HAMMER UNION ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A hammer union assembly has a male union, a female union having external threads adjacent at the end thereof, a wingnut having internal threads therein in which the external threads of the female union are engaged with internal threads of the wingnut, and a sleeve interposed between the wingnut and the male union. The male union has an end facing the end of the female union. The wingnut has four lugs extending outwardly of a body thereof. The internal threads of the wingnut have a non-full root radius. The internal threads have a flat at a major diameter thereof and a pair of flanks extending inwardly from opposite sides of the flat.

Claims

1. A hammer union assembly comprising: a male union; a female union having external threads adjacent an end thereof, said male union having an end facing the end of said female union; a wingnut having an internal threads therein, the external threads of said female union engaged with the internal threads of said wingnut, said wingnut having more than three lugs extending outwardly therefrom, the internal threads of said wingnut having a non-full root radius; and a sleeve interposed between said wingnut and said male union.

2. The hammer union assembly of claim 1, the internal threads of said wingnut having a flat at a major diameter thereof and a pair of flanks extending inwardly from opposite sides of the flat.

3. The hammer union assembly of claim 2, the flat being entirely planar around the major diameter, each of the pair of flanks having a radius.

4. The hammer union assembly of claim 1, said more than three lugs comprising four lugs evenly circumferentially spaced from each other around said wingnut.

5. The hammer union assembly of claim 1, said sleeve being a split sleeve.

6. The hammer union assembly of claim 5, said split sleeve having an external shoulder bearing against an internal shoulder of said wingnut, said split sleeve extending over an outer diameter of said male union.

7. The hammer union assembly of claim 6, said male union having an external shoulder adjacent the end of said male union, said split sleeve having an end bearing against said external shoulder of said male union.

8. The hammer union assembly of claim 1, further comprising: at least one seal ring interposed between the end of said male union and the end of said female union.

9. The hammer union assembly of claim 1, said wingnut having a body from which the lugs extend, a blend radius being formed between said body and each of the lugs.

10. The hammer union assembly of claim 9, said body having a first end and a second end, each of the lugs having a side positioned axially inwardly from at least one of the first and second ends of said body.

11. A hammer union assembly comprising: a male union; a female union having external threads adjacent an end thereof, said male union having an end facing the end of the female union; a wingnut having internal threads therein, the external threads of said female union being engaged with the internal threads of said wingnut, the internal threads of said wingnut having a non-full root radius; and a sleeve interposed between said wingnut and said male union.

12. The hammer union assembly of claim 11, said wingnut having four lugs extending outwardly therefrom.

13. The hammer union assembly of claim 11, the internal threads of said wingnut having a flat at a major diameter thereof and a pair of flanks extending inwardly from opposite sides of the flat.

14. The hammer union assembly of claim 13, the flat being planar around the major diameter, each of the pair of flanks having a radius.

15. The hammer union assembly of claim 11, said wingnut having a body with a first end and a second end, said wingnut having four lugs extending outwardly of said body, each of the four lugs having a side positioned axially inwardly from at least one of the ends of said body.

16. A hammer union assembly comprising: a male union; a female union having external threads adjacent an end thereof, said male union having an end facing the end of said female union; and a wingnut having internal threads therein, the external threads of said female union engaged with the internal threads of said wingnut, said wingnut having four lugs extending outwardly of a body of said wingnut, said body having a first end and a second end, each of the four lugs having a side positioned axially inwardly from at least one of the first and second ends of said body.

17. The hammer union assembly of claim 16, wherein the internal threads of said wingnut have a non-full root radius.

18. The hammer union assembly of claim 17, the internal thread of said wingnut having a flat at a major diameter thereof and a pair of flanks extending inwardly from opposite sides of the flat.

19. The hammer union assembly of claim 18, the flat being planar around the major diameter, each of the pair of flanks having a radius.

20. The hammer union assembly of claim 17, said wingnut having a blend radius formed between said body and each of the four lugs.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art wingnut as used in a hammer union assembly.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a hammer union assembly of the prior art.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view showing threads of the prior art with a full-root radius.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hammer union assembly of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the hammer union assembly in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the wingnut of the hammer union assembly of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG. 6 showing, in particular, the non-full-root radius threads as used in the wingnut of the hammer union assembly of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown the hammer union assembly 50 in accordance with teachings of the present invention. The hammer union assembly 50 includes a wingnut 52, a female union 54 and a male union 56. The female union 54 and the male union 56 are arranged in generally end-to-end relationship within the interior 58 of the wingnut 52. The configuration of the interior 58 of the wingnut 52 is shown in greater detail hereinafter in FIG. 5.

[0039] The wingnut 52 has four lugs 60, 62, 64 and 66. In particular, lug 60 is diametrically opposite to lug 64. Lug 62 is diametrically opposite to lug 66. This configuration of four lugs has been found to dissipates shock stress around the body 68 of the wingnut 62. Since lug 68 is diametrically opposite to lug 62, when lug 62 is struck with the sledgehammer, the greater thickness of the body 68 caused by the configuration of the diametrically-opposite lug 66 will prevent or reduce shock concentrations directly opposite to the lug 62. As such, unlike previous three lug configurations, the use of the four lugs in which the lugs are diametrically opposite to each other prevents or reduces the triangulation of the body 68 of the wingnut 52 over continual use. The use of the four wingnuts 60, 62, 64 and 66 presents a striking surface to the person with the sledgehammer in a more convenient location than the use of three lugs. In other words, after one of the lugs is struck with a sledgehammer, another of the lugs will be in a more convenient location for striking when the body 68 of the wingnut 52 is rotated about the male union 56 and the female union 54.

[0040] In FIG. 4, it can be seen that there is a blend radius 70 that is formed to between the body 68 and the lug 66 and another blend radius 72 illustrated as formed between the body 68 and the lug 62. This blend radius causes the respective lugs to be positioned inwardly slightly from the opposite end 74 of the body 68. Once again, this blend radius tends to dissipates shock stress around the body. Under those circumstances where there is no blend radius between the lugs and the body, a great deal of force is at the ends of the body 68, in particular at the location of each of the lugs. Over time, the lack of a blend radius has been found to cause deformation of the wingnut 52.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows the hammer union assembly 50 of the present invention in cross-section. In particular, FIG. 5 shows the male union 56, the female union 54, and the wingnut 52. The female union 54 has threads 80 adjacent to an end 82 thereof. The male union 56 has an end 84 facing the end 82 of the female union 54. The wingnut 52 has internal threads 86 therein. The external threads 80 of the female union 54 are engaged with the internal threads 86 of the wingnut 52. The wingnut 52 has lugs 60 and 64 extending outwardly of body 68. The internal threads 86 have a non-full root radius. A sleeve 88 is interposed between the wingnut 52 and the male union 56.

[0042] The sleeve 88 is a split sleeve. The split sleeve allows for easy installation over the male union 56. The split sleeve 88 has an external shoulder 90 bearing against an internal shoulder 92 of the wingnut 52. The split ring 88 extends over an outer diameter of the male union 56. The split sleeve 88 also is interposed between an inner surface 94 of the wingnut 52 and the outer diameter of the male union 56. The split sleeve 88 provides a seal between the wingnut 52 and the male union 56. The male union has an external shoulder 96 adjacent to the end 84 of the male union 56. The split sleeve 88 has an end bearing against this external shoulder 96 of the male union 56.

[0043] There is at least one seal ring 98 interposed between the end 84 of the male union 56 and the end 82 of the female union 54.

[0044] In normal use, and as used in conventional hammer union assemblies, when the lugs 60 and 64 are struck with a sledgehammer, the rotation of the wingnut 52 will compress the split sleeve 88 so as to create requisite seals between the surfaces of the male union 56 and the wingnut 52. The threaded connections between the wingnut 52 and the female union 56 will cause the female union 54 to move relative to the male union 56 and compress the seal ring 82 so as to establish a liquid-tight seal between the interior passage 100 of the male union 56 and the internal passage 102 of the female union 54.

[0045] FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the wingnut 52. In particular, it can be seen that the wingnut 52 has lug 60 at the top thereof and lug 64 at the bottom thereof. The blend radius 104 is illustrated as extending between the lugs 60 and the end 106 of the wingnut 52. As such, the lug 60 will actually be positioned inwardly of the end 106 of the wingnut 52. Similarly, the blend radius 108 will cause the lug 64 to be positioned inwardly of the end 106 of the wingnut 52. As stated herein previously, the blend radiuses 104 and 108 serve to dissipate shock stress around the body 68 of the wingnut 52. In particular, it avoids those stress points directly at the end 106 of the wingnut 52.

[0046] FIG. 6 show a circled area 7. Circled area 7 is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows the internal configuration of the internal threads 86 of the wingnut 52. Importantly, it can be seen that the internal thread 56 does not have a full-root radius. In fact, the internal thread 86 has a flat 110 that the major diameter of the thread 86 and a pair of flanks 112 extending inwardly from opposite sides of the flat 110. In particular, in the preferred embodiment the present invention, the flat has a width of less than 0.05 inches. The flat is planar around the major diameter of the thread. Each of the pair of flanks is curved so as to have a radius. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this radius will be approximately 0.03 inches.

[0047] This particular configuration of thread superior to the full-root radius thread. By having a flat 110 and a pair of flanks 112, the height of the external threads that mate with these internal threads 86 can be reduced. Furthermore, the major diameter can also be reduced. The major diameter of the thread is the area where the point concentration of stresses will occur. In a full-root radius thread, there will be a point of maximum concentration of stress forces. The present invention avoids this concentration of forces by providing a flat area of contact rather than a point area of contact. The radiused flanks also serve to distribute shock forces more evenly around the body of the wingnut and also around the female union 54. This configuration is also important where a four-lugged wingnut is used. Since the force from a strike of a sledgehammer onto one of the four lugs is somewhat absorbed by the opposite lug, the unique configuration of the non-full root thread of the present invention further distributes load concentrations. The stress points between the threads and the four lugs is changed in the present invention. In the present invention, the stress concentration would be generally at the two corners of the root rather than a single localized location in the major diameter of the root. When forces are placed into the major diameter of the root, the thread can crack. The present invention, by providing these two points of contact will further reduce the possibility of cracking as a result of the forces applied. As such, by the combination of the non-full root thread and the four lugs, the life of the hammer union assembly can be increased and the deformation of the wingnut of the hammer union assembly minimized.

[0048] The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.