JP2025063294A - Fluid Control Device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a fluid control device that improves the positional accuracy of a valve element, which is inserted into a hole bored in a fluid pipe in a casing, to enhance the controllability of a fluid in the pipe, and can reduce the size, weight and cost of equipment for construction work.SOLUTION: A fluid control device has a flow control valve 10 comprising: a casing 5 of a divided structure that is externally fitted to a fluid pipe 1 in a sealing manner; a valve element 11 insertable in a hole 1b that is bored in the fluid pipe 1 such that fluid is not interrupted; and a valve casing 12. The casing 5 has a neck part 5d comprising an open end portion 5c for installing the flow control valve 10 in the casing 5, and an opening portion 5b opened in the other direction of the open end portion for removably attaching a work valve device 3 that can open and close the inside of the casing 5. The valve casing 12 of the flow control valve 10 has a peripheral side part 13 that movably receives the valve element 11 and has a closed base end portion and an open tip portion. The peripheral side part 13 is inserted in the neck part 5d together with the valve element 11. On the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral side part 13 of the valve casing 12, a sealing member 21 formed in an annular shape is provided for abutting on the inner peripheral surface of the neck part 5d.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

The present invention relates to a fluid control device having a housing with a split structure that hermetically fits a fluid pipe, and a flow control valve that controls the fluid in the pipe by inserting a valve body into a hole in the fluid pipe that is drilled in the housing without interrupting the flow.

Conventional fluid control devices include a housing with a split structure (split T-shaped pipe) that is fitted hermetically around an existing fluid pipe, a working valve device (work gate valve) and a drilling device (drilling machine) that are connected to the open end of the upper end of the neck that constitutes the housing, and after the drilling device drills the fluid pipe inside the housing, a flow control valve (valve case, gate valve body) is inserted into the working valve device that has blocked the inside of the housing using a flow control valve installation device (work case, operating rod, jack mechanism) in place of the drilling device after drilling and connected to the housing, and the valve body (gate valve body) of this flow control valve is inserted into the pipe through the hole in the fluid pipe, and the inner peripheral surface of the fluid pipe serves as a valve seat, thereby controlling the fluid in the pipe (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-38584 A (page 18, Figure 33)

However, in Patent Document 1, a working valve device is connected to the open end formed at the upper end of the neck of a split T-shaped pipe that constitutes a housing fitted over a fluid pipe, and a drilling device or, alternatively, a flow control valve installation device is connected to the upper end of the working valve device by superimposing it on the upper end, and this flow control valve is sealed and connected to the open end of the upper end of the neck of the housing. As a result, the extension stroke of the cutter provided with the drilling device and the flow control valve installation device becomes long, and the drilling or the valve body cannot be inserted in the designed position, resulting in a positional deviation, and a problem occurs in which it is not possible to maintain high controllability of the fluid in the pipe. In particular, when the extension stroke of the drilling device becomes long, a slight surface contact deviation of the mounting part of the drilling device can cause a large positional deviation in the drilling position, and there is a risk that the valve body will be damaged when the valve body is inserted. Furthermore, as the extension stroke becomes longer, the construction equipment, such as drilling equipment, flow control valve installation equipment, and working valve equipment, becomes larger, which not only increases the equipment and construction costs, but also causes the weight of these items to place excessive strain on existing fluid pipes.

The present invention was made with a focus on these problems, and aims to provide a fluid control device that improves the positional accuracy of the holes drilled in the fluid pipe inside the housing and the valve body inserted into these holes, improves the controllability of the fluid in the pipe, and enables the size, weight, and cost of construction equipment such as drilling equipment, flow control valve installation equipment, and working valve equipment to be reduced.

In order to solve the above problems, the fluid control device of the present invention comprises:
A fluid control device comprising at least a housing having a split structure for sealingly fitting a fluid pipe, and a flow control valve including a valve body and a valve housing that can be inserted into a hole of the fluid pipe that is drilled in the housing in an uninterrupted flow state,
the housing has a neck portion having an open end portion for installing the flow control valve in the housing and an opening portion for attaching and detaching a working valve device capable of opening and closing the inside of the housing,
The flow control valve is characterized in that a first sealing member formed in an annular shape is provided between the peripheral surface of the valve housing of the flow control valve and the peripheral surface of the neck portion on the fluid pipe side relative to the opening.
According to this feature, since the neck of the housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the working valve device, the mounting position of the working valve device can be brought closer to the fluid pipe, so that the drilling stroke is shortened, the positional deviation of the drilling can be minimized, and the size, weight, and cost of the construction equipment such as the working valve device and the drilling machine can be reduced. In addition, the annular first sealing member provided between the valve housing of the flow control valve and the peripheral surface on the fluid pipe side of the opening of the neck can seal the valve housing at a position beyond the opening of the neck, so that the opening and the open end can be blocked simultaneously in this sealed state. Therefore, the fulcrum when the valve body of this flow control valve is inserted into the hole of the fluid pipe is ensured, the stroke length is reduced, the positional accuracy of the valve body is improved, and the controllability of the fluid in the pipe can be improved.

This is characterized in that a second sealing member formed in an annular shape is provided between the peripheral surface of the valve housing of the flow control valve and the peripheral surface of the neck portion closer to the open end than the opening.
According to this feature, even if the first sealing member temporarily separates from the inner surface of the neck as it passes over the opening, the second sealing member can seal the inner surface of the neck at this time, so that the sealed state can be maintained until the valve housing is completely inserted.

The peripheral surface of the neck portion is characterized in that it is formed linearly in the insertion direction of the valve housing.
According to this feature, not only can the valve housing be easily inserted along the inner surface of the neck portion which is formed in a straight line, but also the sealing state of the sealing member which contacts this peripheral surface can be stabilized.

The valve housing of the flow control valve is characterized by having an openable and closable air vent hole at an upper end of the valve housing.
According to this feature, almost all of the air inside the valve housing can be discharged through the air vent hole formed at the upper end of the valve housing, thereby not only avoiding the risk of the air inside the valve housing being compressed and leading to an unexpected accident, but also suppressing corrosion of the valve housing.

The opening of the neck portion is characterized in that it opens in the direction of the fluid pipe.
According to this feature, the working valve device attached to the opening can be extended in the pipeline direction of the fluid pipe, making it easy to ensure an attachment area for the working valve device.

The housing is characterized by including an engagement portion that restricts movement of the flow control valve disposed on the housing in a circumferential direction.
According to this feature, the engagement portion can restrict the flow control valve from moving in the circumferential direction relative to the housing, thereby preventing the flow control valve from moving due to the flow of fluid in the pipe.

The housing is characterized by including a positioning portion that positions the working valve device attached to the opening.
According to this feature, the positioning portion allows the working valve device to be accurately attached to the opening, so that the function of opening and closing the inside of the housing by the working valve device can be maintained.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a housing constituting the fluid control device in the embodiment. 1A is a partially sectional front view showing a housing with a fluid pipe fitted thereon, and FIG. 1B is a side sectional view of the same. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the housing similar to FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the working valve device assembled to the housing. 4A is a plan sectional view showing a housing member of the working valve device, and FIG. 4B is a plan sectional view showing a mounting member of the working valve device. FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view showing the drilling machine assembled in the housing. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which a fluid pipe is being drilled by a drilling machine; FIG. FIG. 11 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a state in which chips are discharged by a discharger. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a hydraulic rod, which is an insertion means, in the embodiment assembled to the operating valve device. FIG. 10 is a partially cut-away perspective view similar to FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a flow control valve attached to a hydraulic rod. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a sealing member in an embodiment, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a sealing member in a first modified example, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a sealing member in a second modified example. FIG. 12 is a partially cut-away perspective view similar to FIG. FIG. 11 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a state in which the flow control valve is being inserted by the hydraulic rod. FIG. 11 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a state in which installation of the flow control valve is completed by the hydraulic rod. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a flow restriction valve fixed to a housing. 17 is a partially sectional front view similar to FIG. 16. 17 is a partially sectional side view similar to FIG. 16. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a screw-type insertion machine which is an insertion means in a modified example.

The following describes an embodiment of the fluid control device according to the present invention.

The fluid control device and its installation method according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 19. As shown in Figs. 16 to 18, the fluid control device according to the present invention is mainly composed of a housing 5 that fits over a fluid pipe 1, and a flow control valve 10 that is installed in the housing 5 and controls the fluid in the pipe. In this embodiment, the fluid control device and its installation method will be described as a series of steps from drilling holes in a predetermined location of an existing fluid pipe 1, which is a pipeline component, in an uninterrupted flow state, to installing the flow control valve 10 in the housing 5. Note that the fluid in the fluid pipe 1 is clean water in this embodiment, but it may be, for example, industrial water, agricultural water, sewage, or other liquids other than water, or it may be gas or a gas-liquid mixture of gas and liquid.

The fluid pipe 1 of this embodiment is a relatively small-diameter ductile cast iron pipe, and is formed as a straight pipe with a generally circular cross section as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In this embodiment, the fluid pipe 1 is disposed in a generally horizontal direction. The fluid pipe according to the present invention may be made of other metals such as cast iron and steel, or may be made of concrete, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polyolefin, etc. Furthermore, the inner surface of the fluid pipe may be covered with an epoxy resin layer, mortar, plating, etc., or the inner surface of the fluid pipe may be covered with an appropriate material by powder coating.

The fluid pipe of the present invention is not limited to a straight pipe as in this embodiment, but may be, for example, an irregular pipe. An irregular pipe is a general term for a pipe that has at least a portion of various irregular parts, such as a curved pipe section, a branch section, a cross section, a different diameter section, a joint section, a short pipe section, a drainage section, etc.

First, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the outer surface of the fluid pipe 1, which is the mounting location of the fluid control device according to the present invention, is cleaned, and then the housing 5 constituting the fluid control device is fitted in a sealed manner via a seal member 4 for sealing the perforated portion of the fluid pipe 1, which will be described later. The housing 5 has a multi-part structure, and in this embodiment, it is mainly composed of a first divided body 51 constituting the upper side and a second divided body 52 constituting the lower side. The divided structure of the housing 5 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be divided, for example, horizontally, or may be divided into a predetermined number of parts, such as three or more. In this embodiment, the divided housings are joined together in a sealed state by fastening members 2 consisting of bolts and nuts, but this is not limited to this and may be joined by welding, for example.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first division 51 of the housing 5 is formed in an inverted T-shape when viewed from the front, and is composed of a conduit housing section 5a that extends in the conduit direction along the fluid pipe 1, and a cylindrical neck section 5d that branches off and extends in the vertical direction approximately at the center of the conduit housing section 5a, has an open end section 5c that opens upward, and an opening section 5b that opens to the side.

Furthermore, the open end 5c of the neck 5d has a pair of flange-shaped flanges 5e, 5e that protrude in the outer diameter direction toward the pipeline direction of the fluid pipe 1, and notches 5f, 5f that serve as engagement parts recessed in the inner diameter direction at the circumferential center position of the flanges 5e.

The neck 5d has a pipe thickness portion 5g on its cylindrical peripheral side whose outer surface protrudes in the radial direction, and the pipe thickness portion 5g has an opening 5b that opens toward one side in the pipe direction of the fluid pipe 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the opening 5b opens in a horizontally elongated, approximately rectangular shape in side view, and is formed so that the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3 can be inserted therethrough, as described below.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the inner periphery of the neck 5d has an inner periphery 5h that is curved and linear in the vertical direction, which is generally circular in plan view, a recessed portion 5i recessed in the outer diameter direction at the same height as the opening 5b, an inner periphery 5j formed below the recessed portion 5i and generally flush with the upper inner periphery 5h in the vertical direction, and a step portion 5k that is connected to the lower end of the inner periphery 5j and protrudes in the inner diameter direction.

Next, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the working valve device 3 is connected in a sealed manner to the opening 5b of the neck 5d. The working valve device 3 is mainly composed of a working valve body 31 that slides openably and closably within the housing 5, a housing member 32 as a working valve housing having a housing interior 32a that houses the working valve body 31 so that it can slide horizontally and an opening portion 32b whose one side end is open, and an attachment member 33 with a curved inner circumferential surface that can be fitted externally to the neck 5d together with the housing member 32.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the housing member 32 is rotatably and immovably supported and has a horizontally extending shaft member 34, to which the working valve body 31 is screwed, and the working valve body 31 is configured to be slidable relative to the housing member 32 by rotating an operating member 35 attached to the tip end 34a of the shaft member 34 that protrudes outward from the housing member 32. In addition, support parts 36, 36 for supporting a hydraulic rod 60, which will be described later, are provided on the upper surface of the housing member 32 and the upper surface of the mounting member 33.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface of the working valve body 31 is covered with a plate-shaped sealing member 31a, which is configured to hermetically close the inside of the housing 5.

Regarding the detailed installation procedure of the working valve device 3, first, the housing member 32 is placed on the outer surface of the neck 5d at a position where its open portion 32b communicates with the opening 5b of the neck 5d. At this time, as shown in Figures 4 and 5(a), the pipe thickness portion 5g of the neck 5d has a pair of protrusions 5m as positioning portions that protrude laterally from the opening 5b, and the inner periphery of the engagement portion 32c, which is formed on the side of the open portion 32b of the housing member 32 and is approximately L-shaped in plan view and approximately U-shaped in side view, engages with this protrusion 5m, so that the housing member 32 is positioned at a position where its open portion 32b communicates with the opening 5b of the neck 5d. In this way, the protrusion 5m allows the working valve device 3 to be accurately attached to the opening 5b, so that the opening and closing function of the working valve device 3 in the housing 5 can be maintained.

Next, the mounting member 33 is placed on the outer surface of the neck 5d at a position opposite the housing member 32 across the neck 5d. At this time, as shown in Figures 4 and 5(b), the inner periphery of the engagement portion 33a, which is approximately U-shaped in side view and formed on the mounting member 33, engages with the pipe thickness portion 5g of the neck 5d, so that the mounting member 33 is positioned at a position opposite the housing member 32 across the neck 5d. In addition, the engagement portion 33a is configured to be approximately U-shaped in side view discontinuously in the circumferential direction in this embodiment, but is not limited to this, and may be configured to be approximately U-shaped in side view continuously in the circumferential direction. Note that the corner shape of the three sides that constitute the approximately U-shaped side view of the engagement portion 32c described above, or the corner shape of the three sides that constitute the approximately U-shaped side view of the engagement portion 33a may be rectangular as in this embodiment, or may be rounded.

In this way, the working valve device 3 attached to the opening 5b can be extended in the pipeline direction of the fluid pipe 1, so that the upper area of the fluid pipe 1 can be used as the attachment area for the working valve device 3, making it easy to secure this area.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the housing member 32 and the mounting member 33 are fastened together. In this embodiment, the base end 37a of the bolt 37 is connected to both ends of the mounting member 33 in a hinged manner, and the bolt 37 is rotated toward the housing member 32 and inserted into a gap 32d formed on the outer periphery of the engagement portion 33a of the housing member 32, and then the nut 38 is screwed onto the tip of the bolt 37 to fasten them together. That is, in this embodiment, the bolt 37 and the nut 38 form the fastening member. In this way, since the bolt 37 forming the fastening member is connected to the mounting member 33, not only can the fastening operation be easily performed, but the mounting member 33 can also be positioned relative to the housing member 32 as the bolt 37 is inserted into the gap 32d.

In addition, the housing member 32 is provided with a seal member 39 surrounding the periphery of the open portion 32b, and the seal member 39 is tightly fitted to the periphery of the opening 5b by fastening the fastening member described above, thereby sealing the opening 5b and the open portion 32b. In this way, by installing the working valve device 3 at the opening 5b provided in the neck portion 5d, the mounting positions of the drilling machine 7 and hydraulic rod 60 described later can be brought as close as possible to the fluid pipe 1, and the extension stroke of the drilling machine 7 and hydraulic rod 60 approaching the fluid pipe 1 can be shortened, resulting in the drilling machine 7 and hydraulic rod 60 being made smaller, lighter, and less expensive (see Figures 6 and 11).

The fastening members are not limited to those in this embodiment. For example, the housing member 32 and the mounting member 33 may each have a through hole that communicates with each other, and bolts may be inserted into these through holes and fastened with nuts.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the drilling machine 7 is connected in a sealed manner to the open end 5c of the neck 5d. The drilling machine 7 is mainly composed of an attachment flange tube 71, a cutter 72 for drilling holes in the fluid pipe 1, a drive motor 74 for rotating the cutter 72 in the attachment flange tube 71, and an advance/retract mechanism 73 for advancing and retracting the cutter 72 in the vertical direction. The cutter 72 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the fluid pipe 1, and is composed of a hole saw 72a with a cutting blade along the circumferential direction at its tip, and a center drill 72b arranged coaxially with the rotation axis of the hole saw 72a and protruding beyond the cutting blade. The cutter 72 is arranged concentrically with the open end 5c of the neck 5d of the housing 5, and is inserted into the neck 5d of the housing 5 from the open end 5c side, and can advance at least to a position where it penetrates the pipe wall at the top of the fluid pipe 1.

The procedure for mounting the drilling machine 7 will be described below. The recessed portion 75 formed at the tip of the mounting flange tube 71 is fitted into the open end 5c of the neck 5d. More specifically, the recessed portion 75 of the mounting flange tube 71 has an inner wall portion 75a that is fitted inside the side wall of the open end 5c, an outer wall portion 75b that is fitted outside the side wall of the open end 5c, and an inner bottom portion 75c that constitutes the base end of the inner wall portion 75a and the outer wall portion 75b. The side wall of the open end 5c is sandwiched between the inner wall portion 75a and the outer wall portion 75b, and the inner bottom portion 75c is abutted against the end face of the open end 5c, so that the mounting flange tube 71 of the drilling machine 7 is fitted in a positioned state to the open end 5c of the neck 5d.

A seal member 76 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inner wall portion 75a, and this seal member 76 is in close contact with the side wall of the open end portion 5c, so that the mounting flange tube 71 of the drilling machine 7 and the neck portion 5d of the housing 5 are sealed in this fitted state.

Furthermore, in this fitted state, an engagement member 77 having a split structure and an inner peripheral portion that is roughly U-shaped in cross section and engages with the outer wall portion 75b is attached along the outer periphery of the outer wall portion 75b.

The order of connecting the working valve device 3 to the opening 5b of the neck 5d and the drilling machine 7 to the open end 5c of the neck 5d is not necessarily limited to the above-mentioned order. The working valve device 3 may be connected after the drilling machine 7, or these connection operations may be performed simultaneously.

Next, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the process of drilling the fluid pipe 1 using the drilling machine 7 will be described. First, the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3 is placed inside the housing 32a of the housing member 32, and the inside of the housing 5 is opened. The cutter 72 is rotated by the drive motor 74 of the drilling machine 7, and the handle 73a that constitutes the advance/retract mechanism 73 is rotated to move the cutter 72 downward, drilling the pipe wall at the top of the fluid pipe 1 without interrupting the flow.

At this time, for example, a ball valve (not shown) is installed in a female screw hole 5p formed below the opening 5b of the housing 5 as an opening that communicates with the inside of the housing 5, and chips generated during drilling are discharged to the outside together with the fluid. The chip discharge port is not limited to the above, and chips generated during drilling may be discharged to the outside together with the fluid by opening the opening 32e formed on the upper surface of the housing member 32 of the working valve device 3 and opening/closing valve 32f connected to the upper end of the opening 32e. The ball valve described above is removed without interrupting the flow after drilling, and is replaced with an opening/closing bolt 5n as shown in FIG. 18 for sealing.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the fluid pipe 1 is cut by the cutter 72, the piece 1a of the pipe top separated from the fluid pipe 1 is held in the hole saw 72a. Then, the cutter 72 is raised together with the piece 1a into the inside of the mounting flange tube 71, and the inside of the housing 5 is closed by the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3, completing the drilling operation of the fluid pipe 1. At this time, the mounting position of the drilling machine 7 is close to the fluid pipe 1, and the drilling operation is performed by inserting and fitting the inner wall part 75a of the mounting flange tube 71 and the inner peripheral surface 5h of the neck part 5d, so that the drilling machine 7 is positioned as concentrically as possible with respect to the housing 5, and even if there is a deviation in the parallelism of the connecting surface between the mounting flange of the drilling machine 7 main body and the mounting flange tube 71, the effect on the drilling portion is minimized and drilling deviation is suppressed.

Next, with the inside of the housing 5 sealed by the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3, the drilling machine 7 is removed, and in place of the drilling machine 7, a discharger 8 is connected to the open end 5c of the neck 5d to discharge the chips generated during drilling.

As shown in Figure 8, the discharger 8 is mainly composed of a mounting flange tube 81 fixedly attached to the open end 5c of the neck 5d, a short tube 82 connected to the upper end of the mounting flange tube 81, a flexible tube 83 made of an elastic material connected to the short tube 82, an operating tube 84 connected to the upper end of the flexible tube 83, and a discharge pipe 85 sealedly inserted through these tubes 81, 82, 83, and 84. The rear end of the discharge pipe 85 protrudes outward from the operating tube 84, and is connected to an opening/closing valve (not shown) that opens and closes the inside of the discharge pipe 85.

The connection between the mounting flange tube 81 of the discharger 8 and the open end 5c of the neck 5d is the same as the connection between the mounting flange tube 71 of the drilling machine 7 and the open end 5c of the neck 5d described above, so a description is omitted.

Next, the chip discharge process by the discharger 8 will be described. By opening the on-off valve (not shown) connected to the rear end of the discharge pipe 85, the chips in the fluid pipe 1 and the housing 5 can be discharged together with the fluid. At this time, by grasping the operating tube 84 that fits coaxially around the discharge pipe 85 and using the elastic deformation of the flexible tube 83 to freely tilt it relative to the mounting flange tube 81, the suction port 85a at the tip of the discharge pipe 85 can be moved to the desired position within the housing 5, so that even if chips are scattered throughout the fluid pipe 1 and the housing 5, almost the entire amount can be discharged.

Next, with the inside of the housing 5 blocked by the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3, the discharger 8 is removed, and in place of the discharger 8, a flow control valve 10 for controlling the fluid in the pipe is connected to the open end 5c of the neck 5d.

Prior to the installation of the flow control valve 10, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, a pair of hydraulic rods 60 are first erected vertically on the support parts 36, 36 of the working valve device 3 as an insertion means for inserting the flow control valve 10 into the housing 5. The hydraulic rod 60 is mainly composed of a support plate 61 connected to the support part 36 of the working valve device 3, a cylinder 62 with an internal structure fixed and supported by the support plate 61, and a piston 63 with one end inserted into the cylinder 62. The hydraulic rod 60 can be extended and retracted by supplying hydraulic fluid such as oil from a supply pump or the like through hydraulic fluid hoses (not shown) connected to the supply ports 62a, 62a into the inside of the cylinder 62, while pressing the piston 63 up and down with the hydraulic pressure. The pair of hydraulic rods 60, 60 are configured so that the pistons 63, 63 extend and retract in sync, and the upper ends are always positioned in the same position.

As shown in Figure 11, the flow control valve 10 is mainly composed of a plug 11 (valve body) that passes through a bored hole 1b in the fluid pipe 1 and moves up and down to open and close the inside of the pipe, and a valve housing 12 that houses the plug 11 so that it can move up and down and has a peripheral side part 13 with an open lower end. The valve housing 12 is equipped with a shaft member 14 that is rotatable and pivoted so that it cannot move back and forth and is extended in the vertical direction, the plug 11 is screwed onto this shaft member 14, and the plug 11 is configured to move up and down relative to the valve housing 12 by rotating an operating part 14a at the upper end of the shaft member 14 that protrudes outward from the valve housing 12.

More specifically, the plug 11 is mainly composed of a female screw piece 11a with a female screw threaded on the shaft member 14, a core portion 11b that engages with the female screw piece 11a and moves in accordance with it, and a plug portion 11c made of an elastic material that covers the entire outer surface of the core portion 11b. The plug 11 moves into the pipe through the hole portion 1b of the lower fluid pipe 1 by the rotation of the shaft member 14 described above, and the plug portion 11c comes into close contact with the hole portion 1b and the inner surface 1c of the fluid pipe 1 over the entire circumference, completely blocking the flow path in the pipe, or partially blocking the flow path in the pipe depending on the amount of movement of the plug portion 11c, thereby controlling the flow rate. Note that the plug portion 11c is not limited to being covered by the core portion 11b, but may be removable, or may be provided only on the part necessary to block the flow path in the pipe.

The valve housing 12 of the flow control valve 10 has an air vent hole 13a formed at its upper end with a female thread that penetrates the peripheral side portion 13 laterally and into which the normally closed opening/closing plug 15 screws. Two recesses 13b, 13b are formed along the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface of the lower end side of the peripheral side portion 13, spaced apart from each other at the top and bottom, and sealing members 21, 22 are provided in each recess 13b. In the following description, the lower end side (tip side) of the valve housing 12 will be referred to as the first sealing member 21, and the side above the first sealing member 21 (base end side) will be referred to as the second sealing member 22.

As shown in FIG. 12(a), the first sealing member 21 and the second sealing member 22 of this embodiment are made of elastic material integrally formed in a ring shape, and have the same shape. The first sealing member 21 is composed of a base end side holding portion 21a held between the bulging portion 13c formed on the bottom surface of the recess 13b and the inner wall of the recess 13b, and a deformation portion 21b connected to the holding portion 21a and allowing elastic deformation. In the natural state before elastic deformation, these sealing members 21 and 22 are formed so that the outermost diameter of the deformation portion 21b is larger than the inner diameter of the neck portion 5d. In addition, the deformation portion 21b of this embodiment has a bulging portion 21c that bulges in the inner and outer radial direction, a protruding portion 21d that protrudes in the tip direction, and a concave portion 21e that is formed in a concave shape spanning the bulging portion 21c and the protruding portion 21d. The second sealing member 22 has the same shape as the first sealing member 21 described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The vertical separation distance between the first sealing member 21 and the second sealing member 22 is configured to be greater than the vertical opening width of the opening 5b of the neck portion 5d.

Next, the installation process of the flow control valve 10 will be described. As shown in Figures 11 and 13, the pistons 63, 63 of the hydraulic rod 60 are extended, and a pressing member 64 for pressing the flow control valve 10 is installed on the upper end of the pistons 63, 63 and fastened with a nut 65. Furthermore, the upper end periphery of the valve housing 12 of the flow control valve 10 is fitted into a fitting portion 64a formed through the approximate center of the pressing member 64, and the pistons 63, 63 are operated downward by hydraulic pressure, so that a downward pressing force is applied to the flow control valve 10 via the pressing surface 64b, which is the bottom surface of the pressing member 64, and the flow control valve 10 is gradually moved downward within the neck portion 5d.

As shown in FIG. 14, the flow control valve 10 inserted into the neck 5d by the hydraulic rod 60 is kept sealed by at least the sealing member 21 being in close contact with the inner circumferential surface 5h above the opening 5b of the neck 5d. In this sealed state, the working valve body 31 of the working valve device 3 is opened. At this time, the opening/closing valve 32f of the working valve device 3 and the ball valve attached to the female screw hole 5p of the housing 5 may be connected with a hose to equalize the pressure, and the working valve body 31 may be opened to reduce resistance to the working valve body 31. At this time, the lower part of the neck 5d is filled with liquid (fluid in the pipe) at the pipe pressure, and the upper part is filled with air at atmospheric pressure, which is lower than the pipe pressure, with the boundary being the close contact part where the first sealing member 21 arranged on the lower side is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface 5j below the opening 5b of the neck 5d, so that a predetermined pressure difference is generated. That is, the inner circumferential surface 5j below the opening 5b of the neck 5d functions as a valve seat that seals the flow control valve 10. In this case, when the plug body 11 moves downward with the hydraulic rod 60, it does not come into contact with the working valve body 31, and it is necessary to stop it at a position where it is sealed by the sealing member 21. For example, a spacer may be interposed between the pressing member 64 and the working valve device 3 to manage the restriction of movement.

In this embodiment, the fluid pipe 1 and the neck 5d of the housing 5 fitted thereto are formed with a small diameter, so the force acting upward on the flow control valve 10 is relatively small, and the hydraulic rod 60 can press the flow control valve 10 further downward against this upward force.

When the flow control valve 10 moves downward, the first sealing member 21 that had been sealing the inner surface 5h of the neck 5d passes through the opening 5b and is separated from the inner surface 5h of the neck 5d, temporarily losing its sealed state, but at this time the second sealing member 22 above seals the inner surface 5h of the neck 5d. In other words, the first sealing member 21 and the second sealing member 22, which are separated vertically, always maintain a sealed state until the flow control valve 10 is installed, preventing fluid leakage.

In addition, the inner circumferential surface 5h above the opening 5b of the neck 5d and the inner circumferential surface 5j below the opening 5b are formed in a straight line in the vertical direction, which is the insertion direction of the valve housing 12. This not only makes it easier to insert the valve housing 12, but also stabilizes the sealed state of the sealing members 21, 22 that contact these inner circumferential surfaces 5h, 5j.

According to the above-mentioned cross-sectional shape of the sealing members 21, 22 of this embodiment, the pressure of the fluid in the pipe acts on the surface of the recessed portion 21e formed in a concave shape spanning the bulging portion 21c that bulges in the inner and outer radial directions and the protruding portion 21d, thereby obtaining a lip seal effect that brings the bulging portion 21c into close contact with the inner circumferential surfaces 5h, 5j of the neck portion 5d and the recessed portion 13b of the peripheral side portion 13, thereby improving the sealing performance and reducing the insertion resistance of the flow control valve 10.

As shown in FIG. 15, the flow control valve 10 is pressed to an installation position where the first sealing member 21 is below the opening 5b and in close contact with the inner circumferential surface 5j of the neck 5d, and the second sealing member 22 is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface 5h above the opening 5b. At this installation position, the hooks 13e, 13e extending further downward from the protruding portion 13d protruding from the outer diameter side of the peripheral portion 13 of the valve housing 12 are fitted into the notch 5f formed as an engagement portion in the open end 5c of the neck 5d of the housing 5, and the flow control valve 10 can be restricted from moving in the circumferential direction relative to the housing 5, thereby preventing the flow control valve 10 from moving due to the flow of the fluid in the pipe.

Next, the flange 5e of the open end 5c of the housing 5 and the overhanging portion 13d of the flow control valve 10 overlapping therewith are fitted with a fitting member 19 having a split structure formed in a roughly U-shape in cross section, thereby preventing the flow control valve 10 from slipping out of the housing 5 in the upward direction.

In addition, at the installation position of the flow control valve 10, the opening and closing plug 15 is screwed out to open the air vent hole 13a, thereby releasing the air remaining in the valve housing 12 of the sealed flow control valve 10 to the outside. More specifically, the opening and closing plug 15 is composed of a male screw member 15a having a communication passage 15c formed from its tip to its circumferential surface on the base end side, and an O-ring 15b provided on the washer part of the male screw member 15a to seal the outer surface of the valve housing 12. When the opening and closing plug 15 is slightly screwed out, the air in the valve housing 12 is released to the outside through the communication passage 15c and further through the gap between the O-ring 15b and the outer surface of the valve housing 12. Here, the air vent hole 13a is formed near the upper end of the valve housing 12, and almost all of the air in the valve housing 12 can be released to the outside without leaving any air behind, so not only can the air in the valve housing 12 be compressed to avoid the risk of an unexpected accident, but corrosion of the valve housing 12 can be suppressed. The air can be released at any time, for example, while the flow control valve 10 is inserted, or it can be released when filling the tank with water by sealing the open end 5c of the housing 5 with the sealing member 21 and connecting the opening/closing valve 32f to a ball valve attached to the female threaded hole 5p of the housing 5 with a hose.

After the flow control valve 10 is installed as described above, as shown in Figures 16 to 18, the pressing member 64 and hydraulic rod 60 attached to the flow control valve 10 are removed, and the working valve device 3 attached to the opening 5b of the housing 5 is then sequentially removed. At this time, the first sealing member 21 seals the inner circumferential surface 5j below the opening 5b of the neck 5d, so leakage of the internal fluid is prevented even if the opening 5b is opened. Therefore, the working valve device 3 can be removed without sealing with the plug 11, and there is no risk of the working valve device 3 deteriorating. As shown in Figures 16 and 17, a blocking lid 9 is attached in a sealed manner to the opening 5b after the working valve device 3 has been removed.

As described above, according to the fluid control device of the present invention, the neck 5d of the housing 5 has an opening 5b for attaching and detaching the working valve device 3, so that the mounting position of the working valve device 3 can be brought closer to the fluid pipe 1, thereby shortening the drilling stroke and minimizing the positional deviation of the drilling. In addition, the annular first sealing member 21 provided between the valve housing 12 of the flow control valve 10 and the circumferential surface on the fluid pipe 1 side of the opening 5b of the neck 5d can seal the tip of the valve housing 12 at a position beyond the opening 5b of the neck 5d, so that the opening 5b and the open end 5c can be simultaneously blocked in this sealed state. Therefore, the fulcrum when the plug 11 of this flow control valve 10 is inserted into the hole 1b of the fluid pipe 1 is ensured, the stroke length is reduced, the positional accuracy of the plug 11 is improved, and the controllability of the fluid in the pipe is improved.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes modifications and additions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the hydraulic rod 60 was configured as the insertion means for inserting the flow control valve 10 into the housing 5, but this is not limited thereto, and for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a pair of screw-type insertion machines 69 may be configured. The screw-type insertion machine 69 is mainly composed of a support plate 91 connected to the support portion 36 of the working valve device 3, a male screw rod 92 fixedly supported by the support plate 91, and a female screw member 93 that clamps and screws a pressing member 94 inserted into the male screw rod 92. By screwing the female screw member 93 downward, the screw-type insertion machine 69 applies a downward pressing force to the flow control valve 10 via the pressing surface 94b, which is the bottom surface of the pressing member 94, and gradually moves the flow control valve 10 downward within the neck portion 5d.

For example, in the above embodiment, the deformation portion 21b that allows the first sealing member 21 and the second sealing member 22 to elastically deform has a bulging portion 21c that bulges in the inner and outer radial direction, a protruding portion 21d that protrudes toward the tip, and a concave portion 21e that is formed in a concave shape spanning these. However, this is not limited to this. For example, as a modified example 1 of the sealing member according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12(b), the deformation portion 23b of the sealing member 23 may be formed into a substantially bulbous cross-sectional shape that smoothly bulges in the inner and outer radial directions and toward the tip. In this way, the deformation portion 23b receives the pressure of the fluid evenly over substantially the entire outer surface, and elastically deforms into a gently curved shape with a large radius of curvature, thereby obtaining a wide sealing surface with the inner peripheral surface of the neck.

Alternatively, as a second modification of the sealing member according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12(c), the deformed portion 24b of the sealing member 24 may be formed in a generally circular cross-sectional shape with a notch 24e on its outer periphery, and this allows for a large allowance for elastic deformation in the outer diameter direction, thereby improving the sealing function between the deformed portion 24b after elastic deformation and the inner circumferential surface of the neck. In addition, the first sealing member 21 and the second sealing member 22 may have different cross-sectional shapes.

In addition, for example, in the above embodiment, an air vent hole 13a for venting air is formed by penetrating laterally through the peripheral portion 13 of the valve housing 12 of the flow control valve 10, but this is not limited thereto. For example, a communication passage for venting air may be formed by penetrating upward around the periphery of the shaft member 14 that penetrates the valve housing 12, and a fixing member that normally closes this communication passage may be attached, and air may be vented through the communication passage by removing or loosening the fixing member when venting air, or air may be vented by pulling the shaft member 14 in the axial direction so as to temporarily release the seal of the shaft member 14.

For example, in the above embodiment, the flow control valve 10 has a plug 11 as its valve body that passes through the hole 1b of the fluid pipe 1 and comes into close contact with the inner surface 1c, but this is not limited to this, and any type of valve body can be used as long as it is capable of controlling the fluid in the pipe.

In addition, for example, in the above embodiment, the hydraulic rod 60 is installed in the working valve device 3, but this is not limited to this, and it may be installed using an existing fluid pipe 1, housing 5, etc.

In addition, for example, in the above embodiment, the hole was drilled with a hole saw 72a having a diameter smaller than that of the fluid pipe 1, but this is not limited to the above. A part of the fluid pipe inside the housing 5 may be cut with a hole saw, a cutting tool, a wire saw, etc. having a diameter larger than that of the fluid pipe 1, and the cut piece may be removed to install a plug that seals the inner surface of the housing as a valve seat, or a flow control valve having an inner valve box with a built-in valve body in an uninterrupted flow state.

In the above embodiment, the fluid pipe 1 is perforated with the hole saw 72a, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, a cutting tool such as an end mill may be used to cut the fluid pipe and form a hole for inserting a plug into the fluid pipe. In this case, as a cutting method in an uninterrupted flow state, for example, an end mill provided on the housing may be rotated to perforate the fluid pipe, and then the end mill together with the housing may be rotated in the circumferential direction of the fluid pipe in an uninterrupted flow state to form a hole, or the end mill together with the housing may be moved in the axial direction of the fluid pipe to form a hole. Alternatively, the housing may be fixed to the fluid pipe, and the end mill may be moved relative to the housing and fluid pipe in a rotating state to form a hole in the fluid pipe.

1 Fluid pipe 1b Hole 1c Inner peripheral surface 3 Work valve device 5 Housing 5b Opening 5c Open end 5d Neck 5f Notch (engaging part)
5h Inner peripheral surface 5j Inner peripheral surface 5m Projecting part (positioning part)
7 Drilling machine 8 Discharge machine 9 Blocking lid 10 Flow control valve 11 Plug body (valve body)
12 Valve housing 13 Peripheral side portion 14 Shaft member 15 Opening/closing plug 13a Air vent hole 21 First sealing member 21b Deformed portion 21c Bulging portion 21e Concave portion 22 Second sealing member 23 Sealing member 24 Sealing member 31 Working valve body 32 Storage member (working valve housing)
33 Mounting member 34 Shaft member 51 First divided body 52 Second divided body 60 Hydraulic rod 62 Cylinder 63 Piston 64 Pressing member 69 Screw-type insertion machine 71 Mounting flange tube 72 Cutter 73 Advance/retract mechanism 74 Drive motor 81 Mounting flange tube 83 Flexible tube 84 Operation tube 85 Discharge pipe

Claims (7)

A fluid control device comprising at least a housing having a split structure for sealingly fitting a fluid pipe, and a flow control valve including a valve body and a valve housing that can be inserted into a hole of the fluid pipe that is drilled in the housing in an uninterrupted flow state,
the housing has an open end for installing the flow control valve in the housing, and a neck portion having an opening that opens in a direction different from the open end and is for attaching and detaching a working valve device that can open and close the inside of the housing,
The valve housing of the flow control valve has a peripheral side portion that movably houses the valve body and has a base end portion that is closed and a tip end portion that is open, and the peripheral side portion of the valve housing is adapted to be inserted into the neck portion together with the valve body,
A fluid control device, characterized in that a sealing member formed in an annular shape is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the peripheral side portion of the valve housing and abuts against an inner peripheral surface of the neck portion. The fluid control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the working valve device has a support part that supports an insertion machine that inserts the flow control valve into the neck part. The fluid control device according to claim 2, characterized in that the support parts are provided in a pair so as to sandwich the neck part in the radial direction. The fluid control device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a hydraulic rod constituting the insertion machine is connected to the support part. A fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a second sealing member formed in an annular shape and abutting against the inner peripheral surface of the neck portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral side portion of the valve housing, closer to the base end of the valve housing than the sealing member. A fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the opening of the neck opens in the direction of the fluid pipe. The fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing has an engagement portion that restricts the movement of the flow control valve installed in the housing in the circumferential direction.

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