| 摘要 |
A coupling for connecting two lengths of hose includes a thermally activatable safety valve comprising a ball 18 which is biased in a direction to cut off the flow of gas, but held open by a slidable sleeve 24. The sleeve is maintained in the open position by a thermally activatable element 30, which may be made from a plastics material or solder, for example. The coupling has an inlet connection 12 and an outlet connection 14. The coupling is intended to connect hoses carrying domiciliary oxygen for therapeutic use. If the hose catches fire, the flame travelling down the inside of the hose actuates the safety valve to cut off the oxygen supply. The thermally activatable element 30 may be a discrete protrusion at the outlet end of the coupling, or may be formed integrally with the coupling (figure 2). |
