JP4094113B2 - Fitting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a joint device for piping.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, since a fuel system pipe of an automobile passes between a large number of equipments, it is necessary to smoothly connect the pipes using a plurality of pipes, and thus a connector structure is often used. As such a conventional example, a structure as shown in FIG. 8 is known. Briefly describing the structure, a housing hole 52 capable of receiving the pipe 51 is formed inside the connector body 50, and the pipe 51 is provided with a substantially C-shape at the entrance side and can be expanded and deformed. The stopper ring 53 holds the stopper. In order to secure a seal, the connector main body 50 has a structure in which an O-ring 54, a spacer 55, an O-ring 56, and a pressing tool 57 are incorporated in order from the back.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, the structure shown in FIG. 8 is a specification used especially in a place where high sealing performance is required, and there are many parts that are applied to the seal, and the structure is complicated. However, even if this point is excluded, the members (holding members 57) for holding the O-rings 54 and 56 and the members for preventing the pipe 51 from coming off (the retaining ring 53) are provided as dedicated members. Therefore, it can be said that there is enough room to simplify the structure.
The present invention has been developed in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joint device capable of simplifying the structure.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes an outer housing that can be connected to one of the two pipes to be connected, an outer housing that can be incorporated in the outer housing, and that can be incorporated into the outer housing. A joint device comprising an inner housing capable of receiving the pipe body and a seal member disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the other pipe body, wherein the seal member is disposed at the front portion of the inner housing. A pressing surface that can be pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the tube is formed, and the rear portion engages with a bulge formed on the outer peripheral surface of the other tube to prevent the tube from coming off. deformable lock arm flexing is formed, the inner housing can accommodate a and and the book has a body portion of the inner allow insertion of the other pipe body cylindrical in the outer housing At least a pair of the lock arms are formed to extend in the axial direction and bendably deformed at the rear end edge of the portion, and the wall surface of the outer housing is engaged with each lock arm in the circumferential direction of the inner housing. A slip prevention portion is formed to prevent slippage, and a retaining pawl that is elastically deformable inward and outward of the main body portion is formed on the side surface of the main body portion, while a locking window is opened in the outer housing. When the inner housing is guided to be inserted into the outer housing while engaging the slip prevention portion and the lock arm, and the assembly is completed in the outer housing, the retaining pawl is The inner housing is locked to the hole edge of the stop window to prevent the inner housing from coming off from the outer housing .
[0005]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the outer housing is formed of a hard resin material in a cylindrical shape, while the inner housing can be incorporated into the outer housing and The outer housing is formed of a material having higher elasticity than that of the outer housing.
[0007]
Operation and effect of the invention
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when both pipe bodies are connected, both the outer and inner housings are kept in a connected state. When one tube is connected to the outer housing and the other tube is inserted into the inner housing, the lock arm is bent and engaged with the bulge, so that this tube is prevented from coming off. Held in a state. And since the pressing surface of this tubular body presses the sealing member and prevents it from coming off by inserting the other tubular body, the sealing performance against the tubular body is ensured. Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inner housing can perform both pressing of the sealing member and retaining against the other tube body, so the number of components is reduced as compared with the conventional case. Can be made.
Further, when the inner housing is assembled into the outer housing, each lock arm is engaged with the corresponding stopper. Thereby, even if the inner housing is going to be displaced in the circumferential direction, the displacement operation is restricted by the contact of each lock arm with the stopper. Therefore, the assembled state of the inner and outer housings becomes stable.
[0008]
In the joint device of the present invention, since the outer and inner housings are formed separately, they can be formed of different materials. Therefore, if the inner housing provided with the lock arm selects a material having higher elasticity as in the second aspect of the invention, the lock arm can bend smoothly and the insertion work of the other tube can be performed with a light force. sell. Further, if a hard material is selected as the material of the outer housing into which such an inner housing is incorporated, the inner housing can be protected.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example of a joint device used in a portion for connecting a tube T (one tube of the present invention) and a pipe P (the other tube of the present invention) (not shown) of a fuel system pipe of an automobile is shown. I will explain to you. However, what is used here has a lower pressure of the fluid flowing in the pipe P than the joint device shown in FIG. 8, and as shown in FIG. A strict seal is not required. The pipe P is made of metal, and a bulge portion B is formed in a hook shape over the entire circumference at a position near the tip.
As shown in FIG. 1, the coupling device in this embodiment includes an outer housing 1 connected to the tube T, an inner housing 2 that is incorporated in the outer housing 1 and can be inserted through the pipe P, and an inner housing 1. And a seal ring 3 which is arranged to be prevented from being detached by the inner housing 2.
[0011]
The outer housing 1 is integrally formed of, for example, glass-filled 12 nylon, and a through hole 4 is formed in the shaft center. Further, an insertion tube 5 formed in a tapered cylindrical shape extends in the front half of the outer housing 1 along the axial direction and can be inserted into the tube T. Further, in order to prevent the tube T from coming off easily in the insertion tube 5, a plurality of projecting edges 6 are formed on the outer periphery in an annular shape at regular pitch intervals.
In addition, a short cylindrical connecting portion 7 is formed continuously on the insertion tube 5, and a larger diameter receiving tube portion 8 is formed coaxially with the connecting portion 7. Yes. The connecting portion 7 and the receiving cylinder portion 8 are formed so that the pipe P can be inserted, and a boundary portion between the connecting portion 7 and the receiving cylinder portion 8 in the outer housing 1 forms a step so as to contact the seal ring 3. It is a locking step surface 9 that can be contacted. Further, a pair of notch recesses 10 (corresponding to the shift preventing portion of the present invention) are formed on the side wall surface of the receiving tube portion 8. Both cut-out recesses 10 are for fitting lock arms 11 of the inner housing 2 to be described later, and are cut into a rectangular shape along the axial direction from the rear end surface of the receiving tube portion 8. Furthermore, a pair of locking windows 12 are opened at positions near the connection portion 7 on the side wall surface of the receiving tube portion 8 and orthogonal to the notch recesses 10.
[0012]
The inner housing 2 is integrally formed of a material having higher elasticity than the outer housing 1 (for example, 12 nylon). The inner housing 2 has a cylindrical main body portion 13 into which the pipe P can be inserted, and is set to have an inner diameter that is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the connection portion 7 of the outer housing 1. The front end surface of the main body 13 serves as a pressing surface 14 for pressing the seal ring 3 against the locking step surface 9. Further, a pair of retaining claws 15 are arranged on the side surface of the main body 13. Both retaining claws 15 are formed so that they can be elastically deformed in the inner and outer directions (the radial direction of the main body 13), and when the inner housing 2 is assembled in the outer housing 1, The inner housing 2 can be prevented from coming off by being locked to the hole edge.
[0013]
In addition, a pair of lock arms 11 for preventing the pipe P from coming off are erected on the rear end edge of the main body 13, and both the lock arms 11 are arranged at a position orthogonal to the both retaining claws 15. Has been. The lock arms 11 once extend horizontally outward in the radial direction at the rear end edge of the main body 13 and then extend in the axial direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the lock arms 11 have such a length that the tip of the lock arm 11 is substantially flush with the tip of the receiving tube portion 8 when the inner housing 2 is assembled into the outer housing 1. The dimension of the lock arm 11 projecting outward is set so that the back surface of the lock arm 11 is substantially flush with the outer surface of the receiving tube portion 8 when assembled. Furthermore, both the lock arms 11 can be deformed outwardly, and when the pipe P is inserted, both the lock arms 11 are deformed between the claw portions 11a formed at their tip portions. The bulge part B of the pipe P is sandwiched and held in a retaining state. However, a tapered chamfer 16 is applied to the inner surface of the claw portion 11a located on the distal end side so that the pipe P can be smoothly inserted.
[0014]
Next, the effect of this embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. When the pipe P is carried into the insertion site, the outer housing 1 and the inner housing 2 are assembled. That is, first, the seal ring 3 is inserted into the outer housing 1 and brought into contact with the locking step surface 9. Next, the inner housing 2 is inserted into the receiving tube portion 8 of the outer housing 1 from the main body portion 13 side, and the both retaining claws 15 are elastically locked to the hole edges of the corresponding locking windows 12. As a result, the inner housing 2 is held in a state of being prevented from being detached from the outer housing 1. At this time, both lock arms 11 are respectively fitted in the corresponding notch recesses 10 of the outer housing 1.
Then, the insertion cylinder 5 of the outer housing 1 is inserted into the distal end portion of the tube T, and insertion is performed until the distal end of the tube T reaches the connection portion 7.
[0015]
In the connection site of the pipe P, the pipe P is first inserted into the receiving tube portion 8 of the outer housing 1. During this time, when the bulge portion B of the pipe P passes through the claw portion 11a, the entire lock arm 11 is bent while protruding outward from the receiving tube portion 8, as shown in FIG. Permissible. After the passage, when the end of the pipe P is inserted until reaching the step at the boundary between the connecting portion 7 and the insertion tube 5, the lock arm 11 is elastically restored, so that the claw portion 11a holds the bulge portion B therebetween. Therefore, the pipe P is held in both housings so as not to come off.
Thus, the connection between the pipe P and the tube T is completed. At this time, the pipe P is pressed against the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the pipe P by the insertion of the inner housing 2 as described above, and a good sealing state is ensured. ing.
[0016]
As described above, in the joint device of the present embodiment, the inner housing 2 can be a dual-purpose member that simultaneously prevents the seal ring 3 and the pipe P from being detached. The structure can be simplified. Further, since the inner housing 2 is formed of a material having higher elasticity than the outer housing 1, the lock arm 11 is easily bent, and the operability is excellent. In addition, since the inner housing 2 is accommodated in the outer housing 1 made of a material having higher strength, it is effective for avoiding damage to the inner housing 2. Furthermore, since the inner housing 2 is configured such that the lock arms 11 are fitted into the cutout recess 10 of the outer housing 1 with almost no gap, displacement of the inner housing 2 in the circumferential direction is restricted, and both the outer and inner housings are restricted. Assembling relationship can be made stable. Furthermore, since the inner housing 2 is inserted while the notch recess 10 and the lock arm 11 are engaged, the insertion can be guided by these.
[0017]
The present invention can be modified in various ways, and the following modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The numbers of the lock arm 11, the retaining claws 15 and the corresponding locking windows 12 should not be limited.
(2) The locking window 12 does not necessarily have to be the through-hole 4 but may be a recess formed by cutting out the inner wall surface of the outer housing 1.
(3) In the present embodiment, the notch recess 10 is shown as the circumferential displacement preventing portion of the inner housing 2, but instead of this, two strips along the axial direction are provided on the inner wall surface of the outer housing 1. A protrusion may be formed, and the lock arms 11 may be sandwiched between them to engage with each other. In that case, the lock arm 11 may not be configured to protrude outward.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a coupling device. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a pipe connection operation in a state where an inner housing is assembled in an outer housing. FIG. 3 shows a state before the inner housing is assembled to the outer housing. Cross-sectional view [Fig. 4] Cross-sectional view showing the state in which the inner housing is assembled. [Fig. 5] Cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Fig. 4. [Fig. 6] Cross-sectional view showing the pipe being inserted. FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional joint device.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer housing 2 ... Inner housing 3 ... Seal ring 11 ... Lock arm 13 ... Main-body part 14 ... Holding surface 15 ... Stopping claw B ... Bulge part P ... Pipe (tube body)
T ... Tube (Tube)

Claims (2)

An outer housing connectable to one of the two tubular bodies to be connected, an inner housing that can be assembled in the outer housing while being prevented from coming off and can receive the other tubular body, and the other pipe A joint device comprising a seal member disposed on an outer peripheral surface of a body, wherein a pressing surface is provided at a front portion of the inner housing so as to prevent the seal member from being pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the outer housing. Is formed, and at the rear part is formed a lockable deformable lock arm that engages with a bulge formed on the outer peripheral surface of the other tubular body and prevents the tubular body from coming off,
The inner housing has a cylindrical main body portion that can be accommodated in the outer housing and into which the other tube body can be inserted, and at least a pair of the lock arms is provided at the rear end edge of the main body portion. , Extending in an axial direction so as to be able to bend and deformed, and on the wall surface of the outer housing is formed a detent portion that engages with each of the lock arms and deters the circumferential displacement of the inner housing,
Further, a retaining pawl that is elastically deformable inward and outward of the main body is formed on a side surface of the main body, while a locking window is formed in the outer housing, and the inner housing When the assembly is completed in the outer housing while being inserted and guided into the outer housing while engaging the slip stopper and the lock arm, the retaining pawl is locked to the hole edge of the locking window, The joint device is characterized in that the inner housing is prevented from being detached from the outer housing .   The outer housing is formed in a cylindrical shape with a hard resin material, while the inner housing is formed of a material that can be incorporated into the outer housing and has higher elasticity than the outer housing. The joint device according to claim 1.

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