JPS6212433B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fluid coupling used in a wellhead device of an offshore oil production system.

Fluid couplings used in wellhead equipment for offshore oil production systems must be able to be installed and removed by remote control in order to be able to be installed and removed for maintenance without using a diver, and must last for 20 years in seawater, for example. It has corrosion resistance that can withstand long-term use, and it has a compact structure that does not generate thrust force to separate the male and female parts when they are connected. Conditions such as being able to connect and disconnect the male and female parts even when fluid pressure is applied, and having a self-centering mechanism are required.

An example of a conventionally used typical fluid coupling will be described with reference to FIG. 1. A poppet guide b and a poppet valve c are inserted into the inner cavity of a female body a, and the radially projecting portion of the poppet guide b is The poppet guide b comes into contact with the stop ring d to restrict the retreating end of the poppet guide b. The poppet valve c is guided by a poppet guide b to be displaced along the central axis of the female body a, and is moved by a spring e inserted between the poppet guide b and the poppet valve c as shown in FIG. The O-ring f, which is constantly biased downward and fitted into the poppet valve c, comes into close contact with the inclined portion of the inner cavity of the female body a, thereby closing the lower end side of the inner cavity of the female side body a.

The upper end of the male body g is fitted into the lower end side of the female body a in FIG.
An O-ring h and a back-up spring i are fitted, and a ball k is fitted into a hole j below them. On the outside of the ball k, small-sized portions and large-sized portions are alternately formed in the circumferential direction at locations on the inner surface of the sleeve l that contact the ball k. When the small part comes into contact with ball k, ball k starts to protrude inward from hole j, and sleeve l
When the large portion of the ball k is located at the position of the ball k, the ball k is displaced outwardly and can be retracted into the hole j.

A poppet guide m and a poppet valve n are also inserted into the inner cavity of the male body g, and a radially projecting portion of the poppet guide m comes into contact with a stop spring o to restrict the downward retraction position of the poppet guide m. ing. The poppet valve n is guided by a poppet guide m to be displaced along the central axis of the male body g, and is always urged upward by a spring p inserted between the poppet guide m and the poppet valve n. Forced. An O-ring q fitted into the poppet valve n comes into close contact with the inclined portion of the male body g lumen, thereby closing the upper end side of the male body g lumen. A ball fixing groove r into which the aforementioned ball k fits is provided on the outer periphery of the portion where the male body g fits into the female body a.

When the upper end of the male body g of such a fluid coupling is fitted into the lower end of the female body a, both poppet valves c and n are pressed against each other as shown in FIG. 2, and the springs e and p are pressed together. compresses and retracts, opening a fluid passageway. In this state, the ball k is aligned with the position of the ball fixing groove r, so rotate the sleeve l to make the ball k protrude inward with its small part and fit deeply into the ball fixing groove r. The male body g is connected to the female body a so that it does not come off.

In the conventional fluid coupling described above, when connecting or separating the female body a and the male body g, the sleeve l is rotated to fit the ball k into the ball fixing groove r. Therefore, operating the sleeve l on the seabed in a diverless manner has the disadvantage of requiring a complicated mechanism.

When connecting female body a and male body g, poppet valves c and n built into both
press each other, compressing springs e and p and retracting. Therefore, when fluid pressure is applied to the inner cavities of female body a and male body g, respectively, it corresponds to opening poppet valves c and n. force is required,
Furthermore, if there is a misalignment between the center axis of the female body a and the center axis of the male body g, there is a drawback that connection cannot be achieved.

Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 2, if the diameter of the fitting part between the female body a and the male body g is D and the fluid pressure is PKg/cm ² , then the separation will be π/4D ² ×P. There was a risk that the female body a and the male body g would separate due to the thrust force acting on them.

The present invention eliminates these drawbacks, allows the female body and male body to be easily attached and detached by remote control, prevents the generation of thrust force to separate them in the coupled state, and prevents fluid pressure from acting internally. The proximal end is rotatably supported by the female holder via a spherical surface, so that it can be easily connected and detached even when the center axis is misaligned, and the center axis line can be automatically aligned even if the center axis line is misaligned. a female body; a female sleeve having a tapered recess at its tip and slidably fitted to the female body; and a female side that urges the female sleeve toward the tip of the female body. and a spring, which is provided on the side near the tip of the female body and is closed when the female sleeve is located on the tip side of the female body, so that the female sleeve resists the force of the female spring. a female opening that is opened when the female body is moved back toward the proximal end from the distal end of the female body, a female port provided between the proximal end of the female body and the female opening, and a proximal end that is spherical. a male body rotatably supported by the male holder via the male body; a fitting hole provided at the tip of the male sleeve into which the tip of the female body is tightly fitted when the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted; A plug movably inserted, a plug spring that biases the plug toward the tip of the male sleeve, and biases the male sleeve to protrude from the tip of the male body. a male spring that is stronger than the female spring and the plug spring; and a male spring that is provided on a side near the tip of the male body and is closed when the male sleeve is located on the tip side of the male body. a side opening, a male port provided between the proximal end of the male body and the male opening, and a plug provided on a side surface of the fitting hole of the male sleeve, the plug being located on the distal end side of the male sleeve. when the plug is closed by the plug, the tip of the female body fits into the fitting hole, and the plug retreats from the tip of the male sleeve against the force of the plug spring. a sleeve distal opening communicating with the female opening; and a sleeve disposed at the rear end of the male sleeve, which is closed by the male body when the male sleeve is at the most protruding position from the distal end of the male body; a rear end of the sleeve that communicates with the male opening when the recess and the protrusion fit together, the male sleeve is pressed by the female sleeve, and the male sleeve retreats against the force of the male spring; The present invention relates to a fluid coupling characterized in that it includes a side opening, and a sleeve port provided in the male sleeve and connecting the sleeve front opening and the sleeve rear opening.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

1 is one manifold, 2 is the other manifold, and these manifolds 1 and 2 are to be connected by the fluid coupling according to the present invention.

A female holder 3 is fixed to one manifold 1 with a nut 4. A piping connection port 5 is located at the center of the upper part of the female side holder 3, and a port 6 is provided that penetrates downward from the pipe connection port 5. Furthermore, a cylindrical housing 7 is provided on the lower outer periphery of the female holder 3.
is fixed by screwing, and the lower end of the housing 7 protrudes below the manifold 1.

A female body 8 is provided on the lower side of the female holder 3, and the base end (upper end in FIG. 3) of the female body 8 has a radius R ₁ centered on a point O ₁ on the central axis. The spherical surface 9 is in contact with the female holder 3.
A ring 10 is fixed inside the housing 7, and the ring 10 and the female body 8 are in contact with a spherical surface 11 having a radius _R2 centered on the above-mentioned point _O1 . In this way, the female body 8 is supported by the spherical surfaces 9 and 11 centered on the same point _O1 , and therefore can pivot around the point _O1 .

A female port 12 is provided at the center of the female body 8, and its upper end opens at the center of the upper surface of the proximal end of the female body 8 and communicates with the lower end of the port 6 provided in the female holder 3. It's becoming like that. The lower end of the female side port 12 is closed with a stopper 13,
Immediately above it, it is connected to a female side opening 14 provided on the side near the tip of the female side body 8.

The lower side of the female body 8 is formed into a shaft shape with a constant outer diameter, and a female sleeve 15 is installed outside this portion.
are slidable and tightly fitted. The female sleeve 15 is urged toward the tip side (lower end side in FIG. 3) of the female body 8 by a female spring 16.
A protruding edge 1 protruding from the inner surface of the tip of the housing 7
A protruding edge 18 on the outer periphery of the rear end of the female sleeve 15 abuts on the outer circumference of the female sleeve 15 to prevent the female sleeve 15 from coming off. A recess 19 is provided at the distal end of the female sleeve 15 and has a tapered periphery and a flat bottom at the center. When the projecting edges 17 and 18 are in contact with each other as described above, the bottom surface of the recess 19 and the tip of the female body 8 are arranged to be substantially on the same plane. Female side sleeve 15
is located at the distal end side of the female body 8, the female sleeve 15 is located outside the female opening 14, closes the female opening 14, and the O-ring attached to the female sleeve 15 closes the female opening 14. 20 and 21 for sealing.

A male holder 22 is fixed to the other manifold 2 with a nut 23. Male side holder 2
A pipe connection port 24 is located at the center of the lower part of the pipe 2, and a port 25 is provided that penetrates upward from the pipe connection port 24. Further, a cylindrical housing 26 is fixed to the upper outer periphery of the male holder 22 by screwing, and the upper end of the housing 26 protrudes above the manifold 2 .

A male body 27 is provided above the male holder 22, and the base end (lower end in FIG. 3) of the male body 27 has a radius R ₃ centered on a point O ₂ on the central axis. The spherical surface 28 is in contact with the male holder 22 . There is a ring 29 inside the housing 26.
is fixed, and this ring 29 and the male body 27 are in contact with each other at a spherical surface 30 having a radius R ₄ centered on the above-mentioned point O ₂ . In this way, the male side body 27
is supported by spherical surfaces 28, 30 centered on the same point _O2 , so it can pivot about the point _O2 .

A male port 31 is provided at the center of the male body 27, and its lower end opens at the center of the lower surface of the proximal end of the male body 27 and communicates with the upper end of the port 25 provided in the male holder 22. It's becoming like that. The upper end of the male side port 31 is closed with a stopper 32, and is connected to a male side opening 33 provided on the side at a position slightly lower than the tip of the male side body 27 immediately below the stopper.

The upper side of the male body 27 has a shaft shape with a constant outer diameter, and a cylindrical recess 34 is formed at the center of the upper end. A male sleeve 35 is slidably and tightly fitted to the outside of the shaft-shaped portion of the male body 27. The male sleeve 35 is biased by a strong male spring 36 to protrude from the tip of the male body 27, and is pressed against the housing 2.
The protruding edge 38 of the male sleeve 35 comes into contact with the protruding edge 37 protruding from the inner surface of the distal end of the male sleeve 3 .
5 is prevented from escaping. housing 2
A dust seal 39 is fitted on the inner surface of the protrusion 37 of the housing 26, and is in close contact with the outer surface of the male sleeve 35, and a breathing hole 40 is bored at a position slightly below the protrusion 37 of the housing 26. has been done.

The tip of the male sleeve 35 is a convex portion 42 having a taper 41, and this convex portion 42 is adapted to tightly fit into the concave portion 19 of the female sleeve 15 described above. A fitting hole 43 is provided at the center of the tip of the male sleeve 35, and the diameter of the fitting hole 43 is such that the tip of the female body 8 can be tightly fitted therein. A hollow plug 44 is slidably fitted into the fitting hole 43, and the plug 44 is held in place by plug springs 45 and 46 provided between the inner end of the plug 44 and the recess 34 of the male body 27. is urged toward the distal end side of the male sleeve 35. Then, the protruding edge 47 protruding from the rear end of the plug 44 comes into contact with the stepped portion 48 of the fitting hole 43,
The tip of the plug 44 is connected to the convex portion 42 of the male sleeve 35
The plug 44 is prevented from protruding beyond a position that substantially coincides with.

A sleeve tip opening 49 is provided on the side surface of the fitting hole 43 of the male sleeve 35, and a sleeve rear opening 50 is provided on the inner surface of the rear end of the male sleeve 35.
is provided. And sleeve tip side opening 4
9 and the sleeve rear end side opening 50 are connected through a sleeve port 51 provided in the male sleeve 35. Note that the tip of the sleeve port 51 (upper end in FIG. 3) is closed with a stopper 52.

O-rings 53 and 54 are fitted above and below the sleeve tip opening 49 of the male sleeve 35.
Furthermore, one O-ring 55 is placed above the rear end side opening 50 of the sleeve, and two O-rings 56, 5 are placed below.
7 is fitted. Further, a breathing hole 58 is formed in the male body 27 so as to be located between the rear end of the plug 44 and the tip of the male body 27. And the sleeve tip side opening 49 of the male side sleeve 35
is closed with a plug 44 and sealed with O-rings 53 and 54, and an opening 50 on the rear end side of the sleeve
is closed at the distal end side of the male body 27 and sealed by O-rings 55 and 56. The male opening 33 of the male body 27 is closed by a male sleeve 35 and sealed by O-rings 56 and 57.

When the above-mentioned fluid coupling is in the separated state as shown in FIG. 12, the fluid passageway connected to the female side opening 14 is connected to the female side sleeve 1
Closed by 5.

In addition, the male side spring 36 has the most extended length L,
Plug springs 45 and 46 are also the most extended length N
The piping connection port 24 of the male side holder 22
From port 25, male side port 31, male side opening 33
The fluid passage connected to the sleeve is closed by the male sleeve 35, and the sleeve distal opening 4
9. The rear opening 50 of the sleeve is also closed by the plug 44 and the male body 27, respectively.

When one manifold 1 is brought close to the other manifold 2 in order to connect the joint, the convex portion 42 having the taper 41 of the male sleeve 35 moves into the tapered recess 19 of the female sleeve 15, as shown in FIG. to fit. At this time, if the center axes of the female body 8 and the female sleeve 15 and the center axes of the male body 27 and the male sleeve 35 are misaligned, the taper portion of the recess 19 and the taper 41 of the convex portion 42
will guide each other. The female body 8 fitted with the female sleeve 15 has a spherical surface 9,
11 and rotates around point _O1 . Correspondingly, the male body 27 into which the male sleeve 35 is fitted slides on the spherical surfaces 28 and 30, and the point O ₂
The central axes of the female body 8 and the female sleeve 15 are aligned with the central axes of the male body 27 and the male sleeve 35. When the manifolds 1 and 2 come closer together in this state, the tip of the female body 8 overcomes the force of the plug springs 45 and 46 and the plug 44
While pressing down, insert the fitting hole 43 of the male sleeve 35.
a tight fit. At this time, the female sleeve 15 is pushed up by the male sleeve 35, the female spring 16 is compressed to a length m, and the plug spring 4
5 and 46 are compressed to length n ₁ , but the male spring 36 is so strong that it is hardly compressed.
By fitting the tip of the female body 8 into the fitting hole 43 while pushing down the plug 44, the female opening 14 and the sleeve tip opening 49 communicate with each other, as shown in FIG. 4.

From the state shown in Fig. 4, manifold 1,
2 come close to each other and reach the state shown _in FIG. It is further compressed than the state and has length n ₂ . As a result, the male side opening 33 of the male side body 27 and the male side sleeve 35
Therefore, the piping connection port 5 of the female side holder 3 communicates with the sleeve rear end side opening 50 of the port 6, the female side port 12, the female side opening 14, and the sleeve front end side opening 4.
9, sleeve port 51, sleeve rear end side opening 5
0, male side opening 33, male side port 31, port 25
It will be connected to the piping connection port 24 of the male side holder 22 via.

In this way, the female side opening 14 is first
Since the passage is connected in two steps: first, the male opening 33 and the rear opening 50 of the sleeve communicate with each other, so that the fluid in the passage is not released to the outside during the coupling operation of the joint. leakage is prevented.

Since the housing 26 and the male sleeve 35 are provided with breathing holes 40 and 58, respectively, a breathing effect can be provided to the movement of the male sleeve 35 and the plug 44, and when used underwater, the male sleeve The water pressure acting on the plug 35 and the plug 44 can be prevented from affecting the operation.

When separating the joints that are connected as shown in Fig. 5, by moving the manifolds 1 and 2 apart, the operation opposite to the above is performed, and the joints are separated as shown in Fig. 3 after going through the state shown in Fig. 4. . At this time, the male side opening 3
3 is closed by the male sleeve 35, the sleeve distal opening 49 is closed by the plug 44, and the female opening 14 is closed by the female sleeve 15, so that the fluid inside the joint is closed. It is prevented from leaking to the outside.

As explained above, in the present invention, the female body 8 and the male body 27 are rotatably supported at their proximal ends via spherical surfaces, and the female body 8 and the male body 27 are slidably fitted into the female body 8 and the male body 27, respectively. 15 tapered recesses 1
9 and the tapered convex portion 42 of the male sleeve 35 fit together, so even if their central axes are misaligned during connection, the center axes will naturally match and the connection can be made smoothly.

Further, both ports are closed by the female side sleeve 15 and the male side sleeve 35, and when the joints are connected, the female side sleeve 15 and the male side sleeve 35 are closed.
5 moves to connect the passages, and the volume of the fluid inside the female body 8 and the male body 27 does not change, so they can be easily connected regardless of the level of fluid pressure.

Further, the female side opening 14 provided on the side of the male side body 8 and the male side opening 33 provided on the side of the male side body 27 are connected to the sleeve tip side opening 49 of the male side sleeve 35 and the sleeve end side opening 49 of the male side sleeve 35 . Since they are connected through the port 51 and the opening 50 on the rear end side of the sleeve, there is an effect that no separation force is generated due to internal fluid pressure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cut-away side view of a conventional joint, Fig. 2 is a partially cut-away side view of the coupled state of the joint in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. The vertical cross-sectional views of the example, FIGS. 4 and 5, are vertical cross-sectional views showing the combined state. 3... Female side holder, 8... Female side body, 9, 28...
Spherical surface, 12... Female side port, 14... Female side opening, 15
...Female side sleeve, 16...Female side spring, 19...
Recessed portion, 22...male side holder, 27...male side body, 3
1...Male side port, 33...Male side opening, 35...Male side sleeve, 36...Male side spring, 42...Convex part, 4
3... Fitting hole, 44... Plug, 45, 46... Plug spring, 49... Sleeve tip side opening, 50...
Sleeve rear end side opening, 51...Sleeve port.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A female body whose base end is rotatably supported by a female holder via a spherical surface, and a female body having a tapered recess at its tip and slidably fitted into the female body. a female sleeve that urges the female sleeve toward the distal end of the female body; and a female spring that biases the female sleeve toward the distal end of the female body; a female side opening that is closed when the female sleeve is positioned on the distal side and opened when the female sleeve retreats from the distal end of the female body toward the proximal side against the force of the female spring; a female port provided between the proximal end of the body and the female opening; a male body whose proximal end is rotatably supported by the male holder via a spherical surface; a male sleeve having a fitting tapered convex portion at its tip and slidably fitted to the male body; and a male sleeve provided at the tip of the male sleeve, the concave portion and the convex portion fitting together. a fitting hole into which the tip of the female body is tightly fitted; a plug slidably fitted into the fitting hole; and a plug spring urging the plug toward the tip of the male sleeve. and urging the male sleeve to protrude from the tip of the male body. a male spring that is stronger than the female spring and the plug spring; and a male spring that is provided on a side near the tip of the male body and is closed when the male sleeve is located on the tip side of the male body. a side opening; a male port provided between the proximal end of the male body and the male opening; and a male port provided on a side surface of the fitting hole of the male sleeve, the plug being located on the distal end side of the male sleeve. when the plug is closed by the plug, the tip of the female body fits into the fitting hole, and the plug retreats from the tip of the male sleeve against the force of the plug spring. a sleeve distal end side opening communicating with the female side opening; provided on the rear end side of the male sleeve and closed by the male body when the male sleeve is at a position most protruding from the distal end of the male body; a rear end of the sleeve that communicates with the male opening when the recess and the protrusion fit together, the male sleeve is pressed by the female sleeve, and the male sleeve retreats against the force of the male spring; A fluid coupling comprising: a side opening; and a sleeve port provided in the male sleeve and connecting the sleeve front opening and the sleeve rear opening.