JPH0697073B2 - Cold / hot water automatic switching valve - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cold / hot water automatic switching valve which is connected to a pipe into which cold water and hot water are alternately fed to collect cold water and hot water separately.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Wastewater discharged from a common drainage outlet
In an apparatus that is normally cold water but sometimes hot water, it is desirable to take out only this hot water separately and send it to a heat exchanger to recover thermal energy. There is a device that detects the temperature of a liquid passing through and automatically operates a switching valve.

[0003]

However, the above device is not practical because of its complicated structure and large driving power. The present invention has been made with the object of overcoming the drawbacks of the conventional automatic switching valve and providing a cold / hot water automatic switching valve which has a simple structure and does not require operating power. .

[0004]

The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies to develop a valve having a simple structure and capable of automatically switching between cold and hot water. As a result, two compartments are arranged in parallel. By using a thermo-reversible expansion / contraction material, a structure that allows cold water to pass through one partition but blocks hot water, and a structure that allows hot water to pass through the other partition but blocks cold water It has been found that the object can be achieved by using a switching valve having the structure, and the present invention has been completed based on this finding.

That is, according to the present invention, the inside of the hollow box-shaped main body is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper stage is divided into left and right parts, and a water supply chamber is provided at the lower part of the main body, and a hot water chamber and a cold water chamber are provided at the upper part, respectively. In addition to forming a pipe, a through hole is opened in the bottom of the hot water chamber and the cold water chamber, and a columnar valve member made of a thermoreversible material is provided in the hot water chamber so that the lower end corresponds to the extension. The columnar valve member made of the same thermoreversible material and having a brim at the lower end is loosely inserted into the corresponding through hole in advance in the cold water chamber to cover the through hole. , A cold / hot water automatic switching valve that is installed so that the upper surface of the collar is pressed against the lower edge of the through hole.

The hollow box-shaped main body is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper part is divided into left and right parts to form a water supply chamber in the lower part of the main body, and a hot water chamber and a cold water chamber in the upper part of the main body, respectively, to form pipe lines to the outside. In addition, a through hole is formed in the bottom of the hot water chamber and the cold water chamber, and a spherical valve member made of a thermoreversible expansion / contraction material is provided in the hot water chamber at the time of expansion thereof with a corresponding through hole at the lower end. A columnar valve member that is fixed so as to cover it and that is also made of a thermoreversible material in the cold water chamber and that has a brim at the lower end is loosely inserted into the corresponding through hole at the lower part beforehand, and when it contracts, the upper surface of the brim Cold and hot water automatic switching valve, which is installed so as to press against the lower edge of the through hole, and

The upper and lower partition plates are arranged inside the hollow box-shaped main body, and the hot water chamber, the water supply chamber, and the cold water chamber are respectively formed from the upper side by sequentially connecting them to the outside, and they are sequentially formed. One columnar valve member, which is made of a thermoreversible material and has a brim around its middle and lower ends, is inserted through each through hole provided in the partition plate. (EN) Provided is a cold / hot water automatic switching valve in which a through hole is closed and a collar at the lower end is hung vertically so as to close the through hole of a lower partition plate when contracted.

The valve member of the automatic switching valve of the present invention is made of a thermoreversible material. Examples of the thermoreversible material include a volume-variable material that expands and contracts or expands and contracts by cooling and heating, among which polyvinyl methyl ether and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide).
In addition, a thermoreversible expansion / contraction material such as a crosslinked body obtained by irradiating with γ-rays or electron beams is preferable. In particular, if the valve member is spherical, the valve member needs to be a thermoreversible expansion and contraction material.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B), reference numeral 1 is a main body made in the shape of a hollow box, inside of which a lower stage is a water supply chamber 2 and an upper stage. Is divided into a hot water chamber 3 and a cold water chamber 4, and these chambers are provided with pipe lines 2a, 3a and 4a respectively communicating with the outside.

The hot water chamber 3 and the cold water chamber 4 are provided with through holes 3b and 4b respectively at the center of the bottom plate thereof, and mesh plates 3c and 4c are provided above the mesh plates 3a and 4c, respectively. Columnar valve members 3d and 4d made of a thermoreversible material that is fixed at its base end, contracts when heated, and expands or expands when cooled are provided vertically. In this case, the valve member 3d of the hot water chamber 3 is provided. The tip flange 3e is located above the through hole 3b, and the lower part of the valve member 4d of the cold water chamber 4 penetrates the through hole 4b, and the tip flange 4e is located below the bottom plate.

With this structure, when cold water is introduced into the water supply chamber 2 through the conduit 2a as shown in FIG. 1A, the through holes 3b are closed by the expansion of the valve members 3d and 4d, and the through holes 4b.
As a result, the cold water in the water supply chamber 2 enters only the cold water chamber 4 and is taken out to the outside from the pipe 4a.

When hot water is introduced into the water supply chamber 2 as shown in FIG. 1B, the through holes 3b are opened by contraction of the valve members 3d and 4d, and the through holes 4b are pressed from below. As a result of the blockage, the hot water in the water supply chamber 2 enters only the hot water chamber 3 and is taken out to the outside from the pipeline 3a.

Next, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the valve member 3d is formed as one spherical body. The other parts are the same as those in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and the respective parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

With this configuration, when cold water is introduced into the water supply chamber 2 through the conduit 2a as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the valve member 3
As a result of the expansion of d and 4d, the through hole 3b is closed and the through hole 4b is opened. As a result, cold water is taken out through the pipe line 4a. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, when hot water is introduced into the water supply chamber 2 through the conduit 2a, the valve members 3d and 4d contract to open the through hole 3b and close the through hole 4b. The hot water is taken out to the outside through the pipe 3a.

Next, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the upper and lower partition plates 15 and 1 in which the inside of the main body 11 is arranged in rows.
Hot water chamber 13, water supply chamber 12, cold water chamber 1 from above via 6
It is divided into four, and each of these chambers is provided with a conduit 13a, 12a, 14a leading to the outside. Further, in the main body 11, one columnar valve member 17 made of a thermoreversible material similar to that of the above-mentioned embodiment is fixed to the lower surface of the main body top plate at its upper end, and is provided on the upper partition plate 15. Hole 13
b, penetrating holes 14b provided in the lower partition plate 16 are penetratingly attached, and further, on the peripheral surface of the valve member 17, located above the corresponding penetrating holes 13b, the upper brim 13 is provided.
e, lower flanges 14e are provided below the through holes 14b.

With this configuration, when cold water is introduced into the water supply chamber 12 through the conduit 12a as shown in FIG. 3 (A),
Due to the expansion of the valve member 17, the through hole 13b is closed and the through hole 1b
As a result of opening 4b, the cold water in the water supply chamber 12 is cooled by the cold water chamber 1
4 and is taken out from the pipe line 14a.

Further, when hot water is introduced into the water supply chamber 12 as shown in FIG. 3B, the through hole 1 is caused due to the contraction of the valve member 17.
3b is opened, and the through hole 14b is closed by pressure contact from below. As a result, the hot water in the water supply chamber 12 enters the hot water chamber 13 and is taken out from the pipe line 13a to the outside.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the valve member is formed of a thermoreversible material, especially a thermoreversible expansion / contraction material, and the valve itself is automatically expanded, expanded, contracted, etc. It is constructed so that water can be switched, and has the advantages that it has a simple structure and does not require any operating power. Further, when the valve member on the pressure reducing side is a sphere as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (B), there is no fear of bending to one side when expanded compared to a columnar one, and the sealing is reliable. 3A and 3B, the structure in which only one valve member is used as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B has an advantage that the main body can be further downsized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is an explanatory cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention when cold water is supplied and when hot water is supplied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a modified example of FIG. 1 when cold water and hot water are supplied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of another embodiment when supplying cold water and hot water.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 Main body 2, 12 Water supply chamber 3, 13 Hot water chamber 4, 14 Cold water chamber 3d, 4d, 17 Valve member 3b, 13b, 4b, 14b Through hole 3e, 13e, 4e, 14e Collar

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hollow box-shaped main body is divided into upper and lower parts, and an upper part is divided into left and right parts to provide a water supply chamber in the lower part of the main body, and a hot water chamber and a cold water chamber in the upper part of the main body. The hot water chamber and the cold water chamber each have a through hole at the bottom, and a columnar valve member made of a thermoreversible material is provided in the hot water chamber so that the lower end covers the through hole when the valve member is extended. In the cold water chamber, a columnar valve member made of a thermoreversible material and having a brim at the lower end is also loosely inserted into the corresponding through hole in the lower part in advance, and when contracted, the upper surface of the brim A cold / hot water automatic switching valve that is installed so as to press against the lower edge of the through hole. 2. A hollow box-shaped main body is divided into upper and lower parts, and an upper part is divided into left and right parts to provide a water supply chamber in the lower part of the main body, and a hot water chamber and a cold water chamber in the upper part of the main body. In addition, the hot water chamber and the cold water chamber have a through hole at the bottom, and a spherical valve member made of a thermoreversible expansion / contraction material is provided in the hot water chamber at the time of expansion, and the lower end corresponds to the transparent valve member. A columnar valve member that is fixed so as to cover the hole and that is also made of a thermoreversible material and has a collar at the lower end is loosely inserted into the corresponding through hole in the lower part in advance in the cold water chamber, and when it contracts, the collar A cold / hot water automatic switching valve that is installed so that the upper surface of the valve is pressed against the lower edge of the through hole. 3. A hollow box-shaped main body is provided with upper and lower partition plates, and hot water chambers, water supply chambers, and cold water chambers are sequentially formed by attaching pipe lines to the outside from above, respectively. Is a columnar valve member made of a thermoreversible material and having a collar around each of the middle and lower ends, which penetrates through each of the through holes provided in the partition plate. A cold / hot water automatic switching valve which is installed by closing the through holes of the plate and vertically extending so that the lower end collar closes the through holes of the lower partition plate when contracted.