JP2021059884A - Drain plug device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a drain plug device that prevents forgetting to close a drain port during hot water supply operation, and to simplify a structure of the device and enable a valve body to be closed without interlocking with a hot water supply device in the drain plug device.SOLUTION: A valve body 2 is arranged so as to be able to move up and down at a drain port 1 formed at a bottom part of a tank body B, and the valve body 2 is connected to an operation part 10 via a release wire 30. The operation part 10 has an automatic plug closing mechanism including a drive part 21, a control part 22 and detection means. The control part 22 counts a predetermined time set in advance when the detection means detects an open state of the valve body 2. The control part 22 transmits an instruction to the drive part 21 to shift the valve body 2 to the closed state if the valve body 2 is maintained in the open state while being raised even after the predetermined time is passed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

Patent Document 1 describes a drain plug device that opens and closes a drain port formed in a bathtub by raising and lowering a valve body. The drain plug device has a manual operation unit that raises and lowers the valve body by manual operation, and also includes an electric drive unit that operates based on an electric signal. The electric operation unit has a motor and a control unit that controls the motor, and it is possible to open and close the drain port by operating a remote control arranged in the kitchen or bathroom. ..

In the drain plug device, when the remote controller is operated and the hot water supply operation is executed, the electric drive unit is interlocked with the hot water supply device, and the valve body automatically shifts to the closed state. As a result, the user does not have to move to the bathroom and close the plug each time the hot water supply operation is performed, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to close the drain port during the hot water supply operation.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-247254

In the above drain plug device, in order to automatically shift the valve body to the closed state during hot water supply operation, it is necessary to connect to the hot water supply device. Therefore, since the drain plug device requires a control unit corresponding to each hot water supply device, the device becomes complicated and the user cannot handle the hot water supply device as in the conventional drain plug device. Had to activate the drain plug device each time before starting the hot water supply operation.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a drain plug device that prevents forgetting to close the drain port during hot water supply operation, simplifies the structure of the drain plug device, and does not interlock with the hot water supply device. The subject is that the valve body can be closed.

The present invention according to claim 1 for solving the above problems includes a drainage port formed in a tank body and a drainage port.
A valve body that opens and closes the drainage port and
In a drain plug device equipped with an operation unit that operates the valve body,
The valve body is
By operating the operation unit, it shifts from the closed state to the open state, and at the same time
It is a drain plug device characterized by automatically shifting from an open state to a closed state.

The "operating unit" does not mean only the operating device arranged at a position separated from the valve body. That is, the drain plug device in the present invention may have a structure in which the drain port is opened and closed by pushing the valve body itself, and in this case, the upper surface of the valve body corresponds to the "operating portion".

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the drain plug device is
The drain plug device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic plugging mechanism that shifts the valve body to the closed state after a lapse of a predetermined time from the opened state of the valve body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the automatic closing mechanism is
A drive unit that operates based on an electric signal to raise and lower the valve body,
A control unit that controls the operation of the drive unit,
It consists of a detection means that detects the open or closed state of the drainage port.
The claim is characterized in that the control unit measures the time of the valve body in the open state detected by the detecting means, and transmits an instruction to the drive unit so as to shift the valve body to the closed state after a lapse of a predetermined time. Item 2. The drain plug device according to item 2.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the closed state, the closed state is maintained unless a predetermined operation or instruction is transmitted.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drain plug device can be changed from the opened state to the closed state by operating the operation unit.

In the present invention according to claim 6, the valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the speed or timing of transition from the opened state to the closed state can be arbitrarily adjusted.

According to the present invention, since the valve body automatically shifts from the opened state to the closed state, the valve body is always in the closed state when the hot water supply operation is executed, and the drain port is closed. You can prevent forgetting. Further, since the valve body shifts to the closed state regardless of the instruction from the hot water supply device, the interlocking with the hot water supply device becomes unnecessary, and the control unit corresponding to the hot water supply device becomes unnecessary. Thereby, in the present invention, the structure of the drain plug device can be simplified.

It is sectional drawing which shows the closed state of the drain plug device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the opening state of the drain plug device. It is sectional drawing which shows the operating state of the automatic closing mechanism. It is sectional drawing which shows the drain plug device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the drain plug device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, the drain plug device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the invention described below is for facilitating the understanding of the embodiment, and the invention is not limited and understood by this.

The tank body B is a bathtub, and a drain port 1 is formed at the bottom thereof. The valve body 2 is arranged so as to be able to move up and down in the drain port 1, and the main body 20 of the operation unit 10 is attached to the attachment hole formed at the edge.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drain plug device of the present invention includes a valve body 2 that opens and closes the drain port 1 of the tank body B, and an operation unit 10 that operates the valve body 2.

The valve body 2 is a valve member that opens and closes the drain port 1, is connected to the operation unit 10 via the release wire 30, and is based on the operation applied to the operation unit 10 and the automatic closing mechanism described later. Ascends or descends. Here, the valve body 2 has a packing 3 fitted around it, and when the packing 3 comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the drain port 1 as the valve body 2 descends, the drain port 1 is closed and closed. Hot water can be stored in the tank body B. On the other hand, when the packing 3 is separated from the peripheral edge of the drain port 1 by raising the valve body 2, the drain port 1 is opened and the hot water in the tank body B is discharged from the drain port 1. It will be possible.

The operation unit 10 has a switch unit 11 that is exposed in the bathroom from the edge portion of the tank body B, and a lock mechanism 23, a drive unit 21, and a control unit 22 are contained in the main body portion 20 arranged behind the edge portion of the tank body B. The release wire 30 is connected to the end portion. Further, the operation unit 10 has a detection means for detecting the state of the valve body 2, and also has an automatic plugging mechanism including a drive unit 21, a control unit 22, and a detection means.
The switch portion 11 has a circular shape in a plan view, is arranged so as to be vertically movable with respect to a mounting hole formed at an edge portion of the tank body B, and a switch shaft 12 is connected to the back surface thereof.
The switch shaft 12 is a shaft member that connects the switch portion 11 and the lock mechanism 23, and is lowered when a pushing operation is applied to the switch portion 11 to operate the lock mechanism 23. A pushing member 13 is attached to the side surface of the switch shaft 12.
The pushing member 13 is a rack in which teeth meshing with gears attached to the end of the driving unit 21 are formed on the side surface, and the rotational operation of the driving unit 21 is converted into stress in the vertical direction to convert the switch shaft 12 into vertical stress. Push down.
The drive unit 21 is a stepping motor that is driven based on an electric signal, and its rotational operation is transmitted to the switch shaft 12 via the push member 13.
The control unit 22 is a base arranged adjacent to the drive unit 21, and controls the operation / stop of the drive unit 21 based on the state of the valve body 2 detected by the sensor 26.
The lock mechanism 23 is provided with a rotary gear and a fixed gear inside while the release wire 30 is connected to the end portion, and the valve body 2 is formed by switching the meshing / disengagement of the rotary gear and the fixed gear. Holds the ascending / descending state of.
The release wire 30 is a power transmission member composed of a resin outer tube and a metal inner wire, and the valve body 2 is moved up and down by sliding the inner wire in the outer tube.
The detection means is composed of a magnet 25 attached to the switch shaft 12 and two sensors 26 that recognize the position of the magnet 25. By recognizing the position of the magnet 25 by the sensor 26, the valve body 2 moves up and down. Detect the state. Further, the information detected by the sensor 26 is transmitted to the control unit 22.

When a pushing operation is applied to the switch portion 11 in a state where the valve body 2 is lowered with respect to the drain plug device, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner wire of the release wire 30 moves inside the outer tube. The operation is transmitted by sliding toward the valve body 2, and the valve body 2 rises. At this time, the rotary gear inside the lock mechanism 23 and the fixed gear mesh with each other, and the valve body 2 is maintained in the opened state. When a pushing operation is applied to the switch portion 11 again from the opened state in which the valve body 2 is raised, the engagement between the rotary gear and the fixed gear inside the lock mechanism 23 is released, and the valve body 2 is arranged in the release wire. The inner wire slides toward the operation unit 10 due to the weight of the spring (not shown) and the valve body 2, so that the valve body 2 shifts to the closed state shown in FIG.
When the switch shaft 12 moves up and down during the operation with respect to the operation unit 10, the position of the pushing member 13 is not displaced at all.

The operation of the automatic plugging mechanism will be described below. First, when the detection means detects the rise of the valve body 2, that is, the opening state shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 22 measures a predetermined time set in advance. Then, even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the valve body 2 is maintained in the opened state while being raised, and when the closed state is not detected, the control unit 22 drives the valve body 2 to shift to the closed state. The instruction is transmitted to the unit 21.
At this time, the rotary motion of the drive unit 21 which is a stepping motor is converted into a vertical motion by the push member 13, and as shown in FIG. 3, the switch shaft 12 is pushed down by the push member 13. As a result, the operation is transmitted by the release wire 30, the meshing between the rotary gear and the fixed gear inside the lock mechanism 23 is released, and the valve body 2 is lowered. After the drive unit 21 pushes down the switch shaft 12 to operate the lock mechanism 23, the drive unit 21 raises the push member 13 by performing reverse rotation, returns it to the initial position, and returns to the closed state shown in FIG. And migrate.

With the automatic closing mechanism, when the valve body 2 shifts to the opened state by operating the operation unit 10, the valve body 2 automatically shifts from the opened state to the closed state after a lapse of a predetermined time. As a result, in the drain plug device, the valve body 2 is constantly lowered in normal times to be in the closed state, so that it is possible to prevent forgetting to close the drain port during hot water supply.
In addition to automatically closing the valve body 2 by the automatic closing mechanism, the valve body 2 may be manually shifted to the closed state by operating the operation unit 10.

When the detection means detects that the valve body 2 has shifted to the closed state within a predetermined time, the automatic closing mechanism ends the measurement for the predetermined time and gives some instructions to the drive unit 21. Does not convey.

In the drain plug device according to the present embodiment, the operation of the operation unit 10 related to the switching from the opened state to the closed state of the valve body 2 and the switching from the closed state to the opened state is the same.
That is, both operations are based on the operation of "pushing down the switch shaft 12 to operate the lock mechanism 23". Therefore, after the open state of the valve body 2 is detected by the detecting means, the closed state of the valve body 2 is transmitted even after the instruction to shift the valve body 2 to the closed state is transmitted from the control unit 22 after a lapse of a predetermined time. If is not detected, the control unit 22 repeats the instruction to the drive unit 21 to push down the switch shaft 12. Here, if the closed state is not detected even though the instruction is given more than the set number of times, the control unit 22 stops the instruction to the drive unit 21.

The first embodiment of the present invention is as described above, but the drain plug device of the present invention is not limited to the shape of the first embodiment, and various design changes may be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It's a good one.
For example, in the first embodiment, the opening time of the valve body 2 is measured by the control unit 22, and the drive unit 21 that operates based on the electric signal automatically shifts to the closed state. A structure that does not require electricity may be used as in the second embodiment shown in 4.

In the drain plug device according to the second embodiment, the operation unit 10 includes a handle unit 40 and a control unit 221 for measuring a predetermined time.
The handle portion 40 has a circular shape when viewed from the front, and is attached so as to be rotatable on the inner surface of the tank body B. A release wire 30 is connected to the rear end of the handle 40, and a control 22 is arranged inside the handle 40.
The control unit 221 has a timer device that measures a predetermined time set in advance, and the timer device is activated by applying an operation to the handle unit 40, and turns the handle unit 40 after a predetermined time elapses. It is moved to automatically shift the valve body 2 to the closed state. The timer device has a structure similar to that of an analog timer using a mainspring that measures time by rotating a shaft, but may have another structure that does not use a mainspring. ..
In the drain plug device, when a rotation operation is applied to the handle portion 40, the valve body 2 is opened and the spring is wound to activate the timer device of the control unit 221. Further, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the timer device displaces the handle portion 40 to the initial position by the returning force of the mainspring spring and automatically shifts the valve body 2 to the closed state, thereby closing the drain plug device in normal times. It becomes possible to. The handle portion 40 may be gradually displaced to the initial position, or may be displaced only after a lapse of a predetermined time.

In each of the above embodiments, the control unit is attached to the operation unit 10 side, but may be attached to the valve body 2 side.
The drain plug device of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a drain plug device in which a lock mechanism 23 is incorporated in the valve body 2 and the lock mechanism 23 is operated by pushing the upper surface of the valve body 2. , The control unit 222 is arranged in the lower part of the valve body 2. In the drain plug device according to the third embodiment, the valve body 2 is opened by a pushing operation, and when the rotary gear and the fixed gear in the lock mechanism 23 are engaged, the control unit 222 is operated for a predetermined time. After measuring, the valve body 2 is shifted to the closed state by disengaging the gears.

The time measured by the control unit attached in each of the above embodiments is set in advance at the time of shipment from the factory, and may not be changed by the user, or may be changed by the user as appropriate.
Further, the speed and timing at which the valve body shifts from the opened state to the closed state may be appropriately adjusted.
Further, the time for maintaining the opened state does not necessarily have to be measured by a timer or the like, and for example, the time for maintaining the opened state may be determined according to the amount of pushing against the switch portion or the number of times of pushing. ..
Further, the drain plug device of the present invention has a structure that automatically shifts to the closed state when the valve body is in the opened state, but it is opened from the closed state in an emergency such as when an abnormality of a bather is detected. A structure may be added that shifts to a plug state and discharges hot water in the tank.
Further, in the first embodiment, the detecting means detects the opened state and the closed state of the valve body, but it may only detect either the opened state or the closed state. Therefore, when the detecting means detects only the opened state, all the states in which the opened state is not detected are determined to be the closed state. That is, when the detecting means detects the opened state, the operation of the automatic closing mechanism is completed by transmitting an instruction to operate the drive unit after a lapse of a predetermined time. On the other hand, when the detecting means detects only the closed state, all the states in which the detecting means does not detect the closed state are determined to be the opened state, and the closed state is measured after measuring a predetermined time from the state in which the closed state is not detected. The instruction is transmitted to the drive unit until it is detected. Then, the operation of the automatic closing mechanism is completed when the closing state is detected.
Further, in the first embodiment, the user has only a manual operation unit that manually operates the operation unit, but an electric motor that remotely controls the drive unit by a remote controller or the like arranged inside or outside the bathroom. It may have an operation unit and be capable of manual operation and electric operation. Further, the drain plug device may not have a manual operation unit and may be only electrically operated.

B Tank body 1 Drainage port 2 Valve body 3 Packing 10 Operation part 11 Switch part 12 Switch shaft 13 Pushing member 20 Main body part 21 Drive part 22, 222, 222 Control part 23 Lock mechanism 25 Magnet 26 Sensor 30 Release wire 40 Handle part

Claims (6)

The drainage port formed on the tank body and
A valve body that opens and closes the drainage port and
In a drain plug device equipped with an operation unit that operates the valve body,
The valve body is
By operating the operation unit, it shifts from the closed state to the open state, and at the same time
A drain plug device that automatically shifts from the open state to the closed state. The drain plug device
The drain plug device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic closing mechanism that shifts the valve body to the closed state after a lapse of a predetermined time from the opened state of the valve body. The automatic closing mechanism is
A drive unit that operates based on an electric signal to raise and lower the valve body,
A control unit that controls the operation of the drive unit,
It consists of a detection means that detects the open or closed state of the drainage port.
The claim is characterized in that the control unit measures the time of the valve body in the open state detected by the detecting means and transmits an instruction to the drive unit so as to shift the valve body to the closed state after a lapse of a predetermined time. Item 2. The drain plug device according to item 2. The valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the closed state, the closed state is maintained unless a predetermined operation or instruction is transmitted. The valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drain plug device can be changed from the opened state to the closed state by operating the operation unit. The valve body is
The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the speed or timing of transition from the opened state to the closed state can be arbitrarily adjusted.

Images