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KR-20260064702-A - Connector for connecting the first fluid line to the second fluid line

KR20260064702AKR 20260064702 AKR20260064702 AKR 20260064702AKR-20260064702-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plug-in connector (1) for connecting a first fluid line (2) to a second fluid line (3), wherein an outer sleeve (5) is provided and an inner sleeve (4) having two locking jaws (6) is provided, wherein the locking jaws (6) are in a standby position at the initial position of the outer sleeve (5) and are in a locked position at the engaging position of the outer sleeve (5), and the outer sleeve (5) comprises a snap-in member (9) having a first snap-in section (10) accommodated between two adjacent locking jaws (6) and two second snap-in sections (11) connected to the first snap-in section (10), wherein the first snap-in section (10) has an operating protrusion (12), and the second snap-in sections (11) each have a snap-in protrusion (13) having a snap-in end face (13a) facing the first inner sleeve end (4a), and the locking jaws (6) each have a first stop The operating section (14) includes an end face (15a) and a second stop end face (16a), and the snap-in face (13a) contacts the second stop end face (16a) at the initial position of the outer sleeve (5), and the operating protrusion (12) can be displaced radially outward by the retaining section (8) when connecting the fluid line (2), so that the snap-in protrusion (13) can be released from the second stop end face (16a) and the outer sleeve (5) can be moved to an engaging position where the snap-in end face (13a) contacts the first stop end face (15a).

Inventors

  • 호페 마빈

Assignees

  • 헨 게엠베하 운트 콤파니 카게.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20240903
Priority Date
20230904

Claims (20)

  1. A plug-in connector (1) for connecting the first fluid line (2) to the second fluid line (3), A plug-in connector (1) comprises an inner sleeve (4) having an open first inner sleeve end (4a) and an open second inner sleeve end (4b) connected to the first inner sleeve end, and an outer sleeve (5) surrounding the inner sleeve (4), wherein the outer sleeve (5) is movable between an initial position and an engaging position with respect to the inner sleeve (4), and the inner sleeve (4) comprises a first connecting section (V1) for connecting a first fluid line (2) in the area of the first inner sleeve end (4a) and a second connecting section (V2) for connecting a second fluid line (3) in the area of the second inner sleeve end (4b), wherein the plug-in connector The first connecting section (V1) comprises at least two locking jaws (6) spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction, and the locking jaws (6) are positioned at the initial position of the outer sleeve (5) in a standby position where the first fluid line (2) can be inserted into the first inner sleeve end (4a), and are positioned at the engaging position of the outer sleeve (5) in a locking position where the retaining section (8) of the first fluid line (2) can be locked into the inner sleeve (4), and the outer sleeve (5) comprises at least one snap-in member (9) having a first snap-in section (10) received between two adjacent locking jaws (6) of the inner sleeve (4) in the circumferential direction and two second snap-in sections (11) connected to the first snap-in section (10), wherein the first snap-in section (10) comprises an operating protrusion (12), and the second snap-in sections (11) each have a snap-in end surface (13a) facing the first inner sleeve end (4a). Each locking jaw (6) includes a snap-in protrusion (13), and each locking jaw (6) has at least one operating section (14) on an outer circumferential surface, and the operating section (14) includes a first stop protrusion (15) having a first stop end surface (15a) and a second stop protrusion (16) having a second stop end surface (16a), and the snap-in end surface (13a) of the snap-in protrusion (13) contacts the second stop end surface (16a) of the second stop protrusion (16) at the initial position of the outer sleeve (5), and when the first fluid line (2) is inserted into the first inner sleeve end (4a), the operating protrusion (12) can be displaced radially outward by the retaining section (8) so that the snap-in protrusion (13) is released from the second stop protrusion (16) and the outer sleeve (5) can move from the initial position to the engaging position, and at the engaging position of the snap-in protrusion (13) A plug-in connector characterized in that the snap-in end surface (13a) contacts the first stop end surface (15a) of the first stop protrusion (15).
  2. In paragraph 1, A plug-in connector characterized in that the outer sleeve (5) is movable longitudinally along the inner sleeve (4) between an initial position and an engaging position, and/or at the initial position of the outer sleeve (5), the first inner sleeve end (4a) of the inner sleeve (4) protrudes beyond the first outer sleeve end (5a) of the outer sleeve (5).
  3. In paragraph 1 or 2, A plug-in connector characterized in that each locking jaw (6) has a free first jaw end (6a) in contact with a first inner sleeve end (4a) and an opposite second jaw end (6b) connected to the inner sleeve (4), the first jaw end (6a) is radially movable relative to the second jaw end (6b) between a standby position and a locking position, and each locking jaw (6) has a circumferential groove (7) on an inner circumferential surface, the circumferential groove is positioned between the first jaw end (6a) and the second jaw end (6a), and the circumferential groove (7) is configured to accommodate a retaining section (8) of a first fluid line (2) in a shape-fit manner at the locking position of the locking jaw (6).
  4. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 3, A plug-in connector characterized in that at least one snap-in member (9) is disposed on the inner circumferential surface of an outer sleeve (5), has a free first snap-in member end (9a) facing the first inner sleeve end (4a) and an opposite second snap-in member end (9b) connected to the inner circumferential surface of the outer sleeve (5), and the first snap-in member end (9a) is radially movable relative to the second snap-in member end (9b).
  5. In paragraph 4, A plug-in connector characterized in that the operating protrusion (12) of the first snap-in member end (9a) includes a first operating chamfer (29) configured to interact with a retaining section (8) of the first fluid line (2) to displace the operating protrusion (12) when the first fluid line (2) is inserted into the first inner sleeve end (4a), and/or the operating protrusion (12) includes a second operating chamfer (30) on the side facing the second snap-in member end (9b), and the second operating chamfer (30) is configured to interact with a retaining section (8) of the first fluid line (2) to displace the operating protrusion (12) when the first fluid line (2) is removed from the first inner sleeve end (4a).
  6. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 5, A plug-in connector characterized in that a first snap-in section (10) is positioned centrally between two second snap-in sections (11) in the circumferential direction and includes a first snap-in member end (9a), an operating protrusion (12) is provided to the first snap-in section (10) in the area of the first snap-in member end (9a), and a snap-in protrusion (13) of the second snap-in section (11) is positioned between the operating protrusion (12) and the second snap-in member end (9b) in the longitudinal direction.
  7. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 6, A plug-in connector characterized by being provided with at least three, preferably at least four, locking jaws (6) and/or at least two snap-in members (9).
  8. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 7, A plug-in connector characterized in that the operating section (14) of the locking jaw (6) includes a sliding surface (17) connecting the first stop end surface (15a) to the second stop end surface (16a), and the sliding surface (17) includes a restraining surface (17a) inclined in the direction of the first jaw end (6a).
  9. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 8, A plug-in connector characterized in that the inner sleeve (4) is made of plastic, the locking jaw (6) is formed integrally with the inner sleeve (4), and the first jaw end (6a) can be elastically bent between the locking position and the standby position, and/or the outer sleeve (5) is made of plastic, and at least one snap-in member (9) is formed integrally with the outer sleeve (5), and the first snap-in member end (9a) can be elastically bent radially with respect to the second snap-in member end (9b).
  10. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, The outer sleeve (5) is movable with respect to the inner sleeve (4) from an engaged position through an initial position to an unlocked position, and the first snap-in section (10) of at least one snap-in member (9) includes a first wedge surface (18) on each side facing each other in the circumferential direction, and the first wedge surface (18) converges toward the second inner sleeve end (4b), and the locking jaw (6) receiving the first snap-in section (10) in between includes a second wedge surface (19) on each side facing each other in the circumferential direction, and the second wedge surface (19) converges toward the second inner sleeve end (4b), and the first wedge surface (18) interacts with the second wedge surface (19) while the outer sleeve (5) moves from the initial position to the unlocked position to open the locking jaw (6) from the standby position to the unlocked position, thereby locking the first fluid line (2), in particular, the shape-fitting reception of the retaining section (8) in the circumferential groove (7) is completely A plug-in connector characterized by being configured to be releaseable.
  11. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 10, The outer sleeve (5) is movable with respect to the inner sleeve (4) from an engaging position through an initial position to an unlocked position, and at least one extension protrusion (20) is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the outer sleeve (5), the extension protrusion (20) is received between two adjacent locking jaws (6) in the circumferential direction, and the extension protrusion (20) includes a first wedge surface (18) on each side facing each other in the circumferential direction, and the first wedge surface (18) converges toward the second inner sleeve end (4b), and the locking jaws (6) receiving the extension protrusion (20) each include a second wedge surface (19) on each side facing each other in the circumferential direction, and the second wedge surface (19) converges toward the second inner sleeve end (4b), and the first wedge surface (18) interacts with the second wedge surface (19) while the outer sleeve (5) moves from the initial position to the unlocked position to open the locking jaws (6) from the standby position to the unlocked position, and the first A plug-in connector characterized by being configured such that the locking of the fluid line (2), particularly the shape-fit type acceptance in the circumferential groove (7), can be completely released.
  12. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 11, A plug-in connector (1) comprises at least one spring member (21) configured to apply an operating force to an outer sleeve (5) in an initial position, wherein the force is directed toward a first inner sleeve end (4a).
  13. In Paragraph 12, A plug-in connector characterized in that the spring member (21) preferably includes a coil spring that surrounds the inner sleeve (4) in the area of the second jaw end (6b) of the lock jaw (6).
  14. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 13, A plug-in connector characterized in that the second connecting section (V2) of the inner sleeve (4) includes a sealing device (22) configured to form a seal between the first fluid line (2) and the second fluid line (3).
  15. In Paragraph 14, A plug-in connector characterized by comprising at least two sealing rings (23) and a spacer member (24) disposed between the sealing rings (23), wherein the inner circumferential surface of the sealing ring (23) is configured to contact the outer circumferential surface of the end portion of the first fluid line (2), and the outer circumferential surface of the sealing ring (23) is configured to contact the inner circumferential surface of the end portion of the second fluid line (3).
  16. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 15, A plug-in connector characterized in that each locking jaw (6) includes an insertion surface (28) inclined in the direction of the first inner sleeve end (4a) on an inner circumferential surface in the region of the first inner sleeve end (4a), preferably in the region of the first jaw end (6a).
  17. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 16, A plug-in connector characterized in that a second connection section (V2) comprises a plurality of preferably flexible connection tabs (25) spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction, wherein the connection tabs (25) surround a receiving space for receiving an end section of a second fluid line (3), and each connection tab (25) is provided with a locking opening (26), wherein the locking opening (26) is configured to penetrate the connection tab (25) radially and interact with a corresponding locking protrusion (27) of the second fluid line (3) to lock the second fluid line (3) to an inner sleeve (4), and/or a locking protrusion is provided on the inner circumferential surface of each connection tab (25), wherein the locking protrusion is configured to interact with a corresponding locking opening of the second fluid line (3) to lock the second fluid line to an inner sleeve (4).
  18. A plug-in connector assembly comprising a plug-in connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, a first fluid line (2) connectable to or connected to a first connection section (V1), and/or a second fluid line (3) connectable to or connected to a second connection section (V2). A plug-in connector assembly characterized in that the first fluid line (2) includes a retaining section (8) on the outer side to lock the first fluid line (2) to the inner sleeve (4) of the plug-in connector (1), the plug-in connector (1) is preferably formed according to claim 3, and the retaining section (8) preferably has a circumferential bead that can be received in a shape-fit manner in the circumferential groove (7) of the locking jaw (6) of the inner sleeve (4).
  19. For use in a plug-in connector according to any one of paragraphs 1 through 17, A first fluid line (2) including a retaining section (8) on the outer side is inserted into the open first inner sleeve end (4a) of the inner sleeve (4), and when the first fluid line (2) is inserted, the operating protrusion (12) of at least one snap-in member (9) is displaced radially outward by the retaining section (8), so that the snap-in protrusion (13) of the snap-in member (9) is released from the second stop protrusion (16) of the operating section (14) of the locking jaw (6) of the inner sleeve (4), and preferably, the outer sleeve (5) is moved from the initial position to the engaging position by the operating force of the spring member (21), and the snap-in end surface (13a) of the snap-in protrusion (13) of the snap-in member (9) contacts the first stop end surface (15a) of the first stop protrusion (15) of the operating section (14) of the locking jaw (6), and the first jaw end (6a) of the locking jaw (6) is respectively in position The use of a plug-in connector is characterized in that the retaining section (8) of the first fluid line (2) is locked into the inner sleeve (4), preferably using a plug-in connector (1) according to claim 3, and the retaining section (8) preferably has a circumferential bead that is received in a shape-fit manner in the circumferential groove (7) of the locking jaw (6) of the inner sleeve (4).
  20. In Paragraph 19, The plug-in connector (1) is formed according to claim 10 or 11, and Use of a plug-in connector characterized in that the outer sleeve (5) moves from an engaging position to an initial position and then to a release position with respect to the inner sleeve (4), and the first wedge surface (18) of the first snap-in section (10) of at least one snap-in member (9) and/or the first wedge surface (18) of at least one extension protrusion (20) interact with the second wedge surface (19) of the locking jaw (6) so that the locking jaw (6) opens from a standby position to a release position and the retaining section (8) of the first fluid line (2) can be released from the inner sleeve (4).

Description

Connector for connecting the first fluid line to the second fluid line The present invention relates to a plug-in connector for connecting a first fluid line to a second fluid line, wherein the plug-in connector comprises an inner sleeve having an open first inner sleeve end and an open second inner sleeve end connected to the first inner sleeve end, and an outer sleeve surrounding the inner sleeve, wherein the outer sleeve is movable relative to the inner sleeve between an initial position and an engaging position, and the inner sleeve has a first connecting section for connecting a first fluid line in the area of the first inner sleeve end and a second connecting section for connecting a second fluid line in the area of the second inner sleeve end. The present invention relates to a plug-in connector assembly and the use of the plug-in connector. Universal plug-in connectors are used in various industrial fields to connect two fluid lines, preferably in a sealed manner. This is typically done as part of the assembly process for specific fluid-carrying products. Depending on the specific application area and the fluid used, the fluid lines can be rigid pipes or flexible hoses. However, the fluid lines may also be integrated into components. The fluids used can be gaseous or liquid media. Gaseous media may include, for example, (compressed) air or specific process gases. For example, water, lubricating oil, cooling water, refrigerants, etc., are used as liquid media. During the product assembly process, for example, it may be necessary to connect a first fluid line or fluid port of a component being assembled to the corresponding fluid line or fluid port of an existing product. As the efficiency of the production process increases, the processing time of the assembly process is also generally shortened. As a result, the time available for individual assembly steps is decreasing. Therefore, in addition to high reliability, it is desirable to use plug-in connectors to quickly connect fluid lines. Typically, one side of the plug-in connector is directly connected to one of the two fluid lines, while the other fluid line is first connected to a plug-in sleeve. To connect the two lines, the plug-in sleeve is ultimately coupled to the plug-in connector in a releaseable manner. General connectors are disclosed, for example, in EP 1 955 413 B1, EP 3 286 477 B1 and EP 3 379 129 B1. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plug-in connector assembly having a plug-in connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view and two detailed views of the inner sleeve of a plug-in connector. FIG. 3 is a perspective view and a detailed view of the outer sleeve of a plug-in connector. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plug-in connector assembly in which the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in the initial position. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a plug-in connector assembly, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is between the initial position and the engagement position. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plug-in connector assembly in which the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in an engaging position. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a plug-in connector assembly, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in a released position. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of the second snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in the initial position. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the region of a first snap-in section, where the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in its initial position. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of a second snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in a first position between an initial position and an engaging position. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of a first snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in a first position between an initial position and an engaging position. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of the second snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in an engaging position. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of the first snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in an engaging position. FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of the second snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plug-in connector is in a released position. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a plug-in connector assembly in the area of the first snap-in section, wherein the outer sleeve of the plu