JP7645538B2 - Malfunction prevention mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drain plug device that opens and closes a drain outlet formed in a tank body, and a malfunction prevention mechanism that prevents malfunction of the drain plug device.

A conventional drain plug device, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, is known to have a plug cover that covers a drain hole formed in a tank body, and the drain hole is opened and closed by raising and lowering the plug cover.

The drain plug device described in Patent Document 1 above is equipped with an operating section consisting of a manual operating mechanism that raises and lowers the plug cover by directly pressing a manual switch, and an electric operating mechanism that operates a motor by operating an operating panel installed in the kitchen or bathroom to raise and lower the plug cover, allowing the user to select either operation to open or close the drain.

JP 2018-131741 A

In the above-mentioned drain plug device, the manual switch section for operating the manual operating mechanism is located on the edge of the tub body, and there have been cases where a child or other person accidentally operates it while bathing, causing the hot water in the tub body to be drained.
Furthermore, the control panels for operating the electric operating mechanisms are often attached to the walls of kitchens or bathrooms, and these too can be mistakenly operated by children or others.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a drain plug device that prevents hot and cold water from being unexpectedly discharged from the tank due to erroneous operation of the drain plug device's operating part, and a malfunction prevention mechanism that prevents the drain plug device from malfunctioning.

The first invention includes a plug cover for opening and closing a drain outlet formed in a tank body,
An operation unit for operating the plug cap is provided,
A malfunction prevention mechanism that can be attached to a drain plug device, the operating unit having a manual switch that can be displaced by a manual operation input ,
The malfunction prevention mechanism includes:
A base portion that can be attached near the manual switch portion ;
a switching unit for switching between an unlocked state in which the operation unit is operable and a locked state in which the operation unit is not operable;
a pushing portion that is displaced when a pushing operation is applied in the unlocked state and that abuts against the manual switch portion to displace the manual switch portion;
The malfunction prevention mechanism is characterized by comprising a fixing part that prevents the pushing part from being displaced in the locked state.

The second invention has a first groove portion formed in the displacement direction of the pushing portion and a second groove portion formed on a side of the first groove portion,
2. The malfunction prevention mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is disposed within the first groove portion in the unlocked state, and disposed within the second groove portion in the locked state .

In a third aspect of the present invention, the operation unit comprises:
A manual operation mechanism for operating the plug cap based on a manual operation;
and an electric operation mechanism for operating the plug cap based on a drive signal,
The malfunction prevention mechanism includes:
3. The malfunction prevention mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the manual operation mechanism is switched between the unlocked state and the locked state.

According to the present invention, by switching between an unlocked state, in which the operating part can be operated by the malfunction prevention mechanism, and a locked state, in which operation is not possible, it is possible to prevent hot and cold water from being drained from the tank body by accidentally operating the drain plug device.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a drain plug device according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a malfunction prevention mechanism. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing components of the malfunction prevention mechanism. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the drain plug device in an unlocked state, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between a groove portion and a fixing portion. 5A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the manual switch portion is pushed further in than in FIG. 4; FIG. 5B is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between a groove portion and a fixing portion; 11 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a groove portion and a fixing portion in a locked state. FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a drain plug device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 2A is a partially sectional perspective view showing the drain plug device in an unlocked state, and FIG. 2B is a partially sectional perspective view showing the drain plug device in a state in which a manual switch portion is pressed in. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the drain plug device in a locked state.

The drain plug device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the invention described below is intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments, and is not intended to limit or limit the invention.

[First embodiment]
The tank body B is a bathtub with openings formed on the bottom and edges, the opening formed on the bottom is clamped between a drain outlet member 2 and a piping member 3, and a flange member 61 is attached to the opening formed on the edge.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drain plug device 1 is a device for opening and closing the drain B1 of the tank body B, and is composed of a drain member 2, a piping member 3, a plug cover 4, a release wire 5, and an operating unit 6, to which a locking member 7 equipped with an anti-malfunction mechanism is attached.

The drain outlet member 2 is a hollow, cylindrical member with a flange formed on the upper end, forming a drain outlet B1 for discharging hot and cold water from the tank body B. The drain outlet member 2 also has a wire receiver 21 attached inside, and is screwed into the piping member 3 on the back surface of the tank body B, and is attached watertightly by clamping the periphery of the opening formed on the bottom surface of the tank body B via a packing.
The wire receiver 21 is attached to the inside of the drain outlet member 2 and is a member for holding and fixing the release wire 5 inside the drain outlet member 2.It is composed of an annular portion having approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter of the drain outlet member 2 and a support portion for supporting the end of the release wire 5, and is fixed by engaging the annular portion with the inner surface of the drain outlet member 2.

The piping member 3 is a pipe that discharges wastewater discharged from the drain outlet B1 toward the sewer side, and has an outlet 31 formed on the side, and a branch pipe section 32 through which the release wire 5 is inserted is formed on the side opposite the outlet 31.

The plug lid 4 is a lid that covers the drain B1 and the flange of the drain member 2, and the valve shaft 51 formed at the end of the release wire 5 is engaged on the underside. The plug lid 4 is also connected to the operating unit 6 attached to the edge of the tank body B via the release wire 5, and opens and closes the drain B1 by displacing in response to the operation applied to the manual switch unit 62.

The release wire 5 is a power transmission member in which a metal inner wire is wired inside a resin outer tube, and when an operation is applied to the operating unit 6, power is transmitted by the inner wire sliding inside the outer tube.
The valve shaft 51 is a cylindrical body consisting of an inner tube and an outer tube formed at the end of the release wire 5 on the plug 4 side, and when the inner wire slides toward the plug 4 side, the inner tube protrudes from the outer tube, thereby lifting the plug 4.
The holding mechanism 52 is formed at the end of the release wire 5 on the operating section 6 side, and has a fixed gear and a rotating gear inside. The holding mechanism 52 has an operating shaft 53 extending toward the manual switch section 62, and transmits power to the plug lid 4 via the release wire 5 each time the operating shaft 53 descends, and holds the raised and lowered state of the plug lid 4, i.e., the open/closed state of the drain outlet B1, by switching between meshing and disengagement of the fixed gear and rotating gear housed inside.
The guide pipe 54 is a hose pipe that connects the branch pipe section 32 of the piping member 3 and the operating section 6, and serves to guide the installation of the release wire 5 during installation, and also to merge the wastewater that flows into the operating section 6 from the edge of the tank body B into the continuous drainage flow path from the drain outlet B1.

The operating unit 6 is a manual operating mechanism that operates the plug lid 7 based on manual operation, and has a flange member 61 attached to the edge of the tank body B and a manual switch unit 62 arranged within the flange member 61.
The flange member 61 is cylindrical with a flange formed from the upper end toward the outside to engage with an opening formed in the edge of the tank body B, and is screwed into a nut disposed on the back surface of the tank body B. A guide tube 54 is connected to the lower end of the flange member 61, and a holding mechanism 52 and a manual switch unit 62 are disposed inside.
The manual switch unit 62 is a disk-like member arranged so that its upper surface is exposed inside the bathroom, and the operating shaft 53 of the holding mechanism 52 is fitted to its rear surface. The manual switch unit 62 is arranged so that it can be displaced along the axial direction (up and down) of the operating shaft 53 by manual operation.

When the manual switch unit 62 is pushed, the operating shaft 53 engaged with the underside moves down. This causes the plug lid 4 to rise via the release wire 5, opening the drain B1, and the gears in the holding mechanism 52 engage, keeping the plug lid 4 raised and the drain B1 open. When the manual switch unit 62 is pushed again, the operating shaft 53 moves down, releasing the gear engagement, and the plug lid 4 moves down due to the spring built into the holding mechanism 52 and its own weight, closing the drain B1.

Here, the drain plug device 1 has a locking member 7 attached near the manual switch section 62.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the locking member 7 has a base 8, a switching portion 9, and a pushing portion 10, and when attached to the drain plug device 1, it constitutes an anti-malfunction mechanism that switches between an unlocked state in which the operating portion 6 can be operated, and a locked state in which it cannot be operated.

The base 8 is annular with a first opening 81 formed in the center, and its underside is attached with double-sided tape or adhesive near the manual switch unit 62, more specifically, directly above the flange member 61, at a position where the first opening 81 is concentric with the manual switch unit 62. In addition, the first opening 81 has a fixing portion 82 protruding inward.
The fixing portions 82 are protrusions formed at two locations facing inward from the first opening 81 at positions 180° apart, and are disposed within the groove portion 101 of the pushing portion 10 .
The plate-like portion 83 protrudes upward from near the outer edge of the base 8, and forms an arc shape matching the inner surface of the switching portion 9 when viewed from above. The plate-like portion 83 is formed in two locations that are 180° apart, and a short protrusion 84 is formed facing upward from the upper end. The protrusion 84 is formed in a position that penetrates an indicator portion 93 formed on the switching portion 9 when the locking member 7 is in an assembled state, and indicates whether the drain plug device 1 is in an unlocked state or a locked state depending on the position at which it is exposed from the indicator portion 93.

The switching part 9 is circular in plan view with an open lower portion so as to cover the base part 8, and has a generally triangular shape in side view with a raised center. The switching part 9 is composed of an upper surface 91 with a circular second opening 92 formed in the center, an outer wall part 94 forming an inclined surface formed from the outer edge of the upper surface 91 toward the base part 8, and an inner wall part 95 extending downward from the inside of the second opening 92. When the locking member 7 is assembled, the second opening 92 is disposed concentrically with the first opening 81 of the base part 8, and the switching part 9 is rotatable relative to the base part 8.
The indicator 93 is an arc-shaped opening formed near the outer edge of the top surface 91, through which the convex portion 84 passes when the locking member 7 is assembled. A symbol indicating that the operation unit 6 is in a locked state in which it is not possible to operate the operation unit 6 is engraved on one end of the indicator 93, and the state of the operation unit 6 can be visually confirmed depending on whether the convex portion 84 is located on the side of the symbol. The symbol may be engraved on the other end with a symbol indicating an unlocked state, or may be a letter, color, or the like instead of a symbol.
The inner wall portion 95 forms a cylindrical wall surface that extends to the vicinity of the base portion 8, and has a linear engaging portion 96 that protrudes downward. When the locking member 7 is in an assembled state, the engaging portion 96 is disposed within an engaged portion 102 formed on the side surface of the pushing portion 10, and prevents the switching portion 9 and the pushing portion 10 from rotating relative to each other.

The pushing portion 10 is cylindrical and passes through the first opening 81 of the base 8 and the second opening 92 of the switching portion 9, and is capable of being displaced in the vertical direction. As shown in Fig. 1, when the locking member 7 is attached to the drain plug device 1, the lower end of the pushing portion 10 abuts against the manual switch portion 62, and the manual switch portion 62 can be depressed as the pushing portion 10 is displaced.
3, the groove 101 is recessed in the side surface of the pushing portion 10, and the fixing portion 82 is disposed inside. The groove 101 is composed of a first groove 101a formed in the axial direction of the pushing portion 10, and a second groove 101b formed laterally at the lower end of the first groove 101a.
The engaged portion 102 is adjacent to the first groove portion 101a and is a linear groove formed in the axial direction of the pushing portion 10, and the engaging portion 96 is disposed in the state in which the locking member 7 is assembled. This makes the pushing portion 10 unable to rotate relative to the switching portion 9, and when a rotation operation is applied to the switching portion 9, the pushing portion 10 also rotates in conjunction with it.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the locking member 7 is attached so that the pushing part 10 is located directly above the manual switch part 62. At this time, the first opening 81, the second opening 92, the pushing part 10, and the manual switch part 62 are arranged concentrically, and are configured so that when the pushing part 10 descends, it interlocks with the pushing part 10 to push down the manual switch part 62. The mechanism for preventing malfunction by the locking member 7 will be described below. Note that in order to make it easier to understand the positional relationship of the fixing part 82 with the groove part 101, the outer surface of the pushing part 10 is shown expanded in FIG. 4(b), FIG. 5(b), and FIG. 6.

First, as shown in Fig. 4(a), when the drain plug device 1 is in an unlocked state in which the operating portion 6 can be operated, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the fixed portion 82 is disposed in the first groove portion 101a, and the pushing portion 10 and the manual switch portion 62 are displaceable in the vertical direction. When a pushing operation is applied to the pushing portion 10, as shown in Fig. 5(a), the pushing portion 10 descends, and as the pushing portion 10 descends, the manual switch portion 62 is depressed, thereby operating the drain plug device 1. At this time, because the fixed portion 82 is disposed in the first groove portion 101a, the displacement of the pushing portion 10 is not hindered by the fixed portion 82, as shown in Fig. 5(b).
Here, when the switching part 9 is grasped and rotated clockwise, the pushing part 10 also rotates in conjunction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixing part 82 is placed in the second groove part 101b, and the drain plug device 1 is switched to the locked state. When the drain plug device 1 is in the locked state, even if the operating part 6 is pushed, the fixing part 82 abuts against the upper surface of the second groove part 101b, preventing the pushing part 10 from being displaced. Therefore, when the drain plug device 1 is in the locked state, the pushing part 10 is fixed, making it impossible to displace the manual switch part 62, and therefore it is impossible to operate the operating part 6. When the drain plug device 1 is in the locked state, the convex part 84 is located at the end on the side on which the symbol indicating the locked state is engraved, so that the user can visually grasp the state of the drain plug device 1.
The locking member 7 can be switched to the unlocked state by gripping the switching portion 9 and rotating it counterclockwise to return the fixing portion 82 to the first groove portion 101a. This allows the user to operate the drain plug device 1 again and open and close the drain outlet B1 with the operating portion 6.

In this way, in the present invention, the locking member 7, which is an anti-malfunction mechanism, can switch between an unlocked state in which the operating unit 6 can be operated and a locked state in which it cannot be operated. This makes it possible to prevent hot and cold water from being drained by accidentally operating the drain plug device 1 while taking a bath.
Furthermore, in the first embodiment, since the malfunction prevention mechanism is constituted by the locking member 7, the malfunction prevention mechanism can be provided by attaching the locking member 7 to an existing drain plug device 1.

[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 9. In the following description, only configurations different from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and configurations that overlap with those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the manual switch 111 has a grip 112 protruding toward the upper surface, and can be rotated by gripping the grip 112. Also, in the second embodiment, the operating shaft 13 is formed with a locking portion 131 extending toward the outside.
The cutout portion 113 is a generally oval opening formed inside the flange member 11 and has a shape similar to that of the locking portion 131 .

The malfunction prevention mechanism is composed of a manual switch unit 111, a locking unit 131, and a notch 113. By rotating the manual switch unit 111, it is possible to switch between an unlocked state in which the operation unit 6 can be operated, and a locked state in which operation is not possible.

First, as shown in Fig. 8(a), when the operating unit 6 is in the unlocked state, the orientation of the locking portion 131 and the cutout portion 113 match, and when the manual switch unit 111 is lowered, the locking portion 131 can pass through the cutout portion 113. Therefore, when a pushing operation is applied to the manual switch unit 111, the operating shaft 13 is lowered as shown in Fig. 8(b), making it possible to open and close the drain outlet B1.
9, when the manual switch portion 111 is rotated and the operating portion 6 is in the locked state, the engaging portion 131 cannot pass through the notch portion 113. Therefore, even if the manual switch portion 111 is pushed, the drain plug device 1 cannot be operated.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, as in the first embodiment, the malfunction prevention mechanism can prevent hot and cold water from being drained due to the accidental operation of the drain plug device 1 while taking a bath.
Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, a malfunction prevention mechanism is incorporated inside the operation unit 6, making it possible to reduce the size of the device.

The drain plug device according to the second embodiment has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the shapes of the drain plug device described in the first and second embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, in the first embodiment, the operating unit was a manual operation mechanism that operates the plug cap based on manual operation, but it may be an electric operation mechanism that operates the plug cap based on a drive signal, or it may be equipped with both a manual operation mechanism and an electric operation mechanism. In this case, the malfunction prevention mechanism may be capable of switching between an unlocked state and a locked state of either the manual operation mechanism or the electric operation mechanism, or both.
The malfunction prevention mechanism may also be attached to the operation panel of a water heater installed in a bathroom or indoors. In this case, a button for operating the malfunction prevention mechanism may be provided, and the operation of the button may be made to switch between an unlocked state and a locked state.

The malfunction prevention mechanism may also be composed of a base fixed to the tank body B such as the flange member 62, a cover body capable of covering the manual switch unit 62, and a hinge portion connecting the cover body and the base. In this case, the operation unit 6 is in an unlocked state when the cover body covers the manual switch unit 62 and the manual switch unit 62 cannot be operated, and the operation unit 6 is in an unlocked state when the cover body is rotated at the hinge portion to release the manual switch unit 62 from the cover body and make it operable.

1 Drain plug device 2 Drain outlet member 21 Wire receiver 3 Piping member 31 Drain 32 Branch pipe section 4 Plug cover 5 Release wire 51 Valve shaft 52 Holding mechanism 53 Operation shaft 54 Guide tube 6 Operation section 61 Flange member 62 Manual switch section 7 Lock member 8 Base section 81 First opening 82 Fixing section 83 Plate-shaped section 84 Convex section 9 Switching section 91 Upper surface 92 Second opening 93 Display section 94 Outer wall section 95 Inner wall section 96 Engagement section 10 Pushing section 101 Groove section 101a First groove section 101b Second groove section 102 Engaged section 11 Flange member 111 Manual switch section 112 Grip section 113 Cutout section 13 Operation shaft 131 Locking section B Tank body B1 Drain outlet

Claims (3)

A plug cover for opening and closing a drain hole formed in the tank body;
An operation unit for operating the plug cap is provided,
A malfunction prevention mechanism that can be attached to a drain plug device, the operating unit having a manual switch that can be displaced by a manual operation input ,
The malfunction prevention mechanism includes:
A base portion that can be attached near the manual switch portion ;
a switching unit for switching between an unlocked state in which the operation unit is operable and a locked state in which the operation unit is not operable;
a pushing portion that is displaced when a pushing operation is applied in the unlocked state and that abuts against the manual switch portion to displace the manual switch portion;
A malfunction prevention mechanism comprising: a fixing portion that prevents the pushing portion from being displaced in the locked state. A first groove portion is formed in the displacement direction of the pushing portion, and a second groove portion is formed on a side of the first groove portion,
The malfunction prevention mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the fixing portion is disposed within the first groove portion in the unlocked state, and disposed within the second groove portion in the locked state. The operation unit includes:
A manual operation mechanism for operating the plug cap based on a manual operation;
and an electric operation mechanism for operating the plug cap based on a drive signal,
The malfunction prevention mechanism includes:
3. The malfunction prevention mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the manual operation mechanism is switched between the unlocked state and the locked state.

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