JP2011231901A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector that has superior connecting workability, and can obtain high seal performance by a simple constitution.SOLUTION: The connector 10 includes a connector body 11 having first and second connecting holes and an accommodation part 16 formed at a step between the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole, and a retainer 30. A seal member 17 is accommodated in the accommodation part 16. Pressing mechanisms 40 which add forces in a direction in which the seal member 17 is pressed by the tip of a pipe P by pressing the pipe P in the insertion direction are arranged at the retainer 30 and the connector body 11. The pressing mechanisms 40 convert moving forces to the attachment direction of the retainer 30 to moving forces to the insertion direction of the pipe P via slopes formed at the retainer 30 and a flange Pa, and add seal forces to the seal member 17.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a pipe having a flange portion to another pipe body.

  Conventionally, a connector described in, for example, Patent Document 1 is known as this type of connector. The connector of Patent Document 1 is a so-called quick connector used in a fuel system of a vehicle, and includes a connector body having a connection hole into which a pipe can be inserted, and an O-ring on the outer periphery and the tip of the pipe inserted into the connection hole. And seals with the inner wall of the connector body.

  However, in the conventional connector, when the contact pressure is increased in order to improve the sealing performance between the pipe and the O-ring, there is a problem that the insertion load of the pipe increases and the insertion efficiency of the pipe is not good. Further, the sealing member provided at the tip of the pipe has a problem that it is difficult to form a shape that is in close contact with the tip of the pipe and the inner wall of the connection hole, and it is difficult to exhibit a stable sealing force.

JP-A-8-216707

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector that is excellent in connection workability and that can obtain high sealing performance with a simple configuration, in view of solving the above-described problems of the prior art.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
Application Example 1 is a connector for connecting a pipe having a flange portion protruding in an annular shape to another pipe body.
A first connection hole for inserting the pipe in the insertion direction, a second connection hole having an inner diameter smaller than the first connection hole, and a step between the first connection hole and the second connection hole A connector body having a storage portion formed;
A sealing member that is housed in the housing portion and is pressed at the tip of the pipe to seal between the pipe and the inner wall of the connector body;
With
A moving member that is mounted on the connector body by moving in a mounting direction that is a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and that engages with the flange portion in the mounted state;
A pressing mechanism that applies a force in a direction to push the seal member at the tip of the pipe by moving the pipe in the insertion direction;
With
The pressing mechanism is a cam mechanism that converts a moving force in the mounting direction of the moving member into a moving force in the insertion direction of the pipe via an inclined surface formed on either the moving member or the flange portion. It is characterized by having.

  In Application Example 1, when the pipe is inserted into the regular connection position of the connector body, the pipe can obtain a high sealing performance by pressing the seal member against the storage portion at the tip thereof. When used in a fuel system, the amount of fuel permeation can be reduced.

  Further, the pipe is enhanced in the sealing force by pressing the sealing member in the insertion direction at the pressing end, and the sealing force is increased by the contact pressure obtained by expanding the O-ring like the O-ring arranged on the outer periphery of the pipe. It is not increasing. Therefore, since the sealing member increases the sealing force, the insertion load is small and the insertion workability is good as compared with the configuration in which the sealing force is increased by the O-ring.

  Furthermore, since the force that pushes the seal member in the insertion direction at the tip of the pipe uses the force that the moving member moves in the mounting direction, the connection work is also easy.

[Application Example 2]
The seal member of Application Example 2 can take a configuration that is formed in a U-shaped cross section so as to cover from the inner wall at the tip of the pipe to the tip surface and the outer peripheral surface. According to this configuration, the seal member covers the tip of the pipe, and it is easy to form a shape that closely contacts the stepped portions of the first connection hole and the second connection hole.

[Application Example 3]
The pressing mechanism of Application Example 3 has a configuration including an adjustment mechanism that sets the position of the moving member in the insertion direction stepwise through an engaging portion formed on the connector main body and the moving member. Can take. With this configuration, the sealing force by the seal member can be determined in consideration of the force when the moving member is mounted.

It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the connector concerning one Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which connected the pipe to the connector. It is sectional drawing which decomposed | disassembled the connector. It is explanatory drawing explaining the press mechanism formed in the upper part of a connector main body, and a retainer. It is explanatory drawing explaining the adjustment mechanism formed in the retainer and the connector main body. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work which connects a pipe to a connector. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work following FIG.

(1) Schematic Configuration of Connector 10 FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connector 10 is used in the fuel system from the fuel tank to the engine, and is used for connecting the pipe P to the tube Tb. The connector main body 11, the tip side seal member 17, the stopper ring 18, and the outer peripheral side. The sealing member 19 and the retainer 30 (moving member) are provided. The pipe P is made of metal (for example, aluminum) and is formed in a substantially round pipe shape. On the outer peripheral surface at a position spaced apart from the front end surface of the pipe P, a flange portion Pa composed of an annularly protruding bulge portion is formed. Further, a pressing end Pb that presses the seal member 17 is formed at the tip of the pipe P. Further, a seal surface Pc that is sealed by the stopper ring 18 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the pipe P from the flange portion Pa to the front end side. A pressing slope Pd is formed on one end face of the flange portion Pa. Hereinafter, the connector main body 11 and the retainer 30 will be described in order.

(2) Configuration of each part of connector 10 (2) -1 Connector body 11
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pipe P is connected to the connector 10, and FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the connector 10. 2 and 3, the connector main body 11 is made of, for example, resin and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. One end of the connector main body 11 is a pipe connecting portion 12 for connecting the pipe P, and the other end is a tube connecting portion 13 to which, for example, a synthetic resin tube Tb (FIG. 1) is attached by press fitting. ing. Hereinafter, the following description will be made with the pipe connection portion 12 side of the connector 10 as the front side and the tube connection portion 13 side as the rear side.

  In FIG. 3, the hollow portion in the connector main body 11 is first and second connection holes 14 and 15. A seal member 17 and a seal member 19 are disposed in the first connection hole 14. The second connection hole 15 forms a passage 15a connected to the tube Tb. Since the inner diameter of the first connection hole 14 is larger than that of the second connection hole 15, a storage portion 16 that is a step portion and stores the seal member 17 is formed between both the holes. The seal member 17 is formed of a rubber material having excellent fuel permeation resistance, and is fitted to the pressing end Pb at the tip of the pipe P, that is, has a U-shaped cross section so as to cover from the inner wall of the pressing end Pb to the outer peripheral surface. Is formed. The seal member 19 is made of an O-ring and seals between the seal surface Pc on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe P and the inner wall of the first connection hole 14.

  In FIG. 1, first and second restriction flanges 21 and 22 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe connection portion 12 of the connector main body 11 in parallel from the front side toward the rear side at a predetermined interval. In order to support the retainer 30, a guide restricting portion 23 made of a cantilever is protruded from the side surface 12 a of the pipe connecting portion 12 to the second restricting flange 22. An insertion hole 26 and a pair of left and right receiving holes 28 are formed between the first restriction flange 21 and the second restriction flange 22. An engaging claw 29 that locks the retainer 30 at the temporary fixing position is formed below the receiving hole 28.

(2) -2 Retainer 30
In FIG. 1, the retainer 30 is a resin member that is movable with respect to the connector main body 11 from the temporary stop position to the completion position, and is formed in a U shape surrounding a part of the outer peripheral portion of the pipe connection portion 12. A main body 31 is provided. The retainer body 31 includes a retaining portion 33, a detection piece 34, and a guide piece 37 formed on the front side of the flat plate-like substrate portion 32. The guide piece 37 guides the movement of the retainer 30 by being inserted inside the guide restricting portion 23 of the pipe connecting portion 12.

(2) -3 Pressing mechanism 40
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view illustrating the pressing mechanism 40 formed on the upper portion of the connector main body 11 and the retainer 30. The pressing mechanism 40 is a mechanism for applying a force for pressing the seal member 17 at the pressing end Pb of the pipe P and setting the force to a predetermined value, and includes a cam mechanism 42 and an adjusting mechanism 45. .

  The cam mechanism 42 is a mechanism for converting a force in the mounting direction d1 (downward in the drawing) of the retainer 30 into a force for moving the pipe P in the insertion direction d2, and is a rear surface of the retaining portion 33 of the retainer 30. The pressure inclined surface 33a formed on the pipe P and the pressure inclined surface Pd of the flange portion Pa of the pipe P are provided. Due to the configuration of the cam mechanism 42, when the retainer 30 moves in the mounting direction d1, the pipe P is moved in the insertion direction d2 via the pressing slope Pd, whereby the pressing end Pb of the pipe P houses the seal member 17. Press toward part 16.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining the adjusting mechanism 45 formed in the retainer 30 and the connector main body 11. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the adjustment mechanism 45 is a mechanism that sets the amount of movement of the pipe P in the insertion direction d <b> 2 by setting the position of the retainer 30 in the mounting direction d <b> 1. A regulation protrusion 21 a formed on the first regulation flange 21 and an adjustment step 33 c formed on the front surface of the retaining part 33 of the retainer 30 are provided. The adjustment step portion 33c is configured to arrange a plurality of protrusions and engage with the restriction protrusions 21a. With the configuration of the adjustment mechanism 45, the stop position of the retainer 30 is determined by changing the position at which the adjustment step portion 33c engages the restriction protrusion 21a according to the amount of movement of the retainer 30 in the mounting direction d1. Thereby, the moving amount | distance of the insertion direction d2 of the pipe P can be changed and the sealing force of the sealing member 17 can be adjusted.

(3) Connection work of the connector 10 In order to connect the pipe P to the connector 10 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the seal member 17 is stored in the storage portion 16, and the seal member 19, The stopper ring 18 and the seal member 17 are inserted into the first connection hole 14. Subsequently, the retainer 30 is temporarily assembled to the connector main body 11. That is, in FIG. 1, the retaining portion 33 of the retainer 30 is aligned with the insertion hole 26 between the first and second restriction flanges 21 and 22, and the pipe connection portion 12 is In a state where the outer peripheral surface is sandwiched, the retainer 30 is pushed downward. As a result, when the retaining portion 33 is inserted into the insertion hole 26 and the guide piece 37 is inserted into the guide restricting portion 23, and the retainer 30 moves to the temporary fixing position in the mounting direction, the connector body 11 and the temporary assembly state (State of FIG. 4).

  Subsequently, in order to connect the pipe P to the connector 10, the following operation is performed. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, when the pipe P is inserted into the first connection hole 14 of the connector body 11, the stopper ring 18 and the seal member 19 pass through the through holes, and the tip of the pipe P is sealed. The member 17 is reached. When the pipe P is inserted into the first connection hole 14 up to this state, the flange portion Pa of the pipe P shown in FIG. 1 is elastically deformed in the direction in which the detection projection 35 of the detection piece 34 in the retainer 30 is expanded, and the detection piece 34 This detection projection 35 is shifted laterally from the engaging claw 29 of the receiving hole 28. As a result, the lower surface of the detection projection 35 is disengaged from the engagement claw 29 of the receiving hole 28, so that the retainer 30 can be moved downward.

  Subsequently, when the board portion 32 of the retainer 30 is pushed and moved in the mounting direction, the detection protrusion 35 of the detection piece 34 is lowered while sliding along the side surface 12a of the connector body 11, and as shown in FIG. When the pressing inclined surface 33a of the retainer 30 hits the pressing inclined surface Pd of the flange portion Pa of the pipe P and further moves the retainer 30 downward, the pipe P moves in the insertion direction d2, and the seal member 17 moves to the storage portion 16. Pressed.

  When the retainer 30 is further moved downward, the adjustment step portion 33c of the retainer 30 is moved downward stepwise while being engaged with the restriction protrusion 21a of the first restriction flange 21. Then, the detection piece 34 (FIG. 1) is elastically restored by finally reaching the lower end of the connector main body 11, and the upward movement of the retainer 30 is restricted by the detection protrusion 35 engaging with the lower end of the connector main body 11. The As a result, the pipe P is restricted from moving in the removal direction, and is prevented from being removed from the connector main body 11 and connected to the connector 10 (state shown in FIG. 2).

(4) Operation and effect of the connector 10 The following effects are achieved by the configuration of the above embodiment.
(4) -1 As shown in FIG. 2, when the pipe P is completely inserted into the normal connection position of the connector body 11, the pipe P penetrates the seal member 19 and the stopper ring 18, and further its tip. Thus, high sealing performance can be obtained by pressing the sealing member 17 against the storage portion 16. That is, not only the sealing member 19 but also the sealing member 17 is pushed by the tip of the pipe P at the sealing portion between the connector 10 and the pipe P, thereby exhibiting sealing performance and reducing the fuel permeation amount.

(4) -2 The sealing member 17 is pressed in the insertion direction at the pressing end Pb of the pipe P to increase the sealing force, and the O-ring is expanded like an O-ring arranged on the outer periphery of the pipe P. The sealing force is not increased due to the contact pressure having a diameter. Therefore, the sealing member 17 has a smaller load for insertion and better insertion workability than the configuration in which the sealing force is increased by the O-ring.

(4) -3 The force for pressing the seal member 17 in the insertion direction d2 at the pressing end Pb of the pipe P is the force for the retainer 30 to move in the mounting direction d1, that is, when moving from the temporary stop position to the completion position. Since power is used, connection work is easy.

(4) -4 The sealing force by the sealing member 17 can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism 45 that sets the movement amount of the retainer 30. That is, the adjustment mechanism 45 attaches the retainer 30 to the sealing force by the seal member 17 by selecting one of the three adjustment step portions 33 c that engage with the restriction protrusion 21 a of the first restriction flange 21. It can be determined in consideration of the power of time.

(4) -5 Since the seal member 17 is formed in a U-shaped cross section so as to cover from the inner wall of the tip of the pipe P to the tip surface and the outer peripheral surface, the seal member 17 covers the pressing end Pb of the pipe P and the first connection hole. It is also easy to make it the shape closely_contact | adhered to the step part of 14 and the 2nd connection hole 15. FIG.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the retainer 30 for retaining the pipe P is used as the moving member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is confirmed that the pipe is in a proper connection position when the pipe is inserted into the connector. For example, a check mechanism may be provided on the checker.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Connector main body 12 ... Pipe connection part 12a ... Side surface 13 ... Tube connection part 14, 15 ... 1st and 2nd connection hole 15a ... Passage 16 ... Storage part 17 ... Sealing member 18 ... Stopper ring 19 ... Sealing member 21, 22 ... first and second restricting flanges 21 a ... restricting protrusions 23 ... guide restricting portions 26 ... insertion holes 28 ... receiving holes 29 ... engaging claws 30 ... retainers 31 ... retainer main bodies 32 ... substrate portions 33 ... retaining portions 33a ... Pressing inclined surface 33c ... Adjusting step 34 ... Detecting piece 35 ... Detecting protrusion 37 ... Guide piece 40 ... Pressing mechanism 42 ... Cam mechanism 45 ... Adjusting mechanism P ... Pipe Pa ... Flange part Pb ... Pressing end Pc ... Seal surface Pd ... Pressing slope Tb ... Tube

Claims (3)

In a connector for connecting a pipe (P) having a flange portion (Pa) projecting annularly to another pipe body,
A first connection hole (14) for inserting the pipe (P) in the insertion direction, a second connection hole (15) having an inner diameter smaller than the first connection hole (14), and the first connection hole ( 14) and a connector body (11) having a storage portion (16) formed in a step portion between the second connection hole (15),
A seal member (17) housed in the housing part (16) and pressed between the pipe (P) and the inner wall of the connector body (11) by being pressed at the tip of the pipe (P);
With
A moving member that is mounted on the connector main body (11) by moving in a mounting direction that is a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and that engages with the flange portion (Pa) in the mounted state;
A pressing mechanism (40) that applies a force in a pressing direction to the seal member (17) at the tip of the pipe (P) by moving the pipe (P) in the insertion direction;
With
The pressing mechanism (40) transmits the moving force in the mounting direction of the moving member to the insertion direction of the pipe (P) via an inclined surface formed on either the moving member or the flange portion (Pa). A connector having a cam mechanism for converting to a moving force toward the head. The connector according to claim 1,
The said sealing member (17) is a connector formed in the cross-sectional U shape so that it may cover from the inner wall of the front-end | tip of the said pipe (P) to a front end surface and an outer peripheral surface. The connector according to claim 1 or 2,
The pressing mechanism (40) includes an adjusting mechanism (45) that sets the position of the moving member in the insertion direction stepwise via an engaging portion formed on the connector body (11) and the moving member. Has a connector.

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