JPH11351184A - In-line pump - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] A high head can be obtained without increasing the outer diameter.
An in-line pump using two motors is provided. A cylindrical motor rotor is provided coaxially in a cylindrical motor stator provided with a suction side plate and a discharge side plate so as to be rotatable around an axis. The inside is a liquid channel 68. A non-magnetic cylindrical thin plate 62 is provided between the motor stator 48 and the motor rotor 64, and each side is separated by a watertight structure. An impeller 8 having the same shape in two stages with the outer peripheral end fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor 64
4, 86 are arranged and fixed at intervals in the axial direction. A fixed shaft 82 is arranged and fixed on the axis by an inlet vane 76 provided on the suction side plate 50 and a guide vane 80 provided on the discharge side plate 52. Impellers 84 and 86 are supported on the fixed shaft 82 by radial bearings 88 and 90 so as to be rotatable around the axis. The guide vanes 94 are fixed to the fixed shaft 82 by being interposed at intervals between the impellers 84 and 86 in the axial direction. Arrange and fix.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-line pump capable of obtaining a high head without increasing the outer diameter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A structure as shown in FIG. 7 is known as an example of a conventional in-line pump. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of a conventional inline pump. In FIG. 7, since the figure appears line-symmetrically with respect to the axis X, illustration of one side of the axis X is omitted. In the inline pump in FIG. 7, two pumps 10, 10 are arranged in series in the axial direction. The pump 10 has a cylindrical motor stator 14 disposed in a cylindrical casing 12. The cylindrical motor rotor 24 is rotatably disposed coaxially in the motor stator 14 by radial bearings 20 and 22 supported on side plates 16 and 18 provided at both ends of the cylindrical casing 12, respectively. Is done. The inside of the motor rotor 24 is a liquid flow path 26. In addition, a cylindrical thin plate 28 made of a non-magnetic material is provided between the motor rotor 24 and the motor stator 14, and the motor rotor 24 side and the motor stator 14 side are separated by a watertight structure. Further, a thrust bearing 30 is provided between the motor rotor 24 and the suction-side side plate 16.
Then, the impeller 32 is disposed and fixed with the outer peripheral end fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor 24. Reference numeral 34 denotes a boss provided inside the impeller 32.

[0003] In such a conventional in-line pump, the two pumps 10, 10 are operated such that the rotational directions thereof are opposite to each other. The impellers 32, 32 of the two pumps 10, 10 are designed to have different shapes on the suction side and the discharge side. This is the impeller 32 on the suction side.
This is to convert the flow including the swirling direction component by the impeller 32, which is reversely rotated on the discharge side, into a pressure by offsetting the swirling direction component and to increase the pressure of the discharge fluid to obtain a high head. . The discharge-side impeller 32 must be designed in consideration of the swirling direction component of the flow caused by the suction-side impeller 32.
Naturally, the shapes of 2, 32 are different.

[0004]

The above-described conventional in-line pump is excellent in that the outer diameter does not increase, and can be easily constructed with an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the pipe flange. However, two pumps 10, 10
Require motors that operate in opposite directions to each other, which is expensive. In addition, the impellers 32 on the suction side and the discharge side must be formed in different shapes, which is difficult to design and requires much labor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional in-line pump, and provides an in-line pump which can achieve a high head without increasing the outer diameter and which can be constructed using one motor. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an in-line pump according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical motor stator having coaxial cores in a cylindrical motor stator having side plates provided at both ends. The motor rotor is rotatably arranged around the axis, the inside of this motor rotor is used as a liquid flow path, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor, and a plurality of stages of impellers are arranged in the axial direction. A fixed shaft is arranged and fixed on the shaft center in the motor rotor via a support member provided on at least one of the side plates, and the impeller is fixed to the fixed shaft. A guide vane is arranged and fixed to the fixed shaft with a radial bearing rotatably supported around the center and interposed at intervals in the axial direction of the impeller.

In a cylindrical motor stator having side plates provided at both ends, a coaxially cylindrical motor rotor is supported by radial bearings provided on the both side plates, respectively. The motor rotor is disposed rotatably around the center, the inside of this motor rotor is used as a liquid flow path, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor, and a plurality of stages of impellers are spaced in the axial direction. A fixed shaft is arranged and fixed on the shaft center within the motor rotor via a support member provided on at least one of the side plates, and is interposed at an axial distance of the impeller. Then, the guide vanes may be arranged and fixed on the fixed shaft.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of the inline pump of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing a cooling water passage. FIG. 3 is a view showing a spiral groove formed in a ring-shaped plate constituting a thrust bearing. FIG. 4 shows that, with respect to the axial direction,
It is a figure showing that an impeller and a guide vane are arranged alternately. FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of a motor drive circuit of one embodiment of the inline pump of the present invention. FIG.
In FIG. 7, since the figure appears line-symmetrically about the axis X, the illustration of one side of the axis X is omitted as in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical casing 40 is formed of double cylindrical members 42 and 44 which are closely fitted to each other. Are formed in parallel with each other, and through holes having a small diameter in the axial direction are formed at both ends of these grooves to form a cooling water passage 46. A cylindrical motor stator 48 is provided along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 44 inside the cylindrical casing 40. On the suction side and the discharge side of the cylindrical casing 40, a suction-side side plate 50 and a discharge-side side plate 52 each having a substantially annular disk shape are appropriately provided. The suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52 are provided with ring-shaped grooves 54 and 56, respectively, facing the cooling water passage 46, and are further formed in the suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52 in the radial direction. Ring-shaped grooves 54, 56 communicate with the communicating water channels 58, 60 at their upper portions. Further, along the inner periphery of the motor stator 48, a cylindrical thin plate 62 made of a non-magnetic material such as stainless steel and having excellent corrosion resistance is provided.
Both ends are fixed to the suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52, respectively.

A cylindrical motor rotor 64 is provided inside the cylindrical thin plate 62 so as to be rotatable around its axis, and a cylindrical member 66 is integrally fixed to the inner peripheral surface thereof. Is a liquid flow path 68. A thrust bearing 70 is provided on the suction side of the tubular member 66 between the tubular member 66 and the suction side plate 50, and the discharge side of the tubular member 66 is slidably contacted with the discharge side plate 52 in a double tubular shape to form a seal 72. Is configured. here,
A spiral groove is provided in the seal portion 72, and the rotation of the motor rotor 64, that is, the cylindrical member 66, causes an operation opposite to that of a type of screw pump, and allows the liquid entering the motor rotor 64 from the liquid flow path 68 to move. The pressure is reduced. As shown in FIG. 3, the thrust bearing 70 is provided with a number of curved spiral grooves 70 a connecting at least one of the outer and inner peripheries of at least one of the contact surfaces of the ring-shaped plate. Against the thrust bearing 70
The liquid is moved from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side. Note that a plurality of circumferential grooves may be provided instead of the spiral grooves provided in the seal portion 72. The plurality of circumferential grooves act similarly to so-called labyrinth packing, and reduce the pressure of the liquid entering the motor rotor 64 side.

The suction side plate 50 further includes a liquid passage 6.
The boss 74 is disposed and fixed at the position of the axis X of 8 by inlet vanes 76 as support members. The inlet vanes 76 are flat and flat in the direction of the axis X, and three or four inlet vanes 76 are arranged at equal dividing positions around the axis. In addition, the ejection side plate 52 is provided with an axis X of the liquid flow path 68.
Are disposed and fixed by guide vanes 80 as support members. This guide vane 8
0, 80... Convert a flow including an axial component and a turning component into a flow of an axial component by an impeller described later,
This is for converting the turning direction component into pressure. Thus, the curved guide vanes 80, 80,... And boss 7
A fixed shaft 82 is appropriately disposed and fixed coaxially between the boss 4 and the boss 78.

Further, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical member 66 provided on the motor rotor 64 to form a two-stage impeller 8.
, 86, 86 ... are arranged and fixed at intervals in the axial center X direction. Moreover, the impellers 84, 84 ..., 86,
86 are mounted on the fixed shaft 82 by radial bearings 88, 9 respectively.
At 0, it is supported rotatably around the axis. , 86, 86,..., For example, six of them are arranged at equally divided positions around the axis. In addition, impeller 8
, And the impellers 86, 86 have the same shape. Further, another boss 92 is arranged on the fixed shaft 82 at a position facing the interval of the impellers 84, 84, 86, 86,. It is fixed. Further, the guide vanes 94 are fixed to the boss 92 so as to be interposed between the impellers 84, 84, 86, 86,. The guide vanes 94 are arranged so that the outer peripheral end thereof has a slight gap with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 66, and, for example, six guide vanes are arranged at equal division positions around the axis. . The boss 78 and the boss 92 are respectively provided with key grooves corresponding to the keys appropriately provided on the fixed shaft 82 over the entire length in the axial center X direction. It is configured to be easily assembled. Further, the boss 78 and the boss 92 may have the same shape, and the types of the component parts may be reduced. Further, the boss 78 and the guide vanes 80, 80... May be integrated with the boss 92 and the guide vanes 94, 94. In such a case, the guide vanes 80, 80 ...
May be fixed to the discharge side plate 52 with an appropriate configuration.

The communication water channel 58 provided in the suction side plate 50 has an outer peripheral end closed and an inner peripheral end opened to the suction side liquid flow channel 68. Then, the discharge-side side plate 52
The flow control valve 9 is provided on the outer peripheral end side of the communication water channel 60 provided in
6 is provided, and the flow rate of the liquid that can flow into the cooling water passage 46 from the communication water passage 60 is adjusted. The inner peripheral end of the communication water channel 60 is formed by the tubular member 66, the discharge side plate 52, the motor rotor 64, and the tubular thin plate 62 without being directly opened to the liquid passage 68 on the discharge side. The motor rotor chamber 98 is opened. Furthermore, the suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52 are connected to the pipe flanges 100 and 102, respectively, in a watertight structure as appropriate. In addition, the cylindrical thin plate 62, the suction side plate 50, and the discharge side plate 52 are also appropriately provided with a watertight structure, and the motor rotor 64 side and the motor stator 48 side are separated from each other in a watertight structure. Further, the cylindrical casing 40
The suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52 are also appropriately watertight, so that the liquid flows from the cooling water passage 46 to the motor stator 48.
It is configured not to leak to the side.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the AC drive of the commercial frequency power supply 104
6 and converted into a direct current.
The pulsating component is converted into a direct current with little pulsation. The DC voltage is converted and output by the inverter 110 into an AC voltage whose frequency can be converted and adjusted, and the AC voltage is applied to the motor 112. Therefore, by adjusting the frequency of the AC voltage by the inverter 110, the rotation speed of the motor 112 is changed.

In such a configuration, the rotation speed of the motor 112 is adjusted according to the output frequency of the inverter 110, the rotation speed of the in-line pump of the present invention is adjusted, and the discharge flow rate and the head are adjusted. Here, two-stage impellers 84, 84, ..., 86, 8 fixed to the motor rotor 64.
Are rotated about the axis of the fixed shaft 82, and the liquid flow path 68
The liquid inside is moved from the suction side to the discharge side. As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid is first rectified by inlet vanes 76, 76, and flows into impellers 84, 84 on the suction side.
The impellers 84 convert the liquid into a flow having an axial component and a swirling component. Further, this flow is converted into pressure by the guide vanes 94, 94... Fixed to the fixed shaft 82, so that only the axial direction component having a high pressure is flown. Further, the high pressure axial flow is converted into a flow having an axial component and a swirling direction component by the discharge-side impellers 86, 86, and further, the guide vanes 80 fixed to the discharge-side side plate 52. At 80, the turning direction component is converted into pressure, and the flow is made of only the high-pressure axial direction component. As a result, in the in-line pump of the present invention, a high head of about 50 m is obtained using an induction motor having a diameter of the liquid passage 68 of 60 mmφ and a motor capacity of 7.5 Kw. Moreover, the outer diameter of the inline pump of the present invention is about 200 mmφ, which is not so large as compared with the pipe flange.

Since the high-pressure liquid on the discharge side of the liquid flow path 68 is decompressed by the seal portion 72 and flows into the motor rotor chamber 98, no excessive liquid pressure is applied to the cylindrical thin plate 62. Then, the liquid flowing into the motor rotor chamber 98 is
After passing through the gap between the cylindrical thin plate 62 and the motor rotor 64, it is discharged to the suction-side liquid flow channel 68 through the spiral groove 70 a of the thrust bearing 70, and the motor rotor 64 is cooled. Moreover, a liquid film is formed between the two ring-shaped plates of the thrust bearing 70 by the spiral groove 70a of the thrust bearing 70, so that a thrust load can be received with extremely small frictional resistance. Further, the liquid in the motor rotor chamber 98 is supplied to the communication water passage 60 of the discharge side plate 52 and the flow control valve 9.
The fluid flows into the cooling water passage 46 through the passage 6, and is discharged to the suction-side liquid flow passage 68 through the communication water passage 58 of the suction-side side plate 50. Thus, the cylindrical casing 40 is cooled, and the motor stator 48 is cooled. Then, the flow rate of the liquid flowing through the cooling water passage 46 is adjusted by the flow control valve 96, and the cooling effect of the cooling water passage 46 can be adjusted.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the inline pump of the present invention. 6, the same or equivalent members as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Also, in FIG.
1, the illustration of one side of the axis X is omitted as in FIGS. 1 and 7.

The other embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the following points. First, the cylindrical casing 40 is formed by double cylindrical members 42 and 44 that are loosely fitted coaxially, and the double cylindrical members 42
The gap between 44 is a cooling water passage 46. Further, the inner peripheral end of the communication water channel 60 provided in the discharge side plate 52 is opened to the liquid channel 68 on the discharge side, and the high-pressure liquid on the discharge side flows into the cooling water channel 46 via the flow control valve 96. Is done. Note that a pressure reducing valve may be provided in place of the flow control valve 96.

Further, a cylindrical member 66 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the motor rotor 64 is rotatably supported on the suction side plate 50 and the discharge side plate 52 by the radial bearings 120 and 122 around the axis. And two-stage impellers 84, 84 ...
Are not supported on the fixed shaft 82. An appropriate helical groove may be provided on the sliding surfaces of the radial bearings 120 and 122 to be used as a screw pump or as a pressure reducing valve that performs the opposite operation. Radial bearing 122 on the discharge side
If is operated as a pressure reducing valve, the seal portion 72 shown in FIG. 1 is naturally omitted.

The in-line pump according to another embodiment of the present invention having the above-described structure can achieve the same operation as the in-line pump shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the cooling water passage 46 is formed by doubling the cylindrical casing 40 to cool the motor stator 48. However, it is not necessary to cool the motor stator 48. If cooling by other means,
The cylindrical casing 40 in which the motor stator 48 is disposed
It does not need to be heavy. In addition, it is a matter of course that the cooling water passage 46 may be formed by forming the cylindrical casing 40 as a single piece and forming long and parallel holes in the direction of the axis X in parallel. Furthermore, the impeller 8
, 86, 86... Are not limited to two stages, but are appropriately provided in plural stages at intervals in the axis X direction so as to obtain a desired pressure on the discharge side, and are interposed at the intervals. May be disposed and fixed to the fixed shaft 82 as described above. The fixed shaft 82 does not have to be fixed on both ends, and may be fixed on the shaft center by one of the inlet-side inlet vanes 76, 76... Or the discharge-side guide vanes 80, 80. good. Further, the support member for fixing the fixed shaft 82 on the axis does not necessarily need to be constituted by the inlet vanes 76, 76... And the guide vanes 80, 80. Further, the motor for driving the inline pump of the present invention is not limited to the induction motor,
All you need is brushless. Therefore, a brushless DC motor that has become popular in recent years may be used.

[0022]

As apparent from the above description, the in-line pump of the present invention has the following special effects.

In any of the inline pumps according to the first and second aspects, a plurality of impellers are disposed at intervals in the axial direction, and are fixed on the axis at the intervals of the impellers. Since the guide vane provided on the fixed shaft is interposed, the flow having the axial direction component and the turning direction component by the impeller is converted by the guide vane into the turning direction component into the pressure, and the direction of the axial direction where the pressure is high is increased. It is converted into a flow of only components,
By performing this operation a plurality of times, it is possible to obtain a high head which is difficult to obtain with a single-stage impeller. In addition, since the impellers of a plurality of stages are rotated in the same direction, only one motor is required, and it is possible to configure the motor at a lower cost as compared with a conventional motor requiring two motors.

In the inline pump according to the sixth aspect, since the impellers of the plurality of stages have the same shape, the design is easy. In addition, the types of components can be reduced.

Further, in the in-line pump according to the seventh aspect, a so-called canned motor is constituted by disposing a nonmagnetic tubular thin plate between the motor stator and the motor rotor to have a watertight structure. Thus, the motor stator is not exposed to liquid. Therefore, it can be used as an in-line pump for a highly corrosive liquid.

Further, in the in-line pump according to claim 8, since the pressure of the liquid flowing into the motor rotor chamber from the liquid flow path is reduced and adjusted, the motor rotor chamber may be exposed to the high-pressure liquid. No excessive pressure is applied to the tubular thin plate. Thus, the tubular thin plate can be made thin. In addition, the motor rotor is cooled by the liquid in the motor rotor chamber.

In the in-line pump according to the tenth aspect, the liquid flowing through the liquid flow path cools the cooling water passage of the cylindrical casing, so that the motor stator can be reliably cooled. it can.

Further, in the in-line pump according to the eleventh aspect, the flow rate adjusting valve or the pressure reducing valve is used.
Since the flow rate of the liquid flowing through the cooling water passage can be adjusted, the cooling effect of the motor stator can be adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of an inline pump of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing a cooling water passage.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a spiral groove formed in a ring-shaped plate constituting a thrust bearing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing that impellers and guide vanes are alternately arranged in the axial direction.

FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of a motor drive circuit of one embodiment of the inline pump of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the in-line pump of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of a conventional in-line pump.

[Explanation of symbols]

12, 40 Cylindrical casing 14, 48 Motor stator 20, 22, 88, 90, 120, 122 Radial bearing 24, 64 Motor rotor 26, 68 Liquid flow path 28, 62 Cylindrical thin plate 30, 70 Thrust bearing 32, 84 , 86 Impeller 34, 74, 78, 92 Boss 42, 44 Cylindrical member 46 Cooling water channel 50 Suction side plate 52 Discharge side plate 54, 56 Ring groove 58, 60 Communication water channel 66 Tube member 72 Seal portion 76 Inlet vane 80, 94 Guide vane 82 Fixed shaft 96 Flow control valve 98 Motor rotor chamber

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A motor rotor having a cylindrical shape and coaxially rotatably disposed around an axis in a cylindrical motor stator having side plates provided at both ends, respectively. Is a liquid flow path, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor, and a plurality of stages of impellers are arranged and fixed at intervals in the axial direction, and the support provided on at least one of the side plates A fixed shaft is arranged and fixed on the shaft center in the motor rotor via a member, and the impeller is supported on the fixed shaft by a radial bearing so as to be rotatable around the shaft center. An in-line pump characterized in that a guide vane is disposed and fixed on the fixed shaft with a space between the guide vanes. 2. A cylindrical motor stator having side plates provided at both ends thereof, and a cylindrical motor rotor coaxially supported by radial bearings provided on the both side plates, respectively. The motor rotor is disposed rotatably around the center, the inside of this motor rotor is used as a liquid flow path, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface side of the motor rotor, and a plurality of stages of impellers are spaced in the axial direction. A fixed shaft is arranged and fixed on the shaft center within the motor rotor via a support member provided on at least one of the side plates, and is interposed at an axial distance of the impeller. An in-line pump wherein the guide vanes are arranged and fixed on the fixed shaft. 3. The inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the fixed shaft is fixed by a support member provided on a side plate on a discharge side, and the support member is configured as a guide vane. 4. The inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the fixed shaft is fixed by a support member provided on a suction-side side plate, and the support member is configured as an inlet vane. 5. The in-line pump according to claim 1, wherein the fixed shaft is fixed by support members provided on side plates on both ends, the support member on the suction side is an inlet vane, and the support on the discharge side is provided. An in-line pump characterized in that the members are configured as guide vanes. 6. The in-line pump according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of stages of impellers have the same shape. 7. The in-line pump according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical thin plate made of a non-magnetic material is provided between the motor stator and the motor rotor, and the motor rotor side and the motor are disposed. An in-line pump in which the stator side is separated by a watertight structure. 8. The in-line pump according to claim 7, wherein a tubular member is disposed and fixed on an inner peripheral surface of the motor rotor,
An end on the discharge side of the cylindrical member is slid in contact with a side plate disposed on the discharge side of the motor stator to form a seal portion, and the side plate, the cylindrical member, the motor rotor, and the cylindrical thin plate are formed. An in-line pump characterized in that the motor rotor chamber is formed by the above-mentioned method, and the pressure of the liquid flowing into the motor rotor chamber from the liquid flow path through the seal portion is reduced and adjusted. 9. The inline pump according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of spiral or circumferential grooves are formed on one of the contact surfaces of the seal portion. 10. The cooling water passage according to claim 1, wherein the motor stator is disposed along an inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical casing, and the discharge passage and the suction side communicate with the cylindrical casing. Is provided, and the suction side of the cooling water path communicates with the suction side of the liquid flow path through a communication water path,
An inline pump wherein the discharge side of the cooling water passage is configured to communicate with the discharge side of the liquid flow passage or the motor rotor chamber through a communication water passage. 11. The inline pump according to claim 10, wherein a flow regulating valve or a pressure reducing valve is provided in the communication water passage on the discharge side to communicate with the cooling water passage. 12. The in-line pump according to claim 10, wherein the cylindrical casing is formed of double cylindrical members that are loosely fitted, and a gap between these double cylindrical members is configured as the cooling water passage. Features inline pump. 13. The in-line pump according to claim 10, wherein the cylindrical casing is formed of a double cylindrical member that is closely fitted, and the discharge side and the suction side are communicated with at least one of these closely contacting surfaces. An in-line pump characterized in that a plurality of grooves are engraved in parallel, and these grooves are configured as the cooling water passage. 14. The inline pump according to claim 1, wherein a thrust bearing is provided between the motor rotor and a side plate on the suction side. 15. The in-line pump according to claim 14, wherein the thrust bearing is formed of two ring-shaped plates, and a spiral shape connecting an outer circumference and an inner circumference to one of contact surfaces of the two ring-shaped plates. An inline pump characterized by engraving a plurality of grooves.