SAFETY CONNECTION DEVICE FOR INTERCONNECTING TWO PIPING ELEMENTS

摘要

A safety device for coupling one end of a main conduit of a first piping element coaxially to one end of a second piping element. The first piping element has a branch conduit adjacent to the one end of the main conduit, and the device includes an obdurating member inside the main conduit of the first piping element, an operating mechanism connected to the obdurating member and extending from the other end of the main conduit for moving the obdurating member between a first position and a second position to selectively open and close the passage between the one end of the main conduit and the branch conduit, clamping apparatus mounted on the second piping element for clamping the two elements together, and an actuator mounted externally on the second piping element for engagement with the operating mechanism when the two elements are coupled together to move the mechanism between the first and second positions. The obdurating member preferably has a recess facing the one end of the main conduit for housing a ball. Supply and exhaust conduits extend into the recess from the other end of the main conduit so that fluid can be supplied under pressure to drive the ball through the passageway of the second piping element and then can be exhausted to return the ball to the recess, thereby cleaning out the second piping element.