JP5643954B2 - Float height adjustment mechanism in ball tap - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a float height adjusting mechanism in a ball tap that automatically supplies water to a cleaning tank that stores cleaning water for toilet flushing.

Conventionally, as a toilet cleaning device, a water supply valve, a float that moves up and down in conjunction with the level of the wash water in a wash tank (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as a tank), and a shaft that connects the float and the feed valve A ball tap having a connecting arm provided with a portion and automatically supplying water to a tank by opening and closing a water supply valve by raising and lowering a float is widely used.
For example, this type of ball tap is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

FIG. 9 shows a specific example.
In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a cleaning tank, and 202 denotes a ball tap disposed inside the tank 200, and water supply and water supply stop are performed in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the float 204.
That is, when the float 204 descends, the water supply valve of the ball tap 202 is opened, and water is supplied into the tank 200 through the water supply port 206.
On the other hand, when the water level in the tank 200 rises, the float 204 rises, and when the water level becomes full, the water supply valve of the ball tap 202 is closed and water supply is stopped.

A drain valve 208 is provided at the bottom of the tank 200. The drain valve 208 is connected through a chain 214 to the distal end of an L-shaped lever arm 212 that rotates integrally with a cleaning handle 210 provided on the wall of the tank 200.
Thus, the drain valve 208 floats and opens when the cleaning handle 210 is rotated, and the cleaning water in the tank 200 is discharged toward the toilet through the discharge port 218.

The above-described water supply valve of the ball tap 202 shown in FIG.
Here, the connecting arm 215 has a screw shaft portion 216 extending vertically, and the float 204 is screwed and assembled thereto.

By rotating the float 204, the screwing position with respect to the screw shaft portion 216 is adjusted up and down. That is, the height of the float 204 is adjusted up and down.
The amount of washing water when the tank 200 is full is adjusted by adjusting the vertical position of the float 204.

  Specifically, when the position of the float 204 is moved downward, the water supply valve of the ball tap 202 closes quickly when water is supplied into the tank 200, and the amount of water supplied into the tank 200 is adjusted to be small. That is, the water level when the cleaning water in the tank 200 is full is adjusted to be low.

  Conversely, when the position of the float 204 is moved upward, the water supply valve of the ball tap 202 closes slowly when water is supplied into the tank 200, so that more water is supplied into the tank 200. That is, the water level of the washing water when it is full is adjusted to be high.

  However, if the height of the float 204 is adjusted by rotating the float 204 as in the ball tap 202 shown in FIG. 9, a large space for the rotation is required around the float 204.

In recent years, tanks tend to become more and more compact, and when the float 204 is rotated, there is a problem of interference with peripheral components, which greatly restricts the layout of the arrangement of the peripheral components.
This is a factor that prevents further miniaturization of the tank.

  In addition, in the case of adjusting the height of the float 204 with a screw, there is a problem that a position where the float 204 is screwed with respect to the screw shaft portion 216 is displaced over a long period of time. By changing from the original position, there arises a problem that the water level of the cleaning water when full is changed from the set position.

Incidentally, as a prior art related to the present invention, the following Patent Document 2 discloses an invention concerning a ball tap for a pilot-type water storage tank, in which a ring-shaped positioning member is screwed to a screw shaft portion, It is disclosed that the position of the fixing member can be moved up and down along the screw shaft portion.
However, this positioning member is used as a stopper for defining the rising end of the float, and does not move up and down integrally with the float, and is different from the present invention.

JP 2002-167838 A Japanese Patent No. 2801978

  The present invention is based on the above circumstances, does not require a space for rotating the float, and does not cause a problem of interference with peripheral parts due to the rotation of the float. The purpose is to provide a thickness adjusting mechanism.

  Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water supply valve, a float that moves up and down in conjunction with a water level of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank, and a connecting arm having a shaft portion that connects the float and the water supply valve. The float height adjustment mechanism in the ball tap that automatically opens and closes the water supply valve by raising and lowering the float and automatically supplies water to the tank, and is assembled to the shaft portion of the linkage arm, A rotary operation member that moves in position along the shaft portion by rotating independently with respect to the float is held by the float in a state of moving together with the float along the shaft portion. To do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the rotation operation member is screwed with the shaft portion, and the position is moved along the shaft portion by screw feed by rotation. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, a rotation stopping mechanism that moves and guides the float along the shaft portion while preventing the rotation of the float is provided between the float and the shaft portion. It is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the rotation stopping mechanism includes a groove or a protrusion provided on the outer surface of the shaft portion and along the shaft portion, and a groove provided on the float. It has the convex part to engage, or the recessed part to engage this protrusion.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, a locking portion and a locked portion are provided between the rotation operation member and the float, and the locking portion and the locked portion are provided. A locking mechanism that elastically locks the stopper and elastically holds the rotational operation member in the rotational direction is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the locking mechanism includes a concave portion as the locked portion provided in one of the rotation operation member and the float, and a concave portion provided in the other. It has the nail | claw as the said latching | locking part to enter.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth and sixth aspects, the locked portion or the locking portion provided on the rotation operation member is annularly arranged on a circumference of the rotation operation member. It is characterized by being.

Effects and effects of the invention

  As described above, in the present invention, the rotary operation member that is assembled to the shaft portion of the linkage arm and moves along the shaft portion by rotation is held in the float so as to move integrally with the float along the shaft portion, Thus, the float height adjusting mechanism is configured.

In the present invention, when the rotation operation member is rotated, the rotation operation member moves along the shaft portion with the float, and the height of the float is adjusted.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is not necessary to rotate the float in order to adjust the height of the float, and it is not necessary to secure a space for the rotation around the float.
Therefore, according to the present invention, the degree of freedom in the layout of the arrangement of the peripheral components of the float is increased, and the washing tank can be further miniaturized.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to rotate the float for adjusting the height of the float, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom of the shape of the float itself is increased.

  In the present invention, by rotating the rotary operation member, the position thereof is continuously moved along the shaft portion of the connecting arm, that is, the height position of the float is continuously adjusted steplessly along the shaft portion. It is possible.

As a means for that purpose, for example, the rotational operation member and the shaft portion are assembled via a cam mechanism, and the rotational motion of the rotational operation member is converted into a linear motion along the shaft portion of the rotational operation member by the cam mechanism. According to claim 2, the rotation operation member is screwed with the shaft portion, and the rotation operation member is moved along the shaft portion by screw feed by rotation. It is desirable to move the position.
By doing in this way, the level of the washing water in the tank can be easily and finely and continuously adjusted steplessly.

In the present invention, the operator can hold the float with one hand and adjust the height position of the float by rotating the rotary operation member with the other hand. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a rotation stop mechanism for moving and guiding the float along the shaft portion while preventing the rotation of the float between the float and the shaft portion.
If it does in this way, the height position of a float can be easily adjusted only by rotating a rotation operation member by one-hand operation.

  In this case, the anti-rotation mechanism includes a groove or a ridge provided on the outer surface of the shaft portion and along the shaft portion, and a convex portion or a ridge provided on the float that engages with the groove of the shaft portion. It can have a recessed part to engage with (claim 4).

  In the present invention, there is also provided a locking portion and a locked portion between the rotation operation member and the float, and the rotation operation member is rotated in a rotational direction by elastically locking the locking portion and the locked portion. A locking mechanism that elastically holds the position can be provided (claim 5).

  In this way, free rotation of the rotation operation member is prohibited, and by applying a rotation operation force to the rotation operation member, the rotation operation member overcomes the elastic locking action by the locking mechanism for the first time. Can be made.

  Therefore, according to the fifth aspect, the rotary operation member rotates unintentionally during long-term use, and this causes the float height position to deviate from the original target position, that is, in the tank. It is possible to prevent the water level when the washing water is full from changing from the set water level.

  In this case, the locking mechanism has a recess as a locked portion provided on one of the rotation operation member and the float, and a claw as a locking portion provided on the other and entering the recess. (Claim 6).

  In these fifth and sixth aspects, the locked portion or the locking portion provided on the rotation operation member can be annularly arranged on the circumference of the rotation operation member. ).

It is the figure which showed the height adjustment mechanism of the float in the ball tap of one Embodiment of this invention with the internal structure of the washing tank. It is the figure which showed the height adjustment mechanism of the embodiment with the ball tap. It is the figure which showed the height adjustment mechanism of the embodiment from the direction different from FIG. It is the figure which showed the principal part of the height adjustment mechanism of the embodiment. It is the figure shown in the state which isolate | separated the height adjustment dial and screw shaft part in the embodiment. It is the figure which showed the float in the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the advantage of the float shown in FIGS. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the float of a comparative example. It is the figure which showed the conventional height adjustment mechanism with the internal structure of the washing tank.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a cleaning tank (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a tank), which has a double tank structure of an outer tank 12 and an inner tank 14.
A hand-washing basin 16 that also serves as a lid is provided on the upper part of the outer tank 12, and a hand-washing water pipe 18 is provided on the hand-washing basin 16 so as to stand up from the hand-washing basin 16.
A drain outlet 20 is provided at the bottom of the hand basin 16, and the hand wash water discharged from the hand wash water discharge pipe 18 falls from the drain outlet 20 into the tank 10.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a cleaning handle rotatably provided on the tank wall. An L-shaped lever arm 24 extends from the cleaning handle 22 toward the inside of the tank 10.
And the front-end | tip part and the drain valve of the tank bottom part which abbreviate | omits illustration are connected with the ball chain 26. FIG.
The drain valve is lifted by the ball chain 26 by the rotation operation of the cleaning handle 22 and opened.
By opening the valve, the discharge port at the bottom of the tank 10 is opened, and the wash water stored in the tank 10 is discharged from the discharge port toward the toilet bowl.

28 is a ball tap disposed inside the tank 10, 30 is a ball tap main body, and a water supply pipe 32 is connected to the ball tap main body 30.
The ball tap main body 30 is provided with a water supply valve 34 and a tank water supply port 36 at a downstream portion thereof.

  In addition to the water supply port 36 in the tank, a hand wash side water supply port (not shown) for supplying hand wash water to the hand wash water discharge pipe 18 is provided, and the hand wash side water supply port and the hand wash water discharge pipe 18 are formed of a bellows tube. Communication is made with a water conduit 38.

  In this ball tap 28, when the water supply valve 34 is opened, the water sent through the water supply pipe 32 is supplied into the tank 10 from the water supply inlet 36 in the tank, and at the same time, the water guide pipe 38 is supplied from the hand-washing side water supply inlet. Then, the water is led to the hand-washing water pipe 18, and the hand-washing water is discharged from the hand-washing bowl 16 toward the hand-washing bowl 16.

The ball tap 28 has a float 40 that moves up and down in conjunction with the level of the cleaning water by buoyancy due to the cleaning water in the tank 10, and a connecting arm 42 that connects the float 40 and the water supply valve 34.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connecting arm 42 extends downward from the water supply valve 34, and then extends in a substantially horizontal direction, and a screw shaft portion that falls downward from the tip of the arm 44. (The shaft portion) 46, and the float 40 is attached to the screw shaft portion 46 so as to be adjustable in height.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 48 denotes an overflow pipe.
Reference numeral 50 denotes a water supply port provided in the ball tap main body 30 for supplying makeup water to the toilet through the overflow pipe 48.

In this embodiment, the float 40 has a rectangular shape in plan view as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the float 40 has an inverted cup shape having a peripheral wall portion 40 </ b> A and an upper wall portion 40 </ b> B, and its lower surface is open.
The lower surface of the open shape is inclined obliquely with respect to the horizontal direction at the start of water stop (when the float 40 starts to rise), specifically the root of the connecting arm 42, specifically, the rotation of the connecting arm 42. The shape is an inclined shape that gradually moves upward as it moves to the right side in the drawing toward the shaft portion 52 side as the moving center.
The float 40 integrally has a cylindrical tube portion 53 therein, and the screw shaft portion 46 is inserted downwardly there.

In FIG. 4, 54 is a height adjustment dial (rotation operation member) for adjusting the height of the float 40, and is rotatably held by a holding portion 56 provided on the upper surface of the float 40.
The height adjustment dial 54 is moved by the holding portion 56 so as to move integrally with the float 40 in the vertical direction in the figure along the screw shaft portion 46.

As shown in FIG. 5, the height adjustment dial 54 has a circular center portion 54A, an outer ring portion 54B, and connecting ribs 54C that connect them at four locations in the circumferential direction. Yes.
The outer peripheral surface of the ring portion 54B serving as the main body has an uneven shape having a large number of convex portions 58 and concave portions 60 so that the ring portion 54B can be easily picked and rotated.
The central portion 54A is provided with a female screw hole 62 that passes through the central portion 54A in the axial direction.

On the other hand, a male screw portion 64 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft portion 46, and the height adjustment dial 54 is screwed into the screw shaft portion 46 in the female screw hole 62, more specifically, the male screw portion 64. It is assembled.
The lower end portion of the screw shaft portion 46 is a plate-like portion 66, and the male screw portion 64 is provided from the upper end of the screw shaft portion 46 to the plate-like portion 66.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the holding portion 56 includes a pair of plate-like leg portions 68 and 70 that rise from the upper surface of the float 40 and a plate-like connecting portion 72 that connects the upper ends thereof. It has a bridge shape and is integrally formed with the float 40.
As shown in FIG. 6, a holding recess 74 is formed inside the holding portion 56 having the bridge shape, and the height adjusting dial 54 is inserted in the direction of arrow P in FIG. Has been held there.

As shown in FIG. 4, one leg 68 is provided with a curved abutting portion 76 that extends along the outer peripheral surface of the height adjustment dial 54. Due to the abutting action on the height adjustment dial 54, the height adjustment dial 54 can be inserted into the holding recess 74 only from the direction of the arrow P in FIG. 4 and is prevented from coming off from the holding portion 56 in the P direction in the drawing.
Thereby, the assembly | attachment property at the time of inserting and assembling | attaching the height adjustment dial 54 to the holding recess 74 inside the holding part 56 becomes favorable.

The connecting portion 72 in the holding portion 56 is provided with a circular fitting portion 78 at the center thereof.
A circular insertion hole 80 is formed in the fitting portion 78, and the screw shaft portion 46 is inserted therethrough. In other words, the fitting portion 78 is fitted to the screw shaft portion 46 in an outer fitting state.

As shown in FIG. 5, the screw shaft portion 46 is provided with grooves 82 that extend vertically at two locations that differ by 180 ° in the circumferential direction.
Corresponding to this, the insertion hole 80 is provided with a pair of convex portions 84, and these convex portions 84 are engaged in the grooves 82 of the screw shaft portion 46 in the radial direction as shown in FIG. ing.

The groove 82 and the convex portion 84 form a rotation stop mechanism with respect to the screw shaft portion 46 of the float 40. The float 40 is engaged with the screw shaft portion 46 by the engagement of the convex portion 84 and the groove 46 in the rotational direction. Stopped.
However, the pair of convex portions 84 can slide in the groove 82 in the axial direction of the screw shaft portion 46, and when the float 40 moves along the screw shaft portion 46 in the vertical direction in the figure, these convex portions 84 and the groove 82 guide the movement.
As shown in FIG. 6, a similar convex portion 84 is also provided in the opening 86 at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 53 in the float 40, and this convex portion 84 is screwed as shown in FIG. The shaft 46 is engaged with the groove 82.

  The height adjustment dial 54 is screwed into the screw shaft portion 46 while being inserted into the holding recess 74 of the holding portion 56. Under this state, the height adjustment dial 54 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the central portion 54A is sandwiched between the plate-like connecting portion 72 of the holding portion 56 and the upper wall portion 40B of the float 40 body, and therefore the height adjustment dial 54 is rotated. When the position is moved up and down along the screw shaft portion 46 by screw feed, the float 40 changes the position up and down along the screw shaft portion 46 integrally therewith.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent the height adjustment dial 54 from freely rotating, a locking mechanism is provided across the height adjustment dial 54 and the float 40, specifically, the holding portion 56 of the float 40.

Here, a recess 88 as a locked portion in the locking mechanism is provided on the upper surface of the ring portion 54B in the height adjustment dial 54, and an elastic piece 90 is provided in the connecting portion 72 in the holding portion 56. A claw 92 as a locking portion is provided at the tip, and the claw 92 enters the recess 88, and the recess 88 and the claw 92 are elastically locked.
Here, the recess 88 is annularly arranged over the entire circumference of the height adjustment dial 54.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the height adjustment dial 54 is applied only when the operation force of rotation necessary for the claw 92 to elastically climb over the peak portion between the recesses 88 and 88 is applied to the height adjustment dial 54. Can be rotated around the screw shaft portion 46, and the height adjustment dial 54 rotates around the screw shaft portion 46 based on the elastic engagement between the claw 92 and the recess 88 unless such an operating force is applied. I can't.

  That is, while the ball tap 28 is used for a long period of time, the height adjustment dial 54 is naturally rotated by the action of a screw due to buoyancy applied to the float 40, and the position of the height adjustment dial 54, that is, the float 40 is shifted from the original position. It doesn't happen.

In the height adjustment mechanism of the float 40 in the ball tap 28 of the present embodiment, a rotational operation force is applied to the height adjustment dial 54 to rotate it against the elastic locking action between the claw 92 and the recess 88 in FIG. As a result, the screwing position of the height adjustment dial 54 with respect to the screw shaft portion 46 changes in the vertical direction, and the position of the float 40 moves together with the height adjustment dial 54 and the height position of the float 40 changes. Adjusted.
As a result, the amount of water when the tank 10 is filled with water, that is, the water level is adjusted.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the lower surface forming the open shape of the float 40 has a shape inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, and thus the following advantages are obtained.
FIG. 8 shows a comparative example for explaining the advantages. In this comparative example, the float 40X is the same as the above embodiment in that the lower end has an open shape. The bottom surface is oriented horizontally at the start of water stoppage.

  In this comparative example, buoyancy is generated by the size of the float 40X at the start of water stop shown in FIG. 8 (I). However, as shown in FIG. When the float 40X is in a posture in which the float 40X is tilted, the air in the portion indicated by the broken line in the drawing of the float 40X leaks and the portion is filled with water, and the buoyancy with respect to the float 40X decreases. As a result, there arises a problem that the water stop operation is not stable.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7I, the buoyancy acting on the float 40 is smaller than the size of the float 40 at the start of water stoppage. When the float 40 is tilted together with the linking arm 42 after the start of water, and when the final water stop state is reached, the lower surface of the open shape faces the horizontal direction (the inclined shape of the lower surface is defined as such). The air inside the float 40 is not leaked, and the advantage that the operation of the water stop is stabilized is obtained (the buoyancy applied to the float 40 does not change from the start of the water stop until the stop of the water).

According to the present embodiment as described above, when the height adjustment dial 54 is rotated, the height adjustment dial 54 moves along the screw shaft portion 46 with the float 40, and the height of the float 40 is adjusted. Is done.
Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to rotate the float 40 in order to adjust the height of the float 40, and it is not necessary to secure a space for the rotation around the float 40.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the degree of freedom in the layout of the arrangement of the peripheral components of the float 40 is increased, and the cleaning tank 10 can be further downsized.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to rotate the float 40 for adjusting the height of the float 40, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom of the shape of the float itself is increased.

  In the present embodiment, the height adjustment dial 54 is rotated to continuously move the position along the screw shaft portion 46 of the connecting arm 42, that is, the height position of the float 40 is moved along the screw shaft portion 46. Therefore, the water level of the washing water in the tank 10 can be easily and finely and continuously adjusted in a stepless manner.

  Further, in this embodiment, since a rotation stop mechanism for moving and guiding the float 40 along the screw shaft portion 46 while preventing the rotation of the float 40 is provided, the operator can rotate the height adjustment dial 54 with one hand operation. The height position of the float 40 can be easily adjusted simply by doing.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the height adjustment dial 54 rotates unintentionally during long-term use, which causes the height position of the float 40 to deviate from the original target position, that is, the tank. It is possible to prevent the water level when the wash water in 10 is full from changing from the set water level.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example.
For example, instead of providing the groove 82 in the screw shaft portion 46, a protrusion is provided, and instead of providing the protrusion 84 on the float 40 side, a recess for engaging the protrusion is provided to constitute a rotation stop mechanism. In addition, a claw is provided on the side of the height adjustment dial 54 in place of the concave portion 88, while a concave portion for allowing the claw to enter is provided on the float 40 side, and thereby the height adjustment dial 54 is provided. It is also possible to configure a locking mechanism that elastically locks in the rotation direction.
Furthermore, the present invention can be configured in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention, for example, the rotational operation member can be configured in various forms other than the height adjustment dial 54 described above. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Washing tank 28 Ball tap 34 Water supply valve 40 Float 42 Cooperation arm 46 Screw shaft part (shaft part)
54 Height adjustment dial (rotary operation member)
82 Groove 84 Convex part 88 Concave part 92 Claw

Claims (7)

A water supply valve, a float that moves up and down in conjunction with the water level of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank, and a connecting arm that has a shaft portion that connects the float and the water supply valve. A float height adjustment mechanism in a ball tap that automatically opens and closes a water supply valve to automatically supply water to the tank,
A state in which a rotation operation member assembled to the shaft portion of the linking arm and moved along the shaft portion by rotating independently with respect to the float moves together with the float along the shaft portion. A float height adjusting mechanism in a ball tap, wherein the float is held by the float.   The height of the float in the ball tap according to claim 1, wherein the rotation operation member is screwed with the shaft portion and is moved along the shaft portion by screw feed by rotation. Adjustment mechanism.   3. The rotation stop mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a rotation stopping mechanism is provided between the float and the shaft portion to move and guide the float along the shaft portion while preventing rotation of the float. Float height adjustment mechanism for ball taps   4. The rotation stop mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the rotation stopping mechanism includes a groove or a ridge provided on the outer surface of the shaft portion and along the shaft portion, and a convex portion provided in the float, which is engaged with the groove. A float height adjusting mechanism for a ball tap, characterized by having a recess for engaging the protrusion.   5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging portion and an engaged portion between the rotation operation member and the float, and elastically engaging the engaging portion and the engaged portion. A float height adjusting mechanism for a ball tap, wherein a locking mechanism for elastically holding the rotational operation member in the rotational direction is provided.   6. The locking mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the locking mechanism is a recess as the locked portion provided in one of the rotation operation member and the float, and a locking portion provided in the other and entering the recess. A float height adjusting mechanism in a ball tap, characterized by comprising a nail.   7. The ball tap according to claim 5, wherein the locked portion or the locking portion provided on the rotation operation member is annularly arranged on a circumference of the rotation operation member. Float height adjustment mechanism.

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