JP7617673B2 - Three-way valve - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this application relates to a three-way valve that switches the flow path of a fluid.

Conventionally, a three-way valve for switching the flow path of a fluid has been disclosed in Patent Document 1 and elsewhere.

Patent document 1 discloses a three-way valve that employs a ball valve in which a motor is attached to a casing with three ports, and the flow path is switched by the motor controlling the rotational position of a ball built into the inside of the casing (see Figure 8 of Patent Document 1).

The three-way valve disclosed in Patent Document 1 has openings inside a casing that communicate with the flow paths of each port, and a ball accommodating chamber that accommodates a ball with a valve hole for switching the flow paths. A seat ring is attached to the edge of each opening so as to come into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the ball, thereby preventing communication between the openings.

JP 2013-44354 A

In a three-way valve using the ball valve disclosed in Patent Document 1, a seat ring or O-ring is installed in each opening that communicates with the flow path of each port, which means that the number of components tends to increase, making it difficult to control the cost of components. In addition, since seat rings and O-rings are assembled to each opening, they need to be assembled from at least three directions, making it difficult to control the number of assembly steps. Furthermore, when switching the flow path, the ball needs to be rotated 90 degrees. This increases the sliding angle of the ball, which causes the seat ring in contact with the ball to easily wear out.

The technology disclosed in this application has been proposed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a three-way valve that can reduce component costs, facilitate assembly, and suppress the valve sliding angle.

In order to achieve the above object, a three-way valve according to claim 1 is a three-way valve having a first port and two ports (second and third ports) that are perpendicular to the axis of the first port and are provided coaxially opposite to each other, the three-way valve comprising: a body in which flow paths of each port and a valve chest in which openings individually communicating with the flow paths are formed; a shaft that is supported by the body so as to be rotatable about its own axis and extends in the radial direction of the flow paths; a valve element that is disposed in the valve chest in a state assembled to the shaft and rotates together with the shaft; a first valve seat on which the valve element provided in the opening communicating with the flow path of the second port sits; a second valve seat on which the valve element provided in the opening communicating with the flow path of the third port sits; and a drive unit that rotationally drives the shaft when energized. and the valve body comprises a first seal portion having a seal member seated on a first valve seat extending in a direction symmetrical with respect to a center line passing through the rotation axis of the shaft, and a second seal portion having a seal member seated on a second valve seat, the valve chamber of the body is provided with an installation opening and a valve body holder for closing the installation opening, the shaft and the valve body can be inserted through the installation opening with the shaft and the valve body assembled to the valve body holder, the first valve seat and the second valve seat are formed of a lower valve seat formed on the inner surface of the body and an upper valve seat formed in the valve body holder, and the lower valve seat and the upper valve seat come into contact with each other to function as valve seats by assembling the valve body holder to the installation opening of the body.

A three-way valve according to a second aspect of the present invention is the three-way valve according to the first aspect, characterized in that an inner circumferential surface connecting an opening communicating with a flow path of the first port and an opening communicating with a flow path of the second port is formed in a sloped shape along an arc along which an outer circumferential end of the rotating valve element moves, and an inner circumferential surface connecting an opening communicating with a flow path of the first port and an opening communicating with a flow path of the third port is also formed in a sloped shape along an arc along which an outer circumferential end of the rotating valve element moves, the first valve seat is formed on the sloped inner circumferential surface connecting an opening communicating with a flow path of the first port and an opening communicating with a flow path of the second port, and the second valve seat is formed on the sloped inner circumferential surface connecting an opening communicating with a flow path of the first port and an opening communicating with a flow path of the third port.

The three-way valve of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the three-way valve of claim 1 or 2 , the sealing members of the first sealing portion and the second sealing portion of the valve body are O-rings, and the outer periphery of each of the first sealing portion and the second sealing portion is provided with a groove into which the O-ring fits so that the O-ring can be removed.

In the three-way valve according to claim 1, the valve body, which includes a first seal portion having a seal member on the valve body retainer and a second seal portion having a seal member seated on the second valve seat, and the shaft can be assembled into a valve chamber formed in the body through an attachment opening of the body, so that the three-way valve can be assembled from one direction. This makes assembly easy and reduces the number of assembly steps. In addition, since the seal member is provided on the valve body, there is no need to incorporate a seat ring or an O-ring for each opening of the valve chamber as in Patent Document 1. This reduces the number of parts and reduces the part costs. In addition, by dividing the first valve seat and the second valve seat into a lower valve seat formed on the inner peripheral surface of the body and an upper valve seat formed on the valve body retainer, the lower valve seat can be molded integrally with the body, and the upper valve seat can also be molded integrally with the valve body retainer, so there is no need to process and form the valve seats. This reduces the manufacturing costs.

In the three-way valve according to claim 2, the first and second valve seats on which the valve body sits are formed on an inner peripheral surface formed in a sloping shape that connects an opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port to an opening communicating with the flow passage of the second port, and an inner peripheral surface formed in a sloping shape that connects an opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port to an opening communicating with the flow passage of the third port, thereby suppressing the sliding angle at which the valve body rotates to sit on the first or second valve seat. This also suppresses wear of the seal member.

In the three-way valve according to claim 3 , if the sealing member becomes worn, maintenance can be performed simply by replacing the O-ring, making maintenance easy. In addition, since a general-purpose O-ring can be used, parts costs can be reduced.

1A is a top view of a three-way valve according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1B is a front view of the valve; and FIG. 1C is a side view of the front view as viewed from the right. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4A is a front view of a body according to the present invention, FIG. 4B is a side view of the front view seen from the right, FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1A is a top view of a disc presser according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view, FIG. 1C is a bottom view, and FIG. 1A is a top view, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a bottom view of a shaft according to the present invention. 1A is a top view of a disk according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view, FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 1D is a side view of the front view as seen from the right side. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating how the disk holder is attached to the body to form the valve seat. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of attaching a shaft and a disk to the disk holder. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of how the disc holder with the shaft and disc attached is assembled into the body. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing how a drive unit (motor) is attached to a body to which a disk holder having a shaft and a disk attached thereto is assembled. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of switching flow paths by rotating a disk. FIG.

First, a three-way valve 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is an external view of a three-way valve 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. (A) of Figure 1 is a top view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a side view of the front view as seen from the right.

As shown in FIG. 1, the three-way valve 1 is composed of a body 2 in which a valve body for switching flow paths is incorporated, and a drive unit 3 composed of a stepping motor, gears, etc. The body 2 is provided with a first port 10, and a second port 11 and a third port 12 that are perpendicular to the axis of the first port 10 and are provided coaxially opposite each other. The drive unit 3 is attached to the body 2 by mounting screws 9, 9 via a bracket 4. In the three-way valve 1 of this embodiment, the second port 11 and the third port 12 are inflow ports into which fluids such as water and hot and cold water flow, and the first port 10 is an outflow port. In addition, as described above, the drive unit 3 of the three-way valve 1 of this embodiment uses a stepping motor, but other motors can also be used. Here, whether each port is an inflow port or an outflow port is arbitrary and is set according to the purpose of use.

Figure 2 (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1, and Figure 2 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 1. Inside the body 2, a first flow passage 13 of the first port 10, a second flow passage 14 of the second port 11, and a third flow passage 15 of the third port 12 are provided. A valve chamber 16 is provided between the second flow passage 14 and the third flow passage 15, and a disk 7 attached to the shaft 6 is disposed therein. O-rings 17 and 18 are attached to the disk 7, and the disk 7 to which the O-rings 17 and 18 are attached functions as a valve body for switching the flow passages. The shaft 6 is disposed in the valve chamber 16 so as to extend in the radial direction of the second flow passage 14 of the second port 11 and the third flow passage 15 of the third port 12, which are disposed coaxially, and is supported by the body 2, the disk holder 5, and the bracket 4 in a state in which it can rotate around its own axis. The shaft 6 is kept sealed between itself and the disc holder 5 by an O-ring 19, and the disc holder 5 is kept sealed between itself and the body 2 by an O-ring 22. That is, the valve chamber 16 of the body 2 is kept sealed from the outside via the disc holder 5 by the O-ring 19 and the O-ring 22. One end (upper end) 6A of the shaft 6 is connected to the drive unit 3, and the other opposing end (lower end) 6B is rotatably supported at the bottom of the valve chamber 16, and is driven to rotate together with the disc 7 by the drive unit 3.

The valve chamber 16 is formed with a first opening 13A that opens to the first flow passage 13 of the first port 10, a second opening 14A that opens to the second flow passage 14 of the second port 11, and a third opening 15A that opens to the third flow passage 15 of the third port 12. The second opening 14A is provided with a first valve seat 20 on which an O-ring 17 attached to the disk 7 sits, and the third opening 15A is provided with a second valve seat 21 on which an O-ring 18 attached to the disk 7 sits.

By rotating the disk 7 together with the shaft 6 using the drive unit 3, the O-ring 17 attached to the disk 7 is seated on the first valve seat 20 to close the second opening 14A, thereby connecting the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 to the third flow path 15 of the third port 12. By rotating the disk 7 in the opposite direction, the O-ring 18 attached to the disk 7 is seated on the second valve seat 21 to close the third opening 15A, thereby connecting the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 to the second flow path 14 of the second port 11. As a result, the three-way valve 1 can switch the flow paths.

Here, each component that constitutes the three-way valve 1 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 6.

Figure 3 shows the body 2, where (A) is a front view, (B) is a side view of the front view from the right, (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of (B), and (D) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of (A).

As shown in FIG. 3A, the body 2 is provided with the first port 10, and the second port 11 and the third port 12, which are perpendicular to the axis of the first port 10 and are provided coaxially opposite each other. Inside the body 2 where the first port 10 intersects with the second port 11 and the third port 12, the valve chamber 16 is provided as described above. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the body opening 2a is provided above the valve chamber 16 (the direction in which the drive unit 3 is attached, which is perpendicular to the axes of the first port 10, the second port 11 and the third port 12). As shown in FIG. 3D, inside the body opening 2a, the first body opening 2b that fits with the outer circumferential surface of the disk holder 5 and the cylindrical second body opening 2c that has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the first body opening 2b and in which the O-ring 22 is housed are provided in succession. The diameter of the second body opening 2c is set to such an extent that the shaft 6 and disc 7 can be inserted into the valve chamber 16 while assembled to the disc holder 5, as described below. This allows the shaft 6 and disc 7 assembled to the disc holder 5 to be assembled into the valve chamber 16 via the first body opening 2b and the second body opening 2c, as described below. Also, by assembling the disc holder 5 to the first body opening 2b via an O-ring 22, the first body opening 2b is sealed and a sealed state from the outside can be maintained.

In addition, the upper end surface of the body opening 2a is provided with mounting screw holes 2g, 2g having female threads that engage with the male threads of the mounting screws 9, 9 for assembling the drive unit 3 to the body 2.

3C, the first port 10 is provided with a first flow passage 13, the second port 11 with a second flow passage 14, and the third port 12 with a third flow passage 15. The valve chamber 16 is formed with a first opening 13A that opens to the first flow passage 13, a second opening 14A that opens to the second flow passage 14, and a third opening 15A that opens to the third flow passage 15. The second opening 14A is provided with a first valve seat lower part 2d that forms the first valve seat 20, and the third opening 15A is provided with a second valve seat lower part 2e that forms the second valve seat 21. 3D, the first valve lower seat 2d and the second valve lower seat 2e have a shape in which an arc of a substantial semicircle is cut out on the side toward the body opening 2a, and the diameter of the arc of the first valve lower seat 2d is set to match the inner diameter of the O-ring 17 on which it is seated, and the diameter of the arc of the second valve lower seat 2e is set to match the inner diameter of the O-ring 18 on which it is seated. Also, the first valve lower seat 2d and the second valve lower seat 2e are formed in an inverted V shape widening toward the first port 10, as shown in FIG 3C, so that as the disk 7 rotates, the O-ring 17 seats on the first valve lower seat 2d, or the O-ring 18 seats on the second valve lower seat 2e, respectively.

In addition, a shaft support groove 2f that rotatably supports the lower end 6B of the shaft 6 is provided at the bottom of the valve chamber 16 on the opposite side opposite the body opening 2a, on the central axis of the first flow passage 13 of the first port 10 and slightly on the opposite side of the first port 10 from the central axes of the second flow passage 14 and the third flow passage 15 of the coaxial second port 11 and third port 12.

3C, in the valve chamber 16, the inner peripheral surface connecting the first opening 13A of the first flow path 13 and the second opening 14A of the second flow path 14, and the inner peripheral surface connecting the first opening 13A of the first flow path 13 and the third opening 15A of the third flow path 15 are formed in a sloped shape along the arc along which the outer peripheral end of the rotating disk 7 moves, and the first valve seat lower part 2d and the second valve seat lower part 2e are provided on these sloped inner peripheral surfaces. By providing the first valve seat lower part 2d and the second valve seat lower part 2e in this manner, the first valve seat 20 on which the O-ring 17 sits and the second valve seat 21 on which the O-ring 18 sits are provided on the sloped inner peripheral surface, and as described below, the sliding angle of the rotation of the disk 7 functioning as a valve body can be reduced.

Figure 4 shows the disc holder 5, where (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view, (C) is a bottom view, and (D) is a side view of the top view seen from the right.

As shown in the front view of FIG. 4B, the disk holder 5 is made up of a substantially cylindrical disk holder upper part 5a with disk holder recesses 5g, 5g provided at positions on the side symmetrical to the center, which fits into the first body opening 2b of the body 2, a cylindrical ring holder part 5b inserted into the second body opening 2c of the body 2 with the O-ring 22 attached, and a first valve seat upper part 5e and a second valve seat lower part 5f, which are formed in a shape with a substantially semicircular arc cut out at the bottom of the drawing, as shown in FIG. 4D, and whose lower end faces abut against the upper end faces of the first valve seat lower part 2d and the second valve seat lower part 2e of the body 2 to form the first valve seat 20 and the second valve seat 21 when assembled. The disk holder recesses 5g, 5g on the side of the disk holder upper part 5a are made to fit into the protrusions formed on the inner side of the first body opening 2b of the body 2. This prevents the disc holder 5 from rotating when it is assembled to the body 2, and as described below, when the disc holder 5 is assembled to the body 2, the lower end faces of the first valve seat upper part 5e and the second valve seat lower part 5f of the disc holder 5 are held in coincident contact with the upper end faces of the first valve seat lower part 2d and the second valve seat lower part 2e of the body 2.

In addition, the disc holding upper part 5a is provided with a cylindrical support part opening 5c that opens in the vertical direction and fits into the shaft shaft support part 6c of the shaft 6 described below, and a cylindrical ring opening 5d that opens in the vertical direction is provided continuous with the support part opening 5c from the center of the disc holding upper part 5a to the ring holding part 5b, allowing the O-ring 19 to be stored in a fitted state in the shaft recess 6d of the shaft 6.

5 shows the shaft 6, where (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a bottom view. As shown in (B) of FIG. 5, the shaft 6 is composed of a shaft arrangement section 6a for D-cutting the cylindrical side surface to align the shaft 6 with the inside of the drive unit 3, a shaft gear section 6b that fits with the gear of the drive unit 3, a cylindrical shaft support section 6c, a shaft recess 6d for fitting an O-ring 19, a cylindrical shaft support lower section 6f, a pentagonal prism-shaped shaft shaft section 6g, and a cylindrical shaft end section 6h (shaft lower end section 6B) with a truncated cone-shaped end section. Here, the shaft arrangement section 6a and the shaft gear section 6b inserted into the drive unit 3 form the above-mentioned shaft upper end section 6A.

6 shows the disk 7, where (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the top view of (A) taken along line A-A, and (D) is a side view of the front view seen from the right side. As shown in (B) of FIG. 6, the disk 7 is formed of a disk main body 7a at the center, a first seal portion 7b having a groove for detachably mounting an O-ring 17 , and a second seal portion 7c having a groove for detachably mounting an O-ring 18, which are formed to extend in a direction symmetrical with respect to the center line OL of the disk main body 7a. As shown in (A) of FIG. 6, the disk main body 7a is formed with a disk through hole 7d that fits with the shaft shaft portion 6g of the shaft 6 and through which the shaft shaft portion 6g penetrates the disk 7 in the vertical direction of the drawing, and a lightening hole 7e that penetrates the disk 7 in the same manner as the disk through hole 7d and prevents deformation during molding. As shown in Fig. 6D, the side surfaces of the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c are substantially circular, and the inner diameter of the groove of the first seal portion 7b is set to a size such that the inserted O-ring 17 seats on the first valve seat 20, and the inner diameter of the groove of the second seal portion 7c is set to a size such that the inserted O-ring 18 seats on the first valve seat 21. Also, the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c are formed in an inverted V shape expanding symmetrically toward the top of the drawing symmetrically with respect to the center line of the disk 7 as shown in Fig. 6B so that when the disk 7 rotates and the O-ring 17 seats on the first valve seat 20 and the O-ring 18 seats on the first valve seat 21, the O-ring 17 and the O-ring 18 evenly abut on the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21, respectively, over the entire circumference.

7 is an explanatory diagram of forming a valve seat by assembling the disk holder 5 to the body 2. As described above, the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21 are formed from the first valve seat lower portion 2d and the second valve seat lower portion 2e formed in the body 2 and the first valve seat upper portion 5e and the second valve seat lower portion 5f formed in the disk holder 5. As in this embodiment, it is not necessarily necessary to form the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21 separately, but it is difficult to manufacture the body 2 and the disk holder 5 by die molding without dividing the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21. In the three-way valve 1 of this embodiment, in order to mold the body 2 and the disk holder 5, the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21 are divided into a first valve seat lower portion 2d and a second valve seat lower portion 2e formed in the body 2 and a first valve seat upper portion 5e and a second valve seat lower portion 5f formed in the disk holder 5, and the disk holder 5 is assembled to the body 2 as shown in Fig. 7A, and the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21 are formed by abutting the upper end surfaces of the first valve seat lower portion 2d and the second valve seat lower portion 2e formed in the body 2 with the lower end surfaces of the first valve seat upper portion 5e and the second valve seat lower portion 5f formed in the disk holder 5 as shown in Fig. 7B. As a result, when the body 2 and the disk holder 5 are manufactured by molding, the first valve seat 20 and the first valve seat 21 can also be formed by molding at the same time, and the cost of parts can be significantly reduced.

Next, the assembly procedure for the three-way valve 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of attaching the shaft 6 and the disk 7 to the disk holder 5. First, as shown by the arrow (1) in Figure 8, the shaft 6 with the O-ring 19 fitted in the shaft recess 6d is inserted into the support opening 5c and the ring opening 5d of the disk holder 5 from above, and the shaft shaft 6g and the shaft end 6h of the shaft 6 are inserted through the support opening 5c and the ring opening 5d of the disk holder 5. Next, as shown by the arrow (2) in Figure 8, the disk 7 with the O-ring 17 and the O-ring 18 fitted is assembled from below, and the shaft shaft 6g and the shaft end 6h of the shaft 6 that has passed through the disk holder 5 are inserted through the disk through hole 7d of the disk 7. This allows the shaft 6 and the disk 7 to be assembled to the disk holder 5.

Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of how the disk holder 5, to which the shaft 6 and disk 7 are attached, are assembled into the body 2. As shown by arrow (1) in Figure 9, an O-ring 22 is fitted into the ring holder portion 5b of the disk holder 5, to which the shaft 6 and disk 7 are attached, and then, as shown by arrow (2) in Figure 9, the shaft 6 and disk 7 can be assembled into the valve chamber 16 of the body 2 from the first body opening 2b of the body 2.

Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of attaching the drive unit 3 to the body 2 to which the disk presser 5 with the shaft 6 and disk 7 attached is attached. First, the bracket 4 is installed on the body 2. The bracket 4 has a shaft through hole 4a that passes through the upper end 6A of the shaft 6 in the center, pin through holes 4c, 4c that fit the positioning pins 3c, 3c provided at the lower end of the drive unit 3 on the inner side of the periphery, and bracket screw holes 4b, 4b through which the mounting screws 9, 9 pass on the outer periphery. As shown by the arrow (1) in Figure 10, the bracket 4 is installed on the body 2 so that the bracket screw holes 4b, 4b and the mounting screw holes 2g, 2g of the body 2 are aligned with the shaft through hole 4a of the bracket 4 through which the shaft upper end 6A of the shaft 6 passes. Then, as shown by the arrow (2) in Figure 10, the drive unit 3 is assembled from above. The drive unit 3 is provided with a drive unit gear portion 3a that fits into the shaft upper end portion 6A, the above-mentioned positioning pins 3c, 3c, and drive unit screw holes 3b, 3b through which the mounting screws 9, 9 pass. After the shaft upper end portion 6A of the shaft 6 is inserted into the drive unit gear portion 3a of the drive unit 3, the positioning pins 3c, 3c of the drive unit 3 are inserted into the pin through holes 4c, 4c of the bracket 4 to install the drive unit 3 in the body 2, and the drive unit screw holes 3b, 3b are aligned with the mounting screw holes 2g, 2g of the body 2 in the same manner as the bracket screw holes 4b, 4b. Then, the mounting screws 9, 9 (not shown) are inserted from above the drawing through the drive unit screw holes 3b, 3b and the bracket screw holes 4b, 4b and inserted into the mounting screw holes 2g, 2g of the body 2. The drive unit 3 is then assembled to the body 2 via the bracket 4 using a screwdriver (not shown) or the like, and the three-way valve 1 is assembled.

As described above, all parts of the three-way valve 1 can be assembled to the body 2 from one direction (from above in the drawing in the above explanation), making assembly easy and reducing assembly labor. In addition, the seal member (O-ring) arranged in the valve chamber 16 of the body 2 is attached to the disk 7, so there is no need to install it at each opening as in Patent Document 1, and the number of parts can be reduced, which in turn reduces parts costs.

Next, the operation of the three-way valve 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 11.

Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram explaining a method of switching the flow paths by rotating the disk 7. (A) of Figure 11 shows a state in which all the flow paths are connected. As in (A) of Figure 11, when the center line of the disk 7 is on the axis of the first flow path 13 of the first port 10, the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 is connected to the second flow path 14 of the second port 11 and the third flow path 15 of the third port 12, so that the fluid flowing in from the second port 11 and the fluid flowing in from the third port 12 mix and flow out from the first port 10.

As shown in (B) of FIG. 11, when the drive unit 3 rotates the disk 7 to the left side of the drawing so that the O-ring 17 attached to the disk 7 is seated on the first valve seat 20, the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 and the second flow path 14 of the second port 11 are closed, and the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 and the third flow path 15 of the third port 12 are connected, so that only the fluid flowing in from the third port 12 flows out from the first port 10. Also, as shown in (C) of FIG. 11, when the drive unit 3 rotates the disk 7 to the right side of the drawing so that the O-ring 18 attached to the disk 7 is seated on the second valve seat 21, the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 and the third flow path 15 of the third port 12 are closed, and the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 and the second flow path 14 of the second port 11 are connected, so that only the fluid flowing in from the second port 11 flows out from the first port 10. In this manner, the three-way valve 1 can switch the flow path.

As described above, the first valve seat 20 and the second valve seat 21 are disposed on the inclined surface connecting the first opening 13A of the first flow path 13 and the second opening 14A of the second flow path 14, and on the inclined surface connecting the first opening 13A of the first flow path 13 and the third opening 15A of the third flow path 15, respectively. As shown in FIG. 11B and FIG. 11C, in the three-way valve 1 of this embodiment, the sliding angle of each of the disks 7 is 22 degrees, and the maximum sliding angle can be suppressed to 44 degrees. This makes it possible to suppress wear (due to the sliding of the disk 7) of the O-rings 17 and 18, which are the seat members. Furthermore, by adopting the O-rings 17 and 18 as the seat members, even if the O-rings 17 and 18 wear, maintenance can be performed simply by replacing the O-rings, so maintenance can be easily performed, and since general-purpose O-rings can be used, the parts cost can also be reduced.

Here, the three-way valve 1 is an example of a three-way valve, the first port 10 is an example of a first port, the second port 11 is an example of a second port, the third port 12 is an example of a third port, the first flow path 13, the second flow path 14, and the third flow path 15 are examples of flow paths of each port, the first opening 13A, the second opening 14A, and the third opening 15A are examples of each opening that is individually connected, the valve chamber 16 is an example of a valve chamber, the body 2 is an example of a body, and the shaft 6 is an example of a shaft, the disk 7 is an example of a valve body, the first valve seat 20 is an example of a first valve seat, the second valve seat 21 is an example of a second valve seat, the drive portion 3 is an example of a drive portion, the O-ring 17 and the O-ring 18 are examples of sealing members, the first seal portion 7b is an example of a first seal portion, the second seal portion 7c is an example of a second seal portion, the body opening 2a is an example of an installation opening, and the disk retainer 5 is an example of a valve body retainer.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples, and the present invention should not be interpreted in any way as being limited by the specific descriptions in such embodiments. It should be understood that the present invention can be embodied in various forms that include various changes, modifications, improvements, etc. based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and that all such embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the three-way valve 1 according to the above embodiment, the first valve seat 20 is provided at the second opening 14A of the second flow path 14, and the second valve seat 21 is provided at the third opening 15A of the third flow path 15. This is to allow the O-ring 17 and O-ring 18, which are sealing members, to seat on the first valve seat 20 or the second valve seat 21 with a uniform force over the entire circumference when seated, thereby allowing the O-ring 17 and O-ring 18 to seat on the first valve seat 20 or the second valve seat 21 without any gaps. However, if there is no problem even if there is a small gap, it is not necessary to provide the first valve seat 20 or the second valve seat 21, and for example, the second opening 14A of the second flow path 14 and the third opening 15A of the third flow path 15 may be used as valve seats, and the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c may be formed along the inner circumferential surfaces of each opening. In this case, since there is no need to provide a separate valve seat as in the three-way valve 1, the structure is simplified and the manufacturing costs can be reduced accordingly.

In the three-way valve 1 according to the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c of the disk 7 are formed in an inverted V shape that spreads symmetrically toward the top of the drawing with respect to the center line OL of the disk 7. This is because O-rings 17 and 18 are used as sealing members. In order to attach the O-rings 17 and 18, the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c need to have a certain thickness, and in order to communicate the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 with the second flow path 14 of the second port 11 and the third flow path 15 of the third port 12 with the center line OL of the disk 7 positioned on the axis of the first flow path 13 of the first port, the disk 7 needs to be shaped to narrow toward the first flow path 13 of the first port 10 to ensure the communication flow paths. Therefore, as described above, the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c of the disk 7 are formed in an inverted V shape that spreads symmetrically toward the upper part of the drawing with respect to the center line OL of the disk 7, but the shapes of the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c are not limited to this. For example, if the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c are entirely made of an elastic material to reduce the thickness of the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c, the first seal portion 7b and the second seal portion 7c can be arranged parallel to the center line OL of the disk 7.

Reference Signs List 1..Three-way valve 2..Body 3..Drive unit 4..Bracket 5..Disc holder 6..Shaft 7..Disc 9..Mounting screw 10..First port 11..Second port 12..Third port 13..First flow path 13A..First opening 14..Second flow path 14A..Second opening 15..Third flow path 15A..Third opening 16..Valve chamber 17, 18, 19, 22..O-ring 20, 21..Valve seat

Claims (3)

A three-way valve having a first port and two ports (a second port and a third port) that are perpendicular to the axis of the first port and are provided coaxially opposite to each other,
a body in which a valve chamber is formed in which passages of the ports and openings each communicating with the passages are formed;
a shaft supported by the body so as to be rotatable about its own axis and extending in a radial direction of the flow passage;
a valve body that is disposed in the valve chamber in a state where it is assembled to the shaft and that rotates together with the shaft;
a first valve seat on which the valve body is seated, the first valve seat being provided in the opening communicating with the flow passage of the second port;
a second valve seat on which the valve body is seated, the second valve seat being provided in the opening communicating with the flow passage of the third port;
a drive unit that rotates the shaft by energization,
the valve body includes a first seal portion having a seal member seated on the first valve seat and a second seal portion having a seal member seated on the second valve seat, the first seal portion extending in directions symmetrical with respect to a center line passing through a rotation axis of the shaft;
The valve chamber of the body is provided with an attachment opening, and is provided with a valve body retainer that closes the attachment opening,
The shaft and the valve body can be inserted through the mounting opening in a state where the shaft and the valve body are assembled to the valve body holder,
a valve member that is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the body and an upper valve seat that is provided on the valve member retainer, and the lower valve seat and the upper valve seat come into contact with each other to function as valve seats by assembling the valve member retainer into the mounting opening of the body. an inner circumferential surface connecting the opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port and the opening communicating with the flow passage of the second port is formed in a sloped shape along an arc along which an outer circumferential end of the rotating valve body moves, and an inner circumferential surface connecting the opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port and the opening communicating with the flow passage of the third port is also formed in a sloped shape along an arc along which an outer circumferential end of the rotating valve body moves,
the first valve seat is formed on the inclined inner circumferential surface where the opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port and the opening communicating with the flow passage of the second port are connected ,
2. The three-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the second valve seat is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the sloped surface that connects the opening communicating with the flow passage of the first port and the opening communicating with the flow passage of the third port. The three-way valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sealing members of the first seal portion and the second seal portion of the valve body are O-rings, and the outer periphery of each of the first seal portion and the second seal portion is provided with a recessed groove into which the O-ring fits and into which the O-ring can be detached.

Images