JPH052876B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field] The present invention relates to an automatic faucet device.

[Background technology] Conventional automatic faucet devices include those that use automatic on/off valves and those that use automatic analog valves, but the former cannot adjust the amount of water, so it is not suitable for kitchen work, and it is difficult to use in the event of a power outage. I had a problem with it not being usable. In addition, the latter method requires a complicated control system, increases cost, requires skill in operation, and, like the former method, has the problem that it cannot be used during a power outage.

Also, in consideration of power outages, there are composite faucets consisting of an automatic valve and a manual valve, but they have a complicated structure and have the disadvantage that they cannot be opened or closed manually, or vice versa. Furthermore, there was a problem in that it could be opened automatically and the degree of opening could be adjusted manually, but it was discontinuous and not smooth.

Furthermore, in the case of a structure in which the automatic drive means and the manual drive means are connected, there is a problem that the automatic drive means becomes a load and manual operation becomes heavy.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to have a single valve part that allows manual operation and automatic operation to be performed independently, and to enable manual operation. is to provide light automatic faucet equipment.

[Disclosure of the Invention] Embodiment 1 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, a vertical pipe 2 is provided integrally with a part of the piping 1, and a vertical pipe is provided inside the vertical pipe 2. A drive shaft 3 is movably disposed, a tip of a manual lever 4 is attached to the upper end of the drive shaft 3, and a valve body 5 for adjusting the amount of water (hot water) flowing through the pipe 1 is provided in the middle part. is fixed. Furthermore, the drive shaft 3 passes through the valve body 5 downward.
Cam followers 6a and 6b are provided on the lower end side surface and the middle side surface, respectively. The manual lever 4 has its tip engaged between ribs 7 provided on the upper inner wall of the vertical pipe 2, and can rotate the other end in the vertical direction using this engagement portion as a fulcrum. Now come follower 6
A rotation center of a cam body 8 provided at the tip of an output shaft m of a geared motor M capable of forward and reverse rotation is arranged at a predetermined height position of the drive shaft 3 between a and 6b. The cam body 8 has a substantially elliptical shape with an eccentric center of rotation, and the tip of the longer diameter side, which is the engagement surface of the cam body 8, has the lower end of the upper cam follower 6b at its highest point (top dead center).
At the pushed up position, the valve body 5 moves into the vertical pipe 2 above the pipe 1, and the valve body 5 becomes approximately 1/2 open, and the upper end of the lower cam follower 6a is pushed up to the cam body 8.
The predetermined height position is set so that the valve body 5 is located inside the pipe 1 and completely closes the flow path when the tip of the long diameter side is pushed down to the lowest point (bottom dead center). . In other words, in the case of an automatic faucet driven by a geared motor M, the maximum opening of the valve body 5 is approximately 1/2 open.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when the cam body 8 is in a horizontal position and the drive shaft 3 is manually moved upward to fully open the valve body 5, the cam follower 6b that has moved upward is prevented from engaging the cam body 8. It's getting old. In Fig. 1, 9a and 9b are bearings, 10 is a free joint, and SW ₁ to _{SW 3} detect the home position, stop position, and bottom dead center position, respectively, and send signals to the control circuit of the geared motor M for control operation. This is a limit switch that provides a position detection signal.

Figure 3 shows a circuit example of the control system of the geared motor M. In the figure, _S1 is an automatic faucet opening switch, and _S2 is an automatic water faucet opening switch.
Reference numeral 11 indicates a closing switch for the automatic faucet, and 11 indicates a control circuit for controlling the rotation of the geared motor M based on signals from the limit switches _SW1 to _SW3 , the opening switch _S1 , and the closing switch _S2 .

Operation First, we will explain the case of automatic opening and closing.
FIG. 4a shows the valve body 5 in the fully closed state and the cam body 8
Indicates the case where is at the origin position. When the opening switch _S1 is turned on in this state, the control circuit 11 rotates the geared motor M and moves the cam body 8 in the direction shown by the arrow.
Rotate. Therefore, when the cam body 8 rotates by a certain angle, it engages with the upper cam follower 6b and pushes the cam follower 6b upward. In response to this push-up, the drive shaft 3 moves upward, moves the valve body 5 into the upper vertical pipe 2, and opens the flow path of the piping 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 4b, when the top dead center is reached and the cam body 8 further rotates, the engagement between the cam body 8 and the cam follower 6b is released, the drive shaft 3 stops moving at that position, and the valve Keep the body 5 open about 1/2. The cam body 8 further rotates and reaches the horizontal position shown in FIG. 4c, where it has rotated 180 degrees from the original position. When the cam body 8 pushes the limit switch SW ₂ at this position, the control circuit 11 immediately stops the rotation of the geared motor M. Next, when the closing switch _S2 is turned on, the control circuit 11 further rotates the geared motor M from the stop position. Due to this rotation, the cam body 8 engages with the lower cam follower 6a that is moving upward, and pushes the cam follower 6a downward. and the fourth
When reaching the bottom dead center shown in FIG. d, the valve body 5 moves down into the pipe 1 and completely closes the flow path. At the same time, the limit switch SW ₃ is driven by the cam follower 6a, and the control circuit 11
detects passage of the bottom dead center, and further rotates the geared motor M to rotate the cam body 8. and figure 4 e
When the cam body 8 rotates to the origin position shown in FIG. ₁ and the limit switch SW1 is driven, the control circuit 11 stops the rotation of the geared motor M.

Next, a case where the opening/closing is performed only by manual operation will be explained. In this case, when the free end of the manual lever 4 is lifted upward with a finger at the origin position shown in FIG. to open the flow path. Even if the drive shaft 3 moves to the position where the valve body 5 is completely opened and touches the bearing 9a, the lower cam follower 6a does not touch the cam body 8, as shown in FIG. 5b, and can be operated independently and easily. It can be operated using force. To manually close the opened valve body 5, it is sufficient to simply push down the free end of the manual lever 4 as shown in FIG. 5c.
Next, a case will be described in which the valve body 5 is manually opened and automatically closed. Figures 6a and b are Figure 5a,
Fig. 6b shows a state in which the valve body 5 is manually opened, and at this time the cam follower 6a is separated from the limit switch _SW3 and the limit switch is turned off.
SW ₃ is in non-drive state. Close switch S ₂ here
When the limit switch SW ₂ is turned on, the control circuit 11 rotates the geared motor M in the direction in which the cam body 8 rotates counterclockwise as shown by the arrow shown in FIG. Therefore, the cam body 8 engages with the cam follower 6a to push down the cam follower 6a and move the drive shaft 3 downward. Therefore, the valve body 5 moves into the pipe 1 and closes the flow path. Then, when the cam body 8 that has passed the bottom dead center moves to the stop position and drives the limit switch SW ₂ , the control circuit 11
Immediately, the geared motor M is reversed to rotate the cam body 8 to the original position shown in FIG. 6d. In the above operation, the rotation direction of the cam body 8 is set in the counterclockwise direction during automatic closing, because if a small amount of flow path is opened manually, the upper cam follower 6b is rotated in the clockwise direction. This is to avoid the inconvenience of the body 8 pushing up and increasing the opening amount of the valve body 5.

The above operation is for the case where automatic closing is performed from manual opening, but conversely, when automatic opening is performed and manual closing is performed, the operation is performed as follows. In other words, Figure 7a,
As shown in b, the valve body 5 is automatically opened and the cam body 8 is opened.
When the manual lever 4 is pushed down as shown in Fig. 7c when the is in the standby state where it is stopped at the stop position, the drive shaft 3 moves downward and closes the flow path of the pipe 1 with the valve body 5, and at the same time the lower end The limit switch SW ₃ is driven by the cam follower 6a. The control circuit 11 controls the geared motor M when the limit switch SW ₃ is driven while the limit switch SW ₂ is being driven.
Turn the cam body 8 clockwise as shown in Figure d.
to return to its original position.

As described above, in this embodiment, closing and opening can be performed either automatically or manually, and each can be performed independently.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, a cam follower 6 is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft 3 as shown in FIGS.
is arranged in a concave plane 13 provided on the side surface of a cam body 12 rotated by a geared motor M. The cam body 12 includes a cam portion 14 whose rotation center is eccentric at the center of the concave surface 13, and another cam portion 15 on the inner peripheral surface of the concave surface 13.
A cam portion 16 for driving the limit switch is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the
, and when the drive shaft 3 is moved to the lowest position, that is, the origin position, the cam part 1
The tips of the engagement surfaces 4, 15, and 16 face in the same direction, and the cam portion 16 drives a limit switch _SW1 that detects the origin position. When the drive shaft 3 is manually moved in this state, it can be moved within a range near the inner peripheral surface of the uppermost end of the concave surface 13. When opening is performed automatically, the cam body 12 is rotated clockwise in the figure, and the cam portion 14 pushes the cam follower 6 upward. After passing the top dead center, the cam body 12 continues to rotate until the cam part 16 drives the limit switch _SW2 for detecting the stop position. In this stopped position, the drive shaft 3 can be manually moved downward, allowing manual closing. Of course, during automatic closing, when the cam body 12 is rotated clockwise from that position, the cam part 15 engages with the upper surface of the cam follower 6, pushes the cam follower 6 downward, and moves the drive shaft 3 downward. The cam body 12 is then rotated until the valve body 5 passes through the bottom dead center, which closes the flow path of the pipe 1, and the cam portion ₁₆ drives the limit switch SW1. In the case of automatic closing after manual opening, the cam body 12 is rotated counterclockwise when an automatic closing signal is input, in accordance with the operation of the first embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 17 denotes a keyed bearing that prevents rotation of the drive shaft 3.

Embodiment 3 This embodiment uses a cylindrical cam body 18 as shown in FIG. The lower part is inserted into the cam body 18, and each cam follower 1 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cam body 18 as shown in FIG.
Cam surfaces 20a, 2 that engage with 9a, 19b
0b are formed respectively. A cam portion 21 for driving a limit switch is provided on the outer periphery. FIG. 11 shows a developed view of the cam surfaces 20a and 20b, and the position A in the figure shows the origin position where the valve body 5 is closed. In this state, the drive shaft 3 can be moved up and down manually. During automatic opening, when the cam body 12 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the geared motor M, the cam surface 20b is moved to the cam follower 19b.
Push up to move the drive shaft 3 upwards, and press the valve body 5.
It opens the door. After passing the top dead center (B), the cam body 18 continues to rotate until the position C, where the cam portion 21 drives the limit switch for detecting the stop position. At this position, the drive shaft 3 can be moved up and down manually, allowing manual closing. Now, if the closing is done automatically,
The cam body 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow from the position C, and the cam surface 20a pushes down the cam follower 19a, moves the drive shaft 3 downward, and closes the valve body 5 at the position D. Then, the cam body 18 is rotated until the cam portion 21 moves to the position A where the limit switch for detecting the origin position is driven. Of course, in the case of automatic closing after manual opening, the cam body 18 is reversely rotated in accordance with the first and second embodiments.

The control circuits of Embodiments 2 and 3 are basically the same as the circuit shown in FIG. 3, and the limit switch is set at the origin (stop).
They may be provided at each position, top dead center, and bottom dead center.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention has a valve body configured as described above, which is provided on a drive shaft that moves up and down and opens and closes a flow path by constant movement of the drive shaft, and a valve body which is connected to the drive shaft and operates through the drive shaft. A manual lever that is driven to open and close, a motor that can rotate in forward and reverse directions and is driven to rotate when an automatic close or automatic open signal is input, and a motor that is connected to the output shaft of the motor and that rotates by a certain angle in the forward direction from the home position. It engages with the cam follower provided on the drive shaft, pushes the drive shaft up to the top dead center, and when it passes the bottom dead center, the engagement is released and the drive shaft moves toward the original position or in a positive direction from the original position.
A cam body having an engagement surface that engages with a cam follower provided on the drive shaft when rotated by a certain angle from a position rotated by 180 degrees, and pushes the drive shaft down to the bottom dead center, and disengages when the drive shaft passes the bottom dead center. Because of the simple structure of the cam body, the standby point for automatic opening/closing drive can always be set to the neutral position, so even if there is a power outage or failure of the automatic opening/closing means consisting of the motor and cam body, there will be no switching. The valve body can be opened and closed with a manual lever, and the manual operation has the effect of being lighter because the automatic opening/closing means does not add any load.Furthermore, the valve body can be used for both automatic and manual operations.
Moreover, since a cam body with a simple structure is used, the overall structure is simple and costs can be reduced.Furthermore, the flow rate can be adjusted manually, making it suitable for kitchen work. , the user can freely close the valve automatically and vice versa, and the user can freely adjust the flow rate manually, or automatically if the hands are dirty or full. When automatic, the manual lever also moves in conjunction with the movement of the drive shaft, so the degree of opening of the valve body can be known just by looking at the state of the manual lever, so there is no need for a special display means to indicate the degree of opening. There is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same main part with some parts omitted, FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of the same as the above, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are the same as the above. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present invention,
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the main parts of the same as above, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of Embodiment 3 of the present invention, FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the main parts of the same as above, FIG. ,
2 is a vertical pipe, 3 is a drive shaft, 4 is a manual lever, 5 is a valve body, 6, 6a, 6b, 19a, 19b are cam followers, 8, 12, 18 are cam bodies, 11 is a control circuit, M is a geared motor be.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A valve body that is provided on a drive shaft that moves up and down and opens and closes a flow path by constant movement of the drive shaft, and a manual lever that is connected to the drive shaft and drives the valve body to open and close via the drive shaft. A motor capable of forward and reverse rotation that is rotationally driven when an automatic close or automatic open signal is input, and a cam follower connected to the output shaft of the motor and provided on the drive shaft when rotated by a certain angle in the forward direction from the origin position. When the drive shaft is engaged with and pushed up to the top dead center and beyond the top dead center, the engagement is released and the drive shaft is rotated by a certain angle from the origin position or a position rotated 180 degrees in the positive direction from the origin position. An automatic faucet device comprising: a cam body having an engagement surface that engages with a cam follower to push down the drive shaft to the bottom dead center and is disengaged when the drive shaft passes the bottom dead center. 2. Claim 1, characterized in that the cam body is provided with an engagement surface that pushes the drive shaft up to the top dead center and an engagement surface that pushes the drive shaft down to the bottom dead center, respectively. The automatic faucet device described.