JPH05272674A - Bellows - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the positioning in connection in the case where a bellows is used as a part of a pipe, by continuously forming a thin flexible part in zigzag form in the cylindrical axis direction, in the circumferential direction, and permitting the torsional deformation permitting the revolution in the circumferential direction. CONSTITUTION:Thin ribs 5 having each toothed shaped section are formed in zigzag form, in a cylindrical axis direction, and are continuously arranged in the circumferential direction, and a flexible part 6 is formed, and each flange 7 is fixed through an airtight joint member 8 at both the edges. Each flange 7 has a plurality of bolt insertion holes in the circumferential direction, and an airtight sealing member 9 is attached on each flange edge surface. A method for shaping ribs 5 on the thin cylinder, method for shaping ribs 5 on a thin flat plate and welding the ribs 5 in cylindrical form, etc., are adopted in the flexible part 6. Accordingly, when an external force is applied in the circumferential direction on the flange 7, the ribs 5 are deflected in the deflection direction which is directed by the bent points 10 in zigzag folding, and a torsional reaction force is absorbed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bellows having a flexible structure which is a part of a vacuum container or a pipe for gas or liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a top view of a conventional bellows, and FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view thereof, in which 1 is a cylinder,
2 is a fold, 3 is a flange, and 4 is an airtight joining material. This bellows is generally formed by continuously forming a corrugated fold 2 having a corrugated section in the axial direction on a cylinder 1 made of a thin metal, and a flange 3 is fixed to both ends of the fold 2 with an airtight bonding material 4. is there.

In this bellows, the pleats 2 can be flexed and expanded and contracted in the axial direction, that is, the lengthwise direction by an external force, and the bellows can be bent in the axial direction and flexed so that the axial lines at both ends are displaced from each other. The one using the spring material has a restoring property.

Because of such a function, it is used in a wide variety of applications such as a universal joint or a damper component in a vacuum container or a gas / liquid conduit.

As another structure of the pleat 2, one pleat 2 is formed by welding the outer circumference or the inner circumference of two annular plates.
Some of these are welded in series, which is superior to molded products in terms of flexibility of deformation. Further, rubber or polymer material is used as the material of the annular plate.

[0006]

However, since any of the bellows is structurally incapable of being twisted and deformed in the circumferential direction, it is not possible to follow the movement of rotating in the circumferential direction, and the flexure There was a problem that there was a limit to one.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bellows which can be twisted and deformed so as to rotate in a circumferential direction.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides, in claim 1, thin-walled flexible portions which are folded in a zigzag direction in the direction of the cylinder axis and are continuously formed in the circumferential direction. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the bellows according to the first aspect is connected to a bellows which can expand and contract in the direction of the cylindrical axis.

[0010]

According to the bellows of the first aspect, when an external force is applied in the circumferential direction, the flexible portion is bent while being twisted in the bending direction directed by the folding point of the zigzag, and the twisting reaction force is absorbed.

According to the bellows of claim 1, the bellows which is connected to the bellows of claim 1 and is capable of expanding and contracting in the direction of the cylindrical axis allows the bellows of claim 1 to have its own entire length caused by twisting when it flexes. Change is absorbed.

[0012]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway top view of a bellows, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.

In the bellows shown in the figure, thin folds 5 having a saw-tooth cross section are formed in a zigzag shape in the direction of the cylinder axis as shown in the broken portion in FIG. The flexible portions 6 are arranged to form the flexible portions 6, and the flanges 7 are fixed to both ends of the flexible portions 6 by the airtight bonding material 8. Bolt insertion holes 7a are provided in each flange 7 at a total of four positions in the circumferential direction, and the bolt insertion holes 7a are used as necessary when connecting with a mating component. Further, an airtight sealing material 9 is attached to each of the flanges 7 so that the airtightness after being combined with the mating parts can be maintained.

With such a structure, when an external force is applied to the upper flange 7 in the circumferential direction, for example, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the pleats 5 are respectively bent in the bending directions directed by the folding points 10 of the zigzag fold. , The torsion reaction force is absorbed. Further, the folding point 10 serves as a bent portion, so that it can be bent to some extent in the axial direction.

The angle at which the flange 7 can be rotated depends on the angle of folding, the number of folding points 10, the size (width, length) of the pleats 5, and the number of arrangements. For example, when the number of folding points 10 is two as in the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the flexible portion 6 is 65 mm, the angle formed by the folds 5 on the mountain folding side at the folding points 10 is 120 °, and the length of the folds 5 is long. When the height is 35 mm and the number of arrangements is 10, the rotatable angle of the flange 7 is about 35 °.

As the method of manufacturing the flexible portion 6, a method of forming the pleats 5 by thin plate welding, a method of forming the pleats 5 on a thin cylinder, or a method of forming the pleats 5 on a thin flat plate and then welding them in a cylindrical shape. is there.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
The same expansion and contraction bellows as in the conventional example of the above embodiment are connected.

That is, 11 is a cylinder which can expand and contract in the direction of the cylinder axis, and is formed by continuously forming corrugated folds 12 in the axial direction. One end of the cylinder 1 is fixed to the flange 7 of the bellows with an airtight joining material 8, and the other end is fixed with a flange 7 having an airtight sealing material 9 with the airtight joining material 8.

With this structure, in addition to the torsional deformation in the circumferential direction by the bellows of the above-described embodiment, bending in the axial direction and bending so that the axes of both ends are displaced from each other are possible. It is possible to absorb the change in the entire length of the cylinder 1 caused by the twist when the cylinder 1 bends by the expansion and contraction of the cylinder 1. Therefore, the bellows can be used by incorporating it in a space where the change in the total length of the bellows is limited.

In this embodiment, the bellows of the above embodiment and the conventional expandable bellows are combined one by one, but the bellows of the above embodiment is connected to both ends of the conventional expandable bellows. Alternatively, a conventional expandable bellows may be connected to both ends of the bellows of the above embodiment, and the combination can be developed. It is also possible to increase the rotation angle by connecting the plurality of bellows of the above embodiment.

[0021]

As described above, according to the bellows of the first aspect, when applied to a general vacuum container or a universal joint in a gas / liquid pipeline, in addition to the deformation in the expansion / contraction direction, the circumferential direction The flexibility as a bellows is greatly improved and the positioning at the time of connection becomes easy. Further, because of such a structure, by combining with an optical element bonding device (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-54982, etc.) capable of mounting the element in a vacuum atmosphere, the tweezers introduction hole portion for holding the element is provided. It is especially effective when used by assembling.

According to the bellows of the second aspect, the effect of the first aspect can be achieved, and at the same time, when the bellows of the first aspect flexes, it is possible to absorb a change in the entire length of the bellows itself caused by twisting. It can also be used by incorporating it into a space where the change in the overall length of the bellows is limited.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway top view of a bellows showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Side view of bellows

FIG. 3 is a side view of a bellows showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a bellows showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a bellows showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 ... Flexible part, 11 ... Cylinder.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A bellows, characterized in that a thin flexible portion that is folded in a zigzag direction in a cylindrical axis is continuously formed in a circumferential direction. 2. A bellows, wherein the bellows according to claim 1 is connected to a bellows which is expandable and contractable in a direction of a cylindrical axis.