Patent ID: 7549445
Filing Date: 2009-06-23
Classification: F16L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A female coupling member in a pipe coupling having a female coupling member and a male coupling member that is inserted into and connected to said female coupling member, said female coupling member comprising: a fluid passage that has a first end for connecting to a conduit and a second end for connecting to the male coupling member; a valve, provided within said fluid passage, that is moveable between an open position that permits the flow of a fluid between the first-end side and the second-end side of said fluid passage, and a closed position that blocks the flow of fluid, wherein said valve is provided with a purge flow path that allows said second-end side of said fluid passage to communicate with the outside when said valve is in said closed position, and that is closed when said valve is in said open position; a valve body mounting hole provided so as to cross said fluid passage; and a gasket having a through hole aligned with and communicating with said fluid passage, wherein said valve body is cylindrical in shape, is mounted coaxially within said valve body mounting hole, is rotatable about its centerline between said open position and closed position, and has an outside peripheral surface that slides in tightly sealing contact with said gasket while rotating between said open position and closed position, said purge flow path has an inside opening at one end that is open to said outside peripheral surface and an outside opening at the other end that communicates to the outside of said pipe coupling, where said inside opening is closed by tightly sealing engagement to said gasket when said valve body is in said open position, but is released from this tightly sealing engagement when said valve body is in said closed position, and thus communicates with the second-end side of said fluid passage, said valve body mounting hole has a circular cross section and is mounted so as to be perpendicular to said fluid passage, a pair of openings are formed in the peripheral wall surface of said valve body mounting hole with said fluid passages crossing, said gasket is such that said through hole thereof aligns to and communicates with one of said pair of openings, and has a tightly sealing engagement surface in the shape of an arc centered about the axis of the valve body mounting hole, said outside peripheral surface of said valve body has a diameter so as to slide in tightly sealing engagement with said tightly sealing engagement surface of said gasket, a gap is formed between said outside peripheral surface and the peripheral wall surface of said valve body mounting hole, and the other of said pair of openings is in communication with said gap, said valve body has a valve hole that passes through said valve body extending in the direction of the diameter perpendicular to the axis of said valve body, and opens on said outside peripheral surface of said valve body, said valve hole communicates with the through hole of said gasket when said valve body is in said open position, and the communication with said through hole is cut off when said valve body is in said closed position, and said inside opening of the purge flow path is blocked by the tightly sealing engagement surface of said gasket when said valve body is in said open position, and the engagement with said tightly sealing engagement surface is removed when said valve body is in said closed position, being open to a position communicating with said gap.