JPH0316546B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an anti-freeze valve used to prevent water pipes from freezing in winter, and more particularly, to a method for remotely controlling an anti-freeze valve using an actuator. It relates to a device for.

(Prior art) As is well known, in cold regions, where the temperature drops below zero during winter nights, the so-called rising portion of the water pipe that rises from the ground to the ground to distribute water to the house. Water may freeze.
In order to prevent such a situation, an anti-freeze plug is installed upstream of the base of the rising part, and if freezing is expected, operate this anti-freeze plug in advance to drain water from the rising part and prevent freezing. It's being prevented. Some antifreeze valves open and close manually, but attempts have been made to remotely control the valve by installing a control panel inside the house using an electrically operated actuator, and even using a temperature sensor. Attempts have also been made to detect the water temperature in the rising portion using a 200°C system, and to automatically operate the actuator when the water temperature falls below the expected freezing temperature.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, these actuators can no longer operate once the device is powered off. Therefore, in the event of a power outage or if the breaker is tripped before a long period of non-use at a vacation home, etc., the water will freeze unless the water is drained from the rising part in advance.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a second power source separately from the first power source that always drives the device, so that the first power source When the antifreeze valve is turned off, the second power source is automatically connected to the actuator to operate the antifreeze valve in a draining state.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of an antifreeze valve control device according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control circuit, which is normally driven by a first power source 2, which is a general household AC power source, and operates an actuator 5 in either forward or reverse direction in response to a signal from an operation panel 3 or a sensor unit 4. and then operate the antifreeze valve 6 to switch between water draining state and water flowing state. The actuator 5 is driven by DC power obtained by rectification by the control circuit 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a changeover switch, which automatically connects and operates the second power source 8 to the actuator 5 to drain water when the first power source 2 is cut off due to a power outage or breaker operation.

Figures 2A and 2B are sectional views of essential parts of the antifreeze plug 6 used in this example, and Figure 2A shows the water flowing state.
Figure 2B shows the drained condition.

In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 11 is an antifreeze valve main body, which has an upstream port 11a connected to the upstream side of the pipe and a downstream port 11b connected to the downstream rising part, and the inside is formed by a water flow valve seat 11c. It is divided into an upstream chamber 11d and a downstream chamber 11e. Furthermore, the drain valve seat 11
Drainage chamber 11g connected to downstream chamber 11e via f
is provided below, and the lower end of the drain chamber 11g is sealed with a cover 12, and a drain pipe 13 is connected to the side wall portion. Reference numeral 14 denotes a spindle, which is connected to the rod 15 via a spindle joint 16. Rod 15 is mantle tube 1
7, and is connected to a slide shaft of an actuator, which will be described later, at a threaded portion formed at its upper end, which is not shown broken in FIG. 2A. Therefore, the spindle 14 is moved up and down as the actuator operates. In FIG. 2A, the spindle 14 is pulled upward, and the upper large diameter portion 14a of the spindle 14 is separated from the water flow valve seat 11c, while the lower large diameter portion 14b is fitted into the drain valve seat 11f.
Therefore, water flows from the upstream side to the upstream chamber 1 in the direction of the arrow.
1d, the water flow valve seat 11c, and the downstream chamber 11e before being sent to the rising portion. Spindle 1 as shown in Figure 2B
4 is pushed down, the upper large diameter part 14a of the spindle 14 fits into the water valve seat 11c,
The lower large diameter portion 14b separates from the drain valve seat 11f.
Therefore, while water flow from the upstream side is stopped,
The water in the rising portion flows in the direction of the arrow and flows into the downstream chamber 11.
b, water is drained through the drain valve seat 11f and the drain pipe 13. When draining water, air is introduced into the rising portion from an intake valve installed near the faucet, so water is drained without resistance.

FIG. 3 is a side view of main parts of the actuator 5 used in this embodiment.

A DC motor 22 is mounted on the frame 21 , and its rotational motion is transmitted to a motor gear 24 via a reduction gear 23 and further transmitted to a valve gear 26 via an intermediate gear 25 . The valve gear 26 rotates integrally with the valve gear shaft 2.
7 is rotatably attached to the frame 21 by being supported by a bearing 28. However, as can be seen from the figure, the valve gear shaft 27 is restricted so that it cannot move up and down.
The lower part of the valve gear shaft 27 has a screw 27.
a is carved, and its screw 27a engages with a female screw 29a provided on the slide shaft 29. The shaft portion 29b of the slide shaft 29 is connected to the frame 2
It is slidably housed in a through hole 21a provided in 1. Further, a dog bar 30 having a dog 31 at its upper end is attached and fixed to the upper surface of the flange portion 29c of the slide shaft 29 in an upright state. The dog bar 30 extends through a locking hole 21b provided in the frame 21. Therefore, the slide shaft 29 cannot rotate relative to the frame 21, and when the valve gear 26 rotates, it is guided by the through hole 21a and moves vertically linearly due to the engagement of the screws 27a and 29a. . A female screw 29d is provided at the lower end of the shaft portion 29b of the slide shaft 29, and is screwed into the screw provided at the upper end of the rod 15 of the antifreeze plug 6, and is fixed by a suitable means such as a double nut. Ru. As can be seen from the above explanation, the rotational movement of the motor 22 is ultimately converted into the vertical linear movement of the spindle 14 of the antifreeze valve 6, and the antifreeze valve 6 is opened and closed.

A water flow limit switch 32 and a water drain limit switch 33 are attached to the frame 21 vertically apart from each other, and are aligned so that the vertically moving dog 31 comes into contact with the respective rotors 32a and 33a. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the dog is in contact with the rotor 32a of the water flow limit switch 32, cutting off the electric circuit at this part, and the drain limit switch 33 is closing the circuit at that part. There is.

An intermediate gear shaft 34 is implanted in the intermediate gear 25 so as to rotate therewith, extends upward through the frame, and has a handle 35 at its upper end. A spring 36 is disposed between the flange 34a of the intermediate gear shaft 34 and the frame 21, and urges the intermediate gear and the intermediate gear shaft upward. Therefore, when the handle 35 is pushed down, the motor gear 24 and the intermediate gear 25
is disengaged, and the intermediate gear 25 becomes the valve gear 26.
It will be in a state where it meshes with the chisel. If the handle 35 is rotated in this state, the slide shaft 29 will move up and down, making it possible to open and close the antifreeze valve manually.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the main parts of this embodiment, and corresponds to the water flow state, that is, the state shown in FIG. 3.

The first power source 2 is rectified and taken out by the control circuit 1 as described above. Diodes 41 and 42 are provided in parallel with the water flow limit switch 32 and water drain limit switch 33, respectively, in the direction shown. In addition, the changeover switch 7 in FIG.
The relay 43 constituting the is inserted in the illustrated position,
The a contact 45 is connected to the line of the first power source 2, and the b contact 46 is connected to the line of the second power source 8. Therefore, when the first power source 2 is turned on, the a contact 45 is closed and the b contact 46 is open. In the water flowing state shown in FIG. 4, the diode 41 is in the opposite direction to the direction of the current from the first power source 2, so no current flows and the motor 22 is stopped. When a drain command signal is input from the operation panel 3 or the sensor unit 4 in this state, the switch 47 is switched from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the broken line by a suitable means such as a relay (not shown). Then, current flows through the diode 41, the motor 22, and the drain limit switch 33, causing the motor 22 to rotate in the normal direction. The spindle 14 of the antifreeze plug 6 then moves downward from the position shown in FIG. 2A. On the way, the dog 31 separates from the water flow limit switch 32, and the water flow limit switch 32 is closed. When the spindle 14 continues to descend further and reaches the state shown in FIG. 2B, the dog 3
1 comes into contact with the rotor 33a of the water drain limit switch 33 and opens the water drain limit switch 33. This cuts off the current and stops the motor 22.
Next, when the water flow command signal is input, the switch 47
is switched to the position shown by the solid line in Figure 4,
Current flows through the diode 42, the motor 22, and the water flow limit switch 32, causing the motor 22 to rotate in reverse and stop when the spindle 14 of the antifreeze valve 6 reaches the state shown in FIG. 2A.

Next, assume that the first power supply 2 is cut off due to a power outage or other cause in the state shown in FIG. In this case, relay 43 is demagnetized. Therefore, the a contact 45 opens and the b contact 46 closes. Therefore, the motor 32 is caused to rotate normally by the second power source 8, and the state shown in FIG. 2B is obtained. Even if the first power source 2 is cut off at an intermediate position between FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the water draining operation is immediately performed by the second power source 8 because the water drain limit switch 33 is closed. If the first power supply is cut off in the water draining state, that is, in the state shown in Fig. 2B, the water drain limit switch 33 is open and no current flows, but in this case, the water is already in the draining state, so the motor 22 is rotated. There's no need to do it.

If you want to use water after the water has been drained automatically by the second power source as described above, operate the handle 35 and turn on the antifreeze valve 6 as described above.
can be opened. In this case, manual switch 4
8, the antifreeze valve 6 will not be closed again by the second power source 8. If you want to close the antifreeze valve 6 before going to bed at night, just close the manual switch 48.

It is convenient if the second power source 8 is always charged by the first power source by wiring as shown by the dashed line in FIG.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention automatically connects the second power source to the actuator when the normally used first power source is cut off, and drains the antifreeze valve. This prevents water pipes from freezing due to antifreeze valves not operating during power outages. Also, if you are going to be away for a long time, you will need to drain the water in advance, but you don't have to worry about operating the antifreeze valve separately; you can just turn off the breaker, which is the power source for the entire house. You no longer have to worry about forgetting to turn on the antifreeze valve.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing essential parts of the antifreeze plug, with FIG. 2A showing the water flowing state and FIG. 2B showing the water draining state. FIG. 3 is a side view of the main parts of the actuator. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the actuator and the first and second power supplies. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Control circuit, 2... First power source, 5... Actuator, 6... Antifreeze cock, 7... Changeover switch, 8... Second power source.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an antifreeze faucet control device that operates an electrically driven actuator in forward and reverse directions to drain water from the antifreeze faucet and water through it, respectively, a first power source separate from the first power source normally used is used. 2 power source and a changeover switch operated by opening and closing of the first power source, and when the first power source is turned on, the changeover switch connects the first power source and the actuator, and the second power source is connected to the actuator. The connection between the power supply and the actuator is cut off, and when the first power supply is cut off, the changeover switch cuts off the connection between the first power supply and the actuator, and the second power supply is applied to the actuator in a direction in which the actuator operates in the normal direction. An antifreeze valve control device characterized by being connected to.