JP6635678B2 - Pipe line connection structure of pipe block by connector member - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector member used for a pipe connection structure. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector member formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin and connecting a pipeline provided in a pipeline block, and a pipeline connection structure using such a connector member.

In a hydraulic circuit, a liquid feeding circuit, or the like, pipe blocks provided with pipe lines therein are disposed to face each other, and the pipe lines provided in each of the pipe blocks are connected to each other to form a series of pipe lines. Technology is used. For example, such a pipeline block or a pipeline connection structure is employed in a hydraulic circuit of an automatic transmission of an automobile, a refrigerant circulation circuit of an air conditioner, and the like.

In connecting the pipelines between the pipeline blocks, a tubular connector member is often interposed between the pipeline blocks in order to ensure the sealing performance while facilitating the connection operation. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector member formed in a hollow tubular shape by injection molding of a synthetic resin, and an O-ring is mounted in a seal groove provided on the outer periphery of the hollow tubular portion. In addition, in injection molding of a connector member, it is disclosed that a gate for injecting a resin is provided as a disk gate in a region closer to a pipe end than a seal groove. According to the connector member of Patent Literature 1, the pressure resistance of the synthetic resin connector member is improved.

JP 2014-151471 A

Such a connector member is often provided in a pipe connection of a pressure pipe, and a reliable sealing property is required. Further, it is required that the connector member has an appropriate pressure resistance depending on the use of the pipeline block. In particular, when the connector member is made of resin and is made of a resin connector member, the pressure resistance often becomes a branch point of whether resin conversion is possible or not, and improvement in pressure resistance is required. It is an object of the present invention to provide a conduit block connector member having excellent pressure resistance and good sealing properties, and a conduit connection structure for a conduit block using such a connector member.

The inventors studied further improvement of the pressure resistance of the connector member. When the connector member has the seal groove, it has been found that the connector member is likely to be damaged starting from the thin portion of the tube wall at the bottom of the seal groove or the corner of the seal groove. Then, the inventors studied a connector member and a conduit connection structure capable of reliably disposing an O-ring at a predetermined position without providing a seal groove in the connector member, and completed the present invention.

The connector member used in the pipeline connection structure of the pipeline block of the present invention is a connector member for connecting the pipeline of the pipeline block, and the connector member is a hollow tubular portion formed of a synthetic resin. A flange is provided in the shape of a disc on the outer periphery of the central portion of the tubular portion, and a pair of cylindrical portions are provided so as to sandwich the flange, the tubular portion is configured, and the cylindrical portion is formed. The outer peripheral surface of the portion is formed in a substantially smooth cylindrical surface, and a pair of O-rings are mounted on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion of the connector member so as to sandwich the flange. The connector member is mounted at a position substantially in contact with the flange, and the outer diameter of the flange is smaller than the outer diameter of the O-ring (first invention).

The present invention is a pipeline connection structure of a pipeline block using the connector member of the first invention, wherein a pair of pipeline blocks to be connected each have a plurality of pipelines to be connected to each other. In the end faces of the pair of pipeline blocks facing each other, each of the pipelines is provided with an enlarged portion in which the diameter of the pipeline is enlarged, and both ends of the connector member are inserted into the pair of pipelines. When the conduit is connected and the conduit is connected, the outer periphery of the O-ring of the connector member is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the enlarged diameter portion of the conduit, and the inner periphery of the O-ring is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the connector member. Then, these portions are sealed, and the flange of the connector member is located in the pipe enlarged portion of the opposed pipe block, and the tubular portion of the connector member moves in the enlarged portion in a direction orthogonal to the pipe axis. as it is allowed, flange and the enlarged diameter portion Between the surfaces a conduit connection structure of the pipe block gap is provided in the radial direction. (Second invention)

In the second aspect, the O-ring abuts against the bottom surface of the enlarged diameter portion, thereby restricting insertion of the connector member into the conduit, and causing the entire flange of the connector member to extend beyond the end face of the conduit block. as not enter the conduit enlarged diameter portion, the position of the bottom surface of the enlarged diameter portion is Ru is defined (third invention).

According to the connector member of the present invention (first invention) and the conduit connection structure of the present invention (second invention), since there is no seal groove in the connector member, destruction starting from a thin portion or a corner portion of the seal groove. Does not occur, and the pressure resistance of the connector member is improved. Further, according to the first and second inventions, the flange of the connector member functions as a backup ring for the O-ring, and the O-ring can be reliably positioned. Further, since the flange does not restrict the position of the connector member in the direction perpendicular to the axis, the sealing property by the O-ring is improved.

Furthermore, in the third aspect, since the flange is located at the position of the end face where the pipeline block abuts, it is possible to reliably prevent the O-ring from moving to the pipeline block end face, and the sealing performance is more reliable. It will be.

It is a partial sectional view showing the connector member of a 1st embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows a mode that the conduit of the conduit block is connected by the connector member of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing a connector member of a 2nd embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a connector member used in a hydraulic circuit of an automatic transmission of an automobile as an example. The present invention is not limited to the individual embodiments described below, and can be implemented by changing the form.

FIG. 1 shows a connector member 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The upper half of FIG. 1 is shown as a cross-sectional view, and the lower half is shown as an external view. FIG. 3 is similar. The connector member 1 is configured by attaching an O-ring to a member (connector member main body) made of synthetic resin. The connector member main body 10 is formed in a hollow, straight, tubular shape with a cylindrical inner peripheral surface. That is, in the present embodiment, the connector member main body is mainly constituted only by the hollow tubular portion. Two O-rings 2, 2 are mounted on the main body 10 of the connector member 1, and the O-rings 2, 2 seal between the connector member main body 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the conduit, as described later. .

A disk-shaped flange 11 protruding from the outer periphery of the tubular portion 10 is provided in the vicinity of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the tubular portion (connector member main body) 10 of the connector member 1. A pair of cylindrical portions 12, 12 are provided so as to sandwich the flange 11, and a hollow tubular portion 10 is configured. The inside of the tubular portion 10 is a through hole extending from one end to the other end.
In this embodiment, both ends in the length direction of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member are tapered so that it can be easily inserted into the conduit.

The outer peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical portions 12, 12 are formed in a substantially smooth cylindrical surface. That is, no so-called seal groove is provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical portions 12 and 12.
It is preferable that the inner peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical portions 12, 12 are also formed as substantially smooth cylindrical surfaces.

The pair of O-rings 2 and 2 are mounted on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portions 12 and 12 so as to sandwich the flange 11. The O-rings 2 and 2 are configured such that the inner peripheral surface thereof is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portions 12 and 12. The pair of O-rings 2 and 2 are mounted at positions substantially in contact with the flange 11 in the pipe axis direction. It is preferable that the O-rings 2 and 2 are mounted at positions where the O-rings 2 and 2 are in close contact with the flange 11.

The outer diameter of the flange 11 is smaller than the outer diameter of the O-ring 2. That is, the disk-shaped flange 11 is prevented from protruding outside the outermost peripheral portion of the O-ring. Preferably, the flange 11 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 12 by half the diameter d of the cross section of the O-ring 2, that is, d / 2 or more, so that the O-ring 2 does not climb over the flange 11. It is particularly preferable that the projection protrudes in the radial direction by 3/4 or more.

The connector member main body (tubular portion) 10 is a member formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin as described later. The connector member main body 10 may have a gate mark corresponding to the gate from which the resin was injected during the injection molding. The gate mark may be a disk gate existing in a ring shape on the inner peripheral surface side of the hollow tubular portion 10. The type and position of the gate are not particularly limited.

The synthetic resin constituting the connector member main body 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is a resin that can be molded by injection molding. Preferably, an olefin resin such as a polypropylene resin, a polyamide resin, a thermoplastic resin such as an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin, a thermosetting resin such as a melamine resin, a rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer, or the like can be used. The connector member main body 10 of the present embodiment is formed of a polyamide resin.

The manner in which the pipeline of the hydraulic circuit is connected by the connector member 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a part of the pipeline block, and the connector member 1 is shown in an external view. Here, the pipeline block is a member having a pipeline formed therein, and when a predetermined pipeline block is arranged to face in a predetermined positional relationship, the internal pipelines communicate to complete a series of pipelines. It is a member configured to perform The pipeline block is typically made of an iron-based alloy, an aluminum alloy, a synthetic resin, or the like. The conduit block is preferably provided with a plurality of conduits. These conduits are typically formed by machining or the like.

The connector member 1 is interposed between the pipeline blocks 3 and 4 disposed opposite to each other, and connects the pipelines 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 each pipeline block is provided with pipelines 31 and 41 inside the block by drilling. ing. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the connector member 1 is disposed so as to enter the conduits 31 and 41, and the conduit blocks 3 and 4 are arranged facing each other and assembled, the conduits 31 and 41 at positions facing each other are assembled. Are connected through the connector member 1.

Pipes 31 and 41 provided in the pipe blocks 3 and 4 have enlarged portions 32 and 42 in which the pipes 31 and 41 are enlarged in diameter at an end face AS where the paired pipe blocks face each other. Is provided. The enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 are provided so as to have a diameter larger than the diameter of a conduit in a portion where the distal end portion of the cylindrical portion 12 of the connector member is inserted and arranged. In addition, the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 have cylindrical inner peripheral surfaces 321 and 421 having a diameter capable of accommodating the O-ring 2 and a portion where the enlarged diameter portion is reduced in diameter substantially parallel to the end surface AS of the pipeline block. And bottom surfaces 322 and 422 provided. The enlarged diameter portion is typically formed by providing a stepped hole coaxially when providing the conduits 31 and 41. The bottom surfaces 322 and 422 are preferably planar in parallel with the end surface AS, but may be conical surfaces.

Both ends (cylindrical portions 12, 12) of the tubular portion 10 of the connector member 1 are inserted into the conduits 31 and 41, respectively, and these conduits are connected (FIG. 2B).
When the conduit blocks 3 and 4 are assembled and the conduits 31 and 41 are connected by the connector member 1, the pair of O-rings 2 and 2 respectively include the flange 11 of the connector member and the expanded portion 32 of the conduit. , 42 in the space between the bottom surfaces 322, 422. That is, the positions of the O-rings 2 and 2 in the pipe axis direction are regulated by abutting on the flange 11 and the bottom surfaces 322 and 422 of the pipe expansion portion. There may be a gap between the O-ring and the flange 11 or the bottom surfaces 322 and 422, but they may be in contact with each other.

In the present embodiment, the O-ring 2 abuts against the bottom surfaces 322 and 422 of the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42, so that the O-ring 2 and the flange 11 are further prevented from entering, and the O-ring 2 and the flange 11 are connected to the conduit of the connector member 1. Is configured to be restricted. Further, in the present embodiment, the position of the bottom surface of the enlarged diameter portion is specified so that the entire flange 11 of the connector member does not enter the enlarged diameter portion of the pipeline beyond the end face AS of the pipeline blocks 3 and 4. Have been. That is, even if the connector member is fully inserted into the pipeline of the pipeline block, the entire flange 11 is configured not to enter the one of the pipeline expansion portions 32 and 42. By adopting such a configuration, the flange 11 of the connector member is always arranged at a portion where the end face AS of the pipeline block faces. It is particularly preferable that the bottom surfaces 322 and 422 of both the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 are located at such positions, respectively.

The outer circumferences of the O-rings 2 and 2 of the connector member are in close contact with the inner peripheral surfaces 321 and 421 of the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 of the conduit, and the inner circumference of the O-ring is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 12 of the connector member. Then, these portions are sealed, the seal between the conduits 31 and 41 and the connector member 1 is completed, and the conduits 31 and 41 are connected in a sealed state.

Here, the flange 11 of the connector member is located inside the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 of the opposed pipeline blocks 3 and 4, but the diameter between the flange 11 and the inner peripheral surfaces 321 and 421 of the enlarged diameter portion is between the flanges 11 and the inner peripheral surfaces 321 and 421 of the enlarged diameter portion. A gap is provided in the direction. This gap allows the tubular portion 10 of the connector member to move in a direction perpendicular to the tube axis.

A method for manufacturing the connector member 1 will be described. The connector member body 10 is manufactured by injection molding of a known resin. As the O-ring, a commercially available O-ring can be used. The O-ring may be manufactured by injection molding of rubber. By pushing the O-rings 2 and 2 from both ends of the cylindrical portions 12 and 12 of the connector member main body 10 to a position where the O-rings 2 and 2 come into contact with the flange 11, the connector member 1 with the O-ring mounted thereon can be obtained.

The operation and effects of the connector member of the above embodiment and the conduit connection structure of the conduit block by the connector member will be described.
The tubular portion 10 of the connector member of the above embodiment has no so-called seal groove. The hollow tubular cylindrical portions 12, 12 are formed in a simple smooth cylindrical shape. Therefore, a part of the cylindrical portion is not formed to be thin, and there is no reduction in strength due to the presence of the thin portion. Further, since the cylindrical portions 12, 12 have a substantially smooth cylindrical outer peripheral surface, there is no corner portion such as a seal groove. Therefore, there is no reduction in strength due to the occurrence of stress concentration at the corners. The connector member 1 can have higher strength than a conventional connector member having a seal groove.

Also, since the O-rings 2 and 2 of the connector member 1 are mounted at positions almost in contact with the flange 11, the connector member is assembled to the pipeline block to be sealed, and when hydraulic pressure is applied to the pipeline. The section where the large internal pressure is applied to the connector member is only the section between the O-rings 2 and 2 in the tube axis direction, that is, the section where the flange 11 is provided. This portion is provided with a sufficient thickness by the provision of the flange 11, so that the strength can be sufficiently increased. Therefore, even if the thickness of the cylindrical portions 12, 12 of the connector member is thin, the pressure resistance of the connector member can be increased.

As described above, according to the connector member 1 of the above-described embodiment, the pressure resistance of the connector member can be increased, and a small-sized connector member that has conventionally been difficult to be made of resin can be made of resin.

Further, according to the connector member of the above embodiment, as described below, the sealing of the connector member by the O-ring is improved.
Since the O-rings 2 and 2 are provided at positions almost in contact with the flange 11, when the connector member 1 is inserted into the pipelines of the pipeline blocks 3 and 4, the O-rings 2 and 2 are respectively fitted to the flanges. While being pressed against 11, the connector member 1 is inserted, and the O-rings 2 and 2 are arranged. As a result, the O-rings 2 and 2 are arranged at positions (preferably closely) in contact with the flange 11. Thereby, the positioning of the O-ring in the tube axis direction is ensured. Further, by disposing the O-ring at this position, the flange 11 also functions as a backup ring for the O-rings 2 and 2. Therefore, the sealing performance of the O-ring 2 is improved.

Further, in the connector member 1, the outer diameter of the flange 11 is smaller than the outer diameter of the O-rings 2, 2, and in the conduit connection structure of the conduit block, the flange 11 of the connector member 1 A radial gap is provided between the flange 11 and the enlarged-diameter portion inner peripheral surfaces 321 and 421 in the enlarged-diameter portions 32 and 42 of the pipelines 31 and 41 of the opposed pipeline blocks 3 and 4. This allows the tubular portion 10 of the connector member to move in a direction perpendicular to the tube axis direction. Thereby, even when an assembly error such as eccentricity or deflection of the pipeline occurs between the two when the pipeline blocks 3 and 4 are assembled, the tubular portion 10 moves in the direction perpendicular to the pipe axis direction. These errors can be absorbed by dropping or changing the posture, and the sealing performance of the O-ring 2 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the O-ring 2 is configured to be in contact with the bottom surfaces 322 and 422 of the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 so that insertion of the connector member 1 into the conduit is restricted, and the connector member The positions of the bottom surfaces 322 and 422 of the enlarged diameter portions in the tube axis direction are defined so that the entire flange 11 does not enter the enlarged diameter portions 32 and 42 beyond the end face AS of the pipeline block. . Therefore, since the flange 11 can be always located at the position of the end face AS where the pipeline blocks 3 and 4 abut each other, it is possible to reliably prevent the O-ring 2 from moving to the pipeline block end face AS. As a result, the sealing by the O-ring becomes more reliable.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following description, a description will be given mainly of portions different from the above-described embodiment, and detailed description of similar portions will be omitted. Further, these embodiments can be implemented by combining some of them or replacing some of them.

FIG. 3 shows a connector member 5 according to the second embodiment. The point where the hollow tubular portion 50 of the connector member body is provided with the O-rings 2 and 2 and the tubular portion 50 is provided with the flange portion 51 and the cylindrical portions 52 and 52 and the arrangement thereof is the same as in the first embodiment. The present embodiment also has the same operation and effect as the connector member 1 of the first embodiment.

In the connector member 5 of the present embodiment, guide portions 53 are further provided at both ends of the tubular portion 50 of the connector member main body. The guide portions 53 serve as guides for facilitating the insertion of the end of the connector member 5 into the conduit of the conduit block. In the present embodiment, the guide portions 53, 53 are provided in a comb-like shape in which a plurality of slits are formed in a cylinder obtained by extending the cylindrical portions 52, 52, but may have another form. .
As described above, the connector member may include a portion other than the tubular portion including the flange and the cylindrical portion. For example, the connector member may be provided with a net member for filtering out dirt or the like, or a portion (insertion restricting portion) for preventing excessive insertion of the connector member is provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion and provided in the conduit. You may make it contact | abut on the step which was made.

In the above description, an example is described in which an O-ring made of a rubber material having a circular cross section is used as the O-ring 2. However, if the seal portion can be sealed, the specific shape and material of the O-ring, The molding method is not particularly limited, and an O-ring having another cross-sectional shape or an O-ring made of another material may be used. For example, an O-ring may be integrally formed with the connector member main body by secondary molding an elastomer material (for example, a thermoplastic elastomer or the like) at a portion where the flange 11 and the cylindrical portion 12 are connected.

The method of providing the gate when the main body of the connector member, particularly the hollow tubular portion (10, 50) is injection-molded, is not particularly limited, but a ring shape is formed from the outer circumference or the inner circumference of the flange (11, 51). It is preferable to configure a film gate, a ring gate, and a disk gate so that the resin is supplied to the substrate, and perform injection molding. When the gate is provided in this manner, no weld is generated in the hollow tubular portion, and a gate mark is left at a portion of the flange formed to be thicker than the other, so that it is particularly preferable to increase the pressure resistance of the connector member. Because.

The specific application field in which the connector member is used is not particularly limited, and can be widely applied as long as it is a connector member for connecting the pipeline of the pipeline block. For example, the connector member of the present invention can be used for a hydraulic circuit, a pipeline block such as a refrigerant pipe, a cooling water circulation system, a pressure transmission system, and a flow control valve. Further, a pipeline block for connecting various pipelines of a pressure transmission circuit, such as a pipeline for a circuit for transmitting gas pressure such as air pressure as well as a pipeline for a circuit for transmitting hydraulic pressure such as hydraulic pressure or water pressure. Can be connected by a connector member.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The connector member of the present invention can be used for connecting a pipeline provided in a pipeline block, and has high industrial value.

1 connector member 10 tubular part (connector member body)
11 Flange 12 Cylindrical part 2 O-ring (seal material)
3, 4 Pipe block 31, 41 Pipe 32, 42 Expansion part 5 Connector member 50 Tubular part 51 Flange 52 Cylindrical part 53 Guide part

Claims (1)

A pipe connection structure of a pipe block using a connector member,
The connector members are
It has a hollow tubular part molded of synthetic resin,
A flange is provided in a disk shape on the outer periphery of the central portion of the tubular portion, and the tubular portion is configured by providing a pair of cylindrical portions so as to sandwich the flange,
The outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion is formed in a substantially smooth cylindrical surface,
On the connector member, a pair of O-rings are mounted on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion so as to sandwich the flange,
The pair of O-rings are mounted at positions almost in contact with the flange,
A connector member in which the outer diameter of the flange is smaller than the outer diameter of the O-ring,
Each of the pair of pipeline blocks to be connected has a plurality of pipelines to be connected to each other,
On the end faces of the pair of pipeline blocks facing each other, each pipeline is provided with an enlarged portion in which the pipeline is enlarged,
Both ends of the connector member are inserted into the pair of conduits, and the conduits are connected,
With the pipeline connected,
The outer periphery of the O-ring of the connector member is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the enlarged diameter portion of the conduit, the inner periphery of the O-ring is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the connector member, and these portions are sealed.
The flange of the connector member is located in the conduit enlarged portion of the opposing conduit block, and the flange is formed so that the tubular portion of the connector member is allowed to move in the enlarged portion in a direction orthogonal to the pipe axis. A gap is provided in the radial direction between the inner peripheral surfaces of the enlarged diameter portion ,
When the O-ring contacts the bottom surface of the enlarged diameter portion, insertion of the connector member into the conduit is restricted, and
The position of the bottom surface of the enlarged-diameter portion is defined so that the entire flange of the connector member does not enter the enlarged-diameter portion of the pipeline beyond the end face of the pipeline block. Construction.

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