Flow path switching valve

Abstract

To suppress wear of sliding parts of a valve element and a seat member.SOLUTION: And a plurality of flow path ports 31323334 through which a fluid passes are formed in side walls 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D of the chamber 12, the chamber 12 being formed inside the body 14, a portion of the body 14 facing a bottom plate forming the chamber 12 being an open port 12U, the body 14 being capable of being disposed in the chamber 12 from the open port 12U, the body 14 being rotatably disposed in the chamber 12, the body 14 having a cavity portion 36 formed inside the body 14, the body 14 having a cylindrical 16E with a constant radius from a central axial O1 on an outer face of the body 14; And a sealing portion 18 that can be disposed in the gate chamber 12 from the open port side 16E, is provided at a position of the flow path port where the flow holes 16A and 16B can face each other when the gate 16 rotates around the center shaft side 12U, and slides on the cylindrical surface side O1 of the gate 16 to seal between the cylindrical surface side 16E and the side 16B. 16A 16E.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a flow path switching valve. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a flow path switching valve in which an inlet / outlet for a fluid is formed in the wall surface of a valve body that forms a valve chamber, and a sealing part that seals the gap between the inlet / outlet and the valve disc is provided on the valve disc. The sealing part is provided so as to surround the periphery of an opening that opens at a 90° angle in the valve disc. The sealing part has a seat member and an O-ring, and slides against the inner wall of the valve chamber when the valve disc rotates. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-131736 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in a configuration in which two sealing portions that intersect with each other at 90 degrees are provided on the valve body, as in the conventional example described above, there is a concern that the valve body may tilt due to the repulsive force of the O-ring, and the valve body may come into contact with the valve main body.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to suppress wear on the sliding portion between the valve body and the seat member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A flow path switching valve according to a first aspect comprises: a valve body having a valve chamber formed therein, a portion facing a bottom plate of the valve chamber being an open port, and a plurality of flow path ports through which a fluid passes being formed in a side wall of the valve chamber; a valve disc that is positionable in the valve chamber from the open port and rotatably disposed in the valve chamber, and has a cavity formed therein, and has a cylindrical surface on its outer surface with a constant radius from a central axis, and communication holes formed in the cylindrical surface through which a fluid passes to flow into or out of the cavity; and a sealing part that is positionable in the valve chamber from the open port, and is provided at a position of the flow path port that the communication holes can face when the valve disc rotates about the central axis, and slides against the cylindrical surface of the valve disc to seal between the cylindrical surface and the side wall.

[0007] In this flow path switching valve, a cylindrical surface with a constant radius from the central axis is provided on the outer surface of the valve disc. The valve disc rotates around the central axis, changing the angular position of the flow holes provided in the cylindrical surface and switching the flow path. The sealing portions slide along the cylindrical surface to seal between the cylindrical surface and the side wall of the valve chamber. The sealing portions are provided at the positions of multiple flow path openings in the valve body that can be opposed by the flow holes of the valve disc. Therefore, tilt of the valve disc is suppressed regardless of the position or number of flow holes formed in the cylindrical surface of the valve disc.

[0008] In a second aspect, in the flow path switching valve according to the first aspect, an upper surface of the sealing portion on the open port side and a lower surface on the bottom plate side are each flat.

[0009] In this flow path switching valve, the upper surface of the sealing part on the open port side and the lower surface on the bottom plate side are both flat, so the sealing part can be properly assembled to the valve body. In addition, the valve disc can be assembled to the valve body after the sealing part is assembled to the valve body, which improves assembly workability.

[0010] In a third aspect, in the flow path switching valve according to the second aspect, the sealing portion has an annular groove in which an O-ring is attached, and the height and width dimensions of the sealing portion are set so that a portion of the annular groove opens to the top surface and side surface of the sealing portion, respectively.

[0011] In this flow path switching valve, the height and width of the sealing portion are set so that a portion of the annular groove in which the O-ring is attached opens to the top and side surfaces of the sealing portion. Therefore, the height and width of the sealing portion can be made smaller than when a portion of the annular groove does not open to the top and side surfaces of the sealing portion. This allows the flow path switching valve to be made more compact.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, in the flow path switching valve according to any one of the first to third aspects, the sealing portion comprises a sheet member that is used for the flow path opening that is in use and has a through portion that connects the flow path opening to the flow hole, and a shielding sheet member that constantly blocks the flow path opening that is not in use.

[0013] In this flow path switching valve, a sheet member with a through-hole is used for the flow path opening used for flow path switching, and a shielding sheet member can be used for the flow path opening that is not used. By using a sheet member as a sealing member and a shielding sheet member separately, it is possible to increase the variety of flow path switching while standardizing the valve body and valve element.

[0014] In a fifth aspect, in a flow path switching valve according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, an area of ​​the outer surface of the valve body that does not have the flow holes has a support portion that is concentric with the cylindrical surface, has a common radius, and slides against the sealing portion.

[0015] In this flow path switching valve, not only the cylindrical surface of the valve body but also the support posts provided in the area of ​​the outer surface of the valve body that does not have any flow holes slide against the sealing portion, which makes it possible to further suppress tilting of the valve body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, wear on the sliding portion between the valve body and the seat member can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a flow path switching valve according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a flow path switching valve according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the flow path switching valve according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the valve body and the lower port member. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cover that closes the opening of the valve body. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the sliding surface side of the sheet member. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the annular groove side of the seat member. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the cover is attached to the valve body. [Figure 11] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between a sealing portion and a protrusion of a cover. FIG. [Figure 12] 12(A) is a plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the rotation angle of the valve element is 0° in Example 1 of flow path switching. 12(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 12(B)-12(B) in FIG. 12(A). 12(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 12(C)-12(C) in FIG. 12(A). [Figure 13] 13(A) is a plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the rotation angle of the valve disc is 90° in this embodiment. 13(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 13(B)-13(B) in FIG. 13(A). 13(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 13(C)-13(C) in FIG. 13(A). [Figure 14] 14(A) is a plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the rotation angle of the valve disc is 180° in this embodiment. 14(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 14(B)-14(B) in FIG. 14(A). 14(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 14(C)-14(C) in FIG. 14(A). [Figure 15]15(A) is a plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the rotation angle of the valve disc is 270° in this embodiment. 15(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 15(B)-15(B) in FIG. 15(A). 15(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 15(C)-15(C) in FIG. 15(A). [Figure 16] (A) is a plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the rotation angle of the valve element is 0° in Example 2 of flow path switching. (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 16(B)-16(B) in Figure 16(A). (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows 16(C)-16(C) in Figure 16(A). [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state in which the rotation angle of the valve element is 45° in Example 2 of flow path switching. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Components indicated by the same reference numerals in each drawing are the same or similar components. Note that duplicated descriptions and reference numerals may be omitted in the embodiments described below. Furthermore, all drawings used in the following description are schematic, and the dimensional relationships and ratios of elements shown in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual ones. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships and ratios of elements between multiple drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual ones.

[0019] In each drawing, arrow H indicates the up-down direction, arrow W indicates the left-right direction, and arrow D indicates the front-rear direction. The up-down direction, width direction, and front-rear direction are perpendicular to each other. Note that the up-down direction, width direction, and front-rear direction in the present invention may differ from the directions in the state in which the flow path switching valve is in use.

[0020] 1 to 3, a flow path switching valve 10 according to this embodiment is a rotary five-way valve that switches the flow path of a liquid, which is one example of a fluid flowing in the engine compartment of an automobile, between multiple directions. The flow path switching valve 10 includes a valve body 14, a valve element 16, and a sealing portion 18. The flow path switching valve 10 is used in combination with a rotary drive unit 22 that rotates the valve element 16.

[0021] (Valve body) In FIG. 4, the valve body 14 is formed using, for example, a resin material. A valve chamber 12 is formed inside a base member 20 of the valve body 14. A plurality of fluid flow passage ports are formed in the side walls of the valve chamber 12. Specifically, flow passage ports 31, 32, 33, and 34 are formed in each of the four side walls 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D that constitute the valve chamber 12. Two pairs of opposing side walls are provided. The left-right side walls 12A and 12C face each other, and the front-rear side walls 12B and 12D face each other. The portion of the valve chamber 12 that faces the bottom plate is an open port 12U. A cover 80, which will be described later, is attached to the open port 12U. A downward flow passage port 35 is formed in the bottom plate of the valve chamber 12.

[0022] Ports 31A, 32A, 33A, and 34A serving as pipe fittings communicating with flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34, respectively, are integrally formed on the outer surface of base member 20 of valve body 14. A port member 26 is provided below base member 20. Port member 26 has a port 35A communicating with flow path opening 35 and a flange 35B. Flange 35B is joined to the bottom of base member 20 by, for example, fusion welding.

[0023] Mounting portions 24 for inserting the sealing portion 18 from the open opening 12U are provided on the valve chamber 12 side of the side walls 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D. The mounting portions 24 are concave from the valve chamber 12 side toward their respective flow path openings. The mounting portions 24 are rectangular when viewed from the top and bottom, and open toward the open opening 12U side. The side walls 24A and bottom 24B of the mounting portions 24 are, for example, flat. This allows the sealing portion 18 to be inserted from the open opening 12U side. During this insertion, the sealing portion 18 is guided by the side walls 24A of the mounting portions 24. The insertion is completed when the sealing portion 18 abuts against the bottom 24B.

[0024] (Valve body) 1 to 3, the valve element 16 is a member made of, for example, synthetic resin. The valve element 16 can be placed in the valve chamber 12 through the open port 12U and is rotatably disposed in the valve chamber 12. The valve element 16 is rotatably disposed about a central axis O1. A cavity 36 is formed inside the valve element 16. The outer surface of the valve element 16 is provided with a cylindrical surface 16E having a constant radius from the central axis O1. The cylindrical surface 16E is formed with flow holes 16A and 16B through which fluid flows into or out of the cavity 36. The flow holes 16A and 16B are formed, for example, in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve element 16. When viewed in the axial direction of the central axis O1, the angle formed by the opening directions of the flow holes 16A and 16B is, for example, 90°. A communication hole 16C communicating with the cavity 36 may be provided in the bottom portion located on the opposite side of the valve stem 48 (described later) in the axial direction of the central axis O1.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6, support pillars 16F may be provided in areas of the outer surface of the valve disc 16 that do not have the flow holes 16A and 16B. The support pillars 16F are provided, for example, at two locations, one above the other in the axial direction. The support pillars 16F are concentric with the cylindrical surface 16E, have the same radius, and are in sliding contact with the sealing portion 18. The support pillars 16F and the cylindrical surface 16E form a cylindrical surface that is continuous in the circumferential direction. The portion between the upper and lower support pillars 16F forms a secondary flow path 16S. The secondary flow path 16S is a flow path that is prepared separately from the flow path formed by the flow holes 16A, 16B, and 16C and the cavity 36 (see, for example, FIG. 12(A)). The radius of curvature of the cylindrical surface 16E and the support pillars 16F is set to be slightly smaller than the radius of the valve chamber 12.

[0026] 2, the upper part of the valve body 16 is pivotally supported in a fitting hole 80A provided in a cover 80 via an O-ring 28. On the other hand, the lower part of the valve body 16 is pivotally supported on the inner peripheral surface of the flow path port 35 via an O-ring 30.

[0027] A valve shaft 48 is provided integrally with the upper part of the valve body 16. The central axis of the valve shaft 48 is coaxial with the axis O1 of the valve body 16. A gear portion 48A having concave and convex portions in the circumferential direction is provided on the valve shaft 48, and this gear portion 48A engages with the output portion of the rotation drive unit 22. A protrusion 16G, which is, for example, fan-shaped when viewed in the axial direction, is provided integrally on the upper end face of the valve body 16 in the axial direction, for example, on the end face of the support portion 16F. The protrusion 16G is provided in one location.

[0028] The valve element 16 is adapted to be rotatably driven within a predetermined valve element rotation range. Stoppers 44, 46 are provided inside the valve body 14 at at least one of, for example both, the upper and lower limits of this valve element rotation range to limit further rotation of the valve element 16. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the stoppers 44, 46 are integrally provided on the underside of the cover 80. Note that FIG. 7 shows a state in which the underside of the cover 80 faces upward. The stopper 44 determines the upper limit, and the stopper 46 determines the lower limit. The upper and lower limits can also be referred to as one end and the other end.

[0029] The protrusion 16G of the valve disc 16 abuts against a stopper 44 provided on the cover 80 at the upper limit of the valve disc rotation range, and against a stopper 46 at the lower limit. The arrangement of the stoppers 44, 46 and the size of the protrusion 16G in the circumferential direction of the valve disc 16 are changed appropriately depending on the valve disc rotation range. In other words, the positions of the stoppers 44, 46 are determined taking into consideration this angle difference and the shape of the protrusion 16G of the valve disc 16.

[0030] (Rotation drive unit) 1, the rotational drive unit 22 rotates the valve element 16 via a valve stem 48 so that the communication states of the multiple flow path ports 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 are selectively switched through a cavity 36 in the valve element 16. The rotational drive unit 22 may be capable of detecting the angular position of the valve element 16. The rotational drive unit 22 has a motor, a drive gear, and the like for rotating the valve stem 48, and is disposed above the valve body 14 so as to rotate the valve element 16 about a rotation axis (center line) O1 via the valve stem 48. The valve stem 48 of the valve element 16 is engaged with the rotational drive unit 22 about the axis O1. The motor may be a stepping motor so that the angular position of the valve element 16 can be detected, or may be a combination of a motor such as a DC motor and a magnetic sensor (e.g., a Hall element).

[0031] In this embodiment, the angular difference θ between the upper and lower limits of the valve disc rotation range is 270° (see FIG. 12, etc.). When the angular difference between the upper and lower limits of the valve disc rotation range is known, the lower limit can be calculated from the upper limit, and vice versa, using a calibration program. Therefore, a configuration in which only one of the upper limit stopper 44 or the lower limit stopper 46 is provided may also be used. Furthermore, a protrusion that abuts against the upper limit stopper 44 and a protrusion that abuts against the lower limit stopper 46 may also be provided separately.

[0032] (Sealing part) 3, 8, and 9, the sealing portion 18 is a member that can be disposed in the valve chamber 12 from the open port 12U, is provided at the position of the flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34 where the communication holes 16A and 16B can face when the valve element 16 rotates about the central axis O1, and slides against the cylindrical surface 16E of the valve element 16 to seal between the cylindrical surface 16E and the side walls 12A, 12B, 12C, and 13D. In the example shown in FIG. 12(A) (flow path switching example 1), the flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34 are used, and therefore four seat members 40 are used. The seat members 40 have through-holes 40A that communicate the flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34 with the flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34.

[0033] On the other hand, in the example shown in Figures 16(A) and 17 (flow path switching example 2), the sealing portion 18 includes a sheet member 40 used for the flow path openings 31, 32, and 33 that are used, a shielding sheet member 50 that constantly blocks the flow path opening 34 that is not used, and an O-ring 42. The sheet member 40 has a through-port 40A that connects the flow path openings 31, 32, and 33 that are used with the communication holes 16A and 16B. The shielding sheet member 50 does not have such a through-port. In this way, the sheet member 40 and the shielding sheet member 50 can be selected appropriately in accordance with variations in flow path switching.

[0034] The seat member 40 has a cylindrical concave surface 40B that slides against the cylindrical surface 16E and support portion 16F of the valve disc 16. The surface of the seat member 40 opposite the cylindrical concave surface 40B in the thickness direction, i.e., the surface facing the side wall 12A of the valve chamber 12, is, for example, a flat surface 40D. An annular groove 40C in which an O-ring 42 is attached is provided around the through-hole 40A on this flat surface 40D. The height and width of the seat member 40 may be set so that a portion of the annular groove 40C opens to the upper surface 40U and the side surface 40S of the seat member 40. In other words, the upper surface 40U and the side surface 40S have cutouts 40K that expose the annular groove 40C. The upper surface 40U on the opening 12U side, the lower surface 40L on the bottom plate side, and the side surface 40S of the seat member 40 may each be flat.

[0035] Except for not having the through-hole 40A, the shielding sheet member 50 has the same configuration as the sheet member 40. For example, the shielding sheet member 50 has a cylindrical concave surface 50B and an annular groove 50C. The external dimensions of the shielding sheet member 50 are also the same as those of the sheet member 40.

[0036] As an example, a resin with low water absorption such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) can be used for the valve body 14 and the valve element 16, a self-lubricating resin such as PTFE (fluororesin) can be used for the seat member 40, and synthetic rubber can be used for the O-ring 42.

[0037] (cover) 1 to 3, 7, 10, and 11, a cover 80 is attached to the open port 12U of the valve chamber 12. The valve stem 48 passes through the cover 80. The valve stem 48 is rotatably supported by the cover 80. A rotation drive unit 22 for rotating the valve stem 48 is disposed on top of the cover 80.

[0038] The cover 80 is integrally formed using a resin material. In this embodiment, the cover 80 is formed using polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), for example. The cover 80 is plate-shaped with its thickness extending in the vertical direction of the component, and is configured to close the open port 12U (FIGS. 3 and 4) of the valve chamber 12 in the valve body 14 from above. The cover 80 is joined to the valve body 14 by, for example, fusion bonding.

[0039] As shown in Figures 7, 10, and 11, the underside of the cover 80 is provided with a protrusion 82 for restraining the sealing portion 18. In this embodiment, since there are four sealing portions 18, four protrusions 82 are also provided. The protrusion 82 has a concave surface 82A that follows the curvature of the O-ring 42 and a flat surface 82B that abuts or closely faces the upper surface 40U of the seat member 40. As shown in the figures, the concave surface 82A may protrude beyond the flat surface 82B. The length L (Figure 7) of the protrusion 82 is set slightly shorter than the length of the notch portion 40K of the seat member 40. This allows the O-ring 42 exposed in the notch portion 40K to be restrained by the concave surface 82A, preventing the O-ring 42 from protruding. Furthermore, the sealing portion 18 can be pressed and positioned in a predetermined position.

[0040] (action) This embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below. As shown in FIG. 3 , in the flow path switching valve 10 according to this embodiment, the outer surface of the valve element 16 is provided with a cylindrical surface 16E having a constant radius from the central axis O1. The valve element 16 rotates around the central axis O1, changing the angular positions of the flow holes 16A and 16B formed in the cylindrical surface 16E, thereby switching the flow path. An example of flow path switching will be described later. The sealing portion 18 slides against the cylindrical surface 16E to seal between the cylindrical surface 16E and the side walls 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D of the valve chamber 12. The sealing portion 18 is provided at the positions of the multiple flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the valve body 14, to which the flow holes 16A and 16B of the valve element 16 can face. Therefore, tilt of the valve element 16 is suppressed regardless of the positions and number of the flow holes 16A, 16B, and 16C formed in the cylindrical surface 16E of the valve element 16.

[0041] The upper surface 40U of the seat member 40 at the sealing portion 18, which faces the opening 12U, and the lower surface 40L at the bottom plate side, are each flat, allowing the seat member 40 to be properly assembled to the valve body 14. Specifically, the side wall 24A and the bottom 24B of the mounting portion 24 at the base member 20 of the valve body 14 are each flat, for example. This allows the sealing portion 18 to be inserted from the opening 12U side. During this insertion, the side surface 40S of the seat member 40 is guided by the side wall 24A of the mounting portion 24. Furthermore, the insertion is completed when the lower surface 40L of the seat member 40 abuts against the bottom 24B of the mounting portion 24 (FIGS. 3 and 4). This facilitates improved assembly accuracy for the seat member 40, which has a cylindrical concave surface 40B. Furthermore, the valve element 16 can be assembled to the valve body 14 after the sealing portion 18, specifically the seat member 40 and O-ring 42, have been assembled to the valve body 14, which improves the workability of assembly.

[0042] 8 and 9, the height and width of the seat member 40 are set so that a portion of the annular groove 40C in which the O-ring 42 is attached opens to the upper surface 40U and the side surface 40S of the seat member 40. Therefore, the height and width of the seat member 40 can be made smaller than when a portion of the annular groove 40C does not open to the upper surface 40U and the side surface 40S of the seat member 40. This allows the flow path switching valve 10 to be made smaller.

[0043] A sheet member 40 having a through portion 40A can be used for the flow path openings 31, 32, and 33 used for flow path switching, and a shielding sheet member 50 can be used for the unused flow path opening 34. By selectively using the sheet member 40 and the shielding sheet member 50 as the sealing portion 18 material, it is possible to increase the variety of flow path switching while standardizing the valve body 14 and the valve element 16.

[0044] If not only the cylindrical surface 16E of the valve body 16 but also the support portion 16F provided in the area of ​​the outer surface of the valve body 16 that does not have the flow holes 16A, 16B is configured to slide against the sealing portion 18, the tilt of the valve body 16 can be further suppressed.

[0045] As described above, according to this embodiment, unnecessary contact between the valve element 16 and the valve body 14 can be suppressed, and wear can be suppressed.

[0046] (Flow path switching example 1) 12 to 15 show the case where the rotation angle of the valve element 16 is changed in Example 1 of flow path switching. In this example, a sheet member 40 having a through-hole 40A is applied as the sealing portion 18 to all four flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 34. FIG. 12 shows the state where the rotation angle of the valve element 16 is 0°. In this state, the flow path opening 16A of the valve element 16 is connected to the flow path opening 31, and the flow path opening 16B is connected to the flow path opening 32. Furthermore, the flow path opening 16C is connected to the flow path opening 35. The flow path openings 16A, 16B, and 16C are connected to each other through the cavity 36 of the valve element 16, so the flow path openings 31, 32, and 35 are connected to each other. Furthermore, the flow path openings 33 and 34 are connected to each other through the sub-flow path 16S of the valve element 16.

[0047] 13 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the valve body 16 is 90°. In this state, the flow hole 16A of the valve body 16 communicates with the flow path port 32, and the flow hole 16B communicates with the flow path port 33. Furthermore, the flow path port 16C communicates with the flow path port 35. Therefore, the flow path ports 32, 33, and 35 are in communication with one another. Furthermore, the flow path ports 31 and 34 are in communication with one another through the sub-flow path 16S of the valve body 16.

[0048] 14 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the valve body 16 is 180°. In this state, the flow hole 16A of the valve body 16 communicates with the flow path port 33, and the flow hole 16B communicates with the flow path port 34. Furthermore, the flow path port 16C communicates with the flow path port 35. Therefore, the flow path ports 33, 34, and 35 are in communication with one another. Furthermore, the flow path ports 31 and 32 are in communication with each other through the sub-flow path 16S of the valve body 16.

[0049] 15 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the valve element 16 is 270°. In this state, the flow hole 16A of the valve element 16 communicates with the flow path opening 34, and the flow hole 16B communicates with the flow path opening 31. Furthermore, the flow path opening 16C communicates with the flow path opening 35. Therefore, the flow path openings 31, 34, and 35 are in communication with one another. Furthermore, the flow path openings 32 and 33 are in communication with each other through the sub-flow path 16S of the valve element 16.

[0050] (Flow path switching example 2) FIG. 16 shows Example 2 of flow path switching. In this example, a sheet member 40 having a through-hole 40A and a shielding sheet member 50 having no through-hole are used as the sealing portion 18. The sheet member 40 is used for three flow path openings 31, 32, and 33. The shielding sheet member 50 is used only for flow path opening 34. FIG. 16 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the valve body 16 is 0°. In this state, the flow path opening 16A of the valve body 16 is connected to the flow path opening 31, and the flow path opening 16B is connected to the flow path opening 32. Furthermore, the flow path opening 16C is connected to the flow path opening 35. The flow paths 16A, 16B, and 16C are connected to each other by the hollow portion 36 of the valve body 16, so that the flow path openings 31, 32, and 35 are connected to each other. The flow path opening 33 communicates with the sub-flow path 16S of the valve body 16, but since the flow path opening 34 is closed by the shielding sheet member 50, the flow path openings 33, 34 do not communicate with each other.

[0051] 17 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the valve element 16 is 315° (−45°) in Example 2 of flow path switching. In this intermediate state, the flow hole 16A of the valve element 16 is in communication with the flow path opening 31, and the flow hole 16B is in communication with the flow path openings 31 and 32. The flow hole 16C is in communication with the flow path opening 35. Furthermore, the flow path openings 32 and 33 are in communication with each other through the sub-flow path 16S of the valve element 16. Therefore, the flow path openings 31, 32, 33, and 35 are in communication with each other. Because the flow path opening 34 is closed by the shielding sheet member 50, it is not in communication with the other flow path openings. When the opening areas of the flow holes 16A and 16B are narrowed by the sealing portion 18, the flow of the fluid can be accelerated.

[0052] The sub-flow passage 16S of the valve element 16 is not necessarily limited to the purpose of actively flowing fluid, but can also be used for the purpose of equalizing pressure between the flow passages.

[0053] (Other examples of flow path switching) In addition, in Example 1 of flow path switching, a valve element 16 having communication holes 16A and 16B but not having a downward communication hole 16C can also be used. Also, in Example 1 of flow path switching, a valve element 16 having communication hole 16A and downward communication hole 16C but not having communication hole 16B can also be used. Furthermore, a valve element 16 in which the angle formed by the opening directions of communication holes 16A and 16B is 180° and not having a downward communication hole 16C can also be used. In this way, by selecting the structure of the valve element 16, the seat member 40, and the shielding sheet member 50, it is possible to increase the variety of flow path switching while using a common valve body 14.

[0054] [Other embodiments] The above describes one example of an embodiment of the present invention, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10. Flow path switching valve 12 Valve chamber 12A side wall 12B side wall 12C side wall 12D side wall 12U open port 14 Valve body 16 Valve body 16A Flow hole 16B Flow hole 16C Flow hole 16E Cylindrical surface 16F pillar section 18 Sealing part 31 Channel mouth 32 Channel mouth 33 Channel mouth 34 Channel mouth 35 Channel mouth 36 Cavity 40 Sheet material 40A Penetration 40C Annular Groove 40L bottom side 40U top 42 O-ring 50 Shielding sheet member

Claims

1. a valve body having a valve chamber formed therein, a portion of the valve body facing a bottom plate forming the valve chamber being an open port, and a plurality of flow passage ports through which a fluid passes being formed in a side wall of the valve chamber; a valve element that can be placed in the valve chest through the open port, that is rotatably placed in the valve chest, that has a cavity formed therein, that has a cylindrical surface on its outer surface with a constant radius from a central axis, and that has flow holes formed in the cylindrical surface through which a fluid flows into or out of the cavity; a sealing portion that can be disposed in the valve chamber from the open port, that is provided at a position of the flow path port that the communication hole can face when the valve body rotates about the central axis, and that slides against the cylindrical surface of the valve body to seal between the cylindrical surface and the side wall; and an upper surface of the sealing portion on the opening side and a lower surface of the sealing portion on the bottom plate side are each flat, The sealing portion has an annular groove in which an O-ring is mounted; The height and width of the sealing portion are set so that a portion of the annular groove opens onto the top surface and a portion of the side surface of the sealing portion.

2. A valve body having a valve chamber formed therein, a portion facing a bottom plate constituting the valve chamber being an open port, and a plurality of flow passage ports through which fluid passes being formed on the side wall of the valve chamber; a valve element that can be placed in the valve chest through the open port, that is rotatably placed in the valve chest, that has a cavity formed therein, that has a cylindrical surface on its outer surface with a constant radius from a central axis, and that has flow holes formed in the cylindrical surface through which a fluid flows into or out of the cavity; a sealing portion that can be disposed in the valve chamber from the open port, that is provided at a position of the flow path port that the communication hole can face when the valve body rotates about the central axis, and that slides against the cylindrical surface of the valve body to seal between the cylindrical surface and the side wall; and The flow path switching valve has, as the sealing portion, a sheet member having a through portion that is used at the flow path opening that is in use and that connects the flow path opening to the flow hole, and a shielding sheet member that always blocks the flow path opening that is not in use.

3. 3. The flow path switching valve according to claim 1, wherein an area of ​​the outer surface of the valve body that does not have the flow holes has a support portion that is concentric with the cylindrical surface, has a common radius, and slides against the sealing portion.

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