JP3534513B2 - Coupling device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a male member provided on a first member to be connected, and a female member into which the male member can be inserted is provided in a second member to be connected. By inserting the male member into the female member, the first connected member and the second connected member are configured to be freely connectable to each other, the male member is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the male member is formed. As the male member is inserted into the female member, a diameter-enlarging mechanism is provided in which the distal end of the male member is expanded, and the male member comes into contact with the outer surface of the expanded male member so that the male member is connected to the female member. The present invention relates to a coupling device provided with a retaining portion for preventing the female member from coming out of the female member. 2. Description of the Related Art A connecting device of this type is used, for example, for connecting shield segments forming a tunnel, and one such device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-34785. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting device connects the shield segments forming a tunnel. One of the segments 31 is provided with a male member 32, and the other end of the male member 32 is provided with a cone member 33. Is inserted, and the male member 32 is inserted into the female member 35 provided on the other segment 34 which has already been installed.
Are connected. When the male member 32 and the cone member 33 are inserted into the female member 35 to a predetermined depth, the cone member 33 is moved to the bottom surface 36 of the female member 35.
When the male member 32 is further inserted, the distal end of the male member 32 is expanded along the surface of the cone member 33. As a result, the distal end portion of the male member 32 is restrained by the inner surface 37 of the female member 35 and is fixed so as not to come off. [0003] However, according to the above-mentioned conventional connecting device, there is a problem that the transportability and the handling of a segment or the like provided with the connecting device are poor. That is, since the male member 32 is attached so as to protrude from one of the segments 31, the male member 32 may erroneously come into contact with another object, for example, during transportation of the segment. The male member 32 may be deformed and become unusable. In addition, since the cone member 33 is normally mounted so as to protrude from all ends of the male member 32, the length of the male member 32 protruding further increases. Therefore, the above-mentioned inconvenience was promoted. [0004] It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide a connecting device capable of performing a connecting operation smoothly while having excellent transportability and handleability. Means for Solving the Problems [0005] (Structure 1) A feature structure of the present invention for achieving this object is that a surrounding portion surrounding a male member is formed by a first member. Provided on the connected member, the male member is attached to the inside of the surrounding portion in a retracted state, and the female member is formed in a convex shape that can be inserted into the internal space of the surrounding portion, and inside the female member, The present invention is characterized in that a core member constituting a part of the diameter expanding mechanism is detachably provided from the female member. (Operation / Effect) According to the connecting device of this configuration, since the male member is protected by the surrounding portion, even if the first connected member is accidentally brought into contact with another object, the male member is less likely to be deformed. Become. Therefore, the carrying property and the handling property of the connected member to which the connecting device is mounted are improved. Moreover, since the core member normally provided on the male member side is provided on the female member side, the projecting length of the male member is
The minimum length required to engage the female member can be set. As a result, the depth dimension of the surrounding portion and the protruding length of the female member can be set short. Then, the core member fitted into the male member is separated from the female member and moves integrally with the male member.
Therefore, even when a force acts on the male member in the pulling-out direction, the core member effectively prevents the male member from reducing in diameter, so that the connection strength of the connection device is improved. On the other hand, although the female member is formed in a convex shape, it does not have the function of expanding and deforming the diameter, and the member itself is larger in size than the male member, so that deformation due to contact with other objects hardly occurs.
Further, when the female member is formed so as to protrude, when a shearing force acts between the first connected member and the second connected member, the strength against the shearing force can be improved. That is, since the cross-sectional area of the female member is usually larger than the cross-sectional area of the male member, the shearing force that can be borne is also increased. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The connecting device of the present invention includes, for example, a large number of ductile segments, steel segments, or concrete segments (collectively referred to as “segments”) used in constructing a tunnel or the like in a tunnel axial direction and a tunnel circumferential direction. Used when linking. (Outline) FIGS. 1 to 4 show a connecting device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the connecting device newly connects a male member 3 provided on one side surface of the first segment 1, which is the first connected member A, which is already installed.
A female member 4 provided on the other side surface of the second segment 2 which is the connected member B. When connecting the first segment 1 and the second segment 2, the male member 3 is inserted into the female member 4 by pressing them together, and the diameter expansion provided at the distal end of the male member 3 is performed. Possible part 5,
By expanding the diameter with the core member 20 provided on the female member 4 side, the female member 4 is engaged. These male members 3
, The female member 4 and the core member 20 constitute a diameter expansion mechanism. As shown in FIG. 2, in the connecting device of the present invention,
A surrounding member C surrounding the male member 3 is formed in the first segment 1, while a female member that is insertable into the surrounding member C and into which the male member 3 can be inserted. 4 is provided in the second segment 2. That is, the male member 3 is configured to be surrounded by the surrounding portion C to effectively protect the male member 3 and improve the transportability and workability of the first segment 1 and the like. (Male member) The details of the male member 3 will be described below. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first concave portion 6 is formed in the first segment 1, and a surrounding wall of the first concave portion 6 constitutes the surrounding portion C. The male member 3 is provided so as to protrude from the innermost part of the first concave portion 6, and the depth of the first concave portion 6 is formed to be deeper than the protruding length of the male member 3. Thereby, since the tip of the male member 3 retreats into the first concave portion 6, the protection of the male member 3 is ensured. According to this configuration, the connecting surface 7 of the first segment can be a smooth surface without a protruding member. Therefore, when digging a tunnel,
There is no problem in using the connecting surface 7 as a jack reaction force receiving portion of the shield machine. The overall shape of the male member 3 is substantially cylindrical. One end forms a diameter-expandable portion 5 that is inserted into the female member 4 and expanded in diameter.
A male body 8 for attaching to the main body. A male screw portion 9 is formed on the outer surface of the male body 8. On the other hand, a male-side mounting hole 11 is formed in the bottom portion 10 of the first concave portion. After the male-side body 8 is inserted into the male-side mounting hole 11, the male-side nut member 12 is connected to the male-side mounting hole 11. Screw part 9
And the male member 3 is attached to the first segment 1. At a boundary position between the male body 8 and the diameter-expandable portion 5, a male side step portion 13 which is a surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the male member 3 and faces in the direction of the male body 8. Is formed. The insertion of the male-side body 8 into the male-side mounting hole 11 is performed until the male-side step 13 contacts the surface of the bottom 10 of the first recess. Thus, the length of the protrusion of the male member 3 from the surface of the bottom portion 10 is determined. In the present embodiment, the male member 3 is attached in a state in which the male member 3 cannot move relative to the first segment 1. The male member 3 is connected to the first segment 1
In addition, various methods such as fitting and welding can be used. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of slits 14 are formed in the expandable portion 5 along the longitudinal direction of the male member 3 so that the male member 3 is divided in the circumferential direction. It is formed. At the base end of the expandable portion 5, a thin portion 5A is formed to further facilitate the expansion of the expandable portion 5. With these configurations,
The diameter of the diameter-expandable portion 5 can be easily expanded. As shown in FIG. 2, the external shape of the male member 3 is a substantially cylindrical shape in which the outer diameters of all the portions are substantially equal. According to this configuration, the insertion into the female member 4 is relatively easy, and after the insertion, the male member 3 is brought into contact with an inner surface of the female member 4 to be described later. The angle at the time of expanding the diameter until the outer surface becomes substantially conical can be made relatively small. On the outer surface of the distal end portion of the male member 3, a tapered male member distal inclined surface 15 is formed to facilitate insertion into the female member 4. (Scalpel Member) Next, details of the knife member 4 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 2, the female member 4 has a substantially cylindrical shape having a bottom portion 16, and is provided with a female screw portion 18 in a state where the female member 4 projects from the connection surface 17 of the second segment with respect to the second segment. Installed.
In this case, when provided in the second concave portion 19 formed in the second segment 2, it is convenient to increase the allowable range of the shearing force acting between the first segment 1 and the second segment 2. That is, since the portion having the maximum outer diameter of the female member 4 opposes the shearing force, it can oppose the shearing force with a larger cross-sectional area than a conventional structure opposing only by the male member 3. It is. With this configuration, the connection strength between the first segment 1 and the second segment 2 is significantly improved. At the bottom 16 of the female member 4, the core member 2
0 is attached. When inserting the male member 3 and the female member 4, the core member 20 enters the inside of the diameter-expandable portion 5 to expand the diameter of the diameter-expandable portion 5. In the conventional connecting device, the core member 20
Is provided at the tip of the male member 3. In the present invention, the protrusion length of the male member 3 is suppressed by providing the core member 20 on the female member 4 side. Along with this, the depth dimension of the first recess 6 and the projecting length of the female member 4 can be shortened. As a result of these configurations, the second segment is
Since the operation stroke at the time of pressing the segment 2 is reduced, the working efficiency is improved, and further, the effect is obtained that the structure of the shield machine for excavating the tunnel can be simplified. The outer surface of the core member 20 is formed in a conical shape narrowed in the pushing direction of the core member 20. Thereby, when the core member 20 is pushed into the inside of the diameter-expandable portion 5, the diameter of the diameter-expandable portion 5 is easily increased. still,
The core member 20 and the diameter-expandable portion 5 are not limited to the above shapes. For example, the core member 20 is simply a hemisphere, and the diameter-expandable portion 5 is
It may be a completely integrated cylinder without 4 or the like. In short, any combination of shapes may be used as long as the diameter-expandable portion 5 expands its diameter by the action of the core member 20. Inside the female member 4, the male member 3 comes into contact with the outer surface of the expandable portion 5 whose diameter has been expanded by the insertion operation of the male member 3 and the female member 4, so that the male member 3 A retaining portion 21 that prevents the member 4 from being pulled out is provided. The inner surface 21 </ b> A of the retaining portion 21 has a conical shape whose diameter increases toward the insertion direction of the male member 3, that is, toward the inner part of the female member 4. That is, the inner surface 21A of the retaining portion is brought into substantially surface contact with the outer surface 5B of the diameter-expandable portion that has been conically expanded with insertion into the female member 4, and the male member 3 is extracted. It surely blocks it. Further, the core member 20 is configured to be detachable from the female member 4 so as to prevent the male member 3 from being pulled out. Although illustration is omitted, for example, a method of simply attaching the core member 20 to the bottom of the female member 4 with an adhesive tape, or a convex portion provided at an end of the core member 20 and the female member 4 A method of connecting the concave portion provided on the bottom portion with an O-ring having elasticity or the like can be used. According to these configurations, the diameter-expandable portion 5
After the male member 3 is engaged with the core member 20 after the engagement between the core member 20 and the core member 20, the core member 20 can move integrally with the diameter-expandable portion 5. Therefore, the diameter-expandable portion 5
However, the core member 20 effectively prevents the diameter of the core member 20 from being reduced by the retaining portion 21, and the connection between the male member 3 and the female member 4 can be reliably maintained. In addition, although not shown, the outer surface 5B of the diameter-expandable portion is not shown.
If the inner surface 21A of the retaining portion is formed in a rough state, the retaining effect of the male member 3 is further enhanced, which is convenient. For example, a rough surface can be formed by machining the outer surfaces 5B and 21A or applying a paint containing high-hardness particles. In addition, a tapered female member tip inclined surface 22 is formed on the outer surface of the distal end portion of the female member 4 to facilitate engagement with the first concave portion 6. FIG.
In FIG. 3, only the distal end of the female member 4 is tapered, but the entire outer shape of the female member 4 may be tapered. Further, an inclined surface may be formed on the inner surface of the distal end portion of the female member 4 so that the male member 3 can be easily inserted. Alternative Embodiment <1> In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the female member 4 is fixed to the second segment 2 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. The second segment 2
May be configured to be relatively movable with respect to. Then, the connection operation between the segments can be easily performed.
For example, a through hole 23 is formed in the bottom 16 of the female member, and a mounting bolt D penetrates through the through hole 23.
The female member 4 is attached to the second segment 2. That is, the mounting bolt D is passed through the accommodating hole 23 and the female-side mounting hole 24 formed in the second segment 2, and is attached to the outer surface of the mounting bolt D on the back side of the second segment 2. The female nut member 26 is screwed into the formed mounting bolt screw portion 25. Inner diameter φ1 of the through hole 23
Is set to be larger than the outer diameter φ2 of the body 27 of the mounting bolt. The female member 4 can move around the mounting bolt D by the difference between the two. In the mounting bolt D, a mounting bolt step 29 is formed at an end of the mounting bolt D on the head portion 28 side of both ends of the mounting bolt screw portion 25. That is, the outer diameter of the mounting bolt screw portion 25 is set smaller than the outer diameter φ2 of the mounting bolt body. With this configuration, when the female nut member 26 is screwed into the mounting bolt screw portion 25, the female nut member 26 is positioned at a position where the female nut member 26 abuts the mounting bolt step 29. Screwing is prevented. As a result, the distance between the head portion 28 of the mounting bolt and the bottom surface of the second concave portion 19 is set to a fixed length. If this set length is set to be slightly smaller than the thickness of the female member bottom portion 16, for example, the female member 4 is attached to the second segment 2 without play and a predetermined force is applied. Is slidable with respect to the second segment 2. With the above configuration, the connecting operation between the first segment 1 and the second segment 2 can be performed smoothly. That is, even if there is an attachment error of the male member 3 or the female member 4 with respect to the segment or a position setting error of the second segment 2 with respect to the first segment 1, the female member 4 can move. Insertion becomes easy. Even when the female member 4 collides with another object,
Since the female member 4 moves to reduce the impact, the effect of preventing deformation is further enhanced. If the second segment 2 is slidable with respect to the first segment 1 along the connection surface between the two, after the first segment 1 and the second segment 2 are connected, the second segment 2 When another segment is connected to the segment 2, it is convenient because the arrangement of all the segments can be adjusted. For example, when constructing a tunnel, the first segment 1
For the segment ring formed by the second
Assume that the next segment ring is constructed by connecting the segments 2 from the tunnel axis direction and sequentially connecting a plurality of second segments 2 in the circumferential direction. In this case, when the last second segment 2 is installed, it is usually necessary to draw and connect the last second segment 2 and the second segment 2 installed first. According to the configuration of the present invention, since the second segment 2 is relatively movable with respect to the first segment 1, when connecting the last second segment 2, the first second segment 2 is connected to the first second segment 2. There is no gap in the space. The movable member is not limited to the female member 4. The male member 3 may be configured to move, and further, both the female member 4 and the male member 3 may be configured to move. <2> The first segment 1 and the second segment 2 in the above embodiment may be segments themselves, or may be connection members embedded in a concrete segment. In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of use of a connecting device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before connecting the connecting device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state of a connecting device according to another embodiment after connection. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a female side member according to another embodiment. [Description of Signs] 3 Male member 4 Female member 20 Core member 21 Detachable portion A First connected member B Second connected member C Surrounding portion

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Higashihara 1-1-1, Hama, Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo Prefecture Inside Kubota Technology Development Laboratory Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Konno 7-chome Minamienkajima, Taisho-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 22 No. 22 in Kubota Enkajima Plant (56) References JP-A-7-34785 (JP, A) JP-A-7-247796 (JP, A) US Patent 4,830,536 (US, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) E21D 11/04 E21D 11/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] A male member (3) is attached to the first connected member (A).
By providing a female member (4) into which the male member (3) can be inserted into the second connected member (B), and inserting the male member (3) into the female member (4), The first connected member (A) and the second connected member (B) are configured to be freely connectable to each other, and the male member (3) is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. As the male member (3) is inserted into the female member (4), a diameter-expanding mechanism is provided for expanding the distal end of the male member (3), and comes into contact with the outer surface of the enlarged male member (3). A coupling device in which a retaining portion (21) for preventing the male member (3) from falling out of the female member (4) is provided on the female member (4). A surrounding portion (C) is provided on the first connected member (A) to surround the male member (3). The female member (4) is attached to the inside of the portion (C) in a retracted state, and the female member (4) is formed in a convex shape that can be inserted into the internal space of the surrounding portion (C). Core member (20) constituting a part of the diameter expanding mechanism
Is detachably attached to the female member (4).