JPH07103377A - Water leakage detecting flexible fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make possible earier detection of water leakage from a pipe peripheral wall by embedding a cyindrical conductor along the pipe peripheral wall of a flexible fitting and connecting the conductor to a lead guided to the outside of the flexible fitting. CONSTITUTION:A flexible fitting 1 is formed of elastically flexible material such as synthetic rubber, with a bellows pipe peripheral wall 2 and elastic flanges at both ends in one unit. The pipe peripheral wall 2 has the outer layer 2a and the inner layer 2b, a cylindrical conductor 4 being embedded in the boundary. The end of the conductor 4 is connected to a lead 10 guided to the outside and the lead 10 is connected to a power supply 12 such as a battery and an alarm 13 such as a buzzer and a lamp. The alarm 13 is actuated when it detects that cracking occurs in the inner layer 2b and the conductor 4 is conductive to inside liquid, to allow earier detection of on-going deterioration including cracking in the pipe peripheral wall 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water leakage detecting type flexible pipe joint, and more particularly to a flexible pipe joint capable of detecting water leakage from a peripheral wall of a pipe at an earlier stage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a water pipe such as a water supply / drainage pipe, a flexible pipe joint having a relatively short length at a bent portion or a rising portion on the ground or in the ground, or a connecting portion to various devices and equipment. Is used. Such flexible fittings
Usually made of synthetic rubber or flexible elastic material in a tubular shape. Depending on the application, tire cords for reinforcement or spiral metal wires may be embedded in the peripheral wall of the tube or to increase flexibility. The tube may be bellows-shaped.

However, such a flexible pipe joint made of a material such as rubber is apt to cause deterioration such as corrosion and cracks in the peripheral wall of the pipe, and particularly in a piping system for flowing a corrosive liquid or hot water. The tendency is remarkable when used. Then, such corrosion and cracks in the peripheral wall of the pipe gradually progress and eventually lead to water leakage, but if left unknowingly, it will cause serious damage to surrounding devices. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, various methods for detecting water leakage of a flexible pipe joint have been conventionally proposed, and as a representative method, a method of electrically detecting using a conductor is known. There is. In this method, two conductors are provided along the surface of the peripheral wall of a flexible pipe joint, the ends of the conductors are connected to an alarm device, and the alarm device is activated by conduction between the conductors due to water leakage. .

[0004]

However, the above method has a problem in that it cannot be detected until water leakage reaches the surface of the pipe peripheral wall portion of the flexible pipe joint, and there is no room for repair or replacement work. . Further, since it is necessary to lay a bare conductor wire on the surface of the peripheral wall of the flexible pipe joint, there is a problem that the conductor wire itself is easily corroded and damaged, resulting in low reliability. Therefore, in view of the problem of the conventional leak detection method for a flexible pipe joint, the present invention can detect the leak from the peripheral wall of the pipe at an early stage, and can perform highly reliable leak detection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water leakage detection type flexible pipe joint that can be performed.

[0005]

In a water leakage detection type flexible pipe joint of the present invention for solving the above problems, a tubular conductor is embedded along a peripheral wall portion of the flexible pipe joint. The conductor is connected to a lead wire led out of the flexible pipe joint.

[0006]

When the deterioration such as a crack progresses from the inside to the position of the conductor embedded along the peripheral wall of the flexible pipe joint of the present invention, the liquid that slightly exudes through the crack is used as a medium. As a result, the conductor and the internal liquid are electrically connected. Therefore, for example, by connecting a lead wire to a metal pipe, which is a connected pipe connected to a flexible pipe joint, and monitoring the conduction state between the lead wire and a lead wire connected to a conductor, the crack It is possible to detect the progress of deterioration such as the above.
As described above, by using the flexible pipe joint of the present invention, it is possible to detect the progress of deterioration before water leaks from the surface of the pipe peripheral wall portion of the flexible pipe joint. Further, since the conductor is embedded inside the peripheral wall of the flexible pipe joint, the conductor itself is less corroded and damaged, and the reliability of water leakage detection is extremely high.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a leak detection type flexible pipe joint of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which an example of the flexible pipe joint of the present invention is used in a piping system.
The flexible pipe joint 1 is made of an elastic flexible material such as synthetic rubber, and is integrally formed with a bellows-shaped pipe peripheral wall portion 2 and elastic flanges 3 provided at both ends thereof. The tube peripheral wall portion 2 has an outer layer 2a and an inner layer 2b, and a cylindrical conductor 4 is embedded in the boundary surface thereof. In addition to the bellows-like shape, the tube peripheral wall portion 2 may have a linear shape or a simpler shape with one or two peaks.

In order to embed the conductor 4 between the outer layer 2a and the inner layer 2b, for example, the flexible pipe joint 1 is molded using a mold, and the conductor 4 is previously placed in the mold. There is a way. With such molding, when the conductor 4 is embedded inside the peripheral wall portion 2, the outer layer 2a and the inner layer 2b are automatically formed on both sides thereof. At this time, the tip of the lead wire 10 is connected to the end of the conductor 4 in advance. The outer circumference of this lead wire is covered with a waterproof and heat-resistant insulating coating. At the same time as the molding of the pipe joint, the lead wire which is insulated and coated is led out from the outer periphery of the flange portion of the pipe joint.
Further, as another embedding method of the electric conductor, a method of forming two kinds of flexible pipe joints having the thickness of the inner layer 2b and the thickness of the outer layer 2a, sandwiching the electric conductor 4, and superposing them by thermocompression may be used. . As the material of the conductor, conductive rubber, wire mesh, or the like can be used.

The conductor 4 is embedded in a tubular shape along the longitudinal direction of the pipe peripheral wall portion 2 and is formed so that the conductive portion is not exposed on the inner peripheral surface of the joint. Both ends thereof extend to the outer peripheral portion of the flange 3. Each of the flanges 3 of the flexible pipe joint 1 has a flange 8 of a connected pipe 7 such as a metal pipe which is electrically conductive by a companion flange 5 and a bolt 6.
Is bound to. A through hole 9 is formed between the companion flange 5 and the lead wire 10 extending through the through hole 9 to the outside. The end of the lead wire 10 is connected to the conductor 4. Another lead wire 11 is connected to an appropriate position of the connected pipe 7, and the lead wire 11 is a power source 12 such as a storage battery and an alarm device 1 such as a buzzer or a lamp.
3 is connected to the lead wire 10 via 3 to form a closed circuit.

The companion flange 5 shown in FIG. 1 has a structure previously filed by the applicant of the present invention, and was developed in order to enhance the sealing property and to allow the flexible pipe joint 1 to be easily mounted. . FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the companion flange 5 portion. The companion flange 5 is a split type flange body 20.
And a non-divided ring body 21, and the flange main body 20 includes two semicircular ring pieces 20a and 20.
It can be decomposed into b. And these are made of various metal or hard plastic materials.

Flange body 20 (each ring piece 20a, 2
0b) both surfaces form step surfaces, one of which is a step surface having a lower inside in the radial direction and a higher outside, and the other step surface 23 is a step surface having a higher inside in the radial direction and lower outside. Has become. The lower surface of the step surface 22 is a ring-shaped neck pressing surface 24 with which the flange 3 of the flexible pipe joint abuts, and the higher surface thereof is a ring shape when the flange 3 is clamped between the connected pipe and bolt connection. Stopper surface 2
It is set to 5. Further, a ring-shaped ridge 26 is formed on the inner side of the neck pressing surface 24 in the radial direction. Also, the step surface 23
The lower surface on the outer side in the radial direction of is a ring contact surface 27 for coaxially assembling the ring bodies 21.

The stopper surface 2 of the flange body 20
Six bolt holes 28 for connecting bolts are provided at the position 5 in the circumferential direction at equal intervals, and one pair on the diagonal line is provided on the dividing line of the two ring pieces 20a, 20b. There is. By thus providing a part of the bolt connecting hole 28 on the dividing line, it is possible to reliably prevent the end portions of the ring pieces 20a and 20b from being lifted up. A semicircular groove 22a for forming the above-mentioned through hole 9 in the radial direction is provided in a high step surface portion on the outer side in the radial direction of the one step surface 22 of the ring piece 20a. The ring body 21 is formed in a ring shape suitable for contacting the step contact surface 23 with the ring contact surface 27, and at six positions corresponding to the bolt connecting holes 28 of the flange body 20. A hole 29 for connecting a bolt is provided. An internal thread is formed in this hole 29 so that a coupling bolt can be screwed.

In FIG. 1, the flange body 20 has its stopper surface 25 abutted against the flange 8 of the pipe 7 to be connected, and the neck pressing surface 24 connects the flange 3 to the flange 8.
Press on and pinch it. The flange 3 is strongly compressed by the ridge 26 provided on the neck pressing surface 24, so that the seal between the flexible pipe joint 1 and the connected pipe 7 is made more reliable. On the other hand, one surface of the ring body 21 is in contact with the ring contact surface 27 of the flange main body 20, and both are coaxially combined. Then, the bolt 6 and the ring body 21 inserted into the bolt coupling holes provided in the flange 8 are integrally bolted to the flange 8.

For reference, the flange connecting portion of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG.
It is enlarged and shown in FIG. 2, which is A-A of the companion flange 5 in FIG.
It is the fragmentary sectional view seen from the direction. In FIG. 3, a case where a tire cord 30 for reinforcement is embedded along the surface layer of the flexible pipe joint 1 and further a metal wire 31 such as steel is embedded in a ring shape along the peripheral edge of the flange 3. Is shown.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another example of the flexible pipe joint of the present invention. The difference from FIG. 1 is that the leak detection can be performed in duplicate, and the other parts are the same. In FIG. 4, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the example of FIG. 4, through-holes 9 and 9a in the radial direction are formed between the flange 3 and the companion flange 5 that abuts each flange 3.
Are provided, and the lead wires 10 and 1 are provided in the through holes 9 and 9a.
0a is penetrated. And those lead wires 10, 1
One end of 0a is connected to the conductor 4 from the outer peripheral portion of the flange 3 of the flexible pipe joint 1, and the other end is led to the outside. Another lead wire 11 is connected to one of the connected pipes 7, and the lead wire 11 is connected to the lead wire 10 via a power source 12 such as a storage battery and an alarm device 13 such as a buzzer or a lamp to form a closed circuit. I am configuring. Further, another lead wire 11a is connected to the other connected pipe 7, and the lead wire 11a is connected to the lead wire 10a via the power supply 12a and the alarm device 13a to form a closed circuit.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the flexible pipe joint of the present invention is connected to a pipe to be connected using an ordinary companion flange having an L-shaped cross section, which is different from FIG. 1 or 4. Flexible pipe joint 1
The flange 3 is sandwiched between the inner surface of the main body 41 of the companion flange 40 and the outer surface of the flange 8 of the connected pipe 7, and is tightened by bolts 42 and nuts 43. The tightening force of the flange 3 is determined by the height of the jaw 44 of the companion flange 40. The jaw 44 of the companion flange 40 has a radial through hole 44.
a is provided, and the lead wire 10 penetrates through the through hole 44a. One end of the lead wire 10 is connected to the conductor 4 at the outer peripheral portion of the flange 3 of the flexible pipe joint 1, and the other end is led to the outside. Figure 6 shows companion flange 4
It is the perspective view which partially cut and shown 0. The body 41 is provided with holes 45 for bolt connection at eight locations at regular intervals.

Next, the operation of the flexible pipe joint shown in the embodiment will be described. First, in FIG. 1, when deterioration of the pipe peripheral wall portion 2 of the flexible pipe joint 1 progresses and a crack is generated in the inner layer 2b, the conductivity of the liquid leaching through the gap of the crack causes the outer layer 2a. The conductor 4 embedded between the inner layer 2b and the inner layer 2b is electrically connected to the internal liquid. On the other hand, the lead wire 10 is connected to the other lead wire 11 to form a closed circuit through the alarm device 13 and the power supply 12, the conductive connected pipe 7 such as a metal pipe, and the internal liquid. 13 activates and issues an alarm. That is, it is possible to know when a crack occurs in the inner layer 2b before the water leakage occurs from the pipe peripheral wall portion 2 of the flexible pipe joint 1.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, in this example, two sets of alarm circuits as shown in FIG. 1 are provided. Therefore, as described above, when the deterioration of the pipe peripheral wall portion 2 of the flexible pipe joint 1 progresses and a crack is generated in the inner layer 2b, the alarm devices 13, 1
Since an alarm is issued from both 3a, water leakage can be surely known even when one of the alarm circuits is disconnected. It is also possible to always use one of the alarm circuits and reserve the other. Note that the example of FIG. 5 operates in the same manner as the example of FIG.
In each of the above examples, the end portion of the conductor 4 embedded in the pipe peripheral wall portion 2 of the flexible pipe joint 1 is extended so as to reach the outer peripheral portion of the flange 3. This is in consideration of the easiness of leading out the lead wire 10 to the outside, but it is not always necessary to have such a configuration, and for example, the lead wire 10 is connected to the conductor 4 at an appropriate position of the peripheral wall 2 of the tube. , May be directly derived from the outside.

[0019]

The flexible pipe joint of the present invention having the above-described structure can detect the progress of deterioration before water leaks from the surface of the peripheral wall of the pipe. You can do repairs and replacement work with plenty of time.
In addition, since the conductor is embedded inside the peripheral wall of the flexible pipe joint, the conductor itself is not easily corroded or damaged, and the reliability of water leakage detection is extremely high.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an example of a flexible pipe joint of the present invention is used in a piping system.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a companion flange 5 portion in FIG.

3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 seen from the AA direction of the companion flange of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the flexible pipe joint of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the flexible pipe joint of the present invention connected to a pipe to be connected using a companion flange having a normal L-shaped cross section, which is different from FIG. 1 or 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a companion flange 40 of FIG. 5 with a part thereof cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible pipe joint 2 Pipe peripheral wall part 2a Outer layer 2b Inner layer 3 Flange 4 Conductor 5 Flange 6 Bolt 7 Connected pipe 8 Flange 9 Through hole 9a Through hole 10 Lead wire 10a Lead wire 11 Lead wire 11a Lead wire 12 Power supply 12a Power supply 13 Alarm device 13a Alarm device 20 Flange body 20a Ring piece 20b Ring piece 21 Ring body 22 Step surface 22a Strip groove 23 Step surface 24 Neck pressing surface 25 Stopper surface 26 Ring-shaped convex strip 27 Ring contact surface 28 Hole 29 Hole 30 Tire cord 31 Metal wire 40 Companion flange 41 Main body 42 Bolt 43 Nut 44 Jaw 44a Through hole 45 Hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tubular conductor 4 is embedded along a peripheral wall portion 2 of a flexible pipe joint 1, and the conductor 4 is connected to a lead wire 10 led out of the flexible pipe joint 1. A water leakage detection type flexible pipe joint characterized by being connected.