Patent 7568737 was granted and assigned to Eaton Corporation on August, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A male coupling is connectable to and separable from a female threaded coupling. The female threaded coupling includes a sealing surface and a receiving portion sized to receive at least a portion of the male coupling, where the receiving portion has internal threads provided therein. The male coupling includes a body having a passageway extending therethrough and a locking member disposed about the body and configured to move between locking and releasing positions. The locking member has a retaining formation configured to engage the internal threads of the female threaded coupling when the locking member is in its locking position. After insertion of the male coupling into the female threaded coupling, the retaining formation of the locking member engages one or more of the internal threads in the female threaded coupling when the locking member is in its locking position.