JPS6144061Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to a hot water mixer faucet that can automatically adjust the water temperature in the mixing chamber, and uses a shape memory alloy to adjust the mixing ratio of hot water and cold water. The object of the present invention is to provide a hot/cold water mixing faucet that can keep the supplied water temperature constant at all times.

Conventionally, this type of automatic temperature-adjusting hot water mixer faucet has used, for example, bimetallic materials (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 47-43258), as well as those that are sensitive to temperature changes such as fluids and gases. By forming an element in which a substance whose volume reacts to change is sealed in a container, the expansion or contraction reaction of the substance acts on the valve body, adjusting the inflow amount of hot water or cold water to obtain the desired hot water. A method that obtains the following is known.

However, in the former type, which uses bimetal, due to its structure, both valve bodies, which are suspended facing the hot water hole and cold water hole, lack stability, and the valve opening amount is affected by the water pressure passing through both holes. Strictly speaking, it is difficult to always obtain the set water temperature because the water temperature changes slightly.
In addition, the latter element method requires a high degree of shaft sealing and processing to improve sensitivity by providing folds on the container surface, which requires a great deal of time and effort to manufacture.

The present invention, which was devised in view of these circumstances, includes a valve whose one end can be freely detached from the valve seat of the hot water hole, in a mixing chamber of a faucet housing having a hot water hole, a cold water hole, and a discharge hole, respectively. The valve mechanism is equipped with a valve shaft whose other end is supported within a guide shaft and is slidable, and a coil made of a shape memory alloy with a constant pitch is installed between the guide shaft and the flange of the valve shaft. As a result, the opening diameter of the hot water hole can be quickly adjusted in accordance with the temperature deformation of the shape memory alloy that comes into direct contact with hot water in the mixing chamber, eliminating temperature irregularities in the supplied water and ensuring hot water at a constant temperature at all times. It was designed to obtain the following.

The structure will be described in more detail below based on one embodiment. 1 is a faucet housing, and a mixing chamber A provided in the center has a hot water hole B, a cold water hole C, and a discharge hole D, respectively. It is what was done.

Further, 2 is a valve shaft 3 and a guide shaft 4 that are slidable relative to each other.
A valve body 5 is provided at one end of the valve shaft 3 and can be freely separated from the valve seat 4' at the base of the hot water hole, and the other end is connected to the hollow part 4' of the guide shaft 4. A coil 6 is slidably inserted into the shaft, and between the flanges 3' and 4'' provided between the shafts 3 and 4 is a coil 6, which is provided with pitches at regular intervals over its entire length, as described below. Both ends are fixed.

Furthermore, a main shaft 7 is screwed onto the base end of the guide shaft 4 and is rotatable by a handle 8.

In the figure, 9 indicates a cap nut connecting the faucet casing 1 and the main shaft 7, and 10 indicates packing.

The above-mentioned coil 6 is made of, for example, a shape memory alloy with a titanium-nickel alloy or a copper-zinc-aluminum alloy as a base material, and when it is set in a certain shape at a certain temperature, it will not change at other temperatures. Even if the shape is physically changed under the condition, it can be restored to the shape at the time of setting by applying a setting temperature.

To describe the operating principle of the mixed faucet of the present invention with the above configuration, first, the coil 6 is set at a constant temperature, and the valve body 5 is adjusted to a desired amount of hot water by operating the handle 8. After reducing the distance between the valve seat and the valve seat, the main valve (not shown) is opened to introduce hot water and cold water into the mixing chamber.

In this case, when the temperature of the water in the mixing chamber becomes higher than the set temperature, in addition to the coil 6's inherent expansion rate, a shape restoring force corresponding to the set temperature acts on the coil 6, causing it to quickly try to expand to its original length. , the valve body 5 is pushed toward the valve seat side of the hot water hole to narrow the opening amount.On the other hand, when the water temperature becomes low, the coil 6 contracts and pushes the valve body 5 toward the valve seat side. Since it is opened from the side, the amount of hot water flowing in increases, and hot water at a constant temperature is always obtained from the discharge hole.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, by increasing the thickness of the flange 3' of the valve stem 3 in the above embodiment, the opening amount of the cold water hole C can be increased around the flange as the valve stem 3 moves. If the amount of hot water can be adjusted freely and the amount of cold water can be controlled to quickly measure the rise or fall of the hot water temperature, contrary to the increase or decrease in the amount of hot water, it will be possible to supply hot water with less unevenness in temperature.

As mentioned above, the mixed faucet of this invention uses a coil made of a shape memory alloy instead of the fluid in the conventional element system, and because the coil of the above fixed pitch is in direct contact with the hot water, the reaction is quick and the adjustment is quick. In addition to being able to significantly shorten the time, it also has significant practical advantages such as eliminating the need for a special shaft sealing mechanism, eliminating manufacturing effort, and reducing costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the central part of the hot water mixing faucet of the present invention, and Figures 2 and 3 are vertical cross-sectional views of the central part showing other embodiments of the present invention, in which the cold water hole is fully opened. FIG. 3 shows the state when the hot water hole is fully open. In the drawings, 1... valve housing, 2... valve mechanism, 3... valve shaft, 4... guide shaft, 5... valve body, 6... coil.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. In a mixing chamber of a faucet housing having a hot water hole, a cold water hole, and a discharge hole, one end of which is a valve body that can be freely detached from the valve seat of the hot water hole, and the other end of the mixing chamber. A valve mechanism is equipped with a valve shaft that is slidable with its side supported within a guide shaft, and is made of a shape memory alloy and has a constant pitch over its entire length between the guide shaft and the flange of the valve shaft. An automatic temperature-adjusting hot water mixer faucet that is equipped with a coil. 2. The automatic temperature-adjusting hot water mixer faucet according to claim 1, which is a utility model, in which the thickness of the flange of the valve stem is increased so that the opening amount of the cold water hole can be adjusted by the periphery of the flange.