JP7634192B2 - Flow Control Mechanism - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a flow rate adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of a fluid through a flow path to a desired flow rate.

In residential facilities where water is used in areas such as kitchens, washrooms, and bathrooms, a flow control mechanism equipped with a flow control valve for discharging a desired flow rate is an essential piece of equipment, and various types of flow control mechanisms are used in residential facilities, etc.
It is important for the flow rate adjustment mechanism to be able to precisely control the discharge volume desired by the user, and various faucet devices have been proposed that allow users to perform flow rate adjustment operations without feeling uncomfortable and discharge the desired flow rate (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-084864 A

In a flow rate adjustment mechanism that adjusts the amount of water discharged from a water faucet device, it is desirable for the user to be able to operate it to accurately discharge the desired flow rate, and it is necessary for the user to be able to adjust the flow rate without feeling uncomfortable with the relationship between the operation feel and the amount of water discharged. In other words, it is desirable for the relationship between the amount of operation and the amount of water discharged to change smoothly, transitioning in an approximately linear manner.
However, conventional flow rate adjustment mechanisms have had problems in terms of being configured to smoothly transition the amount of water discharged and accurately adjust the flow rate without causing the user to feel uncomfortable.

The present disclosure aims to provide a flow rate adjustment mechanism that can smoothly change the amount of water discharged in response to the amount of operation by the user without causing the user to feel uncomfortable, and that can precisely adjust the flow rate.

A flow rate adjustment mechanism according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes:
A rotating spindle shaft portion,
a spindle flow passage portion that rotates integrally with the spindle shaft portion, has a first flow rate regulation hole that serves as a discharge port, and into which a fluid can flow;
a flow rate regulating member having a second flow rate regulating hole overlapping the first flow rate regulating hole;
a flow rate adjusting mechanism including: the flow rate regulating member is disposed on an outer periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion; and a bearing portion on an inner periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion such that the spindle flow passage portion can rotate,
The area of the opening shape of the second flow rate regulating hole that overlaps with the first flow rate regulating hole gradually changes in response to the rotation of the spindle flow path portion on the inner side of the bearing portion, and has a shape that gradually becomes narrower at one end side in the rotation direction and wider at the other end side.

The present disclosure provides a highly reliable flow rate adjustment mechanism that allows the amount of water discharged to change smoothly in response to the amount of operation by the user, without causing the user to feel uncomfortable, and that can precisely control the flow rate.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flow rate adjusting mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flow rate adjusting portion in a flow rate adjusting mechanism according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a flow rate adjustment valve in the flow rate adjustment mechanism according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a flow rate restricting member used in a flow rate adjustment valve in the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overlapping state of a spindle flow passage portion with respect to a flow rate regulating member in a flow rate adjustment valve according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a modified example of a flow rate restricting member used in a flow rate adjustment valve in the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a modified example of a flow rate restricting member used in a flow rate adjustment valve in the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a comparative example of a flow rate restricting member used in a flow rate adjustment valve. Graph showing the results of flow rate adjustment capacity experiments using various flow rate control members

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the attached drawings as a specific embodiment of the flow rate adjustment mechanism. Note that the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration of the flow rate adjustment mechanism described in the following embodiment, but includes the configuration of the flow rate adjustment mechanism based on technology equivalent to the technical concept having the technical features described in the following embodiment.

The specific shapes, configurations, etc. shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and do not limit the invention to the contents of this disclosure. Among the components in the following embodiments, those that are not described in an independent claim that represents a top-level concept are described as optional components. Note that in the drawings, each component may be depicted diagrammatically as the main component for ease of understanding.

First, various aspects of the flow rate adjusting mechanism of the present disclosure will be illustrated.
The flow rate adjustment mechanism according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes:
A rotating spindle shaft portion,
a spindle flow passage portion that rotates integrally with the spindle shaft portion, has a first flow rate regulation hole that serves as a discharge port, and into which a fluid can flow;
a flow rate regulating member having a second flow rate regulating hole overlapping the first flow rate regulating hole;
a flow rate adjusting mechanism including: the flow rate regulating member is disposed on an outer periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion; and a bearing portion on an inner periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion such that the spindle flow passage portion can rotate,
The area of the opening shape of the second flow rate regulating hole that overlaps with the first flow rate regulating hole gradually changes in response to the rotation of the spindle flow path portion on the inner side of the bearing portion, and has a shape that gradually becomes narrower at one end side in the rotation direction and wider at the other end side.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the first aspect configured as described above is a highly reliable flow rate adjustment mechanism that allows the amount of water discharged to change smoothly according to the amount of operation by the user without causing the user to feel uncomfortable, and can control the flow rate with high precision.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the second aspect of the present disclosure may be configured in the first aspect, such that the second flow rate regulation hole has a generally triangular shape with rounded corners.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the third aspect of the present disclosure may be configured in the first or second aspect, such that the second flow rate regulation hole is composed of a plurality of openings, and the overall opening shape of the second flow rate regulation hole has a shape symmetrical with respect to a line segment extending in the rotation direction of the spindle flow passage portion.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may be configured in the first or second aspect, such that the second flow rate regulation hole is configured with a single opening, and the opening shape of the second flow rate regulation hole has a shape symmetrical with respect to a line segment extending in the rotation direction of the spindle flow passage portion.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may be configured in any one of the first to fourth aspects, such that the opening shape of the second flow rate regulation hole has a convex shape with a rounded apex portion on one end side in the rotation direction.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism of the sixth aspect of the present disclosure may be configured such that the flow rate restriction member is detachable from the bearing portion in any of the first to fifth aspects.

A flow rate adjustment mechanism according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the first flow rate regulation hole formed in the spindle flow path portion is configured by arranging two elliptical shapes side by side with the rotation direction being the longitudinal direction,
the second flow rate regulating hole, which cooperates with the first flow rate regulating hole to become a discharge port, is configured with two opening shapes arranged so as to be able to face the first flow rate regulating hole,
The opening shape of each of the second flow rate regulating holes may be configured so that the apex portion on one end side in the rotation direction has a rounded convex shape and the other end side has a shape that matches the oval edge of the first flow rate regulating hole when overlapped by rotation.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a flow rate adjustment mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flow rate adjustment mechanism 1 according to a first embodiment used in a bathroom in a housing facility. The flow rate adjustment mechanism 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a cartridge-type replaceable configuration, and includes a temperature adjustment unit 2 that mixes hot water from a flow path from a water heater or the like with cold water from a water pipe, a flow rate adjustment unit 3 that adjusts the discharge amount in a so-called water faucet (including a shower) connected by a pipe, and a water discharge/stop unit 4 that discharges water and stops water. In the first embodiment, a configuration including the temperature adjustment unit 2, the flow rate adjustment unit 3, and the water discharge/stop unit 4 will be described as the flow rate adjustment mechanism 1, but the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure may be configured to include at least the flow rate adjustment unit 3, and may also include a configuration that does not include the temperature adjustment unit 2 and/or the water discharge/stop unit 4.

In the flow rate adjustment mechanism 1 of the first embodiment, the temperature adjustment unit 2 is configured to change the hot and cold water mixing ratio by the rotation of the temperature adjustment rotation unit 6, and the flow rate adjustment unit 3 is configured to change the discharge amount by the rotation of the rotating flow rate adjustment rotation unit 7. In addition, the water discharge/stop unit 4 is configured to switch between water discharge and water stop from the faucet by a push mechanism, and two pressing units 8 and 9 are provided, including one for the shower.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the flow rate adjustment valve 5 of the flow rate adjustment unit 3 in the flow rate adjustment mechanism 1 of the first embodiment. The flow rate adjustment valve 5 shown in Figure 2 shows a state in which the rotating parts such as the outer case of the flow rate adjustment rotation unit 7 that rotates to adjust the flow rate in the flow rate adjustment unit 3 shown in Figure 1 have been removed. The flow rate adjustment rotation unit 7 is pivoted at its center to the spindle shaft 17, and is configured to adjust the discharge volume from the faucet fitting according to the rotation angle of the spindle shaft 17.

In the flow rate control valve 5 shown in FIG. 2, the spindle unit 18 that rotates together with the spindle shaft 17 is provided with a spindle flow path 20. The inside of the spindle flow path 20 is configured so that hot or cold fluid can flow in the axial direction, and a flow path is formed that connects to a water faucet (not shown) through the restriction ports 10a, 10b of the flow rate control member 10 described below. The flow rate is adjusted to the desired flow rate by the restriction ports 10a, 10b of the flow rate control member 10, and the adjusted hot or cold water is discharged from the water faucet connected to the flow rate control valve 5 by a pipeline.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flow control valve 5 is formed with a flow passage opening 14a which serves as the discharge port to the faucet. In order to secure a flow passage from the flow control valve 5 to the faucet, O-ring grooves 14b for mounting O-rings 15 (see the exploded view of FIG. 3) are formed on both axial sides of the flow passage opening 14a. In other words, the flow passage opening 14a is disposed inside the pipe leading to the faucet. In the first embodiment, the flow passage opening 14a which serves as the discharge port from the flow control valve 5 is integrally formed with the outer case 14 which constitutes the external appearance of the flow control valve 5, and the O-ring grooves 14b.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the flow control valve 5. As shown in Figure 3, the flow control valve 5 is shown in a state where the rotating parts such as the outer case of the flow control rotation part 7 that rotates to adjust the flow rate have been removed, similar to Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, a stopper 11, a lock piece 12, a spring 13, etc. are provided around the spindle shaft part 17 inside the outer case of the flow control rotation part 7, and the spindle unit 18 that rotates integrally with the spindle shaft part 17 is held in a desired state inside the outer case 14 and is configured to be rotatable at a desired angle.

An inner case 16 is disposed on the inner periphery of the flow passage opening 14a, which is the discharge port of the flow control valve 5, and the flow passage opening 16a formed in the inner case 16 is disposed so as to overlap with the flow passage opening 14a. That is, the flow passage opening 16a formed in the inner case 16 becomes the discharge port of the flow control valve 5, similar to the flow passage opening 14a. However, the flow passage opening 16a of the inner case 16 is provided with a flow passage regulating member 10, and the opening portion of the flow passage opening 16a is disposed so as to be covered by the flow passage regulating member 10. A seal member (e.g., an O-ring) 19 is attached to the outer edge of the flow passage regulating member 10, and the gap between the inner edge of the opening portion of the flow passage opening 16a and the outer edge of the flow passage regulating member 10 is reliably sealed by the seal member 19.

3, the spindle flow passage portion 20 of the spindle unit 18 is disposed on the shaft side, which is the inner periphery side of the flow rate regulating member 10 provided in the inner case 16, and is connected to the inlet of the flow rate adjustment valve 5 (see FIG. 2). The spindle flow passage portion 20 of the spindle unit 18 is rotatably disposed on the inner periphery side of the inner case 16, and the inner case 16 functions as a bearing portion. The spindle flow passage portion 20 of the spindle unit 18, which rotates on the inner periphery side of the flow rate regulating member 10, is formed with a shaft side flow rate regulating hole 20a. The opening shape of the shaft side flow rate regulating hole 20a in the first embodiment is an elliptical shape whose longitudinal direction is the rotation direction (circumferential direction) of the spindle unit 18, and two elliptical shapes are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction. The opening shape of the shaft side flow rate regulation hole 20a is not limited to the shape of the first embodiment, and may be one opening shape or multiple opening shapes, taking into consideration the material (characteristics) of the spindle unit 18. The opening shape of the shaft side flow rate regulation hole 20a may be appropriately set according to the opening shape of the hole (the bearing side flow rate regulation hole (first regulation port 10a, second regulation port 10b) described later) formed in the flow rate regulation member 10 that cooperates in flow rate control.

As described above, in the flow control valve 5 of embodiment 1, the spindle unit 18 including the spindle shaft portion 17 and the spindle flow passage portion 20 rotates integrally on the inner periphery side of the inner case 16 integrated with the flow restriction member 10, and the flow rate from the flow passage opening 14a, which is the discharge port of the flow control valve 5, is adjusted.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a flow rate regulating member 10 used in the flow rate adjustment valve 5 in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the flow rate regulating member 10 has two symmetrically arranged bearing side flow rate regulating holes (first regulating port 10a, second regulating port 10b). The first regulating port 10a and the second regulating port 10b have the same opening shape as a symmetric shape (line symmetric shape) with respect to the center line L (see Figure 4), which is a line segment extending in a direction (rotation direction) perpendicular to the rotation axis. In Figure 4, the opening shape of the first regulating port 10a is a substantially triangular shape with rounded corners. In addition, the overall shape of the first regulating port 10a and the second regulating port 10b combined is a substantially isosceles triangle shape. The height direction of the substantially isosceles triangle formed by combining the first regulating port 10a and the second regulating port 10b is the rotation direction of the spindle unit 18.

The opening shapes of the first restriction port 10a (bearing side flow rate restriction hole) and the second restriction port 10b (bearing side flow rate restriction hole) will be described. In the following description, the opening shape of the first restriction port 10a will be described, and the opening shape of the second restriction port 10b, which has the same shape, will be omitted. In the approximately triangular shape of the first restriction port 10a, the apex part in the height direction (rotation direction) is "A", the hypotenuse part that is oblique to the rotation direction is "B", and the base part perpendicular to the rotation direction is "C". In addition, in the approximately triangular shape of the first restriction port 10a shown in Figure 4, the opposing part that is the side that faces the second restriction port 10b will be described as "D". Note that the opposing part in the approximately triangular shape of the first restriction port 10a is a part that has a side parallel to the rotation direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first restriction opening 10a has a generally triangular shape made up of curves, with the apex A having a rounded convex shape that protrudes in the direction of rotation. In addition, the corner (corner portion) continuing from the hypotenuse B to the base B is also made up of a rounded curve. As a result, the apex A of the generally isosceles triangle formed by combining the first restriction opening 10a and the second restriction opening 10b also has a rounded protruding apex shape.

In the configuration of the flow rate adjustment valve 5 in embodiment 1, the spindle flow passage section 20 of the spindle unit 18 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the flow rate restriction member 10, and the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical spindle flow passage section 20. Therefore, when the spindle flow passage section 20 rotates, the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a moves relative to the openings of the first restriction port 10a and the second restriction port 10b of the flow rate restriction member 10, changing the overlapping opening portions, thereby adjusting the flow rate.

Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the overlapping state when the spindle flow passage portion 20 of the spindle unit 18 rotates relative to the first and second restriction ports 10a and 10b of the flow rate control member 10. In the flow rate adjustment valve 5 in embodiment 1, the spindle unit 18 is configured to be rotatable by a predetermined angle that is set in advance, and the discharge flow rate is controlled according to the rotation angle.

Figure 5 shows, as an example, the overlap state of the flow rate restriction member 10 and the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a of the spindle flow passage portion 20 when the spindle unit 18 is rotated by a predetermined angle θ. The state shown on the right side of Figure 5 shows the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a, the first restriction port 10a, and the second restriction port 10b completely overlapping, indicating a fully open state. The state shown on the top side of Figure 5 shows a state in which a portion of the flow rate restriction member 10 overlaps the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a, but the first restriction port 10a and the second restriction port 10b do not overlap the shaft side flow rate restriction hole 20a, indicating a state in which discharge is restricted.

The inventors conducted a flow rate control capability experiment using the flow rate control valve 5 in the first embodiment configured as described above. In this experiment, in addition to the flow rate control valve 5 equipped with the flow rate restriction member 10 described in the first embodiment, flow rate control valves 5 equipped with various flow rate restriction members 30, 40, and 50 having the opening shapes shown in Figures 6 to 8 were used.

Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing modified examples of the flow rate regulating member 10 shown in Figure 4. In the flow rate regulating members 30 and 40 shown in Figures 6 and 7, similar to the flow rate regulating member 10 shown in Figure 4, the flow rate regulating members 30 and 40 are arranged to cover the opening of the flow passage opening 16a of the inner case 16. In addition, a seal member (e.g., an O-ring) 19 is attached to the outer edge of the flow rate regulating members 30 and 40 to seal them. The difference between the flow rate regulating members 30 and 40 shown in Figures 6 and 7 and the flow rate regulating member 10 shown in Figure 4 is the opening shape of the bearing-side flow rate regulating holes 30a, 40a, and 40b.

The flow rate regulating member 30 shown in FIG. 6 has one regulating port (30a). The opening shape of the bearing side flow rate regulating hole 30a, which is one regulating port shown in FIG. 6, is a roughly isosceles triangle shape, with the apex part having a rounded convex shape that protrudes in the direction of rotation. In other words, the opening shape of the bearing side flow rate regulating hole 30a is a roughly isosceles triangle shape that combines the first regulating port 10a and the second regulating port 10b shown in FIG. 4, and is a single opening without the opposing portion D of the first regulating port 10a and the second regulating port 10b in FIG. 4.

The symmetrically formed opening shapes of the first restriction port 40a (bearing side flow rate restriction hole) and the second restriction port 40b (bearing side flow rate restriction hole) of the flow rate restriction member 40 shown in FIG. 7 are substantially triangular, similar to the opening shapes of the first restriction port 10a and the second restriction port 10b of the flow rate restriction member 10 shown in FIG. 4. However, the shape of each vertex portion A of the first restriction port 40a and the second restriction port 40b is triangular, and has an acute vertex shape.

Furthermore, as a comparative example, a flow rate adjustment capacity experiment was conducted using the flow rate regulating member 50 shown in FIG. 8. The flow rate regulating member 50 in FIG. 8 is configured with two regulating ports 50a, 50b arranged side by side, each having a substantially hexagonal opening shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the corners (corner portions) of the opening shape of each of the regulating ports 50a, 50b are formed at acute angles.

Figure 9 is a graph showing the results of a flow rate control capacity experiment using the flow rate control members 10, 30, 40, and 50 shown in Figures 4, 6, 7, and 8. In Figure 9, the vertical axis shows the discharge volume [lit./min.], and the horizontal axis shows the rotation angle [degrees] of the spindle unit 18. In the graph of Figure 9, the solid line shows the experimental results using the flow rate control valve 5 equipped with the flow rate control member 10 shown in Figure 4. The dashed line shows the experimental results using the flow rate control valve 5 equipped with the flow rate control member 30 shown in Figure 6, and the two-dot chain line shows the experimental results using the flow rate control valve 5 equipped with the flow rate control member 40 shown in Figure 7. In Figure 9, the dashed line shows the experimental results using the flow rate control valve 5 equipped with the flow rate control member 50 shown in Figure 8 as a comparative example.

As shown in the graph of FIG. 9, when a flow control valve 5 equipped with a flow control member 50 of the comparative example shown by the dashed line was used, the discharge volume of about 9.5 lit./min. remained almost unchanged even when the rotation angle was rotated about 30 degrees from a fully open state of about 30 degrees to a state of 60 degrees. Also, as shown by the dashed line, even when rotated another 20 degrees to a state of 80 degrees, the discharge volume was about 9 lit./min., and the reduction rate of the discharge volume did not reach even 10%, even when the user rotated the flow control valve 5 nearly half of the total rotation angle.

On the other hand, as shown by the solid line in Figure 4, in a flow rate adjustment capacity experiment using the flow rate adjustment valve 5 of embodiment 1 equipped with the flow rate restriction member 10, it was confirmed that the discharge rate gradually decreased by gradually rotating the valve from a fully open state at a rotation angle of approximately 30 degrees. In particular, at rotation angles between 60 degrees and 90 degrees, which are frequently used by users, the discharge rate changed linearly, allowing the user to adjust the flow rate without feeling uncomfortable.

In addition, in the graph of FIG. 9, when a flow control valve 5 equipped with the flow control member 30 of FIG. 6, shown by the dashed line, was used, and when a flow control valve 5 equipped with the flow control member 40 of FIG. 7, shown by the dashed line, was used, favorable results were obtained compared to the flow control valve 5 equipped with the flow control member 50 shown in FIG. 8, which is a comparative example. In particular, it was confirmed that, at rotation angles between 60 degrees and 90 degrees, which are frequently used by users, even with the configurations of the modified examples shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the discharge amount changes linearly according to the rotation angle, allowing the user to adjust the flow rate without feeling uncomfortable.

In the configuration of the flow control valve 5 in the first embodiment, discharge control according to various specifications can be performed simply by changing the opening shape of the bearing side flow control holes 10a, 10b, 30a, 40a, 40b, which are the second flow control holes, in the flow control members 10, 30, 40. In other words, without changing the opening shape of the shaft side flow control hole (first flow control hole) 20a formed in the spindle unit 18, which has a complex rotating configuration, simply by changing the opening shape of the bearing side flow control holes (second flow control holes) 10a, 10b, 30a, 40a, 40b in the flow control members 10, 30, 40, it is possible to accommodate various flow control mechanisms with different specifications.

In the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, the flow rate through each opening is controlled by the overlap state of the opposing openings of the shaft side flow rate regulation hole (20a) which is the first flow rate regulation hole and the bearing side flow rate regulation hole (10a, 10b, 30a, 40a, 40b) which is the second flow rate regulation hole. In the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, the shaft side flow rate regulation hole rotates with respect to the bearing side flow rate regulation hole, and the area of the overlapping opening portion gradually changes, thereby controlling the discharged flow rate to the desired discharge amount. In the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, the opening shape of the shaft side flow rate regulation hole is formed substantially larger than the opening shape of the bearing side flow rate regulation hole, and in the fully open state where the shaft side flow rate regulation hole completely overlaps with the bearing side flow rate regulation hole, the opening shape of the bearing side flow rate regulation hole becomes the substantial shape of the discharge port.

In the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, the opening shape of the bearing-side flow rate regulation hole (10a, 10b, 30a, 40a, 40b) is gradually narrowed at one end in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis (rotation direction) and widened at the other end, forming a roughly triangular shape with rounded corners. As a result, in the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, the cross-sectional area of the opening that overlaps with the bearing-side flow rate regulation hole changes size as the shaft-side flow rate regulation hole rotates.

In the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure, as described in the embodiment, the first flow rate regulation hole (shaft side flow rate regulation hole: 20a) formed in the spindle flow passage portion (20) may be configured as two elliptical shapes arranged side by side with the rotation direction being the longitudinal direction, and the second flow rate regulation hole (bearing side flow rate regulation hole) which cooperates with the first flow rate regulation hole to become the discharge port may be configured as two opening shapes (10a, 10b, 40a, 40b) arranged so as to be able to face the first flow rate regulation hole. In such a configuration, each opening shape of the second flow rate regulation hole may have a convex shape with a rounded apex portion on one end side in the rotation direction, and the other end side may be a shape that matches the edge of the elliptical shape of the first flow rate regulation hole when they overlap due to rotation. In the flow rate adjustment mechanism configured in this manner, the user does not feel uncomfortable, and the water discharge volume can be smoothly changed according to the amount of operation by the user.

In addition, in the flow rate adjustment mechanism disclosed herein, an example configuration is shown in which two bearing-side flow rate regulation holes are formed symmetrically in the flow rate regulation member. This example configuration makes it possible to increase the rigidity of the flow rate regulation member compared to a configuration in which one bearing-side flow rate regulation hole is provided, resulting in a more reliable configuration.

In the configuration of embodiment 1, the opening shape of the bearing side flow rate regulation hole is described as being approximately triangular, but it is also possible to configure the opening shape of the shaft side flow rate regulation hole to be approximately triangular and to perform flow rate control in a similar manner.

As described above and as an example in the embodiment, the flow rate adjustment mechanism of the present disclosure can smoothly adjust the amount of water discharged according to the amount of operation by the user without causing the user to feel uncomfortable, and can provide a flow rate adjustment device that can precisely control the discharged flow rate.

Although the present invention has been described in the embodiments with a certain degree of detail, these configurations are exemplary and the disclosure of the embodiments may vary in the details of the configuration. In the present invention, substitutions, combinations, and changes in the order of elements in the embodiments may be realized without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.

The flow rate adjustment mechanism disclosed herein is a water-related device that is useful as a residential facility, and is highly valuable and useful in the market.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Flow rate adjustment mechanism 2 Temperature adjustment section 3 Flow rate adjustment section 4 Water discharge/stop section 5 Flow rate adjustment valve 6 Temperature adjustment rotation section 7 Flow rate adjustment rotation section 10 Flow rate restriction member 10a First restriction port (bearing side flow rate restriction hole: second flow rate restriction hole)
10b 2nd regulation port (bearing side flow rate regulation hole: 2nd flow rate regulation hole)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 stopper 12 lock piece 13 spring 14 outer case 14a flow passage opening 14b O-ring groove 15 O-ring 16 inner case (bearing portion)
17 Spindle shaft portion 18 Spindle unit 19 Sealing member (O-ring)
20 Spindle flow passage portion 20a Axial side flow rate regulation hole (first flow rate regulation hole)
30 Flow rate regulating member 30a Bearing side flow rate regulating hole: second flow rate regulating hole 40 Flow rate regulating member 40a Bearing side flow rate regulating hole: second flow rate regulating hole

Claims (7)

A rotating spindle shaft portion,
a spindle flow passage portion that rotates integrally with the spindle shaft portion, has a first flow rate regulation hole that serves as a discharge port, and into which a fluid can flow;
a flow rate regulating member having a second flow rate regulating hole overlapping the first flow rate regulating hole;
a flow rate adjusting mechanism including: the flow rate regulating member is disposed on an outer periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion; and a bearing portion on an inner periphery side of the spindle flow passage portion such that the spindle flow passage portion can rotate,
the second flow rate regulating hole has an opening shape in which an area thereof overlaps with the first flow rate regulating hole gradually changes in response to rotation of the spindle flow passage portion on the inner peripheral side of the bearing portion, and has a shape which gradually becomes narrower on one end side in a rotation direction and wider on the other end side,
a flow rate adjustment mechanism in which the second flow rate regulating hole is a substantially triangular opening having a vertex portion in the rotation direction and a hypotenuse portion inclined with respect to the rotation direction, and the vertex portion has a convex shape protruding in the rotation direction such that the angle of inclination of the central portion of the hypotenuse portion with respect to the rotation direction is greater than the angle of inclination of the hypotenuse portion with respect to the rotation direction at a portion of the hypotenuse portion closer to the vertex portion than to the central portion . 2. The flow control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the second flow rate regulating hole is composed of two of the approximately triangular openings arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction, and the two openings are arranged so that their vertices face the same direction in the rotation direction and their opposing portions, which are opposing sides, are parallel to the rotation direction . The flow rate adjusting mechanism according to claim 2 , wherein the two openings have shapes symmetrical with respect to a line segment extending in the rotation direction. 2. The flow rate adjustment mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the second flow rate regulating hole is constituted by a single opening having the approximately triangular shape , and the opening of the second flow rate regulating hole has a shape symmetrical with respect to a line extending in the rotation direction. The flow rate adjusting mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the first flow rate regulating hole has two oval openings whose longitudinal directions coincide with the rotation direction . The flow rate adjustment mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the flow rate restriction member is configured to be detachable from the bearing portion. the first flow rate regulating hole formed in the spindle flow passage portion is configured by two oval-shaped holes arranged side by side , the rotation direction being the longitudinal direction,
the second flow rate regulating hole, which cooperates with the first flow rate regulating hole to become a discharge port, is composed of the two openings of the approximately triangular shape arranged so as to be able to face the first flow rate regulating hole,
4. The flow control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the two openings of the second flow rate regulating hole have the convex shape with the apex portion protruding in a rounded manner, and the other end side is configured to have a shape that matches the oval edge of the first flow rate regulating hole when they are rotated to overlap.

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