JP4880738B2 - Fluid passage connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is connected to a connection port to which a fluid opened at a predetermined position is supplied by a supplied fluid pressure, supplies the fluid in the connected state, stops supplying the fluid, and lowers the fluid pressure. It is related with the fluid passage connector which will be in a disconnected state if it is made.

  As shown in Patent Document 1, there is a press provided with a fluid passage in a die fixed to a bolster of a press machine or a base surface of a slide so that another fluid passage can be connected to and disconnected from the fluid passage. It is known that the supply passage side provided with a connecting portion at the tip of the hose is moved forward and backward so as to be in a connected state during forward movement. The connected fluid passage (die side fluid passage) is opened on the side of the die, the supply side fluid passage (hose side fluid passage) connects the hose to the fluid passage in the movable block, A connecting member having an internal passage connected to the fluid passage is provided. The connecting member has a supply passage opened at the tip, and is biased by a spring so as to protrude from the front surface of the movable block. By advancing the movable block, the front end opening of the connecting member is pressed against the biasing spring so as to match the opening of the fluid to be connected, and is held in its advanced position to be in a connected state. The fluid is supplied after this connection state. The movable block may have a configuration in which not only one movable block but also a plurality of connecting members are provided in one movable block, and fluid supply passages are separately connected to the respective connecting members. In this configuration, an actuator such as an air cylinder is used because the movable block is moved forward for connection.

JP 2005-114122 A

  In the prior art, when connecting and disconnecting a connected port to which a fluid is supplied facing away from and a connecting port that supplies fluid, the member side (movable block) having the connection port is driven forward. An actuator such as an air cylinder is required. In the prior art, since it is a moving type using a movable block, it is possible to connect using movement. However, depending on the situation of use, the movable block-shaped one may be in a fixed position and can be simply connected and disconnected. For example, when the exchanged molds are all provided with the supply port at the same position, it is not always necessary to move the movable block from the position of the end of the base. However, even in such a case, that is, when the tip of the supply-side fluid passage is brought into contact with and pressed from a position close to the connection port to some extent, an actuator is required. An object of the present invention is to allow connection and disconnection operations to be performed in a state where a portion corresponding to the movable block provided with a supply side fluid passage is fixed at a fixed position. It is to provide a connector having a configuration that is not required separately.

  In the fluid passage connector according to the present invention, the fixed portion is provided with a cylindrical inner hole having a distal end opened at the distal end of the supply passage on the fluid supply side. A piston is fitted into the cylindrical inner hole. A spool is inserted into the inner hole of the piston, and the spool is supported so as to be movable in a predetermined axial direction. The fluid passage opens inside the tip, reaches the fluid passage from an outer peripheral surface, and reaches the fluid passage. And a communication hole that is opened and closed by the inner peripheral surface. The fluid passage and the connected port are connected in a state in which the tip of the spool is brought into contact with the peripheral portion of the opening of another connected hole. The supply passage is in a fluid supply stop state, the spool is in a retracted position relative to the fixed portion, and the piston is in a retracted position with the communication hole closed, and the supply passage is in a fluid supply state. Thus, the spool moves forward with the piston within the range of the predetermined size by the fluid pressure and comes into contact with the periphery of the opening of the connected hole, and then the piston moves forward to the position where the communication hole is opened. The inner hole communicates with the fluid passage.

  This fluid passage connector has a predetermined distance so that the tip of the spool in the retracted position faces the connected port to which fluid is to be supplied and can contact the periphery of the connected port when the spool advances. The fixing part is used in a fixed state with a gap within the range of. When the fluid supply is stopped, the spool is retracted, and when the supply passage enters the fluid supply state, the spool first advances, the tip abuts against the periphery of the connection port, and the fluid passage inside the spool is connected to the connection port. Then, when the piston in the retracted position moves forward, the communication hole of the spool is opened and the supply passage is connected to the connected port via the communication hole and the fluid passage.

  In the fluid passage connector, when the supply passage is in a fluid supply stop state, piston urging means for retracting the piston to a retracted position where the communication hole is closed, and spool urging force to retract the spool to the retracted position And means are preferably provided. In this configuration, when the fluid supply is stopped, the piston is retracted, the communication hole is closed, and the spool is retracted, so that the original fluid supply stop state can be restored. The piston urging means and the spool urging means are preferably formed by springs.

  The spool is formed such that the fluid passage inside the spool is extended rearward at the spool rear end to open the supply passage, a valve chamber is provided in the middle of the extension forming portion, and the valve is opened to the outer surface of the extension forming portion. The valve body is provided with a chamber communication hole, a valve seat is provided on the spool front end side of the valve chamber, the valve body is accommodated in the valve chamber, and fluid is supplied to the supply passage, whereby the valve body is seated on the valve seat. Then, it is preferable that the valve is closed and the valve is opened by discharging the fluid in the supply passage. When the fluid to be supplied is a gas that can be discharged into the atmosphere, such as air, the supply path is normally released to the atmosphere. In the configuration in which such a valve is provided between the rear portion of the passage and the supply passage, the exhaust noise can be reduced.

  The fixed portion is formed in a block shape, and a plurality of the cylindrical inner holes having a distal end opened at a distal end portion of a supply passage on a fluid supply side are provided on a predetermined front surface of the fixed portion forming the block shape, and the supply passage Is provided independently for each cylinder-shaped inner hole, and the annular piston and the spool may be provided in each cylinder-shaped inner hole. In this configuration, the fixed part is in the form of one block, and it is easier to produce the fixed part collectively in one block than to provide the fixed parts individually for the plurality of connected ports. Since there are supply passages corresponding to each of the connected ports, it is possible to selectively make this a fluid supply state, and it is possible to selectively connect and supply fluid as necessary. .

  The spool is configured to have a floating support structure that is elastically supported by an elastic body, for example, an annular elastic body, specifically an O-ring, that is in contact with an inner hole of a cylindrical portion provided on the outer periphery of the piston. It is good. In this configuration, the opening surface of the connection port and the opening surface of the connection port at the tip end of the spool are in parallel with each other in a slightly inclined state where no surface contact occurs, The spool side follows the pushing state, and fluid leakage does not occur.

  This fluid passage connector can cause the piston to advance following the advancement of the spool by simply putting the fluid supplied to the supply passage into a “supply” state. That is, when a fluid supply passage is connected to a remote connected port and a fluid is supplied, the spool advances and the tip is brought into contact with the peripheral portion of the connected port simply by setting the supply passage to the fluid supply state. Then, it is possible to perform a sequence operation in which the annular piston advances to open the communication hole and fluid is supplied to the connected port. Therefore, there is no need to provide another air pipe or air cylinder for connection operation, for example, which is necessary in the past, and the effect of reducing the size and cost can be achieved.

It is a vertical side view which shows the state which separated the fluid channel | path connection tool of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a vertical side view of the state which the fluid passage connector of this invention connected. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG.

  When the fluid passage connector according to the present invention is used when it is not particularly necessary to move the fixing portion forward and backward, the fixing portion does not move forward and backward when connecting and disconnecting the fluid passage. Conventionally, when connecting and disconnecting the fluid passage, The necessary advance / retreat drive device can be omitted, and a significant reduction in size and cost can be achieved. Moreover, when the fluid to handle is air, it is small and can implement | achieve the fall of exhaust sound.

  An embodiment of a fluid passage connector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Although this embodiment describes an embodiment of a fluid connector where the fluid is air, other fluids such as pressure oil can also be used. The fluid passage connector 1 includes a fixed portion 2, a piston 3, and a spool 4. The fluid connector 1 has a configuration in which the tip end of the spool 4 comes into contact with the periphery of the connected port 10 to be connected. The to-be-connected port 10 is the same as the conventional simple form, in which a circular hole of the to-be-connected hole is opened in a plane, and the periphery of the opening is smoothly formed as an O-ring sheet.

  The fixed portion 2 includes a passage member 12 provided with a supply passage 11 for supplying air, a plug-like member 13 provided at a distal end portion on the supply side of the supply passage 11 and the like. The passage member 12 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped block shape, and the supply passage 11 formed inside in one plane 14 opens. The supply passage 11 is formed to have an enlarged length on the opening side, and the other end (not shown) is connected to a hose or a fixed pipe for supplying and discharging fluid. An internal thread 15 is formed inside the opening end. The plug-like member 13 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and its inner hole is formed in a cylinder hole 16 having one end opened. A fastening head 17 is provided on the outer periphery of the opening side end. A bottom 20 having a center hole 18 and a fluid circulation hole 19 formed at the other end is provided. A male screw 21 is formed on the outer peripheral portion that is off the head. The plug-like member 13 constitutes the fixing portion 2 by screwing a male screw 21 into a female screw 15 of the passage member 12. In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes an O-ring.

  The piston 3 is annular and has an inner hole 23 at the center. An annular elastic body, for example, one O-ring 24 is mounted on the outer periphery of the piston 3, and the piston 3 is slidably fitted into the cylinder hole 16 of the plug-like member 13, and the cylinder hole is inserted through the O-ring 24. The inner peripheral surface of 16 is in airtight contact. The piston 3 is allowed to be slightly tilted so that its axis intersects the axis of the cylinder hole 16 while maintaining airtightness with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder hole 16 by elastic deformation of the O-ring 24. Has been.

  The spool 4 is fitted into the inner hole 23 of the piston 3 and is supported so as to be able to move back and forth in a predetermined dimension axial direction. The spool 4 is kept coaxial with the piston. As described above, the piston 3 is aligned with the axis of the cylinder hole 16. Since it can tilt, it can tilt together with the piston 3. That is, the spool 4 has a floating support structure that is elastically supported by the O-ring 24 that is in contact with the cylinder hole 16 provided on the outer periphery of the piston. The space 25 on the front side of the piston 3 is separated from the outside by an annular member 26 in the figure, but this member 26 is for dust prevention and is attached to the plug-like member 13. It is made of a soft elastic material, has no hindrance to the floating support, has air permeability or a vent hole, and the gas in the front space 25 enters and exits from the member 25 as the piston 3 advances and retreats. There is no problem in operation.

  The spool 4 has a fluid passage 27 that opens to the front side. A communication hole 28 that reaches the fluid passage 27 from the outer peripheral surface of the spool and is opened and closed by the inner peripheral surface of the piston 3 is provided in the spool 4. A plurality of, for example, four communication holes 28 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the spool 4. The front end of the spool 4 is formed in a surface 29 perpendicular to the axis, and a fluid passage 27 is opened in this surface 29, and a mounting groove is provided in this surface 29 to provide an elastic body, for example, an annular elastic body, specifically The O-ring 30 is mounted such that a surface perpendicular to the axis is parallel to the surface 29. This is to prevent fluid leakage from the contact surface in the connected state. The connected state is a state in which the tip end portion of the spool 4 is pressed against the peripheral portion of the opening of the connected hole 10 (see FIG. 3), and the fluid passage 27 and the connected port 10 communicate with each other. The range of movement of the annular piston 3 relative to the spool 4 is between the position shown in FIG. 1 where the communication hole 28 of the spool 4 is closed and the position shown in FIG. 3 where the communication hole 28 is opened. The advance position is limited at the rear end of the spring cover 31 provided on the outer periphery of the spool front end, and the piston retract position is limited by, for example, a ring-shaped stopper 32. The stopper 32 is positioned on the outer periphery of the spool by a retaining ring 33, and an elastic body such as an annular elastic body, specifically, an O-ring 34 is mounted as a cushion on the piston contact portion. The spring cover 31 is provided by screwing a cylindrical body to the outer periphery of a portion 35 in which the outer periphery of the front end portion of the spool 4 is enlarged in a flange shape.

  The spring covered by the spring cover 31 is a piston urging spring 36 that urges the annular piston 3 toward the retracted end. That is, for example, a coil spring provided as a piston urging means, is located on the outer peripheral portion of the spool between the portion 35 and the piston 3.

  An extension forming portion 37 that is slightly extended in length is coupled to the rear end portion of the spool 4 by a screw portion, and the outer diameter is also slightly increased. One spring receiver 38 is formed at the rear end portion of the extension forming portion 37 with a protruding edge so that the outer diameter is enlarged, and the other spring receiver 39 is formed on the back surface of the bottom 20 of the plug-like member 13. It is. A spool urging spring 40 made of, for example, a coil spring is installed between the spring receivers 38 and 39 as a spool urging means, and urges the spool 4 to move toward the retracted position. The retracted position of the spool 4 is configured such that the retaining ring 33 provided on the outer periphery in the longitudinal direction of the spool abuts against the front surface of the bottom 20 of the plug-like member 13 and acts as a stopper for limiting the retracting of the spool. . The front end surface 29 of the spool 4 retracted to this position coincides with the front end surface of the plug-like member 13.

  Further, the extension forming portion 37 provided at the rear end portion of the spool 4 is provided with a valve portion for communicating the rear end portion of the fluid passage 27 in the spool with the supply passage 11 at the time of exhausting in order to reduce exhaust noise. The configuration is such that an extension portion 27a is formed in the extension formation portion 37 provided at the rear end portion of the spool so that the fluid passage 27 inside the spool has a slightly smaller diameter and is extended rearward to open the supply passage 11, and in the middle of the extension portion 27a. The valve chamber 41 is provided, the valve chamber communication hole 42 opened on the outer surface of the extension forming portion 37 is provided, the valve seat 43 is provided on the spool front end side of the valve chamber 41, the valve body 44 is accommodated in the valve chamber 41, and supplied When the fluid is supplied to the passage 11, the valve body 44 is seated on the valve seat 43 and is closed, and when the fluid in the supply passage 11 is discharged, the valve body 44 is opened. When the valve is opened, the fluid passage 27 and the supply passage 11 communicate with each other through the valve chamber communication hole 42. The fact that the exhaust noise is reduced by this configuration has been confirmed by a practical test. The reason for the reduction is that the valve body 44 is opened so that the residual pressure remaining in the connected port 10 is reduced to the fluid passage 27, It is considered that exhaust noise generated when the spool 4 is separated can be reduced by allowing the valve 4 to escape through the valve chamber communication hole 42 in advance. Although the valve body 44 is shown as a disk, it may be spherical, and the valve seat, valve chamber, etc. in this case correspond to this.

  The fluid passage connector 1 thus configured opens in a predetermined plane, and is connected to the connected hole 10 at a fixed position so that the front surface of the fixing portion 2 is parallel to the predetermined plane and the maximum projecting dimension of the spool 4. It is used as a position where the front end surface of the spool 4 is opposed so that it is located at a position shorter than the distance. When the supply passage 11 is in a state where the fluid supply is stopped, in this example, the fluid is air. In a state where the air from the compressed air source is not supplied, the spool 4 and the piston 3 are retracted as shown in FIG. The communication hole 28 is closed, and the valve body 44 is in a free state where it does not receive any particular action force.

  When compressed air is supplied to the supply passage 11, the valve body 44 of the extension formation portion 37 of the inner hole of the spool 4 is closed, and compressed air does not enter the inner hole of the spool 4. Next, the spool 4 advances against the spool urging spring 40 by the pressure of the compressed air, protrudes from the front surface of the fixed portion 2, and makes the tip abut the periphery of the connected hole 10. Until this time, the piston 3 is in the retracted end position on the spool 4 and is moving forward together with the spool, but the communication hole 28 is not opened. When the effective pressure receiving area of the spool and the effective pressure receiving area of the piston are the same, the biasing force of the spool biasing spring 40 is made weaker than the piston biasing spring 36 so that the piston does not move until this time. Can do. Since the supply air pressure takes a little time to rise to a predetermined pressure, the spool 4 is moved forward by determining the strength of the piston urging spring 36 so that the piston 3 is moved by the air pressure subsequently increased at this time. Then, after the tip is brought into contact with the periphery of the hole 10 to be connected, the piston 3 advances to open the communication hole 28. That is, the spool 4 first moves forward, the tip abuts against the periphery of the connected port 10 and the fluid passage 27 in the spool is connected to the connected port 10, and then the piston 3 in the retracted position moves forward. By moving, the communication hole 28 of the spool 4 opens, the supply passage 11 communicates with the connected port 10 via the fluid circulation hole 19, the communication hole 28, and the fluid passage 27, and compressed air is supplied from the connected port 10. Become so.

  When the supply of compressed air is stopped, that is, when the air pressure of the supply passage 11 is set to atmospheric pressure, the valve body 44 of the extension forming portion 37 is opened and becomes free, and remains in the non-connection port 10. The residual pressure enters the fluid passage 27 and escapes into the supply passage 11 via the valve chamber communication hole 42. Then, the piston 3 is retracted by the piston urging spring 36 to close the communication hole 28, the spool 4 is retracted by the spool urging spring 40, and the spool 4 tip surface is retracted to a position that coincides with the front surface of the plug-like member 13. . This state is the same as the initial state where the compressed air is not supplied.

  As described above, the fluid passage connector 1 starts the supply of fluid after the spool 4 is protruded from a position slightly away from the fluid connection port 10 at a fixed position to bring the fluid passage into a connected state. Since the operation can be performed in order, and the connection operation is performed by the operation of starting to supply the fluid of one system supply line to be supplied after connection, another air cylinder for connection, etc. There is no need to provide a separate supply line for the actuator and its fluid. Therefore, since there is no need to provide another actuator or another fluid supply line, the cost can be significantly reduced and the size can be reduced.

  Further, when the tip surface of the spool 4 is pressed against the opening surface of the connected hole 10, even if the spool 4 does not come into contact in a parallel state, the spool 4 has a floating support structure so that it is parallel to the other plane. Thus, the supply fluid can be prevented from leaking, so that it is possible to cope with a certain degree of contact failure, and production, mounting, adjustment and the like are facilitated.

  In the above embodiment, the urging means of the piston and the spool uses a reaction force when the spring is compressed. However, in some cases, it may be configured to use the reaction force when the spring is pulled. Good. In the above embodiment, only one fluid connector according to the present invention is implemented in the passage member 12. However, a plurality of fluid connectors having the same configuration as those shown in the above embodiment may be provided in the passage member 12. it can. In the above embodiment, the valve portion is provided to reduce the exhaust noise, but may be removed depending on circumstances. In the above embodiment, the O-rings 24, 30, and 34 are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any other elastic body, for example, an annular elastic body, can be used. Further, although the O-ring 34 and the stopper 32 are configured separately, they can be configured integrally.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fluid passage connection tool 2 Fixing part 3 Annular piston 4 Spool 10 Connection port 11 Supply passage 12 Passage member 13 Plug-like member 14 Plane 15 Female screw 16 Cylinder hole 17 Head 18 Center hole 19 Fluid flow hole 20 Bottom 21 Male screw 22 ( O-ring 23 of the fixed part 23 Inner hole 24 of the annular piston 24 O-ring 25 of the annular piston 25 Space 26 of the front side of the piston 26 Ring member 27 Fluid passage 27a Extension part 28 Communication hole 29 Surface 30 of the spool end (Spool tip) 31 Spring cover 32 Stopper 33 Retaining ring 34 (Cushion) O-ring 35 (Flange-shaped expansion) part 36 Piston biasing spring 37 Extension forming part 38 One spring receiver 39 The other spring receiver 40 With spool Force spring 41 Valve chamber 42 Valve chamber communication hole 43 Valve seat 44 Valve body

Claims (4)

A fixing portion provided with a cylindrical inner hole having an opening on the tip side at the tip of the supply passage on the fluid supply side;
A piston fitted into the cylindrical inner hole;
A fluid passage that is fitted in the inner hole of the piston and is supported so as to be able to move back and forth in a predetermined dimension axial direction, and opens inside the distal end side, and reaches the fluid passage from the outer peripheral surface and opens and closes by the inner peripheral surface of the annular piston A spool in which the fluid passage and the connected port are in a connected state in a state in which the tip portion is in contact with the opening peripheral part of another connected hole,
The supply passage is in a fluid supply stop state, the spool is in a retracted position relative to the fixed portion, the piston is in a retracted position with the communication hole closed, and the supply passage is in a fluid position. By being in the supply state, the spool moves forward with the piston within the range of the predetermined dimension due to fluid pressure and abuts the opening peripheral portion of the connected hole, and then the piston opens the communication hole. The fluid passage connector according to claim 1, wherein the fluid passage connector is configured to advance to the fluid passage so that the inner hole communicates with the fluid passage.   2. The fluid passage connector according to claim 1, wherein when the supply passage is in a fluid supply stop state, piston biasing means for retracting the piston to a retracted position where the communication hole is closed, and the spool is retracted to the retracted position. A fluid passage connector, comprising: a spool urging means for allowing the fluid to pass through.   3. The fluid passage connector according to claim 1, wherein the spool is formed such that the fluid passage therein is formed to extend rearward at a rear end portion of the spool and is opened to the supply passage, and a valve is provided in the middle of the extension forming portion. A valve chamber communicating hole opened on the outer surface of the extension forming portion is provided, a valve seat is provided on the spool front end side of the valve chamber, the valve body is accommodated in the valve chamber, and fluid is supplied to the supply passage. Thus, the fluid passage connector is configured such that the valve body is seated on the valve seat and is closed, and the valve is opened when the fluid in the supply passage is discharged. The fluid passage connector according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the spool is elastically supported by an elastic body in contact with an inner hole of a cylindrical portion provided on the outer periphery of the piston. A fluid passage connector characterized by that.

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