Method for manufacturing connector-integrated resin tube

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12304134-B2
Application number	US-202318165342-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2023
Priority date	Apr 19, 2021
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube includes: a fitting step in which an end portion of a resin tube material including a straight tube portion is fitted into an end portion of a connector of a tubular shape; a joining step in which the end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the connector that have been fitted are joined by laser welding; a heating holding step in which a posture holding die including a bending processing portion for bending processing of the straight tube portion is used to hold the straight tube portion in a heated and bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die; and a cooling step in which the straight tube portion is cooled.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ), the connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) comprising a curved portion, the method comprising:
a fitting step (S 3 , S 13 , S 23 ) in which an end portion ( 21 A, 21 B) of a resin tube material ( 5 ) including a straight tube portion ( 21 , 22 , 24 ) is fitted into an end portion ( 31 , 41 ) of a connector ( 3 , 4 ) of a tubular shape;
a joining step (S 4 , S 14 , S 24 ) in which the end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the connector that have been fitted in the fitting step are joined by laser welding, after the fitting step;
a heating holding step (S 5 , S 15 , S 25 ) in which a posture holding die ( 7 ) including a bending processing portion ( 71 ) for bending processing of the straight tube portion is used to hold the straight tube portion of the resin tube material to which the connector is joined in the joining step in a heated and bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die, after the joining step; and
a cooling step (S 6 , S 16 , S 26 ) in which the straight tube portion that has been heated and bent in the heating holding step is cooled, after the heating holding step.

2. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the fitting step (S 3 , S 23 ), a first end portion of the resin tube material is fitted into an end portion ( 31 ) of a first connector ( 3 ) being the connector, and a second end portion of the resin tube material is fitted into an end portion ( 41 ) of a second connector ( 4 ) being the connector; and
in the joining step (S 4 , S 24 ), the first end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the first connector are joined by laser welding, and then the second end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the second connector are joined by laser welding.

3. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the fitting step (S 13 ), a first end portion ( 21 A) of the resin tube material is fitted into an end portion ( 31 ) of a first connector ( 3 ) being the connector, and a second end portion ( 22 A) of the resin tube material is fitted into an end portion ( 41 ) of a second connector ( 4 ) being the connector; and
in the joining step (S 14 ), at a same time as the first end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the first connector are joined by laser welding, the second end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the second connector are joined by laser welding.

4. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the fitting step (S 3 , S 13 , S 23 ), the end portion of the resin tube material is fitted into the end portion of the connector, the resin tube material being composed of the straight tube portion over its entire length.

5. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein
the straight tube portion ( 21 , 22 , 24 ) includes a bellows tube portion ( 24 ) at least in part of the straight tube portion; and
in the heating holding step (S 5 , S 15 , S 25 ), the bellows tube portion ( 24 ) of the straight tube portion is held in the heated and bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die.

6. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 ) according to claim 5 , wherein
the straight tube portion ( 21 , 22 , 24 ) includes the bellows tube portion ( 24 ) and a non-bellows tube portion ( 21 , 22 ); and,
in the heating holding step (S 5 , S 15 , S 25 ),
the bellows tube portion of the straight tube portion is held in the heated and bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die; and
the non-bellows tube portion is held in a state of being a straight tube.

7. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein
the straight tube portion includes a non-bellows tube portion at least in part of the straight tube portion; and,
in the heating holding step (S 5 , S 15 , S 25 ), the non-bellows tube portion of the straight tube portion is held in the heated and bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die.

8. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein
the heating holding step (S 5 , S 15 ) includes:
a pre-heating step (S 5 A, S 15 A) in which the straight tube portion of the resin tube material is heated; and
a bending holding step (S 5 B, S 15 B) in which the straight tube portion of the resin tube material that has been heated in the pre-heating step is disposed in the bending processing portion of the posture holding die, and the straight tube portion of the resin tube material is held in a bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die, after the pre-heating step.

9. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein
the heating holding step (S 25 ) includes:
a bending holding step (S 25 A) in which the straight tube portion of the resin tube material is disposed in the bending processing portion of the posture holding die, and the straight tube portion of the resin tube material is held in a bent state at the bending processing portion of the posture holding die; and
a post-heating step (S 25 B) in which the straight tube portion held in the bent state by the posture holding die in the bending holding step is heated, after the bending holding step.

10. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the fitting step (S 3 , S 13 , S 23 ), the end portion of the resin tube material is inserted radially inside the end portion of the connector.

11. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 10 , wherein,
in the joining step (S 4 , S 14 , S 24 ), a laser beam (RB) is irradiated from radially outside the end portion of the connector toward an outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the connector, and the end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the connector are joined by laser welding with the laser beam transmitted through the end portion of the connector.

12. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the joining step (S 4 , S 14 , S 24 ), the end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the connector that have been fitted are joined by laser welding while the resin tube material is supported at a plurality of places by a plurality of support jigs ( 62 , 63 ).

13. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 12 , wherein,
in the joining step (S 4 , S 14 , S 24 ), the straight tube portion of the resin tube material is supported at a plurality of places by the plurality of support jigs.

14. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the joining step (S 4 , S 14 , S 24 ), the end portion of the resin tube material and the end portion of the connector are joined by laser welding by irradiating a laser beam while rotating the resin tube material and the connector.

15. The method for manufacturing a connector-integrated resin tube ( 1 , 301 ) according to claim 1 , whe

Assignees

• Sumitomo Riko Co Ltd

Inventors

• Saiki Kazuhiro
• Mizutani Koji
• Takimoto Yorihiro

Classifications

• B29L2023/004

  Bent tubes (for use as pipe couplings B29L2031/24) · CPC title

• B29C2035/0283

  Thermal pretreatment of the plastics material · CPC title

• B29C65/1632

  direct heating the surfaces to be joined · CPC title

• B29C53/84

  Heating or cooling · CPC title

• B29C66/65

  with a relative motion between the article and the welding tool (B29C65/10, B29C65/12 take precedence) · CPC title