FR3073598B1 - TRACTION DISCONNECT COUPLING ON A RING - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a tubular connector comprising a female end piece with an axial opening in which a male end piece (6) provided with a flange (7) is intended to be inserted axially, the female end piece comprises a locking member (11) notched designed to be elastically deformed radially by mechanical interference when the male end piece (6) is inserted into the orifice and to lock on the back of the collar (7). It further comprises a ring (5) slidably mounted coaxially with the orifice around the female end piece and which forms a ramp (18) oblique to the axial direction to elastically deform radially by lever effect the locking member ( 11) when the ring undergoes axial traction in the direction of insertion of the male end piece (6) in the female end piece so as to release the male end piece (6) from the female end piece. The locking member (11) has a lug (25) on its external surface, capable of being in abutment against the ring to prevent the radial elastic deformation of the locking member (11) and to prevent it from unclipping. The ring comprises at least one flexible tab on its peripheral periphery which, when the male end piece (6) is inserted, interacts with the flange (7) to move the ring axially relative to the female end piece, release the 'lug (25) from its stop position and allow the radial elastic deformation of the locking member (11).

Description

TRACTION DISCONNECT COUPLING ON A RING

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of tubular connectors in the automotive industry for connecting two fluid transport lines and in particular for connecting the fuel injector, the filter, the radiator or any other suitable equipment and / or in any other similar technical field.

More particularly, the invention relates to a tubular connector comprising a socket having a tubular hollow body which extends in an axial direction and forming an axial orifice in which a male end provided at its end with a shoulder, in the form of A flange or groove is intended to be inserted axially, the hollow body of the socket comprising a notched locking member extending axially along the hollow body and which is designed to be elastically deformed radially by interference. mechanical with the shoulder when inserting the male end into the hole of the socket and to lock on the back of the shoulder when the male end is fully inserted into the mouth of the mouthpiece female.

Prior art

Such a tubular connection for connecting air conditioning or power steering circuits for a motor vehicle is already known including the patent document FR2944084.

In this known tubular connection, a locking ring for connecting two male and female ends is mounted around the body of the socket and is able to reversibly lock notches of the socket against a flange of the male end. In this connection, the notches of the socket are arranged on the free end of flexible fingers, the fingers also passing axially through the ring through openings arranged on the circumference of the ring. In addition, in this connection, the ring comprises a retaining tab for hooking to the flange of the male end.

This known tubular connection, however, has several disadvantages. First, the structure of the flexible fingers of the female end and the ring is complex and the connection seems not very compact. Then, in this connection, to connect the two ends, following the axial insertion of the male end into the female end, in addition to a manual axial sliding of the ring to arrange radially around the fingers in order to block the notches on the flange, an additional lock must be achieved by hanging the retaining lug of the ring by a manual tilting thereof on the flange. Conversely, to disconnect the two ends must start by manually tilting the retaining tab of the ring so as to disengage the flange, then manually slide the ring manually in the direction of insertion of the male end so that the fingers move apart enough to release the collar.

As a result, the connection and disconnection of the two ends are each by means of several manual steps that can be laborious for operators and extend the time of assembly or disassembly.

EP1561064 also relates to a rapid tubular connection with a socket having a hollow body defining an orifice in which a male end is inserted axially. On the outside of the body are arranged two axially extending snap-fastening branches bearing on one of their end notches for clamping the female end at a flange of the male end. The branches are each connected to the body at a tipping point by a hinge in the form of a spacer. To snap the flange of the male end, the notches must deviate by pressing on the other end of the branches. In this device, in order to limit the size of the connection, the hinge has a thin thickness. As a result, under the effect of a temperature and / or fluid pressure can be high in the connection, it can be deformed, especially at the hinges. This deformation can lead to difficulty or impossibility of disassembly of the connection, or if the deformation is too large, leakage can be caused. Thus the use of elastic branches connected by hinges on the periphery of the hollow body of a socket to snap a male end is not suitable for certain uses in the automotive industry.

Documents US2012 / 319401, DE29610487 and US8662543 also relate to tubular connectors. Summary of the invention

The object of the invention is therefore to overcome the disadvantages indicated above in order to provide a secure tubular connection and easy to use. To this end, the subject of the invention is a tubular connector comprising a female endpiece having a tubular hollow body which extends in an axial direction and forming an axial orifice in which a male end provided at its end with a shoulder is intended to to be inserted axially, the hollow body of the socket comprising a notched locking member extending axially along the hollow body to be clipped to the shoulder during the insertion of the male end into the orifice of the female end. According to the invention, the tubular connection also comprises a ring slidably mounted coaxially with the orifice around the socket and which forms an oblique ramp with respect to the axial direction and inclined radially outwardly of the hollow body to deform elastically. radially levering the locking member when the ring undergoes axial traction in the direction of insertion of the male end into the socket so as to release the male end of the socket. The locking member and the ring are configured to abut the locking member against the ring to prevent radial elastic deformation of the locking member and to prevent its unclipping when applied to the male end or the end. female end an axial tensile force seeking to disunite one from the other.

The ring comprises at least one flexible tongue on its peripheral periphery which, during the insertion of the male endpiece, interacts with the shoulder to move the ring axially relative to the socket, disengage the locking member from its abutment position and allow radial elastic deformation.

The connection according to the invention may have the following features: the locking member may comprise at least two notched fingers distributed around the orifice of the socket, each notched finger comprising two lateral shoulders, and in that the ring can form for each notched finger two parallel oblique ramps on which rely respectively the two lateral shoulders of the notched finger; the ring comprises at least two lateral openings distributed on the circumference of the ring which are each bordered by two parallel ramps joined by a web of reinforcing material; - The two lateral shoulders of a notched finger may be part of a lateral rib which slides axially in grooves of the ring; the ring may comprise, at the level of the lateral openings, a rib projecting radially arranged to hold the ring around the female end piece; - The ring and / or the locking member comprises a lug to form the stop of the locking member. The idea underlying the invention is to have a secure connection and to connect and disconnect quickly and easily two male and female end caps with an easy-to-use tubular connection, consisting of two main parts.

With the arrangement according to the invention, the male end connects automatically into the coupling by simply snapping by axial insertion in the orifice of the socket. The spigot simply disconnects from the coupling, pulling the coupling while pulling axially on a sliding ring surrounding the spigot end.

Furthermore, with the arrangement according to the invention, it is possible to easily assemble the tubular connection, the sliding ring in a controlled manner along the female end. The tubular connection according to the invention is compact, and with such a structure the risks of deformation which can be generated by high temperatures and / or pressures are reduced. Other features, advantages and details of the present invention will emerge on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention given for illustrative and nonlimiting purposes, this description being made with reference to the drawings presented below. below.

Brief presentation of the drawings

The present invention will be better understood and other advantages will become apparent on reading the description which follows and the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 schematically illustrates, in an exploded perspective view, the tubular connection with the socket, the ring and the male end; Figure 2A illustrates the tubular connection of Figure 1 with the ring mounted on the socket; Figure 2B illustrates in a view from below the tubular connection of Figure 1 with the ring mounted on the ferrule f emelie; Figure 3 illustrates in a cross-sectional view the tubular connector according to the invention in a connection state with the male end; Figure 4 illustrates in a cross-sectional view the tubular connection according to the invention in an intermediate state of disconnection with the male end;

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of different parts of a tubular connection 1.

The tubular connection 1 here comprises a tubular female connection connector (female end) 2 bent comprising a main hollow body 3 of tubular shape which extends in an axial direction A and which has an axial orifice 4.

FIG. 1 shows a ring 5 nestable coaxially with the orifice 4 around the body 3 (according to the arrow F) and FIGS. 2A and 2B show the ring 5 fitted on the body 3 of the female endpiece 2 of the tubular connector 1.

FIG. 1 shows a tubular connection piece (male end) 6 which is intended to be inserted axially into the orifice 4 of the female endpiece 2. The male endpiece 6 is here in the form of a form base elongated cylindrical and has at its free end a radial connecting abutment formed by a flange 7 forming a shoulder, the diameter of the flange 7 being slightly smaller than that of the inside diameter of the orifice 4.

As can also be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the hollow body 3 there extends axially a conduit 8 through which a fluid can flow.

The external diameter of the duct 8 is adjusted relative to the internal diameter of the flange 7, so that during the axial insertion of the male endpiece 6 into the body 3 of the female endpiece 2, the flange 7 is housed here in the orifice 4 between the body 3 of the socket 2 and the conduit 8.

One could provide to replace the flange 7 by a simple peripheral groove formed on the male end 6, so as to provide its end, similarly to the collar 7, a shoulder. The seal between the two female ends 2 and 6 male can be provided in part by a seal 9 housed in an annular outer groove 10 of the conduit 8 as visible in Figure 2A.

According to the invention, the female element 2 has at least one locking member in the form of a flexible notched finger 11 which extends in the axial direction A and which is designed to deform elastically radially outwardly of the body 3 of the female end 2 under the effect of mechanical interference with the collar 7 when the male end 6 is inserted into the orifice 4 of the female end 2. The locking member 11 further comprises a lug 25 on its outer surface. This lug 25 is capable of being in abutment against a ring 5, the detailed description of which follows, to prevent the radial elastic deformation of the locking member 11 and to prevent its unclipping.

Preferably, the lug 25 is located at the free end of the locking member 11. In addition or alternatively, provision could be made to place the lug 25 on the ring 5. In general, the locking 11 and the ring 5 are configured to abut the locking member 11 against the ring 5, prevent the radial elastic deformation of the locking member 11 and prevent its declippage when applied to the male end 6 or the female end 2 an axial traction force seeking to disunite.

The tubular body 3 may comprise a plurality of locking members 11 distributed around the circumference of the body 3.

Here, the tubular body 3 comprises two diametrically opposite notched fingers 11 with respect to the orifice 4 which are each delimited by two axial slots in the body 3 which go to the edge of the orifice 4.

Each notched finger 11 has a free end forming an inner rib 12 radially inclined, clearly visible in Figure 2A.

During the axial insertion of the male end 6 in the orifice 4 of the female end 2, the end face of the flange 7 (in the direction of insertion of the male end 6 in the body 3) s 'presses this rib 12 to radially spread the finger 11 and allow the passage of the flange 7 in the hollow body 3.

The rib 12 also has a notch 13 which in a known manner, after the resilient tightening of the finger 11, comes into contact on the dorsal face of the flange 7 so as to lock axially in a position of complete depression and connection the endpiece male 6 in the orifice 4 of the female end 2 of the tubular connector 1.

According to the invention, each notched finger 11 has at least one lateral shoulder 14 which projects radially with respect to the outer circumference of the hollow body 3. Each shoulder 14 is intended to cooperate with a ramp 18 present on the ring 5 which will be described later. Here, two lateral shoulders 14 are shown and they are connected by material so as to form an oblique lateral rib 14 'inclined radially inwardly which projects radially outwardly of the body 3. The rib 14' is intended to to cooperate with ribs 23 of the ring 5 so as to maintain the ring 5 around the female end 2 as will be described later.

The ring 5 comprises one or more flexible tongues 26 on its periphery which, during the insertion of the male end 6, interacts with the flange 7 to axially move the ring 5 with respect to the female end 2, to release the locking member 11 of its stop position and allow its radial elastic deformation. The end of the flexible tongue 26 has a small lug 27 on its inner face having an oblique surface inclined radially inwards so as to facilitate removal of the lug 27 of the flange 7 and a flat base so as to mark a stopping point during the insertion of the male end 6 by mechanical interference with the flange 7.

The ring 5 further comprises, on its peripheral periphery, a lateral opening 17 delimited axially on the sides by an inclined ramp 18 inclined radially outwards with a slope oriented in the opposite direction to the insertion of the male end 6. The opening 17 is further defined on the upper side, in the direction of engagement of the ring 5, by a rib 23 projecting radially which is oblique, inclined radially outwardly.

Here, two lateral openings 17 are distributed over the circumferential periphery of the ring 5, for example diametrically opposite, and are each bordered by two parallel ramps 18 joined by a web 19 of material against which the lugs 25 are capable of abutting. . Optionally, the ramps 18 may be protected by edges extending axially outside the ring 5. Advantageously, these edges protect the fingers 11 from impacts that can occur on the tubular nozzle 1.

The ring may optionally comprise grooves 20 arranged axially above the ramps 18 in which the shoulders 14 slide axially during the axial engagement of the ring 5 around the body 3 of the socket 2, the grooves 20 serving as guidance for nesting.

According to the invention, the ring 5 also has on the outer periphery gripping means 22, which may for example protrude radially to be grasped by an operator in order to more easily exert axial traction on the ring 5.

Before the use of the tubular connector 1, the ring 5 must be fitted axially around the body 3 of the socket 2 according to the arrow F. For this the ring 5 is positioned as shown in Figure 1, it is that is to say, the lateral openings 17 of the ring 5 are in line with the flexible notched fingers 11 of the female endpiece 2.

During the engagement of the ring around the body, the shoulders 14 can slide axially in the grooves 20 of the ring optionally arranged above the ramps 18. Thus, the grooves 20 take the place of indexing to guide the ring 5 and the body 3 relative to each other during nesting.

In addition, during this engagement, the inclined ribs 23 of the ring 5 come into contact with the ribs 14 'inclined fingers 11 and will press on the ribs 14'. These will then retract elastically towards the inside of the body 3 so as to let the upper part of the ring 4 with the ribs 23 around the body 3. Then the fingers 11 will deploy elastically at the level of the lateral openings 17 of the ring 5 so that the shoulders 14 are positioned at the low point of oblique ramps 18.

Thus, the fingers 11 are clipped with the ring 5 at the ribs 14 'which are found below the ribs 23 of the ring 5 and in abutment, which keeps the ring 5 around the female end 3 in the absence of force exerted on the ring 5. An axial force in the direction of the insertion of the male end 6 on the ring 5 causes the latter to be unclipped from the body 3.

In the interlocking position, the radial elastic deformation of the fingers 11 is not possible because the lug 25 is in abutment position with the web 19 of the ring 5.

To better understand the invention, the steps of connecting the male end 6 in the female end 2 and disconnection shown in Figures 3 and 4 will now be described briefly.

To connect the male end 6 to the female end 2, the male end 6 is pressed axially into the orifice 4 of the tubular connector 1 in the reverse direction to the insertion of the male end 6. As mentioned previously, the flange 7 is simultaneously supported on the inclined rib 12 of the notched fingers 11 as well as on the end of the flexible tongues 26. The collar marks a stopping point at the flexible tongues 25 which makes it move axially in the direction of insertion of the male end 6, the ring 5 relative to the female end 2 and thus releases the lug 25 from its stop position. The lug 25 is no longer in abutment with the ring 5 at the level of the sails 19, the fingers 11 can therefore be elastically apart by bearing on the collar 7 radially outwardly of the body 3 and thus allow the passage of the collar 7. After the passage of the flange 7 beyond the ribs 12, the fingers 11 are elastically tightened, the notches 13 axially block the flange 7 and the ring 5 takes the position it occupied around the female end 2 before the insertion of the male endpiece 6. The male end 6 completely pushed into the hole 4 of the female end 2 is then in a connection position in the tubular connection 1. This connection position is more secure by the lug 25 in abutment position against the veil 19 of the ring 5, which prevents the fingers 11 from elastically deforming radially to unlock the flange 7, which thus prevents the withdrawal of the male end 6. The position of connects Figure 3 shows that in this position each shoulder 14 of the body 3 of the socket 2 is supported at the low point of the oblique ramps 18 of the ring 5. Securing the connection position is also visible in Figure 3 where we can see the lug 25 in abutment position against the veil 19 of the ring 5. According to the invention, it is advantageous to have a tubular connection 1 which does not exceed the diameter of the base of the spigot 6. The tubular connector 1 according to the invention is compact.

Now, to disconnect the male end 6 of the tubular connector 1, as shown in Figure 4, an operator holds with one of his hands the male end 6 and positions his other hand at the gripping means 22 of the ring 5 By effecting an axial traction according to the arrow F at the level of the gripping means 22, the ring 5 slides axially along the body 3, thus releasing the lugs 25, which are no longer in abutment against the web 19 of the ring 5. to allow radial elastic deformation of the fingers 11, the shoulders 14 then slide on the oblique ramps 18, so that the shoulders 14 deviate radially outwardly of the body 3. By lever effect, the fingers 11 notched s' also radially outwardly of the body 3, the lug 25 is no longer in the abutment position, as can be seen in FIG. 4, until it reaches a spacing sufficient for the notches 13 to be no longer in position. contact with the coll erette 7. By pulling the ring 5 in the direction of insertion of the male end 6, the flange 7 is released from the notches 13 of the fingers 11, thus disconnecting the male end 6 of the tubular connector 1.

Note that after the disconnection of the end pieces 2, 6, the shoulders 14 return by elastic return to the low point of the oblique ramps 18, the notched fingers 11 are tightened. The ring 5 therefore automatically returns to its initial position as illustrated in Figures 2A and 2B.

Thus, according to the invention, the male end 6 is connected to the tubular connection 1 in the orifice 4 of the female end 2 by a simple axial insertion, and the end pieces 2 and 6 are disconnected simply by axial traction performed on the ring 5.

According to the invention, the tubular connection is compact and has a structure of less complexity compared to existing connections.

Advantageously, the ring 5 surrounding the female end piece 2 makes it possible to protect the tubular end piece 1 from possible infiltrations of dust or other materials in the orifice 4 of the bodies 3.

The elements of the tubular connector 1 according to the invention, that is to say the female end 2 and the ring 5, may be made of plastic, for example by injection molding or by 3D printing.

Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the above description of one of its implementations, which may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (6)

1. tubular connection (1) comprising: - a female end (2) having a tubular hollow body (3) which extends in an axial direction (A) and forming an axial orifice (4) in which a male end (6) ) provided at its end with a shoulder (7) is intended to be inserted axially, said hollow body (3) of said socket (2) comprises a notched locking member (11) extending axially along said body (3). ) recess for clipping to the shoulder (7) during said insertion of said spigot (6) in said orifice (4) of said spigot (2); - A ring (5) slidably mounted coaxially with said orifice (4) around said socket (2) and which forms a ramp (18) oblique with respect to the axial direction and inclined radially outwardly of said hollow body (3) for elastically deforming said locking member (11) radially elastically when said ring (5) undergoes axial traction in the direction of insertion of said male end (6) into said female end (2) so as to release said male end ( 6) of said socket (2); the tubular connection being characterized in that: - the locking member (11) and the ring (5) are configured to abut the locking member (11) against the ring (5) to prevent radial elastic deformation the locking member (11) and preventing its declippage when applying to the male endpiece or the female endpiece an axial tensile force seeking to disunite from one another; the ring (5) comprises at least one flexible tongue (26) on its peripheral periphery which, during insertion of the spigot (6), interacts with the shoulder (7) to axially move the ring (5); ) relative to the socket (2), disengage the locking member from its stop position and allow its radial elastic deformation. 2. tubular connection (1) according to claim 1, wherein said locking member (11) comprises at least two notched fingers (11) distributed around said orifice (4) of said socket (2), each finger (11) notched comprising two shoulders (14) lateral, and in that said ring (5) forms for each finger (11) notched two parallel ramps (18) on which are respectively said said two shoulders (14) lateral finger (11). notched. 3. tubular connection (1) according to claim 2, wherein said ring (5) comprises at least two lateral openings (17) distributed around the peripheral periphery of said ring (5) which are each bordered by two ramps (18). parallel joined by a web (19) of reinforcing material. 4. tubular connection (1) according to claim 2, wherein said two shoulders (14) side of a notched finger (11) are part of a rib (14 ') lateral which slides axially in grooves (20) of said ring (5). 5. tubular connection (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said ring (5) comprises at the openings (17) side at least one rib (23) projecting radially arranged to maintain said ring (5). ) around said socket (2). 6. Tubular connection (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ring (5) and / or the locking member (11) comprises a lug for (25) to form the stop of the locking member. (11).