Butterfly valve opening prevention device

Abstract

To provide a device for preventing forgetting to open a butter valve.SOLUTION: A device 1 for preventing forgetting to open a butterfly valve is attached to a normally open butterfly valve E1, which is housed in a housing, comprises a tip part 21 at least partially composed of an elastic member 22. The device is configured to be attached to an indicator E15 that indicates the operating state of the butterfly valve E1; housed in the housing when the butterfly valve E1 is opened; and rotate so as to project at least a part of the tip part 21 from the housing when the butterfly valve E1 is closed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for preventing a butterfly valve from being left open. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is water spray equipment that is installed in a tunnel, and when a fire occurs in the tunnel, it detects the fire and automatically sprays fire extinguishing water from a spray head to protect the tunnel structure from the fire (see Patent Document 1). This type of water spray equipment is equipped with an automatic valve device and a butterfly valve as a test water control valve on the secondary side of the automatic valve device, that is, on the primary side of the spray head.

[0003] The butterfly valve is normally open, connecting the automatic valve device side to the spray head side; when the automatic valve device is opened, the extinguishing water reaches the spray head and is sprayed; however, during operational testing of the automatic valve device, the butterfly valve is closed, blocking communication between the automatic valve device side and the spray head side, so that extinguishing water will not be sprayed from the spray head even when the automatic valve device is open. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-59648 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] After completing the operation test of the automatic valve device, it is necessary to open the butterfly valve and re-establish communication between the automatic valve device and the spray head. If the butterfly valve is left closed, even if the automatic valve device is opened, the extinguishing water will not reach the spray head, and the water spray equipment will not function in the event of a fire.

[0006] Although the butterfly valve is checked with the utmost care when the performance test of the automatic valve device is completed, it cannot be said that there is no possibility that the butterfly valve will be left open due to human error, etc. Also, because the butterfly valve is not normally visible from the outside, once a butterfly valve is left open, it may be difficult to notice until a fire breaks out or the next performance test is conducted.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for a device for preventing a butterfly valve from being left open. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for preventing a butterfly valve from being left open. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to The front panel is attached to the frame either normally or during a fire. A butterfly valve forget-to-open prevention device that is attached to a butterfly valve that is normally open and is housed in a housing, comprising: A tip portion at least partly made of an elastic material a forget-to-open prevention part having the tip part; and a gear part. Equipped with Rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the handle of the butterfly valve, Shows the operating state of the butterfly valve indicator Attached to the forget-to-open prevention part rotates so that at least a part of the tip part protrudes from the housing when the butterfly valve is closed, and the gear part is configured so that the forget-to-open prevention part rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the indicator, This device prevents a butterfly valve from being forgotten to be opened, characterized in that when the butterfly valve is opened, it is housed within the housing, and when the butterfly valve is closed, it rotates so that at least a part of the tip protrudes from the housing.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention allows the gear portion to have a first gear connected to the indicator and a second gear connected to the forget-to-open prevention portion, and the forget-to-open prevention portion to rotate in the opposite direction to the indicator.

[0011] In addition, in the present invention, the expressions "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish the configuration of the present invention, and the numbers and order thereof do not have any particular meaning. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The present invention contributes to preventing the butterfly valve from being forgotten to be opened by having the butterfly valve stored within the housing when the butterfly valve is opened and at least a part of the tip protruding from the housing when the butterfly valve is closed, so that the tip interferes when attempting to attach a front panel to the housing, thereby preventing the butterfly valve from being forgotten to be opened. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a water spraying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of a housing according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic side view and (b) is a schematic plan view. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a butterfly valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is an enlarged perspective view with the valve body omitted, and (b) is an enlarged side view. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a gear portion according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 5 is a photograph showing how a butterfly valve according to an embodiment of the present invention is prevented from being left open. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6, taking as an example a butterfly valve forget-to-open prevention device 1 (hereinafter, also referred to as prevention device 1 for short) attached to a butterfly valve E1 installed in a water spray facility E installed in a tunnel. In this embodiment, since the prevention device 1 is located to the left of the butterfly valve E1, the clock position is as viewed from the left side.

[0015] First, the water spray equipment E in which the prevention device 1 is installed and the butterfly valve E1 to which the prevention device 1 is attached will be described. The water spray equipment E includes, from the primary side (upstream side), a pump E2, a primary side pipe E3, a primary side valve E4, an automatic valve device E5, a butterfly valve E1, a secondary side pipe E6, and a water spray head E7 connected to the secondary side pipe E6. The water spray equipment E is normally configured such that the automatic valve device E5 is closed and the primary side pipe E3 side and the secondary side pipe E6 side are not in communication, and in the event of a fire, the automatic valve device E5 is opened to allow communication between the primary side pipe E3 side and the secondary side pipe E6 side.

[0016] The pump E2 is provided to supply fire extinguishing water to the water spray head E7 via the primary side pipe E3 and the secondary side pipe E6. The primary side valve E4 is provided to cut off the supply of fire extinguishing water between the primary side pipe E3 and the automatic valve device E5, and is normally open and closed when it is necessary to stop the water supply from the primary side, for example, when replacing or repairing the automatic valve device E5.

[0017] The automatic valve device E5 is normally closed. When a fire breaks out in the tunnel, it is automatically opened based on an operation signal, and the fire extinguishing water sent from the pump E2 is supplied from the primary side piping E3 through the secondary side piping E6 to the water spray head E7.

[0018] The water spray head E7 is provided to spray extinguishing water into the tunnel in the event of a fire. In this embodiment, the automatic valve device E5 is of a pressurized release type, and the extinguishing water pressurized on the primary side is released by flowing into a piston chamber (not shown) of the automatic valve device E5, so that the extinguishing water supplied from the water spray head E7 can be sprayed.

[0019] The butterfly valve E1 is provided as a test water control valve, and is provided on the secondary side of the automatic valve device E5. It is opened normally and in the event of a fire, and closed when testing the operation of the automatic valve device E5. It has a valve part E10 and a handle part E11. In this embodiment, the butterfly valve E1 is disposed so that the valve part E10 is located to the left of the handle part E11. The position of the valve part E10 relative to the handle part E11 can be changed as necessary.

[0020] The valve portion E10 has an opening E12 for allowing the extinguishing water to flow from the primary side to the secondary side, and is provided with a disk-shaped valve body E13 that rotates in response to the operation of the handle portion E11 to open and close the opening E12.

[0021] The handle portion E11 has a handle E14 that is turned when opening and closing the butterfly valve E1, and an indicator E15 that is an example of an indicating device that indicates the operating state of the butterfly valve E1. In this embodiment, the indicator E15 displays the rotation angle of the valve body E13.

[0022] The indicator E15 has a scale E16 around it that corresponds to the rotation angle of the valve element E13, and a protruding pointer E17 for pointing to the scale E16. In this embodiment, when the pointer E17 points to approximately 12 o'clock, it indicates that the valve element E13 is fully open, and when the pointer E17 points to approximately 3 o'clock, it indicates that the valve element E13 is fully closed.

[0023] The automatic valve device E5 and the butterfly valve E1 are housed in a housing (also called a storage box) E8. The housing E8 has an opening on the front, a frame body E80 formed in a substantially box shape, and a front panel E81 detachably attached to the frame body E80. The front panel E81 is normally attached to the frame body E80 and in the event of a fire, and is removed when an operation test of the automatic valve device E5 is performed.

[0024] Next, the configuration of the prevention device 1 will be described. The prevention device 1 is provided to prevent the butterfly valve E1 from being left open after the operation test of the automatic valve device E5 is completed, and is attached to the butterfly valve E1. The prevention device 1 is accommodated in a housing E8 when the butterfly valve E1 is in an open state, and at least a part of it protrudes from the opening of the housing E8 when the butterfly valve E1 is in a closed state. The prevention device 1 has a forget-to-open prevention section 2 (hereinafter, also referred to as the prevention section 2 for short) and a gear section 3 for this purpose.

[0025] The gear unit 3 is configured to link the rotation of the indicator E15 with the rotation of the prevention unit 2. In this embodiment, the gear unit 3 has a first gear 30 connected to the indicator E15 and a second gear 31 connected to the prevention unit 2, and the first gear 30 and the second gear 31 mesh with each other to link the rotation of the indicator E15 with the rotation of the prevention unit 2. For this reason, the rotation direction of the indicator E15 and the rotation direction of the prevention unit 2 are opposite to each other.

[0026] In this embodiment, one end of the gear portion 3 has a shaft portion 32 that is provided so as to be able to fit onto the pointer portion E17 of the indicator E15, and the first gear 30 is provided on the other end of the shaft portion 32. That is, in this embodiment, the first gear 30 is indirectly connected to the indicator E15 via the shaft portion 32. Note that the number of gears is not limited to two and can be changed as necessary.

[0027] The prevention unit 2 has a substantially L-shaped main body 20 and a tip portion 21 attached to the tip of the main body 20, and is configured so that when the butterfly valve E1 is in a closed state, at least a part of the tip portion 21 protrudes from the opening of the housing E8 with the front panel E81 removed. In this embodiment, the prevention unit 2 is configured to be linked to the rotation of the indicator E15 by the gear portion 3, and when the butterfly valve E1 is in an open state, it faces in the direction of approximately 6 o'clock, and when the butterfly valve E1 is in a closed state, it faces in the direction of approximately 3 o'clock as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 3, so that at least a part of the tip portion 21 protrudes from the opening of the housing E8.

[0028] The tip portion 21 has an elastic portion 22 made of an elastic member and a countermeasure tool interference portion 23 (hereinafter, also referred to as the interference portion 23 for short). In this embodiment, the elastic portion 22 is formed as a coil spring, and the interference portion 23 is substantially spherical. The elastic member is not limited to various springs, and may be a material such as rubber or elastomer that has elasticity in itself.

[0029] When testing the operation of the automatic valve device E5, (1) the front panel E81 of the housing E8 is removed from the frame E80. This opens the front of the housing E8 (forming an opening), making it possible to operate the automatic valve device E5 and the butterfly valve E1.

[0030] (2) Next, in order to prevent extinguishing water from being sprayed from the water spray head E7 during the operation test, the handle E14 is rotated to close the butterfly valve E1 and block communication between the secondary piping E6 and the automatic valve device E5. At this time, the prevention part 2 of the prevention device 1 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the indicator E15, rotating counterclockwise from approximately the 6 o'clock direction to approximately the 3 o'clock direction, so that at least a part of the tip 21 of the prevention part 2 protrudes from the opening of the housing E8.

[0031] (3) After that, the test discharge valve (not shown) and the pilot valve (not shown) or the manual start valve (not shown) of the automatic valve device E5 are opened in sequence, and water is discharged from the test discharge valve to perform an operation test.

[0032] (4) After the operation test is completed, the automatic valve device E5 and the butterfly valve E1 are returned to their original states in the reverse order to complete the operation test. At this time, in this embodiment, if the butterfly valve E1 is not opened, even if an attempt is made to attach the front panel E81 to the frame body E80, the prevention unit 2 and the front panel E81 will interfere with each other, and the housing E8 will not be able to be returned to its original state (see FIG. 6).

[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, the housing E8 cannot be returned to its original state unless the butterfly valve E1 is opened, so that forgetting to open the butterfly valve E1 can be prevented. Note that, in this embodiment, at least a part of the tip portion 21 is made of an elastic material, so that even if an attempt is made to attach the front panel E81 to the frame body E80 in a state where the butterfly valve E1 has been left open by mistake, the tip portion 21 can prevent the frame body E80 and the front panel E81 from being damaged or deformed, and at the same time, this also contributes to preventing injuries to workers.

[0034] Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0035] (i) In the above embodiment, since the butterfly valve E1 is installed above the automatic valve device E5 and is located relatively higher in the housing E8, the gear unit 3 is provided so that the prevention unit 2 does not interfere with the frame body E80 when the butterfly valve E1 is in the open state, and the prevention unit 2 rotates in the opposite direction to the indicator E15. However, if the prevention unit 2 does not interfere with the frame body E80 when the butterfly valve E1 is in the open state, the prevention unit 2 may be rotated in the same direction as the indicator E15.

[0036] In this case, the gear portion 3 may be provided with an odd number of gears, and the prevention portion 2 may be attached directly to the indicator E15 without the gear portion 3 being interposed therebetween.

[0037] (ii) In the above embodiment, the butterfly valve E1 is installed in the water spray equipment E, but the present invention is also applicable to butterfly valves used for other purposes as long as they are installed in some kind of housing.

[0038] (iii) A small light may be built into the tip 21 of the prevention part 2. In this way, the light comes on when the butterfly valve E1 is closed, making it easier for an operator to understand that the prevention device 1 is protruding from the housing E8, and it is possible to increase the visibility of the prevention device 1. In addition, having the light on during maintenance work makes it easier to work in a dark tunnel. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Preventing device 2 Preventing part 20 Main body part 21 tip portion 22 elastic portion 23 interference portion 3 Gear section 30 First gear 31 Second gear 32 Shaft E Water spray equipment E1 Butterfly valve E10 Valve section E11 Handle section E12 Opening E13 Valve body E14 Handle E15 Indicator E16 Scale E17 Pointer E2 Pump E3 Primary piping E4 Primary valve E5 Automatic valve device E6 Secondary piping E7 Water spray head E8 Housing E80 Frame E81 Front panel

Claims

1. A butterfly valve opening forget prevention device attached to a butterfly valve used in a normally open state or in the event of a fire, the butterfly valve being housed in a housing having a front panel attached to a frame, the device comprising: The locking mechanism includes a tip portion at least partially made of an elastic material, a forget-to-open prevention portion having the tip portion, and a gear portion, an indicator that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the handle portion of the butterfly valve and indicates the operating state of the butterfly valve; the forget-to-open prevention part rotates so that at least a part of the tip part protrudes from the housing when the butterfly valve is closed, The gear portion is configured so that the forget-to-open prevention portion rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the indicator, The device for preventing forgetting to open a butterfly valve is characterized in that when the butterfly valve is opened, it is stored within the housing, and when the butterfly valve is closed, it rotates so that at least a part of the tip portion protrudes from the housing.

2. The gear portion has a first gear connected to the indicator and a second gear connected to the forget-to-open prevention portion, 2. The device for preventing forgetting to open a butterfly valve according to claim 1, wherein the forgetting to open prevention part rotates in a direction opposite to that of the indicator.

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