JPH076594U - Branch pipe fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Not only the connection workability at the time of new piping but also the disconnection work and reconnection workability of the branch pipe 4 are improved, and excellent sealing performance is secured, and residual stress By avoiding the occurrence, damage to the branch pipe 4 due to metal fatigue is eliminated. [Structure] An inner end 20 of a tubular fixing member 2 having both ends opened is externally fitted to one end side of a bellows pipe 40 in a branch pipe 4, and is fixed by a blade retainer 5 and elastic rings 6A and 6B. The inner end portion 30 of the movable member 3 is fitted onto the outer end portion 21 of the movable member 3 so as to be rotatable about the linear axis C, and the small diameter hole 32 of the movable member 3 is rotatably rotated about the linear axis C. The movable member 3 is externally fitted to the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 is held by the curling 9 at the tip of the mounting portion 40A so as not to come off from the branch pipe 4.
An annular first elastic seal member 7A and an annular second elastic seal member 7B are provided in two stages, and a male screw portion 3a is formed on the outer periphery of the movable member 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a branch pipe joint used for branching a branch pipe from a main pipe to a demand side through a branch pipe in a water supply piping system, for example.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Generally, a water supply piping system buried in the ground has a route by branching and connecting a branch pipe 52 toward a demand side to a branch pipe 51 branched from a main pipe 50, as shown in FIG. It is configured.

The branch pipe 51 and the branch pipe 52 can be connected to, for example, a pipe joint (commonly known as a tee or chee) 53 provided on the branch pipe 51 with a branch pipe joint 54 provided on one end side of the branch pipe 52. It is made by combining with.

The conventional branch pipe joint 54 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the branch pipe joint 54 includes a socket 55 and a nipple 56, and a large-diameter inner end portion 55A of the socket 55 is externally fitted to one end side of the branch pipe 52 made of a flexible pipe and is brazed or welded 57. Both 55 and 52 are watertightly fixed, the inner end 56A of the nipple 56 is externally fitted to the small diameter outer end 55B of the socket 55, and both 55 and 56 are watertightly fixed by brazing or welding 58. There is. Therefore, the branch pipe 52 is connected to the branch pipe 51 by screwing the male screw portion 56a of the nipple 56 into the female screw portion 53a of the pipe joint 53 provided in the branch pipe 51. The male screw portion 56a is screwed into the female screw portion 53a by fitting a tool such as a wrench or a spanner to the square bulging portion (for example, hexagonal bulging portion) 56B formed in the nipple 56, and branching pipe joint 54 And the branch pipe 52 can be rotated in the screw tightening direction around the axis C. In addition, by configuring the branch pipe 52 with a flexible pipe, the branch pipe joint 54 and the shaft line of the cap nut structure or the union structure pipe joint (not shown) attached to the other end side of the branch pipe 52 are formed. It is also possible to connect by absorbing the relative displacement of.

Even when the conventional branch pipe joint 54 of this type is used, the connection work for the new pipe of the branch pipe 52 can be performed relatively smoothly. However, since the branch pipe joint 54 and the branch pipe 52 are coupled so that relative rotation around the axis C is impossible, the branch pipe 51 and the branch pipe 52 are connected at the time of maintenance or the like after the underground burying. Before releasing the connection of the branch pipe joint 54, disconnect the connection of the cap nut structure or union structure pipe joint that is attached to the other end side of the branch pipe 52 and is connected to the water meter side. It requires complicated work to solve. In addition, since the pipe fitting attached to the other end of the branch pipe 52 has to be reconnected after the reconnection work performed after the disconnection, there is a drawback that the disconnection workability and the reconnection workability are poor. Have On the other hand, since the connection between the branch pipe 52 and the socket 55 and the connection between the socket 55 and the nipple 56 are made by brazing or welding 57, 58, the adaptability to temperature change is low and the seal is easily damaged due to aging. There are some difficulties that can occur. Further, during screwing work for connecting a pipe nut structure or a union structure pipe joint attached to the other end of the branch pipe 52, which is made after the connection of the branch pipe joint 54, a large tightening force at the end of screwing is exerted. When the pipe joint is loaded, a phenomenon occurs in which the branch pipe 52 co-rotates with the pipe joint, and torque is generated in the branch pipe 52. As a result, stress remains in the branch pipe 52, and this residual stress may cause metal fatigue and damage the branch pipe 52 or the welds 57 and 58 over time.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The problems to be solved are inferior in the disconnecting work and reconnecting workability of the branch pipe, and the connection of the branch pipe and the socket and the connection of the socket and the nipple are made by brazing or welding. Since the adaptability to temperature changes is low and it easily breaks over time, seal breakage is likely to occur, and residual stress due to the co-rotation phenomenon of the branch pipe leads to metal fatigue, and the branch pipe with lower rigidity than the branch pipe joint or There are various points such as damage to the weld.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular fixing member having both ends opened and fixed to at least one end side of a branch pipe, and the fixing member at an outer end portion of the fixing member. The inner end of the branch pipe is rotatably fitted around the wire axis of the branch pipe, and the part excluding the inner end is fitted on the outer end of the branch pipe so as to be rotatable around the line axis of the branch pipe, and is not pulled out. A cylindrical movable member that is held at both ends by a stopper structure so that it does not come off from the branch pipe, and an annular elastic member is formed in the sliding gap between the outer circumference of the fixed member and the inner circumference of the inner end of the movable member. A seal member is interposed and a male screw part is formed on the outer periphery of the movable member, which not only facilitates the connection workability at the time of new piping, but also the disconnection workability and reconnection workability of the branch pipe. Excellent seal to prevent seal destruction due to temperature change Both when to ensure, by avoiding the occurrence of residual stress, and achieve the purpose of eliminating the damage of the branch pipe by the metal fatigue.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the movable member having a tubular shape with both ends open is configured to be movable in the axial direction within a range in which the fixed member and the retaining structure interfere with each other. After the pipe, the workability of disconnecting and reconnecting the branch pipe is further improved.

[0009]

[Action]

 According to the invention of claim 1, the fixed member and the movable member, which are externally fitted and fixed to the branch pipe, can relatively rotate about the wire axis. Therefore, even when the branch pipe is disconnected after the new pipe is installed, the branch pipe is disconnected. It is possible to omit the work of disconnecting the connection of the pipe fitting attached to the other end side of the. Of course, it is not necessary to connect another pipe joint after reconnecting the branch pipe. In addition, since it is sealed by an annular elastic seal member provided in the sliding gap between the outer circumference of the fixed part and the inner circumference of the inner end of the movable member, the adaptability to temperature changes is high and the seal breaks over time. It can be avoided and the sealing property of the sliding gap can be improved. Furthermore, since the fixed member and the movable member can rotate relative to each other around the line axis, the occurrence of residual stress can be avoided. Therefore, the branch pipe will not be damaged by metal fatigue.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the movable member is moved in the axial direction within the range of the fixed member and the branch pipe retaining structure so as to connect the branch pipe after the new piping. During the disconnecting work and the reconnecting work of the branch pipe, the axial load applied to the branch pipe can be set to 0 or close to 0 to further improve both workability.

[0011]

【Example】

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a branch pipe joint 1 includes a fixing member 2 and a movable member 3 and is attached to a branch pipe 4. The fixing member 2 is formed in a tubular shape with both ends open, a first annular groove 2A is formed on the outer periphery of the inner end portion 20 thereof, and a second annular ring is formed on the outer periphery of the outer end portion 21 with a gap in the axis C direction. The groove 2B and the third annular groove 2C are formed, and the inner periphery between the first annular groove 2A and the second annular groove 2B has a gap in the direction of the axis C in the fourth annular groove 2D and the fifth annular groove 2D. An annular groove 2E is formed.

The movable member 3 has an inner end portion 30 having a large diameter which is fitted onto the outer end portion 21 of the fixed member 2 so as to be rotatable about the linear axis C, and a stepped surface 3 A extending radially inward. It has a small diameter hole 32 continuous to the end portion 30 and extends to the outer end 31, and the outer peripheral portion of the inner end portion 30 has a rectangular bulging portion (for example, a hexagonal bulging portion) to which a tool such as a wrench or a spanner is externally fitted. 3B is formed, and a tapered male screw portion 3a for a pipe is formed on the outer periphery of the small diameter hole 32, the diameter of which gradually decreases toward the outer end 31. Of course, a parallel male screw part may be formed.

The branch pipe 4 is composed of a flexible pipe. That is, the metal bellows tube 40 of the innermost peripheral layer, the metal blade 41 of the intermediate layer that covers the bellows tube 40 leaving one end side of the bellows tube 40, and the rubber coating 42 of the outermost peripheral layer that covers the blade 41 are provided. The bellows tube 40 has an attachment portion 40A formed on one end side thereof with the irregularities of the bellows removed. The outer diameter of the mounting portion 40A is substantially equal to the minimum inner diameter of the bellows tube 40, and is set to a size that allows the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 to be fitted.

The inner end portion 20 of the fixing member 2 is externally fitted and fixed to the mounting portion 40A of the branch pipe 4. The fixing of the fixing member 2 is performed by fitting the fixing member 2 onto the mounting portion 40A of the branch pipe 4 and by covering the first annular groove 2A with the metal blade 41, and by inserting the metal blade 41 into the first annular groove 2A. The blade presser 5 having a substantially circular shape is provided at the outer peripheral position of the blade presser, and the blade presser 5 is crimped in the radial direction, so that the blade presser 5 is inserted through the metal blade 41 into the first annular groove 2A. By press-fitting to the fourth annular groove 2D and the annular annular elastic rings 6A and 6B having a cutout portion at the inner circumferential position of the fifth annular groove 2E, and crimping the take-out portion 40A in the radial direction. Then, the elastic rings 6A and 6B are pressed into the fourth annular groove 2D and the fifth annular groove 2E.

A large-diameter inner end portion 30 of the movable member 3 is fitted onto the outer end portion 21 of the fixed member 2 so that the fixed member 2 can rotate about the linear axis C. The outer end of the inner end portion 30 is fitted by inserting the attachment portion 40A of the branch pipe 4 into the small diameter hole 32 from the inner end portion 30 side, and by this insertion, the step surface 3A is brought into contact with the outer end 22 of the fixing member 3. Done by In this case, the first elastic seal member 7A made of a rubber seal ring (O-ring) is fitted into the second annular groove 2B formed in the fixing member 2 in advance, and the third annular groove 2C is also preformed with the rubber. By fitting the second elastic seal member 7B made of a manufactured seal ring, the sliding gap 8 between the outer circumference of the outer end portion 21 of the fixed member 2 and the inner circumference of the large diameter inner end portion 30 of the movable member 3 is formed. Not only does it seal with a tight seal, but it also enables smooth relative rotation between the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3. When the movable member 3 is externally fitted to the fixed member 2 by the above-described procedure, the outer end portion of the mounting portion 40A slightly protrudes, as indicated by an imaginary line. By curling this protrusion outward in the radial direction and bringing it into contact with the outer end 31 of the movable member 3, a retaining structure 9 for the movable member 3 is provided.

With this configuration, the branch pipe 4 is attached to the branch pipe 51 by screwing the tapered male screw portion 3a for pipe of the movable member 3 into the female screw portion 53a of the pipe joint 53 provided in the branch pipe 51. Can be connected. The operation of screwing the pipe taper male screw portion 3a onto the female screw portion 53a is performed by fitting a tool such as a wrench or a spanner onto the square bulging portion 3B formed on the movable member 3 and moving the screw member in the screw tightening direction. Is made by rotating around the axis C. In this way, since the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 which are externally fitted and fixed to the branch pipe 4 can relatively rotate about the linear axis C, even when the branch pipe 4 is disconnected after the new pipe, the branch pipe 4 is disconnected. Cumbersome work to disconnect the pipe fitting attached to the other end of No. 4 (for example, equivalent to the pipe nut structure or the union structure pipe joint connected to the water meter side described in the conventional example) Can be omitted. Therefore, the disassembly work after the new piping is significantly improved, and it is not necessary to connect another pipe joint, that is, the above-mentioned cap nut structure or union structure pipe joint after the branch pipe 4 is reconnected. . Therefore, the workability of reconnecting the branch pipe 4 is also significantly improved.

On the other hand, a two-stage seal including a first elastic seal member 7A fitted in the second annular groove 2B formed in the fixed member 2 and a second elastic seal member 7B fitted in the third annular groove 2C. Since the structure seals the sliding gap 8 between the outer circumference of the outer end 21 of the fixed member 2 and the inner circumference of the large-diameter inner end 30 of the movable member 3, the adaptability to temperature changes is high, and the sealing with time Since the breakage is avoided, the sliding gap 8 is sealed by the excellent sealing property, and the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 can be smoothly rotated relative to each other. That is, the first elastic seal member 7A prevents foreign matter such as muddy water that has flowed into the sliding gap 8 from entering in the direction of the second elastic seal member 7B and damages the second elastic seal member 7B. As a result, the tap water flowing from the side of the retaining structure 9 into the small gap 10 formed by the outer periphery of the mounting portion 40A of the branch pipe 4 and the inner periphery of the small diameter hole 32 of the movable member 3 slides through the sliding gap 8. Prevent it from leaking to the outside. In addition, the two-stage sealing structure of the first elastic seal member 7A and the second elastic seal member 7B prevents shaft runout during rotation of the movable member 3, so that the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 can move smoothly relative to each other. It becomes possible to rotate. That is, the movable member 3 can be smoothly rotated in the forward and reverse directions when the branch pipe joint 1 is attached and detached.

On the other hand, since the fixed member 2 and the movable member 3 can rotate relative to each other around the linear axis C, residual stress does not occur unlike the conventional case. Therefore, the metal bellows tube 40 of the innermost peripheral layer and the metal blade 41 of the intermediate layer that covers the bellows tube 40 that constitute the branch pipe 4 are not damaged by metal fatigue.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing another embodiment of the present invention. The same or corresponding parts as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of the structure and operation will be omitted. In this embodiment, a space 11 is provided between the outer end 22 of the fixed member 2 and the step surface 3A of the movable member 3. With this configuration, the movable member 3 can move back and forth in the direction of the axis C within the range of the axial length L of the space 11 in which the outer end 22 of the fixed member 2 and the retaining structure 9 interfere. it can. As a result, at the time of disconnecting the branch pipe 4 after new piping, even if the movable member 3 is rotated in the screwing release direction, only the movable member 3 is retracted in the axis C direction, and the fixed member 2 and the branch pipe 4 are moved. It is possible to further improve the disconnection workability by making the load applied to the axis C direction zero or close to zero. Similarly, the reconnection workability of the branch draft 4 can be further improved.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the branch pipe joint 1 is attached to one end of the branch pipe 4, but it is attached to the other end of the branch pipe 4 or both ends of the branch pipe 4. You can have it. Further, instead of the flexible branch pipe 4, it may be connected to a non-flexible branch pipe 4 connection. Furthermore, the first elastic seal member 7A and the second elastic seal member 7B may be fitted to the movable member 3 side. Furthermore, although the description has been given of a row in which the axis of the branch pipe 4 is orthogonal to the axis of the branch pipe 51 on the projection plane and connected, by forming the movable member 3 into an L shape, A connection can be made in which the axis of the branch pipe 4 is parallel to the axis on the projection plane, or the axis of the branch pipe 4 is orthogonal to the axis of the branch pipe 51 on the projection plane. The application of the present invention is not limited to the water supply piping system described in the above embodiments, but can be applied to other piping systems.

[0021]

[Effect of device]

 According to the invention of claim 1, since the fixed member and the movable member are rotatable relative to each other around the wire axis, even if the branch pipe is disconnected after the new pipe connection, the connection of the pipe joint attached to the other end side of the branch pipe is connected. The work of solving can be omitted. Of course, it is not necessary to connect another pipe joint after reconnecting the branch pipe. Therefore, the workability of disconnecting the branch pipe and the workability of reconnecting the branch pipe are significantly improved. In addition, since the sliding gap between the fixed member and the movable member is sealed by the ring-shaped elastic seal member, the adaptability to temperature changes is high, the seal breakage over time is avoided, and the sealing property of the sliding gap is improved. You can Furthermore, since the fixed member and the movable member can rotate relative to each other around the line axis, the generation of residual stress can be avoided. Therefore, the manifold will not be damaged by metal fatigue.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the movable member can move in the axial direction within a predetermined range, a load is applied to the branch pipe during disconnection work and reconnection work of the branch pipe after new pipe installation. Since the load applied in the axial direction can be reduced, it is possible to further improve the workability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram partially showing an example of a water supply piping system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Branch pipe joint 2 Cylindrical fixed member 3 Cylindrical movable member 3a Peripheral male screw part of movable member 4 Branch pipe 7A 1st elastic seal member (annular elastic seal member) 7B 2nd elastic seal member (annular elastic seal) Member) 8 Sliding gap 9 Curling (prevention structure) 21 Outer end of fixed member 30 Inner end of movable member 32 Small diameter hole of movable member (portion excluding inner end of movable member) 40A Bellow tube mounting Part (outer end of branch pipe) C axis

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A fixing member having a tubular shape with both ends opened and fixed to at least one end side of a branch pipe, and an outer end portion of the fixing member having an inner end portion rotatably around a linear axis of the fixing member. While being externally fitted, the part excluding the inner end is externally fitted to the outer end of the branch pipe so as to be rotatable around the line axis of the branch pipe,
And a movable member having a tubular shape with both ends opened which is held by the retaining structure so as not to come off from the branch pipe, and has an annular shape in a sliding gap between an outer periphery of an outer end of the fixed member and an inner periphery of an inner end of the movable member. A branch pipe joint, wherein an elastic seal member is interposed and a male screw portion is formed on the outer periphery of the movable member. 2. The branch pipe joint according to claim 1, wherein the movable member having a tubular shape with both ends opened is movable in the axial direction within a range in which the fixed member interferes with the retaining structure.