Patent Publication Number: US-2016223105-A1

Title: Flexible sprinkler hose connecting device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     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  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a conventional flexible sprinkler hose connecting device is configured wherein coupling members to which a nipple  140  coupled to a feeder pipe and a reducer  150  are coupled have the same connection structure as each other. That is, nuts  111  and  112  and fixtures  121  and  122  are fitted to a flexible hose  100 , and locking portions  101  and  102  are formed on both sides of the flexible hose  100  in such a manner as to be increased in diameter through the compression. of the flexible hose  100 . The locking portions  101  and  102  serve to prevent the nuts  111  and  112  and the fixtures  121  and  122  from being escaped from the flexible hose  100 . The nuts  111  and  112  have packings  131  and  132  fitted thereto in such a manner as to be brought into contact with the flanges of the fixtures  121  and  122 . The nipple  140  is coupled to one side nut  111  and the reducer  150  to the other side nut  112 . After that, the feeder pipe side flexible hose  100  is connected to the nipple  140 , and the reducer  150  is coupled to a sprinkler head. 
     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. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     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&#39;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. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       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: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional flexible sprinkler hose connecting device; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view showing the coupled state of the conventional flexible sprinkler hose connecting device; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view showing a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view showing the coupled state of the flexible sprinkler hose connecting device according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an expanded sectional view showing the state where the ends of a braided layer are fixed by means of the compression of external rings; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view showing the state before an expansion portion is formed; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing the state after the expansion portion is formed; and 
         FIG. 8  is an exemplary view showing the state where the flexible hose is mounted on a ceiling. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     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  FIG. 8 , the present invention relates to a flexible sprinkler hose connecting device which connects a flexible hose  10  between a feeder pipe  71  and a reducer  72  on which a sprinkler head  73  is mounted, and the flexible hose  10  is made of a metal material and has troughs and peaks continuously formed therealong. 
     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  FIG. 5 , the first and second internal rings  21  and  22  and the first and second external rings  31  and  32  are compressed to fix the braided layer  11  to the first and second non-flexible portions  12  and  13 . The first and second non-flexible portions  12  and  13  are portions wherein no troughs and peaks are formed like a pipe. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a bushing  40  and a nipple  50  connect the flexible hose  10  to the feeder pipe  71 , and a fixture  60  connects the flexible hose  10  to the reducer  72 . 
     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  FIG. 6 , the bushing  40  is fitted to the first non-flexible portion  12 , and the first external ring  31  is fitted to the first coupling hole  41 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , a first expansion portion  14  is formed by convexedly expanding a portion of the first non-flexible portion  12  toward the first compression groove  43 . As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the first expansion portion  14  includes: a moving body  80  in which a cylinder  81  is disposed; a cylinder shaft  82  protruding from one side of the moving body  82 ; and urethane rubber  83  compressed by means of the cylinder  81 , which are well-known in the art. If the moving body  80  moves in the state where the urethane rubber  83  is inserted into the first non-flexible portion  12 , the end peripheral portion of the first non-flexible portion  12  is bent to form a first bending portion  16  coming into contact with the bushing  40 , thus allowing the bushing  40  to be fixedly mounted to the first non-flexible portion  12 . In this state, if the cylinder  81  is operated to compress the urethane rubber  83 , the first non-flexible portion  12  changeable in shape around the first compression groove  43  is formed convexedly toward the first compression groove  43 . 
     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  FIG. 5 ), forming the first and second expansion portions  14  and  15  and the first and second bending portions  16  and  17  by means of the known expansion means in the state wherein the bushing  40  and the fixture  60  are fitted to the first and second non-flexible portions  12  and  13  (See  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), and fitting the nipple  50  to the bushing  40  and coupling them by means of the headless bolts  53 . At this time, the fixture  60  is coupled by means of the second internal packing  65  and a gasket  67  to completely keep water tightness and fixed to the second bending portion  17 , so that the fixture  60  can be rotated only with the exclusive tool fitted to the fitting groove  64 . That is, there is no need for holding the fixture  60  upon fixing to the reducer  72 , and accordingly, the reducer  72  can be coupled to the fixture  60  conveniently with a worker&#39;s one hand. The nipple  50  can keep the water tightness by means of the first internal packing ring  21  and the first external packing ring  31 . 
     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&#39;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.