JPH0311488Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a faucet that turns on and off tap water.

(Prior art and its problems) In conventional faucets, the faucet can be opened by manually turning a handle at the end of a spindle (valve stem) that protrudes from the cylindrical part of the faucet body. The structure is such that water is turned on and off by operating the valve at the base end of the spindle toward and away from the valve seat inside the main body, but it is used in restroom faucets in coffee shops, restaurants, etc., or public toilets, etc. Since water faucets are used by an unspecified number of people, the handles tend to become unclean, causing discomfort to the users. In the case of stoppers, there was also the problem that when washing dishes, etc., if the handle was operated with hands stained with detergent, the detergent would adhere to the dishes, etc., which had been thoroughly washed.

This invention aims to solve the problems mentioned above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a non-contact type water supply valve device which allows a faucet to be opened and closed without touching the handle of the faucet.

(Technical means for solving the problem) The technical means of the present invention consists of a water supply side pipe section, a water discharge side pipe section, a valve seat provided between the two, and a valve that abuts and separates from the valve seat. a valve stem that raises and lowers the valve body, a handle attached to the upper end of the valve stem, a cylindrical upright part that supports the valve stem above the valve seat, and a union nut provided on the cylindrical upright part. This device can be installed on the cylindrical upright part of the faucet by removing the union nut, handle, and valve stem from a faucet with an inner pipe whose lower end abuts watertightly on a valve seat provided between the faucet body and an outer pipe whose lower end is removably and watertightly attached to the cylindrical upright part of the faucet body; A cap member that is removably attached to the upper end of the outer pipe so as to cover the upper end of the outer pipe in a watertight manner is integrally provided, and between the inner pipe and the inner and outer pipes communicating therewith, the water supply side pipe and the water discharge side are connected. A bypass flow channel that communicates with the pipeline is formed, a water flow control valve is provided in the cap member to adjust the amount of water flowing through the bypass flow channel, and a water flow control valve is formed in the outer pipe downstream of the water flow control valve. A valve chamber is provided in the bypass flow channel, and inside this valve chamber,
A ball valve is disposed that normally closes the valve port leading to the water discharge side pipe portion by water pressure, and a push rod that pushes the ball valve to open the valve port is provided in the valve chamber so as to be movable back and forth, This pushing rod is controlled by a battery-powered motor that is controlled by a control mechanism with a non-contact detector that is activated by approaching the hand.
The non-contact detector is driven via a reciprocating mechanism, and each time the hand approaches the non-contact detector, the push rod moves from the forward position to the retreat position or from the retreat position to the forward position. The casing containing the mechanism and motor is located above the faucet.

(Embodiment) Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a non-contact type faucet according to the present invention. A water supply side pipe part 2 having a mounting part 6 to be attached to the water supply side pipe part 2, a water discharge side pipe part 3 having a water spout 7, and a partition part 8 provided between the water supply side pipe part 2 and the water discharge side pipe part 3. A cylindrical rising part 5 is concentric with the metal washer 4 and rises upward from the intermediate part between these two pipe parts 2 and 3.
It consists of and. As the faucet body 1, it is possible to use an existing faucet that is currently in use, or a new faucet on the market, with the spindle, valve, handle, and other parts removed, leaving only the faucet body. can. Reference numeral 9 denotes an inner pipe whose lower side is inserted concentrically into the cylindrical upright part 5 of the faucet main body 1 and whose lower end comes into watertight contact with the valve seat 4 via the packing 10; 11 is a cylindrical upright part; An inner tube 10 protruding from the upper part 5
An outer pipe 12, whose lower end is watertightly and removably attached to the cylindrical upright part 5 so as to surround the upper side of the outer pipe 12, is connected to the upper end of the outer pipe 11 and to the outer pipe 11 from the side. Valve casing 1 with watertight plunge fit
a cap member that is removably attached to the outer tube 11 so as to cover part of the outer tube 11 in a watertight manner;
These inner pipe 9, outer pipe 11, cap member 12, and valve casing 13 are integrally assembled with each other and are also integrally attached to the faucet main body 1, so that the inner pipe 9 and the inner and outer pipes 9, 11 communicating therewith are integrally assembled. A bypass flow channel 14 that communicates the water supply side pipe section 2 and the water discharge side pipe section 3 of the faucet main body 1 with each other is formed by the gap. The inner tube side flow channel of this bypass flow channel 14 is indicated by 14a, and the side flow channel between the inner and outer tubes 9 and 11 is indicated by 14b. Reference numeral 15 denotes a water flow control valve provided in the cap member 12, which is adapted to adjust the flow of water through the bypass water flow 14 near the outlet of the inner pipe side flow channel 14a. Reference numeral 16 designates a valve chamber for a water supply control valve provided near the entrance of the water flow channel 4b located downstream of the water flow control valve 15. Inside this valve chamber 16, there is always water flowing from the upstream side. A ball valve 19 is arranged which is seated on a valve seat 17 by water pressure and closes a valve port 18 communicating with the water discharge side pipe portion 3 of the faucet body 1. Reference numeral 20 denotes a pushing rod for pushing the ball valve 19 to open the valve port 18, which passes through the casing attachment part 13a, which is a part of the valve casing 13, and opens the valve chamber 1.
It is provided so that it can move forward and backward freely within 6. This push rod 2
0 is driven by the rotation of a motor 21 via a reciprocating mechanism 22, and the motor 21 is controlled by a control mechanism 23, which will be described later. These motor 21, reciprocating mechanism 22, control mechanism 23
are housed and arranged within the casing 13.

To explain the above structure in more detail, the lower end of the outer tube 11 is attached to the cylindrical upright part 5 of the faucet body 1 by a coupling ring 24, and this coupling ring 24 is screwed onto the cylindrical upright part 5. a locking ring 26 that is fitted to the lower end of the outer tube 11, and a tightening nut 2 that is locked to the locking ring 26 and screwed onto the mounting nut 25.
It consists of an outer tube 11 and a mounting nut 2.
By tightening the tightening nut 27 with a packing 28 interposed between the outer tube 11 and the cylindrical upright portion 5, the outer tube 11 is integrally connected to the cylindrical upright portion 5 in a watertight manner. Further, the cap member 12 has a packing 2 between its lower end surface and the upper end surface of the inner tube 9 and the upper end surface of the casing attachment part 13a.
The cap member 12 is screwed onto the upper end of the outer tube 11 with the cap 9 interposed therebetween, and by tightening the cap member 12, the cap member 12 is integrally connected to the outer tube 11 and the casing attachment portion 13a in a watertight manner, and
The inner tube 9 is pressed downward and its lower end is tightly fixed to the valve seat 4 of the faucet body 1 via the gasket 10. Furthermore, the water flow control valve 15 is attached to the lower end of a screw rod 39 that is threaded concentrically so as to pass through the center of the cap member 12, and has a handle fixed to the outwardly projecting end of the screw rod 39. By rotating the control valve 40, the control valve 15 moves up and down to adjust the amount of water flowing through the bypass flow channel 14.

On the other hand, the reciprocating mechanism 23 is
As shown in the figure, a rotating shaft 32 to which the rotation of the motor 21 is transmitted while being reduced by reduction gears 30 and 31.
an eccentric wheel 33 mounted eccentrically to this;
An eccentric wheel 3 integrally connected to the pushing rod 20
It consists of a movable frame 34 in which 3 is inscribed, and a guide frame 35 that guides this movable frame 34.
3, the movable frame 34 performs reciprocating linear motion.

Therefore, when the rotary shaft 32 rotates 180 degrees and the eccentric ring 33 is displaced from the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the position shown by the dashed line, the ball valve 19 is moved to the 20, the valve port 18 is pushed from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. When the eccentric ring 33 returns to the original position shown by the solid line, the pushing rod 20 returns to the position shown by the solid line, and the ball valve 19 is pushed by the water pressure to close the valve port 18. . That is, the push rod 20 makes one reciprocating motion for each rotation of the rotating shaft 32, and the valve port 18 is opened when the push rod 0 moves back and forth (at the time of approach) and is closed during the return movement. . In this case, the push rod 2
0 moves forward to the home position and the valve port 18 is opened, the valve remains open, and when the push rod 20 moves back to the home position and the valve port 18 is closed, the valve remains open. In order to maintain the occlusion,
A limit switch 36 is provided that stops the motor 21 every time the rotating shaft 32 rotates 180 degrees in correspondence with the valve open position and the valve closed position, and this limit switch 36 rotates as shown in FIGS. Operating piece 3 of rotating plate 37 provided on shaft 32
8,38.
Incidentally, the motor 21 uses a dry battery as a power source.

Furthermore, to explain the control mechanism 23 that controls the motor 21, this control mechanism 23 includes a non-contact type detector 41, and this detector 41 has a light emitting part 21a.
It consists of a photoelectric switch that uses light such as infrared rays or visible light as a detection medium, and has a light receiving section 41b.As shown in FIG. When a hand is brought close to the detector 41, light from the light emitting section 41a hits the hand and is diffusely reflected, and is received by the light receiving section 41b. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 5, this control mechanism 23 includes the above-mentioned detector 41, drive section 42, arithmetic control section 43, and motor actuation section 44. The drive unit 42 generates a signal with a frequency that is the timing of the control mechanism, converts this generated signal into a pulse-like signal, and amplifies the power. When the pulse signal from the drive section 42 is detected between the light emitting section 41a and the light receiving section 41b of the detector 41 through the user's hand, this detection signal is recognized by the arithmetic control section 43 as a true signal. If it is determined whether the signal is present or not, and if it is confirmed that it is a true signal, the motor actuator 44 is actuated, thereby causing the motor 21 to start rotating. In this case, once the motor 21 starts rotating in response to the detection signal, it will not be detected even if a detection signal comes thereafter, and the motor 21 will stop operating at the valve open position and the valve closed position by the limit switch 36. After the rotation of the motor 21 is stopped at each of the above positions, the rotation of the motor 21 is started by the next detection signal. Control is also performed by the calculation control section 43.

To explain the operation mode of the non-contact type faucet having the above-mentioned configuration, first, the handle 40 is rotated to adjust the flow rate of water flowing from the water supply side pipe portion 2 of the faucet body 1 through the bypass flow channel 14. Set the required flow rate in advance. The push rod 20 in this faucet is normally retracted to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Mouth 18
is blocked. When the user approaches the non-contact type detector 41 to supply water, a detection signal is generated and the motor 21 rotates. The valve 19 is pushed to open the valve port 18, and water from the faucet main body 1 is discharged from the water spout 7 of the water spout side pipe portion 3. When the push rod 20 moves (forward) from the valve closed position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 to the valve fully open position shown by the dashed-dotted line, the limit switch 36
is activated, the rotation of the motor 21 is stopped, and the pushing rod 20 is thereby stopped, thereby maintaining the valve fully open state. In this case, the motor 21 will not stop even if the hand approaches the detector 41 after the push rod 20 starts forward movement until it stops. After supplying water with the valve fully open, when you bring your hand close to the detector 41 again, a detection signal is generated and the motor 2
1 starts rotating, the push rod 20 starts to move back from the valve fully open position shown by the dashed dotted line in FIG. The pushing rod 20 stops and the valve is maintained in the closed state. In this case as well, after the push rod 20 starts its backward movement, the detector 41
The motor 21 will not stop even if you bring your hand close to it. The discharge flow rate (water supply flow rate) of the water outlet 7 can be set to a desired amount by rotating the handle 40 of the water flow control valve 15 in advance.

In addition, when using a commercially available ready-made faucet body as the faucet body 1, due to manufacturing errors of the faucet body, etc., the distance between the valve seat 4 and the cylindrical upright part 5 for each faucet body to be used is Height to tip H
In many cases, there is slight variation in the dimensions, but such dimensional variations can be absorbed by the packing 10, and if necessary, a packing of any thickness may be used.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
In this faucet, a valve seat 45 that is vertically slidable is located at the upstream end of the valve chamber 16, that is, at its inlet side.
has been established. According to this, for example, the faucet body 1
When supplying water by connecting a hose to the water spout 7 of the water supply port 7, if for some reason the water pressure on the water supply side pipe 3 side becomes abnormally higher than that on the upstream side, the ball valve 19 will move to the position shown by the solid line in the drawing or It is pushed up from the position shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure by the abnormal water pressure on the downstream side and fitted into the valve seat 45, and the valve seat 45 is also pushed up as it is, so that its upper end surface comes into close contact with the water flow control valve 15 as shown by the one-dot chain line in the drawing. In this way, the inlet of the valve chamber 16 is closed, and backflow of water from the downstream side to the upstream side can be prevented. The other configurations are the same as in the previous embodiment.

(Effects of the invention) The non-contact water supply device of the present invention can be used like a conventional water faucet by adjusting the discharge flow rate to the desired flow rate according to the location and conditions of use using the water flow control valve. Since the valve can be opened and closed without touching the opening/closing operation part, the faucet can always be used in a clean state, and the user will not feel uncomfortable. In addition, in the water supply valve device of the present invention, the ball valve, which is normally closed by water pressure, is opened by pushing a push rod using a reciprocating mechanism driven by the rotation of a motor, so a large driving force is required. Therefore, a small motor operated by a battery can be used, and the valve device can be made smaller and lighter. Furthermore, the faucet of the present invention can use the faucet body of an existing faucet that has already been installed in a predetermined location, and can also attach an integral body of the inner pipe, outer pipe, and cap member to the faucet body. Since the device can be installed in one piece, installation is easy and costs are low, and it is also very advantageous in terms of maintenance.

Since the casing containing the non-contact detector, control mechanism, and motor is located above the faucet, this device can be installed even when the distance between the faucet and the bottom of the sink is narrow.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a non-contact faucet showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately along the - line of Fig. −
4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a faucet showing another embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control mechanism. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Faucet main body, 2... Water supply side pipe part, 3... Water discharge side pipe part, 4... Valve seat of faucet main body, 5... Cylindrical upright part, 7...
Faucet body spout, 9...inner pipe, 11...outer pipe, 12
...Cap member, 14...Bypass flow channel, 15...
Water flow control valve, 16...Valve chamber, 18...Valve port, 19...Ball valve, 20...Pushing rod, 21...Motor, 22...Reciprocating mechanism, 23...Control mechanism, 41...Non-contact type detector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A water supply side pipe section, a water discharge side pipe section, a valve seat provided between the two, a valve body that abuts and separates from the valve seat, a valve stem that raises and lowers the valve body, and a valve seat that is attached to the upper end of the valve stem. For faucets that have a handle, a cylindrical upright part that supports the valve stem above the valve seat, and a union nut provided on the cylindrical upright part, the union nut, handle, and valve stem are removed and replaced. It can be attached to the cylindrical upright part of a faucet, and its lower end abuts in a watertight manner against a valve seat provided between the water supply side pipe section and the water discharge side pipe section of the faucet body. an inner pipe, and an outer pipe whose lower end is removably attached to the cylindrical upright part of the faucet body in a watertight manner;
A cap member that is removably attached to the upper end of the outer pipe so as to cover the upper end of the outer pipe in a watertight manner is integrally provided, and between the inner pipe and the inner and outer pipes communicating with the inner pipe, the above-mentioned water supply side pipe and water discharge are connected. A bypass flow channel that communicates with the side pipe is formed, a water flow control valve is provided in the cap member to adjust the amount of water flowing through the bypass flow channel, and the water flow control valve is formed in the outer pipe downstream of the water flow control valve. A valve chamber is provided in the bypass flow channel, and in this valve chamber, a ball valve is disposed that normally closes the valve port communicating with the water discharge side pipe section by water pressure, and the ball valve is pushed. A push rod that opens the valve port is provided in a valve chamber so as to be able to move forward and backward, and this push rod is controlled by a battery-driven motor that is controlled by a control mechanism that has a non-contact detector that is activated when a hand approaches. The non-contact detector is driven by a reciprocating mechanism so that the push rod moves from the forward position to the retreat position or from the retreat position to the forward position each time the hand approaches the non-contact detector. A non-contact faucet characterized in that a casing containing a control mechanism and a motor is located above the faucet.