JP2011117468A - Positioning ring - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning ring that can easily be attached and detached. <P>SOLUTION: The positioning ring 200, which is a tubular ring having a prescribed length in the axial direction and externally suitable for one pipe at one end and to the other pipe at the other end, holds the pipes 1a, 1b with the central axes of both pipes roughly matched. Notches, which penetrate across the thickness of a wall body forming the positioning ring, are provided at one end and the other end. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning ring that holds the central axes of a pair of tubes in alignment.

A so-called flange joint connects pipes by joining flanges provided at the ends of the pipes. At that time, it is necessary to match the central axes of the opposing flange parts (tubes). There is. At that time, for example, a cylindrical positioning ring is used (see Patent Document 1).
This positioning ring has one end portion fitted to one tube (or flange) and the other end portion fitted to the other tube (or flange) without any backlash, thereby matching the central axes of these tubes. .

JP 2008-286325 A

However, with this configuration, when removing the positioning ring, it is necessary to move the tube relative to the positioning ring in the axial direction. For example, many tubes are connected vertically and horizontally like a gas panel. Therefore, when the tube is difficult to move in the axial direction, it may be difficult to remove the positioning ring.
In particular, when the tube is removed, the above-mentioned problem becomes remarkable because the tube is in an assembled state and other parts are often fixed and cannot be moved.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problems, the main object of the present invention is to provide a positioning ring that can be easily attached and detached.

That is, the positioning ring according to the present invention is a tubular ring having a predetermined length in the axial direction, one end of which is externally fitted to one tube, and the other end is externally fitted to the other tube. A positioning ring that holds the center axis of the tube substantially in line with each other,
The one end and the other end are provided with notches penetrating in the thickness direction of the wall forming the positioning ring.

  In order to reliably match the central axis, it is preferable that the central angle when viewed from the axial direction of the notch is less than 180 degrees.

  If the cutout at the one end and the cutout at the other end are continuous, the positioning ring can be easily attached and detached without separating the tubes. Further, the cutout at the one end and the cutout at the other end may be discontinuous, and a remaining portion having a predetermined width may be formed between them.

  An annular plate-like gasket may be integrally attached between the one end and the other end so as to be orthogonal to the axis. With such a configuration, the positioning ring and the gasket can be attached and detached simultaneously and easily without separating the tubes.

  Any one that is elastically deformed is preferable because it can be easily detached and used repeatedly.

  If it is a fluid supply apparatus using such a positioning ring, it can make compact and can attach or detach a pipe | tube easily.

  According to the present invention, the pipe can be passed through the expanded cutout in the radial direction only by adding a simple configuration called a cutout. The positioning ring can be easily attached and detached by simply separating the two.

The whole perspective view of the positioning ring in one embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the state which hold | maintained the pipe | tube with the positioning ring in the embodiment. The whole perspective view of the positioning ring in 2nd Embodiment. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which hold | maintained the pipe | tube with the positioning ring in 3rd Embodiment. The partial cross-sectional view of the coupling ring used in 3rd Embodiment. The whole perspective view of the modification of the positioning ring in 3rd Embodiment. The block diagram of the fluid supply apparatus using the positioning ring in 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
The positioning ring 200 according to the present embodiment is configured to hold the center axes of the pair of tubes 1a and 1b so as to match each other, and as shown in FIG. 1, a holding portion that is elastically deformed and formed with notches 202a and 202b. 201.
The holding portion 201 has a C-shaped partial cylindrical shape when viewed from the axial direction, and has an inner diameter that matches the outer diameter of the ends of the tubes 1a and 1b described later. The axial dimension is long enough to hold the central axes of the tubes 1a and 1b.
The notches 202a and 202b are grooves that penetrate in the thickness direction of the holding portion 201, and extend linearly in the axial direction so that the notch 202a at one end and the notch 202b at the other end are continuous. The width of the notches 202a and 202b, that is, the central angle when viewed from the axial direction is 90 degrees here.

Next, attachment and removal work of the positioning ring 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.
At the time of attachment, the positioning ring 200 is pressed into the pipes 1a and 1b arranged in series in the radial direction from the notches 202a and 202b to be elastically deformed and fitted. As a result, the central axes of the tubes 1a and 1b are held in alignment. As another method, for example, there is a method of fitting the positioning ring 200 into the tubes 1a and 1b from the radial direction while expanding the widths of the notches 202a and 202b.
At the time of removal, the positioning ring 200 is pulled in the radial direction to be elastically deformed and removed. As another method, for example, there is a method of pulling the positioning ring 200 in the radial direction and removing it from the tubes 1a and 1b while expanding the widths of the notches 202a and 202b.

  With such a configuration, the pipes 1a and 1b can be separated from each other without only complicating the positioning ring 200 by simply providing the positioning ring 200 with notches 202a and 202b having a very simple shape. The positioning ring 200 can be easily attached and detached. As in the prior art, the tubes 1a and 1b can be detached and attached in the axial direction.

Second Embodiment
As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning ring 200 according to the present embodiment includes an elastically deformable holding portion 201 in which a notch 202 a at one end and a notch 202 b at the other end are formed discontinuously, and further, Part 203.
The remaining portion 203 is an arc member having a predetermined width formed between the notch 202a at one end and the notch 202b at the other end. Here, the width of the remaining portion 203 is sufficiently smaller than the width of the holding portion 201 and smaller than the axial separation distance allowed between the tubes 1a and 1b.
Here, the holding portion 201 is provided with a groove-shaped cut portion 201a that extends the remaining portion 203 in the circumferential direction in order to make the holding portion 201 easier to expand.
If configured in this way, the tubes 1a and 1b need to be slightly separated from each other in the axial direction, but the others are the same as in the first embodiment, and the positioning ring 200 can be easily attached and detached. Can play.

<Third Embodiment>

  The positioning ring 200 according to the present embodiment is a component part of the flange joint 300, and is for holding the center axes of a pair of pipes 1a and 1b having flange portions 2a and 2b at their ends in alignment with each other. . This flange joint 300 connects the pipes 1a and 1b by connecting the flange parts 2a and 2b provided at the ends of the pipes 1a and 1b, and connects the gasket 7 and the positioning ring 200 to each other. A ring 100 is provided. First, the tubes 1a and 1b will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the pipes 1a and 1b include pipe main bodies 11a and 11b and disk-like flange parts 2a and 2b provided at the ends of the pipe main bodies 11a and 11b. , 2b are coupled with their front end faces facing each other. The flange portions 2a and 2b are provided with closed annular protrusions 5a and 5b on the front end surfaces (hereinafter also referred to as opposing surfaces), and the rear surfaces thereof have an inclination in which the diameter increases toward the front end. Surfaces 3a and 3b are formed. Further, step portions 4a and 4b are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion.

  When the pipes 1a and 1b are coupled to each other, a gasket 7 having an equal thickness annular plate shape is sandwiched between the opposing surfaces of the flange portions 2a and 2b. Further, at this time, the positioning ring 200 is externally fitted to the stepped portions 4a and 4b of the flange portions 2a and 2b opposed to each other. Further, the coupling ring 100 is externally fitted to the opposed flange portions 2a and 2b, and these are tightly coupled. Each part is described in detail below.

The gasket 7 has an inner diameter that matches the inner diameter dimensions of the tubes 1a and 1b, and an outer diameter that matches the outer diameter dimensions of the step portions 4a and 4b, and the protrusions 5a and 5b bite in to ensure airtightness. To do.
The positioning ring 200 has the same shape as that of the first embodiment, and the inner diameter thereof matches the outer diameter of the step portions 4a and 4b.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the coupling ring 100 connects a plurality of (here, three) unit members 50a to 50c in which adjacent members are rotatably connected to each other, and unit members 50a and 50c at both ends. The fastener 52 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the unit members 50 a to 50 c have an approximate shape in which an annular ring is divided into three when viewed in the axial direction. On the inner peripheral surfaces of the unit members 50a to 50c, a concave groove 51 having a width that can be fitted to the outer peripheral edge portions of the pair of opposed flange portions 2a and 2b is provided so as to extend in the circumferential direction. In addition, inclined surfaces 51 a corresponding to the inclined surfaces 3 a and 3 b on the rear surfaces of the flange portions 2 a and 2 b are formed on the side surfaces of the concave grooves 51.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fastener 52 includes, for example, a bolt member 52a and a nut member 52b whose base end portions are attached to the unit member 50c. The front end portion of the bolt member 52a is fitted into the bolt receiving portion 54 of the unit member 50a, and the nut members 52b are screwed together to connect the unit members 50a and 50c at both ends, and the inner peripheral diameter of the coupling ring 100 is expanded or reduced. Can do.

  Next, a method for connecting and separating the tubes 1a and 1b in series using the positioning ring 200 according to this embodiment will be described.

At the time of coupling, first, one end portion of the positioning ring 200 is externally fitted to the stepped portion 4a of one pipe 1a. Next, the gasket 7 and the other stepped portion 4b are sequentially fitted in the other end portion of the positioning ring 200 from the axial direction.
Next, the recessed groove 51 of the open coupling ring 100 that is not connected at both ends is externally fitted to the outer peripheral edge portions of the opposed flange portions 2a and 2b. Then, when the fastener 52 is tightened and the inner peripheral diameter of the coupling ring 100 is reduced, an inclined surface 51a formed on the side surface of the groove 51 is formed on the back surface of the flange portions 2a and 2b as shown in FIG. The formed inclined surfaces 3a and 3b are pressed. The flange portions 2a and 2b are pressed against each other by the axial component force generated at that time, and the projections 5a and 5b bite into both surfaces of the gasket 7 so that the tubes 1a and 1b are kept tightly sealed. Connected.

  When separating, first, the fastener 52 is loosened and the coupling ring 100 is removed. As in the first embodiment, the positioning ring 200 is removed in the radial direction without separating the tubes 1a and 1b from each other.

  Of course, the positioning ring 200 according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment can be used as a component of the flange joint 300 according to the third embodiment.

  In addition, the fluid supply device may be configured using the flange joint 300 in the third embodiment. The configuration of the fluid supply device is, for example, a gas supply line L1 which is three vertical fluid lines provided in parallel, and one horizontal fluid line provided between these gas supply lines L1, here each gas supply line L1. And a cleaning gas supply line L2 for supplying a cleaning gas.

  The vertical fluid line L1 includes a fluid device such as a mass flow controller X11 and is configured to function as a gas supply line. The horizontal fluid line L2 is configured to function as a cleaning gas supply line. Here, the flange joint 300 is used for all pipe connections. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any pipe joint that uses the flange joint 300 for at least one pipe connection may be used.

  In FIG. 7, symbol L1 is a gas supply line, symbol L2 is a cleaning gas supply line, symbol X11 is a mass flow controller, symbols X12 and X13 are valves and pressure sensors, symbol 300 is a flange joint, symbols X4, X4 ′ and X4. "" Indicates piping.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the notches extend in the axial direction, but may extend obliquely. The notch has a central angle of less than 180 degrees when viewed from the axial direction, and the holding portion has a C-shaped partial cylindrical shape, but the holding portion may have a spiral shape such as a spring.

  The holding portion may be formed of a material that does not substantially elastically deform. In this case, it is necessary to plastically deform when removing in the radial direction.

The remaining portion may be made of a shape or a material that is easier to break than other portions. In this case, when removing the pipes in the radial direction without separating the pipes, the remaining part can be broken.
Further, one root of the remaining portion may be rotatably connected to the holding portion, and the other root may be removable so that the remaining portion can be expanded at the time of attachment / detachment.
With such a configuration, the positioning ring can be removed in the radial direction without separating the tubes from each other. Moreover, the width | variety of a residual part should just be below the width | variety of a holding | maintenance part.

As shown in FIG. 6, the gasket may be integrally attached between the one end and the other end of the positioning ring, and is attached to the remaining portion formed in the same manner as in the second embodiment. May be. In short, it is only necessary that the holding portions divided according to the position of the gasket have widths that can hold the center axes of a pair of tubes so as to match each other.
Here, in the third embodiment, if the positioning ring is to be attached from the radial direction, the gasket may fall off between the pipes during the attaching operation, and the operation may be difficult. However, if the positioning ring is integrally attached with the gasket, it is not necessary to hold the gasket so that it does not fall off. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the radial direction and the axial direction can be achieved without separating the tubes. The positioning ring can be easily attached or detached from any of the above. Furthermore, the positioning ring and the gasket can be attached / detached only by the step of attaching / detaching the positioning ring.
In addition, it is preferable that the outer peripheral surface of the gasket is not adhered to a certain distance from at least one end in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the holding portion because the gasket is easily elastically deformed so as to expand the notch.

  In addition, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1a, 1b ... pipes 2a, 2b ... flange portions 3a, 3b ... inclined surfaces 4a, 4b ... stepped portions 5a, 5b ... projections 7 ... gaskets formed on the back surface of the flange portion 11a, 11b ... pipe main bodies 50a, 50b, 50c ... unit member 51 ... concave groove 51a ... inclined surface 52 formed on the side surface of the concave groove ... fastener 52a ... bolt member 52b ... Nut members 53a, 53b ... Shaft 54 ... Bolt receiving part 100 ... Coupling ring 200 ... Positioning ring 201 ... Holding part 201a ... Incision part 202a, 202b ... Notch 203 ... Remaining part 300 ... Flange joint

Claims (7)

It has a tubular shape with a predetermined length in the axial direction. One end of the tube is fitted around one tube, the other end is fitted around the other tube, and the central axes of both tubes are substantially matched. A positioning ring to hold,
A positioning ring, wherein the one end and the other end are each provided with a notch penetrating in the thickness direction of the wall forming the positioning ring.   The positioning ring according to claim 1, wherein a center angle when viewed from the axial direction of the notch is less than 180 degrees.   The positioning ring according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutout at the one end and the cutout at the other end are continuous.   The positioning ring according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the cutout at the one end and the cutout at the other end are discontinuous and a remaining portion having a predetermined width is formed therebetween.   The positioning ring according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein an annular plate-like gasket is integrally attached between the one end and the other end so as to be orthogonal to the axis.   The positioning ring according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, which is elastically deformed.   A fluid supply apparatus using the positioning ring according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.