JP7176506B2 - fluid switching valve - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to fluid switching valves.

BACKGROUND ART In a hot rolling process in a steel mill, a coiling process is performed to coil a rolled steel strip (also referred to as "strip"). In this winding step, a hot rolling coiler (also referred to as a "winding device") having a mandrel for winding the steel strip on its surface and a plurality of wrapper rolls arranged around the mandrel is used to roll the steel strip. Winding takes place. The wrapper roll is provided movably with respect to the mandrel, guides the tip of the steel strip around the mandrel, and presses the steel strip against the mandrel for the purpose of generating a frictional force between the steel strip and the mandrel. Used.

This movement of the wrapper roll (also referred to as “opening/closing operation”) is performed by operating (opening, closing, or neutral) a high-pressure air cylinder. A high-pressure air cylinder that operates the wrapper roll is operated by a fluid switching valve. A fluid switching valve is a spool (also called a "shuttle rod" or "piston") provided inside a frame (also called a "housing") that is operated by hydraulic pressure or air pressure to switch the air supplied to an air cylinder. By changing the flow direction of the air cylinder, the operation of the air cylinder is controlled (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-60982 A

By the way, in the hot rolling coiler, due to various factors such as malfunction of the fluid switching valve and malfunction of the air cylinder, the opening and closing operation of the wrapper roll may not be performed normally. In such cases, countermeasures such as changing the number of hot-rolling coilers or abruptly stopping the coilers are taken, which affects production. Among the causes of opening and closing failure of the wrapper roll, failure of the fluid switching valve is caused by the spool not stopping at a normal position due to sticking of the spool or fluid leakage. However, since the conventional fluid switching valve has a structure in which the spool is housed inside a metal frame, the position of the spool cannot be confirmed, and it is difficult to identify the failure of the fluid switching valve. rice field. Furthermore, since it is difficult to immediately identify other factors such as air cylinder failure, if the wrapper roll fails to open or close, regardless of whether or not the fluid switching valve is defective, First of all, measures have been taken to replace the fluid switching valve.

When replacing the fluid switching valve, the work takes about three hours, and during that time the production is greatly affected. Further, if the cause of the opening/closing failure is other than the failure of the fluid switching valve, the time required for recovery will be further increased.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made with a focus on the above problems, and provides a fluid switching valve that enables easy confirmation of a failure of the fluid switching valve by making it possible to confirm the stop position of the spool. It is intended to

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid switching valve for switching a flow direction of a fluid, comprising: a frame provided with a cavity therein; and a rod configured integrally with the spool and protruding outside the frame on at least one end side of the frame in the one axial direction. A fluid selector valve is provided.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid switching valve that makes it possible to easily confirm a failure of the fluid switching valve by making it possible to confirm the stop position of the spool.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a fluid switching valve according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a hot rolling coiler. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the fluid switching valve according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional fluid switching valve; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of a conventional fluid switching valve;

In the following detailed description, embodiments of the invention are illustrated and numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without such specific details. Also, the drawings are schematic representations of well-known structures and devices for the sake of brevity.

<Configuration of fluid switching valve>
A configuration of a fluid switching valve 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. The fluid switching valve 1 is provided in the hot rolling coiler 8 shown in FIG.
The hot rolling coiler 8 is a device for coiling the hot-rolled steel strip 9 , and includes pinch rolls 80 , mandrels 81 , multiple wrapper rolls 82 , and multiple air cylinders 83 . In the hot rolling coiler 8 , the steel strip 9 guided from the pinch rolls 80 is coiled around the mandrel 81 . A plurality of wrapper rolls 82 arranged around the mandrel 81 are opened and closed by air cylinders 83 provided on each wrapper roll 82 so as to adjust the distance from the mandrel 81 . The plurality of wrapper rolls 82 guide the tip of the steel strip 9 around the mandrel 81 and press the steel strip 9 against the mandrel 81 to generate a frictional force between the steel strip 9 and the mandrel 81, The steel strip 9 is tightly wrapped around the mandrel 81 .

The fluid switching valve 1 is connected to each of the air cylinders 83 and controls the operation of each air cylinder 83 . The operation of the air cylinder 83 includes an opening operation in which the air cylinder 83 contracts, a closing operation in which the air cylinder 83 extends, and a neutral operation in which the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder 83 stops. Also, the wrapper roll 82 moves away from the mandrel 81 when the air cylinder 83 is opened, and the wrapper roll 82 moves closer to the mandrel 81 when the air cylinder 83 is closed.
The fluid switching valve 1 includes a frame 2, a spool 3, a pair of inner pistons 4 and 5, and a rod 6, as shown in FIG.
The frame 2 has an outer frame 20, an inner frame 21, and seal members 22 and 23. As shown in FIG.

The outer frame 20 is a substantially cylindrical metal member extending in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and has a substantially cylindrical cavity formed therein. Holes into which the rods 6 are inserted are formed at both ends of the outer frame 20 in the extending direction. In addition, supply ports 200 and 201, which are supply/discharge paths for operation air and communicate with internal cavities, are formed on both end side surfaces (lower surface in FIG. 1) of the outer frame 20 in the extending direction. The supply ports 200 and 201 are respectively connected to operation air supply/discharge devices (not shown), and operation air, which is low pressure air of about 4 kg/cm ² , is supplied or discharged according to the operation of the air cylinder 83. . Further, an input port 202, which is a supply path for working air, and a first output port 203 and a second output port 204, which are paths for discharging working air, are formed on a side surface (lower surface in FIG. 1) of the outer frame 20. be. The input port 202 , the first output port 203 and the second output port 204 are holes communicating with the cavity inside the outer frame 20 . Also, the input port 202 is connected to a working air supply device (not shown), and is supplied with high pressure working air of about 20 kg/cm ² from the working air supply device. Further, the first output port 203 and the second output port 204 are connected to the air cylinder 83 and output working air supplied from the input port 202 to the air cylinder 83 according to the position of the spool 3 . Further, on the inner surface of the outer frame 20, a pair of protrusions 205 and 206 that protrude radially inward and fix the inner frame 21 are formed separated by the length of the inner frame 21 in the extending direction.

The inner frame 21 is a substantially cylindrical metal member. The inner frame 21 is fixed to the inner surface of the outer frame 20 at the center in the extending direction, with both ends in the extending direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) in contact with the pair of projections 205 and 206 of the outer frame 20 . . The inner frame 21 has three regions, a first region D ₁ to a third region D ₃ , arranged in the extending direction. Note that the first area D ₁ to third area D ₃ are positioned corresponding to the input port 202, the first output port 203 and the second output port 204, respectively. The central portions in the extending direction of the first to _third regions D ₁ to D 3 have smaller outer diameters and larger inner diameters than end portions including the boundaries of the respective regions D ₁ to D ₃ . In addition, a plurality of holes 210 to 212 are formed in the circumferential direction at the central portions in the extending direction of the first region D ₁ to the third region D ₃ . Furthermore, the outer peripheral surface of each end in the extending direction of the first area D ₁ to the third area D ₃ contacts the inner surface of the outer frame 20 .

The sealing member 22 is a sealing member such as an O-ring made of synthetic rubber, high-performance resin, or the like. The seal member 22 is embedded in the inner surface of the end portion (four places aligned in the horizontal direction in the example shown in FIG. 1) including the boundary of the first area D ₁ to the third area D ₃ of the inner frame 21 . A groove is formed in the inner surface of the end portion of the inner frame 21 including the boundaries of the first region D ₁ to the third region D ₃ so that the sealing member 22 can be embedded. The seal member 22 prevents the inflow of fluid and foreign matter into each of the first to third regions D ₁ to D ₃ and the outflow of working air from each of the regions while the spool 3 is inserted.

The sealing member 23, like the sealing member 22, is a sealing member such as an O-ring made of synthetic rubber, high-performance resin, or the like. The seal members 23 are respectively embedded in the inner surfaces of holes provided at both ends in the extending direction of the outer frame 20 and into which the rods 6 are inserted. Grooves are formed in the inner surfaces of the holes at both ends in the extending direction of the outer frame 20 so that the sealing members 23 can be embedded therein. The sealing member 23 prevents fluid or foreign matter from flowing into the frame 2 and operating air from flowing out of the frame 2 through the holes at both ends in the extending direction of the outer frame 20 when the rod 6 is inserted.

The spool 3 is a cylindrical metal member and is provided inside the inner frame 21 . The spool 3 is formed with a narrowed small diameter portion 30 having a smaller diameter than other portions at the center in the extending direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1). The length of the small-diameter portion 30 (the length in the direction in which the spool 3 extends) is set shorter than the interval between adjacent seal members 22 . Further, the spool 3 is formed with a hole extending in the extension direction of the spool 3 and through which the rod 6 is inserted. The spool 3 is provided in a state in which the side surface excluding the small diameter portion 30 is held by the sealing member 22, and is configured to be movable only in one axial direction, which is the extending direction. As will be described later, the spool 3 switches the flow direction of the working gas by controlling the supply path of the working gas according to the stop position.

The pair of inner pistons 4 and 5 are bottomed cylindrical metal members having a bottom portion and an open portion at both ends in the height direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1). They are provided so as to be slidably fitted inside the outer frame 20 on the side. The pair of inner pistons 4 and 5 have bottom portions opposite to the inner frame 21 in the extending direction of the outer frame 20, that is, end sides in the extending direction of the outer frame 20, and have open portions on the inner frame 21 side. are distributed to each. Also, the pair of inner pistons 4 and 5 are configured so that the spool 3 can be inserted from the open portion side. Further, the bottoms of the pair of inner pistons 4 and 5 are provided with holes through which the rod 6 can be inserted and whose diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the end of the spool 3 .

The rod 6 is a cylindrical metal member. The rod 6 is fixed to the spool 3 in a state of being inserted through the hole of the spool 3 , so that the rod 6 has an integral structure with the spool 3 . Both ends of the rod 6 in the extending direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) are inserted into holes at both ends of the outer frame 20 in the extending direction, and protrude from the outer frame 20 . The length of the rod 6 is such that both ends of the rod 6 can protrude from the outer frame 20 regardless of the position of the spool 3 inside the frame 2, as will be described later.

<Operation of fluid switching valve>
Next, the operation of the fluid switching valve 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The fluid switching valve 1 controls the operation of the air cylinder 83 by changing the flow direction of the high-pressure working air supplied to the air cylinder 83 . As described above, the operation of the air cylinder 83 includes three types of operations, opening operation, closing operation, and neutral operation. The fluid switching valve 1 controls the operation of the air cylinder 83 by changing the flow direction of the working air from the first output port 203 and the second output port 204 based on the difference in the direction of supply and discharge of the operation air.

FIG. 3A shows the neutral state of the fluid switching valve 1 when the air cylinder 83 is neutrally operated. When the air cylinder 83 is neutrally operated, the working air is not output from the first output port 203 and the second output port 204 of the fluid switching valve 1, so that the air cylinder 83 stops expanding and contracting due to the working air. .
Operation air is supplied to the supply ports 200 and 201 when performing the neutral operation. Then, the inner pistons 4 and 5 are pushed toward the inner frame 21 by the pressure of the operating air, and the spool 3 is stopped at the center position of the inner frame 21 to be in a neutral state. In the neutral state, the flow path of the working air is blocked between the first region D1 and the _second region D2 and between the _first region D1 and the _third region _D3 , and is supplied from the input port 202. The working air is not output from either the first output port 203 or the second output port 204 .

Here, the length by which the end of the rod 6 on the side of the first output port 203 protrudes from the outer frame 20 is defined as a _first length L1, and the end of the rod 6 on the side of the second output port 204 protrudes from the outer frame 20. The protruding length is defined as a _second length L2. In this embodiment, the rod 6 is provided so that the _first length L1 and the _second length L2 are the same in the neutral state where the spool 3 is stopped at the center position.

FIG. 3B shows the first state, which is the state of the fluid switching valve 1 when the air cylinder 83 is opened. When opening the air cylinder 83 , the first state is set in which working air is output from the first output port 203 of the fluid switching valve 1 and working air is not output from the second output port 204 . The actuation air output from the first output port 203 acts to contract the air cylinder 83 .

When performing the opening operation, the operating air is discharged from the supply port 200 and supplied to the supply port 201 . Then, the pressure inside the outer frame 20 on the side of the second output port 204 rises due to the pressure of the operating air, so that the spool 3 is pushed toward the first output port 203 side, and the first output port of the inner frame 21 is pushed. It will be in the 1st state stopped at the 1st position which is the 203 side. In the first state, the working air flow path is secured between the first area D1 and the _second area D2, and the working air flow path is secured between the _first area D1 and the _third area _D3 . blocked. Therefore, the working air supplied from the input port 202 is output from the first output port 203 through the _first region D1 and the _second region D2. Also, in the first state, the spool 3 stops at the first position, so the _first length L1 is longer than the _second length L2.

FIG. 3C shows the second state, which is the state of the fluid switching valve 1 when the air cylinder 83 is closed. When the air cylinder 83 is opened, the second state in which the working air is output from the second output port 204 of the fluid switching valve 1 and the working air is not output from the first output port 203 is established. The actuation air output from the second output port 204 acts to extend the air cylinder 83 .

When performing the closing operation, the operating air is discharged from the supply port 201 and supplied to the supply port 200 . The pressure of the operating air increases the internal pressure of the outer frame 20 on the side of the first output port 203 , pushing the spool 3 toward the second output port 204 and pushing the spool 3 toward the second output port of the inner frame 21 . A second state of stopping at a second position on the 204 side is established. In the second state, the working air flow path is secured between the _first area D1 and the _third area D3, and the working air flow path is secured between the _first area D1 and the _second area D2. blocked. Therefore, the working air supplied from the input port 202 is output from the second output port 204 through the _first region D1 and the _third region D3. In the second state, the spool 3 stops at the second position, so the _second length L2 is longer than the _first length L1.

Here, FIG. 4 shows a conventional fluid switching valve 1a. As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional fluid switching valve 1a is similar to the fluid switching valve 1 according to the present embodiment except that the rod 6 and related components are omitted, but the rest of the configuration is the same. Specifically, unlike the fluid switching valve 1, the spool 3 of the fluid switching valve 1a does not have a hole through which the rod 6 is inserted. Further, holes through which the rods 6 are inserted are not formed at both ends of the outer frame 20 in the extending direction.

FIG. 5 shows the operation of the conventional fluid switching valve 1a having such a configuration. In FIG. 5, (A) is when the fluid switching valve 1a is in the neutral state, (B) is when the fluid switching valve 1a is in the first state, and (C) is when the fluid switching valve 1a is in the second state. Each case is shown. The switching operation of the fluid switching valve 1a is the same as the operation described with reference to FIG. That is, in the fluid switching valve 1a, the flow direction of the working air in the first output port 203 and the second output port 204 is controlled by controlling the supply and discharge of the working air. As shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional fluid switching valve 1a, similar to the present embodiment, the stop position (neutral position, first position or second position) is changed. However, in the fluid switching valve 1a, since the spool 3 is covered with the frame 2, the stop position of the spool 3 could not be confirmed.

In contrast, in the fluid switching valve 1 according to the present embodiment, the _first length L1 and the _second length L2 of the rod 6 change according to the stop position of the spool 3 as described above. . Therefore, by checking the _first length L1 and the second length L2, the position of the spool 3 inside the frame ₂ can be checked. , whether it is in the first state or the second state. That is, according to the fluid switching valve 1 according to the present embodiment, malfunction of the fluid switching valve can be easily confirmed by checking the _first length L1 and the _second length L2.

For example, as a case where the fluid switching valve 1 malfunctions, a case where the spool 3 does not move when switching the fluid switching valve 1 from the neutral state to the first state will be described. In this case, when operation air is supplied to the supply port 201 and discharged from the supply port 200 from the neutral state of FIG. does not move to the neutral position. When such a malfunction occurs, the working gas supply path from the _first region D1 to the _second region D2 remains blocked, so that the working air is no longer output from the first output port 203. , the operation of the hot rolling coiler 8 is stopped.

In such a case, in the fluid switching valve 1 according to the present embodiment, the _first length L1 and the _second length L2 are the same length, or the _first length L1 is longer than the normal first state. shorter and the _second length L2 is longer. Therefore, malfunction of the fluid switching valve 1 can be easily confirmed. Further, when such a malfunction occurs, if the spool 3 is fixed or the like is the cause, the malfunction can be temporarily resolved by forcibly moving the spool 3 . In the fluid switching valve 1 according to this embodiment, a part of the rod 6 integrally formed with the spool 3 protrudes outside the frame 2, so that the rod 6 can be moved manually or mechanically. can. For example, in the case of the malfunction example described above, the malfunction can be eliminated by moving the rod 6 in the extension direction (for example, moving it to the left in FIG. 3A).

Further, when the rod 6 integrated with the spool 3 is extended to the outside of the frame 2, it is considered that the operating air is reeled from the sealing portion of the frame 2, that is, the sealing member 23 of the outer frame 20, resulting in malfunction. rice field. However, as a result of confirming the amount of air leaking from the seal member 23 of the fluid switching valve 1 according to the present embodiment, the inventors confirmed that there was almost no effect on the operation. Furthermore, as in this embodiment, it was confirmed that in an environment such as a steel mill where a sufficient amount of low-pressure air is supplied, an air leak amount that does not affect the operation does not cause any problems in operation. .

<Modification>
Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not intended that the invention be limited by these descriptions. Along with the disclosed embodiments, other embodiments of the invention, including various modifications, will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) upon reference to the description of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments of the invention set forth in the claims should be construed to cover the embodiments that include these variations described herein singly or in combination.

For example, in the above embodiment, the fluid switching valve 1 is a three-way switching valve, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the fluid switching valve 1 may be a two-way switching valve or a four-way switching valve.
Further, in the above embodiment, the fluid switching valve 1 is of an air-driven type driven by operation air, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the fluid switching valve 1 may be hydraulically driven. Additionally, oil may be used instead of the actuation air.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the rods 6 are configured to protrude from both ends of the frame 2, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the rod 6 may be configured to protrude from only one of the extending directions of the frame 2 . Even in this case, the position of the spool 3 can be confirmed by confirming the length of the rod 6 protruding from the frame 2 .

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the fluid switching valve 1 is used in the hot rolling coiler 8, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. The fluid switching valve 1 may be used in other devices or equipment as long as it switches the flow direction of fluid such as air or oil.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rod 6 is fixed to the spool 3 to form an integral structure, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. The rod 6 may be configured integrally with the spool 3 so as to be movable in accordance with the movement of the spool 3, and may be molded integrally with the spool 3, for example.

<Effects of Embodiment>
(1) A fluid switching valve 1 according to one aspect of the present invention is a fluid switching valve 1 that switches the flow direction of a fluid (for example, working air), and includes a frame 2 provided with a cavity inside, and a frame 2 a spool 3 provided movably in the cavity in a uniaxial direction to switch the flow direction of the fluid according to a stop position; a rod 6 provided at the

According to the configuration (1) above, it is possible to easily confirm the stop position of the spool 3 inside the frame 2 by confirming the length of the rod 6 protruding outside the frame 2 . Therefore, when a malfunction occurs in equipment using the fluid switching valve 1, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the malfunction of the fluid switching valve 1 is the cause. In addition, since it becomes possible to easily determine malfunction of the fluid switching valve 1, in the equipment using the fluid switching valve 1, it is possible to determine whether the malfunction of the equipment is due to the malfunction of the fluid switching valve 1 or another device. It becomes possible to easily judge whether it is due to the defect of the product. Therefore, in the equipment using the fluid switching valve 1, the time required for restoration of the equipment can be shortened. Furthermore, when the malfunction of the fluid switching valve 1 can be recovered by forcibly moving the spool 3, the spool 3 can be moved by moving the rod 6, so the malfunction can be temporarily recovered. can be done in a short time.

(2) In the configuration of (1) above, the spool 3 is moved by air driving and used to control the air cylinder 83 of the wrapper roll 82 in the hot rolling coiler 8 that winds the steel strip 9 .
According to the configuration (2) above, when a malfunction occurs in the hot rolling coiler 8, it is possible to shorten the time required to identify the cause of the malfunction and to restore the malfunction.

As an example, the inventors performed an operation using the fluid switching valve 1 according to the above-described embodiment, and performed restoration when the fluid switching valve 1 was used and when the conventional fluid switching valve 1a was used. I checked the time difference.
As a result of the example, when the conventional fluid switching valve 1a is used, malfunction of the hot rolling coiler 8 occurs at a frequency of 9 times a year, and replacement of the fluid switching valve 1a requires 3 times per restoration. It took about an hour. In addition, it was confirmed in the subsequent inspection of the fluid switching valve 1a that these malfunctions were all malfunctions due to sticking of the fluid switching valve 1a. On the other hand, when the fluid switching valve 1 according to the above embodiment is used, it is necessary to confirm at least one of the _first length L1 and the _second length L2 of the rod 6 as the cause of these malfunctions. can be identified by Furthermore, the inventors confirmed that by manually moving the rod 6, the time required for recovery can be shortened to about 5 minutes each time.

Reference Signs List 1 fluid switching valve 2 frame 20 outer frame 200, 201 supply port 202 input port 203 first output port 204 second output port 21 inner frame 210 to 212 holes 22, 23 sealing member 3 spool 30 small diameter portion 4, 5 inner piston 6 Rod 8 Hot Rolling Coiler 80 Pinch Roll 81 Mandrel 82 Wrapper Roll 83 Air Cylinder D ₁ First Region D ₂ Second Region D ₃ Third Region L ₁ First Length L ₂ Second Length

Claims (2)

A fluid switching valve that switches the flow direction of a fluid,
a frame with a hollow inside;
a spool movably provided in the cavity of the frame in a uniaxial direction and switching the flow direction of the fluid according to a stop position;
a rod integrally formed with the spool and protruding outside the frame on at least one end side of the frame in the one axial direction;
with
A fluid switching valve characterized by being a three-way switching valve or a four-way switching valve. the spool is moved by an air drive,
2. The fluid switching valve according to claim 1, wherein the fluid switching valve is used for controlling an air cylinder of a wrapper roll in a hot rolling coiler that winds a steel strip.

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