JP7653856B2 - Flow Control Valve - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flow control valve for sealing the inside of a fluid pipe.

When fluid pipes that make up existing pipelines through which water, gas, etc. flow deteriorate over time or when a new branch is formed, it is sometimes necessary to replace part of the existing fluid pipe with a new fluid pipe. In such cases, a commonly used method is to install two flow control valves spaced apart in the axial direction of the existing fluid pipe, block the flow of fluid in a specified section of the fluid pipe with the valve body of each flow control valve, and bypass the specified section to communicate with the bypass pipe, replacing part of the specified section with a new fluid pipe without stopping the flow of fluid in the fluid pipe using the bypass pipe.

For example, the flow control valve of Patent Document 1 is mainly composed of a valve body having an elastically deformable sealing member, and an advancing/retreating mechanism for moving the valve body forward and backward. The advancing/retreating mechanism inserts the sealing member of the valve body through a through hole formed in the fluid pipe, and after the bottom of the sealing member abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe, the advancing/retreating mechanism further moves the valve body toward the fluid pipe, whereby the sealing member is successively pressed from its pre-elastic deformation state, and elastically deforms so as to bulge outward toward the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe. This makes it possible to seal the inside of the fluid pipe and block the flow path.

Microfilm of Utility Model Application No. 56-1138272 (Utility Model Application No. 58-44589) (page 1, figure 1)

In the flow control valve of Patent Document 1, the sealing member before elastic deformation is U-shaped and has a recess inside, so that the driving force required for the reciprocating mechanism to expand the valve body can be reduced. However, if the gap between the sealing member before elastic deformation and the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe is wide, it is possible to ensure a bulging allowance to fill the gap by making the sealing member long in the advancing and retracting direction, but it is difficult to bulge the sealing member in a direction approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the valve body is pushed in, or in a direction inclined further toward the through hole than that direction, particularly near the through hole.

The present invention was developed to address these problems, and aims to provide a flow control valve that can achieve a stable sealed state inside a fluid pipe.

In order to solve the above problems, the flow control valve of the present invention comprises:
A flow control valve including a valve body having an elastically deformable seal member and a reciprocating mechanism for moving the valve body back and forth,
The seal member defines a recess extending in the advance/retract direction on the inner side of the seal member,
The sealing member has a guide disposed within the recess so as to be movable relative to the sealing member, the guide guide being adapted to guide the sealing member to bulge outward.
According to this feature, when the seal member pressed by the advance/retract mechanism bulges, the inductor arranged to be movable relative to the seal member pressed into the fluid pipe can appropriately bulge a portion of the seal member that has moved to the vicinity of the through hole in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the valve body is pressed or in a direction further inclined toward the through hole than the direction in which the valve body is pressed in. As a result, even if the gap between the seal member before elastic deformation and the inner circumferential surface of the fluid pipe is wide, by using a seal member whose dimension in the advance/retract direction is long due to the bulging allowance, the inside of the fluid pipe can be stably sealed.

The induction device is characterized in that it is movable in the advancing/retreating direction relative to a case for fixing the advancing/retreating mechanism and is fixable to the case.
According to this feature, by fixing the induction body to be immovable relative to the case in a state in which the induction body is moved to the vicinity of the through hole, the sealing member can be easily moved relative to the induction body.

The recess has a bottom portion formed with a housing portion for housing the induction portion of the induction device.
According to this feature, the valve body can be inserted into the fluid pipe in a state in which the inductor is accommodated in the accommodation portion formed in the bottom of the recess.

The recess has a feature that it has an expanded area that is expanded widely on the side in the retracting direction of the guide.
According to this feature, when the seal member is pressed into the fluid pipe and moves, the portion of the seal member that defines the expansion area is less likely to come into contact with the induction body, thereby reducing friction.

The guide is characterized in that it has a tapered shape in the retracting direction of the guide.
According to this feature, it is possible to easily cause a portion of the seal member that has moved near the through hole to bulge along the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe, while preventing damage to the seal member due to hitting against a corner or the like.

The sealing member is characterized in that the recess penetrates the sealing member in the thickness direction along the advancement/retraction direction, and a plate material that seals the recess is disposed at least on the downstream side in the thickness direction.
This feature not only makes it easier to spread the sealing member toward the inner surface of the fluid pipe, but also enables the position of the sealing member to be supported by the plate material while preventing fluid from leaking through the recess by the sealing member being pressed against the plate material.

The sealing member is characterized in that it has a flat plate shape.
According to this feature, the seal member can be easily caused to bulge toward the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe.

1 is a front view showing a state in which an operating valve and a drilling machine are attached to a fluid pipe constituting an existing pipeline in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view showing a state in which an operating valve, a flow control valve, and an insertion machine are attached to a fluid pipe in an embodiment. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a flow control valve is inserted inside a fluid pipe in an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a valve body of the flow control valve. 4 is an enlarged, partially cross-sectional side view showing the advancement and retreat mechanism of the flow control valve. FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a flow control valve is fixed to a fluid pipe. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the expansion of the valve body. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the expansion of the valve body. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a fluid pipe is blocked by a flow control valve. FIG. 10 is a partially sectional front view of FIG. 9 . FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining storage of the support device. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining storage of the support device. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining storage of the support device. 1 is a front view, partially in section, showing an example of a fluid pipe to which the flow control valve of the present invention can be applied. 16 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the formation of a through hole in the fluid pipe in FIG. 15 .

The following describes the implementation of the flow control valve according to the present invention.

The flow control valve according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 16. In this embodiment, for example, a fluid pipe 1 constituting an existing pipeline is hermetically fitted to a housing 2, a predetermined location of the fluid pipe 1 inside the housing 2 is drilled using a drilling machine 5, a flow control valve 10 according to the present invention (see Figure 2) is installed at the drilled location in an uninterrupted state, and then the flow control valve 10 is used to close and open the fluid pipe 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a fluid pipe 1 buried in the ground is excavated around a predetermined location, the outer surface of the fluid pipe 1 is cleaned, and then a housing 2 having a two-part structure with an upper and lower split structure and a branch part 2a that opens upward and communicates with the inside is fitted and surrounded via a sealing member for sealing the perforated part of the fluid pipe 1 described later. Note that the fluid in the fluid pipe 1 is drinking water in this embodiment, but it may be, for example, industrial water, agricultural water, sewage, or other liquids other than water, or it may be gas or a gas-liquid mixture of gas and liquid. Furthermore, although the housing 2 has a two-part structure in this embodiment, it may have a multi-part structure. Also, the joint between the split housings is a T-shaped bolt and nut in this embodiment, but is not limited to this, and may be, for example, welding, or may be attached by a bolt through a packing.

The fluid pipe 1 in this embodiment is a ductile cast iron pipe with a relatively large diameter (400 mm in this embodiment) and is formed as a straight pipe with a roughly circular cross section. In this embodiment, the fluid pipe 1 is arranged in a roughly horizontal direction. The fluid pipe according to the present invention may be made of other metals such as cast iron and steel, or made of concrete, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polyolefin, etc. Furthermore, the inner surface of the fluid pipe may be covered with an epoxy resin layer, mortar, plating, etc., or the inner surface of the fluid pipe may be covered with an appropriate material by powder coating. The pipe may be arranged roughly vertically or obliquely.

The fluid pipe of the present invention is not limited to a straight pipe as in this embodiment, but may be, for example, an irregular pipe. Here, irregular pipe is a general term for pipes that have at least a portion of various irregular parts, such as curved pipe sections, branched sections, cross sections, different diameter sections, joint ring sections, short pipe sections, drainage sections, etc.

Next, the process of drilling the fluid pipe 1 in the housing 2 with the drilling machine 5 will be described. Referring to FIG. 1, first, an operating valve 4 capable of opening and closing the opening of the housing 2 is attached to the flange portion 2b of the branch portion 2a located on the opening side of the housing 2. The operating valve 4 is mainly composed of a valve box 41 that is connected in a sealed state to the branch portion 2a of the housing 2 in communication with the branch portion 2a, a valve cover 43 that is connected in a sealed state to the side of the valve box 41 in communication with the branch portion 2a, and a valve body (not shown) that is slidably arranged between the valve box 41 and the valve cover 43.

In other words, the working valve 4 is structured so that when the valve body is placed in the valve box 41, it hermetically closes the housing 2, and when the valve body is placed in the valve lid 43, it opens the housing 2.

A drilling machine 5 for drilling the fluid pipe 1 is installed above the working valve 4. The drilling machine 5 is mainly composed of a mounting flange tube 51 that is connected in a sealed manner in communication with the valve box 41 and penetrates in the vertical direction, a cutter 52 disposed within the mounting flange tube 51, and a drive mechanism 53 for moving the cutter 52 in the vertical direction and rotating it in the circumferential direction.

The cutter 52 provided in the drilling machine 5 of this embodiment is configured as a so-called hole saw, and is composed of a cylindrical member 52a having a smaller diameter than the fluid pipe 1 (diameter 240 mm in this embodiment) and a drilling blade at its lower end, and a center drill 52b arranged coaxially with the cylindrical member 52a and protruding beyond the drilling blade, and the cylindrical member 52a and center drill 52b are fixed.

In this embodiment, as described below, the through hole 1a drilled in the fluid pipe 1 (see FIG. 2) is significantly smaller in diameter (60% in this embodiment) than the diameter of the fluid pipe 1, so the total weight of the tools required to drill the through hole 1a is less than 500 kg in this embodiment. When using a conventional flow control valve, the total weight of the tools required to drill a through hole with a pipe diameter of 400 mm is approximately 1000 kg. In this way, the housing 2, working valve 4, and drilling machine 5 described above can be made smaller than before, improving workability.

Next, although not shown, the valve body of the working valve 4 is retracted into the valve cover 43 to open the branch section 2a, and the cutter 52 is rotated and advanced downward by the driving mechanism 53 using the drilling machine 5 described above to drill a hole in the pipe top, which is part of the pipe wall of the fluid pipe 1.

When the cutter 52 drills the fluid pipe 1 and forms the through hole 1a (see FIG. 2), the section cut off from the fluid pipe 1 is held within the cutter 52. The cutter 52 is then pulled up together with the section into the mounting flange tube 51, and the branch section 2a is closed by the valve body of the working valve 4, completing the drilling operation of the fluid pipe 1.

Next, the process of installing the flow control valve 10 in an uninterrupted state at the location where the fluid pipe 1 inside the housing 2 has been drilled will be described. With reference to Figure 2, while the branch section 2a is kept closed by the valve body of the working valve 4, the insertion machine 6 connected to the flow control valve 10 is attached in a sealed state to the top of the working valve 4.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the insertion machine 6 is mainly composed of a cylindrical member 61 that is connected in communication with the valve box 41 and has a cross section formed therethrough, and a drive mechanism 63 that is connected in communication with the cylindrical member 61 and has a cross section formed therethrough, for moving the flow control valve 10 in the vertical direction. The drive mechanism 63 has a valve hanging bracket 65 connected to its rod 64, which is connected to the top of the flow control valve 10 by a bolt. The rod 64 may also be directly connected to the top of the flow control valve 10.

Here, the flow control valve 10 according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the flow control valve 10 is mainly composed of a valve body 11, a case 12 capable of accommodating a portion of the valve body 11, an advance/retract mechanism 13 for moving the valve body 11 forward and backward, and a guide 14 for guiding the expansion of the seal member 15 of the valve body 11.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the valve body 11 is elastically deformable and is composed of a seal member 15 (dotted portion) that seals the inner surface 1b and through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1 when it expands, as described below, a plug 16 to which the upper end of the seal member 15 is fixed, and a support device 17 for supporting the seal member 15.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sealing member 15 is a flat plate formed in a roughly U-shape when viewed in the axial direction of the fluid pipe 1, which is made of rubber, and defines a recess 18 in the center of the width of the fluid pipe 1 (left-right direction on the paper in the figure) that extends in the direction of advancement and retreat of the sealing member 15, i.e., in the up-down direction. The guide 14a of the guide device 14 is disposed within the recess 18. The recess 18 also penetrates in the axial direction of the fluid pipe 1, i.e., in the thickness direction of the sealing member 15.

The recess 18 is composed of, from the bottom up, a storage section 18a formed in an egg shape capable of storing the derivative 14a, a guide section 18b that is continuous with the upper end of the storage section 18a and extends in a straight line in the vertical direction to guide the derivative 14a, a narrower section 18c that is continuous with the upper end of the guide section 18b and extends in a straight line in the vertical direction and is narrower than the guide section 18b, a roughly pentagonal expansion section 18d (expansion area) that is continuous with the upper end of the expansion section 18c, and a rod guide section 18e that is narrowest in width and is continuous with the upper end of the expansion section 18d and extends in a straight line in the vertical direction.

In addition, the sealing member 15 is formed narrow enough to pass through the through hole 1a, which has an inner diameter D2 (240 mm) smaller than the inner diameter D1 (approximately 400 mm) of the fluid pipe 1 in its natural state before it is elastically deformed by an external force. Therefore, compared to a conventional sealing member that is inserted into a wide through hole of approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter D1 of the fluid pipe 1, the gap between the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 and the sealing member 15 is wider, while the vertical dimension is longer than that of a conventional sealing member in accordance with the bulge required to close the gap between the sealing member 15 and the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 in its natural state.

As shown in Figures 5 and 10, the plug 16 is formed in a downward U-shape when viewed from the front, and is fixed by clamping the upper end of the seal member 15. The rod 14b of the guide 14 is inserted into the through hole 16a that penetrates the center in the vertical direction. The rod 13c of the advance/retract mechanism 13 is also fixed to the plug 16 by a bolt.

Next, the case 12 will be described as shown in Figures 3 and 10. The case 12 is mainly composed of a main body 12a and a lid 12b that is fixed to the main body 12a by bolts with a gasket interposed therebetween, and is inserted into the branching portion 2a of the housing 2 to seal the through hole 1a.

The main body 12a is formed so that it is inserted into the branching portion 2a of the housing 2 and has a larger diameter than the through hole 1a, a cylindrical small diameter cylindrical portion 12d that is smaller in diameter than the large diameter cylindrical portion 12c and is inserted into the through hole 1a, and plates 19, 20 (see FIG. 10) extending downward from the lower end of the small diameter cylindrical portion 12d sandwich the seal member 15 in the pipe axis direction. The plate 19 is disposed upstream of the fluid pipe 1 in the pipe axis direction, and the plate 20 is disposed downstream of the fluid pipe 1 in the pipe axis direction.

The lower end of the case 12 is also formed with a recess 12e (see FIG. 10) in the center as viewed in the axial direction, which is defined by plates 19 and 20 and recessed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape from the lower end of the small diameter cylindrical portion 12d toward the upper side. The recess 12e is formed to be able to accommodate and advance/retract the seal member 15 and plug 16, and prevents the seal member 15 and plug 16 from rotating when they are moved, and is also able to guide their movement.

As shown in FIG. 3, the support device 17 is composed of a pair of plate members 19, 20 (see FIG. 10) that are part of the case 12, a cover 21 that is fixed to the end face of the plate member 20 on the side opposite to the side on which the seal member 15 is arranged (the downstream side in the pipe axis direction), a pair of supports 22, 23 that are arranged between the plate member 20 and the cover 21, a link mechanism 24 for storing and deploying the supports 22, 23, and a mounting member 25 that connects the lower ends of the plate members 19, 20.

As shown in Fig. 10, the plate material 20 is formed with a storage groove 20a that is recessed and open in the downstream axial direction and in the width direction, and a linear guide groove 20b that communicates from the storage groove 20a to the lower outward side. The cover 21 is formed with a storage groove 21a that is recessed and open to face the storage groove 20a of the plate material 20, linear communication grooves 21b, 21c (see Fig. 3) that communicate from the storage groove 21a to the width direction of the fluid pipe 1, and a linear guide groove 21d (see Fig. 3) that communicates from the storage groove 21a to the lower outward side. The storage grooves 20a, 21a form a storage space 17a in which the supports 22, 23 are arranged so that they can be stored and deployed.

As shown in Fig. 6, the supports 22, 23 are formed in a pair of wings that are approximately line-symmetrical in the width direction of the fluid pipe 1, and are inserted into the storage space 17a in the stored state. More specifically, the supports 22, 23 have linear inner edge portions 22a, 23a (see Fig. 3) that extend linearly and are arranged opposite each other and abut each other in the stored state, small diameter curved portions 22c, 23c (see Fig. 12) that are continuous with the linear inner edge portions 22a, 23a and protrude upward and curve at an acute angle, large diameter curved portions 22d, 23d (see Fig. 13) that are continuous with the small diameter curved portions 22c, 23c and curved with a curvature smaller than that of the small diameter curved portions 22c, 23c, and linear outer edge portions 22b, 23b that extend linearly and continue with the large diameter curved portions 22d, 23d. Furthermore, the curvature of these small diameter curved portions 22c, 23c and large diameter curved portions 22d, 23d is greater than the curvature of the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

In addition, the dimensions of the plate members 19, 20 and the supports 22, 23 in the stored state in the width direction of the fluid pipe 1 (left-right direction on the paper in FIG. 3) are shorter than the inner diameter D1 of the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1, so that they can be inserted into the fluid pipe 1 through the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1.

Next, the link mechanism 24 of the supports 22 and 23 will be described. The supports 22 and 23 are rotatably supported on the plate material 20 and the cover 21 by pivot shafts 22e and 23e that are rotatably inserted through the lower ends of the supports 22 and 23.

As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the link mechanism 24 is configured by connecting link members 24a and 24b and an operating body 24c extending in the vertical direction by pivots 24d, 24e, and 24f, and in the stored state, the lower end of the operating body 24c protrudes downward beyond the lower end of the seal member 15.

Regarding the link mechanism 24 in more detail, the pivot shaft 24d supports the end of the support body 22 on the side of the straight inner edge 22a, and one end of the link member 24a (upper side of the paper). The pivot shaft 24e supports the end of the support body 23 on the side of the straight inner edge 23a, and one end of the link member 24b (upper side of the paper). The pivot shaft 24f supports the other ends of the link members 24a and 24b (lower side of the paper), and the upper end of the operating body 24c.

In addition, the support 22 is formed with a recess that is recessed to allow for the thickness of the link member 24a. This allows the supports 22 and 23 to be arranged on approximately the same plane.

As shown in FIG. 5, the advance/retract mechanism 13 is mainly composed of a hollow main body 13a fixed to the upper end of the case 12, a hollow spindle 13b inserted into the main body 13a, and a hollow rod 13c with a male thread formed on the outer circumferential surface of the spindle 13b and a female thread formed on the inner circumferential surface screwed together, so that the rod 13c can move relative to the spindle 13b as the spindle 13b rotates. In addition, the advance/retract mechanism 13 has a through hole 13d that penetrates in the vertical direction, through which the rod 14b of the guide 14 is inserted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the guide 14 is composed of, from the bottom, a guide 14a having a tapered side 14c formed in a straight or curved shape that gradually narrows upward, and a rod 14b that extends upward from the upper end of the guide 14a, and has the function of guiding the expansion of the seal member 15 in the outer diameter direction, as described below. The rod 14b is inserted into the through hole 13d of the advance/retract mechanism 13, the through hole 16a of the plug 16, and the rod guide portion 18e of the seal member 15, and can move in the vertical direction.

Returning to the explanation of the process of installing the flow control valve 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 15 is inserted into the fluid pipe 1 by passing it through the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1 by the drive mechanism 63. At this time, the inductor 14a is stored in the storage section 18a formed at the bottom of the recess 18, so that the inductor 14a prevents the seal member 15 from expanding toward its outer diameter side, and the valve body 11 can be inserted into the fluid pipe 1.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the gasket 26, which is disposed at the step between the large diameter cylindrical portion 12c and the small diameter cylindrical portion 12d in the case 12, is pressed against the outer circumferential surface of the fluid pipe 1, thereby sealing the gap between the case 12 and the fluid pipe 1.

As a result of this insertion, the support device 17 changes from a stored state in which the supports 22, 23 are stored in the storage space 17a (see FIG. 10) to an expanded state in which the supports 22, 23 protrude outward in the width direction of the cover 21, as shown in FIG. 6. That is, in the stored state, the supports 22, 23 can be inserted through the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1, and in the expanded state, the supports 22, 23 protrude outward beyond the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1 and are close to the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the supports 22, 23 of the support device 17 moving from the stored state to the deployed state is more detailed. In the stored state, the operating body 24c, which protrudes downward from the lower end of the seal member 15, comes into contact with the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 as the flow control valve 10 is inserted downward. When the flow control valve 10 is further inserted by the drive mechanism 63, the operating body 24c receives a reaction force from the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1, and moves upward relative to the plate material 20 and the cover 21 while being guided by the guide grooves 20b, 21d of the plate material 20 and the cover 21.

As the operating body 24c moves in this manner, the link members 24a and 24b supported by the pivot shaft 24f open and close in the left and right directions.

Accordingly, the support 22, which is supported by the pivot shaft 24d at the other end of the link member 24a, rotates counterclockwise around the pivot shaft 22e as indicated by the solid black arrow. Similarly, the support 23, which is supported by the pivot shaft 24e at the other end of the link member 24b, rotates clockwise around the pivot shaft 23e as indicated by the solid black arrow. In this way, the supports 22 and 23 open in the left-right direction.

Even if the supports 22, 23 in the stored state expand before or during passage through the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1 due to external forces such as vibrations and fluid flow that occur when the flow control valve 10 is inserted, the linear outer edges 22b, 23b of the supports 22, 23 abut against the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 1a and are guided in the storage direction, preventing the insertion of the flow control valve 10 from being impeded.

Then, the main body 12a of the case 12 is temporarily fixed to the branch portion 2a of the housing 2 by a temporary fixing means (not shown), and the insertion machine 6 and the working valve 4 are removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the annular retaining member 27 inserted into the upper end of the main body 12a is fixed to the flange portion 2b of the housing 2 with bolts and nuts, and the temporary fixation is released.

Next, the blockage of the fluid pipe 1 by the flow control valve 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7(a), when the flow control valve 10 is installed in the fluid pipe 1, the lower end of the sealing member 15 is gradually elastically deformed from the natural state before elastic deformation shown in FIG. 3 by being pressed against the bottom of the inner surface 1b by the installation member 25 of the support device 17 as shown by the black arrow.

Next, the upper end of the rod 14b of the guide 14 protruding above the anti-rotation member 28 is grasped and moved upward as shown by the outlined arrow in FIG. 7(b). In this way, when the guide 14a moves upward relative to the seal member 15, the tapered side 14c of the guide 14a that tapers upward makes it difficult for frictional resistance to occur between the guide 14a and the seal member 15, and also prevents damage to the seal member 15 due to hitting against a corner, etc.

As shown in FIG. 7(b), the guide 14 is moved upward to a position where the guide 14a is in close contact with the convex portions 15c, 15c that define the narrowed portion 18c, and then the rod 14b of the guide 14 is fixed to the anti-rotation member 28 fixed to the case 12 at the upper end of the spindle 13b with a bolt (not shown). This fixes the position of the guide 14a in the vertical direction, so that the seal member 15 can be easily moved relative to the guide 14a as described below. The guide 14 may be supported immovably at any position to which it has been moved upward, simply by hand or with a tool.

Next, the spindle 13b is rotated by operating a handle or the like (not shown). The plug 16 is driven by the rod 13c which moves relatively downward according to the number of rotations of the spindle 13b, and the seal member 15 is pressed into the fluid pipe 1 as shown by the white arrows in Figures 7(c) and 8.

More specifically, when the spindle 13b shown in FIG. 7(b) is rotated a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 rotations) from a non-rotating state, the seal member 15 moves downward in response to this rotation, and as shown in FIG. 7(c), the seal member 15 enters an initial bulging state, and as shown by the black arrow, the seal member 15 bulges mainly diagonally downward. During this time, the convex portions 15c, 15c of the seal member 15 are guided away from each other by the tapered side 14c of the fixed-positioned derivative 14a, and move relatively downward from the derivative 14a; in other words, the derivative 14a advances into the expansion portion 18d. Because the expansion portion 18d is expanded outward more than the seal member 15, the derivative 14a is less likely to come into contact with the seal member 15, and friction can be reduced.

The lower end of the seal member 15, which is pressed against the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1, is pressed toward the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 and functions as a core. This allows elastic deformation of the seal member 15 from the lower end upward along the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

When rotated a predetermined number of times from the state shown in FIG. 7(c), the state shown in FIG. 8(a) is reached, where the sealing member 15 bulges diagonally downward toward the horizontal width direction of the fluid pipe 1, as shown by the solid arrow. When rotated a predetermined number of times from the state shown in FIG. 8(a), the sealing member 15 reaches a middle bulging state as shown in FIG. 8(b), where the sealing member 15 bulges toward approximately the horizontal width direction of the fluid pipe 1, as shown by the solid arrow. When rotated a predetermined number of times from the state shown in FIG. 8(b), the sealing member 15 reaches a later bulging state as shown in FIG. 8(c), and pressing in of the sealing member 15 is completed.

During this time, the part of the sealing member 15 that was pressed in earlier gradually functions as a core, and the thin-walled portion 15d of the sealing member 15 that defines the expansion portion 18d is relatively thicker and thinner than the thick-walled portion 15e of the sealing member 15 that defines the rod guide portion 18e, making it easier to elastically deform, so that the thick-walled portion 15e is more easily guided by the tapered side 14c of the guide 14a. Therefore, the sealing member 15 bulges toward the inner circumferential surface 1b near the through hole 1a, which includes a component in the opposite direction to the pressing direction.

In addition, the derivative 14a has a tapered side 14c that tapers in the backward direction, so that the thick portion 15e of the sealing member 15 that has moved near the through hole 1a can easily bulge along the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

As a result, as shown by the black arrow, the sealing member 15 bulges out toward the vicinity of the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1, i.e., diagonally upward, and the sealing member 15 is pressed against the inner surface of the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1 and the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

As shown in Figures 7, 8, and 10, the recess 18 is always expanded inside the plate 20 as the seal member 15 bulges. In addition to the seal member 15 bulging in the thickness direction, i.e., toward the plates 19 and 20, the seal member 15 is also pressed against the plate 20 by the pressure of the upstream fluid in the fluid pipe 1, preventing the fluid in the pipe from passing through the recess 18.

In addition, the plate material 19 is connected to the small diameter cylindrical portion 12d via the rib 19a to increase the structural strength, preventing the plate materials 19, 20, etc. from warping or tilting downstream in the pipe axis direction.

As described above, since the support device 17 is in an expanded state before the sealing member 15 expands, the sealing member 15, which gradually expands radially outward from the plate material 20, is supported in its position against the fluid pressure of the fluid flowing through the fluid pipe 1 by the plate material 20 and supports 22, 23 arranged on its rear side. As a result, the sealing member 15 expands only in the radial direction of the pipe without elastically deforming downstream, so that the inside of the fluid pipe 1 can be kept sealed.

As described above, in the flow control valve 10 of this embodiment, when the seal member 15 pressed by the advance/retract mechanism 13 expands, the derivative 14a arranged to be movable relative to the seal member 15 pressed into the fluid pipe 1 allows a portion of the seal member 15 that has moved to the vicinity of the through hole 1a to appropriately expand in a direction approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the valve body 11 is pressed, or in a direction further inclined toward the through hole 1a than that direction. As a result, even if the gap between the seal member 15 in its natural state and the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 is wide, the inside of the fluid pipe 1 can be stably sealed by using the seal member 15, which has a long dimension in the advance/retract direction due to the expansion allowance.

In addition, since the sealing member 15 is a flat plate with a uniform thickness in the axial direction, it is easy to make it bulge only in the radial direction toward the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

In addition, because the recess 18 of the sealing member 15 opens upward, it is easier for the sealing member 15 to expand radially toward the inner surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1.

As shown in FIG. 10, the flow control valve 10 has a fluid pressure confirmation valve 29a that is connected to the upstream side of the fluid pipe 1 relative to the seal member 15, and a fluid pressure confirmation valve 29b that is connected to the downstream side of the fluid pipe 1 relative to the seal member 15. This makes it possible to check whether fluid is flowing into the flow control valve 10 by opening the fluid pressure confirmation valve 29a. Also, it is possible to check whether the inside of the fluid pipe 1 is blocked by the flow control valve 10 by opening the fluid pressure confirmation valve 29b.

11, the inner diameter D2 (240 mm) of the through hole 1a is smaller than the inner diameter D1 (about 400 mm) of the fluid pipe 1 (see FIG. 4), so the flow control valve 10 can be made smaller than the outer diameter of the fluid pipe 1. In the uninterrupted flow method using the flow control valve 10 of the present invention, including the attachment of the above-mentioned working valve 4, the weight of the equipment required for the work can be reduced, and the load-bearing capacity required for the housing 2 can also be reduced, so that the housing 2 can be made smaller. In other words, the uninterrupted flow method can be performed even in a narrow working space.
11, the outer diameter L2 of the annular retaining member 27, which is the maximum dimension of the flow control valve 10 in a plan view, is smaller than the outer diameter L1 of the fluid pipe 1, and the length L3 in the axial direction of the housing 2 that fits the fluid pipe 1 is smaller than the outer diameter L2 of the retaining member 27. In this way, the scale of ancillary work such as excavation in the area surrounding the fluid pipe 1 can be reduced, and the weight of the equipment required for the work can be reduced. Furthermore, since the inner diameter D2 (see FIG. 4) of the through hole 1a is smaller than the length L3 in the axial direction of the housing 2, the construction of the uninterrupted flow method of the present invention can be simplified.

Next, the process of removing the flow control valve 10 from the fluid pipe 1 will be described. First, the sealing member 15 is elastically restored in the reverse order to that used when the flow control valve 10 closes the fluid pipe 1. At that time, the induction member 14a is moved to the storage section 18a, but since the downward movement is restricted by the installation member 25, positioning is easy.

Then, the main body 12a of the case 12 is temporarily fixed to the branch portion 2a of the housing 2 by a temporary fixing means (not shown), the retaining member 27 is removed from the flange portion 2b of the housing 2, the working valve 4 is attached to the housing 2, the valve hanging bracket 65 is connected to the top of the flow control valve 10 with a bolt, and the insertion machine 6 is attached to the working valve 4. Then, the flow control valve 10 is extracted by the drive mechanism 63.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the flow control valve 10 is removed, the large-diameter curved portions 22d, 23d of the supports 22, 23 come into contact with the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 and receive a reaction force, so that the support 22 is rotated clockwise around the pivot shaft 22e and the support 23 is rotated counterclockwise around the pivot shaft 23e while being guided along the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1. In other words, the supports 22, 23 are contracted left and right to their original positions.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13, the small-diameter curved portions 22c, 23c of the supports 22, 23 come into contact with the inner circumferential surface 1b of the fluid pipe 1 near the through hole 1a, which is curved to face the direction in which the flow control valve 10 is removed, and are guided by the reaction force of this inner circumferential surface 1b, so that the supports 22, 23 are gradually moved so as to contract and close in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the flow control valve 10 is further removed and the supports 22, 23 are inserted into the through hole 1a of the fluid pipe 1, the large diameter curved portions 22d, 23d and the straight outer edge portions 22b, 23b (see FIG. 6) of the supports 22, 23 come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 1a, preventing the support device 17 from expanding. In this way, the support device 17 is stored in its original position by utilizing the shapes of the fluid pipe 1 and the through hole 1a, and passes through the through hole 1a.

In this embodiment, the ratio of the inner diameter D2 (240 mm) of the through hole 1a to the inner diameter D1 (approximately 400 mm) of the fluid pipe 1 is approximately 60%, but this is not limited to this and may be changed as appropriate. For example, if the ratio of the inner diameter of the through hole to the inner diameter of the fluid pipe is a predetermined ratio that exceeds at least 50%, the maximum width of the seal member 15 and the plate materials 19, 20 can also be set to exceed 50%, so that the overlapping area where the seal member 15 overlaps the plate materials 19, 20 with expansion is obtained outside the recess, and the seal member 15 and the plate materials 19, 20 can seal without fluid leakage. For this reason, it is preferable that the ratio of the inner diameter D2 of the through hole 1a to the inner diameter D1 of the fluid pipe 1 and the maximum width of the seal member 15 and the plate materials 19, 20 is in the range of 55% or more and 65% or less, including approximately 60% in this embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the cutter 52 configured as a hole saw is used to form the circular through hole 1a. However, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, a drilling machine 105 having an end mill 152 may be used to form a long through hole 101a extending in the circumferential direction of the wall of the fluid pipe 101, and the above-mentioned flow control valve of the present invention may be installed through the through hole 101a to make it possible to close the fluid pipe 101. When using the end mill 152 in this way, it is preferable to use a housing 102 that can rotate around the axis of the fluid pipe 101, as shown in Fig. 15.

In addition, although not specifically shown, a drilling machine other than the one described above may be used to drill holes in the fluid pipe, and the above-mentioned flow control valve of the present invention may be installed through the through hole formed by the drilling machine.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes modifications and additions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the sealing member 15 is described as being plate-shaped, but this is not limited thereto and may be another shape, such as a bulb shape.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the seal member 15 is described as being pressed in by rotating the spindle 13b, but this is not limited thereto, and it may be pressed in by various cylinders, i.e., the advancement/retraction mechanism may be changed as appropriate.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the recess 18 is described as penetrating in the thickness direction in the vertical direction, but this is not limited thereto, and at least a portion of the recess 18 may not penetrate in the thickness direction, and may not penetrate in the thickness direction in the vertical direction. Furthermore, if the recess does not penetrate in the thickness direction, a plate material may not be arranged.

In addition, in the above embodiment, only one inductor 14a is provided, but this is not limited thereto, and multiple inductors may be provided.

In the above embodiment, the inductor 14a is described as being movable in the forward and backward directions by the rod 14b protruding upward, but this is not limited thereto, and it may be movable by an operating means such as a motor, or may be fixed to the plate materials 19 and 20.

In the above embodiment, the valve body 11 is described as having a support device 17, but this is not limited thereto, and only the plate members 19 and 20 may be arranged. Also, only one of the plate members 19 and 20 may be arranged, but a configuration in which only the plate member 20 arranged on the downstream side of the fluid pipe 1 is arranged is preferable in that the internal pressure of the fluid pipe can be utilized to prevent the fluid from leaking through the recess 18.

Reference Signs List 1 Fluid pipe 1a Through hole 1b Inner circumferential surface 2 Housing 10 Flow control valve 11 Valve body 12 Case 13 Advance/retreat mechanism 14 Guide 14a Guide 14c Tapered edge 15 Sealing member 17 Support device 18 Recess 18d Expanding portion 19, 20 Plate material 22, 23 Support body 22c, 23c Small diameter curved portion 22d, 23d Large diameter curved portion 24 Link mechanism 24c Operating body 52 Cutter 101 Fluid pipe 101a Through hole 102 Housing 152 End mill

Claims (7)

A flow control valve including a valve body having an elastically deformable seal member and an advancing/retracting mechanism that moves the valve body back and forth to elastically deform the seal member ,
The seal member defines a recess extending in the advance/retract direction on the inner side of the seal member,
A flow control valve characterized in that it has an inducer that is arranged within the recess so as to be movable relative to the sealing member and to be movable relative to the advancing and retracting mechanism, which induces the sealing member to bulge outward, and the advancing and retracting mechanism is configured to elastically deform the sealing member guided by the inducer . The flow control valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the derivative is movable in the advancing and retreating direction relative to a case that fixes the advancing and retreating mechanism and is fixable to the case. The flow control valve according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a storage section for storing the induction section of the induction element is formed at the bottom of the recess. A flow control valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the recess has an expansion area that is widely expanded on the retraction direction side of the guide. A flow control valve according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the derivative has a tapered shape in the direction in which the derivative retracts. A flow control valve according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the recess of the sealing member penetrates in the thickness direction along the forward and backward direction, and a plate material that seals the recess is disposed at least downstream in the thickness direction. A flow control valve according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sealing member is a flat plate.

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