Description PIPE CONNECTOR Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a pipe connector, more particularly, which can minimize the deformation of a packing to improve the sealing and pressing of a pipe, which is a major function of a clamping ring, thereby preventing the separation of the pipe. In addition, the present invention can reuse the packing without replacing it with a new one owing to the leakage of liquid when a cap nut detached from a body is fastened into the body again, thereby saving replacement cost. Background Art
[2] A conventional pipe connector is disclosed in Korea Utility Model Serial No. 20-0270031 to the inventor (registered on Mar 27, 2002), which was previously filed on January 11, 2002 with Korea Utility Model Application Serial No. 20-2002-0000901.
[3] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, this approach forms a stopper step 11 inside a body 10 for butting against a pipe 30 to be connected. The inner circumference 12 of an upper portion of the body 10 is inclined inward, and a serpentine clamping ring 21 has tongues 20. A packing 23 made of a special rubber is inserted into the inner circumference 12 of the body 10 so that semicircular cross-sectional layers 22 and 22a are placed on the top and underside of the clamping ring 21. A cap nut 32 having an downward annular projection 31 in the inner circumference is meshed with a thread 10a in the body 10. The connecting pipe 30 is inserted into the body 10 to be butted against the stopper step 11, and then the cap nut 32 is tightened. In this way, pipes can be simply connected together. At the same time, the semicircular layers 22 and 22a provide close contact with the outer circumference of the connecting pipe 30, the inner circumference of the body and the inside of the cap nut 32 to realize sealing. The tongues 20 and 20a formed in the clamping ring 21 press the connecting pipe 30 to prevent the separation of the connecting pipe 30.
[4] F wever, the conventional approach by the inventor has the following drawbacks.
[5] First, when the body 10 of FIG. 1 receives the connecting pipe 30 as in FIG. 2 and the cap nut 32 is rotated to tighten the coupling between the body 10 and the connecting pipe 30, a space defined by the inner circumference 12, the inner face of the cap nut 32 and the stopper step 11 is triangular shaped since the inner circumference 12 of the body 10 is inclined to the bottom.
[6] Then, the packing 23 accommodated in the space is transformed from an elliptic configuration into a substantially triangular configuration while the clamping ring 21 is inclined by the annular projection 31 of the cap nut 32 and therefore forcibly contacts an outer surface of the connecting pipe 30.
[7] As a result, when the connecting pipe 30 is made of rigid material such as metal, the tongues 20 inside the clamping ring 21 may be damaged or the connecting pipe 30 may be damaged so that the clamping ring 21 cannot implement its own function of pressing the connecting pipe 30.
[8] Second, as mentioned above with respect to the first problem, the packing 23 is transformed from the elliptic configuration into the triangular configuration in response to the tightening of the cap nut 32, and the packing 23 may loose its elasticity when used for a long time period. Then, the cap nut 32 is separated from the body 10 for repair and coupled again with the body 10. In this case, it is required to replace the packing with a new one in order to prevent leakage, and therefore there is a problem in that the packing is not reusable.
[9] Third, as shown in FIG. 1, the clamping ring 21 maintains a horizontal position with respect to the packing 23 in an initial position. When the connecting pipe 30 is inserted into the body 10 and the cap nut 32 is tightened, the inner tongues 20 are inclined by the annular projection 31 as shown in FIG. 2 so that the clamping ring 21 is tightened and fixed between the inclined inner circumference 12 of the body 10 and the connecting pipe 30. In view of the cross section, the upper semicircular layer 22 is rotated as held by the inner circumference and the annular projection 31 of the cap nut 32, and thus separated or loosened from the clamp 20, thereby weakening sealing. Also, the packing 23 becomes rarely reusable. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem
[10] The present invention has been made to solve the foregoing problems and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pipe connector which can minimize the deformation of a packing to improve the sealing and pressing of a pipe, which is a major function of a clamping ring, thereby preventing the separation of the pipe. In addition, the pipe connector of the present invention allows the packing to be reused without replacement with a new one when a cap nut detached from a body is fastened into the body again, thereby saving replacement cost. Technical Solution
[11] According to an aspect of the invention for realizing the above objects, there is
provided a pipe connector comprising: a tubular body of a specific length having opened both ends; a cap nut coupled around an outer circumference of one of the ends of the body; and means for preventing the separation of a pipe, which is inserted into the body through the cap nut, as well as the leakage of fluid, wherein the preventing means comprise: a seating space formed in at least one of an inner circumference of the body and an inner circumference of the cap nut which correspond to the outer circumference of the pipe; a packing seated in the seating space, and having an annular configuration of a specific elastic repulsive force; and a clamping ring having an inner contact part and a connecting part, the inner contact part being projected toward an inner circumference of the packing to contact an outer surface of the pipe, and the connecting part being extended along an inclination through inside the packing to be integrally connected with the inner contact part. Description of Drawings
[12] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[13] FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a conventional pipe connector which is assembled into a unit;
[14] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clamping ring of the present invention;
[15] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a packing of the present invention;
[16] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a packing of the present invention; and
[17] FIGS. 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views of a pipe connector of the present invention. Best Mode
[18] Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[19] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clamping ring of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a packing of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a packing of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views of a pipe connector of the present invention.
[20] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the present invention provides a pipe connector which includes a tubular body 100 of a specific length having opened both ends; a cap nut 200 coupled around an outer circumference of one of the ends of the body 100; and separation/leakage preventing means 400 for preventing the separation of a pipe 300, which is inserted into the body 100 through the cap nut 200, as well as the leakage of fluid as the conventional approach which was previously filed by the inventor.
[21] The present invention imparts improvement to the separation/leakage preventing means 400 to minimize the deformation of the packing to improve the sealing and pressing of the pipe, which is a major function of the clamping ring, thereby preventing the separation of the pipe. In addition, the pipe connector of the present invention allows the packing to be reused without replacement with a new one owing to the leakage of liquid when the cap nut detached from the body is fastened into the body again, thereby saving replacement cost.
[22] The separation/leakage preventing means 400 of the present invention include: seating spaces S 1 and S2 formed in at least one of an inner circumference of the body 100 and an inner circumference of the cap nut 200 which correspond to the outer circumference of the pipe 300, a packing 410 seated in the seating space S and having an annular configuration of a specific elastic repulsive force, and a clamping ring 420 having an inner contact part 420a and a connecting part 420c. The inner contact part 420a being projected toward an inner circumference of the packing 410 to contact an outer surface of the pipe 200, and the connecting part 420c is extended along an inclination through inside the packing 410 to be integrally connected with the inner contact part 420a.
[23] That is, the present invention is characterized in that the clamping ring 420 is installed or inserted in the packing 410 at a predetermined angle rather than being installed in a horizontal position as in the prior art.
[24] Herein, the clamping ring 420 may be installed within the packing 410 by adopting double molding.
[25] The packing 410 may be formed integrally with the clamping ring 420. Alternatively, the packing 410 may be constituted of a pair of separate members, which are placed upward and downward with respect to the connecting part 420c, so that the upper and lower members can be coupled with each other.
[26] Hereinbefore the most basic embodiment of the present invention has been described.
[27] In addition, an outer contact part 420b may be integrally projected from an end of the connecting part 420c opposite to the inner contact part 420a toward an outer circumference of the packing 410, and interposed between the cap nut and the body.
[28] The outer contact part 420b and the connecting part 420c are bent at a predetermined angle, and preferably, the outer contact part 420b is slightly inclined.
[29] Herein, it has been illustrated with reference to FIG. 5 as an example that the connecting part 420c is inclined so that the inner contact part 420a is directed
downward. Of course, as not shown, the connecting part 420c may be so inclined that the inner contact part 420a is directed upward.
[30] In the meantime, the packing 410 has a substantially vertically rectangular configuration.
[31] Although it has been described that the seating spaces SI and S2 are formed in at least one of the inner circumference of the body 100 and the inner circumference of the cap nut 200, the spaces S 1 and S2 can be formed in both of the inner circumferences of the cap nut 200 and the body 100 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The spaces SI and S2 include horizontal portions 120 and 201 and vertical portions 121 and 202 which are stepped vertically from the horizontal portions 120 and 201.
[32] In addition, the inner contact part 4201 and the outer contact part 420b of the clamping ring 420 are connected together via the connecting part 420c into a serpentine configuration.
[33] The operation of the pipe connector of the present invention as set forth above will be described on the basis of its assembling process.
[34] First, the packing 410 having the clamping ring 420 therein is seated in the seating space S formed in the inner circumference of the body 100 adjacent to one end 110.
[35] The cap nut 200 is meshed with a thread 101 formed in the outer circumference of the end 110 of the body to a predetermined depth.
[36] When the assembling process is completed up to the above step, the pipe connector will have a position as shown in FIG. 6.
[37] From the position as shown in FIG. 6, the pipe 300 to be connected is inserted into the body 100 through the cap nut 200. Then, the inner contact part 420a projected toward the inner circumference of the packing 410 contacts the outer circumference of the connecting pipe 300, and the bottom of the connecting pipe 300 butts against the stopper step 102 formed inside the body 100 and therefore the connecting pipe 300 is not inserted any more.
[38] When the inner contact part 420a contacts the connecting pipe 300, the inner surface of the packing 410, starting from the inner contact part 420a, tightly contacts the outer surface of the connecting pipe 300 and at the same time the outer contact part 420b moves slightly off from the one end 110 of the body 100.
[39] In this case, since the connecting part 420c is inclined at a predetermined angle from the initial stage, this has substantially no effect to the configuration of the packing 410.
[40] Completing the assembling process up to the above step obtains a position as
shown in FIG. 7.
[41] Then, when the cap nut 200 is tightened completely, the top of the packing 410 is seated in the seating space S2 formed in the inner circumference of the cap nut 200. Also, the outer contact part 420b of the clamping ring 420 is interposed between the cap nut 200 and the body 100, changing its position from the position in FIG. 7 to a horizontal position in FIG. 8, and at the same time, elasticity is transmitted via the connecting part 420c to the inner contact part 420a so that the inner contact part 420a is strongly pressed against the outer surface of the pipe 300, thereby preventing the separation of the pipe 300.
[42] In addition, according to the pipe connector of the present invention as described above, the packing 410 is rarely deformed and therefore can be reused without replacement with a new one due to the leakage of liquid when the cap nut detached from the body is fastened into the body again, thereby saving replacement cost.
[43] While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Industrial Applicability
[44] As described hereinbefore, the pipe connector of the present invention can minimize the deformation of the packing to improve the sealing and pressing of the pipe, which is a major function of the clamping ring, thereby preventing the separation of the pipe. In addition, the pipe connector of the present invention allows the packing to be reused without replacement with a new one due to the leakage of liquid when the cap nut detached from the body is fastened into the body again, thereby saving replacement cost.