JP2006207711A - Pipe joint - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pipe joint capable of connecting a female member and male member with one handling without increasing the full length and an outer diameter of the female member. <P>SOLUTION: A seal ring 5 which assures liquidtightness between the male member B and female member body is arranged on an inner peripheral surface of the female member body 1, a spring 41 which prepares an inner sleeve 40 in an advancing kinematic pair state and urges the inner sleeve 40 to a connecting end side of the male member is arranged between a connecting end of the male member B and the seal ring 5 in the female member body 1, and a lacked annular or annular locking member 44 is housed in a circumferential groove 42 formed on an outer peripheral surface of the inner sleeve 40 while an outer peripheral section of the locking member is projected. The whole locking member 44 is put into the circumferential groove 42 by shrinking its diameter with external force, and the inner sleeve 40 is prevented from pulling out of the female member body 1 while an outer peripheral section of the locking member 44 projecting from the circumferential groove 42 is locked against a stepped section d formed on an inner peripheral surface of the female member body 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe joint for fluid that can connect a female member and a male member in one operation, and in particular, a male member that resists the urging force of a spring that moves into the female member and accommodates the inner sleeve. The engaging ball held by the female member changes from the state of being received by the inner sleeve to the state of protruding to the inner peripheral surface side of the female member, and the engaging ball is moved to the outer peripheral surface of the male member. The present invention relates to a pipe joint in which the female member and the male member are connected to each other in a manner of fitting into the formed recess.

As this type of pipe joint, there are, for example, the following two types (1) and (2).
(1) A sleeve having an engagement ball is provided in the female member so that the sleeve can be moved forward and backward. When the male member is pushed into the sleeve while being inserted, the sleeve is inserted through the engagement ball in the middle of the push. A structure in which the female member and the male member are in a connected state (for example, Patent Publication 1).

  Therefore, in this pipe joint, since the sleeve is simultaneously pushed by the operation of inserting the male member into the sleeve, the female member and the male member can be quickly connected with one operation.

However, this pipe joint has a problem that the entire length is increased by a corresponding amount because the sleeve projects from the female member.
(2) An inner sleeve is provided in the female member for moving the engagement ball provided on the female member in the centrifugal direction, and the inner sleeve is disposed between this and the ring member provided on the inner side of the female member. It is elastically held so that it can be pushed in by a spring interposed between the female member and the male member connected to each other via the engaging ball when the male member is pushed into the inner sleeve. A structure having a state (for example, Patent Publication 2).

  Therefore, in this pipe joint, when the male member is inserted into the inner sleeve, the inner sleeve is pushed in at the same time, so that the female member and the male member can be quickly connected with one operation.

However, in this pipe joint, since it is necessary to incorporate the ring member from the opposite side of the connection port, the female member is divided into a main body including an engagement ball and an adapter that supports the ring member through packing, and both of them are divided. Although the structure which screws is taken, there exists a problem that the outer diameter of a female member will become large by this structure.
JP-A-11-148487 Utility model registration No. 3078087

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a pipe joint that can connect a female member and a male member with a single operation without increasing the overall length and outer diameter of the female member.

(Invention of Claim 1)
In the pipe joint of the present invention, a seal ring that secures fluid tightness between the female member main body and the male member is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body, and between the connection end of the female member main body and the male member. In addition, the inner sleeve is advanced and provided in a paired state, and a spring is provided for biasing the inner sleeve toward the male member connecting end, and the outer peripheral portion protrudes into the peripheral groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner sleeve. It accommodates the shape or ring-shaped locking member, and is reduced in diameter by external force so that the entire locking member can be immersed in the circumferential groove, with respect to the stepped portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the female member body Thus, the inner sleeve is in a state of retaining the female member main body in such a manner that the outer peripheral portion of the locking member protruding from the circumferential groove is locked.
(Invention of Claim 2)
The pipe joint of the present invention relates to the invention according to claim 1, and the locking member is made of a metal C-shape, a resin C-shape, a resin or rubber annular shape, or a metal and has an elastic operation. The ring shape is made possible.
(Invention of Claim 3)
The pipe joint according to the present invention relates to the invention according to claim 1, and the step portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body is formed by a difference in diameter between adjacent inner peripheral surfaces.

  In the pipe joint according to the present invention, the female member and the male member can be connected with one operation without increasing the overall length and the outer diameter of the female member.

  Examples of the best mode for carrying out the pipe joint of the present invention will be described in detail below.

1 is a half sectional view showing a state in which a female member A and a male member B constituting a pipe joint J of Embodiment 1 of the present invention are separated, and FIG. 2 is a state in which the female member A and the male member B are connected. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the relationship between the female member main body 1, the outer sleeve mechanism 2 and the inner sleeve mechanism 4.
(About the configuration of this pipe joint J)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pipe joint J includes a female member A and a male member B, and both can be connected by a single operation of pushing the male member B into the female member A. It is as a structure.
"About female member A"
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the female member A includes an outer sleeve mechanism 2 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the female member main body 1 and the male member B of the female member main body 1 on the connection end side, and a female member main body. An inner sleeve mechanism 4 provided on the inner peripheral portion of the female member main body 1 on the connection end side of the lock nut 3 screwed into the center of the outer peripheral portion of the female member main body 1, and the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body 1 And an engagement ball 6 held in the vicinity of the connection end between the female member main body 1 and the male member B.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the female member main body 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a through hole 10 for accommodating the engagement ball 6 is formed in the vicinity of the connection end with the male member B. It is. As shown in FIG. 3, the through hole 10 has a large opening 10 a on the outer peripheral surface side of the female member main body 1 slightly larger than the diameter of the engagement ball 6 and a small opening on the inner peripheral surface side of the female member main body 1. 10b is set to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the engaging ball 6. When the engaging ball 6 is supported by the inner sleeve 40 as shown in FIGS. When the engaging ball 6 is not supported by the inner sleeve 40 as shown in FIG. 2, the engaging ball 6 is immersed in the outer peripheral surface of the female member main body 1 and protrudes toward the inner peripheral surface side. It is like that.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the outer sleeve mechanism 2 includes an outer sleeve 20, a spring 21 that urges the outer sleeve 20 toward the connection end with the male member B, and a male member B in the outer sleeve 20. And a snap ring 22 for preventing the connection ball from coming off to the connection end side, and the engaging ball 6 is pushed toward the inner sleeve 40 by the inclined surface 23 of the outer sleeve 20 pressed by the spring 21. Such a force works.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lock nut 3 is screwed into a male screw portion 24 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the female member main body 1, and the position shown in FIG. 1 and the position shown in FIG. You can move between.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the inner sleeve mechanism 4 is a spring that advances the inner sleeve 40 into the female member main body 1 in a paired state and biases the inner sleeve 40 toward the connection end with the male member B. 41 is provided, and a not-ring-shaped or annular-shaped locking member 44 is accommodated in such a manner that the outer peripheral portion protrudes into a circumferential groove 42 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner sleeve 40. The locking member 44 can be reduced in diameter by an external force due to the elasticity of the material or shape thereof, and the entire locking member 44 can be immersed in the circumferential groove 42. Here, in the state where the inner sleeve mechanism 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 is incorporated in the female member main body 1, the step portion d (the adjacent small hole diameter portion of the female member main body 1 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body 1. 12 and the large hole diameter portion 13), the outer peripheral portion of the locking member 44 protruding from the circumferential groove 42 is in a locked state, and the inner sleeve 4 is prevented from being detached from the female member main body 1. It is in a state. As shown in FIG. 4, the circumferential groove 42 is formed by continuously forming two circumferential grooves 42 a and 42 b having different depths in the axial direction of the inner sleeve. The groove 42a has a depth that allows the entire locking member 42 having a reduced diameter to be immersed, and the inner circumferential groove 42b has a depth at which the outer peripheral portion of the locking member 44 projects from the outer peripheral surface of the inner sleeve 40 when no external force is applied. As it is. According to the circumferential groove 42, as shown in FIG. 4, once the locking member 44 and the step portion d are in the locked state, the locking member 44 is in a state where the diameter cannot be reduced, so that it is immersed in the circumferential groove 42. Therefore, the inner sleeve does not come out of the female member body 1 inadvertently. A snap ring can be used as the locking member 44.

  The seal ring 5 is composed of a rubber O-ring and is accommodated in a circumferential groove 11 formed on the inner circumferential surface of the female member main body 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the engagement balls 6 are formed of hard spheres and are provided in the through holes 10 provided at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the female member main body 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a male screw portion 15 for screwing a tube is formed on the side of the female member main body 1 opposite to the connection end side with the male member B.
"About male member B"
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the male member B is a cylindrical member composed of a hexagonal tool-corresponding portion 70 and an insertion cylinder portion 71 provided continuously thereto, and the insertion cylinder portion 71 includes a large diameter portion 72 and a small diameter portion 73.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the large-diameter portion 72 has an outer peripheral diameter slightly smaller than the inner peripheral diameter of the female member body 1, and forms a circumferential groove 74 that is wider toward the outer peripheral surface. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the small diameter portion 73 has a slightly smaller diameter than the inner peripheral diameter of the inner sleeve 40 described above, and the length of the small diameter portion 73 in the connected state with the female member A is the tip of the seal ring 5. It is set to exceed.

In addition, the above-mentioned tool corresponding | compatible part 70 is formed with the internal thread part 75 for screwing a pipe | tube as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2.
(About connection / separation of this pipe joint J)
"Connection of this pipe joint J"
(1) The small diameter portion 73 of the male member B is slowly pushed into the inner sleeve 40 provided in the female member A.
(2) As the pushing operation proceeds, the tip inclined surface of the inner sleeve 40 and the inclined surface formed between the large-diameter portion 72 and the small-diameter portion 73 become engaged, and the inner sleeve 4 is pushed into the back side, and the engaging ball 6 in which the pushing force is applied inward by the force from the inclined surface 23 is inserted into the circumferential groove 74. In this state, the engaging ball 6 is immersed inside the outer peripheral surface of the female member main body 1, and the outer sleeve 20 has an inclined surface 23 with a snap ring 22 as shown in FIG. It moves to the position where it touches. Therefore, the female member A and the male member B are in a connected state.
(3) Next, the lock nut 3 is moved from the state of FIG. 1 to the state of FIG. In this state, since the outer sleeve 2 cannot be pushed in, even if the outer sleeve 2 is pushed in by mistake, the female member A and the male member B are not separated.
"Separation of this pipe joint J"
(4) Move the lock nut 3 from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG.
(5) When the outer sleeve 20 is pushed in against the urging force of the spring 21 from the above state, the engagement ball 6 can project to the outer peripheral surface side of the female member main body 1. Then, the moving force from the spring 41 acting on the inner sleeve 40 pushes up the engaging ball 6 to protrude toward the outer peripheral surface side of the female member main body 1 and pushes out the male member B. The female member A and the male member B enters a separated state.
(About excellent points of this pipe joint J)
(1) In this pipe joint J, the outer and inner sleeves 20 and 40 do not adopt a configuration that protrudes toward the connection end side with the male member B of the female member main body 1, and therefore are shown first in the background art column. There is no problem that the total length becomes large like a pipe joint.
(2) In this pipe joint J, the seal ring 5 is fitted into the circumferential groove 11, the spring 41 is installed in the inner peripheral area of the female member main body 1, and the inner sleeve 40 is installed in the inner peripheral area of the female member main body 1. However, it can be performed only from the connection end of the male member B.

  Here, in this pipe joint J, the inner sleeve 40 can be easily installed in the inner peripheral region of the male member main body 1 considered to be the most difficult in the following manner.

  The inner sleeve 40 is pushed into the female member A while maintaining an external force applied to push the entire locking member 44 into the circumferential groove 42. When the locking member 44 reaches a position beyond the step portion d, the locking member 44 that has been immersed in the circumferential groove 42a enters the circumferential groove 42b and becomes a diameter-expanded state that cannot be reduced in diameter. 44 is engaged with the step portion d.

  As described above, the seal ring 5, the spring 41, and the inner sleeve 40 can be easily installed in the female member main body 1. Therefore, it is not necessary to divide the female member main body into two parts as in the second pipe joint shown in the background art section. As a result, there is no problem that the outer diameter of the female member is increased.

That is, in this pipe joint J, it is clear that the female member A and the male member B can be connected by one operation without increasing the overall length and the outer diameter of the female member A.
(Other forms of the circumferential groove 42 of the inner sleeve)
When the elasticity of the locking member 44 is sufficiently large with respect to the force in the diameter reducing direction at the time of engagement, the circumferential groove 42 of the first embodiment can be replaced with a single groove as shown in FIG. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, it can be comprised by one wide groove | channel where a bottom face is an inclined surface.
(Other forms of the locking member 44)
The locking member 44 is not limited to the snap ring as in the first embodiment, but is a metal C-shaped member having elasticity, a C-shaped member made of resin, or a resin or rubber member. An annular shape or an annular shape made of metal and capable of elastic operation (for example, an annular spring having a small coil diameter) may be used.

  When an annular locking member 44 made of resin or rubber is used, it is compressed into the circumferential groove 42 and pushed into the small hole diameter portion 12 so that the locking member 44 is inserted into the large hole diameter portion. It is sufficient to reach 13 and return elastically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a half sectional view showing a state in which a female member and a male member constituting a pipe joint of Embodiment 1 of the invention are separated. The half sectional view showing the state where the female member and the male member were connected. The expanded sectional view which shows the relationship between the said male member main body, an outer sleeve mechanism, and an inner sleeve mechanism. Sectional drawing which shows the form which sets an inner sleeve with respect to the said male member through a locking member. Sectional drawing of the circumferential groove 42 and the locking member 44 step part of the inner sleeve of another form. Sectional drawing of the circumferential groove 42 and the locking member 44 step part of the inner sleeve of another form.

Explanation of symbols

A female member B male member d step part 1 female member body 2 outer sleeve mechanism 3 lock nut 4 inner sleeve mechanism 5 sealing 6 engagement ball 12 small hole diameter part 13 large hole diameter part 40 inner sleeve 41 spring 42 circumferential groove 44 locking member

Claims (3)

A seal ring that secures fluid tightness with the male member is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body, and the inner sleeve is advanced between the connection end of the female member main body with the male member and the seal ring. And a spring for urging the inner sleeve toward the male member connecting end side, and a ring-shaped or annular-shaped engagement in such a manner that the outer peripheral portion projects into a circumferential groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner sleeve. The locking member is accommodated and reduced in diameter by an external force so that the entire locking member can be immersed in the circumferential groove, and the protrusion protruding from the circumferential groove with respect to the step formed on the inner circumferential surface of the female member main body. A pipe joint characterized in that the inner sleeve is in a state of retaining with respect to the female member main body in a mode in which the outer peripheral portion of the stopper member is locked. The locking member has a C-shape made of metal, a C-shape made of resin, an annular shape made of resin or rubber, or an annular shape made of metal and capable of elastic operation. The pipe joint according to 1. The pipe joint according to claim 1, wherein the step portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the female member main body is formed by a difference in diameter between adjacent inner peripheral surfaces.

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