FIELD

The present apparatus relates to fluid connectors including a fluid carrying tubular member which is coupled to a fitting body connected to a device which uses the fluid. In an automotive application, the fluid carrying components are connected at one end to an automatic transmission and at another end to a cooler disposed within a vehicle radiator. Other automotive applications using fluid connectors include turbo connections.

BACKGROUND

“Quick connectors” typically include a resilient clip carried on the fitting body which is adapted to snap behind a raised shoulder of an end form on the tubular member when the tubular member is fully inserted into the fitting body to lock the tubular member in place.

Assurance caps can be used to insure full insertion of the tubular member in the body. An assurance cap is carried by the tubular member and slides over the tubular member insertion end of the body and snaps over the outer edges of the resilient clip. If the tubular member is not fully inserted in the body such that the resilient clip is not seated behind the raised shoulder on the tubular member, raised portions of the resilient clip extend further radially outward from the body and interfere with the complete movement of the assurance cap to its fully installed position thereby providing an indication to the installer that the tubular member is not fully latched in the body.

Although assurance caps can be easily moved to the full insertion position, such assurance caps can difficult to remove in order to disconnect the fluid coupling for repairs or placement of components. Aside from physically breaking or cutting the assurance cap latches it has proven difficult to remove the assurance cap from a fluid connector without damage to the assurance cap.

Disconnect tools have been employed to disengage the retainer clip of such fluid connectors from the connector body in order to separate the tubular member from the connector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,901 discloses a disconnect tool having a plurality of fingers which, when the assurance cap, which has been previously mounted over the tubular member, is moved into engagement with the connector body and rotated expand the protrusions on the retainer clip outward a sufficient distance to enable the endform of the tubular member to be separated from the connector body.

SUMMARY

According to aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a fluid connector, comprising a tubular member, a connector body, including an exterior opening groove, and a retainer clip to lock the tubular member to the connector body, an assurance cap including one or more latch fingers engaged with the exterior opening groove, and a tool, including an annular collar mountable over the tubular member, and a plurality of fingers carried on and extending axially from the annular collar, the plurality of fingers operatively arranged to engage the latch fingers when the collar and the plurality of fingers are engaged with the assurance cap to disengage the latch fingers from the exterior opening groove to disconnect the assurance cap from the connector body.

According to aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a fluid connector assembly, comprising a tubular member, a connector body, including an exterior opening groove, and a retainer clip to lock the tubular member to the connector body, an assurance cap including one or more latch fingers engaged with the exterior opening groove, and a tool, including an annular collar mountable over the tubular member, the annular collar comprising a first end surface and a second end surface, and a plurality of fingers extending from the second end surface.

According to aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a fluid connector assembly, comprising a connector body, including an exterior opening groove, a tubular member operatively arranged to be connected to the connector body, an assurance cap including one or more latch fingers engaged with the exterior opening groove when the tubular member is connected to the connector body, and a tool including a plurality of fingers operatively arranged to engage the one or more latch fingers to disengage the one or more latch fingers from the exterior opening.

The present disclosure broadly discloses a disconnect tool for a fluid connector carrying a retainer clip to lock a tubular member to the connector body, and an assurance cap with latch fingers having projections engageable with an exterior opening groove in the connector body to lock the assurance cap to the connector body. The disconnect tool has an annular collar mountable over the tubular member. A plurality of fingers are carried on and extend in one direction from the annular collar. The plurality of fingers are positioned to engage the latch fingers on the assurance cap when the plurality of fingers are engaged with the latch fingers to disengage the projections on the latch fingers from the exterior groove in the connector body to enable the assurance cap to be separated from the connector body.

A grip surface can be formed on an outer circumferential edge of the collar to facilitate gripping of the collar.

An end of each of the plurality of fingers is engageable with a ramp surface on the connector body when the collar and the plurality of fingers are urged into engagement with the connector body through the assurance cap to flex the latch fingers outward relative to the connector body.

The present disclosure also broadly discloses a method for disconnecting an assurance cap from a fluid connector body, where the fluid connector body has a retainer clip for locking a tubular member to the body and the assurance cap has latch fingers with projections engageable with an exterior opening groove in the connector body to lock the assurance cap to the fitting connector body. The method includes providing a disconnect tool having an annular collar and a plurality of circumferential spaced fingers extending in one direction from the collar, positioning the disconnect tool over the tubular member, sliding the disconnect tool longitudinally along the tubular member to urge the fingers on the disconnect tool through apertures in the assurance cap to bring the fingers into engagement with the primary latch fingers of the assurance cap, and continuing insertion of the fingers on the collar in a direction to flex and separate the primary latch fingers from the exterior opening groove in the fitting body.

The method can also include flexing the ends of the fingers as the fingers are slid through the assurance cap radially outward relative to the connector body through engagement with a ramp surface on the connector body.

In one aspect, a fluid connector assembly includes a tubular member having an endform spaced from a first insertion end defining a radially disposed shoulder, a connector body having a bore with an open end receiving the tubular member, a retainer clip carried on the connector body and extending partially into the bore to engage the shoulder of the tubular member to lock the tubular member in the connector body when an first insertion end of the tubular member is fully inserted into the bore in the connector body. The assurance cap is slidably mounted relative to the tubular member. The assurance cap defines a body having a plurality of primary latch fingers with end projections configured for latching in a recessed exterior opening groove in the connector body to latch the assurance cap on the connector body only when the tubular member is fully inserted into the connector body. Each of the primary latches is formed of first and second spaced side legs joined at one end by a center end leg. The end projection of each plurality of primary latch fingers is carried on the center end leg. A secondary latch can be carried on the assurance cap body for engaging one of the retainer clip and the tubular member to secondarily latch the assurance cap to the tubular member only when the tubular member is fully inserted into the bore in the connector body.

The primary latch fingers may include a plurality of circumferentially spaced primary latch fingers extending from a first end of the assurance cap body.

A radially inward projection can be formed on a flexible end of the primary latch fingers. A radially outward exterior opening groove can be formed in the connector body, spaced from the one end of the connector body. The groove and the projections on the primary latch fingers are engageable to primarily latch the assurance cap to the connector body only when the tubular member is fully inserted into the bore in the connector body.

An inner support ring is fixed in the assurance cap body radially inward of the primary latch fingers. The inner support ring has a through bore through which the tubular member extends and an inner end positioned to engage a surface on the tubular member to provide a secondary latch between the assurance cap body and the tubular member when the tubular member is fully inserted into the bore in the connector body.

The surface on the tubular member is axially spaced from the endform and defines a raised surface on the tubular member.

The through bore in the inner support web has a keyhole shape to facilitate mounting of the assurance cap over the endform on the tubular member.

One or a plurality of stepped fingers can be circumferentially spaced between the primary latch fingers. Each of the stepped fingers has an inner surface with at least one step configured to overlay a radially outward portion of the retainer clip when the assurance cap is latched to the body of the quick connector and the tubular member to resist radially outward expansion of the retainer clip and act as a secondary latch of the assurance cap to the connector body.

The primary latch fingers can include a plurality of circumferentially spaced primary latch fingers extending from a first end of the assurance cap body, with one stepped finger disposed circumferentially intermediate two primary latch fingers.

