Source: http://patents.com/us-6742765.html
Timestamp: 2019-03-20 02:58:08
Document Index: 37469152

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 72', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'art 42', 'arts 31', 'arts 31', 'arts 41', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 51', 'arts 53', 'arts 54', 'art 51', 'art 22', 'art 42', 'arts 22', 'arts 53', 'arts 53', 'arts 31', 'arts 54', 'arts 54', 'arts 41', 'arts 31', 'arts 41', 'arts 53', 'arts 54', 'arts 53', 'arts 54', 'arts 53', 'arts 53', 'arts 54', 'art 42', 'art 22', 'art 51', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'arts 31', 'arts 53', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'arts 41', 'arts 54', 'art 51', 'arts 53', 'arts 53', 'arts 54', 'arts 41', 'arts 31', 'arts 31', 'arts 41']

US Patent # 6,742,765. Operating device and valve system - Patents.com
United States Patent 6,742,765
Takano , et al. June 1, 2004
Operating device and valve system
A spring return type valve system includes: a valve (2) having a valve shaft (22) to be operated rotationally for controlling the flow rate of fluid flowing through a fluid channel; an actuator (4) having an output shaft (42) rotated by an electric motor; a spring unit (3) having a rotating shaft (32) for transmitting the rotational power of the actuator output shaft to the valve shaft and a return spring for giving the rotating shaft a rotational power in one direction; and a yoke (5) for the actuator and the spring unit to be detachably mounted on.
Inventors: Takano; Tomohiro (Tokyo, JP), Miyazaki; Takumi (Tokyo, JP)
Appl. No.: 10/037,393
Jan 10, 2001 [JP] 2001-002875
Current U.S. Class: 251/292
Current International Class: F16K 31/04 (20060101); F16K 031/44 ()
Field of Search: 251/291,292,68,69,70,71 137/556,556.3
3430916 March 1969 Raymond, Jr.
4705063 November 1987 Robinson
4780785 October 1988 Schabert et al.
4817658 April 1989 Lyons
4997069 March 1991 Strache
6119456 September 2000 Louis et al.
1326842 May., 1963 FR
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 1998, No. 14, Dec. 31, 1998 and JP 10-252923 A (Keihin Corp.), Sep. 22, 1998 --Abstract only..
1. A spring return type operating device comprising: a yoke adapted to be mounted on an object to be operated having a rotating shaft; an actuator having a drive unit and an output shaft rotated by the drive unit, said actuator being detachably mounted on said yoke; and a spring unit detachably mounted on said yoke so as to lie between said actuator and said object to be operated, said spring unit having a rotating shaft and a return spring for producing a spring force for rotating the rotating shaft in one direction, said rotating shaft having a first end portion thereof adapted to be coupled to the rotating shaft of the object to be operated and a second end portion thereof coupled to the output shaft of said actuator, said yoke defining a space for accommodating at least part of said actuator and at least part of said spring unit, said space having an open face for making coupling portions of the first and second end portions of the rotating shaft of said spring unit with the rotating shaft of the object to be operated and the output shaft of said actuator, respectively, visible from exterior.
2. The spring return type operating device according to claim 1, wherein said drive unit of said actuator is composed of an electric motor.
3. The spring return type operating device according to claim 1, wherein said yoke has a bottom wall and side walls that are extended from both ends of the bottom wall and are opposed to each other, and the bottom wall of said yoke is provided with a first fitting part to which the object to be operated is attached, second fitting parts for said spring unit to be mounted on are arranged at intermediate portions of the side walls, and third fitting parts for said actuator to be mounted on are arranged on distal end portions of the side walls.
4. The spring return type operating device according to claim 3, wherein the second fitting parts are arranged in such positions that said spring unit mounted on the second fitting parts and the first fitting part come close to each other at their opposed surfaces, and the third fitting parts are arranged in such positions that said actuator mounted on the third fitting parts and said spring unit mounted on the second fitting parts come close to each other at their opposed surfaces.
5. The spring return type operating device according to claim 3, wherein the first fitting part of said yoke has a shaft hole which is formed through the bottom wall of said yoke and which permits the rotating shaft of the object to be operated to pass therethrough, and has a plurality of bolt through holes which are formed in the bottom wall concentrically about the shaft hole at regular intervals in angle, and the object to be operated is provided with a plurality of bolt holes consistent with the plurality of bolt through holes.
6. The spring return type operating device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of bolt through holes are long holes extending in radial directions of the shaft hole.
10. A spring return type valve system comprising: a valve having a valve shaft arranged rotatably and a valve element integral with the valve shaft; a yoke mounted on said valve; an actuator having a drive unit and an output shaft rotated by the drive unit, said actuator being detachably mounted on said yoke; and a spring unit having a rotating shaft and a spring for producing a spring force for rotating the rotating shaft in one direction, said spring unit bring detachably mounted on said yoke so as to lie between said actuator and said valve, said rotating shaft being coupled at both end portions to the output shaft and the valve shaft, respectively, wherein said yoke defines a space for accommodating at least part of said actuator and at least part of said spring unit, said space having an open face for making coupling portions of the both end portions of the rotating shaft of said spring unit with the valve shaft and the output shaft of said actuator, respectively, visible from exterior.
Take, for example, the case of coupling the valve shaft 72 to the joint 110. When the valve shaft 72 is fitted into the joint 110, a flat-faced part 72a formed on the valve shaft 72 must be aligned to a flat part of a fit hole formed in the joint 110. The same holds true when one end portion of the rotating shaft 82 is fitted into the joint 110, and when the other end portion of the rotating shaft 82 and the output shaft 92 are fitted into the joint 111. In FIG. 11, the reference numerals 82a, 82b, and 92a show the flat-faced parts. In the conventional system, the accommodation of the joints 110 and 111 in the recesses 83 and 93 of the housings 81 and 91 makes the directions of the flat-faced parts invisible from exterior, deteriorating the workability in coupling the corresponding ones of the valve shaft 72, the rotating shaft 82, and the output shaft 92 with the joints 110 and 111.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an operating device which is capable of quick, safe attachment to and detachment from an object to be operated and can reduce the effect of heat conducting from the object to be operated.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a spring return type valve system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the spring return type valve system taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 1;
Hereinafter, a spring return type valve system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-9.
As stated previously, the yoke 5 is attached to the valve 2, and the valve shaft 22 is coupled to the spring unit 3. In this connection, a top surface 21a of the housing 21 of the valve 2 constitutes a mounting surface for the yoke 5 to be attached to. This housing top surface 21a has a shaft hole which the valve shaft 2 is passed through. In addition, a plurality of, e.g., four bolt holes (not shown) to be used for attaching the yoke 5 to the valve 2 are formed concentrically about the shaft hole at regular intervals in angle. The extremity or distal end portion of the valve shaft 22 is protruded from the housing top surface 21a. This extremity is chambered on the periphery so as to make a flat-faced part 22a of square section to be used for coupling with the spring unit 3.
For the sake of the safety in its assembling and disassembling operations, the spring return type valve system 1 has first valve opening indicating means for indicating a predetermined valve opening position, e.g., the closed position. As shown in FIG. 1, the first valve opening indicating means is composed of a marking 22b and a mark 21b.The marking 22b is arranged on the periphery of the extremity of the valve shaft 22. The mark 21b is a projection or the like for indicating the closed position, arranged on the top periphery of the housing 21. The marking 22b indicates the current rotational position of the valve element which makes integral rotation with the valve shaft 22. This marking 22b coincides with the mark 21b when the valve element is in the closed position. Such valve opening indication is especially convenient for ball type valve elements which allow valve shaft rotations of 360.degree. or more. Incidentally, the mark 21b may be arranged for a plurality of predetermined valve opening positions.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the spring unit 3 has a housing 31 and a rotating shaft 32 rotatably supported by the housing 31. The housing 31 has a body 31a and a lid 31b fixed on the top. The rotating shaft 32 is protruded at both end portions from the top and bottom of the housing body 31a, respectively. The rotating shaft 32 has a square hole 32a formed through its shaft center. This square hole 32a is fitted to the flat-faced part 22a of the valve shaft 22 and a flat-faced part 42a of an output shaft 42 of the actuator 4.
The housing body 31a contains a return spring 33 of, for example, spiral type. This return spring 33 corresponds to the return spring 87 shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 5 outlines the return spring 33 in dashed lines. The return spring 33 is fixed at both end portions to an inner surface of the housing body 31a and the rotating shaft 32, respectively, so as to produce a return force for rotating the rotating shaft 32 in one direction, e.g., the closing direction.
In addition, a stopper (not shown) for determining the rotational limit position of the rotating shaft 32 in the closing direction is arranged on the inner surface of the housing body 31a. The valve element of the valve 2 closes completely when in this rotational limit position. As shown in FIG. 9, the spiral type return spring 33 is configured to produce a torque T1 in the closing direction that is sufficient to maintain the valve element to the closed position when the rotating shaft 32 is in contact with the stopper at the rotational limit position (valve opening 0%). The return spring 33 is also configured so that the produced torque increases as the valve shaft 22 is rotated in the opening direction by the actuator 4. In FIG. 9, T2 represents the torque produced at a valve opening of 100%.
As shown by broken lines in FIG. 1, the lid 31b of the housing 31 of the spring unit 3 is fixed to the housing body 31a with bolts 34. These bolts 34 are accessible only from below the housing body 31a. That is, the bolts 34 can be removed to detach the lid 31b from the housing body 31a only if the spring unit 3 is detached from the yoke 5. Such configuration prevents the lid 31b from being accidentally removed from the housing body 31a despite the intention of detaching the spring unit 3 from the yoke 5.
The housing 31 is attached to the yoke 5 with bolts 62 at its fitting parts 31c arranged on both sides. More specifically, the housing body 31a and the lid 31b have bolt through holes formed therethrough in these fitting parts 31c.The bolts 62 are inserted through the bolt through holes from above the lid 31b.
Next, description will be given of the actuator 4 which rotationally operates the valve shaft 22 of the valve 2 through the spring unit 3.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the electric actuator 4 has a housing 41 which includes a body 41a and a lid 41b fixed to the body 41a with bolts 44. This housing 41 rotatably supports the actuator output shaft 42. The housing body 41a contains a motor, a reduction mechanism, an electromagnetic clutch, a rheostatic brake mechanism, a control circuit, and so on (none are shown). The motor and the electromagnetic clutch operate under the control of the control circuit.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric actuator 4 is fixed to the yoke 5 with bolts 63 at fitting parts 41c arranged on both side portions of its housing body 41a. The bolts are tightened from above. As shown in FIG. 5, the extremity of the output shaft 42 of the electric actuator 4 is protruded from the bottom of the housing body 41a. The extremity is chambered on the periphery so as to make the flat-faced part 42a which is square in section. The flat-faced part 42a fits into the square hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3, whereby the actuator output shaft 42 is coupled to the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3.
The spring return type valve system 1 has second valve opening indicating means. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second valve opening indicating means is composed of a pointer 45 and a mark 41d. The pointer 45 is arranged on the proximal end portion of the flat-faced part 42a of the actuator output shaft 42. The mark 41d is a projection or the like for indicating the closed position, arranged on a lower end portion of the periphery of the housing body 41a of the actuator 4. The pointer 45 indicates the current rotational position of the valve element which makes integral rotation with the actuator output shaft 42. The extremity 45a of the pointer 45 coincides with the mark 41d when the valve element is in the closed position. For the sake of facilitating the visual observation of the closed position, the mark 41d is preferably arranged as shown in FIG. 1, or at a central portion of an open periphery that extends between both side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5. Incidentally, the mark 41d may be arranged on every valve opening position desired. In the first valve opening indicating means described earlier, the marking 22b arranged on the valve shaft 22 may be replaced with a pointer similar to the pointer 45. In the second valve opening indicating means, the pointer 45 may be replaced with a marking similar to the marking 22b.
Now, description will be given of the yoke 5 with reference to FIGS. 6-8.
The yoke 5 has a bottom wall 51 and the right and left side walls 52 and 52' which are extended upward from both ends of the bottom wall 51 and are opposed to each other. The entire yoke 5 is formed in a general U shape as viewed from the front. The yoke 5 defines an accommodation space for accommodating the entire spring unit 3 and the lower half of the actuator 4. This accommodation space has an open top as well as open front and rear sides (in a broad sense, open faces). Incidentally, the U-shaped yoke 5 may be replaced with a yoke that has a peripheral wall provided with one or more openings corresponding to the open faces.
The bottom wall of the yoke 5 constitutes a first fitting part 51 for the valve 2 to be attached to. In addition, second fitting parts 53 for the spring unit 3 to be mounted on are arranged at intermediate portions of the side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5. Third fitting parts 54 for the actuator 4 to be mounted on are arranged on the extremities or distal end portions of the side walls 52 and 52'.
As shown in FIG. 7, the bottom wall of the yoke 5 which makes the first fitting part 51 has a shaft hole 51a for the valve shaft 22 to be passed through loosely and four bolt through holes 51b. The bolt through holes 51b are arranged concentrically about the shaft hole 51a at regular intervals in angle, and are alignment with the four bolt holes formed in the top surface 21a of the housing 21 of the valve 2. These bolt through holes 51b are long holes extending from the shaft hole 51a in radial directions. The yoke 5 of such configuration can be mounted on a variety of valves 2 having bolt holes in different positions, and thus is excellent in versatility. Incidentally, it is not absolutely necessary that the bolt through holes 51b communicate with the shaft hole 51a at their proximal ends.
According to the above-described configuration, the valve 2 is provided with the four bolt holes at regular intervals in angle, and the yoke 5 is provided with the four bolt through holes 51b consistent with the bolt holes. Therefore, the yoke 5 can be mounted on the valve 2 as oriented to any one of four directions having 90.degree. differences in circumferential angle about the valve shaft 22. This increases the flexibility in the orientation of the yoke 5 with respect to the fluid channel. In other words, the spring unit 3 and the actuator 4 have greater flexibility in the orientation with respect to the fluid channel.
The flat-faced part 22a of the valve shaft 22, the shaft hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3, and the flat-faced part 42a of the actuator output shaft 42 each have a square section. Therefore, both the flat-faced parts 22a and 42a can be fitted to the shaft hole 32a as oriented to any one of four directions having 90.degree. differences in circumferential angle about the axis. This increases the flexibility in establishing the coupling between the valve shaft 22 and the rotating shaft 32, and between the rotating shaft 32 and the actuator output shaft 42.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the two second fitting parts 53 of the yoke 5 consist of two pairs of support pieces 53a, 53b, 53a', and 53b', which are the corresponding portions of the side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5 cut and erected inward into an L shape, respectively. Each of the support pieces has a screw hole 53c. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spring unit 3 is screwed to the second fitting parts 53 of the yoke 5 at its fitting parts 31c formed on both sides.
Similarly, the third fitting parts 54 of the yoke 5 consist of two pairs of support pieces 54a, 54b, 54a', and 54b' which are the corresponding portions of the side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5 cut and erected inward into an L shape, respectively. Each of the support pieces has a screw hole 54c. Then, the actuator 4 is screwed to the third fitting parts 54 of the yoke 5 at its fitting parts 41c formed on both sides.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 again, the fitting parts 31c of the spring unit 3 and the fitting parts 41c of the actuator 4, as seen from above, are arranged apart from each other by no less than the sizes of the heads of the bolts 62 and 63. In regard to such physical relationship, the second fitting parts 53 and the third fitting parts 54 of the yoke 5 are arranged apart from each other as shown in FIG. 7. According to such configuration, the bolts 62 can be attached to and detached from the screw holes in the support pieces 53a, 53b, 53a', and 53b', which constitute the second fitting parts 53, from above without a screwdriver or other tools interfering with the support pieces 54a, 54b, 54a', and 54b' of the third fitting parts 54 which lie above the second fitting parts 53.
Of the support pieces constituting the second fitting parts 53, a pair of support pieces 53b and 53b' are arranged directly below the actuator 4 that is attached to the third fitting parts 54. According to this configuration, the fit between the flat-faced part 42a of the actuator output shaft 42 and the shaft hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3 and the fit between the flat-faced part 22a of the valve shaft 22 and the shaft hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 cannot be released before the actuator 4 is detached from the yoke 5. That is, the spring unit 3 can be detached from the yoke 5 only after the actuator 4 is detached from the yoke 5.
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6-8, some of the edge portions of the side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5 are bent inward at generally right angles. This forms reinforcing ribs 52d, 52e, 52d', and 52e' to increase the strength of the yoke 5. The yoke 5, being a shaped metal plate, has a radiating function and a heat absorbing function.
Initially, as shown in FIG. 1, the marking 22b on the valve shaft 22 of the valve 2 is set to the mark 21b on the housing 21 of the valve 2 which indicates the closed position, whereby the valve 2 is put in a closed state. Subsequently, the yoke 5 is placed on the top surface 21a of the housing 21 of the valve 2 so that the valve shaft 22 is passed with play through the shaft hole 51a (FIG. 7) which is formed in the first fitting part 51 of the yoke 5. The yoke 5 is fixed to the valve 2 with the bolts 61.
Then, the spring unit 3 is accommodated to between the side walls 52 and 52' of the yoke 5. The square hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3 is fitted to the flat-faced part 22a of the valve shaft 22 to couple the rotating shaft 32 and the valve shaft 22 (FIG. 5).
In this coupling operation, the coupling portions of the valve shaft 22 and the rotating shaft 23 can be visually observed from exterior through the open periphery (opening) between the yoke side walls 52 and 52'. This allows an easy, quick coupling operation. In addition, since the flat-faced part 22a of the valve shaft 22 and the square hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 each have a square section, the rotating shaft 32 can be coupled to the valve shaft 22 as oriented to any one of four directions having 90.degree. differences in circumferential angles. Thus, the great flexibility in the orientation of the rotating shaft 32 upon coupling facilitates the assembly operation.
Then, the fitting parts 31c arranged on the housing 31 of the spring unit 3 are placed on the second fitting parts 53 of the yoke 5, respectively, and the spring unit 3 is fixed to the yoke 5 with the bolts 62.
Next, the extremity 45a of the pointer 45 attached to the actuator output shaft 42 is set to the mark 41d on the actuator 4 which indicates the closed position, before the actuator 4 is accommodated to between the yoke side walls 52 and 52'. Then, the flat-faced part 42a of the actuator output shaft 42 is fitted into the square hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3, so that the actuator output shaft 42 is coupled to the rotating shaft 32 (FIG. 5). Since the coupling portions of the rotating shaft 32 and the actuator output shaft 42 are visible from exterior, the coupling operation can be performed easily and quickly. Besides, the flat-faced part 42a of the actuator output shaft 42 and the square hole 32a in the rotating shaft 32 have a square section. Therefore, the great flexibility in the orientation of the actuator output shaft 42 upon coupling facilitates the assembly operation.
Then, the fitting parts 41c on both sides of the actuator 4 are placed on the third fitting parts 54 of the yoke 5, and the actuator 4 is fixed to the yoke 5 with the bolts 63 (FIG. 3). All the bolts 61-63 can be set from above with excellent workability.
More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the four bolts 61 for fixing the first fitting part 51 of the yoke 5 to the valve 2 lies directly below the spring unit 3. When the spring unit 3 is attached to the second fitting parts 53 of the yoke 5, tools are hardly usable because of interference with the surroundings, failing or finding it extremely hard to remove the bolts 61. Furthermore, among the four bolts 62 for fixing the spring unit 3 to the second fitting parts 53 of the yoke 5, the two screwed to the support pieces 53b and 53b' lie directly below the actuator 4. When the actuator 4 is attached to the third fitting parts 54, tools are hardly usable and these two bolts cannot be removed.
Now, in cases where the electric actuator 4 suffers a breakdown that the actuator output shaft 42 becomes unrotatable due to such reasons as a gear breakage in the reduction mechanism, there can occur problems such that the entire actuator 4 rotates under the spring force of the return spring 33 as stated previously if the operator accidentally detaches the actuator 4 from the yoke 5. In this regard, the spring return type valve system 1 comprises the first valve opening indicating means, composed of the marking 22b arranged on the valve shaft and the mark 21b arranged on the valve housing 21, and the second valve opening indicating means, composed of the pointer 45 arranged on the actuator output shaft 42 and the mark 41d arranged on the actuator housing body 41a. Thus, the operator can visibly observe the opening of the valve 2 from exterior, based on the position of the marking 22b with respect to the mark 21b and the position of the pointer 45 with respect to the mark 41d.
If the valve 2 is visually observed and found closed, the operator determines that the actuator 4 can be detached from the yoke 5 without problems. If the valve 2 is visually observed and found open, the operator determines that the detachment of the actuator 4 from the yoke 5 may cause a trouble. Then, the actuator asks an expert for detachment, repair, or replacement of the actuator 4 if necessary. Since the actuator 4 is thus detached from the yoke 5 after the visual observation of the opening of the valve 2, there no longer occur the problems associated with the actuator detachment. At the occasion of detaching the actuator 4, the bolts 63 are removed from the fitting parts 41c of the actuator housing 41 and then the actuator 4 is pulled up. Thereby, the coupling between the actuator output shaft 42 and the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3 is easily released to detach the actuator 4 from the yoke 5.
In detaching the spring unit 3, the bolts 62 are removed from the fitting parts 31c of the housing 31 of the spring unit 3 after the detachment of the actuator 4 from the yoke 5. Then, the spring unit 3 is pulled up. Thereby, the coupling between the rotating shaft 32 of the spring unit 3 and the valve shaft 22 is released to detach the spring unit 3 from the yoke 5. Even where the fluid flowing through the fluid channel is hot, the temperatures of the housing 41 of the actuator 4, the bolts 62, and the like are lowered by the radiating function of the yoke 5 for better workability. As stated previously, the spring unit 3 is configured so that the lid 31b can be removed from the housing body 31a only if the spring unit 3 is detached from the yoke 5. This eliminates the possibility that the lid 31b is accidentally removed from the housing body 31a before the detachment of the spring unit 3 from the yoke 5, thereby avoiding the problems associated with the accidental removal of the lid 31b.
Moreover, in detaching the yoke 5 from the valve 2, the actuator 4 and the spring unit 3 are detached from the yoke 5 before the bolts 61 are removed from the bolt holes in the housing top surface 21a of the valve 2 and the yoke 5 is lift off the valve 2.
The yoke 7 corresponds to the yoke 5 shown in FIG. 1 without the fitting parts 31c for mounting a spring unit. In other respects, the yoke 7 is configured as the yoke 5 is. More specifically, the yoke 7 includes a bottom wall 7a as well as right and left side walls 7b which are extended upward from both sides thereof. The central portion of the bottom wall 7a constitutes an fitting part for attaching the yoke 7 to the top surface 21a of the housing 21 of the valve 2. That is, a shaft hole (not shown) for the valve shaft 22 to be passed through loosely is formed in the central portion of the bottom wall 7a. In addition, a plurality of bolt through holes (not shown) are formed concentrically about the shaft hole at regular intervals in angle. The yoke 7 is placed on the housing top surface 21a of the valve with the valve shaft 22 passed through its shaft hole, and is fixed to the housing top surface 21a with the bolts 61.
A pair of support pieces 7c are arranged as fitting parts on the top end portions of the side walls 7b of the yoke 7. Then, the actuator 4 is accommodated to between the side walls 7a. The fitting parts 41c of the actuator 4 are fixed to the support pieces 7c of the yoke 7 with the bolts 63.
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