JP3645493B2 - Liquid leak detection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting leakage of liquid flowing through a pipeline, and more particularly to a liquid leakage detection apparatus for coping with leakage in a washroom or a water heater.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are many cases where water leaks related to water supply in ordinary households are detected by metering the amount of water used. This is because, for example, water leaks in the washroom are caused by defective ball taps or floats, so it is difficult to judge for a very small amount. The reason for this is that the back of the house is inconspicuous.
[0003]
However, water leaks are not always discovered by metering water usage fees. The reason why the water meter can know the flow of water is that there is a flow of about 90 cc or more per minute. For this reason, it is not easy to detect a small amount of water leak that cannot be detected by the water meter, and it is actually overlooked. There seems to be a device on the market that uses water sensitive sensors to check water usage and detect water leaks, but it is not easy to install, is expensive, and has not become widespread.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above points, and its problem is, for example, that it is possible to quickly detect a small amount of water leakage related to water supply and the like, and it can be easily installed in piping facilities, and is relatively inexpensive. An object of the present invention is to provide a simple liquid leak detection device.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an apparatus main body having an on-off valve connected to a pipe line, which can be closed by an urging force against the hydraulic pressure, and which can be opened by an increase in the hydraulic pressure. A side chamber that leads to the downstream side of the on-off valve is provided in the apparatus body, and a variable volume chamber that leads to the upstream side of the on-off valve is provided in the side chamber. And a port or a liquid passage through the downstream side, and a means for operating a switch for controlling the liquid leakage notification unit is provided .
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The liquid leakage detection apparatus according to the present invention is for detecting leakage of liquid flowing in a pipe line such as a water pipe. Therefore, the apparatus main body is provided in the pipe line.
[0007]
The apparatus main body includes an on-off valve that can be opened by an urging force that opposes the liquid pressure of the liquid flowing through the pipe and that can be opened by an increase in the liquid pressure. It is desirable that the opening / closing valve change its opening degree according to the momentum when water flows out from a faucet or the like when the faucet is opened, for example. This on-off valve creates a differential pressure when a one-way flow occurs in the pipe, and can be called a normally closed so-called differential pressure valve.
[0008]
A constant flow valve for flowing a substantially constant flow rate can be arranged upstream of the on-off valve regardless of the fluid pressure in the pipeline. The constant flow valve is an almost indispensable element when this apparatus is applied to a general household water supply. However, it is not indispensable in the case of a pipeline in which a pressure in a substantially constant range always acts.
[0009]
A side chamber is provided in the apparatus main body, and the side chamber communicates with at least a downstream area of the on-off valve of the apparatus main body. On the other hand, the upstream of the on-off valve communicates with at least the variable volume chamber, and the variable volume chamber is provided in the side chamber. That is, the low pressure on the downstream side of the on-off valve acts on the side chamber, and the high pressure on the upstream side acts on the variable volume chamber. Accordingly, the pressure in the side chamber and the pressure in the variable volume chamber act in a balanced manner, so that if there is a liquid leak, it can be detected as a differential pressure.
[0010]
A switch for controlling the liquid leakage notification unit is activated by deformation caused by liquid leakage in the variable volume chamber. That is, the variable volume chamber is a means for taking out deformation, and is constituted by a flexible film commonly called a diaphragm or the like, for example. Other than the flexible membrane, the one having the structure of the piston cylinder device also corresponds to the variable volume chamber. That is, deformation includes enlargement and reduction.
[0011]
The liquid leakage notification unit can use light emission from a light bulb or a diode, sound, vibration, or the like as a notification means. This informing means reports a liquid leak to a third party. As a result, the liquid leak is discovered and necessary repairs are made.
[0012]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and an apparatus main body 11 is provided for installing a liquid leak detection apparatus 10 according to the present invention in a conduit through which liquid flows. The apparatus main body 11 is connected to the pipeline by upstream and downstream members 12 and 13, and a constant flow valve 14 is provided on the upstream side to flow a constant liquid amount regardless of the fluid pressure. The side and the downstream side are blocked by a partition wall 15, and an on-off valve 16 is provided between the upstream side and the downstream side of the partition wall portion.
[0013]
The on-off valve 16 has a valve body 18 urged by an elastic body 17 toward the flow and a valve seat 19 that receives the valve body 18. When a flow from the upstream side to the downstream side occurs, the on-off valve 16 is different on both sides. Make pressure. The upstream side divided by the partition wall 15 and the opening / closing valve 16 will be referred to as the A chamber, and the downstream side will be referred to as the B chamber. The apparatus body 11 is provided with a side chamber 20 communicating with the downstream side of the on-off valve 16. The downstream side and the side chamber 20 are communicated by a liquid passage 21.
[0014]
Further, a variable volume chamber 22 communicating with the upstream side of the on-off valve 16 is provided in the side chamber. The illustrated variable volume chamber 22 is partly defined by a flexible film 23 called a diaphragm, is provided in contact with the partition wall 24 of the side chamber 20, and is provided with an upstream A chamber and a downstream side. It communicates with the B room by ports 25 and 26 having different diameters. The upstream port 25 has a larger diameter and is a port for taking a liquid flow from the A chamber into the variable volume chamber 22, and the downstream port 26 has a smaller diameter and is required by the liquid flow flowing into the variable pressure chamber 22. The liquid flow is discharged to the downstream side B chamber while maintaining the pressure.
[0015]
Therefore, the pressure required for the variable volume chamber 22 can be obtained by changing the diameters of the ports 25 and 26 leading to the A chamber and the B chamber, and the degree of deformation of the variable volume chamber 22 is selected by the internal pressure. be able to. In the case of the first embodiment, the side chamber 20 has the ports 25 and 26 having the above-described conditions and communicates only with the downstream B chamber. Therefore, if a flow is generated, the side chamber 20 is always at a lower pressure than the variable volume chamber 22.
[0016]
By the deformation of the variable volume chamber 22, the switch 30 that controls the liquid leak notification unit 31 is operated. The switch 30 includes a contact 27, a displacement member 28 that can be displaced from a position away from the contact 27 by a deformation of the variable volume chamber 22 to a position close to the contact 27, and a guide member 29 that guides the displacement member 28. The member 28 is formed of a permanent magnet, and the contact 27 is formed by using a material that is brought into contact with the magnetic force to be conductive, thereby enabling opening and closing.
[0017]
Explaining the operation principle of the first embodiment, when the liquid flow from the A chamber to the B chamber is stopped, the chambers A and B and the side chamber 20 are at the same pressure, and the volume of the variable volume chamber 22 is zero (changes). Therefore, the switch 30 is not switched and the liquid leak notification unit 31 does not operate (FIG. 1). That is, when the part 31 is a light bulb or the like, it is not lit, and when the part 31 is a sound, no sound is generated, so that it is understood that there is no abnormality. In addition, when the liquid leak notification unit 31 is configured to be constantly lit, it is lit during operation to report that there is no abnormality.
[0018]
When a water faucet or the like outside the figure is opened and a liquid flow is generated in the pipeline, the on-off valve 16 is opened as shown in FIG. 2A and a differential pressure is generated (A> B). Since the flowing liquid flows into the chamber 22 and the flexible film 23 expands, the displacement member 28 is pushed up and the switch 30 is turned on. Accordingly, the liquid leak notification unit 31 is activated and reports that it is in use.
[0019]
When a very small amount of liquid flow is generated that does not involve a flow pressure enough to open the on-off valve 16 (FIG. 2B), the flow pressure acts on the variable volume chamber 22 from the port 25 to cause the flexible membrane 23 to flow. When deformed, a differential pressure is generated, and the switch 30 is switched. That is, the liquid leak notification unit 31 is activated to report that a liquid leak has occurred.
[0020]
Example 2 is shown in FIG. This is because the side chamber of the first embodiment communicates only to the downstream side, whereas it is configured to communicate with both the upstream A chamber and the downstream B chamber. The liquid passage 32 leading to is openable and closable. A needle valve 33 is provided in the liquid passage 32, and the needle valve 33 can open and close the upstream side liquid passage 32 in the small port 34, and can adjust the liquid inflow amount. The small valve 34 is cleaned by the needle valve 33.
[0021]
In the second embodiment, only the upstream port 35 is provided as a port communicating with the variable volume chamber 22. In the case of the second embodiment, the side chamber upstream port 34 is provided so as not to increase the internal pressure of the side chamber 20, and is set to have the smallest diameter. In order not to increase the diameter, the largest diameter is provided. The port 35 of the variable volume chamber 22 is determined in consideration of the expandability of the flexible film 23 obtained by them. Since the other structure may be the same as that of the first embodiment, the reference numerals are used and the detailed description is omitted.
[0022]
Also in the case of Example 2, when the liquid flow is stopped, the A chamber, the B chamber, and the side chamber 20 are in communication with each other, so that the pressure is the same, and the liquid leak notification unit 31 does not operate (FIG. 3). When a liquid flow is generated and a differential pressure is generated during use, the on-off valve 16 is opened (FIG. 4A), the variable volume chamber 22 is deformed, the switch 30 is turned on, and the liquid leak notification unit 31 is activated. And report that it is in use. Or it turns out that it is in use.
[0023]
Even when the on-off valve 16 is closed when a liquid leak occurs, the liquid flow flows into the side chamber 20 from the small port 34 and flows out from the downstream port 36. Therefore, the upstream A chamber and the downstream B chamber A differential pressure is generated between them (FIG. 4B). Therefore, the volume of the variable volume chamber 22 is increased and the switch 30 is switched, so that the liquid leak notification unit 31 is operated to notify the surroundings that the liquid leak has occurred.
[0024]
Example 3 is shown in FIG. This is an example in which the variable volume chamber 22 having the ports 25 and 26 that respectively communicate with the A chamber and the B chamber in the first embodiment and the side chamber 20 that communicates with the A chamber and the B chamber at the ports 34 and 36 in the second embodiment. is there. This does not occur residual bubbles in side chamber 20 and the variable volume chamber 22 rapidly if conditions such as the liquid becomes Yukiwataru (bubble conversely remaining is not an issue, the B chamber in Example 1 The apparatus of the present invention can also be configured by combining a side chamber that only communicates with a variable volume chamber that also communicates with the A chamber. In the third embodiment, the return spring 37 is applied to the displacement member 28 to improve the speed and reliability of the operation. Since the spring force may slow down the operating characteristics of the flexible membrane 23, a weak spring is used.
[0025]
In the case of the third embodiment, the other configuration may be the same as that of the first or second embodiment, and the detection operation is the same as that of the first and second embodiments, but is more stable. Further, when the liquid flow is stopped, characteristics such as quick response until the switch 30 is turned off are exhibited.
[0026]
As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the variable volume chamber 22 can be deformed by the pressure difference between the upstream side and the downstream side of the on-off valve 16 to detect liquid leakage, but the sensitivity is flexible film 23. This depends on the responsiveness of the members constituting the equal variable volume chamber 22 to the pressure change. In the case of the diaphragm membrane (23) shown in Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention, a flow of about 50 cc of water per minute could be sensed without using a special material. This is much higher than the water meter, where about 90 cc per minute is the lower limit of the measured flow rate.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is to act and the composition described above, it is easy to install to the plumbing, since it is commercialized, are provided relatively inexpensively without the need for special materials and processing, water If a liquid flow is generated in the pipeline by opening the stopper, or if the liquid leaks even if the liquid flow stops, the switch is activated to notify that the liquid is flowing. Therefore, it is possible to quickly grasp and repair the water leakage that occurs in the water pipes to the washroom, solar water heater, electric water heater, etc. In addition, there are significant effects such as preventing unnecessary payment of water charges.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid leakage preventing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing a normal use state.
(B) Sectional drawing which similarly shows a liquid leak state.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing Example 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing a normal use state of the above.
(B) Sectional drawing which similarly shows a liquid leak state.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing Example 3 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Liquid leak detection apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 16 On-off valve 20 Side chamber 21 Liquid passage 22 Variable volume chamber 25, 26, 35, 36 Port 30 Switch 31 Liquid leak notification part

Claims (4)

An on-off valve that detects leakage of liquid flowing in a pipe, can be closed by an urging force that opposes the liquid pressure, and that can be opened by an increase in liquid pressure. Is provided in the apparatus main body, a side chamber that communicates with the downstream of the on-off valve is provided in the apparatus main body, a variable volume chamber that communicates with the upstream of the on-off valve is provided in the side chamber, and a port or a liquid passage through the upstream and downstream sides of the on-off valve And a switch for controlling the liquid leakage notification unit is activated by deformation of the variable volume chamber caused by liquid leakage.   The liquid leak detection device according to claim 1, wherein the variable volume chamber is configured by a flexible film stretched in the side chamber.   The liquid leakage detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the position of the magnet is changed by deformation of the variable volume chamber, and the reed switch can be opened and closed by the change of the position of the magnet.   The liquid leak detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a constant flow valve is provided in a pipe line upstream of the on-off valve to flow a substantially constant flow rate regardless of the hydraulic pressure.

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