JP5215709B2 - Water governor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water governor (simple flow restriction device).

  The basic structure of the conventional water governor and its problems will be described with reference to FIGS. The purpose of this water governor is to always supply a substantially constant flow rate regardless of the hydraulic pressure level on the upstream side. The maximum flow rate of faucets in centralized boilers, tankless flush toilets, hotels, etc. It is being used for regulations. The basic form was proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-23059.

  This water governor includes a casing 10, a center core 20, and an O-ring (elastic member) 30. The center core 20 has a columnar core portion 20A and a flange portion 20B. The core portion 20A has a plurality of convex portions 21 extending in the radial direction on the outer periphery thereof, and is positioned between the convex portions 21. A recess 22 is formed. The O-ring 30 is fitted on the outer periphery of the core portion 20 </ b> A of the center core 20 and forms a flow path 23 between the O-ring 30 and the recess 22. A plurality of through holes 24 are formed between the core portion 20 </ b> A and the flange portion 20 </ b> B of the center core 20 except for the bridge portion 25. The nominal flow rate (set flow rate) is determined by the set area of the flow path 23.

  The casing 10 supports a combined body of the center core 20 and the O-ring 30, and has a maximum diameter portion 11 that receives the flange portion 20 </ b> B of the center core 20, a middle diameter portion 12 that receives the O-ring 30, and a flange portion having a through hole 13. 14 has a stepped cross section. The flange portion 14 closes the flow path passing through the outer peripheral side of the O-ring 30, and the through hole 13 forms a flow path gap between the center core 20 and the core portion 20 </ b> A. The casing 10 is fixed, for example, in the water pipe 40 in a direction in which the center core 20 is pressed against the casing 10 by the upstream hydraulic pressure.

  According to this water governor, the upstream fluid (tap water) flows into the O-ring 30 side from the through hole 24, flows through the flow path 23 between the O-ring 30 and the recess 22, and flows downstream. At this time, the O-ring 30 is elastically deformed inward according to the flow rate of the water passing through the flow path 23 to change the area of the flow path 23. An example of the position of the O-ring 30 after elastic deformation is indicated by reference numeral 30 'in FIG. That is, as the flow velocity increases, the O-ring 30 is elastically deformed inward and the flow path of the flow path 23 is narrowed, so that a substantially constant flow rate is always taken out downstream regardless of the upstream hydraulic pressure. Can do.

A diagram B in FIG. 7 shows an example of a hydraulic pressure (pressure) -flow rate characteristic (nominal flow rate 20 L / min) of a conventional water governor. As shown in this characteristic example, it can be seen that in the region where the hydraulic pressure exceeds approximately 60 kPa, the flow rate is substantially maintained at the nominal flow rate.
Japanese Patent Publication No.51-23059 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-112721 JP-A-8-145213 JP-A-8-145214 JP-A-8-145215 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-60762

  However, as is apparent from this flow rate characteristic diagram, in the conventional water governor, the flow rate is almost proportional to the hydraulic pressure in the region of less than 60 kPa, and a constant flow rate cannot be secured.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to obtain a water governor capable of securing a constant flow rate even in a lower hydraulic pressure region, based on the above problem awareness of the conventional water governor.

The present invention provides a center core having a plurality of protrusions extending in the radial direction on the outer periphery and a recess positioned between the protrusions; and is fitted to the outer periphery of the center core to form a flow path between the recess and the recess. A water governor comprising: an elastic ring; and a casing that supports the center core and the elastic ring and allows a fluid to flow through the flow path. The casing has the core portion of the center core in order from the central portion toward the peripheral portion. A center core through hole to be received; an annular fixing groove; and a plurality of through holes positioned discontinuously and concentrically with the annular fixing groove. The annular fixing groove of the casing is concentric with the center core. Either one of the center portion and the peripheral portion of the annular elastic valve body is fixed, and the annular elastic valve body opens and closes the plurality of through holes, and the plurality of through holes and the annular elasticity. The body is characterized by constituting a normally open valve that maximizes the flow path area when there is no hydraulic pressure difference between the upstream side and the downstream side, and decreases the flow path area as the upstream hydraulic pressure increases. .

  Specifically, for the normally open valve, for example, it is desirable to set the elastic force such that the elastic ring is closed with a hydraulic pressure that elastically deforms and obtains a flow rate stabilizing action.

  The present invention is lower because a conventional water governor equipped with a center core, an elastic ring and a casing is provided with a normally open valve that is open at low pressure and closes when the elastic ring reaches a hydraulic pressure at which deformation starts. A water governor capable of ensuring a constant flow rate even in a low pressure region can be obtained.

  1 and 2 show an embodiment of a water governor according to the present invention, which comprises a center core 20, an O-ring 30 and a casing 100. Among these, the center core 20 and the O-ring 30 are substantially the same as the conventional product in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the configuration around the casing 100 is different from the conventional product.

As a whole, the rotationally symmetric casing 100 centered on the axis includes a cylindrical portion 101 that is locked to the step portion 41 of the water pipe 40 and a flange portion 102 at the downstream end of the flow path of the cylindrical portion 101. A through hole (center core through hole) 103 for receiving the core portion 20 </ b> A of the center core 20 is formed at the center of the flange portion 102. On the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 101, a step portion (center core storage portion) 104 that locks the center core 20 is formed. The casing 100 is fixed in the water pipe 40 in a direction in which the center core 20 is pressed against the stepped portion 104 by the upstream hydraulic pressure.

  An annular rib 105 is formed on the inner surface of the flange portion 102 concentrically with the central through hole 103, and the O-ring 30 is located inside the annular rib 105. On the other hand, a plurality of arc-shaped through holes 106 are formed discontinuously in the flange portion 102 so as to be located outside the annular rib 105, and the arc-shaped through holes 106 and the arc-shaped through holes 106 are opened and closed. A normally open valve 110 is formed by the annular elastic valve body 108 made of a rubber material.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 3 (drawn with the top and bottom reversed from FIG. 1), the annular elastic valve body 108 includes a central cylindrical portion 108 </ b> C fixed to the casing 100, and the cylindrical portion 108 </ b> C. And a tapered portion (umbrella-shaped portion) 108 </ b> T extending in an inclined direction in a direction away from the flange portion 102 (the arc-shaped through hole 106) in a free state. That is, the cylindrical portion 108 </ b> C of the annular elastic valve body 108 is formed on the inner surface of the flange portion 102 of the casing 100 between the annular rib 105 and the arc-shaped through hole 106 and has a bottomed cylindrical groove (annular fixed groove). 107 is fixed by fitting. For fixing, well-known means such as adhesion and baking can be used.

  The tapered portion 108T can be elastically deformed freely, and in the free state, as shown in FIG. 3A, the taper-shaped portion 108T is separated from the flange portion 102 (the arc-shaped through hole 106) to ensure the maximum flow path area passing through the arc-shaped through hole 106. . On the other hand, when it receives hydraulic pressure, it elastically deforms in a direction to close the arc-shaped through hole 106 (FIG. 3B), and when it is deformed to the maximum, the arc-shaped through hole 106 is completely closed (FIG. 3C). The R surface 107R formed on the surface of the bottomed cylindrical groove 107 on the arc-shaped through hole 106 side facilitates (reliably) elastic deformation of the annular elastic valve body 108 in the flow path closing direction.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the relationship between the flow path pressure (hydraulic pressure) and the deformation angle θ of the tapered portion 108T of the annular elastic valve body 108 (angle from the flow path direction, FIG. 3A). In this example, the angle of the tapered portion 108T in the free state is 55.5 °, and the angle of the tapered portion 108T when the arc-shaped through hole 106 is completely closed is 90 °. In this example, when the flow path pressure is between 0 and 0.01 MPa, 55.5 ° is maintained (the tapered portion 108T is not deformed), and when it rises from 0.01 MPa, the tapered portion 108T becomes an arc-shaped through hole. The area of the flow path through 106 is gradually reduced and completely closed at about 0.06 MPa. That is, in the water governor of the present embodiment, in the low pressure region, the normally open valve 110 is opened to ensure the minimum flow rate, and when the constant pressure is reached, the normally open valve 110 is closed. A diagram A in FIG. 7 shows a hydraulic pressure (pressure) -flow rate characteristic example (nominal flow rate 20 L / min) of the water governor including the normally open valve 110 of the present embodiment. As shown in this characteristic example, according to the present embodiment, in the region where the hydraulic pressure exceeds approximately 20 kPa, the flow rate is substantially maintained at the nominal flow rate.

While the flow path closing operation of the normally open valve 100 is performed, the liquid flows through the flow path 23 between the O-ring 30 and the recess 22 of the center core 20 , and the flow rate of water passing through the flow path 23 is Accordingly, the O-ring 30 starts to elastically deform inward. That is, until the tapered portion 108T of the annular elastic valve body 108 completely closes the arc-shaped through hole 106 (before the flow path pressure reaches around 0.06 MPa in the above specific example), the center core 20 and the O-ring 30 After the normally open valve 110 is closed, the flow rate stabilizing action similar to that of the conventional water governor is obtained. In other words, the normally open valve 110 has its characteristic set so as to close at the hydraulic pressure before the flow rate stabilization action by the center core 20 and the O-ring 30 starts. Of course, there is a degree of freedom with respect to the timing at which the normally open valve 110 is closed, and it may be closed when the flow rate stabilizing action of the water governor by the center core 20 and the O-ring 30 is obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the normally open valve 100 is formed in a rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the center of the casing 100, and is a preferred mode for allowing the liquid to flow evenly in the pipe. However, the present invention is theoretically valid even with a normally open valve that is not rotationally symmetric. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner peripheral edge of the annular elastic valve body 108 is fixed to the casing 100. However, the same action can be obtained even if the outer peripheral edge is fixed and the inner peripheral side is free.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to the conventional product of FIG. 5, showing an embodiment of a water governor according to the present invention. It is a top view of the water governor of FIG. (A), (B), (C) is an expanded sectional view which shows the detail and operation | movement of the normally open valve part of the water governor of FIG. It is a graph which shows the example of an operation characteristic of the normally open valve of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of the conventional water governor. It is a top view of the center core single-piece | unit of the water governor of FIG. It is a graph which shows the example of the flow volume-hydraulic pressure characteristic of this invention and the conventional water governor.

Explanation of symbols

20 Center core 20A Core portion 20B Flange portion 23 Channel 24 Through hole 30 O-ring (elastic member)
40 Water Pipe 100 Casing 101 Tubular Part 102 Flange Part 103 Center Through Hole ( Center Core Through Hole)
104 Step (Center core storage)
105 annular rib 106 arc-shaped through hole 107 bottomed cylindrical groove (annular fixing groove)
108 Annular elastic valve element 108C Tubular portion 108T Taper-shaped portion 110 Normally open valve

Claims (2)

A center core having a plurality of protrusions extending radially in the outer periphery and a recess positioned between the protrusions; an elastic ring fitted on the outer periphery of the center core and forming a flow path between the recesses; A water governor comprising: a casing that supports the center core and the elastic ring, and that allows fluid to flow through the flow path;
The casing has a center core through hole that receives the core portion of the center core, an annular fixing groove, and a plurality of through holes that are discontinuously positioned concentrically with the annular fixing groove in order from the center to the peripheral edge. Doing things,
In the annular fixing groove of the casing, either one of a central portion and a peripheral portion of an annular elastic valve body concentric with the center core is fixed, and the annular elastic valve body opens and closes the plurality of through holes. In addition, the plurality of through holes and the annular elastic valve body maximize the flow path area when there is no difference between the upstream and downstream hydraulic pressures, and decrease the flow path area as the upstream hydraulic pressure increases. A water governor characterized by comprising a normally open valve. The water governor according to claim 1, wherein the normally open valve is a water governor that closes at a hydraulic pressure that allows the flow rate to be stabilized by elastically deforming the elastic ring.

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