JP2003314744A - Valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a valve having a small number of components, having an operation lever lock mechanism having a simple structure, and allowing a lock release operation and an operation lever rotation operation with one hand. <P>SOLUTION: This valve 20 for a high-pressure gas vessel is provided with a housing 21, a movable valve element 22, an operation lever 23 and a stopper member 27. The stopper member 27 has a ring-like shape surrounding the operation lever 23, and includes an engagement projection 27a projected downward at its lower end. The stopper member 27 is so held to the operation lever 23 as to move downward by its own weight. The housing 21 has: a support surface 28 for supporting the stopper member 27 from the lower side when the operation lever 23 is at an open position and an intermediate position; and an engagement recessed part 29 for allowing the downward movement of the stopper member 27 to engage with the stopper member 27 when the operation lever 23 is at a close position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a valve for controlling opening / closing of a gas passage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a high pressure gas container such as a liquefied gas tank is provided with a valve for opening and closing a high pressure gas passage. This valve opens the flow path during normal use, but closes the flow path when in a rest state such as when filling gas. It is extremely dangerous for the valve to open the flow path unexpectedly in the rest state. Therefore, this type of high-pressure gas container valve is provided with a mechanism for locking the closed state of the flow path.

1 to 3 show a conventional valve for a high pressure gas container. 1 and 2 show a state in which the high-pressure gas passage is open, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the high-pressure gas passage is closed.

The illustrated valve 1 for a high pressure gas container has a housing 2 having a high pressure gas passage, a movable valve body 3 housed in the housing 2 for opening and closing the high pressure gas passage, and an opening / closing operation of the movable valve body 3. And an operating lever 4 rotatably supported by the housing 2 for operating the. In the illustrated structure, a spherical valve body is adopted as the movable valve body 3.

The operating lever 4 is connected to the movable valve body 3 via a stem 5, a nut 6 and a spring washer 7. Figure 1
As indicated by the imaginary line, when the operating lever 4 is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees by hand, the movable valve body 3 also rotates by 90 degrees, and the high-pressure gas passage is closed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operating lever 4 is provided with an arcuate elongated hole 8 whose center of curvature is the stem 5. An enlarged hole 9 having a diameter larger than the groove width of the elongated hole 8 is provided at one end of the arcuate elongated hole 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, a vertical hole 11 is formed in the upper portion of the housing 2, and the stopper 10 is accommodated in the vertical hole 11. The stopper 10 includes a head 10a having a diameter larger than the groove width of the arc-shaped elongated hole 8 described above,
A neck portion 10b having a diameter slightly smaller than the groove width of the arc-shaped elongated hole 8 and an enlarged hole 9 that is larger than the groove width of the arc-shaped elongated hole 8
And a spring accommodating portion 10d having a diameter larger than the diameter of the enlarged hole 9. A spring 12 that biases the stopper 10 upward is housed in the spring housing portion 10d.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the neck portion 10b of the stopper 10 is located in the arc-shaped elongated hole 8 formed in the operation lever 4. In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, when the operation lever 4 is in the position for opening the high-pressure gas passage, the neck portion 10b of the stopper 10 is located at one end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 8. In this positional relationship, the fitting portion 10c of the stopper 10 is in contact with the back surface of the operation lever 4 by the urging force of the spring 12.

To close the high-pressure gas passage, from the state shown in FIG. 1, the operating lever 4 is manually operated to rotate in the clockwise direction to the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. This state is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the operating lever 4 is in the position to close the high-pressure gas passage, the stopper 10 moves upward due to the urging force of the spring 12, and the fitting portion 10c fits in the enlarged hole 9. This allows
The operation lever 4 is prohibited from rotating, and the closed state of the high-pressure gas passage is locked.

To open the high-pressure gas passage, for example, while pressing the stopper 10 downward with the finger of the left hand, the operating lever 4 is grasped and rotated counterclockwise by the right hand.

[0011]

In the rotation inhibiting mechanism for the operating lever 4 employed in the conventional valve 1 for a high pressure gas container shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a stopper 11 is provided using a spring 11.
Since 0 is biased in one direction, the number of parts is large and the structure for accommodating them is complicated. Further, in order to release the locked state, it is necessary to push down the stopper 10 with one hand and rotate the operation lever 4 with the other hand. Such an operation using both hands is complicated for the operator.

An object of the present invention is to provide a valve having an operating lever lock mechanism having a small number of parts and a simple structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a valve which can be easily unlocked.

[0014]

A valve according to the present invention comprises a housing having a gas passage, a movable valve body for opening and closing the gas passage, and an opening / closing operation of the movable valve body. The operating lever is rotatably supported by the housing, and the operating lever is provided with a stopper member held so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The operation lever rotates so as to take an open position for opening the gas flow passage, a closed position for closing the gas flow passage, and an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. The housing engages with the support surface that supports the stopper member from below when the operating lever is in the open position and the intermediate position, and allows the stopper member to move downward when the operating lever is in the closed position. And an engaging recess.

According to the above construction, since the stopper member is held by the operation lever and the engaging recess is provided in the housing, the number of parts is small and the structure is simple.

[0016] Preferably, the stopper member is held by the operating lever so as to be able to move downward by its own weight, and when the operating lever is brought to the closed position, the stopper member is fitted into the engaging recess by its own weight. . In this way, the spring is unnecessary, and the structure is simpler.

In one embodiment, the stopper member includes a ring that surrounds the operating lever and an engagement protrusion that projects downward from the ring. The engaging protrusion fits into the engaging recess. Such a structure is very simple and cost effective.

In order to be able to perform the unlocking operation and the lever rotating operation with one hand, it is preferable that the stopper member is located within the reach of the finger holding the operation lever. It is provided.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show a state in which the high-pressure gas passage is open, and FIG. 6 shows a state in which the high-pressure gas passage is closed. The position of the operating lever shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 4 corresponds to the state in which the high-pressure gas passage is closed.

The illustrated high-pressure gas container valve 20 includes a housing 21 having a high-pressure gas flow path, a movable valve body 22 in the form of a spherical valve body, a stem 24, and a nut 25.
And an operating lever 23 connected to the movable valve body 22 via a spring washer 26. When the operation lever 23 is rotationally operated, the movable valve body 22 is also rotated accordingly, and the high pressure gas passage is opened and closed. The operation lever 23 has a position shown by a solid line in FIG. 4, that is, an open position that opens the high-pressure gas passage, a position that is shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 4, that is, a closed position that closes the high-pressure gas passage, and an open position and a closed position. It rotates so as to take an intermediate position between them.

As is apparent from FIGS. 4 and 5, the operating lever 23 holds the stopper member 27 so that it can move in the vertical direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the stopper member 27 includes a ring that surrounds the operation lever 23 and an engagement protrusion 27a that projects downward from the ring. Preferably, the stopper member 27 is held by the operation lever 23 so that it can be moved downward by its own weight.

Preferably, the stopper member 27 is
It is provided so as to be located within the reach of the fingers of the hand holding the operation lever 23. With such a positional relationship, the stopper member 27 can be moved upward with, for example, the index finger while the operation lever 23 is held by the hand.

The upper surface of the housing 21 is flat and constitutes a support surface 28 for supporting the stopper member 27 from below. An engagement recess 29 is formed on the support surface 28. The shape and position of the engagement recess 29 are selected to achieve the operation described below.

That is, when the operating lever 23 is in the open position and the intermediate position described above, the engaging protrusion 27a of the stopper member 27, which tends to move downward by its own weight, is in contact with the flat support surface 28. On the other hand, when the operation lever 23 is brought to the closed position, the stopper member 2
7 is located directly above the engagement recess 29. At that position, the stopper member 27 moves downward by its own weight, and the engaging protrusion 2
7a fits into the engagement recess 29. FIG. 6 shows this engaged state.

When the engagement projection 27a is fitted in the engagement recess 29, the operation lever 23 is prohibited from rotating, so that the high pressure gas passage is closed.

In order to open the high-pressure gas flow path, the operating lever 23 is grasped by, for example, the right hand, and the stopper member 27 is moved upward by the ring finger of the right hand to engage the engagement projection 27a with the engagement recess 29. Cancel the state. Then, with the stopper member 27 still being lifted by the finger, operate the lever 2 with the right hand.
Rotate 3 to bring it to the open position.

As is apparent from the above description, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the stopper member 27 engages with the engaging recess 29 by its own weight to lock the closed state of the high pressure gas passage. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified. Furthermore, since the lock release operation and the lever rotation operation can be performed with only one hand, workability is improved.

4 to 6 are merely one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, various modifications and variations can be made within the scope of the present invention or within the scope equivalent to the present invention. Some of them will be listed and described as examples.

(1) The stopper member 27 is the operation lever 23.
Although it has a ring-like shape that surrounds it, it may have another shape. For example, the operation lever may be provided with a guide hole extending in the vertical direction, and the stopper member may be received and held in the guide hole.

(2) In the illustrated embodiment, the stopper member 27 is moved downward by its own weight.
The operation lever may be moved downward by the force of the finger (for example, the ring finger) holding the operation lever.

(3) The movable valve element is not limited to a spherical valve element,
Other forms may be used.

(4) The housing may have an engaging recess that allows the stopper member to move downward and engages with the stopper member even when the operating lever is in the open position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional valve for a high pressure gas container.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional high-pressure gas container valve as viewed from the side.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which rotation of an operating lever is prohibited in a conventional valve for a high pressure gas container.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention viewed from the side.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the operation lever is prohibited from rotating in an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 high pressure gas container valve, 21 housing, 22
Movable valve body, 23 operation lever, 27 stopper member,
27a engagement protrusion, 28 support surface, 29 engagement recess.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A valve for controlling opening / closing of a gas flow passage, comprising a housing having the gas flow passage, a movable valve body for opening / closing the gas flow passage, and an opening / closing operation of the movable valve body. In order to do so, an operating lever rotatably supported by the housing, and a stopper member held by the operating lever so as to be movable in the vertical direction are provided, and the operating lever is a gas flow path. To open an open position, a closed position to close the gas flow path, and an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. A support surface that supports the stopper member from below when in the intermediate position, and an engaging recess that allows the stopper member to move downward and engages with the stopper member when the operation lever is in the closed position. And a valve. 2. The stopper member is held by the operation lever so as to be movable downward by its own weight,
When the operation lever is brought to the closed position, the stopper member fits into the engagement recess by its own weight,
The valve according to claim 1. 3. The stopper member includes a ring surrounding the operation lever and an engagement protrusion protruding downward from the ring, and the engagement protrusion fits in the engagement recess. Or the valve according to 2. 4. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the stopper member is provided so as to be located within a reach of a finger of a hand holding the operation lever.