JP2006014584A - Rotary joint - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary joint, by which the regulating range of a relative rotation angle of a female joint and a male joint is set in a desired range, while preventing an error in assembly procedures. <P>SOLUTION: A circumferential slot 51 formed on an outer peripheral face of the male joint 13, and an axial slot 52 which extends to an end of the male joint 13 from the circumferential slot 51 or to an end of an cylindrical hole 15 of the female joint 11 are provided, then a projection 53 which is set in the circumferential slot 51 and the axial slot 52 is provided on an inner peripheral face of the cylindrical hole of the female joint 11. With such a constitution, the moving range of the projection 53 is regulated by the length of the circumferential slot 51, and the regulating range of the relative rotation angle of the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 is set in the desired range. Moreover, when the male joint 13 is fitted to the female joint 11, the projection 53 is engaged with the circumferential slot 51 without relating to the assembly procedures of the female joint 11 and the male joint 13, by only inserting the male joint 13 into the female joint 11, while adjusting a position of the projection 53 in matching with the axial slot 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cylindrical rotary pipe joint used through an electric wire inside.

  In general, a mechanical device is provided with a handy operation panel having various switches operated during work and a display unit for confirming an operation state. Since this local operation panel is connected to the control panel via an electric wire or a signal line, the electric line tube protecting the electric wire or the signal line is supported on the control panel using a support pipe.

  For example, according to Patent Document 1, a hand operation panel is suspended and supported on a machine tool or the like via a conduit tube, and the hand operation panel is turned to a rotary pipe joint so that the orientation of the hand operation panel can be arbitrarily changed. It is described that it connects via. Such a rotary pipe joint is configured by inserting a cylindrical male joint into a cylindrical hole of a female joint so as to be relatively rotatable. However, if the rotary pipe joint is rotated too much, the electric wire passing through the inside is twisted. Therefore, the rotary pipe joint is restricted from rotating more than once by stoppers provided on the male joint and the female joint, respectively. In other words, when the rotary pipe joint is rotated, the stopper provided on the male joint and the stopper provided on the female joint come into contact with each other so that they do not rotate any further.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of holes are formed in the male joint at a constant pitch, and a ball plunger that is urged and engaged toward the hole is provided in the female joint, whereby the rotation angle of the rotary pipe joint is set. It can be fixed at a fixed pitch.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-74122 (see FIGS. 2-3 and 2-3)

  However, although the rotary joint of Patent Document 1 can be fixed in a rotation angle range of 360 °, it does not consider twist prevention and usability within a practical range.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when the relative rotation angle between a male joint and a female joint is restricted to a range smaller than 360 °, two stoppers are provided on the male joint, and the female joint is interposed between the two stoppers of the male joint. It is conceivable to insert a stopper to regulate the rotation angle range.

  However, in this case, there are two angular ranges divided by the stoppers of the two male joints in the rotation direction of the male joint. Therefore, if the assembly procedure is mistakenly inserted and the stopper of the female joint is inserted into the wrong angle range, there arises a problem that the range of the relative rotation angle cannot be restricted to a desired range.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent an error in an assembling procedure and to set a restriction range of a relative rotation angle between a female joint and a male joint within a desired range.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a cylindrical male joint and a female joint having a cylindrical hole to which the male joint is rotatably connected, and a rotary pipe joint used through an electric wire inside. A circumferential groove formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the male joint or the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical hole of the female joint, and extends from the circumferential groove to the tip of the male joint or the cylindrical hole of the female joint An axial groove formed in this manner, and a circumferential groove and a protrusion that can be inserted into the axial groove are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the other male joint or the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical hole of the female joint.

  According to this, since the movement range of the projection can be restricted by the length of the circumferential groove, the restriction range of the relative rotation angle between the male joint and the female joint can be arbitrarily set. Furthermore, when the male joint is assembled to the female joint, the protrusion can be inserted into the circumferential groove only by aligning the protrusion with the axial groove and inserting the male joint into the female joint. Since the protrusion can move only in the circumferential groove formed in accordance with the predetermined regulation range, the rotation range of the rotary pipe joint is set to a desired range regardless of the assembly procedure of the female joint and the male joint. It is possible to prevent errors in the assembly procedure.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a rotary pipe joint provided with a cylindrical male joint and a female joint having a cylindrical hole to which the male joint is rotatably connected. A circumferential groove formed in the outer peripheral surface of the joint, an axial groove formed extending from the circumferential groove to the tip of the male joint, and formed in the female joint toward the circumferential groove A shaft member having a through hole, a shaft member inserted into the through hole and having a tip portion that can be inserted into the circumferential groove and the axial groove, and a latch that holds the rotational position of the shaft member in the through hole in at least two positions. The circumferential groove has a wide portion and a narrow portion continuous to an end portion of the wide portion, and the shape of the tip portion of the shaft member is one rotation of the shaft member. It is wider than the groove width of the narrow portion at the position and narrower than the groove width of the wide portion. A width, can be made formed having an insertable width to the narrow portion at the other rotational position.

  According to this, when the shaft member is fixed at one rotational position, the width of the tip portion of the shaft member is wider than the groove width of the narrow portion of the circumferential groove, so the relative rotation angle between the male joint and the female joint is It is restricted to a narrow rotation range restricted by the length of the narrow part. On the other hand, when the shaft member is fixed at the other rotational position, the tip end portion of the shaft member can be inserted into the narrow width portion, so that the relative rotation angle between the male joint and the female joint is restricted by the length of the narrow width portion. Expands to the rotation range.

  That is, according to another invention of the present invention, in addition to arbitrarily setting the restriction range of the relative rotation angle of the male joint and the female joint, two restriction ranges can be set for one rotary pipe joint. The rotation angle range can be switched according to the above. As a result, it is possible to deal with various uses and the orientation of the hand control panel can be switched in two ranges even during use, so that the usability is improved.

  In any of the above-described inventions, when a conduit is screwed into a male joint, a lock nut is provided that is screwed into the conduit and abuts on the male joint. Can be configured. According to this, by attaching the lock nut and then tightening the screw, the lock nut is pressed in the axial direction and the frictional force of the thread is improved, so that the loosening of the conduit can be prevented.

  In addition, the male joint has a large-diameter step portion that contacts the female joint while being inserted into the female joint and restricts the insertion position, and a retaining ring that is screwed onto the outer periphery of the distal end of the male joint at the insertion position. And it can be set as the structure which provides the washer formed with the material with small abrasion between the large diameter step part and the female joint, and between the retaining ring and the female joint. Thereby, the play which the female joint and the male joint generate | occur | produce by the abrasion by sliding can be suppressed.

  According to the present invention, an error in the assembly procedure can be prevented, and the restriction range of the relative rotation angle between the female joint and the male joint can be set to a desired range.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
1 to 5 show Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the rotary pipe joint according to the present embodiment disassembled into a female joint and a male joint. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a control panel and a hand control panel provided in the mechanical device. 3 is a front view showing a state in which the male joint is assembled to the female joint in a partially broken view, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary pipe joint of the present embodiment is used at both ends of the conduit 5 that causes the control panel 1 to connect and support the hand operation panel 3 or the hand operation panel 3 side. The local operation panel 3 is provided with various switches operated during work, a display unit for confirming the operation state, and the like. In the conduit 5, an electric wire, a signal line, and the like that connect the control panel 1 and the hand control panel 3 are provided. The conduit 5 is formed in a U-shape, and one end of the conduit 5 is connected to the upper surface of the control panel 1 via the rotary pipe joint 7, and the other end is connected to the upper surface of the hand operation panel 3 via the rotary pipe joint 7. Has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rotary pipe joint 7 includes a female joint 11 and a male joint 13 rotatably connected to the female joint 11. The female joint 11 is configured to have a cylindrical portion 14, and an inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 14 is a cylindrical hole 15. A flange portion 17 is provided at one end of the cylindrical portion 14 of the female joint 11. For example, the flange portion 17 is formed with a plurality of through holes 19 for bolting, and can be fixed to the control panel 1 or the hand operation panel 3.

  The male joint 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape, a conduit connecting portion 20 into which the conduit 5 is screwed is formed on one end side, and the diameter of the other end side is smaller than that of the conduit connecting portion 20. A joint connecting portion 21 that is provided and inserted into the cylindrical hole 15 of the female joint 11 is formed. A screw 22 into which the conduit 5 is screwed is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the conduit connecting portion 20. A flat portion 24 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the conduit connecting portion 20 so that it can be gripped and rotated with a tool such as a spanner. Further, a plurality (for example, three) of screw holes 26 are provided on the outer periphery of the conduit connecting portion 20, and screws 28 are screwed into the screw holes 26 to prevent the conduit 5 from loosening. Further, a lock nut 55 is provided so as to be screwed into the conduit 5. The lock nut 55 prevents the conduit 5 from loosening by turning a notch formed on the outer peripheral surface with a wrench.

  The joint connecting portion 21 of the male joint 13 is formed in a size that can be inserted into the cylindrical hole 15 of the female joint 11. A screw 30 is formed on the outer periphery of the end of the joint connecting portion 21, that is, on the outer periphery of the end inserted into the cylindrical hole 15. On the other hand, the conduit connecting portion 20 is formed to have a larger diameter than the joint connecting portion 21, and a stepped portion 27 is formed at the boundary between the conduit connecting portion 20 and the joint connecting portion 21. The step portion 27 is in contact with the end portion of the cylindrical portion 14 of the female joint 11 so as to define the insertion position of the male joint 13 with respect to the female joint 11. In the state where the male joint 13 is inserted into the female joint 11 to the insertion position, a retaining ring 32 is screwed onto the screw 30 at the tip of the joint connecting portion 21. The retaining ring 32 is in contact with a stepped portion 33 formed in the cylindrical hole 15 of the female joint 11, thereby preventing the male joint 13 from coming out of the female joint 11. In order to prevent the retaining ring 32 from rotating, a hole extending between the male joint 11 and the retaining ring 32 is provided, and the pin 34 is fitted into this hole.

A screw hole 35 is formed in the peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion 14 of the female joint 11. A set screw 37 is screwed into the screw hole 35. The set screw 37 is provided with a lever 36. By screwing the set screw 37, the relative rotation angle of the female joint 11 and the male joint 13 can be arbitrarily fixed. Further, a groove 38 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the male joint 11 to which the tip of the set screw 37 hits. For example, stainless steel 39 is laid on the bottom of the groove 38. Thereby, the abrasion by the set screw 37 can be suppressed. Next, the 1st characteristic part of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. 1, FIG. First, a circumferential groove 51 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the joint connecting portion 21 of the male joint 13. In the circumferential groove 51, the groove length of the circumferential groove 51 is set in accordance with an allowable range (for example, 90 °) of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11. An axial groove 52 is formed from the circumferential groove 51 to the tip of the joint connecting portion 21. On the other hand, a protrusion 53 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the female joint 11. The protrusion 53 is formed in a quadrangular shape in accordance with the widths of the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52, and is formed so as to be insertable into the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52. The axial groove 52 is provided so as to extend from an intermediate position of the circumferential groove 51.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, since the movement range of the protrusion 52 can be regulated by the length of the circumferential groove 51, the range of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 can be set. Further, when the male joint 13 is assembled to the female joint 11, the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 is allowed only by inserting the male joint 13 into the female joint 11 with the protrusion 53 aligned with the axial groove 52. The protrusion 53 can be inserted into the circumferential groove 51 formed in accordance with the range.

  In the present embodiment, the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52 are formed on the outer periphery of the male joint 13, and the protrusion 53 is provided on the inner periphery of the female joint 11. The protrusion 53 may be provided on the outer periphery of the female joint 11, and the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52 may be formed on the inner periphery of the female joint 11.

  In this embodiment, the length of the circumferential groove is set to 90 °, for example, but the allowable range of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 (for example, 120 °, 180 °, and 270). The length can be appropriately adjusted according to the angle. Further, the protrusion 53 is formed in a quadrilateral shape in accordance with the width of the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52. However, if the protrusion 53 is formed in a shape that can be inserted into the circumferential groove 51 and the axial groove 52, Good. Moreover, although the axial groove | channel 52 was extended and provided from the intermediate position of the circumferential groove | channel 51, you may extend from the end of the circumferential groove | channel 51 not only this but. In the present embodiment, the example in which the conduit 5 is bent into a U-shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the hand operation panel 3 is disposed on the control panel 1, and the conduit 5 has a straight tube. It can be set as the structure used.

  Next, the second characteristic part of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The lock nut 55 of the present embodiment is configured such that a screw 56 is screwed into a seat that contacts the male joint 13. The screw 56 is provided so as to be able to advance and retract in the direction of the male joint 11. According to this, since the lock nut 55 is pressed in the axial direction and the frictional force of the screw is improved by tightening the screw 56 after attaching the lock nut, the loosening of the conduit 5 can be prevented.

  Further, the third feature of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. A washer 57 made of a material with low wear is provided between the large-diameter step portion 27 and the female joint 11 and between the retaining ring 32 and the female joint 11 of the present embodiment. Thereby, the play which the female joint and the male joint generate | occur | produce by the abrasion by sliding can be suppressed.

  In Patent Document 1, for example, two stoppers are provided on the male joint, and the stopper of the female joint is positioned between the two stoppers of the male joint, so that the relative rotation angle between the male joint and the female joint is 360. It is conceivable to regulate to a range smaller than °. However, since there are two intervals between the male joint stoppers in the rotation direction of the male joint, if the female joint stopper is inserted at the wrong interval, the range of the relative rotation angle is within the desired range. It will not become. For this reason, a procedure such as marking the male joint with a mark such as an alignment mark and aligning the insertion position of the female joint stopper with the alignment mark is required.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, when the male joint is assembled to the female joint, it is only necessary to insert the protrusion in alignment with the axial groove. A rotation range can be made into a desired range.
(Embodiment 2)
6 to 9 are configuration diagrams and explanatory diagrams of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view of the rotary pipe joint according to the present embodiment disassembled into a female joint and a male joint. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where the male joint is assembled to the female joint, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation. is there.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the restriction range of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 can be varied in two stages. Therefore, components having the same functional configuration as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a circumferential groove 51 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the joint connecting portion 21 of the male joint 13. The circumferential groove 51 is formed to have a wide width portion 51a and a narrow width portion 51b connected to the end of the wide width portion 51a. In the present embodiment, the narrow width portion 51b is provided at both ends of the wide width portion 51a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided only on one side, and does not need to be symmetrical in FIG. The groove length of the wide portion 51a is set in accordance with a first allowable range (for example, 90 °) of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11. Further, the groove length of the narrow portion 51b is set in accordance with the second allowable range (for example, 120 °) of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11. The axial groove 52 is formed from the center of the wide portion 51 a of the circumferential groove 51 to the tip of the joint connecting portion 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a through hole 61 is provided in a peripheral wall on the opposite side of the cylindrical portion 14 of the female joint 11 provided with the lever 36, and a shaft member 62 is rotatably inserted into the through hole 61. ing. The shaft member 62 is held by a ball plunger 64 with the tip 63 positioned in the circumferential groove 51. The ball plunger 64 is provided by being screwed into a screw hole 65 drilled from the lower surface of the flange 17 toward the through hole 61, and has a ball that is elastically biased at the tip. In addition, a plurality of recesses 66 in which the balls of the ball plunger 64 can be locked on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft member 62 are provided at a pitch of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction, and the balls of the ball plunger 64 are locked in the recesses 66, The axial position of the shaft member 62 and the rotational direction position can be held.

  A groove 67 for rotating a shaft member 62 by inserting a tool such as a screwdriver is provided at the rear end portion of the shaft member 62. The allowable range of the relative rotation angle between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 can be selectively switched by the rotational position of the groove 67. For example, as shown in FIG. In correspondence with the allowable range and the second allowable range, 90 ° and 120 ° are engraved in the present embodiment. Correspondingly, a recess 66 of the shaft member 62 is formed at a position where the tip of the ball plunger 64 is engaged.

  On the other hand, the tip portion 63 of the shaft member 62 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a rectangular cross section, as shown in FIG. The length (width) of the long side of the tip portion 63 is formed to be wider than the narrow width portion 51b of the circumferential groove 51 and narrower than the wide width portion 51a, and the length (width) of the short side is circumferential. It is formed in a width that can be inserted into the narrow width portion 51 b of the groove 51. Then, when the direction of the groove 67 of the shaft member 62 is aligned with the position where the first allowable range of 90 ° is inscribed, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), the tip end portion in the groove width direction of the circumferential groove 51 The long side of 63 is positioned. Further, when rotated to the 120 ° position which is the second allowable range, as shown in FIG. 9B, the short side of the distal end portion 63 is positioned in the groove width direction of the circumferential groove 51. .

With this configuration, when the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 are relatively rotated with the groove 67 of the shaft member 62 aligned with the restriction position of the first allowable range, the distal end portion 63 is in the circumferential groove 51. Cannot enter the narrow portion 51b. As a result, the relative rotation angle range of the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 is restricted to the first allowable range. On the other hand, when the groove 67 of the shaft member 62 is set to the restriction position of the first allowable range, the tip portion 63 enters the narrow width portion 51b of the circumferential groove 51, and the relative relationship between the male joint 13 and the female joint 11 is reached. The rotation angle range can be expanded to the second allowable range.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, a rotary pipe joint can be manufactured by the same assembly procedure as that of the first embodiment, and the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, two relative rotation angle restriction ranges can be set for one rotary pipe joint, so that the rotation angle range can be switched according to the application. As a result, it is possible to deal with various uses and the orientation of the hand control panel can be switched in two ranges even during use, so that the usability is improved.

  In the present embodiment, the width direction centers of the wide width portion 51a and the narrow width portion 51b are made to coincide with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, the upper side or the lower side of the wide width portion 51a and the narrow width portion 51b. May be matched. In this case, it is necessary to form the position of the tip 63 in the vertical direction with respect to the axis of the shaft member 62.

It is the front view which decomposed | disassembled and showed the rotary pipe joint of Embodiment 1 of this invention to the female joint and the male joint. It is a figure which shows the control panel and hand control panel which are provided in a mechanical apparatus. It is the front view which fractured | ruptured and showed the state which assembled | attached the male joint with the female joint of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing in IV-IV of FIG. It is a side view of FIG. It is a front view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the rotary pipe joint of Embodiment 2 of this invention to a female joint and a male joint. It is the front view which partially fractured and showed the state which assembled | attached the male joint with the female joint of Embodiment 2. It is sectional drawing in line VIII-VIII of FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the characteristic part of the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control panel 3 Hand operation panel 5 Conduit 7 Rotating pipe joint 11 Female joint 13 Male joint 15 Cylindrical hole 51 Circumferential groove 52 Axial groove 53 Protrusion

Claims (4)

In a rotary pipe joint provided with a cylindrical male joint and a female joint having a cylindrical hole to which the male joint is rotatably connected, and used through an electric wire inside,
A circumferential groove formed on either the outer peripheral surface of the male joint or the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical hole of the female joint, and the tip of the male joint or the cylindrical hole of the female joint from the circumferential groove. An axial groove formed to extend to the tip, and a protrusion that can be inserted into the circumferential groove and the axial groove on the outer peripheral surface of the other male joint or the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical hole of the female joint A rotary pipe joint characterized by being provided. In a rotary pipe joint provided with a cylindrical male joint and a female joint having a cylindrical hole to which the male joint is rotatably connected, and used through an electric wire inside,
A circumferential groove formed in the outer peripheral surface of the male joint, an axial groove formed extending from the circumferential groove to the tip of the male joint, and formed in the female joint toward the circumferential groove A shaft member having a through-hole formed therein, a shaft member inserted into the through-hole and having a tip portion that can be inserted into the circumferential groove and the axial groove, and a rotational position of the shaft member in the through-hole is held at at least two positions. Locking means,
The circumferential groove has a wide portion and a narrow portion that continues to an end of the wide portion,
The shaft member has a shape in which the shape of the tip end portion is wider than the groove width of the narrow width portion at one rotational position of the shaft member and narrower than the groove width of the wide width portion, and the other rotation A rotary pipe joint having a width that can be inserted into the narrow portion at a position.   The male joint has a screw with which a conduit tube is screwed onto an inner peripheral surface, and includes a lock nut that is screwed into the conduit tube and abuts on the male joint. The rotary pipe joint according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a screw is screwed so as to be able to advance and retract. The male joint includes a large-diameter stepped portion that is in contact with the female joint while being inserted into the female joint and restricts the insertion position, and a retaining ring that is screwed onto the outer periphery of the distal end of the male joint at the insertion position. And
4. A washer formed of a material with low wear is provided between the large-diameter step portion and the female joint and between the retaining ring and the female joint. The rotary pipe joint according to any one of the above.

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