JP4603384B2 - Thermal fuse adapter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal fuse adapter that urgently shuts off gas supplied via a gas pipe when a fire occurs.

  City gas is usually supplied underground with a metal gas pipe buried underground, then the gas pipe is set up on the ground at the consumer, and a gas meter is installed at the destination. It is common to install and measure gas, and then supply it to the house via an iron pipe or a metal flexible pipe.

For this reason, when a fire occurs near a consumer or a gas pipe or gas meter launched on the ground, there is a concern that this fire may cause troubles such as melting and breakage in the gas meter mounting part and the gas pipe after the gas meter. There is. In order to prevent the above trouble, various so-called heat-sensitive fuse adapters have been proposed which operate by fire heat and automatically shut off the gas supply.
This thermal fuse adapter can be broadly divided into a system that uses a thermal expansion material that expands when it receives heat to close the gas flow path or drive a shut-off valve, and a solder material that holds the shut-off valve. In addition, when the solder material is melted by the heat of the fire, it can be classified into a system in which the shutoff valve falls due to a spring or its own weight to close the gas flow path.

  The present applicant has previously described Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-42684 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-236006) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-15636 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-225830) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2003 as thermal fuse adapters using solder materials. No. 30783 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-236944) has been filed.

  Of these, the invention according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-42684 is capable of shutting off gas in piping around a gas meter in the event of a fire, and as a thermal fuse adapter that can be attached to existing piping, A valve seat 22 is formed in the gas flow path 21, and a shut-off valve 23 that is advanced by the force of a spring 29 and is brought into close contact with the valve seat 22 is incorporated in the flow path 21 in the joint pipe 20. A control member 30 made of solder is provided to prevent the shut-off valve 23 from being blocked by being moved backward against 29 and to be melted by heat at the time of a fire, and to urgently block the outflow of gas. It is a configuration.

However, this known example has the following drawbacks.
1. When the shut-off valve 23 including the valve seat 22 and the spring 29 are incorporated in the joint pipe 20 and the joint pipe 20 is connected to the middle of the pipe as a part of the gas pipe, Needs to cut off the middle of the gas pipe and insert the joint pipe 20 here.
For this reason, it is necessary to connect the joint pipe 20 to the gas pipes separated at the upstream side and the downstream side. However, in the case of normal screw joining, the gas pipe side is fixed and rotated. Since this is impossible, the joint pipe 20 must be rotated and screwed together. Furthermore, since the height of the joint pipe 20 increases, the gas meter may not be attached.
2. In addition, since the number of tightening points of the upper and lower screws increases, there remains anxiety about the bonding strength and airtightness.
3. Due to the above problems 1 and 2, in this known example, a system is adopted in which the upper and lower sides of the joint pipe 20 are connected to the gas pipe side using the cap nuts 14 and 32. It takes a lot of work.

4). Since the thermal fuse adapter is usually installed in the gas pipe on the inlet side of the gas meter, if the joint pipe 20 of the thermal fuse adapter is connected to the inlet side of the gas meter, there will be a difference in height from the outlet side of the gas meter. Therefore, it is necessary to attach a dummy pipe having the same length as that of the joint pipe 20 to the outlet side, which increases the cost and labor.
5). Since the valve seat 22 is formed in the gas flow path 21 in the joint pipe 20 and the shut-off valve 23 is later assembled to the joint pipe 20 using a stopper, the assembly is troublesome and the assembly accuracy is high. If it is bad, the operation remains anxious.
6). The shut-off valve 23 is prevented from being driven by the solder control member 30, but when the solder control member 30 starts to melt, it does not melt all at once, but is deformed → melted → dropped ( Since the shut-off valve 23 is driven by the spring 29 and is brought into close contact with the valve seat 22 after the flow down), a part of the dissolved control member 30 (solder) is brought into close contact with the valve seat 23 and the shut-off valve 30. There is anxiety that it may remain as a contaminant on the surface and the gas may not be completely shut off.

Next, in the invention related to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-15636, in the heat-sensitive fuse adapter, in order to reduce the gas pressure loss and the number of parts, reduce the manufacturing cost, and ensure the operation of the shut-off valve, The valve seat 25 is formed in the gas flow path 21 in the inside 20, and on the upstream side of the valve seat 25, the shut-off valve 27 that is installed to face the valve seat 25 includes a left and right vertical frame 28a and a vertical frame 28a. The front ends are connected together by a horizontal frame 28b and attached to a narrow holding frame 28 having a U-shape through a support pin 29 so that the shut-off valve 27 is supported at the central portion of the horizontal frame 28b. In a state where the coil spring 31 mounted on the pin 29 is compressed, the coil spring 3 is fixed by the solder member 30. When the solder member 30 is melted by heat when a fire occurs, the coil spring 3 Forward in force, in close contact with the valve seat 25 is configured to cut off the gas instantly.
However, this known example also has the same problem as that of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-42684 because the valve seat 22 and the shut-off valve 23 are assembled in the joint pipe 20. However, there is no concern in this known example that the dissolved solder becomes a contaminant.

Next, in the invention related to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-30783, in the thermal fuse adapter, in order to simplify assembly and operate reliably, the pressure loss can be suppressed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. A shutoff valve 32 is attached downward using a holding frame 27 in the gas flow path 22 and the shutoff valve 32 is fixed to the holding frame 27 using a holding pin 36 and a solder member 39. The solder member 39 is melted and the shutoff valve 32 is dropped by its own weight while being guided by the holding pin 36, and is in close contact with the valve seat 23 to shut off the gas.
However, also in this known example, the adapter main body 21 corresponds to the joint pipe 20 of the invention according to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-42684, and therefore, the same problem as that of the invention of this Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-42684 occurs. However, there is no concern in this known example that the dissolved solder becomes a contaminant.
JP 2003-236006 A JP 2004-225830 A JP 2004-236944 A

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-described solder-type thermal fuse adapter, and the first object is to disconnect the existing gas pipe connection part once and use it in this state. Is to provide an adapter.
The second object is to provide a thermal fuse adapter that is inexpensive and easy to install.

A third object is to provide a thermal fuse adapter that can be installed in a gas pipe without using a dummy tube.
A fourth object is to provide a thermal fuse adapter that is assembled with high precision so that the valve seat and the shut-off valve are in close contact with each other.
A fifth object is to provide a thermal fuse adapter in which solder does not remain as a contaminant on the contact surface between the valve seat and the shutoff valve.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, in the heat-sensitive fuse adapter, an annular portion formed by forming a male screw that can be screwed into a female screw formed on the gas pipe side on the lower outer peripheral surface; In the annular part, a U-shaped frame formed integrally so as to straddle the upper center, an inverted C-shaped valve seat formed in the inner wall surface of the annular part, and the frame An adapter body consisting of a shaft hole formed in the center;
In the frame of the adapter body, a shut-off valve incorporated in the frame so as to face the valve seat,
A support shaft protruding upward from the center of the upper surface of the shut-off valve is inserted into the shaft hole of the frame so as to penetrate from below and penetrates from the tip of the support shaft to the upper surface of the frame. A heat-sensitive fuse nut made of a low-temperature soluble material such as solder or plastic material that prevents the support shaft from coming off by screwing and holds the shut-off valve inside the frame; and
Between the upper surface of the shut-off valve and the lower surface of the frame, it is attached around the support shaft, and when the heat-sensitive fuse nut is melted by heat, it is crimped to the valve seat while urging the shut-off valve downward. Coil springs,
It is characterized by comprising.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 2, in the heat-sensitive fuse adapter according to claim 1, a heat-sensitive fuse nut is formed using solder or a plastic material as the low-temperature soluble material. It is.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 3, in the thermal fuse adapter according to claim 1, a split groove having a width for accommodating the frame body is formed on the upper surface of the shut-off valve. The position of the shut-off valve is determined by positioning the horizontal portion of the frame body in the groove.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that in the thermal fuse adapter according to claim 1 or 2, the inlet pipe of the gas meter is attached to the inlet of the connection pipe. .

[Action]
When installing the thermal fuse adapter in the gas pipe, loosen the gas pipe connection part to disconnect the gas pipe connection part and screw the male screw of the adapter body into the female screw cut on the gas pipe side. A thermal fuse adapter can be installed in the gas piping. After this attachment, the gas pipes that have been separated again are connected to each other, so that the thermal fuse adapter is incorporated in the gas pipe and is not visible in appearance.
In this state, when the heat of the fire is received, the heat of the fire is transmitted to the heat-sensitive fuse nut made of the low-temperature soluble material via the gas pipe, and when the temperature exceeds a certain temperature, the heat-sensitive fuse nut is melted. When the heat-sensitive fuse nut is melted in this way, the valve shaft that has been stopped by the heat-sensitive fuse nut is released, so that the valve shaft is free, the shut-off valve is lowered by its own weight and the force of the spring, and is closely attached to the valve seat. Block the gas flow path and block the gas flow.
When resuming gas flow, disconnect the gas piping, expose the thermal fuse adapter in the gas flow path, pick and pull the tip of the valve stem, and install a new thermal fuse on the tip of the valve stem. Screw the nut to stop the valve stem from dropping. As a result, the shut-off valve returns to the state before operation.

The thermal fuse adapter according to the present invention has the following effects due to the above-described configuration and operation.
1. Since the thermal fuse adapter is built into the gas pipe, there is no need to connect an independent fitting pipe to the existing gas pipe. As a result, it is easy to install and does not cost.
2. The shut-off valve is held on the frame body by the valve shaft, and its lowering is guided by the frame body during operation, so that it closely contacts the valve seat. As a result, the gas can be reliably shut off, and the shut-off valve is pressed against the valve seat by a coil spring, so there is no concern of shifting due to impact. As a result, a reliable and safe thermal fuse adapter can be obtained.
3. The shut-off valve is held by a heat-sensitive fuse nut made of low-temperature fusible material through the valve shaft, so even if this heat-sensitive fuse nut melts, it will not become a foreign object. As a result, there is no risk of gas spillage due to poor shielding.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B) are explanatory diagrams of an example in which the thermal fuse adapter according to the present invention is incorporated in the connection pipe of the inlet pipe of the gas meter, FIG. 2 is an exploded explanatory diagram of the thermal fuse adapter and the connection pipe, 3 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a cap nut (union nut) is attached to the lower end of the connecting pipe in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 4 (A), (B), and (C) are views of the thermal fuse adapter in a state where the assembly is finished. FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory views showing a state where the thermal fuse adapter is attached to the connecting tube, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views showing a state where the thermal fuse adapter is activated.

1 (A) and 1 (B), reference numeral 1 denotes an inlet side gas pipe that starts up a gas supply pipe embedded in the ground, 2 denotes an outlet side gas pipe of the gas meter 3, and the gas meter 3 is connected to the inlet side. And connecting the pipes 6 and 6a to the ends of the outlet gas pipes 1 and 2 that are drawn downward using the elbow pipes 4 and 4a and the curved pipes 5 and 5a, and the lower ends of the pipes 6 and 6a. It is hung by connecting the inlet side cap 3a and the outlet side cap 3b respectively using the cap nuts 7 and 7a. In FIG. 1, 8 is a main plug attached to the inlet side gas pipe 1, and 9 is a test port attached to the outlet side gas pipe 2.
Around the pipe of the gas meter 3, the city gas supplied from the inlet side gas pipe 1 enters the gas meter 3 through the elbow 4, the curved pipe 5, the inlet side connecting pipe 6, the inlet side base 3a, and after the measurement. The outlet side base 3b → the outlet side connecting pipe 6a → the outlet side bent pipe 5a → the elbow 4a → the outlet side gas pipe 2 is supplied indoors.

The heat-sensitive fuse adapter of the present invention is incorporated in the connection port 6-1 with the inlet-side bent pipe 5 in the inlet-side connecting pipe 6 around the pipe of the gas meter 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the thermal fuse adapter 10 includes an adapter body 11, a shutoff valve 12, a support shaft 13, a solder thermal fuse nut 14, and a coil spring 15. And in the connection port 6-1 of the inlet side connection pipe 6, the female screw 6-2 for adapter attachment is cut.
The heat-sensitive fuse nut 14 is formed of a solder material in the present embodiment, but in addition, if it is a low-temperature soluble material that melts with this heat in the event of a fire, for example, it is molded using a plastic material, Can be used.

The adapter main body 11 includes an annular portion 16 formed by forming a male screw 18 that can be screwed into a female screw 6-2 formed in the connection port 6-1 of the connecting pipe 6 on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion 17, and the annular portion 16 The U-shaped frame body 19 integrally formed so as to straddle the upper center thereof, the reverse C-shaped valve seat 20 formed at the upper inlet of the annular portion 16, and the frame body 19 It consists of a shaft hole 21 formed in the center of the horizontal portion 19a.
In FIG. 2, 6-3 is a taper screw for connecting the connecting pipe 6 to the curved pipe 5.

  The shutoff valve 12 is incorporated in the frame body 19 so as to face the valve seat 20 in the frame body 19 of the adapter main body 11, and the shutoff valve 12 is formed so as to cross the center of the upper surface. A screw 27 formed at the lower end of the support shaft 13 is screwed into a fixing screw hole cut at the bottom of the spring accommodating hole 25 provided in the center of the split groove 24, and the shaft hole 21 of the frame body 19 is inserted into the shaft hole 21 from below. A support shaft 13 which is inserted so as to pass through and formed with a screw 28 formed at the tip is attached to the screw 28 of the support shaft 13 up to the upper surface 19a of the frame 19 and is made of solder. 14 is screwed into the adapter body 11. Reference numeral 23 denotes an inverted conical contact surface formed on the shut-off valve 12.

The coil spring 15 is attached around the support shaft 13 between the split groove 24 of the shut-off valve 12 and the lower surface of the frame body 19, and when the heat-sensitive fuse nut 14 is melted by heat, the shut-off valve 12 Is pressed against the valve seat 20 while being biased downward.
4A to 4C show the thermal fuse adapter that has been assembled.

In FIG. 2, 6-4 is an engaging portion of the cap nut 7 formed outside the connection port 6-5 with the inlet side cap 3a formed at the lower end of the connection tube 6, and is shown in FIG. The cap nut 7 engages with the engaging portion 6-4 in a freely rotating manner, and after receiving the inlet side cap 3a of the gas meter 3 into the cap nut 7 and fitting it into the joint port 6-5, the cap nut The gas meter 3 is suspended from the connecting pipes 6 and 6a as shown in FIG. 1 by screwing 7 into a male screw formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inlet side cap 3a and tightening.
Heretofore, the inlet side of the gas meter 3 has been described, but the connecting pipe 6a is connected on the outlet side in the same manner except that the thermal fuse adapter 10 is not incorporated.

5A and 5B show a state in which the thermal fuse adapter 10 is incorporated in the inlet 6-1 of the connection tube 6, and is in a normal state. On the other hand, in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the heat-sensitive fuse nut 14 is melted by the heat of the fire, the support shaft 13 is released, and the shut-off valve 12 is lowered by the force of the coil spring 15 to closely contact the valve seat 20. In this state, the gas flow is cut off, and the support shaft 13 of the shutoff valve 12 is guided by the shaft hole 21 of the frame body 19 so that the center shift does not occur when descending.
In the above embodiment, as a means for attaching the thermal fuse adapter 10 in the inlet 6-1 of the connecting pipe 6, a method is adopted in which the male screw 18 is screwed into the female screw 6-2 and tightened. Instead of the method, the thermal fuse adapter 10 may be attached by fitting the lower portion 16 of the adapter main body 11 directly into the inlet 6-1 of the connection pipe 6.
In the present embodiment, the thermal fuse adapter 10 is attached to the connection pipe 6. However, the thermal fuse adapter 10 may be arbitrarily attached not to the vicinity of the gas meter but to the portion of the gas pipe that receives heat in the event of a fire. The thermal fuse adapter is not limited to the one that can be attached only to the connecting pipe 6 of the gas meter 3.
In the above embodiment, the material of the thermal fuse adapter 10 is all made of iron except for the thermal fuse nut 14.

  The heat-sensitive fuse adapter according to the present invention can be installed in city gas supply piping, LP gas supply piping, piping of various plants or equipment, and used for emergency shut-off of gas or other gases in the event of a fire.

(A) is a front view of a gas meter attached to a pipe, and (B) is a side view. Exploded view of thermal fuse adapter and connecting tube Exploded view of connecting pipe with cap nut and thermal fuse adapter In the thermal fuse adapter, the assembled state is shown. (A) is a plan view, (B) is a sectional view, and (C) is a bottom view. It shows the state where the thermal fuse adapter is attached to the connecting tube. (A) is a plan view, (B) is a cross-sectional view. The thermal fuse adapter is activated. (A) is a plan view and (B) is a cross-sectional view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input side gas pipe 2 Outlet side gas pipe 3 Gas meter 6 Connection pipe 10 Thermal fuse adapter 11 Adapter main body 12 Shut-off valve 13 Spindle 14 Solder thermal fuse nut 15 Coil spring

Claims (4)

An annular portion formed by forming a male screw that can be screwed onto a female screw formed on the gas piping side on the lower outer peripheral surface, and a U-shaped frame integrally formed so as to straddle the upper center of the annular portion. An adapter body comprising a body, a reverse-shaped valve seat formed in the inner wall surface of the annular portion, and a shaft hole formed in the center of the frame;
In the frame of the adapter body, a shut-off valve incorporated in the frame so as to face the valve seat,
A support shaft protruding upward from the center of the upper surface of the shut-off valve is inserted into the shaft hole of the frame so as to penetrate from below and penetrates from the tip of the support shaft to the upper surface of the frame. A heat-sensitive fuse nut made of low-temperature fusible material that holds the shut-off valve inside the frame by screwing in and preventing the spindle from coming off;
Between the upper surface of the shut-off valve and the lower surface of the frame, it is attached around the support shaft, and when the heat-sensitive fuse nut is melted by heat, it is crimped to the valve seat while urging the shut-off valve downward. Coil springs,
Thermal fuse adapter consisting of   The thermal fuse adapter according to claim 1, wherein a thermal fuse nut is formed using solder or a plastic material as the low-temperature soluble material.   The upper surface of the shut-off valve is formed with a split groove with a width that can accommodate the frame body. When the normal state is normal, the horizontal portion of the frame body is located in the split groove so that the position of the shut-off valve is determined. The heat-sensitive fuse adapter according to claim 1, wherein the heat-sensitive fuse adapter is configured as follows. The heat-sensitive fuse adapter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inlet pipe of the gas meter is attached to an inlet of the connection pipe.