JPH1038158A - Pipe joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pipe joint capable of easily changing pipes. SOLUTION: This pipe joint 10 is provided with a joint main body 1, a pipe sleeve 6 so fitted so to be slid on the inner circumference of the joint main body, an outer sleeve 12 rotatably fitted around the outer periphery of the coupling main body, and a cap nut 2 provided on one end of the joint main body and for attaching the pipe coupling to a connecting device. A claw member 7 for preventing the pipe by biting is fixed on the tip of the pipe sleeve. An annular groove 8 is provided on the outer periphery of the pipe sleeve, and an approximately circular torsion spring 11 to be engaged with the groove is provided. The pipe sleeve is held to the coupling main body by the engagement of the torsion spring with the groove. The torsion spring is extended when the outer sleeve is rotated in relation to the joint main body by the engagement of one end with the outer sleeve and the engagement of the other end with the joint main body, the torsion spring is separated from the groove of the pipe sleeve, and the pipe and the pipe sleeve are separated from the joint main body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a pipe joint, and more particularly to a pipe joint for a resin pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Pipe joints are generally used for connecting pipes, and various joints such as a screw-in type, a bite type, and a plug type are used depending on the type of pipe.

[0003] Plug-in type pipe joints are generally used for connecting pipes made of resin having relatively high flexibility. A plug-in type pipe joint is provided with a sealing member such as an O-ring for tightly sealing the outer periphery of the pipe on the inner surface of the joint, and allows insertion of the pipe but bites into the outer circumference of the pipe when the pipe is pulled out. A retainer called a grip made of a washer-shaped metal member arranged in an appropriate direction is provided. Therefore, according to such a joint, connection of a liquid-tightly sealed tube can be achieved by simply inserting the tube to be connected to the abutting position in the joint, and the joint is prevented from coming off even when a force for pulling out the tube is applied. However, the tube does not bite into the outer periphery of the tube. In this way, a reliable and simple pipe connection can be made.

[0004] However, in the case of such a conventional pipe joint, a device is devised to prevent the pipe from coming off. Therefore, once the pipe is connected, it must be easily pulled out even if it is necessary to subsequently pull out the pipe. Can not. Therefore, for example, in the case of a pipe such as a feed pipe for drinks such as draft beer and juice, it is necessary to periodically replace or remove and clean the pipe in order to prevent the growth of dirt and various germs. Has to be replaced or removed together with the joint, which is time-consuming and expensive.

[0005] As a joint for detachably connecting a pipe, there is a pipe joint for detachably connecting the pipe and the joint by a combination of a click ball and a groove. Since the connection is made by the engagement between the ball and the groove, the pipe is detached from the joint by a relatively weak force, so that the connection is not reliable, and the structure for disposing the click ball is complicated and expensive. There was a problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional plug-in type pipe joint, and eliminates the need to replace the joint body and facilitates pipe replacement. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

According to the pipe joint of the present invention, there is provided a hollow cylindrical joint body having an inner surface provided with a sealing member which is in close contact with the outer periphery of the pipe and is liquid-tightly sealed. A tube sleeve which is slidably fitted around and receives a tube to be connected, and a claw member adapted to bite into the outer periphery of the tube to prevent the tube from coming off is attached to the tip. A pipe joint is constituted by a pipe sleeve and holding means for holding the pipe sleeve to the joint body, and by releasing the holding means, the pipe sleeve and the pipe are integrally removed from the joint body. Have to be able to.

Further, in the present invention, an outer sleeve rotatably fitted around the outer periphery of the joint body is provided,
An annular U-shaped groove is provided on the outer periphery of the tube sleeve, and a substantially circular torsion spring that is partially open and engages with the groove of the tube sleeve is disposed at a corresponding position on the inner surface of the joint body. Engagement of a spring with a groove in the tube sleeve causes the tube sleeve to be retained in the joint body;
The torsion spring has one end engaged with the outer sleeve, the other end engaged with the joint body, and the inner diameter of the torsion spring when the outer sleeve is rotated with respect to the joint body. Is expanded so that the groove of the tube sleeve is disengaged from the torsion spring, and the tube sleeve engaged in the tube is separated from the joint main body, thereby constituting the holding means.

[0009]

When the pipe is first connected to the pipe joint in the pipe joint of the present invention, the pipe is inserted into the pipe sleeve, the claw member of the pipe sleeve is pushed open, and the sealing member provided on the inner surface of the joint body is further provided. Insert until pressed into. This operation alone completes the connection of the pipe to the fitting. Thereafter, when it is necessary to remove the tube for cleaning the tube, the outer sleeve may be manually rotated by rotating the outer sleeve with respect to the joint body to pull out the tube. That is, when the outer sleeve is rotated with respect to the joint body, the inner diameter of the torsion spring expands, the torsion spring disengages from the groove of the tube sleeve, and the tube sleeve and the tube that bite into the tube are separated. It can be pulled out of the joint body as one piece. Thereafter, the detached tube and the tube sleeve are cleaned or replaced with a new one and inserted again into the fitting to complete the connection of the tube again. At this time, when replacing only the pipe with a new one, the used pipe can be removed from the pipe by crushing the used pipe, and the pipe sleeve can be used again by pushing it into the fitting body and returning it. it can. Alternatively, the connection can be made by pushing the tube sleeve removed from the tube into a new tube and then reinserting it into the fitting body. Also,
Since the tube sleeve is a relatively simple and inexpensive part, an entirely new tube sleeve can also be used.

As a modification of the present invention, a lock mechanism for removing the tube can be added. The locking mechanism can be easily realized by providing a mechanism for preventing rotation of the outer sleeve while the tube sleeve is locked in the joint body. Thus, for example, an axial groove is provided on the outer periphery of the joint body, and an axial protrusion that engages with the joint groove only at the non-rotating position of the outer sleeve, that is, at the position where the tube sleeve is to be locked. And make the outer sleeve slidable in the axial direction,
The rotation of the outer sleeve can be locked by sliding the outer sleeve in the axial direction. As a result, the user cannot rotate the outer sleeve unless the user slides the outer sleeve in the axial direction to unlock the rotation of the outer sleeve, and cannot remove the tube, so the tube is accidentally detached. There is no fear.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the pipe joint of the present invention, the upper half being shown in cross section. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The pipe joint 10 includes a hollow cylindrical joint body 1. A cap nut 2 is fixed to the outer periphery of one end of the joint body 1. An inner thread is cut inside the cap nut 2, and by tightening this screw, the pipe joint 1 is tightened.
0 can be attached to the equipment to be plumbed. A counterbore of a predetermined diameter is further provided on the inner surface of the cap nut 2 at the depth of the inner screw, and a rubber flat packing 3 is inserted into the counterbore. By screwing the cap nut 2 to the device to be piped, the flat packing 3 is brought into close contact with the device, and a liquid-tight seal between the device and the pipe joint 10 is achieved. In the present embodiment, the cap nut 2 and the joint body 1 have a structure in which separate parts are combined.
These may be formed as a single piece of a metal member and plastic or only plastic.

An O-ring 4 is fitted inside the joint body 1. The joint body 1 is provided with a seat having a step for applying the O-ring 4 to the seat.
By applying the ring 4, the O-ring 4 can be arranged at a predetermined position on the joint body 1. Further, an O-ring fixing ring 5 is pressed into the joint body 1 to fix the O-ring 4. The diameter of the seat surface is such that the O-ring 4 is received, and when the O-ring 4 is pressed by the O-ring fixing ring 5 in the thrust direction, the outer diameter of the O-ring is received and a predetermined sealing function is performed. ing.

A tube sleeve 6 is further provided inside the joint body 1.
Is inserted. The tube sleeve 6 is fitted with a predetermined play to the extent that the tube sleeve 6 can be freely inserted and removed from the joint body 1. The tip of the tube sleeve 6, that is, the end near the cap nut 2, is slightly tapered so as to become thinner toward the tip, and a chrysanthemum washer-shaped claw member 7 is fitted around the tip. The claw member 7 is also tapered in a shape along the above-described tapered shape of the distal end of the tube sleeve 6. The inner periphery of the claw member 7 has a large number of claw-shaped projections as clearly shown in FIG. An annular U-shaped groove 8 is provided on the outer periphery of the tube sleeve 6.
On the other hand, a U-shaped groove 9 is also provided at an opposing position on the inner periphery of the joint body 1, and the groove 9 has a substantially circular shape and a part of the groove 9 has an opening as clearly shown in FIG. A torsion spring 11 having a cross-sectional shape is inserted. The inner diameter of the torsion spring 11 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the bottom of the groove 8 of the tube sleeve 6 in a state where no stress is applied, and the torsion spring 11 fits into the groove 8 of the tube sleeve 6 and It is held on the inner surface of the joint body 1.

An outer sleeve 12 is rotatably mounted on the outer periphery of the joint body 1 on the opposite side of the cap nut 2 along the outer periphery of the joint body 1. The outer sleeve 12 is rotatable in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.

The torsion spring 11 will be described in more detail below. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the torsion spring 11 has a shape in which a part of a circle is open, and both ends extend outward from the open part of the circle. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2, openings 15 and 16 are provided in portions of the joint body 1 and the outer sleeve 12 corresponding to the outer periphery of the torsion spring 11 except for the block portions 13 and 14, respectively. The outwardly extending portions at both ends of the torsion spring 11 extend through the openings 15 and 16 with the block portions 13 and 14 of the joint body 1 and the outer sleeve 12 interposed therebetween.

With the above configuration, the pipe joint 10 functions as follows. First, the fitting 10 is installed by screwing the cap nut 2 into place on the device to which the pipe is to be connected. Next, a pipe is inserted from the other end of the pipe joint as shown in FIG. When the tube is inserted, the tube advances inside the tube sleeve 6, pushes and spreads the claw member 7 at the tip of the tube sleeve, further fits into the O-ring 4, and comes into contact with the step-shaped contact portion 17 of the joint body 1. . As described above, the connection of the pipe is completed by inserting the pipe until it comes into contact with the contact portion 17, and the outer periphery of the pipe is tightly fitted to the O-ring 4, whereby the liquid-tightly sealed pipe is connected. In this state, if a force is applied in the direction in which the tube is pulled out, the claw member 7 does not come off the tube whose outer periphery of the tube is difficult. Further, since the torsion spring 11 is deeply fitted into the U-shaped groove 8 of the tube sleeve 6, the tube sleeve 6 does not come off from the joint body 1.

Next, when it becomes necessary to pull out the pipe for cleaning or the like, the pipe is removed as follows. First, the outer sleeve 12 is rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the outer sleeve 12 is rotated counterclockwise. FIG.
When the outer sleeve 12 is rotated, the block portion 14 of the outer sleeve 12 causes the torsion spring 11 to rotate.
Is pressed at one end. When one end of the torsion spring 11 is pressed by the block portion 14, the torsion spring 11 tries to rotate, but cannot rotate because the other end of the torsion spring 11 contacts the block portion 13 of the fixed joint body 1. Accordingly, when the outer sleeve 12 is rotated, the outer sleeve 12 bends so that the inner diameter of the torsion spring 11 is widened. as a result,
The torsion spring 11 is separated from the groove 8 of the tube sleeve 6,
By pulling the tube, the tube and the tube sleeve 11 come out of the joint body 1 integrally. Since the groove 9 of the outer sleeve 12 has a predetermined depth, when the outer sleeve 12 is rotated to some extent, the outer periphery of the torsion spring 11 comes into contact with the bottom of the groove 9, and the outer sleeve 12 cannot rotate any more. Therefore, the outer sleeve 12 does not rotate indefinitely and the torsion spring 11 does not cause permanent distortion. As described above, the pipe and the pipe sleeve 6 can be integrally removed from the pipe joint, and the inside of the pipe can be cleaned. If the tube is discarded, the tube sleeve can be removed from the tube by crushing the tube and only the tube sleeve can be reused.
Furthermore, the tube sleeve alone is a relatively inexpensive part, and both the tube sleeve and the tube can be discarded.

As described above, since the distal end of the tube sleeve 6 is tapered, the tube sleeve 6 is connected to the joint body 1.
, The tip of the claw member 7 slides into the inner diameter of the torsion spring 11 and the torsion spring 1
When the tube sleeve 6 is pushed open and the tube sleeve 6 is further pushed in, the torsion spring 11 falls into the groove 8 of the tube sleeve 6, and the tube sleeve 6 is kept in the original predetermined position. Therefore, when the pipe and the pipe sleeve 6 are reused after cleaning, the pipe and the pipe sleeve 6 may be pushed again into the joint body 1 as it is. When the pipe sleeve 6 alone is to be reused or a new pipe sleeve 6 is to be used, the pipe sleeve 6 is pushed into the joint body 1 and then the pipe is pushed until it comes into contact as originally performed. Good.

The pipe joint of this embodiment also has a rotation lock mechanism for the outer sleeve. This locking mechanism will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a part of the inner circumference of the outer sleeve 12 is provided with a protruding part 18 which protrudes inward and extends in the axial direction. On the other hand, in the joint body 1,
A circumferential groove 19 is provided for fitting the protrusion 18 of the outer sleeve 12 to guide the rotation of the outer sleeve 12, and the protrusion 18 of the outer sleeve 12 is fitted for sliding the outer sleeve 12 in the axial direction. Movable axial groove 2
0 is provided. The axial groove 20 is provided at a circumferential position matching the protrusion 18 of the outer sleeve 12 in a state where the torsion spring 11 is not subjected to stress (the state shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4). Therefore, in a state where no stress is applied to the torsion spring, that is, in a state where the outer sleeve 12 is not rotated with respect to the joint body 1, the outer sleeve 12 is not rotated.
Can be slid axially along the axial groove 20, such that the outer sleeve 12 cannot be rotated with respect to the joint body 1 and is locked. Then, when the user sets the protrusion 18 of the outer sleeve 12 to the circumferential groove 1
The tube cannot be pulled out by rotating the outer sleeve 12 unless the outer sleeve 12 is slid back to a position matching the position 9.

[0020]

As described above, according to the pipe joint of the present invention, the pipe can be easily connected only by first inserting the pipe into the pipe sleeve, and then the pipe needs to be removed. At times, by manually rotating the outer sleeve with respect to the joint body and pulling out the tube, the tube sleeve and the tube that bite into the tube can be easily removed from the joint body as a unit. Thereafter, the pipes can be easily reconnected simply by cleaning the removed pipes and pipe sleeves and inserting the pipes again into the pipe joint.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional side view of a first embodiment of a pipe joint of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a state in which an outer sleeve is rotated counterclockwise to release a torsion spring;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Fitting body, 2 Cap nut, 3 Packing,
4 O-ring, 5 O-ring fixing ring, 6
Pipe sleeve, 7 Claw member, 8, 9 groove, 10
Fittings, 11 torsion spring, 12 outer sleeve, 13, 14 block, 15, 16 opening, 17 abutment, 18 protrusion, 19 circumferential groove, 20 axial groove

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pipe joint, wherein a sealing member is disposed on an inner surface of the pipe joint, the sealing member being in close contact with the outer periphery of the pipe to perform a liquid-tight seal, and a hollow cylindrical joint body is slidably fitted on an inner periphery of the joint body. A pipe sleeve for receiving a pipe to be combined and connected, the pipe sleeve having a claw member attached to a tip end adapted to bite around the outer circumference of the pipe to prevent the pipe from coming off; And a holding means for holding the pipe sleeve and the pipe together, by releasing the holding means, the pipe sleeve and the pipe can be integrally removed from the joint body. 2. An outer sleeve rotatably fitted on the outer periphery of the joint body, an annular U-shaped groove provided on the outer periphery of the tube sleeve, and a part of the outer sleeve engaged with the groove of the tube sleeve is provided. An open, substantially circular torsion spring is disposed at a corresponding position on the inner surface of the joint body, and the pipe sleeve is held by the joint body by engagement of the torsion spring with the groove of the tube sleeve; The torsion spring has one end engaged with the outer sleeve, the other end engaged with the joint body, and the inner diameter of the torsion spring when the outer sleeve is rotated with respect to the joint body. Is expanded so that the groove of the tube sleeve is disengaged from the torsion spring, and the tube sleeve engaged in the tube is separated from the joint body, whereby the holding means is constituted. It has been,
The pipe joint according to claim 1. 3. The pipe joint according to claim 2, further comprising a lock mechanism for preventing rotation of said outer sleeve in a state where said pipe sleeve is locked to said joint body. 4. The outer sleeve is slidable in the axial direction of the joint body along the outer periphery of the joint body in a state where the tube sleeve is locked, and the outer sleeve is slid in the axial direction. 4. The pipe according to claim 3, wherein the lock mechanism is formed by engagement portions provided on the outer sleeve and the joint body, respectively, when the outer sleeve is engaged to prevent rotation of the outer sleeve. Fittings.