EP0458007A1

EP0458007A1 - Metering column

Info

Publication number: EP0458007A1
Application number: EP91101072A
Authority: EP
Inventors: José Antunez Jiménez; Antonio Vela Lumbreras
Original assignee: Repsol Butano SA
Current assignee: Repsol Butano SA
Priority date: 1990-05-23
Filing date: 1991-01-28
Publication date: 1991-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 2011-01-28
Also published as: ATE116729T1; ES1014188Y; DE69106434T2; ES1014188U; EP0458007B1; DE69106434D1; DK0458007T3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a metering column of electronic carousels for the bottling of liquified petroleum gases. This metering column has an integral boddy in vertical arrangement including a basically cylindrical volume which is fixed to the ground through an anchor (20) and in which several sections can be seen from which an upper one is defined by an antideflagrant box (2) which includes a power revolving collector (1). The bottom part includes an electrical power supply (3), whereby the upper section is connected by its base to other two sections of the column with similar characteristic and a basically cylindrical outline.

Description

The invention relates to a metering column of electronic carousels for bottling liquified petroleum gases. This new design of metering column of electronic carousels for bottling liquified petroleum gases has many advantages with regard to the preceding models of metering columns collcted and mentioned in the state of the art.
Metering columns of carousels for bottling of fluids known at present have all in common the metering of fluids only, i.e. elements characterized for their changeable form and volume. These metering columns are those generally used for bottling of fluids and some gases.
It is known that the packing carousels show a circular layout in which the bottles and containers which are progressively filled flow, and there are several places to which the bottles following a circular track arrive, whereby punctuell operations in the aforesaid places are provided. These operations are: weighing of bottles, bottling and checking of the fitness of their locking devices and even the external conditions of the container.
In the carousels for bottling gases and fluids known up-to-date only forced air operated devices were used. Electricity and electronics were not used in these carousels for two main reasons, namely: 1) The explosive character of the gases that are in contact with any electric discharge or spark and, 2) The main mechanic disadvantage of installation of the circuits and wirings of the electrical and electronic devices which after installation in the carousels and in particular in the metering columns due there movement of rotation have shown the problem, which is not solved, of the twisting of the wires with the serious disadvantages and consequences which this undesirable phenomenon could cause.
It is an object of the present invention to solve these disadvantages.
This object is solved by the charactericing part of claim 1.
The present invention introduceses a considerable improvement in relation to the previous model so known metering columns, because it allows with its new characteristics the use of electronics and the electrical power which enables the definition of electronic carousels, solving perfectly the problems of tracking of the wiring of the electrical supply and of the optical fibres which help to the operation of the electronic mechanisms, and the electric wires and those of the optical fibre don't twist during the whole process and, on the contrary, they stay in a stable condition.
The metering column of electronic carousels for bottling liquified petroleum gases basically shows an integral configuration with a vertical arrangement and a cylinder-like contour that has several subsections. The metering column is anchored to the ground through its base, showing fixed and moving parts.
The gas is introduced through a bottom inlet the opening of which is a flange to which the gas supply pipe is externally fitted from the ground. The gas follows an ascending rack through an internal piping of the vertically arranged column, that ends in an elbow rotable outlet, through which the gas is distributed.
In the process of admission and subsequent distribution of the gas, specially in its track from the fixed part to the movable, a series of seals are provided to prevent the exit of the gas.
The movement of the movable part on the fixed one is produced through bearings which support the loads and which determine that the rotation is smooth.
The fixed part basically operates like a vertical shaft on which the movable part rotates through the bearing installed in four main points between the parts.
The column has an upper admission for the air that flows through a pipe which is descending vertically arranged until a lower cranked exit, the admission and the piping are shown in the fixed part of the column, while the exit of the air is shown in the movable part. The air operates a series of pressure devices.
The exit of the air has a mechanism similar to the one of the exit of the gas, including a set of seals to prevent air leakages, having small size because the pressure of the air is less than the pressure of the gas. Obviously, despite the fixed devices and on the rotable ones, the flow of the gas or the air does not cause any problems of twisting of these members, although this problem could logically appear with the electric wires and the wires of optical fibres which distribute the electric and electronic power. These problems can be solved through revolving collectors.
The metering column for electronic carousels for bottling of liquified petroleum gases of this specification has two revolving collectors, one of them, the upper, is the revolving collector for power and is located inside an deflagration-proof coffer. This revolving collector for power allows that internal contents is quiet while the external container is rotating and nevertheless the electricity is passing or inversely like in this case, i.e., that the inside part is rotating while the outside one is fixed. It can be stated that the light or power enters through static conductors, but that exits are through other rotating places. The metering column of electronic carousels for bottling of liquified petroleum gases solves the problem of driving through the center of the column the electrical power introduced by the upper side and that relative to the optical fibre introduced by the bottom side through its corresponding revolving collector and this keeping in mind that a part of the column stays fixed and anchored and that another part ist movable.
The novelty of this invention is a mounting of a set of planetary gears. The gears are bevel toothed wheels, with gears that are screwed to the fixed shaft and vertically arranged. Therefore, they don't move, with which mate other bevel gears shown on the movable part of the vertically arranged column, when in contact both bevel gears engage each other and the moving gears rotate engaging the fixed ones.
As exist two bevel gears which are fixed in an symmetrical and opposite arrangement, one in each half of the shaft or fixed part, other two moving bevel gears located in the same vertical plane, one besides another, fixed in the internal side of the moving section, which slide over the internal fixed gears when moving in a direction and engage the internal fixed gears, make that the moving vertical bottom gear of the planetary set when rotating on the fixed horizontal bottom gear drives the moving vertical upper gear with the same relative movement which this determines on the fixed horizontal upper gear counteracting each other both movements, getting that the moving external part rotates and that, the fixed upper part of the shaft, despite not being attached to the bottom one, is fixed and that it is not necessary to attach it in any way.
Although the gears shown in the moving part of the set of fixed planetary gears rotate, they don't produce any movement of the fixed gears, so that the gear shown in the upper half of the column and the gear in the bottom half of the column stay static. From above it can be seen that through the quite new device of the planetary set of gears which has just described the perfect immobility of the parts of the column, which must be fixed can be reached, while the movement of an external part of the column is guaranteed which requires a circular movement, whereby these different operations of the components do not create any risk of twisting of the wiring relative to the electrical power or the optical fibre, enabling all these electronic caroursels the transmission of optical signals to the automaton which controls the different functions of the carousel, and the making of the electrical and electronic connections or the diverse relays, with no risk of deflagration or any other similar accident, enabling a considerable improvement in the functions of the carousel and in its operating speed.
To enable the invention to be fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which different views of each component are shown.
With the reference 1 the power revolving collector is shown. With the reference 2 the anti-deflagration box is shown which includes the power revolving collector 1. The reference 3 shows the admission of electrical power. The reference 4 shows the admission of air and the reference 5 marks the exit of air. The reference 6 refers to the fixed parts of the column, while the reference 7 refers to the moving parts of the column.
The reference 8 indicates the position of the optical fibre wires connected to the revolving collector 19. The reference 9 indicates the position of the electrical power wires. The reference 10 indicates the gas admission opening in the column, while the reference 18 indicates the flange that will be integrally fixed to the flange of the gas supply pipe. The reference 11 indicates the gas exit rotary mouth. The reference 12 indicates the planetary gear train with the moving bevel gears, engaging the moving upper vertical gear to the fixed horizontal upper bevel gear 13 and the moving bottom vertical one to the fixed horizontal bottom bevel gear 14.
The reference 15 indicates the four bearings, located in main positions between the moving and fixed parts of the column, which support the loads and smooth the rotation of the moving part.
The reference 16 indicates the seals provided to prevent undesirable gas leakages. The reference 20 indicates the anchor to the column base.
It is not considered as necessary to extend this specification to that an expert in the art understands the scope of the invention and its advantages. The materials, form, size and arrangement of the components can be altered when it isn't a change of the essence of the invention. The terms used in this specification must be construed in a wide nonrestricting sense.

Claims

A metering column of electronic carousels for the bottling of liquified petroleum gases,

characterized by

an integral body in vertical arrangement including a basically cylindrical volume which is fixed to the ground through an anchor (20) and in which several sections can be seen from which an upper one is defined by an antideflagrant box (2) which includes a power revolving collector (1)

the bottom part of which includes an electrical power supply (3), whereby the upper section is connected by its base to other two sections of the column with similar characteristics and a basically cylindrical outline.
A metering column according to claim 1, characterized by two bodies, an intermediate one and another basic almost similar with a cylindrical contour shown attached each other, while the upper intermediate body is shown attached by its upper base to the antideflagrant box (2) which includes the power revolving collector (1), and the basic bottom body is attached through its lower side to the basic anchor of the column (20), whereby the upper indermediate subbody has in an upper side the admission of the air (4) which is introduced inside the column through a vertical piping, and which is distributed by a lower cranked exit (5) with the relative set of gaskets (17) to prevent air leakages and whereby at the center of this upper intermediate subbody the wiring corresponding to the electrical power (9) is provided in a vertical shaft, and whereby the lower basic subbody has in its bottom side near to its base an admission of gas (10), with a flange (18), which will be fixed to a similar one corresponding to the external piping of gas, and whereby the gas is introduced inside the metering column through a vertical pipe to a upper moving cranked exit (11), which includes seals (16) which prevent any leakages of gas and whereby the lower basic subbody shows at the center of its base a revolving collector connected to the wires of optical fibre which go inside the column according to a central vertical shaft.
A metering column according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper intermediat and lower basic subbodies share a moving external side sub-section (7), which circularly slides over a fixed section according to a vertical shaft which share the upper intermediate body and the lower basic body (6), and that the moving part (7) slides over the fixed part or shaft (6) through four sets of gears (15) suitably arranged in main points between both sections (7, 6).
A metering column according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that among the upper intermediate and basic lower bodies and the sub-sections which share the external side moving section (7) and the internal fixed (6) precisely at the zone of union of the two subbodies a planetary gear train is shown which includes two fixed vertically bevel gears on the internal side of the moving part (7) engaging the upper gear to a fixed horizontally bevel gear (13) which is part of the sub-section of the upper intermediate body of the fixed part (6) while the moving lower gear of the planetary gear train slides and engages a fixed horizontally bevel gear (14) shown at the fixed sub-section (6) relative to the lower basic body.