Tubing connector

Claim 1

A connection device, comprising: a tube having a lumen and an outer surface; a housing having a passageway to receive the tube, and a tubular portion adjacent one end of the housing defining an end of the passageway to receive the tube and having an outer surface tapering from a first smaller diameter to a second larger diameter adjacent an outer end edge of the tubular portion, with the remainder of said passageway having a larger internal diameter than the outside diameter of said tube; an annular flexible sealing member having an opening of a size to receive and frictionally engage said outer surface of the tube, said sealing member being retained in the housing with the opening aligned with the passageway, whereby an end of the tube may be inserted into the passageway and through the sealing member opening with the sealing member engaging the outer surface of the tube; means for retaining the tube in the housing with the tube extending through the sealing member comprising, a plurality of gripping members at the one end of the housing defined by a plurality of elongated slots extending from the end edge of the tubular portion and spaced peripherally around the tubular portion, and a ring slidably received on said tubular portion, with the inner diameter of the ring being greater than said first diameter and less than said second diameter, whereby said ring may be positioned at an inner portion of the tubular portion for inserting the tube into the housing with an inner surface of the gripping members spaced from the outer surface of the tube, and said ring may be moved toward the outer end of the gripping members to flex the gripping members toward the tube and frictionally engage the inner surface of the gripping members against the outer surface of the tube to releasably lock the tube in place within the housing; and fluid transmitting means connected to the other end of the housing and having cavity means at least as large as the internal diameter of said remaining portion of the passageway, whereby said tube may be positioned at a selected location in the passageway or positioned with an end portion extending from the passageway into the cavity means in order to reduce slack in said tube.