JPS6150194B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention This invention utilizes a shape memory alloy to automatically adjust the mixing ratio of hot water and cold water to supply hot water at a constant temperature, and the entire valve is used as a hot water mixer faucet. Regarding the cartridge-type automatic temperature-regulating mixing valve that can be freely incorporated into the faucet housing, the ability to adjust the hot water temperature by eliminating temperature hysteresis by applying multiple auxiliary springs to the shape-memory alloy coil is particularly improved. Its technical feature is that it has improved.

Conventionally, this type of automatic temperature-adjusting hot water mixer faucet has adopted, for example, a bimetal type or an element type temperature actuator that causes the expansion and contraction reactions of various elements such as wax or gas to act on the valve body. , all of them operate inaccurately,
There were some inconveniences such as the time required for production.

In recent years, however, coils made of shape memory alloys (hereinafter simply referred to as "SME") have been replaced with the conventional method described above.
A temperature actuator using a shape-memory alloy (called a "coil") was developed (see Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-38970); It has to be controlled so that it expands and contracts at a constant temperature, and the so-called temperature hysteresis, in which the characteristic curve differs when the temperature rises and falls, becomes noticeable, which poses the problem of easy malfunction. .

Conventionally, as a countermeasure against this, a bias spring was applied in opposition to the SME coil, but with this structure, although it was possible to suppress the temperature hysteresis of the SME coil to a certain extent, However, it was not possible to completely eliminate the operational errors inherent in the SME coil.

The thermostatic mixing valve of the present invention includes:
In this type of cartridge-type mixing valve, a valve stem is installed inside the housing so that it can move left and right, and a coil and bias spring made of a shape memory alloy are installed on one side of the valve body fitted into the valve stem. A return spring and an overspring are mounted on the other side of the valve body in a balanced manner, and an adjuster is slidably attached to one side of the housing, and the tip thereof engages one end of the valve rod. By making it possible to adjust the amount of expansion and contraction of the coil, the above-mentioned problems have been solved.

Hereinafter, the structure will be described in more detail based on one embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a faucet housing for a hot water mixing faucet, and the inside thereof is composed of a hot water chamber A, a cold water chamber B, and a mixing chamber C. One side of the stopper housing 1 (right side in the figure)
A mixing valve M, which passes through the hot water and cold water chambers A and B and faces the mixing chamber C, can be attached to the opening provided in the mixing chamber C.

Next, to explain the structure of the mixing valve M, 2 is a cylindrical housing, in the middle of which there is a hot water port a and a cold water port b that communicate with the hot water chamber A and the cold water chamber B of the faucet housing 1, respectively. At the same time, the other end (the left end of the housing) is used as a water spout c facing the mixing chamber c.

Further, numeral 3 is a valve stem which is housed in the housing and is movable from side to side as shown in the figure, and the valve stem 3 has a valve stem 3 which can freely open and close the openings straddling the hot water and cold water ports a and b. The valve body 4 is fitted onto the outside, and its left end is brought into contact with the holder 5' of the bias spring 5 wound around the valve stem 3, and the valve body 4 is fixed to the wing 5'' of the holder 5' and the end of the valve stem. An SME coil 7 is installed between the saddle 6 and a return spring 8 between the housing 2 and the right end of the valve body.
It was loaded with bullets.

Furthermore, an overspring 9 opposing a return spring 8 is mounted on the base end of the valve stem 3, while an adjustment member 11 is provided at the right end of the housing 2 and is slidable back and forth by rotating the spindle 10. and the holder 9' of the overspring 9 are engaged through a ring 12.

In the figure, C' denotes the hot water supply port of the mixing chamber C, d denotes the water holes provided through the valve body 4, the holder blade 5'', and the saddle 6, respectively, and 13 denotes the bias spring 5.
an adjustment nut 14 for increasing or decreasing the bias force of the spindle 10;
indicates a faucet that communicates with the hot water supply port C' of the mixing chamber.

To describe the operating principle of the valve of the present invention related to the above configuration, let us assume that the valve body 4 is at a position where it opens the hot water port a of the housing 2 and closes the cold water port b, as shown in FIG. If so, hot water first flows into the mixing chamber C from the hot water port a, and the water temperature rises above a certain temperature, so a shape restoring force acts on the SME coil 7 in addition to its inherent expansion force. It expands against the spring force of the bias spring 5.

At this time, since the base end of the valve stem 3 is locked to the adjuster 11 via the overspring holder 9', one end of the SME coil 7 is supported by the saddle 6 at the end of the valve stem, and the SME coil 7 is supported by the saddle 6 at the end of the valve stem. Since the valve element 4 is pushed by extending in the direction, the opening amount of the hot water port a is reduced, and at the same time, the cold water port b is opened and the temperature of the hot water in the room is lowered.

Next, as the water temperature decreases in this way,
Since the SME coil 7 begins to contract in the opposite direction, the valve body 4 is pushed back in the opposite direction by the spring force of the return spring 8, reducing the opening amount of the cold water port b. By repeating this, the SME coil 7 and other springs are in equilibrium and automatically adjust the opening amount of the cold and heat, so that hot water at a constant temperature is always obtained.

Also, for example, if the water pressure on the hot water or cold water side decreases due to some external cause during hot water supply, and the water temperature in the mixing chamber changes, the above-mentioned
The SME coil 7 expands or contracts to move the valve body 4 left and right to maintain the set temperature, and these operations occur extremely quickly because the SME coil 7 receives heat conduction directly from the hot water. It is something that is done.

Furthermore, in the valve of the present invention, when starting hot water supply or when it is desired to change the hot water temperature to a desired temperature during hot water supply, the spindle 10 is rotated via the knob 14 and the adjuster 11 is moved left and right. Therefore, the desired hot water can be obtained.

That is, if you want to raise the water temperature, turn the knob 14.
By operating the adjuster 11 to the left, the overspring holder 9'
Since a gap is created between the engagement part of the bias spring 5 and the adjuster 11, the balance between the bias spring 5 and the SME coil 7, which had been maintained until then, is lost.
The expansion force of the SME coil 7 causes the saddle 6 to move to the left along with the valve stem 3, and at the same time, the bias spring 5 moves the holder 5' to the left to restore the balance with the SME coil 7. The return spring 8 expands by the amount of the gap created between the valve body 5' and the valve body 4, thereby pushing the valve body 4 to the left and increasing the opening amount of the hot water port a.

Conversely, if you want to lower the water temperature, by operating the knob 14 to move the adjustment 11 to the right, the valve stem 3 will move to the right via the overspring holder 9'. The SME coil compressed by the saddle 6 pushes the valve body 4 against the spring force of the return spring 8,
As a result, the opening amount of the cold water port b increases, and hot water at a low temperature can be obtained.

In this case, if you turn the knob 14 excessively after moving the adjustment 11 to the right to bring the valve body 4 into close contact with the hot water side valve seat, extreme force may be applied to the valve body 4 and the valve seat. However, since an appropriate bias pressure is applied in advance against the return spring 8 by the overspring 9, even after the valve body 4 is pressed against the valve seat, there is no excessive pressure on the valve body 4. This allows the adjustment 11 to be moved to the right without applying force, thereby preventing over-adjustment.

The bias spring 5 has the function of adjusting the error in the amount of expansion and contraction due to manufacturing variations in the shape memory alloy and causing the SME coil 7 to start expanding at a predetermined temperature. For the SME coil 7 that expands at lower temperatures, the bias force of the bias spring 5 is increased using the adjustment nut 13 in the middle of the valve stem, and for the SME coil 7 that expands at higher temperatures, the bias force is adjusted in advance so that a weaker bias force is applied. It is something.

In this way, when a bias force in a certain direction is applied to the SME coil 7 using the bias spring 5 having appropriate spring characteristics, the temperature hysteresis of the SME coil 7 can be suppressed to a minimum, demonstrating the excellent properties of shape memory alloys. It is possible to demonstrate this more effectively.

Therefore, the valve of the present invention has the following features as described above.
When automatically adjusting hot water using the SME coil 7, a return spring 8 is installed on the other side of the valve body 4, whereas the SME coil 7 and bias spring 5 are mounted on the valve stem on one side of the valve body. The technical gist is to keep the expansion/contraction temperature of the SME coil 7 constant and to minimize temperature hysteresis by installing the overspring 9 and the overspring 9 in a balanced manner. As long as it is based on the principle, its specific structure is not limited to the embodiments described above.

That is, it is possible to adopt a mechanism as shown in FIG. 2 in the valve of the present invention, and the structure will be briefly described below.
A spout c is provided in the center of the housing 2 formed by screwing together the spout c.
In addition, cold and hot water ports a and b are respectively opened on one side of the housing, and a valve stem 3 is installed inside the housing so as to be movable from side to side, so that the valve body 4 fitted into the valve stem 3 and the above-mentioned plug are connected to each other. A return spring 8 is loaded in between, and an overspring 9 is installed between the seat 17 located in the middle and the plug.

Further, a saddle 6 and a holder 5', which is elastically loaded with a bias spring 5, are fitted on the right side of the valve body 4, and a gap between the saddle 6 and the blade 5'' of the holder 5' is inserted.
While the SME coil 7 is interposed, the holder blade 5'' is attached to the adjustment member 1 at the base end of the housing.
The SME coil 7 can be freely pushed by the tip of 1.
The amount of expansion and contraction can be adjusted.

Therefore, even in the valve having the above-described structure, the SME coil 7 operates according to the above-mentioned operating principle.
The desired hot water can be obtained at any time.

As described above, the valve of the present invention adjusts the variation in temperature characteristics and temperature hysteresis of the SME coil by applying a plurality of auxiliary springs to the SME coil, thereby significantly improving the ability to adjust the hot water temperature. In addition, the water temperature can be changed extremely easily during hot water supply by operating the knob, and since valve seats are provided on both the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet, it is possible to completely shut off hot or cold water. In addition to being able to expand the temperature range of the discharged water, the entire valve is a cartridge type, which greatly reduces the time and effort required for manufacturing and installation. It has excellent features such as easy inspection.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a hot water mixing faucet incorporating a valve of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cross-sectional view of the upper half of a valve in another embodiment of the present invention. . In addition, in the figure, 1... casing, 2... housing, 3...
... Valve stem, 4 ... Valve body, 5 ... Bias spring, 6 ... Saddle, 7 ... SME coil, 8 ...
Return spring, 9...Overspring, 10...Spindle, 11...Adjustment, 12...Ring, 13...Adjusting nut.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing consisting of a hot water inlet, a cold water inlet, and a spout that communicate with the hot water chamber, cold water chamber, and mixing chamber of the faucet housing, respectively, can be inserted from one side of the faucet housing, and the housing can be inserted from one side of the faucet housing, and In the thermostatic mixing valve in which the cold water port can be opened and closed by a valve body in the housing, a valve stem 3 is disposed in the housing.
A coil 7 made of a shape memory alloy and a bias spring 5 are installed on one side of the valve body 4 fitted into the valve stem 3, and a bias spring 5 is installed inside the valve body 4 so as to be movable from side to side.
On the other side, a return spring 8 and an overspring 9 are mounted in balance with each other, and an adjustment member is slidably attached to one side of the housing 2 and whose tip engages one end of the valve rod 3. 11, the coil 7
A thermostatic mixing valve characterized by being able to adjust the amount of expansion and contraction.