JP2000120962A - Quick connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-reliable quick connector not to separate a lock member from a female member only by pressing the operation arm part of the lock member and to perform mounting and demounting between the lock member and the female member by applying other operation. SOLUTION: In a quick connector to couple a male member 30 to a cylindrical female member 10 provided at the other end with a hose insertion part through a lock member 20 held at a containing chamber 11a at one end, by pressing the operation arm part 23 of the lock member 20, a second lock part 22 is radially internally deformed. Through rotation operation in a peripheral direction of an operation arm part 23, the mating protrusion 24 of the second lock part 22 of the lock member 20 is registered with the mating groove 15 of the first lock part 13a of the female member 10. This constitution performs mounting and demounting between the female member 10 and the lock member 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a quick connector for piping for connecting hoses and pipes for transferring fluids such as gasoline, oil, water and air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a quick connector for piping for interconnecting various hoses and pipes of an automobile,
As shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical female member 10 having a storage portion 11 for a locking member 20 at one end and a hose insertion portion 12 at the other end.
And a locking member 20 that is inserted into the storage section 11 of the female member 10 and locked by the female member 10 and engages and connects the male member 30 inserted from one end of the female member 10. It has been known.

[0003] In this type of quick connector,
The locking member 20 is formed so as to gradually decrease in diameter from one end to the other end, and has an engaging portion 21 which engages with the ring-shaped protrusion 31 of the male member 30 at the small-diameter end. A second locking portion 2 that locks to the first locking portion 13a of the female member 10 at an end portion.
Two. An opening window 14 is formed facing the peripheral wall of the storage section 11 of the female member 10, and the opening end 13 remaining on one end side of the opening window 14 constitutes a first locking portion 13 a. Therefore, the locking member 20 is moved to the storage portion 11 of the female member 10.
When inserted into the storage chamber 11a, the first locking portion 13a
The locking portion 22 is snap-locked, and the locking member 20 is coupled to the female member 10. In this state, the male member 30 is connected to the female member 10.
When the male member 3 is inserted into the locking member 20 from one end of the male member 3, the ring-shaped protrusion 31 engages with the engaging portion 21 of the locking member 20.
0 is connected to the female member 10.

[0004] Further, at two opposing positions of one end of the locking member 20, an operation arm 23 projecting from one end in the axial direction is integrally provided. When the locking member 20 is attached to and detached from the female member 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the operation arm 23 is operated in the centripetal direction (the direction of the arrow) to move the second locking portion 22 in the radial direction. As a result, the second locking portion 22 can pass through the inside of the first locking portion 13a of the female member 10, so that the locking member 20 can be moved in and out of the female member 10 in the axial direction. . The attachment and detachment of the locking member 20 can be performed not only when the locking member 20 is used alone, but also when the locking member 20 is used.
It is possible even in a state where the male member 30 is engaged with the ring-shaped protrusion 31.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional quick connector as shown in FIG.
Can be attached to and detached from the female member 10 by operating the operation arm section 23 either alone or in a state where the male member 30 is engaged. For this reason, for example, after a quick connector is incorporated in an automobile, a hose is connected to the hose insertion portion 12 of the female member 10, and a male member 30 such as a pipe is connected to one end of the female member 10 via the locking member 20. However, the locking member 20 can be easily removed from the female member 10 with the male member 30 only by pressing the operation arm 23.

[0006] However, if the attachment and detachment of the locking member 20 of the quick connector is too easy, for example, only when the driver or the like inadvertently presses the operation arm 23 of the locking member 20 during maintenance of an automobile, the quick connector is not used. There is a possibility that the female member 10 and the male member 30 which are connected by using are easily separated. In particular, when the pipe is in a pressurized state, a tensile force acts between the female member 10 and the male member 30, so that there is a possibility that the pipe will come off more easily. Therefore, even if vibrations or other impacts are applied from the outside or the operation arm 23 is inadvertently touched, the reliable quick connector can be provided without the locking member 20 being easily detached from the female member 10. Was desired.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and it is not possible to remove the locking member from the female member only by pressing the operation arm portion of the locking member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable quick connector in which the locking member can be detached from the female member only by adding the connector.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a quick connector provided by the present invention comprises a tubular female member having a storage portion for a locking member at one end and a hose insertion portion at the other end. A quick connector comprising: a locking member that is inserted into the storage portion of the female member and locked by the female member, and engages with the male member inserted from one end of the female member to connect to the female member; The female member has an axial alignment groove in a first locking portion that locks the locking member, and the female member has a second locking portion that locks with the first locking portion. An operating arm portion provided at one end thereof and extending from one of a plurality of positions to one end in the axial direction, wherein the locking member operates the operating arm portion in a centripetal direction. To deform the second locking portion radially inward, and move the operation arm portion in the circumferential direction. By out of the combined projection through grooves combined with rotating operation, characterized in that no detachably on the female member.

A preferred embodiment of the quick connector according to the present invention has a first portion having a storage portion for a locking member at one end, a hose insertion portion at the other end, and a locking surface at one end side of the storage portion. A cylindrical female member having a locking portion, a male member having a ring-shaped protrusion protruding outward from a distal end at a predetermined position, the distal end side being inserted from one end of the female member, and a deformable body portion Is gradually reduced in diameter from one end to the other end, and has an engagement portion that engages with the ring-shaped protrusion of the male member at the small-diameter end portion of the other end, and has a large-diameter end portion at one end that extends outward from the outer surface. And a locking member having a second locking portion protruding and locking to a locking surface of the first locking portion of the female member. An engagement groove in the axial direction, and a second projection of the engagement member having an engagement projection capable of passing through the engagement groove. And an operation arm portion provided at one end thereof to extend from a plurality of locations to one end side in the axial direction. The locking member operates the operation arm portion in a centripetal direction to form a second locking portion with a radius. The female member can be attached to and detached from the female member by deforming inward in the direction and rotating the operating arm in the circumferential direction so that the aligning protrusion enters and exits through the aligning groove.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a quick connector according to the present invention, a second operation is performed by operating an operation arm of a locking member in a centripetal direction.
In addition to deforming the locking portion inward in the radial direction, at the same time, unless the operating arm portion is rotated in the circumferential direction so that the mating protrusion of the locking member faces the mating groove of the female member, The locking member cannot be released from the female member.

The attachment and detachment of the quick connector of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. 3 and 4 are specific examples of the locking member according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a specific example of the female member, and FIGS. 6 and 11 are specific examples of the quick connector combining the locking member and the female member. For the sake of simplicity, the same type as the quick connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is illustrated, and therefore, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. It goes without saying that the quick connector of the present invention is not limited to these types shown in the figures.

First, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking member 20 has a tapered shape in which the substantially cylindrical main body 25 gradually decreases in diameter from the large-diameter end at one end to the small-diameter end at the other end. It has a shape-like inner peripheral surface 25a, and has a substantially C-shaped cross section due to a notch in the axial direction. In addition, the locking member 20 has a pair of second locking portions 22, 22 extending in the circumferential direction protruding outward from a position radially opposed to the outer surface of the large-diameter end portion. On the outer peripheral surfaces of the portions 22, 22, there are provided alignment projections 24, 24 projecting outward and having a semicircular cross section.
The main body 25 of the locking member 20 is formed with a pair of radially opposed operation arms 23 extending from the large-diameter end to one end in the axial direction. Furthermore, the small diameter end portion of the locking member 20 has cutout grooves 26a, 26a at positions facing each other,
The ring-shaped projection 31 of the male member 30 is fitted into the cutout grooves 26a, 26a and locked by the locking portion 21.

On the other hand, the cylindrical female member 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a storage chamber 11a in which the locking member 20 is insertable is provided inside the storage portion 11 at one end in the axial direction, and the storage portion 11 is provided with a pair of opening windows 14 facing each other. Each of the open ends 13 on one end side has a locking surface 13b.
It constitutes the locking portion 13a. Then, a part of the inner peripheral surface of the opposed first locking portions 13a, 13a is cut out in the axial direction, and a pair of mating grooves 15,
15 are formed.

Therefore, when the locking member 20 is inserted and held in the storage portion 11 of the female member 10, the mating projection 24 of the second locking portion 22 of the locking member 20 and the first locking of the female member 10 Part 1
Aligning the alignment groove 15 of FIG.
Is inserted into the female member 10. The storage chamber 11 of the female member 10
Since the tapered surface 13c is formed at the opening edge of the opening a, and the alignment protrusion 24 is formed in a semicircular cross section, the locking member 20 can be positioned without accurately aligning the alignment protrusion 24 with the alignment groove 15. Can be stored in the female member 10. When the male member 30 is locked to the locking member 20,
Since the ring-shaped protrusion 31 of the male member 30 is fitted into the notch groove 26a of the locking member 20 and locked by the locking portion 21 and abuts against the opposite holding portion 26, the male member 30 is locked. While holding the member 20, it can also be inserted and stored in the storage chamber 11a of the female member 10.

The locking member 20 inserted into the female member 10
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the first locking portion 13 a and the second locking portion 22 are engaged and stored in the storage chamber 11 a. In this state, when the distal end side of the male member 30 is inserted into the locking member 20, the ring-shaped projection 31 of the male member 30 pushes open the tapered inner peripheral surface 25 a of the locking member 20 and enters while expanding the diameter. When the engagement member 21 exceeds the engagement portion 21, the engagement member 21 is fitted into the notch groove 26a.
The ring-shaped protrusion 31 of the male member 30 is fitted and locked between the engaging portion 21 at the small diameter end of the locking member 20 and the holding portion 26, and the male member 30 is connected to the female member 10.

On the other hand, when the female member 10 and the male member 30 are separated from each other, the pair of operation arms 23 of the locking member 20 is pressed, and the large diameter of one end of the locking member 20 is increased. Reduce the diameter of the part. However, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, simply reducing the diameter of the locking member 20 in a state where the male member 30 is engaged causes the alignment projection 24 protruding from the second locking portion 22 of the locking member 20. Since the female member 10 comes into contact with the first locking portion 13a, the locking member 20 cannot be separated.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the operating arm 23 of the locking member 20 is further rotated in the circumferential direction so that the alignment projection 24 of the locking member 20 is moved to the first position of the female member 10. By aligning with the alignment groove 15 provided in the locking portion 13a, the engagement between the locking member 20 and the female member 10 can be released. By pulling out the locking member 20 from the female member 10 in this state, the male member 30 can be detached from the female member 10 together with the locking member 20.

As described above, in the quick connector of the present invention, the locking member cannot be removed from the female member only by pressing the operation arm portion of the locking member in the centripetal direction, and the locking member is further rotated in the circumferential direction. By moving, the alignment protrusion provided on the second locking portion of the locking member is aligned with the alignment groove of the first locking portion of the female member, and the locking member and the female member can be detached for the first time, The male member can be separated from the female member.
For this reason, vibration and other shocks are applied from the outside,
Even if the operating arm of the locking member is inadvertently touched, the locking member does not easily come off the female member, and the reliability of the quick connector can be improved.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The quick connector of this embodiment is characterized in that the locking member has the structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the female member has the structure shown in FIG. 5, and the other basic structure is shown in FIG.
Since they are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, description will be made with reference to these drawings for convenience.

First, this quick connector basically comprises a female member 10 having a cylindrical shape, a locking member 20 housed in the female member 10, and a cylindrical male member 30 such as a pipe. ing. The female member 10, the locking member 20, and the male member 30 are all formed of a synthetic resin.
Of course, each of these members 10, 20, 30 can also be configured using a metal material.

The cylindrical female member 10 has one end in the axial direction serving as a receiving port for inserting the male member 30 and one end having a storage chamber 11a for storing the locking member 20 therein. It has an accommodating portion 11 and, at the other end, an integrally formed hose insertion portion 12. The female member 10
In the storage chamber 11a, the locking member 20 can be locked and stored between the male member 30 and the locking member 20 can be sufficiently reduced in diameter when the female member 10 and the male member 30 are separated. In addition, the storage chamber 11a is formed with a large diameter. An intermediate portion between the storage portion 11 of the female member 10 and the hose insertion portion 12 is a portion for holding the inserted male member 30 in an airtight manner, and a bush 41, a seal ring 42, and a collar 43 are provided on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Is held.

Opening windows 14 are formed in the peripheral wall of the storage portion 11 of the female member 10 by opening two opposing portions, and the opening formed by the peripheral wall remaining at one end of each of the opening windows 14 is formed. The end portions 13 form first locking portions 13a, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of mating grooves 15 are formed in the pair of first locking portions 13 a by cutting the opposing positions in the axial direction.

The male member 30 has a ring-shaped projection 31 protruding outward on the outer peripheral surface at a predetermined position from the other end in the axial direction (the tip to be inserted). The side is inserted up to the center of the female member 10. Female member 1
A bush 41 and a seal ring 42 are provided on the inner periphery of the central portion of the
2 are individually held, and the female members 10 and the male members 30 are fluid-tightly sealed by the seal rings 42, 42.

On the other hand, the locking member 20 is made of an elastically deformable synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a part of the peripheral wall of the substantially cylindrical main body 25 is cut off in the axial direction. That is, the cross section is formed in a substantially C shape. In addition, the locking member 2
The main body 25 of 0 is formed with a gradually decreasing diameter from one end to the other end, and the inner peripheral surface is a tapered inner peripheral surface 25a.
A male member 30 is formed at the other small-diameter end portion by a notch groove 26a.
Engaging portion 21 and retaining portion 26 that engage with ring-shaped protrusion 31 of
Is formed, and a pair of second locking portions 22 protruding outward from the outer surface are provided at one large-diameter end portion. The pair of second locking portions 22 are the first locking portions 1 of the female member 10.
3a so that it can pass through a pair of mating grooves 15
Each has a matching projection 24 at a symmetrical position passing through the axis center. In addition, the large diameter end of one end of the locking member 20 has a second end.
A pair of operation arms 2 is extended from one of two opposing portions extending in the axial direction to one end in the axial direction.
3 are integrally formed.

In this quick connector, when the male member 30 is connected to the female member 10 via the locking member 20, the engaging member 20 is stored in the storage chamber 11a of the female member 10, and The engaging portion 21 at the small diameter end of the stop member 20 engages with the ring-shaped protrusion 31 of the male member 30, and the pair of second locking portions 22 of the lock member 20
Each of the first locking portions 13a is protruded into each of the opening windows 14.
Is engaged with the locking surface 13b.

Next, a method of using the quick connector of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, while reducing the diameter of the locking member 20 by pressing the pair of operating arms 23, each of the projections 2 of the second locking portion 22 is reduced.
4 is aligned with each matching groove 15 of the first locking portion 13a of the female member 10 and inserted into the storage chamber 11a of the female member 10. When the locking member 20 is stored in the storage chamber 11a, the operating arm 23 is released to lock the second locking portion 22 with the first locking portion 13a of the female member 10, thereby making the locking member 20
Is held in the storage section 11 of the female member 10.

When the distal end of the male member 30 is inserted into the locking member 20 in this state, the ring-shaped projection 31 of the male member 30 advances while abutting on the tapered inner peripheral surface 25a of the locking member 20, so that the engagement is made. The small-diameter end portion of the stop member 20 is elastically deformed so as to be warped outward and expands in diameter. The movement of the locking member 20 held by the female member 10 toward the other end of the female member 10 is restricted by the operation arm 23 abutting on one end surface of the female member 10. When the male member 30 is further inserted, the ring-shaped protrusion 31 exceeds the engaging portion 21 of the locking member 20, and at the same time, the small-diameter end portion of the locking member 20, which has been expanded outward, is restored to its original state. Therefore, the engaging portion 21 of the small-diameter end portion is reduced in diameter and engages with the ring-shaped protruding portion 31, so that the female member 10
Is connected to the male member 30.

When the female member 10 and the male member 30 connected in this manner are separated from each other, the pair of operating arms 23 of the locking member 20 are pressed to release the large-diameter portion at one end and the second locking portion. The portion 22 is reduced in diameter. At the same time, the operation arm 23 of the locking member 20 is rotated in the circumferential direction, so that each of the matching projections 24 provided on the second locking portion 22 of the locking member 20 is moved to the first position of the female member 10.
It is aligned with each alignment groove 15 provided in the locking portion 13a. By pulling out the locking member 20 from the female member 10 in this state, the matching projection 24 passes through the matching groove 15, so that the locking between the first locking portion 13a and the second locking portion 22 is released, and the locking is performed. The male member 30 can be separated from the female member 10 together with the member 20.

[0029]

According to the present invention, the locking member cannot be removed from the female member by one operation, and the operation of pressing the operation arm in the centripetal direction and the operation of rotating in the circumferential direction are performed together. As a result, the locking member and female member can be separated for the first time, so a reliable quick connector that does not easily come off the female member due to vibration or other external impact or carelessness, etc. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic partially cutaway side view showing a configuration of a general quick connector.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state of attachment and detachment of a locking member in a conventional quick connector.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a specific example of a locking member according to the quick connector of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the locking member taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic bottom view showing a specific example of a female member relating to the quick connector of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partially cutaway bottom view showing a locked state of a locking member in the quick connector of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partially cutaway bottom view showing a state in which the locking member of the quick connector of the present invention is being released.

FIG. 8 is a schematic partially cutaway bottom view showing a detached state of a locking member in the quick connector of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing a locked state of a locking member in the quick connector of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the locking member of the quick connector according to the present invention is being released.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a detached state of a locking member in the quick connector of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Female member 11 Storage part 11a Storage chamber 12 Hose insertion part 13 Open end 13a First locking part 13b Locking surface 13c Tapered surface 14 Opening window 15 Matching groove 20 Locking member 21 Engaging part 22 Second locking part REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 23 operation arm portion 24 alignment projection 25 main body portion 25 a tapered inner peripheral surface 26 holding portion 26 a cutout groove 30 male member 31 ring-shaped projection

Continued on front page F term (reference) 3J106 AB01 BC04 BE21 BE24 CA02 CA06 CA07 CA12 EA03 EB02 EC01 EC07 ED02 ED05 EE02 EF04 EF05 EF15

Claims (2)

[Claims] A female female member having a housing portion for a locking member at one end and a hose insertion portion at the other end, a female member inserted into the housing portion of the female member and locked by the female member. And a locking member for engaging a male member inserted from one end of the locking member and connecting the locking member to the female member, wherein the female member is axially connected to a first locking portion for locking the locking member. And a second engaging portion where the engaging member engages with the first engaging portion has an engaging protrusion which can pass through the engaging groove, and has one end at one end in the axial direction from a plurality of places. An operating arm portion extended to the side, the locking member operates the operating arm portion in a centripetal direction to deform the second locking portion radially inward, and The female member is rotated by rotating in the circumferential direction to move the mating protrusion into and out through the mating groove. The quick connector being characterized in that none detachably. 2. A cylindrical female member having a first locking portion having a storage portion for a locking member at one end and a hose insertion portion at the other end, and a locking surface at one end side of the storage portion. A male member inserted from one end of the female member with a ring-shaped projection protruding outward at a predetermined position from the distal end; and a deformable body portion having a gradually decreasing diameter from one end to the other end. A small-diameter end of the other end having an engaging portion for engaging with the ring-shaped projection of the male member, and a large-diameter end of one end protruding outward from the outer surface to form a first locking portion of the female member. A locking member having a second locking portion for locking to the locking surface of the female member, wherein the first locking portion of the female member has an axial alignment groove in the first locking portion, The second engaging portion of the member has a mating projection that can pass through the mating groove, and has one end extending axially from one end to one end in the axial direction. An operating arm portion provided, wherein the locking member operates the operating arm portion in a centripetal direction to deform the second locking portion radially inward, and rotates the operating arm portion in a circumferential direction. The quick connector, wherein the quick connector is detachably attached to the female member by operating a mating projection through a mating groove.