Valve device

Abstract

To provide a valve device that prevents gaps from occurring between an extension portion of a spring member and an outer peripheral arm member.SOLUTION: A cross section of a spring arm connecting portion 131 is formed into a trapezoid, and corners 134, 135 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 are brought into contact with extension portions 113, 114 of the spring member 111, and gaps are formed between corners 136, 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and bending portions 115, 116 of the spring member 111, thereby enabling the extension portions 113, 114 of the spring member 111 to be brought into contact with the spring arm connecting portion 131 of the spring arm member 121 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 of the outer peripheral arm member 141 without any gaps.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve device applied to an automatic height adjustment valve for railway vehicles.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a pneumatic spring height adjustment mechanism (valve device) for railway vehicles in which air is supplied to and discharged from a pneumatic spring by the forward and backward movement of an air supply side needle valve or an exhaust side needle valve according to the amount of rotation of a lever linked to the relative movement between a car body and a bogie. In such a valve device, the rotational movement of a driven shaft connected to the lever is transmitted to an outer peripheral arm member via a spring arm member and a spring member, and the valve shaft of the air supply side needle valve or the exhaust side needle valve is driven by a drive arm extending radially outward from the outer peripheral arm member to the driven shaft (see [FIG. 16] of Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above-described valve device, it is necessary to bring the extending portion on one end side of the spring member (torsion coil spring) into contact with one side in the width direction of the spring arm member and the outer peripheral arm member, and to bring the extending portion on the other end side into contact with the other side in the width direction of the spring arm member and the outer peripheral arm member. However, in the conventional valve device, there is a problem that the spring arm member contacts the inner peripheral R portion of the bent portion formed between the coil portion and the extending portion of the spring member, and a gap is generated between the extending portion of the spring member and the outer peripheral arm member.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a valve device that prevents a gap from occurring between the extending portion of a spring member and an outer peripheral arm member.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The valve device of the present invention includes a housing in which a passage communicating a fluid source or the outside with a fluid-operated device is formed, a shaft member rotatably supported by the housing, a coil portion into which the shaft member is inserted, an extending portion extending outward from both ends of the coil portion, and a bent portion formed between the coil portion and the extending portion. A spring member having the above; a spring arm connecting portion disposed on both axial sides of the shaft member with the coil portion interposed therebetween, extending in the radial direction of the shaft member, and non-rotatably connected to the shaft member; and a spring arm connecting portion extending in the axial direction and connecting between the spring arm connecting portions. A spring arm member having a spring arm connecting portion; an outer peripheral arm connecting portion disposed on both axial sides of the spring arm member, extending in the radial direction, and rotatably connected to the shaft member; and an outer peripheral arm connecting portion extending in the axial direction and connecting between the outer peripheral arm connecting portions. An outer peripheral arm member having the above, wherein the spring member is disposed such that the extending portion sandwiches the spring arm connecting portion and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion in the width direction, the width of the spring arm connecting portion on the shaft member side is formed smaller than the width on the side opposite to the shaft member, and the width of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion on the shaft member side is formed larger than the width on the side opposite to the shaft member. The method for manufacturing the valve device of the present invention includes a step of sandwiching a spring arm connecting portion and an outer peripheral arm connecting portion between extending portions of a spring member, and pressing the extending portions against the spring arm connecting portion and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion to form a housing portion for housing a part of the spring arm connecting portion and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion in the extending portions. It is characterized by having a process.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a valve device that prevents a gap from occurring between the extending portion of the spring member and the outer peripheral arm member.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the valve device 1 is an automatic height adjustment valve for railway vehicles that controls the supply and discharge of air to an air spring 4 (fluid operating device) interposed between the car body 2 and the bogie 3 of a railway vehicle. The valve device 1 is disposed between the air spring 4 and an accumulator 5 (fluid source), and is fixed to the car body 2 of the railway vehicle. The valve device 1 has a driven shaft 11 (see FIG. 2) connected to the bogie 3 via a lever member 6 and a connecting member 7.

[0010] When the car body 2 is displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the bogie 3 and the air spring 4 is compressed or extended, the displacement is converted into a rotational motion of the driven shaft 11 (see FIG. 2). When the air spring 4 is compressed and the lever member 6 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11 from the neutral position (the position when the vehicle height of the railway vehicle is at the reference height) shown in FIG. 1, the driven shaft 11 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 in conjunction with the lever member 6. As a result, the air supply valve 21 (see FIG. 2) opens, and the air supply passage communicating the accumulator 5 and the air spring 4 is communicated.

[0011] When the accumulator 5 and the air spring 4 are communicated with each other through the air supply passage, compressed air is supplied from the accumulator 5 to the air spring 4, and the air spring 4 extends. When the air spring 4 extends, the lever member 6 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11, and the driven shaft 11 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 in conjunction with the lever member 6. When the vehicle height of the railway vehicle returns to the reference height and the lever member 6 returns to the neutral position, the air supply valve 21 closes and the air supply passage is blocked.

[0012] On the other hand, when the air spring 4 extends and the lever member 6 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11 from the neutral position shown in FIG. 1, the driven shaft 11 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 in conjunction with the lever member 6. As a result, the exhaust valve 41 (see FIG. 2) opens, and an exhaust passage that communicates the air spring 4 and the exhaust port 8 (external) is communicated. When the air spring 4 is communicated with the exhaust port 8 through the exhaust passage, the air accumulated in the air spring 4 is exhausted from the exhaust port 8, and the air spring 4 contracts.

[0013] When the air spring 4 contracts, the lever member 6 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11, and the driven shaft 11 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 in conjunction with the lever member 6. When the vehicle height of the railway vehicle returns to the reference height and the lever member 6 returns to the neutral position, the exhaust valve 41 closes and the exhaust passage is blocked. Thus, when the vehicle body 2 is displaced relative to the bogie 3, the valve device 1 is configured to automatically adjust the displacement of the vehicle body 2 relative to the bogie 3 by communicating the air supply passage or the exhaust passage and to keep the vehicle height constant.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the valve device 1 has a housing 13 in which an oil chamber 14 is formed. An air supply valve 21 is provided on one side (the "left side" in FIG. 2) of the upper part of the housing 13. The air supply valve 21 has a sleeve fitting hole 22 formed in the housing 13. The sleeve fitting hole 22 has a large-diameter hole portion 23 that opens to the left side surface 15 of the housing 13 and a small-diameter hole portion 24 that communicates the large-diameter hole portion 23 and the oil chamber 14.

[0015] The intake valve 21 has a sleeve 25 fitted into a sleeve fitting hole 22. The sleeve 25 has a large-diameter shaft portion 26 fitted into the large-diameter hole portion 23 of the sleeve fitting hole 22 and a small-diameter shaft portion 27 fitted into the small-diameter hole portion 24 of the sleeve fitting hole 22. The sleeve 25 has a large-diameter hole portion 28 opening to the outside of the housing 13, a small-diameter hole portion 29 opening to the oil chamber 14, and a communication hole portion 30 communicating the large-diameter hole portion 28 and the small-diameter hole portion 29. The inner diameter of the communication hole portion 30 is smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter hole portion 28 and larger than the inner diameter of the small-diameter hole portion 29. A supply port 31 communicating with the accumulator 5 is provided in a portion of the sleeve 25 protruding to the outside of the housing 13.

[0016] The intake valve 21 has a valve body 32 inserted into the sleeve 25. The valve body 32 has a shaft portion 33 slidably fitted into the small-diameter hole portion 29 of the sleeve 25 and a valve portion 34 formed at an end of the shaft portion 33 on the side opposite to the oil chamber 14 side (the "left side" in FIG. 2). The end of the shaft portion 33 on the side opposite to the side where the valve portion 34 is formed (the "right side" in FIG. 2) protrudes into the oil chamber 14. The valve portion 34 is formed in a disc shape and has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the communication hole portion 30 of the sleeve 25 and smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter hole portion 28 of the sleeve 25. The outer peripheral edge portion of the valve portion 34 is seated on an annular seat portion 35 formed at the bottom of the large-diameter hole portion 28 of the sleeve 25. The valve body 32 is urged in the valve closing direction (the right direction in FIG. 2) by a valve spring 36 housed in the large-diameter hole portion 28 of the sleeve 25.

[0017] An annular passage 37 is formed between the shaft portion 33 of the valve body 32 and the communication hole portion 30 of the sleeve 25. An annular passage 38 is formed between the small-diameter shaft portion 27 of the sleeve 25 and the large-diameter hole portion 23 of the sleeve fitting hole 22. An annular passage 39 is formed between the small-diameter shaft portion 27 of the sleeve 25 and the small-diameter hole portion 24 of the sleeve fitting hole 22. The sleeve 25 has a plurality of radial passages 40 (only "two" are shown in FIG. 2) communicating the annular passage 38 and the large-diameter hole portion 28 of the sleeve 25 and a plurality of radial passages 41 (only "two" are shown in FIG. 2) communicating between the annular passages 37 and 39.

[0018] On one side, an exhaust valve 51 is provided on the other side (the "right side" in FIG. 2) of the upper part of the housing 13. The exhaust valve 51 has a sleeve fitting hole 52 formed in the housing 13. The sleeve fitting hole 52 has a large-diameter hole portion 53 that opens to the right side surface 16 of the housing 13 and a small-diameter hole portion 54 that communicates the large-diameter hole portion 53 with the oil chamber 14. The exhaust valve 51 has a sleeve 55 that is fitted into the sleeve fitting hole 52.

[0019] The sleeve 55 has a large-diameter shaft portion 56 that is fitted into the large-diameter hole portion 53 of the sleeve fitting hole 52 and a small-diameter shaft portion 57 that is fitted into the small-diameter hole portion 54 of the sleeve fitting hole 22. The sleeve 55 has a large-diameter hole portion 58 that opens to the outside of the housing 13, a small-diameter hole portion 59 that opens to the oil chamber 14, and a communication hole portion 60 that communicates the large-diameter hole portion 58 with the small-diameter hole portion 59. The inner diameter of the communication hole portion 60 is smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter hole portion 58 and larger than the inner diameter of the small-diameter hole portion 59. Note that an exhaust port 61 that communicates with the air spring 4 is provided in the portion of the sleeve 55 that protrudes outside the housing 13.

[0020] The exhaust valve 51 has a valve body 62 that is inserted into the sleeve 55. The valve body 62 has a shaft portion 63 that is slidably fitted into the small-diameter hole portion 59 of the sleeve 55 and a valve portion 64 that is formed at the end of the shaft portion 63 on the side opposite to the oil chamber 14 side (the "right side" in FIG. 2). The end of the shaft portion 63 on the side opposite to the side where the valve portion 64 is formed (the "left side" in FIG. 2) protrudes into the oil chamber 14. The valve portion 64 is formed in a disc shape and has an outer diameter that is larger than the inner diameter of the communication hole portion 60 of the sleeve 55 and smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter hole portion 58 of the sleeve 55. The outer peripheral edge portion of the valve portion 64 is seated on an annular seat portion 65 formed at the bottom of the large-diameter hole portion 58 of the sleeve 55. The valve body 62 is urged in the valve closing direction (the left direction in FIG. 2) by a valve spring 66 housed in the large-diameter hole portion 58 of the sleeve 55.

[0021] An annular passage 67 is formed between the shaft portion 63 of the valve body 62 and the communication hole portion 60 of the sleeve 55. An annular passage 68 is formed between the small-diameter shaft portion 57 of the sleeve 55 and the large-diameter hole portion 53 of the sleeve fitting hole 52. An annular passage 69 is formed between the small-diameter shaft portion 57 of the sleeve 55 and the small-diameter hole portion 54 of the sleeve fitting hole 52. The sleeve 55 has a plurality of radial passages 70 (only "two" are shown in FIG. 2) that communicate the annular passage 68 with the large-diameter hole portion 58 of the sleeve 55, and a plurality of radial passages 71 (only "two" are shown in FIG. 2) that communicate between the annular passages 67 and 69.

[0022] The valve device 1 has a passage (not shown) that communicates the annular passage 39 of the intake valve 21 with the annular passage 68 of the exhaust valve 51. A check valve (not shown) that allows only the flow of air from the annular passage 39 of the intake valve 21 to the annular passage 68 of the exhaust valve 51 is provided in the passage. The annular passage 69 of the exhaust valve 51 communicates with an exhaust port 8 (see FIG. 1) provided in the housing 13. A non-return valve 45 is provided on the upper surface 17 of the housing 13.

[0023] When the air spring 4 expands and contracts, the drive arm 118 of the arm mechanism portion 110 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 about the driven shaft 11 from the neutral position (see FIG. 2), and the valve body 32 of the intake valve 21 is pushed leftward in FIG. 2 by the drive arm 118 against the spring force of the valve spring 36. As a result, the intake valve 21 opens, and air is supplied from the accumulator 5 (see FIG. 1) to the air spring 4 (see FIG. 1) through the intake passage, and the air spring 4 expands. When the air spring 4 expands, the lever member 6 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11, and the driven shaft 11 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2 in conjunction with the lever member 6. As a result, the drive arm 118 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2, and when the drive arm 118 returns to the neutral position, the intake valve 21 closes and the intake passage is blocked.

[0024] On the one hand, when the air spring 4 extends, the drive arm 118 of the arm mechanism section 110 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2 about the driven shaft 11 from the neutral position (see FIG. 2), and the valve body 62 of the exhaust valve 51 is pushed rightward in FIG. 2 by the drive arm 118 against the spring force of the valve spring 66. As a result, the exhaust valve 51 opens, and the air in the air spring 4 is exhausted to the outside (into the atmosphere) through the exhaust passage, and the air spring 4 contracts. When the air spring 4 contracts, the lever member 6 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 about the driven shaft 11, and the driven shaft 11 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 in conjunction with the lever member 6. As a result, the drive arm 118 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2, and when the drive arm 118 returns to the neutral position, the exhaust valve 41 closes and the exhaust passage is blocked.

[0025] The valve device 1 is provided at the lower part of the housing 1 and has a damper mechanism section 90 that generates a predetermined operation delay from the start of rotation of the lever member 6 until the intake valve 21 and the exhaust valve 51 open. The damper mechanism section 90 has an intake side mechanism section 91 that generates an operation delay for the opening of the intake valve 21 and an exhaust side mechanism section 92 that generates an operation delay for the opening of the exhaust valve 51. The intake side mechanism section 91 and the exhaust side mechanism section 92 are configured symmetrically left and right in FIG. 2. The damper mechanism section 90 has cylinders 93, 94 formed in the oil chamber 14, pistons 95, 96 slidably fitted into the cylinders 93, 94, a connecting portion 97 that connects the pistons 95, 96, and valves 101, 102 that control the flow of the working oil between the damper chambers 99, 100 and the oil chamber 14. The connecting portion 97 is connected to the operating arm 119 of the arm mechanism section 110 via a roller (not shown).

[0026] When the operating arm 119 rotates counterclockwise from the neutral position (see FIG. 2) in FIG. 2, the piston 95 moves rightward in FIG. 2 to compress the damper chamber 99, and the hydraulic oil in the damper chamber 99 flows into the oil chamber 14 via the passage 103. Here, hydraulic resistance acts on the piston 95 as the hydraulic oil in the damper chamber 99 passes through an orifice (not shown). On the other hand, when the operating arm 119 rotates clockwise from the neutral position in FIG. 2, the piston 96 moves leftward in FIG. 2 to compress the damper chamber 100, and the hydraulic oil in the damper chamber 100 flows into the oil chamber 14 via the passage 104. Here, hydraulic resistance acts on the piston 96 as the hydraulic oil in the damper chamber 100 passes through an orifice (not shown).

[0027] Next, the arm mechanism section 110 will be described. For convenience, the direction along the axis of the driven shaft 11 (shaft member) (the "left - right direction" in FIG. 4) is referred to as the "axial direction", and the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is referred to as the "radial direction". Also, the plane including the axis of the driven shaft 11 is referred to as the "axial plane", and the plane perpendicular to the axis of the driven shaft 11 is referred to as the "plane perpendicular to the axis".

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the arm mechanism section 110 includes a spring member 111, a spring arm member 121, and an outer peripheral arm member 141. The spring member 111 is an applied torsion coil spring, and has a coil portion 112 into which the driven shaft 11 is inserted in the axial direction, extending portions 113, 114 extending outward from both axial ends of the coil portion 112, and bent portions 115, 116 having a bent R - shape formed between the coil portion 112 and the extending portions 113, 114. The extending portions 113, 114 are arranged symmetrically about the axial plane extending vertically and parallel to each other in the plan view shown in FIG. 5.

[0029] The spring arm member 121 extends in the radial direction and has spring arm connection portions 122 and 123 that are arranged on both axial sides with the spring member 111 therebetween. The upper end portion of the spring arm connection portion 122 in FIG. 4 is non-rotatably connected to a portion that protrudes from the end of the driven shaft 11 on the side of the extension portion 113 of the spring member 111 (the "left side" in FIG. 4). On the other hand, the upper end portion of the spring arm connection portion 123 in FIG. 4 is non-rotatably connected to a portion that protrudes from the end of the driven shaft 11 on the side of the extension portion 114 of the spring member 111 (the "right side" in FIG. 4). The spring arm member 121 extends in the axial direction and has a spring arm connection portion 131 that connects the lower ends between the spring arm connection portions 122 and 123.

[0030] The outer peripheral arm member 141 extends in the radial direction and has outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143 that are arranged on both axial sides with the spring member 111 therebetween. The left side surfaces (not shown) of the outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143 in FIG. 5 are arranged on the same plane (a plane parallel to the axial plane) as the left side surfaces (not shown) of the spring arm connection portions 122 and 123 in FIG. 5. The left side surfaces 144 and 145 (see FIG. 4) of the outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143 in FIG. 5 are arranged on the same plane (a plane parallel to the axial plane) as the left side surfaces 124 and 125 (see FIG. 4) of the spring arm connection portions 122 and 123 in FIG. 5.

[0031] The middle portions in the radial direction of the outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143 are connected to the driven shaft 11 via bushes 146 and 147. Thereby, the outer peripheral arm member 141 is rotatable about the driven shaft 11. The outer peripheral arm member 141 has an outer peripheral arm connection portion 148 that connects the upper ends between the outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143 and an outer peripheral arm connection portion 151 that connects the lower ends between the outer peripheral arm connection portions 142 and 143. Thereby, the outer peripheral arm member 141 is formed in a rectangular frame shape.

[0032] The outer peripheral arm member 141 protrudes radially outward (the "upper side" in FIG. 4) from the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 148 and has a drive arm 118 (see FIG. 4) for driving the valve body 32 of the air supply valve 21 and the valve body 62 of the exhaust valve 51, and protrudes radially outward (the "lower side" in FIG. 4) from the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 and has an operating arm 119 (see FIG. 4) for operating the damper mechanism portion 90.

[0033] The spring arm connecting portion 131 has a cross section (hereinafter referred to as the "cross section of the spring arm connecting portion 131") by a plane perpendicular to the axis of at least the portion where the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 contact, which is formed in a trapezoid symmetric about a vertical axis plane in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6(A), the trapezoid formed by the cross section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 has a shorter length of the upper base 132 than the length of the lower base 133. Also, the length of the lower base 133 of the trapezoid formed by the cross section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 is set to the distance of the gap (W in FIG. 7) between the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111.

[0034] Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the spring arm connecting portion 131 has the corner portions 134 and 135 on both sides in the width direction (the "left - right direction" in FIG. 5) located on the side opposite to the driven shaft 11 (the "lower side" in FIG. 5) contacting the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, and the corner portions 136 and 137 on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft 11 side (the "upper side" in FIG. 5) forming a gap with the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111.

[0035] Here, when the length of the upper base 132 of the trapezoid formed by the cross section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 is L1, the length of the lower base 133 is L2, and the inner R dimension of the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111 is R1, it is set such that (L2 - L1) / 2 ≧ R1 holds.

[0036] On one hand, in the cross-section by the plane perpendicular to the axis of at least the portion where the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 contact (hereinafter referred to as the "cross-section of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151"), the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 is formed in a trapezoid that is symmetric about the axis plane extending vertically in FIG. 5. The trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm member 141 has the length of the upper base 152 longer than the length of the lower base 153. Also, in the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151, the length of the upper base 152 is set to the distance of the gap (W in FIG. 7) between the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111.

[0037] As a result, at the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151, the corner portions 154 and 155 on both sides in the width direction (the "left - right direction" in FIG. 5) located on the driven shaft 11 side (the "upper side" in FIG. 5) contact the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, and gaps are formed between the side surfaces 156 and 157 on both sides in the width direction and the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111.

[0038] Here, in the valve device, it is necessary that the extending portions at both axial ends of the spring member contact both side portions in the width direction of the spring arm connecting portion and both side portions in the width direction of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion. In contrast, in the conventional valve device, when the corner portions on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft side of the spring arm connecting portion contact the bent portions of the spring member, the movement of the extending portions of the spring member in the closing direction is hindered, and it is difficult to make the extending portions of the spring member and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion contact without a gap.

[0039] In contrast, in the first embodiment, the corner portions 134 and 135 on both sides in the width direction located on the side opposite to the driven shaft 11 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 are brought into contact with the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, and gaps are formed between the corner portions 136 and 137 on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft 11 side of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111. Also, in the first embodiment, the corner portions 154 and 155 on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft 11 side of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 are brought into contact with the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, and gaps are formed between the side surfaces 156 and 157 on both sides in the width direction of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 and the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111.

[0040] In the first embodiment, the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 can be brought into contact with the spring arm connecting portion 131 of the spring arm member 121 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 of the outer peripheral arm member 141 without any gap, and it is possible to improve the responsiveness of the valve device 1.

[0041] Note that the first embodiment is not limited to the above-described form, and for example, it can be configured as follows. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(A), the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 of the spring arm member 121 is formed in a trapezoidal shape. However, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 may be formed in a rectangular shape, and chamfers C may be formed at the corner portions 136 and 137 on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft 11 side of the spring arm connecting portion 131. In this case, by setting the chamfer dimension C1 formed at the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 to be equal to or greater than the inner R dimension R1 of the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111 (C1≥R1), a gap is formed between the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111. Also, as shown in FIG. 6(C), the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 may be formed in a rectangular shape, and rounded chamfers R may be formed at the corner portions 136 and 137 on both sides in the width direction located on the driven shaft 11 side of the spring arm connecting portion 131. In this case, by setting the rounded chamfer dimension R2 formed at the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 to be equal to or greater than the inner R dimension R1 of the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111 (R2≥R1), a gap is formed between the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111.

[0042] (Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Regarding the common parts with the first embodiment, the same names and reference numerals are used, and the overlapping explanations are omitted.

[0043] In the first embodiment, the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 is formed in a trapezoidal shape, and a gap is formed between the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111, so that the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 do not contact the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111.

[0044] On the other hand, in the second embodiment, in addition to the configuration applied in the first embodiment, the spring arm connecting portion 131 is arranged on the side opposite to the driven shaft 11 (the "lower side" in FIG. 7), and the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 are separated from the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111, so that the corner portions 136 and 137 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 are surely prevented from contacting the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111.

[0045] In the second embodiment, in order to enable the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 to relatively rotate about the driven shaft 11, a groove portion 161 having a circular arc cross-section with a radius R3 centered on the axis (center C) of the driven shaft 11 is formed on the surface of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 on the side of the driven shaft 11 (the "upper side" in FIG. 7), that is, the surface facing the spring arm connecting portion 131. Here, assuming that the width of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 is set to be the same as the interval between the bent portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111 is W, and the height from the axis (center C) of the driven shaft 11 to the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 is H, the radius R3 can be obtained by the following (Equation 1). R3 = {H^2+(W / 2)^2}^(1 / 2) (Equation 1)

[0046] In the second embodiment, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. Further, in the second embodiment, since the distances between the corner portions 134 and 135 of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the corner portions 154 and 155 of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 that contact the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 are close, as compared with the first embodiment, the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 can be surely brought into contact with the spring arm connecting portion 131 of the spring arm member 121 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 of the outer peripheral arm member 141.

[0047] (Third Embodiment) Next, the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8. Regarding the common parts with the first or second embodiment, the same names and reference numerals are used, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0048] The third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment in that the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 are formed in a trapezoidal shape, and a groove portion 161 having a circular arc-shaped cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the axis is formed on the opposing surface of the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 with the spring arm connecting portion 131.

[0049] On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the length W0 of the lower base 153 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm member 141 is set to be the same as the interval between the bending portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111, and the length W1 of the upper base 152 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm member 141 is set to be larger than the length W0 of the lower base 153 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm member 141 and the interval W0 between the bending portions 115 and 116 of the spring member 111 (W1>W0).

[0050] Further, in the third embodiment, the length W2 of the lower base 133 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 is set to be larger than the length W3 of the upper base 132 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 (W2>W3), and the length W2 of the lower base 133 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the spring arm connecting portion 131 is set to be the same as or larger than the length W1 of the upper base 152 of the trapezoid formed by the cross-section of the outer peripheral arm member 141 (W2≧W1).

[0051] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, after the assembly of the arm mechanism unit 110, the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 are pressed from both sides in the width direction of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151, and the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 are made to bite into the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, thereby forming the spring arm accommodating portions 171 and 172 and the outer peripheral arm accommodating portions 173 and 174 in the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111. Note that a material harder than the spring member 111 is applied to the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151.

[0052] In the third embodiment, the same operational effects as those of the first and second embodiments described above can be obtained. Also, in the third embodiment, since the spring arm accommodating portions 171 and 172 and the outer peripheral arm accommodating portions 173 and 174 are formed by transferring the shapes of the spring arm connecting portion 131 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 to the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111, the extending portions 113 and 114 of the spring member 111 can be surely brought into contact with the spring arm connecting portion 131 of the spring arm member 121 and the outer peripheral arm connecting portion 151 of the outer peripheral arm member 141.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 1 Valve device, 4 Air spring (fluid operating device), 5 Accumulator (fluid source), 11 Driven shaft, 13 Housing, 111 Spring member, 112 Coil portion, 113, 114 Extending portions, 115, 116 Bending portions, 121 Spring arm member, 122, 123 Spring arm connection portions, 131 Spring arm connecting portion, 141 Outer peripheral arm member, 142, 143 Outer peripheral arm connection portions, 151 Outer peripheral arm connecting portion

Claims

1. A valve device provided between a fluid source or the outside and a fluid-operated device for controlling the supply and discharge of fluid to the fluid-operated device, wherein the valve device includes a housing in which a passage communicating the fluid source or the outside with the fluid-operated device is formed, a shaft member rotatably supported by the housing, a spring member having a coil portion into which the shaft member is inserted, extending portions extending outward from both ends of the coil portion, and a bent portion formed between the coil portion and the extending portions, a spring arm member disposed on both axial sides of the shaft member with the coil portion therebetween, extending in the radial direction of the shaft member, and having a spring arm connection portion non-rotatably connected to the shaft member and a spring arm connection portion extending in the axial direction and connecting between the spring arm connection portions, an outer peripheral arm member disposed on both axial sides of the spring arm member, extending in the radial direction, and having an outer peripheral arm connection portion rotatably connected to the shaft member and an outer peripheral arm connection portion extending in the axial direction and connecting between the outer peripheral arm connection portions, and is provided with the spring member is arranged such that the extending portions sandwich the spring arm connection portion and the outer peripheral arm connection portion in the width direction, the width of the spring arm connection portion on the shaft member side is formed to be smaller than the width on the side opposite to the shaft member, the outer peripheral arm connection portion has a width on the shaft member side formed to be larger than the width on the side opposite to the shaft member. A valve device.

2. The valve device according to claim 1, wherein a groove portion extending in the axial direction is formed in a portion of the outer peripheral arm connection portion facing the spring arm connection portion. A valve device.

3. The valve device according to claim 2, wherein the groove portion has a cross section formed in an arc shape by a plane perpendicular to the axial direction. A valve device.

4. The valve device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a housing portion for housing a part of the spring arm connection portion or the outer peripheral arm connection portion is formed in a portion of the extending portion that contacts the spring arm connection portion or the outer peripheral arm connection portion. A valve device.

5. A method for manufacturing the valve device according to claim 4, a step of sandwiching the spring arm connection portion and the outer peripheral arm connection portion between the extending portions of the spring member, a step of pressing the extending portions against the spring arm connection portion and the outer peripheral arm connection portion to form a housing portion in the extending portions for housing a part of the spring arm connection portion and the outer peripheral arm connection portion. A method for manufacturing a valve device having

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