Guide Mechanism

Abstract

To provide a guide roller that facilitates alignment and rotation of the axes of tube members and facilitates connection of the tube members, and a guide mechanism comprising the guide roller.SOLUTION: A guide roller 1 comprises: a main body part 2; rotation rollers 3 which are provided at upper portions of the main body part 2 to enable tube members to be mounted in a first direction and to be rotatable in their circumferential directions; and movement rollers 4 which are provided at lower portions of the main body part 2 to enable the main body part 2 to move in the first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a guide roller and a guide mechanism used when connecting pipe members by threaded joints. [Background technology]

[0002] Tubular materials such as rods and pipes that are connected by threaded joints are generally used at the location of use, such as a construction site, by successively adding the required number of pieces.

[0003] Connecting pipes using such threaded joints requires rotating the pipes. Lightweight pipes can be easily connected by manually supporting and rotating them, but it is difficult to support and rotate heavy pipes manually, so connections are made by, for example, using equipment to lift the pipes and then rotating them (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-319776 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When connecting pipes, the pipes must be rotated while their axes are aligned. For lightweight or flexible pipes, even if the axes are slightly misaligned, the axes can be naturally aligned by screwing the ends of the pipes together. However, for heavy pipes, it is difficult to align the axes using this method, and the pipes must be connected with their axes precisely aligned.

[0006] However, conventional methods of lifting pipes and rotating them while aligning their axes are difficult because they are prone to shaking, tilting, or misalignment, and this task is particularly difficult when using heavy pipes. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a mechanism that makes it easy to align the axes of pipes using threaded joints and rotate them, thereby making it easy to connect pipes together.

[0007] The present invention aims to solve such problems and to provide a guide roller and a guide mechanism equipped with such a guide roller that can easily align and rotate the axes of pipe materials and easily connect pipe materials to each other. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a pipe feeder, comprising: a main body; a rotating roller provided on an upper portion of the main body, on which a pipe material can be placed facing a first direction and which can rotate in a circumferential direction; and a moving roller provided on a lower portion of the main body, which can move the main body in the first direction. Ruga Idolora and a rail member that houses the guide roller and allows the guide roller to move in the first direction while restricting movement in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the rail member comprises a long, plate-shaped web that extends in the first direction and receives the moving roller from below, and a pair of flanges that extend upward from both edges of the web in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the moving roller is positioned inside the main body portion relative to a pair of outer surfaces of the lower portion in the direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the main body portion is housed between the pair of flanges so that the flanges face the outer surfaces.

[0009] In the above invention, it is preferable that the main body has a mounting recess having an arc-shaped cross section, and the rotation roller is provided so as to protrude into the mounting recess.

[0011] In the above invention, the rail member The flange includes a portion that stands downward relative to the web. H-beams are preferred. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the guide roller and guide mechanism of the present invention, the axes of the pipes can be easily aligned and rotated, and the pipes can be easily connected to each other. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a guide roller according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the guide roller shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a guide mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a side view showing a state in which a tubular material is placed on a guide mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a side view showing how pipes are connected by a guide mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of a guide roller according to the present invention and a guide mechanism using the same will be described.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a guide roller 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the guide roller 1 taken along line AA shown in Fig. 1.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the guide roller 1 is an auxiliary tool for assisting in the connection of mainly cylindrical tubular materials, such as rods and pipes that are connected with threaded joints, and is equipped with a main body 2, a rotation roller 3 provided on the upper part of the main body 2 (above the paper in Figures 1 and 2), and a movement roller 4 provided on the lower part of the main body 2.

[0017] The main body 2 is a metal member with a substantially rectangular outer shape. A mounting recess 21, the inner circumferential surface of which is an arc-shaped groove, is formed in the upper part of the main body 2. In addition, cutouts 22 are appropriately formed in the main body 2 to reduce its weight, but to the extent that the strength of the main body 2 is not impaired.

[0018] The rotating rollers 3 are cylindrical roller members made of metal, and in this embodiment, a pair of rotating rollers 3 are provided protruding at opposing positions on the inner circumferential surface of the mounting recess 21. The rotating rollers 3 have a rotating shaft 31, which is inserted into and rotatably supported in a hole 23 formed in the main body 2, thereby rotatably attaching the rotating rollers 3 to the main body 2. A tubular material can be placed on the rotating rollers 3 facing in a first direction (the left-right direction on the paper surface of FIG. 2), and the tubular material can be rotated in its circumferential direction.

[0019] Here, the rotating roller 3 is provided in the loading recess 21 which is a groove having an arc-shaped inner circumferential surface, so that the tube material can be loaded stably on the rotating roller 3.

[0020] The transfer rollers 4 are disk-shaped wheel members made of metal, and in this embodiment, four transfer rollers 4 are provided at the bottom of the main body 2 (below the paper surfaces of FIGS. 1 and 2). The transfer rollers 4 have rotation shafts 41, which are inserted into and rotatably supported in holes 24 formed in the main body 2, thereby rotatably attaching the transfer rollers 4 to the main body 2. The transfer rollers 4 are movable in the first direction within the main body 2, i.e., along the extension direction of the tubular material placed on the guide rollers 1.

[0021] By using two or more guide rollers 1 having the above-described configuration per pipe material, the pipe materials can be easily brought close to each other and rotated, making it easy to connect pipe materials using threaded joints.

[0022] However, when using only guide rollers 1, it is necessary to position multiple guide rollers 1 so that they are located on the same line of movement in order to align the axes of the pipes. Therefore, it is preferable to use a positioning structure to facilitate this positioning. Next, we will explain the guide mechanism that includes guide rollers 1 and rail members that position the guide rollers 1.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a front view showing the guide mechanism 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the guide mechanism 10 includes the above-mentioned guide roller 1 and a rail member 5 that accommodates the guide roller 1 so that the guide roller 1 is movable in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3).

[0025] The rail member 5 is a member that allows the guide roller 1 to move in a first direction while restricting movement in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, and in this embodiment is formed from an H-shaped steel having a long plate-shaped web 51 and flanges 52 that are erected in the vertical direction (vertical direction on the paper in Figure 3) from opposing edges along the longitudinal direction of the web 51.

[0026] The distance between the flanges 52 of the rail member 5 is set to a distance that can accommodate the guide rollers 1 so that the guide rollers 1 can move along the longitudinal direction of the web 51. The height of the flanges 52 rising from the web 51 is set to a height such that at least a part of the rotation rollers 3 of the guide rollers 1 accommodated inside the rail member 5 is exposed to the outside from the flanges 52.

[0027] By using this rail member 5, the movement of the guide rollers 1 housed inside in a first direction can be permitted while the movement in a direction perpendicular to the first direction is restricted by the flange 52, and multiple guide rollers 1 can be positioned on their movement lines and lined up in a row.

[0028] Next, we will explain how tubular materials are connected to each other using the above-mentioned guide mechanism 10. Figure 4 is a side view showing a state in which tubular materials are placed on the guide mechanism 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a side view showing how tubular materials 7 are connected by the guide mechanism 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the guide mechanism 10 is configured to include a rail member 5 and a plurality of guide rollers 1 on the rail member 5 (in the example shown in Figures 4 and 5, two guide rollers 1 per pipe 7, for a total of four guide rollers 1). Note that, in this example, legs 6 are attached to the rail member 5 to set the height at which workers can easily work, but these legs 6 are not an essential component of the present invention.

[0030] Two pipes 7 are placed on this guide mechanism 10. The pipes 7 have a nipple joint 71, which is a male thread, formed on one end, and a socket joint 72, which is a female thread, formed on the other end.

[0031] The worker moves one of the two pipe materials 7 closer to the other. This movement of the pipe materials 7 closer to each other can be easily performed by the guide rollers 1 moving on the rail members 5.

[0032] 4 to the state shown in FIG. 5, i.e., when the ends of the pipes 7 are in contact with each other, the pipes 7 are rotated on the guide rollers 1 to thread the nipple fitting 71 of one pipe 7 into the socket fitting 72 of the other pipe. This rotation of the pipes 7 can be easily performed by the presence of the rotating rollers 3. Then, when the threading of the nipple fitting 71 into the socket fitting 72 is completed, the connection of the two pipes 7 is completed.

[0033] According to the guide roller 1 and guide mechanism 10 of the above-described embodiment, the axes of the tubes can be easily aligned and rotated, and the tubes can be easily connected to each other.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be adopted.

[0035] For example, in the above-described embodiment, two rotation rollers 3 are provided for one guide roller 1, but in the present invention, any number of rotation rollers 3 can be provided as long as the tube material 7 can be placed on them.

[0036] Furthermore, although four movement rollers 4 are provided for one guide roller 1, in the present invention any number of movement rollers 4 can be provided as long as the main body 2 is movable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1: Guide roller 2: Main body 3: Rotation roller 4: Transport roller 5: Rail parts 6: Legs 7: Tube material 71: Nipple fitting 72: Socket joint

Claims

1. a main body; a rotating roller that is provided on an upper portion of the main body, on which a tube material can be placed facing a first direction, and that can rotate in a circumferential direction; a movement roller provided at a lower portion of the main body portion to enable the main body portion to move in the first direction; a guide roller comprising: a rail member that houses the guide roller and allows the guide roller to move in the first direction while restricting movement of the guide roller in a direction perpendicular to the first direction; Equipped with the rail member includes a long plate-shaped web extending in the first direction and receiving the transfer roller from below, and a pair of flanges erected upward from both edge portions of the web in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, the movement rollers are disposed inside the main body portion with respect to a pair of outer surfaces of the lower portion in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, The guide mechanism is characterized in that the main body portion is housed between a pair of the flanges so that the flanges face the outer surface.

2. 2. The guide mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a mounting recess whose inner circumferential surface is an arc-shaped groove, and the rotation roller is provided so as to protrude into the mounting recess.

3. 2. The guide mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rail member is an H-beam including a portion where the flange is erected downward from the web.

Images