WO2008108535A1

WO2008108535A1 - Connector for branch pipe

Info

Publication number: WO2008108535A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/000173
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong-Chul Lee; Yeong-Seo Seo
Original assignee: Kukil Inntot Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2007-03-02
Filing date: 2008-01-10
Publication date: 2008-09-12
Also published as: CN101981364A

Abstract

Disclosed therein is a connector for connecting pipes with each other, which can diverge a fluid flowing in a main pipe into a branch pipe or introduce a fluid of the branch pipe into the main pipe. The connector includes: a main body fit to the main pipe and the branch pipe; watertighting means adapted to prevent a water leakage at a contact portion between the main pipe and the branch pipe; a support washer adapted to increase a contact force between the watertighting means and the main pipe; and coupling means adapted to increase contact forces among the main pipe, the branch pipe, the connector, the watertighting means and the support washer and connect them with one another. The connector is simple in a connection work and convenient in work, easy to install and disjoint at a proper place of the main pipe, and prevents a water leakage of the fluid to the outside by increasing watertightness, sealability and airtightness.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]

[Invention Title]

Connector for branch pipe

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a connector for connecting pipes with each other, and more particularly, to a connector for a branch pipe, which can connect a main pipe and a branch pipe with each other through a simple connection work in order to diverge a fluid flowing in a main pipe into a branch pipe or introduce the fluid flowing in from the branch pipe to the main pipe, thereby enhancing convenience in work, simplifying installation and separation of the main pipe, and preventing a leakage of the fluid flowing inside the pipe by enhancing watertightness, sealability and airtightness between the main pipe and the branch pipe.

[Background Art]

In general, a pipe is adapted to transfer a fluid, widely used in various fields such as industrial sites, water services, sewerage, pressure pipes, heat exchangers, structures, and so on, and made of metal or non- metal material .

In order to supply the fluid to a wanted place by changing a flow direction of the fluid flowing in the pipe, a hose made of rubber or an additional pipe made of metal or non-metal material, which has a diameter different from or equal to that of the pipe, is prepared and used in such a way that ends of the two pipes are connected with each other.

However, such a conventional connection method is a method to abuttingly join hoses or pipes with each other in a one-to-one correspondence fashion. Accordingly, since the end portions of the hoses or pipes to be connected with each other are connected with each other in such a way as to abut against each other, an advance direction of the hoses or pipes is in a straight line. Thus, it is difficult to install the hoses or pipes in another wanted direction, and hence, it is also difficult to transfer the fluid flowing inside the hose or pipe in other predetermined directions, but not in the straight direction.

In the meantime, in order to change a flow direction of the fluid into a predetermined direction, a hole, which communicated with the inside of a main pipe, is formed on an outer circumference of the main pipe, and a branch pipe is connected to the hole of the main pipe. As described above, in case where the branch pipe is connected to a side of the main pipe to change the flow direction of a part of the fluid, the branch pipe is connected to the main pipe by fastening and joining it to the side of the main pipe by means of welding or thermal bonding in such a way as to communicate with the hole of the main pipe.

However, the welding or thermal bonding method has several problems in that its working efficiency is deteriorated since it is very complicated in a construction work, it takes much time to work and the welding or thermal bonding may become difficult according to weather, in that the branch pipe may be separated from the main pipe or a leakage may occur between the branch pipe and the main pipe since a connection strength and sealability between the branch pipe and the main pipe are very weak, and in that it is difficult to disassemble, re-construct or repair it since the branch pipe and the main piper are connected with each other by means of welding or bonding.

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector for a branch pipe, which can enhance convenience in work since the branch pipe is connected to a main pipe by means of not a permanently fixing method, such as welding or thermal bonding, but separable connection means, reduce a working period necessary for the connection and separation, provide a convenience in use since it is simply installed and separated to or from a proper place of the main pipe, does not easily separated after the connection to the main pipe, and enhance watertightness, sealability and airtightness between the main pipe and the branch pipe. [Technical Solution]

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a connector for a branch pipe including: a body fit to a main pipe and a branch pipe to connect them with each other; watertighting means for preventing a water leakage at a contact portion between the main pipe and the branch pipe", a support washer adapted to increase a contact force between the watertighting means and the main pipe; and coupling means adapted to increase contact forces among the main pipe, the branch pipe, the connector, the watertighting means and the support washer and connecting them with one another.

The connector is inserted into a hole formed in the cylindrical main pipe and generally formed in a cylindrical form to insert the cylindrical branch pipe thereinto, and a lower end portion, which is inserted into the main pipe through the hole of the main pipe and in contact with an inner periphery of the main pipe, is formed in a saddle shape and protrudes outwardly. The watertighting means being in contact with the main pipe includes a cylindrical contact part and a contact wing part protruding outwardly from an upper end portion thereof, wherein an inner periphery of the contact part is in contact with the outer periphery of the connector and a part of an outer periphery of the contact part is in contact with a circumference of the hole of the main pipe and a lower portion of the contact wing part is in contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe. The watertighting means being in contact with the branch pipe is formed in a band shape and seated on the upper portion of the connector in such a way that an inner peripheral surface thereof closely surrounds an outer periphery of the branch pipe. The support washer is put on an upper portion of the contact wing part of the watertighting means, which is in contact with the main pipe, so that the lower portion of the contact wing part can be in close contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe, and adopts a saddle shape to naturally cover the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe to thereby downwardly compress the contact part. The coupling means may be a band-type tightener for tightening the connector by means of a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof or a nut-type tightener for tightening the connector by means of a screw thread formed on the outer periphery of the connector. In case of the band-type tightener, the upper portion of the connector is made of flexible material to have flexibility, and hence, the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion of the connector can closely pressurize the outer periphery of the branch pipe when the connector is tightened by the tightener.

Hereinafter, the above-mentioned structure of the present invention will be described in detail.

As a first structure, the object of the present invention can be realized by the connector including a main body and coupling means.

The main body takes a cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof and is constructed of a rigid body. An outer diameter of the main body is as large as the main body can be tightly inserted into a hole formed in a main pipe, and a lower portion of the main body is made of flexible material and has a saddle-shaped wing part protruding outwardly from the center thereof and having an outer diameter larger than a diameter of the hole of the main pipe. The coupling means includes a coupling band for tightening the connector by a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof or a nut fit onto a screw thread formed on the outer periphery of the connector.

Furthermore, as a second structure, the object of the present invention can be realized by the connector including a main body, a lower watertighting means, and coupling means. Here, the coupling means is technically the same as the first structure or belongs to the same scope of the first structure.

In the second structure of the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention, the main body is formed in a generally cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof and constructed of a rigid body, has an outer smaller than a diameter of a hole formed in a main pipe, and includes a wing part formed on a lower portion thereof in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the center of the main body and having an outer diameter equal to a diameter of the hole of the main pipe. The lower watertighting means includes a cylindrical contact part and a contact wing part protruding outwardly from an upper end portion thereof, wherein an inner periphery of the contact part is in contact with an outer periphery of the main body, a part of an outer periphery of the contact part is in close contact with a circumference of the hole of the main pipe, and the entire lower face of the contact wing part is in contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe. The coupling means includes a coupling band for tightening the main body by a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof, or a screw thread formed on an outer periphery of the main body and a nut fit onto the screw thread for tightening.

Preferably, the lower watertighting means further includes at least one ring-type projection downwardly projecting at the lower face of the contact wing part thereof, namely, the face coming in contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe, to increase a watertightness.

Moreover, as a third structure, the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention includes a main body, lower watertighting means, a support washer and coupling means. Here, the, body, the lower watertighting means and the coupling means are technically the same as the second structure or belongs to the same scope of the second structure.

In the third structure of the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention, the support washer includes a cylindrical support body and a support wing part protruding outwardly from a lower portion thereof. The support washer is formed in a saddle shape in such a way that a part or the entire of a lower face of the support wing part covers the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means so that the lower face of the contact wing part comes in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe and naturally covers the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe to thereby downwardly compress the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

Preferably, the support washer includes a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference of the support body at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part to increase a support force. Alternatively, the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face of the support wing part and the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face of the contact wing part in such a way as to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part, so that the support washer and the lower watertighting means can be joined with each other without any movement. Furthermore, the support wing part of the support washer may adopt any shape, for instance, a circle or a rectangle, when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

In addition, as a fourth structure, the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention includes a main body, lower watertighting means, a support washer, upper watertighting means, and upper and lower coupling means. Here, the, body, the lower watertighting means, the support washer and the coupling means are technically the same as the second and third structures or belongs to the same scope of the second and third structures.

In the fourth structure of the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention, the upper watertighting means is generally formed in a band shape and seated on the upper portion of the main body in such a way that an inner peripheral surface closely surrounds an outer peripheral surface of the branch pipe.

Preferably, the upper watertighting means has a projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof to increase the watertightness between the watertighting means and the branch pipe. [Advantageous Effects]

As described above, the connector according to the present invention can be simple joined to the main pipe and the branch pipe by means of the band-type tightener or the nut-type tightener to connect the main pipe and the branch pipe with each other, whereby it can reduce a time period required to install, connect and disjoint. Furthermore, the connector can guarantee excellent watertightness, sealability and airtightness since the main pipe and the branch pipe are not easily separated from each other after the main pipe and the branch pipe are connected with each other and they are firmly and closely joined with each other by means of the upper packing and the lower packing. Moreover, the connector can simply guarantee a perfect watertightness since the wing part rises upwardly and the lower packing is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the main pipe only by tightening the lower nut. Additionally, the connector can be used without any limitation in an installation place by connecting the branch pipe after boring a hole in any proper place of the main pipe since the connector of the present invention can connect the main pipe and the branch pipe with each other in such a way as to be inserted into the main pipe from the outside of the main pipe. [Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector for branch pipe of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing that the connector of FIG. 1 includes a screw thread formed an outer periphery thereof for a crew coupling and an insertion recess.

FIG.3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of B-B of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower packing, which is lower water^¬ tight means.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing that an insertion protrusion is formed on the lower packing. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 6, showing that a ring-type projection is formed on a lower face of the lower packing.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing that support pieces are formed on the support washer.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 8, showing an insertion groove.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing that a projection piece and an insertion protrusion are formed on an upper packing, which is upper watertighting means.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state where the connector, the lower packing, the support washer, a lower nut, the upper packing and an upper nut are joined with one another.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state where the connector, the lower packing, the support washer, the lower nut and a coupling band are joined with one another.

FIG. 14 is a front view of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a left side view of FIG. 12.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of B-B of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a horizontally sectional view showing a state where the connector of FIG. 12 is inserted into a hole of a main pipe.

FIG. 19 is a vertically sectional view showing the state where the connector of FIG. 12 is inserted into the hole of the main pipe.

FIG. 20 is a view showing a state where the upper nut and the lower nut of the connector viewed from FIG. 18 are tightened for a complete joining.

FIG. 21 is a view showing a state where the upper nut and the lower nut of the connector viewed from FIG. 19 are tightened for a complete joining. FIG. 22 is a photograph showing a completely joined state of the connector according to the present invention.

Explanation of essential reference numerals in drawings>

100: connector 110: main body

114: seating part 120: wing part

200: lower packing 210: contact part

220: contact wing part 300: support washer

310: support body 320'• support wing part

400: upper packing 410: inclined part

420: projection piece 500: upper nut

510: compression part 520,620: coupling groove

550: coupling band 552: bolt

600: lower nut 700: main pipe

800: branch pipe 900: coupling lever

[Mode for Invention]

Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector for a branch pipe of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing that the connector of FIG. 1 includes a screw thread formed an outer periphery thereof for a crew coupling and an insertion recess, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of B-B of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower packing, which is lower water-tight means, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing that an insertion protrusion is formed on the lower packing, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 6, showing that a ring-type projection is formed on a lower face of the lower packing, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing that support pieces are formed on the support washer, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 8, showing an insertion groove, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing that a projection piece and an insertion protrusion are formed on an upper packing, which is upper watertighting means, FIG. 11 is a cross- sectional view of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state where the connector, the lower packing, the support washer, a lower nut, the upper packing and an upper nut are joined with one another, FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state where the connector, the lower packing, the support washer, the lower nut and a coupling band are joined with one another, FIG. 14 is a front view of FIG. 12, FIG. 15 is a left side view of FIG. 12, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of A-A of FIG. 14, FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of B-B of FIG. 15, FIG. 18 is a horizontally sectional view showing a state where the connector of FIG. 12 is inserted into a hole of a main pipe, FIG. 19 is a vertically sectional view showing the state where the connector of FIG. 12 is inserted into the hole of the main pipe, FIG. 20 is a view showing a state where the upper nut and the lower nut of the connector viewed from FIG. 18 are tightened for a complete joining, FIG. 21 is a view showing a state where the upper nut and the lower nut of the connector viewed from FIG. 19 are tightened for a complete joining, and FIG. 22 is a photograph showing a completely joined state of the connector according to the present invention.

The connector for a branch pipe according to the present invention includes a main body and coupling means. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 18 and 19, the connector 100 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof, has an outer diameter as large as the connector 100 can be tightly inserted into a hole 710 formed in a main pipe 700 to be connected thereto, and includes: a main body 110 made of rigid material; and a wing part 120 formed at a lower portion of the main body 110 and made of flexible material, the wing part 120 protruding outwardly from the center of the main body 110 and having an outer diameter larger than a diameter of the hole 710, to which the main body 110 is inserted.

Furthermore, as the coupling means, a coupling band 550 tightened by a bolt 552 and a nut (not shown) or a lower nut 600 joined to a screw thread 112 formed on an outer circumference of the main body 110 and tightened through a screw-coupling.

Since the wing part 120 is made of flexible material, when a worker forcedly fits the wing part 120 to the hole 710 and lifts the main body 110 upwardly, an upper face of the wing part 120 comes in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the main pipe 700, and in this instance, the wing part 120 is fixed by means of the coupling band 550 or the lower nut 600. A branch pipe 800 is inserted into the connector 100 from the top of the connector 100 to thereby connect the main pipe 700 and the branch pipe 800 with each other.

FIGS. 2 to 22 show a connector for a branch pipe according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In FIGS. 2 to 22, the connector 100 for the branch pipe according to a second preferred embodiment includes: a cylindrical main body 110 having a screw thread 112 formed on an outer periphery thereof, a wing part 120 formed on a lower portion thereof in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the center thereof, the outermost diameter thereof being equal to or smaller than a diameter of the hole 710 of the main pipe 700, a lower face thereof being curved in a saddle shape corresponding to an outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 700, and a seating part 114 having an inner diameter made in such a way as to be uniform to a predetermined length, namely, equal to or larger than an outer diameter of the branch pipe 800 and gradually reduced in a downward direction from the predetermined length so that an end of the branch pipe 800 is seated thereon and does not go down any more; a lower packing 200 generally formed in a saddle shape in such a way as to be closely inserted into a lower portion of the connector 100 and put on the wing part 120, the lower packing 200 having a cylindrical contact part 210 and a contact wing part 220, an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical contact part 210 being fit onto an outer periphery of the connector 100, a part of an outer peripheral surface thereof being in contact with a circular arc of the hole 710, the contact wing part 220 protruding outwardly from the center of an upper portion of the contact part 210, a lower face of the contact wing part 220 being formed in a saddle shape to be in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 700; a support washer 300 having a cylindrical support body 310 forcedly fit to an outer periphery of the main body 110 and a circular or rectangular support wing part 320 protruding outwardly from the center of a lower portion of the support body 310 in such a way as to cover the entire top face of the contact wing part 220 of the lower packing 200, the support wing part 320 being formed in a saddle shape to be put on the top of the contact wing part 220 of the lower packing 200; an upper packing 400 disposed to insert the branch pipe 800 thereto and put on the upper portion of the main body 110, the upper packing 400 serving as upper water-sealing means of a band type in such a way that its inner peripheral surface closely surrounds an outer periphery of the branch pipe 800; a lower nut 600 having a spiral groove corresponding to the screw thread 112 of the main body 110 for a screw coupling with the main body 110 and coupled to a portion below the center of the main body 110, the lower nut 600 being screw-coupled with the support washer 300 in such a way that a lower face is in contact with an upper face of the support washer 300, the lower nut 600 pressurizing the support washer 300 downwardly to thereby downwardly pressurize also the lower packing 200, which is in contact with the support washer 300; and an upper nut 500 having a spiral groove corresponding to the screw thread 112 of the main body 110 for a screw coupling with the main body 110 and coupled to the upper portion of the main body 110 in such a way that an inner peripheral surface thereof is in contact with and screw-coupled with the upper packing 400, the upper nut 500 pressurizing the upper packing 400 in downward and central directions.

The main body 110 further includes at least one gliding groove 116 perpendicularly formed on the screw thread 112 formed on the outer periphery thereof. A gliding projection 312 of the support washer 300, which will be described later, is inserted and joined to the gliding groove 116, so that the support washer 300 does not move laterally. The main body 110 further includes an insertion recess 118 formed on the upper face thereof for fitting the upper packing 400 thereto.

The lower packing 200 has at least one insertion protrusion 222 formed on a predetermined portion of an upper face thereof and having predetermined width, length and height, and the support wing part 320 has an insertion groove 322 formed on a lower face thereof in such a way as to correspond to the insertion protrusion 222 for inserting the insertion protrusion 222 thereinto, so that the lower packing 200 and the support washer 300 can be joined with each other more perfectly by mean of the insertion protrusion 222 and the insertion groove 322 coupled with each other. The insertion protrusion 222 may be molded integrally with the lower packing 200 when the lower packing is molded or bonded to the lower packing 200 through a bonding method after it is manufactured separately.

The lower packing 200 has at least one ring-type projection 224 downwardly projecting from a lower face of the contact wing part 220, namely, a face being in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 700 to thereby increase a contact force with the main pipe 700 and watertightness.

The support washer 300 further includes: a plurality of support pieces 330 formed along an outer periphery of the support body 310 at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper face of the support wing part 320; and gliding projections 312 inwardly projecting from an inner peripheral surface of the support body 310 toward the center of the support body 310, each gliding projection 312 having a predetermined volume and being as large as to be smoothly inserted into the gliding groove 116 of the main body 110, so that the support washer 300 can be fit to the connector 100, whereby the support washer 300 and the connector 100 are not moved laterally.

The upper packing 400 includes: an inclined part 410 formed on an outer face of an upper portion thereof and having a diameter growing downwardly larger, namely, a right-angled triangle when it is viewed in a cross area; and a projection piece 420 projecting downwardly along an inner peripheral surface of the upper portion thereof. Accordingly, when the upper packing 400 is screw-coupled with the upper nut 500, the upper packing 400 is pressurized in downward and central directions thereof to thereby increase watertightness between the upper packing and the branch pipe 800. Furthermore, the upper packing 400 further includes an insertion protrusion 430 formed on a lower portion thereof to be inserted into the insertion recess 118 of the main body 110, so that the main body 110 and the upper packing 400 can be firmly joined with each other without any separation.

In the meantime, the upper nut 500 includes a compression part 510 formed on an inner face thereof and having a shape corresponding to the inclined part 410 of the upper packing 400, so that the upper packing 400 can pressurize the outer peripheral surface of the branch pipe 800 more since it is pressurized in downward and central directions when the upper nut 500 is screw-coupled with the upper packing 400.

Moreover, the upper nut 500 and the lower nut 600 respectively include coupling grooves 520 and 620 longitudinally formed on outer peripheries thereof at a predetermined interval. A coupling lever 900 is joined to the coupling grooves 520 and 620 for a screw-coupling or a release of the screw- coupling. Alternatively, the upper nut 500 and the lower nut 600 may respectively include coupling protrusions (not shown) longitudinally formed on the outer peripheries thereof at a predetermined interval, and the coupling lever 900 is joined to the coupling protrusions for the screw- coupling or the release of the screw-coupling.

In addition, the support wing part 320 has a ring-type stopping projection 324 formed on a lower portion of the outer block thereof in such a way as to have a diameter equal to or much larger than an outer diameter of the contact wing part 220 to thereby increase a contact force by preventing an outward projection of the lower packing 200 by the downward compression when the lower nut 600 is screw-coupled with the support wing part 320.

Furthermore, the lower packing 200 can sufficiently achieve the object of the present invention even though the contact wing part 220 is omitted. That is, the lower packing 200 can provide a sufficient watertightness only by the cylindrical contact part 210.

Hereinafter, a coupling process and an operation of the connector for the branch pipe according to the present invention will be described.

First, a worker grasps the main body 110 of the connector 100 shown in FIG. 1 and forcedly fits the wing part 120 into the hole 710 of the main pipe 700. In this instance, since the wing part 120 is made of flexible material, it is inserted into the main pipe 700 through the hole 710 while being deformed when it is pressurized. After the wing part 120 is inserted into the main pipe 700, the worker lifts the connector 100 upwardly till the upper face of the wing part 120 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the main pipe 700 while grasping the main body 110, and in this instance, closely contacts the coupling band 550 with the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 700 and tightens a bolt 552 and a nut (not shown) mounted thereon, so that the connector 100 is joined to the main pipe 700 without lowering downwardly. Next, the branch pipe 800 is inserted into the connector 100 from the top of the connector 100 and bonded with adhesives.

As described above, when the joining is completed, a fluid flowing in the main pipe 700 can be introduced into the branch pipe 800, or a fluid can be introduced into the main pipe 700 through the branch pipe 800.

Now, another structure of the connector for the branch pipe (hereinafter, called ^his connector? according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 to 22 will be described. The connector 100, the lower packing 200, the support washer 300, the upper packing 400, the upper nut 500 and the lower nut 600 are temporarily joined with one another. The temporarily joined connector is inserted into the hole 710 of the main pipe 700, and then, the lower nut 600 is tightened manually or using the coupling lever 900 to thereby closely join the main pipe 700 to the connector. After that, the branch pipe 800 is inserted into the connector 100 till an end of the branch pipe 800 reaches the seating part 114. The upper nut 500 is tightened manually or using the coupling lever 900 to thereby firmly join the branch pipe 800 to the connector. Accordingly, the main pipe 700 and the branch pipe 800 are connected with each other via the connector.

In stead of the upper nut 500, the coupling band 550 may be used to closely tighten the outer periphery of the branch pipe 800, and in this instance, the upper portion of the connector 10 is made of flexible material through a method, such as a double shot injection molding.

In more detail, the lower packing 200 is inserted into the connector 100 till it reaches the wing part 120. After the support washer 300 is put on the lower packing 200, they are joined with each other till the lower face of the lower nut 600 reaches the upper face of the support washer 300. After that, the upper nut 500 is loosely screw-coupled or the coupling band 550 is loosely tightened to the upper portion of the connector 100 in a state where the insertion protrusion 430 of the upper packing 400 is inserted into the insertion recess 118 of the main body 110, then the temporary joining is achieved. In this instance, the gliding projection 312 of the support washer 300 is joined to the gliding groove 116 of the main body 110.

The connector, which is temporarily joined, is inserted into the hole 710 of the main pipe 700 in such a way that the contact wing part 220 of the lower packing 200 is put on the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 700 (see FIGS. 18 and 19). When the lower nut 600 is tightened, the wing part 120 is lifted up while the main body 110 rises upwardly, and hence, the contact part 210 of the lower packing 200 spreads outwardly from the center thereof to thereby come in close contact with the hole 710 and the inner peripheral surface of the main pipe 700, whereby the fluid flowing in the main pipe 700 does not leak.

Next, when the upper nut 500 is tightened after the branch pipe 800 is inserted into the main pipe, the upper nut 500 and the compression part 510 lower downwardly to thereby compress the inclined part 410 of the upper packing 400, then the upper face and the projection piece 420 of the upper packing 400 are pushed into the center of the upper packing 400, so that the upper packing 400 comes in firmly and closely contact with the outer periphery of the branch pipe 800 to prevent a leakage of water without vibration.

Accordingly, the support pieces 330 of the support washer 300 can endure the downward pressure more strongly, the ring-type stopping projection 324 formed on the lower face of the support wing part 320 prevents that the contact wing part 220 of the lower packing 200 protrudes outwardly from the center to thereby increase a compression force of the contact wing part 220. Furthermore, the ring-type projection 224 formed on the lower face of the contact wing part 220 provides an improved watertightness due to its projection form. In the meantime, the gliding projection 312 is inserted into a lower end portion of the gliding groove 116, so that the support washer 300 and the connector 100 are firmly joined with each other without any lateral rotation.

As described above, when the joining is completed, the fluid flowing in the main pipe 700 can be diverged into the branch pipe 800 smoothly without any leakage to the hole 710 of the main pipe 700. Moreover, the branch pipe 800 can be closely joined to the connector 100 by means of the upper packing 400 without any leakage, and the connector 100 does not laterally rotate by means of the gliding projection 312 of the support washer 300 inserted into the gliding groove 116.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiment, it is not to be restricted by the embodiment but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

[CLAIMS] [Claim 1]

A connector for connecting a main pipe and a branch pipe with each other, the connector comprising: a main body formed in a generally cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof and constructed of a rigid body, the main body having an outer diameter as large as the main body can be tightly inserted into a hole formed in a main pipe, the main body having a saddle-shaped wing part formed on a lower portion thereof in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the center of the main body, the wing part being made of flexible material and having an outer diameter larger than a diameter of the hole of the main pipe! and coupling means including a coupling band for tightening the main body by a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof or including a screw thread formed on an outer periphery of the main body and a nut fit onto the screw thread for tightening.

[Claim 2]

A connector for connecting a main pipe and a branch pipe with each other, the connector comprising: a main body formed in a generally cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof and constructed of a rigid body and having a main body and a body saddle-shaped wing part, the main body having an outer diameter smaller than a diameter of a hole formed in a main pipe, the wing part being formed on a lower portion of the main body in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the center of the main body and having an outer diameter equal to a diameter of the hole of the main pipe! lower watertighting means having a cylindrical contact part and a saddle-shaped upper portion, an inner periphery of the contact part being in contact with an outer periphery of the main body, a part of an outer periphery of the contact part being in close contact with a circumference of the hole of the main pipe; and coupling means including a coupling band for tightening the main body by a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof or including a screw thread formed on an outer periphery of the main body and a nut fit onto the screw thread for tightening.

[Claim 3]

The connector according to Claim 2, wherein the lower watertighting means further includes a saddle-shaped contact wing part protruding outwardly from the top thereof, the entire lower face of the contact wing part being in contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe.

[Claim 4]

The connector according to claim 3, further comprising a support washer having a cylindrical support body and a support wing part protruding outwardly from a lower portion thereof, the support washer being formed in a saddle shape in such a way that support washer is formed in a saddle shape in such a way that a part or the entire of a lower face of the support wing part covers the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means so that the lower face of the contact wing part comes in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe and naturally covers the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe to thereby downwardly compress the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

[Claim 5]

The connector according to claim 3, further comprising upper watertighting means being in close contact with the branch pipe for watertightness, the watertighting means being generally formed in a band shape and seated on the upper portion of the main body in such a way that an inner peripheral surface thereof closely surrounds an outer peripheral surface of the branch pipe.

[Claim 6]

The connector according to claim 4, further comprising upper watertighting means being in close contact with the branch pipe for watertightness, the watertighting means being generally formed in a band shape and seated on the upper portion of the main body in such a way that an inner peripheral surface thereof closely surrounds an outer peripheral surface of the branch pipe.

[Claim 7]

The connector according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the lower watertighting means includes at least one ring-type projection projecting downwardly from the lower face of the contact wing part thereof.

[Claim 8]

The connector according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the support body of the support washer includes a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference thereof at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part.

[Claim 9]

The connector according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the support wing part of the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face thereof, and the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face thereof in such a way as to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part.

[Claim 10]

The connector according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the support wing part of the support washer is formed in a circular shape, an oval shape or a rectangular shape when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

[Claim 11]

The connector according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the band-type upper watertighting means additionally includes at least one projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof.

[Claim 12]

The connector according to claim 7, wherein the support body of the support washer has a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference thereof at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part.

[Claim 13]

The connector according to claim 9, wherein the support body of the support washer has a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference thereof at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part.

[Claim 14]

The connector according to claim 10, wherein the support body of the support washer has a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference thereof at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part.

[Claim 15]

The connector according to claim 11, wherein the support body of the support washer has a plurality of triangular support pieces formed on an outer circumference thereof at predetermined intervals and extending to an upper portion of the support wing part.

[Claim 16]

The connector according to claim 7, wherein the support wing part of the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face thereof, and the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face thereof to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part .

[Claim 17]

The connector according to claim 8, wherein the support wing part of the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face thereof, and the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face thereof to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part.

[Claim 18]

The connector according to Claim 10, wherein the support wing part of the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face thereof, and the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face thereof to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part .

[Claim 19]

The connector according to claim 11, wherein the support wing part of the support washer has at least one insertion groove of a predetermined size formed on the lower face thereof, and the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means has at least one insertion protrusion formed on an upper face thereof to be correspondingly inserted into the insertion groove of the support wing part.

[Claim 20]

The connector according to claim 7, wherein the support wing part of the support washer is formed in a circular shape, an oval shape or a rectangular shape when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

[Claim 21]

The connector according to claim 8, wherein the support wing part of the support washer is formed in a circular shape, an oval shape or a rectangular shape when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means.

[Claim 22]

The connector according to claim 9, wherein the support wing part of the support washer is formed in a circular shape, an oval shape or a rectangular shape when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means. [Claim 23]

The connector according to claim 11, wherein the support wing part of the support washer is formed in a circular shape, an oval shape or a rectangular shape when it is viewed in a plane section in such a way as to cover the entire upper face of the contact wing part of the lower watertighting means. [Claim 24]

The connector according to claim 7, wherein the band-type upper watertighting means additionally includes at least one projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof. [Claim 25]

The connector according to claim 8, wherein the band-type upper watertighting means additionally includes at least one projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof. [Claim 26]

The connector according to claim 9, wherein the band-type upper watertighting means additionally includes at least one projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof. [Claim 27]

The connector according to claim 10, wherein the band-type upper watertighting means additionally includes at least one projection piece formed along an inner circumference thereof. [Claim 28]

A connector for connecting a main pipe and a branch pipe with each other, the connector comprising: a main body, a saddle-shaped wing part, and a screw thread formed on an outer periphery of the main body, the main body formed in a generally cylindrical shape from the top to the bottom thereof and having an outer diameter smaller than a diameter of a hole formed in a main pipe, the wing part being formed on a lower portion of the main body in such a way as to protrude outwardly from the center of the main body and having an outer diameter equal to a diameter of the hole of the main pipe; a lower packing having a cylindrical contact part, an upper portion of the lower packing being formed in a saddle shape, an inner peripheral surface of the lower packing being in contact with the outer periphery of the main body, a part of an outer periphery thereof being in close contact with a circumference of the hole of the main pipe; a support washer having a cylindrical support body and a saddle-shaped support wing part being in contact with the outer periphery of the main body and protruding outwardly from a lower portion of the support body to thereby prevent movement of the main body! a lower nut adapted to serve as lower coupling means screw-coupled with the screw thread formed on the outer periphery of the main body, the lower nut being put on an upper face of the support washer; an upper packing being in contact with the branch pipe as upper watertighting means, the upper packing being generally formed in a band shape and seated on the upper portion of the main body in such a way that an inner peripheral surface closely surrounds an outer peripheral surface of the branch pipe; and a coupling band adapted to serve as upper coupling means for tightening the main body by a bolt and a nut mounted at an end thereof so that the upper packing is in close contact with the outer periphery of the branch pipe. [Claim 29]

The connector according to claim 28, wherein the upper coupling means is an upper nut fit onto the screw thread formed on the outer periphery of the main body for a screw coupling and adapted to downwardly pressurize the upper face of the upper packing. [Claim 30]

The connector according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the lower packing additionally includes a contact wing part protruding outwardly from a cylindrical upper end portion thereof, so that the inner peripheral surface of the lower packing is in contact with the outer periphery of the main body, a part of the outer periphery thereof is in close contact with the circumference of the hole of the main pipe and the entire lower face of the contact wing part is in contact with the outer periphery of the main pipe. [Claim 31]

The connector according to claim 30, wherein the main body further includes an insertion recess formed along a circumference of the upper face thereof for inserting the upper packing thereinto and at least one gliding groove perpendicularly formed on the outer periphery thereof, wherein the contact wing part of the lower packing additionally includes at least one ring-type projection projecting downwardly from the lower face thereof and at least one insertion projection formed at a predetermined portion of the upper face thereof and having predetermined width, length and height, wherein the support washer additionally includes a ring-type stopping projection formed on the lower portion of the support wing part and having a diameter equal to or much larger than an outer diameter of the contact wing part of the lower packing, an insertion groove formed on the lower face of the supporting wing part correspondingly to the insertion projection of the lower packing for inserting the insertion projection thereinto, and a gliding projection formed on the inner peripheral surface of the support body and inwardly protruding toward the center of the support body, the gliding projection having a predetermined volume and being inserted into the gliding groove, wherein the lower nut additionally includes coupling grooves or coupling protrusions longitudinally formed on the outer periphery thereof at predetermined intervals, wherein the upper packing additionally includes an inclined part formed on an outer face of the upper portion thereof and having a diameter getting smaller downwardly, a projection piece protruding downwardly along the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion thereof, and an insertion projection formed on the lower portion thereof to be inserted into the insertion recess of the main body, and wherein the upper nut additionally includes coupling grooves or coupling protrusions longitudinally formed on the outer periphery thereof at predetermined intervals, and a compression part formed on the inner face thereof correspondingly to the inclined part of the upper packing.