JP2002147645A - Combination faucet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combination faucet capable of correctly conducting a temperature of the hot water obtained by mixing the independently flowing hot water and cold water, to a temperature sensor made of shape memory alloy, and adjusting a mixture ratio of the hot water to properly keep a temperature of the discharged hot water. SOLUTION: In this combination faucet 11 having a valve element 13 operated by a temperature sensitive spring 14 made of shape memory alloy and a bias spring 15 for adjusting the opening of a hot water inlet 23 and a cold water inlet 24, a stirring blade 16 having a spiral projection 43 axially extended while wound in the peripheral direction of a spindle 42 is mounted inside of the temperature sensitive spring 14. The hot water H flowing from the hot water inlet 23 and the cold water C flowing from the cold water inlet 24 flow into the temperature sensitive spring 14, then flow while spirally mixed along the projection 43 of the stirring blade 16 to form the flow of the hot water having a distribution of temperature uniform in the radial direction of the temperature sensitive spring 14, and is discharged from a hot water outlet 25. A temperature same as the temperature of the discharged hot water is conducted to the temperature sensitive spring 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot-water mixing method for adjusting the mixing ratio of hot water and cold water which are separately flowed by using a temperature sensing element made of a shape memory alloy and discharging hot water at a desired temperature. It is about a stopper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hot-water mixing tap for discharging hot water at a desired temperature, for example, by adjusting a mixing ratio of hot water and cold water separately supplied by using a temperature-sensitive body made of a shape memory alloy, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152050 discloses a hot and cold water mixing tap.

The hot-water mixer tap disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152050 discloses a hot-water mixing tap which is slidable in an axial direction in a housing in which a hot-water inlet and a water-inlet are provided at an axial interval. A control valve body for controlling the inflow amount is incorporated, and a temperature-sensitive spring made of a shape memory alloy is disposed downstream of the control valve body, and a bias spring is disposed upstream of the control valve body.

[0004] According to the hot water mixer tap, after the hot water flowing from the hot water inlet and the water flowing from the hot water inlet merge, the hot water flows through the inside and outside of the temperature-sensitive spring and is discharged from the housing as hot water. The temperature-sensitive spring expands and contracts according to the temperature of the hot water, the opening of the hot water inlet and the water inlet is adjusted, and the mixing ratio of the hot water is adjusted, so that the temperature of the discharged hot water can be maintained at a predetermined temperature. it can.

[0005]

However, in the hot / water mixer tap disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152050, the fluid flowing from the inflow port provided on the downstream side forms a swirling flow along the temperature-sensitive spring. Since the fluid flowing from the other inlet flows in the flow and becomes laminar, the temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring is not uniform, and the temperature of the fluid in contact with the temperature-sensitive spring is discharged. It did not match the temperature of the hot water. For this reason, the discharged hot water may not be kept at an appropriate temperature, and may be hot or cold.

If the swirling flow is increased by lengthening the vane provided on the guide sleeve, the pressure receiving area of the vane due to the fluid becomes large, and the control valve becomes resistant to actuation. It is necessary to increase the operating force required for the body, and there is also a problem that the size of the temperature-sensitive body and, in turn, the size of the device are increased.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to accurately transmit the temperature of hot water obtained by mixing separately supplied hot water and cold water to a temperature-sensitive body made of a shape memory alloy for adjusting the mixing ratio of hot water and cold water. An object of the present invention is to provide a compact hot and cold water mixing tap which can maintain the temperature of the discharged hot water at an appropriate temperature.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a hot and cold water mixing tap for discharging hot and cold water at a set temperature by mixing separately flowing hot water and cold water. A temperature-sensitive spring made of a shape memory alloy, a bias spring, a valve body that is operated by the temperature-sensitive spring and the bias spring, and adjusts a mixing ratio of the hot water and the water; The temperature-sensitive spring is arranged in a downstream area after the cold water joins, and a stirring blade extending spirally in the axial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring is provided inside the temperature-sensitive spring. It provides a mixing tap.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature-sensitive spring is disposed in the downstream area after the flowing hot water and the cold water join, and the spiral is provided inside the temperature-sensitive spring in the axial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring. Because the stirring blades that extend in the shape of a circle are provided, they are mixed while flowing spirally along the stirring blades, so that hot water and cold water do not flow in a laminar flow, and hot water that has a uniform temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring. A flow is formed. Therefore, the same temperature as the discharged hot water can be transmitted to the temperature-sensitive spring and operated appropriately, and the discharged hot water can be maintained at the proper temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the stirring blade is provided with a spirally shaped hot and cold water mixing tap wound in the same direction as the direction in which the temperature-sensitive spring is wound.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the hot water stirred by the stirring blade smoothly flows out of the temperature-sensitive spring,
The temperature of the hot water can be more accurately transmitted from inside and outside of the temperature-sensitive spring. Further, pressure loss can be reduced by reducing the flow resistance of the hot water.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the axial length of the stirring blade is 70 to 100% of the reduced length of the temperature-sensitive spring. A hot and cold water mixing tap is provided.

According to the third aspect, a flow of warm water having a uniform temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring is formed over substantially the entire axial length of the temperature-sensitive spring. for that reason,
The same temperature as the hot water discharged to the entire temperature sensing spring is transmitted,
It can be operated uniformly.

[0014]

1 to 5 show one embodiment of a hot and cold water mixing tap according to the present invention. 1 is a side sectional view of a hot / water mixer tap, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stirring blade, FIG. 3 is a side view of the stirring blade, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the stirring blade, and FIG. It is.

The hot / water mixer tap 11 includes a water supply pipe, a hot water supply pipe,
Attached inside a housing (not shown) provided with a discharge pipe, it is used to mix cold water supplied by a water supply pipe with hot water supplied by a hot water supply pipe and supply hot water to a user through the discharge pipe. You.

As shown in FIG. 1, a hot / water mixer tap 11 includes a cylindrical casing 12, a valve 13 disposed inside the casing 12 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and a sliding of the valve 13. It has a temperature-sensitive spring 14 and a bias spring 15 interposed at both ends in the direction, and a stirring blade 16 provided inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14. The temperature-sensitive spring 14 is a spring made of a shape memory alloy.

The casing 12 comprises a valve case 21 and a valve cap 22. An internal thread 21 a is formed on the inner periphery of one end of the valve case 21, and the valve cap 22
A male screw 22a is formed on the outer circumference of one end, and after the components housed inside the casing 12 are arranged at predetermined positions, they can be screwed and attached by the male screw 21a and the female screw 22a, The hot water mixer tap 11 can be easily assembled.

The hot water inlet 2 is provided on the side wall of the valve case 21.
3 and the water inlet 24 are formed side by side along the axial direction of the valve case 21, and the opening of the valve cap 22 opposite to the end where the external thread is formed has a peripheral edge formed in an annular shape inward. The hot water discharge port 25 has a shape that protrudes and has a smaller diameter than other portions. An O-ring 26 is attached to the outer periphery of the valve case 21 and the valve cap 22 in order to maintain a sealing property with the housing (not shown).

The valve body 13 has a cylindrical shape, and is disposed inside the valve case 21 so that both ends of the valve body 13 cover the hot water inlet 23 and the water inlet 24, respectively. In addition, valve element 1
3 has an annular protruding portion 31 on the inner periphery thereof.
The first spring seat 32 is arranged on the downstream side (on the side of the hot water discharge port 25), and the second spring seat 33 is arranged on the upstream side so as to contact the side wall of the protruding portion 31, respectively. Both spring seats 32 and 33 are provided with hot water flow paths, respectively. Further, the valve 13
An O-ring 27 is attached to the outer periphery of the housing in order to maintain a sealing property between the valve body 13 and the valve case 21.

A temperature-sensitive spring 14 is arranged downstream of the first spring seat 32, and a stirring blade 16 is arranged inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14. As shown in FIGS.
The stirring blade 16 has a columnar support shaft 42 extending from the center of the flange 41, and a spiral ridge 43 extending in the axial direction while being wound in the circumferential direction of the support shaft 42 on the side surface of the support shaft 42.
The support shaft 42 is inserted inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14, and one end of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 is
1, and the rear surface of the flange 41 is arranged so as to be pressed against the inner peripheral edge of the hot water discharge port 25.

A bush 1 is provided on the outer periphery of the temperature-sensitive spring 14.
7, the end face of the bush 17 and the first spring seat 3
The end face of the second spring abuts on the valve body 13 via the bush 17 and the first spring seat 32. That is, the stirring blade is provided on the non-operating side of the temperature-sensitive spring independently of the valve body. The flange 41 has a flow path 41a formed around the base end of the support shaft 42, through which hot water passes.

A bias spring 15 is disposed upstream of the second spring seat 33, and a spindle screw 18 is disposed upstream of the bias spring 15. One end of the bias spring 15 is pressed against the second spring seat 33,
The other end is pressed against the spindle screw 18. The spindle screw 18 is screwed to a spindle pin 19 extending outside the casing 12, and is moved along the axial direction of the casing 12 by rotating the spindle pin 19.

The bush 17 has the stirring blade 16 and the temperature-sensitive spring 14 loaded in the valve cap 22 and the valve body 1.
3. After the bias blade 15, the spindle screw 18, and the spindle pin 19 are loaded into the valve case 21, when the valve cap 22 is assembled to the valve case 21, the end of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 may be caught on the valve case 21. This is to prevent work from being hindered. Therefore, in FIGS. 1 and 5, the inner circumference of the bush 17 and the outer circumference of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 are arranged so as to be in contact with each other, but a gap may be provided between them. At this time, if the washer 20 is interposed between the bush and the temperature-sensitive spring as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature-sensitive spring will not be twisted during assembly.

Next, the operation of the hot and cold water mixing tap 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, hot water H and water C
Hot water H is supplied from the hot water inlet 23 to the hot and cold water mixing tap 1
1, flows around the end of the valve body 13, passes through the inside, and flows into the temperature-sensitive spring 14. On the other hand, the water C flows from the water inlet 24 into the hot and cold water mixing tap 11 and into the temperature-sensitive spring 14. The hot water H and water C formed inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14 are
And flows toward the hot water discharge port 25 while being mixed, and is discharged as hot water. At this time, the hot water H and the water C formed inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14 are formed.
Are forcedly directed outward by the ridges 43, so that the hot water H and the water C do not flow in a laminar flow, and the hot water has a uniform temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring 14. A flow is formed. Therefore, the same temperature as the temperature of the discharged hot water is transmitted to the temperature-sensitive spring 14.

When the temperature of the hot water flowing inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14 is high, the temperature-sensitive spring 14 returns to its shape and expands, and pushes the valve 13 via the bush 17 and the first spring seat 32 to the upstream side. At this time, since the stirring blade 16 is provided on the fixed end side of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 independently of the valve 13, it does not hinder the movement of the valve 13 and the temperature-sensitive spring 14. Then, the opening of the hot water inlet 23 becomes smaller and the opening of the water inlet 24 becomes larger, so that the mixing ratio of the water C becomes higher and the temperature of the discharged hot water becomes lower.

When the temperature of the hot water flowing inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14 is low, the temperature-sensitive spring 14 contracts and the valve body 13 is pushed downstream by the pressing force of the bias spring 15. At this time, the opening degree of the hot water inlet 23 increases, and the water inlet 2
Since the opening degree of No. 4 is small, the mixing ratio of hot water H is high, and the temperature of the discharge hot water is high.

The discharged hot water can be set to an arbitrary temperature by rotating the spindle pin 19 and adjusting the position of the spindle screw 18. That is, when it is desired to increase the set temperature, the spindle screw 18 is moved to the downstream side. Then, the bias spring 15 and the temperature-sensitive spring 14 contract, and the valve body 13 moves to the downstream side. However, by contracting the bias spring 15, the force against the extension of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 can be increased. Therefore, when the temperature-sensitive spring 14 is extended, the amount of movement of the valve 13 to the upstream side for reducing the opening of the hot water inlet 23 is reduced, and the mixing ratio of the hot water is maintained at a high state.

On the other hand, when it is desired to lower the set temperature, the spindle screw 18 is moved to the upstream side. Then
Contrary to the above, since the bias spring 15 is extended, the amount of movement of the valve 13 to the downstream side for reducing the opening of the water inlet 24 is reduced, and the mixing ratio of water is maintained at a high level.

According to the hot / water mixer tap 11 having the above-described structure, the flow of the hot water having a uniform temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 is formed inside the temperature-sensitive spring 14. The same temperature as the discharged hot water can be transmitted to the device, and the temperature of the discharged hot water can be accurately adjusted.

In FIGS. 1 and 5, the bush 1
7 and the outer periphery of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 are arranged to be in contact with each other. However, if a gap is provided between them to allow hot water to flow between them, the inside and outside of the temperature-sensitive spring 14 Can transmit the same temperature as the discharged hot water, and the temperature adjustment accuracy of the discharged hot water can be improved. At this time, it is preferable that the ridge 43 of the stirring blade 16 is formed in a spiral shape wound in the same direction as the winding direction of the temperature-sensitive spring 14, in which case, the hot water stirred by the stirring blade 16 converts the temperature-sensitive spring 14. Can smoothly flow out of the container. Further, the pressure loss can be reduced by reducing the flow resistance of the hot water.

FIG. 6 shows the temperature difference between the set faucet temperature and the water discharge temperature when the hot and cold water mixing tap according to the present invention is used while changing the axial length of the stirring impeller. Is shown. In FIG. 6, the temperature difference on the vertical axis indicates the difference between the faucet set temperature and the water discharge temperature, and the horizontal axis indicates the axial length L of the stirring blade with respect to the axial length of the temperature-sensitive spring. 3 (see FIG. 3). Here, the length of the temperature-sensitive spring is a length obtained by subtracting the end windings at both ends from the installation length. The stirring blade has one to four ridges.

According to FIG. 6, when the ratio of the axial length L of the stirring blade to the axial length of the temperature sensing spring increases,
It is confirmed that the difference between the faucet set temperature and the discharge temperature is small. That is, in order to increase the accuracy of adjusting the temperature of the discharged hot water, it is preferable to increase the axial length of the stirring blade relative to the axial length of the temperature-sensitive spring, and in particular,
The axial length of the stirring blade is 7 times the length of the thermosensitive spring when it is contracted.
It is preferably 0 to 100%.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A temperature-sensitive spring is arranged in the downstream area after the flowing hot water and cold water are merged, and stirring is performed inside the temperature-sensitive spring, extending spirally from the fixed end of the temperature-sensitive spring in the axial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring. Since the blades are provided, they are mixed while flowing spirally along the stirring blades, so that hot water and cold water do not flow in a laminar flow, and a flow of hot water having a uniform temperature distribution in the radial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring is formed. You. As a result, the same temperature as the discharged hot water is transmitted to the temperature-sensitive spring to operate it appropriately, so that the discharged hot water can be kept at an appropriate temperature, and the movement of the temperature-sensitive spring is not hindered. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a hot and cold water mixing tap.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stirring blade.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the stirring blade.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the stirring blade.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the operation of the stirring blade.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the correlation between the temperature difference between the set faucet temperature and the water discharge temperature and the length of the stirring blade when the mixing tap according to the present invention is used while changing the length of the stirring blade. .

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Hot water mixer tap 12 Casing 13 Valve element 14 Temperature sensing spring 15 Bias spring 16 Stirrer blade 23 Hot water inlet 24 Water inlet 25 Hot water discharge port 42 Support shaft 43 Ridge

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hot / water mixer tap for mixing hot water and cold water which are separately flowed to discharge hot water at a set temperature, comprising: a temperature-sensitive spring made of a shape memory alloy; a bias spring; Actuated by the bias spring, comprising a valve body that adjusts the mixing ratio of the hot water and the water, and disposing the temperature-sensitive spring in a downstream region after the flowing hot water and the cold water have joined, Inside the temperature-sensitive spring,
A hot / water mixer tap provided with a stirring blade extending spirally in the axial direction of the temperature-sensitive spring. 2. The hot and cold water mixing tap according to claim 1, wherein the stirring blade has a spiral shape wound in the same direction as the winding direction of the temperature-sensitive spring. 3. The hot and cold water mixing tap according to claim 1, wherein an axial length of the stirring blade is 70 to 100% of a reduced length of the temperature-sensitive spring.