JP4798373B2 - Quick connector with connection checker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a quick connector used for connecting pipes in a fluid transfer pipe such as a fuel or oil of an automobile, and in particular, it can be easily confirmed at a glance whether or not the pipes are securely connected. The present invention relates to a quick connector with a connection checker.

  For example, in a fuel transfer pipe for an automobile, a joint called a quick connector is widely used as a pipe joint for connecting a fuel pipe. This type of quick connector includes a male connector having an enlarged diameter portion on an outer peripheral portion, a female connector having an insertion port for inserting the male connector and a window portion for inserting a retainer (holding member), and the window And a slide type retainer inserted perpendicularly to the axial direction from the portion. (For example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2)

  In the conventional quick connector, a female connector is attached to one of the fuel pipes, a male connector is attached to the other pipe to be connected, and then the male connector is inserted from the insertion port of the female connector, In this state, the retainer is inserted from the window portion and engaged with the female connector in the retaining state, and at the same time, the retainer and the enlarged diameter portion of the male connector are engaged in the retaining state. As a result, the enlarged diameter portion of the male connector is restrained by the retainer, so that the male connector is prevented from being pulled out from the insertion port of the female connector, and the pipes can be connected to each other.

  In this type of quick connector, if the retainer inserted through the window is not sufficiently pushed, the retainer and the female connector do not engage with each other (hereinafter referred to as the retainer push-in amount in this specification). An insufficient state is referred to as an incompletely pressed state), and since the enlarged diameter portion of the male connector is not restrained by the retainer, the male connector may come off the female connector. If fluid flows through the fuel piping path when the retainer is pushed incompletely, the male connector may rise from the female connector, and fluid may leak from the gap, causing the fuel piping equipment to malfunction. In the worst case, the leaked fuel may catch fire and cause an explosion, leading to a major accident. Therefore, for those who use this type of quick connector, it is very important to check whether the retainer is securely engaged with the female connector and is fully pushed in until the enlarged diameter portion is restrained. This is an important operation (hereinafter, a state in which the retainer is completely pushed in this specification is referred to as a fully pushed state).

However, in the conventional quick connector as described above, when the user checks whether the retainer is in an incompletely pressed state or in a fully pressed state, the user keeps his / her face close to the quick connector to watch the retainer. It has been very troublesome to check the amount of push-in or to apply a force in the direction of pulling out the male connector from the insertion port of the female connector to check whether or not the connector is actually pulled out. Especially when the machine or parts are crowded, or where the pipe connection is narrow, the user cannot bring his face close to the quick connector or put his hand in the gap, so check the push-in state of the retainer. It is not easy to do.
JP 2005-172161 A Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-509232

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a quick connector with a connection checker that can easily and surely confirm whether a retainer is in an incompletely pressed state or a fully pressed state. .

In order to solve the above problems, a quick connector with a connection checker according to the present invention has a male connector having an enlarged diameter portion on an outer peripheral portion, and an insertion for extending the axial connector and inserting the male connector in the axial direction. a female connector having a window for inserting the mouth and retainer consists of a retainer that is inserted at right angles to the axial direction from the window portion, are inserted through the window in the latched condition missing a female connector In the quick connector in which the male connector and the female connector are connected by the engaged retainer restraining the enlarged diameter portion of the male connector inserted from the insertion port, the retainer has a checker. When inserting the retainer from the window part, one end of the checker comes into contact with the male connector, and only the retainer is pushed into the window part, Even without characterized by comprising a state in which a part of the checker protruding from the window portion.

  The checker may be detachably attached to the retainer.

  Furthermore, the checker may have a stopper.

  Since the quick connector with a connection checker of the present invention is configured as described above, whether the retainer is in an incompletely pressed state or a fully pressed state without bringing a face close to the quick connector, Moreover, it can confirm easily and reliably at a glance by the protrusion condition from the window part of a checker, without confirming whether it pulls out by pulling by hand.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings shown as embodiments.

  1 is an exploded perspective view of a quick connector with a connection checker, FIG. 2 is a front view of the quick connector with a connection checker, FIG. 3 is a side view of the quick connector with a connection checker, and FIG. 4 is a retainer with a checker attached. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state of the female connector before being inserted into the window, FIG. 5 is a front view of the retainer with the checker attached in FIG. 4 and the female connector, and FIG. 6 is a female retainer with the checker attached. FIG. 7 is a front view of the retainer to which the checker in FIG. 6 is attached and a female connector, FIG. 8 is a front view of the female connector in the temporarily fixed state in FIG. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state where it is inserted from the insertion slot, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a partial sectional front view showing a state in which the retainer is pushed from the temporarily fixed state to the fully pushed state, and FIG. 11 is a partial sectional front view showing the fully pushed state of the retainer. 12 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the quick connector with connection checker in FIG. 11, FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional bottom view of the quick connector with connection checker in FIG. 11, and FIG. It is a partial cross section front view which shows the back state.

[Overall configuration of quick connector with connection checker]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the quick connector with a connection checker includes a female connector 1, a male connector 2, and a retainer 3 inserted from a window 10 provided in the female connector 1. The checker 4 is detachably attached to the retainer 3.

[About the configuration of each component of the quick connector with connection checker]
The female connector 1 is a resin member, and as shown in FIG. 1, a press-fit mounting portion 11 on the side of mounting a resin pipe or hose (not shown) and a cylindrical housing H having a maximum diameter are press-fitted. The first cylindrical portion 12 and the second cylindrical portion 13 that are sequentially increased in diameter from the mounting portion 11 are integrally formed. In addition, a stepped passage is formed in the axial direction. A plurality of annular raised portions and enlarged portions are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the press-fit mounting portion 11, and the resin pipe and the hose can be reliably connected in a fluid-tight state by attaching the 0 ring. The housing H includes an insertion port 14 into which the male connector 2 is inserted in the axial direction, a window portion 10 into which the retainer 3 is inserted at right angles to the axial direction, and a window portion 10 provided at a position facing the window portion 10. It consists of ´. A 0 ring (not shown) and a top hat for preventing the 0 ring from protruding in the direction of the insertion port 14 are mounted on the inner side of the second cylindrical portion 13, and the female connector 1 and the male connector are mounted. 2 can be connected in a fluid-tight state. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, grooves 16 a and 16 b are provided on the inner wall surface of the housing H.

  The male connector 2 is a member made of metal or resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, is formed as an annular member having an annular enlarged diameter portion F at a position away from the tip end portion 20 by a predetermined distance. ing. The other end of the male connector 2 is provided with a thread so as to be connected to a not-shown counterpart resin tube or hose. In connection with the female connector 1, the male connector 2 is inserted into the insertion port 14 of the female connector 1 from the distal end portion 20 side, and the enlarged diameter portion F is the outer end of the second cylindrical portion 13 in the housing H. When the retainer 3 is inserted into the window portion 10 in a state where it is in contact with the portion (see FIG. 8) and is pushed in until it is completely pushed in (see FIG. 12), the enlarged diameter portion F is restrained by the retainer 3. Removal of the mold connector 2 from the insertion port 14 is prevented.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the retainer 3 is an integrally molded substantially U-shaped member made of resin, and includes an end wall 30 and first and second leg portions 31 a extending substantially parallel to the end wall 30. 31b. Further, the end wall 30 is provided with a recess 32 for accommodating a checker 4 described later. Lock claws 34a and 34b that engage with the window frames 17a and 17b of the window portion 10 'when the retainer 3 is fully pushed are formed near the distal ends of the first leg portion 31a and the second leg portion 31b, respectively. (See FIG. 11). Since the side surfaces of the lock claws 34a and 34b are provided with tapered surfaces extending toward the distal end portions of the leg portions 31a and 31b, when the retainer 3 is inserted into the housing H (window portion 10), The leg portions 31a and 31b are squeezed together.

  Inside the leg portions 31a and 31b, ribs 33a and 33b for holding the outer peripheral portion of the male connector 2 when the retainer is fully pushed are provided (see FIG. 11). Accordingly, the inner surfaces of the ribs 33a and 33b are formed in a curved shape together with the inner surface of the end wall 30 as shown in FIG. Further, by forming the tip portions of the ribs 33a and 33b in a tapered shape, when the retainer 3 is inserted into the housing H (window portion 10), the ribs 33a and 33b are gradually spread along the tapered surface. (See FIG. 10).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the axial length L of the retainer 3 (leg portions 31 a and 31 b) is set to be substantially the same as the axial length of the window portions 10 and 10 ′ of the housing H. When the is fully pushed in, the retainer 3 is not displaced in the axial direction. Further, since the length l in the axial direction of the ribs 33a and 33b is set shorter than the length L in the axial direction of the leg portions 31a and 31b, the male connector 2 is fully pressed when the retainer 3 is fully pushed. The enlarged diameter portion F is accommodated in a space formed between the outer end portion of the second cylindrical portion 13 of the female connector 1 and the retainer 3 (ribs 33a and 33b) (see FIG. 13). F and the retainer 3 are engaged with each other in a retaining state to prevent the male connector 2 from being displaced in the axial direction, and the female connector 1 is prevented from coming off from the insertion port 14.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, while providing the protrusion parts 35a and 35b in the outer surface of the leg parts 31a and 31b of the retainer 3, it attaches this to the window frames 10a and 10b of the window part 10 of the female connector 1. Corresponding notches 15a and 15b may be cut out to form the protrusions 35a and 35b in the notches 15a and 15b, respectively, when the retainer 3 is fully pushed. Thus, as described above, even when the axial length L of the retainer 3 (leg portions 31a and 31b) is not set to be substantially the same as the axial length of the window portions 10 and 10 'of the housing H, the retainer 3 The retainer 3 can also be prevented from being displaced in the axial direction when is fully pushed. Further, since the protrusions 35a and 35b and the notches 15a and 15b are marks, it becomes easy to distinguish the window parts 10 and 10 'that are difficult to distinguish at first glance for the operator, and the retainer 3 is erroneously inserted from the window part 10'. There is no end to it. Further, the protrusions 35a and 35b and the corresponding notches 15a and 15b are provided at positions closer to one end side (in this embodiment, the insertion side of the male connector 2 to the female connector 1 in FIG. 1) than the middle. Thus, since the operator can easily confirm the vertical direction of the retainer 3, the retainer 3 is not inserted upside down with respect to the window portion 10, and the work efficiency is improved.

  The checker 4 is a substantially T-shaped member made of resin. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the checker 4 has a base 41, a first leg 42 a and a second leg 42 b extending from the base 41 substantially in parallel. It can be attached to and detached from the recess 32 of the retainer 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the retainer 3 is attached so that the base portion 41 comes into contact with the constituent wall constituting the recess portion 32 and the leg portion 42 a and the leg portion 42 b are accommodated in the recess portion 32. . At this time, the outer surfaces of the legs 42a and 42b are respectively brought into contact with the constituent walls of the recesses 32 of the retainer 3, so that the outer surfaces of the legs 42a and 42b and the constituent walls of the recesses 32 are interposed. Contact friction is generated, and inadvertent dropping of the checker 4 from the recess 32 is prevented. As shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, the outer surface of the base portion 41 is connected to the outer surface of the end wall 30 and the base portion 41 in a state where the checker 4 is mounted in the recess 32 provided in the end wall 30 of the retainer 3. It is formed in a curved shape so as to be substantially flush with the outer surface. That is, when the retainer 3 to which the checker 4 is attached is inserted into the window 10, the checker 4 does not protrude from the retainer 3. Further, stoppers 43a and 43b having tapered surfaces formed so as to extend toward the base 41 are provided on the outer surfaces of the leg portions 42a and 42b, respectively.

[Checking connection of quick connector with connection checker]
When connecting the above components of the quick connector with the connection checker, first, the outer surface of the base 41 of the checker 4 and the outer surface of the end wall 30 of the retainer 3 are substantially flush as shown in FIG. The checker 4 is fitted and attached to the recess 32 of the retainer 3 so that Next, in this state, as shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, the retainer 3 is inserted at a right angle with respect to the axial direction from the window portion 10 provided in the housing H of the female connector 1. The retainer 3 is pushed in until the lock claws 34a and 34b provided on the legs 31a and 31b engage with the grooves 16a and 16b in the housing H (referred to as a temporarily fixed state in this specification). However, when the product is shipped from the factory in the temporarily fixed state, the above operation of inserting the retainer 3 into the window 10 of the female connector 1 is not necessary. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the male connector 2 is inserted from the insertion port 14 of the female connector 1, and the enlarged diameter portion F of the male connector 2 is within the housing H and the outer end of the second cylindrical portion 13. Push until it hits the part. Subsequently, the retainer 3 in the temporarily fixed state is replaced with a window of the window portion 10 ′ in which the lock claws 34 a and 34 b of the leg portions 31 a and 31 b of the retainer 3 are provided in the housing H as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. It pushes in until it engages with the frames 17a and 17b (that is, until it is fully pushed). The retainer 3 is engaged with the female connector 1 in a state of being prevented from being detached by the hooks of the lock claws 34a and 34b on the window frames 17a and 17b. In inserting the retainer 3, as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, when the tips of the ribs 33a and 33b of the retainer 3 abut against the outer periphery of the male connector 2, the ribs 33a and 33b are moved along the taper surface. The ribs 33a and 33b are pushed in while being gradually expanded, and finally the curved surfaces inside the ribs 33a and 33b hold the outer peripheral portion of the male connector 1. In such a fully pushed-in state, the lock claws 34a and 34b and the window frames 17a and 17b are engaged with each other, so that the retainer 3 is prevented from coming off from the housing H (female connector 1) and has an enlarged diameter. The engagement between the portion F and the retainer 3 prevents the male connector 2 from coming off from the insertion port 14.

  In addition, it is not essential to set the retainer 3 as described above to the temporarily fixed state, and the retainer 3 may be pushed into the fully pushed state at once.

  In the process of pushing the retainer 3 to the fully pushed-in state as described above, the checker 4 has the leg portions 42a and 42b of the checker 4 that abut against the male connector 2, so that the window portion 10 ( It is not inserted into the housing H), and a part of the checker 4 remains in a state of protruding from the window 10 as shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. At this time, since the stoppers 43a and 43b are provided on the side walls of the leg portions 42a and 42b of the checker 4, the stoppers 43a and 43b are provided on the constituent walls of the recess 32 of the retainer 3 as shown in FIG. The grooves 32a and 32b are fitted to prevent the checker 4 from being accidentally dropped from the retainer 3 and further to prevent its loss.

  The extent to which part of the checker 4 protrudes from the window portion 10 in the fully pushed state is determined by the length of the leg portions 42a and 42b of the checker 4, but can be recognized at a glance from the fully pushed state. It is preferable that the length is such that the protrusion can be confirmed by touching with a finger. Therefore, when the amount of pushing of the retainer 3 into the window portion 10 is insufficient and the operation is finished in an incomplete pushing state, the checker 4 may not protrude from the window portion 10 or may protrude. Since it cannot be said that it is a fixed amount of protrusion, the male connector 2 is not completely connected to the female connector 1, and reconfirmation is required.

  In this embodiment, since the checker 4 is detachably attached to the recess 32 of the retainer 3, as shown in FIG. 14, the retainer 3 is released by releasing the locked state between the stoppers 43a and 43b and the grooves 32a and 32b. Can be removed and recovered. The checker 4 is made of a resin having elasticity, and the stoppers 43a and 43b are provided with tapered surfaces extending toward the base 41, so that the stoppers 43a and 43b are fitted in the grooves 32a and 32b. Even in this case, the engaged state can be easily released by pulling out the checker 4 with a certain amount of force. As described above, after the work is completed, the checkers 4 are collected and the number of the checkers 4 is confirmed to easily check whether there is an incomplete push-in state such as a forget to insert or push in the retainer 3 or a lack of push-in of the retainer 3 later. Can be confirmed. For example, when the number of the collected checkers 4 is smaller than the total number of used quick connectors, it means that the retainer has been forgotten to be inserted or pushed in, or the amount of pushing of the retainer is insufficient. By making the checker 4 attachable to and detachable from the retainer 3, the user can bring his face close to the machine or parts where the machine or parts are crowded, or where the pipe connection is narrow, or put the hand in the gap. It is possible to easily and surely confirm at a glance whether the retainer is in an incompletely pushed state or in a fully pushed state only by checking the number of the collected checkers 4 even at a connection place where it is impossible. .

The disassembled perspective view of the quick connector with a connection checker of this invention. The front view of the quick connector with a connection checker of this invention. The side view of the quick connector with a connection checker of this invention. The perspective view which shows the state before the retainer to which the checker was attached is inserted in the window part of a female connector. The front view of the retainer and female connector to which the checker in FIG. 4 was attached. The perspective view which shows the state in which the retainer to which the checker was attached was temporarily fixed to the female connector. The front view of the retainer and female connector to which the checker in FIG. 6 was attached. The partial cross section side view which shows the state by which the male connector was inserted from the insertion port of the female connector in the temporary fix | stop state in FIG. The partial cross section front view of the state in which the male connector in FIG. 8 was inserted in the female connector. The partial cross section front view which shows a mode that a retainer is pushed from a temporary fix | stop state to a fully pushing state. The partial cross section front view which shows the fully pushing state of a retainer. The partial cross section side view of the quick connector with a connection confirmation checker in FIG. The partial cross section bottom view of the quick connector with a connection checker in FIG. The partial cross section front view which shows the state after collect | recovering a checker in the fully pushing state of a retainer.

Explanation of symbols

F Expanded diameter section H Housing 1 Female connector 2 Male connector 3 Retainer 4 Checker

Claims (3)

A male connector having an enlarged diameter portion on an outer peripheral portion, a female connector having an insertion port for inserting the male connector in the axial direction and a window portion for inserting a retainer , extending in the axial direction ; consists of a retainer that is inserted at right angles to the axial direction from the window portion, are inserted through the window retainer engaged in stopping state exit the female connector, expansion diameter of the inserted male connector from the insertion opening In the quick connector in which the male connector and the female connector are connected by restraining the portion, the retainer has a checker, and when inserting the retainer from the window portion, one end of the checker is connected to the male connector. The connection connector, wherein only the retainer is pushed into the window, and at least a part of the checker protrudes from the window. Checker with a quick connector. The quick connector with a connection checker according to claim 1, wherein the checker is detachably attached to the retainer. The quick connector with a connection checker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the checker has a stopper.

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