JP2023164115A - Flow passage switching valve - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a flow passage switching valve for setting management points of a member dimension tolerance to a minimum number, and making a valve body rotatable at small torque.SOLUTION: A flow passage switching valve 10 comprises: a valve main body 14 in which a valve chamber 12 is formed; a valve body 16 which is arranged in the valve chamber 12; an annular seat member 38 which is arranged between entrances 24, 26 of the valve main body 14 and the valve body 16, and in which a side face on an opposite side to the valve body side contacts with a wall face of the valve main body 14, and an external peripheral face is separated from the valve main body 14; an inclination seal face 38A which is formed at the seat member 38 and is inclined to an axial line by a constant angle θ, and with which an external peripheral face of the valve body 16 contacts; O-rings 50 which are compressively accommodated in O-ring grooves 48, 60 provided on the wall face of the valve main body 14; and a rotation drive part 18 which rotates the valve body 16. A value of the angle θ is determined so that a pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the lowest temperature in a use state and a pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the highest temperature in the use state do not differ from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a flow path switching valve, and more particularly, to a flow path switching valve that switches a flow path by rotating and sliding a ball-shaped valve body within a valve chamber.

2. Description of the Related Art A type of flow path switching valve that switches a flow path by rotating a ball-shaped valve body is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this type of flow path switching valve, a valve body is rotationally driven using a rotational drive unit consisting of a motor, a drive gear, and the like.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-115691

In the flow path switching valve of Patent Document 1, a pair of annular seat members are disposed in the valve chamber corresponding to a pair of mutually opposing outflow ports, and a ball-shaped valve is disposed between the pair of seat members. The body is arranged so that it can rotate and slide freely.
This seat member has an annular groove formed on the side opposite to the valve body, and an O-ring made of an elastic material such as rubber is placed in a compressed state in the annular groove.
The side surface of the seat member opposite to the valve body side is spaced apart from the wall surface of the valve chamber, and the outer circumferential surface is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the valve chamber. The seat member placed inside the valve chamber is pressed tightly against the outer peripheral surface of the valve body by the elastic force (repulsion force) of the O-ring, thereby creating an airtight seal between the valve body and each outlet. has been done.

The valve body is sandwiched between a pair of annular seat members, and the pair of seat members are pressed against each other by the elastic force of the O-ring, so rotational force (torque) is required to rotate the valve body. do.

The flow path switching valve must be designed to ensure the specified leakage amount. To ensure the specified leakage amount, the maximum compression ratio is calculated from the O-ring's minimum compression ratio, taking into account dimensional tolerances of each part, temperature effects, aging deterioration, etc. The torque that rotates the valve body when the valve body reaches the maximum torque is the maximum torque.
For this reason, the specifications of the rotary drive unit are determined so that a torque higher than the above-mentioned maximum torque can be produced.

By the way, when the outer circumferential surface of the seat member is restrained by contacting the inner circumferential surface of the valve chamber, and the side surface of the seat member opposite to the valve body side is in contact with the wall surface of the valve chamber opposite to the side surface, Even if the seat member and the valve body are in contact with each other to prevent fluid leakage at room temperature, and the seat member is in contact with the valve body, clearance and tightening will occur due to the difference in linear expansion between low and high temperatures. .

That is, when the seat member becomes hot, the seat member expands in the axial direction, and the seat member is strongly pressed against the valve body, and the valve body is strongly tightened between the pair of seat members, driving the valve body to rotate. It becomes difficult to do. On the other hand, when the temperature of the seat member decreases, the seat member may shrink, creating a clearance between the seat member and the valve body and between the side surface of the seat member and the wall of the valve chamber. .

For this purpose, the outer circumferential surface of the seat member is brought into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the valve chamber, and a gap is provided between the side surface of the seat member on the opposite side of the valve body and the wall surface of the valve chamber opposite to this wall surface. By disposing an O-ring, which is an elastic body, between the member and the wall surface of the valve chamber, it becomes possible to absorb dimensional changes in the axial direction of the seat member due to temperature changes in the gap.

However, in order to rotate the valve body with a small torque, a pair of seat members, a valve body, and a pair of O-rings are arranged in series in the valve chamber. It is necessary to manage a large number of dimensions such as the wire diameter, the groove depth of the O-ring groove in which the O-ring is placed, and the width of the valve chamber that accommodates these, making dimension management complicated and due to the dimensional tolerance of each member. Since the compression ratio of the O-ring increases, a high-torque drive component is required to rotate the valve, which may increase the size of the valve.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention aims to provide a flow path switching valve that minimizes the number of dimensional control points and allows the valve body to be rotated with a small torque.

The inventors conducted various studies and experiments on flow path switching valves with ball-shaped valve bodies, and found that the relationship between the members and the inclined sealing surface of the seat member that the outer peripheral surface of the valve body contacts It has been found that when the angle θ is set to a certain value, it becomes easier to manage the dimensions of the members for reducing the torque for rotating the valve body, and the torque for rotating the valve body is less affected by temperature.

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and the flow path switching valve according to claim 1 has a valve chamber formed therein, and at least a pair of mutually opposing wall surfaces of the valve chamber. A valve body with an open outlet, a ball-shaped valve body rotatably disposed within the valve chamber and having a flow path formed therein, and a valve body for sealing between the valve body and the inlet/outlet. an annular seat member that is disposed between the valve body and the inlet/outlet, a side surface opposite to the valve body side is in contact with the wall surface, and an outer peripheral surface is spaced apart from the valve body; The valve body is formed at the opening end of the seat member on the valve body side, is inclined at a certain angle θ with respect to the axis when viewed in a cross section along the axis of the seat member, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the valve body. a retaining groove recessed in the direction of the axis of the seat member; An elastic body that is accommodated in a holding groove and is compressed with the side surface of the sheet member in contact with the wall surface, and presses the sheet member against the valve body, and the plurality of inlets and outlets communicate with each other. a rotation drive unit that rotates the valve body so as to selectively switch through the flow path, and the pressing force between the valve body and the seat member at the lowest temperature in the use condition and the highest in the use condition. The value of the angle θ is determined so that the pressing force between the valve body and the seat member at the temperature does not change.

In the flow path switching valve according to the first aspect, the valve body can be rotated using the rotational force (torque) of the rotational drive section.

In the flow path switching valve according to the first aspect, the valve body, the pair of seat members, and the pair of elastic bodies are arranged in series inside the valve chamber. The seat member has an inclined sealing surface in contact with the valve body, and a side opposite to the valve body side in contact with a wall surface of the valve chamber.

The elastic body that presses the seat member against the valve body is in a compressed state within a recess provided in either the side surface of the seat member on the side of the valve body or the wall surface of the valve body. Therefore, in order to determine the elastic force of the elastic body that presses the seat member against the valve body, the compression ratio of the elastic body can be determined by managing two dimensions: the depth of the recess and the size of the elastic body.

When the temperature of the seat member increases and the thickness of the seat member in the axial direction increases, the pressing force of the seat member that presses the valve body in the axial direction increases.
In the flow path switching valve according to the first aspect, since the outer peripheral part of the seat member and the inner peripheral part of the valve chamber are separated from each other and a gap is provided between them, the expansion of the seat member in the radial direction is prevented. It is unobstructed. Therefore, when the temperature of the seat member increases, the diameter of the seat member increases, the inclined sealing surface moves away from the valve body in the radial direction of the seat member, and the pressing force for pressing the valve body decreases.

In other words, not only the thickness direction (axial direction) dimension of the seat member but also the radial dimension of the seat member are related to the pressing force of the seat member against the valve body, so the angle of the inclined seal surface that contacts the valve body By setting θ to an appropriate angle, the force pressing against the valve body due to expansion of the seat member can be prevented from changing even if a temperature change occurs.

In the flow path switching valve according to claim 1, the angle θ of the inclined seal surface is set so that the force pressing the valve body due to the expansion of the seat member does not change even if a temperature change occurs. The torque required for rotational driving is less affected by temperature.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the flow path switching valve according to the first aspect, an annular recess in which the sheet member is disposed is provided in the wall surface of the valve body, and a side portion of the sheet member is arranged in the annular recess. The holding groove is always in contact with the bottom of the recess, and the holding groove is provided at the bottom of the annular recess and the elastic body is fitted therein.

The invention according to claim 3 is the flow path switching valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the angle θ is 57.9±5.79°.

As explained above, according to the flow path switching valve of the present invention, it is possible to minimize the number of dimensional control points and rotate the valve body with a small torque.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flow path switching valve according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of the flow path switching valve shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the main parts of the flow path switching valve. It is a sectional view of the valve body showing a flow path of the valve body.

A flow path switching valve 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 4.
In each figure, gaps formed between members, separation distances between members, etc. may be exaggerated in order to facilitate understanding of the invention and for convenience in drawing. be. Furthermore, in this specification, descriptions expressing positions and directions such as up and down, left and right, front and rear, etc. are based on the direction arrows shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and do not refer to positions and directions in actual use. .

(Configuration of flow path switching valve)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a flow path switching valve 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (line 2-2) of the flow path switching valve 10 shown in FIG. sectional view).

The flow path switching valve 10 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is used as a rotary three-way valve that switches the flow path of fluid flowing in, for example, the engine room of an automobile in multiple directions. Basically, the flow path switching valve 10 shown in FIG. 2, a valve body 14 having a valve chamber 12, a ball-shaped valve body (also referred to as a ball valve body) 16 rotatably disposed within the valve chamber 12, and a rotation axis ( In order to rotate the valve body 14 around the center line (center line) O1, the valve body 14 is provided with a rotation drive unit 18 consisting of a motor, a drive gear, etc. arranged from the rear to the top of the valve body 14.
Note that a rotational axis O1 (an axis extending in the vertical direction) of the valve body 16 housed in the valve chamber 12 is coaxial with a centerline of a valve shaft 18A of the rotation drive unit 18, which will be described later.

(valve body, valve chamber)
The valve body 14 includes, for example, a base member 20 and a port member 44, each of which is made of synthetic resin.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the base member 20 has a sideways cylindrical valve chamber 12 formed therein. An annular recess 46 in which a seat member 38 to be described later is disposed is formed in the first right wall surface 12R of the valve chamber 12 on the right side of the arrow (right side in the drawing). A horizontal outlet (inlet/outlet) 26 that opens into the valve chamber 12 is formed in the center of the bottom of the annular recess 46, and an O-ring groove 48 (retention groove) is formed on the radially outer side of this outlet 26. has been done. An O-ring 50 is fitted into the O-ring groove 48 and serves as both an elastic body and a sealing member.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an L-shaped port 26A made of a pipe joint is integrally provided on the outer surface of the base member 20 on the right side of the arrow so as to communicate with the outlet 26. There is.

(Port member)
As shown in FIG. 2, the valve chamber 12 is open on the left side of the arrow (left side in the drawing), and an L-shaped port connected to the valve chamber 12 is provided at the end of the valve body 14 on the left side of the arrow. A member 44 is fixed.
The port member 44 includes an L-shaped port 52 as a pipe joint, and on the valve chamber 12 side of the port 52 is an annular flange 54 that comes into contact with the end surface of the valve body 14 and a cylinder that is inserted into the valve chamber 12. A shaped insertion portion 56 is formed. A horizontal outlet (inlet/outlet) 24 that opens into the valve chamber 12 is provided at the end of the insertion portion 56 on the valve chamber 12 side.

The port member 44 is welded and fixed to the valve body 14 with the insertion portion 56 inserted into the valve chamber 12 and the flange 54 in contact with the end surface of the valve body 14 .

As shown in FIG. 3, an annular recess 58 is formed at the distal end of the insertion portion 56, in which a sheet member 38, which will be described later, is disposed. A ring groove 60 (retaining groove) is formed. An O-ring 50 is fitted into the O-ring groove 60 in the same manner as the O-ring groove 48.

As shown in FIG. 1, the valve body 14 is provided with a lateral inlet (inlet/outlet; not shown) that opens into the valve chamber 12 on the wall surface of the valve chamber 12 on the forward side of the drawing arrow. . Note that a port 28A made of a pipe joint is integrally provided on the outer surface of the valve body 14 so as to communicate with this inlet (inlet/outlet).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an insertion hole 30 is provided in the upper part of the valve body 14, into which the valve shaft 18A of the rotation drive section 18 is rotatably inserted. An O-ring groove 32 is formed on the outer periphery of the axially intermediate portion of the valve shaft 18A, and an O-ring 34 as a sealing member is fitted into the O-ring groove 32.

(Rotation drive part)
The valve shaft 18A of the rotation drive unit 18 is connected to the valve body 16, so that the valve shaft 18A and the valve body 16 rotate together.

(valve body)
The valve body 16 is made of, for example, synthetic resin. In order to selectively communicate the inlet 28 provided in the valve body 14 (not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) and the two outlet ports 24 and 26, in other words, the inlet 28 and the two flow In order to selectively switch the communication state of the outlets 24 and 26, a flow path (internal flow path) 36 is provided inside the valve body 16, as shown in FIG.

Specifically, the valve body 16 is formed with a through hole 36A that penetrates in a first direction perpendicular to the rotation axis O1 direction of the valve body 16, and the through hole 36A is formed from the outer periphery (side) of the valve body 16. A horizontal hole 36B that joins the center of the valve body 16 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis O1 of the valve body 16 and perpendicular to the through hole 36A.

(sheet member)
As shown in FIG. 3, an annular recess 46 and an annular recess 58 formed around each outlet 24 and 26 in the valve body 1 are made of synthetic resin and have openings corresponding to each outlet 24 and 26. Each of the annular sheet members 38 having an annular shape is arranged.

That is, in the valve chamber 12 of the valve body 14, a pair of seat members 38, 38 is disposed, and the valve body 16 is rotatably and slidably disposed between the pair of seat members 38, 38 (on the inside).

The seat member 38 has an opening end on the valve body 16 side that is inclined at a constant angle θ° with respect to the axis O2 when viewed in a cross section along the axis O2 of the seat member 38, and has an outer circumference of the valve body 16. An inclined sealing surface 38A is formed in which the surfaces contact in an annular and linear manner. In other words, the inclined sealing surface 38A is constituted by a part of a concave conical surface.

Here, the sheet member 38 on the right side of the arrow (right side in the drawing) has a planar base end surface 38b, which is a side surface opposite to the inclined seal surface 38A, which is located in the annular recess 46 provided in the valve chamber 12. The O-ring 50 is compressed by a predetermined amount by constantly contacting the bottom portion 46a. Further, the outer diameter of the sheet member 38 on the right side of the arrow (right side in the drawing) is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the annular recess 46, and there is a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the sheet member 38 and the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess 46. A gap is provided.

In addition, the sheet member 38 on the left side of the arrow (left side in the drawing) has a planar base end surface 38b, which is the side surface opposite to the inclined seal surface 38A, in the annular shape provided in the insertion portion 56 of the port member 44. The O-ring 50 is compressed by a predetermined amount by constantly contacting the bottom 58a of the recess 58. The outer diameter of the sheet member 38 on the left side of the arrow (left side in the drawing) is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the annular recess 58, and there is a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the sheet member 38 and the inner peripheral surface of the annular recess 58. A gap is provided.

The elastic force (repulsive force) of the O-ring 50 compressed by a predetermined amount pushes the inclined sealing surface 38A of each seat member 38 into close contact with the valve body 16 (the outer sealing surface of the valve body 16 ). and each of the outflow ports 24 and 26 are airtightly sealed.

Note that the groove depth of the O-ring groove 48 is adjusted so that a predetermined elastic force of the O-ring 50 (a force that causes the compressed O-ring 50 to return to its original shape) acts on the valve body 16 via the seat member 38. The groove depth of the O-ring groove 60 and the wire diameter of the O-ring 50 are determined. By setting the elastic force of the O-ring 50 to a preset value, the rotational torque of the valve body 16 can be determined.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the diameter of the opening side of the inclined sealing surface 38A is a (mm), and the sheet is The thickness dimension of the member 38 to the side surface on the valve body side is b (mm), the diameter of the valve body 16 is d (mm), and the annular recess 58 on the left side of the drawing arrow (left side in the drawing) facing each other in the valve chamber 12 is The distance between the bottom and the bottom of the annular recess 46 on the right side of the drawing arrow (right side in the drawing) is e (mm).

In the flow path switching valve 10 of the present embodiment, the pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the lowest temperature in the use state, and the pressure force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the highest temperature in the use state. The value of the angle θ is determined so that the pressing force between 38 and 38 does not change.

Specifically, by considering the coefficient of linear expansion of each member and setting the values of a, b, d, and e to the respective optimal values, the valve body 16 and the seat at the lowest temperature in use are The angle θ is determined so that the pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 is the same as the pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the highest temperature in use.

In this embodiment, the seat member 38 and the O-ring 50 are made of a material having a relatively larger coefficient of linear expansion than the valve body 14 and the valve body 16.
As an example, the valve body 14 and the valve body 16 may be made of PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), the seat member 38 may be made of PTFE (fluororesin), and the O-ring 50 may be made of synthetic rubber.

The port member 44 is welded and fixed to the valve body 14 with the insertion portion 56 inserted into the valve chamber 12 and the flange 54 in contact with the end surface of the valve body 14 .

In the flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment, after the O-ring 50, the seat member 38, the valve body 16, and the seat member 38 are sequentially inserted from the opening of the valve chamber 12, the port member 44 equipped with the O-ring 50 is inserted. The portion 56 is inserted into the valve chamber 12 with a predetermined force so as to compress the O-ring 50, and the flange 54 of the port member 44 is welded to the side surface of the valve body 14.

(action, effect)
In the flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment, the valve body 16, two seat members 38, and two O-rings 50 are arranged in series inside the valve chamber 12. The ring 50 and the O-ring 50 within the O-ring groove 60 are sealed in compression within the O-ring groove.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment, the seat member 38 on the right side of the arrow (right side in the drawing) has a base end surface 38b (valve body) opposite to the inclined seal surface 38A. The sheet member 38 on the left side of the arrow (left side in the drawing) is in constant contact with the bottom 46a of the annular recess 46 (opposite surface), and the base end surface 38b (valve body) on the opposite side to the inclined seal surface 38A (the opposite side) is always in contact with the bottom 58a of the annular recess 58.

Therefore, when the base end surface 38b of the sheet member 38 is in contact with the bottom 46a of the annular recess 46, the groove depth of the O-ring groove 48 and the base end of the sheet member 38 from the groove depth of the O-ring groove 48 are The distance to the surface 38b is the same. Similarly, when the base end surface 38b of the seat member 38 is in contact with the bottom 58a of the annular recess 58, the groove depth of the O-ring groove 48 and the base end of the seat member 38 from the groove depth of the O-ring groove 60 are The distance to the portion 38b is the same.

Therefore, in order to determine the elastic force (compressibility of the O-ring) of the O-ring 50 that presses the seat member 38 against the valve body 16, the groove depth of the O-ring groove 48 and the O-ring groove 60 and the wire diameter of the O-ring 50 are determined. The compression ratio of the O-ring groove 60 can be determined by managing the two dimensions, which makes it easy to manage the dimensions of the member.

Further, the outer circumferential surface 38c of the seat member 38 (the outer circumferential surface of the seat member 38 in the circumferential direction of the axis O2) is spaced apart so as not to come into contact with the annular recess 46 (58). Therefore, the seat member 38 is not subjected to pressure from the valve body 14 or the port member 44 from the circumferential direction of the axis O2, making it easy to manage the dimensions of the member, as well as deforming the seat member 38 and changing the angle of the inclined sealing surface 38A. can be suppressed.

Next, in the flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment, the pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the lowest temperature in the use state, and the pressure force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the highest temperature in the use state. The mechanism by which the pressing force between the member 38 and the member 38 is difficult to change will be explained.

The seat member 38 is urged toward the valve body 16 by the compressed O-ring 50, and the inclined sealing surface 38A of the seat member 38 is in contact with the outer periphery of the valve body 16.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the coefficient of linear expansion of the material forming the seat member 38 and the O-ring 50 is relatively larger than the coefficient of linear expansion of the material forming the valve body 16 and the valve body 14. It is said that

As in this embodiment, if a gap is provided between the outer circumference of the seat member 38 and the inner circumference of the valve chamber 12 so that the expansion of the seat member 38 in the radial direction is not hindered, the seat member 38 When the temperature rises, the diameter of the seat member 38 increases, the inclined sealing surface 38A moves away from the valve body 14 in the radial direction of the seat member 38, and the pressing force that presses the valve body 16 decreases.

That is, not only the dimension in the thickness direction (axial direction) of the seat member 38 but also the dimension in the radial direction of the seat member 38 are related to the pressing force of the seat member 38 on the valve body 16. If the angle θ of the inclined sealing surface 38A is set to an appropriate angle, even if a temperature change occurs (in other words, even if the seat member 38 changes dimensions due to a temperature change), the valve body 16 due to the expansion of the seat member 38 will It is possible to prevent the pressing force from changing.

In this embodiment, the values of a, b, d, and e described above are determined by considering the linear expansion coefficient of each component, and the valve body 16 and the seat member at the lowest temperature in the usage state are determined by temperature changes. 38 and the pressing force between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 at the highest temperature in use are unchanged, that is, the pressure between the valve body 16 and the seat member 38 due to temperature changes is The angle θ of the inclined seal surface 38A at which the pressing force remains unchanged was determined. In the flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment, the obtained angle θ was 57.9°. Note that this angle θ includes an error of 10% or less (ie, angle θ=57.9±5.79°). The angle θ can also be determined by simulation, experiment, or the like.

As a result, the seat member 38 is substantially pressed against the valve body 16 only by the elastic force of the O-ring 50, both at the lowest temperature and at the highest temperature during use. It is possible to realize a flow path switching valve 10 in which the torque required for rotational driving is less affected by temperature, and the valve body 16 can be rotated with a small torque.

The flow path switching valve 10 of this embodiment uses a rotary drive unit 18 with a large rotational force so that the rotational force required to drive the valve body 16 is suppressed from increasing as the temperature rises. This eliminates the need for such a valve, and it becomes possible to use a small valve with low rotational force, and it is also possible to downsize the flow path switching valve 10.

[Other embodiments]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is of course possible to implement various modifications other than the above without departing from the spirit thereof. It is.

In the above embodiment, the O-ring 50 was attached to the O-ring groove 48 formed in the first right wall surface 12R and the O-ring groove 60 formed in the port member 44, and the seat member 38 was pressed against the valve body 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An O-ring groove may be formed in the sheet member 38, and the O-ring 50 may be attached to the O-ring groove formed in the sheet member 38.

It goes without saying that the number and arrangement of the inlets and outlets (inflow port, outflow port) formed in the valve body 14 can be changed as appropriate depending on the application location of the flow path switching valve 10 and the like. In the above embodiment, a three-way valve is used as an example of the flow path switching valve 10, but it goes without saying that a two-way valve or a four-way or more switching valve may also be used.

Furthermore, the flow path switching valve 10 of the above embodiment is assumed to be used for flow path switching in the engine compartment of a vehicle (engine cooling circuit, electronic device cooling circuit, etc.); Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used, for example, for switching channels in hot water supply equipment.

10 Flow path switching valve 12 Valve chamber 14 Valve body 16 Valve body 18 Rotation drive unit 38 Seat member 38A Inclined seal surface 46 Annular recess 48 O-ring groove (retaining groove)
50 O-ring (elastic body)
58 Annular recess 60 O-ring groove (retaining groove)

Claims (3)

a valve body having a valve chamber formed therein, and at least a pair of opposing walls of the valve chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a ball-shaped valve body rotatably disposed within the valve chamber and having a flow path formed therein;
The valve body is arranged between the valve body and the inlet/outlet to seal the gap between the valve body and the inlet/outlet, the side surface opposite to the valve body side is in contact with the wall surface, and the outer peripheral surface is in contact with the wall surface. an annular seat member spaced apart from the valve body;
The valve body is formed at the opening end of the seat member on the valve body side, is inclined at a certain angle θ with respect to the axis when viewed in a cross section along the axis of the seat member, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the valve body. with an inclined sealing surface,
a holding groove provided on either one of the side surface of the seat member on the valve body side and the wall surface of the valve body and recessed in the direction of the axis of the seat member;
an elastic body accommodated in the holding groove and compressed with the side surface of the sheet member in contact with the wall surface to press the sheet member against the valve body;
a rotation drive unit that rotates the valve body so that the communication state of the plurality of input and outlet ports is selectively switched through the flow path of the valve body;
Equipped with
The pressing force between the valve body and the seat member at the lowest temperature in the use state is the same as the pressing force between the valve body and the seat member at the highest temperature in the use state. The value of angle θ has been determined,
Flow path switching valve. An annular recess in which the seat member is disposed is provided on the wall surface of the valve body,
A side portion of the sheet member is always in contact with a bottom portion of the annular recess,
The holding groove is provided at the bottom of the annular recess and the elastic body is fitted therein.
The flow path switching valve according to claim 1. The angle θ is 57.9±5.79°,
The flow path switching valve according to claim 1 or 2.