JP7235529B2 - branch joint unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to branch joint units.

2. Description of the Related Art A T-shaped joint as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, is used to supply cold water and hot water to a mixing faucet or the like from supply pipes through which cold water and hot water flow, respectively. In this example, a first T-shaped joint is connected to the first supply pipe through which cold water flows, and a pipe member branching to the water faucet of the mixed faucet is connected, and a second T-shaped joint is connected to the second supply pipe through which hot water flows. were connected to connect a pipe member branching to the hot water tap of the mixed faucet. Here, the first and second supply pipes are generally arranged in parallel. For example, when the second supply pipe is arranged on the mixing faucet side, at the first T-shaped joint, A branch pipe branching from the first supply pipe is formed to extend over the second supply pipe and toward the mixing faucet side.

JP-A-2000-71341

By the way, in order to perform the construction as described above, the second T-shaped joint is arranged on the wall surface, and the first T-shaped joint is arranged thereon. That is, the branch pipe of the first T-shaped joint is arranged so as to climb over the second T-shaped joint. Therefore, since the movement of the second T-shaped joint arranged on the lower side is restricted by the first T-shaped joint, it is difficult to lift the second T-shaped joint from the wall surface and grasp it, and it is difficult to attach the supply pipe to the second T-shaped joint. was not easy. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a branch joint unit that is easy to construct.

A branch joint unit according to the present invention includes a first joint body having a first main pipe and a first branch pipe branching from the first main pipe, a second main pipe, and a second main pipe branching from the second main pipe. and a second joint body having two branch pipes, wherein when the first main pipe of the first joint body and the second main pipe of the second joint body are arranged substantially parallel, the first branch pipe is configured to extend from the first main pipe over the second main pipe, across the second main pipe, to the opposite side of the first main pipe, and in the second main pipe , The portion over which the first branch pipe crosses is constituted by a cylindrical portion having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface.

In the branch joint unit, the cylindrical portion of the second main pipe may be formed to have a diameter smaller than that of the portion of the second main pipe that sandwiches the cylindrical portion.

In the split joint unit, the length in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion can be formed longer than the outer diameter of a portion of the first branch pipe that passes over the cylindrical portion.

In the branch joint unit, a step may be formed between the cylindrical portion of the second main pipe and portions of the second main pipe sandwiching the cylindrical portion.

In the above-mentioned branch joint unit, in the first branch pipe, the part over which the cylindrical portion of the second main pipe is crossed can be constituted by a curved pipe portion whose axis extends in an arc shape.

The branch joint unit may further include a connecting member attached to at least both ends of the first main pipe and both ends of the second main pipe so as to be rotatable about an axis and connecting the pipe members. .

According to the branch joint unit according to the present invention, construction can be easily performed.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a branch joint unit according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first T-shaped joint in the branch joint unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2; 2 is a perspective view of a second T-shaped joint in the branch joint unit of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of how to use the branch joint unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of how to use the branch joint unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another method of using the branch joint unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of how to use the branch joint unit of FIG. 1;

An embodiment of a branch joint unit according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of this branch joint unit. In the following description, the vertical, horizontal, and front/rear directions are based on those shown in each drawing, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

<1. Overview of the branch joint unit>
As shown in FIG. 1, this branch joint unit can be used in a variety of ways. Below, when supply pipes 7 and 8 for supplying cold water and hot water are arranged in parallel, they are branched and mixed. An example in which hot water and cold water are supplied to a faucet (not shown) will be described. Specifically, this branch joint unit includes a first T-shaped joint (first joint body) 10 and a second T-shaped joint (second joint body) 20, which are partially intersected. placed. These joints are described in detail below.

<1-1. Structure of the first T-shaped joint>
2 is a perspective view of the first T-shaped joint, and FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first T-shaped joint 10 includes a first main pipe 1 and a first branch pipe 2 connected perpendicularly to the vicinity of the center in the axial direction, The insides of the first main pipe 1 and the first branch pipe 2 communicate with each other.

Connecting members 6 are attached to both ends of the first main pipe 1 respectively. Although the structure of these connecting members 6 is not particularly limited, pipe members can be detachably or irremovably connected by a known structure such as a screw type or an insertion type. Moreover, these connecting members 6 can be appropriately replaced according to the diameter of the pipe member to be connected. Therefore, the outer diameter of the connecting member 6 that connects pipe members with a large diameter is large, and the outer diameter of the connecting member 6 that connects pipe members with a small diameter is small. In addition, in this embodiment, the insertion type connection member 6 which connects the supply pipes 7 and 8 by one-touch and cannot be removed is mainly illustrated. Further, these connecting members 6 are connected to the first main pipe 1 so as to be rotatable around the axis.

The first branch pipe 2 extends downward from the first main pipe 1, and has a bent portion 21 that protrudes forward in the middle. It is in contact with the second main pipe 3 of the joint 20 . The bent portion 21 is formed of a bent tube having an arcuate axis, and thereby the rear surface of the bent portion 21 is formed in an arcuate shape. A connecting member 6 having the same configuration as that of the first main pipe 1 is attached to the lower end of the first branch pipe 2 so as to be rotatable around the axis.

<1-2. Structure of the second T-shaped joint>
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second T-joint. As shown in FIG. 4, the second T-shaped joint 20 includes a second main pipe 3 and a second branch pipe 4 connected perpendicularly to the second main pipe 3. The insides of the pipe 3 and the second branch pipe 4 communicate with each other. The second main pipe 3 is configured by connecting a first large diameter portion 31, a small diameter portion (cylindrical portion) 32, and a second large diameter portion 33 from the left side to the right side in the first direction. The small diameter portion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter smaller than that of the first and second large diameter portions 31 and 33 . That is, the small diameter portion 32 is formed to have the smallest outer diameter in the second main pipe 2 . Thereby, a step 34 is formed at the boundary between both ends of the small-diameter portion 32 and the large-diameter portions 31 and 33 . Further, the axial length of the small diameter portion 32 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter (length in the left-right direction) of the bent portion 21 described above. The inner diameter of the second main pipe 3 is formed to be the same as the inner diameter of the small diameter portion 32 over the entire axial direction.

The small diameter portion 32 is provided slightly to the right of the center of the second main pipe 3 in the axial direction. The above-described second branch pipe 4 is connected to the first large-diameter portion 31 at a position slightly left of the center of the second main pipe 3 in the axial direction. More specifically, the first large-diameter portion 31 has a portion with a slightly smaller outer diameter near the middle in the axial direction, and the second branch pipe 4 is connected to this portion. Also, connecting members 6 similar to the first T-shaped joint 10 are attached to both ends of the second main pipe 3 and the lower end of the second branch pipe 4 so as to be rotatable about their respective axes.

The first and second T-shaped joints 10 and 20 configured as described above can be made of, for example, metal materials such as bronze (CAC406, etc.) and brass, as well as thermoplastic resin materials such as olefins. . Furthermore, these may be mixed. The connecting member 6 can also be made of a metal material such as bronze (CAC406, etc.) or brass, but can also be made of a resin material such as plastic. It should be noted that it is not necessary to integrally form all of the tubes 1 to 4, and it is also possible to combine a plurality of parts. For example, in the second T-shaped joint 20, a portion of the portion on the right side of the small-diameter portion of the first large-diameter portion 31, the small-diameter portion 32, and the second large-diameter portion 33 are integrated by cutting a metal material. (portion indicated by reference numeral 35 in FIG. 4). Then, the remaining portion of the first large-diameter portion 31 and the second branch pipe 4 are integrally formed by casting (hereinafter referred to as a casting component), and the connecting member 6 is attached to the second T. A digitated joint 20 can be formed. As a result, if the connection member 6 is attached to the casting part, it can be used as a T-shaped joint without a small diameter portion.

<2. How to use the branch joint unit>
Next, how to use the branch joint unit configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the first T-shaped joint 10 is arranged on the upper side, and the second T-shaped joint 20 is arranged on the lower side. They are arranged so that the small-diameter portions 32 intersect. At this time, the bent portion 21 is arranged on the front side, and the small diameter portion 32 is arranged on the rear side. As a result, the first branch pipe 2 is arranged to extend downward over the second main pipe 3 .

Supply pipes 7 through which cold water flows are connected to connecting members 6 at both ends of the first main pipe 1, respectively. Similarly, connecting members 6 at both ends of the second main pipe 3 are connected to supply pipes 8 for supplying hot water. Also, the connecting member 6 of the first branch pipe 2 is connected with a supply pipe 7 for cold water extending to the mixing faucet. The supply pipes 7 and 8 are arranged to extend along the wall surface T as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bent portion 21 of the first T-shaped joint 10 is arranged so as to be in contact with the small-diameter portion 32 of the second T-shaped joint 20 formed in a cylindrical shape. Therefore, the second T-shaped joint 20 is rotatable about the axis so that the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 32 slides on the rear surface of the bent portion 21 (see arrow). Therefore, when connecting the hot water supply pipe 8 to the connecting member 6 of the second branch pipe 4, as shown in FIG. Rotate forward. At this time, since the second main pipe 3 is rotatable about the axis with respect to the already connected supply pipe 8, the turning of the second branch pipe 4 can be easily performed. This makes it easier to attach the supply pipe 8 to the connecting member 6 . After the supply pipe 8 for hot water is attached in this manner, the supply pipes 7 and 8 connected to the respective branch pipes 2 and 4 are connected to the water tap and the hot water tap of the mixed faucet, respectively.

As a result, cold water is branched from the supply pipe 7 through which cold water flows through the first main pipe 1 and supplied to the water tap through the first branch pipe 3 . Hot water branches from the supply pipe 8 through which hot water flows through the second main pipe 3 and is supplied to the hot water tap through the second branch pipe 4 .

<3. Features>
(1) Since the branch joint unit is generally connected to the supply pipes 7 and 8 extending along the wall surface T, if the second branch pipe 4 remains along the wall surface T, the second branch pipe It is difficult to grasp the pipe 4, and it is not easy to connect the supply pipe 8 for hot water. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when both the T-shaped joints 10 and 20 are combined, if the lower ends of the first branch pipe 2 and the second branch pipe 4 are arranged at the same position, both the branch pipes 2 , 4, and this also makes it difficult to grasp the second branch pipe 4. - 特許庁

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the second main pipe 3 of the second T-shaped joint 20 is formed with a cylindrical small diameter portion 32, and the first branch pipe 2 of the first T-shaped joint 10 is arranged so as to climb over it. It is Therefore, the second T-shaped joint 20 is rotatable about the axis so that the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 32 slides on the rear surface of the bent portion 21 . Therefore, the second branch pipe 4 can be pivoted forward, which allows the installer to grip the second branch pipe 4 firmly. As a result, the supply pipe 8 can be easily connected to the second branch pipe 4 .

(2) The small-diameter portion 32 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the other portions of the second main pipe 3, that is, the first and second large-diameter portions 31 and 33. As shown in FIG. Therefore, forward projection of the first branch pipe 2 overcoming this can be suppressed. Therefore, the branch joint unit can be made compact in the front-rear direction.

(3) Mixed faucets are generally equipped with a hot water faucet on the left side and a water faucet on the right side, but there are cases where they are arranged oppositely. In this case, in the branch joint unit according to the present embodiment, when the front and rear of the second T-shaped joint 20 are turned upside down with respect to the wall surface T and the first T-shaped joint 10 is superimposed thereon, it becomes as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the figure, the first branch pipe 2 branching from the first main pipe 1 is arranged on the left side, and the cold water flowing through the first main pipe 1 flows through the first branch pipe 2 to the left side of the mixing faucet. water taps. On the other hand, the second branch pipe 4 branching from the second main pipe 3 is arranged on the right side, and the hot water flowing through the second main pipe 3 is supplied to the hot water tap on the right side of the mixed faucet via the second branch pipe 4. be. Therefore, even if the positions of the water supply faucet and the hot water supply faucet of the mixing faucet are exchanged, this can be easily dealt with simply by turning over the second T-shaped joint 20 .

(4) In the second main pipe 3, the axial length of the small diameter portion 32 is greater than the outer diameter of the bent portion 21 of the first branch pipe 2, so the first branch pipe 2 is arranged in the small diameter portion 32. Sometimes gaps are formed on both sides of the first branch pipe 2 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the first T-shaped joint unit 10 can be shifted left and right by the length of this gap. In particular, since a step is formed between the large-diameter portions 31 and 33 and the small-diameter portion 32, the lateral movement distance of the first T-shaped joint 10 can be restricted. Since it is configured as described above, the left and right positioning of the first T-shaped joint 10 can be easily performed according to the positions of the water supply valve and the hot water supply valve of the mixing valve.

(5) Since the outer diameter of the small-diameter portion 32 of the second T-shaped joint 20 is formed to be small, the degree of bending of the first branch pipe 2 overcoming this can be reduced. Therefore, as described above, the amount of forward protrusion can be reduced, and the flow of water can be made smoother, thereby reducing the influence of a decrease in flow velocity. Also, the size of the cover that covers the branch joint unit can be reduced.

(6) In the branch joint unit according to the above embodiment, since the two T-shaped joints 10 and 20 are completely separated, the cold water flowing through the first main pipe 1 and the first branch pipe 2 is 3 and the hot water flowing through the second branch pipe 4 can be prevented from being affected by each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the temperature of cold water from rising and the temperature of hot water from dropping.

<4. Variation>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. It should be noted that the following modifications can be combined as appropriate.

<4-1>
In the above embodiment, both main pipes 1 and 3 are arranged in parallel and both branch pipes 2 and 4 are arranged in parallel. good. Moreover, each of the pipes 1 to 4 may not be a straight pipe, and may be composed of a curved pipe. Furthermore, the diameter and length of each of the pipes 1 to 4 can be changed as appropriate. The positions of both ends in the direction may be aligned, or may not be aligned. Also, the diameters of the tubes 1 to 4 may not be the same, and tubes with different diameters may be combined. Moreover, the connecting positions of the main pipes 1, 3 and the branch pipes 2, 4 at the respective T-shaped joints 10, 20 are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate.

<4-2>
The small diameter portion 32 of the second main pipe 3 does not necessarily have to have a smaller diameter than the first and second large diameter portions 31 and 33 . That is, the outer diameter of the second main pipe 3 may be substantially the same throughout the axial direction, and at least the outer diameter of the portion over which the first branch pipe 2 rides should be cylindrical. Moreover, the step 34 may not be formed at the boundary between the small diameter portion 32 and the first and second large diameter portions 31 and 33, and these may be gently connected by an inclined surface or the like.

<4-3>
The shape of the bent portion 21 in the first branch pipe 2 is not particularly limited as long as it can get over the second main pipe 3 . Further, in the above embodiment, the first branch pipe 2 climbs over the second main pipe 3 from the front side, but it may also climb over from the rear side.

<4-4>
In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the joint unit according to the present invention is connected to a mixing faucet from a pair of supply pipes 7 and 8 for supplying cold water and hot water, respectively, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the hot and cold water may be connected to separate single faucets or valves. In addition, it can be applied to supply pipes other than cold water and hot water, and can be used for any purpose as long as it is a joint for branching from two supply pipes that flow different or the same type of fluid. be able to.

<4-5>
Each connecting member 6 is configured such that the connected supply pipes 7 and 8 are rotatable about the axis with respect to the respective pipes 1-4, but may not be rotatable. The connecting member 6 attached to at least the second main pipe 3 (or one of the two main pipes 1 and 3) may be configured so as to be able to rotatably connect the supply pipe 8 in order to improve workability. Although preferred, pivoting of the branch pipes 2, 4 is possible even if they are not rotatable.

<4-5>
The wall surface to which the joint unit of the present invention is attached can be, for example, the front or back surface of a vertically standing wall, or a stepped surface (surface forming an external corner or an internal corner) by a pillar or a beam.

1 First main pipe 2 First branch pipe 21 Bent portion 3 Second main pipe 32 Small diameter portion (cylindrical portion)
4 Second branch pipe 10 First T-shaped joint (first branch joint)
20 Second T-shaped joint (second branch joint)

Claims (3)

a first joint body having a first main pipe and a first branch pipe branching from the first main pipe;
a second joint body having a second main pipe and a second branch pipe branching from the second main pipe;
with
When the first main pipe of the first joint body and the second main pipe of the second joint body are arranged substantially parallel, the first branch pipe extends from the first main pipe to the second main pipe. overcoming the second main pipe and extending in the opposite direction to the first main pipe,
In the second main pipe, the portion over which the first branch pipe crosses is configured by a cylindrical portion having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface,
The cylindrical portion of the second main pipe is formed to have a smaller diameter than the portion sandwiching the cylindrical portion in the second main pipe ,
The length of the cylindrical portion in the axial direction is longer than the outer diameter of a portion of the first branch pipe that crosses over the cylindrical portion,
A branch joint unit , wherein a step is formed between the cylindrical portion of the second main pipe and portions of the second main pipe sandwiching the cylindrical portion. 2. The branch joint unit according to claim 1 , wherein the portion of the first branch pipe that crosses over the cylindrical portion of the second main pipe is composed of a curved pipe portion whose axis extends in an arc. 3. The connecting member according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a connecting member attached to at least one end of one of said first main pipe and said second main pipe so as to be rotatable about an axis and for connecting pipe members. Branch joint unit.

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