JP2003138620A - Water supply fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve complete powerless operation of a water supply fitting which carries out feeding and stops the feeding in response to on-off operation of a solenoid valve. SOLUTION: The supply fitting 10 which carries out feeding and stops the feeding of water in response to the on-off operation of the solenoid valve 30, is comprised of a generator 14 for generating electricity by stream, and a starting valve 32 driven by operating force by a person to generate the stream in a supply channel 12. Then, by the operation of the starting valve 32, electricity is generated at the generator 14 to open the solenoid valve 30. In this manner, a main valve 16 is maintained in an open state even after closure of the starting valve 32, which enables continuous water supply, and then the solenoid valve 30 is closed by power supply from the generator 14 at desired timing, which leads to stoppage of the water supply.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water supply device,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a water supply device that opens and closes a water supply path by opening and closing an electrically driven valve such as a solenoid valve, thereby performing water supply and water supply stoppage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the problems to be solved by the invention
BACKGROUND ART A water supply device in which a water supply passage is opened and closed by opening and closing an electromagnetic valve to stop water supply and stop water supply is widely used as a flush valve device for toilets and the like.

However, the conventional water supply device of this type requires a power supply for opening and closing the solenoid valve. Therefore, when a commercial power supply is used as the power supply, the power supply and the water supply are used. Electric wiring work for connecting to the device is required, which requires a large amount of work to install the water supply device, which in turn increases the installation cost of the water supply device. Furthermore, when a commercial power source is used as the power source, the water supply device becomes inoperable during a power failure.

On the other hand, when a dry battery is used as the power source, the amount of electric power that can be stored in advance is limited. If the dry battery is always used as the power source to open and close the solenoid valve, the dry battery will be exhausted quickly. There is a problem that the battery is likely to run out. Therefore, even in this type of water supply device, if the battery runs out, the water supply device becomes inoperable.

In this case, for example, it is conceivable to provide a generator for generating electricity by the water flow flowing through the water supply channel.
If you do this, you can use the water flow to generate electricity,
The power can be used to close the solenoid valve.

However, even in such a case, the power source for opening the solenoid valve at the beginning, that is, in the state where the water flow is not generated, is still necessary. In this case, it is possible to temporarily store the electric power generated by the generator in a storage battery and open the electrically driven valve such as a solenoid valve using the storage battery as a power source at the beginning of use of the water supply device.

However, in this case, for example, when the water supply device is not used for a long time, the storage battery is likely to run out of battery, and even in this case, it is inconvenient if the water supply device becomes inoperable. Even in a water supply device provided with the above, it is generally performed to provide a dry battery as a backup battery. That is, in the water supply device that opens and closes the water supply passage by opening and closing an electrically driven valve such as a solenoid valve,
Conventionally, it has been difficult to completely eliminate the power supply for the above reasons.

[0008]

The water supply device of the present invention has been devised to solve such problems. Thus, in the water supply device according to claim 1, which is provided with an electrically driven valve for electrically opening and closing the water supply passage, and in which the water supply and the water supply are stopped by opening and closing the electric drive valve, the water flow flowing through the water supply passage is used. A generator for generating power is provided, and in addition to the electrically driven valve, a start valve that is driven by a human operation force to generate a water flow in the water supply passage is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the main valve for opening and closing the water supply passage communicates with the upstream portion of the main valve of the water supply passage through the small hole, and the main valve opens from the water supply passage through the small hole. A back pressure chamber for closing the main valve by the pressure of the introduced water is provided, and a first drainage channel for draining the water in the back pressure chamber to the water supply channel and the downstream portion of the main valve. And a second drainage channel, the electric drive valve is provided as a pilot valve on the first drainage channel, and the start valve is provided on the second drainage channel. .

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first and second aspects, the electrically driven valve is an electromagnetic valve.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the electric drive valve is driven to open by the electric power generated by the generator, and the water supply passage is maintained in an open state. It is characterized by being done.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, a control unit for controlling the operation of the electric drive valve is provided, and the electric drive valve is controlled based on the electric power generated by the generator. It is characterized in that the valve is driven to be closed under the control of the controller.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the starting valve for producing the water flow in the water supply passage is provided separately from the electrically driven valve such as the solenoid valve. By opening the valve, a water flow can be generated in the water supply channel and the generator can generate power.

The electric power generated by this generator can be used as electric power for opening the electrically driven valve (Claim 4), and in this case, even if the starting valve is closed after that, the water supply is continued. The water flow will continue to flow through the channel, and thus the generator will continue to generate electricity due to the water flow. And it becomes possible to operate various electric devices provided in the water supply device by the electric power,
Alternatively, it can then be used as electric power to close the electrically driven valve again.

In this case, the water supply apparatus is provided with a control unit for controlling the operation of the electric drive valve, and after the electric drive valve is opened, for example, after a certain period of time due to the time-up of the timer, or only the accumulated flow rate set in the water supply passage. It is possible to automatically close the valve by supplying electric power to the electrically driven valve when the water flows.

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to completely eliminate the power supply from the start of the water supply to the stop of the water supply of the water supply device for supplying and stopping the water supply by opening and closing the electrically driven valve. However, if necessary, it is possible to store the electric power generated by the generator in a storage means such as a storage battery and use this as a power source to close the electrically driven valve, or to provide a dry battery or the like. It is also possible to operate the device by using the storage battery or the dry battery in normal times.

Even in such a case, when the storage battery or the dry battery runs out of battery, a person operates the start valve to operate the generator and operate the water supply device without any trouble. be able to. That is, in such a case, the operating portion of the start valve can be used as an emergency operating portion.

In the present invention, a bypass water channel that partially bypasses the water supply channel may be provided, and the start valve may be provided on the bypass water channel. In this case, the main valve that is controlled to open and close by an electrically driven valve such as a solenoid valve or the main valve configured by the electrically driven valve itself is in a closed state and water is not flowing through the water supply passage. However, by providing the bypass water passage so as to bypass the main valve, it is possible to supply the water flow to the generator through the bypass water passage and operate the generator.

In the present invention, a main valve for opening and closing the water supply passage and a back pressure chamber communicating with the water supply passage through the small hole and closing the main valve by the action of water pressure are provided, and the water in the back pressure chamber is closed. A water supply device is provided in which a first water drainage channel and a second water drainage channel for draining into the water supply channel are provided, an electrically driven valve is provided on the first water drainage channel, and the start valve is provided on the second water drainage channel. It can be configured (claim 2).

In this case, the electrically driven valve can be opened and closed with a small force, and the start valve can be opened with a small force. Therefore, the power consumption by the electrically driven valve can be suppressed to be small, and the opening operation of the starting valve for starting the operation of the water supply device can be lightly performed with a small force.

In this case, the first drainage channel and the second drainage channel may be provided independently and separately, or a part of them may be configured in common.

In the present invention, the electrically driven valve may be an electromagnetic valve (claim 3).

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 10 is a water supply device of this example, and 12
Is a water supply channel in the water supply device 10. A generator 14 is provided on the water supply passage 12 to rotate the water turbine by the water flow to generate electric power. Reference numeral 16 is a main valve that opens and closes the water supply passage 12, and 18 is a main valve body that forms the main body.
In this example, the main valve body 18 is a diaphragm valve body.

The main valve 16 closes the water supply passage 12 by seating the main valve body 18 on the valve seat 20, and the main valve body 18 is closed.
Is separated from the valve seat 20 upward in the figure to open the water supply passage 12. That is, by seating the main valve body 18 on the valve seat 20, the upstream side water supply passage 12a and the downstream side water supply passage 12b are shut off, and by separating the main valve body 18 from the valve seat 20 upward in the figure, The upstream water supply passage 12a and the downstream water supply passage 12b are communicated with each other.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a back pressure chamber formed on the back surface of the main valve body 18, and the main valve body 18 is normally seated on the valve seat 20 by the water pressure in the back pressure chamber 22, that is, closed. Retained. The back pressure chamber 22 has a small hole 2 formed in the main valve body 18.
4 is in communication with the upstream water supply passage 12a through 4,
The water in the upstream water supply passage 12a is introduced into the back pressure chamber 22 through the small holes 24.

In the water supply device 10 of the present embodiment, the first for draining the water in the back pressure chamber 22 to the downstream side water supply passage 12b.
A drainage channel 26 and a second drainage channel 28 are provided,
An electromagnetic valve 30 as a pilot valve for opening and closing the first drainage channel 26 is provided on the first drainage channel 26, and a start valve 32 for opening and closing the valve is provided on the second drainage channel 28. A part of the second drainage channel 28 is configured in common with the first drainage channel 26.

The solenoid valve 30 has a plunger valve element 34 made of a magnetic material and a solenoid coil 36. The electromagnetic attraction force of the solenoid coil 36 to the plunger valve element 34 causes the plunger valve element 34 to move. The valve 38 is opened against the urging force of the spring 38, and the plunger valve body 34 is closed by the electromagnetic repulsive force of the solenoid coil 36 against the plunger valve body 34. The first water drainage passage 26 connects or shuts off the back pressure chamber 22 and the downstream side water supply passage 12b by the valve opening and closing operations of the plunger valve body 34, that is, the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve 30.

When the back pressure chamber 22 and the downstream side water supply passage 12b communicate with each other through the first water withdrawal passage 26, the water in the back pressure chamber 22 flows into the downstream water supply passage 12b through the first water withdrawal passage 26, Here, the back pressure chamber 2 for the main valve body 18
The water pressure of 2 disappears, and the main valve body 18 opens due to the water supply pressure of the upstream water supply passage 12a to generate a water flow in the water supply passage 12.

In this embodiment, the solenoid valve 30 is a latch type valve that holds the open state after the valve is opened and the closed state after the valve is closed without power supply.
Reference numeral 0 is a latch magnet for holding the plunger valve element 34 at the valve opening position. In the case of this solenoid valve 30, when the plunger valve body 34 reaches the valve opening position, the magnetic force of the latch magnet 40 holds the plunger valve body 34 at the valve opening position against the biasing force of the spring 38. The plunger valve element 34 that has reached the valve closing position is held in the valve closing position by the urging force of the spring 38.

Here, the solenoid valve 30 is driven by the electric power generated by the generator 14. 4 in FIG.
2 is a control circuit (control section) for controlling the operation of the solenoid valve 30.
Is. The valve body 44 of the start valve 32 is a spring 46.
The valve body 44 is normally closed by the urging force of the valve. In this state, the shaft 48 is pushed downward to open the valve element 44.

When the valve element 44 is opened, the second drainage passage 28 is opened, and the water in the back pressure chamber 22 flows into the downstream side water supply passage 12b through the second drainage passage 28. That is, by pushing the start valve 32 downward in the figure, the water in the back pressure chamber 22 is also supplied to the downstream side water supply passage 12b.
And the main valve 16 is opened. Even in this case, the generator 14 rotates the water turbine by the water flow generated in the water supply passage 12 to generate electric power.

In this example, the upstream portion of the starting valve 32 in the second drainage passage 28 and the upstream portion of the solenoid valve 30 in the first drainage passage 26 are always in communication with each other. In this example, a part of the second drainage channel 28 is provided in the same form as the first drainage channel 26, but the second drainage channel 28 is completely independent of the first drainage channel 26 and the back pressure chamber 2 is provided.
2 and the downstream side water supply passage 12b can be provided in a state of communicating with each other.

Next, the operation of the water supply system 10 of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 (I) shows the main valve 16,
Both the solenoid valve 30 and the start valve 32 are closed, and no water flow is generated in the water supply passage 12. Therefore, at this time, the generator 14 is in a stopped state.

In this state, when a slight force is applied to the start valve 32 to open it as shown in FIG. 2 (II),
The back pressure chamber 22 passes through the second drainage channel 28 and the downstream water supply channel 1
The water in the back pressure chamber 22 flows into the downstream side water supply passage 12b through the second drainage passage 28. Here, the water pressure of the back pressure chamber 22 acting on the main valve body 18 disappears, and the main valve 16 is opened by the water supply pressure of the upstream water supply passage 12a as shown in FIG. 3 (III).

At this stage, the upstream water supply passage 12a and the downstream water supply passage 12b are in communication with each other to generate a water flow in the water supply passage 12, and the water flow rotates the water wheel of the generator 14 to start power generation. The electric power is supplied to the solenoid valve 30 under the control of the control circuit 42. As a result, the solenoid valve 30 is
The valve is opened as shown in (IV) to open the first drainage channel 26.

Therefore, even if the operating force for the starting valve 32 is removed in this state, that is, the starting valve 32 is closed by the urging force of the spring 46 as shown in FIG. Even when closed, the back pressure chamber 22 is maintained in a state of communicating with the downstream side water supply passage 12b through the first drainage passage 26,
Therefore, the main valve 16 is still kept open after that. That is, even if the start valve 32 is closed, water continues to flow in the water supply passage 12, and the water flow causes the generator 1
No. 4 continues to generate electricity.

After the main valve 16 is opened, when the set closing timing is reached, the electromagnetic valve 30 is closed by a signal from the control circuit 42 as shown in FIG. 4 (VI). The communication between the back pressure chamber 22 and the downstream side water supply passage 12b is cut off. Then, the water in the upstream water supply passage 12a is introduced into the back pressure chamber 22 through the small holes 24, so that the water pressure in the back pressure chamber 22 increases, and when the water pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the main valve is activated. 16 is closed, and the water supply passage 12 is shut off.

The timing of closing the solenoid valve 30 can be set variously. For example, after the electromagnetic valve 30 is opened, the control circuit 42 measures the elapsed time thereafter with a timer,
The solenoid valve 30 may be closed after a certain time has passed, or the integrated flow rate of the water flowing through the water supply passage 12 may be detected, and the solenoid valve 30 may be reached when the integrated flow rate reaches the set flow rate. Can also be closed.

Here, the integrated flow rate of the water flowing through the water supply passage 12 can be detected by the generator 14 itself. Since the generator 14 rotates the water turbine by the water flow in the water supply channel 12, by generating a pulse according to the rotation of the water turbine, the pulse is further generated by the control circuit 4.
By counting at 2, the integrated flow rate of water flowing through the water supply passage 12 can be detected.

Of course, the solenoid valve 30 may be closed by other means. For example, a switch for closing the valve may be provided and the electromagnetic valve 30 may be closed by a signal from the switch, or a sensor for detecting a human body may be provided and the sensor may be used. It is also possible to close the solenoid valve 30 when the human body is no longer detected.

In the water supply device 10 of the present embodiment as described above, the generator 14 can generate power by manipulating the start valve 32 to open, and the solenoid valve 30 is opened by the generated power. , Then it can be kept open. Therefore, even if the start valve 32 is closed after the opening operation, the generator 14 can continue the power generation, and the solenoid valve 30 can be driven to be closed at the desired timing to automatically stop the water supply. .

In the water supply apparatus 10 of this example, it is possible to completely turn off the power supply from the start of water supply to the stop of water supply.

In the above example, the starting valve 32 is used as a normal start switch for starting the operation of the water supply device 10, but depending on the case, the water supply device 10 stores the electric power generated by the generator 14 or the dry battery. Can be provided and used as an emergency operation switch when the storage battery or the dry battery runs out of battery.

Further, in this example, the main valve 16 for opening and closing the water supply passage 12, the back pressure chamber 22 for closing the main valve 16, and the back pressure chamber 2
A first drainage channel 26 and a second drainage channel 28 for draining the second water into the water supply channel 12 are provided, an electromagnetic valve 30 is provided on the first drainage channel 26, and a start valve 32 is provided on the second drainage channel 28. Since the electromagnetic valve 30 is opened and closed with a small force, the power consumption by the electromagnetic valve 30 can be suppressed to a low level and the opening operation of the start valve 32 for starting the operation of the water supply device 10 can be performed. Can be done lightly with a little force.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), a main valve composed of an electromagnetic valve 30 is provided on the water supply passage 12, so that the water supply passage 12 is directly opened and closed, and the main valve is bypassed. Bypass waterway 50
Is provided, and the starting valve 32 of the same or other form as described above is provided on the bypass water channel 50.
It is also possible to supply a water flow to the generator 14 to cause the generator 14 to generate electric power, and to supply electric power from the generator 14 to the main valve to open the valve. As shown in FIG. 5 (B), the solenoid valve 30
Is provided as a pilot valve for opening and closing the main valve 16, while the bypass water passage 50 is provided so as to bypass the main valve 16 and the start valve 32 is provided on the bypass water passage 50. It is possible.

Further, in the above example, the main valve body 18 is constituted by the diaphragm valve body, but in the present invention, the main valve body 18 may be constituted by a piston valve body or other various types of valve bodies. In addition, the water supply device 10 of the present invention
Can be applied to a fixed water stop device that automatically stops a certain amount of water when it has flowed, or it can also be applied to a conventional automatic faucet, or even to a toilet bowl. The present invention can be configured in a form in which various modifications are made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as being applicable to a flash valve device and other various water supply devices.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of the water supply device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the water supply device of the embodiment, following FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the water supply device of the embodiment, following FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a water supply device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Water supply device 12 water supply channels 14 generator 16 Main valve 22 Back pressure chamber 24 small holes 26 First drainage channel 28 Second drainage channel 30 Solenoid valve (electrically driven valve) 32 Start valve 42 Control circuit (control unit)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A water supply apparatus comprising an electrically driven electrically driven valve for opening and closing a water supply channel, wherein water supply and stop of water supply are performed by opening and closing the electrically driven valve, wherein a generator for generating electricity by a water flow flowing through the water supply channel is provided. In addition to the electric drive valve, a water supply device is provided separately from the electrically driven valve, the start valve being driven by a human operation force to generate a water flow in the water supply passage. 2. The main valve according to claim 1, which communicates with a main valve that opens and closes the water supply passage, through a small hole, to a portion upstream of the main valve of the water supply passage, and introduces water from the water supply passage through the small hole. A back pressure chamber for closing the main valve by pressure is provided, and a first drainage channel and a second drainage channel for draining water in the back pressure chamber to the water supply channel and a downstream portion of the main valve. Is provided, the electric drive valve is provided as a pilot valve on the first drainage passage, and the start valve is provided on the second drainage passage. 3. The water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the electrically driven valve is an electromagnetic valve. 4. The electric drive valve according to claim 1, wherein the electric drive valve is driven to open by the electric power generated by the generator, and the water supply passage is maintained in an open state. Characteristic water supply device. 5. The control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a control unit that controls the operation of the electric drive valve is provided, and the electric drive valve controls the control unit based on the electric power generated by the generator. A water supply device characterized in that the valve is driven to be closed downward.