| 摘要 |
A housing (110) defines an enlarged central bore (162), from which protrudes a multi-conduit nipple (126). An elastomeric seal (128) flexibly joins the inner end of the nipple to the outer end of a respective sliding seat (116), the inner end of the seat being adapted to slide longitudinally within the central bore, whereby the elastomeric seal located is subjected to a shearing action as the nipple is pivotally deflected relative to the housing. One or more piston disks (174, 176) extend across the enlarged central bore so as to define a series of individual pressure chambers (182, 184, 186). A plurality of hollow cylindrical sleeves (188) extend through the disks, with the interior of each sleeve functioning as a continuation of a respective conduit through the connector. Preferably, for "N" conduits, there will be N sleeves and (N-1) pressure disks defining N pressure chambers, whereby there is provided for each conduit a corresponding pressure chamber and an individual pressure equalizing aperture (204) may be provided between the interior of each pressure chamber and its corresponding sleeve. Any difference in pressure between two pressure chambers will tend to force the pressure disk therebetween in the direction of the pressure differential, until the disk is in contact with the remote end of the chamber having the lower pressure. Accordingly, the compressive forces exerted on the flexible seals will be determined by the maximum pressure present. Furthermore, because the forces are symmetric about the connector's central longitudinal axis, the seat will not have any tendency to bind as it slides within the central bore. |
