JPH10169869A - Coupler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coupler which can be manufactured at a low cost. SOLUTION: This coupler is formed with an unlocking projection piece 31 by bending an arc-like side of a plate body with three rectangular-like sides besides the arc-like side outside into an ark shape, and a spring section 33 wherein locking claw pieces 32 and 32 are projected in the center section of outside edges parallel to each other and a free end part 33b is made to curve so as to oppose to the unlocking projection piece 31 in at least one out side edge in which one locking claw piece 32 is projected. A socket body 1 and a plug body 15 is connected to each other so as not to come off from each other by an elastic lock member 30 provided with a nearly circular locking hole 35 in the center section of a plate face and a lock ring 40 wherein one end is opened forming a ring-like shape, and an ejecting piece 42 for locking is projected at a position opposing to an opening section 41 in a rear section, and slit grooves 43 are provided in the longitudinal direction in the center section of the inner face of the ejecting piece 42 for locking.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coupler used for fluid piping.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional coupler used for fluid piping is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a slot 5 formed in the front end portion of the plug fitting hole 51 provided in
2 are provided at a predetermined pitch, and the sphere 5
3 are fitted respectively, and a stopper sleeve 54 for the sphere 53 and a cylindrical body forcing the sphere 53 forward through a spring 56 to forcibly project the spherical surface of the sphere 53 into the plug fitting hole 51. 55, and an annular groove 62 in which the spherical surface of the above-mentioned sphere 53 is fitted and locked at the base end of a connecting portion 61 which is inserted and connected to a plug fitting hole 51 provided in the axis of the socket body 50. When the connection portion 61 provided in the plug body 60 is completely inserted and connected to the plug fitting hole 51 provided in the axis of the socket body 50, the socket body 50 The spherical surface of the provided sphere 53 fits into and engages with an annular groove 62 provided at the base end of the connecting portion 61 of the plug body 60, and the socket body 50
And the plug body 60 are prevented from coming off.

[0005] As shown in FIG.
By inserting and connecting the connection portion 81 of the mating plug main body 80 to the plug fitting hole 71 provided in the axis center of the socket 0, the lock pin 73 fitted to the socket main body 70 via the spring 72 is engaged. Flange 83 provided on
, The lock pin 73 locked in the small-diameter elongated hole 76a (see FIG. 6) of the lock member 75 is unlocked, and the lock member 75 moves upward by the spring force of the spring 74, and the lock member 75 The edge of the locking hole 76 provided on the plate surface is fitted and locked in the annular groove 82 provided at the base end of the connecting portion 81 of the mating plug main body 80, so that the socket main body 70 and the plug main body 80 are securely connected. There is known a coupler configured to perform the following operations.

[0004]

However, the former requires a large number of small parts such as the sphere 53 and the spring 56, and the latter requires the lock member 7
The spring 74 or the lock pin 73 that pushes up the upper part 5
In addition, a large number of small parts such as the spring 72 are required, so that the structure is complicated, and the assembling thereof is extremely difficult and requires a long time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a coupler which can be easily assembled and can be provided at low cost.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an unlocking protruding piece 31 is formed by bending one side of an arc of a plate having one side of an arc shape and three sides of a rectangular shape outwardly into an arc shape. A locking claw piece 32, 32 is projected from a central portion of a parallel outer edge, and a free end 33b is attached to at least one of the outer edges where the locking claw piece 32 is projected. An elastic lock member 30 having a spring portion 33 formed by being curved so as to face the base member 31 and having a substantially circular lock hole 35 at the center of the plate surface;

[0007] It has a ring shape with one end opened, and an opening 4
A lock ring 40 having a locking projection 42 projecting rearward at a position opposed to 1, and a slit groove 43 provided in a longitudinal direction of a central portion of an inner surface of the locking projection 42;

A plug fitting hole 2 for removably inserting and connecting a connecting portion 16 provided on a mating plug main body 15 to the shaft center, a fluid flow hole 3 and a pipe fitting hole 4 are communicated with each other. An annular groove 5 into which the lock member 30 is fitted at the base end of the lock member 2 and an unlocking protruding piece 31 provided on the lock member 30 which opens in the annular groove 5 on the outer peripheral surface thereof; Locking holes 7, 7 are provided for engaging and locking the locking claw pieces 32, 32 in a vertically movable manner, and a locking protruding piece 42 provided on the lock ring 40 is rotatably slidable in front of its longitudinal direction. A sliding groove 8 for engaging with a slit groove 43 provided on an inner surface of a locking protruding piece 42 provided on the lock ring 40 on the top surface of the sliding groove 8. An annular groove 10 into which a lock ring 40 is rotatably fitted continuously with the groove 8 and a pipe connection 11 and the socket body 1 provided with,

[0009] Tip small diameter portion 16a fitted with O-ring 18
And a connecting portion 16 to the mating socket body 1 comprising a tapered portion 16b and a large-diameter portion 16c that extend rearward continuously with the tip small-diameter portion 16a, and the large-diameter portion 16c has a plate of the lock member 30. And a plug body (15) provided with an annular groove (17) for engaging and locking a hole edge of a lock hole (35) provided on the surface.

The lock member 30 is forcibly inserted through the fitting opening 6 provided in the socket body 1, and the lock member 30 is fitted into the annular groove 5 provided at the base end of the plug fitting hole 2. By fitting the lock member 30 into the annular groove 5 of the socket body 1, the locking claw pieces 32, 32 provided on the lock member 30 are provided.
Are fitted into the locking ports 7 provided in the socket body 1, and the locking claw pieces 32 are placed on the locking ports 7 by the spring force of the spring portion 33 abutting against the bottom surface of the annular groove 5. Lock to the rim. At this time, the lower end edge of the lock hole 35 provided on the plate surface of the lock member 30 is in a state of protruding in the axial direction from the annular groove 5 provided in the socket body 1. In this state, the mating plug main body 1 is inserted into the plug fitting hole 2 provided in the axis of the socket main body 1.
When the connection portion 16 is inserted and connected, the lower end edge of the lock hole 35 provided on the plate surface of the lock member 30 by the tapered portion 16b constituting the connection portion 16 is formed in the annular groove 5 once provided in the socket body 1. Into the plug fitting hole 2 provided in the socket body 1, and to the connecting portion 16 of the mating plug body 15.
Is completely inserted and connected, the lower end edge of the lock hole 35 is fitted and locked into the annular groove 17 provided in the connection portion 16 of the plug body 15 by the spring force of the spring portion 33. Is connected to the socket main body 1 so as not to come off. In order to remove the plug main body 15 connected to the socket main body 1, the unlocking protruding piece 31 provided on the lock member 30 is
The lock is released by pressing down against the spring force of No. 3.

An annular groove 10 provided in the socket body 1
, A lock ring 40 is rotatably fitted. By forcibly fitting and locking the slit groove 43 provided on the inner surface of the locking protruding piece 42 provided on the lock ring 40 with the rib 9 provided on the sliding groove 8 of the socket body 1, the locking protruding piece is provided. The piece 42 fits into the lower surface of the unlocking protruding piece 31 provided on the lock member 30, the downward movement of the unlocking protruding piece 31 is sealed, and the socket main body 1 and the plug main body 15 are completely locked and connected. . In order to release the lock of the unlocking projection 31, the lock ring 40 is rotated, and the slit groove 43 provided on the inner surface of the locking projection 42 and the rib 9 provided on the socket body 1 are rotated. By forcibly releasing the engagement, the lock of the unlocking protruding piece 31 is released.

Therefore, the locking member 30 is connected to the socket body 1.
The plug ring is forcibly inserted through a fitting opening 6 provided in the socket body 1 and fitted into an annular groove 5 provided at a base end of the plug fitting hole 2, and a lock ring 40 is rotatable in an annular groove 10 provided in the socket body 1. A coupler having a locking mechanism can be obtained with a very simple operation of merely fitting the coupler.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of a base end of a socket body, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a connected state.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a socket body made of metal or plastic, and a plug fitting hole 2, a fluid flow hole 3 and a pipe connection hole 4 (see FIG. 3) are bored through the axis of the socket body 1. ing. Reference numeral 5 denotes an annular groove provided at a base end of the plug fitting hole 2, and a lock member 30 described later is fitted into the annular groove 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a fitting opening through which an unlocking protruding piece 31 provided on the lock member 30 is vertically movable. Reference numerals 7 and 7 are engagement members by which the locking claw pieces 32 provided on the lock member 30 are vertically movable. The stop 8 is a lock ring 40 described later.
A sliding groove 9 on which the locking protruding piece 42 is rotatably slid is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rib provided on the top surface of the sliding groove 8.
The slit groove 43 provided in the longitudinal direction of the central part of the inner surface of the locking protruding piece 42 is fitted and locked. Reference numeral 10 denotes an annular groove into which the lock ring 40 is rotatably fitted, and reference numeral 11 denotes a pipe connection portion.

Numeral 15 denotes a plug body made of metal or plastic, and numeral 16 denotes a small-diameter portion 1 at the tip of which a 0-ring 18 is fitted.
6a, a connecting portion to the mating socket body 1 composed of a tapered portion 16b and a large diameter portion 16c which extend rearward continuously with the tip small diameter portion 16a, and 17 is formed in a large diameter portion 16c constituting the connection portion 16. The edge of a locking hole 35 provided on the plate surface of the lock member 30 described later is fitted and locked in the annular groove 17. Reference numeral 19 denotes a pipe connection projection, and reference numeral 20 denotes a fluid flow hole formed in the axis of the plug body 15.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a lock member made of an elastic metal or plastic having one side having an arc shape and three sides having a rectangular shape, and 31 formed by bending one arc side outward in an arc shape. The unlocking projections 32, 32 are locking claws protruding from the central portions of the parallel outer edges.
32 has a triangular shape with a flat upper surface. Reference numeral 33 denotes a spring portion provided on at least one outer edge provided with the locking claw piece 32 so as to be continuous with the locking claw piece 32. The spring portion 33 bends a base end 33a outward at a right angle and has a free end. Part 33b
Is formed so as to face the unlocking protruding piece 31. It is needless to say that the spring portions 33 may be provided on both outer edges as needed. Numerals 34, 34 are spacers formed by bending at arbitrary positions on the parallel outer edges. The spacers 34, 34 are for matching the locking member 30 to the groove width of the annular groove 5 provided in the socket body 1. It is. Reference numeral 35 denotes a substantially circular locking hole formed in the center of the plate surface of the lock member 30. The inner diameter of the locking hole 35 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the connecting portion 16 provided in the plug body 15. ing.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a lock ring made of elastic plastic. The lock ring 40 has a ring shape with one end opened, and a locking protruding piece 42 protrudes rearward at a position facing the opening 41. Lock projecting piece 42
A slit groove 43 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the central portion of the inner surface.

In order to incorporate the lock member 30 and the lock ring 40 configured as described above into the socket body 1, the lock member 3 is inserted through the fitting opening 6 provided in the socket body 1.
0 is forcibly inserted and fitted into an annular groove 5 provided at the base end of the plug fitting hole 2. By fitting the locking member 30 into the annular groove 5 of the socket body 1, the locking claw pieces 32, 32 provided on the locking member 30 as shown in FIG. 7, the locking claw pieces 32, 32 are locked to the upper edges of the locking openings 7, 7 by the spring force of the spring portion 33 abutting against the bottom surface of the annular groove 5, and the locking member 30 is removed. At this time, the lower end edge of the lock hole 35 provided on the plate surface of the lock member 30 is
Is projected in the axial direction from the annular groove 5 provided in.
In this state, when the connecting portion 16 of the mating plug main body 15 is inserted and connected to the plug fitting hole 2 provided in the socket main body 1, the chain provided on the plate surface of the lock member 30 by the tapered portion 16 b constituting the connecting portion 16. The lower end edge of the lock hole 35 is once fitted into the annular groove 5 provided in the socket body 1, but the connection portion 16 of the mating plug body 15 is completely inserted and connected to the plug fitting hole 2 provided in the socket body 1. At this point, the lower end edge of the lock hole 35 is fitted and locked into the annular groove 17 provided in the plug body 15 by the spring force of the spring portion 33, so that the socket body 1 and the plug body 15 are securely connected. You. In order to remove the plug body 15 that is securely connected to the socket body 1, the unlocking protruding piece 31 that protrudes outside from the fitting port 6 provided in the socket body 1 is pressed down against the spring force of the spring portion 33. As a result, the lock is released, and the lock between the socket body 1 and the plug body 15 is released.

Further, the lock ring 40 is connected to the socket body 1.
In order to incorporate the annular groove 10 into the socket body 1,
Then, the lock ring 40 is forcibly inserted from the opening 41 so that the lock ring 40 is
The lock ring 40 is rotatably fitted in the annular groove 19 provided in the
The locking protrusion 42 provided on the socket body 1 also slides on the slide groove 8 provided on the socket body 1, and the slit groove 43 provided on the inner surface of the lock protrusion 42 has a rib provided on the top surface of the slide groove 8. 9, the locking projection 42 is fitted into the lower surface of the unlocking projection 31 provided on the lock member 30, as shown in FIG. The connection with the main body 15 is completely prevented. In order to unlock the unlocking protruding piece 31, the lock ring 40 is used.
The lock is released by forcibly releasing the engagement between the slit groove 43 provided on the inner surface of the locking protruding piece 42 and the rib 9 provided on the slide groove 8 of the socket body 1.
The groove edge 8a (see FIG. 1) of the sliding groove 8 provided on the socket body 1 acts as a stopper for the locking protruding piece 42 provided on the lock ring 40.

[0020]

According to the present invention, as described above, the lock member 30 is forcibly inserted from the fitting opening 6 provided in the socket body 1 and is inserted into the annular groove 5 provided at the base end of the plug fitting hole 2. The annular groove 10 provided in the socket body 1
Not only is it possible to obtain a coupler having a lock mechanism by an extremely simple operation of merely fitting the lock ring 40 rotatably, but also to provide the coupler at a low cost because the structure is simple and the number of parts is small. There are advantages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a socket body base end.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a connection state.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary explanatory view showing a conventional coupler.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway explanatory view showing a conventional coupler.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a lock member constituting the coupler in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Socket main body 2 Plug fitting hole 3 Fluid flow hole 4 Pipe fitting hole 5 Annular groove 6 Fitting port 7 Locking port 8 Sliding groove 9 Rib 10 Ring groove 11 Pipe connection part 15 Plug body 16 Connection part 16a Tip diameter Part 16b taper part 16c large diameter part 17 annular groove 180 ring 30 locking member 31 unlocking projection piece 32 locking claw piece 33 spring part 35 locking hole 40 lock ring 41 opening 42 locking projection piece 43 slit groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An unlocking protruding piece (31) is formed by bending an arcuate side of a plate having an arc shape on one side and a rectangular shape on three sides outwardly into an arc shape. Locking claw pieces (32), (32) are protruded at the center of the outer edge, and the free end (33b) is unlocked on at least one of the outer edges where the locking claw (32) is protruded. A resilient locking member (30) having a spring portion (33) formed by being curved to face the protruding piece (31) and having a substantially circular lock hole (35) in the center of the plate surface; The locking projection (42) projects rearward at a position facing the opening (41), and the slit groove (42) extends in the longitudinal direction of the center of the inner surface of the locking projection (42). A lock ring (40) provided with 43), and a connecting portion (1) provided on the mating plug body (15) at the axis.
Plug fitting hole (2) for detachably inserting and connecting 6)
And an annular groove (5) in which the fluid communication hole (3) and the pipe fitting hole (4) are communicated with each other, and the lock member (30) is fitted into the base end of the plug fitting hole (2). On the outer peripheral surface of the lock member (30), which opens to the annular groove (5), the unlocking protruding piece (31) provided on the locking member (30) faces vertically movably, and the engaging claw pieces (32), (32) ) Are provided with locking openings (7) and (7) which are fitted and locked so as to be vertically movable, and a locking protruding piece (42) provided on the lock ring (40) in the longitudinal front thereof.
A sliding groove (8) in which the sliding groove slides freely, and the sliding groove (8)
A rib (9) is provided on the top surface of the lock ring (40) so that the slit groove (43) provided on the inner surface of the lock protruding piece (42) provided on the lock ring (40) fits and locks the sliding groove (8). And the annular groove (1) into which the lock ring (40) is rotatably fitted.
0) and a socket body (1) provided with a pipe connection portion (11); a small-diameter portion (16a) fitted with an O-ring (18);
A large-diameter portion having a connection portion (16) to the mating socket body (1), comprising a tapered portion (16b) and a large-diameter portion (16c) that extend rearward continuously with the tip small-diameter portion (16a); (16c) a plug body (15) provided with an annular groove (17) in which a hole edge of a lock hole (35) provided on a plate surface of the lock member (30) is fitted and locked. And coupler.