JP7652181B2 - Mechanical joint joining jig, mechanical joint joining method, structure, and construction method of structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a jig for joining mechanical joints used to join mechanical joints, a method for joining mechanical joints using the jig for joining mechanical joints, a structure connected by the method for joining mechanical joints, and a method for constructing the structure.

Traditionally, steel pipe piles and steel pipe sheet piles have been joined mainly by on-site welding, but in recent years, due to a decrease in skilled workers, shortening construction periods, and quality control, the use of mechanical joints for joining has been increasing.
In the case of steel pipe piles and steel pipe sheet piles, the common method is to manufacture tubular joint members separately from the steel pipes, and then weld the joint members to the ends of the steel pipes to be joined, and then join the joint members together.

The joint must be constructed in such a way that it can transmit the compressive, tensile, shear, and torsional loads that act during the construction and operation of the piles. Compressive loads can be easily transmitted by bringing the end faces of the joint members into surface contact, while shear loads can be easily transmitted by inserting a male pipe into a female pipe to create a double-pipe structure. However, tensile and torsional loads cannot be transmitted by simple insertion and surface contact, and so the structure must be designed in a way that allows it to be transmitted easily.

As a mechanical joint capable of transmitting tensile and torsional loads, a C-shaped ring member (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "C-shaped ring member") is disclosed as a columnar body connection structure in Patent Document 1, for example.
The columnar connection structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a columnar body connection structure in which a pair of an inner column portion (11) and an outer pipe portion (21) are provided at one end of a first columnar body (1) and one end of a second columnar body (2), and the inner column portion (11) and the outer pipe portion (21) are connected to each other. At least one annular outer groove portion (12) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inner column portion (11), and at least one annular inner groove portion (22) is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the outer pipe portion (21). Furthermore, a ring-shaped member (3) is provided, the diameter of which can be freely changed and which can be accommodated in a state where it is retracted from the entrance of the outer groove portion (12) or the inner groove portion (22) to the back. With the inner column portion (11) fitted into the outer pipe portion (21), the ring-shaped member (3) is interposed between the outer groove portion (12) and the inner groove portion (22) and is held in an engaged state with both (see claim 2 of Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 describes in embodiment 2-2 an aspect in which a C-shaped ring member as a ring-shaped member is housed in an inner column in a contracted state, and the contracted state of the C-shaped ring member is released with the inner column fitted into the outer pipe. In this aspect, a thermoplastic resin connecting member is used to connect both ends of the C-shaped ring member to a contracted state, and the connecting member is heated and melted with the inner column fitted into the outer pipe.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-36285

The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires special processing of the C-shaped ring member.
Furthermore, Patent Document 1 does not mention any means for preventing the ring-shaped member (3) from moving to either the outer groove portion (12) or the inner groove portion (22) after being interposed between the outer groove portion (12) and the inner groove portion (22). Therefore, even if the load can be withstood by the bearing pressure if only the axial load acts, if the ring-shaped member (3) moves in the pipe diameter direction due to deformation, the possibility of a decrease in the bearing strength cannot be denied.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a jig for joining mechanical joints that is used to join a mechanical joint equipped with a C-shaped ring member that can be positioned so as to straddle the inner joint side and the outer joint side, does not require special processing of the C-shaped ring member, and can maintain the C-shaped ring member in a position that straddles the inner joint side and the outer joint side.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for joining a mechanical joint using the mechanical joint joining jig, a structure having a plurality of pipes connected by the joining method, and a method for constructing the structure.

(1) A jig for joining a mechanical joint according to the present invention is used for joining a mechanical joint having annular grooves formed on an outer circumferential surface of an inner joint and an inner circumferential surface of an outer joint so as to face each other in a joint assembly completed state, and including a C-ring member that can be stored in the annular groove of the inner joint or the outer joint and can be arranged within the annular groove so as to straddle the inner joint side and the outer joint side in the assembly completed state,
The annular groove includes a pilot wire that can be arranged around the entire circumference of the annular groove between the C-shaped ring member, the annular groove bottom, and a gap in the annular groove in which the C-shaped ring member is stored, and a C-shaped ring member moving and holding member that is connected or can be connected to the pilot wire, and is arranged around the entire circumference of the annular groove between the C-shaped ring member, the annular groove bottom, and a gap in the annular groove, and moves the C-shaped ring member from the inner joint side or the outer joint side in which the C-shaped ring member is stored to a position straddling the inner joint side and the outer joint side and holds it in that position.

(2) In addition, in the above (1), the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member comprises a linear member and a plurality of pressing members that are attached to the linear member at a predetermined interval, have a larger diameter than the linear member, and abut against and press against the C-shaped ring member.

(3) In addition, in the above (2), at least the pressing member arranged at the front has a tapered tip.

(4) A method for joining a mechanical joint using the mechanical joint joining jig according to any one of (1) to (3) above,
a step of storing the C-ring in the annular groove of the inner joint or the outer joint, and disposing the pilot wire in a gap between the C-ring member and the bottom of the annular groove over the entire circumference;
a step of assembling the inner joint and the outer joint to a completed assembled state;
a step of accessing one end of the pilot wire through an access hole provided in the outer joint and connecting the one end of the C-ring member moving and holding member;
and a step of accessing the other end of the pilot wire through the access hole, pulling the other end of the pilot wire to pull the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member into a gap between the C-shaped ring member and the bottom of the annular groove, thereby moving the C-shaped ring member to a position spanning the inner joint side and the outer joint side, and holding it in that position.

(5) Furthermore, the structure according to the present invention is formed by connecting pipes having the mechanical joints attached thereto by the joining method for mechanical joints described in (4) above.

(6) The construction method of the structure according to the present invention is the construction method of the structure described in (5) above, in which, while restraining the position of one of the fitting-equipped pipes to be connected in the axial direction, the other fitting-equipped pipe is aligned and joined to the one fitting-equipped pipe.

By using the mechanical joint joining jig of the present invention, it is possible to join a mechanical joint using a C-ring member extremely easily without special processing of the C-ring member, and a stable load transmission state can be maintained.

1 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanical joint joining jig according to the first and second embodiments; FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a method for joining a mechanical joint using the mechanical joint joining jig shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 13 is a view showing a state in which a C-shaped ring member moving and holding member is inserted into a gap between an annular groove and a C-shaped ring member. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a C-ring member moving and holding member is disposed in an annular groove. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the C-ring member moving and holding member. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member shown in FIG. 6 is inserted into a gap between an annular groove and the C-shaped ring member. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the C-ring member moving and holding member shown in FIG. 6 is disposed in an annular groove. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment in which the C-ring member moving and holding member has two pressing members. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanical joint joined by a mechanical joint joining jig in embodiment 1. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a joining method for a mechanical joint according to a second embodiment. FIG.

[First embodiment]
Before describing the mechanical joint joining jig according to this embodiment, a mechanical joint in which the mechanical joint joining jig is used will be described with reference to FIG. 10 which shows an example.

The mechanical joint 1 to which the present invention is directed has a tubular inner joint 5 provided at the end of a steel pipe 3, and a tubular outer joint 7 provided at the end of another steel pipe 3 and joined to the inner joint 5, as shown in FIG. 10 .
A step portion 9 is formed on the base end side of the inner joint 5, and is configured so that when the inner joint 5 and the outer joint 7 are assembled (see FIG. 10(b)), the tip end of the outer joint 7 abuts against the step portion 9, completing the assembly.

Annular grooves 11 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner joint 5 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer joint 7, and are arranged so as to face each other when the joints are fully assembled. Note that although the annular groove 11 shown in FIG. 10 has one stage, the annular groove 11 in the mechanical joint 1 that is the subject of the present invention is not limited to one stage and may have multiple stages.

Further, the inner joint 5 is provided with a C-shaped ring member 13 which can be stored in the annular groove 11 so as not to interfere with the combination of the inner joint 5 with the outer joint 7 .
This C-shaped ring member 13 is disposed in the annular groove 11 so as to straddle the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side when the joints are fully assembled. Therefore, the C-shaped ring member 13 can be expanded in diameter by applying an external force from a state (natural state) in which it is stored in the annular groove 11 of the inner joint 5. That is, when an external force is applied from a state in which it is stored in the annular groove 11 of the inner joint 5 as shown in Fig. 10(a) , the C-shaped ring member 13 is expanded in diameter as shown by the black arrow in Fig. 10(b) and disposed in the annular groove 11 so as to straddle the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side.

The mechanical joint joining jig 15 (hereinafter simply referred to as "jig 15") used to join the mechanical joint 1 as described above will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the jig 15 according to this embodiment includes a pilot wire 17 and a C-ring member moving and holding member 19. As shown in FIG.
Each component will be described in detail below.

<Pilot wire>
The pilot wire 17 is a linear member made of a steel wire or the like that can be arranged around the entire circumference of the annular groove 11 in the gap between the C-shaped ring member 13 and the annular groove 11 in which the C-shaped ring member 13 is stored.

<C-ring member moving/holding member>
The C-shaped ring member moving and holding member 19 is connected or connectable to the pilot wire 17, and is disposed over the entire circumference of the annular groove 11 in the gap between the C-shaped ring member 13 and the bottom of the annular groove 11. In other words, the jig 15 of the present invention includes (a) a case in which the pilot wire 17 and the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member 19 are connected to form a single member, and (b) a case in which the pilot wire 17 and the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member 19 are each a set of separate members.
It also has the function of moving the C-shaped ring member 13 from the side of the inner joint 5 where the C-shaped ring member 13 is stored to a position spanning the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side, and maintaining it in that position.

The C-shaped ring member moving/holding member 19 having the above-mentioned functions comprises, as shown in FIG. 2, a linear member 21 (wire) and a plurality of pressing members 23 which are attached to the linear member 21 at a predetermined interval and have a larger diameter than the linear member 21 and which come into contact with and press the C-shaped ring member 13.
The number of the pressing members 23 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3C, an example in which seven pressing members are provided is shown.

The linear member 21 and the pressing member 23 can be joined by welding the linear member 21 and the pressing member 23 (see the third pressing member 23 from the front in FIG. 2), or by crimping the linear members 21 before and after the pressing member 23 (see the second pressing member 23 from the front in FIG. 2). In addition, in order to embed and fix the linear member 21, a sleeve can be inserted inside the pressing member 23 and the linear member 21 can be crimped, and the pressing member itself can be separate upper and lower parts that are integrated with bolts or the like (see the front pressing member 23a in FIG. 2).

In this embodiment, the leading pressing member 23a, which is disposed at a position (leading end) closest to the connection portion with the pilot wire 17, has an inclined surface that is curved and inclined toward the tip so as to taper, as shown in FIG. 2.
By forming the tip of the leading pressing member 23 a into a tapered inclined surface, it becomes easier to insert it between the C-shaped ring member 13 and the bottom of the annular groove 11 .

The second and subsequent pressing members 23 press the C-shaped ring member 13 to expand its diameter by a predetermined dimension. The pressing members 23 may have a circular or rectangular cross section, and are not limited in shape. However, it is preferable that the pressing members 23 have a shape that allows them to stably contact the C-shaped ring member 13, and a rectangular parallelepiped shape is preferable.
When the cross-sectional shape of the pressing member 23 is circular, it is preferable to prevent the pressing member 23 from shifting to one side within the annular groove 11. For this purpose, an R-shaped groove extending in the circumferential direction along the surface shape of the pressing member 23 may be formed on the surface of the C-shaped ring member 13 or the annular groove 11 that abuts against the pressing member 23.

The leading pressure member 23a and the pressure member 23 are preferably made of a material that has low friction resistance with both the bottom of the annular groove 11 and the C-shaped ring member 13. For example, they may be made of steel with a parkerized outer surface, a resin with a low coefficient of friction (e.g., PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)), or may be coated with grease.

As described above, the function of the pressing member 23 and the leading pressing member 23a is to expand the diameter of the C-shaped ring member 13 and move it to a position spanning the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side. In order to more effectively exert this function, it is preferable that the radial dimension ds of the largest diameter portion of the pressing member 23 and the leading pressing member 23a satisfy the following formula.
ds≦di+do-wc-esum
Where, di: Inner joint groove depth (radial width)
do: Outer joint groove depth (radial width)
wc: Width of C-ring member (radial direction)
esum: The sum of the positive tolerances of the design tolerances of each part. For example, if wc = 12 mm, di = 12 mm, and do = 6 mm, then esum = 0.5 mm and ds will be 5.5 mm or less.

In addition, the minimum radial width that the C-shaped ring member 13 must bear on the outer joint pipe 7 is defined as dom. In other words, if the C-shaped ring member 13 bears on the outer joint pipe 7 at a width of approximately dom, the planned resistance (bearing pressure) will be satisfied, and it is preferable that ds satisfies the following formula.
ds≧di+dom-wc+esum'
Here, esum' is the absolute value of the sum of the negative tolerances of the design tolerances of the respective parts.

Next, a method for joining the mechanical joint 1 using the jig 15 of this embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
In order to make the annular groove 11 easier to see in the drawings, the groove wall portions in the inner joint 5 and the outer joint 7 are colored a lighter gray than the other portions.

First, the C-shaped ring member 13 is stored in the annular groove 11 of the inner joint 5. The C-shaped ring member 13 can be stored in a state where it does not protrude from the annular groove 11 in a natural state.
A pilot wire 17 is disposed between the bottom of the annular groove 11 and the C-shaped ring member 13 so as to extend around the entire circumference of the C-shaped ring member 13. At this time, both ends of the pilot wire 17 are disposed at the positions of the slits in the C-shaped ring member 13.

Next, the inner joint 5 and the outer joint 7 are assembled to complete the assembly (see FIG. 3(b)). More specifically, the inner joint 5 is inserted into the outer joint 7, and the tip of the outer joint 7 is brought into contact with the step portion 9 of the inner joint 5 to complete the assembly.

Thereafter, one end of the pilot wire 17 is accessed through an access hole 27 (see Figures 3(b) and (c)) provided in the outer joint 7, and one end of the pilot wire 17 is connected to one end of the linear member 21 of the C-ring member moving/holding member 19.
Incidentally, if one end of the pilot wire 17 and one end of the linear member 21 of the C-ring member moving and holding member 19 are connected in advance, this connecting operation is not necessary.

After the above connection is completed, by pulling the other end of the pilot wire 17, the C-shaped ring member moving/holding member 19 is pulled by the pilot wire 17 and inserted between the bottom of the annular groove 11 and the C-shaped ring member 13 (see Figures 3(b) and 4).
The leading pressing member 23 a has a tapered tip, so that it can be easily inserted into the gap between the bottom of the annular groove 11 and the C-shaped ring member 13 .

When the C-shaped ring member moving/holding member 19 is inserted into the gap between the bottom of the annular groove 11 and the C-shaped ring member 13, the pressing member 23 expands the diameter of the C-shaped ring member 13 (see Figure 4), and the C-shaped ring member 13 is positioned within the annular groove 11 to straddle the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side. This enables the mechanical joint 1 to transmit tensile loads.

5A shows the positional relationship between the leading pressing member 23a and the C-shaped ring member 13 in the annular groove 11. Also, FIG. 5B shows the positional relationship between the pressing member 23 and the C-shaped ring member 13.
As shown in FIG. 5, the leading pressing member 23a and the pressing member 23 continue to be disposed within the annular groove 11, so that the expanded diameter state of the C-ring member 13 is maintained, and the steel pipe 3 joined by the mechanical joint 1 can be kept in service without losing a predetermined bearing strength, thereby ensuring safety.

When it is desired to release the assembled state (joined state) of the mechanical joint 1 and separate the steel pipes 3, the C-ring member moving/holding member 19 is pulled out, and the C-ring member 13 contracts in diameter due to its own elasticity. As a result, the C-ring member 13 is housed in the annular groove 11 of the inner joint 5 as shown in FIG. 3(a), and the inner joint 5 can be separated from the outer joint 7.

As described above, by using the jig 15 of this embodiment, the joining of the mechanical joint 1 using the C-ring member 13 can be performed extremely easily, and a state in which stable load transmission is possible can be maintained.
Furthermore, when separating the mechanical joint 1, it is only necessary to pull out the C-ring member moving and holding member 19, which is also advantageous in this respect.

As shown in Figures 6 to 8, it is more preferable to make the center of the leading end of the leading pressure member 23a eccentric toward the bottom of the annular groove 11 when inserted, because this makes it easier to insert the leading end of the leading pressure member 23a into the gap between the bottom of the groove and the C-shaped ring member 13.

Although the total number of pressing members 23 and leading pressing members 23a is exemplified as seven in the above, the number of pressing members 23 of the present invention is not limited to this. However, since they must be facing each other in the annular groove 11 at a minimum, the distance between the leading pressing member 23a and the pressing member 23 or between the pressing members 23 in the annular groove 11 must be 180 degrees or less. In other words, at least one pressing member 23 is required every 180 degrees, and in this case, as shown in Figure 9, there will be two in total. If there is more than this, for example one every 120 degrees, there will be three in total, and if there is one every 45 degrees, there will be eight in total.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, the C-ring member 13 is stored in the annular groove 11 of the inner joint 5 before the inner joint 5 and the outer joint 7 are assembled together.
The mechanical joint joining jig 15 of the present invention is not limited to the above case, but can also be applied to a case in which the C-ring member 13 is housed in the annular groove 11 of the outer joint 7 .
This case will be described with reference to FIG.

Before assembly, as shown in FIG. 11( a ), the C-shaped ring member 13 is stored in the annular groove 11 of the outer joint 7, and a pilot wire 17 is placed in the gap between the bottom of the groove and the C-shaped ring member 13.
Next, with the outer joint 7 and the inner joint 5 assembled, the C-shaped ring member moving/holding member 19 is inserted into the gap between the groove bottom and the C-shaped ring member 13. This causes the diameter of the C-shaped ring member 13 to be reduced as shown by the black arrow in Figure 11(b) , and the C-shaped ring member 13 is positioned within the annular groove 11 so as to straddle the inner joint 5 side and the outer joint 7 side.

The effects of embodiment 2 are the same as those of embodiment 1.

Furthermore, a structure can be constructed by connecting jointed steel pipes 3 to which the above-mentioned mechanical joints 1 are attached using the joining method for the mechanical joints 1 described above.
Furthermore, a method of constructing such a structure may involve restraining the position of one of the jointed steel pipes 3 to be connected in the axial direction of the steel pipe, while aligning and joining the other jointed steel pipe 3 to the one jointed steel pipe 3.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 mechanical joint 3 steel pipe 5 inner joint 7 outer joint 9 step portion 11 annular groove 13 C-shaped ring member 15 jig 17 pilot wire 19 C-shaped ring member moving/holding member 21 linear member 23 pressing member 23a leading pressing member 27 access hole

Claims (6)

A jig for joining a mechanical joint used to join a mechanical joint, the jig having annular grooves formed on an outer circumferential surface of an inner joint and an inner circumferential surface of an outer joint so as to face each other in a joint assembly completion state, the jig including a C-ring member that can be stored in the annular groove of the inner joint or the outer joint and that can be arranged within the annular groove so as to straddle the inner joint side and the outer joint side in the assembly completion state,
a pilot wire that can be disposed around the entire circumference of the annular groove in a gap between the C-shaped ring member and a bottom of the annular groove in which the C-shaped ring member is stored;
a C-shaped ring member moving and holding member that is connected or connectable to the pilot wire, that is disposed around the entire circumference of the annular groove in a gap between the C-shaped ring member and the bottom of the annular groove, and that moves the C-shaped ring member from the inner joint side or the outer joint side where the C-shaped ring member is stored to a position spanning the inner joint side and the outer joint side and holds it at that position;
A mechanical joint joining jig equipped with the above. The jig for mechanical joint joining according to claim 1, wherein the C-ring member moving and holding member comprises a linear member and a plurality of pressing members attached to the linear member at a predetermined interval and having a larger diameter than the linear member, which come into contact with and press against the C-ring member. The mechanical joint joining jig according to claim 2, wherein at least the first one of the pressing members has a tapered tip. A method for joining a mechanical joint using the mechanical joint joining jig according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
a step of storing the C-ring in the annular groove of the inner joint or the outer joint, and disposing the pilot wire in a gap between the C-ring member and the bottom of the annular groove over the entire circumference;
a step of assembling the inner joint and the outer joint to a completed assembled state;
a step of accessing one end of the pilot wire through an access hole provided in the outer joint and connecting the one end of the C-ring member moving and holding member;
accessing the other end of the pilot wire through the access hole, and pulling the other end of the pilot wire to pull the C-shaped ring member moving and holding member into a gap between the C-shaped ring member and the annular groove bottom, thereby moving the C-shaped ring member to a position spanning the inner joint side and the outer joint side, and holding it in that position. A structure in which pipes with mechanical joints attached thereto are connected by the mechanical joint joining method described in claim 4. A method for constructing a structure as described in claim 5, in which, while restraining the position of one of the coupling pipes to be connected in the axial direction, the other coupling pipe is aligned and joined to the coupling pipe.