JPH03188326A - Electronic quantitative stop cock - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate cut off inferiority by releasing the lock of the handle opening a stop valve part when the battery voltage of a power supply reaches a predetermined valve or less. CONSTITUTION:A spring 26a is provided to the cam 20 opening and closing the stop valve part 11 provided to a flow passage to energize the valve part 11 in a closing direction and the valve part 11 is opened by the handle 5 operated in connection with the cam 20 and the handle 5 is locked in the open state of the valve part 11 by a lock mechanism 40. Further, the lock of the mechanism 40 is made releasable by a motor 45 and the signal of the rotation sensor 51 of the turbine 22 in the flow passage is counted and, when water reaches a set flow rate, motor 45 is electrified by an electronic control part 58. The battery voltage of a power supply is checked during the supply of a current of the control part 58 by a voltage detection circuit 58 and, when the voltage reaches the lowest voltage or less necessary for driving the motor 45, the motor 45 is electrified to release the lock of the mechanism 40.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an electronic metering stop valve.

[Prior art]

A water stop valve provided in the flow path, an impeller rotationally driven by water passing through the flow path, a gear that decelerates the rotation of the impeller and transmits it to the cam, and a water stop valve provided in the flow path. There is a well-known metering stop valve that is equipped with a control rod that opens and closes the water valve part and automatically stops the water supply when a set amount of water flows (for example,
8-19176).

The reduction ratio of the gear that reduces the rotation of the impeller is approximately 1/100,000, and for this reason, a large number of gears are used in fixed-rate water stop valves, and in consideration of productivity, resin molded products are used. ing.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional technology described above, the reduction gear, which is a resin molded product, absorbs water and swells, or expands or contracts due to the slow temperature of the water or hot water, and the gap between the meshing gears disappears, making it impossible to rotate. There was a problem that a malfunction occurred in which the water stop function was lost.

In addition, if the water that has passed through the water stop valve adheres to the gear and the water droplets on the gear dry after the valve closes, not only will the dirt in the water turn into dirt and stick to the gear, but also dirt and other particles will bite. There was also the problem that normal rotation was inhibited.

In addition, since the impeller drives the cam, control rod, and water stop valve part through gears, a load is placed on the impeller, resulting in poor metering accuracy, poor reproducibility of water supply amount, and poor durability. There was a problem.

Therefore, the present applicant proposed an electronic metering stop valve as a metering stop valve that can solve these problems. This electronic metering water stop valve converts the rotation of the turbine (impeller) into an electronic signal using a magneto-electric conversion element, counts this electric signal using an electronic control unit (ECU), and sets the amount of water in the water volume setting device in advance. When a set value is reached, the electronic control section energizes the motor to close the water stop valve section and automatically stop the water supply.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with this electronic metering water stop valve, the water stop valve is opened by manually moving the handle, the valve is locked in the open state, and when water is supplied at the set flow rate, the motor is energized and the motor releases the lock. This closes the water stop valve, so if the power supply battery drops below the set voltage required to drive the motor, the motor will not rotate even if the motor is energized to close the valve. The lock cannot be released.

When this happens, a problem arises in that water keeps coming out and does not stop automatically.

In view of these problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic quantitative water stop valve that automatically stops the metered water supply operation when the battery voltage drops below a certain level, thereby solving the above problems. purpose.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a water stop valve section (11) provided in a flow path, a turbine (22) rotationally driven by water passing through the flow path, and a rotation of the turbine (22). a sensor (51) that detects and converts it into an electrical signal, a cam (20) that opens and closes the water stop valve section (11), and a water stop valve section (
The spring (26a) urges the cam (20) in the direction in which the water stop valve (11) closes, and the water stop valve part (1
1) A handle (5) to open and a locking mechanism (40) to lock the handle (5) with the water stop valve part (11) open.
), a motor (45) that unlocks the locking mechanism (40), and an electronic control unit (58) that counts the electrical signal from the sensor (51) and energizes the motor (45) when a set flow rate is reached. and a switch (28) that supplies power to an electronic control unit (58) when the water stop valve unit (11) is opened, the electronic control unit (58) having a switch ( 28) is turned ON and power is supplied, it has a voltage detection circuit (58a) that checks the battery voltage of the power supply, and when the voltage falls below a certain minimum required to drive the motor (45), the motor (45) The lock is configured to be unlocked by energizing the lock.

[Effect]

When the handle (5) is operated to open the water stop valve part (11) to supply a fixed amount of water, the switch (28) is turned on and power is supplied to the electronic control part (58) from the power supply, and at the same time the water stop valve part (11) is turned on. The handle (5) is locked with the water valve part (11) open. At this time, the voltage detection circuit (58a) is activated, and if the battery voltage is below a certain level, the electronic control unit (58) energizes the motor (45) to release the lock and open the water stop valve unit (11).
Close.

〔Example〕

The embodiment shown in the drawings is one in which the electronic metering stop valve of the present invention is incorporated into a mixing faucet for mixing water and hot water.
2 is the main body, 2 is the mouth, and 3 is the cartridge, which is attached to the main body with four screws 4. 5 is a handle, on the surface of which are printed the words "stop" indicating the valve closed position, and the words "fixed water supply" and "continuous water supply" indicating the valve open position. Reference numeral 6 indicates an indicator provided on the front surface of the main body 1. In the state shown in the figure, the "stop" of the handle is at the indicator 6 position, and the valve is in the closed state. 7 and 8 are pulp levers on the hot water side and water side, respectively, and 9 and 10 are piping on the hot water side and water side, respectively.

In Fig. 1, 11 is a water stop valve section, and a flow path 1 in the main body l.
It is provided in 2. 12a is an inlet through which water mixed with hot water enters the channel 12. The water stop valve part 11 includes a shaft 13 and a valve 1 mounted on the upper part of the shaft 13.
4 and a spring 15 that urges the valve 14 downward.The spring 15 is installed between the cap 15a screwed onto the main body 1 and the valve 14. 1
5b is an O-ring fitted into the cap 15a. In the illustrated state, the shaft 13 is at the lower limit position, the valve 4 is pressed against the valve seat 1a of the main body 1 by the spring 15 and water pressure, and the valve is closed. The valve 14 is provided with an O-ring around its outer periphery and has a structure such that it is in watertight pressure contact with the valve seat 1a. As will be described later, when the shaft 13 is pushed up by the cam, the valve 14 is pushed up against the spring 15 and water pressure, and the water stop valve section 11 is opened. The valve seat 1a has a tapered conical surface as shown, and forms an opening with an annular cross section between it and the valve 14. Therefore, the flow rate is determined by the stroke of the valve 14, that is, the shaft 13
It is configured to continuously increase in accordance with the amount of upward movement.

A body 16 constitutes the cartridge 3 together with a case 17 and a cover 18. These parts that make up the cartridge are molded from a resin with good water resistance, such as polyacetal resin or ABS resin.

The body 16 is fixed to the case 17 with two screws 19 (Figures 2 and 3). A cam 20 opens and closes the water stop valve portion 11, and is press-fitted onto a camshaft 21 rotatably supported by the body 16 and the case 17.

A turbine 22 is mounted on a turbine shaft 23 rotatably supported by the body 16 and the case 17. 24 is a magnet fixed to the turbine 22, N/S
It is magnetized with two poles. Reference numeral 25 denotes a flow path through which the fluid that has passed through the water stop valve section 11 flows inside the cartridge 3;
and the case 17, and only the cam 20 and the turbine 22 are exposed to this flow path 25. The right end of the camshaft 21 passes through the bearing hole of the body 16 and protrudes to the right. A drum 26 is press-fitted onto this right end, and a torsion spring 26a is wound around the outer periphery of the drum 26. The other end of the drum 26 is hooked onto a pin 16a protruding from the body 16. Reference numeral 16b denotes a bearing portion integrally formed with the body 16, and the shaft 1
3 is slidably supported in the vertical direction, and a space between the body 16 and the case 17 is maintained to secure a flow path 25. The left end of the camshaft 21 passes through the bearing portion of the case 17 and protrudes to the left, and the switch actuating cam 27 is press-fitted onto this left end. The actuator of the first micro-sinch 28 is engaged with the cam surface of the switch operating cam 27 (FIG. 5). The microswitch 28 is attached to one side of a plate 30 attached to the case 17 with three screws 29 by bolts 31 and nuts 32 (shown in FIG. 4). 33 is case 17
There are two O-rings that maintain watertightness between the plate 34 and the camshaft 21, and are coated with grease to prevent them from coming off.
is covering the lid.

The camshaft 21 has a cam 20. Knurling is provided for press-fitting the drum 26 and the switch actuating cam 27. The switch actuating cam 27 has a gear 27a.
is integrally formed, and this gear 27a meshes with a gear 36 press-fitted onto the handle shaft 35. The handle shaft 35 is rotatably supported by the case 17 and the cover 18, and its left end protrudes through the bearing portion of the cover 18, and the handle 5 is fixed to this left end by a screw 37. The handle 5 has a protrusion 5a that partially protrudes in the shape of a pin, which engages with a groove 18a of the cover 18 and is rotatable within a certain angular range (180 degrees). A handle cover 38 is fitted to the center of the handle to hide the screw 37. 39 is an O-ring inserted between the case 17 and the cover 18. The handle shaft 35 has a handle 5 and a cam 2.
A handle cam 41 constituting a locking mechanism 40 that locks the rotation of the handlebar is press-fitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the locking mechanism 40 includes a handle cam 41 fitted to the handle shaft 35, an arm 43 that can swing around a bottle 42 set up on the plate 30, and one end 43a of this arm 43. The handle cam 41 is composed of a spring 44 that urges the handle cam 41 to press against the outer circumferential cam surface of the handle cam 41. The handle cam 41 has notches 41a+41b+41c and 41d on its outer cam surface. The other end 43b of the arm 43 is connected to the cam 4 attached to the output shaft 45a of the motor 45 (shown in FIG. 6).
6. This motor cam 46 is also engaged with an actuator of a second microswitch 46a.
A motor plate 47 is used to attach the motor 45, and is fixed to the case 17 with two screws 48.

The motor 45 is a gear motor with a reduction ratio of l/160.

Returning to FIG. 1, 49 is an O-ring inserted between the handle shaft 35 and the cover 18 and covered with a plate 50. A magnetic sensor 51 is placed close to the magnet 24, and uses a magneto-electric conversion element such as a Hall element that detects the rotating magnetic field of the magnet 24 and converts it into an electric signal. This magnetic sensor 51 is mounted on a printed circuit board 52, and the printed circuit board 52 is attached to the case 17 with two screws 53.

The electric wires from the printed circuit board 52, the microswitch 28, and the motor 45 pass together as a wire harness 54 through the hole 17a of the case 17, and are connected to the cable 5 from the main body 1.
5 is pulled out and connected to an electronic control unit and electric wires (not shown) (FIGS. 1 and 4).

Figure 5). In Fig. 1, numeral 56 is a waterproof gasket.

Body 16. The case 17 and the cover 18 are the turbine 22
゜Magnet 24. Magnetic sensor 51. Cam 2o, torsion spring 26a, lock mechanism 40, and motor 45
is removably attached to the main body I with an O-ring 56 in between, and then a handle 5 is attached to the handle shaft 35 with a screw 37, and a handle cover 38 is attached. Close the lid. Shaft 13 constituting the water stop valve section 11. The valve 14 and spring 15 are then assembled, and the cap 15a is screwed onto the main body 1.

FIG. 9 shows an electric circuit, in which the parts indicated by the symbol 57 and surrounded by a dashed line, namely the microswitch 28.46a and the motor 4.
5 and the magnetic sensor 51 are housed in the cartridge 3. 58 is an electronic control unit (ECU), 59 is a water volume setting device, 60 is a power supply, and 61 is a warning lamp, which are connected as shown in the figure.The electronic control unit 58 counts electrical signals from the magnetic sensor 51 and adjusts the amount of water supplied. It has a function of energizing the motor 45 when the amount reaches the set value of the water amount setting device 59. power supply 6
0 uses 4 AA batteries in series. 58a is a voltage detection circuit that detects the voltage of the power battery and controls the motor 4.
Check the minimum set voltage 1■ required to drive the motor 5, and if it is less than 1V, turn on the warning lamp 61 and start the motor 4.
5 and close the valve.

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG. 1θ.

When the handle 5 is rotated 90 degrees to the left from the position shown in FIG. 8, the handle cam 41 is rotated 90 degrees to the left in FIG. 4, and one end 43a of the arm 43 falls into and engages the notch 41a. Also, the camshaft 21 rotates 90 degrees to the left in FIG. 2 and 90 degrees to the right in FIGS.
8 and turn it ON. At the same time, the cam 20 pushes up the shaft 13 to separate the valve 14 from the valve seat 1a of the main body 1, thereby opening the water stop valve section 11. In this state, the locking mechanism 40 is locked by engaging the notch 41a of the handle cam 41 with one end 43a of the arm 43, so that even if the handle 5 is released, the water stop valve 11 remains open and water is supplied. .

rotating the turbine 22 as the fluid passes through the flow path 25;
The magnetic sensor 51 converts the rotation into an electrical signal.

When the handle 5 is first turned 90 degrees to the left to set the metered water supply position, the first microswitch 28 is turned on and power is supplied to the magnetic sensor 51 and the electronic control section 58, so the electric power supply control section 58 counts the electrical signals from the magnetic sensor 51, and when the integrated value reaches the set value of the water amount setting device 59, the motor 45 is energized. When the motor 45 is energized, the motor cam 46 rotates from the state shown in FIG.
6 pushes the other end 43b of the arm 43 to separate the one end 43a from the notch 41a of the handle cam 41, and the motor cam 46 pushes the second end 43b of the arm 43.
Turn on a. The locking mechanism 40 is then unlocked, and the handle cam 41, switch operating cam 27, and cam 20 are rotated 90 degrees by the force of the torsion spring 26a and restored to their original positions, leaving the valve 14 in the state shown in FIG. The valve returns to the closed state. At the same time, the first microswitch 28 is turned off, but the second microswitch 46a
Since the motor 45 remains ON, the motor 45 continues to rotate until the motor cam 46 rotates once, and the power supply to the electric circuit continues for m. When the motor cam 46 rotates once to the position shown in FIG. 4, the second microswitch 46a is turned off, the motor 45 is stopped, and the power supply to the electric circuit is also stopped.

During quantitative water supply, when the battery voltage of the power source 60 is sufficiently high and satisfies the minimum set voltage iv required to drive the motor 45, the quantitative water supply operation is normally performed as described above. However, when the handle 5 is operated to the metered water supply position and the first microswitch 28 is turned on,
When the voltage detection circuit 58a operates and detects that the voltage has dropped to less than the minimum set voltage 1■ required to drive the motor 45 and outputs an output, the electronic control unit 58 turns on the warning lamp 61. The light is turned on to issue an alarm, and the motor 45 is energized to close the water stop valve part 11, thereby preventing the trouble of no water supply. Note that the warning lamp 61 uses a light emitting diode.

Next, in order to perform continuous water supply, when the handle 5 is rotated to the right from the position shown in FIG. 8, the cam 20 is rotated by the same angle as the rotation angle of the handle 5, and the shaft 1 is
3 moves upward in FIG. 1, and the water stop valve portion 11 opens. The cam 20 is formed with a smooth cam surface so that the opening degree of the valve 14 becomes fully open when the cam 20 rotates by 90 degrees, and increases continuously according to the angle up to 90 degrees. When the handle 5 is rotated 30 degrees from the "stop" position (rotated to the right in Fig. 8), the notch 4 of the handle cam 41 is opened in Fig. 4.
When the handle 5 is stopped at this position where one end 43a of the arm 43 engages with 1b, water supply continues at a "small" flow rate.

At this time, the shape of the switch actuating cam 27 is determined so as not to turn on the first micro-sinch 28. When the handle 5 is further rotated 30 degrees to the right, one end 43a of the arm 43 is attached to the notch 41c of the handle cam 41.
is engaged, and water supply continues at a "medium" flow rate. Rotate the handle 5 further 30 degrees to the right to reach the maximum flow rate.
Water supply continues at full capacity. These "medium", "
At the "fully open" position, the switch actuating cam 27 has a predetermined shape so as not to turn on the first microswitch.

In this way, the flow rate is increased in three steps in order of "small amount", "medium amount", and "full open amount" while the handle 5 is moved within a 90 degree range from the "stop" position to the "continuous water supply" position. In addition, the notches 41b, 41c and one end 4 of the arm 43
3a, its position is clearly defined in a click-like manner, making it an easy-to-use comb. To stop continuous water supply, simply return the handle 5 to the "stop" position.

In the above embodiment, the succession is a stepwise change of three steps, but it is also possible to change the number of notches from three to two to make two steps, or further to one notch to make only the "full opening amount".

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, even if the voltage of the battery gradually decreases during long-term use, a voltage check is automatically performed when attempting to start metered water supply. The water stop valve closes when the battery voltage drops below a certain level, so the user can be sure of the need to replace the battery, and if the voltage drops and water comes out while the water is being supplied, the water will run out. This problem can be prevented from occurring.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the entire electric circuit excluding a part of it, FIG. 2 is a 2-2 sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a right side view of the cartridge part. , FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 are respectively a 4-4 sectional view, a 5-5 sectional view, and a 6-6 sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a 7-7 sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a front view, FIG. 9 is an electric circuit diagram, and FIG. 10 is a flow chart. 5... Handle, 11... Water stop valve part, 20... Cam, 22... Turbine, 26a... Spring, 2
8... Switch, 40... Lock mechanism, 45...
Motor, 51... Sensor, 58... Electronic control unit, 5
8a... Voltage detection circuit Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Claims] A water stop valve part (11) provided in the flow path, a turbine (22) rotationally driven by water passing through the flow path, and a turbine (
A sensor (5) detects the rotation of (22) and converts it into an electrical signal.
1) and a cam (20) that opens and closes the water stop valve section (11).
a spring (26a) that urges the cam (20) in the direction in which the water stop valve section (11) closes; and a handle (5) that opens the water stop valve section (11) in conjunction with the cam (20); A locking mechanism (40) that locks the handle (5) when the water stop valve section (11) is open, a motor (45) that unlocks the locking mechanism (40), and an electric power source for the sensor (51). An electronic control unit (58) that counts signals and energizes the motor (45) when the set flow rate is reached, and a switch (28) that supplies power to the electronic control unit (58) when the water stop valve unit (11) is opened.
An electronic metered water stop valve equipped with an electronic control section (
58) is a voltage detection circuit (58) that checks the battery voltage of the power supply when the switch (28) is turned on and power is supplied.
a), and is configured to energize the motor (45) and release the lock when the voltage falls below a minimum constant voltage required to drive the motor (45). Water faucet.