Cuffed connection system
A cuffed connection system for the transport of a particulate material includes a tube, a conduit, or a duct, and a flexible tube end received and snap fit inter-engaged within the tube, the conduit, or the duct. The snap fit is of a pair of outward circumferential forms each into a complementary receiving groove of a ferrule.
1. A flexible coupling tube for ducting material therethrough along a tubular axis thereof, the tube comprising:
a flexible tubular member which is provided with at least one banded, ferruled, and/or cuffed end region,
said end region having an external profile of at least one annular rib, and being annularly supported by a resilient cylindrical ring that underlies a profiled ring, the profiled ring providing the at least one annular rib of the band, ferrule and/ or cuff, so as to be deformable inwardly of a tube axis thereof but with return bias to or towards a more relaxed condition of an at least substantially circular tubular form.
2. The flexible coupling tube according to claim 1 , wherein the external profile of the end region has at least two of the annular ribs.
3. The flexible coupling tube according to claim 1 , wherein a fold back of a flexible sleeve of said coupling tube encloses said profiled ring and said cylindrical ring.
4. An assembly, as part of a solids transport system, said assembly comprising:
an inter-engagement between a first tube and a second tube, the first tube having a tubular axis and an end region thereof provided with an annularly profiled set out,
the second tube being a flexible coupling tube as claimed in claim 1 , said flexible coupling tube being partly nested within the first tube such that there is substantial alignment of tubular axes of the first and second tubes,
wherein each of (a) the end region of the second tube and (b) the annularly profiled set out has at least one annular rib directed to the other, and at least one of the end region of the second tube and the annularly profiled set out has two such ribs so as to have the rib of one engagingly flanked by ribs of the other, and
wherein the end region of the second tube is deformable inwardly of its tube axis so as to facilitate insertion or removal of the second tube from the first tube but with sufficient return bias to or towards a more relaxed condition such that the rib between two rib engagement holds the tubes against axial separation along the tubular axes of the first and second tubes.
5. The assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the two ribs are part of said banded, ferruled or cuffed end regions of the second tube.
6. The assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the set out of the first tube has a construction that is roll formed.
7. The assembly according to claim 4 , wherein an inner surface of a non-set out region of the first tube and an inner surface of the second tube are in alignment with each other.
8. The assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the end region of the second tube has two parallel annular ribs, and the first tube has two parallel complementary grooves that each conform to said annular rib of the end region and which connect via the rib of the first tube.