JP2006029423A - One-way valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an one-way valve capable of temporarily holding a check ball by a retainer. <P>SOLUTION: This one-way valve comprises a housing having a valve seat, the check ball 4 for opening and closing the valve seat of the housing, and the retainer 6 for supporting the check ball 4 on a housing side in a state of being opposite to the valve seat. The retainer 6 is composed of a bottom wall 6a and a side wall 6b, and has a projecting part 6e projecting to an inner side near an opening end of the side wall 6b, thus the check ball 4 can be prevented from separating from an opening of the retainer 6, by the projecting part 6e in a free state, and the check ball 4 can be quickly temporarily held without separating from the opening of the retainer 6 only by press-fitting the check ball 4 into the retainer 6, which simplifies the assembling work. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a one-way valve such as a lash adjuster used for automatic adjustment of a valve system clearance of an automobile engine, for example.

This type of conventional lash adjuster is not specifically illustrated, but is mainly formed at a cylindrical body that opens upward, a plunger that is slidably fitted in the body, and a bottom portion of the plunger. A check ball that opens and closes the valve seat, a spring that urges the check ball in the valve seat direction, a retainer that holds the check ball and the spring, and is incorporated in the cylinder head side of the automobile engine, During operation of the mechanism, the valve clearance is always maintained at almost zero to absorb changes in expansion due to temperature, to prevent noise and live gas blowout, and to realize stable operation of the valve mechanism. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-146721

  However, in the case of the conventional lash adjuster, in particular, when the check ball and the spring arranged in the high pressure chamber defined between the body and the plunger are assembled to the retainer, this dissimilar shape is formed. Since the three members had to be assembled at the same time, the check ball jumped inadvertently from the retainer at the time of assembly, or the spring was entangled or fell, making it extremely difficult to perform the assembly work.

  The present invention has been developed in view of such circumstances, and the invention according to claim 1 includes a housing having a valve seat, a check ball for opening and closing the valve seat of the housing, and the check ball in the valve seat. A retainer supported on the housing side while facing each other, the retainer comprising a bottom wall and a side wall, and provided with a projecting part projecting inward toward the opening end of the side wall, and in a free state, the projecting part The check ball is prevented from coming off from the opening of the retainer.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first aspect, the protruding portion of the retainer is externally fitted to a cylindrical portion formed around the valve seat of the housing, and is expanded outward when assembled with the housing. The movement of the check ball is not restricted.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first aspect, the movable range of the check ball is restricted by the bottom wall and the protruding portion of the retainer in the free state, and when the retainer is assembled to the housing, the bottom wall of the retainer And is restricted by the valve seat of the housing, and cannot be brought into contact with the protruding portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, on the premise of the first to third aspects, the protruding portion of the retainer is an elastic claw that is cut and raised from the side wall and extends inward and downward.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the fourth aspect, the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion formed around the valve seat of the housing has a concave groove for engaging the elastic claw of the retainer.

  The invention described in claim 6 is based on the premise of claim 4 and is characterized in that, in the free state, the check ball is regulated by the tip edge of the elastic claw of the retainer.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, on the premise of the first aspect, the invention has a spring for urging the check ball toward the valve seat of the housing.

  The invention described in claim 8 is based on claim 1 and is characterized in that the retainer has an outward flange portion at the upper end opening edge, and is elastically pressed toward the housing side by a spring attached to the outward flange portion. To do.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the eighth aspect, the upper end opening edge side of the retainer is pressed in the diameter reducing direction by a terminal portion of a spring mounted on the outward flange portion.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first aspect, the retainer has a slit on the side wall thereof from the open end toward the bottom wall.

  The invention described in claim 11 is based on claim 4 and the retainer is formed by punching a metal flat plate, and has a connection center portion and a plurality of extension pieces extending from the connection center portion with a slit interposed therebetween. The extension pieces are opposed to each other to define side walls, and elastic claws individually extend from the extension pieces that define the side walls.

  Therefore, in the invention described in claim 1, since the protruding portion protruding inward is provided near the opening end of the side wall of the retainer, the protruding portion described above can be obtained by simply press-fitting the check ball into the retainer. Since the check ball can be temporarily held without coming out of the retainer opening, it is of course easier to assemble the retainer and the check ball. In particular, the number of post-assembly steps can be greatly reduced. it can.

  In the invention according to claim 2, when the retainer for temporarily holding the check ball is assembled to the housing, the protrusion is expanded outwardly so that the movement of the check ball is not restricted. Since the portion can be protruded greatly inward, it is possible to reliably prevent the check ball from coming off from the opening of the retainer.

  In the invention of claim 3, when the retainer for temporarily holding the check ball is assembled to the housing, the check ball is restricted by the bottom wall of the retainer and the valve seat of the housing, and cannot come into contact with the protruding portion. Therefore, at the time of assembling, there is no need to displace / deform the protruding portion, so that the assembling can be performed with a small force, and the workability is excellent.

  In the invention according to claim 4, since the projecting portion is an elastic claw cut and raised from the side wall, the tip edge of the projecting portion is sharply pressed against a mating part such as a cylindrical portion formed around the valve seat of the housing. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the retainer itself from coming off from the housing.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is a concave groove for engaging the elastic claw on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion formed around the valve seat of the housing. Since the edge engages with the concave groove, it is possible to more effectively prevent the retainer itself from coming off from the housing.

  In the invention according to claim 6, since the elastic nail can be shortened because the check ball is directly regulated by the tip edge of the elastic nail, the retainer itself can be reduced in size, and the check ball is made of the retainer. It can be directly prevented from coming off from the opening.

  In the invention according to claim 7, since the spring has a spring for urging the check ball in the direction of the valve seat of the housing, the spring can securely close the valve seat of the housing with the check ball. By obtaining a radial guide by the side wall of the retainer and a vertical guide by the check ball and the bottom wall of the retainer, a stable posture can be taken without falling down.

  In the invention described in claim 8, the retainer is elastically pressed to the housing side by the spring mounted on the outward flange portion, so that the support state of the retainer with respect to the housing is ensured.

  In the invention according to claim 9, the opening of the retainer is inadvertently expanded because the upper end opening edge of the retainer is pressed in the reduced diameter direction by the terminal portion of the spring attached to the outward flange portion. Can be effectively prevented, and the spring itself can be prevented from coming off by this expanding force.

  In the invention according to claim 10, since the retainer has a slit on its side wall, the retainer can be formed by simple drawing without using an advanced deep drawing technique. It is possible to mold even a material that is difficult to process (for example, spring steel).

  In the invention according to the eleventh aspect, since the retainer is formed by punching a metal flat plate, it can be formed integrally by simple bending and drawing.

  The present invention provides a projecting portion that protrudes inwardly near the opening end of the side wall of the retainer, and the check ball can be removed from the retainer opening simply by press-fitting the check ball into the retainer. By preventing this, the assembly work of the retainer and the check ball is facilitated, and accordingly, the number of assembly steps in the subsequent process is greatly reduced.

  The one-way valve according to the first embodiment is applied to a lash adjuster used for automatic adjustment of a valve system clearance of an automobile engine. As shown in FIG. 1, the specific structure is as follows: a cylindrical body 1 that opens upward; a plunger 2 that is a housing that is slidably fitted into the body 1; A check ball 4 that opens and closes the valve seat 3 formed at the bottom, a first spring 5 that biases the check ball 4 toward the valve seat 3, and the check ball 4 and the first spring 5 are held inside to A retainer 6 supported on the plunger 2 side, and an outward flange portion 6c (to be described later) of the retainer 6 and a second spring 7 that is mounted between the inside of the body 1 and presses the retainer 6 toward the plunger 2 side. It is obtain things.

  In the first embodiment, based on such a structure, the retainer 6 has a bottom wall having a convex receiving seat for the first spring 5 as shown in FIGS. 6a, a side wall 6b having an outward flange portion 6c, and a plurality of slits 6d from the opening end of the side wall 6b toward the bottom wall 6a, and is cut and raised from the side wall 6b near the opening end of the side wall 6b. A plurality of elastic claws 6e as protrusions extending inward and downward are provided at equal intervals, and in the free state, the check ball 4 comes out of the opening of the retainer 6 at the leading edge of each elastic claw 6e. A configuration that prevents it from coming off is adopted.

When the retainer 6 is formed, as shown in FIG. 4, it is formed by punching a metal flat plate, and the connecting central portion 100 and three pieces extending radially from the connecting central portion 100 with the slits 6d interposed therebetween. The extension central portion 100 defines the bottom wall 6a, and each extension piece 101 has a side wall 6b having a slit 6d. An outward flange portion 6c is formed by bending the upper end edge of each extension piece 101 outward, and elastic claws 6e protruding inward toward the opening end of each extension piece 101 are individually formed. Shall be raised.

  Therefore, it goes without saying that the retainer 6 can be integrally formed by a simple bending process or drawing process. In particular, the slit 6d is interposed between the extension pieces 101 that define the side wall 6b. Accordingly, the retainer 6 can be formed by simple drawing without using advanced deep drawing techniques, and the retainer 6 can be formed even with a material that is difficult to draw (for example, spring steel). It becomes possible.

  Therefore, under the first embodiment, only the check ball 4 and the first spring 5 are press-fitted into the retainer 6, and the check ball 4 is removed from the opening of the retainer 6 at the tip edge of each elastic claw 6e. Since it can be temporarily held without disengagement, the assembly work of the retainer 6, the check ball 4 and the first spring 5 is easier than before, and the check ball 4 and the first spring 5 are temporarily held accordingly. While the second spring 7 is attached to the retainer 6, the post-assembly assembly man-hours interposed between the bottom of the body 1 and the valve seat 3 of the plunger 2 can be greatly reduced.

  Moreover, in this state, it is a matter of course that there is no fear that the check ball 4 jumps out of the retainer 6 by the spring pressure of the first spring 5 as in the prior art, but the first spring 5 itself also has the side wall of the retainer 6. The radial guide by 6b and the vertical guide by the check ball 4 and the bottom wall 6a of the retainer 6 are obtained, and a stable posture is always obtained without falling, so the first spring 5 is entangled or falls, There is no need to worry about making assembly work difficult.

  When the retainer 6 is supported on the plunger 2 side, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, first, a state in which the second spring 7 is mounted on the outward flange portion 6c side of the retainer 6 is obtained. However, at this time, the second spring 7 is pressed into the outside of the retainer 6 so that the upper end opening edge of the retainer 6 is pressed in the diameter-reducing direction at the end portion of the second spring 7. When the opening is externally fitted to the cylindrical portion 2a formed around the valve seat 3 of the plunger 2, each elastic claw 6e is expanded outward by the cylindrical portion 2a, and the movement of the check ball 4 is not restricted. The check ball 4 reliably closes the valve seat 3 of the plunger 2 by the urging force of the first spring 5 and does not affect the operation of each part.

  In this case, since the upper end opening edge of the retainer 6 is pressed in the diameter-reducing direction by the terminal portion of the second spring 7, it is possible to effectively prevent the opening of the retainer 6 from being inadvertently expanded, On the contrary, this expanding force can also prevent the second spring 7 from coming off from the retainer 6, while the elastic claws 6 e are in pressure contact with the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 2 a of the plunger 2. 6 can be prevented from coming off from the plunger 2, but in particular, as shown in FIG. 6, a concave groove 8 is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 2 a of the plunger 2 to engage the tip edge of each elastic claw 6 e If so, it is possible to prevent the disconnection more reliably.

  Next, the one-way valve according to the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is basically based on the above-described first embodiment. The first spring 5 for urging the ball 4 is omitted, and the movable range of the check ball 4 in the free state is regulated by the bottom wall 6a of the retainer 6 and the elastic claws 6e as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the movable range of the check ball 4 when assembled to the plunger 2 is regulated by the bottom wall 6 a of the retainer 6 and the valve seat 3 of the housing 1. Thus, it is configured so that it cannot be contacted.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, when the retainer 6 is assembled on the plunger 2 side, each elastic claw 6e is forcibly expanded outward by the cylindrical portion 2a of the plunger 2. Since it is not necessary to assemble, it can be assembled with a small force, and workability is excellent. Since the other configurations / effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

  Finally, the one-way valve according to the third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is a combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 9, instead of the elastic claws 6e, elastic protrusions 16e protruding in an arc shape toward the inside are provided at equal intervals near the opening end of the side wall 6b of the retainer 6. .

  Therefore, even under the third embodiment, just by pressing the check ball 4 and the first spring 5 into the retainer 6, as shown in the drawing, at the leading edge of each elastic protrusion 16e serving as the holding portion. The retainer 6 can be temporarily held without coming off from the opening, and when the retainer 6 is assembled to the plunger 2 side, as shown in FIG. Since the elastic protrusions 16e are configured to be unable to contact with each other, it is not necessary to forcibly expand the elastic protrusions 16e outward by the cylindrical portion 2a of the plunger 2.

  The one-way valve according to the present invention prevents the check ball from coming off from the opening of the retainer at the protruding portion, and facilitates the work of assembling the check ball to the retainer. Therefore, if applied to a lash adjuster or the like used for automatic adjustment of a valve system clearance of an automobile engine, it is very convenient.

It is sectional drawing which shows the one-way valve which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a retainer. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which press-fit the check ball and the 1st spring inside the retainer. It is a perspective view which shows the expansion | deployment state of a retainer. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the state which supported the retainer to the plunger side. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the modification of a 1st Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which press-fit the check ball to the retainer in the one-way valve concerning a 2nd Example. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the state which supported the retainer to the plunger side. It is sectional drawing which shows the one-way valve which concerns on 3rd Example in the state which press-fit the check ball and the 1st spring inside the retainer. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the state which supported the retainer to the plunger side.

Explanation of symbols

1 Body 2 Plunger (housing)
2a cylindrical part 3 valve seat 4 check ball 5 first spring 6 retainer 6a bottom wall 6b side wall 6c outward flange part 6d slit 6e elastic claw (protruding part)
7 Second spring 8 Groove 16e Elastic protrusion (protrusion)
100 connection center part 101 extension piece

Claims (11)

A housing having a valve seat; a check ball that opens and closes the valve seat of the housing; and a retainer that is supported on the housing side while the check ball faces the valve seat. The retainer includes a bottom wall and a side wall. The one-way valve is characterized in that a protruding portion that protrudes inward is provided near the opening end of the side wall, and in a free state, the check ball prevents the check ball from coming off from the opening of the retainer. The protrusion of the retainer is externally fitted to a cylindrical portion formed around a valve seat of the housing, and is expanded outwardly when assembled with the housing, so that the movement of the check ball is not restricted. The one-way valve according to 1. The movable range of the check ball is restricted by the bottom wall and the protruding portion of the retainer in the free state, and is restricted by the bottom wall of the retainer and the valve seat of the housing when the retainer is assembled to the housing. 2. The one-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the one-way valve is inaccessible. The one-way valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protruding portion of the retainer is an elastic claw that is cut and raised from the side wall and extends inward and downward. 5. The one-way valve according to claim 4, wherein there is a concave groove that engages an elastic claw of the retainer on an outer periphery of a cylindrical portion formed around a valve seat of the housing. 5. The one-way valve according to claim 4, wherein in the free state, the check ball is regulated by the tip edge of the elastic claw of the retainer. 2. The one-way valve according to claim 1, further comprising a spring for urging the check ball toward the valve seat of the housing. 2. The one-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the retainer has an outward flange portion at an upper end opening edge, and is elastically pressed toward the housing side by a spring attached to the outward flange portion. 9. The one-way valve according to claim 8, wherein an upper end opening edge side of the retainer is pressed in a diameter reducing direction by a terminal portion of a spring attached to the outward flange portion. The one-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the retainer has a slit on its side wall from the open end toward the bottom wall. The retainer is formed by stamping a metal flat plate, and has a connection center portion and a plurality of extension pieces extending from the connection center portion with a slit interposed therebetween, and the extension pieces are opposed to each other to define a side wall. 5. The one-way valve according to claim 4, wherein the elastic claws are individually extended from the extension pieces defining the side wall.

Images