Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L37/00—Couplings of the quick-acting type
  • F16L37/08—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members
  • F16L37/12—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members using hooks, pawls or other movable or insertable locking members
  • F16L37/14—Joints secured by inserting between mating surfaces an element, e.g. a piece of wire, a pin, a chain
  • F16L37/142—Joints secured by inserting between mating surfaces an element, e.g. a piece of wire, a pin, a chain where the securing element is inserted tangentially
  • F16L37/144—Joints secured by inserting between mating surfaces an element, e.g. a piece of wire, a pin, a chain where the securing element is inserted tangentially the securing element being U-shaped
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L2201/00—Special arrangements for pipe couplings
  • F16L2201/10—Indicators for correct coupling

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device for connecting two tubular elements for transporting fluids, comprising: a female end piece (3, 25), connected to the first element to be connected, - a male end (2), connected to the second element to be connected and adapted to be inserted into the socket (3, 25), a locking member (10, 26) movable between an open position and a closed position, in which it retains the spigot (2) inserted at the end of the stroke in the socket (3, 25), said connecting device comprising means that are operative in relation to the position of the locking member in order to put a radiofrequency transmission circuit in a state representative of the state of the lock .
• connecting devices of two tubular elements comprising a male end and a socket, arranged in such a way that the closing of the locking member is possible at the end of the race. insertion of the male end into the female end.
• This kind of device is intended to ensure that the spigot was properly inserted into the socket when the locking member passes in the closed position.
• the connecting devices of tubular elements for the transport of fluids, liquid or gaseous are, in use, inaccessible and / or invisible. Therefore, the integrity of the proposed fitting can not be verified, either during installation or during maintenance, except at very high costs. It sometimes even happens that this verification is impossible.
• the German utility model DE 20 2004 002 116 U1 proposes a connection device for tubular elements in which the correct insertion of the male end into the female end leads to the closing of a circuit, to electrical preference.
• the male end and / or the socket comprises (s) electrical conductors or can be directly made of conductive material.
• the conductors present on the spigot end, on the spigot, on both spigots simultaneously, or optionally on the locking member create a continuous conductor.
• This continuity creates a change of state that can be transmitted to a remotely located control unit, via a transponder and an antenna operating by radiofrequency.
• connection devices are not completely satisfactory. Indeed, when only one of the two male and female ends is provided with a conductor and the closure of the circuit occurs through a conductor present on the locking member, the control unit can indicate that the device is correctly connected without it being physically: there is a material possibility that the driver is continuous without the two ends actually being one in the other. Similarly, when both ends are provided with conductors, the control unit may indicate that the insertion of the male end in the socket is correct, but does not allow to decide on the position of the locking member. These devices do not allow to control simultaneously, remotely, that the male end is correctly inserted into the socket, and that the locking member is in the closed position.
• the document US2005 / 0063125 describes the use of a resonant radiofrequency tag for determining the position of the locking member.
• the circuit integrated in the label comprises two coils and a capacitor arranged in series or in parallel.
• closing the circuit allows its resonance input when it is activated by an excitation signal or carrier signal of frequency equal to the natural frequency of the circuit. The latter then generates a response signal of equal frequency, but amplitude increased compared to that of the excitation signal.
• closing the circuit makes the resonance of the circuit impossible.
• the radiofrequency tag may be glued to the locking member of a connecting device arranged in such a way that the transition from the open position of the locking member to the closed position is only possible by end of insertion stroke of the male end in the female end.
• the invention aims to overcome all these drawbacks by proposing a device for connecting tubular elements to facilitate the simultaneous control of several such devices, and increase the reliability of controls by a control unit located remotely.
• said transmission circuit is constituted by a radiofrequency tag provided with an antenna and an individual identification digital code contained in a chip, for modulating a carrier signal by said digital code in one of the states of the lock.
• the means that are a function of the position of the locking member comprise a proximity sensor integral with the socket or the locking member itself, capable of recognizing the presence in its proximity of the room opposite.
• the proximity sensor can be integrated in the chip of a radiofrequency label attached to the part of which said proximity sensor is secured.
• the return signals emitted by the antenna of the radiofrequency label are representative of the state of the proximity sensor.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary connection device according to the invention, the locking member being in the open position
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connection device of FIG. 1. the locking member being in the closed position
• Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of Figure 1
• Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the device of Figure 1, in the plane IV-IV 3, the locking member being in the closed position
• FIG. 5 schematically represents a first example of a radiofrequency label that can be used to constitute the radio frequency transmission circuit
• FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a FIG. second example of a radiofrequency label that can be used to constitute the radio frequency transmission circuit
• FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the female end of a second example of a diode. Spositive according to the invention, on which is fixed the radiofrequency label of Figure 6,
• Figure 8 is a perspective view of the radiofrequency label of Figure 6.
• the connecting device comprises a male end 2, intended to be connected to a first element (not shown), for example a fluid transport pipe, and intended to fit into a connected female end 3 to a second element (not shown), for example another fluid transport pipe.
• the male end and the female end are preferably of substantially tubular general shape and are intended to be assembled by coaxial insertion of the male end 2 into the female end 3.
• the end pieces 2 and 3 may be metal material or plastic material.
• the female endpiece 3 comprises a main body 4, having a first end 5 intended to be secured to the second element to be connected, and a connecting end 6, adapted to cooperate with the male endpiece 2, and having a section greater than the section of the first end 5.
• the female endpiece 3 comprises two seals 7 each disposed inside a groove, said grooves being formed in the connecting end 6 of the main body 4.
• the seals 7 make it possible to ensure the tightness of the connecting device.
• the female end 3 preferably comprises a retaining ring 8, intended both to hold the seals 7 which are separated by a spacer 9, and to serve as a guide for the male end 2 during its insertion into the socket 3. Nevertheless other variants may be envisaged without spacer 9 and in which the socket 3 will comprise a single seal 7.
• the female endpiece 3 also comprises a locking member 10 disposed in the connecting end 6 of the body 4 of the female endpiece 3.
• the locking member 10 is intended to lock the male endpiece 2 in the endpiece female 3, at the end of the insertion stroke of the male end 2 into the female end 3.
• the locking member 10 is arranged in such a way that the transition from the open position of the locking member 10 to the closed position is only possible at the end of the insertion stroke. of the male end 2 in the female end 3.
• the locking member 10 comprises a head 11 and two lateral branches 12 flexible, parallel and elastic return.
• the locking member 10 may be removable or integral with the female end 3. It is shaped jumper.
• the locking member 10 is able to slide radially in two transverse recesses of the socket 3 when passing from one to the other of the open and closed positions.
• the transverse recesses serve as guiding and sliding rails for the lateral branches 12.
• Each transverse recess comprises a pin 13, while each lateral branch 12 has a notch 14 of complementary shape.
• the locking member 10 is in the open position, waiting for the introduction of the male end 2, which has a flange 15.
• the connecting device is in the unlocked state.
• the locking member 10 can not be slid into the transverse recesses of the female end 3, since the distal ends 16 (FIG. 4) of the side branches 12 are in abutment. on the nipples 13.
• the male end 2 passes between the lateral branches 12 until the flange 15 comes into contact with the lower part of the side branches 12.
• the insertion movement of the endpiece male 2 then causes a flexion of said lateral branches 12 to a position where the distal end 16 of each is no longer supported on a stud 13.
• a proximity sensor 19 is integral with the socket 3, and able to note the presence of the locking member 10 in its vicinity. Equivalently, the proximity sensor 19 may be integral with the locking member 10, and able to note the presence of the female end 3 in its vicinity.
• the information delivered by the proximity sensor 19 can be transmitted by a radiofrequency tag 20 to a remote control unit (not shown).
• the control unit will be held by the person responsible for mounting the connection device, or its maintenance, said connecting device then being in an inaccessible location, or being invisible.
• the proximity sensor 19 may be connected to a standard radio frequency tag (RFID), preferably a passive tag, comprising an antenna 21 tuned to a predetermined frequency and connected to a chip 22 which contains a digital code. individual identification ID.
• RFID radio frequency tag
• the radiofrequency label 20 is fixed on the part (female end 3 or locking member 10) whose proximity sensor 19 is secured. Fixing can be done by welding, gluing, heat transfer, overmoulding ...
• a carrier signal P received by the tag 20 simultaneously serves as an interrogation and power supply signal for the tag 20. This then sends a modulated carrier signal Pm (return signal).
• the modulation by the individual identification code can be applied to the carrier signal P only for a given position of the locking member 10, which corresponds to a given state of the presence sensor 19.
• the modulation can be a modulation in amplitude or frequency and can be applied by any suitable means.
• the presence of the modulated carrier signal Pm is therefore representative of the state of the proximity sensor 19 and thus of the position of the locking member 10.
• the modulation of the carrier signal P can be performed only when the presence sensor 19 determines that the locking member 10 is in the closed position.
• the presence of a part in the proximity of the proximity sensor 19 translates the closed position of the locking member 10.
• the closed position corresponds to the absence of a piece in the vicinity of the proximity sensor 19.
• the control unit comprises an electronic processing unit, preferably a microprocessor, connected to a memory, to an antenna by via a transceiver interface, as well as to an interface man-machine.
• the human-machine interface of the control unit may comprise a keyboard, a display screen and / or a speaker.
• the proximity sensor 19 may be of any type known to those skilled in the art, for example of the capacitive type or the magnetic type.
• the proximity sensor 19 may be integrated in the chip 22 of the radio frequency tag
• the part facing the proximity sensor 19 may include a magnetic strip.
• the position of the locking member 10 is determined by a contactor 23 able to detect the contact between the socket 3 and the locking member 10.
• This contactor 23 may be of any type, for example mechanical or electrical, and may be connected to a radiofrequency tag 24 ( Figure 6) having an antenna 21 and a chip 22, as the radiofrequency tag 20.
• the contact between the locking member 10 and the socket 3 translates the closed position of the locking member 10. Nevertheless, in certain embodiments of the locking member 10, the absence of said contact may translate the closing position of the locking member 10.
• the contactor 23 is interposed between the antenna 21 and the chip 22 of the radiofrequency tag 20, since it is intended to cut off the supply of the tag 20 as long as the locking member 10 is not in the closed position. This arrangement ensures that the carrier signal modulated Pm can be emitted only when the locking member 10 is in the closed position, which corresponds to the locked state of the device.
• FIG. 7 represents the female end piece 25 of a second exemplary connection device (not shown) according to the invention.
• This connection device may for example comprise a male end identical to the male end 2 described above.
• the socket 25 cooperates on the one hand with a locking member 26 whose operation is identical to the locking member referenced 1 O 1 and on the other hand supports a radiofrequency tag 24 as shown schematically in Figure 6.
• L Radio frequency tag 24 is shown in FIG. 8: a contactor 23 is connected to radiofrequency tag 24 on its left.
• the contactor 23 is of the mechanical type.
• the radiofrequency tag 24 is fixed on the main body 27 of the socket 25 by clipping a support 28 which has in its upper part a housing 29 ( Figure 8) in which the label 24 can be inserted.
• the contactor 23 extends outside the housing 29, between the head 30 of the locking member 26 and the main body 27 of the socket 25. Only the outer shapes of the socket 25 close to the connecting end differentiate the socket 25 from the socket 3.
• the modulated carrier signal Pm emitted by the antenna 21 of the radiofrequency tag 20, 24 may comprise additional information relating to the connection device, for example its reference or its manufacturing data (product reference, production batch number or delivery ).
• a chip with an individual identification digital code makes it possible to send a modulated carrier signal Pm, for example in frequency or in amplitude, by a code-dependent digital signal.
• digital identification preferably binary.
• the verification of a plurality of connection devices according to the invention can then be done with a carrier signal P of single frequency.
• the recognition of the locked devices is done by demodulating the modulated carrier signals Pm received by the remote control unit.
• the digital signal thus obtained associated with each locked device depends only on the corresponding identification code of the corresponding label and is not affected by the constituent elements of the transmission circuit to which the tag belongs.
• the numerical code distinguishes between them the locked devices. Recognition is accurate and reliable.
• the demodulation of the modulated carrier signals Pm makes it possible to recognize the unlocked devices.

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Cited By (12)

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Citations (4)

• 2005
  • 2005-06-30 FR FR0506744A patent/FR2887955B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2006
  • 2006-06-29 WO PCT/FR2006/001526 patent/WO2007003770A1/fr active Application Filing

Patent Citations (4)

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