WO2021070589A1

WO2021070589A1 - Seal member and seal mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2021070589A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/035070
Authority: WO
Inventors: 深谷　信二; 洋人高橋
Original assignee: イハラサイエンス株式会社
Priority date: 2019-10-11
Filing date: 2020-09-16
Publication date: 2021-04-15
Also published as: TW202115336A

Abstract

The present invention is a seal member 3 which ensures sealing performance while reducing the occurrence of dirt and dust, and which is made up of an elastic material that is fitted onto a male threaded portion 2 that screws together with a female threaded portion 11 in a connection-receiving member 10 and that, due to the movement of a nut member 4 provided on the male threaded portion 2, undergoes elastic deformation between the connection-receiving member 10 and the nut member 4 and provides a seal therebetween. This seal member has an annular main body 31, and lip sections 32, which are provided on the inner circumferential surface 31a of the main body 31 and protrude radially inward. The lip portions 32 are provided at portions of the inner circumferential surface of the main body in the circumferential direction, and have a substantially triangular shape in a cross section along the axial direction.

Description

Seal member and seal mechanism

The present invention relates to a sealing member and a sealing mechanism.

Conventionally, the seal structure shown in Patent Document 1 has been considered as a liquid-tight seal between a connected member such as various fluid devices and manifolds and a piping joint connected to the connected member. ..

The elastic ring (seal member) used in this seal structure forms an annular shape having a predetermined thickness, and has an annular inner diameter small lip having a triangular cross section on a flat inner peripheral surface. The small annular inner diameter lip forms a closed annular shape, and the shape of the elastic ring is formed vertically symmetrically.

However, in the above elastic ring, since the annular inner diameter small lip is provided on the entire circumference of the inner peripheral surface, the contact resistance with the male screw portion becomes large. In addition, with the elastic ring attached to the male thread, the annular inner diameter small lip comes into contact with the thread and bulges outward to increase the outer diameter, so it can be smoothly stored in the storage space provided on the end face of the nut. Is difficult. As described above, the elastic ring has a problem that it is difficult to handle.

Japanese Patent No. 3010407

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its main subject is to facilitate its handling while ensuring the sealing property.

That is, the seal member according to the present invention is fitted to the male threaded portion screwed into the female threaded portion of the connected member, and the nut member provided on the male threaded portion moves to move the connected member and the nut member. A sealing member made of an elastic material that elastically deforms between them and seals between them. A ring-shaped main body and a lip provided on the inner peripheral surface of the main body and projecting inward in the radial direction. The lip portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion in the circumferential direction, and the cross section along the axial direction is substantially triangular. ..

According to the seal member configured in this way, since the lip portion is partially provided in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion, the contact resistance with the male screw portion can be reduced. Further, since the structure does not always straddle the thread of the male screw portion, it is possible to prevent the seal member from bulging outward in the radial direction and to prevent the outer diameter from becoming large. As a result, the handling of the seal member can be facilitated. Further, since the lip portion has a substantially triangular cross section along the axial direction, it can easily enter the thread groove of the male screw portion, and the sealing property can be ensured.

In order to make it easier for the lip portion to enter the thread groove of the male screw portion, the lip portion has a tip side that is linear in a plan view, and both ends of the tip side are on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion. It is desirable to be connected.

It is conceivable that the sealing member of the present invention has a plurality of lip portions. In this case, it is desirable that the plurality of lip portions are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

In order to facilitate the manufacture of the seal member and improve the quality of the seal member, it is desirable that the lip portion is provided so as to be offset from the center position in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion.

Further, the sealing mechanism according to the present invention includes a male threaded portion that is screwed into a female threaded portion formed on the connected member and connected to the connected member, the above-mentioned sealing member that is fitted to the male threaded portion, and the above-mentioned seal member. It is characterized in that it is provided with a nut member provided on a male screw portion, and by tightening the nut member, the seal member is elastically deformed and sealed between the connected member and the nut member.

An annular recess for accommodating the seal member is formed at the inner corner of the tip surface of the nut member facing the seal member side, and the inward surface of the recess has a taper whose diameter increases toward the tip. It is desirable that it is a surface.

According to the above-mentioned invention, it is possible to facilitate the handling while ensuring the sealing property.

It is sectional drawing which shows typically the sealing mechanism in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically the seal member of the same embodiment. It is a top view which shows typically the seal member of the same embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the seal member of the same embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mechanism of the seal by the seal member of the same embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows typically (A) the manufacturing method of this embodiment and (B) the manufacturing method of the conventional example. It is a partial cross-sectional view which shows typically the sealing mechanism in the modified embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the sealing mechanism in the modified embodiment. It is a partial cross-sectional view which shows typically the sealing mechanism in the modified embodiment.

100 ・・・ Seal mechanism 10 ・・・ Connected member 11 ・・・ Female screw part 2 ・・・ Male screw part 3 ・・・ Seal member 31 ・・・ Main body 31a ・・・ Inner peripheral surface 32 ・・・ Multiple Lip portion 32c ・・・ Tip side 4 ・・・ Nut member 41 ・・・ Recessed portion 41a ・・・ Inward facing surface (tapered surface) of the recessed portion

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sealing mechanism using the sealing member according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. Seal mechanism configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing mechanism 100 of the present embodiment is liquid-tight or airtight between the connected member 10 of various fluid devices and manifolds and the piping joint 20 connected to the connected member 10. It is intended to seal.

Specifically, the sealing mechanism 100 is fitted to the male threaded portion 2 and the male threaded portion 2 which are screwed into the female threaded portion 11 formed on the inner surface of the flow path opening of the connected member 10 and connected to the connected member 10. A seal member 3 to be formed and a nut member 4 provided by being screwed into a male screw portion 2 are provided. The male screw portion 2, the seal member 3, and the nut member 4 constitute a piping joint 20, and in this embodiment, an elbow is formed.

Then, the male threaded portion 2 is screwed into the female threaded portion 11 so that the piping joint 20 is at a desired position with respect to the connected member 10, and then the nut member 4 is moved to the connected member 10 side. By tightening, the sealing member 3 is elastically deformed and sealed between the connected member 10 and the nut member 4.

Here, the nut member 4 is formed with an annular recess 41 for accommodating the seal member 3 at the inner corner of the tip surface facing the seal member 3 side. The recess 41 accommodates the seal member 3 when the seal member 3 is elastically deformed between the connected member 10 and the nut member 4. Further, the inward facing surface 41a of the recess 41 is a tapered surface whose diameter increases toward the tip. As a result, when the nut member 4 is tightened, the tightening force becomes an inward force through the tapered surface, making it easier for the seal member 3 to quickly enter the thread groove (valley portion) of the male screw portion 2.

<2. Specific configuration of seal member 3>
The sealing function of the sealing member 3 of the present embodiment seals the fluid with at least one thread groove of the male threaded portion 2 covered with the sealing member 3, and the screw of the male threaded portion 2 covered with the sealing member 3. The fluid is sealed around the entire mountain.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the seal member 3 is an integrally molded product made entirely of an elastic material, and is provided on the main body portion 31 forming an annular shape and the inner peripheral surface 31a of the main body portion 31. It has a plurality of lip portions 32 that project inward in the radial direction. The elastic material may be rubber such as nitrile rubber (NBR), hydride nitrile rubber (HNBR), fluorine rubber (FKM), ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), silicone resin, polyacetal (POM). ), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and other elastic resins, aluminum, brass, copper, cold rolled steel sheets (SPCC) and other soft metals, and other elastomers. Can be used.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main body portion 31 has an axial length of one pitch or more of the male screw portion 2. With this configuration, the main body portion 31 comes into contact with the thread of the male screw portion 2 in one or more turns.

In FIG. 5, the axial length of the main body 31 is L, the portion covered by the main body 31 is the L zone, the right side (high pressure side) of the main body 31 is the U zone, and the left side (low pressure side) is the D zone. To do. Here, the leakage of the fluid on the outer peripheral surface of the male threaded portion 2 includes a leak that moves beyond the thread of the male threaded portion 2 and a leak that moves along the thread groove of the male threaded portion 2.

In FIG. 5, the fluid on the outer peripheral surface of the male threaded portion 2 exceeds the thread thread 2a-1 of the U zone and flows into the thread groove 2b in the L zone. The fluid that has moved along the thread groove 2a-2 in the U zone also flows into the thread groove 2b in the L zone. At this time, as shown by the thick arrow, the fluid moving in the thread groove 2b in the L zone is prevented from moving to the D zone by the lip portion 32.

Here, if the L zone (the axial length L of the main body portion 31) is less than one pitch of the male screw portion 2, the blocking by the lip portion 32 may be insufficient depending on the arrangement of the lip portion 32 in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the L zone may be at least one pitch or more of the male screw portion 2, preferably 1.5 pitches or more.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of lip portions 32 are provided so as to be separated from each other in the circumferential direction. The plurality of lip portions 32 enter the thread groove of the male thread portion 2 and seal the thread groove (see FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the plurality of lip portions 32 are provided at equal intervals (radial) in the circumferential direction. Since the number of lip portions 32 is an odd number as described above, since there is no lip portion on the facing surface of one lip portion 32, the contact resistance can be reduced. When the number of lip portions 32 is an even number, another lip portion 32 is located on the facing surface of one lip portion 32, so that the contact resistance may increase.

Further, the plurality of lip portions 32 have the same shape as each other, and as shown in FIG. 4, the cross section along the axial direction has a substantially triangular shape. The lip portion 32 of the present embodiment has a shape in which the bottom surface 32a is substantially perpendicular to the axial direction and the inner side surface 32b is inclined with respect to the axial direction. With this configuration, rubber can easily enter the lower mold in the molding described later, and the manufacturing by molding becomes easy.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of lip portions 32 have a tip side 32c that is linear in a plan view, and both ends of the tip side 32c are connected to the inner peripheral surface 31a of the main body portion 31. There is.

Moreover, the plurality of lip portions 32 are provided so as to deviate from the central position in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion 31. In the present embodiment, the main body 31 is provided so as to be offset downward from the center position. That is, the lip portion 32 is provided so as to be offset from the main body portion 31 toward the bottom surface 32a. This configuration facilitates manufacturing by molding, which will be described later.

By using the seal member 3 configured in this way, as shown in FIG. 5, the main body portion 31 of the seal member 3 comes into contact with the thread of the male screw portion 2 in one or more rounds to seal, and a plurality of lip portions. 32 enters the thread groove of the male thread portion 2 at one or more places to seal. As a result, the seal member 3 seals between the connected member 10 and the nut member 4.

Next, the manufacturing method of the seal member 3 of the present embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 6 (A). Note that FIG. 6B shows a method of manufacturing the seal member 3 in which the lip portion 32 is provided at the center position in the axial direction of the main body portion 31 as in the conventional case.

In the present embodiment, the seal member 3 is manufactured by using the upper die Z1 and the lower die Z2. Here, the parting line PL1 inside the seal member 3 in the upper die Z1 and the lower die Z2 is set on the same plane as the bottom surface 32a of the lip portion 32. Further, the parting line PL2 on the outer side of the seal member 3 in the upper die Z1 and the lower die Z2 is set above the center position in the axial direction of the main body portion 31. By setting the parting lines PL1 and PL2 in this way, air can be reliably evacuated during molding, and the quality of the sealing member 3 can be improved.

On the other hand, the conventional sealing member 3 is manufactured by using the upper die Z1, the lower die Z2, and the intermediate die Z3 in order to remove air during molding (see FIG. 6B). Here, the parting line PL3 inside the seal member 3 in the upper die Z1 and the lower die Z2 is set at the apex of the lip portion 32. Further, the parting lines PL4 and PL5 of the upper die Z1 and the intermediate die Z3 are set above and below the center position in the axial direction of the main body portion 31. As described above, the conventional sealing member 3 requires three molding dies, and the moving means and sequence of each molding dies become complicated.

<3. Effect of this embodiment>
As described above, in the sealing mechanism 100 of the present embodiment, the lip portion 32 is partially provided on the inner peripheral surface 31a of the main body portion 31 in the circumferential direction, so that the contact resistance with the male screw portion 2 is reduced. be able to. Further, since the structure does not always straddle the thread of the male screw portion 2, it is possible to prevent the seal member 3 from bulging outward in the radial direction and to prevent the outer diameter from becoming large. As a result, the handling of the seal member 3 can be facilitated. Further, since the lip portion 32 has a substantially triangular cross section along the axial direction, it can easily enter the thread groove of the male screw portion 2 and can secure the sealing property.

<4. Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the sealing mechanism 100 is applied to the elbow has been described, but it may be applied to other piping joints.

FIG. 7 shows an example applied to the length-adjustable connection pipe 30 connected between the two pipes H1 and H2. The connecting pipe 30 includes a first pipe element 5 connected to one pipe H1 and a second pipe element 6 connected to the other pipe H2, and has an inner surface of the first pipe element 5. A female threaded portion 51 is formed on the outer surface of the second pipe element 6, and a male threaded portion 61 is formed on the outer surface of the second pipe element 6. Then, the length of the connecting pipe 30 can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing amount of the second pipe element 6 with respect to the first pipe element 5. The seal member 3 of the embodiment is fitted to the male screw portion 61 of the second pipe element 6, and the nut member 4 of the embodiment is screwed. Then, after adjusting the screwing amount of the second pipe element 6 with respect to the first pipe element 5, the nut member 4 is moved toward the first pipe element 5, so that the first pipe element 5 and the nut member 5 are screwed. The sealing member 3 elastically deforms between the four to seal between them.

Further, FIG. 8 shows an example applied to the branch pipe 8 to which a plurality of branch pipes 7 are connected. The branch pipe 8 is formed with a plurality of female threaded portions 81 to which the male threaded portions 71 of the plurality of branch pipes 7 are screwed and connected. The seal member 3 of the embodiment is fitted to the male screw portion 71 of the branch pipe 7, and the nut member 4 of the embodiment is screwed into the male thread portion 71. Then, after the branch pipe 7 is screwed into and connected to the branch pipe 8, the nut member 4 is moved toward the branch pipe 8, so that the seal member 3 is elastically deformed between the branch pipe 8 and the nut member 4 and they are formed. Seal between.

Further, FIG. 9 shows an example applied to a structure in which the pipe 12 is connected to the container 9 having the side wall 91 forming a flat surface. A connection hole is formed in the side wall 91 of the container 9 into which the male screw portion 121 of the pipe 12 is inserted. The male screw portion 121 of the pipe 12 is inserted into the connection hole, and a nut member is inserted from each of the inside and outside of the container. The side wall 91 is sandwiched and fixed by 4a and 4b. At this time, the seal member 3 of the above embodiment is fitted to the inside or outside of the container in the male screw portion 121 of the pipe 12, and the seal member 3 is elastic between the side wall 91 and the inside or

outside nut members

4a and 4b. Deform and seal between them.

Further, the number of lip portions 32 is not limited to three, and an odd number such as one, five, or seven may be provided, or an even number may be provided.

Further, although the plurality of lip portions 32 of the above embodiment have the same shape as each other, they may have different shapes from each other.

Moreover, the plurality of lip portions 32 may be provided at different positions in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion 31.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the handling while ensuring the sealing property.

Claims

It is fitted to the male threaded portion screwed into the female threaded portion of the connected member, and the nut member provided on the male threaded portion moves to elastically deform between the connected member and the nut member and between them. It is a sealing member made of an elastic material that seals
The main body that forms a ring and
It has a lip portion that is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion and projects inward in the radial direction.
The lip portion is a sealing member that is partially provided in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion and has a substantially triangular cross section along the axial direction.
The seal member according to claim 1, wherein the lip portion has a tip side that is linear in a plan view, and both ends of the tip side are connected to the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion.
A plurality of the lip portions are provided, and the lip portion is provided.
The sealing member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of lip portions are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
The seal member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lip portion is provided so as to deviate from the center position in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion.
A male threaded portion screwed into a female threaded portion formed on the connected member and connected to the connected member, and a male threaded portion.
The seal member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is fitted to the male screw portion.
A nut member provided on the male screw portion is provided.
A sealing mechanism that elastically deforms and seals the sealing member between the connected member and the nut member by tightening the nut member.
An annular recess for accommodating the seal member is formed at the inner corner of the tip surface of the nut member facing the seal member side.
The sealing mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the inward facing surface of the recess is a tapered surface whose diameter increases toward the tip.