JP2014152500A - Drain plug device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a drain plug of a tank for storing liquid to be stably opened/closed by a magnetic force.SOLUTION: A hollow prop 115 is formed at a center of an elbow 110 mounted to a lower part of an exhaust port, and a driving magnet 142 which can be vertically driven by release wires 3T, 3W is mounted in the hollow prop 115. A magnet 134 is embedded in the backside of a cover body 131 for closing the exhaust port. A cylindrical slide part 132 is provided in the cover body 131 and a magnet 135 is mounted at the end thereof. When the driving magnet 142 is moved upward, the cover body 131 is opened by a repulsive force. Meanwhile, the cover body 131 is prevented from being jumped up by an attractive force between the magnet 135 and the driving magnet 142. Thus, a moment generated due to tilting of the cover body 131 can be restricted by embedding the magnet in the backside of the cover body 131 and making a magnetic force apply in the vicinity of the surface of the cover body to which a liquid pressure acts, and accordingly the cover body 131 can be stably driven.

Description

  The present invention relates to a drain plug device that opens and closes a drain plug that closes a discharge port of a tank body that stores liquid.

Conventionally, there has been a drain plug device that mechanically opens and closes a drain outlet such as a bathtub.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a drain plug device as a prior art. FIG. 1A shows the overall structure. The drain plug device 1 is a device for opening and closing the drain plug 14 of the bottom plate 11 of the bathtub 10. An operation button 2 for operating the opening / closing mechanism 4 is provided on the rim 13 above the tank body 12. When the operation button 2 is pushed down, the operation is transmitted by the release wire 3, and the drain plug device 1 can be mechanically opened and closed.
FIG. 1B shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the drain outlet. The lid body V that closes the drain port is attached to the support column L by fitting the claw V1 into the tip end portion L1. The support column L is inserted into a sleeve S fixed inside the drain outlet, and can move up and down relatively with respect to the sleeve S. The release wire has a structure in which an inner wire 3W for driving is passed through the outer tube 3T. The outer tube 3T is fixed to the sleeve S, and the inner wire 3W is attached to the column L. When the inner wire 3W is moved with respect to the outer tube 3T, the strut L moves up and down with respect to the sleeve S in conjunction with the movement, and opens and closes the lid V.

  In order to simplify the structure of the drive mechanism, a mechanism for opening and closing by a magnetic force has been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a magnet is attached to a lower end of a rod extending downward from a lid body of a drain plug, and a driving magnet that exerts repulsive force on the magnet is brought close to the outside to open the lid body with a magnetic force. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a magnet is attached to the lower end of a rod, a driving magnet that applies an attractive force to the magnet is prepared, and the lid is moved in conjunction with the magnet. Patent Document 3 applies a repulsive force from an external magnet to a magnet attached to a drain plug, and keeps the drain plug open in a normal state while maintaining a magnetic force with a polarity opposite to the magnetic force of the external magnet. Is disclosed in which a repulsive force is weakened by applying an electromagnet to close a lid.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-317118 JP 2001-20340 A JP 2008-63840 A

Although the mechanism that opens and closes by magnetic force has the advantage that the structure is simplified, the driving force that can be transmitted to drive the lid body compared to the mechanism that is mechanically directly connected, because it uses magnetic force Is low. Therefore, the driving force may be insufficient for a drain plug that stores a relatively large amount of water such as a bathtub and is subjected to a relatively large water pressure. However, in order to solve these problems, if the magnetic force of the magnet used for driving is increased, a slight tilt of the lid may cause an adverse effect such as an unreasonable force applied to various peripheral members and unstable driving. Become.
This problem is not unique to the drain plug, but is a common problem for opening and closing the drain plug that closes the outlet from the tank that stores various liquids such as oil and alcohol. In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to stably drive a drain plug using magnetic force.

The present invention
A drain plug device that opens and closes a drain plug that closes a discharge port of a tank body that stores liquid,
The drain plug has a lid that closes the discharge port, and a protrusion extending from the lid,
A guide mechanism for restricting the opening / closing operation direction of the drain plug by restricting the operation direction of the protrusion,
A first magnet or a magnetic body attached to the lid, or a portion of the protrusion that is located closer to the lid than the guide mechanism,
An opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the drain plug by applying a magnetic force to the first magnet or the magnetic body;
The opening / closing mechanism may be configured to include a partition wall that is isolated from the liquid flow path.
Although it can utilize for the tank which stores various liquids, such as water and oil, applying to the drain plug of the bathtub for storing hot water as an example is considered. In the present specification, the term “drain plug” is used to mean a plug used for a portion for discharging various liquids as well as water.
The guide mechanism may be formed integrally with a piping member communicating with the discharge port, or may be a separate member from the piping member.

  According to the present invention, a portion of the lid body or the protruding portion that is located closer to the lid body than the guide mechanism (hereinafter also referred to as “lid body or the like”), that is, a first portion closer to the tank body than the guide mechanism. It is possible to attach or close the drain plug by applying a magnetic force to the magnet or magnetic body. Considering that the pressure of the liquid stored in the tank body is applied to the lid body, according to the structure of the present invention, it is possible to apply a driving force for opening and closing operation at a site close to the lid body on which the pressure is applied. become. In the present invention, as a result of applying the driving force at a location close to the portion where pressure is applied as described above, even when the lid body is tilted, the load applied to the surrounding members can be suppressed, and the drain plug The opening / closing operation can be stabilized. In addition, since the opening / closing operation is stabilized in this way, it is possible to apply a magnetic force having a magnitude that can be sufficiently driven with respect to the pressure of the stored liquid while using a magnet.

In the present invention, the opening / closing mechanism applies a magnetic force to the first magnet or the magnetic body. When the first magnet is used for the lid or the like, a magnet or a magnetic body can be used for the opening / closing mechanism, and when the magnetic body is used for the lid or the like, A magnet will be used. Here, as the magnet, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet can be used. When a permanent magnet is used, for example, a neodymium magnet having a strong magnetic force is preferably used.
As a method for opening and closing the drain plug by the magnetic force, the strength of the magnetic force acting on the first magnet or the magnetic body may be adjusted. For example, a method of changing the relative distance or angle between the first magnet or magnetic body and the magnet or magnetic body attached to the opening / closing mechanism, a method of changing the polarity of the magnet or magnetic body of the opening / closing mechanism, and an opening / closing mechanism In the case where a magnet is used, a method for changing the magnetic force can be used.
In the present invention, since the drain plug is opened and closed using the magnetic force in this way, there is an advantage that the structure around the drain plug can be simplified as compared with a device that opens and closes the drain plug by a mechanically connected mechanism. Furthermore, in the present invention, since the opening / closing mechanism is isolated from the liquid flow path, the opening / closing mechanism itself can be prevented from being contaminated by the liquid.
In the case where the present invention is applied to a bathtub, in recent years, a low floor specification in which the distance from the bathtub installation surface to the bathtub bottom surface is small is required, but in the conventional example, it is low floor to avoid submersion of the opening / closing mechanism to the sealed portion. In some cases, the conditions were limited. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the floor.

In the present invention,
The first magnet is attached to the lid;
The opening / closing mechanism may be a mechanism that repels the first magnet in a direction to open the lid and allows the drain plug to be opened / closed by changing the strength of the repulsive force. Good.
For example, the magnet attached to the opening / closing mechanism can be moved, the mechanism for changing the distance or angle with the first magnet, the magnet attached to the opening / closing mechanism can be rotated, and the polarity of the pole facing the first magnet can be made variable. A mechanism that uses an electromagnet for the mechanism and the opening / closing mechanism to make the current variable is conceivable.
When the repulsive force is used, the driving force can be applied from the back side of the lid, that is, the opposite side to which pressure is applied, and there is an advantage that the structure becomes relatively simple.

In the embodiment using repulsion,
A second magnet or a magnetic body is attached to the protrusion,
The opening / closing mechanism may be a mechanism that magnetically applies an attractive force to the second magnet or magnetic body when the drain plug is opened.
In the mechanism using repulsive force, when the pressure from the liquid applied to the lid is reduced, a phenomenon may occur in which the lid is popped out due to the repulsive force from the opening / closing mechanism. However, according to the above aspect, the lid is attached to the protruding portion. Further, since an attractive force can be applied to the second magnet or the like, the cover body can be prevented from popping out.
If the attachment site of the second magnet or the like is a protrusion, the positional relationship with the guide mechanism is not limited. However, from the viewpoint of ensuring a sufficient movable range of the lid, it is preferable to provide it near the opposite end rather than close to the attachment portion where the protrusion is attached to the lid.
In the opening / closing mechanism, a mechanism for applying a magnetic force to the second magnet or the magnetic body can be provided separately from the mechanism for driving the lid, but is preferably the same as the mechanism for driving. . For example, in the opening / closing mechanism, when a driving magnet for applying a repulsive force is attached to the lid, the second magnet has a polarity at which the attractive force acts between the driving magnet and the protrusion. The aspect which attaches a magnetic body to a protrusion part, or the aspect which attaches can be taken.

In the present invention, as a more specific structural example,
A piping joint that communicates with the outlet and forms part of the partition;
In the pipe joint, a hollow column is formed in the opening and closing direction of the drain plug so as to constitute the guide mechanism,
The drain plug is provided with a slide portion that slides on the outer periphery of the support column with the lid as the protruding portion,
The first magnet is attached to the lid;
The opening / closing mechanism may be a mechanism for supporting a driving magnet for applying a repulsive force to the first magnet by a hollow portion of the support column with a variable distance between the two.
By doing so, while using a pipe joint that is a member communicating with the discharge port as a partition wall, a hollow column provided there can be used as a guide mechanism, and a simplified configuration can be realized. In such a structure, if the driving magnet is brought close to the lid in the opening / closing mechanism, the repulsive force acting on the first magnet becomes strong, so that the drain plug can be opened. Conversely, if the driving magnet is moved away from the lid, the repulsive force becomes weaker, so that the drain plug can be closed.
As the pipe joint, various things such as a straight one, a bent one, and one having a branch can be used, but an elbow may be used as an example. In the case of using an elbow, there is an advantage that it is easy to form and support the support column by using the bent portion, and to make it a simple shape.

When using a structure that uses a pipe joint,
The opening / closing mechanism is a mechanism for moving the driving magnet by a wire or a link,
The pipe joint may be provided with a protection portion that protects the wire or the link from an external force.
By doing so, it is possible to suppress the wire or the link from being pressed or deformed due to the influence of an external force, and to stably drive the driving magnet.

  In the present invention, the above-described various features are not necessarily all provided. A part of them may be omitted, or may be appropriately combined.

It is sectional drawing of the drain plug device as a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a drain plug device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the opening / closing operation | movement of a drain plug. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect of an opening / closing mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the drain plug device as a modification.

About the drain plug apparatus of this invention, the Example at the time of comprising as a drain plug apparatus attached to the drain outlet of a bathtub is shown below. The drain plug device is a device for opening and closing a drain port on the bottom surface of the bottom plate 11 (see FIG. 1) of the bathtub. As shown in FIG. 1, when the operation button 2 provided on the rim 13 of the bathtub or the like is pressed, the operation force is transmitted through the release wire, and the drain plug can be opened and closed.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the drain plug device. FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view. An elbow 110 communicates with a lower portion of the drain port provided in the bottom plate 11. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the elbow. The elbow 110 has a cylindrical main body 114 connected to a connecting portion 113 connected to a drain pipe, and a hollow cylindrical column 115 is formed at the center thereof. A flange portion 111 extending in the horizontal direction is formed on the upper portion of the main body 114, and a screw groove 112 is formed on the upper inner surface of the main body 114.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a drain port member 120 is attached to the drain port from above. The drain port member 120 includes a cylindrical main body 122 and an upper flange portion 121, and a screw groove 123 that fits the screw groove 112 of the elbow 110 is formed on the outer periphery of the main body 122. These members can be fixed by tightening the screw grooves 112 and 123 so that the drain port is sandwiched between the elbow 110 from the lower side and the drain port member 120 from the upper side. Seals 125 and 126 are respectively provided between the drain port and the elbow 110 and the drain port member 120.

The drain plug 130 has a lid 131 and a cylindrical slide portion 132 extending downward. The lid 131 and the slide part 132 may be integrally formed, or separate members may be joined.
The lid 131 is a disk-like member that protrudes upward with an outer diameter that can cover the drain port member 120 from above. Hereinafter, with respect to the lid 131, the surface on which the water pressure stored in the bathtub is applied may be referred to as the front surface, and the opposite surface may be referred to as the back surface. A magnet 134 is incorporated on the back side of the lid 131. The magnet 134 is incorporated in a gap formed on the back side of the lid 131 and is held by the cap 133 so as not to fall off. The magnet 134 has an N pole on the upper side and an S pole on the lower side, but may be reversed. A seal 136 for sealing the drain outlet is attached to the lid 131.
The slide part 132 may have a cylindrical shape, or may be a group of a plurality of plate-like members arranged in the circumferential direction. The slide part 132 fits into a support column 115 formed on the elbow 110 and slides up and down around the drain plug 130 when the drain plug 130 is opened and closed. Accordingly, the inner diameter of the slide portion 132 is set to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the support column 115. Thus, the slide part 132 and the support | pillar 115 show | play the function which regulates the direction of the vertical motion of the drain plug 130. FIG. A magnet 135 is attached near the end of the slide portion 132. The polarity of the magnet 135 is matched to the magnet 134, and in this example, the upper side is an N pole and the lower side is an S pole.

  The support column 115 of the elbow 110 is hollow. A shelf 116 having a hole in the center is formed near the center of the column 115. A part of the opening / closing mechanism 140 for opening and closing the drain plug 130 by acting on the magnet 134 and the like of the lid 131 is incorporated in the gap 117 formed by the top of the support column 115 and the shelf 116.

The opening / closing mechanism 140 includes a driving magnet 142 and a holder 141 that supports the driving magnet 142. The holder 141 has a shape that covers the entire outer periphery of the magnet 142, but may be any shape that can support the drive magnet 142 so that the position of the drive magnet 142 can be changed. It may be a member. The driving magnet 132 has a polarity opposite to that of the magnet 134 of the lid 130, that is, in this example, the upper side has an S pole and the lower side has an N pole.
An inner wire 3 </ b> W of the release wire 3 is attached to the bottom of the holder 141. The outer tube 3 </ b> T of the release wire 3 is fixed to the shelf 116 by a fixing member 143. When the operation button 2 (see FIG. 1) is pressed, the inner wire 3W moves relative to the outer tube 3T, and accordingly, the holder 141 and consequently the magnet 142 move up and down in the gap 117. A pipe-shaped wire passage 118 for passing the release wire 3 is provided at the lower part of the elbow 110. By passing the release wire 3 through the wire passage 118, it is possible to avoid applying an excessive external force to the release wire and to stabilize the operation of the opening / closing mechanism 140.
In this embodiment, each magnet 134, 135, 142 is a neodymium magnet having a strong magnetic force. Other permanent magnets can be used, and an electromagnet can be used depending on the part.

  In the present embodiment, the opening / closing mechanism 140 is incorporated in the hollow portion of the elbow 110, and thus is isolated from the discharge path of the liquid stored in the tank body. Therefore, the opening / closing mechanism 140 can be prevented from being soiled by such a liquid. In addition, the drain plug 130 and the opening / closing mechanism 140 need not be mechanically connected to each other, and the drain plug 130 is placed on the upper portion of the support column 115, thereby realizing a very simple structure. be able to.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the opening / closing operation of the drain plug. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the driving magnet 142 of the opening / closing mechanism is at the lowermost end. In this state, an attractive force F <b> 1 acts between the magnet 135 attached to the slide part 132 of the lid 130. Thereby, the effect | action which hold | maintains the cover body 130 in a closed position is also show | played.
FIG. 3B shows a state where the opening / closing mechanism is operated to move the driving magnet 142 upward. Since the pressure of the stored liquid is applied to the lid 130 of the drain plug, the lid 130 is linked to the opening / closing mechanism only by the attractive force F1 between the driving magnet 142 and the magnet 135 of the slide portion 132. Thus, the position of the magnet 135 is lowered relative to the drive magnet 142. However, since the driving magnet 142 approaches the magnet 134 attached to the lid 130, a repulsive force F2 acts between them, and the lid 130 is opened by the repulsive force F2.
FIG. 3C shows a state where the driving magnet 142 is moved to the upper end. In this state, a sufficient repulsive force F <b> 2 acts between the driving magnet 142 and the magnet 134 of the lid 130, thereby opening the lid 130. On the other hand, when the repulsive force F <b> 2 acts on the lid 130, the lid 130 tends to jump upward in the figure, but the attractive force F <b> 1 is generated between the magnet 135 attached to the slide portion 132 and the driving magnet 142. Therefore, the cover 130 can be prevented from popping out.
On the contrary, if the opening / closing mechanism is lowered, the lid body 130 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 3A) through the reverse state described above.
As described above, according to the opening / closing mechanism of the embodiment, the lid 130 can be opened / closed by the action of magnetic force in accordance with the vertical movement of the driving magnet 142.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the effect of the opening / closing mechanism. In order to explain the effect, the shape and structure of the lid and the like are schematically shown.
FIG. 4A shows the action of magnetic force in the prior art as a comparative example. In the prior art, a magnet is provided at the lower end of a column extending from the lower side of the lid, and the magnetic force FA1 is applied thereto. A guide mechanism is provided inside the drain outlet, and the vertical movement of the lid body is regulated by supporting the support column by the guide mechanism. In this structure, consider a case where the lid body is slightly inclined by an angle θ. At this time, a large moment MA is generated in the drain plug by the magnetic force FA1 and the pressure FA2 acting on the lid. Then, the supporting force FA3 for canceling this moment acts on the drain plug from the guide mechanism, and the frictional force caused thereby increases. Therefore, in the prior art, a large load is applied to the guide mechanism due to a slight inclination of the lid, and the operation force of the drain plug may be increased by the frictional force. Such a tendency becomes more prominent as the pressure FA2 increases.
On the other hand, FIG.4 (b) has shown the effect | action of the magnetic force in an Example. In the embodiment, the magnetic force FB1 acts on the magnet 134 embedded in the lid 131. Therefore, even if the lid 131 is inclined by the angle θ, the distance between the magnetic force FB1 and the pressure FB2 due to the liquid is small, and the generated moment MB is relatively small. A supporting force FB3 that cancels this moment MB is generated in the slide portion 132 of the drain plug, but this magnitude is also relatively small, and the frictional force associated with the supporting force FB3 is reduced, so that the magnetic force FB1 is transmitted with little loss. Therefore, a drain plug device that can operate even when the pressure FB2 is large can be realized. Therefore, even when the depth of water is large and the diameter of the plug is large like a bathtub, it can operate smoothly.

As described above, according to the drain plug device of the present embodiment, a stable opening / closing operation can be realized while using magnetic force. Moreover, even when the pressure applied to the lid is relatively large, the lid can be opened and closed stably.
In the foregoing, various embodiments of the present invention have been described. The various features described in the above embodiments are not necessarily all provided, and some of them may be omitted or used in appropriate combination.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.
For example, although the example applied to a circular drainage port was shown in the Example, the discharge port apparatus of this invention can also be applied to a non-circular drainage port. Moreover, it is applicable to the tank body which stores various liquids, such as oil, besides a drain port.
In the embodiment, a mechanism for opening and closing the drain plug using repulsive force is shown, but a mechanism for driving using magnetic attraction may be used. In this case, one of the magnets provided in the lid or the opening / closing mechanism can be a magnetic body.

Although the example which forms the support | pillar 115 in the elbow 110 was shown in the Example, piping joints other than an elbow can also be utilized.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the structure of a drain plug device as a modification. Instead of the elbow 110, a linear pipe joint 110A was used. The magnets 134, 135, and 142 are incorporated in the lid, the slide portion, and the opening / closing mechanism, and the attractive force F <b> 1 acts between the magnet 135 and the magnet 142 as in the embodiment.
In the modification, the support column 115A is supported in a state where it is bent 90 degrees from the side wall of the pipe joint 110A. The portion that supports the support column 115A in the pipe joint 110A also functions as a pipe-shaped wire passage 118A for passing the release wire. As in the modified example, if the portion corresponding to the support column 115A is supported from the side wall or the like, the pipe joint is not limited to a straight line as in the modified example, but various things such as those having branches. Is available.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to an opening / closing mechanism of a drain plug device that opens and closes a drain plug that closes a discharge port of a tank body that stores liquid.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Drain plug apparatus 2 ... Operation button 3 ... Release wire 3T ... Outer tube 3W ... Inner wire 4 ... Opening / closing mechanism 10 ... Bath 11: Bottom plate 12 ... Tank body 13 ... Rim 14 ... Drain plug 110 ... Elbow 111 ... Flange part 112 ... Screw groove 113 ... Connecting part 114 ... Main body 115 ... Column 116 ... Shelf 117 ... Air gap 118 ... Wire passage 120 ... Drain port member 121 ... Flange part 122 ... Main body 123 ... Screw groove 125, 126 ... Seal 130 ... Drain plug 131 ... Lid Body 132 ... Slide part 133 ... Cap 134, 135 ... Magnet 136 ... Seal 140 ... Opening / closing mechanism 141 ... Holder 142 ... Magnet 143 ... Fixing member

Claims (5)

A drain plug device that opens and closes a drain plug that closes a discharge port of a tank body that stores liquid,
The drain plug has a lid that closes the discharge port, and a protrusion extending from the lid,
A guide mechanism for restricting the opening / closing operation direction of the drain plug by restricting the operation direction of the protrusion,
A first magnet or a magnetic body attached to the lid, or a portion of the protrusion that is located closer to the lid than the guide mechanism,
An opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the drain plug by applying a magnetic force to the first magnet or the magnetic body;
A drain plug device comprising a partition wall for isolating the opening / closing mechanism from the liquid flow path. The drain plug device according to claim 1,
The open / close mechanism is a mechanism that causes the first magnet to repel in the direction of opening the lid, and allows the drain plug to be opened and closed by changing the strength of the repulsive force. . The drain plug device according to claim 2,
A second magnet or a magnetic body is attached to the protrusion,
The opening / closing mechanism is a drain plug device that is a mechanism that magnetically applies an attractive force to the second magnet or magnetic body when the drain plug is opened. The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A piping joint that communicates with the outlet and forms part of the partition;
In the pipe joint, a hollow column is formed in the opening and closing direction of the drain plug so as to constitute the guide mechanism,
The drain plug is provided with a slide portion that slides on the outer periphery of the support column with the lid as the protruding portion,
The first magnet is attached to the lid;
The opening / closing mechanism is a drain plug device that is a mechanism that supports a driving magnet that exerts a repulsive force on the first magnet by a hollow portion of the support column with a variable distance therebetween. The drain plug device according to claim 4,
The opening / closing mechanism is a mechanism for moving the driving magnet by a wire or a link,
A drain plug device in which a protection part for protecting the wire or the link from an external force is formed on the pipe joint.

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