JP6078738B2 - Piping joint - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe joint, and more particularly, to a means for improving the weather resistance of a snap fit portion formed in a synthetic resin pipe joint.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a natural circulation type solar water heater has been attracting attention as a water heater friendly to the global environment using solar thermal energy. A natural circulation solar water heater stores a solar heat collector and a heat medium heated by heat exchange at the heat collector, and hot water that heats the supplied tap water (water) through heat exchange. The solar heat collector is usually composed of a set of necessary number of heat collector units connected via a connection hose (see, for example, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1). .

  As shown in FIG. 14, the applicant of the present application previously formed a main body 101 and one end of the main body 101 as a pipe joint suitable for connection between collector units using a connecting hose, and a pipe tube. 200 is connected to the tube side connecting portion 102, the other end side of the main body 101 is connected to the header 300, the header side connecting portion 103 is connected to the header 300, and the main body 101 is connected to the flange 301 formed on the header 300. The thing provided with the engaging part 104 to engage was proposed. In this pipe joint, the pipe tube 200 is inserted into the tube side connecting portion 102 until the tip comes into contact with the flange 105 formed on the outer surface of the main body 101, and the locking claw 106 formed at the tip portion of the engaging portion 104. The pipe-side tube 200 can be connected to the header 300 by inserting the header side connecting portion 103 into the joint housing portion 302 formed on the header 300 until it engages with the flange 301 formed on the header 300. it can. At least one of the main body 101, the tube side connecting portion 102, and the header side connecting portion 103 is formed of a resin obtained by adding a thermoplastic elastomer to polyphenylene sulfide (see, for example, claim 1 and FIG. 2 of Patent Document 2). .

  In the pipe joint described in Patent Document 2, at least one of the main body 101, the tube side connecting portion 102, and the header side connecting portion 103 is formed using the above-described resin material. It has excellent resistance to chlorine and oxygen contained in steam and resistance to hydrolysis in warm water, has good workability, and has high mechanical strength including impact resistance.

JP 2011-112237 A Japanese Patent No. 4109342

  However, in the pipe joint described in Patent Document 2, since the engaging portion 104 including the locking claw 106 is exposed to the outside of the main body 101, the engaging portion 104 is likely to deteriorate when used outdoors. It was pointed out that there was a problem. That is, when the pipe joint described in Patent Document 2 is applied to the connection between the collector units in the solar water heater described in Patent Document 1, the solar water heater is installed outdoors such as on a roof. Therefore, the pipe joint is also inevitably exposed to sunlight and wind and rain, and the engagement portion 104 deteriorates within a relatively short period of time, and the engagement with the header 300 becomes inappropriate. It becomes easy.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic resin pipe joint that has excellent weather resistance and can be used stably for a long period of time outdoors. It is in.

In order to solve such a technical problem, the present invention provides a male joint having a cylindrical male side coupling portion and a female side coupling portion into which the male side coupling portion can be inserted. And a snap fit part for detachably snapping the male joint and the female joint, and at least one of the male joint and the female joint is provided around the snap fit part. In the pipe joint in which a light shielding wall is formed , the snap fit portion is formed on either the male joint or the female joint, and an elastic arm provided with a locking claw at a tip portion, and the male mold Formed on either the joint or the female joint, and when the male side connecting portion is inserted to a predetermined position in the female side connecting portion, the locking claw is engaged. The male-side coupling portion and the female-side coupling portion are formed on the elastic arm when the male-side coupling portion is inserted to a predetermined position in the female-side coupling portion. It is connected through a seal member disposed on the inside .

  As described above, for example, pipe joints made of synthetic resin installed outdoors, such as pipe joints applied to natural circulation solar water heaters, are exposed to sunlight and wind and rain. It is easy to deteriorate. In this case, if the snap fit part for detachably connecting the male joint and the female joint deteriorates, the connection between the joints cannot be maintained, which may cause serious inconvenience such as water leakage. . Therefore, when a light shielding wall covering the periphery of the snap fit portion is formed on at least one of the male joint and the female joint, the light shielding wall exposed to sunlight and wind and rain deteriorated in a relatively short period of time. However, the snap-fit part protected by the light-shielding wall is hardly affected by sunlight or wind and rain, so it can maintain soundness for a long period of time and prevent inconveniences such as water leakage. can do.

According to the present invention, in the pipe joint of the structure, a part of the front Symbol shielding wall, the disengagement of the engaging hole and the locking claw, a window hole for allowing the external operation It is characterized by having been established.

  According to this configuration, the window hole is opened in a part of the light shielding wall, and the engagement between the locking claw and the engagement hole can be released by an external operation. The joint can be released as necessary, and the pipe joint can be reused.

  Further, the present invention provides the pipe joint of each of the above configurations, wherein the light shielding wall is formed by either a top plate and a peripheral wall formed on either the male joint or the female joint, and either the male mold or the female mold. Or a bottom plate that shields the opening of the peripheral wall formed on the other side.

  According to such a configuration, the snap fit portion can be almost completely covered with a box-shaped light shielding wall made of a top plate, a peripheral wall, and a bottom plate, so that the soundness of the snap fit portion can be maintained over a long period of time. it can.

  According to the present invention, since the light-shielding wall that covers the periphery of the snap-fit portion that removably engages each of these joints is formed on at least one of the male joint and the female joint constituting the pipe joint. The fit portion is not easily exposed to sunlight or wind and rain, and the soundness of the snap fit portion, and hence the soundness of the pipe joint can be maintained over a long period of time.

It is a perspective view of a piping joint concerning an embodiment. It is a front view of the male type joint concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the male type joint concerning an embodiment. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a front view of the female type joint concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the female type joint concerning an embodiment. It is CC sectional drawing of FIG. It is DD sectional drawing of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the connection state of the pipe joint which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the use condition of the piping joint which concerns on embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the use condition of the pipe joint which concerns on embodiment from diagonally upward. It is the perspective view which looked at the use condition of the piping joint concerning an embodiment from the slanting lower part. It is a disassembled perspective view of the piping joint which concerns on a prior art example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a pipe joint according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a case where the pipe joint according to the present invention is applied to connection of two heat collector units constituting a natural circulation type solar water heater will be described as an example. The use of the pipe joint is not limited to this, and can be applied to any other use.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pipe joint 1 according to the embodiment includes a male joint 2 formed integrally with a synthetic resin material, and a female joint formed integrally with a synthetic resin material of the same type or different from the male joint 2. It consists of a mold joint 3. As a synthetic resin material for forming the male joint 2 and the female joint 3, any synthetic resin material having a required mechanical strength, such as polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, or fluororesin, may be used. it can. In order to further increase the mechanical strength including resistance to chlorine and oxygen contained in warm water and steam, resistance to hydrolysis in warm water, processability and impact resistance, polyphenylene sulfide described in Patent Document 2 is used. A resin to which a thermoplastic elastomer is added can also be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the male joint 2 includes a cylindrical main body 11, a bottom plate 12 that projects horizontally from a substantially central portion in the length direction of the main body 11, and the formation of the bottom plate 12. A symmetrical elastic arm 13 projecting in the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate 12 is provided from the outer surface of the main body 11 slightly above the position.

  A portion above the bottom plate 12 of the main body portion 11 is a male side connection portion 14 connected to the female joint 2, and a plurality of (in the present embodiment, on the outer surface of the male side connection portion 14). 2) sealing members (O-rings) 15 are attached at a predetermined interval. On the other hand, the part below the bottom plate 12 is a hose connection portion 16 to which the connection hoses of the two heat collector units are connected, and the outer surface of the hose connection portion 16 reaches the tip side. Therefore, a plurality of steps (three steps in the present embodiment) in which the diameter gradually decreases is formed.

  The bottom plate 12 is formed in a rectangular planar shape, and a projection 18 is formed outward at the center portion of the short side.

  The elastic arm 13 protrudes from the outer surface of the main body portion 11 in the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate 12 and is then curved upward in a convex shape, and its distal end is disposed opposite to the upper surface of the bottom plate 12 with a predetermined interval. Yes. With this configuration, the elastic arm 13 is given elasticity that is elastically deformed only in the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate 12. A locking claw 19 for engaging the male joint 2 with the female joint 3 is formed slightly above the tip of the outer surface of the elastic arm 13. In order to facilitate insertion of the elastic arm 13 into the female joint 3, the interval between the upper portions of the two elastic arms 13 is formed to be narrower than the interval between the lower portions.

  The female joint 3 is directly attached to a heat collector unit (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 to 9, the top plate 21 and a rectangular shape suspended from the lower surface of the top plate 21 are provided. With the peripheral wall 22, it is formed in the box shape by which the bottom face was open | released. The top plate 21 is formed larger than the peripheral wall 22, and a predetermined flange 23 is formed between the top plate 21 and the peripheral wall 22. In addition, a cylindrical pipe connecting portion 24 for connecting a copper pipe E (see FIG. 11) provided in the heat collector unit is obliquely attached to a portion extending from the center portion of the top plate 21 to the upper portion of the peripheral wall 22. It protrudes upward.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a heat medium flow passage 25 that communicates with the pipe connection portion 24 and a female-type side connection portion 26 that connects the male joint 2 are formed inside the peripheral wall 22. In addition, a stepped portion 27 for inserting the bottom plate 12 formed in the male joint 2 is formed at the opening end of the peripheral wall 22. Furthermore, on the left and right side surfaces of the peripheral wall 12, an engagement hole 28 for engaging a locking claw 19 formed at the tip of the elastic arm 13 is formed. A notch 29 for engaging the protrusion 18 formed on the side is formed. The depth of the notch 29 is formed sufficiently larger than the thickness of the bottom plate 12. Since the elastic arm 13 is elastically deformed when the male joint 2 is mounted, the interval between the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 22 in the longitudinal direction is formed narrower than the set interval of the locking claws 19 in the free state.

  A positioning step 30 for the copper pipe E is formed at the opening end of the connection portion 24, and a seal member (O-ring) 31 that seals the gap between the connection portion 24 and the copper pipe E is formed on the back side. Is provided. In addition, a projection 32 is provided outwardly from the opening end face of the connecting portion 24 so as to wrap the fastening fitting F (see FIG. 12) for fixing the copper pipe.

  In the pipe joint according to the present embodiment, the snap fit between the male joint 2 and the female joint 3 includes the elastic arm 13 having the locking claw 19 and the engagement hole 28 formed in the peripheral wall 22 of the female joint 3. The part is composed. The top plate 21 and the peripheral wall 22 of the female joint 3 and the bottom plate 12 of the male joint 3 constitute a box-shaped light shielding wall.

  FIG. 10 shows a connection state between the male joint 2 and the female joint 3. As is clear from this figure, the male joint 2 and the female joint 3 are provided in the peripheral wall 22 formed in the female joint 3 with the elastic arm 13 and the male side connecting portion 14 formed in the male joint 2. Connected by inserting. That is, when the elastic arm 13 and the male side connecting portion 14 are inserted into the peripheral wall 22, first, the male side connecting portion formed in the male joint 2 in the female side connecting portion 26 formed in the female joint 3. The portion 14 is inserted, and the gap between the connecting portions 14 and 26 is sealed with the seal member 15. In the process of inserting the male side coupling portion 14 into the female side coupling portion 26, the distal end portion of the elastic arm 13 abuts on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 22, and the elastic arm 13 is directed inward by a reaction force received from the peripheral wall 22. Since it elastically deforms in the contracting direction, the elastic arm 13 can be inserted into the peripheral wall 22. When the male joint 2 is further inserted from this state, when the locking claw 19 formed at the tip of the elastic arm 13 reaches the engagement hole 28 formed in the peripheral wall 22, the tip of the elastic arm 13 is moved. It moves outward by its own elasticity, and the locking claw 19 is engaged with the engagement hole 28. Further, in this state, the bottom plate 12 formed on the male joint 2 is fitted into the stepped portion 27 formed at the opening end of the peripheral wall 22, and the protrusion 18 formed on the bottom plate 12 has the protrusion 18 formed on the peripheral wall 22. It fits in the notch 29 formed in the opening edge part. Thereby, the male joint 2 and the female joint 3 are integrally connected. At this time, the tip of the elastic arm 13 is disposed at a position facing the notch 29. As described above, since the depth of the notch 29 is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the bottom plate 12, when the protrusion 18 is fitted in the notch 29, the male joint 2 and the female joint 3. A window hole 33 is formed between the two. From the window hole 33, the tip of the elastic arm 13 can be faced.

  When the male joint 2 is removed from the female joint 3, a pin-shaped jig is inserted into the window hole 33 from the outside of the peripheral wall 22 and the tip of the elastic arm 13 is pushed inward, With the engagement with the engagement hole 28 released, the male joint 2 is pulled out from the female joint 3. As a result, both the male joint 2 and the female joint 3 can be disassembled without damaging them at all, so that the used male joint 2 and female joint 3 can be reused.

  Thus, since the pipe joint of the present invention is configured to attach and detach the male joint 2 and the female joint 3 via the snap-fit portion, the work burden on the construction staff is reduced and at the same time the construction staff. A certain level of construction quality can be maintained regardless of the skill level of the worker. Therefore, the trouble accompanying the construction related to the solar power generator and the solar water heater can be avoided in advance.

  Hereinafter, the connection method of the heat collector unit using the piping joint 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 11-13, when connecting two heat collector units using the pipe joint 1 which concerns on embodiment, the pipe joint 1 is the joint holding | maintenance arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the collector unit which is not shown in figure. It is held by the member G. The joint holding member G has a housing hole H for the female joint 3, the peripheral wall 22 is housed in the housing hole H, the flange 23 abuts on the upper surface of the joint holding member G, and the joint holding member By engaging the locking metal fitting I with the outer surface of the peripheral wall 22 protruding from the lower surface of G, the female joint 3 can be stably held on the joint holding member G. After the female joint 3 is held by the joint holding member G, the copper pipe E provided in the heat collector unit is connected to the pipe connection portion 24 formed in the female joint 3. As shown in FIG. 11, a flange J is formed so as to protrude slightly inside the tip of the copper pipe E, and the flange J abuts on a positioning step 30 formed at the opening end of the pipe connecting portion 24. The copper pipe E can be connected to the female joint 3 by pushing the tip of the copper pipe E into the pipe connecting portion 24. A gap between the copper pipe E and the pipe connection portion 24 is sealed by a seal member 31 set in the pipe connection portion 24. As shown in FIG. 12, the copper pipe E is fastened to the pipe connecting portion 24 by using a fastening fitting F wound around the protrusion 32.

  On the other hand, a required connecting hose K is attached to the hose connecting portion 16 of the male joint 2, and the connecting hose K is fastened to the hose connecting portion 16 using a fixing band L. The connection hose K is stably attached to the hose connection part 16 by the drop prevention effect by the drop prevention step 17 formed on the outer surface of the hose connection part 16 and the fastening force of the fixing band L. The male joint 2 to which the connection hose K is connected is connected to the female joint 3 by the method described above.

  Since the pipe joint 1 according to the present embodiment can almost completely cover the periphery of the elastic arm 13 constituting the snap fit portion with a box-shaped light shielding wall composed of the top plate 21, the peripheral wall 22, and the bottom plate 12. It is difficult for the elastic arm 13 to deteriorate due to the influence of sunlight or wind and rain, and the snap fit soundness with the engagement hole 28 formed in the peripheral wall 22 can be maintained over a long period of time.

  In the above-described embodiment, the light shielding wall of the snap fit portion is configured by the bottom plate 12 formed in the male joint 2, the top plate 21 and the peripheral wall 22 formed in the female joint 3, but the present invention. The gist of the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient if a light shielding wall is formed on at least one of the male joint 2 and the female joint 3. In the embodiment, the elastic joint 13 having the locking claw 19 is formed in the male joint 2 and the engaging hole for engaging the locking claw 19 is formed in the female joint 3. On the contrary, the elastic arm 13 having the locking claw 19 can be formed in the female joint 3, and the engagement hole for engaging the locking claw 19 with the male joint 2 can be formed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the connection of the piping part of the collector unit which comprises a natural circulation type solar water heater.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Piping joint 2 Male joint 3 Female joint 11 Main body part 12 Bottom plate 13 Elastic arm 14 Male side connection part 15 Seal member (O-ring)
Reference Signs List 16 Hose connection portion 17 Drop-off prevention step portion 18 Projection 19 Locking claw 21 Top plate 22 Peripheral wall 23 Flange 24 Pipe connection portion 25 Heat medium flow passage 26 Female mold side connection portion 27 Step portion 28 Engagement hole 29 Notch 30 31 Seal member (O-ring)
32 Protrusion 33 Window hole E Copper pipe F Fastening bracket G Joint holding member H Storage hole I Locking bracket J Flange K Connection hose L Fixed band

Claims (3)

A male joint provided with a cylindrical male connection part, a female joint provided with a female connection part into which the male connection part can be inserted, and the male joint and female joint are attached and detached. A pipe fitting that includes a snap fit portion that is freely snap-coupled, and in which at least one of the male joint and the female joint has a light shielding wall that covers the periphery of the snap fit portion ,
The snap fit portion is formed on one of the male joint and the female joint, and has an elastic arm provided with a locking claw at the tip, and the other of the male joint and the female joint. An engagement hole into which the locking claw is engaged when the male mold side coupling part is inserted to a predetermined position in the female mold side coupling part,
The male side connecting portion and the female side connecting portion are interposed via a seal member disposed inside the elastic arm when the male side connecting portion is inserted to a predetermined position in the female side connecting portion. Piping joints characterized by being connected together . Some of the prior SL shielding wall, wherein the disengagement of the engaging hole and the locking claw, in claim 1, characterized in that it has opened a window hole for allowing the external operation Pipe fittings.   The light shielding wall is shielded from a top plate and a peripheral wall formed on one of the male joint and the female joint, and an opening of the peripheral wall formed on the other of the male mold and the female mold. The pipe joint according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the pipe joint is configured with a bottom plate.

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