Pipeline socket type spherical universal joint connector

Abstract

The invention discloses a pipeline socket type spherical universal joint, which belongs to the technical field of pipeline connection, comprises a socket component and a spigot component which are connected through a bolt, and is characterized in that a sphere is arranged on one side, close to the socket component, of the spigot component; a ball body sealing ring is arranged in the middle of the ball body, and four first bolt holes are formed in the ball body sealing ring; a spherical shell is arranged on the side, close to the spigot component, of the socket component, and a first cavity sealing ring and a second cavity sealing ring are arranged in the spherical shell. The pipeline socket type spherical universal joint connector provided by the invention effectively solves the problem of connector application under the effects of differential settlement, earthquake two-way action and earthquake liquefaction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of pipeline connection, in particular to a pipeline socket-and-spigot type spherical universal joint. Background Art

[0002] Earthquakes are one of the most common natural disasters that damage urban buildings and pipelines. Over 74 percent of my country's cities are located in areas with a seismic intensity of 7 or higher. Due to their widespread distribution, water pipelines inevitably need to be installed through areas with complex geological conditions (such as faults, landslides, and subsidence). The relative displacement between the pipe and the soil caused by earthquakes exerts tremendous pressure on the pipe, damaging even high-strength pipelines. Therefore, the development of seismic-resistant flexible pipe joints is urgently needed to ensure urban safety and the stability of people's lives.

[0003] Current pipe joints are primarily categorized into two types: rigid joints and flexible joints. Rigid joints are characterized by a fixed connection between the components, making relative movement difficult. Rigid joints typically consist of fixed connection elements such as bolts, pins, pivot pins, and flanges. These rigid joints are less adaptable to foundation deformation and earthquakes.

[0004] A flexible joint refers to a connection method between connectors that has a certain degree of deformation and flexure. It can adapt to complex movement and flexure scenarios. In my country's high-intensity earthquake-prone areas or areas where the soil is soft and easily compressed and large-scale settlement occurs, flexible joints are needed when placing pipes to ensure the applicability and safety of the pipes. However, the problems with flexible pipe joints today include: fatigue aging of the joint material under multiple external effects, failure to meet fatigue deformation requirements, and loose joints that lead to instantaneous leakage when reaching the critical point. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pipe socket type spherical universal joint, which solves the problems mentioned in the background technology by expanding the deformation range of the joint and avoiding using the strength of the joint material itself to cope with deformation.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint, comprising a socket component and a plug component, the socket component and the plug component being connected by bolts, a sphere being provided on the side of the plug component close to the socket component, a spherical sealing ring being provided in the middle of the sphere, and four first bolt holes being provided on the spherical sealing ring; a spherical shell being provided on the side of the socket component close to the socket component, a first cavity sealing ring and a second cavity sealing ring being provided inside the spherical shell.

[0007] Preferably, a second bolt hole is provided at one end of the spherical shell close to the socket component.

[0008] Preferably, the spherical shell includes a sloped shell and a planar shell connected to the sloped shell.

[0009] Preferably, the first cavity sealing ring is arranged on a side of the inclined shell close to the planar shell, and the second cavity sealing ring is arranged in the middle of the planar shell.

[0010] Preferably, an opening is provided at one end of the sphere close to the socket component.

[0011] Therefore, the present invention adopts the above-mentioned pipe socket type spherical universal joint, which has the following beneficial effects: (1) Both ends of the sphere and the spherical shell are rigid groove clamps to ensure a tight connection between the pipe and the pipe joint; (2) Adding a first cavity sealing ring and a second cavity sealing ring in the cavity of the spherical shell to improve the sealing between the sphere and the spherical shell and avoid leakage during transportation; (3) The sphere can move unhindered inside the shell and is highly flexible; (4) Solved the joint application problems under uneven settlement, bidirectional earthquake action, and earthquake liquefaction.

[0012] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below through the accompanying drawings and embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a side view of a socket component of a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a side view of the socket component of a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint of the present invention; Figure 4 This is an isometric view of the socket component of a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint of the present invention; Figure 5 This is an isometric view of a socket component of a pipe socket-type spherical universal joint according to the present invention; Reference numerals 1. Socket component; 2. Socket component; 3. Bolt; 4. Sphere; 5. Sphere sealing ring; 6. First bolt hole; 7. Spherical shell; 71. Inclined shell; 72. Plane shell; 8. First cavity sealing ring; 9. Second cavity sealing ring; 10. Second bolt hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0015] See also Figure 1-Figure 5 A pipe socket type spherical universal joint includes a socket component 1 and a socket component 2, the socket component 1 and the socket component 2 are connected by a bolt 3, a sphere 4 is provided on the side of the socket component 2 close to the socket component 1, a sphere sealing ring 5 is provided in the middle of the sphere 4, four first bolt holes 6 are provided on the sphere sealing ring 5, and an opening is provided on the end of the sphere 4 close to the socket component 1.

[0016] A spherical shell 7 is provided on the side of the socket part 1 close to the plug part 2, and a first cavity sealing ring 8 and a second cavity sealing ring 9 are provided inside the spherical shell 7. The first cavity sealing ring 8 is provided on the side of the inclined shell close to the plane shell, and the second cavity sealing ring 9 is provided in the middle of the plane shell.

[0017] A second bolt hole 10 is provided on the end of the spherical shell 7 near the socket 2. The spherical shell 7 comprises a sloped shell 71 and a planar shell 72 connected to the sloped shell 71. The spherical shell 7 and the ball 4 form a spherical universal joint. The ball 4 is partially restrained by three constraints: the first cavity seal 8, the second cavity seal 9, and the ball seal ring 5. The opening of the ball 4 is within the cavity of the sloped shell 71.

[0018] The structural composition of the spherical universal joint mainly consists of two parts: the sphere 4 and the ball shell 7. The ball head can move unhindered in two directions in the ball seat, and is highly flexible and free. The flexible pipe joint provided in this embodiment is made according to the ball head joint structure. Both ends of the ball head and ball seat are rigid groove clamps to ensure a tight connection between the pipe and the pipe joint. Bolts 3 are used to connect the left and right shells. The spherical universal joint is made of ductile iron. Moreover, the special geometric shape of the ball can achieve unlimited rotational displacement. This form of movement enables the spherical joint to withstand multi-directional forces and torques, thereby adapting to the deformation of the pipe. Moreover, the contact area between the ball body 4 joint and the cavity of the ball shell 7 is large and the stress is uniform.

[0019] When subjected to external forces, the joints at both ends of the pipe operate in two states: First, in an "elastic operating state," they can withstand external loads by angularly displacing the sphere 4. The aforementioned spherical universal joint has a large angular displacement limit, so the joint operates in the "elastic state" most of the time. However, if the spherical universal joint's displacement angle reaches its maximum limit, it enters a "strength state," meaning that internal stress within the joint reaches its ultimate stress, leading to failure.

[0020] In order to enable the ball 4 to move freely inside the cavity of the spherical shell 7 in this pipe joint, a first cavity sealing ring 8 and a second cavity sealing ring 9 are added, thereby enabling the ball 4 to rotate freely inside the spherical shell 7.

[0021] When the medium flows through the spherical universal joint, the first cavity sealing ring 8, the second cavity sealing ring 9 and the ball sealing ring 5 will play a sealing role. The spherical body 4 is equivalent to a hollow ball with a certain thickness, which can move freely in both directions inside the cavity of the spherical shell 7.

[0022] The spherical sealing ring is a metal sphere sealing ring 5 made of a smooth metal material, which is connected and fixed in the bolt 3 hole with a bolt 3 and a nut, and the ball 4 part can move freely inside the fixing ring.

[0023] When the pipeline is displaced vertically and horizontally by external forces, the sphere 4 rotates inside the cavity of the spherical shell 7 and displaces to adapt to foundation deformation and earthquake effects.

[0024] The sphere 4 is a hollow sphere 4, allowing the conveying medium to pass through it. In order to prevent leakage during the conveying process, sealing rings should be added on the left and right sides of the connector, and a conveying test should be carried out to verify its sealing performance.

[0025] Therefore, the present invention adopts the above-mentioned pipe socket-type spherical universal joint. When large-scale uneven settlement occurs on the ground, the pipeline will deviate from the initial equilibrium position due to the uneven settlement and the self-weight stress of the uneven soil layer. This flexible joint can deflect, and the superposition of the deflection displacement between multiple flexible pipe sections balances the tensile, compressive and shear stresses at the joint, so that the joint will not suffer strength damage under external action, effectively solving the joint application problems under uneven settlement, bidirectional action of earthquakes, and earthquake liquefaction.

[0026] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify or replace the technical solutions of the present invention with equivalents, and these modifications or equivalent replacements cannot cause the modified technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A pipe socket-type spherical universal joint, comprising a socket component and a spigot component, wherein the socket component and the spigot component are connected by bolts, characterized in that: A sphere is arranged on the side of the socket component close to the socket component, a sphere sealing ring is arranged in the middle of the sphere, and four first bolt holes are arranged on the sphere sealing ring; a spherical shell is arranged on the side of the socket component close to the socket component, and a first cavity sealing ring and a second cavity sealing ring are arranged inside the spherical shell.

2. A pipe socket type spherical universal joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: A second bolt hole corresponding to the first bolt hole is provided at one end of the spherical shell close to the socket component.

3. A pipe socket type spherical universal joint according to claim 2, characterized in that: The spherical shell includes an inclined shell and a planar shell connected to the inclined shell.

4. A pipe socket type spherical universal joint according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first cavity sealing ring is arranged on a side of the inclined shell close to the planar shell, and the second cavity sealing ring is arranged in the middle of the planar shell.

5. The pipe socket type spherical universal joint according to claim 4, characterized in that: An opening is arranged at one end of the sphere close to the socket component.

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