Patent Application
20160223105
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device, and more particularly, to a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device that has a nipple rotatably fitted to one side of a flexible hose connected to a. feeder pipe and a fixture fastened and unfastened to and from the other side of the flexible hose only by means of an exclusive tool, thus conveniently connecting the flexible hose to the feeder pipe and a sprinkler head, without fear of leakage.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a flexible sprinkler hose is installed between a feeder pipe located at the inside of a ceiling and a sprinkler head so as to supply water when a fire occurs.
As shown in
According to the conventional flexible sprinkler hose connecting device, by the way, the water tightness on the coupled portions of the flexible hose 100 with the nipple 140 and the reducer 150 is maintained just by means of the packings 131 and 132, thus undesirably causing frequent leakage. So as to couple the reducer 150 to the flexible hose 100, further, while the nut 112 is being taken by one hand of a worker standing on a repair stand and looking up toward the ceiling, the reducer 150 is turned by the other hand of worker, thus undesirably causing safety accidents.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device that has a nipple rotatable fitted to one side of a flexible hose connected to a feeder pipe and a fixture fastened and unfastened to and from the other side of the flexible hose only by means of an exclusive tool, so that the reducer can be coupled to the fixture only by a worker's one hand in the state where only the nipple is rotated and coupled to the feeder pipe, thus allowing the worker to take a more stable posture.
it is another object of the present invention to provide a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device that maintains the water tightness on the coupled portion of flexible hose with a nipple by means of a packing contacted with the coupled portion and rotates a fixture only with an exclusive tool, so that the fixture is assembled to the flexible hose at an optimal state in the factory, thus maintaining the non-leakage state even upon the installation of the flexible hose and further removing the occurrence of leakage on the coupled portions of the flexible hose.
To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device including: a flexible hose having troughs and peaks continuously formed therealong and surrounded by a braided layer; first and second non-flexible portions formed on both ends of the flexible hose; first and second internal rings and first and second external rings located on the inner and outer peripheries of the braided layer to fix the end portions of the braided layer to the first and second non-flexible portions; a bushing having a first coupling hole to which the first external ring is fitted, a first through hole connected to the first coupling hole, a first compression groove formed on the first through hole, and a guide groove formed on the outer periphery thereof; a first internal packing insertedly fitted to the first compression groove; external packings disposed on the outer periphery of the bushing; a first expansion portion formed by convexedly expanding a portion of the first non-flexible portion toward the first compression groove in the state where the bushing is fitted to first non-flexible portion; a nipple having screw holes formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof to correspond to the guide groove of the bushing in such a manner as to be penetrated into a fitting hole formed in the interior thereof; headless bolts fitted to the guide groove through the screw holes; a fixture having a second coupling hole to which the second external ring is fitted, a second through hole connected to the second coupling hole, a second compression groove formed on the second through hole, and an exclusive tool fitting groove formed on the outer periphery thereof; a second internal packing fitted to the second compression groove; a second expansion portion formed by convexedly expanding a portion of the second non-flexible portion toward the second compression groove in the state where the fixture is fitted to the second non-flexible portion; and first and second bending portions formed on the end peripheral portions of the first and second non-flexible portions to fix the bushing and the fixture to the flexible hose.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, an explanation on a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device according to the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawing.
As shown in
According to the present invention, the flexible hose 71 is surrounded by a braided layer 11 and has first and second non-flexible portions 12 and 13 formed on both ends thereof. Both sides of the braided layer 11 are removed to allow the portions of the first and second non-flexible portions 12 and 13 to be exposed, and both end portions of the braided layer 11 are fitted between first and second internal rings 21 and 22 and first and second external rings 31 and 32. As shown in
As shown in
The bushing 40 has a first coupling hole 41 to which the first external ring 31 is fitted, a first through hole 42 connected to the first coupling hole 41, first compression groove 43 formed on the first through hole 42, and a guide groove 44 formed on the outer periphery thereof.
A first internal packing 45 is insertedly fitted to the first compression. groove 43, and one or more external packings 46 are disposed on the outer periphery of the bushing 40. The first internal packing 45 and the external packings 46 are made of an elastic material like rubber to keep water tightness. The first internal packing 45 has a given thickness. Each external packing 46 has a shape of a ring having a circular section, and packing grooves 47 are formed on the outer periphery of the bushing 40 to fit portions of the external packings 46 thereto, so that even if the external packings 46 are pressedly disposed, they are not deviated from their given positions.
As shown in
The nipple 50 has screw holes 51 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof to correspond to the guide groove 44 of the bushing 40 and penetrated into a fitting hole 52 formed in the interior thereof. Headless bolts 53 are fitted to the guide groove 44 through the screw holes 51. The headless bolts 53 are guided along the guide groove 44 to allow the nipple 50 to be freely rotated with respect to the bushing 40 and at the same time to prevent the nipple 50 from being escaped from the bushing 40.
A screw portion 54 formed on one side portion of the nipple 50 is coupled to a connector of the feeder pipe 71.
The fixture 60 has a second coupling hole 61 to which the second external ring 32 is fitted, a second through hole 62 connected to the second coupling hole 61, a second compression groove 63 formed on the second through hole 62, and an exclusive tool fitting groove 64 formed on the outer periphery thereof. A second internal packing 65 is fitted to the second compression groove 63, and in the state where the fixture 60 is fitted to the second non-flexible portion 13 and the second external. ring 32 is coupled to the second coupling hole 61, a portion of the second non-flexible portion 13 is expanded convexedly toward the second compression groove 63, thus forming a second expansion portion 15. The second expansion portion 15 is formed in the same manner as the first expansion portion 14 through the known expansion means, and the second internal packing 65 performs the same functions as the first internal packing 45.
A second bending portion 17 coming into contact with the fixture 60 is formed on the end peripheral portion of the second non-flexible portion 13 upon the expansion of the second non-flexible portion 13, thus allowing the fixture 60 to be fixedly mounted to the second non-flexible portion 13.
The fixture further has a screw portion 66 formed on one side periphery thereof in such a manner as to be coupled to the reducer 72.
According to the present invention, the flexible hose 10 formed integrally with the connecting device is made by cutting both sides of the braided layer 11 in a factory, fitting and compressing the braided layer 11 between the first and second internal rings 21 and 22 and the first and second external rings 31 and 32 (See
According to the flexible hose 10 to which the connecting device is formed integrally made in the factory, the nipple 50 is rotated and coupled to the feeder pipe 71 mounted on a ceiling, and in the state where the reducer 72 is coupled to the fixture 60, the flexible hose 10 is bent to allow the reducer 72 to be coupled to a center bracket mounted on a ceiling structure. Next, after ceiling finishing work and feeding checking are completed, the sprinkler head 73 is mounted on the reducer 72.
As described above, the flexible sprinkler hose connecting device according to the present invention is configured wherein the reducer can be coupled to the fixture by the worker's one and in the state only the nipple is rotated and coupled to the feeder pipe, without fear of twisting on the flexible hose. Further, the coupled portions with the nipple and the fixture can be maintained in water tightness by means of the internal packings of the nipple and the fixture compressed against the compression grooves by the expansion portions, and if the fixture has no external packing, it is assembled to the flexible hose at an optimal state in the factory, thus maintaining the non-leakage state even upon the installation of the flexible hose.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
