JPH01193475A - Automatic switch valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To precisely regulated flow by driving a valve body with a fine non- stage drive type actuator to move forward and backward the valve body by the order of mum or sub-mum according to the times of applying voltage. CONSTITUTION:Valve bodies 19, 20 are openably and closably mounted in a communicating section for affording communication between one side flow paths 11, 12 and the other side flow path 17. These valve bodies 19, 20 are driven by a plunger d of a fine distance non-stage type actuator A moving forward and backward. Also, a manual returning section p is provided on said actuator A to advance the plunger d with the manual operation.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (b) Industrial application field The present invention relates to an automatic on-off valve that controls fluid flow.

(B) Prior Art Conventionally, various types of automatic on-off valves are known, such as electromagnetic on-off valves using solenoids, electric valves driven by motors, and the like.

Such an automatic opening/closing valve can be automatically operated using a sensor or various swifts.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention However, since the driving source of such conventional automatic on-off valves is a solenoid or motor, it is not possible to perform highly accurate positioning, and it is not possible to precisely control the flow rate. I couldn't do that.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic on-off valve that can solve the above problems.

(D) Means for Solving Problems The present invention provides two passages on one side of the casing, and one passage on the other side, and connects the one side passage to the other side passage. A valve body is attached to the communication part so that it can be opened and closed freely.
Each of the valve bodies can be driven by forward and backward movement of a plunger of a minute distance stepless drive type actuator, and the actuator is provided with a manual return section for the plunger,
This invention relates to an automatic opening/closing valve characterized in that the plunger can be moved forward by operating the manual return section.

In addition, here, micro-distance stepless drive actuators include laminated piezoelectric actuators, piezoelectric bimorph actuators, stepping linear motors, piezoelectric linear motors, combinations of ultrasonic motors (rotary type) and rotary screws, and stevening motors (rotational). It is called a combination of (formula) and a rotating screw.

(e) Actions and Effects With the configuration described above, the present invention has the following actions and effects.

■Since the valve body is configured to be able to be driven by a micro-distance stepless drive type actuator, the μ
The valve body can be moved forward and backward on the order of m or sub-μm, and precise flow rate adjustment can be performed.

■Since the valve body is configured so that it can be driven by a micro-distance stepless drive type actuator, there is no need to interpose a speed reduction mechanism between the actuator and the valve body, and the overall structure of the automatic opening/closing valve can be made significantly more compact. can.

■Since the actuator is equipped with a manual return section for the plunger, in the event of a power outage, etc., the plunger can be moved to the fully closed position of the automatic on-off valve by simply operating the manual return section. It is possible to quickly prevent the outflow of water and prevent any loss or unexpected accidents.

(f) Examples The present invention will now be explained in detail based on examples shown in the accompanying drawings. Note that this embodiment shows a case where the automatic opening/closing valve according to the present invention is used as a hot water mixing faucet.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a casing in the form of a cylindrical box, and the casing 10 has a pair of one-side flow passages IL 12 formed inside its one-side tilted wall.

The one-side flow @lL12 functions as a water supply flow path and a hot water supply flow path for the hot and cold mixer faucet, and its outer open end communicates with the water supply pipe 13 and the hot water supply pipe 14, respectively.

On the other hand, the inner open ends of the one-side flow path 1L12 communicate with compartments 15 and 16 formed at both ends of the casing 10, respectively.

Further, a straight-shaped other side flow path 17 is formed in the other side wall of the casing 10 .

The other side flow path 17 functions as a mixed water flow path of the hot and cold water mixing faucet, and its outer open end communicates with the mixed water pipe 21, while its inner bifurcated open end is separated. It communicates with the chamber Is, 16 via valve bodies 19, 20 consisting of diaphragm valves.

Furthermore, piezoelectric actuators A, which are one form of a micro-distance stepless drive type actuator, are attached to both ends of the casing 10, respectively.・In this embodiment, each piezoelectric actuator A is movable concentrically and retracted along the axis within a cylindrical actuator casing C having front and rear walls a and b, as shown in FIG. Attach the plunger d and connect the tip of the plunger d to the valve body 19.2.
Furthermore, four piezoelectric elements e and f are arranged concentrically on the outer peripheral surface of the plunger d.

It is constructed by arranging a piezoelectric element assembly B consisting of g and h.

Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the piezoelectric elements g and h are arranged in the center of the actuator casing C, and are fixed to the tip of a holder H whose base end is fixed to the actuator casing C.

Further, i and j are cantilever-like elastic bridges whose base ends are fixed to the piezoelectric elements g and h, and whose tips extend toward the front and rear walls a and b.

The ends of the elastic bridges i, j have piezoelectric elements e, f attached to their outer peripheral surfaces, and l fixed to the brake shoes on their inner peripheral surfaces.

The piezoelectric elements e, f, g, and h are configured to contract when the power is turned off.

That is, the piezoelectric elements e and f expand when energized to release the clamp on the plunger d whose inner diameter is enlarged, and contract when not energized to reduce the inner diameter and clamp the plunger d.

On the other hand, when the piezoelectric elements g and h are energized, the plunger d
The top of the plunger d extends in the axial direction, and in a non-energized state, the top of the plunger d contracts, shortening its total length in the axial direction.

Then, the plunger d connects these four piezoelectric elements e +
It is possible to move in the axial direction by controlling the voltage application procedure to f + g + h by a control device C, which will be described later.

As shown in Fig. 2, the piezoelectric element e+f1g+ll is a cylindrical element formed by laminating a large number of piezoelectric element pieces in the axial direction of the plunger d, and electrodes are provided at both ends of the cylinder. It is configured to expand when a voltage is applied to it.

Note that the piezoelectric element piece can be made of, for example, piezoelectric ceramics, and examples of such piezoelectric ceramics include AB
PZT (Pb (Zr.

Ti)03 series, or PLZT (Pb (Zr, Ti)0
3), PT (PbTiO:+') system, or P
A three-component system based on ZT can be used.

Moreover, the piezoelectric elements e, f, g, and h can also be formed by laminating a large number of thin ring-shaped piezoelectric element pieces around the axis of the plunger d, as shown in FIG.

In this case, the direction of voltage application is changed by 90 degrees.

Further, in FIG. 1, m is a U-shaped or Y-shaped packing provided to improve the watertightness of the actuator A and has low sliding resistance.

In addition, in the above configuration, the piezoelectric element e+f+g+h is
It can have not only a circular cross section but also a rectangular cross section, for example, and can also be formed from divided pieces as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In addition, since the plunger d is clamped to the brake shoe many times by l, it has a small linear expansion coefficient, high hardness, strength, creep resistance, and wear resistance, and has high processing accuracy. Desirably, for example, a ceramic material may be considered.

In addition, in this embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator A is located at the center of the rear wall, facing the plunger d.
A manual return part p, shown as a manual return button, is attached. When the manual return part p is pressed, its front surface projects forward and comes into contact with the rear end of the plunger d, and the plunger d is pushed forward against the clamping force of the piezoelectric elements e and f. can do.

Therefore, when the plunger d stops with the valve part of the automatic on-off valve open during a power outage, etc., the manual return part p can be immediately pressed to completely close the automatic on-off valve.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the plunger d has a diameter-reduced tip q formed at its tip, and the tip q has an end surface area (pressure-receiving area) that is significantly smaller than the cross-sectional area of the plunger d. There is.

Therefore, when used in a valve, etc., as described later, the pressure receiving area can be significantly reduced, so the thrust force applied to the plunger d can be minimized, and the influence of the thrust force on the drive of the plunger d can be minimized. This makes it possible to drive the actuator accurately.

Further, FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a control device C for controlling the piezoelectric actuator A.

As shown, the control device C includes a microprocessor r
, input/output interfaces s and t, and the piezoelectric element e
, f, g, and h drive order programs are stored in the memory U.
It consists of.

Next, the movement of the plunger d by the actuator A having such a configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

When the actuator drive button V shown in FIG. 6 is pressed, the control device C releases the voltage of the piezoelectric element e, contracts it, and clamps the plunger d, as shown in FIG. 7, according to the drive sequence program read from the memory U. Along with letting
A voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element r to release the clamp on the stretching plunger d.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric elements g and h to extend them, the piezoelectric elements e and f move in the direction of the arrow.
Along with this, the plunger d clamped by the piezoelectric element e also moves in the direction of the arrow.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element e to release the clamp of the elongating plunger d, and the applied voltage to the piezoelectric elements g and h is released, the piezoelectric elements g and h move in the direction of the arrow. The piezoelectric element f further extends in the direction of the arrow.

After that, by repeating the above operation, plunger d
can be moved in a linear manner with a stroke on the μm order or sub-μm order, and the automatic opening/closing valve can be operated precisely.

However, in this embodiment, as described above, the piezoelectric actuator A is equipped with the manual return button p.
When the plunger d stops with the valve part of the automatic on-off valve open during a power outage, etc., the automatic on-off valve can be completely closed by immediately pushing the manual return part p.

That is, as shown in Figure 10, when a power outage occurs (10
0), the power failure detection circuit is activated (101), and the piezoelectric element power supply circuit is cut off (102). As a result, piezoelectric elements ej+g+h are all turned off and contracted.
In this case, the piezoelectric elements e and f clamp the plunger d and maintain the same clamping force (103).

Thereafter, the outflow can be stopped by pressing the manual return part p (104) (105).

Although not shown, a power outage detection circuit and a piezoelectric element power supply circuit are integrated into the control device C.

In FIG. 1, 30 is a temperature sensor provided in the other side flow path 17, which detects the temperature of the mixed water, feeds back the detected value to the control unit, and connects the microprocessor, memory, and input/output. Based on the detected value, the control section consisting of an interface operates the piezoelectric actuator 8 of the automatic opening/closing valve to control the temperature appropriately.

Next, the operation of the automatic opening/closing valve having the above structure when used as a hot water mixing faucet will be specifically explained with reference to FIG.

That is, when the detected value from the temperature sensor 30 is fed to the control unit and the control device C separately operates both piezoelectric actuators A of the automatic opening/closing valve based on the detected value, the valve bodies 19 and 20 are set. One side flow path 1 by opening and closing depending on the opening degree.
The amount of water supplied from 1.12 to the other side flow path 17 and the amount of hot water supplied can be mixed at a constant mixing ratio.

In this action, since the valve bodies 19 and 20 are operated by the piezoelectric actuator A,
Flow rate control can be performed more reliably, and appropriate temperature control can be performed more reliably.

In this embodiment, since the valve bodies 19 and 20 are operated by the piezoelectric actuator A, the flow rate can be controlled more reliably and precisely.

In addition, in the event of a power outage, etc., even if the plunger d is in a clamped state, the manual return part p can easily move the plunger d to the valve closing position against the clamping force, completely closing the valve. , stop water spouting to the drain, shower, etc.
It is possible to prevent losses and unexpected accidents due to continued water spouting.

In addition, in this example, the automatic on-off valve was used as a hot water mixing faucet, but the automatic on-off valve can also be used for other purposes. For example, the automatic on-off valve can be used for other purposes. It can also be used when branching.

As described above, the invention according to this embodiment has the following functions and effects.

■Since the valve body 20 is configured to be driven by the piezoelectric actuator A, the valve body 20 can be moved forward or backward on the μm order or sub-μI order depending on the number of voltage applications, making it possible to perform precise flow rate adjustment. can.

■Since the valve body 20 is configured to be driven by the piezoelectric actuator A, there is no need to interpose a speed reduction mechanism between the actuator A and the valve body 20, and the overall structure of the automatic opening/closing valve can be made extremely compact. .

■A manual return part p that presses the plunger d to move it forward is installed on the rear wall of the actuator casing C, which faces the rear end of the plunger d.In the event of a power outage, etc., the manual return part Plunger d just by pressing p
The automatic opening/closing valve can be moved to the fully open position, and it is possible to quickly prevent objects to be transported from flowing out, thereby preventing losses and unexpected accidents.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing the internal structure of an automatic on-off valve according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1i in FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the control device, FIGS. 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating the operating state of the piezoelectric actuator, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operating state of the piezoelectric actuator during a power outage. In the figure, A: piezoelectric actuator B: piezoelectric element assembly C: control equipment D: automatic opening/closing valve d nib plunger
p: Manual return section 10: Casing 11 Knee side flow path 12 Knee side flow path 17: Other side flow path 1
9: Valve body 20: Valve body patent applicant
Totokiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Two one-side channels (11) on one side of the casing (10)
) (12) and one other side flow path (
17), and one side flow path (11) (12) is connected to the other side flow path (
17), and the valve bodies (19) and (20) are attached to the communication part so as to be openable and closable, and the valve bodies (19 and 20) are respectively connected to the plunger (d) of the minute distance stepless drive type actuator (A). The actuator (A) is equipped with a manual return part (p) of the plunger (d).
), and the plunger (d) can be moved forward by operating the manual return part (p).