JP2008065727A - Pressure reducing valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify working and assembling of respective members such as a housing, a piston member in addition to suppressing the variation of secondary pressure due to that of primary pressure. <P>SOLUTION: On one side of the piston member (3), a secondary pressure chamber (15) is formed. On the other side, pressure reducing springs (4) are arranged and a rod insertion hole (16) is provided. A rod (11) projecting toward inside of a cylinder chamber (9) is inserted to the rod insertion hole (16). A space between the outer surface of the rod (11) and the inner surface of the rod insertion hole (16) is sealed freely slidably by tight sliding parts (27). On a deeper side than the tight sliding parts 27, a pressure reducing valve chamber (17) is formed. At the tip of the rod (11), a pressure reducing valve seat (12) is formed. At the deep wall of the rod insertion hole (16), an exit path (18) communicating the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), the secondary pressure chamber (15) and a gas flow out port (7) is provided. Around the exit path (18), a valve body (19) is provided. The seal diameter of the valve body (19) abutting on the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is set to be nearly equal to a seal diameter at the tight sliding parts (27). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure reducing valve that can maintain a secondary pressure at a substantially constant pressure even when the primary pressure changes due to gas consumption or the like.

  In general, a pressure reducing valve includes a pressure reducing valve chamber formed in a housing, a pressure reducing valve seat provided in the pressure reducing valve chamber, a valve body that can move forward and backward with respect to the pressure reducing valve seat, and a downstream side of the pressure reducing valve seat. A secondary pressure chamber formed on the side, a piston member that moves forward and backward in response to the pressure of the secondary pressure chamber, and is linked to the valve body, and is attached in a direction to separate the valve body from the pressure reducing valve seat. And the pressure of the secondary pressure chamber received by the piston member and the urging means balances the valve body with the pressure reducing valve seat to reduce the gas pressure passing through the pressure reducing valve chamber. The However, since the valve body is affected by the primary pressure of the gas flowing into the pressure reducing valve chamber (hereinafter referred to as “primary pressure”), for example, when the primary pressure supplied from the gas container changes due to gas consumption. Accordingly, the secondary pressure (hereinafter referred to as “secondary pressure”) also changes.

  Usually, it is preferable to suppress the change in the secondary pressure to be small so that a gas having a constant pressure is supplied to the gas consuming device. However, for example, hydrogen gas containers used for in-vehicle fuel cells are required to have a high pressure in order to be compact and have a large capacity, and when the storage pressure becomes high, the amount of change in the primary pressure due to gas consumption increases. The change in the secondary pressure affected by this also increases. In order to suppress this change in the secondary pressure, for example, the outer diameter of the piston is increased to relatively reduce the influence of the primary pressure, or the pressure is reduced in two stages by connecting two pressure reducing valves in series. Possible methods. However, when the outer diameter of the piston is increased, it is not easy to reduce the size of the pressure reducing valve, and when pressure is reduced in two stages, two pressure reducing valves are required, resulting in an increase in cost.

  Conventionally, in order to suppress the influence of the primary pressure and reduce the change in the secondary pressure, the pressure reducing valve chamber is provided inside the rod insertion hole formed in the piston member, and the rod inserted into the rod insertion hole is connected to the rod insertion hole. There has been proposed a pressure reducing valve that balances the urging force caused by the primary pressure received by the seal sliding portion with the inner surface and the urging force caused by the primary pressure received by the valve body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  That is, this pressure reducing valve includes a housing (50), a piston member (53), and a pressure reducing spring (54), as shown in FIG. 7, for example. The housing (50) includes a bottomed cylindrical housing main body (51). And a lid member (52) that closes one end opening of the housing body (51). A cylinder chamber (56) is formed inside the housing body (51), and a gas inlet (57) is formed at the bottom of the housing body (51). A first rod (60) that is elongated in the axial direction protrudes inward from the inner surface of the bottom of the housing body (51). A gas inlet (57) is provided in the first rod (60). A communicating inlet channel (59) is formed. The lid member (52) is provided with a gas outlet (58). A second rod (62) that is elongated in the axial direction inward from the inner surface of the lid member (52) and has a larger diameter than the first rod (60) is coaxial with the first rod (60). Projected to face each other. An outlet passage (61) communicating with the gas outlet (58) is formed in the second rod (62), and a pressure reducing valve seat (63) is attached to the tip of the second rod (62). is there.

  The piston member (53) includes an expanded diameter portion (53a) slidably fitted on the inner surface of the cylinder chamber (56), and a reduced diameter portion formed on one side of the expanded diameter portion (53a). (53b), and a secondary pressure chamber (65) is formed between one side of the expanded diameter portion (53a) and the outer periphery of the reduced diameter portion (53b) and the inside of the housing (50). It is. In the center of the piston member (53), a small diameter hole (64a) and a large diameter hole (64b) are formed in a stepped manner in the axial direction. The small-diameter hole (64a) is attached to the first rod (60), and the large-diameter hole (64b) is attached to the second rod (62) via a seal member (66/67) so as to be slidable. It is fitted. A valve element (68) that approaches and separates from the pressure reducing valve seat (63) as the piston member (53) reciprocates is provided at the step portion at the boundary between the small diameter hole (64a) and the large diameter hole (64b). It is. A pressure reducing valve chamber (69) is formed between the tip of the first rod (60) inserted into the small diameter hole (64a) and the pressure reducing valve seat (63) facing the first rod (60). Further, the pressure reducing spring (54) is disposed between the lid member (52) and the piston member (53), and the pressure force in the valve opening direction (X1) is exerted on the piston member (53) by the pressure reducing spring (54). Is given.

  According to the pressure reducing valve configured as described above, the gas flowing in from the gas inlet (57) flows into the pressure reducing valve chamber (69) via the inlet passage (59) in the first rod (60), and the pressure is reduced. After the pressure is reduced by passing through an orifice formed between the valve seat (63) and the valve body (68), the large diameter hole (64b) and the outlet passage (61) in the second rod (62) Are sequentially taken out from the gas outlet (58). At this time, the piston member (53) moves the valve element (68) against the pressure reducing valve seat (63) by a balance between the secondary pressure received from the secondary pressure chamber (65) and the elastic pressure of the pressure reducing spring (54). The secondary pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure by moving in the approaching / separating direction.

  The seal diameter of the seal member (66) that slidably seals between the first rod (60) and the small diameter hole (64a) is the same as that of the valve body (68) in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (63). The seal diameter is approximately the same. For this reason, the primary pressure acting on the piston member (53) in the pressure reducing valve chamber (69) balances the force in the valve opening direction (X1) and the force in the valve closing direction (X2). 53) can be made less susceptible to the influence of the primary pressure, and the amount of change in the secondary pressure due to the change in the primary pressure can be reduced.

JP 2004-38982 A

However, in the conventional pressure reducing valve shown in FIG. 7, in the cylinder chamber (56), the first rod (60) and the second rod (62) are connected to each other from the housing body (51) and the lid member (52), respectively. A piston member (53) is slidably fitted on both the first rod (60) and the second rod (62) so as to face each other on the same axis. When the lid member (52) is screwed and fixed, it is not easy to accurately arrange the first rod (60) and the second rod (62) on the same axis. For this reason, the processing of the housing body (51), the lid member (52), and the piston member (53) and the assembling work thereof become difficult, and there is a problem that the processing cost is increased.
The piston member (53) is located between the inner surface of the cylinder chamber (56) and the expanded diameter portion (53a), and between the outer periphery of the first rod (60) on the housing body (51) side and the small diameter hole (64a). And 3 points between the outer circumference of the second rod (62) on the lid member (52) side and the large-diameter hole (64b) must be slidably sealed by the seal members (70, 66, 67), respectively. Therefore, it is not easy to achieve good decompression performance by making the slidability and the tightness of the piston member compatible.

  Furthermore, a pressure reducing valve seat (63) attached to the tip of the second rod (62) is an inlet passage (formed on the first rod (60) coaxially facing the second rod (62)). 59), the pressure reducing valve seat (63) is directly exposed to the jet of gas flowing into the pressure reducing valve chamber (69) from the inlet passage (59). The seat (63) is likely to deteriorate early, has poor durability, and may have an adverse effect on the decompression performance.

  The technical problem of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, to suppress a change in secondary pressure accompanying a change in primary pressure, and to simplify the processing and assembly of each member, Is to provide a pressure reducing valve that can also improve the durability of the pressure reducing valve seat.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is described as follows, for example, based on FIGS. 1 to 6 showing an embodiment of the present invention.
That is, the present invention relates to a pressure reducing valve, a pressure reducing valve chamber (17) formed in the housing (2), a pressure reducing valve seat (12) provided in the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), and a pressure reducing valve seat ( 12), a valve body (19) capable of moving forward and backward, a secondary pressure chamber (15) formed downstream of the pressure reducing valve seat (12), and the pressure in the secondary pressure chamber (15) The piston member (3) interlocked and connected to the valve body (19) and a pressure reducing spring for urging the valve body (19) away from the pressure reducing valve seat (12). 4), and the gas inlet (10) communicating with the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the gas outlet (7) communicating with the secondary pressure chamber (15) are opened on the outer surface of the housing (2). A pressure reducing valve,
A cylinder chamber (9) is formed in the housing (2), and the piston member (3) is slidably inserted into the inner surface of the cylinder chamber (9). The secondary pressure chamber (15) is formed on one side, and a rod insertion hole (16) is provided on the other side of the piston member (3) along the axial direction of the cylinder chamber (9). 2) Project the rod (11) into the cylinder chamber (9), insert this rod (11) into the rod insertion hole (16), insert the rod (11) outer surface and the rod The inside of the hole (16) is slidably sealed with the seal sliding part (27), and the pressure reducing valve is located behind the seal sliding part (27) in the rod insertion hole (16). Forming a chamber (17), and forming an inlet passage (25) in the rod (11) for communicating the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the gas inlet (10), the pressure reducing valve chamber At the tip of the rod (11) inserted in (17) The pressure reducing valve seat (12) is formed, and the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the secondary pressure chamber are located at a position facing the pressure reducing valve seat (12) on the back wall of the rod insertion hole (16). (15) and an outlet passage (18) communicating with the gas outlet (7) are provided, and the valve body (19) is provided in a state surrounding the opening of the outlet passage (18) on the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) side. The valve member (19) is configured to approach and separate from the pressure reducing valve seat (12) by the forward and backward movement of the piston member (3), and the valve is in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (12). The seal diameter of the body (19) is set to be substantially the same as the seal diameter in the above-described tight sliding portion (27).

  According to the pressure reducing valve configured in this way, the gas flowing from the gas inlet (10) into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) through the inlet passage (25) is supplied to the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19). The pressure is reduced by passing between the gas and the gas, and flows into the secondary pressure chamber (15) through the outlet passage (18) and is taken out from the gas outlet (7). At this time, the balance of the secondary pressure received by the piston member (3) and the elastic pressure of the pressure reducing spring (4) moves the piston member (3) so that the valve element (19) approaches the pressure reducing valve seat (12). -It separates and this reduces the secondary pressure to a predetermined pressure.

  That is, when the secondary pressure in the secondary pressure chamber (15) becomes high, the piston member (3) resists the elastic pressure of the pressure reducing spring (4) and the valve element (19) comes close to the pressure reducing valve seat (12). Move in the direction you want. As a result, the amount of gas passing between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve element (19) decreases, and the secondary pressure decreases. On the other hand, when the secondary pressure in the secondary pressure chamber (15) decreases, the piston member (3) is elastically pressed by the pressure reducing spring (4) and the valve element (19) moves away from the pressure reducing valve seat (12). Moving. As a result, the amount of gas passing between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19) increases, and the secondary pressure increases.

  Here, the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) is formed in the rod insertion hole (16) of the piston member (3). Therefore, the piston member (3) constituting the peripheral wall of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) The primary pressure flowing into the valve chamber (17) is received. However, the seal diameter of the valve element (19) in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is adjusted so that the seal sliding part (27) between the outer surface of the rod (11) and the inner surface of the rod insertion hole (16) Since the seal diameter is set substantially the same, the primary pressure acting on the piston member (3) is the force in the valve opening direction in which the valve element (19) is separated from the pressure reducing valve seat (12), and the valve element (19 ) Balances the force in the valve closing direction approaching the pressure reducing valve seat (12).

  The pressure reducing valve forms a detour (24) between the inner periphery of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the outer periphery of the tip of the rod (11), and the detour (24) The inlet passage (25) can be communicated between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19). In this case, the gas flowing in from the gas inlet (10) reaches the valve body (19) from the inlet passage (25) via the bypass (24) and flows into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). The gas jet is not directly blown onto the valve body (19). As a result, deterioration of the valve element (19) due to exposure to the gas jet can be prevented and durability can be improved, so that the decompression performance can be maintained high over a long period of time.

  In the pressure reducing valve, the outlet passage (18) is formed in a straight line so that the outlet passage (18) directly faces the gas outlet (7), and is downstream from the outlet passage (18). The side communicates with the secondary pressure chamber (15), and the tip of the filling jig (30) attached to the gas outlet (7) can be inserted into the outlet passage (18) in a tight manner. The filling path (36) of the filling jig (30) can be configured to communicate with the outlet path (18). When this pressure reducing valve is used as a container valve attached to a gas container, when a fresh gas is filled into an empty gas container, a filling jig (30) is attached to the gas outlet (7). The tip of the filling jig (30) is inserted into the outlet passage (18) in a tight manner, and the communication between the outlet passage (18) and the secondary pressure chamber (15) on the downstream side thereof is blocked. As a result, the fresh gas supplied from the filling passage (36) of the filling jig (30) does not flow into the secondary pressure chamber (15), so the pressure does not increase in the secondary pressure chamber (15). It is possible to prevent the piston member (3) from being pressed in the valve closing direction by the internal pressure of the secondary pressure chamber (15). As a result, the piston member (3) is elastically pressed by the pressure reducing spring (4) to keep the valve element (19) separated from the pressure reducing valve seat (12), and fresh gas flows from the filling passage to the pressure reducing valve chamber. The gas container is filled through (17), the inlet channel (25), and the gas inlet (10) in this order. Therefore, the gas extraction path from the pressure reducing valve can also be used as a gas filling path, and it is not necessary to separately provide a filling connection port in the valve apparatus, so that the entire valve apparatus can be simplified.

  In addition, said valve body (19) can be comprised by the packing fixed to the inner back part of said rod insertion hole (16), or O-ring, for example. In these cases, there is an advantage that a packing or an O-ring made of an elastic material can be easily attached to the valve body.

  Further, the valve body (19) is configured by a tapered metal surface that is narrowed toward the outlet passage (18) in the inner back portion of the rod insertion hole (16), and the pressure reducing valve seat (12 ) Is composed of a packing fixed to the tip of the rod (11), or the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is a tapered tapered surface formed at the tip of the rod (11). It is also possible to comprise a metal surface having In these cases, there is no need for a screw structure for fixing a packing or the like to the piston member (3) sliding in the cylinder chamber (9), and there is no possibility of causing problems due to loosening of the threaded portion.

Since the present invention is configured and operates as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The primary pressure acting on the piston member is a balance between the force in the valve opening direction in which the valve element moves away from the pressure reducing valve seat and the force in the valve closing direction in which the valve element approaches the pressure reducing valve seat. The pressure reduction operation of the member can be made less susceptible to the influence of the primary pressure, and as a result, the amount of change in the secondary pressure due to the change in the primary pressure can be greatly reduced.
For example, in a fuel cell vehicle, hydrogen gas stored in an on-board hydrogen gas container is decompressed by a pressure reducing valve and supplied to the fuel cell. The performance required for the pressure reducing valve for the fuel cell is as follows. A large flow rate (for example, 1000 NL / min or more) and a stable constant pressure are required. When the pressure reducing valve of the present invention is used in such a pressure reducing valve for a fuel cell, it is preferable because ultrahigh pressure hydrogen gas can be reduced to a stable constant pressure and supplied to the fuel cell.

(2) The piston member is inserted into the cylinder chamber of the housing so as to be slidably closed, and only one rod protruding from the inner surface of the housing is inserted into the rod insertion hole in the piston member. Unlike the prior art in which two rod members are coaxially inserted from both sides, each member such as a housing and a piston member can be easily processed and can be easily assembled.

(3) The piston member need only be slidably sealed between the inner periphery of the cylinder chamber and between the inner periphery of the rod insertion hole and the rod. Unlike the prior art described above, there are fewer places to seal in a tightly slidable manner. From this point, the processing and assembly can be simplified, and the slidability and the tightness of the piston member are both compatible. Good decompression performance can be easily obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a pressure reducing valve, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the pressure reducing valve with a filling jig attached thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this pressure reducing valve (1) is used, for example, as a container valve attached to a gas container or a pipe valve attached to piping, and includes a housing (2), a piston member (3), a pressure reducing spring (4), Is provided.

  The housing (2) includes a cylindrical housing body (5) and a lid member (6) that closes one end opening (5a) of the housing body (5). The lid member (6) is screwed and fixed to the one end opening (5a). However, in the present invention, the lid member may be fixed to the housing body by other fixing means. A gas outlet (7) is formed at the other end opening of the housing body (5), and a cylinder chamber (9) is formed between the gas outlet (7) and the inner surface of the lid member (6). Is provided. A gas inlet (10) is provided at the center of the outer end face of the lid member (6). A rod (11) protrudes integrally from the center of the inner surface of the lid member (6) toward the cylinder chamber (9).

  The piston member (3) is fitted in the cylinder chamber (9) so as to reciprocate in the axial direction, and has an expanded diameter portion (3a) that slides on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder chamber (9). The extended diameter portion (3a) has a small diameter reduced diameter portion (3b) projecting from the center on one side of the lid member (6) toward the lid member (6). Between the outer periphery of the expanded diameter portion (3a) of the piston member (3) and the inner periphery of the cylinder chamber (9), a seal member (14) attached to the expanded diameter portion (3a) is sealed so as to be able to slide tightly. It is. On the other side of the piston member (3), a secondary pressure chamber (15) is formed between the piston member (3) and the gas outlet (7).

  A rod insertion hole (16) is provided at the center of the reduced diameter portion (3b) of the piston member (3), and the rod (11) reciprocates in the axial direction in the rod insertion hole (16). Inserted as possible. The space between the outer periphery of the rod (11) and the inner periphery of the rod insertion hole (16) is slidably sealed by a seal sliding part (27) made of a seal member attached to the rod insertion hole (16). It is.

  The piston member (3) has an expanded diameter portion (3a) slidably fitted in the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder chamber (9), and a rod insertion hole (16) formed in the reduced diameter portion (3b). The portion that is only slidably fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the rod (11) and that is sealed so as to be slidable is between the expanded diameter portion (3a) and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder chamber (9). Since there are only two places with the sealing sliding portion (27), the processing and assembly are simple, and it is possible to easily achieve both the sliding performance and the sealing performance of the piston member and to obtain a good decompression performance. .

  In the rod insertion hole (16), a pressure reducing valve chamber (17) having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rod (11) is formed on the back side of the seal sliding portion (27). In the rod (11), there is formed an inlet passage (25) that connects the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the gas inlet (10) to each other, and is inserted into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). A pressure reducing valve seat (12) is provided at the tip of the rod (11). On the other hand, the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), the secondary pressure chamber (15) and the gas outlet (7) are arranged at a position facing the pressure reducing valve seat (12) on the back wall of the rod insertion hole (16). There is an exit channel (18) that communicates. A valve body (19) made of packing is provided at the end of the outlet passage (18) on the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) side so as to surround the entire opening. The outlet passage (18) is formed in a straight line, and its downstream opening directly faces the gas outlet (7) through the secondary pressure chamber (15).

  The valve body (19) is simply installed in the piston member (3) by using a valve body pressing member (20) formed separately from the piston member (3). That is, a valve body mounting hole (21) having an inner diameter larger than that of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) is communicated with the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) on the end surface of the piston member (3) opposite to the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). On the other hand, the above-mentioned outlet passage (18) is provided in a penetrating manner in the valve body pressing member (20), and a valve body comprising an annular packing so as to surround the entire circumference on one end side of this outlet passage (18) ( 19) Fit. Then, the valve body holding member (20) is fixed to the valve body mounting hole (21) of the piston member (3) by screwing or the like, and the valve body (19) is pressed against the inner bottom of the valve body mounting hole (21). Let it face the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). According to this structure, the valve body (19) is securely fixed by the valve body pressing member (20), and the valve body (19) is attached to and detached from the piston member (3), so that the valve body ( 19) can be easily replaced.

  Since the valve body (19) is fixed to the piston member (3), the piston member (3) moves toward and away from the pressure-reducing valve seat (12) as the piston member (3) moves forward and backward. The seal diameter of the valve body (19) in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is formed to be substantially the same as the seal diameter at the above-described sealing sliding portion (27). Here, when both seal diameters are substantially the same diameter, the pressure receiving areas of both are substantially the same, and the valve opening direction (X1) applied to the piston member (3) by the primary pressure in the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). This means that the force to the valve is equal to the force in the valve closing direction (X2).

  In the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), an annular bypass (24) is formed between the inner periphery of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the outer periphery of the tip of the rod (11). The inlet passage (25) formed in the rod (11) is communicated between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19) via the bypass (24). In other words, the inlet channel (25) includes an axial channel (25a) provided in the axial direction of the rod (11) so as to communicate with the gas inlet (10), and an inner depth of the axial channel (25a). It consists of a radial flow path (25b) provided in the diametrical direction so as to communicate with the bypass (24).

  A pressure reducing spring accommodating space (28) is formed in the cylinder (9) on the opposite side of the secondary pressure chamber (15) with the piston member (3) interposed therebetween. The pressure reducing spring (4) is constituted by a compression coil spring or the like, and is disposed between the inner surface of the lid member (6) and the expanded diameter portion (3a) of the piston member (3) in the pressure reducing spring accommodating space (28). The valve element (19) urges the piston member (3) in the valve opening direction (X1) away from the pressure reducing valve seat (12). In this embodiment, the pressure reducing spring (4) is constituted by two compression coil springs, but it goes without saying that it may be constituted by one compression coil spring.

  Next, the operation of the pressure reducing valve 1 configured as described above will be described.

  Gas flowing in from the gas inlet (10) flows into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) through the inlet passage (25), and passes through the outlet passage (18) between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19). Then, it is taken out from the gas outlet (7). At this time, the jet flowing into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) from the inlet passage (25) reaches the valve body (19) via the detour (24), and thus is not directly blown onto the valve body (19). . Therefore, the valve element (19) is prevented from being deteriorated by being exposed to the gas jet.

  The pressure of the gas flowing into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), that is, the primary pressure is applied to the piston member (3) constituting the peripheral wall of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). However, since the seal diameter of the valve body (19) in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is set to be substantially the same as the seal diameter at the above-described seal sliding portion (27), this piston member (3 ) Is applied to the valve body (19) in the valve opening direction (X1) away from the pressure reducing valve seat (12), and the valve closing direction in which the valve body (19) approaches the pressure reducing valve seat (12). The forces acting on (X2) are balanced against each other and offset.

  The gas in the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) is depressurized by passing between the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19), and is then discharged from the outlet passage (18) to the secondary pressure chamber (15). It flows in and is guided to the gas outlet (7). The gas that has flowed into the secondary pressure chamber (15) causes the valve body (19) to approach the pressure reducing valve seat (12) through the piston member (3) due to the reduced pressure (secondary pressure). Press in the valve closing direction (X2). On the other hand, the piston member (3) is pressed in the valve opening direction (X1) in which the valve element (19) is separated from the pressure reducing valve seat (12) by the elastic pressure of the pressure reducing spring (4). The valve element (19) is opened and closed in a balance between the secondary pressure received by the piston member (3) and the elastic pressure of the pressure reducing spring (4), whereby the secondary pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure.

  At this time, the force that the primary pressure in the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) acts on the valve element (19) includes the force acting in the valve opening direction (X1) and the force acting in the valve closing direction (X2) as described above. Can be made less affected by the primary pressure in the pressure reducing operation of the piston member (3) and the valve body (19), greatly increasing the amount of change in the secondary pressure due to the change in the primary pressure. Can be reduced. Thus, for example, the fuel hydrogen gas can be effectively used when supplied from an ultra-high pressure hydrogen gas container mounted on an in-vehicle fuel cell while reducing the fuel hydrogen gas to a stable constant pressure.

Next, the pressure reducing valve (1) is incorporated in a container valve attached to the gas container, and when the stored gas is consumed and emptied, the gas container is filled with fresh gas through the pressure reducing valve. The procedure will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the fresh gas is filled through the pressure reducing valve (1), the filling jig (30) is attached to the gas outlet (7) by screwing or the like. The filling jig (30) includes a jig main body (33) screwed and fixed to the gas outlet (7), and a small-diameter insertion protrusion (projected from the tip of the jig main body (33)). 34), and a filling path (36) is formed so as to pass through the jig body (33) and the insertion protrusion (34).

  The outlet passage (18) is formed in a straight line and directly faces the gas outlet (7). By attaching the filling jig (30) to the gas outlet (7), The insertion protrusion (34) is inserted into the outlet passage (18) in a tightly packed manner. As a result, the filling path (36) communicates with the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) through the outlet path (18), and the outlet path (18) and the secondary pressure chamber (15) on the downstream side thereof Communication is blocked.

  When fresh gas is supplied from the filling passage (36) of the filling jig (30), the fresh gas flows into the outlet passage (18) but does not flow into the secondary pressure chamber (15). Therefore, the piston member (3) is not pressed in the valve closing direction (X2) by the high pressure of fresh gas, and the valve body (19) is moved in the valve opening direction (X1) by the elastic force of the pressure reducing spring (4). It is pressed and held in the valve open state. As a result, the fresh gas that has flowed into the outlet passage (18) flows between the valve element (19) and the pressure reducing valve seat (12) into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), and enters the inlet passage (25). And the gas inlet (10) in this order, are guided into a gas container (not shown) and filled smoothly. Accordingly, the gas extraction path from the pressure reducing valve (1) can be used also as a fresh gas charging path, and it is not necessary to separately provide a charging connection port in the valve apparatus, thus simplifying the entire valve apparatus. be able to.

  In said 1st Embodiment, the valve body (19) was formed with the annular packing. However, in the present invention, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the valve body can have other shapes and structures.

  That is, in 2nd Embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the valve body (19) is comprised with the O-ring, and the valve body (19) consisting of this O-ring is formed separately from the piston member (3). And attached to the outer periphery of the tip of the valve body holding member (37). The valve body holding member (37) is screwed into the valve body mounting hole (21) of the piston member (3) so that the valve body (19) faces the pressure reducing valve chamber (17). In this case, the pressure reducing valve seat (12) is formed by an annular protrusion formed at the tip of the rod (11). The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and functions in the same manner, so that the description thereof is omitted.

  In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the valve element (19) has a tapered shape that is narrowed toward the outlet passage (18) in the inner part of the rod insertion hole (16) of the metal piston member (3). The smooth metal surface (including the coating). The pressure-reducing valve seat (12) facing the valve body (19) is constituted by, for example, a frustoconical packing having a tapered surface that is tapered and fixed to the tip of the rod (11) by caulking or the like. It is.

  In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 5, as in the third embodiment, the valve body (19) is disposed in the inner back of the rod insertion hole (16) of the metal piston member (3). It is composed of a tapered smooth metal surface (including coating) that narrows toward 18). However, unlike the third embodiment described above, the fourth embodiment employs a so-called metal seal system for the valve body (19) and the pressure reducing valve seat (12). That is, the pressure reducing valve seat (12) facing the valve body (19) is formed in a frustoconical shape having a tapered surface formed at the tip of the metal rod (11). It is composed of a smooth metal surface.

In the third and fourth embodiments, unlike the first embodiment, the outlet passage (18) is formed in the piston member (3) itself. The rod (11) is formed separately from the lid member (6) instead of being formed integrally with the lid member (6), and is connected to the gas inlet (10) on the inner surface of the lid member (6). This separate rod (11) is screwed and fixed to a rod mounting hole (40) provided so as to pass therethrough.
However, in the present invention also in the third embodiment, the outlet passage (18) may be formed on a member different from the piston member (3) and fixed to the piston member (3). The rod (11) may be formed integrally with the lid member (6). Further, in the first and second embodiments described above, the outlet passage (18) may be formed directly on the piston member (3), and the rod (11) is separated from the lid member (6). You may form in.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a pressure reducing valve showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
In each of the above embodiments, the outlet channel (18) is directly faced to the gas outlet (7). However, in the fifth embodiment, the outlet channel (18) and the gas outlet (7) are connected to each other. Are connected by an L-shaped gas outflow passage (41), and a gas relief passage (42) is branched to an intermediate portion of the gas outflow passage (41), and a secondary safety valve is connected to the gas escape passage (42). (43) is attached. The secondary safety valve (43) may be omitted from the housing (2) of the pressure reducing valve (1) as in the first embodiment. Also in the first embodiment, a gas relief passage communicating with the flow path between the outlet passage and the gas outlet and the secondary pressure chamber is provided, and a secondary safety valve is attached to the gas relief passage. May be.

  The pressure reducing valve described in each of the above embodiments is exemplified to embody the technical idea of the present invention. The shape, structure, material, arrangement, etc. of each member such as a housing, a piston member, a pressure reducing spring, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and the like, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims of the present invention. Needless to say, the fluid to be handled is not limited to a specific type. .

  The pressure reducing valve of the present invention can suppress a change in the secondary pressure accompanying a change in the primary pressure, can simplify the processing and assembly of each member, and further improves the durability of the valve seat. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for a pressure reducing valve used in a hydrogen gas supply device for a fuel cell, but is also suitably used for a piping valve, a container valve, etc. for handling other fluids.

It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of a pressure-reduction valve in the state which attached the filling jig. It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve of 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve of 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure-reduction valve which shows a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pressure reducing valve 2 ... Housing 3 ... Piston member 4 ... Pressure reducing spring 7 ... Gas outlet 9 ... Cylinder chamber
10 ... Gas inlet
11 ... Rod
12 ... Pressure reducing valve seat
15 ... Secondary pressure chamber
16 ... Rod insertion hole
17 ... Reducing valve chamber
18 ... Exit road
19 ... Valve
24 ... Detour
25 ... Entrance
25a ... Axial direction flow path
25b ... radial flow path
27 ... Closed sliding part
30 ... Filling jig
36 ... Filling path

Claims (7)

A pressure reducing valve chamber (17) formed in the housing (2), a pressure reducing valve seat (12) provided in the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), and a valve body capable of moving forward and backward relative to the pressure reducing valve seat (12) (19), a secondary pressure chamber (15) formed on the downstream side of the pressure reducing valve seat (12), and moves forward and backward in response to the pressure of the secondary pressure chamber (15) and the valve A piston member (3) interlocked with the body (19), and a pressure reducing spring (4) for urging the valve body (19) away from the pressure reducing valve seat (12). A pressure reducing valve having a gas inlet (10) communicating with the valve chamber (17) and a gas outlet (7) communicating with the secondary pressure chamber (15) opened on the outer surface of the housing (2),
A cylinder chamber (9) is formed in the housing (2), and the piston member (3) is slidably inserted into the inner surface of the cylinder chamber (9). The secondary pressure chamber (15) is formed on one side, and a rod insertion hole (16) is provided on the other side of the piston member (3) along the axial direction of the cylinder chamber (9).
A rod (11) is projected from the housing (2) into the cylinder chamber (9), the rod (11) is inserted into the rod insertion hole (16), and the rod (11) The outer surface and the inner surface of the rod insertion hole (16) are slidably sealed by the seal sliding part (27), and the back side of the seal sliding part (27) in the rod insertion hole (16). The pressure reducing valve chamber (17) is formed, and an inlet passage (25) communicating the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the gas inlet (10) is formed in the rod (11).
The pressure reducing valve seat (12) is formed at the tip of the rod (11) inserted into the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), and the pressure reducing valve seat (12 is formed at the back wall of the rod insertion hole (16). ) Is provided with an outlet passage (18) for communicating the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) with the secondary pressure chamber (15) and the gas outlet (7).
The valve body (19) is provided so as to surround the opening of the outlet passage (18) on the side of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17), and the valve body (19) is reduced in pressure by the forward and backward movement of the piston member (3). The seal diameter of the valve body (19), which is configured to approach and separate from the valve seat (12) and is in contact with the pressure reducing valve seat (12), is the seal diameter at the above-mentioned sealing sliding portion (27). A pressure reducing valve characterized by being set to be substantially the same as   A detour (24) is formed between the inner circumference of the pressure reducing valve chamber (17) and the outer circumference of the tip of the rod (11), and the inlet path (25) is formed via the detour (24). The pressure reducing valve according to claim 1, wherein the pressure reducing valve seat (12) and the valve body (19) are communicated with each other.   The outlet passage (18) is formed in a straight line, and the outlet passage (18) directly faces the gas outlet (7). The downstream side from the outlet passage (18) is the secondary side. The tip of the filling jig (30) attached to the gas outlet (7) communicates with the pressure chamber (15) and can be inserted into the outlet passage (18) in a close-packed manner. The pressure reducing valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the filling passage (36) of 30) is configured to be able to communicate with the outlet passage (18).   The pressure-reducing valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the valve body (19) includes a packing fixed to an inner back portion of the rod insertion hole (16).   The pressure-reducing valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the valve body (19) is configured by an O-ring fixed to an inner back portion of the rod insertion hole (16).   The valve body (19) is composed of a tapered metal surface that narrows toward the outlet passage (18) in the inner part of the rod insertion hole (16), and the pressure reducing valve seat (12) The pressure-reducing valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressure-reducing valve comprises a packing fixed to the tip of the rod (11).   The valve body (19) is composed of a tapered metal surface that narrows toward the outlet passage (18) in the inner part of the rod insertion hole (16), and the pressure reducing valve seat (12) The pressure reducing valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressure reducing valve is formed of a metal surface having a tapered surface formed at a tip of the rod (11).

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