AUSTRALIA Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (ORIGINAL) Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art: Name of Applicant: Protechna S.A. Actual Inventor(s): Udo Schutz Address for Service and Correspondence: PHILLIPS ORMONDE & FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Invention Title: SLEEVE NUT FROM PLASTIC MATERIAL Our Ref: 827439 POF Code: 20412/106282 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): -1 - 1A Sleeve Nut from Plastic Material The present application is a divisional application from Australian Patent Application No. 2005203612, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated 5 herein by reference. The invention relates to a sleeve nut from plastic material. A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior 10 art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was, in Australia, known or that the information contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the claim. DE 103 01 517 B3 discloses a transport and storage container for liquids with 15 a plastic inside container standing on a pallet-like base and an outer lattice cage. The draining fitting of the inside container is screwed onto the outlet socket of the inside container by means of a plastic sleeve nut of the generic type undetachably provided on the inlet socket of the fitting, said sleeve nut welded together from two-halves on the inlet socket. When producing the 20 sleeve nut from aluminium, the two nut-halves are riveted together on the inlet socket of the draining fitting. Such an undetachable arrangement of a sleeve nut on the inlet socket of a draining fitting is complicated and time-consuming and results in an increase of the manufacturing costs. 25 US 2,649,314 discloses a quick detachable swivel pipe union comprising two nut sections. Each nut section has in successive axial alignment an internally threaded portion at one end thereof, adjacent thereto a cylindrical bored section and at the other end thereof an internal tapered portion with the small diameter of the taper outwardly. Radially outwardly from the internally 30 threaded section there is provided on one side of each nut section a first lug and on the other side thereof and radially outwardly from the tapered portion is provided a second lug. When the nut sections are fitted together, the split surfaces thereof match so that the internally threaded portions together complete a continuously threaded section. The provision of bores on one side P:\SandraDear\2006\749613 Div 2 16 Apri 08.doc 2 through the first lugs and bores through the second lugs on the other side make it possible to complete the assembly of the two nut sections. This can be accomplished by inserting a rivet through the bores of the corresponding lugs to form a permanent pivotal connection member for the nut sections and 5 by providing a locking pin to be inserted through the bores of the lugs. This pin can be provided to be easily removable, but when inserted, has means thereon to provide against the pin slipping out through vibration and other normally displacing forces. 10 It would be desirable to provide a sleeve nut which has a simplified assembly. According to the present invention, there is provided a plastic sleeve nut comprising two nut halves, being a first half and a second half, on a first component and captively held on the first component, the nut halves each 15 having an internally threaded segment and an inwardly directed ring shoulder segment for making contact with a corresponding collar of the first component, which is to be screwed together with a second component, wherein the two halves are configured to be assembled by a connecting pin and a hook connection, each half of the sleeve nut having an internally threaded segment, 20 wherein projections with insertion holes are formed on one of the ends of the two halves of the sleeve nut, the projections extending circumferentially beyond the ends of the halves of the sleeve nut, and wherein the projections of the first half of the sleeve nut are offset relative to the projections of the second half of the sleeve nut in such a way that when the two halves are joined, the 25 projections interlock, and their insertion holes become aligned with one another to allow the insertion of a connecting pin, and wherein a hook is also formed on the other end of the first half of the sleeve nut for hooking into an insertion hole of a recess of the threaded segment in the other end of the second half of the sleeve nut. 30 The sleeve nut according to the invention is explained in the following based on drawings, illustrating the following in: P:SandraDea\2008\749613 Ofv 2 16 April 08.doc 3 Fig. 1 a longitudinal section of a butterfly valve, that is screwed onto the outlet socket of a container for liquids by means of a sleeve nut illustrated in Figs. 2 to 3, and 5 Figs. 2 and 3 perspective illustrations of the separated as well as of the combined halves of the sleeve nut. The valve housing 2 of the butterfly valve 1 according to Fig. 1, manufactured from high density polyethylene (PEHD), accommodates a butterfly disk 3 to 10 open and close the central flow-through opening 5 of the housing chamber 5, that is connected with the inlet conduit 6 of the inlet socket 7 and the outlet conduit 8 of the outlet socket 9 of the valve housing 2. The butterfly disk 3 is fastened off centre on a rotating spindle 10, both ends 10a, 10b of which are rotatably mounted in bearing lugs 11, 12 of the valve housing 2, while the 15 upper end 10b of the rotating spindle 10 protrudes from the valve housing 2 past the bearing lug 12. The rotating spindle 10 is sealed in the bearing lug 12 to the outside by means of sealing rings 13. To that end 10b of the rotating spindle 10 of the butterfly disk 3, which protrudes from the valve housing 2, a handle 14 is fitted to open and close the butterfly valve 1. 20 The butterfly valve 1 is fastened on the outlet socket 16 of a container 17 for liquids, for example a plastic inside container of a pallet container, by means of a sleeve nut 15, while the container 17 for liquids is manufactured by blow moulding integrally with the outlet socket 16 that has an outside thread 18. 25 The sleeve nut 15 is held in an undetachable manner between a collar 19 of the inlet socket 7 and the bearing lugs 11, 12 of the valve housing 2 for the rotating spindle 10 of the butterfly disk 3 and displaceable on the inlet socket of the valve housing 2. 30 When the inlet socket 7 of the valve housing 2 is pulled into the outlet socket 16 of the container 17 for liquids by screwing on the sleeve nut 15 undetachably held on the inlet socket 7 of the valve housing 2, said sleeve nut engaging with an annular shoulder 20 of the collar 19 of the inlet socket 7, a P:\SandraDea\2008\749813 Dv 2 16 Apal 08.doc 4 sealing ring 21, sitting on the inlet socket 7, will be clamped against the outlet socket 16 between the collar 19 and the external end 16a of the outlet socket 16 of the container 17 for liquids and consequently the housing 2 of the butterfly valve 1 will be sealed relative to the container 17 for liquids. 5 The sleeve nut 88 according to Figs 2 and 3 comprises two nut halves 88a, 88b, each with a thread segment 50 and an inwardly directed annular shoulder segment 20. The two nut halves 88a, 88b can be combined by means of a connecting pin 80 and a hook connection 89. At one end 90, 92 of both nut 10 halves 88a, 88b projections 85, 86 with a hole 87 are moulded on, said projections protruding in the circumferential direction past the ends 90, 92 of the nut-halves 88a, 88b. The projections 85 of one nut-half 88a are so offset relative to the projections 86 of the other nut-half 88b, that when assembling the nut-halves 88a, 88b the projections 85, 86 interlock and their holes 87 are 15 aligned to enable the insertion of a connecting pin 80. At the other end 91 of one nut-half 88a a hook 94 is moulded on to hook into an opening 95 of a recess 49 of the thread segment 50 at the other end 93 of the second nut-half 88b. 20 The sleeve nut 88 is provided on the circumference with grasping ribs 96 to facilitate the assembly. The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be 25 understood that the invention includes all variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the above description. Throughout the description and the claims of this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word, such as "comprises" and "comprising", 30 are not intended to exclude other additives or components or integers. P:\SandraDear\2008\749613 Dv 2 18 Aprd 08 doc