阅读说明：本技术 切换阀 (Switching valve ) 是由 和田康佑 松本健太 于 2017-09-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的切换阀具备：阀头,在前端侧外表面具有用以连接配管的多个连接端口,在内部收容有具有用以将这些所述连接端口间连接的槽的转子,且具有在前端保持所述转子并以可旋转的方式设置的转子轴；以及驱动部,具有保持所述阀头的固持器,且具有用以使所述固持器所保持的所述阀头的所述转子轴旋转的马达。进而,在阀头中设有：起始位置传感器,用于检测所述转子轴的旋转方向上的基准位置；以及教示信息保持部,保持使用所述起始位置传感器所取得的和所述基准位置与所述转子成为既定位置时的所述转子轴的位置与所述基准位置的相对位置关系有关的信息作为教示信息。(The switching valve of the present invention comprises: a valve head having a plurality of connection ports for connecting pipes on an outer surface of a distal end side thereof, a rotor having a groove for connecting the connection ports is housed therein, and a rotor shaft rotatably provided to hold the rotor at a distal end thereof; and a driving part having a holder holding the valve head and having a motor to rotate the rotor shaft of the valve head held by the holder. Further, the valve head is provided with: a home position sensor for detecting a reference position in a rotation direction of the rotor shaft; and a teaching information holding unit that holds, as teaching information, information regarding a relative positional relationship between the reference position and the position of the rotor shaft when the reference position and the rotor are at a predetermined position, the information being acquired using the home position sensor.)

1, A switching valve, comprising:

a valve head having a plurality of connection ports for connecting pipes, a rotor having a groove for connecting the connection ports and a rotor shaft rotatably holding the rotor; and

a drive portion having a holder that holds the valve head, and having a motor to rotate the rotor shaft of the valve head held by the holder; and is

The valve head has: a home position sensor for detecting a reference position in a rotation direction of the rotor shaft; and a teaching information holding unit that holds information regarding a relative positional relationship between the reference position and the position of the rotor shaft when the rotor is at the predetermined position, the information being acquired using the home position sensor, as teaching information.

2. The switching valve according to claim 1, comprising a control portion configured in such a manner that the teaching information is read from the teaching information holding portion of the valve head held by a holder of the drive portion, and the operation of the motor is controlled in accordance with the teaching information.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to rotary switching valves that switch the connection state between ports (ports) by rotating a rotor provided with grooves for connecting the ports.

Background

In an analyzer such as a liquid chromatograph (liquid chromatograph), a configuration of a flow path is generally switched using a rotary switching valve. For example, an automatic sampler (autosampler) for automatically injecting a sample (sample) into an analysis channel is used in a liquid chromatograph, and the automatic sampler is configured to switch between a channel configuration when a sample is collected from a sample container and a channel configuration when the collected sample is injected into the analysis channel by a rotary switching valve.

The rotary switching valve is composed of a valve head having a rotor therein, and a drive unit having a stepping motor or the like for rotating the rotor in the valve head. A plurality of ports for connecting pipes are provided on the outer surface of the valve head on the distal end side, and a groove for connecting the ports is provided on a rotor disposed in the valve head, so that the connection state between the ports is switched by rotating the rotor by a motor (see patent document 1).

The positioning in the direction of rotation of the rotor to the desired position is performed by: the driving amount of the stepping motor from the initial position of the rotor, that is, the number of driving pulses given to the stepping motor is controlled. In order to detect the initial position of the rotor, a disk having a slit is attached to a shaft that transmits the rotation of the stepping motor to the rotor, and an optical sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a home position sensor) for detecting the slit of the disk is provided.

The positioning accuracy in the rotational direction of the rotor is determined by the mounting angle of the rotor with respect to the rotor shaft (the position of the slit of the circular plate). However, such positional accuracy has an error due to variations in processing and assembly, and it is difficult to completely eliminate such an error in design.

Therefore, a teaching (teaching) is generally performed to make the control device remember the mounting angle of the rotor with respect to the rotor shaft after the switching valve is assembled (see patent document 2).

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In analysis using a liquid chromatograph, in recent years, high-speed analysis has been increasingly demanded, and high pressure resistance is demanded for apparatuses such as an automatic sampler, and accordingly, high pressure resistance is demanded for a switching valve incorporated in these apparatuses, and further is concerned that, when the switching valve is set to a high pressure resistance, the frictional force at the time of sliding between a rotor and a stator in a valve head is increased by that much, and therefore, the speed of deterioration due to abrasion of the rotor or the stator becomes high, and durability is reduced.

The difference between the normal high pressure-resistant switching valve and the low pressure-resistant switching valve is that the valve head portion has the same configuration as the driving portion such as a motor. Therefore, the pressure resistance of the switching valve incorporated in the automatic sampler or the like can be changed by replacing only the valve head portion of the switching valve.

However, the conventional switching valve cannot replace only the valve head. In the case where the valve head is provided so as to be replaceable only, since the relative positional relationship between the rotor and the rotor shaft differs for each valve head, the teaching information obtained before the valve head is replaced cannot be used after the valve head is replaced. Therefore, it is necessary to teach again after replacing the valve head portion, resulting in a large work burden on the user.

It is therefore an object of the present invention that no teaching needs to be performed even if the valve head of the rotary switching valve is replaced.

Means for solving the problems

The switching valve of the present invention comprises: a valve head having a plurality of connection ports for connecting pipes on an outer surface of a distal end side thereof, a rotor having a groove for connecting the connection ports is housed therein, and a rotor shaft rotatably provided to hold the rotor at a distal end thereof; and a driving part having a holder holding the valve head and having a motor to rotate the rotor shaft of the valve head held by the holder. Further, the valve head is provided with: a home position sensor for detecting a reference position in a rotation direction of the rotor shaft; and a teaching information holding unit that holds information on a relative positional relationship between the position of the rotor shaft and the reference position when the rotor is at the predetermined position as teaching information.

As described above, the positioning accuracy in the rotational direction of the rotor is determined by the accuracy of the relative mounting position of the rotor with respect to the rotor shaft. Conventionally, when a rotor is replaced, the mounting position of the rotor with respect to the rotor shaft changes, and therefore it is necessary to teach again and acquire information on the relative positional relationship between the rotor shaft and the rotor.

In contrast, in the present invention, the valve head is provided with a home position sensor for detecting a reference position in the rotation direction of the rotor shaft. Therefore, the information on the relative positional relationship between the rotor shaft and the rotor, i.e., the teaching information, acquired by using the home position sensor becomes the information specific to the valve head. In the present invention, the valve head is provided with a teaching information holding section for holding teaching information specific to each valve head.

The switching valve of the present invention is preferably provided with a control unit configured to read the teaching information from the teaching information holding unit of the valve head held by the holder of the drive unit and control the operation of the motor according to the teaching information. Thus, when the valve head is replaced, the teaching information inherent to the valve head is read out from the teaching information holding portion of the new valve head and used for positioning the rotor, so that the user does not need to perform teaching work.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the switching valve of the present invention, the valve head itself holds teaching information unique to the valve head because the valve head includes a home position sensor for detecting a reference position in the rotation direction of the rotor shaft and a teaching information holding unit for holding teaching information unique to the valve head related to the relative positional relationship between the rotor shaft and the rotor, which is obtained by using the home position sensor. Therefore, when the valve head is replaced with a new valve head, teaching information is read from the teaching information holding unit provided in the new valve head, and therefore, it is not necessary to perform teaching work again. Thus, the teaching work after the valve head replacement is not required.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the switching valve in a state where a valve head is separated from a drive portion.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a valve head of the switching valve of the above embodiment is attached to a driving portion.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the switching valve of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example showing a control system according to the above embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an example of the switching valve of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the selector valve includes a valve head 2 and a drive section 4, and the valve head 2 and the drive section 4 are detachable from each other. Fig. 1 shows a state in which the valve head 2 is removed from the drive section 4, and fig. 2 shows a state in which the valve head 2 is attached to the drive section 4.

The valve head 2 is a cylindrical member having a plurality of ports 6 at a distal end portion thereof for connecting pipes. The valve head 2 is provided with a stator 42, a rotor 44, and a rotor shaft 46 (see fig. 3) for rotating the rotor 44, and when the valve head 2 is attached to the drive section 4, the base end of the rotor shaft 46 is coupled to the drive shaft 28a of the motor 28 of the drive section 4, and the rotor 44 is rotated by the motor 28. With regard to the internal configuration of the valve head 2 or the driver 4, it will be described below.

The drive section 4 includes a motor 28 for rotating a rotor shaft 46 (see fig. 3) of the valve head 2 on the proximal end side, and a holder 30 for fitting and holding the valve head 2 from the proximal end side on the distal end side. The retainer 30 is a cylindrical member having an opening 32 at a front end. The valve head 2 is attached to the driving portion 4 by fitting a large diameter portion 12 provided on the tip end side of the base end portion 8 into the holder 30 from an opening 32.

Fixing pins 34 (fixing tools) are provided at two positions facing each other in the holder 30 of the drive portion 4, and when the valve head 2 is inserted to a predetermined position in the holder 30, the fixing pins 34 are caught by the step portion 14 on the outer surface of the valve head 2 to fix the valve head 2 to the holder 30. The fixing pin 34 has a base end fixed to the outer surface of the holder 30 by a screw, a tip end extending toward the tip end side (opening 32 side) of the holder 30, and a claw portion 36 provided at the tip end thereof to engage with the step portion 14 of the valve head 2. The fixing pin 34 is formed of an elastically deformable elastic member such as synthetic resin, and is capable of elastically displacing the claw portion 36 in the radial direction of the holder 30.

The large diameter portion 12 of the valve head 2 provided on the distal end side from the base end portion 8 has an outer diameter larger than the interval between the claw portions 36 of the two fixing pins 34 provided in the holder 30. The valve head 2 has a large diameter portion 12 and a small diameter portion 10 having a smaller outer diameter than the large diameter portion 12 on the distal end side, and a step portion 14 is provided at a boundary portion between the small diameter portion 10 and the large diameter portion 12.

Since the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion 12 of the valve head 2 is larger than the distance between the claw portions 36 of the two fixing pins 34, when the valve head 2 is inserted into the holder 30, the claw portions 36 of the fixing pins 34 are in contact with the large-diameter portion 12 of the valve head 2 and spread in the direction away from each other, and the fixing pins 34 are elastically deformed, when the valve head 2 is inserted into the holder 30 at step from the above state and the claw portions 36 of the fixing pins 34 reach the small-diameter portion 10 of the valve head 2, the claw portions 36 are returned in the inward direction by the elastic force of the fixing pins 34, and the step portions 14 and the claw portions 36 are engaged with each other, whereby the valve head 2 is not detached from the holder 30, and the valve head 2.

On the contrary, when the valve head 2 is removed from the driving part 4, if the distance between the claw parts 36 of the two fixing pins 34 is increased to be larger than the outer shape of the large diameter part 12 of the valve head 2, the valve head 2 can be pulled out from the holder 30 without the fixing pins 34 catching the step part 14 of the valve head 2.

The valve head 2 is provided with a fixing/releasing member 16 so that the valve head 2 can be easily removed from the driving portion 4, the fixing/releasing member 16 is an annular member provided on the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 16 of the valve head 2, the fixing/releasing member 16 has a releasing claw 18 extending toward the base end side of the valve head 2, and the distal end portion 20 of the releasing claw 18 has a shape inclined so as to become narrower toward the distal end side, and the fixing/releasing member 16 is provided with a stopper groove 22 through which a stopper pin 24 protruding in the radial direction from the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 10 of the valve head 2 passes, whereby the fixing/releasing member 16 is fixed by the stopper pin 24 in the circumferential direction of the valve head 2, but can slide within a range of along the outer surface of the small diameter portion 10.

A release protrusion 38 for pushing the claw 36 outward by sliding the fixation release member 16 is provided near the claw 36 of the fixation pin 34. The releasing projection 38 is configured as follows: in a state where the valve head 2 is fixed to the holder 30, when the releasing claw 18 of the fixation releasing member 16 moves toward the proximal end side, the releasing claw 18 comes into contact with the releasing claw 18, and the releasing claw 18 receives a stress in a direction of pushing the claw 36 outward. That is, when the fixation releasing member 16 is slid toward the proximal end side of the valve head 2, the distal end portion 20 of the releasing pawl 18 enters between the outer peripheral surface of the holder 30 and the releasing protrusion 38, and the distal end portion 20 of the releasing pawl 18 is tilted to displace the pawl 36 outward, thereby releasing the fixation of the fixation pin 34 to the valve head 2.

In this way, since the valve head 2 is provided with the fixation releasing member 16, when the valve head 2 is removed from the driver 4, the claw portion 36 of the fixation pin 34 is separated from the step portion 14 of the valve head 2 by simply sliding the fixation releasing member 16 toward the proximal end side of the valve head 2, and the valve head 2 can be pulled out from the holder 30 of the driver 4, so that the valve head 2 can be removed from the driver 4 very easily.

Further, the protrusion 26 is provided on the outer surface of the valve head 2 so that the position of the releasing claw 18 of the fixation releasing member 16 is automatically positioned at the position where the fixing pin 34 is provided when the valve head 2 is attached to the driving portion 4, and the guide groove 40 through which the protrusion 26 passes is provided on the holder 30, whereby the valve head 2 is aligned only so that the protrusion 26 passes through the guide groove 40 and the valve head 2 is inserted into the fixed position in the holder 30 when the valve head 2 is attached to the driving portion 4, and the attachment of the valve head 2 to the driving portion 4 and the positioning of the releasing claw 18 with respect to the fixing pin 34 are completed.

Next, the internal structure of the switching valve will be described with reference to fig. 3.

The valve head 2 is provided with a stator 42, a rotor 44, and a rotor shaft 46, the stator 42 and the rotor 44 are both disk-shaped members, the stator 42 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the valve head 2, the rotor 44 is fixed to the tip end portion of the rotor shaft 46, the stator 42 and the rotor 44 are in close contact with each other, the rotor 44 surface and the stator 42 slide surface and rotate with the rotation of the rotor shaft 46, the stator 42 is provided with through holes communicating with the ports 6 of the valve head 2, and the rotor 44 is provided with grooves for connecting the through holes of the stator 42.

The base end of the rotor shaft 46 extends toward the base end side of the valve head 2. A rotor shaft side coupling tool 48 for coupling to the drive shaft 28a of the motor 28 of the drive unit 4 is attached to the base end portion of the rotor shaft 46. The motor 28 of the drive unit 4 is provided so that the drive shaft 28a is coaxial with the rotor shaft 46 of the valve head 2 fixed to the holder 30. A drive shaft side coupling tool 50 having a fitting structure with the rotor shaft side coupling tool 48 is provided at the tip of the drive shaft 28a of the motor 28.

In the present embodiment, the rotor shaft side coupling 48 is provided with a linear projection, and the drive shaft side coupling 50 is provided with a groove into which the projection of the rotor shaft side coupling 48 is fitted. The linear projection of the rotor shaft-side coupling 48 is fitted into the groove of the drive shaft-side coupling 50, whereby the rotation of the drive shaft 28a is transmitted to the rotor shaft 46, whereby the rotor 44 rotates.

An elastic body 52 such as a coil spring that expands and contracts in the axial direction of the drive shaft 28a is attached to the drive shaft side coupling tool 50. The elastic body 52 is provided so as to be interposed between the rotor shaft side coupling 48 and the drive shaft side coupling 50 and to be compressed when the valve head 2 is fixed to the holder 30 by the fixing pin 34. Thus, when the valve head 2 is fixed to the holder 30 by the fixing pins 34, the elastic body 52 in a compressed state presses the rotor shaft side coupling tool 48 toward the distal end side of the valve head 2, thereby biasing the valve head 2 in a direction of pulling out the entire valve head 2 from the holder 30. By applying a force in a direction of pulling the valve head 2 out of the holder 30, the step portion 14 of the valve head 2 is strongly pressed against the claw portion 36 of the fixing pin 34. This stabilizes the posture of the valve head 2.

That is, the elastic body 52 is formed as a biasing member which is compressed when the valve head 2 is fixed to the holder 30 and biases the valve head 2 in a direction of pulling out the valve head 2 from the holder 30, and such a biasing member is not necessarily provided at the position shown in fig. 3, and may be provided so as to press other portions of the valve head 2, for example, a lower end surface of the large diameter portion 12 of the valve head 2.

Further, a disc-shaped slit plate 54 for detecting a reference position of the rotor 44 is attached to the rotor shaft 46 perpendicularly to the axial direction of the rotor shaft 46, the slit plate 54 has a slit at , and the slit plate 54 is displaced in the rotational direction by rotating with the rotation of the rotor shaft 46.

The valve head 2 includes a home position sensor 56 formed of an optical sensor for detecting the slits of the slit plate 54. The home position sensor 56 is used to detect a "reference position" of the rotor shaft 46. That is, the rotational position of the rotor shaft 46 when the start position sensor 56 detects the slits of the slit plate 54 by rotating the rotor shaft 46 becomes the "reference position" in the rotational direction of the rotor shaft 46.

As shown in fig. 4, the detection signal of the home position sensor 56 is taken into the control unit 60. The control unit 60 is configured as follows: the reference position of the rotor shaft 46 is detected by the home position sensor 56, and the rotor 44 is positioned to a desired position by the driving amount of the motor 28 from the reference position. The control unit 60 is realized by an arithmetic element such as a microcomputer and a program executed by the arithmetic element.

The driving amount of the motor 28 necessary to position the rotor 44 to a desired position from when the rotor shaft 46 is at the reference position is determined by the relative positional relationship between the rotor 44 and the rotor shaft 46 (the slits of the slit plate 54). In the present embodiment, a nonvolatile Memory (Read Only Memory, ROM) 58 is provided in the valve head 2, and information on the relative positional relationship between the position of the rotor shaft 46 and the reference position when the rotor 44 is at the predetermined position is held in the nonvolatile Memory 58 as teaching information. The nonvolatile memory 58 realizes a teaching information holding section that holds teaching information.

When the rotor 44 is at the predetermined position, the mark such as a notch provided in the rotor 44 is at the predetermined position. In the teaching operation, for example, the number of driving pulses of the motor 28 required until the mark provided on the rotor 44 reaches a predetermined position is measured from the position where the home position sensor 56 detects the slit of the slit plate 54, that is, from the state where the rotor shaft 46 is located at the reference position. This teaching operation is carried out in the stage of assembling the valve head 2, and the measurement results thereof are held as teaching information in the nonvolatile memory 58. The teaching information is inherent information of each valve head 2.

The control unit 60 is configured to read teaching information from the nonvolatile memory 58 attached to the valve head 2 of the drive unit 4 and position the rotor 44 to a desired position using the teaching information.

Although not shown, the valve head 2 is provided with a connector for electrically connecting the home position sensor 56 and the nonvolatile memory 58 to the control unit 60. When replacing the valve head 2, the user connects the control unit 60 to the home position sensor 56 and the nonvolatile memory 58 via the connector provided in the valve head 2, so that the control unit 60 can perform positioning control of the rotor 44 by using the detection signal of the home position sensor 56 and the teaching information of the nonvolatile memory 58.

Description of the symbols

2: valve head

4: driving part

6: port(s)

8: base end portion of valve head

10: small diameter part

12: large diameter part

14: step difference part

16: fixing releasing member

18: releasing claw

20: front end of releasing claw

22: anti-rotation groove

24: anti-rotation pin

26: protrusion

28: motor with a stator having a stator core

30: holding device

32: opening of the container

34: fixing pin

36: claw part

38: releasing projection

40: guide groove

42: stator

44: rotor

46: rotor shaft

48: rotor shaft side connector

50: driving shaft side connector

52: elastic body (force application component)

54: slit plate

56: initial position sensor

58: nonvolatile memory (teaching information holding part)

60: a control unit.