JPS6144060Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The invention automatically adjusts the mixing ratio of hot water and water by using the expansion and contraction effects of the temperature sensing element, and maintains the temperature of the discharged hot water at a predetermined level. This relates to a hot and cold water mixing faucet. Particularly, the important point of the present invention lies in the installation structure of the controller in which the temperature sensing element is enclosed.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally known examples of hot and cold water mixing faucets using temperature-sensitive elements that expand and contract in response to temperature changes include the mixing faucet device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1983-40330, and the mixing faucet device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1987-14656. There are temperature control valves described in the above publication.

The former mixing faucet device includes a mixing chamber formed in the main body case and having a mixed water discharge port, a water supply port communicating with the mixing chamber via a water valve port and a hot water valve port, and a hot water supply port body; a valve body that adjusts the opening degree of the water valve port by moving forward and backward; and a valve body that adjusts the opening degree of the hot water valve port in the opposite direction; and a valve body disposed in the mixing chamber. A bellows having a temperature-sensitive expansion medium sealed therein and transmitting the expansion/contraction displacement thereof to the valve body, and a moving element connected to an adjustment knob are moved back and forth in direct contact with each other. a temperature setting mechanism for setting opening/closing reference values for a water valve port and a hot water valve port; It is characterized by being formed on the valve seat.

The latter temperature control valve consists of a cylindrical upper body with a hot water inlet at the top and a mixed water outlet at the side, and a cylindrical lower body which also has a cold water inlet at the side. In this case, the thermoelement is embedded in the center of the rubber with the shaft protruding only upwards, and the thermoelement is filled in the wax case with the rubber so that the periphery of the rubber is covered with wax pellets.The thermoelement is directly connected to the adjustment stem screwed into the lower body. A valve is provided in the upper body so as to be in contact with each other, and a valve is provided above the center of the axis of this thermoelement, and a cold water side valve seat with a small hole below this valve is screwed and fixed to the main body, and this cold water side valve In addition to providing a valve spring that presses the valve against the seat, a hot water side valve seat is installed above the valve so that it can be slid up and down, and the valve seat spring that presses the hot water side valve seat downward is installed between it and the spring holder. It is characterized by the fact that it is provided in

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

Needless to say, the temperature sensing element is the central element of this type of hot water mixing faucet, but it is also extremely sensitive to external forces and easily damaged. Therefore,
Care must be taken when handling it. However,
The user is not always aware of the properties of the temperature sensing element, and does not always carefully operate the temperature setting handle connected to the temperature sensing element. However, the mixing faucet device and temperature control valve described in the above-mentioned publication have a structure in which the temperature setting knob and stem are in direct contact with the bellows and thermoelement, which are temperature sensing elements. For hot and cold water mixing faucets with this type of structure, when the knob or stem operation handle is suddenly operated, the force is transmitted to the temperature-sensing element with an impact, which may cause the temperature-sensing element to malfunction. Accidents often occurred that resulted in damage, deterioration, or damage.

[Means for solving problems]

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art and thoroughly protect the temperature sensing element, and also to take measures to prevent the hot water mixing faucet from operating beyond its normal adjustment range. The solution includes a controller provided in a mixing chamber located in an axially central area of a main case within a faucet body, and a controller provided at one end in an axial direction of the main case. an inflow valve that relatively changes the opening degree of the water supply port and the hot water supply port communicating with the mixing chamber by axial fluctuation of the water supply port; and an inflow valve provided at the other axial end of the main case and operated to set the discharge water temperature In the hot water mixing faucet equipped with a temperature control handle, the controller is connected to an encapsulation case enclosing a temperature-sensitive element that expands and contracts in response to temperature changes, and a piston cylinder into which a piston shaft is inserted so as to be extendable and slidable. A diaphragm valve is interposed between the temperature sensing element and the piston shaft, the handle shaft of the temperature control handle and the piston cylinder and piston shaft of the controller are connected via a relief spring, and the control The device is provided with a drive blocking mechanism that prevents the piston shaft from substantially retracting any further at a position immediately adjacent to the lower limit of the temperature control range.

[Effect]

In the hot and cold water mixing faucet according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the "invented mixing faucet"), the handle shaft of the temperature control handle, the piston cylinder and the piston shaft of the controller are connected in a primary buffer manner via a relief spring, and the piston The shaft and the temperature-sensing element are connected via a flexible diaphragm valve in a secondary shock-absorbing manner, and the lower limit drive prevention mechanism of the piston shaft provided in the controller provides tertiary protection for the temperature-sensing element. Even if the temperature adjustment handle is suddenly operated, the force is not impulsively transmitted to the temperature sensing element, so there is no risk of damage to the temperature sensing element, and the temperature adjustment function is maintained normally for a long time.

In addition, the controller is equipped with a drive prevention mechanism that prevents the piston shaft from retracting any further near the lower limit of the temperature control range, so that the mixing faucet may deviate from its temperature control range and cause useless operation. There's nothing to do.

〔Example〕

The proposed mixing faucet was developed through a two-stage prototyping process.

First, we will explain the configuration of the proposed mixer faucet obtained in the first stage trial manufacturing process. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the mixed faucet according to the present invention, and the mixed faucet according to the present invention has a cylindrical main case 12 in the faucet main body 2 (indicated by the two-dot chain line) in the lateral direction. It becomes embedded in. The interior of the main case 12 is divided into an operating section 7, a hot water mixing section 8, and an inflow control section 9.

In the main case 12, a mixing chamber 16 is slidably inserted into a hot water mixing section 8 located at the center thereof. The mixing chamber 16 has a stepped cylindrical outer shape, and has an inlet opening 23 at its closed bottom and an outlet opening 24 at its peripheral surface. The inflow opening 23 of the mixing chamber 16 communicates with a water supply port 14 and a hot water supply port 15 provided in the inflow control section 9 of the main case 12, which will be described later.
communicates with a discharge port 13 bored in the central peripheral wall of the main case 12. Further, a controller 1 is installed in the mixing chamber 16.

The controller 1 is formed by combining an enclosure case 3 and a piston cylinder 6. A diaphragm valve 5 is interposed between the enclosure case 3 and the piston cylinder 6, and the temperature sensing element 4 is enclosed within the enclosure case 3 by the diaphragm valve 5. A piston shaft 11 is slidably inserted into the piston cylinder 6, and the base end of the piston shaft 11 is in contact with the diaphragm valve 5. Therefore, in this controller 1, when the ambient temperature of the enclosure case 3 rises, the temperature sensing element 4 expands inside the enclosure case 3, and the diaphragm valve 5 is recessed into the annular recess 10 of the piston cylinder 6, thereby causing the piston to close. The shaft 11 is extended in the axial direction. Incidentally, an annular fin 3a is provided around the outer peripheral surface of the enclosure case 3 to facilitate sensing of the ambient temperature.

The temperature sensing element 4 expands as the temperature rises,
It has the property of showing a change in volume by contracting as the temperature drops. A relationship as shown in FIG. 2 exists between the expansion coefficient and temperature. In other words, if the expansion amount of the temperature sensing element 4 is replaced with the length of the piston shaft 11 extending from the piston cylinder 6, within a predetermined temperature range (T ₁ °C to T ₄ °C), The extension length (l ₁ mm to l ₄ mm) of the piston shaft 11 increases in proportion to the rise in temperature. Note that the proportional relationship does not hold when the temperature surrounding the temperature sensing element 4 is less than T ₁ °C and when it exceeds T ₄ °C. The temperature element 4 expands,
The temperature range in which the contraction occurs is defined as T ₂ °C to T ₃ °C, and the extended length of the piston shaft 11 at that time is defined as l ₂ mm _{to l 3} mm as the operating range.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the main case 12, an inflow control valve 19 is slidably inserted into the inflow control section 9. The inflow control valve 19 is connected to the main case 1
It is located so as to straddle the two water supply ports 14 and hot water supply ports 15, and the degree of opening of each port 14, 15 can be relatively changed by sliding from side to side. In addition, the inflow control valve 19 is connected to the blockage base 2 of the main case 12.
0, it is pressed against the closed bottom of the mixing chamber 16 by a return spring 18. still,
The water supply port 14 communicates with a water pipe or the like (not shown),
The hot water supply port 15 communicates with a water boiler, water heater, water heater, etc. (not shown).

In the main case 12, a handle shaft 25 is screwed into the operating portion 7. The handle shaft 25 is
A temperature adjustment handle 17 (indicated by a two-dot chain line) is attached to one end, and a housing recess 26 for the relief spring 22 is provided at the other end. The relief spring 22 has a stronger elastic force than the return spring 18 of the inflow control valve 19. The disc 2 is inserted into the storage recess 26 via the relief spring 22.
7 is fitted, and the piston shaft 11 of the controller 1 is pressed by the disk 27. That is, the mixing chamber 16 and the inflow control valve 19 are pressed against each other from both sides by the return spring 18 and the relief spring 22 in the main case 12, and are connected and held in series in the axial direction. ing.

Although the valve body that adjusts the flow rate of discharged hot water is omitted in the figure, the valve body may be located at different positions upstream of the water supply port 14 and upstream of the hot water supply port 15, or downstream of the discharge port 13. It shall be located at the location.

Next, the usage status of the proposed mixing faucet related to the first stage prototype will be briefly explained.

Rotate the temperature control handle 17 to set the desired temperature of the discharged hot water to a high temperature (for example, 45° C.). As a result, the handle shaft 25 moves as if being pulled out of the faucet body 2 (to the left in the figure), and the return spring 18 becomes in an extended state. In other words, the controller 1 is given room for the piston shaft 11 to extend (as explained in FIG. Therefore, it is uniquely determined). Therefore, the inflow control valve 19 is initially in a state in which the hot water supply port 15 of the main case 12 is opened and the water supply port 14 is closed. Therefore, only high-temperature hot water sent from a water heater or the like flows into the mixing chamber 16. Then, the temperature sensing element 4 of the controller 1 immediately expands, causing the piston shaft 11 to extend. Then, the mixing chamber 16 receives a reaction force due to the extension of the piston shaft 11, and is pushed back slightly to the right in the figure. Therefore, the inflow control valve 19 is located between the hot water supply port 15 and the water supply port 14, and water also flows into the mixing chamber 16 from the water supply port 14 and is mixed with the hot water. The temperature of the mixed hot water in 16 is adjusted to the set temperature.

On the other hand, rotate the temperature control handle 17 in the opposite direction,
Set the desired discharge hot water temperature to a low temperature (e.g. 35℃)
Set to . Therefore, as mentioned above, the temperature sensing element 4
Due to the expansion, the controller 1 with the piston shaft 11 still extended is forced into the main case 12 to the right by the handle shaft 25. Therefore, the return spring 1 of the inflow control valve 19
8 is compressed to its limit, and subsequently the relief spring 22 also becomes compressed. Therefore, the inflow control valve 19 is initially connected to the hot water supply port 1 of the main case 12.
5 and open the water supply port 14. For this reason,
Only water sent from a water pipe or the like flows into the mixing chamber 16. When the temperature inside the mixing chamber 16 is cooled, the temperature sensing element 4 senses this temperature and soon begins to contract. Therefore, the relief spring 22 returns first, and when the temperature sensing element 4 further contracts, the piston shaft 11 moves back to the return spring 1.
8 and is retracted into the piston cylinder 6. In this way, the inflow control valve 19 begins to open the hot water supply port 15 of the main case 12, and gradually widens its opening area. Then, the temperature of the mixed hot water in the mixing chamber 16 is adjusted to the set temperature.

However, the mixed faucet according to the first stage prototype was unable to discharge only water. The reason for this is that, as explained in FIG. 2 above, the lower limit temperature of the operating range of the controller 1 is determined to be _T2 °C. In other words, in winter, etc.
When the temperature of the water sent from the water pipe etc. to the water supply port 14 of the main case 12 becomes even colder than T ₂ °C, as shown in FIG. The element 4 will contract abnormally, and the piston shaft 11 will go beyond the operating range and become wedged into the enclosure case 3. In other words, the entire length of the controller 1 becomes shorter than the predetermined dimension, and the inflow control valve 19 opens the hot water supply port 15 by being pushed by the return spring 18 . If we consider this matter further, we can say the following. That is, if we compare the water boiling capacity of a water heater or the like (not shown) that sends hot water to the hot water supply port 15 with the water boiling capacity of a general bath pot provided in a bathtub (not shown), it goes without saying that the air path The pot is better. In other words, when storing water in a bathtub equipped with a bathtub, mixing the hot water from the water heater etc. through the proposed mixing faucet results in a double loss of energy for heating the water, which is extremely uneconomical. . In addition, since the hot water supply pressure of the water heater, etc. is extremely low, the hot water mixing faucet automatically adjusts the water pressure from the water pipe etc. to the hot water supply pressure, and it takes a long time to fill the bathtub with water. It will take a while.

The proposed mixing faucet, which is the second stage prototype, was created in consideration of the above circumstances, and even if the temperature of the tap water is below the lower limit temperature of the operating range of the controller, , which was obtained by adding further improvements so that this cold water can be discharged independently.

The main point of the improvement of the mixed faucet according to the second stage prototype is related to the structure of the controller itself.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the controller 30 of the mixed faucet according to the second stage of trial manufacture. The characteristic structure of the controller 30 shown in the figure is as a drive blocking mechanism.
A retraction prevention piece 3 is installed near the extending end 32 of the piston shaft 31.
3 is provided.

The retraction prevention piece 33 is composed of a C-type concentric retaining ring (commonly known as a snap spring) or an E-type retaining ring (commonly referred to as an E-ring), and has a fitting groove cut into the circumferential surface of the piston shaft 31. It is designed to be fitted in place. The retraction blocking piece 33 is fitted at a position 1 ₂ mm from the extending end 32 of the piston shaft 31. That is, the temperature sensing element 4 is at T ₂ °C (controller 30
The length of the piston shaft 31 extending from the piston cylinder 6 is ensured when the piston shaft 31 is in an expanded state (lower limit temperature of the operating range).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that even if the temperature surrounding the temperature sensing element 4 falls below T ₂ ° C., the extension length of the piston shaft 31 remains l ₂ mm.

Although the controller 35 shown in FIG. 6 is different from the controller 30 shown in FIG. 4 in the structure of its drive blocking mechanism, the operation and effect are the same. The drive blocking mechanism of the controller 35 is such that the length of the piston cylinder 36 is longer than the piston shaft 1.
It is slightly longer than 1. Therefore, even if the temperature sensing element 4 contracts and no longer presses the diaphragm valve 5, the piston shaft 11 will not penetrate into the enclosure case 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the retraction blocking piece 33 may be provided integrally with the piston shaft 31. In this way, the configuration and shape of the mixed faucet of the present invention can be changed as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[Effect of idea]

The mixing faucet of the present invention has the following effects by having the configuration described in detail above.

The handle shaft of the temperature control handle and the piston cylinder and piston shaft of the controller are connected in a primary buffer manner via a relief spring, and the piston shaft and the temperature sensing element are connected in a secondary manner through a flexible diaphragm valve. The lower limit drive prevention mechanism of the piston shaft provided in the controller provides tertiary protection for the temperature sensing element, so even if the temperature control handle is suddenly operated, the force will not affect the temperature sensing element. Since no impact is transmitted to the element, there is no risk of damage to the temperature sensing element, and the temperature regulating function is maintained normally for a long time.

Even if the temperature of tap water, etc. is lower than the lower limit temperature in the operating range of the controller, it is now possible to continue discharging this cold water alone (without mixing hot water at all). Therefore, when filling water in a bathtub or the like equipped with a bathtub, there is no loss of water heating energy. Not only that, the water that is discharged separately remains at the same pressure as the water pipe, etc., and the time required to collect the water will be shorter than when hot water is mixed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are for explaining the structure of the proposed mixing faucet; Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of the proposed mixing faucet according to the first stage prototype, and Fig. 2 shows the operating characteristics of the controller in Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a line graph showing
FIG. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view of the controller in the second stage prototype, FIG. 5 is a line graph showing the operating characteristics of the controller in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged side sectional view of another controller having the same effect as the controller in FIG. 4. FIG. 1... Controller, 2... Faucet body, 4... Temperature sensing element, 6... Piston cylinder, 11... Piston shaft, 1
3... Discharge port, 14... Water supply port, 15... Hot water supply port, 16... Mixing chamber, 17... Temperature control handle, 19... Inflow control valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A controller provided in a mixing chamber located in an axially central area of a main case within a faucet body, and a controller provided at one axial end of the main case. an inflow valve that relatively changes the opening degree of the water supply port and the hot water supply port communicating with the mixing chamber by axial fluctuation; and an inflow valve that is provided at the other end of the main case in the axial direction and is operated to set the water discharge temperature. In the hot water mixing faucet equipped with a temperature adjustment handle, the controller is connected to an enclosure case enclosing a temperature sensing element that expands and contracts in response to temperature changes, and a piston cylinder that extends and slides through the piston shaft. A diaphragm valve is interposed between the temperature sensing element and the piston shaft, the handle shaft of the temperature adjustment handle and the piston cylinder and piston shaft of the controller are connected via a relief spring, and the controller The hot water mixing faucet is characterized in that the piston shaft is provided with a drive preventing mechanism that substantially prevents the piston shaft from retracting any further at a position immediately adjacent to the lower limit of the temperature control range. 2. The hot water mixing faucet according to claim 1, wherein the drive blocking mechanism includes a retraction blocking piece attached near the extending end of the piston shaft. 3. The hot water/cold water mixing faucet according to claim 1, wherein the drive blocking mechanism has a piston cylinder whose length is longer than the piston shaft inserted into the piston cylinder.