JP2599340B2 - Fire hydrant - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fire hydrant used for extinguishing fires and the like, and more particularly to a fire hydrant which is normally disposed underground.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, fire hydrants have been used in emergency situations such as fires. Therefore, in order to maintain their functions at all times, fire hydrants are made with a sturdy protruding part on the ground and provided with an enclosure around it for protection. I have.

[0003]

However, when a fire hydrant in a cold region is provided with a protective enclosure or the like around the fire hydrant, the entire protective enclosure is frozen due to snow or the like, which causes a delay in emergency use.

[0004] In addition, when the protective enclosure is not provided, when there is snow cover such as fresh snow, the entire fire hydrant is buried in snow even if the amount of snow is smaller than the protruding length of the fire hydrant above the ground. In some cases, the road may be difficult, and the boundary between the road and the sidewalk may become unclear due to snowfall, and the vehicle may accidentally collide. In addition, fire hydrants were not sighted, not only in cold climates, and cars often collided.

Also, since the fire hydrant itself is made strong so as not to be damaged by a slight impact, if the vehicle collides with the fire hydrant, even if the fire hydrant is not damaged, the vehicle may be damaged and cause a dangerous accident. It will also happen.

Further, in the case of a strong fire hydrant, when a large impact is applied to the fire hydrant that may cause damage, the damaged portion extends not only to the above-ground portion but also to an underground pipe and a water main. There is also a lot of trouble, time and money required for recovery.

[0007] In particular, since the ground in a cold region in winter is frozen, restoration work becomes extremely difficult if the damage reaches the underground part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to prevent collision of a vehicle with a fire hydrant and thereby completely prevent damage to the fire hydrant and the vehicle.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, a retractable fire hydrant according to the present invention comprises a valve having an inflow port connected to a water pipe buried underground, and a valve opening / closing operation section led out near the ground surface. A lower pipe connected to the outlet of the valve underground, an upper end located near the ground surface and an automatic drainage means provided at a lower end,
An upper pipe which is slidably fitted to the upper end of the lower pipe so as to be able to appear on the ground, and which has an appropriate number of water outlets and an air vent valve having a predetermined throttle resistance at the upper end. I have.

[0010]

[Function] When the fire hydrant is not used, the upper end of the upper pipe of the fire hydrant sinks to the ground or underground near the ground surface. When using a fire hydrant, open the valve via the valve opening / closing operation unit. Then, water flows out from the water pipe into the lower pipe,
The air in the lower pipe and the upper pipe is gradually expelled through the vent valve. At this time, the automatic drainage means is closed. The upper pipe gradually rises in accordance with the amount of water flowing from the water pipe, and stops when it reaches the use position on the ground, and the air release valve is closed. After the use of the fire hydrant, when the valve is closed via the valve opening / closing operation section, the water in both pipes is discharged from the automatic drainage means, and the upper pipe gradually descends by its own weight according to the drainage amount.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a valve having an inflow port connected to a water pipe 2 buried underground. This valve 1
Has an outlet side connected to the lower part of the lower pipe 3, and the valve opening / closing operation part 4 is protruded to the underground near the ground surface 5.

The lower end of the lower pipe 3 has an automatic drainage means 6
The lower opening of the automatic draining means 6 is covered with a water permeable pipe 7 which allows water to pass therethrough but prevents sand and soil from entering. The upper pipe 8 is slidably fitted to the upper end of the lower pipe 3 located underground near the ground surface 5 so that the upper pipe 8 can appear and disappear on the ground.

At least the upper part of the lower pipe 3 and the upper pipe 8 are arranged in the pit 9 so that the upper pipe 8 can be completely submerged in the pit 9 as shown in FIG. It has become. However, even if the upper pipe 8 slightly protrudes above the ground in the sunk state, there is no practical problem. In any case, this pit 9 is closed by a suitable lid after lowering the upper pipe 8.

Near the upper end of the upper pipe 8, one or two water outlets 10 are provided orthogonal to the axis, and the water outlets 10 are provided with an on-off valve 11 and a water outlet cap 12, respectively. ing. Further, an upper end of the upper pipe 8 is provided with an air vent valve 13 for discharging air in the two pipes 3 and 8 and for introducing air into the two pipes 3 and 8 in some cases.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the fitting portion between the lower pipe 3 and the upper pipe 8 in detail. On the inner peripheral side of the upper end of the lower pipe 3, a cylindrical stopper 14 is attached via a connecting pipe 13 with a set screw 44.
On the outer peripheral side of the lower end of the upper pipe 8 inserted into the inside, a cylindrical stopper 15 to which a buffer plate 46 is fixed is also attached to the upper part with a set screw 45. The connection between the lower pipe 3 and the connecting pipe 13 and the connection between the upper pipe 8 and the stopper 15 can be arbitrarily performed by welding or screwing. However, it is advantageous to connect the connecting pipe 13 and the stopper 14 by screwing in consideration of assembly and disassembly.

A seal ring 16 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the stopper 14 attached to the lower pipe 3 and
Is slidably in contact with the outer peripheral surface of. However, a small gap 17 acting as a throttle is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the lower pipe 3 and the outer peripheral surface of the stopper 15 attached to the upper pipe 8.
Are provided, whereby both stoppers 14, 15 are provided.
A buffer chamber 18 is formed between the pipe and the peripheral walls of the two pipes 3 and 8. This buffer chamber 18 is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. For example, a small gap is provided between the stopper 14 attached to the lower pipe 3 and the upper pipe 8, and the stopper 15 attached to the upper pipe 8 and the lower pipe 3 are provided.
And a form in which the fitting relationship between the upper pipe 8 and the lower pipe 3 is reversed (that is, the arrangement in FIG. 2 is inverted).

The air vent valve 13 attached to the upper end of the upper pipe 8 has, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG.
The air vent valve 13 includes a cap 20 screwed to the upper end of the upper pipe 8 via a seal plate 19, and a cap 20.
A cylindrical valve body case 22 having a plurality of longitudinal slits 21 mounted on the lower surface of the valve body and a valve body case 22 for opening and closing a through hole 23 formed as an air vent passage formed in the cap 20. And the specific gravity of the float valve body 24 is smaller than 1. Reference numeral 25 denotes an elastic valve seat for the float valve element 24, and reference numeral 26 denotes a protective cover for preventing dust from entering the upper pipe 8. The protective cover 26 is also provided with a through hole 27 as an air vent passage similarly to the cap 20, and each of the through holes 23, 27 has such a size as to exert a predetermined throttle action when venting air. I have.

FIG. 4 shows a vertical section of an automatic drainage valve 28 which is an example of the automatic drainage means 6. The automatic drain valve 28
Automatic drain valve mounting seat 29 provided at the lower end opening of lower pipe 3
In addition, a bayonet structure makes it detachable by rotating it 90 degrees from below.

A short extension pipe 30 is connected to the outside of the automatic drain valve mounting seat 29 downward, and in the middle of the extension pipe 30, as shown in FIG. A radial flange 31 is provided.

The automatic drain valve 28 is provided with a synthetic resin float valve body 32 having a specific gravity of 1 or less at the center of the water drain passage 33, and has valve seats 34 and 35 above and below the float valve body 32, respectively. Have. The lower valve seat 35 is a double valve seat 35a, 35b in consideration of a high water pressure of 2 to 3 atm on the water pipe 2 applied when the valve 1 is opened.

The valve 1 and the automatic drain valve 28 are buried at a depth of about 1.5 m or more from the surface of the ground where it is considered not to freeze.

Even if the lower pipe 3 is filled with water by opening the valve 1, if the valve 1 is closed and the water pressure on the water pipe 2 stops acting, the float valve body 32 floats and the lower valve 3 rises. It separates from the seat 35 and discharges the water in the lower pipe 3 to the groundwater side. When the water level of the groundwater rises beyond the automatic drain valve 28, the float valve body 32 floats and sits on the upper valve seat 34, so that the backflow of the groundwater into the lower pipe 3 is prevented.

FIG. 5 shows a vertical section of an automatic drainage valve 36 which is another example of the automatic drainage means 6.
Similarly to the automatic drain valve 28, the automatic drain valve 6 can be attached to and removed from the automatic drain valve mounting seat 29 provided at the lower end opening of the lower pipe 3 by a 90 ° rotation from below by a bayonet structure. The drain valves 28 and 36 have mutually compatible mounting structures.

In the middle of the drain passage 37, there is provided a pressure differential valve body 39 constantly pushed upward by a pressing spring 38. When the valve 1 is opened, the water pressure on the water pipe 2 side is applied to the enlarged diameter pressure receiving portion 40 above the pressure differential valve body 39, and the pressure differential valve body 39 moves downward against the lower pressing spring 38. ,
The valve portion 41 provided below the diameter-increased pressure receiving portion 40 has the reduced-diameter opening portion 4.
2 and closes the drain passage 37.

When the valve 1 is closed and the water pressure on the water pipe 2 stops acting, the pressure differential valve body 39 is pushed upward by the pressing spring 38, and the valve portion 41 is separated from the reduced diameter opening portion 42. Then, the drain passage 37 is opened.

In the drain passage below the pressure differential valve body 39, there is provided a synthetic resin float valve body 43 having a specific gravity of 1 or less, which acts as a check valve for groundwater.

Next, the operation of the retractable fire hydrant of the embodiment will be described.

In order to use the fire hydrant located underground as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, first, a lid (not shown) is removed from the pit 9 and then the valve 1 is opened via the valve opening / closing operation section 4. Open. Then, the water in the water pipe 2
Flows rapidly into the lower pipe 3 and the upper pipe 8
Pressurizes the air inside, thereby releasing the air.
Extrude into the atmosphere through 3. In this case, the extruded air receives a predetermined throttle resistance when passing through the air vent valve 13. As a result, the upper pipe 8 gradually rises against its own weight due to the increased internal air pressure. Can be At this point, the automatic drainage means 6 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is closed, so that no water flows out from the lower pipe 3 to the underground.

Further, the upward movement of the upper pipe 8 is shown in FIG.
The buffer chamber 18 illustrated in FIG. This damping force is generated when air and water trapped in the damping chamber 18 pass through the extremely narrow gap 17 and go outside. Such a gentle rise of the upper pipe 8 is extremely important for a fire hydrant operator. This is because the throttle resistance of the air vent valve 13 and the buffer chamber 18
If the buffering action is inappropriate or inadequate, the upper pipe 8 may be rapidly raised by a high water pressure of 2 to 3 atm in the water pipe 2 and may collide with the operator.

The upward movement of the upper pipe 8 is stopped by the abutment of the stoppers 14 and 15 attached to the pipes 3 and 8 at the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. Thereafter, when the water level rises to the upper end of the upper pipe 8, the float valve body 24 of the air release valve 13 is seated on the valve seat 25 to close the air release passages 23, 27. Thus, the retractable fire hydrant protruding above the ground can be used like a conventional fire hydrant.

After use, the hydrant can be submerged underground again by closing the valve 1 via the valve opening / closing operation section 4. At this point, the automatic drainage means 6 automatically opens to drain the water in the upper pipe 8 and the lower pipe 3 to the underground, and the upper pipe 8 descends by its own weight. When the upper pipe 8 reaches the lower limit position and stops, air is introduced into the upper pipe 8 and the lower pipe 3 via the air release valve 13. Finally, the opening of the pit 9 is closed by a suitable lid.

Although the embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and even if there are changes and additions without departing from the gist of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto. included.

[0034]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(A) The upper pipe of the fire hydrant is protruded above the ground only when used, and is sunk to the underground or near the ground surface when not in use, so that there is no obstacle to all moving objects on the ground such as pedestrians and cars. do not become.

(B) Therefore, collisions of pedestrians, automobiles, and the like are avoided beforehand, and therefore, there is no need to manufacture a fire hydrant in a particularly sturdy manner in preparation for collisions, which reduces the manufacturing cost.

(C) Since the upper pipe is raised and lowered by utilizing the water pressure in the water pipe and the weight of the upper pipe, the valve is simply opened and closed without any additional driving means. Can be implemented very easily.

[0038]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a fitting portion between the upper pipe and the lower pipe of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the air vent valve of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the automatic drainage means of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the automatic drainage means.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Valve 2 Water pipe 3 Lower pipe 4 Valve opening / closing operation part 5 Ground surface 6 Automatic drainage means 7 Permeable pipe 8 Upper pipe 9 Pit 10 Water outlet 11 Open / close valve 12 Water outlet cap 13 Air release valve 14 Stopper 15 Stopper 16 Seal ring 17 Gap 18 Buffer chamber 19 Seal plate 20 Cap 21 Vertical slit 22 Valve case 23 Through hole 24 Float valve 25 Valve seat 26 Protective cover 27 Through hole 28 Automatic drain valve 29 Automatic drain valve mounting seat 30 Extension pipe 31 Expanding flange 32 Float valve Body 33 Drainage passage 34 Valve seat 35 Valve seat 35a Valve seat 35b Valve seat 36 Automatic drain valve 37 Drainage passage 38 Press spring 39 Pressure differential valve body 40 Expanded pressure receiving part 41 Valve part 42 Reduced diameter opening part 43 Float valve body 44 Set screw 45 Set screw 46 Buffer plate

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] An inflow port is connected to a water pipe buried underground, a valve opening / closing operation section is connected to a valve led out near the ground surface, and an outlet of the valve is connected underground, and an upper end is located near the ground surface. A lower pipe provided with automatic drainage means at a lower end thereof, and an air vent valve which is slidably fitted at an upper end of the lower pipe so as to be able to protrude and retract on the ground, and which has an appropriate number of water outlets and a predetermined throttle resistance at the upper end. And an upper pipe provided with a fire hydrant. 2. The retractable fire hydrant according to claim 1, wherein annular stoppers that can abut each other are provided at a lower end of the upper pipe and an upper end of the lower pipe so as to define a projecting position of the upper pipe. . 3. Each peripheral wall of an upper pipe and a lower pipe,
3. The retractable fire hydrant according to claim 2, wherein a space surrounded by the stoppers attached to the pipes is configured as a buffer chamber. 4. The retractable fire hydrant according to claim 3, wherein a throttle is formed between a peripheral wall of one of the upper pipe and the lower pipe and the stopper attached to the other pipe. 5. The automatic drainage means closes the drainage passage by the water pressure on the water pipe side when the valve connecting the lower pipe and the water pipe is opened, and floats in the water when the valve is closed to drain the water drainage passage. 2. An automatic on-off valve having a float valve element for opening a valve.
5. The fire hydrant according to any one of items 4 to 4. 6. When the automatic drainage means opens a valve connecting the lower pipe and the water pipe, the water pressure on the water pipe side closes the drainage passage against the pressing spring, and when the valve is closed, the automatic drainage means presses. The retractable fire hydrant according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fire hydrant is an automatic on-off valve provided with a pressure differential valve that opens a drain passage by a spring. 7. An automatic air vent valve having a float valve body which drops due to the presence of air in an upper pipe to open an air vent passage, and floats by rising water level in the upper pipe to close the air vent passage. The retractable fire hydrant according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is an on-off valve.