or solvents, for example, to provide strong couplings and/or pressure tight seals. The use of friction bonding, adhesives and/ or solvents often involves an extra and expensive and potentially variable processing step. Moreover, the adhesives and/or solvents can contaminate the final product. In the prior art, to achieve high coupling strength, the tongue is interference fit into the groove, relatively heavy, thick walled structures are required to facilitate a secure interference fit. Thus, such prior art interference fit joints are relatively expensive, can add unwanted weight and/or size to the final product, and can involve undesirable permanent deflection or distortion of the parts being joined together.

Medical devices, such as respiratory gas treatment devices, other treatment devices and the like, are benefited by being light weight, small and inexpensive. Moreover, such medical devices should be sufficiently sturdy so as to be tamper resistant or even tamper proof, for example, against tampering by patients and unauthorized personnel, often in an attempt to reuse a device. In addition, medical devices can benefit from coupling systems which do not require adhesives, solvents, friction/heat bonding systems or other materials to insure secure coupling and sealing. Such adhesives, solvents, friction/heat bonding systems and/or other materials can cause detrimental reactions and/or effects in other components of the medical devices, for example, in active treatment components of such devices.

There continues to be a need for coupling or joint assemblies which address one or more of the concerns with the prior art systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

New assemblies for coupling together two elements and coupled assemblies have been discovered. The present assemblies overcome one or more of problems or issues apparent with prior art coupling systems. For example, the present assemblies are relatively easy to manufacture, are straight forward in construction, may have elements that are inherently self-aligning to start assembly and can be assembled relatively easily, for example, manually or automatically, for example, robotically, with the application of reduced or even minimal amounts of force, and may finish assembly with no permanent functional distortion. Substantial benefits of the present assemblies include, without limitation, relatively light weight, effective and secure coupling

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and sealing, such as hermetic sealing, conventional polymeric materials as materials of construction, and/ or thin walled construction. The present assemblies do not rely primarily on the size and/ or weight of the assembly in order to maintain a secure coupling or sealing. In addition, in one embodiment, the present assemblies do not require adhesives, solvents or friction/heat bonding systems in order to provide for a secure coupling or sealing, for example, a coupling or sealing which is resistive to forces which can be generated manually, for example, by two human hands directly against the members of the coupled assemblies. Since no adhesives, solvents or other materials may need to be used, the present coupling members have a reduced risk, or even substantially no risk, of contaminating the final or finished product.

In short, the present assemblies for coupling two elements and coupled assemblies may provide one or more substantial enhancements, advantages, and/or benefits relative to prior art coupling assemblies and coupled assemblies.

In one broad aspect of the present invention, assemblies for coupling together two elements are provided and comprise a first coupling member and a second coupling member. The first coupling member is located on, for example, is a part of, a first element. The first coupling member has first and second walls defining an opening in a hollow space therebetween. The second coupling member is located on, for example, is a part of, a second element and has a body sized and adapted to be fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member, for example, when the first and second coupling members are coupled together. The second wall of the first coupling member includes an outward step region extending toward the first wall relative to a region of the second wall closer to the opening. The outward step region is configured to deflect or bend the body of the second coupling member toward the first wall of the first coupling member as the body is passed into the hollow space, for example, when the body of the second coupling member is fitted into the hollow space, of the first coupling member.

In another broad aspect of the present invention, assemblies for coupling together two elements are provided and comprise a first coupling member and a second coupling member. The first coupling member is located on, for example, is a part of, a first element and has spaced apart first and second walls defining an opening in a hollow space therebetween. The first wall of the first coupling member includes an inward step region located away from the opening of the first coupling member and extending away from the second wall of the first coupling member relative to a region of the first wall closer to the opening. The second coupling member is located on, for example, is a part of, a second element and has a body sized and adapted to be fitted into the hollow space. The body of the second coupling member includes a first surface having an outward step portion positioned to be located in proximity to the inward step region of the first wall of the first coupling member when the body is fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member. The body of the second coupling member further includes a second surface substantially opposing the first surface of the body.

The second wall of the first coupling member includes an outward step region further away from the opening than the inward step region of the first wall of the first coupling member and extending toward the first wall relative to a region of the second wall closer to the opening. Altemately, the second surface of the second coupling member includes an outwardly projecting portion positioned more distally on the body of the second coupling member relative to the outward step portion of the body. The outwardly projecting portion

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extends away from the first surface of the second coupling member relative to a more proximal portion of the second surface. The second surface of the body of the second coupling member is configured to be in contact with the second wall of the first coupling member at the outward step region or the outwardly projecting portion to deflect the body when the body is fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member.

In the event the second wall of the first coupling member includes an outward step region, as described herein, the second surface of the body of the second coupling member may be configured to be in contact with the outward step region along substantially a single contact line when the body is fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member. In the event the second surface of the body of the second coupling member includes an outwardly projecting portion, as described herein, the second wall of the first coupling member may be configured to be in contact with the outwardly projecting portion along substantially a single contact line when the body is fitted into the hollow space.

The outward step region of the first coupling member or the outwardly projecting portion of the body of the second coupling member may be configured and be effective to deflect or bend the body of the second coupling member toward the first wall of the first coupling member as the second coupling member is passed into the hollow space, for example, when the body of the second coupling member is fitted into the hollow space, of the first coupling member.

In a further broad aspect of the invention, assemblies for coupling together two elements are provided. Such assemblies comprise a first element having a first wall defining an inward step region and a spaced apart second wall; and a second element having a body including a first surface having an outward step portion positioned to be located in proximity to the inward step region when the first and second elements are coupled together. In one embodiment, the second wall of the first element includes an outward step region positioned and effective, when the first and second elements are coupled together, to be in contact with and deflect or bend the body of the second element toward the inward step region of the first element and fomi a seal between the first and second elements. In another embodiment, the body of the second element includes a second surface having an outwardly projecting portion positioned and effective, when the first and second elements are coupled together to be in contact with the second wall of the first element to thereby deflect or bend the body toward the inward step region of the first element and fonn a seal between the first and second elements.

In a very useful embodiment, the first and second elements are structured so that when the first and second elements are coupled together and an increased intemal fluid pressure is generated tending to open the coupling of the first and second elements, the increased intemal fluid pressure causes the seal between the first and second elements to be effective against increased fluid pressures relative to a seal between the first and second elements without the increased fluid pressure.

In one embodiment, the first coupling member and the second coupling member are configured so that such coupling members can be assembled together with substantially minimal or minimum resistance until the second surface of the body of the second coupling member comes into resisting contact with the second wall of the first coupling member at the outward step region or the outwardly projecting portion. This feature greatly adds to the ease in which the first and second coupling members are assembled or coupled together.

As used herein, the tenn “resisting contact” means that at the area at which resisting contact occurs substantially

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increased force, for example, at least about 150% or at least about 200% or at least about 300% or at least about 500% or more of force, is required to move the second coupling member further into the hollow space relative to the amount of force, for example, the maximum amount of force, required to move the body of the second coupling member into the hollow space of the first coupling member before reaching the area at which resisting contact occurs.

In a useful embodiment, the first and second coupling members are configured so that the body of the second coupling member has a distal end which extends into the hollow space to a distance when the body is fitted into the hollow space. Advantageously, the second surface of the body of the second coupling member comes into resisting contact with the second wall of the first coupling member at the outward step region or the outwardly projecting portion when the distal end of the body of the second coupling member is in the hollow space to an extent of at least about 65% or at least about 75% or at least about 85% of the distance. This feature also allows for convenient and relatively easy assembly or coupling of the first and second coupling members. In particular, the body of the second coupling member is allowed into the hollow space of the first coupling member for a relatively long distance or long travel before substantial resistance is encountered. This allows the two coupling members to be very easily placed in position so that when force is exerted on the first and/or second coupling members the fit between the first and second coupling members is accomplished quickly and very effectively.

In one embodiment, the first and second coupling members are configured so that the first and second coupling members form a seal, for example, a hermetic seal, such as a seal resulting from the first and second coupling members being in sealing contact with each other.

In one useful embodiment, the first and second coupling members may be configured so that (1) the outward step region of the second wall of the first coupling member is in sealing contact with, for example, is embedded, such as slightly embedded, in, the second surface of the body of the second coupling member when the body is fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member, for example, so that the second wall extends into the body a distance in a range ofabout 0.1% or less to about 1% or about 5% or more ofthe thickness of the body at the embedded area, or (2) the outwardly projecting portion is in sealing contact with, for example, is embedded, for example, slightly embedded, in, the second wall of the first coupling member when the body of the second coupling member is fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member, for example, so that the outwardly projecting portion extends into the first coupling member a distance in a range of about 0. 1% or less to about 1% or about 5% or more of the thickness of the first coupling member at the embedded area. Such sealing contact, for example, embedding, such as along a narrow line or near line or substantially single line of contact, facilitates a strong, consistent, and advantageously sealing coupling between the first and second coupling members, for example, with minimum load and defomiation on the coupled assembly.

In one embodiment, with the first and second coupling members fitted together, such as with the body of the second coupling member fitted into the hollow space of the first coupling member, both the first and second coupling members yield to a sufficient extent to provide a seal, for example, a hermetic seal, which seal may be effective to hold against pressures or forces encountered in use of the coupled assembly and/or which may be effective at a pressure or a force which is reduced relative to a yield pressure or force sufficient