JP6527046B2 - Connector for pipeline block connection - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector member used for a connection structure of a conduit block. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector member in which an O-ring is provided on a tubular portion of the connector member.

In a hydraulic circuit, a liquid feed circuit, etc., a pipeline block having a pipeline provided therein is disposed opposite to each other, and the pipelines provided in each pipeline block are connected to each other to form a series of pipelines Technology is being used. For example, in a hydraulic circuit of an automatic transmission of an automobile, a refrigerant circulation circuit of an air conditioner, and the like, such a pipe block and a pipe connection structure are adopted.

In connection of the pipelines between the pipeline blocks, in order to ensure the sealing performance while facilitating the connection operation, a tubular connector member fitted with an O-ring is often interposed between the pipeline blocks.
For example, in Patent Document 1, when the channels (outlet, connection port) of the liquid tank and the double pipe joint block to be coupled to each other are connected to each other, the flange portion is provided at the outer periphery in the longitudinal direction A liquid tank and a double are inserted in a state in which the connecting pipe portions at both ends of the pipe joint (connector member) are inserted into the open end of each passage via an O-ring and the flange portion is accommodated in an annular accommodating recess provided in the block A technique is disclosed for clamping between joint surfaces of a pipe joint block. According to the connector member and the connection structure, it is disclosed that the cost can be reduced with a simple configuration.

Patent Document 2 discloses a connector member having an O-ring attached to a seal groove, which can be used to connect a conduit block.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2005-207463 JP, 2014-151471, A

In the connector member disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is no seal groove in the connector member, and such a connector member has a problem that it is difficult to accurately define the position of the O-ring. Moreover, in such a connector member, there is a possibility that the O-ring may come off at the time of handling until being attached to the conduit block or at the time of assembly. Detachment or loss of the O-ring is a problem on the seal quality of the connector member.

Further, in the connector member disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the O-ring is mounted in the seal groove, the O-ring is slightly less likely to come off. However, also in this technology, since the O-ring may be dropped, it is required to prevent the O-ring from being dropped or lost.

An object of the present invention is to provide a conduit block connecting connector member which can suppress the dropout and loss of an O-ring.

As a result of intensive investigations, the inventor provided two O-rings in the connector member tubular portion, provided a connecting portion for connecting these O-rings to each other, and integrally molded these O-rings and the connecting portion to solve the above problems. The present invention has been completed.

The present invention is a connector member formed of a synthetic resin in a shape having a hollow tubular portion and used for connection of a pipeline block, wherein two O-rings are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion. To connect the O-rings to each other, two linear connecting parts extending in the axial direction of the pipe are provided, and the two O-rings and the connecting parts are integrally formed , And, the two connection parts are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the tubular part, and there is a gate mark of injection molding in one of the connection parts, and a gate mark in the other connection part. It is a connector member for conduit block connection which does not exist (1st invention).

In the first invention, it is preferable that a step or a groove capable of suppressing movement of the O-ring toward the center of the tubular portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion ( second invention).

According to the conduit block connection connector member (first invention) of the present invention, the O-ring is prevented from coming off from the connector member tubular portion. In addition, even if the O-ring falls off, the O-ring is unlikely to be lost. Furthermore, since the gate mark is present at the connection portion, there is no possibility that the sealing property of the O-ring is deteriorated by the gate mark. Also, the two connection parts are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the tubular part, one connection part has an injection molding gate mark, and the other connection part has a gate mark. Since it does not occur, welding is less likely to occur in the O-ring, which contributes to the improvement of the sealability.

Further, as in the second invention, when the step or the groove is provided, the dropout suppressing effect of the O-ring becomes more reliable.

It is a figure which shows the connector member of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the process in which an O-ring and a connection part are integrally molded by injection molding with respect to a tubular part in the manufacturing process of the connector member of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows a mode that the duct of a duct block is connected by the connector member of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the connector member of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the connector member of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the connector member of 4th Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described by taking a connector member used for connection of a conduit block used in a hydraulic circuit of an automatic transmission of a car as an example with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the separate embodiment shown below, The form can be changed and can also be implemented.

FIG. 1 shows a connector member 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The upper view of FIG. 1 is a view when the member is viewed from the upper side, the central view is a cross-sectional view, and the lower view is a view when the member is viewed from the lower side. Similarly, in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the upper view shows the view from the upper side of the member, and the lower view shows the cross-sectional view. The connector member 1 is a member made of a synthetic resin, and is formed in a straight tubular shape having a circular cross section. That is, the connector member 1 has a hollow tubular portion 10. In the present embodiment, the connector member 1 substantially consists of the tubular portion 10. The connector members 1 are fitted with O-rings 2 and 2 for sealing.

Seal grooves 11 and 11 are provided on the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member 1. In the present embodiment, two seal grooves 11 are formed as ring-shaped grooves having a substantially rectangular groove cross section. As described later, the O-ring 2 is integrally formed in the seal groove 11, and the O-rings 2 and 2 seal between the connector member 1 and the inner circumferential surface of the conduit.

The O-ring 2 provided in the seal groove 11 is a ring-shaped seal member having a predetermined cross-sectional shape. In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral side of the O-ring 2 is formed in a shape that matches the seal groove 11, and the outer peripheral side of the O-ring 2 is formed in an annular shape presenting a semicircular cross section. The O-rings 2 and 2 are formed of an elastic material such as a rubber material or various elastomers. The cross-sectional shape of the O-ring may be another cross-sectional shape, such as a rectangular cross-section.

As described later, the O-rings 2 and 2 are formed by injection molding using the connector member tubular portion 10 as an insert member. In the present embodiment, the O-rings 2 and 2 and the tubular portion 10 are welded and integrated with each other by insert molding, but both may be unbonded to each other.

The O-rings 2 and 2 are provided to be separated by a predetermined distance in the axial direction of the tubular portion 10, but between the O-rings 2 and 2, a coupling portion 71 is provided to mutually connect these O-rings. 72 are provided. The connection portions 71 and 72 are provided to extend in the axial direction of the tubular portion 10. In the present embodiment, two connecting portions 71 and 72 are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the tubular portion 10, that is, on the opposite side of the connector member 10 in the circumferential direction. Further, in the present embodiment, the connecting portions 71 and 72 are provided in a linear shape substantially parallel to the tube axis direction. The connection portions 71 and 72 are preferably provided so as to be disposed inside the outer periphery of the O-ring so as not to adversely affect the sealability of the O-ring.

The two O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are integrally formed. Integral molding is made by injection molding. That is, the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are integrally molded of the same resin material. It is particularly preferable to insert-mold the O-ring and the connecting portion using the connector member tubular portion 10 as an insert member. A gate mark 8 which is a trace of the gate from which the resin was injected during the injection molding is present at a substantially central portion of one of the connecting portions (71). On the other hand, there is no gate mark on the other (72) of the connection part. In addition, gate marks do not exist in the O-rings 2 and 2. That is, at the time of injection molding, the resin is supplied from the gate provided in the upper connecting portion 71, and after the portion of the upper connecting portion 71 is filled, the portions of the O rings 2 and 2 are filled. Later, the lower connection portion 72 is filled.

The synthetic resin which comprises the tubular part 10 is not specifically limited. Preferably, olefin resins such as polypropylene resin, thermoplastic resins such as polyamide resin and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin, thermosetting resins such as melamine resin, rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, and the like can be used. The tubular portion 10 in the connector member 1 of the present embodiment is formed of polyamide resin. The connector member tubular portion may be formed by injection molding, but other molding methods such as cutting may be used.

As the resin forming the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72, a resin having a suitable elasticity suitable for the seal of the O-ring is selected. It is preferred to select an injection moldable resin. For example, various thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), thermoplastic vulcanized elastomers (TPV), thermoplastic polyurethane resin (TPU), fluorocarbon resin, various rubbers (in particular, liquid silicone rubber), etc. may be mentioned. From the viewpoint of preventing the O-ring from falling off or the like, it is preferable to select a combination of the two materials so that the O-ring and the connector member tubular portion 10 are bonded (welded) and integrated with each other.

The connection of the pipelines of the pipeline block constituting the hydraulic circuit by the connector member 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a part of the duct block in cross section and the connector member 1 in appearance. Here, the pipeline block is a member in which a pipeline is formed inside, and when a predetermined pipeline block is disposed opposite to each other in a predetermined positional relationship, the internal pipelines communicate and a series of pipelines are completed. A member configured to The pipeline block is typically made of an iron-based alloy, an aluminum alloy, a synthetic resin or the like. A plurality of conduits are preferably formed in the conduit block. These pipelines are typically formed by machining or the like.

The connector member 1 is interposed between the duct blocks 3 and 4 disposed opposite to each other, and connects the ducts 31 and 41. In the present embodiment, there are a pipeline block 3 on the pressure control valve side and a pipeline block 4 on the piping side, and in each pipeline block, pipelines 31 and 41 are provided inside the block by drilling. ing. As shown in FIG. 3A, when the connector members 1 and 1 are disposed to enter the conduits 31 and 41 and the conduit blocks 3 and 4 are disposed to be opposed to each other and assembled, the conduits 31 at mutually opposing positions are provided. , 41 are connected through the connector member 1.

In the connector member 1, with the O-rings 2 and 2 being integrated, both ends of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member are respectively inserted into the conduit 31 and the conduit 41 to connect these conduits (FIG. 3) (B). That is, the O-rings 2 and 2 seal the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member and the inner peripheral surfaces of the conduits 31 and 41.

In the present embodiment, the conduits 31 and 41 provided in the conduit blocks 3 and 4 have a stepped shape near the end face of the conduit block. This is to prevent the inserted connector member 1 from excessively entering one of the conduits. The conduit may have a straight tubular shape instead of a stepped shape as long as excessive entry can be prevented.

A method of manufacturing the connector member 1 will be described.
First, prior to integral molding of the O-ring, the connector member (tubular portion 10) itself is manufactured (first step). For example, the connector member is formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin. The injection molding die is prepared such that the connector member has a hollow tubular portion 10 and a ring-shaped sealing groove 11 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 10. Injection molding of a synthetic resin is performed using the mold, and a connector member with no O-ring attached is manufactured.

The injection molding process of the connector member may include an additional process of forming a part of the connector member by cutting or the like. As an example of the additional processing, grinding processing for eliminating gate marks at the time of injection molding and the like are exemplified. Alternatively, the connector member tubular portion may be formed by a method other than injection molding.

Next, integral molding of the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 is performed. (The second step). This process is typically performed by injection molding. It is also possible to carry out this integral molding by cast molding. Preferably, the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are directly integrally molded on the outer periphery of the tubular portion 10 by insert injection molding in which the connector member tubular portion 10 is an insert member. The insert molding is preferably performed using so-called two-color molding, but may be insert molding other than two-color molding.

An example of insert molding is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the mold is shown in cross section. The mold is provided with a stationary mold D1, a movable mold D2 and, if necessary, a core mold D3, and the connector member tubular portion 10 which has already been molded is inserted into these molds. In the closed state, these molds are closed. Cavities C2, C71 and C72 for forming the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 by the outer peripheral surface of the connector member (especially the seal groove 11), the fixed side mold D1 and the moving side mold D2 It is formed. In this example, a cavity C71 for forming the connecting portion 71 is provided on the fixed side mold D1, and a cavity C72 for forming the connecting portion 72 is provided on the moving side mold D2.

The resin is injected to the mold-closed mold through the gate provided on the fixed mold D1, and filled with the cavities C2, C2, C71, C72, and the O-rings 2, 2 and the connecting portions 71, 72 It is formed. In the present embodiment, the resin injected from the gate G fills the cavity C71 from the substantially central portion of the cavity C71 and flows into the cavities C2 and C2. After entering the cavities C2 and C2, the resin once fills the cavities C2 and C2 while branching, and rejoins in the cavities C2 and C2 on the opposite side of the branched position and flows into the cavity C72. After that, the resin fills the cavity C72. With the resin filling all the cavities, the injected resin is cured to obtain the integrally formed O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72. If insert injection molding is used, the connector member 1 in which the O-rings 2 and 2 are integrated in the tubular portion 10 can be directly obtained.

The integral molding of the O-rings 2 and 2 and the coupling portions 71 and 72 may not necessarily be insert molding using the tubular portion 10. In the case where the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are integrally molded but are separately formed from the connector member tubular portion 10, both may be assembled and integrated after the integral molding.

The actions and effects of the invention will be described.
The O-ring 2 is integrally provided in the conduit block connecting connector member 1 of the above-described embodiment, so that the conduit block can be easily connected. And according to the connector member 1 for pipe line block connection, drop-off | omission and loss of O ring are suppressed beforehand.

For example, in the case of the connector member of Patent Document 1, when handling or inserting the connector member, the O-ring is moved to roll on the surface of the connector member tubular portion, so that the O-ring is detached from the tubular portion; There is a risk of getting out of it. On the other hand, according to the connector member 1 of the above embodiment, since the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are integrally formed, the O-ring may be moved to roll by the connecting portion. It can prevent. Further, since the distance between the O-rings 2 and 2 is kept constant by the connecting portion, movement of the O-ring is suppressed. By this action, the O-rings 2 and 2 are prevented from coming off the connector member tubular portion 10.

In addition, even if one O-ring is dropped from the tubular portion 10, the dropped O-ring is connected by the connecting portion, so the dropped O-ring is unlikely to be lost.

In addition, it is particularly effective for suppressing dropout of the O-ring if the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member is provided with a step or groove that can suppress movement of the O-ring toward the center of the tubular portion. . In the connector member 1 of the above embodiment, the seal groove 11 is provided. If one of the O-rings is made difficult to move toward the center of the tubular portion by a groove or a step, even if the other O-ring tries to move to the outside of the tubular portion, one O-ring is made by the connecting portions 71 and 72. Since the anchor is in a hung state, the other O-ring is less likely to come off from the tubular portion 10. It is preferable that a step or a groove be provided for both O-rings so as to prevent the O-ring from moving toward the center of the tubular portion.

Further, from the viewpoint of making the sealing performance of the conduit block connecting connector member 1 more reliable, the O-rings 2 and 2 and the connecting portions 71 and 72 are integrally formed by injection molding, and the injection molding is carried out. It is preferable to provide injection molding gate marks in the connection portion by providing the gate in the connection portion. In this way, the dimensional accuracy of the O-ring can be improved by injection molding the O-ring, and no gate mark can be present in the O-ring, and the gate mark can be prevented from adversely affecting the sealing performance. .

  Further, as in the connector member 1 of the above embodiment, the two connecting portions 71 and 72 are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the connector member tubular portion 10, and the gate mark 8 is formed on one connecting portion 71. It is particularly effective to improve the sealing performance if there is no gate mark on the other connecting portion 72. According to this configuration, the resin injected at the time of integral molding of the O-ring and the connecting part once diverges and then joins when filling the O-ring part, but the weld formed at the joining part is the other This is because the weld that can be generated in the O-rings 2 and 2 can be made less noticeable and the deterioration of the sealability due to the presence of the weld is suppressed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, parts different from the above embodiment will be mainly described, and the detailed description of the same parts will be omitted. In addition, the embodiments described below can be implemented by combining some of them with each other or replacing some of them.

The connector member 5 of 2nd Embodiment is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the connector member main body is integrally formed in a shape in which two tubular portions 50, 50 are disposed in parallel and the space between them is connected by the plate-like connecting portion 53. Seal grooves 51, 51 are provided in the respective tubular portions 50, 50, and O-rings 2, 2 are mounted. Thus, the connector member may be provided with a plurality of tubular portions, for example, if two, three, four tubular portions are provided, two or three at a time. It is possible to connect two pipelines and the connection work is efficient.

Further, in the present embodiment, the plate-like connecting portion 53 is formed in the vicinity of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular portion 50 of the connector member. Like the connector member disclosed in Patent Document 1, the plate-like connection portion 53 can perform the positioning function of the connector member 3 and the conduit in the longitudinal direction.

In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, connecting portions 71 and 71 extending in the axial direction are provided to connect the O-rings 2 and 2 with each other. The connecting portions 71, 71 are integrally formed. Thereby, also in this embodiment, the dropout and loss of the O-ring are suppressed as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a second connecting portion 73 is provided along the plate-like connecting portion 53 so as to connect substantially central portions of the connecting portions 71 with each other. There is a gate mark 8 substantially at the center of the second connecting portion. Thus, if the second connecting portion 73 is provided and resin is introduced to the connecting portions 71 and 71 and the O-rings 2 and 2 at the time of injection molding through the second connecting portion, the O The ring can be formed simultaneously, and the configuration of the gate provided in the mold can be simplified.

In the present embodiment, one connecting portion 71 for directly connecting the O-rings is provided for each of the tubular portions 50 and 50. As in the connector member 1 of the first embodiment, two connecting parts 71 and 71 are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the tubular part 10, and the gate mark 8 exists in one connecting part 71, It is not essential that there be no gate mark in the connecting portion 72 of the. That is, at least one connecting portion 71 connecting the O-rings with each other may be provided to the tubular portion 50.

FIG. 5 shows the connector member 6 of the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, only one connecting portion 71 is provided for the tubular portion 60, and the tubular portion 60 is not provided with a sealing groove, and the sealing portions 2, 2 toward the center of the tubular portion Although the two points of the point in which the level | step differences 61 and 61 which can suppress a movement are provided are different from the connector member 1 of 1st Embodiment, it is the same in another point.

Also in the connector member 6 of the third embodiment, similarly, the effect of suppressing the dropout and loss of the O-rings 2 and 2 can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows the connector member 9 of the fourth embodiment. In the present embodiment, no step or groove is provided so as to directly suppress the movement of the O-rings 2 in the direction toward the center of the tubular portion. Even in such a configuration, the O-ring can be prevented from falling off and being lost by the O-rings 2 and 2 being integrally connected by the connecting portion 71. That is, a step or a groove that can directly suppress the movement of the O-rings 2 toward the center of the tubular portion is not essential.

Further, in the present embodiment, the connecting portion 71 is formed to be embedded in the connector member tubular portion 90. As described above, when the connecting portion 71 is embedded in the tubular portion, the connecting portion 71 itself is fixed to the tubular portion 10 to exhibit an anchoring effect, which is effective for suppressing the dropping off and loss of the O-rings 2 and 2 It is

When the connecting portion 71 is formed to be embedded in the connector member tubular portion 90, as in the present embodiment, the connecting portion 71 extends in the tube axis direction of the tubular portion and meanders. The shape of the connecting portion may be bent, and such a shape of the connecting portion suppresses the movement of the connecting portion 71 along the groove of the tubular portion, and prevents the O-rings 2 and 2 from falling off and being lost. Particularly effective.

The connector member may be shaped to have other portions in addition to the hollow tubular portion. As another part, the flange part for preventing excessive insertion to the pipeline of a connector member, the key part for preventing the misassembly of a connector member, etc. can be illustrated.

In addition, the specific application field where a connector member is used is not specifically limited, It is widely applicable if it is a pipeline connection application of a pipeline block which can apply a connector member made of a synthetic resin. For example, the connector member of the present invention can be used for hydraulic circuits, pipelines such as refrigerant pipes, coolant circulation systems, pressure transmission systems, flow control valves, and the like. Furthermore, not only pipelines of circuits to which hydraulic pressure such as hydraulic pressure and hydraulic pressure is transmitted, but also pipelines of various pressure transmission circuits such as pipelines of circuits transmitting pressure of gas such as air pressure etc. The blocks can be connected by means of connector members.

The connector member of the present invention can be used to connect a conduit provided in a conduit block and has high industrial utility.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 connector member 10 tubular part 11 seal groove 2 O ring 71, 72 connection part 8 gate mark D 1 fixed side mold D 2 moving side mold D 3 core mold G gate 3, 4 pipeline block 31, 41 pipeline 5 connector member DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Tubular part 53 Plate-like connection part 73 2nd connection part 6, 9 connector member 60, 90 Tubular part 61 Step difference

Claims (2)

A connector member formed of a synthetic resin in a shape having a hollow tubular portion and used for connection of a conduit block,
Two O-rings are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion,
Two linear connection portions extending in the axial direction are provided to connect the O-rings with each other,
The two O-rings and the connecting portion are integrally formed ;
The two connecting portions are provided to be symmetrical with respect to a central axis of the tubular portion,
There is a gate mark of injection molding in one of the connection parts,
There is no gate mark on the other connection,
Pipeline block connector. The conduit block connecting connector member according to claim 1, wherein a step or a groove capable of suppressing the movement of the O-ring toward the center of the tubular portion is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the tubular portion.

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