JP7829858B2 - Gas valve housing box - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a gas valve housing box, and more particularly to a gas valve housing box that houses and protects a gas valve body installed behind a wall in an airtight state.

For example, the type of housing box shown in Figure 7 is known for buried gas valves.
This is a rectangular metal box (55) that is fixed to the back of the wall (5) so as to cover a rectangular opening (50) formed in the wall (5), while housing the gas valve body (4) installed on the back of the wall (5), and is open to the opening (50). A pipe connection part (41) is fixed through a pipe hole (54) formed in the bottom surface of the box (55), and the gas valve body (4) and the gas pipe (42) are connected through this.

The gas valve body (4) is installed inside the box (55) such that the plug portion (40) for detachably connecting the socket faces the opening (50), and a decorative panel (51) is attached and fixed to the surface of the wall panel (5) so as to cover the opening (50). At a predetermined position on the decorative panel (51) corresponding to the tip of the plug portion (40), there is a circular window portion (52) through which the socket can be inserted, and a lid (53) that can open and close to close the window portion (52). When the decorative panel (51) is attached from the front side of the wall panel (5) so as to cover the opening (50) and the window portion (52) is closed with the lid (53), the space surrounding the gas valve body (4) on the back side of the wall panel (5) is blocked by the box (55), and airtightness inside the box (55) is ensured. This prevents the inconvenience of cold air from the back of the wall panel (5) entering the room even when the cover (53) of the decorative panel (51) is opened during winter. Furthermore, in the event of a fire, there is no risk of flames or smoke traveling through the wall panel (5) escaping into the room through the opening (50).

Furthermore, it is desirable that piping holes (54) be provided on all structural surfaces of the box body (55) on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) so that gas piping (45) can be routed from any direction (top, bottom, left, or right) relative to the box body (55). For example, in the invention of Patent Document 1, as shown on the top surface of the box body (55) in Figure 7, the piping holes (54) are blocked by a separately provided blocking plate (45), and the blocking plate (45) can be removed to open the piping holes (54) as needed. A pair of bendable leg pieces (44) are provided at both ends of the diameter of the blocking plate (45), and the blocking plate (45) is attached around the piping holes (54) so as to cover the piping holes (54) from the inside of the box body (55), while the pair of leg pieces (44) protrude to the outside of the box body (55), and are bent and locked to fit along the outer surface of the box body (55), thereby enabling the blocking plate (45) to be installed in the piping holes (54). By raising the legs (44) relative to the closing plate (45) and pulling them out through the piping hole (54) into the inside of the box body (55), the closing plate (45) can be removed.

Alternatively, as shown in the other example on the side of the box (55) in the same figure, a cut (43) can be formed along the contour of the pipe opening (54), and if necessary, the worker can punch along the cut (43) to open the pipe opening (54).

Thus, in cases where multiple piping holes (54) are pre-formed on multiple structural surfaces of the box body (55), the piping holes (54) can be opened on desired structural surfaces of the box body (55) according to the gas piping installation direction by removing the closing plate (45) as needed at the work site, or by punching through the cuts (43) if cuts (43) are formed along the contour lines of the piping holes (54). This provides a user-friendly gas valve housing box.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-40468

However, in cases where pipe holes (54) are pre-drilled on each component surface of the box (55), a separate closing plate (45) must be prepared for each pipe hole to close off unnecessary pipe holes (54), and the process of attaching and detaching the closing plates (45) to each pipe hole (54) is cumbersome. On the other hand, in cases where pipe holes (54) are opened by punching along a cut (43), when punching out the area enclosed by the cut (43), the force in the punching direction acts on the area around the cut (43), potentially deforming the area around the pipe hole (54). If the area around the pipe hole (54) on the component surface is deformed, it becomes difficult to fix the pipe connection part (41) to the pipe hole (54), and the airtightness inside the box (55) is compromised.

The present invention aims to provide a gas valve housing box, which consists of a metal box that houses and protects a gas valve body installed on the back side of a wall panel and is attached to the back side of an opening in the wall panel while ensuring airtightness, and which has a sealing structure that allows the piping hole, which is open on the structural surface of the box, to be easily opened and closed as needed.

The technical means of the present invention, which were taken to solve the above problems,
A box-shaped structure that is attached to the back of a wall panel, opening towards an opening provided in the wall panel and housing the gas valve body,
The box-shaped structural surface has a pipe connection portion for the gas valve body or a pipe hole for inserting the gas pipe,
The aforementioned piping hole is closed in a way that allows it to be opened by a closing piece that is part of the aforementioned structural surface, and the base end of the closing piece is set to be bendable.
The closing piece is provided on the outer surface of the constituent surface, is formed to be of a size and shape that can completely close the piping hole from the outside, and covers the piping hole, but is not joined to its periphery, and is in a manner that it is in close contact with it .

The above technical means work as follows:
For example, if piping holes are formed on each of the multiple structural surfaces that make up the box, each of these holes is kept closed by a closing piece that is part of the structural surface. In other words, before use, all the piping holes in the box are closed by the closing pieces.

Then, the base end of the blocking piece that is closing the pipe hole in one of the structural walls located in the direction in which the gas piping is routed on the back of the wall panel is bent to open the pipe hole. Since the blocking piece is made from a part of the structural surface of the box, it remains connected to the structural surface even after opening. Therefore, if it is necessary to close the opened pipe hole again, the blocking piece, with its bent base end, can be tilted in a direction that overlaps the structural surface, returning the pipe hole to its original state where it was closed by the blocking piece.

After opening the designated piping hole, the piping connection part of the gas valve body is attached to the piping hole, similar to the installation structure of a conventional buried gas valve. At the same time, the gas valve body and the box body are fixed to the pillar on the back of the wall panel via a back plate using screws or the like, so that the box body is facing outwards toward the wall panel. Then, the wall panel is installed so that the opening is located in the position corresponding to the box body, and a decorative panel is attached to the surface of the wall panel to cover the opening, thereby completing the installation of the buried gas valve.
Furthermore, since the closing piece provided on the outer surface of the structural element is designed to be folded outwards to open it, opening and cutting the closing piece is even easier, and it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of the cut closing piece falling into the box and interfering with pipe connections.

In the gas valve housing box described above, preferably, "the base end of the blocking piece is a detachable small piece."
The blocking piece is connected to the structural surface via a small piece, and to open the pipe opening, the small piece of the designated blocking piece can be bent. After that, the blocking piece that is no longer needed can be easily separated from the structural wall by cutting the small piece. In this way, by making the base end of the blocking piece a small piece, the opening and cutting operations of the blocking piece are made easy, the pipe opening can be opened without deforming the area around the pipe opening, and the blocking piece after opening can be easily separated and used as a pipe opening.

In the gas valve housing box described above, preferably, "at least one cut is formed along the base end of the closing piece."
By providing at least one slit at the base end of the closing piece, the closing piece and the structural surface are connected only at the connecting portions on both sides of the slit. To open the closing piece, this connecting portion can be bent, and the closing piece that is no longer needed can be easily removed from the structural surface by cutting the connecting portion.

In the gas valve housing box described above, preferably, a thin groove is formed along the base end of the closing piece.
Because the blocking piece can be opened by bending or cutting along the thin groove, opening and closing the blocking piece is easy.

Because of the above configuration, the present invention has the following unique effects.
Since the blocking piece that holds the pipe opening closed is made from a part of the box's structural surface, there is no need to prepare a separate part for closing the pipe opening. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced.
Since the pipe opening can be opened simply by bending the base end of the sealing piece, the pipe opening process is easy and work efficiency is improved. Furthermore, since no deformation stress is applied to the structural surface where the pipe opening is formed during the opening process, there is no inconvenience of the structural surface being unintentionally deformed or damaged during the opening process. Therefore, workers can easily open only the desired pipe openings on-site without compromising the airtightness inside the box.
Since the bent sealing piece remains connected to the structural surface unless its base end is forcibly detached, the pipe opening can be re-closed by overlapping the sealing piece onto the structural surface to cover it, and the sealing piece can be reused repeatedly as needed.

This is a perspective view showing a gas valve housing box in an embodiment of the present invention, with the closing piece in a closed state. This is a perspective view showing a gas valve housing box in an embodiment of the present invention, with the closing piece in an open state. This is a perspective view showing a gas valve housing box in an embodiment of the present invention, with the blocking piece removed. This is a perspective view showing a gas valve housing box according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the state of use with the gas valve body housed inside. A perspective view showing another example of a sealing piece used in a gas valve housing box according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a perspective view showing yet another example of a sealing piece used in a gas valve housing box in an embodiment of the present invention. This is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional buried gas valve body and its storage box.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of the gas valve housing box of the present invention. Figure 1 shows the closed state of the closing piece (2), and Figure 2 shows the open state of the closing piece (2). Figure 3 shows the state with the closing piece (2) removed, and Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the usage state.

The gas valve housing box of the present invention is a vertically elongated rectangular metal box (1) that is open on one side, comprising a left side (11) having two horizontally elongated slits (11a) (11b) that open to the side on which the wall panel is installed, a right side (12) located opposite thereto, an upper surface (13) and a lower surface (14), and a vertically elongated rectangular rear surface (15).
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, on the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14), one roughly hexagonal pipe hole (10) is provided at each location on the right side in the drawing, for inserting the pipe connection part (30) (see Figure 4) of the gas valve body (3).

Extension pieces (21) and (22) extend vertically from both the upper and lower ends of the left and right sides (11) and (12), and a closing piece (2) of a size and shape capable of completely closing the pipe hole (10) from the outside extends from the extension end of the extension piece (22) on the right side (12) that is close to the pipe hole (10).
Furthermore, a notch (20) is formed in the center of the base end of the closing piece (2), which corresponds to the boundary between the closing piece (2) and the extension piece (22), and the closing piece (2) and the extension piece (22) are connected only at the connecting portions (23) on both sides of the notch (20).

The upper and lower extension pieces (21) and (22) are bent at a right angle toward the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14) at the boundary with the left and right side surfaces (11) and (12), and are joined so that they are attached to the outer surface of the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14), respectively. The closing piece (2) that is continuous with the extension pieces (21) and (22) covers the piping hole (10), but is not joined to its periphery, and is in a manner that is in close contact with it.
In this way, the piping holes (10) formed on the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14) are both held closed from the outer surface side by the closing piece (2) further extending from the extension piece (22) on the right side surface (12), and the airtightness of the box body (1) surrounded by the left and right sides (11) and (12), the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14), and the rear surface (15) is ensured.

To open the blocking piece (2), as shown in Figure 2, the blocking piece (2) blocking the pipe hole (10) on the upper surface (13) is bent upward, and the blocking piece (2) blocking the pipe hole (10) on the lower surface (14) is bent downward, both at their respective base ends. Since the base ends are connected only at the connecting parts (23) on both sides of the central cut (20), they can be easily bent, and there is no inconvenience of deforming or damaging the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14) during bending.

The open closing piece (2) is connected to the extension piece (22) and the connecting part (23). Therefore, by tilting it in a direction that overlaps the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14), it can be returned to its original state, and the piping hole (10) can be re-closed. In this way, if it is necessary to close the piping hole (10) after initially opening it by bending the base end of one closing piece (2), it can be quickly done, thus providing a gas valve housing box that is easy to use depending on the location of the gas piping.

After determining the pipe opening (10) to be opened, the connecting portion (23) of the closing piece (2) can be cut and removed from the box body (1). Figure 3 shows the state after removing the closing piece (2) on the upper surface (13) to open the pipe opening (10) formed on the upper surface (13), while the closing piece (2) on the lower surface (14) remains closed. When removing the closing piece (2), only the connecting portions (23) on both sides of the cut (20) need to be cut. Therefore, the closing piece (2) can be easily removed without deforming the upper surface (13), allowing the pipe opening (10) to be opened on the desired surface.

In the above embodiment, as shown in the box (1), with the piping hole (10) on the top surface (13) open, the gas valve body (3) is housed inside the box (1) with the plug portion (31) facing forward and the piping connection portion (30) facing upward, as shown in Figure 4.

This type of box (1) is attached to the back of a gypsum board wall panel (not shown) via an L-shaped metal backplate (32). The gas valve body (3) is then attached to the backplate (32) via a back panel (not shown) fixed to the gas valve body (3).

As shown in Figure 4, the back plate (32) is a metal plate with a roughly L-shaped cross-section, consisting of a roughly rectangular frame plate (33) attached to the back surface of the wall panel and an adjustment plate (34) extending perpendicularly from one side of the outer edge of the frame plate (33) (the left edge in the drawing). The back plate, which is fixed to the gas valve body (3), is attached to a protruding piece (35) that extends inward from the lower part of the right edge of the inner edge of the frame plate (33).
The adjustment plate (34) has two horizontally elongated holes (34a) and (34b) formed in parallel vertically at positions corresponding to the slits (11a) and (11b) on the left side surface (11) of the box body (1), and these holes are approximately the same size as the slits.

As described above, the back plate (32) to which the gas valve body (3) is fixed is attached to the pillar (6) on the back of the wall panel together with the box body (1). To do this, first, the piping connection portion (30) of the gas valve body (3) is inserted through the piping hole (10) on the top surface (13) of the box body (1), and the adjustment plate (34) of the back plate (32) is attached to the inner surface of the left side (11) of the box body (1), so that the elongated holes (34a) and (34b) correspond to the slits (11a) and (11b).

Then, with the frame plate (33) close to the back of the wall panel to be installed later, temporarily fix it to the side of the column (6) by screwing in wood screws (not shown) so that the elongated holes (34a) and (34b) of the adjustment plate (22) of the back plate (32) connect with the slits (11a) and (11b) on the left side (11) of the box body (1). Since the elongated holes (34a) and (34b) and slits (11a) and (11b) are provided to extend horizontally in the front-to-back direction, the back plate (32) and box body (1) can be adjusted by moving them forward or backward by the length of the elongated holes (34a) and (34b) and slits (11a) and (11b).

After connecting the flexible gas pipe to the pipe connection part (30) that protrudes outward from the pipe hole (10) provided on the top surface (13) of the box body (1), which is temporarily fixed to the side of the column (6) together with the back plate (32), a wall panel is installed at a predetermined position corresponding to the inner periphery of the frame plate (33) of the back plate (32), such that an opening of a predetermined size corresponds to it. With the surface of the frame plate (33) in close contact with the back surface of the wall panel around the opening, the wood screws are tightened firmly to fix the back plate (32) and the box body (1) to the side of the column (6). This allows the box body (1) containing the gas valve body (3) to be fixed to the back surface of the opening in the wall panel.

Subsequently, similar to conventional mounting structures, the decorative panel is attached to the surface of the wall panel via a front frame that clamps the wall panel from both sides, together with the frame plate (33) of the back plate (32), thereby completing the installation of the buried gas valve.

In the above embodiment, the piping connection portion (30) of the gas valve body (3) is structured to protrude from the piping hole (10) on the upper surface (13) of the box body (1). However, if it is desired to open the piping hole (10) on the lower surface (14) depending on the position of the gas piping (42), the connecting portion (23) of the closing piece (2) on the lower surface (14) side can be bent downwards to open the piping hole (10).

Figure 5 shows a modified example of the connection between the blocking piece (2) and the extension piece (22), where they are connected via a detachable small piece (24). To open the pipe opening (10), the small piece (24) can be bent, and the unnecessary blocking piece (2) can be removed by cutting off the small piece (24). This configuration, where the blocking piece (2) is connected only by the small piece (24), makes opening and cutting operations even easier, allowing the pipe opening (10) to be opened without deforming the surrounding area.

Furthermore, Figure 6 shows another modified example of the connection between the closing piece (2) and the extension piece (22), in which a thin-walled groove (25) is formed along the base end of the closing piece (2). In this configuration, the closing piece (2) can be bent or detached along the thin-walled groove (25), making it easier to open and close.

In the above embodiment, piping holes (10) are provided on the upper and lower surfaces (13) and (14) of the box body (1), and each of these is configured to be openable and closable with a closing plate (2). However, the piping holes (10) and closing plates (2) may also be provided on the right side (12) or the rear surface (15). In this way, by providing piping holes (10) on multiple structural surfaces of the box body (1), and enabling each of them to be closed with a closing piece (2) to ensure airtightness, and by opening the closing piece (2) on a desired structural surface, a user-friendly box body (1) can be provided that allows the piping holes (10) to be opened at positions corresponding to the gas piping layout.

Furthermore, since the piping hole (10) can be opened simply by bending the base end of the sealing piece (2), the opening process is simplified, improving work efficiency. Additionally, there is no deformation or damage to the area around the piping hole (10) when opening the sealing piece (2), thus preventing any loss of airtightness within the box (1) during the opening process.

Furthermore, while the above embodiment described a housing box for a recessed gas valve installed on the back of a wall panel, it goes without saying that it can also be installed on a floor panel in the same way.

(1) ・・・・・・・・・Box body
(2) ・・・・・・・・・Occlusion piece
(3) ・・・・・・・・・Gas valve body
(10) ... Pipe holes
(30) ... Pipe connection

Claims (4)

A box-shaped structure that is attached to the back of a wall panel, opening towards an opening provided in the wall panel and housing the gas valve body,
The box-shaped structural surface has a pipe connection portion for the gas valve body or a pipe hole for inserting the gas pipe,
The aforementioned piping hole is closed in a way that allows it to be opened by a closing piece that is part of the aforementioned structural surface, and the base end of the closing piece is set to be bendable.
The aforementioned closing piece is provided on the outer surface of the constituent surface and is formed to be of a size and shape that can completely close the piping hole from the outside, and covers the piping hole, but is not joined to its periphery, and is in a manner that it is in close contact with the gas valve housing box. In the gas valve housing box according to claim 1,
The base end of the aforementioned blocking piece is a gas valve housing box with a detachable small piece. In the gas valve housing box according to claim 1,
A gas valve housing box having at least one cut formed along the base end of the aforementioned blocking piece. In the gas valve housing box according to claim 1,
A gas valve housing box having a thin-walled groove formed along the base end of the aforementioned blocking piece.