OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1081, 1997.
Primary Examiner—Lynne H. Browne
Assistant Examiner—Greg Binda
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Kevin L. Daffer; Conley, Rose &
Tayon
A union lock for maintaining a union between two conduits is disclosed. In a first embodiment, the union lock includes a pair of bridgepieces. Each of the bridgepieces includes an elongated member. A substantially semicircular flange is coupled to each end of the elongated members. A tab is coupled to each end of the flanges, each tab having a hole formed therein for receiving a connector. During use, the bridgepieces are placed around the conduits and secured to each other by placing the connectors in the holes in the tabs. By tightening the connectors, the elongated members may be compressed against the conduits and against a union nut joining the conduits, thus maintaining the union. In a second embodiment, the union lock includes a pair of elongated members. A substantially circular flange is coupled to each end of the elongated members. A tab is coupled to each end of the flanges, each tab having a hole formed therein for receiving a connector. During use, the union lock may be placed around a pair of conduits and the connectors may be placed in the holes in the tabs. By tightening the connectors, the elongated members and the flanges may be compressed against the conduits and against a union nut joining the conduits, thus maintaining the union. The two embodiments differ from each other primarily in that the first embodiment exists as two bridgepieces, whereas the second embodiment exists as a single piece.
20 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
