JP7587478B2 - All-at-once release valve - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pressurized release type simultaneous release valve that is installed in the piping that supplies fire extinguishing water in a fire extinguishing system.

One type of simultaneous release valve used in fire extinguishing equipment is a pressurized release type in which, when pressure is applied to a piston attached to the tip of a piston stem protruding from a valve body, the valve body opens to connect the primary chamber and secondary chamber. An example of this type of pressurized release type simultaneous release valve is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, the “pressurized release valve” of Patent Document 1 pressurizes the lower chamber 4 by flowing high-pressure fire extinguishing water from the primary side flow path 1a into the lower chamber 4 through the primary pressure inlet 6, and this pressure pushes the piston 3 upward to open the main valve 12.
In a simultaneous release valve of this structure, when pressurized, the air on the pressurized side of the piston chamber is discharged and replaced with fire extinguishing water. However, if all of the air in the lower chamber 4 is not discharged at that time, the following problems may occur.

For example, if there is air remaining in the lower chamber 4 during the opening operation (pressurization), the predetermined pressure may not be obtained due to the expansion and contraction of the air, and the valve body 11 may not open correctly.
In addition, during the closing operation, the valve may stick in the small opening region just before closing. If there is air remaining in the lower chamber 4 at this time, the air may be compressed unexpectedly, causing the valve to close suddenly.

In this regard, in Patent Document 1, a small hole B is provided in the piston 3, so that the air in the lower chamber 4 can be discharged from the small hole B to the upper chamber 5. The small hole B is also used to discharge water that fills the lower chamber 4 to the upper chamber 5 during the closing operation.

Patent document 1 shows an example in which air in the lower chamber 4 is exhausted from a small hole B provided in the piston 3, but another example of exhausting air from the pressurized side of the piston chamber is to exhaust it from an exhaust port provided in a lid member that covers the piston chamber. Such an example is shown in Figure 7.

The simultaneous release valve 31 shown in FIG. 7 includes a primary chamber 5 communicating with the primary piping 3, a secondary chamber 9 communicating with the secondary piping 7, a valve body 11 separating the primary chamber 5 from the secondary chamber 9, a piston 15 interlocking with the valve body 11 via a stem 13, a ring-shaped seal ring 16 provided on the outer periphery of the piston 15, a piston chamber 17 divided by the piston 15 into a first piston chamber 17a and a second piston chamber 17b, and a lid member 19 covering the piston chamber 17. The center of the lid member 19 is dome-shaped, and an inlet 21 for introducing water into the first piston chamber 17a and an outlet 33 for discharging air and water from the first piston chamber 17a are formed on the outer periphery of the dome-shaped portion. When the simultaneous release valve 31 is pressurized, air from the first piston chamber 17a is discharged from the outlet 33 of the lid member 19.

Patent No. 2981864

When water is introduced into the first piston chamber 17a, the air moves upward as the water begins to pool at the bottom of the first piston chamber 17a. Therefore, in order to exhaust all the air, it is necessary to place the air exhaust port 33 at the highest position in the area where the water is introduced.

In this regard, in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, the small hole B is disposed above the lower chamber 4, so that air can be appropriately discharged, but this is not always the case depending on the installation state.
For example, Fig. 1 of Patent Document 1 shows a state where the valve is disposed between pipes arranged horizontally (hereinafter referred to as "horizontal use"), but depending on the installation site, it may be disposed between pipes arranged vertically (hereinafter referred to as "vertical use"). In that case, the valve is installed in a state rotated 90 degrees from the state shown in Fig. 1 of Patent Document 1, and the small hole B is not located at the highest position in the lower chamber 4. Although it is possible to provide the small hole B on the outer periphery of the piston and to locate the small hole B at a position close to the highest point when the valve is used vertically, the stem connected to the piston is simply inserted into the valve body, so that the piston may rotate after installation, and the small hole B cannot be always at the highest point.
Therefore, when used vertically, it may not be possible to exhaust all of the air in the lower chamber 4 when pressurized, which may result in unstable operation.

On the other hand, the simultaneous release valve 31 in Figure 7 shows a state in which it is used vertically. In this state, the exhaust port 33 is located at the highest position of the first piston chamber 17a, so air can be properly exhausted, but when it is used horizontally, air cannot be properly exhausted. In regard to this point, Figure 8 shows the simultaneous release valve 31 in Figure 7 used horizontally, and will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 8, the exhaust port 33 is located on the outer periphery of the dome-shaped portion, so when used horizontally, the position of the exhaust port 33 is not located at the highest position of the first piston chamber 17a. In this case, air may remain inside the dome-shaped portion when pressurized, which may cause unstable operation.

The present invention was made to solve this problem, and aims to provide a simultaneous release valve that can exhaust all the air on the pressurized side of the piston chamber in both vertical and horizontal use.

(1) The simultaneous opening valve of the present invention comprises a primary chamber, a secondary chamber, a valve body separating the primary chamber and the secondary chamber, a piston linked to the valve body via a stem, and a piston chamber in which the piston is movably arranged, the piston chamber being partitioned into a first piston chamber which is pressurized when the piston opens the valve body, and a second piston chamber which is continuous with the first piston chamber, the inner circumferential surface of the piston chamber having a groove-shaped portion which connects the first piston chamber and the second piston chamber, the groove-shaped portion being arranged at the highest position in the piston chamber when the piston chamber is arranged horizontally and is arranged between the primary side piping and the secondary side piping which are arranged vertically for use.

(2) In addition, in the above (1), a ring-shaped seal ring is provided on the outer periphery of the piston, and R processing is applied to the boundary between the groove wall of the groove-shaped portion and the inner periphery of the piston chamber.

(3) In addition, in the above-mentioned (1) or (2), the groove-shaped portion is characterized in that the opening side of the groove is narrow and the back side of the groove is wide.

(4) In addition, in any of the above (1) to (3), the groove-shaped portion is characterized in that the groove depth gradually increases in the direction from the first piston chamber side toward the second piston chamber side.

In the present invention, the inner circumferential surface of the piston chamber has a groove-shaped portion that connects the first piston chamber and the second piston chamber, and since the groove-shaped portion is positioned at the highest position in the piston chamber when used vertically, air on the pressurized side of the piston chamber can be discharged from the highest position in the piston chamber in both vertical and horizontal use. Therefore, in both vertical and horizontal use, the pressurized side of the piston chamber can be filled with water at start-up, resulting in stable operation.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a simultaneous release valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a partial cross-sectional view in a vertical use state. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the simultaneous release valve of FIG. 1 used horizontally. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing another aspect of a groove-shaped portion according to an embodiment of the present invention (part 1). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another aspect of the groove-shaped portion according to the embodiment of the present invention (part 2). FIG. 11 is a view showing another aspect of the groove-shaped portion according to the embodiment of the present invention (part 3). FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem with a conventional simultaneous release valve, and is a cross-sectional view in a vertical use state. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the simultaneous release valve of FIG. 7 used horizontally.

A simultaneous release valve according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a simultaneous release valve 1 when it is disposed between a primary side pipe 3 and a secondary side pipe 7 arranged vertically (vertical use). Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Figure 1.
The internal structure of the simultaneous opening valve is similar to that of the conventional simultaneous opening valve 31 described in Figures 7 and 8, so a detailed description will be omitted and only the essential parts of the present invention will be described using Figures 1 and 2. In Figures 1 and 2 and the following description, the same parts as or corresponding parts to those in Figures 7 and 8 are given the same reference numerals.

A simultaneous opening valve 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a primary chamber 5 communicating with a primary side piping 3, a secondary chamber 9 communicating with a secondary side piping 7, a valve body 11 separating the primary chamber 5 from the secondary chamber 9, a piston 15 linked to the valve body 11 via a stem 13, a piston chamber 17 in which the piston 15 is movably arranged, and a lid member 19 covering the piston chamber 17, and the piston chamber 17 is partitioned into a first piston chamber 17a which is pressurized when the valve body 11 is opened by the piston 15, and a second piston chamber 17b which is continuous with the first piston chamber 17a.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a groove-shaped portion 23 having a rectangular cross section extending in the stroke direction of the piston 15 is provided on the inner surface of the piston chamber 17 of the simultaneous release valve 1, and the first piston chamber 17a and the second piston chamber 17b are connected via the groove-shaped portion 23.

The length of the groove-shaped portion 23 is set to be longer than the maximum stroke length of the piston 15. As a result, the first piston chamber 17a and the second piston chamber 17b are in communication with each other via the groove-shaped portion 23 in any state from when the valve 11 is closed to when it is fully open, that is, from when the piston 15 is closest to the lid member 19 to when it is furthest away.

Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the groove-shaped portion 23 is formed at the highest position of the piston chamber 17 when the piston chamber 17 is arranged horizontally and used vertically.
Therefore, when fire extinguishing water from the primary side piping 3 is introduced into the first piston chamber 17a through the inlet 21, the air in the first piston chamber 17a can be discharged from the highest position of the first piston chamber 17a to the second piston chamber 17b, and the first piston chamber 17a can be filled with water.
Therefore, the simultaneous release valve 1 can reliably obtain a predetermined pressure when pressurized during vertical use, and the opening operation of the valve body 11 is stable.

Next, a case where the simultaneous release valve 1 of the present embodiment is used horizontally will be described. Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the simultaneous release valve 1 of Fig. 1 when it is disposed between the primary side pipe 3 and the secondary side pipe 7 arranged horizontally.
3, in horizontal use, the first piston chamber 17a is disposed below the piston 15, the second piston chamber 17b is disposed above it, and the groove-shaped portion 23 is disposed vertically. In this case as well, a communication port to the second piston chamber 17b is formed at the highest position of the first piston chamber 17a by the groove-shaped portion 23. Therefore, when fire extinguishing water from the primary side piping 3 is introduced into the first piston chamber 17a from the inlet 21, the air in the first piston chamber 17a can be discharged from the first piston chamber 17a to the second piston chamber 17b, and the first piston chamber 17a can be filled with water.
Therefore, the simultaneous release valve 1 can reliably obtain a predetermined pressure when pressurized even when used horizontally, and the opening operation of the valve body 11 is stable.

When the simultaneous release valve 1 of this embodiment is used horizontally, the piston chamber 17 must be located below the valve body 11 as shown in FIG. 3. However, if there is a desire to use the piston chamber 17 horizontally by locating it above the valve body 11, an exhaust port 33 can be provided in the lid member 19, as in the conventional simultaneous release valve 31 of FIG. 8. If an exhaust port 33 is further provided in the lid member 19 of the simultaneous release valve 1 of this embodiment, the air in the first piston chamber 17a can be properly exhausted regardless of whether the piston chamber 17 is located above or below when used horizontally.

As described above, in this embodiment, the groove-shaped portion 23 that connects the first piston chamber 17a and the second piston chamber 17b is provided on the inner surface of the piston chamber 17, so that all air on the pressurized side of the piston chamber 17 can be discharged in both vertical and horizontal use, ensuring that the valve body 11 can be opened and closed.

Next, other aspects of the groove-shaped portion 23 will be described.
A seal ring 16 (see FIG. 1) made of an elastic body such as an O-ring is fitted around the outer periphery of the piston 15 and is in close contact with the inner periphery of the piston chamber 17. At this time, a part of the seal ring 16 may be embedded in the groove-shaped portion 23, and a groove edge 23a (the boundary between the groove wall of the groove-shaped portion 23 and the inner periphery of the piston chamber 17) may be strongly pressed against the seal ring 16. As shown in the cross section of the enlarged view of FIG. 2, the groove edge 23a has an angular shape, and therefore may damage the seal ring 16.
Therefore, it is preferable to perform R machining on the boundary (groove edge 25a) between the groove wall and the inner peripheral surface of the piston chamber 17, as in the groove-shaped portion 25 shown in Figure 4, to make the seal ring 16 less likely to be damaged. Note that in Figures 2 and 4, the seal ring 16 is omitted in order to make it easier to understand the shapes of the groove-shaped portions 23 and 25 (the same applies to Figure 5 below).

2. Furthermore, the groove-shaped portion 25 has a narrower groove width than the groove-shaped portion 23 in FIG.
By narrowing the groove width in this manner, the seal ring 16 is less likely to bite into the groove-shaped portion 25, and damage to the seal ring 16 can be further prevented.
Furthermore, if the groove depth is too shallow, there is a risk that the air flow path will be blocked by the seal ring 16 that is embedded in the groove-shaped portions 23, 25, so it is advisable to use a seal ring 16 of appropriate hardness or set a constant groove depth to ensure that air is discharged from the groove-shaped portions.

As mentioned above, the groove-shaped portions 23, 25 are intended to discharge air from the first piston chamber 17a to the second piston chamber 17b when pressurized (when this valve 11 is opened), but they also function as a drainage channel to discharge water that has filled the first piston chamber 17a to the second piston chamber 17b when this valve 11 is closed.
However, since the groove-shaped portion 25 in FIG. 4 has a narrow groove width, the cross-sectional area of the flow passage is small, and it may take a long time to drain the water.
Therefore, in order to prevent damage to the seal ring 16 and to shorten the time required for drainage, it is preferable to make the opening side of the groove narrow and the back side of the groove wide, as in the groove-shaped portions 27 and 29 shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b).

In this case, the cross-sectional area of the groove on the rear side is only required to be larger than the cross-sectional area of the groove on the front side, and the shape of the groove is not particularly limited. The cross-section of the groove on the rear side may be circular as shown in Fig. 5(a) or rectangular as shown in Fig. 5(b).
In addition, in the examples of Figures 5(a) and (b), the groove edges 27a, 29a of the groove-shaped portions 27, 29 have an R-shaped cross section, but if the groove width on the opening side of the groove can be narrowed to prevent the seal ring 16 from getting caught, it is not necessarily necessary to apply R processing to the groove edges.

As described above, in the groove-shaped portions 27 and 29, the opening side of the groove is narrowed to prevent the seal ring 16 from getting caught in it, and the inner side of the groove is widened to increase the flow path cross-sectional area, so that the drainage time can be shortened while preventing damage to the seal ring 16.
Furthermore, in the case of the groove-shaped portions 27, 29, if the groove is too shallow, there is a risk that the sealing ring 16 that has embedded itself in the groove may block the flow path of air or water. Therefore, it is advisable to use a sealing ring 16 of appropriate hardness or to set a certain depth in the narrow portion of the groove so that the sealing ring 16 does not embed itself in at least the wider portion at the back of the groove.

In the above embodiment, the simultaneous release valve 1 does not have a partition between the second piston chamber 17b and the secondary chamber 9, and the air discharged into the second piston chamber 17b is discharged into the secondary chamber 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a partition may be provided between the second piston chamber 17b and the secondary chamber 9. In that case, an exhaust port may be provided in the second piston chamber 17b, and the air discharged from the exhaust port into the second piston chamber 17b may be released to the atmosphere, or the exhaust port may be connected to the secondary side piping 7 (or the secondary chamber 9) by an external piping, and the air may be discharged to the secondary side of the valve 11.

In addition, the groove-shaped portion 23 in the above embodiment has the same groove depth over the entire length (see FIG. 1), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the groove depth may be gradually increased from the cover member 19 side toward the secondary chamber 9 side (from the first piston chamber 17a side toward the second piston chamber 17b side). By providing a gradient to the groove bottom 30a in this way, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 6, the groove bottom 30a is higher on the piston 15 side than on the cover member 19 side, so that air can easily move to the piston 15 side. This makes it easier for air to be discharged into the second piston chamber 17b.
In addition, when installing the simultaneous release valve 1, it may be installed at a slight angle counterclockwise from the state shown in Figure 6, but even in such a case, if there is a slope at the bottom of the groove, air will be more easily discharged into the second piston chamber 17b.

As described above, the groove-shaped portion 30 functions as a drainage channel for draining the water filled in the first piston chamber 17a, and from this viewpoint as well, the following effects are achieved.
Since the groove depth of the groove-shaped portion 30 gradually deepens from the cover member 19 side toward the secondary chamber 9 side, the cross-sectional area of the groove-shaped portion 30 gradually increases from the cover member 19 side toward the secondary chamber 9 side.
When the valve body 11 is open, the piston 15 is located closest to the secondary chamber 9, and the flow passage cross-sectional area formed by the groove-shaped portion 30 and the outer circumferential surface of the piston 15 is the largest (see cross section B-B in the figure). Therefore, when the valve body 11 is switched from open to closed, water is easily discharged from the groove-shaped portion 30, and the drainage time can be shortened.
On the other hand, when the valve body 11 is closed, the piston 15 is located closest to the lid member 19, so the flow passage cross-sectional area formed by the groove-shaped portion 30 with the outer circumferential surface of the piston 15 is smallest (see cross section C-C in the figure). Therefore, when the valve body 11 is changed from closed to open, water is unlikely to be discharged from the groove-shaped portion 30, and the pressure for opening the valve body 11 can be obtained without any problems.
As described above, by gradually increasing the depth of the groove from the cover member 19 side toward the secondary chamber 9 side, the drainage time during closing can be shortened without compromising the pressure during opening.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 simultaneous release valve 3 primary side piping 5 primary chamber 7 secondary side piping 9 secondary chamber 11 valve body 13 stem 15 piston 16 seal ring 17 piston chamber 17a first piston chamber 17b second piston chamber 19 cover member 21 inlet 23 groove-shaped portion 23a groove edge 25 groove-shaped portion (another embodiment 1)
25a Groove edge 27 Groove-shaped portion (another embodiment 2)
27a Groove edge 29 Groove-shaped portion (another embodiment 3)
29a Groove edge 30 Groove-shaped portion (another embodiment 4)
30a Groove bottom 31 Simultaneous release valve (conventional example)
33 Exhaust port (conventional example)

Claims (4)

A simultaneous opening valve comprising: a primary chamber, a secondary chamber, a valve body separating the primary chamber and the secondary chamber, a piston interlocking with the valve body via a stem, and a piston chamber in which the piston is movably disposed, the piston chamber being partitioned into a first piston chamber which is pressurized when the piston opens the valve body, and a second piston chamber which is continuous with the first piston chamber,
a groove-shaped portion provided on an inner circumferential surface of the piston chamber to communicate with the first piston chamber and the second piston chamber;
This simultaneous release valve is characterized in that when the piston chamber is arranged horizontally and is used vertically by being disposed between primary and secondary piping that are arranged vertically, the groove-shaped portion is positioned at the highest position in the piston chamber. A ring-shaped seal ring is provided on the outer periphery of the piston,
2. The simultaneous release valve according to claim 1, wherein a boundary between a groove wall of said groove-shaped portion and an inner circumferential surface of said piston chamber is rounded. The simultaneous release valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the groove-shaped portion is narrow on the opening side of the groove and wide on the inner side of the groove. The simultaneous release valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the groove-shaped portion has a gradually deeper groove depth in a direction from the first piston chamber side toward the second piston chamber side.

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