An electric switch comprising an operation member, a first and a second pins and provided so as to activate and deactivate a feeding circuit, and a conducting plate displaced by the operation of the operation member to electrically connect and disconnect the first pin to and from the second pin is disposed on the outer surface of an electromagnetic operation section of a solenoid valve. Thus, the solenoid valve 1A can be simply and reliably disconnected from the power supply at the solenoid valve installation site.

Solenoid valves generally comprise a main valve section that has a built-in valve member that diverts the flow of a pressurized fluid and an electromagnetic operation section that activates a solenoid to switch the valve member.

Such solenoid valves are normally installed near fluid pressure equipment, and in such a case, a plurality of solenoid valves or a plurality of solenoid valves assembled on a manifold base are often loaded on a single rail to form a set of connected solenoid valves so that a single controller can control all the solenoid valves.

If a new set of connected solenoid valves is installed and connected to the fluid pressure equipment, or the number of solenoid valves in the existing set is increased, or a defective solenoid valve is replaced, it will be necessary to strictly check whether the newly installed solenoid valve can appropriately switch the fluid pressure equipment. In this case, to ensure safety and operational efficiency, only the solenoid valve to be serviced should be disconnected from the power supply to prevent electricity from being supplied thereto in order to check its operational conditions through manual operations.

Specific solenoid valves can be disconnected from the power supply by adjusting the controller, but since the controller is installed away from the solenoid valves, it is cumbersome to go to the controller for disconnection each time maintenance is required.

In Japanese Patent Application No. 6-329712, the inventors proposed a solenoid valve controller that includes a switch unit that is disposed adjacent to a set of connected solenoid valves and that has switches corresponding to the individual solenoid valves so that the switch can switch each solenoid valve when it is connected to the output terminal of the controller or to a power supply terminal, or when the electric supply is turned off.

This solenoid valve controller offers the advantage that the switch can turn each solenoid valve on and off at the site to allow the operational conditions of the solenoid valves to be individually checked.

Since, however, this solenoid valve controller has various switches, each one corresponding to a particular solenoid valve, integrated into a single switch unit, the correspondence between the solenoid valves and the switches cannot be easily understood.

In addition, to increase the number of solenoid valves, the number of switches must be increased and these additional switches must be connected to the corresponding solenoid valves.

It is a main object of this invention to provide a solenoid valve that can be simply and reliably disconnected from a power supply, and that can be handled and operated easily.

It is another object of this invention to provide a safe solenoid valve capable of preventing operational errors while ensuring easy switching operations, thereby allowing solenoid valves to be serviced simply and reliably disconnected from the power supply even if various solenoid valves are connected together to form a set of connected solenoid valves so that all the solenoid valves can be controlled at the same time.

Another object of this invention to provide a solenoid valve with a switch that has a superior structure and functions, which includes an electric switch with a simple structure which can be mounted easily and which cannot be inadvertently turned on or off.A solenoid valve with the above configuration enables the electric switch directly mounted thereon to be operated to turn the valve on and off.

This eliminates the need to go to a controller for disconnection, and allows the solenoid valve to be disconnected at the solenoid valve installation site, thereby enabling simple and efficient maintenance such as operation checks using a manual operation means.

In addition, if various solenoid valves are connected together as a set of connected solenoid valves, the electric switches attached to the solenoid valves to be serviced can be operated so as to reliably disconnect only those solenoid valves from the power supply, thereby preventing the switches for the other solenoid valves from being operated.

According to this invention, the electric switch is installed in a position that allows external operations, and is guarded by a guide wall with at least the same height as the electric switch.

This prevents the switch from being inadvertently switched due to contact with a human body or other foreign object. Thus, this solenoid valve is very safe.

According to a specific embodiment of this invention, the electric switch comprises an operation member installed on the outer surface of the solenoid valve; a first pin leadingto an external power supply and a second pin leading to the solenoid; and an approximately U-shaped conducting member disposed between the first and the second pins, where in the operation member is used to displace the conducting material and connect or disconnect the first pin to or from the second pin.

The electric switch with this configuration has a simple structure, can be mounted in a limited space, and turned on and off easily and reliably. It is therefore suitable for incorporation in solenoid valves of limited shapes and sizes.

The solenoid valve according to this invention has a manual operation means that enables the valve member to be manually switched.