JP4534468B2 - Grease supply method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable grease gun that can be supplied while reliably checking a grease supply state in a bearing or the like of a rotary machine, and a grease supply method using the same.

  For example, when grease is injected into a valve seat such as a metal seat ball valve for city gas using a grease injection device, a handle of the grease gun is used to determine whether or not an appropriate amount of grease has been injected into the seat. The number of operations is counted, and the count value is changed according to the aperture of the valve. However, even if the grease gun handle is operated, grease is not actually pumped and injected, so-called idle driving operations are counted, so the amount of grease injected into the seat is likely to be insufficient, and a seal is obtained by injecting an appropriate amount of grease. It was difficult to ensure the performance and smoothness of operation.

  On the other hand, a grease injection device that can reliably and easily inject an appropriate amount of grease into the seat portion at any caliber valve without requiring the trouble of counting the number of operations of the handle. A check valve with a pressure adjustment function, having a grease gun that pressure-feeds grease by operating the handle, and a check valve with a pressure adjustment function that is attached in communication with an injection system that connects the grease gun inlet and the device to be lubricated There is known a grease injection device including an elastic body that presses a valve body arranged in a main body in a closing direction, and an elastic body support member that is screwed into the main body and moves in and out of the elastic body. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

In addition, in a device that detects a flow state of a liquid in a flow passage in which a liquid flows pulsatingly, a fluid detection device in which a piezoelectric element is provided in contact with the flow passage is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-195490 A JP-A-1-197623

  In Patent Document 1, when the injected grease reaches a specified amount and the pressure in the injection system becomes higher than the pressure set in the check valve with the pressure adjustment function, the valve body of the check valve with the pressure adjustment function presses the elastic body. The valve opens against pressure, and excess grease is discharged outside the check valve. By determining that the specified amount of grease has been injected into the equipment to be lubricated when the excessive discharge of grease begins, it is possible to count the number of operation of the handle regardless of the valve diameter. It is said that an appropriate amount of grease corresponding to the specified amount can always be reliably and easily injected.

  However, if there is a problem such as clogging due to grease sticking in the supply system, even if the grease supply amount is insufficient, the grease is discharged to the outside of the check valve due to the pressure increase in the supply system. There is a problem that it is mistaken that the supply of an appropriate amount of Chris has been completed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, the piezoelectric element is provided in contact with the flow path, and since the piezoelectric element is fixed to the pressure receiving plate, the displacement amount of the piezoelectric element is small, and the detection sensitivity is poor, which is not practical.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and when the supply system has a problem such as clogging due to grease sticking and is not normally supplied, it can be correctly determined that there is a problem. Another object of the present invention is to provide a practical grease gun with good detection sensitivity and a grease supply method using the same.

  The grease gun and the grease supply method of the present invention for solving the above problems have the following characteristics.

(1) grease gun with grease Note intubation on the distal end side of the body, a detection device for detecting a grease Note interpolation in the middle of the grease Note intubation provided, detection mechanism, the other end one end fixed grease Note A detection element that outputs as an electrical signal a strain due to bending deformation received by the grease passing through the inside of the grease injection tube by being positioned in the flow path of the grease passing through the inside of the intubation tube, and is output from the detection element a grease supply method using a grayed Risugan detecting Note interpolation grease by an electrical signal that, the peak voltage of the electrical signal is measured by a peak hold processing from the electric signal output from the detecting element, this pin - click voltage Is determined to be abnormal when the grease is out of a preset range.

(2) The counter device that counts the number of times of grease insertion is installed in the detection mechanism, and the grease insertion is detected by an electrical signal output from the detection element. Grease supply method .

(3) The grease supply method according to (1) or (2), further comprising means for stopping the grease injection when the counted number of grease injections reaches a set number.

(4) A device for measuring and displaying a peak voltage of an electric signal by a peak hold process is installed in a detection mechanism unit, and grease insertion is detected by an electric signal output from a detection element ( The grease supply method as described in 1).

(5) The grease supply method according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein a piezoelectric element is used as the detection element.

(6) The grease supply method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein a piezoelectric element formed by covering with a covering material is used as the detection element.

(7) The grease according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein a piezoelectric element formed by covering with a covering material and a contact member that contacts the piezoelectric element are used as the detection element. Supply method .

(8) The grease supply method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein a strain gauge is used as the detection element.

(9) A lower threshold value and an upper threshold value are set in advance for the peak voltage, and when the peak voltage falls below the lower threshold value, it is determined that the amount of grease injected has decreased or stopped. -The grease according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein when the voltage exceeds the upper threshold value, it is determined that the grease is clogged in the equipment that requires insertion. Supply method.

(10) When a piezoelectric element is used as the detection element, the capacitance of the detection element is measured after the start of grease insertion, and the capacitance of the detection element is reduced below a preset threshold value. The detection element is abnormal, and based on the determination of the detection element abnormality, it is determined that the grease insertion state is abnormal based on the peak voltage. The method for supplying grease according to any one of (1) to (9), wherein the base is removed.

  In the vicinity of each lubrication location, it is possible to easily find a grease supply failure in the vicinity of each lubrication location and prevent troubles.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the grease gun of the present invention.

  The grease gun shown in FIG. 1 includes a grease gun main body 21 that pumps stored grease, a handle 20 that performs a handle operation, and a detection mechanism unit 1 that detects grease insertion.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a system is shown in which grease is pumped from the grease gun body 21 by a handle operation. Further, in FIG. 1, the inlet of the grease gun main body 21, the grease injection tube 12 to the detection mechanism unit 1, and the grease injection tube 13 from the detection mechanism unit 1 to a device that requires the grease injection are connected.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the grease gun detection mechanism 1 shown in FIG.

  The detection mechanism 1 shown in FIG. 2 connects the nipple 3 to the joint of the T-type pipe joint 2 connected to the grease injection pipes 12 and 13, and the socket 5 into which the plug 4 is inserted on the opposite side of the nipple 3. Further, a plate-like detection element 6 having a sensing element connected thereto is inserted into the T-shaped pipe joint 2 through an opening provided in the plug 4. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the plug 4 is fixed with a resin 7 to fix one end of the detection element 6, and prevents leakage of grease from the T-type fitting 2.

  The nipple 3 and the socket 5 are provided to adjust the length of the detection element 6 and are not necessarily required for the detection mechanism unit 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the plug 4 is inserted into the upper part, and the detecting portion 6 is inserted into the T-type fitting 2 from the opening provided in the plug 4, and the upper portion of the plug 4 is fixed with the resin 7, Although it may be configured to be fixed and prevent leakage of grease from the T-shaped pipe joint 2, it is necessary to provide a certain length in order to improve the sensitivity of the detection element 6. desirable.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the nipple 3 into which the plug 4 is inserted is connected to the joint of the T-type pipe joint 2, and the detection element 6 is inserted into the T-type pipe joint 2 from the opening provided in the plug 4, The upper portion of the plug 4 may be solidified with the resin 7 to fix one end of the detection element 6 and to prevent the leakage of grease from the T-type fitting 2.

  As described above, a part of the detection element 6 is located in the tube of the T-shaped pipe joint 2 connected to the grease injection tube, and outputs distortion due to bending deformation received by the grease passing through the tube as an electrical signal. That is, the detection element 6 has a structure in which one end is fixed and the other end is subjected to bending deformation by the grease passing through the inside of the grease injection tube, so that the amount of displacement of the detection element is increased and the detection sensitivity is good.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view seen from the side showing the configuration of the detection element 6.

  The detection element 6 is provided around a piezoelectric element 8 that is a rectangular plate-shaped piezoelectric material having a rectangular shape, and both front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element 8 are sandwiched by reinforcing plates 9 that are abutting members that contact the piezoelectric element. Is covered with a covering material 10 having elasticity.

  A lead wire 11 for extracting charges generated in the piezo element 8 is connected to end electrodes provided on the front and back surfaces of the piezo element 8 by soldering or the like. Therefore, in FIG. 5, when a bending stress acts in the left-right direction and distortion occurs, a voltage is generated at both ends of the lead wire 11.

  Here, the reason why the piezo element 8 is sandwiched between the reinforcing plates 9 is to make it difficult to cause damage to the piezo element 8 due to bending stress. The reinforcing plate 9 may be any material that can prevent the piezoelectric element 8 from being damaged by a predetermined bending stress. If the reinforcing plate 9 is insulated from the piezoelectric element 8, the reinforcing plate 9 may be a metal such as iron or a polymer material such as plastic. Also good.

  Further, the reinforcing plate 9 may be provided on one side without being provided on both sides of the piezo element 8.

  Further, covering the whole with the covering material 10 protects the piezo element 8 and the reinforcing plate 9 integrally, and even if the piezo element 8 is damaged, broken pieces are mixed in the grease. This is designed to prevent equipment malfunctions. Furthermore, since the covering material 10 also has a function of strengthening moisture resistance and electrical insulation with respect to the piezo element 8, it is desirable to use it as a constituent element of the detection element 6.

  Note that the reinforcing plate 9 and the covering material 10 described above may be formed of a single layer or may be formed of multiple layers depending on the material of the piezo element 8 and usage conditions.

  The piezoelectric element 8 is suitably a piezoelectric ceramic, a polymer piezoelectric film, or the like, but may be another piezoelectric material, and its shape has a certain length so as to be bent by the flow of grease. Any shape such as a rod shape or a bowl shape in which the tube is halved may be used, but a rectangular shape is desirable in consideration of ease of handling and manufacturing costs.

  The piezo element 8 is configured such that when two plate-like piezo elements are bonded and bent by a force F, one element is extended, and the other element is contracted to generate both charges. The bimorph type element made may be used. Further, a plurality of plate-like piezo elements may be bonded together.

  2, 3, and 4, the detection element 6 is formed using the piezo element 8, the reinforcing plate 9, and the covering material 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the reinforcing plate 9 is not limited thereto. The detection element 6 may be formed by using the piezo element 8 and the covering material 10 without using the above.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the detection mechanism unit 1 used in the grease gun of the present invention. The detection mechanism unit 1 shown in FIG. 6 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 2 except that a strain detection element is used as the detection element 6 instead of the piezo element 8.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of the detection element 6 as seen from the side.

  The detection element 6 has a configuration in which a strain gauge 15 is used as a strain detection element, the strain gauge 15 is affixed to a reinforcing plate 9, and the whole is covered with an elastic covering material 10. The lead wire 11 is connected to the electrode provided at the end of the strain gauge 15 by soldering or the like.

  Here, the reinforcing plate 9 may be any material as long as the strain gauge can generate strain against a predetermined bending stress, and may be a metal such as iron or a polymer material such as plastic.

  Further, the strain gauge 15 may be attached not only to one side of the reinforcing plate 9 but also to both sides. Furthermore, it may be configured to compensate for temperature changes using a dummy gauge, or may be configured using various methods known as a normal strain measurement method.

  Thus, when grease is supplied to the detection mechanism unit 1 provided in the middle of the grease intubation, a grease flow is generated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Then, the detection element 6 flows with the portion fixed by the resin 7 as a fulcrum and is bent in the downstream direction. As a result, the strand of the strain gauge 15 is deformed and its resistance value changes. The amount of distortion can be measured by detecting this change in resistance value as a change in voltage with a Wheatstone bridge circuit (not shown).

  When supplying the grease using the grease gun shown in FIG. 1, a device capable of measuring the number of times the grease is inserted, such as a counter device or a personal computer, is provided in the detection mechanism unit 1 of the grease gun.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which the grease device shown in FIG. 1 is provided with the counter device 16. The lead wire 11 connected to the detection element of the detection mechanism unit is connected to the input terminal of the counter device 16 and coupled to the nipple 3. Therefore, the configuration is very easy.

  In the present embodiment, there is provided means for stopping the grease injection when the counted number of grease injections reaches the set number. Examples of the means include, but are not limited to, methods such as blinking lights such as light emitting diodes and voice guidance for instructing stoppage of grease injection.

  Next, when supplying the grease using the grease gun shown in FIG. 1, a device in which a device capable of performing peak hold processing on the grease gun is provided in the detection mechanism unit 1 of the grease gun is used.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a change with respect to time of the peak voltage of the detection mechanism unit output measured using an apparatus capable of performing a peak hold process as another embodiment of the grease supply method of the present invention. If the output waveform of the detection mechanism section is input to an oscilloscope or other analysis device having a peak hold processing function, the peak voltage of the detection mechanism section output can be easily obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the peak voltage of the detection mechanism unit output is measured from the detection mechanism unit output waveform by the peak hold process, and when this peak voltage is out of the preset range, the grease insertion state is Judged to be abnormal.

  Specifically, a lower threshold and an upper threshold are set in advance for the peak voltage, and when the peak voltage falls below the lower threshold, it is determined that the amount of grease inserted has decreased or stopped. When the peak voltage exceeds the upper limit threshold value, it may be determined that the clogging is downstream of the detection mechanism.

  In the example of FIG. 9, the lower limit threshold value of the peak voltage set based on the initial voltage measured in advance was 0.15 volts (hereinafter referred to as V), and the upper limit threshold value was 0.4V.

  The method for setting the lower threshold and the upper threshold of the peak voltage may be set considering that there may be some variation in peak hold processing when the data sampling cycle is kept low. preferable.

  Therefore, in FIG. 9, the grease insertion state was a normal insertion state with a peak voltage of 0.2 V until 0.3 hours, but the peak voltage was 0 at the lower threshold value at 0.4 hours. Since the voltage was lower than 15 V and became 0.1 V, it was determined that the pouring state was insufficient supply. And the state where the peak voltage was 0.1 V continued for 0.4 to 0.6 hours. The peak voltage further decreased at 0.7 hours, and the peak voltage became zero. Therefore, it was determined that the insertion state was not supplied. However, at 0.9 hours, the peak voltage suddenly rose and exceeded the upper threshold value of 0.4 V to 0.5 V, so it was determined that clogging downstream of the detection mechanism occurred. . This is because when the downstream side of the detection mechanism portion is clogged, the pressure of the detection mechanism portion increases, and a large force is applied to the piezo element or the strain gauge, so that the peak voltage also increases.

  FIG. 9 illustrates a state where the grease insertion state is normal, supply shortage, no supply, and clogging occur continuously, but the actual insertion state occurs continuously in this way. Not necessarily.

  In addition, some errors may be included without performing peak hold processing, but the grease insertion state can be easily determined by measuring the peak-to-peak voltage visually on the oscilloscope screen to obtain the peak voltage. It is possible.

  For example, FIG. 10 shows a screen output obtained by observing the output waveform of the detection mechanism section with an oscilloscope on a trial basis. From the left to the right in FIG. 10, the normal grease insertion state and the insertion state are shown. It can be determined that there is insufficient supply, no supply, and clogging occurs downstream of the detection mechanism. FIG. 10 shows the results of a test in which each state is injected at intervals of 1 second every 5 seconds.

  FIG. 11B shows only the grease gun detection element 6 using a piezo element as the detection element of the detection mechanism as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, and the piezo element shown in FIG. The electrostatic capacity was cut experimentally by using a capacitance measuring device by cutting 10 mm from the A portion at the tip, and the detection element cutting length from 0 mm (no cutting) to 50 mm.

  According to FIG. 11B, when the detection element was not cut at all (initial value), the capacitance was 15300 pF, whereas when the detection element was cut 10 mm from the tip, the capacitance was 13200 pF. It was found that when it was finally cut 50 mm from the tip, it was greatly reduced to 2900 pF. That is, it was found that the length of the piezo element and the size of the capacitance are almost proportional.

  In general, the abnormality of the detection element of the detection mechanism using a piezo element is mostly caused by damage to the detection element fixing part due to bending stress due to grease. In this case, the capacitance of the detection element Is greatly reduced, it is easy to determine the breakage of the detection element fixing portion.

  Thus, in the present invention, if an abnormality is found in the example shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 after starting the grease injection, the capacitance of the detection element of the detection mechanism unit is measured and set in advance. It is possible to determine that the detection element is abnormal when the threshold value is lower than the threshold value, and to remove the abnormality determination based on the peak voltage based on the detection element abnormality. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the threshold is set in advance to 2000 pF in consideration of the case where the detection element is broken 10 mm from the tip.

  That is, according to the embodiment of the grease supply method of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 described above, it can be determined that the grease insertion state is abnormal. However, from the experimental results shown in FIG. When a piezoelectric element, which is a piezoelectric element, is used as the detection element, it is easy to determine an abnormality based on the peak voltage even if the insertion state is abnormally apparent by measuring the capacitance of the detection element. That is, it is possible to eliminate an abnormality based on the detection element abnormality from the abnormality determination.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when a strain gauge is used as the detection element of the detection mechanism unit, it is possible to confirm the disconnection of the strain gauge by measuring the insulation resistance of the strain gauge. Moreover, it is possible to confirm whether the strain gauge is normal or not by static strain measurement.

Sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the grease gun of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the detection mechanism part of the grease gun shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the detection mechanism part of the grease gun of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the detection mechanism part of the grease gun of this invention Sectional view seen from the side showing the configuration of the detection element of the detection mechanism Sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the detection mechanism part of the grease gun of this invention Sectional view seen from the side showing the configuration of the detection element of the detection mechanism Front view showing an example of a grease gun equipped with a counter device The graph which shows other embodiment of the grease supply method of this invention, The graph which shows an example of the change with respect to the time of the peak voltage of the detection mechanism part output measured using the apparatus which can perform a peak hold process Explanatory drawing showing the screen output when the output waveform of the detection mechanism section is observed with an oscilloscope without performing peak hold processing The graph which shows the change of the electrostatic capacitance with respect to breakage of the detection element front-end | tip of the detection mechanism part of the grease gun which used the piezo element for the detection element of a detection mechanism part

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Detection mechanism part 2 T-type pipe joint 3 Nipple 4 Plug 6 Detection element 7 Resin 8 Piezo element 9 Reinforcement plate 10 Cover material 11 Lead wire 12 Grease injection tube 13 Grease injection tube 15 Strain gauge 16 Counter device 20 Handle 21 Grease gun body

Claims (10)

Comprising a grease Note intubation on the distal end side of the grease gun body, said grease Note the detection device for detecting a grease Note interpolation provided in the middle of the intubation, the detection mechanism portion, the tube the other end of the grease Note intubation one end fixed An electric signal output from the detection element, the detection element outputting a distortion caused by bending deformation caused by the grease passing through the pipe of the grease injection tube by being positioned in the flow path of the grease passing through a grease supply method using a grayed Risugan detecting Note interpolation grease by the peak voltage of the electrical signal is measured by a peak hold processing from the electric signal output from the detecting element, this pin - setting click voltage advance A grease supply method characterized by determining that the state of grease insertion is abnormal when it is out of the range. The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein a counter device that counts the number of times of grease insertion is installed in the detection mechanism unit, and grease insertion is detected by an electrical signal output from the detection element. 3. The grease supply method according to claim 1, further comprising means for stopping the grease injection when the counted number of grease injections reaches a set number. An apparatus for measuring and displaying a peak voltage of an electric signal by a peak hold process is installed in a detection mechanism unit, and the insertion of grease is detected by an electric signal output from a detection element. The grease supply method as described. 5. The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein a piezoelectric element is used as the detection element. 6. The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein a piezoelectric element formed by covering with a covering material is used as the detection element. 7. The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein a piezoelectric element formed by covering with a covering material and a contact member that contacts the piezoelectric element are used as the detection element. The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein a strain gauge is used as the detection element. A lower threshold and an upper threshold are set in advance for the peak voltage, and when the peak voltage falls below the lower threshold, it is determined that the amount of grease inserted has decreased or stopped, and the peak voltage is The grease supply method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein when the value exceeds an upper limit threshold value, it is determined that the grease is clogged in a device that requires insertion of grease. When a piezoelectric element is used as the detection element, the capacitance of the detection element is measured after the start of grease injection, and when the capacitance of the detection element decreases below a preset threshold value. From the case where it is determined that the detection element is abnormal, and the grease insertion state is determined to be abnormal based on the peak voltage based on the determination of the detection element abnormality, The grease supply method according to claim 1, wherein the grease supply method is removed.

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