JP3597155B2 - Rotary valve for oxygen concentrator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rotary valve applied to an oxygen concentrator, and more specifically, removes nitrogen by adsorbing nitrogen in air by contacting air with an adsorption medium filled in an adsorption column to remove oxygen. The present invention relates to a rotary valve for an oxygen concentrator for producing a concentrated gas of the present invention.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an oxygen concentrator for producing an oxygen-enriched gas by removing nitrogen contained in air, two adsorption columns filled with a nitrogen adsorption medium made of synthetic zeolite or the like are used, and compressed air is supplied to one adsorption column. And the depressurizing step, in which the interior of the other adsorption column is opened to the atmosphere to desorb nitrogen, is alternately switched to continuously supply the oxygen-enriched gas. Obtaining devices are in practical use.
[0003]
In this case, both of the adsorption cylinders are provided with an air supply pipe for supplying air at a predetermined pressure, a gas extraction pipe for extracting oxygen-enriched gas, and an interior of the adsorption cylinder with the air supply cut off. A large number of solenoid valves are used to control the switching of the two adsorption columns between the adsorption step and the depressurization step at a predetermined cycle with respect to the desorption gas discharge pipes that open to the atmosphere. The electromagnetic valves are controlled in a complicated manner by timers, relays, sequencers, and the like. Furthermore, many electrical connections and pipe joints are required, repair and maintenance are extremely difficult, and many assembly steps are required. In addition, the opening and closing of the solenoid valve causes abrupt entry of air into the adsorption cylinder and rapid exhaustion, which causes the adsorbent to be pulverized and noise. In addition, since the discharge amount of the compressor of the air supply source changes due to the difference in frequency, it is necessary to change the control time of the solenoid valve group.
[0004]
Therefore, as a prior art that does not require such a change in the control time and the like, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-192410, a plurality of cam drive valves are arranged in a line in a common valve housing case. These cam drive valves are driven by a group of cams attached to a common rotation shaft and rotating integrally with each other.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the cam drive valves constituting the above-described process switching mechanism have individual valve bodies and each independently exert a valve function, so that the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention reduces the number of parts and simplifies the configuration. The present invention is applied to an oxygen concentrator and eliminates a solenoid valve group, an electric control unit, and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary valve which is easy to maintain and easy to assemble.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a rotary valve according to the present invention has a valve chamber formed inside a valve box, the valve chamber communicating with the outside of the valve box, a fixed sheet, and a valve element that slides and rotates on the fixed sheet. The seat is provided with a through hole that is led out of the valve box at the center of the seat and at a plurality of locations on the same circumference away from the center of the seat, and the valve body has a semicircular protrusion at the center. An edge is formed between both ends of the protruding portion and the peripheral edge in accordance with the diameter line, and a through hole at the center of the seat and a through hole on the same circumference communicate with the sliding surface side of the valve body. A concave portion to be provided is provided, and among the sliding surfaces formed around the concave portion, a sliding surface extending from the concave portion to both end edges of the valve element opens and closes a through hole on the same circumference, so that the external rotary drive shaft is The coupling to be connected is rotatably supported by the valve box, and the coupling is coupled to the center of the valve body under the bias of a spring.
[0008]
Here, the fixed seat and the valve element, which are the main components of the rotary valve according to the present invention, are made of a ceramic material. The rotary valve is assembled to a motor, and the drive shaft of the motor is connected to the coupling. The valve chamber is connected to the compressed air supply source, the through-holes on the same circumference of the fixed sheet are distributed to and connected to the adsorption cylinder containing a plurality of adsorption media, and the through-hole at the center of the sheet is used as an exhaust port for use. .
[0009]
According to the rotary valve according to the present invention configured as described above, the thrust pressed against the sliding surface with the fixed sheet acts on the valve body with the air pressure supplied from the compressed air supply source to the valve chamber, and the cup is The sealing performance is improved in combination with the biasing force of the spring from the ring side. An adsorbing step is performed in which compressed air is supplied to the adsorbing cylinder from the through-holes on the same circumference of the sheet that is opened to the valve chamber by the rotation of the valve body, and the adsorbing medium adsorbs nitrogen. On the other hand, a depressurizing step is performed in which air in the adsorption cylinder is exhausted from the through hole at the center of the sheet through the concave portion through the through hole on the same circumference of the sheet opened to the concave portion below the valve element.
[0010]
In this way, as the rotary valve rotates, the through-holes on the same circumference of the sheet are gradually opened and closed gradually, so that a sudden supply of compressed air to the adsorption cylinder or a sudden There is an effect that smooth exhaust pressure does not occur, smooth transition of pressure occurs, swing of the adsorption medium in the adsorption cylinder is eliminated, and exhaust noise is reduced. Furthermore, since two through-holes on the same circumference of the sheet distributed to the plurality of adsorption cylinders are simultaneously opened and closed by the rotation of the valve body, the two through-holes communicate with the valve chamber. At this time, a pressure equalizing step is performed to shift the pressure from the adsorption cylinder after the adsorption process to the adsorption cylinder after the pressure reduction step. This pressure equalization step is performed twice during one rotation of the valve body, and the oxygen-enriched gas is removed. This has the effect of reducing pressure fluctuations and reducing noise during exhaustion under reduced pressure.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary valve according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fixing sheet, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a valve body.
[0012]
In FIG. 1, the valve box 1 of the rotary valve A is made divisible into an upper half 1a and a lower half 1b, and the upper half 1a and the lower half 1b are connected via an O-ring 2. Thus, a valve chamber 3 is formed in the valve box 1.
[0013]
The valve chamber 3 communicates with the outside of the valve box 1 through the through hole 4, and a fixed seat 5 and a valve element 6 that slides and rotates on the fixed sheet 5 are arranged in the valve chamber 3. The fixing sheet 5 and the valve element 6 are both made of a ceramic material, and the sliding surfaces of both are mirror-finished.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 2, the fixed seat 5 has through holes 7, 8, and 4 guided to the outside of the valve box 1 at two locations facing the center of the seat and facing the same circumference of the seat 5 away from the center of the seat. 9 are provided. In the embodiment, O-rings 10 are interposed at the connection portions of the through holes 7, 8, 9 on the seat side and the valve box side, respectively, to improve airtightness.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the valve element 6 has a semicircular protrusion 6a at the center, and forms an edge 11 between both ends of the protrusion 6a and the peripheral edge in accordance with the diameter line. The entire valve body 6 is formed into a substantially fan shape, and a concave portion 12 communicating with one of the through holes 8 and 9 on the same circumference as the through hole 7 at the center of the seat is provided on the sliding surface side of the valve body 6. The periphery of the concave portion 12 is used as a sliding surface of the valve body 6, and the sliding surface 6 b extending from the concave portion 12 to the edge 11 opens and closes the through holes 8, 9 on the same circumference of the seat 5. Like that.
[0016]
Specifically, the leading edge 11 of the valve element 6 comes into contact with the through-hole 8 that has been opened to the valve chamber 3 until the valve element 6 rotates, and immediately before the through-hole 8 starts to be closed, the through-hole 8 is closed. The other through hole 9 on the same circumference as 8 is closed by the sliding surface 6b of the valve body 6 and does not appear in the valve chamber 6, but from here the valve body 6 rotates and the valve body 6 When the leading edge 11 moves over the through hole 8 and starts closing the through hole 8, the trailing edge 11 of the valve body 6 moves over the through hole 9 and opens the through hole 9 into the valve chamber 8. start. In other words, the two through holes 8 and 9 formed on the same circumference in accordance with the diameter line of the valve body 6 are simultaneously opened in the valve chamber 8.
[0017]
Further, a coupling 13 connected to a drive shaft (not shown) of the motor is connected to an upper central portion of the valve body 6. The coupling 13 is rotatably supported on the valve box 1 by interposing a thrust bearing 14 from the valve chamber 3 side, and the lower end of the coupling 13 is provided at the center of the valve body under the bias of the spring 15. It is fitted and connected to the connecting portion 16.
[0018]
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an oxygen concentrator using a rotary valve according to the present invention.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 4, the rotary valve A is rotatably mounted on a dedicated motor A ′, and the valve chamber 3 of the rotary valve A is connected to a compressed air supply source (not shown) through a through hole 4. I do. The through holes 8, 9 on the same circumference of the fixing sheet 5 are connected to one end of adsorption cylinders B, C containing two adsorption media via pipes. The through hole 7 at the center of the fixing sheet 5 is connected to the silencer D to serve as an exhaust port. At the other end of the two adsorbent storage tubes B and C, a concentrated oxygen gas is taken out via a fixed orifice E.
[0020]
The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0021]
When the valve body 6 is rotated on the fixed seat 5 by the motor A ', and is in the position shown in FIG. 5A, the valve body 6 is provided outside the valve body 6 through the through hole 8 opened to the valve chamber 3. Compressed air is supplied to the adsorption cylinder B to perform an adsorption step. On the other hand, the air in the suction tube C is exhausted from the through hole 9 below the valve element 3 and opened to the concave portion 12 through the concave portion 12 through the through hole 7 at the center of the seat, thereby performing a pressure reducing step.
[0022]
In this stage, when the valve element 6 rotates and comes to the position shown in FIG. 5B, the through-hole 8 on the same circumference of the seat 5 is gradually closed, and the other through-hole 9 closes to the recess 12 side. And the through hole 9 is once completely closed on the sliding surface 6b of the valve body 6, and then the valve body 6 is gradually separated and opened to the valve chamber 3. Here, a timing occurs in which the through holes 8 and 9 connected to the two adsorption tubes B and C are simultaneously opened and closed, and the pressure transition from the adsorption tube B that has completed the adsorption process to the adsorption tube C that has completed the depressurization process is performed. A pressure equalization step occurs. The pressure equalizing step reduces pressure fluctuations of the concentrated gas, and does not cause abrupt supply or exhaust of air to the adsorption tubes B and C, thereby performing a smooth pressure transition and adsorbing the adsorption in the adsorption tubes B and C. Eliminates media swing and reduces exhaust noise.
[0023]
Subsequently, when the valve element 6 rotates and is at the position shown in FIG. 5C, compressed air is supplied to the adsorption cylinder C through the through hole 9 that is outside the valve element 6 and opened to the valve chamber 3. It is supplied and performs an adsorption process. On the other hand, the air in the adsorption cylinder B is exhausted from the through hole 8 under the valve body 3 and opened to the concave portion 12 through the concave portion 12 through the concave portion 12 to perform a depressurizing step. The adsorption step and the pressure reduction step are switched.
[0024]
In the above-described embodiment, the rotary valve configuration for controlling the two suction cylinders B and C has been described. However, in addition to the through holes 8 and 9 on the same circumference provided in the fixed sheet 6, the configuration is shown in FIG. As described above, when two through holes 8a, 9a are additionally provided with a phase difference of 90 degrees between the through holes 8, 9, the four suction tubes 8, 9, 8a, 9a are used to form four suction cylinders. Control can be performed with one rotary valve. In this way, it is possible to improve the oxygen generating ability and to reduce the volume of the adsorption cylinder containing the adsorption medium by half.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention is implemented in the form described above, and according to the present invention, alternate switching between the adsorption step and the decompression step for the adsorption cylinder containing the adsorption medium of the oxygen concentrator is performed by rotating the valve body in the valve chamber. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified as a valve configuration, and electric wiring can be reduced to two electric wires and minimum piping, thereby facilitating maintenance. Further, since the sealing performance between the valve body and the fixed sheet is enhanced by the air pressure supplied to the valve chamber, the size of the oxygen concentrator can be increased. Furthermore, since the pressure equalization step is generated by the pressure transition from the adsorption cylinder that has completed the adsorption step to the adsorption cylinder that has completed the depressurization step by rotation of the valve element, the pressure fluctuation of the oxygen-enriched gas is reduced, Noise can also be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rotary valve showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fixed seat constituting the rotary valve.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a valve element constituting the rotary valve.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an oxygen concentrator using a rotary valve according to the present invention.
FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are operation explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the rotary valve.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a valve element constituting a rotary valve according to another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Valve box 1a Upper half 1b Lower half 2 O-ring 3 Valve chamber 4 Through hole 5 Fixed seat 6 Valve 6a Semicircular protrusion 6b Sliding surface 7 Through hole 8 Through hole 9 Through hole 10 O-ring 11 End 12 of valve body Recess 13 Coupling 14 Thrust bearing 15 Spring 16 Joint

Claims (3)

A valve chamber communicating with the outside of the valve box is formed in the valve box, and a fixed seat and a valve body that slides and rotates on the fixed sheet are disposed in the valve chamber. The seat has a seat center and a seat center. At a plurality of locations on the same circumference away from the valve, through holes are provided that are guided to the outside of the valve box.The valve element has a semicircular protrusion at the center, and a diameter line between both ends of the protrusion and the periphery. A concave portion is provided on the sliding surface side of the valve body so as to communicate the through hole at the center of the seat with a through hole on the same circumference, and a sliding surface formed around the concave portion. Among them, the through-hole on the same circumference is opened and closed on the sliding surface extending from the concave portion to both ends of the valve body, and the coupling connected to the external rotary drive shaft is rotatably supported by the valve box. A rotary valve, wherein the coupling is coupled to the center of the valve body under the bias of a spring. 2. The rotary valve according to claim 1, wherein the fixed seat and the valve body are made of a ceramic material. The valve chamber is connected to a compressed air supply source, the through-holes on the same circumference of the fixed sheet are distributed and connected to adsorption cylinders containing a plurality of adsorption media, and the through-hole at the center of the sheet is used as an exhaust port. The rotary valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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