Mounting base for electric actuator and method for mounting electric actuator

A universal mounting platform with radially extending mounting holes addresses the inefficiency of dedicated electric actuator mounts by enabling use across different water supply valves, thereby reducing production costs.

JP7624908B2Active Publication Date: 2025-01-31KUBOTA CHEMIX CO LTD +1
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2021173172
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-10-22
Publication Date
2025-01-31
Estimated Expiration
2041-10-22

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing electric actuator mounting platforms are designed for specific types of water supply valves, requiring dedicated production for each type, which is costly and inefficient.

Method used

A universal mounting platform with a plate-like structure featuring radially extending mounting holes at predetermined intervals, allowing attachment to various water supply valves with different screw hole arrangements.

Benefits of technology

The solution enables the use of a single mounting platform for multiple types of water supply valves, reducing the need for specialized products and lowering manufacturing costs.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

To provide an electric actuator installing base that can be compatible with multiple types of water supply valves.SOLUTION: An electric actuator installing base 14 is an installing base for installing an electric actuator (16) to a water supply valve (12) and is provided with a plate-shaped installing base main body 60 to be installed on the water supply valve. The installing base main body has a plurality of installing holes 68 and 70 which are formed into a long-hole shape extending radially from the central portion and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric actuator mounting base and an electric actuator mounting method, and more particularly to an electric actuator mounting base for mounting an electric actuator to, for example, a water supply valve, and an electric actuator mounting method using the same. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of a conventional mounting base for an electric actuator is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the technology of Patent Document 1, a mounting base (mounting base for an electric actuator) for mounting the electric actuator to a water supply valve is removably provided at the lower end of a housing of the electric actuator. This mounting base has holes (mounting holes) through which fixing screws are inserted. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-89317 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When attaching an electric actuator mounting base to a water supply valve, a screw hole that is already provided on the top of the water supply valve is used. However, there are various types of water supply valves, and the arrangement of the screw holes differs depending on the type of water supply valve. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated electric actuator mounting base that is compatible with each water supply valve, which is costly.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting base for an electric actuator and a method for mounting an electric actuator.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a mounting base for an electric actuator that can accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves having different screw hole arrangements, and a mounting method for an electric actuator using the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The first invention is an electric actuator mounting base for mounting an electric actuator to a water supply valve, which comprises a plate-shaped mounting base main body to be mounted on the water supply valve, and the mounting base main body has a plurality of mounting holes formed as elongated holes extending radially from a center and arranged at predetermined intervals around the circumference.

[0008] In a first aspect of the present invention, an electric actuator mounting base is used to mount an electric actuator to a water supply valve. This electric actuator mounting base includes a plate-shaped mounting base main body that is mounted on the water supply valve. The mounting base main body has a plurality of elongated mounting holes that extend radially (i.e., extend in the radial direction) from a center. The mounting holes are arranged at predetermined intervals (such as 90 degree intervals or 120 degree intervals) in the circumferential direction.

[0009] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the mounting hole is formed as an elongated hole extending in the radial direction, so that it can be appropriately adapted to a plurality of types of water supply valves having different radial positions (distance from the center) of the screw hole. In other words, the electric actuator mounting base can be commonly used for a plurality of types of water supply valves, so that the frequency of preparing dedicated products for each case is reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the electric actuator mounting base can be reduced.

[0010] A second invention is according to the first invention, and the multiple mounting holes include a plurality of first mounting holes arranged at a first interval in the circumferential direction and a plurality of second mounting holes arranged at a second interval.

[0011] According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves having different circumferential positions (circumferential intervals) of the screw holes. In other words, the electric actuator mounting base can be commonly used for a greater number of types of water supply valves.

[0012] A third invention is dependent on the second invention, and one of the plurality of first mounting holes also serves as the second mounting hole.

[0013] According to the third invention, the number of mounting holes formed in the mounting base main body can be reduced.

[0014] A fourth invention is according to any one of the first to third inventions, and the multiple mounting holes include multiple narrow holes having a first width and multiple wide holes having a second width larger than the first width.

[0015] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves having different screw hole sizes, meaning that the electric actuator mounting base can be commonly used for a greater number of types of water supply valves.

[0016] A fifth invention is a method for mounting an electric actuator to a water supply valve using an electric actuator mounting base, which comprises: (a) preparing an electric actuator mounting base having a mounting base main body formed in an elongated shape extending radially from a center and having a plurality of mounting holes arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction; and (b) mounting the electric actuator mounting base to the water supply valve using the plurality of mounting holes, and mounting the electric actuator to the electric actuator mounting base. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the electric actuator can be appropriately attached to a plurality of types of water supply valves having different screw hole arrangements.

[0017] A sixth invention is according to the fifth invention, and in step (a), a mounting base for an electric actuator is prepared, the mounting base having a mounting base main body having a plurality of mounting holes including a plurality of first mounting holes arranged at a first interval in the circumferential direction and a plurality of second mounting holes arranged at a second interval; in step (b), a mounting hole that fits a screw hole formed in the water supply valve is selected from the plurality of first mounting holes or the plurality of second mounting holes, and the mounting base for the electric actuator is attached to the water supply valve using the selected mounting hole.

[0018] According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the electric actuator can be appropriately attached to a wider variety of water supply valves. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to this invention, it is possible to accommodate multiple types of water supply valves with different screw hole arrangements, and the electric actuator mounting base can be used in common for multiple types of water supply valves, thereby reducing the frequency of having to prepare dedicated products for each application and reducing the manufacturing costs of the electric actuator mounting base.

[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a field water management system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing an example of a paper feed valve. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing an example of an electric actuator. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a water supply valve equipped with an electric actuator. [Diagram 5] 1 is a plan view showing an electric actuator mounting base according to one embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an electric actuator mounting base. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing a state in which an electric actuator mounting base is attached to a water supply valve. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an electric actuator mounting base according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an electric actuator mounting base according to still another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an electric actuator mounting base according to still another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an illustrative view showing another example of the electric actuator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] 1, an electric actuator mounting base 14 (hereinafter simply referred to as "mounting base 14") according to one embodiment of the present invention is a member for mounting an electric actuator 16 to a water supply valve 12. As will be described in detail later, the mounting base 14 is formed so as to be compatible with a number of different types of water supply valves 12 having different structures.

[0023] In this embodiment, the water supply valve 12 to which the electric actuator 16 is attached (water supply valve with electric actuator) is used in a field water management system 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as "system 10"). First, an example of the configuration of the system 10 will be briefly described below. However, the configuration of the system 10 (specific configurations of the water supply valve 12 and the electric actuator 16, etc.) is not limited to this example and can be changed as appropriate.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 1, the system 10 is a farm facility that manages water in a farm field 100 by remote control or automatic control based on a pre-stored program. In this embodiment, the system 10 includes a water supply valve 12 that controls the supply of water to the farm field 100. An electric actuator 16 is attached to the water supply valve 12 using a mounting base 14.

[0025] Although not shown, the field 100 is appropriately provided with sensor terminals such as a water level sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor that detects the field water level, various temperature sensors that detect air and water temperatures, a pressure sensor that detects air pressure, and a soil moisture sensor that detects soil moisture. The sensor terminals are connected to the electric actuator 16 via wiring, and sensor information such as the field water level and water temperature detected by the sensor terminals is input to the electric actuator 16.

[0026] In this embodiment, the system 10 includes a plurality of cultivated areas divided by ridges 102. A water supply valve 12 is installed in each cultivated area, and each electric actuator 16 attached to the water supply valve 12 is wirelessly connected to a repeater (parent unit) by a wireless communication method conforming to a specific low-power wireless standard (920 MHz band). Each electric actuator 16 is wirelessly connected to a remote control terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, PDA, or PC owned by a user via the repeater and a management server or the like installed on the network.

[0027] It is advisable to use cloud computing for this wireless communication. For example, information acquired by each electric actuator 16 (information on the state of the water supply valve 12, such as the opening degree of the valve body 30, and sensor information such as the water level of the field 100 received from the sensor terminal) is transmitted as needed to a cloud server, which is an example of a management server, and stored therein. A user can access the cloud server from a remote control terminal to check the information acquired by each electric actuator 16, and remotely control each electric actuator 16 using the remote control terminal to perform water management for the field 100.

[0028] The water supply valve 12 (water supply faucet) is a water supply device for controlling the water supply to the farm field 100, and has a displacement mechanism including a valve stem and a valve body. Here, a water supply valve of a type that is widely used and in which the valve stem and valve body move up and down in response to the rotation of the valve stem is shown as an example.

[0029] Briefly described with reference to FIG. 2, the water supply valve 12 includes a cylindrical valve box 20. The upper half of the valve box 20 is covered with a dome-shaped splash-proof cover 22, and a plurality of water outlets 24 are formed in the upper part of the side wall of the valve box 20 so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction. A bearing 26 having a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface is provided at the upper end of the valve box 20. A plurality of screw holes 26a for screwing (bolting) the splash-proof cover 22 are formed in the upper surface of the bearing 26 so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction at a predetermined interval. In this embodiment, four screw holes 26a are formed at 90 degree intervals. The splash-proof cover 22 has holes 22a formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of screw holes 26a.

[0030] A valve shaft 28 having a male thread formed on its outer periphery is screwed into the bearing 26 so as to penetrate the shatterproof cover 22. A disk-shaped valve element 30 having a water-stop rubber 30a on its underside is provided at the lower end of the valve shaft 28. A valve seat 32 having a water passage port 32a is provided in the approximate center of the valve box 20. In this water supply valve 12, when a rotational force about the axis is applied to the valve shaft 28, the screw mechanism moves the valve shaft 28 and the valve element 30 up and down, opening and closing the water passage port 32a of the valve seat 32. That is, the water supply valve 12 of this embodiment is provided with a displacement mechanism including the valve element 30 that moves up and down with the rotation of the valve shaft 28.

[0031] Returning to Figure 1, such a water supply valve 12 is placed in a water supply basin 104 provided on a levee 102, and is attached to the downstream end of a branch pipe 108 that branches off from an irrigation pipeline 106 laid under the levee 102 and extends into the field 100. An electric actuator 16 is attached to the top of the water supply valve 12 using a mounting base 14, and the displacement mechanism of the water supply valve 12 (the valve shaft 28 and the valve body 30) is operated by the electric actuator 16.

[0032] Next, the configuration of the electric actuator 16 will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the electric actuator 16 is a device that operates the displacement mechanism of the water supply valve 12, and includes a cylindrical housing 40. There are no particular limitations on the size, shape, material, etc. of the housing 40 as long as it can accommodate the internal mechanism described below, but in this embodiment, the housing 40 is formed by combining a short pipe made of rigid polyvinyl chloride with a nominal diameter of 150 mm and a pipe joint.

[0033] A solar cell panel 42 is detachably attached to the top of the housing 40. The solar cell panel 42 is supported at a predetermined angle by a metal holder 44 in the form of a bent plate.

[0034] Also housed inside the housing 40 are an electronic board 46, a storage battery 48, and a drive mechanism including a motor 50, a main gear 52, and the like.

[0035] Although not shown, the electronic board 46 is provided with a control unit including a CPU and memory, and a wireless communication unit including a wireless communication module. The motor 50, the operation panel 58, the wireless communication unit, the sensor terminal, and the like are electrically connected to the control unit. The CPU of the control unit is responsible for the overall control of the electric actuator 16, and controls the driving of the motor 50, etc. The memory is a comprehensive reference to ROM, RAM, HDD, etc., and stores a control program that controls the operation of the electric actuator 16 and functions as a work area when the CPU is operating. The wireless communication unit is also connected to an antenna, and performs wireless communication with external devices such as a repeater via the antenna.

[0036] The storage battery 48 stores the power generated by the solar panel 42. The motor 50 is driven by the power stored in the storage battery 48. A small gear 54 is provided at the tip of an output shaft 50a of the motor 50, and the main gear 52 is connected to the small gear 54 to receive driving force from the motor 50 and rotate around its axis.

[0037] The main gear 52 is a double-boss type gear, and a substantially cylindrical rotating shaft 56 is inserted into the shaft portion of the main gear 52. A coupling portion 56a is formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft 56, which is connected to the upper end of the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12, etc. Also, a key groove 52a extending along the axial direction is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft portion of the main gear 52, and a sliding key 56b engaging with the key groove 52a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 56 so as to extend along the axial direction. As a result, the rotating shaft 56 rotates together with the rotation of the main gear 52, and is able to slide in the axial direction relative to the shaft portion of the main gear 52.

[0038] An operation panel 58 for receiving operation instructions from a user is provided on the outer surface of the housing 40. A main power switch, an up button, a down button, a selection button for switching the operation mode (remote mode, automatic mode, manual mode, etc.) of the electric actuator 16, and the like are appropriately provided on the operation panel 58. The operation panel 58 is also provided with connection terminals for connecting wires extending from the sensor terminals, and the like.

[0039] Furthermore, an inspection hatch 40a is formed in the lower part of the housing 40 for checking the operation of the rotating shaft 56 and other components and for performing maintenance work such as cleaning. Also, a plurality of holes 40b are formed in the lower end of the housing 40 and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0040] A mounting base 14 for mounting the electric actuator 16 to the water supply valve 12 is detachably attached to the lower end (bottom) of the housing 40. This mounting base 14 is also used as the bottom wall of the housing 40. A through hole 66 through which the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12 is inserted is formed in the center of the mounting base 14. Also, a plurality of mounting holes 68, 70 (see FIG. 5) are formed in the mounting base 14 around the through hole 66. The specific configuration of the mounting base 14 will be described later.

[0041] 4, when mounting the electric actuator 16 on the water supply valve 12, the mounting base 14 is screwed to the bearing 26 with the electric actuator 16 placed on the splash prevention cover 22 of the water supply valve 12. In addition, the upper end of the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12 and the coupling portion 56a of the rotating shaft 56 of the electric actuator 16 are non-rotatably connected.

[0042] In the water supply valve 12 to which the electric actuator 16 is attached, for example, when a user accesses a management server using a remote control terminal and transmits an operation instruction (control signal) to fully close, fully open, or open the water supply valve 12 to an arbitrary degree, a control signal corresponding to the operation instruction is transmitted from the management server to the electric actuator 16 via a repeater. The control unit of the electric actuator 16 drives the motor 50 in response to the received control signal. The driving force of the motor 50 is transmitted to the main gear 52, and the rotating shaft 56 rotates together with the main gear 52. As a result, a rotational force is applied to the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12, which is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 56. The valve shaft 28 to which the rotational force is applied is moved up and down by a mechanism, and the valve element 30 is moved to a fully open position, a fully closed position, or the like.

[0043] As described above, when attaching the mounting base 14 to the water supply valve 12, the screw holes 26a provided in advance on the top of the water supply valve 12 are utilized. However, there are various types of water supply valves 12 other than the water supply valve 12 illustrated in Fig. 2, and the arrangement of the screw holes (circumferential position (circumferential spacing) and radial position (distance from the center)) also differs depending on the type of water supply valve 12. For this reason, in the prior art, it was necessary to prepare a dedicated electric actuator mounting base that is compatible with each water supply valve 12 (i.e., a mounting base with mounting holes formed in positions corresponding to the screw holes of the water supply valve 12), and manufacturing the electric actuator mounting base was time-consuming and costly.

[0044] Therefore, in this embodiment, the following configuration is adopted for the mounting base 14, which can accommodate multiple types of water supply valves 12 with different screw hole arrangements, that is, the mounting base 14 can be commonly used for multiple types of water supply valves 12. The configuration of the mounting base 14 will be specifically described below.

[0045] As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the mounting base 14 includes a disk-shaped mounting base main body 60 that is attached on the water supply valve 12, and is made of metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, or synthetic resin. A short cylindrical fitting portion 62 is provided on the periphery of the mounting base main body 60 so as to protrude upward. The fitting portion 62 is a portion that is fitted into the lower end of the housing 40 of the electric actuator 16, and this fitting portion 62 is formed with a plurality of screw holes 62a arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction at positions corresponding to the plurality of holes 40b. In addition, a brim-shaped support portion 64 that protrudes outward from the fitting portion 62 is formed on the periphery of the mounting base main body 60. The support portion 64 supports the lower end of the housing 40, and the mounting base 14 is detachably fixed to the lower end of the housing 40 by fastening a fixing screw 82 into the screw hole 62a through the hole 40b (see Fig. 4).

[0046] A circular through hole 66 is formed in the center of the mounting base main body 60, through which the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12 is inserted. A plurality of elongated mounting holes 68, 70 extending radially (i.e., extending radially) from the center are formed in the mounting base main body 60 around the through hole 66. These multiple mounting holes 68, 70 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. By forming the mounting holes 68, 70 in an elongated hole shape in this manner, it is possible to accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves 12 having different radial positions of the screw holes.

[0047] In this embodiment, the multiple mounting holes 68, 70 include multiple (specifically, four) first mounting holes 68 arranged at a first interval (specifically, 90 degree intervals) in the circumferential direction, and multiple (specifically, three) second mounting holes 70 arranged at a second interval (specifically, 120 degree intervals) in the circumferential direction. This is because the water supply valves 12 used in the farm field 100 are broadly classified into those having four screw holes arranged at 90 degree intervals and those having six screw holes arranged at 60 degree intervals. However, from the viewpoint of fixing the mounting base 14, it is sufficient to perform screw fastening at three places, so in this embodiment, the number of second mounting holes 70 is three. Of course, six mounting holes arranged at 60 degree intervals in the circumferential direction can also be adopted as the second mounting holes 70 corresponding to the six screw holes arranged at 60 degree intervals. In this way, by having the first mounting holes 68 and the second mounting holes 70, it is possible to accommodate multiple types of water supply valves 12 having different circumferential positions of the screw holes.

[0048] In this embodiment, one of the multiple first mounting holes 68 doubles as the second mounting hole 70. That is, the first mounting hole 68 formed on the upper side (12 o'clock position) in FIG. 5 doubles as the second mounting hole 70. This allows the number of mounting holes 68, 70 formed in the mounting base main body 60 to be reduced. Furthermore, by using the dual-purpose mounting holes 68, 70 as reference holes, the water supply valve 12 and the mounting base 14 can be aligned in their central positions, and simply aligning this reference hole with the position of one screw hole naturally causes the positions of the other mounting holes 68, 70 to coincide with the other screw holes, making it easy to attach the mounting base 14 to the water supply valve 12.

[0049] The length (radial length) of each of the mounting holes 68, 70 is, for example, 40 mm. The width of each of the mounting holes 68, 70 is set to fit a screw hole for an M6 fixing screw that is mainly used in water supply valves 12 for farm fields, and is, for example, 6 mm.

[0050] Next, an example of a method for attaching the electric actuator 16 to the water supply valve 12 using the mounting base 14 will be described. When attaching the electric actuator 16 to the water supply valve 12, first, the mounting base 14 including the mounting base main body 60 having the above-mentioned first mounting hole 68 and second mounting hole 70, and the electric actuator 16 are prepared in the field 100. The mounting base 14 is removed from the housing 40. Also, in the water supply valve 12, the screws (not shown) that fixed the splash prevention cover 22 are removed from the screw holes 26a.

[0051] Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the mounting base 14 is attached to the water supply valve 12. That is, the mounting hole that matches the screw hole 26a formed in the water supply valve 12 is selected from either the first mounting hole 68 or the second mounting hole 70, and the mounting base 14 is attached to the water supply valve 12 using the selected mounting hole. Since the water supply valve 12 of this embodiment has four screw holes 26a formed at 90 degree intervals, the first mounting hole 68 is selected. In this case, since it is only necessary to select either the first mounting hole 68 or the second mounting hole 70 from the two types of mounting holes 68, 78, it is easy to find the mounting hole 68, 70 to be used. Then, the mounting base 14 is placed on the water supply valve 12 so that the positions of the first mounting holes 68 are aligned with the positions of the screw holes 26a, and the mounting base 14 is fixed to the water supply valve 12 by fastening the fixing screws 80 into the screw holes 26a through the mounting holes 68.

[0052] Thereafter, the electric actuator 16 is attached to the mounting base 14 as shown in Fig. 4. That is, the fitting portion 62 of the mounting base 14 is fitted into the lower end portion of the housing 40 of the electric actuator 16, and the housing 40 is placed on the support portion 64 of the mounting base 14. Then, the fixing screws 82 are fastened into the respective screw holes 62a of the fitting portion 62 through the respective holes 40b of the housing 40, thereby fixing the housing 40 to the mounting base 14. In addition, the upper end portion of the valve shaft 28 of the water supply valve 12 and the coupling portion 56a of the rotating shaft 56 of the electric actuator 16 are non-rotatably connected to each other.

[0053] As described above, according to this embodiment, the mounting holes 68, 70 are formed as elongated holes extending in the radial direction, so that it is possible to appropriately accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves 12 having different radial positions of the screw holes. Also, since it has the first mounting holes 68 arranged at 90 degree intervals in the circumferential direction and the second mounting holes 70 arranged at 120 degree intervals, it is possible to appropriately accommodate a plurality of types of water supply valves 12 having different circumferential positions of the screw holes. Therefore, since the mounting base 14 can be commonly used for a plurality of types of water supply valves 12, the frequency of preparing dedicated products for each case is reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the mounting base 14 can be reduced.

[0054] Next, a mounting base 14 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In this embodiment, the configuration of the mounting holes formed in the mounting base main body 60 differs from that of the above-described embodiment. As the other parts are similar, the same reference numbers are used for parts common to the above-described embodiment, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted or simplified.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 8, the mounting base 14 of this embodiment has, in addition to the above-mentioned first mounting hole 68 and second mounting hole 70, a plurality of (specifically, four) third mounting holes 72 in the form of elongated holes arranged at 90 degree intervals in the circumferential direction. The third mounting holes 72 are arranged at intermediate positions between the first mounting holes 68. The length (radial length) of the third mounting holes 72 is, for example, 40 mm. The width of the third mounting holes 72 is set to, for example, 8 mm to match the screw holes for M8 fixing screws. In other words, the width (second width) of the third mounting holes 72 is larger than the widths (first width) of the first mounting holes 68 and the second mounting holes 70.

[0056] That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the multiple mounting holes formed in the mounting base main body 60 include a first mounting hole 68 and a second mounting hole 70 which are examples of multiple narrow holes having a first width, and a third mounting hole 72 which is an example of multiple wide holes having a second width larger than the first width.

[0057] 8, in addition to the first mounting hole 68 and the second mounting hole 70, there is a wider third mounting hole 72, so that it can accommodate a variety of types of water supply valves 12 with different screw hole sizes. Therefore, the mounting base 14 can be commonly used for a wider variety of water supply valves 12, so the manufacturing cost of the mounting base 14 can be further reduced.

[0058] In the above embodiment, both the first mounting hole 68 and the second mounting hole 70 are formed in the mounting base main body 60 of the mounting base 14, but this is not limited to the above. For example, as shown in Fig. 9, only the first mounting hole 68 may be formed in the mounting base main body 60. Also, as shown in Fig. 10, only the second mounting hole 70 may be formed in the mounting base main body 60. Furthermore, although not shown, the first mounting hole 68 and the third mounting hole 72 may be formed in the mounting base main body 60, or the second mounting hole 70 and the third mounting hole 72 may be formed in the mounting base main body 60.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the mounting base 14 is provided detachably with respect to the housing 40, but this is not limiting, and the housing 40 of the electric actuator 16 and the mounting base 14 may be integrally formed (non-detachably). In other words, the mounting base 14 does not necessarily need to be a separate body from the electric actuator 16.

[0060] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the mounting base 14 (and thus the electric actuator 16) is attached to the water supply valve by directly fastening the fixing screws to each screw hole of the water supply valve, but this is not limited to this. Although not shown in the figures, the mounting base 14 can also be attached to the water supply valve via a support. That is, the mounting base 14 can be attached to the water supply valve by attaching a support having a male thread at its lower end and a female thread (threaded hole) at its upper end to each screw hole of the water supply valve, and fastening the fixing screws to the female threads of each support through the mounting holes of the mounting base 14.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the electronic board 46, the storage battery 48, the motor 50, the main gear 52, etc. are housed inside the housing 40 of the electric actuator 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, only the drive mechanism such as the motor 50 and the main gear 52 can be housed inside the housing 40, and the electronic board 46 and the storage battery 48 can be disposed in another case provided outside the housing 40. That is, the electric actuator 16 can be divided into a drive device including the drive mechanism and a control device including the electronic board 46 (control unit), and the part to be attached to the water supply valve 12 can be composed of only the drive device. In this case, the motor 50 is preferably electrically connected to the electronic board 46 via wiring 90 or the like.

[0062] 11, only the drive mechanism such as the motor 50 and main gear 52 is housed inside the housing 40, i.e., the part attached to the water supply valve 12 is made up of only the drive device, making it possible to reduce the size and weight of this part. This makes it easier to attach the electric actuator 16 to the water supply valve 12.

[0063] It should be noted that the specific values ​​of the dimensions and the specific shapes given above are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate according to the needs of the product specifications, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10... Field water management system 12...Water supply valve 14 …Mounting stand for electric actuator 16 ... Electric actuator 26a …Screw hole 40…Housing 60 …Mounting base body 68 … First mounting hole (slotted hole) 70 ... Second mounting hole (slotted hole) 72 … 3rd mounting hole (thick oblong hole) 100 ... field

Claims

1. An electric actuator mounting base for mounting an electric actuator to a water supply valve, comprising: a plate-shaped mounting base body that is attached onto the water supply valve; The mounting base body is an electric actuator mounting base having a plurality of mounting holes formed as elongated holes extending radially from a center portion and arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

2. 2. The electric actuator mounting base according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of mounting holes include a plurality of first mounting holes arranged at a first interval in the circumferential direction and a plurality of second mounting holes arranged at a second interval.

3. 3. The electric actuator mounting base according to claim 2, wherein one of the plurality of first mounting holes is also used as the second mounting hole.

4. 4. The electric actuator mounting base according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of mounting holes include a plurality of narrow elongated holes having a first width and a plurality of wide elongated holes having a second width larger than the first width.

5. A method for mounting an electric actuator to a water supply valve using an electric actuator mounting base, comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a mounting base for the electric actuator, the mounting base having a mounting base main body having a plurality of mounting holes formed as elongated holes extending radially from a center portion and arranged at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction; (b) A method for mounting an electric actuator, comprising the steps of: attaching the electric actuator mounting base to the water supply valve using the multiple mounting holes; and attaching the electric actuator to the electric actuator mounting base.

6. In the step (a), a mounting base for an electric actuator is prepared, the mounting base having a mounting base main body having a plurality of mounting holes including a plurality of first mounting holes arranged at a first interval in a circumferential direction and a plurality of second mounting holes arranged at a second interval; 6. The method for mounting an electric actuator as described in claim 5, wherein in the step (b), a mounting hole that fits a screw hole formed in the water supply valve is selected from either the plurality of first mounting holes or the plurality of second mounting holes, and the selected mounting hole is used to mount the electric actuator mounting base to the water supply valve.

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