JP4378196B2 - Valve head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a valve head attached to a valve, and more particularly to a valve head provided in a conduit through which liquids such as foods and pharmaceuticals circulate and attached to a valve for controlling the liquid circulation.

  In general, in a pipe line provided in a liquid processing unit for processing a liquid made of food, medicine, or the like, valves for controlling the flow of the liquid inside the pipe line are provided at various points in the pipe line.

  Such a so-called sanitary valve is provided, for example, at the upper part of the aseptic tank for storing the liquid provided in the pipe line or at the lower part of the aseptic tank, and further at the branching portion of the pipe. A number of sanitary valves are provided at various locations.

  A number of such sanitary valves are comprehensively driven and controlled so that the flow of liquid such as food can be appropriately controlled in each unit.

  By the way, the maintenance manager of such a sanitary valve may need to confirm the operating state of the valve. That is, for example, when trouble occurs, it is necessary to confirm the flow state of the liquid by confirming the driving state such as the open / closed state of the valve from the outside, and to take appropriate measures when necessary.

  Therefore, from such a viewpoint, conventionally, a display device for confirming the operating condition of the sanitary valve has been provided in the valve head.

  Such a conventional display device includes, for example, a sensor that detects the open / close state of the valve body, and a plurality of identical display devices that are provided on one side of the outer surface of the valve head and emit light in response to signals from the sensor. And a plurality of light emitting units having the color LEDs, and the operation state of the bulb can be identified by the difference in the light emitting part.

However, in such a conventional display device, since it can be visually recognized only from the direction in which the light emitting unit is provided, an operator may not be able to confirm the display device depending on the mounting angle to the pipe or the aseptic tank. there were.
In addition, since it is necessary to recognize the operating state of the bulb due to the difference in the light emitting part, it may be difficult to recognize it easily.

In view of this, the present applicant has previously proposed a valve with an omnidirectional visual recognition device that can easily confirm the operating state of the valve visually from all surrounding directions (see Patent Document 1).
Utility Model Registration No. 3076466

  The above-described valve is a single large-sized valve equipped with a semi-transparent cover member formed in a diameter substantially the same as that of the valve body so that the tip of the valve head can be seen from all directions. The light emitting part is formed, and a plurality of LEDs are arranged so as to be visible in all directions.

  However, such a conventional bulb requires a large semi-transparent cover member provided so as to cover the entire plurality of LEDs arranged so as to be visible from all directions. Since it is necessary to mount a large number of LEDs in all directions, there is a problem in that the manufacturing cost increases, the power consumption required for these large number of LEDs increases, and the running cost also increases.

  In addition, although this applicant investigated the prior art which can eliminate said malfunction, it could not find the related prior art literature.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a valve head in which the operating state of a valve can be visually confirmed from all surrounding directions and the valve operating state can be easily recognized.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a valve head mounted on a valve body, and displays the operating state of the valve at the tip of the casing forming the valve head. A light-emitting part that can be viewed from a direction is provided, the light-emitting part is provided at a tip portion of the casing, is formed to protrude from the surface of the casing, and the casing is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole. The tip portion has a spherical inclined portion that is continuous with the side surface portion, and the light emitting portion is disposed on the top of the spherical inclined portion .

  Therefore, in the present invention, since the light-emitting unit that can confirm the operating state of the valve can be visually recognized from all directions, the maintenance manager of the valve, etc., depends on the location of the maintenance manager in the factory as in the past. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the light emitting part of the valve head is difficult to visually recognize.

In the present invention, a valve maintenance manager can check the operating state of the bulb by the light emitting portion provided at the front end of the casing and protruding from the casing surface.

Further, in the present invention, the tip portion is continuous with the side surface by the spherical inclined portion, and the light emitting portion is provided at the top of the spherical inclined portion, so that it is orthogonal to the axial direction of the valve head. Since the light emitting part can be visually recognized in all directions, and there is no end part having a predetermined angle between the tip surface part and the side part around the light emitting part, the reaction of the casing forming the valve head Even from the front end side, the light emitting part can be visually recognized within a certain angle.

As a result, as compared with a valve head having a conventional light emitting part, the light emitting part can be seen not only from the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve head but also from the opposite end side of the casing forming the valve head. Visibility is greatly improved.
Moreover, in this invention, the said light emission part has several LED as a light source, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The light emitting unit has a plurality of types of LEDs having different emission colors, and indicates the full open state of the valve, the full closed state of the valve, the half open state of the valve, and the abnormal state of the valve by different emission colors. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the operation state of the bulb can be recognized by each emission color.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to recognize the operating state of the bulb from each emission color visually recognized in the light emitting unit.

In the present invention, a light refraction member for transmitting and scattering the light of the LED is housed in a single lens cap.
Therefore, in the present invention, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to follow a plurality of light emitting portions with eyes, and the different light emission colors reflected on a single lens cap through the light refraction member, Each operating state can be recognized.

  In the valve head according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light emitting portion for displaying the operation state of the valve is provided at the tip of the casing of the valve head, the maintenance manager can be viewed from any surrounding direction. The operating state of the bulb can be recognized by visually confirming the light emitting portion.

In addition, since the light emitting portion is provided at the front end portion of the housing and is formed so as to protrude from the housing surface portion, there is an effect that it is easy to see from the surroundings.

Furthermore, since the front end portion of the housing has a spherical inclined portion that is continuous with the side surface portion, and the light emitting portion is disposed at the top of the spherical inclined portion, the visibility to the light emitting portion is better. Thus, the visibility of the light emitting part from the opposite end side in the valve head axial direction is expanded. Especially when the bulb is mounted vertically on a pipe line or the like, the light emitting part can be easily attached from obliquely below. It can be visually recognized.

In addition, since the bulb head of the present invention according to claim 2 uses an LED as the light source of the light emitting section, it is easier to handle in terms of maintenance and management than other light sources, and the running cost can be reduced.

Further, the valve head of the present invention according to claim 3 uses four types of LEDs having different light colors, and the operating state of the valve, that is, the fully opened state of the valve, due to the difference in the single color of light emission, Since the valve is fully closed, the valve is half open, and the valve is in an abnormal state, the valve operating state can be easily recognized.

In the valve head according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the light refracting member is housed in the single lens cap, the light of the LED is scattered and the visibility from the surroundings can be further improved. .
In addition, since it is configured to check the operating state of the plurality of bulbs in correspondence with the change in the color of the one light emitting portion constituted by a single lens cap, a plurality of light emission is performed as in the past. Unlike the case where the unit is provided, it is possible to effectively prevent the situation of erroneous recognition.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the valve head 1 according to the present embodiment is a component of a so-called sanitary valve 40 that is provided in a liquid processing unit that processes a liquid made of food, medicine, etc. and is attached to a conduit. It is formed as.

  Such a sanitary valve 40 is provided, for example, in pipes constituting various liquid processing units, and is provided at an upper part of an aseptic tank for storing liquid or a lower part of the aseptic tank, and further at a branch part of a pipe. In addition, a number of sanitary valves are provided in various places in one liquid processing unit.

Such a valve head 1 is mounted on the upper part of the valve body 2 constituting the sanitary valve 40, and the operating state of the valve is displayed on the front end portion of the housing 3 forming the valve head 1 in all directions. The light-emitting part 5 that can be visually recognized from is provided.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the light emitting unit 5 is provided at the tip of the housing 3 and is formed so as to protrude from the surface of the housing 3.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the casing 3 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and the distal end portion has a spherical inclined portion 4 continuous with the side surface portion 35, and the light emitting portion. 5 is arranged at the top of the spherical inclined portion 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting unit 5 includes a plurality of LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d as light sources.
The light emitting unit 5 includes a plurality of LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d having different emission colors, and the light emission colors indicate that the valve is fully open, the valve is fully closed, the valve is half open, Each abnormal state is indicated.

The LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d are covered with a single lens cap 6, and a light refraction member 8 that transmits and scatters the light of the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d is housed in the lens cap 6. Yes.
The sanitary valve 40 according to the present embodiment includes a valve main body 2 and a valve head 1 connected and fixed to the upper portion of the valve main body 2.

  Although the internal structure of the valve body 2 is not shown in detail, as shown in FIG. 7, a valve rod 10 with a piston attached is housed in the air cylinder 9 so as to be vertically displaceable. A valve body (not shown) is attached to the lower end, and the piston and the valve rod are driven by the air fed into the air cylinder 9 so that the valve body opens and closes the valve seat that forms the opening of the pipe line. Is configured to do.

The valve head 1 includes a base member 16, a housing main body 17 joined to the base member 16, and an electrical component cover member 18 fixed on the housing main body 17.
The base member 16 is connected and fixed to the upper end portion of the valve body 2 by screws 20 and 20. The base member 16 has a hole 21 at the center, and the valve rod 10 is disposed through the hole 21. As shown in FIG. 7, a valve actuation detection bolt 22 is connected to the upper end of the valve stem 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the casing body 17 is fixed to the base member 16 with screws 23 from above at the periphery.

  As shown in FIG. 6, an electromagnetic valve storage space 24 and an electrical component storage space 25 are formed in the housing body 17, and the electromagnetic valve storage space 24 and the electrical component storage space 25 are an electrical component storage space. The electrical components in 25 are isolated by a partition wall 26 formed in an inverted L-shaped cross section so that they are not affected by leakage of compressed air generated due to deterioration of solenoid valves or other components. Has been.

  The electromagnetic valve storage space 24 is formed on the side surface portion on the back side of the housing body 17. That is, a concave portion that opens in the back direction as the electromagnetic valve storage space 24 is formed on the side surface portion on the back side of the housing body 17.

  The electrical component storage space 24 stores the various electrical components described above. As shown in FIG. 5, drive power is supplied to these electrical components from an external power source through a cable 27.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the electrical component includes a valve operating state based on a displacement amount of the valve rod 10 of the valve body 2, that is, a valve fully opened state, a valve fully closed state, and a valve half open state. Three sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c, a sensor 14 that can detect an abnormal state of the valve, a light-emitting unit 5 that displays the operating states and abnormal states of the valve, the electromagnetic valve 11, and the above It is connected to various sensors 13a, 13b, 13c, 14 and the light emitting unit 5 and the like, and includes a substrate on which an electronic circuit for controlling the operation of the electromagnetic valve 11 and lighting of the light emitting unit 5 is formed. A control device 15 is included.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a bulging portion 36 is formed at the center of the side surface of the partition wall 27, and a vertical hole-shaped valve operating cover that opens at the center of the bottom of the housing body 3 is formed inside. A detection member storage space 28 is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, among the electrical components, the three sensors 13 a, 13 b, and 13 c are arranged at different height positions of the bulging portion 36. The light emitting device 34 is disposed on the upper stage of the partition wall 26.

  A bolt 22 joined to the valve stem 10 of the valve main body 2 is inserted and arranged in the valve operation detected member storage space 28 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A sensor detecting magnet 29 is attached to the bolt 22.

Since the bolt 22 is joined to the valve stem 10 of the valve body 2 at the lower end as described above, it moves up and down according to the movement of the valve stem 10. When the bolt 22 moves up and down, the position of the sensor detection magnet 29 attached to the bolt 22 also changes.
When the sensor detection magnet 29 approaches the three sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c having different height positions, the sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c detect the magnetism of the sensor detection magnet 29. Accordingly, the three sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c are configured to detect from the position of the valve stem 10 the valve operating state, that is, the valve fully open state, the valve fully closed state, and the valve half open state. ing.

The three sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c send detection signals to the control device 15, and the control device 15 activates the light emitting device 34 based on the detection signals.
That is, the three types of LEDs 7a, 7b, and 7c having different colors are caused to emit light corresponding to the three types of operating states of the bulb. The LED 7d emits light when the sensor 14 detects an abnormal state of the valve such as bellows leakage. Therefore, the maintenance manager of the bulb can confirm the operation state of the bulb by the color of the light emission color of the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c that emit light through the lens cap 6.

  The electrical component storage space 25 is covered with an electrical component cover member 18, and the electrical component cover member 18 is fixed to the housing body 17 with screws 30. In addition, an O-ring 31 is interposed as a seal member at a connection portion between the electrical component cover member 18 and the housing body 17 so that the electrical component storage space 25 is airtight.

The light emitting unit 5 is fixed to the top of the electrical component cover member 18. The light-emitting portion 5 has a lens cap 6. The lens cap 6 is formed in a dome shape with a transparent resin material, and includes four LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d as light sources housed therein, and light refraction. The member 8 is covered.
The lens cap 6 according to the present embodiment is formed in a substantially hemispherical shape as shown in FIG. 5, but the shape is not limited to a hemispherical shape.

  Further, the number and colors of LEDs to be used are not limited to the present embodiment. That is, by increasing the number of sensors and LEDs, it is possible to display the operating state of the valve more finely.

  The four types of LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d indicate the operating state of the valve, and correspond to the four types of sensors 13a, 13b, 13c, and 14 as described above.

That is, the LED 7a emits green when the sensor 13a detects the fully open state of the valve, the LED 7b emits blue when the fully closed state of the valve is detected, and the sensor 13c detects when the intermediate position of the valve is detected. The LED 7d is configured to emit red light when the sensor 14 detects an abnormal state such as a bellows leak.
In addition, although proximity switches are used for the sensors 13a, 13b, and 13c according to the present embodiment, the type of sensor to be used is arbitrary, and is not limited to the proximity switches. Of course, it is also possible to use parts.

The surface around the lens cap 6 of the electrical component cover member 18 is inclined so as to continue to the side surface portion 35 as the distance from the lens cap 6 increases.
As a result, when the light emitting unit 5 is viewed from the periphery, the spherical inclined portion 4 is vertically aligned when the valve body 2 and the valve head 1 are fixed to a pipeline, a tank, or the like in a vertical state. It is formed at an angle that can ensure a field of view of approximately 240 degrees.
As a result, when the sanitary valve 40 is fixed to a pipeline or the like, even if the light emitting part 5 of the sanitary valve 40 is positioned above the eyes of the maintenance manager due to the mounting position, the maintenance manager If the light is looked up slightly, the light emitting portion 5 can be visually observed.
Moreover, since the light emission part 5 can be visually recognized from all directions of 360 degree | times in a horizontal direction in the same state, the said light emission part 5 can be visually observed from any surrounding directions.

  A transparent light refracting member 8 is housed inside the lens cap 6 so as to cover the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d as light sources. As the light refraction member 8, a lens, a prism, or the like is used, and it is possible to combine these parts, but it is also possible to process and form a transparent material such as glass or transparent plastic. is there.

  The photorefractive member 8 according to the present embodiment is formed in a shape having a plurality of triangular protrusions on the top of the head, as shown in FIG. The LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c and the light refraction member 8 are disposed on the control device 15 as an integrated light emitting device 34.

  The light from the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d as the light source is refracted and scattered when passing through the light refraction member 8, so that the light spreads greatly in the lens cap 6. As a result, the visibility is improved and the space is separated. It can be seen even from the outside.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the electromagnetic valve 11 is stored in the electromagnetic valve storage space 24 formed on the back surface of the housing body 3, and the electromagnetic valve 11 is an electromagnetic valve. It is attached to the cover member 19 and inserted into the electromagnetic valve storage space 24 together with the electromagnetic valve cover member 19.

  5 and 6, the solenoid valve 11 is connected to the air cylinder 9 via the air cylinder 9 of the valve body 2 and pipes 12a and 12b for supplying compressed air from an external supply source. Air is supplied to the air cylinder 9 and the air supply direction is switched.

Hereinafter, the operation of the valve head according to the present embodiment will be described.
In the valve head 1 according to the present embodiment, when the valve is operated and the valve is in a fully open state, a fully closed state, a half open state, or an abnormal state, these states are indicated by the sensors 13a, 13b, 13c, 14 Is detected and a detection signal is sent to the control device 15.

  The control device 15 that has received the detection signal causes the corresponding one of the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d of the light emitting device 34 to emit light. Since the light emission colors of the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d are different, the maintenance manager can check the operation state of the valve by the difference in the colors.

  Further, since the lens cap 6 constituting the light emitting unit 5 protrudes upward, for example, when the sanitary bulb 40 is vertically mounted on a pipe line or the like, 360 degrees in the horizontal direction, from any direction. Visually visible.

A spherical inclined portion 4 is formed around the lens cap 6 provided at the front end portion of the housing 3 so as to be inclined toward the side surface portion 35 as the distance from the lens cap 6 increases. Therefore, when the sanitary valve 40 is vertically attached to a pipe line or the like, a field of view of approximately 240 degrees can be secured in the vertical direction.
Accordingly, even if the light emitting unit 5 is located above the position of the maintenance manager's eyes, the maintenance manager looks up slightly to see the light emitting unit 5 and the light emission colors of the LEDs 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d. You can see the difference.

Further, in the valve head 1 according to the present embodiment, the light from the LEDs 7 a, 7 b, 7 c, 7 d is scattered and diffused to the surroundings when passing through the photorefractive member 8. The brightness of is increased, and the visibility from the surroundings is improved.
Further, in the valve head 1 according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to follow the light emitted by the plurality of light emitting units as in the conventional case, and only the difference in color emitted from the lens cap 6 is used. The operating state can be confirmed.

Moreover, since the light emission part 5 is provided compactly only in the front-end | tip part of the housing | casing 3, power consumption is also small and a running cost can be reduced.
In the present embodiment, the case where the valve head according to the present invention is applied to a so-called sanitary valve that is attached to a conduit through which liquid flows or a tank that stores liquid has been described as an example. The present invention is not limited to this form, and can be widely applied to any valve head that is attached to the valve body and functions as an actuator of the valve body.

It is a perspective view of the front side of the valve head with which the valve body concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention was equipped. It is a perspective view of the back side of the valve head with which the valve body concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention was equipped. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the electrical component cover member of the valve head with which the valve body concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention was equipped. It is a front view of the state which removed the electrical component cover member of the valve head with which the valve body concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention was equipped. It is a rear view of the valve head with which the valve body concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention was equipped. It is sectional drawing of the valve head with which the valve body which concerns on one Embodiment of the valve head which concerns on this invention was mounted | worn. It is a disassembled perspective view of the valve body and valve head concerning one embodiment of the valve head concerning the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Valve head 2 Valve body 3 Housing | casing 4 Spherical-shaped inclination part 5 Light emission part 6 Lens cap 7a LED
7b LED
7c LED
7d LED
8 Photorefractive member 9 Air cylinder 10 Valve rod 11 Solenoid valve 12a, 12b Piping 13a, 13b, 13c Sensor 14 Sensor 15 Control device 16 Base member 17 Housing body 18 Electrical component cover member 19 Electromagnetic valve cover member 20 Screw 21 Hole 22 Bolt 23 Screw 24 Electromagnetic valve storage space 25 Electrical component storage space 26 Partition wall 27 Cable 28 Valve operation detection member storage space 29 Detection magnet 30 Screw 31 O-ring 34 Light emitting device 35 Side surface portion 36 Swelling portion 40 Sanitary valve

Claims (4)

A valve head mounted on the valve main body, and a light emitting part that displays the operating state of the valve and is visible from all directions is provided at the tip of the casing forming the valve head,
The light emitting portion is provided at the front end portion of the housing and is formed to protrude from the surface portion of the housing. The housing is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the front end portion is a spherically inclined portion continuous with the side surface portion. The bulb head is characterized in that the light emitting portion is disposed on the top of the spherical inclined portion . The valve head according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit includes a plurality of LEDs as light sources. The light emitting unit has a plurality of types of LEDs having different emission colors, and indicates a full open state of the valve, a full closed state of the valve, a half open state of the valve, and an abnormal state of the valve by different emission colors. The valve head according to claim 2, wherein the valve head is configured to be able to recognize an operating state of the valve by a luminescent color. 4. The valve head according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting section has a single lens cap, and a light refraction member for transmitting and scattering the light of the LED is accommodated in the lens cap.

Images