JP2019203286A - Spring-type timer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a compact spring-type timer for returning a member.SOLUTION: A spring-type timer 10 has an outer tube 11 in which a piston rod 18 is provided and a rotatable inner tube 21. A liquid circulation chamber 36 in the inner tube 21 is partitioned by a piston assembly 35 into a front liquid chamber 36a and a rear liquid chamber 36b. A bypass passage 51 for establishing a fluid communication between the front liquid chamber 36a and the rear liquid chamber 36b is provided between the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 21. A communication hole 54 for changing the opening degree of the bypass passage 51 in response to a rotation of the inner tube 21 is formed in the inner tube 21, and the advance speed at which the piston rod moves toward the advance limit position is set by the opening degree of the communication hole 54.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a spring timer that adjusts a forward speed when a rod is moved forward by an elastic force stored in a spring by a backward movement of a piston rod.

  As described in Patent Document 1, a valve mechanism used as a timer includes a cylinder in which a liquid is sealed and a piston in which a through hole is provided. The piston is provided with a valve member for opening and closing the through hole. When the piston rod is pushed and moved toward the bottom dead center, the lower liquid flows through the through hole and the like to the upper side of the piston. On the other hand, when the pressing force against the piston rod is released, an upward elastic force is applied to the piston by the spring, but the through hole is closed by the valve member, and the piston rod is raised at a low speed.

  In this valve mechanism, when the piston rod approaches the top dead center, the switch is operated near the top dead center by flowing the liquid also into the high speed return groove, but the piston rod is moved from the bottom dead center position. The time for returning to the top dead center position cannot be changed.

  On the other hand, in order to apply an operating force in a closing direction to an open door of a building, a gas spring described in Patent Document 2 has been developed. This gas spring has a tubular main body and a shaft protruding from the tip of the tubular main body. A first piston assembly incorporated in a fluid chamber inside the tubular body is attached to the inner end of the shaft, and a second piston is interposed between the first piston assembly and the proximal end of the tubular body. The assembly is movably arranged. The fluid chamber is filled with liquid, and the small chamber between the second piston assembly and the tubular body is filled with gas.

  The base end of the tubular body of the gas spring is attached to one of the building and the door, and the tip of the shaft is attached to the other of the building and the door. When the door is opened, the shaft is pushed into the tubular body against the gas pressure inside. As the shaft is driven forward by the pressure of the gas, the door is closed. The closing speed of the door is set by the flow rate of the liquid passing through the first piston assembly when the shaft is driven forward. When this gas spring is used, it can be used as a timer for closing a door after a certain period of time after the door is opened.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-41881 JP-A-8-177924

  As described in Patent Document 2, when the shaft is slowly advanced after the shaft is pushed in, the door can be automatically and slowly closed over a certain period of time. Therefore, when such a timer is used, an operation member that is artificially operated from the first position to the second position is moved over a certain period of time after the operation on the operation member is completed. The position can be returned from the position 2 to the first position. For example, a faucet as an operation member is provided at an outlet portion of a liquid such as tap water, that is, a faucet, in order to open / close the liquid flow or adjust the flow rate. For a faucet used by an unspecified person like a public facility, it is desired to develop a timer that automatically closes the faucet over a certain period of time after the faucet is opened manually. Furthermore, in shower facilities used by unspecified persons, it is desirable to develop a timer for automatically stopping hot water discharge after a certain period of time has elapsed since the user discharged hot water from the shower head. ing.

  In this way, as a mechanical timer for returning the member, the time until the return operation is completed depends on the application, and the same type of timer is used for multiple applications. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to adjust the return operation time in a wide range. Moreover, as described above, the timer used for faucets and shower facilities cannot be used unless it is made smaller than the timer for closing the door, and is excellent in durability and frequent maintenance. It is necessary to make the work unnecessary.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a small spring timer for returning an operation member.

  In the spring timer of the present invention, the piston rod is mounted so as to be capable of reciprocating between the backward limit position and the forward limit position in the axial direction, and an outer tube in which the piston rod projects from the tip portion and a liquid circulation chamber are formed. An inner tube rotatably mounted in the outer tube, a piston assembly provided at a base end portion of the piston rod, and partitioning the liquid circulation chamber into a front liquid chamber and a rear liquid chamber, A spring mounted between a distal end portion of a piston rod and the outer tube and energizing the piston rod with an elastic force in a forward direction; and provided between the outer tube and the inner tube; And a bypass passage that communicates with the rear liquid chamber, and a radial passage through the inner tube, and the inner tube A communication hole for changing the opening degree of the bypass passage as the shaft rotates, and the piston rod is configured to adjust the forward speed by the elastic force of the spring from the backward limit position to the forward limit position. Set by opening.

  An inner tube is built into the outer tube that reciprocally accommodates the piston rod, and a piston assembly provided in the piston rod is mounted inside the liquid circulation chamber formed in the inner tube. In addition, since no spring is provided inside the inner tube, the outer tube can have a small diameter, and the spring timer can be downsized.

It is a longitudinal section showing a spring type timer which is one embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view of an inner tube and an end tube shown in FIG. 1. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which assembled the inner tube and end tube which were shown by FIG. (A) is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, (B) is a sectional view showing a state in which the inner tube is rotated 90 degrees from the state shown in (A), and (C) is a modified example. It is sectional drawing which shows the same part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the spring-type timer in the state which retracted the piston rod. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the spring type timer in the state where the piston rod protrudes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the spring type timer 10 has a stepped outer tube 11. The outer tube 11 has a distal end portion 13 provided with a rod cover portion 12, a central portion 15 provided with a male screw 14 and having a larger diameter than the distal end portion, and a proximal end portion 16. The piston rod 18 is supported in a reciprocating manner in the axial direction by a bearing member 17 mounted in the distal end portion 13, and the projecting end portion of the piston rod 18 projects from a through hole 19 provided in the rod cover portion 12. Yes. The piston rod 18 moves between the forward limit position shown in FIG. 1 and the reverse limit position shown in FIG. In this specification, the end in the direction in which the piston rod 18 projects is the tip of each member, and the opposite side is the base. The direction in which the piston rod 18 protrudes is defined as forward, and the opposite direction is defined as backward.

  The base end portion 16 of the outer tube 11 has an opening, and the inner tube 21 and the end tube 22 are inserted into the outer tube 11 from the opening. The male screw 23 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the central portion 22 a of the end tube 22 is screwed to the female screw 24 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the base end portion 16 of the outer tube 11, and the end tube 22 is fastened to the outer tube 11. Is done. The inner tube 21 is rotatably mounted inside the end tube 22, and the inner peripheral surface of the inner tube 21 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the end tube 22. A base end portion 25 of the inner tube 21 protrudes from the end tube 22, and an operation knob 26 is attached to the base end portion 25 by a pin 27. That is, the operation knob 26 is provided at the proximal end portion of the spring type timer 10. A fitting hole 27a into which the pin 27 is fitted is formed in the proximal end portion 25 of the inner tube 21, as shown in FIG. By operating the operation knob 26, the inner tube 21 is rotated and set to a predetermined rotation angle. After setting the rotation angle of the inner tube 21, a set screw 28 is attached to the end tube 22 in order to prevent the inner tube 21 from rotating. The set screw 28 is screwed into a screw hole 28 a formed in the end tube 22.

  The piston rod 18 is provided with a protrusion 29 that abuts against the rear end surface 17 a of the bearing member 17. When the protrusion 29 is abutted against the rear end surface 17a, the piston rod 18 is in the forward limit position. A spring receiving cap 31 is attached to the tip of the piston rod 18 by a stopper 32. That is, the spring receiving cap 31 is provided at the tip of the spring timer 10. A coil spring 33 is mounted between the distal end portion of the piston rod 18 and the outer tube 11 in order to urge the piston rod 18 with an elastic force in the forward direction. One end of the coil spring 33 is in contact with the spring receiving cap 31, and the other end is in contact with the stepped portion 34 of the outer tube 11.

  A piston assembly 35 is provided at the proximal end of the piston rod 18. The piston assembly 35 is mounted in a liquid circulation chamber 36 provided in the distal end portion of the inner tube 21 and is movable in the axial direction. The liquid circulation chamber 36 is filled with oil as an incompressible working medium liquid. The liquid circulation chamber 36 is partitioned by a piston assembly 35 into a front liquid chamber 36 a on the front side of the piston assembly 35 and a rear liquid chamber 36 b on the rear side. The piston assembly 35 has an annular piston 37 attached to the proximal end portion of the piston rod 18. The inner diameter of the annular piston 37 is larger than the outer diameter of the piston rod 18, and an opening / closing passage 38 is formed between the annular piston 37 and the piston rod 18. A stopper 41 made of a nut is screwed to a male screw 42 formed on the piston rod 18, and the annular piston 37 is movable between the projection 29 and the stopper 41 in the axial direction.

  The outer diameter of the stopper 41 is larger than the inner diameter of the annular piston 37. A flat notch 29 a having a smaller radial dimension than the inner diameter of the annular piston 37 is formed in the protrusion 29. Therefore, when the piston rod 18 is moved backward so as to be retracted into the outer tube 11, the front end surface of the annular piston 37 comes into contact with the protrusion 29 as shown in FIG. 5, and the rear end surface of the annular piston 37 and the stopper 41. The gap 43 between the two is widened. Thereby, the open / close passage 38 is opened. On the other hand, when the front end of the piston rod 18 is moved forward in the direction of projecting from the outer tube 11, as shown in FIG. 6, the annular piston 37 contacts the stopper 41, and the gap 43 and the open / close passage 38 are closed. Thus, the check valve mechanism 44 is formed by the annular piston 37 and the stopper 41.

  An annular protrusion 45 is provided inside the inner tube 21. A seal piston 47 is incorporated in the cylinder hole 46 on the base end side of the annular protrusion 45 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. A seal member 48 is attached to the seal piston 47. A liquid storage chamber 49 is formed by the front surface side of the seal piston 47 and the cylinder hole 46, and the liquid storage chamber 49 communicates with the rear liquid chamber 36 b of the liquid circulation chamber 36 through a communication hole 50 provided in the annular protrusion 45. Yes. Therefore, when the piston rod 18 moves to the forward limit position as shown in FIG. 1 and moves to the backward limit position as shown in FIG. 5, the piston rod 18 enters the liquid circulation chamber 36. A volume of liquid corresponding to the volume that has entered enters the liquid storage chamber 49.

  The inner diameter of the central portion 15 of the outer tube 11 is larger than the outer diameter of the distal end portion of the inner tube 21, and the bypass passage 51 is formed between the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 21. As shown in FIG. 2, a semicircular cutout portion 52 is provided at the distal end surface of the inner tube 21, and the bypass passage 51 passes through the cutout portion 52 and the front side liquid as shown in FIG. 1. It communicates with the chamber 36a.

  An orifice hole 53 is provided in the distal end portion 22 b of the end tube 22, and the orifice hole 53 opens into a gap 51 a formed between the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the end tube 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube 11. Yes. A communication hole 54 having substantially the same inner diameter as the orifice hole 53 is formed in the inner tube 21, and the axial position of the communication hole 54 and the axial position of the orifice hole 53 are substantially the same. As shown in FIG. 2, an eccentric groove 55 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube 21 so as to cross the communication hole 54 in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the eccentric groove 55 has the deepest portion of the communication hole 54, and the depth gradually decreases toward the left and right sides in the circumferential direction around the communication hole 54. Has changed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A and 4B, the gap 51a, the orifice hole 53, and the eccentric groove 55 form a part of the bypass passage 51, and the bypass passage 51 includes the communication hole 54. And communicates with the rear liquid chamber 36b.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the communication hole 54 faces the orifice hole 53, the opening degree of the bypass passage 51 communicating with the communication hole 54 is maximized. If the inner tube 21 is rotated to the left or right by the operation knob 26 from this state, the opening degree of the bypass passage 51, that is, the communication opening degree between the communication hole 54 and the orifice hole 53 decreases steplessly. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the inner tube 21 is rotated by 90 degrees as the rotation angle θ. In this case, the inner opening surface of the orifice hole 53 is larger than the case shown in FIG. And the bottom surface of the eccentric groove 55 are small.

  As described above, when the communication opening degree between the communication hole 54 and the orifice hole 53 is changed in accordance with the rotation of the inner tube 21, the piston rod 18 is moved from the backward limit position to the forward limit by the elastic force stored in the coil spring 33. When moving forward to the position, the forward speed can be changed. That is, when the communication opening is set to a predetermined opening, the time for the piston rod 18 to move from the backward limit position to the forward limit position can be set.

  FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view showing the same part as FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, and the communication hole 54 communicates with the deepest part at one end of the eccentric groove 55. In FIG. 4C, when the rotation is made to the left, the groove of the eccentric groove 55 becomes shallow. When rotated about 330 degrees, the communication between the bypass passage 51 and the communication hole 54 is blocked. Thus, in the form shown in FIG. 4C, the opening degree can be set more finely than in the case shown in FIG.

  The seal piston 47 is provided with a liquid injection hole 65, and the liquid injection hole 65 is closed by a plug 66 after the inner tube 21 is filled with a predetermined amount of liquid. In order to prevent the liquid filled in the spring type timer 10 from leaking to the outside, the seal member 61 is mounted between the rod cover portion 12 of the outer tube 11 and the bearing member 17. A seal member 62 is mounted between the outer tube 11 and the end tube 22, and a seal member 63 is mounted between the end tube 22 and the inner tube 21.

  The spring timer 10 can be used for closing an operated member such as a mechanical switch that opens and closes a stopper plug that discharges liquid stored in a tank to the outside. The spring timer 10 can also be used to automatically close tap water taps, and can also be used to apply a closing force to an open building door. can do.

  As described above, when the spring timer 10 is incorporated in a device including a mechanical switch for opening and closing a stopper, for example, to close the mechanical switch, the spring timer 10 is Attached to the device. Further, the tip end of the piston rod 18 or the tip end surface of the spring receiving cap 31 comes into contact with an operated member which is a spring mechanical switch. As shown in FIG. 1, when the liquid in the tank is discharged to the outside with the piston rod 18 in the forward limit position, the stopper plug is manually opened by a mechanical switch that is an operation member. Operated. By operating the mechanical switch, the piston rod 18 is pushed back. When the piston rod 18 is pushed, the liquid in the rear liquid chamber 36 b flows to the front liquid chamber 36 a through the gap 43 and the opening / closing passage 38, and further flows to the front liquid chamber 36 a through the bypass passage 51. At this time, since a large flow resistance is not applied to the liquid flow in the liquid circulation chamber 36, the piston rod 18 can be easily moved backward against the elastic force of the coil spring 33. As a result, the stopper plug is operated in a fully opened state. FIG. 5 shows a state where the piston rod 18 has been pushed to the retract limit position.

  When the hand is released from the mechanical switch, the piston rod 18 is driven in the protruding direction by the elastic force in the forward direction by the coil spring 33, and the mechanical switch as the operation member is driven in the closing direction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the annular piston 37 contacts the stopper 41 and the gap 43 is closed. For this reason, since the liquid in the front liquid chamber 36a flows only through the bypass passage 51 toward the rear liquid chamber 36b, the forward speed of the piston rod 18 is lower than when the piston rod 18 is retracted. . Therefore, the return operation time from when the stopper plug is opened to when it is closed is set by the flow velocity of the liquid flowing from the front liquid chamber 36a to the rear liquid chamber 36b through the bypass passage 51. This time is adjusted by rotating the inner tube 21 with the operation knob 26 and adjusting the opening of the bypass passage 51. After the opening degree of the bypass passage 51 is adjusted, the inner tube 21 can be prevented from rotating by tightening the set screw 28. Since the operation knob 26 is provided at the base end portion of the spring type timer 10, the operation knob 26 can be rotated even if the spring type timer 10 is mounted in the apparatus and the outer tube 11 cannot be rotated by the male screw 14. Can be operated.

  The operation of moving the piston rod 18 forward may be performed after the piston rod 18 is operated to the retreat limit position, or may be moved forward at a position before the retreat limit position. Also, the forward movement time to the forward limit position of the piston rod 18 is set by the opening of the communication hole 54.

  In the spring timer 10, no spring is provided in the inner tube 21, and a piston assembly 35 that partitions the liquid circulation chamber 36 forward and backward and a seal piston that communicates with the liquid circulation chamber 36 are provided. The coil spring 33 is provided on the protruding end side of the piston rod, and the outer diameter can be reduced. Thereby, the spring-type timer 10 can be reduced in size. Like patent document 1, a flexible film is not used inside, but it can be set as the spring type timer 10 excellent in durability, and frequent maintenance is also unnecessary.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This spring type timer can be applied not only for returning the faucet but also as a timer for stopping the discharge of hot water from the shower head in the shower facility, and also for setting the operation time of the mechanical operation member. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Spring type timer 11 Outer tube 12 Rod cover 15 Center part 16 Base end part 18 Piston rod 21 Inner tube 22 End tube 26 Operation knob 29 Projection part 33 Coil spring 35 Piston assembly 36 Liquid circulation chamber 36a Front side liquid chamber 36b Rear side Liquid chamber 37 Annular piston 38 Opening / closing passage 41 Stopper 43 Clearance 44 Check valve mechanism 45 Annular protrusion 46 Cylinder hole 47 Seal piston 49 Liquid reservoir chamber 50 Communication hole 51 Bypass passage 52 Notch 53 Orifice hole 54 Communication hole 55 Eccentric groove

Claims (4)

An outer tube in which a piston rod is reciprocally mounted in an axial direction between a backward limit position and a forward limit position, and the piston rod protrudes from a tip portion;
An inner tube in which a liquid circulation chamber is formed and rotatably mounted in the outer tube;
A piston assembly provided at a base end portion of the piston rod and partitioning the liquid circulation chamber into a front liquid chamber and a rear liquid chamber;
A spring that is mounted between the tip of the piston rod and the outer tube and biases the piston rod with an elastic force in a forward direction;
A bypass passage that is provided between the outer tube and the inner tube, and communicates the front liquid chamber and the rear liquid chamber;
A communication hole that is formed through the inner tube in a radial direction, and changes an opening degree of the bypass passage with rotation of the inner tube;
A spring type timer in which the piston rod sets a forward speed by an elastic force of the spring from a backward limit position to a forward limit position by an opening degree of the bypass passage.   2. The spring-type timer according to claim 1, wherein the piston assembly has an open / close passage communicating the rear liquid chamber and the front liquid chamber, and the open / close passage is opened when the piston rod moves backward. A spring timer provided with a check valve mechanism in the piston assembly for blocking the open / close passage when moving forward.   3. The spring type timer according to claim 1, wherein the inner tube has an eccentric groove that gradually changes in a circumferential direction and opens to the communication hole, and the communication hole is opened by rotation of the inner tube. A spring-type timer that can change the degree steplessly.   The spring type timer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a liquid storage chamber communicating with the liquid circulation chamber includes a front end surface of a seal piston mounted in a base end portion of the inner tube, and the inner A spring type timer formed by a tube.

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