JP2001220733A - Rotary valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary valve having less flow resistance or flow energy loss, particularly a rotary valve suited for control of fluid supplied to the hollow element of a ground improving device. SOLUTION: The rotary valve 44 includes a housing 46 and a valve element 48 contained within the housing in such a manner as to be rotatable about its axis. The housing and the valve element have respectively a pair of opposite openings 50 and a through hole 56 which are capable of being aligned on a straight line perpendicular to the axis 54 of the housing for defining a path of movement for the fluid.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a rotary valve, and more particularly, to a rotary valve applied to a ground improvement device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for improving the ground for the purpose of increasing the bearing capacity of a ground such as a sandy ground or a viscous ground and preventing liquefaction of the ground during an earthquake has been previously proposed.

[0003] This ground improvement device comprises a tubular casing disposed underground, and a hollow rod rotatably disposed in the casing, at least allowing a discharge of a pressurized fluid supplied therein. A rod having an end provided with an opening, a supply pipe for the pressurized fluid connected to the rod in communication therewith, and at least a portion of the rod provided on the rod. A helically surrounding blade and a closed space attached to the lower end of the rod and defined around the end of the rod and communicating with the opening of the rod, capable of expansion and contraction by supply and discharge of the pressurized fluid And a hollow body.

According to this, under the ground, by supplying a pressurized fluid to the hollow body through the supply pipe and the rod and then discharging the hollow body, the hollow body is rapidly expanded and contracted, and the hollow body is expanded. Impact force on the surrounding ground, which can be compacted or consolidated. The surrounding ground is further compacted or consolidated by the repetition of rapid expansion and subsequent contraction of the hollow body,
The compaction or compaction of the surrounding ground improves the ground to a solid one.

Incidentally, in order to control the intermittent supply of the pressurized fluid to the hollow body, it is desirable to provide a rotary valve in the supply pipe.

Conventionally, a rotary valve includes a housing and a valve body rotatably housed in the housing around an axis thereof, and the valve body provides a rotational driving force of a motor mounted outside the housing. Receiving it rotates a predetermined angle.

In the above conventional rotary valve, the housing is provided with a pair of openings, and the valve body is formed of a cylindrical body having closed both ends. An opening is provided. The two openings of the housing and the two openings of the valve body have two axes perpendicular to each other as axes, and when these two straight lines coincide with each other by rotating the valve body, both the openings of the housing and the valve The openings in the body are aligned. At this time, the pressurized fluid passes through one opening of the housing and one opening of the valve body that are aligned with each other, the valve body, the other opening of the housing, and the other opening of the valve body. It flows through the inside of the rotary valve.

However, in the conventional rotary valve, since the heating fluid is forced to flow along two straight lines perpendicular to each other and the flow path is suddenly changed, the flow resistance is large, and the loss of flow energy is large. There is a problem of being large. This problem is particularly remarkable when a gas such as air is used as the pressurized fluid and supplied to the hollow body.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary valve having a small flow resistance or a small flow energy loss, and in particular, a rotary valve suitable for controlling the fluid supplied to the hollow body of the above-mentioned ground improvement device. It is in.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A rotary valve according to the present invention includes a housing and a valve body rotatably housed in the housing around an axis thereof. It has a pair of opposed openings and through-holes that define a travel path for the fluid that is alignable in a straight line perpendicular to the axis of the housing.

The rotary valve is particularly useful in application to a ground improvement device. The ground improvement device includes a tubular casing disposed in the ground, and at least one opening formed of a hollow rod rotatably disposed in the casing and allowing discharge of a pressurized fluid supplied therein. A rod having an end provided with, a supply pipe for the pressurized fluid connected to the rod in communication therewith, and at least a part of the rod provided on the rod in a spiral shape. A surrounding vane and a hollow that is attached to the lower end of the rod and that defines an enclosed space around the end of the rod that communicates with the opening of the rod and that can be expanded and contracted by the supply and discharge of the pressurized fluid. Body. The rotary valve is arranged such that a pair of openings of the housing communicate with the supply pipe of the ground improvement device.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the pair of openings of the housing of the rotary valve and the through-hole of the valve body accommodated therein can be aligned in a straight line, and at this time, the movement for the fluid is performed. Since the passage is defined, unlike the conventional rotary valve, there is no sudden change in the flow passage, and both the flow resistance and the loss of the flow energy are small.

When the rotary valve is applied to the ground improvement apparatus, a decrease in a supply pressure, a supply speed, and the like of a pressurized fluid, particularly a gas such as air, supplied to the hollow body through the rod is minimized. And the energy of the pressurized fluid can be more effectively exerted from the hollow body to the surrounding ground. Further, the scale of the supply equipment for the pressurized fluid can be reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, an underground pillar is formed underground to which a rotary valve 44 described later of the present invention is applied.
Further, an apparatus for improving the ground by densifying the ground around the underground pillar is indicated by reference numeral 10 as a whole.

The ground improvement apparatus 10 includes a tubular casing 12 disposed in the ground, a rod 14 rotatably disposed in the casing 12 around its axis, and a rod 14.
And a blade 18 (FIG. 2) provided on the rod 14.

The casing 12 is provided with blades 19 provided on the outer peripheral surface and extending spirally around the periphery except for the upper part. The casing 12 is made of, for example, a steel pipe having an outer diameter of 400 mm.

The casing 12 is vertically supported by a self-propelled base machine 20 installed on the ground in order to arrange the casing 12 in the ground for forming the underground pillar in the ground.

The base machine 20 includes a vertically extending post 22, a grip 24 supported by the post 22 and capable of moving up and down along the post, a guide 26, and a motor (not shown). The post 22 is rotatable about a horizontal axis and can be tilted by rotating it.

The casing 12 has, at its upper end,
The grip 24 is rotatably gripped by the grip 24.
And extends downward through a guide 26 located below.

The grip 24 also has a mechanism (not shown) for transmitting the rotational power of the motor to the casing 12 and rotating the casing 12 about its axis.

By operating the base machine 20, the lower end of the casing 12 gripped by the grip 24 is pressed against the ground, and the casing 12 is rotated in one direction (for example, clockwise) around its axis. Action of the blades 19 causes the casing 12
8 and placed underground. Conversely, if the casing 12 is rotated in another direction (for example, counterclockwise),
Under the action of the blade 19, the underground casing 12 can be raised.

The casing 12 may not have the blade 19. In this case, the casing 12 can be penetrated and arranged in the ground by applying a striking force or a pushing force to the casing 12 using an appropriate mechanical force.

The rod 14 in the casing 12 is hollow and extends movably relative to the casing 12 in the axial direction thereof. The rod 14 has a closed one end (lower end) 32 and a hose 3 through a swivel 29.
0 is connected to the other end (upper end). Lower end 3
2 is tapered downward (see FIG. 2).

The rod 14 is provided with at least one (a plurality in the illustrated example) opening 34 (FIG. 2) which is open to the peripheral surface above the lower end 32 thereof. These openings 34 form passage holes for a later-described high-pressure fluid or pressurized fluid used for expanding and contracting a hollow body or sheet member 40 described later as an example of the impact force applying means 16.

The swivel 29 can be seated on the upper end of the casing 12. When the swivel 29 is in the seated position, the lower end 32 of the rod 14 and the impact applying means 16 are moved from the lower end of the casing 12 to the outside. Exposure to

The rod 14 can be rotated about its axis together with the blade 18 via another motor (not shown) coaxially mounted on a swivel 29 at the upper end of the casing 12. .

By the rotation of the blades 18, a large number of granular materials 36 described later (FIG. 2) which are put into the casing 12 and fill it.
Receives feed force from the upper end of the casing toward the lower end thereof, and is prevented from staying in the casing 12.

The hose 30 includes a pump, an air compressor, and the like for supplying a high-pressure fluid or a pressurized fluid composed of water, air, or the like pressurized into the rod 14 via a switching valve (not shown). It is connected to a fluid supply source (not shown) and a negative pressure source (not shown) such as a water pump or a vacuum pump for applying a negative pressure in the rod 14. Instead of connecting to the negative pressure source, the hose 30 may be opened to the atmosphere via the switching valve. The fluid supply source and the negative pressure source are installed on the ground.

At the upper end of the casing 12, a hopper 38 communicating with the inside of the casing is arranged and fixed. The hopper 38 is provided with a gap 62 to be described below formed in the ground.
2 (FIG. 2). The granules 36 in the hopper 38 fall into the casing 12, that is, the annular space between the casing 12 and the rod 14, and the annular space is filled with the plurality of granules. The particulate matter is guided through the casing 12 to the space 62 described later. Examples of the granular material include sand, gravel, crushed shell pieces, slag, coal ash, dredged soil, construction residual soil, and the like.

The illustrated impact applying means 16 comprises a hollow body or a sheet member 40. The sheet member 40 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and surrounds a part of the rod 14 at a position above a lower end portion (one end portion) 32 of the rod.

The upper and lower ends of the sheet member 40 are preferably air-tightly or liquid-tightly fixed to the peripheral surface of the rod 14 at positions above and below the opening 34 of the rod 14, respectively. As a result, a closed space 42 (FIG. 2) is formed around a part of the rod 14.
The space 42 communicates with the opening 34.

The sheet member 40 has a property of impervious or impervious to liquids such as water and gas such as air, and has a strength that does not cause cracks due to contact with gravel or soil in the ground 28. Are selected.

As a material suitable for this, for example, a sheet material made of a rubber sheet material, a fabric made of aramid fiber, a fabric made of high-strength polyethylene fiber (for example, Dyneema (trademark) manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.), or the like There is. As the fabric made of Dyneema, for example, a fabric having a thickness of 0.63 mm can be selected. In the woven fabric,
If necessary, a resin coating for improving liquid tightness and air tightness is applied.

When the pressurized fluid is supplied from the fluid source into the rod 14 through the hose 30, the pressurized fluid flows through the opening 34 of the tubular member into the space 42 defined by the sheet member 40. Thereby, the sheet member 40
Rapidly changes from a contracted state to an expanded state. A rotary valve 44 (FIGS. 3 to 5) is provided in the middle of the hose (fluid supply pipe) 30 to control the opening time of the opening 34 and cause the seat member 40 to expand rapidly.

The rotary valve 44 includes a housing 46 and a valve element 48 housed in the housing 46.

The illustrated housing 46 consists of a cylinder having a closed top and bottom surface and
It has two openings 50. Both openings 50 are formed in the side wall 52 of the cylindrical body. The axes (not shown) of these openings 50 are orthogonal to the axis 54 of the housing. Both openings 50 communicate with both hoses 30 connected to the side wall 52 of the housing.

On the other hand, the valve element 48 is formed of a cylindrical body, is disposed coaxially with the housing 46 and in an air-tight or liquid-tight contact with the inner surface thereof, and has an axis 5 of the housing.
4 so as to be rotatable.

The valve body 48 has a through hole 56 extending across the valve body and opening on the peripheral surface thereof. The through-holes 56 are provided at both ends at positions that can be aligned with both openings 50 of the housing. The through hole 56 of the valve body 48 can be aligned with the two openings 50 by rotating the valve body 48 about the axis 54 (FIG. 4) and can be released (FIG. 5). .

When the through hole 56 is aligned with both openings 50,
These through-holes and openings define a moving passage for the pressurized fluid extending in a straight line and form a part of the hose 30, whereby the pressurized fluid is inserted into the rod 14 and the hollow body 40 of the soil improvement device. Is supplied. In the through hole 56 and the two openings 50, the pressurized fluid travels in a straight line, so that abrupt changes in the flow path and associated energy loss and flow resistance are avoided.

On the contrary, when the two openings 50 of the through hole 56 are not aligned, the flow of the pressurized fluid to the through hole 56 is blocked, and the supply of the pressurized fluid to the rod 14 and the hollow body 40 is stopped. Stopped.

In the illustrated example, a hydraulic motor 58 is used as a rotary drive source for rotating the valve element 48. Hydraulic motor 58 is mounted on the top surface of housing 46 and its drive shaft (not shown) extending on axis 54 of the housing extends through the top surface of housing 46 and into it and is secured to the top of valve body 48. Have been. An electric motor may be used instead of the hydraulic motor.

In forming the underground pillar for soil improvement, the casing 1
2 is rotated in one direction and screwed into the ground 28 to lower the ground to a predetermined depth.
2 is placed underground.

During this time, the lower end 32 of the internal rod 14 hits the ground 28 and is not exposed from the lower end of the casing 12. In addition, since the gap between the rod 14 and the casing 12 is filled with the contracted sheet member 40 at the lower ends thereof, there is almost no inflow of earth and sand into this gap. Further, the tapered lower end of the rod 14 contributes to reducing the penetration resistance of the casing 12 with respect to the ground 28.

Next, the casing 12 is reversed to slightly raise the casing. As the casing 12 rises, the rod 14 and the sheet member 40 inside the casing 12 relatively descend along the trace of penetration of the casing 12. The casing 12 is raised until the swivel 29 at the upper end of the rod 14 is seated on the upper end of the casing 12.

When the casing 12 is raised, the rod 1
4 and the sheet member 40 are
From the outside. Thereby, the sheet member 40
Is placed underground.

Next, a hose 30,
The pressurized fluid is supplied into the space 42 defined by the seat member 40 through the rotary valve 44, the rod 14, and the opening 34 thereof, and the seat member 40 is rapidly expanded. This rapid expansion causes the sheet member 40 to move around the ground 6.
At zero, an impact force is applied to the surrounding ground 60. As a result, the wall surface of the surrounding ground 60 surrounding the sheet member 40 is expanded by the sheet member 40. Thus, the surrounding ground 60 is compacted (in the case of sandy ground) or compacted (in the case of viscous ground). The impact force from the sheet member 40 on the surrounding ground 60 is, for example, about 29.
It can be set to 4 × 10 ⁵ Pa.

Next, the fluid is sucked from the space 42 defined by the sheet member 40 through the opening 34, the rod 14, and the hose 30 by operating the negative pressure source (not shown). Shrink 40.

As a result, a gap 62 appears between the contracted or contracted sheet member, that is, the contracted sheet member 40, and the wall surface of the surrounding ground 60 facing the sheet member.

The casing 62 and the rod 1
A number of granules 36 filling the annular space between them are fed and supplied. At this time, the rod 14 is driven to rotate, and the blade 18 that rotates together with the rod
A downward feeding force is exerted on the granular material 36 in the inner portion 2. As a result, the granular material 36 is forcibly fed into the gap 62 and supplied.

Sheet member 40 prior to supply of granular material 36
Rapid expansion and contraction of the surrounding ground 6
It is performed once or plural times depending on the hardness, properties, etc. of 0. For example, when the surrounding ground 60 is relatively hard, the expansion and contraction of the sheet member 40 are performed a plurality of times. This makes it possible to obtain a gap having a size substantially equal to the size of the gap 62 obtained by one expansion and one contraction of the sheet member 40 when the surrounding ground 60 is relatively soft.

When the hose 30 is opened to the atmosphere by the switching operation of the switching valve, after the hose 30 is opened to the atmosphere, the gap between the sheet member 40 and the compacted or compacted surrounding ground 60 around it is reduced. The above-mentioned granular material is supplied to the gap 62 of the same manner.

The supply of the granular material 36 causes the sheet member 40
Receives a pressing force from the periphery thereof, the fluid in the space 42 defined by the sheet member 40 is released into the atmosphere through the rod 14, the hose 30, and the like, the sheet member 40 is contracted, and the contracted sheet member 40 and its surroundings A void 62 generated between the ground 60 and the ground 60 is filled with the granular material 36.

Thereafter, the steps of rapid expansion and contraction of the sheet member 40 and supply of the granular material 36 are repeated. The number of times of expansion and contraction of the sheet member 40 is, for example, 50-100 times / minute, respectively.

The repeated rapid expansion of the sheet member 40 causes the large number of granular materials 36 supplied to the gap 62 between the sheet member 40 and the surrounding ground 60 to expand and contract during the expansion and contraction of the sheet member. It will be fruited. Further, the wall surface of the surrounding ground 60 is further expanded through the granular material 36, whereby the surrounding ground 60 is further compacted or compacted, and the area occupied by the granular material 36 is expanded in the horizontal direction. This region forms the bottom of the earth pillar 64 to be created.

After the bottom of the soil column 64 is formed, the casing 12 is rotated in the other direction to slightly raise it. At this time, together with the casing 12, the rod 14 and the seat member 40 seated on the upper end of the casing 12 via the swivel 29 also rise.

In the raised position, the above steps, ie,
Rapid expansion and contraction of the sheet member 40 and the granular material 3
6 is repeated. By alternately performing the raising of the casing 12 and the sheet member 40 and the repetition of the above-described process at the raised position, a soil pillar 64 having a uniform diameter and extending in the vertical direction is formed in the ground.

Alternatively, from the initial depth position to the ground, the casing 12, the rod 14, and the seat member 4
Also, the above-mentioned soil column can be similarly formed by increasing the value of "0" at an appropriate speed and repeating the above-mentioned process during this time.

By the way, when the rod 14 is raised,
The lower end 32 of the rod is inserted into a part of the soil column 64 immediately after the construction.
Drawbacks occur. As a means for filling the trace with the granular material 36, preferably, another blade 66 (FIG. 2) spirally surrounding at least a part of the rod 14 between the lower end 32 of the rod and the sheet member 40 is used. Provide.

According to this, when the rod 14 is raised together with the casing 12, the rod 14 is rotated to forcibly feed the granular material 36 existing above the rod 14 into the above-mentioned trace, and the granular trace 36 Can be satisfied. At this time, the blade 18 located above the sheet member 40 also rotates in the same direction, and has an effect of sending out the granular material 36 in the casing 12 toward another blade 66.

The groundwater can be guided to the ground from the ground improved by the formation of the underground pillars 64 through the underground pillars 64, whereby the ground can be further improved.

Further, the casing 12 can penetrate into the ground in an oblique state. According to this, an underground pillar extending diagonally in the ground near the existing structure or in the ground immediately below the existing structure can be formed, and the ground can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a ground improvement device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an enlarged lower end portion of the ground improvement device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary valve.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the rotary valve in a state that allows passage of a fluid.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rotary valve in a state where the passage of a fluid is blocked.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ground improvement apparatus 12 Casing 14 Rod 18 Spiral blade 40 Seat member (hollow body) 44 Rotary valve 46, 48 Rotary valve housing and valve body 50 Housing opening 56 Valve body through hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) E02D 7/00 E02D 7/00 Z F16K 3/26 F16K 3/26 Z (72) Inventor Hirokazu Tanaka Tokyo 2-1, Tsugado-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Kumagaya Gumi Tokyo headquarters (72) Inventor Satoshi Kobayashi, 2-1, Tsukudo-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tokyo headquarters, F-term (reference) 2D040 AA00 AB06 AC02 AC03 AC07 BA07 BB03 BD05 CA04 CA05 EA00 2D041 AA01 BA01 BA53 DA14 DB00 EA02 EA04 EB06 EC06 FA03 FA06 FA07 2D043 CA06 CB00 EA01 EA02 EA05 EA10 2D050 AA01 AA07 BB05 BB10 CA02 CA06 CB04 CB05 A033A03 BC11 A033H

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A housing comprising: a housing; and a valve body rotatably housed in the housing about an axis thereof, wherein the housing and the valve body are respectively aligned on a straight line perpendicular to the axis of the housing. A rotary valve having a pair of opposing openings and through-holes defining a transfer path for the fluid, which is possible. 2. A tubular casing disposed in the ground,
A hollow rod rotatably disposed within the casing, the rod having an end provided with at least one opening for permitting discharge of pressurized fluid supplied therein; and a rod communicating with the rod. Supply pipe for the pressurized fluid, and a blade provided on the rod and spirally surrounding at least a part of the rod,
A hollow body attached to the lower end of the rod and defining an enclosed space around the end of the rod and communicating with the opening of the rod, the hollow body being capable of expansion and contraction by supply and discharge of the pressurized fluid. A rotary valve applied to the supply pipe of a ground improvement device, comprising: a housing; and a valve body rotatably housed in the housing around an axis thereof, wherein the housing and the valve body are respectively A pair of opposed openings and through-holes defining a passageway for the pressurized fluid, the pair of openings communicating with the tube, the alignable passages being aligned on a straight line perpendicular to the axis of the housing; Have a rotary valve.