EP0581691A1 - Apparatus for producing and storing compressed air - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for producing and storing compressed air, comprising a compressor set producing compressed air, connected to a storage tank (reservoir), characterised in that the compressor unit is located under the storage tank. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for producing and storing compressed air. It relates more particularly to an improvement for this type of device.

Compressed air is increasingly used in modern industry, and compressors for compressing air have been known for a long time. Thus, there are already different types of compressors producing compressed air which is then stored in a tank, at the desired pressure to be then used as needed. The most used compressors are of the piston type with one or more stages and in which the movement of a piston in a cylinder ensures the aspiration of air at atmospheric pressure to compress it and then discharge it into the reservoir. storage to which the usage network is connected. This type of arrangement is widely used but has a number of drawbacks. One will note among these, the noise which is excessive and very painful for the users being in the vicinity, their congestion on the ground too important when we know the current costs that represent the square meters of office or workshop, and without counting their lack of aesthetics.

The present invention therefore seeks to solve the drawbacks mentioned above and proposes a device for producing and storing particularly pleasant compressed air since it is silent due to its entirely new design. Indeed, the compressor is vertical and includes a completely new ventilation circuit and soundproofing means not yet known to date, thus providing it with its good acoustic characteristics.

Thus, the compressed air production and storage device according to the invention comprises a compression assembly producing compressed air connected to a storage tank, said compression assembly being arranged below the storage tank which is generally cylindrical in shape with a vertical axis of symmetry, said device being characterized in that the compression assembly and the storage tank are housed in a vertical box, said compression assembly being disposed in the lower part of the enclosure internal of said box.

According to an additional characteristic, the internal enclosure of the vertical box comprises a ventilation circuit which is such that the box comprises a lower suction orifice disposed in the lower part at the level of the compression assembly, and an upper ventilation orifice arranged in the upper part. Said upper ventilation orifice being advantageously disposed on the upper wall of the box.

According to another preferred arrangement of the invention, the internal enclosure comprises an additional fan arranged in the lower part of the enclosure.

Furthermore, at least one of the walls of the box is removable to constitute an access door, and the lower part of the enclosure of the box comprising the compression assembly is limited by an intermediate horizontal plate of the upper part containing The reservoir.

The silence of the compressor according to the invention compared to those currently on the market is due to its shape, its covering and its ventilation system comprising a low suction and a high discharge; in addition, according to another additional characteristic of the invention, the compression assembly is mounted in the box on damping elements.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings which are given only by way of nonlimiting examples.

• Figures 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention, the covering of the assembly having been removed, for a better understanding.
• Figure 1 is a front side view.
• FIG. 2 is a view along F2 of FIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a view along F3 of FIG. 2.
• Figure 4 is a perspective view.
• Figure 5 is an interior perspective view of this embodiment with its covering.
• Figure 6 is a partial view of a variant.
• Figure 7 is a partial view illustrating a detail of an improvement.
• FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate alternative embodiments, FIG. 8 being a view similar to FIG. 6, while FIG. 9 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 5.
• Figures 10 to 17 illustrate a second embodiment.
• Figure 10 is a perspective showing the device, its box being open.
• Figure 11 is an exterior front view.
• Figure 12 is a top view.
• Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view showing more particularly the air circuit.
• Figure 14 is a front view, the box being opened without its door.
• FIG. 15 is a sectional view along XV-XV of FIG. 14.
• Figure 16 is a sectional view along XVI-XVI of Figure 14.
• Figure 17 is a perspective view showing details of execution.

The installation according to the invention comprises a compression assembly (1) producing the compressed air and a reservoir (2) intended to store the compressed air thus produced.

In a manner known per se, the compression assembly (1) consists of a compressor (3) actuated by a motor (4). Said compressor being for example of the piston type with one or more stages, or even even of the screw type, and the motor being an electric motor. Of course, the compressor could be of any other type and it is the same for the engine which could as well be a heat engine.

According to the illustrated embodiment, said motor is independent and drives the compressor thanks to a system of the belt and pulley type. Thus the output shaft (5) of the motor (4) comprises a drive pulley (6) which, by means of a belt of the trapezoidal type (7), rotates the receiving pulley (8) of the compressor (3). Each of the two pulleys of course comprising a retaining groove for the belt. The receiving pulley (8) being of larger diameter than the driving pulley (6), and being fixed at the end of the compressor crankshaft (3). Note also that said receiving pulley (8) comprises radial blades (9) ensuring the ventilation of the cylinder (10) and the cylinder head (11) of the compressor (3), advantageously provided with cooling fins thus improving heat exchange.

Furthermore, the compression block includes a suction port (12) through which fresh air is admitted at atmospheric pressure and a discharge port (13) through which the compressed air is discharged. The two orifices being in a manner known per se, connected to the compression cylinder which comprises a set of valves allowing the various stages of compression admission and discharge. Furthermore, the suction is provided with a filter and a silencer (14).

According to the invention, the compressed air tank (2) is arranged above the compression assembly (1). The reservoir (2) of compressed air is, for example, cylindrical and of axis of general symmetry (XX '). It consists of a cylindrical peripheral wall (15) and is closed at both ends by two end walls (16, 17) of convex shape. According to the invention, the reservoir is arranged above the compression assembly and vertically, its axis of symmetry (XX ') being vertical. Furthermore, its lower end wall (16) comprises at its lowest point, a drain (18) allowing the evacuation of the condensation water which may form in the enclosure of the tank, while its peripheral wall (15) comprises intake means (19), exhaust means (20) and piloting means (21), as well as a control pressure gauge (210). The intake means (19) are connected to the discharge orifice (13) of the compressor proper by means of an intake pipe (22) and include a non-return valve (not shown), while the means d exhaust include a valve (24) and connection means (23) intended to be connected to the use network.

The control means (21) constituted by a pressure switch are connected to the electrical power supply network and comprise at least one membrane sensor defining a maximum pressure threshold and a minimum pressure threshold, thus determining the stopping of the engine. when the determined maximum pressure is reached, triggering the start of the engine when the pressure in the tank is equal to the predetermined minimum threshold. For this purpose, an electrical connection cable (25) is provided between the motor (4) and said pressure switch (21). In addition, there is an annexed piping (26) connecting the pressure switch (21) to the intake means (19), intended to empty its compressed air, the cylinder and the intake pipe, in order to allow better starting. compressor.

Furthermore, the compression assembly (1) and the storage tank (2) are housed in a box (50) constituted by a support structure (30) of rectangular shape of rectangular section and extending upward and of which the height "H" is greater than the dimensions "11, 12" of the base lying on the ground. For example, the height "H 'can be between 1 and 2.5 meters, while the widths" 11, 12 "can be between 40 centimeters and one meter. Said support structure (30) being constituted by a set of tubular profiles, for example of square section and comprising a lower frame (31) connected to an upper frame (32) by four vertical corner profiles (33a, 33b, 33c, 33d). supporting the compression assembly (1), while the storage tank (2) is supported by an intermediate support (34) constituted by two parallel support bars (35, 36) retained by their ends by two lateral bars ( Said structure (30) can be covered at least partially by a set of external walls (39, 40, 41, 42) constituted by sheet metal plates of steel or aluminum, or even of composite material. walls being lateral and peripherally surrounding the installation to form an internal enclosure (45), one of the side walls being able to be movable or dismountable and for example pivoting to constitute an access door. It goes without saying that several of the walls, or even all of them, could be removable. Furthermore, there is provided a lower grid (43) located at the level of the compression assembly (1) on the side of the ventilation blades (9), and a discharge orifice (440) comprising an upper grid (44). arranged at the level of the upper frame (32). The ventilation of the enclosure can be increased by means of an additional upper fan (46) as shown in FIG. 6. It goes without saying that to improve the sound insulation, the covering walls (39, 40, 41, 42) can be coated internally with an insulating layer (47), as shown in FIG. 7, which can be a layer of foam, for example made of polystyrene or polyurethane, or any other suitable material. It goes without saying that the compression assembly could be of the type whose engine is integrated into the compressor. Likewise, the tank could have any other form, without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a variant according to which the ventilation outlet (440) constituted by a grid is arranged not on the top of the box (50), but laterally in the upper part.

FIG. 9 represents a device according to the invention comprising means making it possible to move it conveniently. For this purpose, the box (50) comprises two rollers (61,62) and two grips (63, 64).

Figures 10 to 17 illustrate a preferred variant of the invention comprising a number of improvements. In order to improve the understanding of the variant, the same references have been given in the figures for elements similar to the elements of the first embodiment. For all that is not expressly described with regard to Figures 10 to 17, it will therefore suffice to refer to the description of the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 5. Recall that the installation according to the invention comprises a compression assembly (1) producing compressed air and a reservoir (2) intended to store the compressed air thus produced.

In a manner known per se, the compression assembly (1) consists of a compressor (3) actuated by a motor (4). Said compressor being for example of the piston type with one or more stages, or even of the screw type, and the motor being an electric motor. Of course, the compressor could be of any other type and it is the same for the engine which could as well be a heat engine.

According to the illustrated embodiment, said motor is independent and drives the compressor thanks to a system of the belt and pulley type. Thus the output shaft (5) of the motor (4) comprises a drive pulley (6) which, by means of a belt of the trapezoidal type (7), rotates the receiving pulley (8) of the compressor (3). Each of the two pulleys of course comprising a retaining groove for the belt. The receiving pulley (8) being of larger diameter than the driving pulley (6), and being fixed at the end of the compressor crankshaft (3). Note also that said receiving pulley (8) comprises radial blades (9) ensuring the ventilation of the cylinder (10) and the cylinder head (11) of the compressor (3), advantageously provided with cooling fins thus improving heat exchange.

According to the invention, the compressed air tank (2) is arranged above the compression assembly (1). The reservoir (2) of compressed air is, for example, cylindrical and of axis of general symmetry (XX '). It consists of a cylindrical peripheral wall and is closed at both ends by two domed end walls. According to the invention, the reservoir is arranged above the compression assembly and vertically, its axis of symmetry (XX ') being vertical.

As before, the compression assembly (1) and the storage tank are housed in a box (50). In this variant, it is the walls themselves of the box which constitute both the support structure and the walls themselves. Said box (50) being constituted by a set of external walls (39, 40, 41, 42) constituted by sheet metal plates of steel or aluminum, or even of composite material. Said walls being lateral and peripherally surrounding the installation to form an internal enclosure (45), one of the lateral walls being able to be movable or removable and for example pivoting to constitute an access door, such as for example the front wall (40 ). In this variant, the reservoir (2) is retained by the side wall (41). To this end, said wall comprises two sections (35a, 36a) to which the retaining lugs (350, 360) of the reservoir (2) are secured. Furthermore and as before, the installation and in particular its internal enclosure (45) comprises ventilation means. For this purpose, the lower part of the front door (40) comprises a lower suction orifice (43) provided with a grid (430), disposed at the compressor (3), while an upper orifice evacuation (440), advantageously provided with a grid (44), is provided on the upper horizontal wall (441) of the box (50). The external air intake sucked at the level of the lower orifice being discharged towards the outside by the upper orifice, after having passed through the enclosure (45) to cool the various elements. Note that to improve ventilation, the compressor includes an additional fan (46) disposed on the output shaft (5) of the motor (4) on the side opposite the drive pulley (6).

Furthermore, and also for the purpose of improving ventilation, there is a set of interior walls defining an internal air circuit in the lower part of the enclosure. To this end, the compression assembly (1) is housed between the base plate (51) and an intermediate horizontal plate (52) to constitute a lower box containing the compression set (1) and an upper box containing the tank (2). Said intermediate wall comprising a notch (53) allowing the passage of air from the lower box to the upper box. Furthermore, the lower box is separated into two volumes by a vertical partition (54), one of the volumes thus created being occupied by the compressor (3), while the other of the volumes is occupied by the motor (4). . Said partition does not extend over the entire depth of the box to form a front passage (55) and a rear passage (56) for the ventilation air. Furthermore, the rear lower part of the door (40) located at the level of the lower suction orifice comprises a rear fairing (57) forming an air inlet duct (58). The air circuit inside the box is illustrated with regard to Figures 13, 15 and 16. The air drawn in through the lower orifice passing through the duct (58) passes through the front passage (55), then ventilates the motor (4) before passing through the rear passage (56) and then ventilate the compressor (3) to escape through the notch (53) and ventilate the reservoir (2) before escaping through the upper orifice (440).

According to a complementary arrangement of the invention, the compression assembly (1) is disposed on a support plate (57) mounted in the box and in particular on its base plate (58) by means of elements of damping (59a, 59b, 59c, 59d), as shown more particularly in FIG. 17. With such an arrangement, the compression assembly (1) is found to be isolated from the rest of the installation and the vibrations caused by the various moving elements of said compression assembly are not transmitted to the rest of the compressor and in particular of the tank and the box.

Furthermore, the installation comprises an internal box (60) open towards the front, containing the electrical components.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown by way of examples, but it also includes all the technical equivalents and their combinations.

Claims (10)

1. A device for producing and storing compressed air comprising a compression assembly (1) producing compressed air connected to a storage tank (2), said compression assembly (1) being arranged below the reservoir storage tank (2) which is generally cylindrical with a vertical axis of symmetry (XX ′), characterized in that the compression assembly (1) and the storage tank (2) are housed in a vertical box (50 ), said compression assembly being arranged in the lower part of the internal enclosure (45) of said box. 2. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to claim 1, characterized in that the internal enclosure (45) of the vertical box (50) comprises a ventilation circuit and soundproofing means. 3. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the box (50) comprises a lower suction orifice (43) disposed in the lower part at the level of the assembly of compression (1). 4. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to claim 3, characterized in that the box (50) comprises an upper orifice (440) for ventilation arranged in the upper part. 5. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to claim 4, characterized in that the upper ventilation orifice is arranged on the upper wall (441) of the box. 6. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to claim 5, characterized in that the lower orifice (43) and the upper orifice (440) comprise a grid (430, 44). 7. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the internal enclosure (45) comprises an additional fan (46). 8. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the walls of the box is removable. 9. A device for producing and storing compressed air according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower part of the enclosure (45) of the box comprising the compression assembly (1) is limited by a horizontal intermediate plate (52) of the upper part containing the reservoir (2). 10. Device for producing and storing compressed air according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compression assembly (1) is mounted in the box on damping elements (59a, 59b, 59c , 59d).

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