FR3018578A1 - DEVICE FOR CONNECTING WITH A ROTATING CONNECTION LATCH - Google Patents

Abstract

A connecting device for a fluid transfer line comprises a male tubular tip (1) for connection in a female tubular tip and an annular connection lock (20) rotatably mounted around the male end and comprising at least an elastically deformable tab (21) in a radial direction and arranged to fit between the female end and the male end. The rotation of the lock around the male end allows to superimpose the tab of the lock with a corresponding radial projecting boss (7) provided on the male end to obtain a locking connection.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a connection device for a fluid transfer line, comprising a male tubular nozzle extending in an axial direction and intended to be connected by axial insertion in a female tubular nozzle, and a ring connection lock. mounted around the spigot end and comprising at least one elastically deformable lug in a radial direction and arranged to fit between the spigot end and the spigot end in the position of connection of the spigot end in the spigot end, said tab being adapted to lock the male end in the connection position in the female end by locking in a groove provided inside the female end under the effect of an overlay of the tab on a boss corresponding radial projection provided on the male end. PRIOR ART Such a connection device for a fluid transfer line is already known from patent document FR-2942862. It is more particularly intended for a fuel injector return circuit in which a particular fluid at low pressure is transferred to fuel injection ramps for motor vehicles. In general, it is known for the fuel injection ramps to use male tubular end connection devices which are sealed in a female tubular nozzle or "cannula" by means of an annular connection lock. The annular connection lock in the connecting device indicated above is designed such that the deformable tabs of the lock are superimposed with ramps of the male end by an axial translation in force of the lock between the male end and the female end. To achieve this axial displacement between the male end and the female end, the latch lugs and the annular body of the latch must be designed not to creep under the effect of the axial thrust force so that the body of the bolt lock as the legs must be designed with a certain thickness. Furthermore, the translational movement of the lock relative to the male end may require to have a large free space above the male end to perform the maneuver which affects the compactness of use of such a device connection. The object of the invention is to provide a connection device as defined above which overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, the subject of the invention is a connection device for a fluid transfer line, comprising a male tubular endpiece extending in an axial direction and intended to be connected by axial insertion in a mouthpiece. female tubular, and an annular connection lock mounted around the male end and comprising at least one elastically deformable tab in a radial direction and arranged to fit between the female end and the male end in the connecting position of the male end in the socket, said tab being designed to lock the male end in the connection position in the female end by locking in a groove provided inside the female end under the effect of a superimposing the tab on a corresponding radial protruding projection provided on the male end, characterized in that said connection lock is rotatably mounted around the male end so that the overlap of the lock tab on the corresponding boss of the male end is done by turning the connection lock around the male end. This arrangement contributes to the fact that the body of the annular lock which is preferably molded plastic material can be designed finer, so be lighter and require less material for its manufacture.

The kinematics of manipulation in rotation requires a smaller axial space requirement than kinematics of manipulation in axial translation. The manipulation may for example be a quarter-turn rotation. The rotary connection lock according to the invention also allows a good adaptability to the different configurations of the spigot, which may have different angular configurations of branch connections in the form of fir tails, for example with two connectors spaced apart. the other at 90 ° or at 120 °. The connecting device according to the invention may furthermore have the following particulars: the annular connection lock has a gripping zone, such as fins, a rough external annular surface with pins for example, or a hollow on the outer surface; , intended to receive a manual thrust from an operator oriented transversely to the radial direction; an assembly connection is provided between the annular connection lock and the male end so as to prevent axial movement of the lock with respect to the male end and allow rotation of the connection lock around the male end from its unlocked position to its locking position. This connection connection may be a slot which extends over a radial angular sector of the annular periphery of the lock and a lug provided on the male end and which engages in the slot. Conversely, it may consist in a radial groove on the male end and a lug on the annular connection lock which engages in the groove; - A flexible anti-rotation pallet provided with a locking tooth is provided on the lock, a first and a second notch are provided on the male end being angularly spaced from one another, and the pallet and the two notches are arranged in radial alignment along the annular periphery of the lock so that the tooth of the pallet is engaged in the first notch in the non-locking position of the connection lock and is engaged in the second notch in the locking position of the lock of connection; The connecting device according to the invention has few parts that can be stored in the mutual assembly position. It should be noted that the rotating connection lock according to the invention has the advantage of involving a reduced cost and easy assembly for the connecting device and also contributes to imparting a very good mechanical resistance to tearing the tabs ( ie the accidental rise in operation of the connection lock tabs out of the throat of the socket), which ensures high reliability of the connection even under high operating fluid pressure. It can be provided to further incorporate a visual indicator lock, for example, which is respectively visible and invisible on the male end in the unlocked position and locking of the connection lock or vice versa. This visual indicator can be for example a marking placed in the first notch on the outer surface of the male end, this marking appearing when the annular connection lock is rotated around the male end of its unlocked position to its position locking. The visual indicator can also be placed in the second notch, this marking disappearing when the annular connection lock is turned around the male end of its unlocked position to its locking position. The visual indicator can still be placed in the slot of the assembly link indicated above. It can further be provided that the radially projecting boss forms a ramp and has a chamfered lateral edge that extends axially and the tab has an axially extending beveled lateral edge that is adapted to slide on the chamfered side edge of the boss. forming a ramp when the lock is rotated around the male end to its locking position. In this case, the tab is locked in the throat of the female end under the effect of bending created by its superposition on the ramp forming boss. According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, there are provided a plurality of preferably radial projection bosses, preferably three in number, which are distributed over the circular periphery of the male end-piece, as are the tabs of the annular connection lock intended to come at their contact in the locking position. According to another characteristic of the invention, these radially projecting bosses can serve as a centering means for guiding the connection lock in translation on the male endpiece in order to facilitate the centering of the connection tabs with respect to the ramps.

For this purpose, the lock has on its inner annular surface splines in which are slid the bosses of the male end. It is understood that these grooves are only used when mounting the annular connection lock on the male end. A fuel injector return circuit according to the invention comprises a male tubular nozzle connected to a female tubular nozzle by a connection device according to the invention as defined above.

A mounting method according to the invention in the locking position of a connecting device as defined above around a male tubular end and in a female tubular endpiece to be connected to this male end, comprises the following successive steps for the mounting of the device: a) positioning the connection lock around the male end, so as to bring the latch connecting lug to the same axial level as the protruding protruding projection of the male end, b) one push the male end to the bottom of the socket to connect it to the latter in such a way that the tab and the boss are located opposite the connection groove, c) the connection lock is turned around the male end to bring the tab into the locking position superimposed with the projection protruding radially which has the effect of blocking the tab of the lock in the groove of the socket. During this rotational maneuver, the anti-rotation paddle will undergo a deflection due to a chamfered edge of the locking tooth, whereas to unlock the connection lock, the operator will first have to operate the flexible paddle to release the blocking tooth. out of the second notch and then turn the connection lock around the male tubular tip from its locking position to its unlocked position. Other features, advantages and details of the present invention will become apparent on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention given by way of illustration and not limitation, this description being made with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connecting device according to the invention with the connection lock which is separate from the male end.

Figure 2 is an assembled perspective view of the connecting device according to the invention when the latch is mounted on the male end in an unlocked position.

Figure 3 is another assembled perspective view of the device of Figure 2. Figure 4 is an assembled perspective view of the connecting device when the latch is locked in axial translation on the spigot end.

Figure 5 is another assembled perspective view of the device of Figure 4. Figure 6 is an assembled perspective view of the device of Figure 5 after rotating a quarter turn of the latch around the spigot end.

Figure 7 illustrates in perspective the male end inserted into the socket. Figure 8 is an axial sectional view of the male end in the socket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In the present description, the terms "axially inner" or "axially inward" will be understood to mean a location in the connected state along the axis of symmetry of the male and female ends which is directed towards the outside. interior of the connector, ie proximally to the connecting groove of the socket and, conversely, by the expression TT axially outer TT u or axially outwardly "a location along this axis to the opposite (ie distal way) of this groove 1. In FIG. 1, the male tubular end 1 has in known manner, at its axially outer end (ie upper), two branch connections 2 and 3 in the form of fir tails which extend symmetrically from one another with respect to a bearing surface 4 centered on the X axis of the latter.

The tip 1 also has a radial circumferential recess at half height in the axial direction X. The female tubular tip 10 illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, of the cannula-type and of standard shape, has substantially radially on its face. internal 11, in the immediate vicinity of its axially upper end 12, a circumferential connecting groove 13 which is of substantially trapezoidal axial section and which is intended to receive an end 15 of the connection lock 20. The female end piece 10 further has, in the immediate vicinity of its axially inner end 14, a circumferential sealing zone 15 intended to receive a seal 16 which is previously mounted or overmolded in a circumferential sealing groove 6 of the male end-piece. known, the inner section of this socket 10 has a narrowing 17 axially below the groove 13. 25 According to the invention, the lower end of the latch 20 of the device is formed by one or more tabs 21 elastically deformable in radial flexion (of the number of three in this embodiment) and shaped lobes. This lock 20 is made of a plastic material of good mechanical strength such as a polyamide, and it comprises in this embodiment: a cylindrical annular portion 30 which is intended to be mounted in contact with the male end 1 from and above the recess 5 of the latter, four gripping fins 31 diametrically opposite in pairs and distributed around the annular portion to receive a manual thrust from an operator oriented transversely to the radial direction Y and to the axial direction X, - a radial slot 32 which extends in the upper part of the annular portion 30 on a radial angular sector of the annular periphery of the lock, - a flexible blade 33 with a locking tooth 34 more visible in Figure 7 which is arranged in the upper part of the annular portion 30, here diametrically opposed to the radial slot 32, - a bearing zone 35 which is radially the innermost and which is intended to be mounted against the male end 1 directly below the recess 5, - the three connecting lugs 21 in arcs of 20 circle which extend downwards and radially outwards the zone of pressing 35 forming the lower end of the device, and which are each adapted to be locked in the locking position against the groove 13, by their superposition on the corresponding radial projection bosses 7 formed on the male end 1. More specifically, the tabs 21 are relatively thin and are regularly spaced apart along the circular periphery of the latch and have an axial height 30 intended to make these lugs 21 elastically deformable in radial bending.

Each lug 21 may have an internal face that is oblique or slightly concave complementary to the outer face of a boss 7. The lugs 21 may be provided to have a rest position in which they are spaced radially from the male end. They engage in the groove 13 of the female end and superimpose the bosses of the male end without contact with the latter during rotation of the lock.

The legs 21 may also have a rest position in which they remain pressed against the male end. Each lug 21 can then have a beveled lateral edge 22 which extends in the axial direction X and which is designed to be slid on a chamfered lateral edge 7a of a boss 7 when the latch is turned around the male end ( in the direction of the arrow F) to its locking position as shown in Figures 5 and 6 so that each tab bends in the throat of the female end under the effect of its superposition on a boss forming ramp of the male end. The outer face of each tab 21 is here convex with a radius of curvature matching the profile of the groove 13.

As can be seen in FIG. 8, this external face comprises two upper and lower oblique sections and a third intermediate section respectively designed to fit the two flared edges and the flat bottom of the groove 13.

As for the bosses projecting radially 7, they are formed at the same axial height as the legs 21, each boss 7 having an upper oblique portion extending radially outwardly and downwardly at an acute angle, a cylindrical axial portion with a laterally extending lateral edge 7a that can be chamfered and a lower oblique portion. As visible in Figure 4, a lug 8 may be provided on the outer surface of the male end 1 to engage in the slot 31 of the latch when the latter is mounted around the male end with the legs 21 placed at same level as the ramps 7. This lug 8 serves as a limit clip when the latch 20 is inserted completely axially on the male end by translation. During this axial insertion of the lock 20 on the male end 1, the rotation of the lock around the end piece can be prevented by sliding of the ramps 7 in grooves 9 which extend axially as shown in FIG. inner surface of the annular portion 30 of the lock.

When the latch 20 is completely inserted on the male end 1, the ramps 7 are disengaged splines 9 as shown in Figure 4 while the lug 8 is engaged in the slot 32 which prevents axial displacement of the latch 20 by In accordance with another important aspect of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the anti-rotation pallet 33 provided at the upper end of the lock is provided to ensure a secure positioning of the lock. relative to the male end, especially during transport and storage.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the tooth 34 of the pallet 33 is engaged in a first notch 8a provided on the spigot which prevents rotation of the bolt 20 around the spigot 1. The tooth 34 has a chamfered edge to be cleared by simply deflecting the pallet out of the first notch. Note that the lock 20 is located below the connectors 2 and 3 which makes it independent of the angular configurations thereof.

It is possible to design a visual indicator for locking the latch which is visible for example in the opening of the slot 32. This visual indicator may also consist of a marking in one of the notches 8a or 8b on the male tubular end 1.

Now referring to Figures 1 to 8, the following procedure is used to lock the connection of the tabs 21 in the groove 13 of the socket 10: a) the lock 20 is positioned around the male end 1 as shown on Figure 2 and pressed until the tab or lugs 21 of the lock are inserted between the bosses 7 at a same axial level. In the exemplary embodiment, the lug 8 is then engaged in the slot 32 as visible in FIG. 4. b) the end piece 1 is pushed to the bottom of the female endpiece 10 to connect it abuttingly , so that the lugs 21 and the bosses 7 are facing the groove 13; c) a rotation force is exerted on the latch 30 as illustrated by the arrow F in FIG. 5 in one direction, for example a rotation of a quarter of a turn to bring the lugs 21 in superposition with the bosses 7 which has the effect of blocking the tabs in the groove 13 by locking against the bosses 7 as illustrated in FIG. 8. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 to 8, in order to rotate the latch 20 in rotation, the operator turns the latch around the male end, the tooth 34 of the free end of the non-return pallet 33 disengaging 34 from the first notch 8a by deflection and when the position of complete locking is reached due to the rotation of the lock, the tooth 34 the non-return pallet is locked in the notch 8b prohibiting the return to non-locking position of the lock. To unlock the connection, it is necessary to disengage the tooth from the pallet of this second notch 8b for example by pressing on the free end of the pallet and then turn the lock in the opposite direction to the arrow F in FIG. Flexible tabs 21 are then offset from the bosses 7, which creates a clearance space for the flexible tabs towards the inside of the latch, which makes it possible to remove the latch from the male end after disengaging the lug 8 out of the slot. 32 by simply pulling on the latch 20. Note that the tabs can also be designed to return elastically towards the inside of the latch. The connection device according to the invention makes it possible to guarantee a leaktight connection between a male end and a female fuel injector base with a variability of the configuration of the outlet fittings at the tail of a fir.