JP2001141160A - Connection joint having flexible membrane - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection joint to prevent miscellaneous germs from entering. SOLUTION: This connection joint having the flexible membrane comprises two joints, and has a sealing means to seal a space between the joints and a fixing means to fix the space between the joints. Each joint is provided with a joint body part having a connection port provided with a fluid flow-in or flow-out passage and a valve seat, the inside of the joint body part is demarcated through the joint body part into a flow passage area to connect the connection port to the passage and an external flow passage area in which a valve stem passes through the joint body part by connecting an inner valve to close/ open the connection port in an attachable/detachable manner facing the valve seat on one end, the valve stem having an inner valve driving means on the other end, and the valve stem and an inner wall of the joint body part, and has the flexible membrane so that the fluid does not leak into the external flow passage area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved joint for piping, and more particularly, to a joint having an inner valve having a structure for preventing bacteria from entering the fluid passage area of the joint from the outside. Regarding connection fittings.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In transferring a fluid, for example, a joint having a male or female structure is often used at the end of a hose, and various joints are commercially available for various fields. In particular, a joint used for food production is required to be free from foreign matter and germs. In order to satisfy this requirement, there has been proposed a connecting joint having an inner valve and having a function of cleaning a connecting surface, as shown in FIG. Kaihei 7
167364). In FIG. 4, a cleaning chamber 51 is provided inside a valve shaft 50 of an inner valve C of a joint A, and a cleaning liquid jet 52 is provided at a tip end of the cleaning chamber.
Is provided, and the valve shaft 53 of the inner valve D of the other joint B is provided.
Is provided with an external discharge channel 54 for discharging the cleaning liquid from the jet port to the outside.

The above-mentioned joints A and B are connected at connection surfaces 55 and 56, respectively. Thereafter, by pushing down the inner valve C, the inner valve D is also pushed down, a flow path is formed, and by returning the inner valve C to the original position, the inner valve D also returns to the original position and the flow path is closed. . When the flow path is formed, the inner valve is pushed down. At that time, the upper part of the valve shaft 50 exposed to the outside passes through the shaft seal portion 57 and enters the joint flow path, and comes into contact with the fluid in the flow path. . When the flow path is shut off, the valve shaft is moved upward, and at this time, the portion of the valve shaft that has come into contact with the liquid is exposed to the outside. That is, by the operation of forming and blocking the flow path, a part of the valve shaft of the joint A moves between the inside and the outside of the joint by passing through the shaft seal portion. Similarly, for the joint B, the lower portion of the valve shaft 53 moves between the inside and the outside of the joint through the seal portion 58.

For this reason, although the valve shafts 50 and 53 are sealed by the shaft seals 57 and 58, respectively, there are slight gaps and the bacteria are extremely fine, so that the valve shafts come into contact with the outside world. When doing so, bacteria adhering to the valve shaft surface may pass through the shaft seal portion and enter the inside of the joint, and in the conventional method of cleaning only the joint portion of the joint, the valve shaft passes through the shaft seal portion. Therefore, the invasion of various bacteria cannot be prevented.

[0005] Invasion of various bacteria in general in the production of food, particularly in the field of production by fermentation, has a very significant effect on the quality of the product and must be prevented by all means.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection joint comprising a joint capable of preventing invasion of various bacteria into the fluid in the flow path from the outside by the operation of the valve shaft.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following connecting joint.

[0008] A connecting joint comprising two joints and having sealing means for sealing between these joints and fixing means for fixing between these joints, each joint being provided with a fluid inlet or outlet pipe and a valve seat. A joint body having a connection port provided therein, an inner valve which penetrates the joint body, closes or detaches at one end relative to the valve seat to close or open the connection port, and an inner valve driving means at the other end. A valve shaft having the valve shaft, the valve shaft connected to the inner wall of the joint body, the inside of the joint body, a flow path region connecting a connection port and a pipe, and the valve shaft penetrating the joint body. Outside the flow path area
A connection joint with a flexible membrane, characterized by having a flexible membrane for preventing a fluid from leaking to a region outside the flow path.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connection joint according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the entire connection joint of the present invention before the two joints are connected, and FIG. 2 shows the connection joint of the present invention in a state where the two joints are connected. Show the whole.

The two joints constituting the connection joint of the present invention are the same except for the sealing means on the connection surface and the fixing means between the two joints, so only one joint will be described.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the joint body 5 has a fluid inlet or outlet conduit 7 and a connection port 6 provided with a valve seat 3. The valve shaft 4 is provided through the joint body 5. The inner valve 2 is provided at one end of the valve shaft on the connection port 6 side, and the other end of the valve shaft 4 is connected to the inner valve driving means 8. Sealing means 1 for sealing between the valve seat 3 and the inner valve 2
3, for example, a Teflon (registered trademark) ring is provided.

The inner valve 2 comprises a valve body 30 facing the valve seat 3 and a spherical cover as shown, which covers the space of the valve body 30 and is cut off from the outside. This cover may be of any shape other than a spherical shape, but a spherical shape is preferred for the purpose of draining or the like.

Although the inner valve driving means 8 uses a pneumatic actuator for automatic opening / closing, known means such as an electromagnet and a manual handle are used.

The flexible membrane 1 is provided in close contact with the entire outer periphery of the valve shaft 4 and the entire inner periphery of the inner wall of the joint body 5. The flexible membrane 1 divides the inside of the joint body 5 into a flow path area X connecting the connection port 6 and the conduit 7 and an outside flow path area Y in which the valve shaft 4 passes through the joint body 5. Thus, the fluid is prevented from leaking to the region Y outside the flow path.

The flexible membrane 1 is a flexible membrane made of a material that is flexible, prevents penetration of fluid, and is stable against fluid. Examples of such membranes include diene rubber, olefin rubber,
Examples include a synthetic rubber film such as silicone rubber and fluorine rubber, a corrugated fluororesin film, and a corrugated metal thin film. From these membranes, a membrane suitable for the fluid to be treated is selected.
For example, in the field of producing beverages containing alcohol, a fluororubber film, a corrugated fluororesin film, or a corrugated metal thin film is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing odor.

The attachment of the flexible membrane 1 to the valve stem 4 will be described below with reference to FIG. 3, which shows an example of a detail of a portion where the valve stem penetrates the flexible membrane. In FIG. 3, the flexible film 1 is sandwiched between a valve body 30 and a holding member 40 provided around the valve shaft 4, and fixed sealing means 20 provided at the upper end of the valve body 30, for example, a synthetic rubber O It is tightly fixed via a ring. In the case of attaching a fluororesin film or a corrugated metal thin film, an attachment method as shown in FIG. 3 is particularly preferably used. In the case of synthetic rubber, since the elasticity is high, it may be fixed directly to an edge provided on the valve stem with screws or screws.
The interval between the screws or screws is preferably an interval necessary for the used flexible membrane to be tightly fixed to the edge thereof.

A method of connecting the two joints described above will be described below. A sealing means, for example, an O-ring 10 made of synthetic rubber is provided on the connection surface of one of the connection portions 12 of the two joints to seal between the connection surfaces of the two joints. In addition, a connection surface fixing means 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided for fixing the connection surface. The connecting surface fixing means 11 is composed of a fixing means male side 11a and a fixing means female side 11b, and by driving a lever with an air actuator or the like, the claw which is the fixing means female side 11b is turned into a groove which is the fixing means male side 11a. Mechanically fixed to the In addition to the above fixing means, it is also possible to provide fixing flanges around the joints of the two joints, and fix these flanges with clamps.

After the two joints are connected and fixed, the inner valves 2 of the two joints are opened by the inner valve driving means 8, respectively. The conduits 7 of the two joints communicate with each other, and the fluid flows from one conduit 7 to the other conduit. Flow to 7. When disconnecting the two joints, the inner valve driving means 8 closes each inner valve 2, then releases the fixing of the connection fixing means 11, and releases the two joints.

As the material of the joint of the present invention, stainless steel is generally used, particularly in the field of food production, but a material suitable for the fluid to be handled can be selected.

[0021]

According to the present invention, the inside of each joint of the connecting joint is formed by a flexible membrane and fixed sealing means (the numeral 20 shown in FIG. 3). Therefore, external germs do not enter the joint by driving the valve shaft.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a connecting joint of the present invention before two joints are connected.

FIG. 2 is an overall view of the connection joint of the present invention in a state where two joints are connected.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing an example of a portion where a valve stem penetrates a flexible membrane.

FIG. 4 is an overall view of a conventional connection joint in a state where two joints are connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible membrane 2 Inner valve 3 Valve seat 4 Valve shaft 5 Joint body 6 Connection port 7 Pipe line 8 Inner valve driving means 10, 20 O-ring 11 Joint fixing means 11a Joint fixing means male side 11b Joint fixing means female side DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Connection part 30 Valve element 40 Holder X Flow path area Y Flow path outside area A, B Joint C, D Inner valve 50, 53 Valve shaft 51 Cleaning chamber 52 Cleaning liquid jet 54 External discharge flow path 55, 56 Connection surface 57, 58 Shaft seal

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Osamu Okuda 6C-706 Hinode, Urayasu-shi, Chiba (72) Inventor Hisashi Kawada 2-39-1 Sumida, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connecting joint comprising two joints, having a sealing means for sealing between the joints and a fixing means for fixing the joints, wherein each joint has a fluid inlet or outlet pipe and a valve seat. A joint body having a connection port provided with an inner valve that penetrates the joint body, closes or opens at one end relative to the valve seat to close or open the connection port, and an inner valve at the other end. A valve shaft having driving means, and a flow passage region connecting the valve shaft and an inner wall of the joint body to connect the inside of the joint body with a connection port and a pipe, and the valve shaft comprising the joint body. And a flexible membrane that divides the fluid into an outer flow path area that penetrates the flow path, thereby preventing a fluid from leaking into the outer flow path area.