CN107957291B

CN107957291B - Calibration device

Info

Publication number: CN107957291B
Application number: CN201610899892.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大泷勉; 大沢纪和
Original assignee: Tatsuno Corp
Current assignee: Tatsuno Corp
Priority date: 2016-10-14
Filing date: 2016-10-14
Publication date: 2020-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-14
Also published as: CN107957291A

Abstract

The present invention provides a calibration device for a device that is filled with a gas such as hydrogen gas and that is capable of accurately measuring the amount of gas such as hydrogen gas that is filled under high pressure. The calibration device of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a filler vessel accommodated in the measuring tank, to which a high-pressure fuel gas such as hydrogen gas is fed from the outside of the measuring tank; and a weight meter for measuring the weight of the fuel gas fed to the filler container, wherein a dry gas pipe for feeding a dry gas is detachably provided in the measuring tank. Here, the weight meter preferably measures the weight of the fuel gas fed to the filler container together with the weight of the measuring tank.

Description

Calibration device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a calibration device for a device for filling gas such as hydrogen gas, and more particularly to a calibration device capable of accurately measuring the amount of gas such as hydrogen gas filled under high pressure.

Background

A gasoline meter installed in a filling station must be flow certified every seven years to maintain a fair trade and requires meter error of the flow meter to be within ± 0.5%. In response to such a demand, the applicant proposed a gasoline meter having a meter inspection mechanism in japanese patent publication No. heisei 07-33197.

In recent years, as a countermeasure for environmental problems, a fuel cell automobile using hydrogen as a fuel has been developed, and therefore a hydrogen-charging device and a calibration apparatus for the hydrogen-charging device have been studied.

Here, in the filling of hydrogen, high-pressure filling is adopted to shorten the filling time, but the temperature of gas rises in association with the high-pressure filling, and the temperature of the fuel tank of the fuel cell vehicle becomes high, which may cause rupture of the fuel tank. To prevent this possibility, hydrogen was charged while being cooled at-40 ℃ with a cooling device.

However, when hydrogen is charged into the calibration device of the hydrogen filling apparatus while being cooled at-40 ℃, the temperature of the socket, the filling gas supply pipe, the filling vessel and other components becomes lower than the ambient temperature, so that condensed water (dew) is condensed on the apparatus. When the condensed water evaporates, the weight of the entire calibration device changes, thereby causing a problem that accurate calibration is impossible.

Furthermore, when hydrogen gas is released from the filling vessel of the calibration device, the temperature of the filling vessel becomes low due to the adiabatic expansion phenomenon, thereby generating water droplets by condensation of condensed water. Thus, when a plurality of calibrations are performed, condensation and evaporation of condensed water repeatedly occur on a large surface of the filling container, so that the weight of the calibration device varies significantly, thereby making it impossible to perform accurate measurements.

The entire contents of Japanese patent publication No. Heisei 07-33197 are incorporated herein by reference.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the conventional art, and an object thereof is to provide a calibration device for a device for filling gas such as hydrogen gas, which is capable of accurately measuring the amount of gas such as hydrogen gas filled under high pressure.

Means for solving the problems

The calibration device 100,200 according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: a filling vessel 2 accommodated in the measuring tank 1,10, high-pressure fuel gas being fed from the outside of the measuring tank 1,10 to the filling vessel 2; and a weight scale 3 for measuring the weight of the fuel gas fed to the filling vessel 2, wherein a dry gas pipe 4 for feeding dry gas into the measuring tank 1,10 is detachably (disconnectably) provided on the measuring tank 1, 10. Here, the weight meter 3 preferably measures the weight of the fuel gas fed to the filling container 2 together with the weight of each measuring tank 1, 10.

In the present invention, the measuring chamber 1,10 is preferably of a semi-closed construction. Here, the "semi-closed structure" refers to a structure that achieves an incompletely sealed state but a nearly sealed state.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a dew point instrument 5 for measuring the dew point temperature in the measurement tanks 1 and 10 is provided. The dew point instrument 5 can be detachably mounted not only on the outside of the measuring chamber 1,10 but also inside it.

Alternatively, in the present invention, the measuring chamber 10 preferably has a first chamber 10A with a filling container 2 and a second chamber 10B for accommodating the receptacle 6. In this case, it is preferable that the flow rate of the dry gas per unit volume in the second chamber 10B is larger than that in the first chamber 10A.

When the present invention is carried out, an inert (inert) gas such as nitrogen, argon and helium, carbon dioxide and dried air can be used as the dry gas. Any gas that is available at low cost, easily filled into or discharged from the measuring chamber 1,10 in a short time, and has features contributing to improved safety can be used as the dry gas.

Effects of the invention

With the present invention having the above-described structure, the dry gas duct 4 for feeding the dry gas into the measuring chamber 1,10 is provided, and the dry gas can be filled into the measuring chamber 1,10 through the dry gas duct 4. Furthermore, filling the measuring chamber 1,10 with dry gas allows the air containing moisture and other gases to be evacuated. As a result, even when fuel gas such as hydrogen that has been cooled at-40 ℃ is fed to the filled vessel 2 in the calibration device 100,200, condensation water is prevented from condensing on the equipment in the measuring tank 1, 10. That is, the present invention can prevent condensation water from condensing on the equipment in the measurement tank 1,10, and can perform calibration with high accuracy, high reliability, and high safety.

Here, with the present invention, the dry gas pipe 4 is detachably mounted on the measurement tanks 1,10, so that the dry gas pipe 4 can be separated from the measurement tanks 1,10 at the time of weight measurement in calibration, which prevents stress generated in the components constituting the dry gas pipe 4 from changing the results of weight measurement.

With the present invention, since condensed water is prevented from condensing on the equipment in the measuring chamber 1,10, it is not necessary to suspend the weight measurement before the pipe on which the condensed water condenses dries. Therefore, in the case of continuously filling the fuel gas such as hydrogen gas, which has been cooled at-40 ℃, into the filling vessel 2 of the calibration apparatus 100, it is not necessary to wait until the equipment on which the condensed water condenses dries every filling, and the filling can be continuously performed along with the calibration or various tests.

Further, in the present invention, the semi-closed structure is adopted for the measurement chamber 1,10 and the measurement chamber 1,10 is maintained in a slightly pressurized state by the dry gas, so that the air containing moisture can be prevented from entering the measurement chamber 1, 10.

Furthermore, in the case where no air containing moisture enters the measuring chamber 1,10, it is possible to fill with hydrogen gas cooled at-40 ℃, and the condensed water does not condense on the plug socket 6, the filling gas supply conduit 7, the filling vessel 2 and other components.

Further, in the present invention, the dew point instrument 5 for measuring the dew point temperature is installed in the measuring box 1,10, and condensation of the condensed water is prevented by performing appropriate humidity management in the measuring box 1,10 based on the measurement result of the dew point instrument 5. For example, when the dew point temperature in the measurement chamber 1 is a predetermined temperature (which is, for example, -20 ℃), i.e., a dew point temperature at which it can be determined that there has been sufficient drying in the measurement chamber 1, and fuel gas such as hydrogen gas cooled at-40 ℃ is fed, the amount of condensed water condensed on the socket 6, the filling gas supply pipe 7, the filling vessel 2, and other components becomes small, so that the amount has little influence on the weight measurement.

Here, it is expected that lowering the dew point to, for example, -40 ℃ or lower causes the amount of condensed water to become zero, but the difference between the amount below-40 ℃ and the amount below-20 ℃ is small. Therefore, it is realistic and economical to set the dew point temperature to-20 ℃ to-25 ℃ as the reference dew point temperature that can be determined as necessary and sufficient drying.

Alternatively, in the present invention, the measuring chamber 10 preferably comprises a first chamber 10A with a filling container 2 and a second chamber 10B accommodating the receptacle 6. Thus, when the filling nozzle 41 of the device to be calibrated, for example the hydrogen filling device 40, is separated from the receptacle 6, condensed water condenses only on the device contained in the second chamber 10B and can be prevented from condensing on the device contained in the first chamber 10A. Therefore, the amount of condensed water condensed on the entire calibration device 200 is reduced, which suppresses the detection accuracy from being degraded due to the condensed water condensation.

In this case, air containing moisture enters the second chamber 10B whenever the filling nozzle 41 is separated from the receptacle 6, but air containing moisture is unlikely to enter the first chamber 10A, so that preferably the flow rate of dry gas per unit volume in the second chamber 10B is greater than in the first chamber 10A. Furthermore, the flow rates are preferably adjustable separately.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart for showing a procedure of calibration according to the first embodiment; and

fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described next with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

In fig. 1, a calibration device according to a first embodiment of the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 100. The calibration device 100 is provided with: a measuring box 1; a filling vessel 2 accommodated in the measuring chamber 1, and high-pressure fuel gas such as hydrogen gas is fed from the outside of the measuring chamber 1 to the filling vessel 2; a weight scale 3 for measuring the weight of the measuring box 1; and a main body case 20 for accommodating the measuring box 1 and the weight scale 3. The filling container 2 is mounted on the bottom surface of the measuring chamber 1 via a base 8.

The weight of the measuring tank 1 before and after filling with fuel gas such as hydrogen gas is measured by the weight meter 3, and the weight of hydrogen gas fed to and filled in the filling vessel 2 is calculated from the difference between the two weights. The following description will be made in the case of using hydrogen gas as the fuel gas.

The measuring tank 1 accommodating the filling containers 2 and the like and the main body tank 20 accommodating the weighing meters 3 have moving means 20A such as wheels on their lower surfaces, and they are movable to a position where a device to be calibrated such as a hydrogen filling device is mounted at the time of calibration.

A socket 6 is provided as a hydrogen receiving port on the side of the measurement chamber 1, and when hydrogen gas is fed from the hydrogen filling device 40 to be calibrated to and filled in the filling container 2 in the measurement chamber 1, the socket 6 becomes the hydrogen receiving port on the side of the measurement chamber 1.

That is, the hydrogen filling device 40 and the measuring tank 1 are connected by the coupling of the filling nozzle 41 and the receptacle 6, and hydrogen gas is fed from the hydrogen filling device 40 to the filling container 2 in the measuring tank 1.

In the measuring chamber 1, the receptacle 6 and the filling container 2 are connected by a filling gas supply conduit 7. Hydrogen fed from the receptacle 6 to the measuring chamber 1 is fed to and filled in the filling vessel 2 via a filling gas supply conduit 7.

Further, reference numeral 2A denotes a filling gas inlet portion of the filling container 2, and reference numeral 9 denotes a check valve for preventing backflow of the hydrogen gas fed on the side of the measuring tank 1.

On the side of the measuring chamber 1, a dry gas duct 4 for feeding dry gas to the measuring chamber 1 is detachably provided. Dry gas is fed from a supply source, not shown, to the measuring chamber 1 through a dry gas pipe 4, and the dry gas may be filled in the measuring chamber 1. Here, inert gases such as nitrogen, argon and helium, carbon dioxide and dried air may be used as the dry gas. Any gas that is available at low cost, easily filled into or discharged from the measuring chamber 1,10 in a short time, and has features contributing to improved safety can be used as the dry gas.

Further, a dew point instrument 5 is detachably mounted on the outer surface of the measuring chamber 1. Therefore, based on the measurement result of the dew point instrument 5, humidity management can be appropriately performed in the measurement box 1. For example, when the dew point temperature in the measurement chamber 1 is a predetermined temperature (which is, for example, -20 ℃), i.e., a dew point temperature at which it can be determined that there has been sufficient drying in the measurement chamber 1, and fuel gas such as hydrogen gas cooled at-40 ℃ is fed, the amount of condensed water condensed on the socket 6, the filling gas supply pipe 7, the filling vessel 2, and other components becomes small, so that the amount has little influence on the weight measurement.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the dew point instrument 5 is mounted outside the measurement chamber 1, but may also be mounted inside the measurement chamber 1.

Furthermore, a control device, not shown, for transmitting the measured value of the dew point instrument 5 to the hydrogen filling device 40 via infrared communication may be provided on the dew point instrument 5, which control device can control the hydrogen filling device 40 with a simple structure so that filling is started when the dew point temperature in the measuring chamber 1 reaches a predetermined temperature.

On the upper surface of the measuring chamber 1, a gas outlet 13 is provided, which becomes an outlet for discharging air containing moisture and other gases to the outside of the measuring chamber 1 when dry air is filled into the measuring chamber 1.

Furthermore, a filling gas outlet 11 is provided on the upper surface of the measuring chamber 1, which filling gas outlet is connected to the filling container 2 via a filling gas release duct 12.

In case hydrogen gas is discharged from the filling vessel 2, the hydrogen gas discharged from the filling vessel 2 is discharged from the filling gas outlet 11 to the outside of the measuring chamber 1 through the filling gas release conduit 12. Although not shown in the drawings, the main body case 20 further includes a gas release mechanism.

The filling gas supply duct 7 is fixed to the bottom surface of the measuring chamber 1 by means of a support member 14. Furthermore, the filling gas release duct 12 is fixed to the outer wall of the measuring chamber 1 by means of a support element 15. As a structure having the

support members

14 and 15 for fixing the filling gas supply duct 7 and the filling gas discharge duct 12, respectively, to the measuring chamber 1, various conventional structures can be adopted.

The supporting

members

14 and 15 and the base 8 on which the filling container 2 is mounted are formed of a heat insulating material having low thermal conductivity such as rubber and resin. The reason is that since the low temperature in the measurement chamber 1 is conducted to the outer surface of the measurement chamber 1 via the

support members

14 and 15 and the base 8, condensation of water should be prevented from condensing on the outer surfaces of the measurement chamber 1 and the weighing scale 3, which are in contact with the atmosphere.

Here, the measuring chamber 1 is of a semi-closed construction. The "semi-closed structure" refers to a structure that achieves an incompletely sealed state but an almost sealed state. Thus, feeding dry gas into measurement chamber 1 causes the interior of measurement chamber 1 to be slightly pressurized, thereby preventing air containing moisture from entering measurement chamber 1.

Next, a procedure for performing calibration using the calibration apparatus 100 shown in fig. 1 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

In the flow chart of the calibration shown in fig. 2, first, in step S1, the weight of the measurement tank 1 before filling with hydrogen gas is measured with the weighing meter 3 in a state where the dry gas pipe 4 and the filling nozzle 41 are not connected.

Then, the dry gas pipe 4 and the filling nozzle 41 are connected, and the air containing moisture and other gases in the measuring tank 1 are discharged as a purging operation, and the filling vessel 2 is filled with hydrogen gas from the hydrogen filling device 40 to be calibrated as a filling operation, and the dry gas pipe 4 and the filling nozzle 41 are disconnected as a disconnecting operation.

Specifically, as the connecting operation in step S1, the dry gas pipe 4 is connected to one side surface of the measuring chamber 1. Further, the filling nozzle 41 of the hydrogen filling device 40 is connected to the receptacle 6 mounted on the side of the measuring chamber 1.

During the purging operation, dry gas is fed from a dry gas supply, not shown, through the dry gas duct 4 and is filled into the measuring chamber 1. Filling the measurement chamber 1 with dry gas allows gas containing moisture, such as air, present in the measurement chamber 1 to be discharged to the outside of the measurement chamber 1 through the gas outlet 13.

The cleaning work is performed while monitoring the measured value of the dew point instrument 5 at any time. As the sweep progresses, the dew point temperature gradually decreases and the humidity in the measurement chamber 1 decreases. When the dew point temperature reaches a predetermined temperature such as-20 ℃, it is determined that sufficient drying has been performed in the measurement chamber 1.

In a state where the dew point temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, such as-20 c, it is sufficiently dried in the measuring chamber 1, so that even if hydrogen gas that has cooled at-40 c is filled into the filling container 2 in the measuring chamber 1, the amount of condensed water that condenses on the filling container 2, the receptacle 6, the filling gas supply pipe 7 and other components is small and has little influence on the weight measurement.

With the cleaning operation in step S1, as described above, in the case where the dew point temperature reaches the predetermined temperature and it can be determined that it is sufficiently dry in the measuring chamber 1, the charging operation in step S1 is performed.

The filling of hydrogen gas is performed until a pressure gauge, not shown, of the hydrogen filling apparatus 40 determines that a predetermined amount of hydrogen gas is fed.

After the completion of the charging operation, the disconnection operation in step S1 is performed.

In the disconnecting operation, the dry gas duct 4 and the filling nozzle 41 are disconnected. Disconnecting the dry gas pipe 4 from the measurement box 1 allows eliminating the influence of stress generated in the components constituting the dry gas pipe 4 from the measurement of the weight meter 3 at the time of the weight measurement with the weight meter 3 as calibration (in step S2), which prevents the result of the weight measurement from changing due to stress. When step S1 is completed, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the weight of hydrogen gas filled from the hydrogen filling device 40 to the filling vessel 2 in the measurement tank 1 (the weight of the measurement tank 1 after being filled with hydrogen) is measured with the use of the weight meter 3. At the time of measurement after hydrogen gas filling, condensed water does not condense on components in the measurement tank 1 such as the filling container 2, so that an accurate weight from which an error due to condensation of condensed water is eliminated can be measured.

Then, the measurement results of the weight of the measuring tank 1 before and after filling with hydrogen gas, the weight of hydrogen gas filled in the filling container 2 were calculated to calculate the filling amount of hydrogen gas. Further, the calculated charge is compared with the charge determined based on the flow meter of the hydrogen filling device 40 to be calibrated, which performs the calibration of the hydrogen filling device 40. When step S2 is completed, the process proceeds to step S3.

The weight value of hydrogen gas as the measurement result in step S2, the filling amount of hydrogen gas calculated based on the weight of the measurement tank 1 before and after filling, and the calibration result are displayed on a display or the like, not shown, in step S3.

Further, the filled amount of hydrogen gas or the weight of the filled hydrogen gas as a result of the measurement is stored on a storage device of an information processor such as a PC, not shown, along with an identification number such as a product number of the hydrogen filling apparatus 40 to be calibrated and a date and time when the calibration is performed. Then, the calibration procedure is completed.

Although not clearly shown in fig. 2, in the case where calibration for other target devices is continuously performed by the calibration device 100, after step S3, the hydrogen gas filled in the filling container 2 is discharged to the outside of the measurement tank 1 through the filling gas release pipe 12 and the filling gas discharge port 11.

In the case where calibration for other hydrogen-filling devices 40 is continuously performed, the routine returns to "start" in fig. 2, and the operations in steps S1-S3 are performed.

Further, the discharge of the hydrogen gas filled in the filling container 2 may be performed while the weight meter has been reset in step S1 for calibration of the next target device.

In the first embodiment shown in the drawings, dry gas is filled into the measurement chamber 1 through the dry gas pipe 4, and gas containing moisture, such as air, is discharged to the outside of the measurement chamber 1.

As a result, even when fuel gas such as hydrogen that has been cooled at-40 ℃ is fed to the charging container 2 in the calibration device 100, condensation water is prevented from condensing on the equipment in the measurement tank 1, and calibration with high accuracy, high reliability, and high safety can be performed.

Further, in the first embodiment, the dry gas pipe 4 is detachably mounted on the measurement box 1, so that at the time of weight measurement in calibration, the dry gas pipe 4 is separated from the measurement box 1 to prevent stress generated in the members constituting the dry gas pipe 4 from changing the result of weight measurement.

The dew point instrument 5 can be detached when measuring the weight of the measuring chamber 1.

Further, in the first embodiment, since the measurement chamber 1 is a semi-closed structure, slightly pressurizing the measurement chamber 1 with dry air prevents air containing moisture from entering the measurement chamber 1.

Thus, even when hydrogen that has cooled at-40 ℃ is filled in the filling vessel 2, condensation water is prevented from condensing on the filling vessel 2, the socket 6, the filling gas supply conduit 7 and other components.

Further, the dew point instrument 5 for measuring the dew point temperature in the measuring box 1 is provided in the first embodiment, so that the humidity management can be appropriately performed in the measuring box 1 based on the measurement result of the dew point instrument 5.

For example, when the dew point instrument 5 measures that the dew point temperature reaches a predetermined temperature (e.g., -20 ℃), which is a dew point temperature that can be determined to have been sufficiently dried in the measurement chamber 1, it can be determined that it has been sufficiently dried in the measurement chamber 1, and hydrogen gas at, for example, -40 ℃ can be filled into the measurement chamber 1. Since in this case it is sufficiently dry in the measuring chamber 1, the amount of condensation water that condenses on the filling vessel 2, the receptacle 6, the filling gas supply conduit 7 and other components is small and has little effect on the weight measurement.

The first embodiment assumes that calibration is performed on a plurality of hydrogen-filling devices 40 in series.

When the calibration is performed only once, the weight of the measuring tank 1 can be measured after the condensed water has sufficiently dried to perform an accurate calibration, even when condensed water condenses on the filling container 2, the receptacle 6, the filling gas supply pipe 7 and other components as a result of filling hydrogen gas, which has cooled at, for example, -40 ℃, into the filling container 2. However, in the case where calibration is continuously performed on a plurality of hydrogen-filling devices 40 using a single calibration apparatus 100, condensed water condenses on the filling containers 2 so that weight measurement is suspended before the condensed water is sufficiently dried, thereby requiring a long time to perform calibration.

In contrast, with the first embodiment, condensation water is prevented from condensing on the equipment and piping in the measurement tank 1, so that it is not necessary to suspend the weight measurement before the equipment and piping on which the condensation water condenses dry. Therefore, in the case where a plurality of hydrogen-filling devices 40 are continuously calibrated using the calibration apparatus 100, it is not necessary to wait for the devices and the piping condensed with condensed water to dry at each calibration, and it is possible to continuously fill in order to perform the calibration and various tests.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig. 3.

In fig. 3, a calibration device according to a second embodiment of the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 200. The calibration device 200 is a dual chamber structure in such a manner that the measurement tank 10 is partitioned into a first chamber 10A as a main chamber and a second chamber 10B as an auxiliary chamber, and the receptacle 6 as a hydrogen receiving port of the hydrogen filling apparatus 40 to be calibrated is accommodated in the auxiliary chamber 10B.

The calibration device 200 according to the second embodiment has the same structure as the calibration device 100 according to the first embodiment except that the auxiliary chamber 10B is installed in the measurement chamber 10 and the receptacle 6 is accommodated in the auxiliary chamber 10B.

The calibration device 200 is provided with: a measurement chamber 10 having a main chamber 10A and an auxiliary chamber 10B; a filler vessel 2 accommodated in the main chamber 10A of the measuring chamber 10, to which a fuel gas such as hydrogen gas is fed from the outside of the measuring chamber 10; a weight scale 3 for measuring the weight of the measuring box 10; and a main body case 30 for housing the measurement case 10 having the main chamber 10A and the auxiliary chamber 10B and the weighing scale 3. The filling container 2 is mounted on the bottom surface of the measuring chamber 10A via a base 8.

When measuring the weight of hydrogen gas fed to and filled in the filling container 2, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the weight of the measuring tank 10 before and after filling with hydrogen gas was measured by the weight meter 3, and the filling amount of hydrogen gas was calculated based on the weight of the measuring tank 10 before and after filling.

In the measuring chamber 10, the filler container 2, the filler gas supply pipe 7, the filler gas release pipe 12, and the like are accommodated in the main chamber 10A, and the dry gas pipe 4 and the dew point instrument 5 are arranged on the side of the measuring chamber 10. The position and function of the devices other than the receptacle 6 in the main chamber 10A are the same as the measurement box 1 according to the first embodiment.

On the side of the main chamber 10A on the side where hydrogen gas is charged into the main chamber 10A, which is the right side in fig. 3, an auxiliary chamber 10B is disposed adjacent to the main chamber 10A, the socket 6 is accommodated in the auxiliary chamber 10B, and the socket 6 is fixed to the auxiliary chamber 10B in a not-shown conventional state. Furthermore, the socket 6 is connected to one end of a filling gas supply duct 7, the other end of the filling gas supply duct 7 being connected to the filling vessel 2 in the main chamber 10A. Reference numeral 9 denotes a check valve.

The boundary between the main chamber 10A and the auxiliary chamber 10B is separated by the side walls of the main chamber 10A and the auxiliary chamber 10B, and the filler gas supply duct 7 penetrates the side walls to connect the filler container 2 with the socket 6.

Further, a seal member 16 is provided at a portion where the filling gas supply duct 7 penetrates the side walls of the main chamber 10A and the auxiliary chamber 10B, the seal member 16 preventing gas containing moisture such as air from being transferred between the main chamber 10A and the auxiliary chamber 10B through the vent portion.

In the auxiliary chamber 10B shown in fig. 3, on the side on which the hydrogen filling apparatus 40 to be calibrated is connected, which is the right side in fig. 3, a dry gas pipe 4A for feeding dry gas into the auxiliary chamber 10B is detachably installed on the auxiliary chamber side. Dry gas is fed from a supply source, not shown, through the dry gas duct 4A to the auxiliary chamber 10B and can be filled into the auxiliary chamber 10B.

As the dry gas, inert gases such as nitrogen, argon and helium, carbon dioxide and dried air can be used as in the first embodiment.

When filling hydrogen gas, the filling nozzle 41 of the hydrogen filling device 40 is coupled with the receptacle 6 in the auxiliary chamber 10B, and hydrogen gas is fed from the hydrogen filling device 40 at the side of the measuring tank 10.

Then, on the side of the auxiliary compartment 10B on the side where the hydrogen filling device 40 is connected to the auxiliary compartment 10B, which is the right side in fig. 3, a lid portion 10C is provided that can be opened/closed by a pivot 10D. Further,

cover seal members

10E,10F, which constitute flexible members having a continuous cell structure such as sponge, are provided on the lower edge of the side cover portion 10C and at a portion opposite to the lower edge thereof on the side of the auxiliary chamber 10B, and seal members, not shown, are also provided on the side edge of the cover portion 10C.

To couple the filling nozzle 41 with the socket 6, the cover portion 10C is opened to insert the filling nozzle 41 into the auxiliary chamber 10B. After the coupling, the lid portion 10C is closed to perform hydrogen charging.

When filling hydrogen, the hydrogen pipe 42 of the hydrogen filling device 40 is caught by the

cover sealing members

10E,10F, and the caught portion of the hydrogen pipe 42 is sealed.

However, in a state where the hydrogen pipe 42 is caught by the

lid sealing members

10E,10F, it is not sufficiently sealed, and there is a possibility that the dry gas in the auxiliary chamber 10B leaks to the outside.

Then, in the calibration device 200 according to the second embodiment, the flow rate as the flow rate of the dry gas per unit volume in the auxiliary chamber 10B is set to be larger than that in the main chamber 10A. For example, it is preferable that the circulation flow rate of the dry air in the auxiliary chamber 10B is multiple times as large as that of the main chamber 10A, and the circulation flow rate can be individually adjusted. Circulating a large amount of dry air into the auxiliary chamber 10B prevents air containing moisture from entering the auxiliary chamber 10B through the portion where the hydrogen pipe 42 is caught by the

lid sealing members

10E, 10F.

The calibration flow using the calibration apparatus 200 shown in fig. 3 is substantially the same as the calibration apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment described with reference to fig. 2. However, in the calibration using the calibration apparatus 200, the connecting work of the dry gas pipe 4A, the cleaning work of the auxiliary chamber 10B through the dry air pipe 4A, and the disconnecting work of the dry gas pipe 4A are further performed in step S1 shown in fig. 2.

In the second embodiment shown in fig. 3, the dew point instrument 5 is installed in the main chamber 10A and not in the auxiliary chamber 10B, and humidity management is performed in the main chamber 10A. Therefore, the start of hydrogen filling is determined based on the measurement result of the dew point instrument 5. However, a dew point instrument, not shown, may also be provided in the auxiliary chamber 10B to determine the point of time when hydrogen filling starts based on the measurement results of both the dew point instrument 5 of the main chamber 10A and the dew point instrument of the auxiliary chamber 10B.

With the second embodiment, the measuring chamber 10 has a main chamber 10A accommodating the filling container 2 and an auxiliary chamber 10B accommodating the receptacle 6, the filling nozzle 41 and the hydrogen duct 42 when filled with hydrogen, so that condensate condenses only slightly on the equipment accommodated in the auxiliary chamber 10B when the filling nozzle 41 is disconnected from the receptacle 6 and when filled, and condensate is prevented from condensing on the equipment accommodated in the main chamber 10A. Therefore, the amount of condensed water condensed in the entire calibration device 200 is reduced.

Here, the amount of condensed water condensed on the socket 6, the filling nozzle 41, the hydrogen pipe 42, and the like is large, and the surface areas of the socket 6, the filling nozzle 41, and the hydrogen pipe 42 are smaller than the surface area of the equipment accommodated in the main chamber 10A, so that even when the condensed water condenses in the auxiliary chamber 10B, the influence thereof on the weight measurement of the weighing scale 3 is small. Thus, accommodating the socket 6, the filling nozzle 41, and the hydrogen pipe 42 in the auxiliary chamber 10B separate from the main chamber 10A can greatly suppress a decrease in measurement accuracy.

Furthermore, there is a possibility that air containing moisture enters the second chamber 10B each time the filling nozzle 41 is separated from the socket 6 and that air containing moisture enters the auxiliary chamber 10B through the

cover sealing members

10E,10F (e.g. the sponge of the cover 10C) each time filling takes place. However, in the second embodiment, the flow rate of the dry gas per unit volume in the second chamber 10B is larger than that in the first chamber 10A, which prevents the air containing moisture from entering the auxiliary chamber 10B. Also, the possibility of air containing moisture entering the main chamber 10A can be further reduced.

In the second embodiment shown in fig. 3, the structures and effects other than the above are the same as those of the first embodiment described with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

The embodiments shown in the drawings are merely examples, and the technical field of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. For example, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the calibration apparatus for a hydrogen filling apparatus is described, but the present invention is also applicable to the calibration apparatus for a CNG filling apparatus.

Description of the reference numerals

1,10 measuring box

2 filling container

3 weighing meter

4,4A dry gas pipeline

5 dew point instrument

6 socket (hydrogen inlet)

7 charge gas supply duct

8 base

9 check valve

First chamber (main chamber) of 10A measuring box

Second chamber (auxiliary chamber) of 10B measuring box

10C cover part

10D pivot

10E,10F cap seal member (sponge, etc.)

11 filling gas outlet

12 charge gas release line

13 gas outlet

14,15 support member

16 sealing member

20,30 main body box

20A,30A mobile device (wheel, etc.)

40 hydrogen charging apparatus

41 filling nozzle

42 hydrogen pipeline

100,200 calibration device

Claims

1. A calibration device for accurately measuring a charge amount of fuel gas charged at high pressure, comprising:

a filler container (2) accommodated in a measuring tank (1; 10), high-pressure fuel gas being fed from outside the measuring tank (1; 10) to the filler container (2); and

a weight scale (3) for measuring the weight of fuel gas fed to the filler container (2),

wherein a dry gas duct (4) for feeding dry gas into the measuring chamber (1; 10) is detachably mounted on the measuring chamber (1; 10).

2. Calibration device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement chamber (1; 10) is of semi-closed construction.

3. Calibration device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a dew point instrument (5) for measuring the dew point temperature in the measurement chamber (1; 10).

4. Calibration device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measuring chamber (1; 10) comprises a first chamber (10A) with the filling container (2) and a second chamber (10B) for accommodating a receptacle (6).