Pipe joints or couplings – With assembly means or feature – Particular tool-engaging means or with tool
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-08
2002-02-12
Nicholson, Eric K. (Department: 3627)
Pipe joints or couplings
With assembly means or feature
Particular tool-engaging means or with tool
C285S374000, C285S231000, C285S921000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06345844
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector for connecting tubes, for example a connector for connecting a resin tube and a metal pipe to each other in order to transfer various fluids such as fuel, oil, water or air.
Conventionally, there have been known various connectors for mutually coupling various hoses, pipes and the like of automobiles.
FIG. 12
shows one of typical examples. The connector comprises a tubular male member
10
such as a metallic pipe, a cylindrical housing member
20
having a large diameter portion for receiving an end of the male member
10
at one of ends and a tube inserting portion
21
for inserting a resin tube or the like at the other end and an engagement member
25
for being inserted from an opening at one of the ends of the housing member
20
and engaged with the housing member
20
and serving to engage an annular projecting portion
11
of the male member
10
to be coupled to the housing member
20
, and furthermore, an annular seal member
12
such as an
0
ring for sealing a portion between the inner periphery of the central part of the housing member
20
and the outer peripheral surface of the male member
10
, and an annular bush
13
and a collar
14
which serve to hold the seal member
12
in a predetermined position.
In the connector of this kind, the engagement member
25
is constituted by a deformable portion and a non-deformable portion and elastic deformation can be carried out by cutting out at least one portion in an axial direction. Accordingly, the engagement member
25
is inserted into the housing member
20
with a reduction in a diameter and an engagement portion
26
is snapped into a window portion
22
provided in the housing member
20
. In the engagement member
25
engaged with the housing member
20
, a non-deformable portion
25
a
extending diagonally in a radial direction is snapped into an annular projecting portion
11
of the male member
10
through the deformable portion so that the male member
10
can be coupled to the housing member
20
. Moreover, a pair of operation arms
27
are provided integrally with one of ends of the engagement member
25
. By pushing the operation arm portion
27
inward radially to reduce the whole diameter, the male member
10
can be removed from the engagement member
25
and the housing member
20
.
In a connecting structure using the conventional connector, the number of parts is so large that a reduction in a cost is limited and a whole axial length is so great that a reduction in a size is difficult. More specifically, as shown in
FIG. 12
, it is necessary to receive the almost cylindrical engagement member
25
having the operation arm portion
27
and the bush
13
in the housing member
20
and to engage and connect the annular projecting portion
11
of the male member
10
inserted from the opening at one of the ends of the housing member
20
with the other end of the engagement member
25
. Therefore, the whole length of the connector portion in the axial direction is necessarily very great.
Moreover, GB2022727A has disclosed a connection structure in which a male member (fuel injection nozzle) is inserted and fastened into a bore of an inlet portion of a female member through an elastomeric sleeve. The elastomeric sleeve comprises a bead portion including, on one of ends, an outward projecting portion which projects outward radially and an inward projecting portion which projects inward radially, and on the other end, an introducing end portion including a rib projecting inward radially. Furthermore, the male member comprises, on the insertion end, an engaging outer peripheral groove to be engaged with the radial projecting portion and the female member comprises, on the inner peripheral surface of the bore, an annular groove to be engaged with the outward projecting portion. The thickness of the wall of the bead portion in the elastomeric sleeve is slightly greater than that of a clearance formed by the engagement outer peripheral groove and the annular groove. Moreover, the thickness of the rib on the introducing end portion of the elastomeric sleeve is greater than a clearance formed by the male member and the bore corresponding thereto. With the connection structure for the fuel injection nozzle, accordingly, the male member is pressed into the bore of the inlet portion of the female member so that the male member can be fastened into the bore of the inlet portion of the female member through the bead portion of the elastomeric sleeve and can be sealed through the rib formed in the introducing end portion of the elastomeric sleeve.
With such a connection structure, it is necessary to cause the thickness of the bead portion to be much greater than the above stated clearance in order to strongly fasten the male member into the bore of the inlet portion of the female member through the bead portion of the elastomeric sleeve. After the elastomeric sleeve is previously assembled into the engagement outer peripheral groove of the male member, the male member should be inserted into the bore of the inlet portion of the female member and the bead portion of the elastomeric sleeve should be surely engaged so as not to get out of the annular groove. However, it is hard to sense whether both are surely engaged or not. If both are incompletely engaged, both might get out from each other during use and the male member should be inserted by a comparatively strong force. Moreover, it is difficult to easily remove the male member from the female member. Furthermore, the elastomeric sleeve should be assembled into the engagement outer peripheral groove of the male member in advance. For this reason, there is a danger that the exposed elastomeric sleeve might be damaged before the insertion in the female member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In consideration of the conventional circumstances, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of decreasing the number of parts to reduce a cost and to obtain a smaller size in an axial direction, and of preventing a seal member from being damaged, thereby easily and surely connecting a male member to a female member without requiring a great inserting force. Preferably, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of easily removing the male member from the female member by means of a release tool.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a connector in which a tubular male member is fastened together with a tubular female member by a cylindrical elastomeric sleeve held. in a receive bore of a cylindrical receive end portion formed on one end of said tubular female member, characterized in that the tubular male member includes an insert end portion having a cylindrical tip end portion and an annular projecting portion that is located behind and adjacent to the tip end portion, the cylindrical elastomeric sleeve is provided at its one end with a cylindrical swelling portion having an annular engagement inner peripheral groove adapted to receive the annular projecting portion by snapping the annular projecting portion of the male member, and the cylindrical elastomeric sleeve is provided at the other end with a cylindrical seal portion which is adjacent to the swelling portion and which has an inner periphery that liquid-tightly engages an outer peripheral surface of the tip portion of the tubular male member, the tubular female member is provided at its one end of the received end portion with a first diameter portion having a first bore having a larger inner diameter than the outer diameter of the cylindrical seal portion of said elastomeric sleeve for receiving the swelling portion, an entrance of the first diameter portion includes an annular restriction rib that is projected radially inward from an inner peripheral surface of the first diameter portion, the annular restriction rib having an inner diameter slightly larger than an outer diameter of the annular projecting portion of the tubular male
Miyajima Atsuo
Sakazaki Kazushige
Nicholson Eric K.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd.
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