JP2004019748A - Safety gas stopcock - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety gas stopcock for reliably stopping gas when fire breaks out, which is manufactured at low costs, and used without any maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: A fuse stopper 16 made of solder fuses to rotate by the force of a torsion coil spring 19, when the fire occurs inside a closing element 4, and an inner tap 6 for interrupting a closing element-side open/close passage 4a is incorporated. Or, the inner tap 6 is closed by the operation of a spring fuse 33 made of a shape memory alloy in the occurrence of fire. Or, the inner tap 6 is closed by the operation of a fuse 40 made of a thermal expansion material in the occurrence of fire. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a safety gas plug (thermally-sensitive automatic closing gas plug) that automatically shuts off gas flowing in a gas pipe when a fire occurs to prevent occurrence of a secondary disaster.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a method for shutting off the gas flowing in the gas pipe when a fire occurs, there is an emergency shutoff valve. There are two types of emergency shut-off valves: manual and remote-operated.However, since the gas stops only after a human operation, there is no human at the place or a fire is detected. If the gas is delayed or if you are unfamiliar with the operation, there is a problem that the gas cannot be stopped in a timely manner.
[0003]
To solve this problem, there has been proposed a system in which a fire is sensed by a temperature sensor and an emergency shutoff valve is electrically operated. However, this method is expensive for equipment and requires maintenance, so that it is not practical for a customer as a shut-off device in the event of a fire when it is not known when it will occur.
Further, in the case of the conventional gas stopper, although the grease is applied to the sealing surface, there is a problem that the rotational torque of the closing member gradually increases due to aging or the like, and the rotor does not easily rotate. .
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a safe gas plug which can be put into practical use at low cost, operates reliably in the event of a fire, and can be used without maintenance. .
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, the gas passage is formed so as to be rotatable from a direction perpendicular to a gas passage formed in the gas stopper main body, and the gas passage is opened or rotated by 90 °. A closing member formed by forming a closing-side opening / closing passage for controlling the closing; and a closing-side opening / closing member which is rotatably incorporated in the closing member coaxially with a rotation axis of the closing member and which is normally provided. An inner plug side opening / closing passage which is located in the same direction as the passage, and which rotates by 90 ° when an abnormality occurs to shut off the closing side opening / closing passage.
[0006]
Further, in the invention according to the second aspect, in the invention according to the first aspect, a force for constantly rotating in the closing direction is applied to the inner plug by a torsion coil spring, and the force in the closing direction is prevented. Normally, the closing-side opening / closing passage is matched with the inner-plug-side opening / closing passage, and when a fire occurs, it is melted or deformed or expanded under the influence of the heat from this fire, releasing the blocking force and releasing only the inner plug. A fuse for stopping the flow of gas by turning the torsion coil spring 90 ° by the force of the torsion coil spring to shut off the closing-side opening / closing passage is incorporated.
[0007]
Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the fuse is formed of a low melting point metal or a resin.
[0008]
Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the fuse is formed of a shape memory alloy.
[0009]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the fuse is formed of a thermal expansion material.
[0010]
The safety gas plug having the above configuration can be put to practical use, for example, as a gas plug attached to an inlet pipe of a gas meter of a customer, called a main plug, so that the supply of gas can be stopped at the customer in the event of a fire. . However, in addition to such a main plug, the present invention can also be put to practical use in a gas plug attached to a gas pipe, the end of a gas pipe, or an instrument.
[0011]
[Action]
When a fire occurs, this heat causes the fuse to melt in the case of solder, a kind of low-melting point metal. Block the open / close passage. As a result, the gas stops. In the case of a shape memory alloy, the inner plug rotates by shutting off the stopper by, for example, releasing the stopper due to thermal deformation, and shuts off the closing side opening / closing passage. Similarly, in the case of a thermal expansion material, the thermal expansion material expands due to the heat of fire, and by releasing the stopper with this expansion pressure, the inner plug rotates to shut off the close-side opening / closing passage.
[0012]
Embodiment 1
FIGS. 1 to 6 are explanatory views of the description and operation of the safety gas plug according to the present invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a gas stopper main body, and a gas passage 2 is formed in the gas stopper main body 1 so as to penetrate therethrough. A connection screw 2a with the pipe is formed.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a V-shaped taper hole formed in the gas plug main body 1 so as to vertically cross the gas passage 2 from the upper opening 8 for mounting the nozzle. A closer 4 having a closeable opening / closing passage 4a rotatably formed therein is incorporated in the closer built-in tapered hole 3.
[0013]
Reference numeral 5 denotes a taper hole for assembling the inner plug, which penetrates vertically through the closet 4 and has a tapered portion inclined in the opposite direction to the tapered hole 3.
Reference numeral 6 denotes an inner plug incorporated in the inner plug built-in tapered hole 5 from the lower side (large diameter side) coaxially with the closing member 4. The inner plug 6 matches the closing side opening / closing passage 4 a. An inner plug side opening / closing passage 7 is formed, and the inner plug 6 can open / close the closing side opening / closing passage 4a by rotating by 90 °.
[0014]
Reference numeral 10 denotes a plate rotatably incorporated in an inner peripheral groove 9 formed in the upper opening 8 of the gas stopper main body 1, and an engaging hole 14 is formed in the plate 10. Thus, the engaging portion 12 protruding from the upper surface of the closing member 4 is engaged.
Reference numeral 15 denotes a stopper screw protruding into the circumferential groove 9 on the side of the gas stopper main body 1, and between the stopper screws 15, the plate 10 is controlled so that the stopper portion 10a is rotatable at a rotation angle of 180 °. The end 4 with a rotation angle of 180 ° is closed, and the rotation angle of 90 ° from both ends is open.
[0015]
Reference numeral 10b denotes a shaft hole formed in the center of the plate 10. The rotation shaft 11 of the inner plug 6 is inserted from below into the shaft hole 10b and protrudes upward. 13 is attached to the horizontal stab. The stopper pin 13 is engaged with a solder fuse stopper 16 fixed to the upper surface of the plate 10 from a counterclockwise direction.
Numeral 17 protrudes from the upper surface of the plate 10 so that it rotates 90 ° counterclockwise when the solder stopper 16 is melted and the inner plug 6 rotates, and the inner plug 6 stops in a closed state. It is a plate stopper pin.
[0016]
Reference numeral 18 denotes a compression spring inserted between the lower surface of the plate 10 and the upper surface of the closing member 4 outside the rotary shaft 11. The upper end 19b is a torsion coil spring fixed to the groove 10c of the plate 10, and a force is always applied to the inner plug 6 in the closing direction by the torsion coil spring 19.
Reference numeral 20 denotes a handle. The handle 20 is connected to the plate 10 by a hexagon socket head cap screw 21 and is engaged with the guide 22 of the upper opening 8 so that the handle 20 rotates together with the closure 4 by 180 °. It can rotate (open and close) freely within the range of the angle.
23 inserts the inner plug 6 from below into the inner plug assembling hole 5 in the closure 4, and then presses the inner plug 6 in the taper direction in the closure 4 to secure the seal. The compression coil spring 24 is a spring receiver.
[0017]
Next, with respect to the gas plug of the above embodiment, an example of normal opening and closing will be described with reference to FIGS. .
First, during normal operation, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the handle 20 is open and the closure 4 and the inner plug 6 are also open, and the handle 20 is closed and the closure 4 and The inner plug 6 is also closed.
[0018]
On the other hand, when a fire occurs, the fuse stopper 16 made of solder melts and the stopper pin 13 on the inner plug 6 side is released, so that only the inner plug 6 rotates counterclockwise by the force of the torsion coil spring 19, The side opening / closing passage 7 separates from the closing side opening / closing passage 4a, and shuts off the closing side opening / closing passage 4a. This state is shown in FIGS. Thus, the gas flowing through the gas stopper is stopped.
FIGS. 6C and 6D show the state in which the handle 20 is rotated by 90 ° from the state where the inner plug 6 is closed, and the closing element 4 is closed.
In this embodiment, the fuse is made of solder. However, since the resin is also melted by heat at a constant temperature, the fuse stopper 16 may be formed of this resin.
[0019]
Embodiment 2
Example 2 is an example using a fuse made of a shape memory alloy according to claim 4, wherein FIG. 7 (A) is a plan view of a plate portion, FIG. 7 (B) is a side view of the plate portion, FIG. 7 (C) is a cross-sectional view of the plate portion, and FIG. 7 (D) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the shape memory alloy spring fuse is deformed by heat and the stopper pin 13 is lifted up so as to come off from the inner stopper pin. It is.
More specifically, the second embodiment will be described in detail. On the upper surface of the plate 10, internal stopper pins 30, 30a are protruded. The stopper pin 13 is engaged with the inner stopper pins 30 and 30a, and the inner stopper 6 is stopped in an open state (see FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C).
[0020]
Reference numeral 31 denotes a cylindrical guide shaft formed inside (back side) of the stopper pin 13. The guide shaft 31 is vertically movably incorporated into a mounting hole 32 formed in the rotation shaft 11 of the inner plug 6. I have. Reference numeral 33 denotes a shape memory alloy spring fuse. The shape memory alloy spring fuse 33 is incorporated in the guide shaft 31 in the mounting hole 32 and expands (deforms) due to heat at the time of fire. The stopper pin 13 is lifted upward by the extension action and removed from the inner stopper pins 30 and 30a, and the gas is stopped by rotating the inner stopper 6 90 ° in the closing direction by the force of the torsion coil spring 19. FIG. 7D shows a state in which the stopper pin 13 is disengaged from the inner stopper pins 30 and 30a by the action of the shape memory alloy spring fuse 33. In FIGS. 7A to 7D, reference numeral 34 denotes a stop ring of the stopper pin 13 attached to the rotation shaft 11 of the inner plug 6 to prevent the stopper pin 13 from coming off when it rises.
[0021]
Embodiment 3
Embodiment 3 Embodiment 3 is an embodiment of the invention described in claim 5, wherein the fuse is formed of a thermal expansion material (thermal expansion graphite / thermal expansion rubber / thermal expansion resin).
As shown in FIG. 8A, the third embodiment replaces the shape memory alloy spring fuse 33 of the second embodiment with a guide shaft 31 in a mounting hole 32 formed in the rotating shaft 11 of the inner plug 6. The fuse 40 made of a thermal expansion material is filled therein, and when the fuse 40 made of the thermal expansion material thermally expands due to heat at the time of a fire, as shown in FIG. , 30a, the inner plug 6 can be rotated in the closing direction by the action of the torsion coil spring 19 to stop the gas.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention has the following effects by incorporating an inner plug in a closure and automatically closing the inner plug when a fire occurs to stop the flow of gas.
1. Since only the inner plug is incorporated in the closure, no cost is required, and the assembly can be assembled in the gas stopper by incorporating the inner plug in advance in the closure.
2. Since the inner plug is closed, the sliding area is reduced and the rotational torque may be small. Therefore, the operation does not become unstable over time.
3. Since the detection of the fire is performed by the action of the low melting metal, the resin, the shape memory alloy, or the thermal expansion material, the operation can be reliably performed at a low cost without any maintenance.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a gas stopper according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in a state in which a child is closed.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a plate portion.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a closure, an inner plug, a plate, a torsion coil spring, and the like.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of opening and closing of a gas stopper in a normal state.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation when a fire occurs.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration and an operation when a fuse made of a shape memory alloy is used.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a configuration and a function when a fuse made of a thermal expansion material is used.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gas plug main body 2 Gas passage 4 Closure 6 Inner plug 10 Plate 13 Stopper pin 16 Solder fuse stopper 19 Torsion coil spring 20 Handle 33 Shape memory alloy spring fuse 40 Thermal expansion material fuse

Claims (5)

A closing member which is rotatably incorporated in a direction perpendicular to a gas passage formed in the gas stopper main body and forms a closing-side opening / closing passage for controlling the gas passage to open or close by 90 ° rotation; , The inner plug side opening / closing passage is rotatably incorporated coaxially with the rotation axis of the closing member, and is normally located in the same direction as the opening / closing passage on the side of the closing member. A safety gas stopper comprising: an inner stopper that rotates to shut off a closing-side opening / closing passage. The inner plug is provided with a force to rotate in the closing direction by a torsion coil spring. This force is prevented by closing the opening and closing passages of the inner and outer plugs. When the fire occurs, it is melted, deformed, or expanded under the influence of the heat of the fire to release the blocking force, and only the inner plug is rotated 90 ° by the force of the torsion coil spring to shut off the close-side opening / closing passage. The safety gas plug according to claim 1, wherein a fuse for stopping a flow of gas is incorporated. The safety gas stopper according to claim 2, wherein the fuse is formed of a low melting point metal or resin. The safety gas stopper according to claim 2, wherein the fuse is formed of a shape memory alloy. The safety gas stopper according to claim 2, wherein the fuse is formed of a thermal expansion material.

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