JPS6184495A - Joint structure of pipe - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a pipe joint structure used mainly for joining pipes in air conditioners for automobiles and others.

(Prior art) As a conventional pipe joint structure, for example,
There are those disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 93 and those shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. 1 is a pipe joint part, and this pipe joint part 1 mainly has a female connector 2 and a female seal flange 3.
, a male connector 4 and a male seal flange 5.

The female connector 2 has a generally cylindrical shape as a whole, and the base end 2
A is attached to the tip 6a of one of the pipes 6 to be joined by welding or other known means, and there are four holes in the circumferential direction of the tip 2b of the female connector 2 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7). A retaining hole 7 is provided. The size of the retaining hole 7 is set to a certain flowering width W, which is slightly larger than the "elastic locking claw" so that the "elastic locking claw" described later can be inserted therein.

The female seal flange 3 is a "seal body" provided inside the female connector 2, and has the tip 6a of the aforementioned thread 6 at the base end 3a.
is [22], and the tip 3b of the female seal flange 3 is connected to a male seal flange 5, which is another "seal body" described later.
It is designed so that it can be joined with.

The male connector 4 is generally disk-shaped as a whole, and has a base end 4a.
Similar to the female connector 2, the tip 8 of the other tube 8 to be connected
a by welding or other known means, and the tip 4b of the male connector 4 has the aforementioned engagement hole 7.
A plurality of inclined elastic lock claws 9 are provided at positions corresponding to When it is inserted into the hole 7, it is locked by this stepped portion 9a so that it is difficult to separate. Note that 9b indicates an inclined portion of the elastic locking pawl 9.

As mentioned above, the male seal flange 5 is another "seal body" provided inside the elastic lock claw 9, and by joining with the aforementioned female seal flange 3, which is also a "seal body", it can be inserted into both the pipes 6, B. The purpose is to prevent leakage of flowing fluid, and the tip 8a of the tube 8 faces the base end 5a, and a groove lO is formed in the circumferential direction of the tip 5b of the male seal flange 5. An O-ring 11 is attached there. The function of this O-ring 11 further ensures the sealing performance of both the male and female seal flanges 5.3.
This further prevents "leakage".

Then, when the male connector 4 is inserted into the inner side 2C of the female connector 2 from the tube axis direction (direction of arrow B in FIG. The locking holes 7 and the elastic locking claws 9 are engaged, resulting in a “closed” state, and the plurality of elastic locking claws 9 are respectively engaged with the corresponding plurality of retaining holes 7, and the male Both the pipes 6.81 can be easily joined with one touch, so to speak, through the male and female seal flanges 5.3 interposed between the male and female connectors 4.2.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in such a conventional pipe joint structure, although the pipes 6 and 8 can be joined with one touch, conversely, when attempting to remove them, multiple elastic locking claws are required. 9 exhibits a "locked" state in which the plurality of elastic locking claws 9 are firmly inserted into the plurality of corresponding retaining holes 7, and the plurality of elastic locking claws 9 are simultaneously pressed and bent toward the inner side 2C of the female connector 2 to close the retaining holes 7. It is necessary to release the lock by pulling the male connector 4 or female connector 2 in the direction of the tube axis [in the opposite direction of arrow B in Figure 8], and a special tool is required for this purpose. Work efficiency is not improved because it does not come off easily.
It would be necessary to equip service shops, sales outlets, etc. across the country with such tools, which would be costly and time consuming. For this reason,
It has been desired to have a pipe joint structure that allows the male and female connectors 4.2 to be easily uncoupled if necessary without the need for special tools, as in the case of pipe joints.

(Means for Solving the Problem) Therefore, in this invention, the opening width of the engagement hole into which the elastic locking pawl engages is made into a tapered shape that gradually narrows in the circumferential direction, and the opening width of the engagement hole into which the elastic locking pawl engages is tapered. When disengaging from the hole, by relatively rotating both the male and female connectors in the circumferential direction, the elastic locking pawl bends inward according to the narrowing opening width, and the elastic locking pawl and the engagement hole are separated. Remove the "lock" from the
Furthermore, the joined tubes can be detached freely.

(Function) When both the male and female connectors are rotated relative to each other in the circumferential direction, the opening width of the engagement hole gradually narrows, and the elastic locking claw moves inward in accordance with this narrowing opening width, making it easy to operate. There is a "mouth" between the elastic locking pawl and the engagement hole.

This means that the "restriction" will be removed, and it will be possible to leave the country at will.

(Example) The present invention will be described below based on the drawings. In addition, in the following, parts common to the conventional one will be indicated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation will be omitted.

FIGS. 1 to 6 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an engagement hole, and the engagement hole 12 has a tapered shape in which the opening width W becomes gradually narrower in the circumferential direction (in one direction in the illustrated example). A tapered portion of the hole 12 is shown.A stage for rotational positioning of the elastic lock claw 9 is provided at the inner edge of the engagement hole 12 corresponding to the inner side 2C of the female counterer 2 and in the direction in which the opening width W becomes narrower. The portion 13 is recessed.

The male connector 4 has a rectangular disk shape as a whole, and has a structure that makes it easy to apply force to the male connector 4 when the male and female connectors 4.2 rotate relative to each other in the circumferential direction. be.

Next, the action will be explained.

From the "locked" state in which the elastic lock claw 9 is firmly engaged in the engagement hole 12, the direction is circumferential [direction of arrow A in FIG. 1].
Then, both the male and female connectors 4.2 are relatively rotated in a direction in which the opening width W of the engagement hole 12 becomes gradually narrower. Then, the elastic lock claw 9 also tries to rotate with the relative rotation of both connectors 4.2, but since the opening width W gradually becomes narrower, the elastic lock claw 9 moves inward according to the opening width W. It bends to That is, when in the "locked" state, the inclined portion 9b (FIG. 3(A)) of the elastic lock claw 9 that is not in contact with the tapered portion 12a also engages both the male and female connectors 4.
3 (b)], and as the tapered portion 12a continues to rotate, the inclined portion 9b begins to be pushed inward (in the direction of arrow C) by the lower edge of the tapered portion 12a. Figure (c)].

The contact point between the inclined portion b and the tapered portion 12a is
As the aperture width W becomes narrower, the stepped portion 9a becomes larger on the inclined portion 9b.
As a result, the inclined portion 9b is pushed further inward [in the direction of arrow C in Fig. 3]. Fig. 3 (A) (B) (C) (D) Now, the elastic locking claw 9
Since the stepped portion 9a is locked in the engagement hole 12, the elastic lock claw 9 and the engagement hole 12 are in a "locked" state that does not come off even if force is applied in the tube axis direction [in the direction of arrow B]. , the rotation is shown in Figure 3 (
E) As the process progresses to
2 and the elastic locking pawl 9 at multiple locations at the same time, ultimately both the male and female connectors 4.2 can be detached. The relative rotation of both the male and female connectors 4.2 in the circumferential direction is as follows:
It stops at the stepped portion 13 for rotational positioning of the elastic lock claw 9,
Furthermore, once it has stopped, you can confirm that the "lock" has been released.

In this embodiment, the male connector 4 has been described as having a rectangular disk shape, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening width W of the engagement hole 12 is narrowed only in one direction in the circumferential direction. It may have a tapered shape that is narrow in both the forward and reverse directions of the circumference.

(Effects) Since the pipe joint structure according to the present invention is as explained above, the elastic locking pawl also rotates due to the relative rotation of both the male and female connectors in the circumferential direction, and the engagement hole is opened. The tapered part of the opening width, which becomes narrower as it rotates, moves as if moving toward the tip on the inclined part of the elastic locking claw, and the inclined part is gradually pushed inward, causing it to move at multiple points. Since the engagement holes and the elastic locking claws are released at the same time, the male and female connectors can be easily engaged with the elastic locking claws by simply rotating the male and female connectors relative to each other in the circumferential direction without using any special tools. It is possible to "lock" and release the matching hole, which has the effect of improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of essential parts showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of a pipe joint structure according to the present invention, and FIGS. Fig. 4(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the change in the engagement state between the elastic locking claw and the engagement hole, and Fig. 4(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the engagement between the elastic locking claw and the engagement hole as seen from the direction indicated by the arrow ■ in Fig. 2. Plan view showing the combined state, Figure 4 (b)
5(A) is a plan view showing the state of engagement between the elastic locking pawl and the engagement hole as seen from the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5(B) is a side view thereof.
6(a) is a plan view showing the state of engagement between the elastic locking pawl and the engagement hole as viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6(b) is a side view thereof.
is a side view thereof, FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the main parts corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional pipe joint structure, and FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the main part corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a conventional pipe joint structure. FIG. 3 is a partially broken sectional view. 1-Pipe joint 2--Female connector 2b...Tip 2cm, inside 3-Female seal flange (seal body) 4-Male connector 4b...Tip 5-Male seal flange (seal body) ) 6.8--Pipe 9--Elastic lock claw 9a...Stepped portion (tip) 9b...-Slanted portion 12-Engagement hole 12a--Tapered portion A--Circumferential direction B--Pipe axial direction W -・- Opening width Fig. 1 9 Pulling property Icy fi ( Fig. 2 I7.V, VI Fig. 3 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
99 (a) (b) Fig. 8 Spring part 96''7 Snake skewer [8 force same

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A female connector having a generally cylindrical shape as a whole and having a plurality of engagement holes circumferentially at a distal end thereof; A male connector having a plurality of slanted elastic locking claws at the tips that can be freely engaged from the inside is provided at each tip of the one and the other tubes to be joined, and the engagement of the elastic locking claws with the engagement holes In a pipe joint structure in which both pipes are joined via a seal body interposed between the male and female connectors, the engagement hole has a tapered opening width that gradually narrows in the circumferential direction. A pipe joint structure characterized in that the elastic locking pawl is bent inward and detachable according to the width of the opening that narrows as the male and female connectors rotate relative to each other in the circumferential direction. .