JP6059668B2 - Valve opening / closing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a valve opening / closing device that remotely controls at least one of valve opening / closing operations. More specifically, the present invention relates to a valve opening / closing device capable of remotely confirming the valve opening / closing state.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a valve opening / closing device that opens and closes a valve of a gas cylinder or a gate valve by remote control is known. A valve opening / closing device having a function of automatically shutting off the valve in an emergency or the like is also known. These are devices that open and close the valve by remotely operating an electromagnetic solenoid or the like to rotate the rotating shaft of the valve. However, it is conceivable that the valve opening / closing device breaks down or that an obstruction or the like is interposed in the drive portion of the device to hinder the valve opening / closing operation. Therefore, in order to ensure the opening / closing of the valve, it is necessary to visually check the valve to check whether the valve is opened / closed as intended.

  In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to transmit a detection value of a pressure gauge or a flow meter connected to a gas cylinder or the like and detect the valve open / close state from the detection value. However, the detection of the valve open / close state by these methods is indirect, and is not a means for directly detecting whether or not the valve body is truly opened / closed. Therefore, conventionally, there is no means for remotely detecting whether or not the valve is opened and closed as intended, and it is still necessary to visually check the valve in order to ensure the opening and closing of the valve. There is.

  As described above, it is troublesome to visually confirm the open / closed state of the valve every time the valve is opened / closed. In some cases, such as an emergency, the valve cannot be seen directly. Therefore, there is a need for a valve opening and closing device that can remotely control the opening and closing of the valve and can confirm whether or not the valve is opened and closed as intended.

  Document 1 discloses a cylinder base automatic opening / closing device having a blade plate detection mechanism having a limit stopper. This device detects the open / closed state of the valve with an electric or pneumatic switch, but in the case of the electric type, it has an energized portion in the vicinity of the cylinder, so it is difficult to use in a flammable atmosphere. In order to be able to be used even in a flammable atmosphere, it is preferable that the valve opening / closing device is not provided with a current-carrying portion, and there is no valve opening / closing device configured in this way.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-91894

  An object of the present invention is to provide a valve opening / closing device capable of remotely operating the opening / closing of a valve and remotely confirming the opening / closing state of the valve. Furthermore, it is providing the valve opening / closing apparatus comprised without providing the energization location in the drive part of a valve opening / closing apparatus, or valve vicinity.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor provides a mark for optically identifying the open / closed state of the valve on the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion that rotates integrally with the rotary shaft of the valve. I thought of that. And it discovered that the method of detecting this label | marker optically with a label | marker reading means through an optical fiber can solve the said subject, and came to complete this invention.

  The present invention for solving the above problems is as described below.

[1] A valve opening and closing device that opens and closes the valve to be controlled by rotating a rotating shaft of the valve to be controlled.
A valve fitting portion having a mark for optically identifying an open / closed state of the control target valve on an outer peripheral portion, fitted to the control target valve, and rotatable about the same axis as the rotation shaft of the control target valve When,
A valve fitting portion rotating means which is interlocked with the valve fitting portion and rotates the valve fitting portion along its axis;
A control unit for controlling the valve fitting unit rotating means;
A sign reading means for reading the sign through an optical fiber and transmitting an open / closed state of the control target valve to the control unit;
A valve opening and closing device comprising:

  [2] The valve opening / closing apparatus according to [1], wherein the valve fitting portion rotating means is a spring spring wound around a direction parallel to the axis of the valve fitting portion.

  [3] The valve opening / closing apparatus according to [1], further including a display unit that displays an opening / closing state of the valve read by the valve opening / closing state reading unit.

  According to the valve opening / closing apparatus of the present invention, the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion that rotates together with the rotation shaft of the control target valve has a mark for optically identifying the open / closed state of the control target valve. By reading through, it is possible to remotely confirm the actual open / close state of the valve to be controlled. In addition, since the sign is detected remotely through the optical fiber, there is no energized portion around the drive unit of the valve opening / closing device. Therefore, the valve opening / closing device of the present invention can be used even in a flammable atmosphere.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration example of a valve opening / closing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing a configuration example of the valve opening / closing device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the valve opening / closing device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an unfolded mark attached to the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a mark attached to the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the valve opening / closing device of the present invention is attached to a gas cylinder. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the valve fitting section rotating means using compressed gas as a power source. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the lock mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, a configuration example of the valve opening / closing device of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration example of the valve opening / closing device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view thereof. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the internal structure of the drive unit 18 of FIG. In this valve opening / closing device, the operation of opening the control target valve is performed by manually rotating the handle 14, and the operation of closing the control target valve is performed by remote control.

  In FIG. 1, 18 is a drive part of a valve opening / closing device. Reference numeral 10 denotes a housing, which is fixed around the control target valve by a fixing tool 30 via a support column 32. A valve fitting portion 12 having a circular outer periphery is accommodated in the housing 10. A rotary shaft 20 is attached to the upper portion of the valve fitting portion 12 with the same axis. The valve fitting portion 12 is configured to be fitted to a control target valve (not shown) and to rotate about the same axis as the rotation axis of the control target valve. When the valve fitting part 12 rotates, the rotating shaft of the valve to be controlled rotates, and the valve to be controlled is opened and closed according to the rotation direction. The outer periphery of the valve fitting portion 12 is provided with a label for optically identifying the open / closed state of the valve to be controlled (described later).

  An air cylinder 22, a lock mechanism 24, and a spring spring 26 are disposed in the housing 10.

  The spring spring 26 is wound around the axis parallel to the axis of the valve fitting portion. A handle 14 is attached to the mainspring 26 with the same axis as the mainspring 26. Below the handle 14, a gear 19a is attached with the same axis, and a gear 19b is fitted to the gear 19a, and a gear 19c is fitted to the gear 19b. The rotary shaft 20 is attached to the gear 19c with the same axis. That is, the rotation of the handle 14 is configured to transmit the gears 19a, 19b, 19c to rotate the rotating shaft 20 and the valve fitting portion 12 in a predetermined direction. The handle 14 is configured to wind up the spring spring 26 by rotating in a predetermined direction. The wound spring 26 is transmitted through gears 19a, 19b, 19c to transmit the rotary shaft 20 and the valve fitting portion. 12 is urged to rotate in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction along its axis.

  One end of a driving gas supply pipe 17 is connected to the air cylinder 22 via a driving gas supply port 16. The other end of the driving gas supply pipe 17 is connected to a driving gas supply source side (not shown). A lock mechanism 24 is connected to the air cylinder 22. The air cylinder 22 is configured to operate the lock mechanism 24 while the driving gas is filled in the air cylinder 22 at a predetermined pressure.

  The flow rate of the driving gas supplied from the driving gas supply pipe 17 is adjusted by a control unit (not shown). The driving gas is not particularly limited, but compressed air or nitrogen gas is preferable.

  The lock mechanism 24 is configured to prevent the rotation shaft 20 and the valve fitting portion 12 from rotating in a predetermined direction during operation thereof. The detailed structure is not shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the locking mechanism. A ratchet gear 81 having a ratchet mechanism is fixed to the gear 19b with the same axis. The ratchet gear 81 is configured not to rotate when the mainspring spring 26 is wound up but to rotate only when the mainspring spring 26 returns. The ratchet gear 81 is fitted with a gear 82 to which a helical gear 83 is fixed, and the helical gear 83 is fitted with a screw gear 84. A blade-like damper 85 is fixed to the screw gear 84. A lock shaft B 86 is disposed in the vicinity of the damper 85. The lock shaft B 86 is connected to the lock shaft A 87. The lock shaft A 87 and the lock shaft B 86 are configured such that when one moves up, the other moves down. The damper 85 is configured to be non-rotatable when the lock shaft B 86 is lowered, and the damper 85 is configured to be rotatable when the lock shaft B 86 is raised. The lock shaft B 86 is biased in the upward direction by the spring 86a.

  The air cylinder 22 is configured so that a lock shaft A 87 and a lock shaft B 86 can be moved up and down by protruding a rod (not shown) according to the pressure in the cylinder. While the cylinder is at a predetermined pressure, the air cylinder 22 lowers the lock shaft B 86 and raises the lock shaft A 87. Thereby, the rotation of the damper 85 is stopped. On the other hand, when the inside of the cylinder falls below a predetermined pressure, the lock shaft B 86 is raised by the bias of the spring 86a and the lock shaft A 87 is lowered. Thereby, the damper 85 can be rotated.

  In the winding direction of the mainspring 26, the gears 19a to 19c rotate, but the ratchet gear 81 does not rotate because the ratchet mechanism works. Therefore, the mainspring 26 can be wound up regardless of the operation of the lock mechanism 24. On the other hand, in the direction in which the spiral spring 26 that has been wound up returns, the ratchet gear 81 rotates because it is in a rotatable direction. The rotation of the ratchet gear 81 at this time is transmitted to the damper 85 through the gear 82, the helical gear 83, and the screw gear 84 in order. With this configuration, while the lock shaft B 86 is lowered and the damper 85 is locked, the ratchet gear 81 does not rotate, and the mainspring 26 cannot return to its original position. Therefore, by remotely controlling the pressure in the air cylinder 22, it is possible to control whether or not the wound spring 26 is allowed to return by controlling the movement of the lock shaft B86. Note that the lock of the damper 85 can be released regardless of the pressure in the air cylinder 22 by manually pushing down the lock shaft A 87.

  A mark reading port 11 through which the mark provided on the outer peripheral surface of the valve fitting part 12 can be peeped is formed at a location where the valve fitting part 12 of the housing 10 is located. One end of an optical fiber 13 is attached to the reading port 11. The other end of the optical fiber 13 is connected to a sign reader (not shown). The sign reader (valve open / close state reading means) optically reads the sign displayed on the outer peripheral part of the valve fitting part 12 displayed on the part corresponding to the sign reading port 11 through the optical fiber 13. The label reader includes a light source and a light receiving element. The amount of light irradiated from the light source and reflected by the sign is read by the light receiving element. The sign reader is configured to transmit a read signal to a control unit (not shown).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a developed mark on the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion 12. As shown in FIG. 5, this mark is attached along the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion 12. Of the signs marked in two stages in FIG. 4, the upper stage is divided into two regions having different light reflectivities so that they can be detected optically. In FIG. 4, 50 is a black marker painted in black, and 51 is a white marker painted in white. Since the valve fitting part 12 is fitted to the control target valve and rotates together with the control target valve, the valve state of the control target valve can be identified by the mark. Specifically, when the black marker 50 is located at a position corresponding to the marker reading port 11 in FIG. 1, the valve to be controlled is closed, and when the white marker 51 is also located, The valve to be controlled is in an open state. The lower display is a display for a human to directly check the open / close state of the valve to be controlled, and is not essential in the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the valve opening / closing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the drive unit 18 of the valve opening / closing device 100 of the present invention is attached to a gas cylinder. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 60 denotes a gas cylinder, and a control target valve 61 is formed at the top of the gas cylinder. First, the valve fitting portion 12 is fitted to the control target valve 61. The casing 10 of the valve opening / closing device 100 is fixed to the gas cylinder 60 by the fixture 30 via the support column 32. Thereby, the valve fitting part 12 and the control object valve | bulb 61 rotate integrally by the same shaft center.

  When the control target valve 61 of the gas cylinder 60 is opened, the handle 14 is manually rotated in a predetermined direction. As a result, the mainspring 26 is wound up, the rotating shaft 20 and the valve fitting portion 12 rotate along the axis thereof, and the controlled valve 61 is opened (in the following description, the valve fitting portion 12 at this time is opened). ) Is also referred to as “A direction”, and the opposite direction is also referred to as “B direction”). The valve fitting portion 12 is urged in the B direction, that is, the direction in which the control target valve 61 is closed by the wound spring 26. At this time, the control unit 70 operates the three-way electromagnetic valve 73 interposed in the driving gas supply pipe 17 by the control signal to send the driving gas into the air cylinder 22. When the inside of the air cylinder 22 reaches a predetermined pressure, the air cylinder 22 operates the lock mechanism 24 to suppress the rotation of the valve fitting portion 12 in the B direction. As a result, the controlled valve 61 is kept open. At this time, the white marker 51 displayed on the outer periphery of the valve fitting portion 12 is displayed in the marker reading port 11 portion. This mark is read by the mark reader 52 through the optical fiber 13 and transmits a “valve open” signal to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 receives the “valve open” signal and turns on the indicator lamp 71 corresponding to “valve open”.

  When the control target valve 61 of the gas cylinder 60 is closed, the control unit 70 operates the three-way electromagnetic valve 73 to exhaust the driving gas in the air cylinder 22. As a result, the lock mechanism 24 is released. When the lock mechanism is released, the valve fitting portion 12 is rotated in the B direction by the urging force of the mainspring spring 26. In this way, the control target valve 61 of the gas cylinder 60 is closed. At this time, the black marker 50 displayed on the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion 12 is displayed in the marker reading port 11 portion. This mark is read by the mark reader 52 through the optical fiber 13 and transmits a “valve closed” signal to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 receives the “valve closed” signal and turns on the indicator lamp 72 corresponding to “valve closed”.

  As described above, the valve opening / closing device 100 opens / closes the control target valve 61 and transmits the actual state of the control target valve 61 to the control unit 70. Accordingly, the state of the control target valve can be grasped without a person directly viewing the control target valve.

  Since the valve opening / closing device 100 does not have a current-carrying portion in the drive portion 18, it can be used even in a flammable atmosphere.

  The three-way solenoid valve 73 is preferably configured to exhaust the drive gas in the air cylinder 22 when not energized. Thereby, a control object valve can be closed automatically at the time of a power failure. In this case, in order to be able to confirm the state of the control target valve 61 even in the event of a power failure, the sign reader 52 may be provided with a spare power source or the like. The valve opening and closing device of the present invention can be configured to connect a known earthquake sensor, gas sensor, fire sensor, or the like and close the valve to be controlled in the event of an earthquake, gas leak, or fire.

  In the above description, the valve opening / closing apparatus 100 is configured to perform the operation of opening the valve by manually rotating the handle 14 and performing the operation of closing the valve by remote control. You may comprise so that it may carry out by remote control.

  In the above description, the mainspring 26 is used as the power source as the valve fitting portion rotating means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and air pressure, hydraulic pressure, various elastic bodies, and the like may be used as the power source.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the valve fitting section rotating means using compressed gas as a power source. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 40 denotes a pneumatic actuator, and two air supply / exhaust ports 45 and 46 are formed in a body 41 in which a cylindrical space is formed. A supply / exhaust pipe for supplying and exhausting compressed gas from the outside is connected to the supply / exhaust ports 45 and 46, and supply / exhaust is controlled by a supply / exhaust controller (not shown). In the body 41, a shaft 42, a vane 43 that is integral with the shaft 42 and slides in the body 41, and a stopper 44 are disposed. In the pneumatic actuator 40, when compressed gas is sent into the body 41 from the air supply / exhaust port 45, the vane 43 rotates clockwise around the rotation axis of the shaft 42 by the pressure. As a result, the rotation axis of the shaft 42 rotates clockwise. On the other hand, when compressed gas is sent into the body 41 from the air supply / exhaust port 46, the vane 43 rotates counterclockwise with the rotation axis of the shaft 42 as an axis center by the pressure. As a result, the rotation axis of the shaft 42 rotates counterclockwise. By transmitting the rotation of the shaft 42 to the rotating shaft 20 of FIG. 1, the opening and closing of the control target valve can be controlled.

  In the above description, the indicator displayed on the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion 12 is composed of a white portion and a black portion, but is not limited to this, and can be composed of any material having different light reflectivities. In addition, this mark can be formed by attaching a seal or the like to the outer peripheral portion of the valve fitting portion 12 or can be formed by direct coating.

  In the above description, the marker reader 52 and the three-way solenoid valve 73 are installed separately from the control unit 70, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be incorporated in the control unit 70. The control unit 70 may be installed anywhere, but when the drive unit 18 is used in a flammable atmosphere, it is preferable to install it outside the flammable atmosphere or to have an explosion-proof structure. The control unit 70 may be provided with an indicator lamp that notifies abnormality when the control target valve does not operate according to the control signal.

  The length of the optical fiber 13 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 m or longer.

  In the above description, the control unit 70 controls only one valve opening / closing device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of valve opening / closing devices can also be controlled.

  In the above description, the valve opening / closing device 100 is directly fixed to the gas cylinder 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the gas cylinder 60 and the valve opening / closing device 100 may be fixed to a wall or a column, respectively. Moreover, in the said description, although the valve opening / closing apparatus 100 was applied to the valve 61 of the gas cylinder 60, it is not restricted to this but can also be applied to the gate valve interposed by various piping. In that case, the fixing tool 30 and the support column 32 may be appropriately changed in design and fixed near the valve body of the gate valve.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Valve opening / closing apparatus 10 ... Housing 11 ... Mark reading port 12 ... Valve fitting part 13 ... Optical fiber 14 ... Handle 16 ... Drive gas supply port 17 ... Drive gas supply pipe 18 ... Drive parts 19a, 19b, 19c ... Gear 20 ... Rotating shaft 22 ... Air cylinder 24 ... Lock mechanism 26 ... Spring spring 30 ... Fixing tool 32 ..Pole 40 ... Pneumatic actuator 41 ... Body 42 ... Shaft 43 ... Vane 44 ... Stopper 45, 46 ... Air supply / exhaust port 50 ... Black mark 51 ... White Mark 52 ... Mark reader 60 ... Gas cylinder 61 ... Valve to be controlled 70 ... Control unit 71 ... Indicator lamp 72 ... Indicator lamp 73 ... Three-way solenoid valve 81 ... Ratchet Gear 8 ... gear 83 ... helical gear 84 ... screw gear 85 ... damper 86 ... lock shaft B
86a ... Spring 87 ... Lock shaft A

Claims (3)

A valve opening and closing device that opens and closes the control target valve by rotating a rotation shaft of the control target valve;
The outer peripheral portion is circular, and has a mark on the outer peripheral portion for optically identifying the open / closed state of the control target valve by a difference in light reflectance , and is fitted to the control target valve. A valve fitting that can rotate around the same axis as the rotary shaft;
A valve fitting portion rotating means which is interlocked with the valve fitting portion and rotates the valve fitting portion along its axis;
A control unit for controlling the open / close state of the valve to be controlled;
A housing that contains the valve fitting portion and includes a sign reading port that is drilled at a position where the sign can be viewed.
A sign reading means for reading the amount of light reflected by the sign through a single optical fiber having one end attached to the sign reading port, and transmitting the open / closed state of the control target valve to the control unit;
A valve opening and closing device for a gas cylinder, comprising: The valve opening and closing device for a gas cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the valve fitting portion rotating means is a spring spring wound around a direction parallel to the axis of the valve fitting portion. The valve opening / closing device for a gas cylinder according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying an open / closed state of the control target valve read by the sign reading means.

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