JPH04244692A - Mating flange for flexible tube fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide such a mating flange that is excellent in workability in addition to positive sealability by ameliorating the mating flange available at time of connecting a connected tube to a flexible tube fitting by means of flanging. CONSTITUTION:A mating flange 1 is composed of a flange body 2, formed into a ring with a smaller inner diameter than an outer diameter of an elastic flange 13 and being free of separation and a ring body 3 with a larger inner diameter than the flange body 2 as concentrically combined together, and plural pieces of bolt coupling holes are installed in these flange and ring bodies 2, 3 at each corresponding position. With this constitution, the elastic flange is easily attachable to an interval between a connected tube and the mating flange as keeping the extent of high sealability intact.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention relates to a companion flange for a flexible pipe joint, and more particularly to a companion flange used for connecting a flexible pipe joint having an elastic flange at the end with a connected pipe. Regarding.

0002

[Prior Art] Relatively short flexible pipe joints are used for water piping such as water supply and drainage pipes, at bent or rising parts above ground or underground, or at connections to various devices and equipment. is used. Such flexible pipe joints are usually made by forming an elastic flexible material such as synthetic rubber into a tube shape, and depending on the purpose, tire cord or spiral metal wire is inserted into the tube wall for reinforcement. In some cases, the pipe is buried in the pipe, or the pipe is made into a bellows shape to improve flexibility.

Conventionally, in order to connect a flexible pipe joint and a pipe to be connected such as another metal pipe or a hard plastic pipe, the end of the flexible pipe joint is inserted into the end of the pipe to be connected. Generally, the outer periphery of the pipe is fastened with a ring-shaped band, or flanges are provided at each end of the pipe to be connected and the end of the flexible pipe joint, and the two are connected with bolts. ing. However, the former band fastening method is inherently easy to come off and has poor sealing performance, so it is limited to simple connection methods, and in industrial applications with relatively large diameters,
The latter flange connection method is exclusively used.

Although this flange connection method is more secure and reliable than band connection, it has been difficult to simultaneously ensure sealing performance and maintain the durability of the elastic flange. In other words, when such an elastic flange is connected to a flange of a connected pipe using bolts, if a large tightening force is used to improve sealing performance, large stress is constantly applied to the bolted part of the elastic flange, resulting in long life. It could not withstand long-term use, leading to leakage or damage from the connections. Especially when the fluid pressure inside the pipe is high, this tendency becomes even stronger. In order to solve these problems in the flange connection method, the present applicant previously proposed a new flange connection method using companion flanges (Utility Application No. 128296/1982). This method does not directly connect the elastic flange of the flexible pipe joint to the flange of the mating pipe to be connected using bolts, but instead provides a separate mating flange with a ring-shaped stopper, and connects this mating flange to the flange of the mating pipe. After sandwiching an elastic flange therebetween, the companion flange and the flange of the pipe to be connected are bolted together.

[0005]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] The flange connection method using the above-mentioned companion flanges is an excellent method that can ensure sufficiently high sealing performance even with a low tightening force, but it is still insufficient in terms of workability during bolt connection. There was a point. That is, in this connection method, the companion flange and the flange of the connected pipe have a larger outer diameter than the elastic flange in order to secure the bolted joint part, and the inner diameter of the companion flange has an elastic flange to sandwich the elastic flange. is smaller than the outside diameter of the flange. Therefore, in order to sandwich the elastic flange between the companion flange and the flange of the connected pipe, it is necessary to push the elastic flange between the two flanges while reducing the size by hand. This pushing operation requires considerable skill, and the difficulty of the operation increases accordingly, especially when the elastic flange has a relatively high hardness. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems in the flange connection method using such a companion flange, and to provide a new companion flange that maintains high sealing performance and has excellent workability when bolted together. That is.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A companion flange of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is a flexible pipe joint having an elastic flange at the end and a connected pipe when the connected pipe is joined by a flange. This is a companion flange used for sandwiching and bolting the elastic flange to the flange. This companion flange consists of a ring-shaped flange body that has an inner diameter sufficient to press and hold the elastic flange against the flange of the connected pipe and is separable, and a ring that has an inner diameter larger than that of the flange body. It is constructed by combining the bodies coaxially. The flange body and the ring body are characterized in that a plurality of holes for bolt connection are provided at corresponding positions, respectively.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, holes for bolt connection in the flange body are provided at least on the dividing line. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, one surface of the ring-shaped flange main body has a step surface that is low on the inside in the radial direction and high on the outside, and further radially inside the low step surface. A ring-shaped protrusion is formed. This low level difference surface is used as a contact surface of the elastic flange, and the elastic flange is partially pressed and held against the flange surface of the pipe to be connected by a higher pressure due to the ridge formed there. Further, the high step surface is used as a stopper surface when the elastic flange is held and bolted together.

[0008]

[Operation] When connecting a flexible pipe joint to a connected pipe using the companion flange of the present invention, first, insert the elastic flange of the flexible pipe joint into a ring body with a relatively large inner diameter, and then , one surface of the elastic flange and one surface of the flange of the pipe to be connected are brought into contact. Next, the flange main body having a smaller inner diameter is inserted in a divided state into a ring shape while abutting the other surface of the elastic flange, and the elastic flange is inserted between the flange main body and the flange of the pipe to be connected. sandwiched between. Next, the flange main body, the elastic flange, and the flange of the pipe to be connected are bolted to each other to connect the flexible pipe joint to the pipe to be connected.

Therefore, in the companion flange of the present invention, the flange main body, which generally has an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the elastic flange, can be easily divided so that the elastic flange can be held between the flange of the connected pipe. It can be brought into contact with an elastic flange. In order to compensate for the instability caused by the splitting, the flange body brought into contact in this way is coaxially connected to a non-split ring body that has a larger inner diameter and into which an elastic flange can be easily inserted. are superimposed.

0010

Embodiments Next, embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing a state in which a flexible pipe joint is flanged to a connected pipe using an example of the companion flange of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the companion flange in FIG. 1 into each part. FIG.

In FIG. 2, the companion flange 1 is shown in FIG. 2(a).
It is composed of a flange main body 2, and a non-divided ring body 3 as shown in FIG. 2(b). The flange body 2 is a semicircular 2
It is possible to divide the ring into two ring pieces 2a and 2b. However, it may be divided into three or more parts. Both sides of the flange body 2 (each ring piece 2a, 2b) each form a stepped surface, one of which has a stepped surface 4 that is low on the inside in the radial direction and high on the outside, and the other stepped surface 5 is a stepped surface that is high on the outside in the radial direction. The stepped surface is higher on the inside and lower on the outside.

The lower surface of the step surface 4 serves as a ring-shaped neck pressing surface 6 against which the elastic flange of the flexible pipe joint comes into contact, and the higher surface serves as a bolt connection between the elastic flange and the pipe to be connected. It is used as a ring-shaped stopper surface 7 when Furthermore, a ring-shaped protrusion 8 is formed on the radially inner side of the neck pressing surface 6. This stopper surface 7 serves to prevent the companion flange 1 from inclining with respect to the flange of the pipe to be connected when the elastic flange is clamped and bolted together. The difference in height between the neck pressing surface 6 and the stopper surface 7 is determined depending on the compression ratio desired for the elastic flange when the elastic flange is clamped and bolted together. Note that, depending on the case, this height difference may be set to zero, and there is no need to provide a stopper surface. On the other hand, the lower radially outer surface of the stepped surface 5 serves as a ring abutting surface 9 on which the ring body 3 is coaxially assembled.

The inner diameter of the flange body 2 is set to a size sufficient to press and clamp the elastic flange to the pipe to be connected, but generally, the diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the elastic flange by an amount that ensures the overlapped portion due to clamping. It is said that In the flange body 2, six holes 10 for bolt connection are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction at the position of the stopper surface 7,
A diagonal pair of them is provided on the dividing line between the two ring pieces 2a and 2b. By providing the holes 10 for bolt connection on the dividing line in this way, the ring pieces 2a,
It is possible to effectively prevent the end of 2b from lifting up,
The stability of the seal is also improved. Note that the number of holes 10 increases as the diameter thereof increases, and usually about 4 to 20 holes are formed.

The ring body 3 is formed into a ring shape suitable for abutting against the ring abutment surface 9 of the stepped surface 5, and further includes holes 10 for each bolt connection in the flange body 2.
Holes 11 for bolt connection are provided at six positions corresponding to . This hole 11 is provided with an internal thread so that a bolt can be screwed into the hole 11 during bolt connection as will be described later. Note that when a nut is prepared for bolt connection, the hole 11 is not provided with an internal thread. The inner diameter of the ring body 3 is the same as, or slightly smaller or larger than, the outer diameter of the elastic flange. In terms of seal stability, it is preferable to make the inner diameter of the ring body 3 slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the elastic flange, and to push the elastic flange into the ring body 3. The companion flange 1 can be made of various metals or hard plastic materials, such as hard polyvinyl chloride. Metal materials can be processed by cutting or casting, and hard plastic materials can be processed by injection molding or blow molding.

In FIG. 1, a flexible pipe joint 12 has elastic flanges 13 at both ends thereof, and is flanged to a flange 15 of a connected pipe 14 by a companion flange 1, respectively. The companion flange 1 is constructed by combining a flange body 2 and a ring body 3. The stopper surface 7 of the flange main body 2 is brought into contact with the flange 15 of the connected pipe 14, and the neck pressing surface 6 presses the elastic flange 13 against the flange 15 to clamp it. The elastic flange 13 is a protrusion 8 provided on the neck pressing surface 6.
The flexible pipe fitting 12 and the connected pipe 14 are compressed more strongly, thereby making the sealing performance between the flexible pipe joint 12 and the connected pipe 14 more reliable.

One surface of the ring body 3 is brought into contact with the ring contact surface 9 of the flange body 2, and both are coaxially assembled. The bolt 16 inserted into the bolt connection hole provided in the flange 15 is screwed onto the ring body 3, and the flange body 2 and the ring body 3 are integrally bolted to the flange 15.

Next, a method for flange-bonding the flexible pipe joint 12 to the flange 15 of the connected pipe 14 as shown in FIG. 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. First, the elastic flange 13 of the flexible pipe joint 12 is inserted into the ring body 3. Next, after the elastic flange 13 was brought into contact with the flange 15 of the connected pipe 14, each ring piece 2a, 2b, which is a disassembled piece of the flange body 2, was brought into contact with the connected pipe 14 of the elastic flange 13. The ring body 3 is inserted while contacting the opposite surface, and then the ring body 3 is brought into contact with the flange body 2 and coaxially assembled therewith. Flange 1 of the connected pipe 14 combined in this way
3. The flange main body 2 and the ring body 3 are strongly bolted together by aligning their respective bolt connection holes and screwing the bolts 16 into the internal threads of the ring body 3 (as shown in FIG. 3). As a result, the elastic flange 13 is compressed and deformed by the neck pressing surface 6 of the flange main body 2, especially its ridges 8, as shown in FIG. They are held tightly against each other. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a tire cord 17 is embedded along the surface layer of the flexible pipe joint 12 for reinforcement, and a ring-shaped material such as steel is embedded along the peripheral edge of the elastic flange 13. A metal wire 18 is embedded.

[0018]

Effects of the Invention When the companion flange of the present invention described in detail above is used for bolt connection between a flexible pipe joint and a pipe to be connected, it produces the following special effects. (1) A flange body that has an inner diameter sufficient to hold the elastic flange of the flexible pipe joint and is freely separable;
Since the companion flange is constructed by combining the ring body with a ring body that stably supports the flange body and has a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the flange body, the elastic flange can be easily installed between the connected pipe and the companion flange. , and can sufficiently ensure high sealing performance. This ease of installation can be applied to hard and elastic flanges.
The effect is particularly large. (2) Holes for bolt connection provided in the flange body,
By locating at least on the dividing line of the flange main body, it is possible to effectively prevent the ends of each seal piece from lifting up, and the stability of the seal is improved. (3) One surface of the flange body is a stepped surface with a lower radial inner side and a higher outer side, a ring-shaped protrusion is formed on the radially inner side of the low stepped surface, and this low stepped surface is used as an elastic flange. As a contact surface, the protrusions formed there,
By partially pressing the elastic flange with a higher pressure, the sealability of the flange connection can be further improved while maintaining the ease of installation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing a state in which a flexible pipe joint is flanged to a connected pipe using an example of the companion flange of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the companion flange in FIG. 1 into various parts.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of flange-coupling a flexible pipe joint to a flange of a pipe to be connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Companion flange 2 Flange body 2a Ring piece 2b Ring piece 3 Ring body 4 Step surface 5 Step surface 6 Neck pressure surface 7 Stopper surface 8 Convex strip 9 Ring contact surface 10 holes 11 Hole 12 Flexible pipe fitting 13 Elastic flange 14 Connected pipe 15 Flange 16 bolts 17 Tire cord 18 Metal wire

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: When a flexible pipe joint 12 having an elastic flange 13 at the end and a connected pipe 14 are flange-coupled,
In the companion flange used for clamping and bolting the elastic flange 13 to the flange 15 of the connected pipe 14, the companion flange connects the elastic flange 13 to the flange of the connected pipe 14. A ring-shaped flange body 2 having an inner diameter sufficient to be pressed and held by a flange body 15 and capable of being freely divided, and a ring body 3 having an inner diameter larger than that of the flange body 2 are coaxially combined. A companion flange for a flexible pipe joint, characterized in that the flange main body 2 and the ring body 3 are provided with a plurality of holes 10 and 11 for bolt connection at corresponding positions, respectively. 2. The companion flange for a flexible pipe joint according to claim 1, wherein the bolt connection holes 10 in the flange body 2 are provided at least on the parting line of the flange body.