HOSE CONNECTION

Abstract

The invention relates to a hose connector (1) having a sleeve-shaped union nut (2) which (2) surrounds a sleeve-shaped connector part (3) that (3) is connected to a hose end (4) of a flexible hose line (5) and that (3) has, at its end region oriented away from the hose end (4), an annular flange (6) which (6) bears rotatably against an annular shoulder (7) of a circumferential wall (8), and having at least one sealing ring (9) which is held in a retaining groove (10) provided on the outer circumferential side of the connector part (3) and radially seals an annular gap provided between the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8). The hose connector (1) according to the invention is distinct by the fact that, between the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8), there is provided a clearance that is dimensioned such that the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8) can be tilted with respect to one another (see FIG. 1).

Claims

1. A hose connector (1) for a flexible hose line (5), comprising a sleeve-shaped union nut (2) which surrounds a sleeve-shaped connector part (3), said sleeve-shaped connector part is adapted to be connected to a hose end (4) of the flexible hose line (5) and has, at its end region oriented away from the hose end (4), an annular flange (6) which bears rotatably against an annular shoulder (7) of a circumferential wall (8), at least one sealing ring (9) which is held in a retaining groove (10) provided on an outer circumferential side of the connector part (3) and radially seals an annular gap provided between the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8), and between the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8), and between a sleeve inner circumference of the union nut (2) and the hose line (5), there is provided a clearance that is dimensioned such that the connector part (3) and the circumferential wall (8) are tiltable with respect to one another.

2. The hose connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining groove (10) has a groove bottom (11) which is configured as a convex curve.

3. The hose connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular flange (6) is rotatable about a longitudinal axis relative to the annular shoulder (7) of the circumferential wall (8).

4. The hose connector as claimed claim 1, further comprising an intermediate ring (12) which includes, on the circumferential wall (8) bounding an annular opening, the annular shoulder (7), and which (12) is held rotatably on an inner circumference of the union nut (2).

5. The hose connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the intermediate ring (12) includes, on an outer circumferential side of an end region thereof oriented away from the hose end (4), an annular flange (13), said annular flange (13) bears, against an annular shoulder (14) or annular flange provided on the inner circumference of the union nut (2).

6. The hose connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein an annular seal (15) bears against an end side, oriented away from the hose end (4), of the intermediate ring (12) and the annular seal (15) axially seals an annular gap between an outer circumference of the intermediate ring (12) and the inner circumference of the sleeve-shaped union nut (2).

7. The hose connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sealing ring (9) and also the annular seal (15) are made of an elastic material.

8. The hose connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein an end face of the connector part (3) that is oriented away from the hose end (4) is spaced apart from an adjacent end side of the annular seal (15).

9. The hose connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the annular flange (6) provided on the connector part (3) has a stepped configuration and includes, on a flange inner side oriented toward the hose end (4), an annularly circumferential rabbet (16), said rabbet (16) has an outer diameter that is smaller than a clear diameter of the intermediate ring (12).

10. The hose connector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the connector part (3) is tiltable between a zero position arranged coaxially or axially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the union nut (2), and a tilted position away from the longitudinal axis of the union nut (2), and in the tilted position, the rabbet (16), provided on the annular flange (6) of the connector part (3) and the annular shoulder (7) engage with one another at least in a part region of the circumference.

11. The hose connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein an edge that bounds the retaining groove (10) and is oriented toward the hose end (4) is configured as a circumferential projection (17).

12. The hose connector as claimed in claim 11, wherein a part region of the connector part (3) that is oriented toward the hose end (4) has an outer diameter which is smaller than an outer diameter of the projection (17).

13. The hose connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing ring (9) has a round ring cross section.

14. The hose connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the annular seal (15) is disk-shaped.

15. A hose line assembly comprising a flexible hose line and the hose connector as claimed in claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Refinements of the invention can be found in the claims in conjunction with the description and the drawing. There follows a more detailed description of the invention with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment.

[0019] In the figures:

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a hose connector illustrated in longitudinal section, having a sleeve-shaped connector part which is connected to a hose end and is surrounded by a sleeve-shaped union nut, wherein the union nut and the connector part are positioned relative to one another such that their longitudinal axes run approximately coaxially;

[0021] FIG. 2 shows the hose connector from FIG. 1 in an enlarged detail longitudinal section, in the region identified in FIG. 1 between the connector part and the union nut;

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section through the hose connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the connector stub is tilted slightly relative to the union nut;

[0023] FIG. 4 shows a detail longitudinal section, similar to FIG. 2, of the circled region in FIG. 3 between the connector part and the union nut;

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal section through the hose connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, wherein the longitudinal axes of the connector part and the union nut are axially parallel but laterally slightly offset with respect to one another;

[0025] FIG. 6 shows a detail longitudinal section, similar to FIGS. 2 and 4, of the circled region in FIG. 5 between the connector part and the union nut; and

[0026] FIG. 7 shows the hose connector of FIGS. 1 to 6 in an exploded perspective illustration of its components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] FIGS. 1 to 7 illustrate a hose connector 1 for a flexible hose line 5, and in particular for a flexible sanitation water connector. The hose connector 1 has a sleeve-shaped union nut 2 by which the hose connector 1 can be connected via a hose connection to an upstream- or downstream-side line section, not shown in greater detail here. The union nut 2 surrounds an also sleeve-shaped connector part 3 that is connected to a hose end 4 of a flexible hose line 5. The connector part 3 has, at its end region oriented away from the hose end 4, an annular flange 6 which bears rotatably against an annular shoulder 7 of a circumferential wall 8 located in the sleeve interior of the union nut 2.

[0028] In order to radially seal an annular gap provided between the connector part 3 and the circumferential wall 8, there is provided at least one sealing ring 9 which is held in a retaining groove 10 arranged on the outer circumferential side of the connector part 3. Between the connector part 3 and the circumferential wall 8, there is provided a clearance that is dimensioned such that the connector part 3 and the circumferential wall 8 can be tilted with respect to one another. The retaining groove 10, which is provided for the at least one sealing ring 9, has a groove bottom 11 which is configured as a convex curve. The sealing ring 9 tightly clamped between the groove bottom 11 and the circumferential wall 8 is thus loaded tangentially in the case of a tilting movement, or the spherical or convex shape of the groove bottom 11 and the sealing ring 9 are oriented tangentially with respect to one another.

[0029] Since the sealing ring 9 thus bears on all sides with a reduced, circumferentially linear bearing surface, this makes it easier for the sealing ring 9 to break loose simply with a small tilt of the connector part 3 relative to the union nut 2. Easy breaking loose of the sealing ring 9 avoids undesired seizing of the union nut 2 and of the connector part 3, which could otherwise hamper smooth rotation between these components 2, 3 of the hose connector 1.

[0030] The circumferential wall 8 bearing the annular shoulder 7 could also be provided on the inner circumference of the sleeve-shaped union nut 2. However, in this case the hose connector 1 has an intermediate ring 12 which supports the annular shoulder 7 on the circumferential wall 8 bounding an annular opening. This intermediate ring 12 is rotatably held on the inner circumference of the union nut 2, thus making it easier to screw the union nut 2 onto the line end of an upstream- or downstream-side line section. This also makes it possible to rotate the hose during use.

[0031] As can be seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, to that end the intermediate ring 12 includes, on the outer circumferential side of its end region oriented away from the hose end 4, an annular flange 13 which bears rotatably against an annular shoulder 14 or annular flange provided on the sleeve inner circumference of the union nut 2. An annular seal 15 bears against the end side, oriented away from the hose end 4, of the intermediate ring 12 and axially seals an annular gap between the outer circumference of the intermediate ring 12 and the inner circumference of the sleeve-shaped union nut 2. Both the sealing ring 9 of round ring cross section and the disk-shaped annular seal 15 are made of an elastic material.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows particularly clearly that the distance between the annular shoulder 7 provided on the intermediate ring 12 is greater than the height of the annular flange 6 projecting radially at the outer circumference of the connector part 3, and hence that end face of the connector part 3 that is oriented away from the hose end 4 is spaced apart from an adjacent end side of the annular seal 15 so as not to hinder a tilting movement of the connector part 3 relative to the union nut 2 and relative to the intermediate ring 12.

[0033] The detail longitudinal sections in FIGS. 2 and 4 show that the annular flange 6 provided on the connector part 3 is of stepped configuration and includes, on its flange inner side oriented toward the hose end 4, an annularly circumferential rabbet 16 which has an outer diameter that is smaller than the clear diameter of the intermediate ring 12. This rabbet 16 forms a support edge which, even in the case of a tilting movement, ensures that the connector part 3 is held and remains concentric with respect to the intermediate ring 12 and the union nut 2. The support edge formed by the rabbet 16 facilitates the tilting movement of the connector part 3 in the union nut 2. The concentric arrangement of the connector part 3 with respect to the union nut 2 and the intermediate ring 12 ensures that the sealing ring 9 can always properly seal the annular gap between the connector part 3 and the circumferential wall 8. In that context, the connector part 3 can be tilted between a zero position (shown in FIGS. 1 and 5) arranged coaxially or axially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the union nut 2, and a tilted position (shown in more detail in FIG. 3) angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the union nut 2. In the tilted position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rabbet 16, provided on the annular flange 6 of the connector part 3, and the annular shoulder 7, arranged on the inner circumferential side of the intermediate ring 12, engage with one another.

[0034] A comparison of FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 shows that the edge of the connector part 3 that bounds the retaining groove 10 and is oriented toward the hose end 4 is configured as a circumferential and preferably rounded projection 17, and that that part region of the connector part 3 that is oriented toward the hose end 4 has an outer diameter which is smaller than the outer diameter of the projection 17.

[0035] In order to be able to connect the hose end 4 of the flexible hose line 5 to the connector part 3, the connector part 3 has a profiled connector nipple 18 (shown in FIG. 7) onto which the hose end 4 can be pushed. Once the hose end 4 of the hose line 5 has been pushed onto the connector nipple 18 of the connector part 3, the hose end 4 is secured in the axial direction on the connector part 3 by a crimp sleeve 19 that is crimped there.

[0036] In order to be able to connect the union nut 2 to the line end of an upstream- or downstream-side line section, that section of the sleeve-shaped union nut 2 that projects beyond the connector part 3 and the annular seal 15 is provided on its inner circumferential side with an internal thread 20. This internal thread 20 allows the union nut 2 to be screwed onto a mating thread provided on the line end of the upstream- or downstream-side line section, such that the annular seal 15 is clamped between the line end and the intermediate ring 12 provided in the union nut 2.

[0037] It is clear from FIGS. 1 to 7 that, between the connector part 3 and the circumferential wall 8 of the intermediate ring 12, and between the sleeve inner circumference of the union nut 2 and the hose line 5, there is provided a clearance that is dimensioned such that the connector part 3 can be tilted relative to the circumferential wall 8 of the intermediate ring 12. As shown in FIG. 6, this axial clearance also permits an eccentric displacement of the connector part 3 with respect to the intermediate ring 12 and the union nut 2. Conversely, in the detail longitudinal section shown in FIG. 2, the connector part 3 bears only on one side with its outer circumference against the circumferential wall 8 of the intermediate ring 12.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0038] 1 Hose connector [0039] 2 Union nut [0040] 3 Connector part [0041] 4 Hose end [0042] 5 Hose line [0043] 6 Annular flange (on the connector part 3) [0044] 7 Annular shoulder (on the circumferential wall 8) [0045] 8 Circumferential wall [0046] 9 Sealing ring [0047] 10 Retaining groove [0048] 11 Groove bottom [0049] 12 Intermediate ring [0050] 13 Annular flange (on the intermediate ring 12) [0051] 14 Annular shoulder (on the sleeve inner circumference of the union nut 2) [0052] 15 Annular seal [0053] 16 Rabbet [0054] 17 Projection [0055] 18 Connector nipple [0056] 19 Crimp sleeve [0057] 20 Internal thread (on the union nut 2)