JP2008185113A - Ball valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball valve for allowing easy alignment of a distribution passage of a ball seat with a distribution portion of a valve body during assembly while surely preventing associative rotation of the ball seat with a ball when rotated with the operation of a handle and suppressing the deformation of the ball seat due to fluid pressure. <P>SOLUTION: The ball valve comprises the valve body having an inlet flow path and an outlet flow path, and an internal space connecting the flow paths to each other, the ball arranged in the internal space for opening/closing the flow paths with the rotation around a vertical axis, an operation mechanism for rotating the ball around the vertical axis, a stem connecting the operation mechanism to the ball, the approximately cylindrical ball seat having an opening portion at a position opposite to the side face and arranged in the internal space to encircle the ball. On the bottom face of the ball seat, a protrusion is provided which is protruded downward. In the inner bottom face of the internal space of the valve body, a hole is provided into which the protrusion is fitted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball valve that can prevent a ball and a ball seat from rotating together with a rotation operation of a handle.

Conventionally, a ball valve having a structure in which a valve body that opens and closes a flow path by rotation around a stem axis and a ball seat disposed so as to surround the periphery of the valve body is known in the internal space of the valve body. It has been.
The ball valve having such a structure has a problem that when the ball is rotated around the vertical axis together with the handle, the ball seat rotates together with the ball, and as a result, the flow path cross-sectional area changes.

As a technique for preventing the ball and the ball sheet from co-rotating, for example, there are disclosed techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
In the disclosed technique of Patent Document 1, the inner surface of the valve body with which the ball seat abuts is subjected to a roughening process (shot blasting), thereby reducing the frictional resistance between the outer surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the valve body. To prevent co-rotation.
In the disclosed technology of Patent Document 2, spline processing is performed on the surface of the ball seat and the valve body to form fine grooves to prevent co-rotation.

However, since the disclosed technologies such as Patent Documents 1 and 2 both try to prevent co-rotation depending on the resistance of the contact surface between the ball seat and the valve body, the obtained co-rotation preventing effect is It was not as large as the left, and it was not possible to reliably prevent co-rotation.
In addition, there is a problem that the sealing performance between the ball seat and the inner surface portion of the valve body is deteriorated by performing the roughening treatment or the spline processing.

Further, the ball valve having the above-described conventional structure has a problem that the ball seat is deformed by receiving fluid pressure from the inlet flow path side, and fluid leakage occurs from the seat portion. There is also a problem that it is difficult to align the flow part of the valve body.
However, the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have not been able to solve these problems.

JP 2005-515384 A US Pat. No. 5,730,420

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional ball valve, and the ball seat rotates with the ball when the ball is rotated about the vertical axis by the handle operation. A ball that can be surely prevented, that can suppress deformation of the ball seat due to fluid pressure, and can easily align the flow path of the ball seat and the flow portion of the valve body during assembly. It provides a valve.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a valve body having an inlet flow channel and an outlet flow channel and an internal space connecting the flow channels, and the flow channel is opened and closed by rotation about a vertical axis. A ball, an operating mechanism for rotating the ball around a vertical axis, a stem for connecting the operating mechanism and the ball, and a substantially cylindrical shape having an opening at a position opposite to the side surface. A ball seat provided in the inner space so as to surround the periphery, and a protrusion projecting downward is provided on a bottom surface of the ball seat, The present invention relates to a ball valve characterized in that a hole into which the protrusion is inserted is provided on the inner bottom surface of the internal space.

  The invention according to claim 2 relates to the ball valve according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the hole are composed of a plurality of protrusions and a hole provided at symmetrical positions with the vertical axis center in between.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface, and a pin is interposed between the grooves. The ball valve according to claim 1 or 2.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an annular groove extending in the circumferential direction is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner side surface of the internal space of the valve body that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface. The ball valve according to claim 1, wherein an annular protrusion is formed on the surface of the annular groove to fit in the annular groove.

  In the invention according to claim 5, one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and the other surface is annular. 3. A ball valve according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is formed.

  The invention according to claim 6 relates to the ball valve according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the annular protrusion is formed of a ring-shaped member.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and the other surface is a peripheral surface. The ball valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an annular groove extending in a direction is formed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the ball seat is provided with a protrusion protruding downward, and the inner bottom surface of the internal space of the valve body is provided with a hole into which the protrusion is fitted. Therefore, when the ball is rotated around the vertical axis, the ball seat can be reliably prevented from rotating together with the ball, and the flow rate is stable over a long period of time by preventing a change in the flow path cross-sectional area. It becomes possible to obtain a ball valve.
In addition, deformation of the ball seat when subjected to fluid pressure from the inlet channel side can be suppressed, fluid leakage is less likely to occur from the seat portion, and durability of the ball seat can be improved.
Further, at the time of assembly, the ball seat flow passage and the valve body flow portion are matched by fitting the protrusion provided on the bottom surface of the ball seat with the hole provided on the inner bottom surface of the valve body. Therefore, it is not necessary to align the direction when assembling, work efficiency can be improved, and assembly failure does not occur.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the protrusion and the hole are composed of a plurality of protrusions and a hole provided at symmetrical positions across the center of the vertical axis, the corotation preventing effect, the ball sheet deformation suppressing effect, the assembly The effect of improving the ease of alignment at the time can be further enhanced.

  According to the inventions according to claims 3 to 7, when the holding screw for pressing the ball seat from above is tightened, the seal surface pressure obtained at the contact surface between the ball seat and the valve body can be increased, It becomes possible to improve sealing performance.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a ball valve according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front sectional view of a ball valve according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the ball valve according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG.
A ball valve according to the present invention includes a valve body (3) having an inlet channel (1) and an outlet channel (2), a ball (4) disposed inside the valve body (3), a ball ( 4) an operation mechanism (5) for operating, a stem (6) connecting the operation mechanism (5) and the ball (4), and a ball seat disposed so as to surround the ball (4) (7).
For ease of viewing, the ball (4) is not shown as a cross-section in FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of only the valve body (3) as seen from above.
The valve body (3) has a substantially cylindrical internal space (8) that connects between the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (2).
As shown in FIG. 1, a ball (4) and a ball seat (7) are disposed in the internal space (8). Moreover, a hole (31) is formed in the inner bottom surface of the internal space (8) as shown in FIG.

The ball (4) has a substantially spherical shape and has a horizontal through hole (41) serving as a flow path between the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (2).
The ball (4) rotates around the vertical axis, thereby allowing or blocking the flow between the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (2) to open and close the channel. That is, when the through hole (41) formed in the ball (4) overlaps with the inlet channel (1) and the outlet channel (2), the channel is in an open state, and when it does not overlap, the channel is in a closed state. Become.

A rod-like stem (6) is integrally provided on the upper part of the ball (4).
The stem (6) has a lower end integrated with the upper surface of the ball (4), and an operating mechanism (handle) (5) is connected to the upper end.
Accordingly, when the operation mechanism (5) is rotated, the ball (4) is rotated around the vertical axis together with the stem (6), and the flow path is opened and closed.
The stem (6) and the ball (4) may be configured by one member, or the stem (4) and the ball (6) are respectively separate members, and these two members are combined. You may do it.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the ball (4), the stem (6) and the ball seat (7) constituting the ball valve according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. (C) is a bottom view.
The ball sheet (7) is made of a synthetic resin material, and more specifically, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), PFA (tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer), PEEK (polyether ether). Ketone), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and the like are preferable.

The ball seat (7) is a substantially cylindrical member that is open at the top and bottom, and has a circular opening (9) at a position facing the side surface.
The openings (9) are provided at four locations at 90 ° intervals in the circumferential direction, two of which are closed by the disc (10) (see FIG. 3).
The number of openings (9) blocked by the disk (10) is determined by the number of ports of the ball valve. The ball valve in the illustrated example has two ports, and only two of the four openings are provided. Is used, the two openings that are not used are closed by the disk (10).

A ring-shaped retainer (11) is fitted in the remaining two openings (9) that are not blocked by the disk (10).
The disc (10) and the retainer (11) are made of a metal material such as stainless steel, for example, and have a function as a reinforcing material for suppressing deformation of the ball seat (7).

On the upper part of the ball seat (7), a ring-shaped pressing member (12), a spring (13) and a pressing screw (14) are arranged in this order from the bottom to the center. Through the stem (6).
The spring (13) presses the ball seat (7) from above via the pressing member (12) by its urging force.
The holding screw (14) is screwed to the valve body (3), and the length of the spring (13) is changed by adjusting the position of the holding screw (14) in the vertical direction. The power can be adjusted.

A protrusion (71) protruding downward is provided on the bottom surface of the ball seat (7) (see FIG. 6), and the protrusion (71) is formed on the inner bottom surface of the internal space of the valve body (3). A hole (31) to be inserted is provided (see FIG. 5).
The protrusion (71) may be formed integrally with the ball sheet (7), or may be a pin or the like which is a separate member from the ball sheet (7). The example of illustration has shown the example formed integrally. In the case of using another member, a hole is provided in the bottom surface of the ball seat (7), and another member such as a pin may be fitted into this hole.

These protrusions (71) and holes (31) mainly exhibit the following three functions.
The first function is a ball seat co-rotation preventing function.
Specifically, when the operation mechanism (5) is rotated and the ball (4) is rotated about the vertical axis, the protrusion (71) fitted in the hole (31) becomes a detent and the ball seat ( 7) can be reliably prevented from rotating with the ball (4). Thereby, a change in the cross-sectional area of the flow path is prevented, and a ball valve with a stable flow rate over a long period of time can be obtained.

The second function is a ball sheet deformation suppression function,
Specifically, when the flow path is opened and fluid pressure is received from the inlet flow path side, the protrusion (71) fitted in the hole (31) receives the pressure, so that the load on the side surface of the ball seat is reduced. This reduces the deformation of the ball seat. As a result, fluid leakage from the seat portion is less likely to occur, and the durability of the ball seat can be improved.

The third function is a function for facilitating the assembly of the ball seat and the valve body.
Specifically, at the time of assembly, the projection (71) provided on the bottom surface of the ball seat and the hole (31) provided on the inner bottom surface of the valve body are fitted to each other, Since it is possible to match the flow part of the valve body, it is not necessary to align the direction at the time of assembly, work efficiency can be improved, and assembly failure does not occur.

  In the present invention, the number of the protrusions (71) and the holes (31) is not particularly limited. However, in order to exhibit the above three functions in a balanced manner, they are symmetrical with respect to the center of the vertical axis as shown in the figure. Two are preferably provided at different positions.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.
In the present invention, an annular groove extending in the circumferential direction on either one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7) and the inner surface of the internal space (8) of the valve body (3) in contact with the outer peripheral surface. It is preferable to form an annular protrusion that fits into the annular groove on the other surface.
FIG. 7A shows an example in which an annular groove (32) is formed on the inner surface of the internal space (8) of the valve body (3) and an annular protrusion (72) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7). In FIG. 7B, an annular groove (73) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7), and an annular protrusion (33) is formed on the inner surface of the internal space (8) of the valve body (3). The example which formed is shown.

The number of the annular grooves (32, 73) and the annular protrusions (33, 72) may be one or two or more, and is not particularly limited. Also, the cross-sectional shape can be various shapes such as a V shape and a trapezoidal shape, and is not particularly limited.
The annular protrusions (33, 72) may be provided integrally with the ball seat (7) or the valve body (3), or a ring-shaped member separate from the ball seat (7) or the valve body (3). You may provide as.

  By forming such an annular groove and an annular protrusion, when the holding screw (14) for pressing the ball seat (7) from above is tightened, the contact surface between the ball seat (7) and the valve body (3) The seal surface pressure obtained can be increased, and the sealing performance of the gland portion can be improved.

  Although not shown, in the present invention, grooves are formed on both the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7) and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body (3), and pins are interposed so as to fill the gaps between these grooves. A configuration can also be adopted.

Further, one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7) and the inner surface of the inner space (8) of the valve body (3) that contacts the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and the other surface is A configuration in which an annular protrusion is formed can also be employed.
When such a configuration is adopted, the annular protrusion may be provided integrally with the ball seat (7) or the valve body (3), or as a ring-shaped member separate from the ball seat (7) or the valve body (3). It may be provided.

  Further, one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat (7) and the inner surface of the inner space (8) of the valve body (3) in contact with the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and the other surface is The structure which forms the annular groove extended in the circumferential direction is also employable.

  Even when these configurations are adopted, the contact surface between the ball seat (7) and the valve body (3) when the holding screw (14) is tightened, as in the case where the configuration shown in FIG. 7 is adopted. It is possible to increase the seal surface pressure obtained by the above-described method, and it is possible to improve the sealing performance of the gland portion.

  The present invention is used as a ball valve for allowing and blocking fluid flow.

It is front sectional drawing of the ball valve which concerns on this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the ball valve which concerns on this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is the top view which looked at only the valve body from the top. It is the figure which extracts and shows the ball | bowl and stem which comprise the ball valve which concerns on this invention, and a ball seat, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, (c) is a bottom view. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inlet flow path 2 Outlet flow path 3 Valve body 31 Hole 32 Annular groove 33 Annular protrusion 4 Ball 5 Operation mechanism 6 Stem 7 Ball seat 71 Protrusion 72 Annular protrusion 73 Annular groove 8 Internal space

Claims (7)

A valve body having an inlet channel and an outlet channel and an internal space connecting the channels;
A ball disposed in the internal space and opening and closing the flow path by rotation around a vertical axis;
An operation mechanism for rotating the ball around a vertical axis;
A stem connecting the operation mechanism and the ball;
A ball valve having a substantially cylindrical shape and having an opening at a position opposite to the side surface, and a ball seat disposed in the internal space so as to surround the periphery of the ball,
On the bottom surface of the ball seat, a protrusion protruding downward is provided,
A ball valve characterized in that a hole into which the protrusion is inserted is provided on the inner bottom surface of the internal space of the valve body.   The ball valve according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the hole include a plurality of protrusions and a hole provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the vertical axis.   The groove is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the said ball seat, and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body which contact | abuts to this outer peripheral surface, The pin is interposed between these grooves, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Ball valve.   An annular groove extending in the circumferential direction is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface, and the other surface is fitted into the annular groove. The ball valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an annular projection is formed.   One of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and an annular protrusion is formed on the other surface. The ball valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:   The ball valve according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the annular protrusion is formed of a ring-shaped member.   One of the outer peripheral surface of the ball seat and the inner surface of the internal space of the valve body that contacts the outer peripheral surface is a flat surface, and an annular groove extending in the circumferential direction is formed on the other surface. The ball valve according to claim 1, wherein the ball valve is provided.

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