JPH06201069A - Combination faucet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the corrosion of functional parts so as to obtain a combination faucet capable of coping with the change of temperature always correctly. CONSTITUTION:An element case 7 stored with a temperature detecting element 6 for regulating the opening of a valve body 9 so as to maintain the temperature of mixed water to the set temperature, and a spindle guide 24 stored with a temperature setting spindle 2 for advancing/retreating the temperature detecting element 6 in the axial direction are respectively held in contact with the inner wall of a water faucet body A made of metal. The element case 7 and the spindle guide 24 are formed of engineering plastic material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot and cold water mixing tap, and more particularly to a hot and cold water mixing tap whose internal functional parts are made of engineering plastic.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a hot and cold water mixing tap for mixing hot water and water to supply a mixed water of an appropriate temperature, a functional part for performing a hot and cold water mixing operation and a hot and cold water mixing temperature are adjusted in a metal faucet body. It contains functional parts for adjusting hot and cold water mixing temperature and functional parts for opening and closing the discharge port for controlling the discharge and stopping of the mixed water.

Conventionally, various types of hot and cold water mixing plugs have been known, but in each case, a copper alloy component is used for the main functional part.

However, the use of such a copper alloy component has the following disadvantages. (1) Corrosion, wear, and scale adhesion easily occur on the components of the main function part, and the service life is short. (2) It is necessary to plate functional parts to improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance. (3) The productivity is poor because each part must be manufactured by cutting. (4) Due to the manufacturing problem of cutting, there are many parts that must be manufactured by dividing them into two or more parts. Therefore, the number of parts is large and it takes time to assemble. (5) Due to the manufacturing problems described above, the dimensional accuracy tends to vary. (6) The operability of the handle is poor due to dimensional error, weight of metal parts, friction resistance, etc., and the hot and cold water mixing tap with a thermostat cannot react sensitively to temperature changes. (7) Since the parts themselves do not have lubricity, it is necessary to apply grease during assembly. (8) It is heavy and difficult to handle. (9) High cost.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems,
A method has been proposed in which a part of the functional component is made of synthetic resin (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-14666).

[0006]

However, even if a gear or a part of a functional component such as the gear casing is made of synthetic resin, it is housed inside the metal faucet body, and the metal water A hollow casing member that abuts the stopper body, for example, an element case in which a temperature sensitive element that adjusts the opening degree of the valve to keep the temperature of the mixed water at a set temperature is arranged, or the temperature sensitive element in the axial direction. When the spindle guide etc. in which the temperature setting spindle to be moved back and forth is rotatably installed is made of a metal member such as copper alloy, the abutting part is a chemical reaction, electrolytic corrosion, etc. However, it is impossible to solve the problem that the functional parts are not fixed and held due to corrosion.

Further, in the spindle guide, the temperature setting spindle rotates and slides, and the spindle also slides a member that abuts the temperature sensitive element arranged in the spindle guide. Furthermore, the element case moves in the axial direction in the metal faucet body depending on the temperature.
For this reason, various problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques such as wear and generation of frictional resistance occur.

Further, in order to accurately control the set temperature by the temperature sensitive element housed in the element case, it is desirable that the temperature sensitive element is not directly affected by the temperature change around the outside of the faucet body. However, when the element case is made of metal, the temperature from the faucet body is easily transmitted to the inside, which may make it difficult to accurately control the set temperature.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hot and cold water mixing stopper which can prevent corrosion of functional parts and can always cope with temperature changes with high accuracy.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the durability of the functional component of the hot and cold water mixing stopper by appropriately selecting the forming material according to the characteristics of the functional component for adjusting the hot and cold water mixing temperature.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and is a hollow metal faucet body, a hot and cold water mixing action, a hot and cold water mixing temperature adjusting action and In a hot and cold water mixer including a functional part for opening and closing a discharge port, all of the functional parts housed in the metallic faucet body that come into contact with the metallic faucet body of the hot and cold water mixing temperature adjusting functional part The functional parts of are molded with an engineering plastic material.

Further, according to the present invention, all the functional parts for adjusting the temperature of the hot and cold water mixture which come into contact with the metal faucet body are
It is characterized by being molded from an engineering plastic material selected from the B and C groups. A: PPS, PI, PAI, PEEK, PES, PS
F, PAR, PEI B: POM, PBT, GF / PBT, PPS, PI, P
AI, PEEK, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI C: PPO, PBT, PPS, PI, PAI, PEE
K, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI Further, according to the present invention, all of the functional components for adjusting the temperature of the hot and cold water mixture that come into contact with the metal faucet body are held such that a part of the outer peripheral wall abuts against the inner wall of the metal faucet body. , An element case in which a temperature-sensitive element for adjusting the opening of the valve to keep the temperature of the mixed water at a set temperature is arranged, and a part of the outer peripheral wall are held in contact with the inner wall of the metal faucet body. , A spindle guide in which a temperature setting spindle for moving the temperature sensitive element forward and backward in the axial direction is rotatably disposed, and these are engineering plastics selected from the above A, B and C groups. The feature is that it is formed from a material.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the element case and the spindle guide are respectively formed of PPS.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the temperature setting spindle is formed of a material of any one of POM, PBT and GF-PBT.

[0015]

According to the present invention, among the functional parts housed in the metal faucet body, all the parts that come into contact with the metal faucet body of the hot and cold water mixing temperature adjusting functional parts are made of engineering plastic material. Therefore, the part of the functional part that contacts the metal faucet body does not corrode, and it is possible to maintain an accurate contact position at all times and improve the heat resistance and abrasion resistance of the functional part. , It is possible to exert the function that accurately corresponds to the temperature change.

Further, since the element case and the spindle guide are made of an engineering plastic material having heat resistance, hot water resistance, pressure resistance and low thermal expansion, the durability of these functional parts is improved. Further, since the temperature inside these functional parts can be kept steady by reducing the influence of the change in the external environment temperature, the temperature responsiveness of the functional parts can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the parts constituting the mixed water temperature adjusting function part have required performances, for example, low friction and wear resistance in parts which come into contact with hot water and slide. , Heat resistance, hot water resistance, low thermal expansion, etc. are exposed to hot water, and in parts that become the sheet part, heat resistance, hot water resistance, low thermal expansion, high hardness, etc. In the moving parts, low friction, wear resistance, self-lubricating property, etc. are satisfied respectively, so that it is possible to exert an excellent temperature adjusting function as a whole.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a case where the hot and cold water mixing tap is a thermostatic hot and cold water mixing tap. Basically, the spindle 2 is rotated by operating the temperature setting handle 1 so as to be linked with the spindle 2. The spring case 3 moves back and forth, and the position of the wax pellet type temperature sensitive element 6 is moved back and forth through the safety spring 4 and the element retainer 5 arranged in the spring case 3, and the temperature sensitive element 6 is further provided with an element case 7 and a spring 8. The mixed water temperature is set by advancing and retracting the valve body 9 connected via the valve body 9 and adjusting the intervals between the valve body 9 and the hot water valve seat 10 and the water valve seat 11. When the temperature becomes higher or lower than the set temperature, the temperature sensing element 6 works to automatically adjust the opening of the valve to keep the temperature of the mixed water at the set temperature. Although it is provided, as a feature of the present invention, molding of engineering plastic into the spindle 2, the spring case 3, the element retainer 5, the element case 7, the valve body 9, the hot water valve seat 10 and some other components constituting the functional portion. I am using goods.

The water faucet body A is made of gun metal as in the conventional hot and cold water mixing faucet, and a hot water flow channel 12, a water flow channel 13, and a mixed water flow channel 14 are defined inside the element case 7. Has been formed.

The hot water flow path 12 and the water flow path 13 are respectively provided with inflow ports (not shown) on the rear surface of the main body A, and hot water supply pipes and leg pipes 15 and 16 for connecting to the water supply pipes are provided. Are connected.

Although not shown, the mixed water flow path 1
An opening / closing valve, a bath / shower switching valve, etc. are provided at 4.

The hot water flow path 12 and the water flow path 13 are adjacent to each other via the first partition wall 17, and the water flow path 13 and the mixed water flow path 14 are adjacent to each other via the second partition wall 18.

The first partition wall 17 and the second partition wall 18 are coaxially provided with through holes 19 and 20 for connecting the hot water flow path 12 and the water flow path 13, and the water flow path 13 and the mixed water flow path 14, respectively. The water valve seat 11 is formed at the opening edge of the through hole 20 of the second partition wall 18 on the water flow path 13 side.

On the hot water flow path 12 side and the mixed water flow path 14 side of the main body A, an opening 2 is provided coaxially with the through holes 19 and 20.
1, 22 are opened, and the opening 21 on the hot water passage 12 side is formed.
A lid 23 made of engineering plastic is attached to the opening 22, and a spindle guide 24 also made of engineering plastic is attached to the opening 22 on the side of the mixed water flow passage 14 so that a part of its outer peripheral wall is in contact with the inner wall of the main body A. There is.

The lid 23 has a cylindrical portion 23a which is screwed into the opening 21 and extends into the hot water flow path 12, and the cylindrical portion 23a is provided.
A valve seat member 2 for hot water made of engineering plastic
5 is fitted.

Since the lid 23 comes into contact with hot water, heat resistance,
Hot water resistance is required, and further pressure resistance is required. Therefore, it is desirable to mold the lid 23 by using polyphenylene sulfide (hereinafter referred to as PPS).

Like the lid 23, the hot water valve seat member 25 is required to have heat resistance, hot water resistance, low thermal expansion and high hardness, so that it is desirable to use PPS, and it is formed into a generally bottomed cylindrical shape. The hot water valve seat 10 is provided at the open end thereof, and the spring engaging step portion 26 is provided at the inner bottom thereof.
Is fitted into the cylindrical portion 23 a of the lid 23 toward the inside of the hot water passage 12.

On the other hand, the spindle guide 24 has a substantially cylindrical shape, is screwed into the opening 22 and extends inside and outside the main body A, and the spindle 2 made of engineering plastic is inserted and mounted in the outer end opening. An element guide 27 and an engineering plastic guide retainer 28 that supports the element guide 27 are attached to the inner end opening.

Further, the spindle guide 24 is provided with an internal thread portion 29 of an acme screw having an arc-shaped thread on the inner peripheral surface from the step portion provided in the vicinity of the inner end opening portion to the middle portion in the axial direction. The linked engineering spring case 3 is accommodated inside the female screw portion 29 in a screwed state. This spindle guide 24
Is preferably made of PPS because it requires corrosion resistance and pressure resistance.

Since the spindle 2 is a component required to have low friction, wear resistance and self-lubricating property, polyacetal (hereinafter referred to as POM), polybutylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PBT) or glass fiber reinforced polybutylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PBT). GF / PBT), the intermediate portion in the axial direction has a partly large diameter, and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by penetrating and opening the through hole 30 in the axial direction. The spindle guide 24 is rotatably fixed to the outer end opening by a fixing ring 31.
Has been extended inside and outside.

The spindle 2 is a spindle guide 2
4, a first male spline 33 that engages with the female spline 32 of the spring case 3 is formed on the outer circumference of the portion extending inside 4, and the female spline 34 of the temperature setting handle 1 is formed on the outer circumference of the portion extending outside the spindle guide 24. A second male spline 35 that engages with is formed.

The second male spline 35 is the spindle 2
The first male spline 33 is formed over the entire circumference of
Considering die-cutting at the time of forming the spindle, as shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral edge is divided into four equal parts, and four peaks are formed at a valley angle of 90 ° only on a pair of point-symmetrical peripheral edges. .

The temperature setting handle 1 has a female spline 34 formed on the shaft center thereof. The female spline 34 is engaged with the second male spline 35 of the spindle 2 and fixed to the spindle 2 with a screw 36. ing.

A tapping screw is used as the screw 36, and the spindle 2 penetrates the center of the handle 1 in the axial direction.
It is screwed into the through hole 30 of the.

On the other hand, the element guide 27 attached to the inner end opening of the spindle guide 24 is a metal washer 3
7 is a disc-shaped low sliding packing, and is inserted and inserted into the spindle guide 24 so that the front surface abuts and engages with the step portion 38 provided on the spindle guide 34, and the back surface is pressed by the guide holder. It is pressed by 28 and is mounted at right angles to the axis of the spindle guide 24.

A guide hole 39 is formed in the center of the element guide 27 so as to penetrate therethrough in the thickness direction.
The head of the temperature sensitive element 6 described later is fitted into the guide hole 39. Thus, the element guide 27 not only serves as a guide for the temperature-sensitive element 6 but also serves to prevent the intrusion of mixed water into the spindle guide 24.

As shown in FIG. 6, the guide retainer 28 is a plate-shaped ring whose circumference is partially opened, and a protrusion 40 protruding outward is provided on the outer peripheral edge.

Further, the guide retainer 28 has a slight notch 41 on the inner periphery of the portion facing the open portion in order to make it easier to reduce the diameter by the force from the outer peripheral direction. It is fitted into the inner end opening of 24.

As described above, since the guide retainer 28 is compressed and deformed to be incorporated into the spindle guide 24, it is required to have high elasticity. Further, since the guide retainer 28 is provided in a portion that comes into contact with hot water, heat resistance and hot water resistance are also required. To be done. Therefore, the guide retainer 28 is preferably made of POM or modified polyphenylene oxide (hereinafter referred to as PPO).

The spindle guide 24 is provided with a holding hole 42 that engages with the protrusion 40 of the guide retainer 28.

The spring case 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape with both ends opening having a small diameter portion with a step portion at one end in the axial direction, and a female spline which engages with the first male spline 33 of the spindle 2 on the inner periphery of the small diameter portion. On the outer circumference of the large diameter side 32, a male screw portion 43 that is screwed into the female screw portion 29 on the inner circumference of the spindle guide 24 is provided.

The male screw portion 43 is composed of an acme screw having a circular arc-shaped thread corresponding to the acme screw of the female screw portion 29.

Further, at the opening end on the large diameter side of the spring case 3, there is provided a protrusion 44 which bulges inward.

This spring case 3 is used for the spindle guide 2
4 is accommodated and arranged in the spindle 4, screwed to the spindle guide 24, and spline-engaged with the spindle 2, and an engineering plastic element retainer 5 and a safety spring 4 are accommodated inside itself.

This spring case 3 does not touch hot water,
Since it is a screw component, it is desirable to use POM, PBT, or GF / PBT, which has low friction, wear resistance, and self-lubrication.

The element retainer 5 has a piece shape having a recess 45 for engaging with the head of the temperature sensitive element 6 and a spring receiving flange 54, and is fitted into the opening of the spring case 3 on the large diameter portion side. The spring receiving flange 5 is locked to the protrusion 44.
4 and the step portion 46 of the spring case 3, the safety spring 4 is elastically mounted, and the concave portion 45 is in contact with and engaged with the head of the temperature sensitive element 6.

Since the element retainer 5 is required to slide to activate the safety spring 4 when necessary, an engineering plastic such as POM or PBT having low friction, abrasion resistance and self-lubricating property is required. Alternatively, it is desirable to use GF / PBT.

The element retainer 5 is fitted into the spring case 3 by utilizing the self-lubricating property of both elements and the elasticity of the spring case 3. However, in order to facilitate the attaching work, the shape of the element retainer 5 is set to the first shape. It is formed in the shape shown in FIG.

That is, the element pressing member 5 has an outer peripheral surface which is tapered toward the rear of the spring case 3, and the flange 54 for receiving the spring is gradually reduced in diameter toward the rear of the spring case 3. Form.

The temperature-sensitive element 6 contains wax,
A conventionally well-known wax pellet type temperature sensitive element that projects and extends the protruding shaft 47 from the head by thermal expansion of the wax is used, and the wax pellet type temperature sensitive element is held in the engineering plastic element case 7 and disposed in the mixed water flow passage 14. The portion is engaged with the concave portion 45 of the element retainer 5, and the tip of the protruding shaft 47 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the concave portion 45.

The element case 7 has a cylindrical shape with both ends in the axial direction opened, and the guide wall 4 provided in the mixed water flow passage 14 is provided.
The through hole 49 of the second partition wall 18 and the through hole 20 of the second partition wall 18 are slidably inserted, and the temperature sensitive element 6 is housed and held therein.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the element case 7 has projections 50 having an arcuate cross section that slightly project inwardly at three inner peripheral portions of the opening of the guide wall 48 through which the through holes 49 are inserted. And an annular hooking piece 51 projecting inward is provided at a position slightly closer to the other end than the protrusion 50.
The intermediate body portion formed in a large diameter of the temperature sensing element 6 housed inside is hooked on the hooking piece 51 and is pressed and held by the protrusion 50.

The element case 7 has one end extending into the water passage 13 so as to be brought into contact with the valve body 9 provided between the hot water valve seat 10 and the water valve seat 11 and located in the water flow passage 13. A cold water passage hole 52 is formed in the peripheral surface of the portion, and a mixed water passage hole 53 is formed in the peripheral surface of the portion located in the mixed water flow passage 14.

The element case 7 is exposed to hot water,
In addition to being a sliding component, the temperature-sensitive element 6 is elastically held and at the same time, a part of the outer peripheral wall of the main body A is abutted against the inner wall of the main body A so that it has low friction. It is desirable to use PPS, which is an engineering plastic excellent in abrasion resistance, heat resistance, hot water resistance, low thermal expansion resistance, corrosion resistance, and high elasticity.

The valve body 9 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a partition portion having a hot water passage hole 54 formed at an axially intermediate portion thereof, and the hot water valve seat 10,
It is slidably provided between the water valve seats 11 and has both open ends corresponding to the hot water valve seat 10 and the water valve material 11.

The valve body 9 is urged toward the element case 7 by a spring 8 mounted elastically between the valve seat member 25 for hot water and the spring engaging step portion 26, and is brought into elastic contact with the element case 7. It

Thus, the hot water that has passed through the hot spring valve seat 10 is
The cold water that has flowed into the element case 7 through the hot water passage hole 54 of the valve body 9 and has passed through the water valve seat 11 flows into the element case 7 through the cold water passage hole 52 of the element case 7, and both are mixed to obtain a temperature sensing element. While flowing in contact with 6, the water flows out through the mixed water passage hole 53 into the mixed water flow path 14.

Since the valve body 9 comes into contact with hot water and slides violently, it is made of PPS which is excellent in heat resistance, hot water resistance, low thermal expansion (dimensional stability), high hardness and wear resistance. Is desirable.

In the above description, for each of the parts made of engineering plastics, some of the resins preferable for manufacturing the parts are listed. However, this limits the resins used for manufacturing the parts. Of course, other than the resins listed above, any resin that is superior in performance to those resins can be used. For example, instead of PPS, polyimide (P
I), polyamideimide (PAI), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyethersulfone (P
ES), polysulfone (PSF), polyarylate (PAR), polyetherimide (PEI), etc.
PPS, PI, PA instead of M, PBT, GF / PBT
I, PEEK, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI, etc.
Also, instead of PPO, PBT, PPS, PI, PAI, P
EEK, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI, etc. can be used.

In this embodiment, an example in which an element case and a spindle guide, which are divided into two parts, are used as the functional parts for adjusting the hot and cold water mixing temperature, which come into contact with the metal faucet body, is shown. The part may consist of a single hollow housing made of engineering plastic.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, all the functional parts of the functional part for adjusting the temperature of the hot and cold water mixing, which come into contact with the metal faucet body, are adjusted according to the quality and performance required for each part. By selecting and forming an appropriate engineering plastic material, the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of these functional parts can be improved, and the durability of the hot and cold water mixing tap can be improved. In addition, it is possible to obtain a component with high dimensional accuracy, reduce the frictional resistance of the sliding component, and reduce the weight of the sliding portion. As a result, the operability of the temperature setting handle is improved, and accurate temperature setting can be performed, and in the hot and cold water mixing tap with thermostat, it is possible to perform accurate automatic temperature adjustment sensitively to temperature changes. It is possible to supply mixed water at a temperature that accurately matches the set temperature.

Further, since the heat retaining property is superior to that of the functional component constituted by the metal component, the internal automatic temperature control component is less affected by the temperature change of the external environment of the faucet body and is stable. Automatic temperature adjustment can be performed.

Further, when a metal part is used, some parts have to be manufactured separately, and some parts can be manufactured with one part, so that the number of parts can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to adopt a mounting method that uses the elasticity of the resin, and to make the shape easy to mount during assembly by utilizing the good moldability of the resin. Also, due to the self-lubricating property of the resin, grease during assembly can be used. The coating process can be omitted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a hot and cold water mixing valve showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a spring case portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of the guide retainer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Spindle 3 Spring case 5 Element presser 6 Temperature sensitive element 7 Element case 9 Valve body 10 Hot water valve seat 11 Water valve seat 23 Lid 24 Spindle guide 25 Hot water valve seat member 27 Element guide 28 Guide presser foot

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A hot and cold water mixer having a hollow metal faucet body and functional parts housed in the body for hot and cold water mixing, hot water mixing temperature control, and outlet opening and closing. Among the functional parts housed in the stopper body, all the functional parts that come into contact with the metal faucet body of the functional parts for adjusting the temperature of the hot and cold water mixture are molded with an engineering plastic material. plug. 2. All of the functional parts that come into contact with the metal faucet body are molded from an engineering plastic material selected from the following A, B, and C groups. Hot and cold water mixing tap. A: PPS, PI, PAI, PEEK, PES, PS
F, PAR, PEI B: POM, PBT, GF / PBT, PPS, PI, P
AI, PEEK, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI C: PPO, PBT, PPS, PI, PAI, PEE
K, PES, PSF, PAR, PEI 3. All of the functional parts that come into contact with the metal faucet body have a part of the outer peripheral wall abuttingly held against the inner wall of the metal faucet body, and the opening of the valve is adjusted inside to mix water. The element case is equipped with a temperature-sensitive element that keeps the temperature at the set temperature, and a part of the outer peripheral wall is held in contact with the inner wall of the metal faucet body, and the temperature-sensitive element is moved forward and backward in the axial direction. A spindle guide for rotatably arranging a temperature setting spindle, which is molded from an engineering plastic material selected from the above A, B and C groups. Item 2. A hot and cold water mixing tap. 4. The hot and cold water mixing valve according to claim 3, wherein the element case and the spindle guide are each formed of PPS. 5. The hot and cold water mixing tap according to claim 4, wherein the temperature setting spindle is made of any one of POM, PBT and GF.PBT.