JP2008248908A - Pipe joint - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To disclose a pipe joint enabling more accurate visual confirmation that a water flow pipe is connected with a sufficient insertion amount. <P>SOLUTION: The pipe joint comprises: a joint main body in which a collar part having an inner diameter into which the water flow pipe can be inserted, is coaxially provided to the outer periphery of a water flow sleeve which can be water-tightly inserted into the water flow pipe, and a bottomed annular groove is formed between the water flow pipe and the water flow sleeve, and in which the water flow pipe is connected in a state of a pipe end being inserted in the annular groove; a visible window provided in a portion of the collar part to reach the annular groove and penetrating the collar part in the radial direction; and an indicator stored in the annular groove to be visible through the visible window and which is compressively deformable toward the bottom side of the annular groove by pipe end pressure attachment for connection of the water flow pipe. The indicator may be molded from a material having plasticity in which compressive deformation may remain even after release of the pipe end pressure attachment. Further, the indicator may be molded of a material having electric insulation such as foamed polyethylene. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe joint for connecting a water pipe, and relates to a configuration for visually confirming that the water pipe has reached an insertion depth necessary for connection during construction.

  The pipe joint is used to connect the water pipes to each other or equipment such as a faucet during piping work, but in order to simplify the on-site connection work, after inserting the water pipe, the cap nut A structure is widely adopted in which the water pipe is connected so as not to be removable by a built-in chuck ring by tightening. The pipe joint having this structure is made mainly of a synthetic resin on the outer surface because the chuck ring, which has a diameter reduced by tightening the cap nut as described above, bites into the outer surface of the water pipe and cannot be removed. The present applicant has also proposed several types of such pipe joints (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 7).

JP 2003-130274 A JP 2003-106490 A JP 2003-49984 A JP 2002-115785 A JP 2002-81586 A JP 2001-41378 A JP 2000-46272 A

  By the way, in order to perform reliable construction using the pipe joint having the conventional structure, it is required to properly manage the insertion amount of the water pipe and the tightening amount of the cap nut. That is, if any one of them does not reach the appropriate value, there is a risk of omission or water leakage. In particular, in an in-pipe seal-type pipe joint that secures water tightness by packing provided on the water passage sleeve, the packing is often constituted by two or more O-rings, so that all the O-rings are located inside the water passage pipe. It is necessary to insert the water passage sleeve deeply. In this respect, in the patent documents exemplified above, an indicator ring with an ear (protrusion piece) that slides on the water passage sleeve in conjunction with insertion of the water passage tube is constituted, and the water passage tube is inserted by the indicator ring. The thing which confirms quantity visually is also included. However, in the case of this configuration, there is a problem that the molding of the indicator ring is complicated, and the slide groove of the ear (projection piece) has to be processed on the joint body side, which increases the manufacturing cost. Moreover, in the case of the said structure, an indicator ring may slide carelessly by the vibration etc. at the time of construction, and there existed a possibility that the exact insertion amount might not be reflected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to disclose a pipe joint having an indicator structure capable of more accurately recognizing that a water pipe is connected with a sufficient amount of insertion. That is.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, in the present invention, a flange portion having an inner diameter into which the water pipe can be inserted is provided on the outer periphery of a water sleeve that can be inserted into the water pipe in a watertight manner, and a bottomed portion is provided between the two. A joint body for forming an annular groove and connecting the water pipe in a state where the pipe end is inserted into the annular groove, and a part of the flange portion reaching the annular groove and penetrating in the radial direction A pipe joint is constituted by a window and an indicator that is accommodated in the annular groove so as to be visible through the visual recognition window, and is compressible and deformable toward the bottom side of the annular groove by pipe end pressure contact related to the connection of the water pipe. I used the means to do. According to this means, since the indicator is compressed by the pipe end pressure contact of the water pipe, the amount of compression of the indicator increases as the amount of insertion of the water pipe increases. And if the compression amount of an indicator becomes large, the visual observation amount of the indicator through a visual recognition window will reduce. That is, according to the present invention, the insertion amount of the water pipe can be known from the visual amount of the indicator. In addition, since the visual recognition window is blocked from the inside by the indicator before the water pipe is connected, such as when the pipe joint is shipped, foreign matters such as dust and dust can be prevented from entering the annular groove through the visual recognition window.

  As described above, when the insertion amount of the water pipe increases, the visual amount of the indicator decreases. However, the insertion portion of the water pipe is visually observed from the visual recognition window by this reduced amount. Therefore, by making the color of the indicator visible from the viewing window distinguishable from the water pipe, the compression deformation of the indicator by the contrast between the indicator and the water pipe, that is, the visual amount of the indicator and the insertion amount of the water pipe can be made clearer. Can be identified.

  In addition, when the annular groove is deep enough to accommodate the compressed indicator in the space from the bottom to the opening of the viewing window, the indicator is concealed in the space when the water pipe reaches the insertion amount necessary for connection. It becomes impossible to see from the viewing window. That is, insertion of the water pipe can be completed when the indicator becomes invisible from the viewing window.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of viewing windows are provided at equal intervals in the buttock, the blind spot of the viewing window can be eliminated.

  The indicator needs to be flexible enough to be compressed and deformed by pipe end pressure welding.However, if the indicator has plasticity that allows compression deformation to remain even after the pipe end pressure welding is released, the indicator will not be restored to its original shape. In the case where the water pipe is moved in the pulling direction and the insertion amount decreases, this can be known.

  Furthermore, when the indicator is made of a material having electrical insulation, the indicator functions as an insulator even when applied to a hybrid tube (also referred to as a composite tube or a multilayer tube) in which a metal layer such as aluminum and a synthetic resin layer are laminated. In addition, it is possible to avoid corrosion due to an ionization tendency that occurs between different kinds of metals such as a joint body.

  In order to obtain an indicator having the above-described properties, a foamed resin material such as foamed polyethylene can be used as a material.

  In the present invention, how to maintain the connection state of the water pipe with respect to the joint body, and the configuration for that purpose can adopt a conventionally known technique, but it is made of synthetic resin such as a resin pipe or the above-described hybrid pipe For the water pipe formed with the outer layer, it is preferable that the chuck portion is configured by providing a socket having a retaining ring formed with retaining teeth capable of biting into the outer layer so as to be screwed into the flange portion.

  Furthermore, as the seal structure between the water flow pipe and the water flow sleeve, a conventionally known seal structure such as providing one or two or more O-rings on the water flow sleeve can be adopted, but two or more annular ribs are protruded. A seal structure provided with a cylindrical packing can also be employed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion amount of the water pipe can be confirmed by visually observing the indicator from the viewing window, and the indicator is easily molded from a material that can be compressed and deformed such as a foamed polyethylene ring. can do. Furthermore, when an indicator is molded from a foamed resin material such as foamed polyethylene, electrical insulation can be obtained, and therefore it can be applied as a pipe joint of a hybrid pipe.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a half-cut sectional view of a pipe joint according to an embodiment of the present invention. The pipe joint is roughly composed of a joint body 1, an indicator ring 2, a chuck ring 3, a socket 4, and a packing 5.

  Each member will be described in detail. First, the joint body 1 is formed by casting, for example, (bismuth) bronze as a raw material. A water passage sleeve 10 and a flange portion 11 are provided coaxially at one end and a connection portion of the water pipe P is provided. It is composed. The water passage sleeve 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape that can be inserted into the water pipe P as a water passage 10a, and a concave portion 10b having a small diameter is formed on the outer periphery thereof, and a packing 5 is inserted into the concave portion 10b. ing. The packing 5 is a cylindrical member in which two annular ribs 5a and 5b are integrally formed of synthetic rubber or the like, and has high water tightness. However, it is also possible to employ other packing structures such as using a normal O-ring.

  On the other hand, the flange portion 11 is integrally formed in a slightly short cylindrical shape on the outer periphery of the water flow sleeve 10, and an annular groove 12 having a bottom 12 a is formed between the two portions 10 and 11. And the visual recognition window 13 penetrated to the radial direction until it reaches the annular groove 12 in this collar part 11 is formed.

  Next, the indicator ring 2 is accommodated in the annular groove 12 and is arranged at a position where it can be seen from the visual window 13 at the beginning of manufacture. The indicator ring 2 is molded from a flexible material that can be compressed by an external force such as foamed polyethylene. That is, the indicator 2 is compressed and deformed between the pipe end and the bottom 12 a of the annular groove 12 by the pipe end pressure contact when the water pipe P is connected. This state can be confirmed visually by the operator through the viewing window 13. Therefore, the operator can know the insertion amount of the water pipe P by the compression mode of the indicator ring 2, and can perform the insertion work of the water pipe P to a place where there is no omission or water leakage.

  Here, it is preferable that the indicator ring 2 can distinguish the color visually seen from the visual recognition window 13 from the water pipe P. This is because if both 2 · P are of the same color system, the compression mode of the indicator ring 2 cannot be known accurately during connection work.

  Further, it is preferable that the annular groove 12 is further deepened from the opening position of the viewing window 13 so that the indicator ring 2 compressed and deformed is completely accommodated in the space between the bottom 12 a and the viewing window 13. When the insertion amount of the water pipe P has reached a predetermined value, it can be confirmed that the indicator ring 2 is completely concealed in the space through the visual window 13, and this can be an opportunity for the operator to complete the insertion work. Because it can.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the indicator ring 2 that covers the entire viewing window 13 before compression is adopted. With this configuration, since the visual recognition window 13 is closed from the inside by the indicator ring 2 before compression, foreign matters such as dust and dust enter the annular groove 12 through the visual recognition window 13 before connection of the water pipe such as at the time of shipment of the pipe joint. Intrusion can be prevented. In other words, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to separately adopt a foreign matter mixing measure such as sticking a closing seal to the collar portion 11 with the formation of the visual recognition window 13. In addition, about the opening of the water flow sleeve 10 which connects the water flow pipe P, and the socket 4 mentioned later, a circular seal | sticker may be stuck as usual.

  Subsequently, the chuck ring 3 and the socket 4 constitute a chuck portion, and here, a chuck ring 3 in which a biting tooth 3a is formed on the inner periphery and a slit is formed in the axial direction is employed. Then, the socket 4 is screwed with the tip of the flange portion 11, thereby holding the chuck ring 3 from the outer periphery on the inner peripheral surface of the socket 4. . According to the chuck portion of the configuration, in the insertion direction of the water pipe P, the biting teeth 3a of the chuck ring 3 slide on the outer surface of the water pipe P, and the removal action does not function. Therefore, the insertion work is performed until the insertion amount reaches a predetermined value. Thereafter, the socket 4 can be tightened to obtain the removal action by the chuck ring 3.

  This chuck structure is effective for a water flow pipe P called a soft pipe or a resin pipe. For example, this chuck structure is a hybrid pipe made of a metal and a synthetic resin in which an aluminum pipe is used as an intermediate layer and resin layers are laminated inside and outside. Of course, it can be applied.

  Here, when the water flow pipe P is a hybrid pipe including a metal layer, the indicator ring 2 is preferably formed from a material having electrical insulation properties such as the above-described foamed polyethylene. The pipe end of the water flow pipe P is usually left uncut and the metal layer is exposed. If the exposed metal layer comes into contact with the joint body 1 made of a dissimilar metal, the metal member on the negative side becomes aged due to the ionization tendency. This is because it corrodes.

  Thus, according to the said pipe joint, the insertion amount of the water flow pipe P can be known by confirming the shape change of the indicator ring 2 visually observed from the visual recognition window 13 with a color. Here, when there are many blind spots of the viewing window 13 such as a narrow work space, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of viewing windows 13 (three are illustrated at an equal interval of 120 degrees) are provided in the collar portion 11. Is more preferable.

The half cut sectional view of the pipe joint concerning one embodiment of the present invention Same as above, rear view of pipe fitting

Explanation of symbols

1 Joint body 2 Indicator ring 3 Chuck ring 4 Socket 5 Packing

Claims (9)

A flange having an inner diameter into which the water pipe can be inserted is provided on the outer periphery of a water sleeve that can be inserted into the water pipe in a watertight manner to form a bottomed annular groove therebetween, and the water pipe is connected to the pipe end. Joint body connected in a state inserted into the annular groove, a viewing window provided through a part of the flange portion to reach the annular groove in the radial direction, and visible through the viewing window A pipe joint comprising: an indicator that is accommodated in the annular groove and is compressible and deformable toward a bottom side of the annular groove by a pipe end pressure welding related to the connection of the water pipe. The pipe joint according to claim 1, wherein the indicator is distinguishable from the water pipe when viewed from the viewing window. The pipe joint according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the annular groove is formed to a depth that can accommodate the compressed indicator in a space from the bottom to the opening of the viewing window. The pipe joint according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a plurality of visual recognition windows are provided around the collar portion at equal intervals. The pipe joint according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indicator is made of a plastic material capable of remaining in a compressive deformation even after release of the pipe end pressure welding. The pipe joint according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the indicator is made of a material having electrical insulation. The pipe joint according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the indicator is made of a foamed resin material. 8. A water pipe having an outer layer formed of a synthetic resin, wherein the chuck portion is provided with a socket having a retaining ring formed with retaining teeth capable of biting into the outer layer so as to be screwed into the flange portion. A pipe joint according to any one of the above. The pipe joint according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a cylindrical packing having two or more annular ribs is provided on the water flow sleeve.

Images