JP6302323B2 - Branch joint - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a branch joint with a saddle.

  As a means for branching a water pipe, a gas pipe, etc., a branch joint with a saddle is used. This branch joint can attach or remove the branch pipe in a state where a fluid such as water or gas is circulated through the main pipe.

For example, a branch joint described in Patent Document 1 includes an arc plate-like saddle portion fixed to the outer peripheral surface of a main pipe, a cylindrical branch cylindrical portion integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the saddle portion, and a branch cylindrical portion. A cylindrical branch pipe connection portion integrally formed perpendicularly to the outer peripheral surface, and a seal plug provided in the branch cylinder portion so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction of the branch cylinder portion.
Such a branch joint blocks the inflow of fluid from the main pipe by moving the seal plug in the branch cylinder section in the axial direction of the branch cylinder section, or branches from the main pipe through the branch cylinder section to the branch pipe connection section. The fluid can be flowed through.
Here, the seal plug is formed of a resin such as a vinyl chloride resin in consideration of moldability at the time of manufacture.

  As described in Patent Document 1, in order to advance and retract the seal plug in the axial direction in the branch tube portion, a tool such as a hexagon wrench is inserted into and engaged with an engagement hole formed in the seal plug. turn. Then, the seal plug rotates around the central axis together with the tool, and the seal plug advances and retreats in the axial direction within the branch tube portion.

JP2011-226498A

By the way, since the seal plug is made of a resin, the volume may shrink when exposed to a high temperature of, for example, 70 degrees or more. Therefore, the entire seal plug contracts depending on the temperature, installation environment, fluid temperature, etc., making it difficult to insert the tool into the engagement hole, and the operability of the seal plug may be reduced.
Therefore, the present invention provides a branch joint that reliably engages the tool with the tool engaging portion of the seal plug and prevents the operability of the seal plug from being lowered.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
A branch joint according to the present invention includes an arc plate-shaped saddle portion fixed to an outer peripheral surface of a main pipe, a branch cylinder portion integrally formed with the saddle portion, and an internal thread portion formed on an inner peripheral surface, A cylindrical branch pipe connecting portion integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the branch cylindrical portion; and a seal plug provided in the branch cylindrical portion so as to be movable forward and backward in the axial direction of the branch cylindrical portion. Has an external thread formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and is recessed from the upper end of the seal plug along the axis of the seal plug, and the seal plug is rotated within the branch cylinder. A tool insertion hole in which a tool engaging portion capable of engaging a tool to be engaged is formed is formed. The tool engaging portion includes a first engaging portion formed in a dimension corresponding to the tool, and the first engaging portion. The shape is similar to the joint part, and the dimension is enlarged with respect to the first engagement part. Characterized in that it comprises an engaging portion.
According to such a configuration, since the second engagement portion having a shape similar to that of the first engagement portion and having a size enlarged with respect to the first engagement portion is formed, the first engagement is caused by contraction of the seal plug. When the joint portion is reduced, the tool can be engaged with the second engagement portion.

The second engagement portion may be formed in a tapered shape in which an opening area of a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the tool insertion hole is gradually reduced from the upper end side to the lower end side of the seal plug.
According to such a structure, when the 1st engaging part has shrunk | reduced, a tool can be engaged with any part of the taper-shaped 2nd engaging part.

The second engagement portion may be formed with a certain dimension along the axis of the tool insertion hole.
With this configuration, when a fluid flows through the branch joint and the entire seal plug contracts, the tool is engaged with the second engagement portion. For this purpose, the inner dimension of the second engaging portion is set in accordance with the use environment of the branch joint. Thereby, when the seal plug contracts, the tool engages with the second engaging portion over a certain length, and the tool can be reliably engaged.

Further, the second engaging portion may be formed in a partial region from the upper end of the tool engaging portion with respect to the entire length from the upper end to the lower end of the tool engaging portion.
According to such a configuration, the tool can be reliably engaged with the first engagement portion in a state where the seal plug does not contract.

Further, the inner wall surface of the tool engaging portion may be made of a metal and a cylindrical insert member.
According to such a structure, it can suppress that the internal shape dimension of a tool engaging part changes with temperature.

The seal plug may be made of fiber reinforced plastic or amorphous engineering plastic.
According to such a structure, it can suppress that the internal shape dimension of a tool engaging part changes with temperature.

  According to the branch joint of the present invention, when the first engagement portion contracts due to contraction of the entire seal plug, the tool is engaged with the second engagement portion, whereby the tool engagement of the tool is achieved. There is an effect that the engagement with the joint portion can be reliably performed and the operability of the seal plug can be prevented from being lowered.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which closed the branch joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which decomposed | disassembled and showed the branch joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the seal plug of the branch joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is sectional drawing along the axis line of the seal plug, (b) is a top view of a seal plug. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which opened the branch joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the seal plug of the branch joint which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the seal plug of the branch joint which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the modification of the seal plug of the branch joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out a branch joint according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited only to these embodiment.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a branch joint A according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the branch joint A. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the branch joint A includes a saddle portion 2, a joint body 5 having a branch cylinder portion 3 and a branch pipe connection portion 4, a seal plug 20, and a seal cap 7. It is formed using a synthetic resin such as polyethylene.

  The saddle portion 2 has a circular arc plate shape, and is fixed to the outer peripheral surface 1a of the main pipe 1 on which the branch joint A is installed with the axis O3 in common. In this embodiment, the branch joint A is an electrofusion joint, and a heating wire (not shown) such as a nichrome wire is embedded on the inner peripheral surface side of the saddle portion 2. Further, the saddle portion 2 is provided with a pair of terminal pins (not shown) that are respectively connected to both ends of the heating wire. The pair of terminal pins protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface 2 a of the saddle portion 2. In addition, a cylindrical connector mounting portion (not shown) for protecting the terminal pin and mounting the cable connector of the controller (energizing device) has a diameter from the outer peripheral surface 2a of the saddle portion 2 around the axis of each terminal pin. Protruding in the direction and provided integrally.

The branch cylinder part 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape. This branch cylinder part 3 is integrally formed with the lower end connected to the circumferential direction of the saddle part 2 and the center in the axis O3 direction, and is provided so as to protrude radially outward from the outer peripheral surface 2a of the saddle part 2.
The inner hole of the branch cylinder part 3 is formed so as to open on the inner peripheral surface 2 b of the saddle part 2. Further, a female screw portion 8 is formed on the inner peripheral surface 3d at a portion from the upper end 3b to the lower end 3c side of the branch tube portion 3.

Further, an upper seal portion 9 is formed in the branch tube portion 3 above the female screw portion 8. The upper seal portion 9 is a smooth circumferential surface 9a along the direction of the axis O1. Furthermore, a lower seal portion 10 is formed in the branch cylinder portion 3 below the female screw portion 8. The lower seal portion 10 is a smooth circumferential surface 10a along the direction of the axis O1, and is formed by reducing the diameter of the inner circumferential surface 3d.
A male screw portion 11 for screwing and attaching the seal cap 7 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 3a on the upper end 3b side of the branch tube portion 3.

  The branch pipe connecting portion 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The branch pipe connection portion 4 is integrally formed with one end connected to the outer peripheral surface 3 a of the branch cylinder portion 3. The branch pipe connection portion 4 is provided on the lower end 3 c side of the branch tube portion 3 so that the inner hole thereof communicates with the inner hole of the branch tube portion 3. Further, the branch pipe connection portion 4 is provided in a direction perpendicular to both the axis O3 of the saddle portion 2 and the axis O1 of the branch cylinder portion 3 with respect to the radially outer side of the branch cylinder portion 3. Yes.

The seal plug 20 is provided in the branch cylinder part 3 so as to be movable back and forth in the direction of the axis O1 of the branch cylinder part 3.
As shown in FIG. 3, the seal plug 20 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape. An upper holding groove 12 and a lower holding groove 13 are formed on the upper end 20 a side and the lower end 20 b side of the seal plug 20. The upper holding groove 12 and the lower holding groove 13 are recessed inward in the radial direction from the outer peripheral surface 20c and are formed in an annular shape that is continuous in the circumferential direction.
An upper O-ring 14 is attached to the upper holding groove 12 and a lower O-ring 15 is attached to the lower holding groove 13.

  A male screw portion 16 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 20 c of the intermediate portion between the upper end 20 a of the seal plug 20 and the lower holding groove 13. The seal plug 20 is screwed into the female screw portion 8 of the branch cylinder portion 3 shown in FIG. 1 and rotated around the axis O2 in the branch cylinder portion 3 shown in FIG. It is designed to move forward and backward.

The seal plug 20 is formed with a tool insertion hole 24 that is recessed from the upper end 20a toward the lower end 20b in the direction of the axis O2. In the tool insertion hole 24, a part on the upper end 20 a side of the seal plug 20 is a tool engaging portion 25.
The tool engaging portion 25 has an opening shape with a cross section orthogonal to the axis O2, a shape that allows the tip portion of the tool J for rotating the seal plug 20 in the branch tube portion 3 to be inserted and engaged (this embodiment). Then, the shape of the tip bit into which the hexagon wrench is fitted is used.

In the tool insertion hole 24, the inner side of the tool engaging portion 25 is formed by a circumferential surface having a constant cross-sectional diameter perpendicular to the axis O2 and a tapered circumferential surface in which the diameter of the cross-section gradually decreases. The tool support part 27 which inserts and supports is formed.
The tool J has a tip portion that is inserted into the tool insertion hole 24. The tip portion of the tool J is formed in a polygonal shape (in this embodiment, hexagonal), thereby engaging the tool engaging portion 25 to rotate the seal plug 20 and the packing P in the circumferential direction. And a cylindrical portion 29 that comes into close contact with the tool support portion 27 and prevents the tool J from coming off when inserted into the tool support portion 27.

  The tool engagement portion 25 includes a first engagement portion 26 that is formed in a dimension corresponding to the outer shape of the tool J and engages the tool J when the seal plug 20 is not contracted, and the first engagement portion. 26, and a second engagement portion 30 whose dimensions are enlarged with respect to the first engagement portion 26.

  In this embodiment, the second engaging portion 30 is a tapered portion 31 whose opening area in the cross section gradually decreases from the upper end 20a side to the lower end 20b side of the seal plug 20. Further, the taper portion 31 is formed in a part of the upper end 20a of the tool engaging portion 25 (that is, above the first engaging portion 26) with respect to the entire length from the upper end 20a to the lower end 20b of the tool engaging portion 25. Has been. Here, the inclination angle of the tapered portion 31 is preferably about 2/1000 to 50/1000, for example, with respect to the inner shape dimension of the tool engaging portion 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the seal cap 7 is detachably attached to the opening on the upper end 3 b side of the branch tube portion 3.

  In the branch joint A configured as described above, in order to perform an opening / closing operation, the seal cap 7 is removed from the upper end 3b of the branch cylinder portion 3, and a tool J such as a hexagon wrench is attached to the tool engagement portion 25 of the seal plug 20. Insert and engage.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner shape dimension is larger than that of the first engagement portion 26 in the opening shape of the cross section similar to the first engagement portion 26 on the upper end 20 a side from the first engagement portion 26. Since the large second engaging portion 30 is formed, when the seal plug 20 contracts, the first engaging portion 26 becomes smaller than the cross-sectional area of the polygonal portion 28 of the tool J. J can be engaged with the second engaging portion 30.

  Moreover, since the 2nd engaging part 30 is the taper part 31, when the 1st engaging part 26 is reduced, the taper which expanded the shape of the 1st engaging part 26 toward the upper end 20a. The tool J can be engaged with any part of the part 31.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical portion 29 of the tool J includes at least one packing P inserted into the tool support portion 27 even when the polygonal portion 28 is engaged with the second engaging portion 30. The length is set such that J can be prevented from coming off and fixed. Therefore, even if the engagement area of the polygonal portion 28 to the second engagement portion 30 is limited, the tool J is stably fixed in the tool insertion hole 24, and the polygonal portion 28 and the tool engagement are fixed. The seal plug 20 can be engaged with the portion 25, and the operability of the seal plug 20 is hardly lowered.

  Further, the second engagement portion 30 is formed in a partial region from the upper end 20 a of the tool engagement portion 25. With this configuration, when the seal plug 20 does not contract, the tool J can be reliably engaged with the first engagement portion 26 below the second engagement portion 30.

  After the tool J is engaged with the tool engaging portion 25, the operator rotates the tool J to rotate the seal plug 20 in one direction and seal it to a predetermined lower position of the branch tube portion 3 shown in FIG. When the plug 20 is lowered, the plug 1 is closed between the main pipe 1 and the branch pipe connecting portion 4. In this plugged state, the lower O-ring 15 is laterally urged and brought into close contact with the circumferential surface 10 a of the lower seal portion 10 of the branch tube portion 3, and the fluid flows between the outer peripheral surface 20 c of the seal plug 20 and the branch tube portion 3. Leakage to the outside through the inner peripheral surface 3d is prevented.

  Further, when the seal plug 20 is rotated in the other direction by the tool J and pulled up to a predetermined upper position shown in FIG. 4, the branch joint A is opened, and the main pipe passes through the perforated portion 19 formed in the main pipe 1. A fluid can be circulated between 1 and the branch pipe 18. At this time, the upper O-ring 14 of the seal plug 20 is laterally urged and brought into close contact with the circumferential surface 9a of the branch cylinder portion 3 formed on the smooth circumferential surface, and the fluid is surrounded by the outer circumferential surface 20c of the seal plug 20. And leakage between the inner peripheral surface 3d of the branch cylinder portion 3 is prevented.

  As described above, by simply removing the seal cap 7 and moving the seal plug 20 back and forth in the direction of the axis O2 with the tool J, the main pipe 1 and the branch pipe 18 can be arbitrarily blocked or opened. (That is, it can be closed or open).

  According to the branch joint A, when the first engagement portion 26 is contracted smaller than the cross-sectional area of the tip bit of the tool J due to the contraction of the entire seal plug 20, the tool J is tapered. It can be made to engage with the 2nd engaging part 30 which consists of. Further, when the seal plug 20 is not contracted, the tool J can be reliably engaged with the first engagement portion 26 on the back side of the second engagement portion 30.

  That is, according to the branch joint A, the tool J can be reliably engaged with the tool engaging portion 25 in any case where the entire seal plug 20 contracts or does not contract. Even in an environment, the effect that the operability of the seal plug 20 can be prevented from being lowered can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the branch joint according to the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment described below, the configuration of the second engaging portion 30 is different from that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the configuration common to the first embodiment is described below. The same reference numerals are given in the figure and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of the seal plug 20 of the branch joint A in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, the tool engagement portion 25 of the present embodiment has the lowermost end (the lower limit position of the tool engagement portion 25) as the first engagement portion 26, and the opening shape of the tool engagement portion 25 is the tip of the tool J. The cross-sectional shape is the same (and substantially the same size). The tool engaging portion 25 uses the entire wall surface along the axis O <b> 2 rising from the first engaging portion 26 (that is, the wall surface from the lowermost end to the upper end 20 a of the tool engaging portion 25) as the second engaging portion 30. The first engaging portion 26 is similar in shape to a tapered shape that gradually expands toward the upper end 20a.
The inclination angle of the tapered portion 32 is preferably about 2/1000 to 50/1000, for example, with respect to the inner dimension of the first engaging portion 26.

  According to such a configuration, since the entire tool engaging portion 25 is the tapered second engaging portion 30, even if the entire seal plug 20 contracts, the tool J is moved to the second engaging portion 30. It can be made to engage with either location.

  Therefore, according to the branch joint A as described above, when the tool engaging portion 25 is contracted due to contraction of the seal plug 20, the tool J is moved to the second engaging portion 30 including the tapered portion 32. By engaging, the effect that the tool J can be reliably engaged with the tool engaging portion 25 and the operability of the seal plug 20 can be prevented from being lowered is obtained.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the branch joint according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment described below, the configuration of the second engaging portion is different from that of the first and second embodiments. Therefore, the third embodiment is common to the first and second embodiments. About the structure to perform, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected in a figure and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the seal plug 20 of the branch joint A in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the seal plug 20 includes a tool engaging portion 25, a first engaging portion 26, and a cross-sectional shape similar to that of the first engaging portion 26, with respect to the first engaging portion 26. And a second engaging portion 30 having an enlarged sectional area (inner shape dimension).

In this embodiment, the second engagement portion 30 includes a straight portion 33 and a taper portion 34 having a constant inner dimension along the axis O2 of the tool insertion hole 24. In this case, when the fluid is allowed to flow through the branch joint A and the seal plug 20 contracts with a predetermined dimension, the tool J is engaged with the second engagement portion 30 formed of the straight portion 33. Therefore, the inner dimension of the straight part 33 is set to a dimension that the straight part 33 engages with the tool J when the seal plug 20 contracts under a predetermined use environment (temperature of use atmosphere, fluid temperature). It is preferable to keep it.
Further, the second engagement portion 30 has an upper end higher than the first engagement portion 26 in a part of the region from the upper end 20a of the tool engagement portion 25 to the entire length from the upper end 20a to the lower end 20b of the tool engagement portion 25. It is formed on the 20a side.

  According to such a configuration, the tool J can be engaged with the straight portion 33 when the tool engaging portion 25 is contracted to a substantially assumed size due to contraction of the entire seal plug 20. it can. Therefore, according to the branch joint A of this embodiment, when the seal plug 20 contracts, the tool J can be reliably engaged over a certain length in the straight portion 33, and the operability of the branch joint A is improved. The effect that it can suppress more reliably that it falls is obtained.

  Moreover, since the tool engaging part 25 has the taper part 34, when the tool J is hard to engage with the 1st engaging part 26 and the straight part 33 when the whole seal plug 20 shrink | contracts. In addition, the tool J can be engaged with the tapered portion 34.

  The second engaging portion 30 is formed in a part of the region from the upper end 20a of the tool engaging portion 25. According to this configuration, when the seal plug 20 is not contracted, the tool J can be reliably engaged with the first engagement portion 26 on the back side of the second engagement portion 30.

  Therefore, according to the branch joint A of the present embodiment, when the seal plug 20 is contracted, the tool J can be engaged with the straight portion 33 of the second engagement portion 30 over a certain length, and the seal Even when the plug 20 is not contracted, it can be accurately handled. Therefore, the branch joint A of the present embodiment has an effect that the operability of the tool J can be more effectively prevented from being lowered.

  In the third embodiment, the second engaging portion 30 including the single straight portion 33 is provided. However, the second engaging portion 30 has a similar shape to the first engaging portion 26 and has a lower portion. A plurality of straight portions 33 that are enlarged stepwise from the top to the top may be formed.

(Other embodiments)
The branch joint of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments described with reference to the drawings, and various modifications can be considered within the technical scope.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a modified example of the seal plug 20 shown in the above embodiments.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the inner wall surface 36 of the tool engaging portion 25 may be formed of a metal-made cylindrical insert member 36. Note that the insert member 36 may be provided only in the tool engaging portion 25.
With such a configuration, the inner dimensions of the tool engaging portion 25 can be prevented from fluctuating due to temperature or the like, and the tool J can be reliably engaged with the tool engaging portion 25.

  Further, the seal plug 20 may be formed of a material having a low heat shrinkage rate such as fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) or amorphous engineering plastic. CFRP or GFRP can be used as the fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), and polycarbonate or mPPE can be used as the amorphous engineering plastic. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the inner dimension of the tool engaging portion 25 from fluctuating due to temperature or the like, and the tool J can be reliably engaged with the tool engaging portion 25.

Furthermore, for example, although the tool engaging portion 25 has a hexagonal cross section, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a rectangular cross section or other polygonal shape, or may be a T shape, a cross shape, a star shape, or the like.
In addition to the above, the configurations described in the above embodiments can be selected or changed to other configurations as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Main pipe 1a Outer peripheral surface 2 Saddle part 3 Branch tube part 4 Branch pipe connection part 8 Female thread part 16 Male thread part 18 Branch pipe 20 Seal plug 20a Upper end 20b Lower end 24 Tool insertion hole 25 Tool engagement part 26 First engagement Part 30 second engaging part 31 taper part 32 taper part 33 straight part 36 insert member A branch joint J tool

Claims (6)

An arcuate plate-shaped saddle portion fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe;
A branch cylinder part integrally formed with the saddle part and having an internal thread part formed on the inner peripheral surface;
A cylindrical branch pipe connecting portion integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the branch cylindrical portion;
A seal plug provided in the branch tube portion so as to be movable forward and backward in the axial direction of the branch tube portion;
The seal plug has a male screw portion that is threadedly engaged with the female screw portion on an outer peripheral surface, and is recessed from the upper end of the seal plug along the axis of the seal plug, and the seal plug is inserted into the branch tube. A tool insertion hole in which a tool engaging portion capable of engaging a tool rotated in the portion is formed is formed,
The tool engaging portion includes a first engaging portion formed in a size corresponding to the tool, and a second shape having a shape similar to the first engaging portion and having a size enlarged with respect to the first engaging portion. A branch joint comprising: an engaging portion;   The second engaging portion is formed in a tapered shape in which an opening area of a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the tool insertion hole is gradually reduced from an upper end side to a lower end side of the seal plug. Item 2. The branch joint according to Item 1.   2. The branch joint according to claim 1, wherein the second engagement portion is formed with a constant dimension along an axis of the tool insertion hole.   The said 2nd engaging part is formed in the one part area | region from the upper end of the said tool engaging part with respect to the full length from the upper end of the said tool engaging part to a lower end. The branch joint according to any one of the above.   5. The branch joint according to claim 1, wherein an inner wall surface of the tool engaging portion is made of a metal and a cylindrical insert member.   The branch joint according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the seal plug is made of fiber reinforced plastic or amorphous engineering plastic.

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