Electromagnetic valve

Abstract

To provide a kick type electromagnetic valve which enables reduction of the number of components and simplification of manufacturing process and can secure a gap between a valve body and a stopper.SOLUTION: A plunger 60 of an electromagnetic valve 1 has: a recessed part 61 formed on a pilot valvular orifice 105 side end surface; and a hole 63 extending from a suction element 50 side end surface to the recessed part 61. A stopper 62 is provided at the recessed part 61. A coil spring 90 is disposed in the hole 63 and biases a valve body 80 to the stopper 62 side. The hole 63 has: a first hole part 64 at an upper part of the plunger 60; and a second hole part 65 at a lower part. An inner diameter of the second hole part 65 is smaller than that of the first hole part 64. The coil spring has: a plunger biasing part 91 which is disposed in the first hole part 64 and has a diameter in contact with a second hole part 65 side end surface of the first hole part 64; and a valve body biasing part 92 which has a diameter smaller than that of the plunger biasing part 91, is housed in the second hole part 65, and contacts with the valve body 80.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a solenoid valve.

Background Art

[0002] For example, a technique is known in which a solenoid valve is provided in a flow path of a refrigeration cycle, and the flow path is switched by opening and closing this solenoid valve. As the solenoid valve, a so-called kick-type solenoid valve is known, and the kick-type solenoid valve has, for example, the following configuration (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] That is, in a kick-type solenoid valve, a valve body is disposed in a recess formed in the tip surface of a plunger. At the opening of the recess, a stopper such as caulking or a pressing plate for preventing the valve body from coming off is provided. The dimension of the valve body along the axial direction of the plunger is set to a dimension having a gap between the valve body and the stopper in a state where the valve body abuts against the bottom surface of the recess. A valve body spring is provided between the bottom surface of the recess and the valve body, and the valve body spring biases the valve body toward the stopper.

[0004] In a kick-type solenoid valve having such a configuration, in the closed valve state, the valve body is pressed against the valve seat by a plunger spring that biases the plunger toward the closed valve side. When the valve body is pressed against the valve seat, the valve body spring contracts, and a gap is formed between the stopper and the valve body.

[0005] After the solenoid coil of the solenoid valve is energized and the plunger starts to move toward the open valve side, while the plunger moves by the amount of the gap between the seated valve body and the stopper, the valve body is maintained in a state of being pressed against the valve seat by the biasing force of the valve body spring. When the plunger completes the movement by the above-described gap, the stopper collides with the valve body. Thus, by utilizing the impact force generated by the plunger having a velocity colliding with the valve body via the stopper, it is possible to smoothly separate the valve body from the valve seat.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-213635 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The above-described kick-type solenoid valve had the following problems. That is, since the solenoid valve includes a plunger spring for biasing the plunger and a valve body spring for biasing the valve body, there is a problem that the number of parts increases.

[0008] Furthermore, in order to attach the valve body to the plunger, it is necessary to provide a stopper at the opening of the recess while maintaining the state in which the valve body presses the valve body spring, and there is a problem that the work of attaching the valve body to the plunger is troublesome. In response to such problems, a configuration is conceivable in which a hole penetrating in the axial direction is formed in the plunger, a single coil spring is disposed in this hole, and the valve body is pressed by this coil spring. In the case of this configuration, although there is one spring, since there is no spring for pressing the plunger, the plunger becomes free in its axial direction. When the plunger becomes free, there is a problem that the plunger moves to the valve opening side due to the mounting posture, vibration, etc., and the gap between the valve body and the stopper for making it a kick type cannot be secured. Furthermore, there is a problem that abnormal noise is generated due to the vibration of the plunger.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a kick-type solenoid valve that can reduce the number of parts, simplify the manufacturing process, and secure a gap between the valve body and the stopper. Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The solenoid valve of the present invention includes a valve body, a pipe, an electromagnetic coil, an armature, a plunger, a valve element, a stopper, and a coil spring. The valve body has a valve port and a valve seat. The pipe has an opening at at least one end, and the one end is fixed to the valve body in a posture facing the valve port. The electromagnetic coil is disposed outside the pipe. The armature is fixed inside the pipe. The plunger is disposed on the valve port side with respect to the armature inside the pipe. The plunger has a recess formed in a first end face on the valve port side and a plunger hole extending from a second end face on the armature side to the recess. The valve element is housed in the recess and is movable in the recess in the moving direction of the plunger. The stopper is provided on the plunger to prevent the valve element from falling off from the opening of the recess. The coil spring is disposed in the plunger hole, and one end abuts against the armature and the other end abuts against the valve element to urge the valve element toward the stopper side. The valve element is movable between a position where it abuts against the stopper and a position where it retracts from the stopper. The plunger hole has a first hole portion from a middle portion of the plunger from the second end face toward the first end face and a second hole portion from the first hole portion to the recess, the inner diameter of which is smaller than that of the first hole portion. The coil spring is disposed in the first hole portion and has a plunger biasing portion having a diameter that abuts against an end face on the second hole portion side of the first hole portion, and a valve element biasing portion having a smaller diameter than the plunger biasing portion and housed in the second hole portion and abutting against the valve element. The spring load of the plunger biasing portion is larger than the spring load of the valve element biasing portion.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a kick-type solenoid valve that can reduce the number of components, simplify the manufacturing process, and secure a gap between the valve element and the stopper.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, the solenoid valve 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The solenoid valve 1 is a so-called kick-type solenoid valve, and in this embodiment, an example applied to a pilot-type solenoid valve will be described.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the solenoid valve 1 in the energized-off state, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the solenoid valve 1 in the energized-on state. The energized-on state is a state in which the electromagnetic coil 70 described later of the solenoid valve 1 is energized, and a state in which the plunger 60 described later is in contact with the attractor 50. In other words, it is a state in which the plunger 60 has risen to the top dead center. Further in other words, the energized-on state is a state in which the plunger 60 has moved the pilot valve body 80 described later to the upper end of its movement range. The energized-off state is a state in which the electromagnetic coil 70 is not energized. FIG. 3 is a state in the middle from the energized-off state of the solenoid valve 1 to the state of reaching the energized-on state by energizing the electromagnetic coil 70, and is a cross-sectional view showing the state where the stopper 62 of the plunger 60 collides with the pilot valve body 80. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the plunger 60 of the solenoid valve 1 and its periphery disassembled, and specifically shows the plunger 60, the stopper 62, the pilot valve body 80, and the spring member 90.

[0015] Here, for convenience of explanation, the vertical direction is set with the side on which the electromagnetic coil 70 is arranged with respect to the valve body 10 as the upper side.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the solenoid valve 1 includes a valve body 10, a pipe holder 20, a housing 30, a pipe 40, an armature 50, a plunger 60, an electromagnetic coil 70, a pilot valve body 80, a spring member 90, and a main valve body 100.

[0017] The valve body 10 has, for example, a cylindrical shape. The axis of the valve body 10 is parallel or substantially parallel to the vertical direction. The valve body 10 has a valve chamber 11, an inlet hole 12, an outlet hole 13, a main valve port 14, and a main valve seat 15.

[0018] The valve chamber 11 is partitioned by the main valve body 100 into a main valve chamber 11a and a pilot valve chamber 11b. There are, for example, a plurality of inlet holes 12, which are arranged in the circumferential direction of the valve body 10. In this embodiment, six inlet holes 12 are provided as an example. The inlet holes 12 communicate the valve chamber 11 with the outside. The inlet holes 12 allow fluid to flow from the outside into the main valve chamber 11a.

[0019] The outlet hole 13 is, for example, the lower opening of the valve body 10. The outlet hole 13 communicates the valve chamber 11 with the outside. The outlet hole 13 allows the fluid in the valve chamber 11 to flow out to the outside. The opening of the outlet hole 13 on the valve chamber 11 side is the main valve port 14. A main valve seat 15 is formed around the main valve port 14.

[0020] The pipe holder 20 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the upper opening of the valve body 10. The pipe holder 20 has a cylindrical shape. The pipe holder 20 is coaxial or substantially coaxial with the valve body 10. The upper opening of the pipe holder 20 is a fixing hole 21 to which the pipe 40 is fixed.

[0021] The housing 30 is fixed to the upper end of the valve body 10 and covers the electromagnetic coil 70. The housing 30 has a shape with a U-shaped cross section and includes a bottom plate portion 31, a standing plate portion (not shown), and a ceiling portion 33.

[0022] The pipe 40 has a cylindrical shape with at least one end open, for example, it has a cylindrical shape with both ends open. The lower end of the pipe 40 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the fixing hole 21 of the pipe holder 20, for example, by welding. The pipe 40 is coaxial or substantially coaxial with the valve body 10, and the opening at one end is located on the side of the pilot valve port 105 described later. The upper end of the pipe 40 is located near the lower surface of the ceiling plate portion 33 of the housing 30.

[0023] The attractor 50 has a bottomed cylindrical shape and is fixed to the upper part inside the pipe 40. The attractor 50 extends from the upper end of the pipe 40 to the middle part in the vertical direction with the bottom surface facing downward. The attractor 50 is fixed to the ceiling portion 33 by a screw member 35 through a hole 34 penetrating the ceiling plate portion 33 of the housing 30, for example.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the plunger 60 has, for example, a cylindrical shape and is disposed below the attractor 50 inside the pipe 40, that is, on the side of the pilot valve port 105. The plunger 60 has an outer diameter dimension slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe 40 so as to be movable inside the pipe 40.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4, a recess 61 is formed in the lower end surface (the first end surface) of the plunger 60. The inner peripheral surface of the recess 61 has, for example, a cylindrical shape. Here, the cylindrical shape means a shape in which the edge of the cross section orthogonal to the axis is a circle. A stopper 62 for preventing the pilot valve body 80 described later from coming off is provided at the edge of the recess 61. The stopper 62 is constituted, for example, by fixing a washer to the edge.

[0026] The hole (plunger hole) 63 of the plunger 60 has a first hole portion 64 and a second hole portion 65. The first hole portion 64 is a portion from the upper end surface (second end surface) of the plunger 60 to the middle portion in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the first hole 64 has a frustum-shaped portion and a portion with a constant diameter. The second hole portion 65 is a portion from the recess 61 of the plunger 60 to the first hole portion 64. The inner diameter of the second hole portion 65 is smaller than the inner diameter of the first hole portion 64. The inner diameter of the recess 61 is larger than the inner diameter of the second hole portion 65.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the electromagnetic coil 70 has a cylindrical shape. The electromagnetic coil 70 is disposed around the pipe 40 such that the pipe 40 is disposed inside thereof.

[0028] The pilot valve body 80 is accommodated in the recess 61 so as to be movable in the moving direction of the plunger 60, that is, in the vertical direction, with respect to the recess 61. In the present embodiment, since the inner peripheral surface of the recess 61 has a cylindrical shape, the pilot valve body 80 has a cylindrical shape. The outer diameter of the pilot valve body 80 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the recess 61 so that the pilot valve body 80 can move axially within the recess 61. The axial length of the pilot valve body 80 has, for example, substantially the same dimension as the depth of the recess 61.

[0029] The peripheral edge portion 81 of the lower surface of the pilot valve body 80 constitutes an annular stepped portion. Here, the stepped portion means that the lower surface of the pilot valve body 80 has different heights at its peripheral edge portion and the portion inside the peripheral edge portion. In other words, the pilot valve body 80 has a shape in which a cylindrical portion with a small diameter and a cylindrical portion with a larger diameter than the cylindrical portion are coaxially arranged. The peripheral edge portion 81 faces the stopper 62 in the axial direction. In a state where the upper surface of the pilot valve body 80 is in contact with the bottom surface of the recess 61, the peripheral edge portion 81 has a gap S1 with the stopper 62. Here, the bottom surface of the recess 61 means the upper surface of the internal space of the recess 61. The pilot valve body 80 is made of, for example, synthetic resin.

[0030] The spring member 90 is a compression coil spring. The spring member 90 is disposed in the hole 63 of the plunger 60, with its upper end abutting against the lower surface of the attractor 50 and its lower end abutting against the upper surface of the pilot valve body 80.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the spring member 90 has a plunger biasing portion 91 that biases the plunger 60 and a valve body biasing portion 92 that biases the pilot valve body 80. The plunger biasing portion 91 is disposed in the first hole portion 64 of the plunger 60. The outer diameter of the plunger biasing portion 91 has a dimension larger than the inner diameter of the second hole portion 65. Also, the outer diameter of the plunger biasing portion 91 has a dimension slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the first hole portion 64 so that the plunger biasing portion 91 can expand and contract within the first hole portion 64.

[0032] The lower end 91a of the plunger biasing portion 91 has an annular shape that is continuous for one full turn around the axis of the spring member 90. Here, the annular shape that is continuous for one full turn includes both a completely continuous annular shape and a substantially continuous annular shape. The lower end 91a has a shape such that the plane including the lower end 91a is perpendicular to the axis of the spring member 90. The lower end 91a of the plunger biasing portion 91 abuts against the end face of the first hole portion 64.

[0033] The valve body biasing portion 92 is disposed in the second hole portion 65 of the plunger 60. The outer diameter of the valve body biasing portion 92 has a dimension slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the second hole portion 65 so that the valve body biasing portion 92 can expand and contract within the second hole portion 65.

[0034] The main valve body 100 has a cylindrical body portion 101, an upper flange portion 102 formed on the upper part of the body portion 101, and a lower flange portion 103 formed on the lower part of the body portion 101. The main valve body 100 divides the valve chamber 11 into a main valve chamber 11a and a pilot valve chamber 11b. The main valve body 100 is biased in the valve opening direction by the spring member 90.

[0035] The body portion 101 has a hole penetrating in the vertical direction, and the upper part of the hole constitutes the pilot valve port 105. When the main valve body 100 is seated on the main valve seat 15, the lower end of the hole opens to the main valve port 14. A pilot valve seat (valve seat) 106 is formed around the pilot valve port 105.

[0036] The upper flange portion 102 is disposed inside the pipe holder 20 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The upper flange portion 102 partitions the valve chamber 11 into a main valve chamber 11a and a pilot valve chamber 11b. The upper flange portion 102 has a pressure equalizing passage 107 that communicates the main valve chamber 11a and the pilot valve chamber 11b. The lower flange portion 103 closes the main valve port 14, that is, closes the valve, by abutting against the main valve seat 15. The valve is opened when the lower flange portion 103 separates from the main valve seat 15.

[0037] Next, regarding the assembly work of the plunger 60 of the solenoid valve 1, an example of the work of assembling the pilot valve body 80 to the plunger 60 will be described.

[0038] First, the pilot valve body 80 is accommodated in the recess 61 of the plunger 60. Next, the stopper 62 is disposed at the opening edge of the recess 61. Next, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, caulking for preventing removal is performed on the stopper 62 by bending the opening edge of the recess 61 inward. Next, the coil spring 90 is inserted from the first hole portion 64 of the plunger 60 with the valve body biasing portion 92 at the tip. At this time, the valve body biasing portion 92 is inserted into the second hole portion 65, and the tip of the valve body biasing portion 92 is brought into contact with the pilot valve body 80. Through such an assembly operation, the pilot valve body 80 and the spring member 90 are assembled to the plunger 60.

[0039] Next, regarding the operation of the solenoid valve 1, an operation in which the pilot valve body 80 opens the pilot valve port 105 when the solenoid coil 70 is energized from a state where the pilot valve body 80 closes the pilot valve port 105 in the non-energized state will be described.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 1, in the non-energized state, the plunger 60 is biased toward the main valve body 100 by the biasing force of the spring member 90. Due to this biasing, the state where the pilot valve body 80 is seated on the pilot valve seat 106 is maintained, that is, the state where the pilot valve port 105 is closed is maintained. In this closed state, the upper surface of the pilot valve body 80 abuts against the bottom surface of the recess 61, and the peripheral edge portion 81 has a gap S1 with the stopper 62.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 3, when the electromagnetic coil 70 is energized from the non-energized state, the plunger 60 starts to rise. As described above, in the non-energized state, there is a gap S1 between the peripheral edge portion 81 of the pilot valve body 80 and the stopper 62. Therefore, until the plunger 60 completes rising by the amount of the gap S1 after starting to rise, the stopper 62 does not contact the pilot valve body 80. For this reason, the state where the pilot valve body 80 is seated on the pilot valve seat 106, that is, the closed state, is maintained.

[0042] When the plunger 60 completes rising by the amount of the gap S1, the stopper 62 collides with the peripheral edge portion 81 of the pilot valve body 80. Due to the impact force generated by this collision, the pilot valve body 80 separates from the pilot valve seat 106. When the plunger 60 rises further, the pilot valve body 80 starts to rise by being pressed by the stopper 62. In this way, after starting to rise, the plunger 60 collides with the pilot valve body 80 via the stopper 62 while having a speed, so that it is possible to smoothly separate the pilot valve body 80 from the pilot valve seat 106 by utilizing the impact force caused by the collision.

[0043] In the solenoid valve 1 configured as described above, the spring member 90 includes a plunger biasing portion 91 and a valve body biasing portion 92. Since the diameters of both the plunger biasing portion 91 and the valve body biasing portion 92 are different, it becomes possible to bias the plunger 60 and the pilot valve body 80 with the spring member 90. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a spring member for biasing the plunger 60 and a spring member for biasing the pilot valve body 80 respectively, so that the number of parts of the solenoid valve 1 can be reduced, and a gap S1 can be ensured between the pilot valve body 80 and the stopper 62 when the valve is closed.

[0044] The inner diameter of the second hole portion 65 of the hole 63 of the plunger 60 where the valve body biasing portion 92 is disposed is made smaller than the inner diameter of the first hole portion 64 where the plunger biasing portion 91 is disposed. Further, the inner diameter of the concave portion 61 of the plunger 60 is set to a dimension larger than the inner diameter of the second hole portion 95. Therefore, with the pilot valve body 80 housed in the concave portion 61 and the stopper 62 provided to prevent the pilot valve body 80 from falling off from the concave portion 61, the spring member 90 can be assembled to the plunger 60 by inserting the spring member 90 from the first hole portion 64 side. Thus, the work of assembling the pilot valve body 80 and the spring member 90 to the plunger 60 can be simplified.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. For the above-described embodiments, those in which a person skilled in the art appropriately adds, deletes, or changes the design of components, or those in which the features of the embodiments are appropriately combined, are included in the scope of the present invention as long as they do not depart from the spirit of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0046] ​​1... solenoid valve, 10... valve body, 40... pipe, 50... attractor, 60... plunger, 61... recess, 62... stopper, 63... hole (plunger hole), 64... first hole portion, 65... second hole portion, 70... electromagnetic coil, 80... pilot valve body (valve body), 90... spring member (coil spring), 91... plunger biasing portion, 92... valve body biasing portion, 105... pilot valve port (valve port), 106... pilot valve seat (valve seat).

Claims

1. A valve body having a valve port and a valve seat, a pipe having an opening at at least one end, with the one end fixed to the valve body in a posture facing the valve port, an electromagnetic coil disposed outside the pipe, an armature fixed within the pipe, a plunger disposed on the valve port side with respect to the armature within the pipe, the plunger having a recess formed in a first end face on the valve port side and a plunger hole extending from a second end face on the armature side to the recess, a valve element housed in the recess and movable within the recess in the moving direction of the plunger, a stopper provided on the plunger to prevent the valve element from falling off from the opening of the recess, a coil spring disposed in the plunger hole, with one end abutting against the armature and the other end abutting against the valve element to bias the valve element toward the stopper side, comprising, the valve element being movable between a position where it abuts against the stopper and a position where it retracts from the stopper, the plunger hole having a first hole portion from a second end face of the plunger to a middle portion toward a first end face, and a second hole portion from the first hole portion to the recess, with an inner diameter smaller than that of the first hole portion, the coil spring having a plunger biasing portion disposed in the first hole portion and having a diameter abutting against an end face on the second hole portion side of the first hole portion, and a valve element biasing portion smaller in diameter than the plunger biasing portion and housed in the second hole portion and abutting against the valve element, the spring load of the plunger biasing portion being larger than the spring load of the valve element biasing portion, an electromagnetic valve.

2. comprising a main valve body housed within the valve body, partitioning the interior of the valve body into a pilot valve chamber and a main valve chamber, and having a through hole communicating the main valve chamber and the pilot valve chamber, a main valve port opened and closed by the main valve body and a main valve seat on which the main valve body seats are formed within the valve body, the valve port being an opening on the pipe side of the through hole The electromagnetic valve according to Claim 1.

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