JPH09166514A - Operation inspection device for opening/closing means - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect the operation of an opening/closing valve without a high pressure air source. SOLUTION: A ball 32 is pressed to a ball engaging surface 40 of a valve seat 30 by a spring 34 to form a check valve 14. The ball 32 is pressed in the direction of opening the check valve 14 by the energizing member 60 of an energizing part 18. The pressure of air supplied from an air source 20 is applied to the ball 32 through an inlet passage 38. Accordingly, the sum of the energizing force of the energizing member 60 and the air pressure supplied from the air source 20 is applied to the ball 32. Accordingly, the pressure over the valve opening pressure can be applied to the check valve 14. It is detected from the presence of generation of air bubbles from the forward end of an outlet passage 44 submerged in a water tank 22 whether the check valve 14 is in the open state or not.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airtightness inspection device, and more particularly to an operation inspection device for opening / closing means suitable for inspecting the operation of an opening / closing valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In vehicles, closed components such as check valves and seals are used as components such as braking devices. In order to guarantee the performance of these hermetically sealed parts, it is necessary to check the hermeticity of the hermetically sealed parts during the manufacturing process.

As an inspection device for performing such an airtightness inspection, an inspection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-4493 is known. The inspection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-4493 includes a cylinder, a piston disposed in the cylinder, and a high pressure air source. The piston has a cylindrical protrusion on one end surface thereof. A seal ring, which is a hermetically sealed component, is fitted in an airtight state between the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and the cylindrical protrusion of the piston. And
High pressure air is supplied from the high pressure air source from one end inside the cylinder, and it is detected whether or not there is air leaking from the fitting part of the seal ring and flowing into the other end inside the cylinder. The tightness of the ring is detected.

[0004]

By the way, generally, check valves are widely used in hydraulic devices mounted on vehicles and the like. The check valve allows the flow in the forward direction only when the fluid with a pressure higher than the opening pressure is supplied in the forward direction.
The flow in the opposite direction to the forward direction is always blocked. Therefore, when the pressure applied to the check valve in the forward direction is smaller than the valve opening pressure, the airtightness between the inlet side and the outlet side of the check valve must be ensured.

When the operation of the check valve is inspected by utilizing the principle of the conventional inspection device, it is necessary to supply air having a pressure corresponding to the opening pressure of the check valve. Therefore, when the opening pressure of the check valve becomes high, a high pressure high-pressure air source corresponding to the high pressure is required. Therefore, for a check valve having a high valve opening pressure, it is necessary to use a dedicated high pressure air source, which increases the cost of the inspection device. Further, in order to supply the high-pressure air, a device for ensuring airtightness at a connecting portion of the pipe or the like or a safety measure against a high pressure becomes large in size, and the cost of the device further increases. As described above, the above-described conventional inspection device has a problem that the cost is increased due to the use of high-pressure air.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to inspect the operation of the check valve without the need for a high pressure air source, and therefore the cost can be suppressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a check valve operation inspection device.

[0007]

The above object is to provide an opening / closing means operation inspection device for inspecting the operation of the opening / closing means which is opened only when a pressure higher than a set pressure is applied in the forward direction. A fluid supply source for supplying a fluid having a predetermined pressure in the forward direction, an urging means for urging the opening / closing means with a predetermined urging force in the forward direction, and the opening / closing means in a closed state or an open state. This is achieved by an operation inspection device for opening / closing means, which includes a detection means for detecting which state the fluid is in, based on the state of the fluid.

In the present invention, the opening / closing means is applied in the forward direction with the resultant force of the pressure caused by the fluid supply source and the urging force of the urging means. The opening / closing means is closed when the resultant force applied in the forward direction is smaller than the set pressure, and is opened when the resultant force applied in the forward direction is larger than the set pressure. . When the opening / closing means is open, the fluid flows through the opening / closing means. In this case, the detection means detects that the opening / closing means is open based on the state of the fluid. Further, when the opening / closing means is closed, the fluid does not flow through the opening / closing means. In this case, the detection means detects that the opening / closing means is in the closed state based on the state of the fluid.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an operation inspection device 10 which is an embodiment of the present invention. The operation inspection device 10 includes a check valve 14 that is an inspected part, a biasing portion 18 that constitutes an inspection portion, an air source 20, and a water tank 22.

The check valve 14 includes a valve seat 30, a ball 32,
It is composed of a spring 34 and a valve cover 35. The valve seat 30 is a cylindrical member having one step, and has an inlet passage 38, which is a through hole in the axial direction, at the center thereof.
Is provided. A ball engaging surface 40 formed in a conical surface shape is provided in the opening portion on the small diameter portion side (lower side in FIG. 1) of the inlet passage 38. The valve cover 35 is a cylindrical member whose one end (lower end in FIG. 1) is closed. The inner peripheral surface of the open end of the valve cover 35 is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion of the valve seat 30. The inner surface of the valve cover 35 and the valve seat 30
A ball 32 and a spring 34 are arranged in a chamber 37 formed between the and. The ball 32 is pressed by the spring 34 toward the ball engaging surface 40. Further, an outlet hole 42 is provided on the closed end surface of the valve cover 35. An outlet passage 44 is connected to the outlet hole 42. The open end of the outlet passage 44 is submerged in the water tank 22.

The check valve 14 is a check valve housing 4
It is housed inside 5. Check valve housing 45
Is a cylindrical member having a step on the inner peripheral surface. An O-ring 46 is provided at a step portion between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion on the inner peripheral surface of the check valve housing 45.
The valve cover 35 of the check valve 14 is provided on the inner circumference of the O-ring 46.
Is inserted in close contact. Further, the step surface between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion of the valve seat 30 of the check valve 14 has an O-ring 4
6 is engaged with the upper part in FIG.

According to the structure of the check valve 14, the ball 32 is kept pressed against the ball engaging surface 40 when the pressure of the fluid in the inlet passage 38 is kept sufficiently low. Therefore, the inlet passage 38 and the chamber 37
And the check valve 14 is kept closed.

When the pressure of the fluid in the inlet passage 38 exceeds a value corresponding to the pressing force of the spring 34 against the ball engaging surface 40 by the spring 34, the pressure causes the ball 32 to move downward in FIG. . Therefore, the ball 3
A gap is created between the ball 2 and the ball engaging surface 40. As a result, the fluid comes to flow from the inlet passage 38 to the outlet passage 44 through the gap. On the other hand, when the pressure of the fluid in the outlet passage 44 rises, the pressure acts as a force for pressing the ball 32 against the ball engagement surface 40.
Therefore, no gap is created between the ball 32 and the ball engaging surface 40. Therefore, there is no fluid flow from the outlet passage 44 to the inlet passage 38.

As described above, the check valve 14 permits the flow in the direction from the inlet passage 38 to the outlet passage 44 when the pressure on the inlet passage 38 side reaches a predetermined pressure (hereinafter referred to as valve opening pressure). When the pressure on the inlet passage 38 side is lower than the valve opening pressure, the flow in this direction is shut off. On the other hand, the flow in the direction from the outlet passage 44 to the inlet passage 38 is always blocked.

Next, the structure of the inspection unit for inspecting the airtightness of the check valve 14 will be described. As described above, the inspection unit includes the urging unit 18, the air source 20, and the water tank 22. The urging portion 18 is arranged inside a cylinder portion 52 provided in the urging portion housing 50. The urging portion 18 includes the pedestal 56, the spring 58, and the urging member 60.
It is composed of The pedestal 56 is a cylindrical member having one step. The bottom surface of the pedestal 56 on the large diameter portion side (upper side in FIG. 1) is seated on the bottom surface of the cylinder portion 52 via the spacer 62. Further, the urging member 60 has a columnar main body portion 60a having a step and a center of the bottom surface of the main body portion 60a on the large diameter portion side (lower side in FIG. 1) and extends downward in FIG. And a rod portion 60b extending toward. The rod portion 60b is the inlet passage 3 of the valve seat 30 of the check valve 14.
8 is invaded, and its tip is in contact with the ball 32. That is, the biasing portion 18 contacts the ball 32,
2 forms a pressing means for pressing the ball 32 in the direction away from the ball engaging surface 40.

A spring 58 is arranged between the pedestal 56 and the urging member 60. One end (upper end in FIG. 1) of the spring 58 engages with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion of the pedestal 56, and the other end (lower end in FIG. 1) of the spring 58 has the outer peripheral surface of the smaller diameter portion of the body portion 60a of the biasing member 60. Is engaged with. The biasing member 60 is biased downward in FIG. 1 by the elastic force of the spring 58. The biasing force acts as a force for biasing the ball 32 of the check valve 14 downward in FIG. 1 by the tip of the rod portion 60a of the biasing member 60. The pressing force can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the spacer 62 to change the contraction amount of the spring 58. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the spacer 62 is determined by the sum of the urging force of the rod portion 60b of the urging member 60 and the pressing force of the pressure in the cylinder portion 52 applied from the air source 20 described later. It is set to be slightly smaller than the pressing force of the spring 34 of 14, that is, the force corresponding to the opening pressure of the check valve 14. The pressure supplied from the air source 20 to the check valve 14 is lower than the valve opening pressure of the check valve 14.

The pressing portion housing 50 includes a cylinder portion 5
2 is a passage 7 that connects the outer peripheral portion of the pressing portion housing 50 with the outer peripheral portion 2.
0 is provided. Air is supplied to the passage 70 from the air source 20 through an air supply pipe 72. The air source 20 is
For example, it is an air source that supplies low-pressure air of about 0.1 MPa. Therefore, as the air source 20, an air source generally used in factories can be used.

The urging portion housing 50 is disposed above the check valve 14 in FIG. 1 so that the cylinder portion 52 is coaxial with the check valve 14. An O-ring 74 is disposed between the periphery of the opening of the cylinder portion 52 of the urging portion housing 50 and the bottom surface of the check valve 14 on the large diameter portion side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the valve seat 30.

The check valve 14, check valve housing 45, urging portion 18, and urging portion housing 50 described above.
Is arranged in a housing (not shown). And
The urging unit housing 50 is pressed by a pressing means (not shown).
It is pressed downward inward. Therefore, the O-ring 4
6 assures the sealability between the valve cover 35 of the check valve 14 and the valve seat 30, and the O-ring 74 assures the sealability between the biasing unit housing 50 and the valve seat 30 of the check valve 14. Has been done.

According to the configuration of the operation inspection device 10 described above, the ball 32 of the check valve 14 corresponds to the valve opening pressure of the check valve 14 by supplying the low pressure air from the air source 20 to the cylinder portion 52. The force which is slightly smaller than the force urges the check valve 14 in the opening direction. In this case, if the check valve 14 is normal, that is, if the airtightness between the ball 32 and the ball engagement surface 40 is maintained, the flow of air from the inlet passage 38 to the outlet passage 44 is blocked. It On the other hand, if the airtightness between the ball 32 and the ball engaging surface 40 is broken due to damage to the ball 32 or the ball engaging surface 40, the air flows from the inlet passage 38 to the outlet passage 44. Circulate. Whether or not such air circulation occurs is determined by the outlet passage 4 submerged in the water tank 22.
It can be determined by whether or not air bubbles are generated from the tip of No. 4. That is, if bubbles are generated, it can be determined that the air is flowing through the check valve 14, and if bubbles are not generated, the air is not flowing through the check valve 14. it can.

As described above, according to the operation inspection device 10,
Even for a check valve having a high valve opening pressure (for example, 1 MPa or more), the airtightness of the check valve near the valve opening pressure can be inspected without using high-pressure air. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a high-pressure air source dedicated to the inspection device as the air source 20, and it is sufficient to use a low-pressure air source generally used in factories as described above. As a result, cost reduction of the operation inspection device 10 is realized. Further, since the supply of high-pressure air is unnecessary, a large-scale device such as a device for ensuring airtightness and safety measures accompanying the supply of high-pressure air is unnecessary, and the cost of the operation inspection device 10 is further reduced. Has been done.

In the above embodiment, the outlet passage 4
The airtightness of the check valve 14 is determined by submerging the end portion of No. 4 in the water tank 22 and determining whether bubbles are generated from the end portion of the outlet passage 44. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a pressure gauge is provided in the air supply passage 70 so that the check valve 14 can be operated according to the pressure change in the air supply passage.
May be determined. In this case, when air flows from the inlet passage 38 to the outlet passage 44, the air supply passage 72
The pressure inside will drop. Therefore, when the pressure in the air supply circuit 70 is smaller than the pressure of the air source 20, it can be determined that the airtightness of the check valve 14 is broken.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the airtightness of the check valve 14 is checked when the pressure applied to the check valve 14 by the operation inspection device 10 is equal to or lower than the valve opening pressure. It can also be used to check whether the check valve 14 opens at a predetermined valve opening pressure. In this case, the spacer 62 has a thickness equal to that of the rod portion 60b.
The sum of the pressing force of the check valve 14 and the pressing force of the pressure in the cylinder portion 52 by the air source 20 is set to be slightly larger than the force corresponding to the predetermined valve opening pressure of the check valve 14. Then, it is possible to inspect whether or not the check valve 14 is open by determining whether or not bubbles are generated from the end of the outlet passage submerged in the water tank 22.
In this case as well, the thickness of the spacer 62 is made larger than that at the time of the airtightness inspection of the check valve 14 only by supplying low-pressure air from the air source 20 whose pressure is lower than the valve opening pressure of the check valve 14, and the rod portion. By increasing the pressing force applied by 60b, it is possible to inspect whether the check valve 14 is open.

In the above embodiment, whether the check valve 14 is open or airtight is secured (closed).
Spacer 62 to check both
However, the spacer 62 may be movably arranged so that the pressing force of the rod portion 60b can be varied. In this case, while the low-pressure air is supplied from the air source 20 to the check valve 14, the movable spacer is moved to increase or decrease the pressing force by the rod portion 60b, so that the opening pressure of the check valve 14 or more is exceeded. Force corresponding to the pressure of the check valve 14 and a pressure lower than the valve opening pressure can be applied to the check valve, and the check valve 14 can be opened and closed without a troublesome operation such as changing the thickness of the spacer 62. This has the effect that the operation inspection can be performed at one time.

In the above embodiment, the check valve 14 corresponds to the opening / closing means, the urging portion 18 corresponds to the urging means, and the air source 20 corresponds to the fluid supply source. Further, the water tank 22 that detects the presence or absence of bubbles from the submerged outlet passage 44 and the pressure gauge that detects the pressure drop in the air supply passage 70 correspond to the above-mentioned detection means.

The biasing means in the present invention means that a rigid member (rod 60b in the above embodiment) comes into contact with a part of the valve (ball 32 in the above embodiment) of the opening / closing means. Means a means for urging forward.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, by biasing the opening / closing means in the forward direction by the biasing means, the opening / closing means can be opened without using a fluid having a pressure corresponding to the set pressure of the opening / closing means. It can be opened. Therefore, according to the operation inspection device of the present invention, the operation of the opening / closing means can be inspected with high accuracy without requiring a large-scale device for supplying a high-pressure fluid.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an operation inspection device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Operation Inspection Device 14 Check Valve 18 Energizing Part 20 Air Source 22 Water Tank 30 Valve Seat 32 Ball 40 Ball Engaging Surface 34, 58 Spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operation inspection device for an opening / closing means for inspecting the operation of the opening / closing means which is opened only when a pressure equal to or higher than a set pressure is applied in the forward direction, wherein the opening / closing means has a predetermined pressure in the forward direction. Fluid supply source for supplying the fluid, urging means for urging the opening / closing means in the forward direction with a predetermined urging force, and whether the opening / closing means is in a closed state or an open state. And a detection unit that detects the state based on the state of the opening and closing unit.