JP4410544B2 - Flange member for piping installation - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe mounting flange member used for, for example, a pipe of an automotive air conditioner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pipe mounting flange member (hereinafter referred to as a flange member) for mounting an aluminum pipe member to a fixed portion is made of a material such as aluminum having a strength equal to or higher than that of the pipe member. The flange member is provided with a pipe mounting hole to which the pipe is fixed and a bolt mounting hole into which a bolt is inserted.

  As a method of fixing the pipe to the pipe mounting hole, the pipe mounting hole is inserted into the pipe (or the pipe is inserted into the pipe mounting hole), the flange member is moved to an arbitrary position, Some pipes are joined by welding. As another fixing method, as shown in Patent Document 1, after inserting a pipe into a pipe mounting hole, a part of the pipe is expanded outward, or the pipe is minimally bent, There are some which fix the flange member by caulking.

On the other hand, the bolt inserted into the bolt mounting hole is fastened to a fixing portion, for example, the vehicle body side of the automobile. With these structures, the flange member attached to an arbitrary position of the pipe can attach the pipe to the fixed portion.
JP 2002-130561 A

  However, in order to produce the above-mentioned aluminum flange member, a material such as aluminum must be extruded by the primary manufacturer and then cut, cut, and deburred by the secondary manufacturer. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the flange member is increased, and it is difficult to reduce the cost of a single product. Therefore, it has been studied to integrally form the flange member with a resin molded product.

  On the other hand, a flange member formed of resin (hereinafter referred to as a resin flange member) is weaker than a flange member formed of aluminum or the like in terms of strength. In order to make the resin flange member as strong as aluminum, the thickness of the resin flange member must be 1.5 to 3 times that of aluminum. At this thickness, the resin flange member is attached. If there is not enough space for it, it cannot be used.

  Moreover, when a bolt is inserted into a bolt mounting hole and the bolt is fastened, the resin flange member may sag on the mounting surface of the resin flange member due to the fastening force. Therefore, a gap is generated between the mounting surface of the resin flange member and the bolt, and the bolt may be loosened. Further, in order to prevent sagging, a metal collar can be inserted along the inner peripheral surface of the bolt mounting hole, and the fastening force can be received by the collar. However, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated collar for each type of bolt diameter, which increases the cost.

  Furthermore, when the pipe is caulked and fixed to the pipe mounting hole of the resin flange member, a crack may occur due to the force caulking the circumferential portion of the pipe mounting hole.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a resin-made flange member that is lightweight, has high dimensional accuracy, and has a small number of processing steps. Another object of the present invention is to provide a resin-made flange member that does not cause loosening of the bolt even when the bolt is fastened, and that does not cause a crack in the circumferential portion of the mounting hole when it is caulked to the pipe.

  A flange main body having a bolt mounting hole and a pipe mounting hole is provided, a metal pipe is mounted in the pipe mounting hole, a bolt is inserted into the bolt mounting hole, and the bolt is fastened to a fixing portion to connect the pipe. In the flange member for pipe attachment used to attach the bolt to the fixed portion, the flange main body is integrally formed of resin, and a pin is disposed along the axis of the hole at the periphery of the bolt attachment hole.

The pins are formed so as to extend over the entire length of the bolt mounting hole, and at least two pins are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the bolt mounting hole.
Furthermore, a plurality of protrusions are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe attachment hole, and the protrusions are formed so as to extend in the axial direction of the pipe attachment hole.

  According to the present invention, since the flange main body is integrally formed with the resin molded product, the weight of the product can be reduced. Moreover, a product with high dimensional accuracy can be manufactured. Furthermore, the number of processes for manufacturing the pipe mounting flange member can be reduced.

In addition, since the pin is press-fitted or insert-molded into the edge of the bolt mounting hole, the fastening force of the bolt is received not only by the mounting surface made of resin but also by the pin, improving the strength of the flange member for pipe mounting Can be achieved. Further, since the pin is formed so as to extend over the entire length of the bolt mounting hole, the mounting surface of the resin portion does not sag and the bolt can be easily loosened.
Furthermore, since it can be manufactured using one type of pin regardless of the hole diameter of the bolt mounting hole, costs such as management costs can be reduced.

  Furthermore, when a plurality of ridges are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the flange body and the ridges are formed so as to extend in the axial direction of the pipe mounting hole, when the pipe is expanded The outer peripheral surface of the aluminum pipe can be bitten into the ridge portion and fixed by the force generated in the above. And it can prevent that a crack generate | occur | produces in the internal peripheral surface of a pipe attachment hole by disperse | distributing the force by expansion by the part which the area of the internal peripheral surface of the said pipe attachment hole increased.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a pipe mounting flange member 2 (hereinafter referred to as a resin flange member 2) integrally formed of resin is attached to an aluminum pipe 1 used for an automotive air conditioner, for example. Yes.

  The resin flange member 2 is formed of a flange body 9 and pins 7 as shown in FIG. The flange main body 9 is formed in a substantially gourd shape as if two circles are arranged side by side when viewed from above. A pipe mounting hole 3 and a bolt mounting hole 4 are provided apart from each other in the center of each of the two circles in the axial direction of each circle (the thickness direction of the flange main body 9). Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), an upper mounting surface 2 a and a lower mounting surface 2 b are provided on the upper and lower portions of the flange body 9 substantially in parallel with the surface orthogonal to the axis of the pipe mounting hole 3. Yes.

  The pipe 1 is inserted into the pipe mounting hole 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of protrusions 5 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe mounting hole 3 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The protrusion 5 protrudes in the center direction of the pipe attachment hole 3 and is formed so as to extend over the entire length of the pipe attachment hole 3 in the axial direction. The number of the ridges 5 can be changed depending on the diameter of the pipe mounting hole 3. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the pipe mounting hole 3 is 12 mm, and the number of the protrusions 5 is fifteen.

  As shown in FIG. 3, which is an enlarged view of the portion A in FIG. 2A, the shape of the protrusion 5 is narrower toward the center of the pipe mounting hole 3. The tip 5a of the ridge 5 is formed in an arc shape so as to contact the outer peripheral shape of the pipe 1. The inner diameter of the pipe mounting hole 3 can be freely changed according to the outer diameter of the pipe 1 by exchanging a part of the molding die of the resin flange member 2.

A bolt for mounting (not shown) is inserted into the bolt mounting hole 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, a pin press-fit lower hole 6 is provided at the edge of the bolt mount hole 4 at a position where the bolt mount hole 4 is divided into four in the circumferential direction. The hole 6 penetrates along the axis 4 a of the bolt mounting hole 4. A pin 7 is press-fitted into the pin press-fit pilot hole 6.
The bolt mounting hole 4 is formed in an elliptical shape extending in a direction away from the pipe mounting hole 3 so that the screw holes provided in the fixing portion can be easily aligned.

  As the pin 7, a standard parallel pin or a split pin defined by JIS is used, and the diameter of the pin 7 is about 2 mm. As shown in FIG. 2B, the length of the pin 7 is the same as the total length in the axial direction of the bolt mounting hole 4, and both ends of the pin 7 are connected to the upper mounting surface 2a and the lower mounting surface, respectively. It is arranged so as to be flush with the surface 2b.

  The jig 10 shown in FIG. 4A is used in a process of expanding the pipe 1 after inserting the pipe mounting hole 3 of the resin flange member 2 into the pipe 1 and attaching the resin flange member 2 to the pipe 1. ing. The jig 10 is divided into two parts (10a, 10b), and the jigs 10a, 10b can be divided into left and right after the pipe 1 is expanded. As shown in FIG. 4B, a flange fitting groove 12 into which the outside of the resin flange member 2 is fitted and a pipe fitting into which the outside of the pipe 1 is fitted into the side surface 11 of the left jig 10a. A groove 13 is provided. The depth of the flange member fitting groove 12 is approximately the same as the thickness of the resin flange member 2. The overlapping surface of the right jig 10b to be combined with the left jig 10a is provided with the same flange member fitting groove and pipe fitting groove as the overlapping surface of the left jig 10a. . By using this jig 10, the resin flange member 2 is prevented from being broken by a force acting when the pipe 1 is expanded.

Next, the procedure for attaching the pipe 1 to the fixed portion using the resin flange member 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention and the operation at that time will be described.
(1) The pipe mounting hole 3 is inserted into the pipe 1 and the resin flange member 2 is moved to an arbitrary position along the longitudinal direction of the pipe 1.
(2) The jig 10 is attached from both side surfaces of the resin flange member 2 and the pipe 1.
(3) The portion of the pipe 1 located below the flange body 9 is expanded outward so as to contact the lower mounting surface 2b of the resin flange member 2. Thereby, the piping 1 and the resin flange member 2 are fixed. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 1 in contact with the protrusion 5 is pressed toward the outer side of the pipe 1 by the pressure due to the expansion, and the aluminum material of the pipe 1 bites into the protrusion 5.
(4) The jig 10 is divided and removed in the left-right direction.

(5) The lower mounting surface 2b (or upper mounting surface 2a) of the resin flange member 2 is brought into contact with a fixing portion (not shown), and the screw holes or nuts provided in the fixing portion and the axis of the bolt mounting hole 4 are aligned. Then, the bolt is inserted into the bolt mounting hole 4 from the upper mounting surface 2a side (or the lower mounting surface 2b side), and the bolt is tightened.
(6) The fastening force of the bolt that has been fastened acts not only on the upper and lower mounting surfaces 2a and 2b formed of resin, but also on the pin 7, so that the fastening of the bolt is not loosened.

According to the present invention, the weight of the resin flange member 2 can be reduced as compared with the aluminum flange. Moreover, since the flange main body 9 is resin-molded, a product with high dimensional accuracy can be manufactured. Furthermore, the number of manufacturing steps of the resin flange member 2 can be reduced.
Further, the fastening force of the bolt can be received not only by the mounting surfaces 2a and 2b formed of resin but also by the pin 7. Thereby, since no sag occurs on the mounting surfaces 2a and 2b, no gap is generated between the mounting surfaces 2a and 2b and the bolt, and the bolt can be easily loosened. Furthermore, since the standard pin according to JIS standard is used, it can be obtained at low cost.

  Furthermore, a plurality of ridges 5 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe mounting hole 3, and the ridges 5 extend over the entire length of the pipe mounting hole in the axial direction. The aluminum pipe can be bitten into the ridge 5 by the force generated when it is opened and fixed. And it can prevent that a crack generate | occur | produces in the internal peripheral surface of the pipe attachment hole 3 by disperse | distributing the force by expansion by the part which the area of the internal peripheral surface increased.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the pin 7 is press-fitted after the molding of the flange main body 9 has been described. However, when the flange main body 9 is integrally molded, the pin can be integrally formed by insert molding. With this molding method, the number of processing steps can be further reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the axis of the pipe mounting hole 3 and the screw mounting hole 4 are oriented in substantially the same direction has been described. However, these axes are free depending on the positional relationship between the pipe 1 and the fixing portion. Can be changed. For example, the axis of the screw mounting hole 4 can be provided in a plane orthogonal to the axis of the pipe mounting hole 3. Moreover, the shape of the resin flange member 2 does not need to be a gourd shape, and can be freely changed by arrangement.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, instead of expanding the pipe 1, the resin flange member 2 can be fixed by using the minimal bending portion 8 of the pipe 1. In this minimal bending, the bending portion 8 of the pipe 1 is formed by making the bending R of the pipe 1 as small as possible.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the flange member for flange piping attachment which concerns on embodiment of this invention to piping. (A) is a top view of the flange member for piping attachment which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the BB line of (a). It is a flange member for pipe attachment which concerns on embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is the figure which expanded the A section shown to Fig.2 (a). (A) is a front view of a left and right split jig used for expanding a pipe in order to attach the pipe mounting flange member according to the embodiment of the present invention to the pipe. It is the side view which looked at the jig | tool on the left side of a) from the mating surface side of the jig | tool. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fixed the flange member for piping attachment which concerns on other embodiment of this invention with the expansion part and the minimum bending part.

Explanation of symbols

1 Piping 2 Piping mounting flange member (resin flange member)
2a Upper mounting surface 2b Lower mounting surface 3 Piping mounting hole 4 Bolt mounting hole 4a Axis 5 Projection 5a Tip 6 Pin press-fitting lower hole 7 Pin 8 Minimal bending portion 9 Flange body 10 Jig 10a Jig (left side)
10b Jig (right side)
11 Expanded side surface 12 Flange member fitting groove 13 Pipe fitting groove

Claims (3)

A flange main body having a bolt mounting hole and a pipe mounting hole is provided, a metal pipe is mounted in the pipe mounting hole, a bolt is inserted into the bolt mounting hole, and the bolt is fastened to a fixing portion to connect the pipe. In the flange member for pipe mounting used to mount the
A pipe mounting flange member, wherein the flange main body is integrally formed of resin, and a pin is disposed along the axis of the hole at the periphery of the bolt mounting hole.   The said pin is formed so that it may extend over the full length of the said bolt attachment hole, and the said pin is provided at least 2 or more at intervals in the circumferential direction of the said bolt attachment hole. Flange member for pipe installation.   A plurality of protrusions are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe attachment hole at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the protrusions are formed so as to extend in the axial direction of the pipe attachment hole. The flange member for piping attachment of Claim 1 or Claim 2.

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