JP2003166727A - Drain hose connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drain hose connection structure in which any sealant or adhesive is unnecessary, and the connection work is efficient. <P>SOLUTION: In this drain hose connection structure, a drain hose 10 is connected to a drain of an indoor air-conditioning unit via a mouth member 1. The mouth member 1 has a cylindrical part 2 to be fitted to the drain, and has a male screw part 4 and a seal part 5. The drain hose 10 is bellows-shaped on the whole, and has a female screw part 11 to be screwed to the male screw part 4 and a press-fitting part 12 to be screwed to the seal part 5. The mouth member 1 is inserted in one end part of the drain hose 10 to screw the male screw part 4 to the female screw part 11, a projection 5a of the seal part 5 is press-fitted to an inner circumferential surface of the press-fitting part 12 and coupled therewith. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drain hose connection structure, and more particularly to a structure for connecting a drain hose to a drain of an air conditioning indoor unit through a mouth member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a drain hose is connected to a drain of an air conditioning indoor unit to discharge water droplets from the indoor unit to the outside. Conventionally, as a drain hose connection structure of this type, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-234756 and 20-20
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 00-257899, one end of the drain hose was connected to the drain through a seal material. However, it is troublesome to interpose the sealing material separately, and it is necessary to provide a fastening tool for fastening the sealing material on the outer peripheral portion of the drain hose.

There is also provided a device in which a drain member is connected to a drain through a mouth member, omitting a sealing material. However, in this connection structure, it is necessary to bond the mouth member and the drain hose with an adhesive in order to secure the connection strength and watertightness, and there is a problem that workability is poor.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a drain hose connection structure which does not require a sealing material or an adhesive and has a good connection work efficiency.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the drain hose connection structure according to the present invention is a structure for connecting a drain hose to a drain of an air conditioner indoor unit through a mouth member. The mouthpiece member has a cylindrical portion for fitting to the drain provided at one end, a male screw portion formed from the cylindrical portion toward the other end, and a seal portion provided on the other end side of the male screw portion. The drain hose has a bellows shape as a whole, has a female screw portion for screwing with the male screw portion of the mouth member at one end, and has a crimp portion for crimping with the seal portion. It is characterized by

In the connection structure of the drain hose having the above structure, the drain hose and the mouth member are integrated by screwing the male screw portion of the mouth member to the female screw portion formed at one end of the drain hose. The drain hose is connected to the drain by fitting the tubular portion of the mouth member into the drain of the air conditioning indoor unit. The seal portion itself is provided at the other end of the base member, and exerts a sealing effect by being pressed to the crimp portion of the drain hose at the same time as screwing the screw portion. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare the sealing material as a separate member, and the adhesive can be omitted for connecting the mouth member and the drain hose.

In the drain hose connection structure according to the present invention, the seal portion may be an annular protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the mouth member, or an O-ring provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth member. May be.

Further, ratchet teeth may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouthpiece member, and a recess for engaging with the ratchet teeth may be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drain hose. By engaging the ratchet teeth and the concave portion, it is possible to reliably prevent loosening of the male screw portion and the female screw portion. Further, it is possible to confirm the completion of screwing by the feel at the time of engagement.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a drain hose connection structure according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a mouth member 1 and a drain hose 10 which constitute an embodiment of a connection structure according to the present invention. The mouth member 1 is integrally molded from a soft or hard synthetic resin, for example, an olefin elastomer or a styrene elastomer into a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a large-diameter cylindrical portion 2 provided at one end on the right side in the drawing. , And a small-diameter cylindrical portion 3 provided at the other end on the left side of the drawing. On the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 3, a projection 4a having a substantially trapezoidal cross section
Is formed in a spiral shape, and a seal portion 5 in which a protrusion 5a having a substantially semicircular cross section is annularly provided.

The drain hose 10 is integrally molded from a soft or hard synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene and has a bellows shape as a whole, and the threaded portion is provided at one end on the right side in the figure. 4 is formed with a female screw portion 11 for screwing and a crimp portion 12 for crimping to the seal portion 5. In the present embodiment, the crimp portion 12 has the same shape as the bellows of the drain hose 10.

Ratchet teeth 6 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the middle portion of the cylindrical portions 2 and 3 of the mouth member 1, and the drain hose 1
The recess 1 that engages with the ratchet teeth 6 on the inner peripheral surface of one end of
3 are formed (see FIG. 2).

The mouth member 1 is molded from a predetermined resin material by injection. The drain hose 10 is formed by extruding a predetermined resin material into a parison, supplying compressed air to the inside of the parison to expand the parison, and pressing a die endlessly supported by a chain conveyor against the outer peripheral surface. An apparatus for molding the bellows-shaped drain hose 10 from a parison is well known in the art, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the connection structure having the above structure,
The small-diameter cylindrical portion 3 of the mouthpiece member 1 is inserted into one end of the drain hose 10, and the male screw portion 4 is screwed to the female screw portion 11. This screwing is performed while rotating the base member 1 in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 2, and the screwing is completed when the ratchet teeth 6 and the recess 13 are engaged with each other. Then, the male screw portion 4 is screwed onto the female screw portion 11, so that the protrusion 5a of the seal portion 5 is crimped to the recess 12a of the crimp portion 12 (bellows portion).

The mouthpiece 1 is connected to the drain hose 10 by the above-mentioned operation, and the large-diameter cylindrical portion 2 is fitted into the drain of the air conditioner indoor unit (not shown), so that the drain hose 10 is drained through the mouthpiece 1. Combined, the water droplets from the indoor unit are discharged to the outside.

In the present embodiment, the mouthpiece member 1 and the drain hose 10 are integrated by the necessary connection strength without using an adhesive because they are screwed together. In addition, since the seal portion 5 presses the crimp portion 12 to exert a sealing effect, a seal member as a separate member can be omitted.

Further, although not necessarily required in the present invention, by providing the ratchet teeth 6 and the concave portion 13 which are engaged with each other, loosening of the screw connection can be reliably prevented and reliability is improved, and The time when screwing is completed can be confirmed by the feeling (click feeling) at the time of engagement.

The drain hose connection structure according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

In particular, the materials and details of the mouth member 1 and the drain hose 10 are in arbitrary shapes and configurations. Also, the mouth member 1
When molding is made of hard resin, an elastic body such as an O-ring may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the seal portion 5 instead of the protrusion 5a. Further, the crimping portion 12 provided on the drain hose 10 is
A flat surface may be used instead of the bellows shape.

Further, the ratchet teeth 6 may be provided in the valley portion 4b between the protrusions 4a of the male screw portion 4 and the recess 13 may be provided at a position corresponding to the valley portion 4b.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a half sectional view showing an embodiment of a connection structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Mouth member 2 ... Large diameter tube 3 ... Small diameter tube 4 ... Male thread 5 ... Seal part 6 ... Ratchet teeth 10 ... Drain hose 11 ... Female thread 12 ... Crimping part 13 ... Recess

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A structure for connecting a drain hose to a drain of an air conditioner indoor unit via a mouth member, wherein the mouth member has a cylindrical portion at one end for fitting with the drain, and a male screw portion. The drain hose is formed from the tubular portion toward the other end, and the seal portion is provided on the other end side of the male screw portion. The drain hose has a bellows shape as a whole and is screwed to the male screw portion of the mouth member. A drain hose connection structure, characterized in that a female screw portion for effecting the above is formed at one end and a crimp portion for crimping with the seal portion is provided. 2. The drain hose connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the seal portion is an annular protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the mouth member. 3. The drain hose connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the seal portion is an O-ring provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouthpiece member. 4. The ratchet tooth is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouthpiece member, and the recessed portion that engages with the ratchet tooth is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drain hose. Item 3. A drain hose connection structure according to Item 3.