Refrigerant charging kit

Claim 1

A do-it-yourself charging kit for charging an automobile air conditioning system comprising: a pressurized can containing a supply of refrigerant; a delivery hose for connecting the can to the system; a delivery connector on the hose for first fixedly coupling one end of said delivery hose to the air conditioning system, said connector containing a one-way valve closing in the direction of flow from the connector to the hose so as to permit refrigerant flow into the system from said delivery hose but to prevent backflow from the system into said delivery hose, and means for subsequently coupling the other end of said delivery hose to said can and adapted to open said can when coupled therewith to permit the contained refrigerant to flow outward therefrom through said delivery hose and into the system under the can pressure, wherein said delivery connector comprises an outer sleeve having an end opening, a conical internal surface diverging from said end opening, and a cylindrical internal surface at the large end of the conical surface, a hose tube extending into said opening, through said conical portion and at least partially into said cylindrical portion, a bullet-shaped insert having a conical nose pressed into the end of the hose tube, expanding the same into a flared portion between the conical surface and the nose of said insert, the sleeve being internally threaded for reception on a nipple, the insert being arranged to be thrust axially by the nipple to clamp the flared portion of the tube between the nose of the insert and the conical surface of the sleeve.