Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Aoi

Akira Takayanagi

Tomohide Ito

Atsuo Miyajima

Tomoki Inoue

Yoshimitsu Ishida

Kazutaka Katayama

Hiroaki Ito

Kazushige Sakazaki

Hiroyoshi Mori

Tsutomu Kodama

Motohide Nishimura

Toshihiro Kumagai

Kinji Hosoya

When a retainer is mounted on or in a retainer mounting portion and is positioned at an inserting position, a pipe is inserted into the retainer mounting portion. An annular engaging projection of the pipe advances in the connector housing while spreading leg portions of the retainer outwardly. When the annular engaging projection reaches a connecting position, the retainer is automatically moved to an engaging position and snap-engages with the annular engaging projection.

Quick connector

A connecting portion of a quick connector is provided with a pair of stop arms. Each of the stop arms has an arm body that integrally includes an overhanging stop portion and an engaging pawl on a leading end portion thereof. The connecting portion is inserted in a connecting hole formed in a fluid line component until the engaging pawl engages with an outwardly directed engaging projection of a mounting portion that is provided on an opening portion of the connecting hole. A checker has a main body that is provided integrally with verifying portions. Each of the verifying portions is formed with a receiving recessed portion for accommodating the overhanging stop portion therein when the checker is disposed on an outer circumference of the mounting portion.

Connector device and checker

An engagement protrusion is formed in square in cross-section integrally on an outer surface of a main body of a retainer, and is provided on a position opposed to a space for deformation so as to extend from an opposite axial end to short of an axial center of the main body of the retainer. An engagement recess is formed generally identical in cross-section to the engagement protrusion on an inner peripheral surface of a retainer holding portion so as to extend from an opposite axial end of the retainer holding portion to one axial end of a raised portion. The retainer is fitted in the retainer holding portion so that the engagement protrusion is inserted in the engagement recess.

A quick connector has a connector housing, a tube connection component, a pipe body and a retainer. The quick connector further has a checking operation portion provided with a holding component. The holding component has a fitting hole and a gate component which is continuous with an opening end of the fitting hole. The holding component is adapted to cause the pipe body connected to the housing to fit in the fitting hole through the gate component in a snap-on manner and to connect with an outer circumference of the pipe body by rotary motion of the checking operation portion. The holding component is also adapted to be prevented from connecting with the outer circumference of the pipe body if the pipe body is not fully inserted into the connector housing.

A quick connector includes: a cylindrical connector housing having a tube connecting portion and a pipe retainer portion that has a retainer; and an annular seal member fitted on an inner circumferential surface of the connector housing. The retainer is integrally formed with the pipe retainer portion and having an engagement portion projecting toward the interior of the pipe retainer portion, and a disengagement operating portion adapted to move the engagement portion radially outwardly. The connector housing is formed by engaging with each other end side in an axial direction of a tube side member having the tube connecting portion, and one end side in the axial direction of a pipe side member having the pipe retainer portion. The annular seal member is axially positioned in an annular recess formed in the connector housing when the tube side member and the pipe side member are engaged with each other.

Connection verifying device for a pipe and a connector has a body portion, a stop and verification arm and an abutment finger. The body portion includes an abutment plate and a fit-on portion. The stop and verification arm extends from an outer periphery of the abutment plate in one axial direction, while the abutment finger protrudes from one axial end of the fit-on portion in one axial direction. The abutment finger is arranged so as to abut and urge an annular projection of a pipe into an engagement slit of a retainer when the pipe and the connector are in half-fitting relation.

Connection verifying device and connection verifying structure for a pipe and a connector

A first quick connector is provided with a connector housing and a wire retainer. The connector housing has a retainer mounting portion which is formed with engagement slits. The wire retainer is mounted on the retainer mounting portion such that engagement arms enter the engagement slits and project in the retainer mounting portion. Each of the engagement slits has a first slit part on one circumferential end and a second slit part on the other circumferential end with intervening a divider portion therebetween.

Anti-rotation device for a pipe and a connector has a pipe connecting portion and a connector connecting portion constructed integrally on the pipe connecting portion. The anti-rotation device is mounted on the pipe and the connector while the pipe connecting portion clips a straight tubular inserting side portion of the pipe in anti-rotating relation and the connector connecting portion is connected to the connector in anti-rotating relation. Thereby the pipe is connected to the connector in anti-rotating relation.

Anti-rotation device and anti-rotation structure for a pipe and a connector

An inner peripheral surface of a tube connecting portion of a tubular connector housing is divided into a first receiving portion on one axial side and a second receiving portion on an opposite axial side by an inwardly directed annular parting projection. A first O-ring of one axial side and a second O-ring of an opposite axial side are disposed with intervening a collar therebetween on an opposite axial side in the first receiving portion. The first O-ring is made of FKM and the second O-ring is made of FVMQ. A third O-ring is disposed on one axial side in the second receiving portion. The third O-ring is also made of FVMQ.

A quick connector is configured as such that one axial end of an engagement window is co-planar with an annular end surface inside of a retainer holding portion. A checker jut toward an axial direction is provided integrally on a base portion of an inwardly directed engagement portion of a checker. The checker is mounted on the connector housing so that the checker jut toward one axial direction abuts the one axial end of the engagement window.

Quick connector with function of verifying complete connection

A checker comprises a thin-walled checker body, a pull-ring and inwardly directed engagement portions. The pull-ring is formed on a widthwise center part of an outer peripheral portion of the checker body. The inwardly directed engagement portions are formed on widthwise opposite ends of the checker body. The checker is fitted and mounted on a connector housing so that the checker body seats in a fit-in slot defined by elongate ribs formed on a flat region of the connector housing and the inwardly directed engagement portions snap in and locking engage with engagement windows of the connector housing.

A quick-action connector assembly including a male member, a female member, a latching indicator member substantially fitted within the female member, a first engaging device for permitting engagement of the indicator member and the male member and a second engaging device for substantially inhibiting rotation of the indicator member relative to the female member, prior to insertion of the male member into the female member, and for disengaging the indicator member and the female member from each other, to permit the rotation of the indicator member relative to the female member, on the basis of the movement of the indicator member with the male member, after an annular protrusion formed on the male member has been latched in engagement with a letching projecting of at least one elastically deformable latching arm provided on the female member as a result of the insertion of the male member into the female member.

Quick-action connector assembly including a latching indicator member

A quick connector including: (a) a tubular male element having an introduced end portion which has an extreme end portion and an annular protrusion portion; and (b) a tubular female element having a first receiving portion and a second receiving portion which have respective tubular shapes configured to receive therein the annular protrusion portion and the extreme end portion of the introduced end portion of the tubular male element, respectively. The first receiving portion has an elastically-deformable tongue portion which is defined by a U-shaped slot formed through the cylindrical wall of the first receiving portion. The tongue portion extends in a circumferential direction of the tubular female element, and has a free end portion which is displaceable in a radial direction of the tubular female member. An engaging protrusion portion is provided in the free end portion so as to protrude inwardly in the radial direction so as to be brought into engagement with the annular protrusion portion of the introduced end portion of the tubular male element in a snap action manner. The engaging protrusion portion preferably has a tapered guide surface in its inner surface.

A heat resistance resin based engaging and holding member for a connector is stopped at a female member of a connector, and is engaged with a male member housed at one end of the female member to connect the male member to the female member This engaging and holding member consists of a heat resistance resin having 10% or more in elongation; 4000 MPa or less in Young's modulus in flexure; 80&deg; C. or more in glass transition temperature; and 100&deg; C. or more in heat distortion temperature under a load of 1.85 MPa.

Heat resisting resin based engaging and holding member

A female member for use with a male member of a quick connector assembly, including a first tubular portion which has a first axial bore having a first diameter, a second tubular portion which is coaxial with the first tubular portion and which has a second axial bore which has a second diameter greater than the first diameter of the first axial bore, which is adapted to hold one or more annular seal members and which cooperates with the first axial bore to receive an end portion of the male member, and a connecting portion which connects between the first and second tubular portions and which has an annular recess which opens in the second axial bore, which is located radially outwardly of the first axial bore and which prevents the annular seal member or members from being moved from the second axial bore into the first axial bore when the end portion of the male member is inserted into the female member.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Akira Takayanagi