JP4614654B2 - Coupler - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to fluid such as gas or liquid, the capsule La used when supply from the fluid supply source to the inspection apparatus or the like through a pipe.

  Conventionally, when a fluid such as gas or liquid is supplied from a fluid supply source to an inspection device or the like via a pipe, a coupler is used at a connection portion between the pipe and the inspection device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In such a coupler, the opening of a pair of cylindrical bodies consisting of a cylindrical body (for example, a socket) attached to the tip of a pipe extending from the fluid supply source and a cylindrical body (for example, a plug) attached to the device side. The edge portion is configured to be detachably engaged. Then, a valve body that closes the opening by spring elasticity is provided in each of the pair of cylindrical bodies, and when the opening edges of the pair of cylindrical bodies are engaged, the valve bodies are pressed against each other to open each opening. To connect the pair of cylindrical bodies.

Therefore, when the fluid is supplied from the fluid supply source to the coupler while the pair of cylindrical bodies of the coupler are engaged, the fluid passes through the coupler and is sent to the inspection device side. Further, when the pair of cylindrical bodies of the coupler is removed, the openings of each cylindrical body are closed by the valve bodies, the fluid supply from the fluid supply source is stopped, and the inspection instrument side is filled with fluid. In a sealed state.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-169869

  However, when such a coupler is used in, for example, a sniffer inspection apparatus that uses helium gas to inspect leakage of a container or the like, when the pair of cylindrical bodies of the coupler is removed, the gap between the valve bodies in the coupler is reduced. The helium gas remaining in the space formed at the bottom is released into the atmosphere. For this reason, in the next inspection, it is impossible to determine whether the helium gas detected by the inspection device leaks out of the container to be inspected or is released into the atmosphere, and the accuracy of the inspection cannot be determined. There is a problem of getting worse. In this case, the sniffer inspection means that helium gas leaking from the inside of the container to the outside is detected by the detection section by filling the inspection container with helium gas and bringing the detection section of the inspection device close to the container surface. To do.

  The present invention has been made to address the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coupler that can recover the fluid remaining in the interior without releasing it into the atmosphere.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the structural feature of the coupler according to the present invention is to fit the opening edges of the cylindrical body having a large-diameter opening edge and the cylindrical body having a small-diameter opening edge. By sealing, a pair of detachable cylindrical bodies that can allow fluid to pass from one to the other, the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter opening edge, and the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter opening edge are sealed. The sealing portion and the pair of cylindrical bodies are provided respectively, and the elasticity of the spring closes the opening of the attached cylindrical body, and when the pair of cylindrical bodies are engaged, the springs are mutually attached. A valve body that opens against the elasticity of the valve body and opens the corresponding cylindrical body opening, and by assembling the opening edge portions, a seal portion and a space portion sealed by the valve body are formed between the valve bodies. And then fit by pressing the opening edges together In coupler that, the peripheral side portion of the tubular body having an opening edge portion of the large diameter, a fluid passage for communicating the space formed when assembling the pair of cylindrical body to the outside of the coupler is provided, by connecting a pump for discharging through the solenoid valve in the fluid passage, when the state of assembling the opening edge portion with each other to form a space portion is sealed by the seal portion and the valve element between the valve body, the solenoid It lies in the so cut with discharge fluid remaining in spatial portion by the operation of the valves and pumps.

  In the coupler configured as described above, by connecting a suction device to a cylindrical body provided with a fluid passage, the fluid remaining in the space can be sucked and collected by the suction device. Further, when the pair of cylindrical bodies are removed, both the cylindrical bodies are closed by the valve bodies, so that it is possible to reliably prevent fluid from leaking from both the cylindrical bodies.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic piping diagram of a leak inspection apparatus 10 including a coupler 20 according to the embodiment. The leak inspection apparatus 10 includes a supply pipe 11 connected to a helium gas cylinder (not shown) and a supply / discharge pipe 13 connected to the supply pipe 11 via a manifold 12. The supply / discharge pipe 13 is connected to a workpiece 14 to be inspected, which is a container, via a coupler 20. The supply pipe 11 sends helium gas supplied from the helium gas cylinder to the supply / discharge pipe 13 via the manifold 12, and the supply / discharge pipe 13 sends the helium gas sent from the supply pipe 11 to the workpiece via the coupler 20. 14

  The supply pipe 11 is provided with a solenoid valve 11a for opening and closing to supply helium gas from the helium gas cylinder to the workpiece 14 and to stop the supply. Further, another pipe 15 having a solenoid valve 15 a is connected to the manifold 12, and the manifold 12 switches the connection state among the supply pipe 11, the supply / discharge pipe 13 and the pipe 15.

  A recovery pipe 16 for recovering the helium gas supplied into the workpiece 14 and the coupler 20 is branched from the supply pipe 11. The downstream side of the recovery pipe 16 has an atmospheric pressure inside the work 14 and the discharge pipe 16a that discharges helium gas into the atmosphere until the air pressure inside the work 14 and the supply / discharge pipe 13 reaches about atmospheric pressure. It branches off to the low-pressure pipe 16b that discharges helium gas into the atmosphere until the following low pressure is reached. The discharge pipe 16a is provided with a solenoid valve 16c that opens and closes, and the low-pressure pipe 16b is provided with a solenoid valve 16d that opens and closes and a pump 17.

  Therefore, by opening the solenoid valve 16c with each solenoid valve 11a, 15a, 16d closed, the helium gas inside the work 14 and the like is released to the outside of the leak inspection apparatus 10 and the atmospheric pressure inside the work 14 and the like. Can be reduced to atmospheric pressure. Further, from this state, the solenoid valve 16c is closed and the solenoid valve 16d is opened, and the pump 17 is operated, whereby the internal pressure of the workpiece 14 and the like can be further reduced. The pipe 15 and the solenoid valve 15a are used when the helium gas cylinder or the work 14 is connected to other equipment.

  The coupler 20 is connected to an air supply pipe 18 for supplying air and an air recovery pipe 19 for recovering the air. The air supply pipe 18 is provided with a solenoid valve 18a. The air recovery pipe 19 is provided with a solenoid valve 19a. The air supply pipe 18 is connected to an air supply source (not shown) via a solenoid valve 18a, and supplies air to the coupler 20 when purifying the inside of the coupler 20 and the workpiece 14. The air recovery pipe 19 communicates with the outside of the leakage inspection apparatus 10 via a solenoid valve 19a, and discharges air after purifying the inside of the coupler 20 and the work 14 to the outside. A detection unit (not shown) for detecting helium gas leaking from the work 14 is provided in the vicinity of the work 14.

  2 to 4 show a coupler 20, which is provided with a socket 20a and a plug 20b as a pair of cylindrical bodies in the present invention. The socket 20a is constituted by a cylindrical body in which a valve seat 21 as a second valve seat of the present invention is formed in the center of the inside, and the valve body 22 as a pressing valve portion of the present invention is formed on the valve seat 21. It is attached so that it can move forward and backward.

  The valve body 22 is biased to the valve seat 21 by a spring 23, and when the valve body 22 is moved backward from the valve seat 21 by pressing the head of the valve body 22 against the elasticity of the spring 23, the valve seat 21. Can be opened. Further, a notch 22a is provided in a part of the peripheral side portion of the valve body 22, and the notch 22a forms a fluid passage of the present invention, and a tip side portion (in the figure) inside the socket 20a. The left side as viewed from the valve body) and the rear end side part (the right side as viewed from the illustrated valve body) are always in communication.

  In addition, six holes are provided at regular intervals along the circumference of the tip side portion of the socket 20a, and a steel ball 24 is inserted into each hole. The hole penetrates from the outer peripheral surface of the socket 20a to the inner peripheral surface, and the opening on the inner side is set smaller than the opening on the outer side. The diameter of the steel ball 24 is set to such a size that it can pass through the outer opening of the hole and cannot pass through the inner opening.

  A cylindrical sleeve 25 is provided on the outer peripheral surface at the tip of the socket 20a. A protrusion 25a is provided along the circumference on the tip side portion of the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 25, and the steel ball 24 is urged toward the inner peripheral side of the socket 20a by the protrusion 25a. A spring 26 is provided between the inner peripheral surface on the rear end side of the sleeve 25 and the outer peripheral surface of the socket 20a, and the sleeve 25 is urged toward the front end side of the socket 20a by the spring 26.

  A stop ring 27 is provided on the outer periphery of the tip of the socket 20a, and the sleeve 25 is prevented from being detached from the socket 20a by the stop ring 27. Therefore, when the sleeve 25 is moved to the rear side of the socket 20a against the elasticity of the spring 26, the protrusion 25a comes to be located on the rear side of the socket 20a rather than the steel ball 24, and the steel ball 24 is connected to the socket 20a. It will be in the state which can move to the outer peripheral side. A groove portion is provided along the circumference of the inner peripheral surface of the socket 20a on the slightly rear end side of the steel ball 24, and an O-ring 28 as a seal portion of the present invention is provided in the groove portion. . The rear end of the socket 20a is connected to the supply / discharge pipe 13.

  The plug 20b is set in a shape and size that can be inserted and fitted into the inside of the front end side of the socket 20a, and is configured by a cylindrical body in which a valve seat 29 is formed in the front end opening (the right side opening in the drawing). Has been. A valve body 31 having the same shape as the valve body 22 is attached to the valve seat 29 so as to be able to advance and retract. The valve body 31 is biased to the valve seat 29 by a spring 32, and the valve body 31 can be retracted from the valve seat 29 by pressing the head of the valve body 31 against the elasticity of the spring 32. In addition, an engaging groove 33 that can engage with the steel ball 24 is provided along the circumference at a substantially central portion on the outer peripheral surface of the plug 20b.

  Therefore, when the sleeve 25 is moved to the rear side of the socket 20a against the elasticity of the spring 26 and the plug 20b is inserted and fitted into the socket 20a, the valve bodies 22 and 31 are pressed against each other. The springs 23 and 32 are contracted. As a result, the valve bodies 22 and 31 are both retracted from the valve seats 21 and 29, and the supply / discharge pipe 13 and the work 14 are communicated with each other. When the sleeve 25 is released in this state, the sleeve 25 moves to the distal end side of the socket 20a due to the elasticity of the spring 26, and presses the steel ball 24 into the engagement groove 33 as shown in FIG.

As a result, the socket 20a and the plug 20b are engaged, and the helium gas supplied from the helium gas cylinder can be sent to the workpiece 14. Further, when to release the engagement removed from the socket 20a of the plug 20b slightly, as shown in FIG. 4, the valve body 31 to the plug 20b in the closed state. In this state, the socket 20a and the plug 20b are still sealed with an O-ring 28, and the inside of the coupler 20 is blocked from the outside.

  When the plug 20b is further removed from the socket 20a to release the engagement, the socket 20a and the plug 20b are separated from each other and the inside of the socket 20a is exposed to the outside as shown in FIG. Further, in this case, the socket 20a is in a closed state by closing the solenoid valves 11a, 15a, 16c, and 16d because the front and rear are in communication with each other by the notch 22a. The rear end portion of the plug 20b is connected to the work 14.

  Next, a case where a leakage inspection of the workpiece 14 is performed using the leakage inspection device 10 configured as described above will be described. First, all the solenoid valves 11a and the like are closed, and the manifold 12 is operated to make the supply pipe 11 and the supply / discharge pipe 13 communicate with each other. In this state, the work 14 is placed at a predetermined inspection position, and the plug 20b attached to the work 14 and the socket 20a attached to the supply / discharge pipe 13 are engaged to obtain the state shown in FIG. Next, the solenoid valve 11 a is opened, and the helium gas supplied from the helium gas cylinder is sent into the work 14.

  At this time, if the work 14 has holes or cracks due to scratches or defects, the helium gas sent to the work 14 leaks out of the work 14 and is detected by the detection unit. If the work 14 has no defects such as scratches, the helium gas is sealed in the work 14. For this reason, the detection unit detects the presence or amount of helium gas near the surface of the work 14, and if the detected value is equal to or greater than the background value (the amount of helium gas contained in the air), the work 14 leaks. If the detected value is equal to or less than the background value, it is determined that there is no leakage in the workpiece 14.

Next, when the determination of the leakage inspection of the workpiece 14 is completed, the solenoid valve 11a is closed and the supply of helium gas is stopped. Then, the sleeve 25 is moved to the rear side to release the pressing of the steel ball 24 by the protrusion 25a. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the socket 20a and the plug 20b are pulled away from each other in a direction opposite to each other. In this state, the valve body 31 is in close contact with the valve seat 29 and the valve seat opening of the plug 20b is closed. Further, an O-ring 28 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface on the tip end side of the plug 20b, and a supply / discharge pipe in which a space formed near the contact portion of the valve bodies 31 , 22 and the inside of the socket 20a and the socket 20a are connected. 13 etc. are sealed.

In this state, by opening the solenoid valve 16c, it is discharged from the discharge pipe 16a, the external testing device 10 leaks inside the helium gas mosquitoes plug 20 and supply and discharge pipe 13. When helium gas is released from the discharge pipe 16a and the atmospheric pressure inside the coupler 20 and the like becomes substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure, the solenoid valve 16c is closed and the solenoid valve 16d is opened, and the pump 17 is operated to operate the low pressure pipe 16b side. Aspirate.

Thereby , the helium gas inside the coupler 20 and the like is further released, and the pressure inside the coupler 20 and the like becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure. Then , after the helium gas inside the coupler 20 or the like is sufficiently released, the pump 17 is stopped and the solenoid valve 16d is closed. Next, the plug 20b is removed from the socket 20a, the inspected work 14 is replaced with an uninspected work 14, and the above-described inspection is performed again. The helium gas remaining on the work 14 is released at a predetermined location.

  In this case, since all the helium gas used in the previous inspection is discharged to the outside of the leak inspection apparatus 10, there is no helium gas used in the previous inspection near the new workpiece 14. Therefore, a leak test with the same accuracy as the previous leak test can be performed at the next leak test. Further, if necessary, air is supplied from the air supply pipe 18 to the coupler 20 and the air sent into the coupler 20 is collected by the air collection pipe 19 to purify the inside of the coupler 20.

  As described above, in the leakage inspection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the notch 22a is provided in the valve body 22 and the front and rear of the socket 20a are in communication with each other. Therefore, the helium gas used in the leakage inspection is used. After the inspection is completed, it can be discharged to the outside through the notch 22a. Therefore, even if the leak inspection is repeatedly performed, there is only helium gas contained in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the work 14, and the accurate leak inspection can be repeatedly performed.

  5-7 illustrate a coupler 40 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this coupler 40, the valve body 42 of the socket 40 a is not provided with a notch, and the valve body 42 can be in close contact with the valve seat 41 to close the opening of the valve seat 41. As a result, the inside of the socket 40a can be blocked at the front and rear. In addition, a discharge pipe 45 constituting the fluid passage of the present invention is connected to a portion of the side portion of the socket 40a on the tip side of the valve seat 41. The discharge pipe 45 communicates with a discharge pump via a solenoid valve (not shown), and helium gas remaining in the coupler 40 can be discharged by the operation of the solenoid valve and the pump. .

  The rest of the configuration of the coupler 40 is the same as that of the coupler 20 described above. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts. Further, the coupler 40 is used by being replaced with the coupler 20 of the leakage inspection apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 and being attached to the leakage inspection apparatus.

  When performing a leak inspection of the workpiece 14 using the leak inspection apparatus including the coupler 40 configured in this way, the solenoid valve provided in the discharge pipe 45 is closed and the above-described leakage inspection apparatus 10 is used. Perform the same operation as the leak test. That is, the coupler 40 is brought into the state shown in FIG. 6 by fitting the socket 40a and the plug 20b from the state shown in FIG. Next, the solenoid valve 11a is opened, the helium gas supplied from the helium gas cylinder is sent into the work 14, and the helium gas leaking outside from the work 14 is detected by the detection unit to perform a leak inspection.

  When the leak inspection of the workpiece 14 is completed, the sleeve 25 is moved to the rear side, and the pressing of the steel ball 24 by the protrusion 25a is released. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the socket 40a and the plug 20b are pulled away from each other in a direction opposite to each other. In this state, the valve body 31 is in close contact with the valve seat 29 and the valve seat opening of the plug 20b is closed, and the valve body 42 is in close contact with the valve seat 41 and the valve seat opening of the socket 40a is closed. Further, the O-ring 28 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface on the front end side of the plug 20b, and the space formed in the vicinity of the contact portion of the valve bodies 31 and 42 is sealed.

  Next, the solenoid valve of the discharge pipe 45 is opened and the pump is operated to discharge the helium gas remaining in the space between the valve bodies 31 and 42 to the outside. Then, after the helium gas in the space is sufficiently released, the plug 20b is removed from the socket 40a. Then, after the helium gas remaining in the socket 40a and the supply / exhaust pipe 13 is discharged to the outside through the recovery pipe 16 and the like, the inspected work 14 is replaced with the uninspected work 14, and the above-described inspection is performed again. . Also in this case, since all of the helium gas used in the previous inspection is released to the outside of the leakage inspection apparatus 10, there is no inspection helium gas in the vicinity of the new workpiece 14. Therefore, an accurate inspection can be performed also in the next leak inspection.

  Each embodiment according to the present invention can be modified as appropriate. For example, in the coupler 20 described above, the valve body 22 is movable via a spring 23. However, the valve body 22 may be fixed to the socket 20a or formed integrally with the socket 20a. Good. According to this, the structure of the socket 20a is simplified and manufacture becomes easy. Further, in the coupler 20, the notch 22 a is provided in the valve body 22, but a through hole along the central axis of the valve body 22 may be provided instead of the notch 22 a.

  This also makes it possible to recover the helium gas remaining in the coupler 20. Furthermore, a notch part may be provided in the valve seat 21 to constitute a fluid passage. In addition, the valve body 31 may be provided with a notch portion without providing the notch portion 22a. In this case, the socket 20 a is connected to the work 14 and the plug 20 b is connected to the supply / discharge pipe 13.

  In addition, as a gas for leak inspection, various gases such as water vapor, hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide gas, carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, argon gas, carbon monoxide gas, methane gas may be used instead of helium gas. it can. In this case, the detection part according to each gas to be used is used. Further, the leak inspection is not limited to the inspection by the sniffer method, and may be a leak inspection using a trace gas and a reference gas. Further, the couplers 20 and 40 of the present invention can be used for pipe connection not only in the leak inspection apparatus but also in various inspection apparatuses and other apparatuses.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although illustrated with the leak inspection apparatus by gas, if it is a fluid distribution apparatus which distribute | circulates a fluid, it is applicable. The fluid circulation device includes an inspection device for leakage due to fluid, a supply device for supplying fluid to a connection device such as an inspection work for inspection, a discharge device for extracting the fluid from the connection device, and the like. In this embodiment, gas such as helium is used as the fluid. However, the fluid is not limited to gas, and may be applied to an apparatus using liquid. Further, although the work side is configured to be provided with an opening / closing portion in the coupler, a valve may be provided in the work side piping.

  The workpiece may be a pipe for a radiator or an air conditioner to hold the fluid, or may store a fluid such as a gasoline tank, and if it can hold the fluid, its structure Is not limited. In this embodiment, a discharge path is provided on the leakage test apparatus side in the first embodiment, and a discharge path is provided on the coupler in the second embodiment. However, a valve that opens and closes the pipe in the middle of the work side pipe. And a discharge path may be provided in the path on the coupler opening side.

  Furthermore, the coupler valve is configured to be in a closed state by a spring and to be in an open state by pressing against the spring, but a member that controls the opening and closing of the valve on the side having the coupler valve. May be provided. In that case, it is only necessary to detect the engagement of the coupler and control the opening and closing of the valve. Moreover, you may make it switch a closed state and an open state by manual operation, and may use an electric valve etc.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although it comprised so that a valve body might be pressed with a spring, what is necessary is just to be able to generate | occur | produce the force which opens and closes an opening part even if it is not a spring. For example, the air cylinder structure may be used to switch between a pressed state and a non-pressed state by sending and removing air from the outside, and a rubber-like member may be used as long as it is an elastic member. Good. Moreover, you may make it switch an open state and a closed state between a valve body and a valve seat by switching a suction state and a non-suction state even if it is not a press.

It is a schematic piping diagram of the leak inspection apparatus provided with the coupler which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state from which the socket and plug of the coupler which concern on one Embodiment of this invention were removed. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fitted the socket and plug of the coupler shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the engagement between the socket and the plug of the coupler shown in FIG. 3 is released and a space is formed between the valve bodies. It is sectional drawing which shows the state from which the socket and plug of the coupler which concern on other embodiment of this invention were removed. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fitted the socket and plug of the coupler shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the engagement between the socket and the plug of the coupler shown in FIG. 6 is released and a space is formed between the valve bodies.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Leak inspection apparatus, 20, 40 ... Coupler, 20a, 40a ... Socket, 21, 29, 41 ... Valve seat, 22, 31, 42 ... Valve body, 22a ... Notch part, 23, 32 ... Spring, 28 ... O-ring, 45 ... discharge pipe.

Claims (1)

A detachable pair that allows fluid to pass from one to the other by fitting the opening edges of a cylindrical body having a large-diameter opening edge and a cylindrical body having a small-diameter opening edge. A cylindrical body,
A sealing portion for sealing between the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter opening edge and the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter opening edge;
Provided in each of the pair of cylindrical bodies, the elasticity of the spring closes the opening of the attached cylindrical body, and resists the elasticity of the spring when the pair of cylindrical bodies are engaged. And a valve body that presses and opens the corresponding cylindrical body opening,
In the coupler which forms the space part sealed by the seal part and the valve body between the valve bodies by assembling the opening edge parts, and further fits the opening edge parts by pressing each other. ,
The peripheral side portion of the tubular body having an opening edge portion of the front Stories large diameter, provided with fluid passages for communicating the space which is formed when assembling the pair of cylindrical bodies outside the coupler,
By connecting a discharge pump to the fluid passage via a solenoid valve , the opening edges are assembled together to form a space portion sealed between the valve bodies by the seal portion and the valve body. coupler when, characterized in that the fluid remaining in the prior SL space by the operation of the solenoid valve and the pump to cut with release.

Images