JP2002294793A - Water supply equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable any one of solenoid valves to be opened without trouble while eliminating the need for a power source after all the solenoid valves on a branch channel are brought into a closed state in water supply equipment which makes the solenoid valves on the branch channel opened/closed by electric power generated by a generator provided in a channel after water supply is started by a person's operations. SOLUTION: The water supply equipment 10 is equipped with a main channel 12, the first and second branch channels 12A and 12B, the solenoid on-off valves 16A and 16B, the generator 18 which generates the electric power by a stream of water, and a controller 24 which controls operations of the valve. The electric power generated by the generator 18 is taken as driving power and supplied to the on-off valves 16A and 16B, and the on-off valve 16A is opened by human power so as to start the water supply. After that, the valve is driven by the electric power generated by the generator 18. Additionally, the electric power generated by the generator 18 after a start of the water supply is temporarily stored in a capacitor 62 and made usable as auxiliary power only for the single water supply.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water supply device,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a water supply device in which a control valve is driven by the electric power generated by a generator by a water flow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
2. Description of the Related Art As one type of water supply device, a water supply device including a main waterway, a plurality of branch waterways branched from the main waterway, and a control valve for controlling a water flow in each branch waterway is known.

For example, as a water supply device for flushing a toilet, a rim water supply passage for supplying water to a rim of a toilet and a jet for supplying water to a jet hole for jetting water (wash water) toward a drain trap portion of the toilet are provided. Branch from the main canal,
It is known that the water from a main waterway is selectively switched and supplied to a rim waterway or a jet waterway by a switching operation of a switching valve as a control valve to perform rim washing and jet washing of a toilet. ing.

[0004] Here, in the rim washing, water (wash water) is sprayed onto the inner surface of the toilet from a plurality of water injection holes formed at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction along the rim in a state of communicating with the rim water passage inside the rim. The jet flushing is for cleaning the inner surface of the toilet bowl. The jet flushing jets water (wash water) from a jet hole toward a drain trap section of the toilet to fill the drain trap section. Part of the water is forcibly discharged.

[0005] Conventionally, in this type of water supply device, the water channel is switched using an electromagnetic valve. In this case, a power supply for operating the solenoid valve is required. If a commercial power supply is used as the power supply, electrical wiring work for connecting the power supply to the water supply apparatus is required, and the work for installing the water supply apparatus becomes large, and consequently water supply. The installation cost of the device is high.
Furthermore, when a commercial power supply is used as a power supply, the water supply device becomes inoperable during a power failure.

On the other hand, when a power source such as a dry battery is used as the power source, the amount of power that can be stored in advance is limited.
There is a problem that the battery runs out easily, and if the battery runs out, the water supply device becomes inoperable. Further, in order to prevent this, the battery must be replaced periodically and frequently, and there is a problem that the maintenance work is troublesome and the cost required for the battery increases.

[0007] In this case, it is considered that such preferably provided a generator with a water turbine that rotates at a water flow, for example, on waterways.

[0008] if this way, is generated by the power generator by utilizing the water flow, which was supplied as driving power for the closing operation of the electromagnetic valve, be closed operating the solenoid valve with no power supply It becomes possible. Furthermore, the power from the generator
It can be used as drive power for a controller for controlling the operation of the solenoid valve. However, even in such a case, when the solenoid valve is opened, a power supply for the operation is still required, and it is not possible to perform the operation from the start of water supply to the stop of water supply with no power supply.

Therefore, the present inventors have devised a water supply device in which a main water passage control valve for controlling the water flow in the main water passage is opened without relying on a power source which stores electric power in advance. In this water supply device, the water supply can be started without power supply, and after the water supply is started, the solenoid valve can be operated to close using the electric power generated by the generator due to the generated water flow. It is possible to completely eliminate the power supply from the start to the stop of water supply.

[0010] However, in this water supply device without power supply, the following difficult problem occurs. That is, for example, an electromagnetic valve (opening / closing valve) as a branch waterway control valve is provided in each of two branch waterways, and each branch waterway is opened or closed by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve of each branch waterway. In this case, as long as one of the solenoid valves is closed and the solenoid valve of the other branch is opened simultaneously, for example, the generator provided in the main waterway is always in the state of receiving water flow and generating power. The electromagnetic valves of each branch canal can be opened and closed using electric power from the machine.

However, after one of the solenoid valves is closed (the other solenoid valve is also in the closed state at this time), the solenoid valve in the other branch water passage is opened after a certain period of time. In this case, since the generator is in the power generation stopped state during that time, it becomes impossible to open the solenoid valve of the other branch water channel by the electric power from the generator. That is, when trying to operate the solenoid valves of the respective branch waterways in the above-described pattern, it becomes impossible to eliminate the power supply in one water supply operation from the start of water supply to the stop of water supply.

Although the above description has been made of the water supply device for flushing a toilet as an example, the same problem occurs in a water supply device of the same type having a use other than flushing a toilet.

[0013]

The water supply device of the present invention has been devised to solve such a problem. According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided (a) a main waterway, (b) a plurality of branch waterways branched from the main waterway, (c) a main waterway control valve for controlling a water flow of the main waterway, and the branch. A branch waterway control valve for controlling the flow of water in the waterway, (d) a generator for generating electric power by the water flow, and (e) a controller for controlling the operation of the control valve. As the supply to the control valve and the main waterway control valve,
A water supply device configured to start water supply by opening a valve without using a power supply that stores power in advance, and to drive the control valve with power from the generator after generation of a water flow, Power from the generator after the start of water supply is temporarily stored in a power storage means such as a capacitor, and the power storage means can be used as an auxiliary power source for at least one valve opening operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, each of the plurality of branch water passages is provided with an on-off valve for opening and closing each of the branch water passages as the branch water passage control valve. The water flow in each branch waterway is controlled, and all of the on-off valves are temporarily closed by the end of one supply of water. The electric power storage means is used as an auxiliary power supply when the valve is opened and the valve is opened.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the power from the generator after the start of water supply is temporarily stored in a power storage means such as a capacitor, and this is used as an auxiliary power source for at least one valve opening operation. It is possible. According to the present invention, even if any of the plurality of branch waterways is temporarily in a water flow stop state, then any of the branch waterways is opened by operating the control valve to generate a water flow. In other words, even if the generator temporarily stops generating power, the subsequent branch water channel control valve can be opened using the power stored in the power storage means after the start of water supply. . Therefore, according to the present invention, one water supply operation from water supply start to water supply stop can be performed without power supply.

According to the present invention, a water supply device as described below, that is, an on-off valve as a branch waterway control valve is provided in each of a plurality of branch waterways, and a water flow in each branch waterway is generated or stopped by opening and closing the open / close valve. A water supply device in which any open / close valve is temporarily closed until the end of one water supply operation from the start of water supply to the stop of water supply, and thereafter, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the operation of opening any of the open / close valves. And the power storage means can be used as an auxiliary power supply at that time (claim 2).

[0017]

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a water supply device for flushing a toilet bowl will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a water supply device, 12 denotes a main waterway, and a first branch waterway (rim waterway) from the main waterway 12.
12A and a second branch channel (jet water channel) 12B are branched and extend, and each branch channel 12A,
Electromagnetic on-off valve 1 as a branch waterway control valve for opening and closing 12B
6A and 16B are provided.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a generator provided on the main water channel 12, which has a water wheel 20 that rotates by the water flow in the main water channel 12, and performs a power generation operation based on the rotation of the water wheel 20. In this example, the electromagnetic on-off valves 16A and 16B perform opening and closing operations based on the electric power generated by the generator 18. More specifically, the electromagnetic on-off valve 16 </ b> A opens and closes with electric power from the generator 18, and the electromagnetic on-off valve 16 </ b> B opens and closes with electric power from the generator 18. However, for the solenoid on-off valve 16A,
As will be described in detail later, the valve is non-electrically opened by human power.

A controller 24 controls the operation of the electromagnetic on-off valves 16A and 16B. A signal from the controller 24 is supplied to the electromagnetic on-off valves 16A and 16B via a valve drive unit 26. The controller 24 also controls the operation by the electric power from the generator 18.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 50 denotes a toilet bowl having a rim 52 along the periphery of the upper end. A rim water passage 54 is formed inside the rim 52, and a number of water injection holes 56 communicating with the rim water passage 54 are formed at the lower end surface of the rim 52.
The water (washing water) guided to the rim water passage 54 is vigorously sprayed into the toilet 50 from the water spray holes 56, whereby the inner surface of the toilet bowl is washed. You. Reference numeral 58 denotes a jet hole for jetting water (washing water) toward the drain trap unit 60 with vigor.
The water is injected from the jet holes 58 to fill the drain trap section 60, thereby assisting the siphon action.

In this embodiment, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, the water in the main water channel 12 is first guided to the rim water channel 54 through the first branch water channel 12A by opening the solenoid on-off valve 16A. The inner surface of the toilet 50 is washed by water (wash water) from the water spray hole 56. That is, rim cleaning is performed.

Subsequently, when the rim cleaning is performed for a certain period of time, as shown in FIG. 4, the electromagnetic on / off valve 16A is closed and the electromagnetic on / off valve 1 on the second branch water passage 12B is simultaneously closed.
6B is opened, and the water in the main channel 12 is switched to the first branch channel 12.
A is switched to the second branch waterway 12B. Here, water (wash water) is jet-jetted from the jet hole 58 toward the drain trap unit 60, whereby the drain trap unit 60 is filled with water and the siphon action is assisted. Thereby, the water in the toilet 50 is discharged to the outside through the drain trap unit 60. That is, jet cleaning is performed.

FIG. 3 specifically shows the structure of the solenoid on-off valve 16A. The electromagnetic on-off valve 16A in this example is a valve that forcibly opens the valve by human power without using a power source in which electric power is stored in advance and closes the valve by receiving power supply. Specifically, it is configured to include a manual operation unit 42 for valve opening operation.

The solenoid on-off valve 16A of this embodiment is a latch-type valve that holds an open state after opening and a closed state after closing without power supply.
In the figure, 27 is a diaphragm type main valve element,
When the main valve body 27 is seated on the valve seat 28, the first branch water passage 12A is shut off. That is, the upstream water passage 12Aa and the downstream water passage 12Ab are in a non-communication state.

A back pressure chamber 30 is formed on the back side (upper side in the figure) of the main valve body 27. Normally, the main valve body 27 is seated on the valve seat 28 by the pressure inside the back pressure chamber 30. In state. The back pressure chamber 30 and the downstream water passage 12Ab communicate with each other through a center hole 32 formed in the center of the main valve body 27, and the center hole 32 is closed by a plunger 33. Has become.

When the plunger 33 moves upward in the figure, the water in the back pressure chamber 30 is removed from the main valve body 27 by the downstream water passage 12A.
By flowing out to b, that is, the pressure inside the back pressure chamber 30 is reduced, the valve is opened by the supply pressure of the upstream water passage 12Aa. On the other hand, the plunger 33 is shown in FIG.
When the center hole 32 is closed by the middle downward movement, the water in the upstream water passage 12Aa flows into the back pressure chamber 30 through the small hole formed in the main valve body 27, whereby the pressure inside the back pressure chamber 30 is reduced. And the pressure finally causes the main valve body 27 to close.

Numeral 34 denotes a solenoid coil in the electromagnetic on-off valve 16A, and the plunger 33 is pushed downward in the drawing by the electromagnetic repulsive force of the solenoid coil 34.

The plunger 33 is urged downward in the drawing, ie, in the valve closing direction, by a spring 38. When the plunger 33 is moved to the valve opening position, the spring 38 Is held in its open state against the urging force of the valve.
After the plunger 33 has moved to the valve closing position, the plunger 33 is held in the valve closed state by the urging force of the spring 38.

The solenoid on-off valve 16A of this embodiment has a manual operation part (operation rod) 42, and a magnet 4
4 are provided and they are
Is urged upward in the figure, that is, in a direction away from the plunger 33. Here, the manual operation unit 42 is in a state of protruding upward from the casing 36.

The solenoid on-off valve 16A of this embodiment can be mechanically opened by manual operation. That is, FIG.
The manual operating section 42 from the state shown in (I) Spring 46
When the plunger 33 is pushed downward by a hand or foot against the urging force of the spring 38, the plunger 33 is turned upward by magnetic attraction against the urging force of the spring 38 by the magnet 44 as shown in (II). To be raised. Then, the center hole 32 of the main valve body 27 communicates with the back pressure chamber 30, the pressure in the back pressure chamber 30 decreases, and the main valve body 27 opens.

As shown in (III), the plunger 33 pulled up in the figure is held at the valve opening position by the magnetic force of the latch magnet 40. That is, when the manual operation unit 42 is pushed downward in the figure, even if the manual operation unit 42 returns to the original position by the urging force of the spring 46, the plunger 33 is held at the valve open position, and the first branch water passage 12A is opened. Keep in water.

On the other hand, when the solenoid coil 34 is energized in the state shown in FIG. 3 (III), the plunger 33 is pushed downward in the figure by the electromagnetic repulsive force, whereby the center hole 32 of the main valve body 27 is opened. Will be closed. Thereafter, the pressure in the back pressure chamber 30 gradually increases, and finally the main valve body 27
Is seated on the valve seat 28. Here, the first branch water channel 12A is shut off, and the flow of water stops. That is, the water supply to the rim water passage 54 is stopped.

On the other hand, as the electromagnetic on-off valve 16B, a solenoid-operated on-off valve 16A having no manual operation section 42 is used. That is, a type that opens and closes only by an electromagnetic attraction force and a repulsion force by energizing the solenoid coil 34 is used. However, a valve having the same structure as the electromagnetic on-off valve 16A including the manual operation unit 42 may be used.

In the water supply device 10 of the present embodiment, the water supply start operation is performed by a manual operation without depending on the power supply.

More specifically, when the manual operation portion 42 of the solenoid on-off valve 16A is pushed downward in the figure, the solenoid on-off valve 16A is opened.
2A is opened and the water from the main waterway 12 flows into the first branch waterway 1
After flowing into the inside of the toilet 2A, it is further sent to the rim water passage 54 to start washing the inner surface of the toilet 50. That is, in this example, the electromagnetic valve (branch channel control valve) 16A that opens and closes the first branch channel 12A and the electromagnetic valve (branch channel control valve) 16B that opens and closes the other second branch channel 12B are connected to the main channel 12. Also serves as a main water channel control valve that opens and closes.

Specifically, when one of the electromagnetic on-off valves 16A and 16B is opened, the main water passage 12 is simultaneously opened, and a water flow is generated in the main water passage 12. In addition, when both of the electromagnetic on-off valves 16A and 16B are closed,
First branch water passage 12A, at the same time as each of the second branch water passage 12B are cut off, whereby the main water passage 12 is also water in the main water passage 12 is stopped becomes off.

However, different from this example, an electromagnetic opening / closing valve for opening and closing the main water channel 12 may be provided as a main water channel control valve on the main water channel 12, or such an electromagnetic valve may be provided on the main water channel 12. While the on-off valve is provided, the first branch waterway 1
It is also possible to provide a switching valve for switching the flow path at the branch portion of the 2A and the second branch waterway 12B as a branch waterway control valve.

The closing operation of the electromagnetic on-off valve 16A and the opening and closing operation of the electromagnetic on-off valve 16B are performed under the control of the controller 24 by the electric power generated by the generator 18.
That is, when the electromagnetic on / off valve 16A is opened and a water flow is generated in the main waterway 12, the generator 18 starts the power generation operation, and the electromagnetic on / off valve 16A, 16A, 16B is driven and operation control by the controller 24 is performed.

In the above, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, the solenoid on-off valve 16A is closed and the solenoid on-off valve 16B is simultaneously opened, that is, the water flow in the first branch water passage 12A is reduced. At the same time as the stop, the water flow is generated in the second branch water passage 12B. In this case, since the water flow is continuously generated in the main water passage 12, the generator 18 continuously performs the power generation operation, The electromagnetic on / off valves 16A and 16B can be operated to close or open using the electric power.

On the other hand, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 5, for example, after the solenoid on-off valve 16B is closed, the solenoid on-off valve 16A is opened again after a certain pause. In this case, no water flow is generated in the main waterway 12 during this fixed pause time, and the generator 18 is in the power generation stop state during that time. That is, the generator 18 does not perform the power generation operation during that time. Therefore, it is not possible to use the electric power generated by the generator 18 to open the electromagnetic on-off valve 16A again after a certain pause time.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the electric power generated by the generator 18 is stored in a capacitor 62 as a power storage means, and this is used as an auxiliary power supply.
However, the auxiliary power supply composed of the condenser 62 is limited to one-time water supply. After one water supply operation from the start of water supply to the stop of water supply is completed, the auxiliary power supply is discharged by the controller 24 to be in an uncharged state. .

The water supply apparatus 10 of the present embodiment as described above uses the power from the generator 18 after the start of water supply to the condenser 24.
The first branch water channel 12A and the second branch water channel 12B have temporarily stopped the water flow because the water is temporarily stored in the first branch water channel and used as an auxiliary power source for one-time water supply. And the generator 18 stops generating power,
Then one of the branch water passage 12A, in the case of generating the water flow opens the 12B also an auxiliary power supply can be made to this, completely free of water supply operation once leading to the water supply stop from the water supply start Can be done with power supply.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but this is merely an example. For example, in the above embodiment, the electromagnetic on-off valves (on-off valves) 16A, 16A are provided in the branch waterways 12A, 12B.
Provided B, they solenoid valves 16A, 16B each branch water passage 12A of the water from the main water passage 12 by opening and closing operation of, 12
The switching to B is performed. In some cases, an on-off valve is provided on the main waterway 12 and a switching valve is provided at a branch portion, and each branch waterway 1 is switched by the switching operation of the switching valve.
It is also possible to switch the flow of water to 2A and 12B, and to prevent water from flowing into any of the branch waterways 12A and 12B by positioning the switching valve at the neutral position. Even in this case, the generator 18 stops the power generation operation because the switching valve is in the neutral position. And also in this case, the capacitor 62
Is used as an auxiliary power source, the subsequent opening and closing operation of each valve can be performed.

Although the above example is an example in which there are two branch waterways, the present invention can be applied to a water supply device having three or more branch waterways depending on the case. In the above example, the electric power stored in the condenser 62 is used to open the solenoid on-off valve 16A on the first branch water passage 12A after the suspension time. Even when the generator 18 stops generating power, the electromagnetic on-off valve 1 uses the power stored in the capacitor 62 so far.
It is also possible to perform a valve closing operation of 6A and 16B and to make an emergency stop of the water supply device 10.

In the above example, the present invention is applied to a water supply device for flushing a toilet bowl. However, the present invention can be applied to a water supply device for other uses and purposes, and the present invention is of course applicable. It can be configured in a form in which various changes are made in the range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a water supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the water supply device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of a solenoid valve in the water supply device of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing the operation of the water supply device of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an operation of the water supply device of the same embodiment, which is different from FIG. 4;

[Description of Signs] 10 Water supply device 12 Main channel 12A First branch channel 12B Second branch channel 16A, 16B Solenoid on-off valve (Main channel control valve, Branch channel control valve) 18 Generator 24 Controller 62 Capacitor

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Shirai 5-1-1 Koiehonmachi, Tokoname-shi, Aichi F-term in Inax Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2D039 AA02 AC04 CB01 FC00 2D060 BA10 BC12 BC30 CA02 CA20

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A main waterway, (b) a plurality of branch waterways branched from the main waterway, (c) a main waterway control valve for controlling the waterflow of the main waterway, and a water flow of the branch waterway. A branch water channel control valve, (d) a generator for generating electric power by a water flow, and (e) a controller for controlling the operation of the control valve. To supply water and start water supply by opening the main water channel control valve without using a power source that stores electric power in advance, and after the occurrence of a water flow, the control valve is supplied with power from the generator. A water supply device adapted to drive the water supply device, the power from the generator after the start of the water supply is temporarily stored in power storage means such as a capacitor, and the power storage means is used as an auxiliary power source for at least one valve opening operation. It is characterized by being made available Water supply. 2. The branch flow path according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of branch water paths is provided with an on-off valve for opening and closing each of the branch water paths as the branch water path control valve. After one water supply, all of the on-off valves are temporarily closed by the end of one water supply, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, any one of the on-off valves is opened and opened. A water supply device characterized in that the power storage means is used as an auxiliary power supply when a valve is provided.