JP2006275277A - Spring type hose clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To always maintain regular clamping force even though a permanent set caused by aging or heat is generated on a clamping place of a hose, and to remove a possibility of pulling-out even though a large force acts on a counter pipe in a pulling-out direction. <P>SOLUTION: In a spring type hose clamp 10 which fixes the hose with the counter pipe in a connecting state by fastening the hose with spring force from an outer peripheral surface in a shrunk-diameter direction by a fastening band 12 while the counter pipe is axially inserted into the inside of the hose, a pair of free ends 12A and 12B of the fastening band 12 are overlapped with each other circumferentially, and a plurality of engaged cogs 16A and 16B are arranged side by side on respective overlapped faces along the circumference. The engaged cogs 16A and 16B are set to be one-directional engaged cogs which can relatively move each other by getting over with each other in a shrunk-diameter direction and can not relatively move each other by engagement of each other in an enlarged-diameter direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spring-type hose clamp having an annular tightening band, and tightening the hose in the diameter-reducing direction from the outer peripheral surface by the spring force of the tightening band, thereby fixing the hose to the connected pipe.

Conventionally, as a method of connecting and fixing rubber hoses, with the mating pipe inserted axially into the hose, tighten the hose clamp from the outer peripheral surface of the hose in the reduced diameter direction, and connect the hose to the mating pipe. The fixing method is widely adopted.
As a hose clamp for that purpose, a screw-type (worm-type) hose clamp and a spring-type hose clamp that generates a tightening force with a spring force are conventionally known.

The former screw-type hose clamp is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.
FIG. 3 shows an example of this kind of screw-type hose clamp.
In FIG. 3 (II), reference numeral 204 denotes a screw type hose clamp, which has a tightening band 206 and a tightening mechanism 208.
Here, the tightening mechanism 208 includes a cylindrical housing 210 and a screw 212 screwed into the housing 210.

Connection and fixing of the hose 200 and the mating pipe 202 by the screw type hose clamp 204 are performed as follows.
3 (I) and 3 (II), a rigid (mainly metal) mating pipe 202 is inserted into the hose 200 in the axial direction, and a fastening band 206 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the end of the hose 200. In this state, the screw 212 of the screw-type hose clamp 204 is screwed in.
In this way, the hose 200 is tightened in the direction of diameter reduction from the outer peripheral surface by the tightening band 206, and the end of the hose 200 is firmly fixed to the mating pipe 202 in a connected state.

FIG. 3 (III) shows a state in which the end of the hose 200 is connected and fixed to the mating pipe 202 by the screw-type hose clamp 204 in this way.
As shown in the figure, in this state, the tightening band 206 bites into the outer peripheral surface of the hose 200 in the direction of diameter reduction. At this time, the tightening band 206 of the hose 200 is tightened in the direction of diameter reduction. A strong compressive force is applied, and the hose 200 is strongly fixed to the mating pipe 202 by a stress based on the compressive force.

By the way, this screw type hose clamp 204 is a constant displacement type that gives a constant displacement to the hose 200 in the diameter reducing direction, and fixes the hose 200 to the mating pipe 202 based on the compression force at that time. In the connection and fixing of the hose 200 using the hose clamp 204, if such a state continues for a long time, the tightening portion of the hose 200 by the tightening band 206 causes compression set, so-called sag, and the screw-type hose clamp over time. The clamping force (clamping force) due to 204 is reduced.
Particularly in automobile hoses or the like disposed in the engine room or the like, such a phenomenon is promoted by application of heat from the engine.
As a result, the clamping force by the screw-type hose clamp 204 with respect to the hose 200 is reduced, which causes a problem that the sealing performance is lowered.

On the other hand, as a binding clip for binding and holding a harness wired inside an automobile, a clip as shown in FIG. 4A is known (Patent Document 2 below).
The binding clip 213 is provided with a lock body 216 at the base end portion 214A of the tightening band 214 so that the free end portion 214B of the tightening band 214 is inserted into the guide groove 218, and the free end portion thereof. A plurality of meshing teeth 220 provided on the outer circumferential surface of 214B along the circumferential direction are meshed with the lock claws 222 of the lock body 216.
Here, the meshing tooth 220 and the lock claw 222 are unidirectional claws, and the tightening band 214 is allowed to be deformed only in the diameter-reducing direction by the meshing of the meshing tooth 220 and the lock claw 222, so that the expansion band is expanded. Deformation is prevented in the radial direction.
However, the bundling clip 213 is also basically of a constant displacement type. Therefore, when this is applied to a hose clamp, the same problem as described above occurs.

  The screw type hose clamp 204 and the bundling clip 213 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a) can both deform the tightening bands 206 and 214 in the diameter-reducing direction by human operation, but once tightening force is applied. Once applied, they remain in the same reduced diameter, so that unless they are operated again, the fastening bands 206, 214 are held at a constant diameter so that the hose sags over time and with heat. When this occurs, the clamping force, i.e. the clamping force, is reduced.

On the other hand, the spring-type hose clamp is a constant load type that applies a constant load to the hose and fastens it to the mating pipe. This type of spring-type hose clamp is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 3 below. Has been made.
FIG. 4B shows a specific example.
In the same figure, reference numeral 223 denotes a leaf spring tightening band which is formed in an annular shape and can be elastically expanded and contracted, and bent-shaped knobs 224 and 226 are provided at the tips of a pair of free ends. ing.
In this spring-type hose clamp 228, the fastening band 223 can be elastically expanded by moving the pair of knobs 224, 226 in the approaching direction, and in this state, the fastening band 223 is shown in FIG. When the force applied to the knobs 224 and 226 is removed, the fastening band 223 is deformed in the direction of the diameter reduction, and the hose 200 is moved from the outer peripheral surface by the spring force. The hose 200 is fixed to the mating pipe 202 in a connected state by tightening in the direction of diameter reduction.

In the case of the spring-type hose clamp 228, even if the hose 200 sags, the leaf-spring tightening band 223 follows the sag and deforms in the direction of diameter reduction, so that the hose 200 is always constant against the hose 200. A load, that is, a tightening force, can be exerted, and the clamp force (clamping force) can be prevented from decreasing due to the sag of the hose 200.
On the other hand, in the case of this spring-type hose clamp 228, the tightening band 223 can be deformed in the diameter increasing direction with the hose 200 being tightened, and therefore, in the axial direction with respect to the mating pipe 202 shown in FIG. When the pulling force is applied, the tightening band 223 is expanded and deformed by the bulge portion 202 </ b> A that is an annular projecting portion at the end of the mating pipe 202, and in some cases, the mating pipe 202 may come off the hose 200.

JP-A-4-194486 JP-A-8-61316 JP-A-8-247363

  The present invention is based on the above circumstances, and always maintains a constant clamping force (clamping force) even when the hose clamped portion is hung due to changes over time or due to heat. On the other hand, even if a large force is exerted on the mating pipe in the pulling direction, it was made for the purpose of providing a spring type hose clamp that does not cause the mating pipe to come out of the hose. is there.

  Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spring tightening band which is formed in an annular shape and can be elastically expanded and contracted, and the other pipe is inserted in the axial direction inside the hose. In a spring-type hose clamp in which the hose is tightened in the direction of diameter reduction from the outer circumferential surface by a tightening band, and the hose is connected to the mating pipe, the pair of free ends of the tightening band are In addition to overlapping each other in the direction, a plurality of meshing teeth are arranged in each circumferential surface along the circumferential direction so that each meshing tooth of each free end is meshed with each other, and the meshing teeth are: Relative movement is possible by overcoming each other in the diameter-reducing direction, and unidirectional meshing teeth incapable of relative movement by mutual meshing in the diameter-enlarging direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the pair of free ends are overlapped in the circumferential direction on opposite surfaces in the axial direction, and the meshing teeth are provided on each of the opposite surfaces in the axial direction. It is characterized by being.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, the meshing tooth has a saw-tooth shape, and the surface in the diameter-reducing direction advances from the tip of the meshing tooth as it proceeds in the diameter-reducing direction. It is characterized by a cam surface facing the end.

Effects and effects of the invention

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the spring-type hose clamp, the pair of free ends of the fastening band are overlapped with each other in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of meshing teeth are arranged along the circumferential direction on each overlapping surface. The meshing teeth can move relative to each other in the diameter-reducing direction, and can move relative to each other in the diameter-reducing direction. According to the present invention, a hose clamp having both the advantages of a constant displacement hose clamp and the advantages of a constant load hose clamp can be realized.

That is, in the hose clamp of the present invention, since the spring tightening band can be deformed in the direction of diameter reduction, even if the hose clamp part (clamping part) hangs after the hose clamp, tightening is possible. The attached band follows this and deforms in the direction of diameter reduction, so that a constant load, that is, a clamping force (clamping force) can always be applied to the hose.
On the other hand, even if a large force acts on the mating pipe in the pulling direction, the tightening band cannot be deformed in the diameter-enlarging direction, so the bulge part of the mating pipe passes through the clamping part of the hose in the axial direction. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the mating pipe from coming off the hose.

In the present invention, the pair of free ends may be overlapped with each other on the axially opposed surfaces in the circumferential direction, and the meshing teeth may be provided on each of the axially opposed surfaces. ).
Further, the meshing teeth can have a saw-tooth shape, and the surface in the reduced diameter direction can be a cam surface from the distal end to the proximal end of the meshed tooth as it proceeds in the reduced diameter direction.
By doing in this way, a meshing tooth can be easily made into a unidirectional meshing tooth.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, 10 is a metal spring-type hose clamp according to the present embodiment, and 12 is a leaf spring tightening band which forms the main body.
The fastening band 12 has a pair of free ends 12A, 12B that are arc-shaped with half the width of the main body, and the free ends 12A, 12B are overlapped in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction. ing.

Bend-raised knobs 14A and 14B are provided at the tips of the free ends 12A and 12B.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of meshing teeth 16A and 16B are continuously provided on the opposing surfaces in the axial direction of the free end portions 12A and 12B without any interval along the circumferential direction. The meshing teeth 16A and 16B mesh with each other.
Specifically, the meshing teeth 16 </ b> A and 16 </ b> B mesh with each other in the circumferential direction and the diameter increasing direction of the fastening band 12.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2 (I), each of the meshing teeth 16A and 16B has a sawtooth shape with a sharp tip as a whole. The surface of the direction and the meshing teeth 16B in the right direction in the figure is an inclined cam surface 18 that extends from the distal end to the proximal end of the meshing teeth 16A and 16B in the direction of the diameter reduction.
The opposite surface, that is, the surface in the diameter increasing direction is a meshing surface 20 extending in the axial direction (vertical direction in the figure).

  In the spring-type hose clamp 10 shown in FIG. 1, a force in the approaching direction is applied to the pair of knobs 14A and 14B to increase the diameter of the fastening band 12, and the hose is passed through the inside in this state. When the force applied to the knobs 14A and 14B is removed with the mating pipe inserted inside, the fastening band 12 is reduced in diameter to the original shape, and the hose is reduced in the direction of diameter reduction by the spring force from the outer peripheral surface. The hose is compressed and deformed to fix the hose and the mating pipe in a connected state.

After the clamping, when the hose sags at the clamping part (clamping part) due to a change over time or due to heat, each free end portion shown in FIG. From the state in which the respective meshing teeth 16A and 16B of 12A and 12B mesh with each other, overcoming each other as shown in FIGS. 2 (II) and (III) by the spring force in the diameter reducing direction of the fastening band 12, Each of these meshes with the meshing teeth 16A and 16B located at positions adjacent to the diameter reducing direction.
If the hose sag further advances, the meshing teeth 16A and 16B are similarly moved in the diameter reducing direction and meshed with the meshing teeth 16A and 16B at the adjacent positions, and such an operation is repeated. Thus, the tightening band 12 is deformed in the direction of diameter reduction following the amount of hose sag, and a constant spring force, that is, a clamping force (clamping force) is always applied to the hose.
Therefore, even when the hose sags, the clamping force on the hose does not decrease.

On the other hand, when a large force is applied in the pulling direction to the mating pipe 202 shown in FIG. 3 (I), the meshing teeth 16A and 16B are provided in a state of being lined up continuously without being spaced apart from each other. Since it is meshed with the extending meshing surface 20, it cannot move relative to the diameter-enlarging direction.
For this reason, once the diameter of the tightening band 12 is reduced, the diameter of the tightening band 12 is not expanded and the bulge 202A, which is an annular protrusion provided on the mating pipe 202, is tightened by the spring hose clamp 10. Therefore, even when a large force is exerted on the mating pipe 202 in the pulling direction, the mating pipe 202 can be reliably prevented from coming out of the hose 200.

According to the spring type hose clamp 10 of the present embodiment as described above, a hose clamp having both the advantages of the constant displacement type hose clamp and the advantages of the constant load type hose clamp can be realized.
Further, in this embodiment, the meshing teeth 16A and 16B are formed in a sawtooth shape, and the cam surface 18 is formed from the distal end to the proximal end of the meshing teeth 16A and 16B as the surface in the reduced diameter direction is further advanced in the reduced diameter direction. Therefore, the meshing teeth 16A and 16B can be easily formed as unidirectional meshing teeth.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the free ends are overlapped in the axial direction, and the meshing teeth are provided on the respective facing surfaces. It is also possible to provide a form of meshing teeth.
Furthermore, the present invention can be configured in various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention, for example, the meshing teeth can be configured in a form different from the above.

It is a figure which shows the spring-type hose clamp which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which expands a principal part and shows the effect | action of the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a conventionally well-known screw-type hose clamp. It is a figure which shows an example of a conventionally well-known binding clip and a spring-type hose clamp.

Explanation of symbols

10 Spring type hose clamp 12 Tightening band 12A, 12B Free end 16A, 16B Engagement teeth 18 Cam surface

Claims (3)

It has a spring-shaped tightening band that can be elastically expanded and contracted in an annular shape, and the hose is pulled from the outer peripheral surface by the tightening band with the mating pipe inserted in the axial direction inside the hose. In a spring-type hose clamp that is tightened in the direction of diameter reduction with a spring force and the hose is connected to the mating pipe,
A pair of free ends of the fastening band are overlapped with each other in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of meshing teeth are arranged along the circumferential direction on each overlapping surface, and each meshing tooth of each free end is arranged. The meshing teeth are unidirectional meshing teeth that can move relative to each other in the reduced diameter direction and can move relative to each other in the reduced diameter direction, and cannot move relative to each other in the expanded diameter direction. A spring-type hose clamp characterized by being.   2. The spring according to claim 1, wherein the pair of free ends are overlapped in the circumferential direction on opposite surfaces in the axial direction, and the meshing teeth are provided on each of the opposite surfaces in the axial direction. Type hose clamp.   4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the meshing teeth have a saw-tooth shape, and the surface in the reduced diameter direction forms a cam surface from the distal end of the meshed tooth toward the proximal end as it proceeds in the reduced diameter direction. Spring-type hose clamp characterized by that.

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