Valve coupling device for fluid-carrying lines

Abstract

Coupling device for fluid-carrying lines, comprising - a first coupling piece (1) connected to a first fluid connection (3) with a self-closing valve (4, 5, 6); - a second coupling piece (2) which can be detachably connected to the first coupling piece (1) and has a second fluid connection (7) and a valve actuation (8);wherein the valve actuator (8) acts on the valve (4, 5, 6) when the coupling pieces (1, 2) are connected and thus opens a flow path (9, 10, 11) between the first fluid connection (3) and the second fluid connection (7), and wherein the coupling pieces (1, 2) are designed such that they can be connected by simply being pushed together in a translational manner in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device and can be separated by simply being pulled apart in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, characterized in that the valve (4, 5, 6) comprises a valve body (5) which, in a position retracted into its sealing seat (6), extends partially out of the first coupling piece (1), and the part (13) of the valve body (5) protruding from the first coupling piece (1) has an outer contour that is bevelled relative to the longitudinal direction of the coupling device.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a coupling device for fluid-carrying lines that enables easy separation and reconnection of line sections. A fluid-tight connection of the line sections is achieved by simply bringing two coupling pieces of the coupling device together in a translational manner. A valve that is closed when the coupling pieces are separated is opened when the coupling pieces are brought together, thus clearing the flow path between the line sections.

[0002] In the field of utility engineering, the ability to connect and disconnect two fluid-carrying pipe sections is a recurring task and is addressed by countless technical solutions, depending on additional requirements. For example, connecting and coupling devices used in drinking water supplies must meet high standards in terms of robustness, maintainability, and hygiene, so that harmful contamination of the drinking water by foreign bodies, dirt, or even germs can be ruled out. As such coupling devices and their associated components become increasingly complex, the effort required for operation and maintenance generally increases, while their susceptibility to contamination or microbial contamination increases.From US 4 700 743 A, US 2005 / 0 164 538 A1 and DE 42 22 193 A1 couplings for fluid-carrying lines according to the preamble of independent patent claim 1 are known.

[0003] It is the object of the present invention to provide a coupling device for fluid-carrying lines, in particular drinking water lines, which is easy to operate and maintain.

[0004] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claim. The subclaims define preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0005] The coupling device proposed according to the present invention therefore comprises - a first coupling piece connected to a first fluid connection with a self-closing valve; - a second coupling piece, which can be detachably connected to the first coupling piece and has a second fluid connection and a valve actuation; wherein the valve actuation acts on the valve in the connected state of the coupling pieces and thus opens a flow path between the first fluid connection and the second fluid connection, and wherein the coupling pieces are designed such that they can be connected by means of a mere translational pushing together in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device and can be separated by means of a mere pulling apart in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device.According to the invention, the valve comprises a valve body which, in a position retracted into its sealing seat, extends partially out of the first coupling piece, wherein the part of the valve body protruding from the first coupling piece has an outer contour which is bevelled with respect to a vertical direction, in particular an outer contour which converges towards the top and is in particular conical.

[0006] In other words, the coupling device comprises two complementary coupling pieces, each connected to a corresponding connection of a fluid-carrying component, such as a water pipe. While a first coupling piece has a valve that is closed in the rest position to shut off the corresponding fluid connection when the coupling pieces are separated, the second coupling piece has a valve actuator designed to actuate the valve, which moves the valve from its closed position to an open position as soon as the coupling pieces are connected or are connected to one another. Consequently, the valve closes again automatically as soon as the coupling pieces are separated and the valve actuator no longer acts on the valve.

[0007] Furthermore, the coupling device or coupling pieces are designed such that a fluid-tight connection between the coupling pieces is achieved solely by translationally pushing the coupling pieces together, whereby the coupling pieces can also be separated again simply by pulling them apart. Therefore, for the creation and dissolution of the fluid-tight connection between the coupling pieces, no relative movement of the coupling pieces beyond the pure translational movement of the coupling pieces to one another is required, as is the case with a bayonet connection or a screw connection. The connection between the coupling pieces could therefore be referred to as a plug-in connection. Thus, the coupling pieces themselves do not have any designed devices by means of which they are held in position relative to one another, such as positive locking connections.Despite the fact that the coupling pieces can be connected and separated again by a simple translational relative movement, the coupling device for connecting and separating the coupling pieces does not need to be accessible to personnel or tools, which would be the case, for example, for releasing a positive connection formed between the coupling pieces. Handling the coupling device according to the invention is therefore significantly simplified. The coupling pieces can be brought together and separated again from a remote position, for example by means of an actuating rod acting on one of the coupling pieces, without requiring any movement beyond a purely translational relative movement of the coupling pieces.

[0008] According to the invention, the valve body protrudes from the first coupling piece when the latter is not connected to the second coupling piece, and the valve body is thus no longer protected or shielded from the environment by the latter. To prevent foreign bodies from accumulating on the exposed valve body during separation of the coupling pieces, the surface of the valve body protruding from the first coupling piece and thus exposed is designed in such a way that foreign bodies falling onto the valve body cannot at least settle on the valve body. After the coupling pieces are reconnected, the valve body ends up in the flow path of the fluid and would thus introduce the foreign bodies into the fluid flow.To prevent this, significant surface sections, or even the entire exposed surface of the valve body, are positioned relative to the vertical so that foreign bodies cannot become stuck on the surface due to gravity.

[0009] According to one embodiment, at least one or even all of the sealing elements sealing the flow path between the first coupling piece and the second coupling piece are assigned to the second coupling piece and can be separated from the first coupling piece together with the second coupling piece. The at least one seal that seals fluid-tight between the coupling pieces is thus assigned to the coupling piece that does not have the valve. Since the line that is pressurized and is to be blocked off by the valve when the coupling pieces are separated usually remains in its possibly inaccessible installed position, the inventive arrangement of the at least one seal on the second coupling device, which is movable relative to the first coupling device and can thus also be removed from the installed position, ensures that the at least one seal can be easily checked, maintained, or replaced elsewhere.

[0010] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the first coupling piece has a particularly conical outer contour that is beveled relative to a vertical direction or the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, in particular converging upwards or in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device. This contour can also be flush with the outer contour of the valve body when the valve body is retracted into the sealing seat. Thus, it is conceivable that the surfaces of the valve body and the coupling piece merge into one another, so to speak, which promotes the sliding off of foreign bodies.

[0011] In one embodiment, the coupling pieces are connected essentially solely via coaxial cylindrical contact surfaces that slide over one another when the coupling pieces are connected and separated. In principle, the corresponding contact surfaces of the coupling pieces can have any suitable cross-section to realize the plug-in connection according to the invention; however, a circular cross-section favors sealing between the coupling pieces using O-rings. Adjacent to the contact surface, at least one coupling piece can form a shoulder, which serves as a stop for the other coupling piece or a shoulder formed thereon and acts as a travel limiter when the coupling pieces are pushed together.

[0012] According to a further embodiment, the second coupling piece forms a cup-shaped receptacle for the first coupling piece. The cup-shaped receptacle can widen in an end region facing the first coupling piece and, in particular, have a truncated cone-shaped inner surface. The widened end region of the second coupling piece thus serves as a positioning aid when joining the coupling pieces. If the valve body or the first coupling piece has a conical outer contour, the positioning of the coupling pieces during joining is further simplified.

[0013] Furthermore, the first coupling piece can be detachably connected to a connecting piece defining the first fluid connection, in particular by means of a bayonet connection.

[0014] To disassemble the valve housed in the first coupling piece for maintenance or replacement, the first coupling piece can be disassembled together with the valve and removed from the installed position. In principle, any suitable detachable connection is conceivable for this purpose, with a preferred embodiment of the present invention providing a bayonet connection between the first coupling piece and the component remaining in place.

[0015] It is particularly advantageous if the sealing elements used to seal between the first coupling piece and the connecting piece remaining in place are assigned to the first coupling piece and can be separated from the connecting piece together with the sealing elements. This allows the seals to be removed immediately when dismantling the first coupling piece. Thus, only maintenance-free components remain at the installation position of the first coupling piece.

[0016] Furthermore, it is conceivable for the first coupling piece to be configured to be substantially rotationally symmetrical about a rotational axis. Alternatively or additionally, the valve can define an annular space through which a fluid can flow in the longitudinal direction or in the direction of the rotational axis. In other words, the first coupling piece of the coupling device according to the invention can be configured in a "pin-like" manner and thus be engaged by a "hat-like" second coupling piece to establish a fluid-tight connection between the respective fluid connections.

[0017] A further aspect of the present invention provides a coupling arrangement comprising a plurality of coupling devices according to one of the embodiments described above. In such a coupling arrangement, the respective first coupling pieces are held in position relative to one another by a first common holding structure, and the respective second coupling pieces are held in position relative to one another by a second common holding structure, wherein the first coupling pieces and the second coupling pieces can be separated from one another and connected to one another in parallel by a translational relative movement of the holding structures. In other words, at least two coupling devices can be connected to one another or separated from one another simultaneously by bringing together or separating two elements or devices that hold the respective first and second coupling pieces in a fixed position.For example, several valve coupling pieces positioned in a fixed installation position relative to one another can be simultaneously connected to corresponding coupling pieces, which in turn are attached to a common support structure. It is also conceivable that, after connection, at least two coupling devices are fluidically connected via their respective fluid connections, i.e., a fluid-carrying line is routed via the at least two coupling devices.

[0018] The present invention is explained in more detail below using a preferred embodiment and with reference to the attached figure. The present invention may include all features described herein individually or in any meaningful combination.

[0019] It shows: Fig. 1 a lateral cross section through the coupling device according to the invention.

[0020] The Fig.1 shows a cross-section through a vertically installed coupling device according to the present invention. Here, the first coupling piece 1 forms the lower of the two coupling pieces 1 and 2, wherein the second coupling piece 2 is connected to the first by being moved downwards and placed onto it. If the coupling pieces 1 and 2 are not coaxially aligned, the widened inner surface 18 of the second coupling piece 2 initially comes into contact with the outer contour 14 of the first coupling piece 1. As the second coupling piece 2 is moved further downwards, the coupling pieces 1 and 2 are ultimately brought into a coaxial position so that they can slide against one another via their coaxial cylindrical contact surfaces 15 and 16 until a final end position of the second coupling piece 2 is reached. This end position is defined by the conical outer contour 14 and a corresponding shoulder of the second coupling piece 2.Two O-rings 12 inserted into grooves on the inner contact surface 16 of the second coupling piece 2 seal the annular space 11 of the second coupling piece 2 from the environment, ultimately creating a fluid-tight connection between the coupling pieces 1 and 2. Simultaneously with the sliding on of the second coupling piece 2, a plunger 8 connected to the second coupling piece 2 engages the conical outer contour 13 of the valve body 5 and pushes the valve body 5 out of its sealing seat 6 against the valve spring 4. The fluid connections 3 and 7 are thus connected to one another via the sections 9, 10 and 11 of the flow path, so that a fluid can flow through the cylinder space 9, the first annular space 10 and the second annular space 11 in a vertical direction. It should be noted here that a reverse flow direction from the fluid connection 7 to the fluid connection 3 is also possible in principle.

[0021] As soon as the second coupling piece 2 is pulled upwards away from the first coupling piece 1, the valve spring 4 presses the valve body 5 back into its sealing seat 6, which in the example shown is formed from two mutually angled annular surfaces 6a and 6b and directly contacts the corresponding sealing surfaces of the valve body 5 without an intermediate seal. In the then-reached closed position of the valve, the outer contours 13 and 14 together form a cone on which falling foreign objects cannot become lodged due to gravity. The first coupling piece 1, exposed by removing the second coupling piece 2, cannot thus become contaminated.

[0022] For maintenance or replacement of the entire valve 4, 5, 6 or individual components thereof, the first coupling piece 1 can be separated from and reconnected to the fixed connection piece 19 using a bayonet connection 20. The removed first coupling piece 1 can thus be replaced as a whole with a new part, or only individual components thereof. During production, the valve spring 4 together with the valve body 5 is inserted into the individual parts 1a and 1b of the first coupling piece 1, which are then screwed together and ultimately house the valve spring 4 and valve body 5. Disassembly of the first coupling piece 1 in the reverse order is therefore fundamentally conceivable.

[0023] Furthermore, it should be noted that the O-rings 12 are removed together with the second coupling piece 2, and the O-rings 21 are removed together with the first coupling piece 1, so that no maintenance-requiring components remain on the remaining connecting piece 19. Thus, the coupling device according to the invention can be installed even in inaccessible locations. While the second coupling piece 2 can be attached, for example, to an elongated handlebar and can be plugged onto and removed from the first coupling piece 1 by means of this, only a suitable tool is required to remove the first coupling piece 1, which tool can also have an elongated handlebar.

[0024] To permanently secure the connection between the coupling pieces 1 and 2, the second coupling piece 2 can, for example, be weighted down or supported against the environment by means of a positive or frictional connection (not shown). This prevents the second coupling piece 2 from spontaneously detaching from the first coupling piece 1.

Claims

[1] Coupling device for fluid-carrying lines, comprising - a first coupling piece (1) connected to a first fluid connection (3) with a self-closing valve (4, 5, 6); - a second coupling piece (2) which can be detachably connected to the first coupling piece (1), having a second fluid connection (7) and a valve actuator (8); wherein the valve actuator (8) acts on the valve (4, 5, 6) when the coupling pieces (1, 2) are connected, thus opening a flow path (9, 10, 11) between the first fluid connection (3) and the second fluid connection (7), and wherein the coupling pieces (1, 2) are designed such that they can be connected by simply pushing them together in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device and separated by simply pulling them apart in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, characterized bythat the valve (4, 5, 6) comprises a valve body (5) which, in a position retracted into its sealing seat (6), extends partially out of the first coupling piece (1), and the part (13) of the valve body (5) protruding from the first coupling piece (1) has an outer contour which is bevelled with respect to the longitudinal direction of the coupling device. [2] Coupling device according to claim 1, wherein one, in particular all, of the sealing elements (12) sealing the flow path (9, 10, 11) between the first coupling piece (1) and the second coupling piece (2) is / are assigned to the second coupling piece (2) and is / are separable therewith from the first coupling piece (1). [3] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the outer contour of the part (13) of the valve body (5) protruding from the first coupling piece (1) converges in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, in particular is conical. [4] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first coupling piece (1) has a bevelled outer contour (14) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, in particular converging in the longitudinal direction of the coupling device, which outer contour adjoins the outer contour (13) of the valve body (5) in a position retracted into the sealing seat (6). [5] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first coupling piece (1) and the second coupling piece (2) are connected substantially solely via coaxial cylindrical contact surfaces (15, 16) which slide on one another when the coupling pieces (1, 2) are connected and separated. [6] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second coupling piece (2) forms a pot-shaped receptacle (17) for the first coupling piece (1), in particular wherein the receptacle (17) widens in an end region facing the first coupling piece (1), wherein the end region in particular has a frustoconical inner surface (18). [7] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first coupling piece (1) is detachably connected to a connecting piece (19) defining the first fluid connection (3), in particular by means of a bayonet connection (20). [8] Coupling device according to claim 7, wherein one or more sealing elements (21) sealing the flow path (9, 10, 11) between the first coupling piece (1) and the connecting piece (19) is / are assigned to the first coupling piece (1) and is / are separable therewith from the connecting piece (19). [9] Coupling device according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first coupling piece (1) is designed to be substantially rotationally symmetrical about an axis of rotation (R) and / or defines an annular space (10) in the region of the valve (4, 5, 6) through which a fluid can flow in the direction of the axis of rotation (R). [10] Coupling arrangement with a plurality of coupling devices according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the respective first coupling pieces (1) are held in position relative to one another by a first common holding structure, and the respective second coupling pieces (2) are held in position relative to one another by a second common holding structure, and wherein the first coupling pieces (1) and the second coupling pieces (2) can be separated from one another and connected to one another in a parallel manner by a translational movement between the first holding structure and the second holding structure.

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