JP3098221B2 - Pipe fittings - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe joint for connecting a pipe used for plumbing of a plumbing system in a house.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a pipe for supplying hot water to a kitchen or a bathroom or a pipe for distributing hot water for floor heating in a house is connected, the pipe is connected to a water supply pipe or a water heater. Do the work. At this time, a pipe joint is previously attached to the water supply pipe and the water heater, and a pipe is connected to the pipe joint. An example of this type of pipe joint is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-193787. This accommodates the inner cylinder in the joint body,
A structure in which a tapered fastening portion with which the outer circumference of the holding piece formed in the inner cylinder is engaged is provided on the inner circumference of the joint body. When the pipe is inserted deep into the inner cylinder and then pulled back, the inner cylinder moves due to friction with the pipe, and accordingly, the holding piece is reduced in diameter by the inclination of the tightening part, tightening the pipe, and the pipe is in a state where it can not be pulled out Becomes When the pipe is removed from this state, the inner cylinder is pushed in. Then, the holding piece is released from the reduced diameter state by the tightening portion, and the holding of the pipe by the holding piece is also released, so that the pipe may be pulled out.

[0003]

However, in such a pipe joint, when a pressing force in the insertion direction acts on the connected pipe, the inner cylinder tends to be inadvertently moved together with the pipe. There was a problem in the reliability of the holding function of the pipe by the holding piece. In addition, when the pipe is made of resin and the outer periphery may be deformed, the holding force of the pipe by the holding piece is reduced over a long period of use, and in this respect, there is a problem with the pipe holding function. is there. Furthermore, in such a pipe joint, there is a risk that the inner cylinder is inadvertently pushed in the insertion direction, and when the inner cylinder is pushed in this way, the holding of the pipe by the holding piece is released, In this regard, there was a problem in the reliability of the pipe holding function. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to improve the reliability of a pipe holding function.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a joint body having a cylindrical shape, and an inner cylinder which is fitted in the joint body so as to be movable in the axial direction so that a pipe can be inserted. A holding piece that is displaceable in the radial direction is formed on the inner cylinder, and an outer circumference of the holding piece and an inner circumference of the joint main body are formed on the inner cylinder in a direction in which the pipe of the inner cylinder is pulled out. A tapered tightening portion is formed which can be engaged with the movement and at least one of which is reduced in diameter in a direction in which the pipe is pulled out, and the holding piece is moved with the movement of the inner cylinder in the direction in which the pipe is pulled out. Is a pipe joint in which the diameter of the pipe is reduced by the tightening portion and the pipe is engaged with the outer periphery of the pipe so as to prevent and retain the pipe, and a biasing member for biasing the inner cylinder in a pipe removing direction. The joint body is provided with the tightening Abutment diameter rings increase the diameter displaces the holding piece is displaced to the pipe insertion direction inner side than the position of each other are formed on the inner periphery of the inner cylinder, the outer periphery of the pipe
A seal ring that seals the gap between
The frictional resistance between the ring and the pipe is
It is set larger than the biasing force, and the insertion of the pipe
In this case, the inner cylinder is connected to the pipe and the seal ring.
Against the urging of the urging member due to friction with the pipe
And the holding piece moves in unison with the
In this configuration , the diameter can be expanded and displaced .

According to a second aspect of the present invention , a pipe is inserted into the inner cylinder.
To the pipe by the holding piece
Claim 1 in which the retaining retention of the
In this configuration, a lock member capable of restricting the movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the lock member restricts the movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction and the movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction. It is configured to be attached to the joint body so as to be capable of being displaced from an allowable unlock position.

[0007]

Operation and effect of the invention [Invention of claim 1] The biasing force applied to the inner cylinder in the pipe pulling direction acts as a biasing force on the holding piece in the tightening direction, in other words, the holding piece. Is urged in the diameter reducing direction for holding the pipe. Therefore, the reliability of the pipe holding function is high.

[0008] The floating movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction, that is, the floating movement of the inner piece in the direction in which the retaining piece is prevented from being pulled out of the pipe can be regulated by the lock member. High reliability. [Invention of Claim 3] The lock member is displaced to the unlocked position when performing the operation of inserting and removing the pipe, and when the pipe is locked in the inserted state, the lock member is displaced to the locked position. Since the lock member is supported by the joint body, there is no risk of loss or the like during handling or transportation.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The pipe joint A of the present embodiment supplies water or hot water from a water supply pipe or a water heater to a kitchen, bathroom, washroom, or the like through a pipe P in a house, or supplies hot water to a hot water pipe P stretched for floor heating. It is used as a plumbing system around water for supply. The pipe joint A includes a joint main body 10, an inner cylinder 30, and a lock member 40.

The joint body 10 is made of metal and has a cylindrical shape as a whole. A jig fitting portion 1 having a hexagonal cross section is provided on the outer peripheral rear end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the joint body 10.
1, and a male screw portion 12 is formed on the outer periphery of the front end portion of the outer periphery. The joint main body 10 is fitted to a jig fitting portion 11 and screwed into a male screw portion 12 with a female thread portion of a supply device (not shown) such as a water supply pipe and a water heater, so that the joint device 10 can be connected to the supply device. Pre-installed.

The rear end of the joint body 10 in the hollow is an inner cylinder housing 13, and a seal groove 14 on the inner periphery of the inner cylinder housing 13 is used for sealing between the inner cylinder 30. A seal ring 15 is mounted. A holding piece housing 16 is formed in front of the inner cylinder housing 13, and the inner periphery of the rear half of the holding piece housing 16 is rearward (the direction in which the pipe P is pulled out).
A tapered tightening surface 17 (a tightening portion, which is a constituent feature of the present invention), is tapered toward the bottom. The tightening surface 17 has a function of holding the pipe P by reducing the diameter of the holding piece 34 by cooperating with a tightening surface 35 of the inner cylinder 30 described later. The fastening surface 17 and the inner cylinder housing 13
A stopper 18 whose diameter is reduced in a step-like manner is formed between the inner cylinder 30 and the inner cylinder 30.

On the inner periphery of the joint main body 10, a diameter-enlarged ring 19 that projects into the front half area of the holding piece housing portion 16 is mounted by press-fitting so as to project rearward. The diameter-expanding ring 19 has a function of expanding and displacing the holding piece 34. Further, a seal groove 20 is formed in front of the diameter-expanding ring 19, and a seal ring 21 for sealing a gap with the outer periphery of the pipe P is formed in the seal groove 20.
Is installed. Incidentally, the seal ring 21 is prevented from being pulled forward by abutting on the rear end of the diameter-expanding ring 19. Further, a pipe receiving portion 22 for receiving a distal end portion of the pipe P inserted from the rear of the joint body 10 is formed in front of the seal groove 20, and a front end deep surface of the pipe receiving portion 22 is formed. The distal end surface of the pipe P is a contact surface 23 that can be contacted. Further, a guide tube 24 fitted to the inner periphery of the pipe P is mounted by press fitting in front of the pipe receiving portion 22. The guide tube 24 is provided over a long area extending to the end of the pipe joint A on the insertion side of the pipe P.
Further, a portion in front of the guide cylinder 24 is a flow passage 25 which is opened at the distal end surface of the joint body 10 and enables water and hot water to flow therethrough.

The inner cylinder 30 is made of metal like the joint body 10 and has a cylindrical shape as a whole. The inner cylinder 30 can be moved in the front-rear direction in the inner cylinder housing portion 13 without any play in the radial direction. The rear end of the inner cylinder 30 protrudes outside from the rear end face of the joint body 10, and a flange 31
Are formed. A seal groove 32 is formed on the inner periphery of the inner cylinder 30, and a seal ring 33 for sealing a gap with the outer periphery of the pipe P is mounted in the seal groove 32.

The inner cylinder 30 is integrally formed with a plurality of holding pieces 34 protruding in a cantilever manner from the inner peripheral edge of the front end thereof.
The holding piece 34 is divided by a slit in the circumferential direction, and can be elastically deformed in the radial direction. The outer periphery of the tip of the holding piece 34 has a large diameter, and its cross section is pointed like a bow. The rear end of the outer periphery of the enlarged diameter portion has a tapered fastening surface 3 whose diameter is reduced rearward (in the direction in which the pipe P is removed).
5 (clamping part which is a component of the present invention)
It is designed to engage with the tightening surface 17 of the joint body 10.

A biting projection 36 is formed on the inner periphery of the distal end of the holding piece 34. The biting projection 36 cuts into the outer periphery of the pipe P, thereby restricting the axial movement of the pipe P. ing. Further, the tip end side of the biting projection 36 is a tapered guided surface 37 whose diameter increases toward the front (in the direction in which the pipe P is inserted). , The holding piece 34 is forcibly expanded and deformed in diameter.

The rear end surface of the tightening surface 35 is a locking portion 38 whose diameter is reduced in a step-like manner. When the locking portion 38 comes into contact with the stopper portion 18, the inner cylinder 30 is prevented from coming off. I have. Note that the tip of the holding piece 34 and the diameter-enlarging ring 19
The rear end portion is radially overlapped with the inner cylinder 30 in a state where the inner cylinder 30 is most retracted. In this state, the holding piece 34 is restricted from being displaced more inward than the diameter-expanding ring 19. ing. A compression coil spring 39 (a biasing member, which is a component of the present invention) is mounted between the rear end face and the front end face of the inner cylinder 30 in the inner cylinder housing 13. The cylinder 30 is urged rearward (the direction in which the pipe P is pulled out). Due to the bias of the compression coil spring 39, the inner cylinder 30 always keeps the locking portion 3 of the holding piece 34.
8 is held at the rearmost position where it comes into contact with the stopper portion 18, but when a forward pushing force is applied, the compression coil spring 39 can be moved forward while elastically contracting. In a state where the inner cylinder 30 is at the rearmost position in accordance with the bias of the compression coil spring 39, a gap S is provided between the flange portion 31 and the rear end face of the joint body 10, and the inner cylinder 3
The gap S becomes narrower as 0 advances.

The lock member 40 is made of synthetic resin, has a C-shaped ring shape over substantially the entire circumference, and is capable of expanding and deforming in diameter. A spacer portion 41 whose diameter is reduced in a step shape is formed at a rear portion of the inner periphery of the lock member 40. The dimension of the spacer portion 41 in the axial direction (front-back direction) is set to be slightly smaller than the gap S between the flange portion 31 and the rear end surface of the joint body 10 in a state where the inner cylinder 30 is at the rearmost position. I have. The inner diameter of the spacer portion 41 in the free state is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the inner cylinder 30 and smaller than the outer diameter of the flange portion 31. Further, a lock member 40 is provided on the inner peripheral front end of the lock member 40.
Is formed on the joint body 10 at a lock release position.

On the other hand, a standby portion 43 having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the spacer portion 41 of the lock member 40 is formed on the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the joint body 10. A temporary locking groove 44 for locking the locking ridge 42 is formed. In a state where the temporary locking ridge 42 is locked in the temporary locking groove 44, that is, in a state where the lock member 40 is in the unlocked position, the lock member 40 elastically expands in diameter, and the spacer portion 41 becomes the standby portion 43. , And does not interfere with the flange portion 31, thereby enabling the inner cylinder 30 to move forward (in the direction in which the pipe P is inserted). Also,
When the temporary locking projection 42 is removed from the temporary locking groove 44, the spacer portion 41 can be fitted into the gap S between the flange portion 31 and the joint body 10 to bring the lock member 40 to the locked position. In this state, the movement of the inner cylinder 30 in the pipe insertion direction is restricted.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When connecting the pipe P to the pipe joint A, it is only necessary to hold the lock member 40 at the unlocked position and insert the pipe P into the inner cylinder 30 from behind the pipe joint A. In the initial stage of the insertion operation of the pipe P, the inner cylinder 30 is compressed while the compression coil spring 39 is elastically compressed by the tip of the pipe P being caught by the biting projection 36 and the friction between the outer periphery of the pipe P and the seal ring 33. And it is pushed forward almost integrally. Then, when the guided surface 37 at the front end of the holding piece 34 is pressed against the rear end (front end) of the enlarged diameter ring 19,
The holding piece 34 is expanded and displaced by the inclination of the guided surface 37, and the biting projection 36 of the holding piece 34 is separated from the pipe P. At this time, the direct pushing operation on the holding piece 34 by the pipe P is released, but the return of the inner cylinder 30 is regulated by the frictional resistance between the seal ring 33 and the pipe P. It is kept in the displaced state. still,
Although the inner cylinder 30 is urged in the return direction by the compression coil spring 39, since the frictional resistance between the seal ring and the pipe P is set to be larger than the elastic restoring force of the compression coil spring 39, the inner cylinder 30 may return. There is no.

As the insertion of the pipe P proceeds, the tip of the pipe P enters the pipe receiving section 22 and the pipe P is eventually brought into contact with the abutting surface 23.
And can no longer be inserted.
When this occurs, the pipe P is pulled back in the pulling direction. Then, the inner cylinder 30 is also pulled back together, the holding piece 34 is gradually reduced in diameter, and the biting projection 36 comes into contact with the outer periphery of the pipe P. Then, the fastening surface 3 of the holding piece 34
When 5 is engaged with the tightening surface 17 of the joint main body 10, the holding piece 34 is forcibly displaced in the radially-reducing direction by the inclination thereof, and the biting projection 36 bites deeply into the outer periphery of the pipe P. When the bite is maximized, the pulling-back operation of the inner cylinder 30 and the pipe P is restricted. Thereafter, the lock member 40 is removed from the unlocked position and mounted on the locked position, and the spacer portion 41 is fitted into the gap S between the flange portion 31 and the rear end face of the joint body 10. Thereby, the forward movement of the flange portion 31, that is, the advance of the inner cylinder 30, is restricted, and the tightened state of the pipe P by the holding piece 34 is maintained. Thus, the connection work of the pipe P is completed.

In this state, since the locking portion 38 of the inner cylinder 30 is separated from the stopper 18 of the joint body 10, the urging force of the compression coil spring 39 acts on the inner cylinder 30. The urging force of the compression coil spring 39 is
Acts as a force to tighten the pipe P,
Is held firmly. In addition, water / hot water supplied from a water supply source pipe / water heater flows into the pipe P connected in this way through the flow passage 25 of the joint body 10. Since the seal ring 21 provides waterproofness between the joint body 10 and the joint body 10, water leakage is prevented here. It should be noted that this seal ring 21
Even if water leakage occurs, the seal ring 33 provided on the inner periphery of the inner cylinder 30 and the seal ring 15 provided on the inner periphery of the rear end of the joint body 10 reliably prevent water leakage to the outside of the joint body 10. Is done.

When removing the pipe P, the lock member 40 at the lock position is re-attached to the unlock position, or is once removed from the joint body 10 to release the movement restriction on the inner cylinder 30. Next, the flange portion 31 is pushed by a finger, and the inner cylinder 30 is pushed into the joint body 10 against the bias of the compression coil spring 39. Then, the holding piece 34 is expanded and deformed by hitting the expanding ring 19, and the pipe P is released from being tightened by the holding piece 34. Therefore, if the pipe P is pulled as it is, the pipe P bites its outer peripheral surface and is damaged by the projection 36. It is extracted without being done.

As described above, the pipe joint A of the present embodiment includes:
Since the compression coil spring 39 that urges the inner cylinder 30 in the direction of pulling out the pipe P, that is, in the direction of reducing the diameter of the holding piece 34, is provided, the function of tightening the pipe P by the holding piece 34 is high, and the reliability is excellent. Further, since the lock member 40 is provided to restrict the inner cylinder 30 from moving in the insertion direction of the pipe P, that is, the direction in which the fastening of the holding piece 34 to the pipe P is released, the pipe P The reliability of the holding function is high. Further, the lock member 4
Since 0 is supported by the joint body 10 even in the unlocked state, there is no risk of loss or the like during handling or transportation.
Further, since the guide tube 24 is fitted inside the pipe P, even if a bending force acts on the pipe P outside the pipe joint A,
The pipe P is not deformed in the pipe joint A, so that the sealing function of the seal rings 21 and 33 is not impaired.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the lock member 50 has a configuration different from that of the first embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and description of the structures, operations, and effects will be omitted. The lock member 50 of the present embodiment is formed by bending a metal wire and forming a circular arc-shaped spacer portion 51 having a wider angle range than a semicircle, and a pair of L-shaped extending portions from both ends of the spacer portion 51. The arm 52 includes a shaft 53 projecting inward from the distal ends of the arms 52. On the other hand, a pair of bearing holes 54 drilled so as to be coaxial with each other are formed on the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the joint body 10, and the lock member 50 It is rotatably supported by being fitted. When the insertion of the pipe P is completed and the inner cylinder 30 is not moved in the direction of releasing the tightening and holding of the pipe P by the holding piece 34, the lock member 50 is moved to the lock position (shown by a solid line in FIG. 7). The gap S between the flange portion 31 and the rear end face of the joint body 10 is rotated and displaced so that the spacer portion 51 is externally fitted to the inner cylinder 30.
To fit. Thereby, the movement of the flange portion 31 is restricted, and the holding state of the pipe P by the holding piece 34 is maintained. When the pipe P is inserted and removed, the lock member 5
If 0 is rotationally displaced to the unlock position (indicated by a chain line in FIG. 7), the inner cylinder 30 is in a movable state.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the lock member is provided, but according to the first aspect of the present invention, the lock member may not be provided. (2) In the above embodiment, the lock member is attached to the joint body so as to be displaceable between two positions of the lock position and the unlock position. However, according to the present invention, the lock member is attached only to the lock position. You may do so.

(3) According to the present invention, the pipe may not be made of a synthetic resin but may be made of a metal material softer than the holding piece. (4) According to the present invention, a pipe may be prevented from coming off only by frictional resistance between the holding piece and the pipe without providing a wedge-shaped biting projection on the holding piece. (5) In the above-described embodiment, the taper-shaped tightening surface is formed on both the joint body and the holding piece as means for reducing the diameter of the holding piece. However, according to the present invention, the tapered tightening surface is formed between the joint body and the holding body. Only one of the pieces may be used.

(6) The present invention can be applied not only to piping facilities for supplying hot and cold water in a house, but also to pipe joints used for piping facilities for other uses. (7) In the above-described embodiment, the diameter increasing ring is provided to forcibly expand and deform the holding piece. However, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus without the diameter increasing means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before a pipe is inserted in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a process of inserting a pipe in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where insertion of a pipe is completed in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state where a lock member is at an unlock position in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which a lock member is in a lock position in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a lock member according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Pipe joint P: Pipe 10: Joint body 17: Tightening surface (tightening portion) 30: Inner cylinder 34: Holding piece 35: Tightening surface (tightening portion) 39: Compression coil spring (biasing member) 40: Lock member 50 Lock member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-17291 (JP, A) JP-A-7-145895 (JP, A) JP-A-6-74381 (JP, A) 146298 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 59-47190 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 60-5172 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16L 37/00-37 / 62

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A joint body having a cylindrical shape, and an inner cylinder fitted in the joint body movably in an axial direction to enable insertion of a pipe, wherein the inner cylinder has a radial direction. The holding piece that can be displaced is formed on the outer circumference of the holding piece and the inner circumference of the joint main body. A tightening portion having a tapered shape that reduces one of the diameters in the pipe pulling direction is formed. With the movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe pulling direction, the holding piece is reduced in diameter by the tightening portion and is displaced. A pipe joint which is adapted to retain and hold the pipe by engaging with an outer periphery of the pipe, comprising a biasing member for biasing the inner cylinder in a pipe removing direction. The pipe is inserted more than the contact position between the tightening parts. An expanding ring is provided for expanding and displacing the holding piece displaced to the back side in the entry direction, and a gap between the inner circumference of the inner cylinder and the outer circumference of the pipe is sealed.
A seal ring is installed and the frictional resistance between the seal ring and the pipe is
It is set larger than the urging force of the member, and when inserting the pipe, the inner cylinder is
Due to friction with the seal ring, the biasing member is biased.
The pipe moves almost integrally with the pipe and holds the pipe.
A configuration in which the piece is expanded and displaced by the expanding ring;
Pipe fitting, characterized in that the. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the retaining piece is prevented from being retained and held by the holding piece by moving the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction. A pipe joint comprising a lock member capable of restricting the movement of the pipe. 3. The displacement of the lock member between a lock position that restricts movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction and a lock release position that permits movement of the inner cylinder in the pipe insertion direction. The pipe joint according to claim 2, wherein the pipe joint is attached to the joint body as possible.