Togo Seisakusyo Corporation

Takanori Nagaya

Kenji Tozaki

Shigeo Oi

Makoto Kishida

Noriaki Fujita

Morio Narita

A connector includes a connector body having a hollow channel, and a retainer configured to prevent a pipe inserted into the hollow channel from being removed using a stopper piece. The retainer body lies along the outer peripheral surface of the retainer attachment portion. A bearing allows the retainer body to rotate from a temporary locking position to a main locking position. A detection piece passes through a detection hole and projects into the hollow channel when located in the temporary locked position, so as to be pushed in an axial direction by a bulge of the pipe. An inclined surface of the detection piece inclines with respect to the axial direction such that a pushing force can be converted to a radially outward force. A first energy conversion mechanism serves to convert the energy converted by the inclined surface to the rotational energy in the locking direction.

Connector

Fretting wear in a pipe connector is avoided in advance. In a connector body (), there is provided a gate member () having spring portions () that allow a pipe (P) to be inserted up to a regular depth while maintaining a contact state with the pipe (P). When a retainer () is pushed in with the pipe (P) being inserted to the connector body () up to the regular depth, locking legs () of the retainer () are locked to a bulge portion () of the pipe (P) and each locking leg () enters between the pipe (P) and the spring portion () and elastically displaces the spring portion () in a direction away from the pipe (P), thereby eliminating the contact state.

Pipe connector

A pipe connector includes a connector body, a retainer having a pair of locking legs and a release operation portion, and a checker. The connector body has an insertion hole into which a pipe is insertable. The locking legs are deformable to be spread and closed and are moved into the insertion hole. The release operation portion being operable to displace the locking legs in a direction such that the pipe is releasable from a retained state. The checker is formed separately from the retainer and lockable to the connector body and releasable from a locked state to be movable to a detection position when the pipe is inserted into the insertion hole. The checker is formed with pressing pieces located rearward relative to the locking legs when the checker assumes the detection position, to thereby prevent the locking legs from being flexed rearward.

A connector has a pivot shaft extending axially between a pair of flanges of a connector body. The retainer includes a bearing portion at one end, with an expandable insertion slot engageable with the pivot shaft such that the retainer pivots about the pivot shaft. The retainer has a temporary engagement position where a pipe can be inserted and removed and a regular engagement position where a bulge portion of the pipe is engaged preventing the pipe from being removed. A stopper claw formed on an opening edge of the insertion slot contacts with a contact surface, preventing the connector body from pivoting beyond the temporary engagement position. This prevents a condition where the retainer further pivots past the temporary engagement position which can cause the insertion slot to expand and the retainer separating from the pivot shaft.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Takanori Nagaya