JPS6017579Y2 - antifreeze valve - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an antifreeze valve used in an instantaneous water heater.

Conventionally, anti-freeze valves (low-temperature operating valves) have been widely used to prevent freezing by detecting a drop in outside temperature and opening the valve body to release water to prevent the internal passageway from freezing. This anti-freeze valve is normally installed on the outlet pipe side to prevent the entire water passageway in the vessel from freezing.

That is, in FIG. 1, the anti-freeze valve 1 is connected to the outlet pipe 2 in a branched manner.

An example of the structure of this anti-freeze valve is as shown in Fig. 2, in which a wax that expands and contracts due to temperature changes is inserted into a valve hole 4, which serves as an outlet of a drainage channel 3 branched from a hot water outlet pipe 2 of a water heater. It is opened and closed by a valve body 6 attached to the upper end of the enclosed thermosensor 5. The lower end of a shaft 7 slidably inserted into the thermosensor 5 is supported on the lower end of a support tube 8, and the thermosensor 5 is The valve hole 4 is opened and closed by moving toward and away from the valve hole 4 during relative movement with the shaft 7. Conventionally, when the valve hole 4 is opened, the drain channel 3 is opened and closed.
Since the water from the temperature sensor 5 was flowing in contact with the surface of the temperature sensing element 5, there were the following drawbacks.

That is, in this conventional example, even at low temperatures when the antifreeze valve 1 is operating, if the hot water outlet pipe 2 downstream of the valve 1 is not blocked by freezing, the ignition operation is performed to close the hot water supply valve 9.
By opening the door, hot water can be supplied.

With the start of this hot water supply, hot water also flows to the antifreeze valve 1, and the valve 1
The thermosensor 5 is heated and stops operating, but if hot water supply is stopped at this point, the water flow will stop and the thermosensor 5 will soon detect the outside temperature and the valve body 6 will close the valve hole. When 4 is opened, the hot water remaining in the heat exchanger 10 and the hot water outlet pipe 2 comes out and comes into contact with the temperature sensing element 5 to heat it, and the valve body 6 immediately opens without fully opening. The intermittent operation of closing the temperature sensitive element 5, dissipating the residual heat of the temperature sensing element 5, and then opening it again is repeated.

In this case, the valve opening time is extremely short, and since the valve opening is small, the amount of water flowing out is also small, so there is a risk that freezing will occur and progress, especially from the water inlet pipe 11 to the heat exchanger 10.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the inconveniences caused by the conventional antifreeze valve structure. It is to do so.

This will be explained below with reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The antifreeze valve 1 is provided in the same position as the conventional example described above, but its structure is that it is located above the temperature sensing element 5 except for the valve element 6. A cap 12 made of a material with low thermal conductivity such as resin is press-fitted, and a cylindrical guide tube 13 on which the cap 12 slides is attached around the valve hole 4.

14 is an O-ring gasket that maintains a watertight state between the cap 12 and the guide tube 13; 15 is several water holes provided in the peripheral wall of the guide tube 13; and 16 is a hole that connects the lower end of the shaft 7 of the temperature sensor 5. On the circumferential wall of the cylindrical support tube 8 that holds and surrounds the temperature sensor 5, it faces the hole 15 of the guide tube 13 at a position slightly below the hole 15, and is in contact with the lower end of the guide tube 13. Several water outlets are provided above the contacting part A,
The opening areas of these water holes 15 and water outlet holes 16 are made sufficiently large in order to eliminate water accumulation due to surface tension.

Reference numeral 17 designates a number of through holes provided below the portion A of the support tube 8 that contacts the guide tube 13.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a spring that constantly presses and biases the temperature sensing element 5 in the valve opening direction (downward in the figure).

Reference numeral 19 denotes a cylindrical cover whose upper end is fixed to the support cylinder 8 and whose lower part is open. The cover 19 surrounds the water outlet 16 with a gap 20, and is made of a material with good thermal conductivity such as brass. be.

The purpose of this cover 19 is to guide the flowing water that has passed through the water outlet 16 vertically downward along its inner surface, and to cause it to flow down around the support tube 8.

The present invention has such a configuration, and when the antifreeze valve 1 senses the outside temperature through the through hole 17 and operates again after hot water supply starts and stops while the antifreeze valve 1 is in operation, as described above, the inside of the hot water outlet pipe 2 is The remaining hot water flows out from the valve hole 4, but although the upper part of the temperature sensing element 5 is covered with the cap 12, there is an O-ring gasket 1 between the cap 12 and the guide tube 13.
4, the hot water flows out from the water passage hole 15 through the water outlet hole 16 without heating the temperature sensing element 5.

Therefore, the opening of the valve body 4 continues for a longer time than in the conventional example, and during this time, most of the remaining hot water is discharged.

For example, even if the thermosensor 5 is indirectly heated by the residual hot water flowing out and the valve hole 4 is closed, the water in the water passage inside the vessel is still flowing considerably while the hot water is flowing, so it is especially difficult to freeze. Freezing does not occur even in the heat exchanger 10, which is likely to occur.

Thus, after the residue has been washed away, water can be released to completely prevent freezing.

By the way, not only when hot water is discharged, but also when water is discharged, after the temperature sensing element 5 is activated and the valve body 6 closes the valve hole 4, the vicinity of the outlet of the valve hole 4, the water passage hole 15, and the water outlet hole 16 is closed. When hot water or water accumulates due to surface tension, heat is always transferred from the temperature sensing element 5 to this accumulated hot water (water), so even if the outside temperature drops afterwards, cooling of the temperature sensing element 5 is delayed considerably, and during this time There is a high risk that the water passage inside the vessel may freeze.

Therefore, in the present invention, the opening area of the water inlet hole 15 and the water outlet hole 16 is increased to eliminate the surface tension effect and eliminate the accumulation of water. The provision of the cover 19 prevents the water from sometimes splashing out forcefully without following the circumference of the support tube 8, thereby reducing the water temperature detection function of the antifreeze valve.

Therefore, the water flow that exits the water outlet 16 follows the circumference of the support tube 8, and by indirectly receiving the temperature of this water, the temperature sensing element 5 moves and adjusts the opening degree of the valve hole 4 according to the water flow. Since the water flow rate is increased or decreased, water wastage is kept to a minimum.

The cover 19 also serves as a fin, and has the effect of promoting the above-mentioned air temperature and water temperature detection function of the temperature sensing element 5.

If the lower part of the support tube 8 is supported by a funnel-shaped object, the outflow water can be guided to the appropriate place with a hose or the like, and the contents below the antifreeze valve will not leak.

In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, except for the cap 12 and the O-ring packing 14, even if the temperature sensing element 5 and the guide tube 13 are arranged in a sliding relationship with a slight gap maintained, the above effects will not be significantly reduced. However, it still provides more reliable freeze prevention than conventional products.

As described above, in this invention, the lower end of the shaft that is slidably inserted into the temperature sensor is fixed with a support tube that surrounds the temperature sensor, so that the temperature sensor moves up and down as the outside temperature changes. In an anti-freeze valve in which a valve body installed at the upper end opens and closes a drainage channel, the upper part of the temperature sensing element is slidably inserted, and a guide cylinder with a water passage hole in the peripheral wall is connected to the temperature sensing element and the support cylinder. A water outlet hole is provided in the support tube so as to face the water hole in the guide tube, and the water that has passed through the water hole in the guide tube is guided from the drainage channel to the outside of the support tube. Since the water outlet hole is surrounded by a cover that is open at the bottom and is fixed to the support tube, the hot water in the vessel can be discharged without any problem when the antifreeze valve is activated after hot water is supplied at low temperatures. This makes it possible to prevent freezing due to a delay in water flow, and also eliminates water pooling near the valve outlet and allows water to flow closer to the temperature sensor, making it easier to detect the temperature of the temperature sensor. It has an extremely excellent effect of improving performance and perfecting the antifreeze function.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall view of a water heater equipped with an antifreeze valve, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional valve structure, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the antifreeze valve of the present invention. be. 1...Anti-freeze valve, 3...Drainage channel, 5
... Temperature sensing element, 6 ... Valve body, 7 ...
...Shaft, 8...Support tube, 13...Guide tube, 15...Water hole, 16...Water hole, 19... ...Cover, 20...Gap.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The lower end of the shaft, which is slidably inserted into the thermosensor, is fixed with a cylindrical support tube that surrounds the thermosensor and has many through holes on the circumferential side, so that the thermosensor changes as the outside temperature changes. A cylindrical valve that moves up and down and opens and closes a drainage channel with a valve body installed at its upper end, in which the upper part of the temperature sensor is slidably inserted and has a water passage hole with a large opening area in the surrounding wall. A guide tube is provided between the temperature sensing element and the support tube, and the lower end of the guide tube is brought into contact with the inner surface of the support tube, and the support tube has a water passage hole in the guide tube slightly smaller than the water passage hole. A drain hole with a large opening area facing the drain hole is formed at a lower position to guide the flowing water through the water passage hole of the guide tube to the outside of the support tube, and a cylindrical and open bottom portion fixed to the support tube. A shaped cover surrounds the water outlet hole with a gap, and drift ice passing through the water outlet hole is guided vertically downward along the inner surface of the cover and flows down around the support tube. antifreeze valve.