Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L37/00—Couplings of the quick-acting type
  • F16L37/28—Couplings of the quick-acting type with fluid cut-off means
  • F16L37/38—Couplings of the quick-acting type with fluid cut-off means with fluid cut-off means in only one of the two pipe-end fittings
  • F16L37/44—Couplings of the quick-acting type with fluid cut-off means with fluid cut-off means in only one of the two pipe-end fittings with one lift valve being actuated to initiate the flow through the coupling after the two coupling parts are locked against withdrawal
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L37/00—Couplings of the quick-acting type
  • F16L37/08—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members
  • F16L37/12—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members using hooks, pawls or other movable or insertable locking members
  • F16L37/121—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members using hooks, pawls or other movable or insertable locking members using freely rocking hooks
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L37/00—Couplings of the quick-acting type
  • F16L37/08—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members
  • F16L37/12—Couplings of the quick-acting type in which the connection between abutting or axially overlapping ends is maintained by locking members using hooks, pawls or other movable or insertable locking members
  • F16L37/20—Joints tightened by toggle-action levers
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
  • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
  • F17C2205/00—Vessel construction, in particular mounting arrangements, attachments or identifications means
  • F17C2205/03—Fluid connections, filters, valves, closure means or other attachments
  • F17C2205/0302—Fittings, valves, filters, or components in connection with the gas storage device
  • F17C2205/037—Quick connecting means, e.g. couplings

Definitions

• the invention relates to a coupling for connecting a coupling housing with a nipple, which are provided for supplying a kyrogenen medium, in particular LNG to a vehicle tank, wherein the coupling housing for connecting a hand lever is pivotally mounted.
• the known couplings also require a high installation cost.
• the positive insertion / insertion of the coupling housing requires high surface quality and dimensional accuracy and high purity of the bonding surfaces in order to perform the joining process with little force.
• the plug-in / push-in connection is unsatisfactory in terms of safety when the coupling socket (nipple) is arranged as refueling device (tank cap) on the vehicle and the coupling plug on a petrol station filling station, since the plug-in connection when driving away in a connected state leads to serious damage to the filling station and / / or the Vehicle can lead.
• the invention has for its object to provide a coupling for cryogenic media, in particular LNG, with the safety in the operation over known couplings is improved.
• the handling and safety of the proposed coupling is substantially improved because with the pivotal movement of the hand lever for connection to the nipple, preferably via collets, a blocking element is actuated, which locks the hand lever in the connecting position. Unintentional release of the clutch can thus be safely excluded.
• the release of the flow path of the cryogenic medium to the nipple is thus achieved in the manner of a safe sequential control.
• the locking of the clutch takes place in a separate step before. The same applies to uncoupling, so that it is ensured that the operator of the clutch does not come into contact with the cryogenic medium, but before the unlocking of the hand lever, the fluid flow was reliably shut off by the control block and coupled therewith a control rod.
• the simply formed control rod has in particular a metal bellows whose interior is connected to a control line.
• the control line can be opened or closed via a control signal, as described in EP 0 889273 A1.
• An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing and will be described in more detail below. Hereby show:
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a coupling
• Fig. 2 is a side view of the coupling housing
• FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section of the coupling shown in Figure 2 in the horizontal plane.
• Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through a control block in the horizontal plane.
• the perspective shown coupling 1 of FIG. 1 comprises a coupling housing 11 for connecting two line ends.
• the connection of the coupling housing 11 with a (not shown here) coupling nipple is made by a plurality of locking elements in the form of collets 30.
• a hand lever 15 is provided for this purpose, which is pivotally mounted about an axis 16 and to which a relatively short expansion lever 17 adjacent to the axis 21 is pivotally mounted.
• a relatively small hand force is sufficient to make the coupling connection.
• FIG. 1 also shows a main line 47 for feeding the medium, likewise in side view in FIG. 2, wherein the sectional planes for FIGS. 3 and 4 are also indicated by A and B respectively.
• the largely tubular coupling housing 11 forms an insulating chamber, which prevents evaporation during the flow of cryogenic media, such as LNG in the line ends.
• the line ends extend to the parting plane of coupling nipple (which preferably leads to a vehicle tank) and coupling housing 11, which at least partially surrounds the main line 47.
• valves for opening and closing the line ends are arranged directly adjacent to the respective end faces, for example in the case of the coupling housing 11 in the form of at least one seal 38 made of PTFE.
• a control rod 36 is provided which preferably also carries a seal made of PTFE.
• the control rod 36 is pressed by a compression spring 41 against a sealing surface and is also connected to a metal bellows 44.
• the metal bellows 44 has an inner space 45 which is connected via a control line 46 to a pressure chamber, not shown.
• the pressurized control fluid eg compressed air at 10 bar
• the pressurized control fluid is supplied via the control line 46 to the interior 45, so that the metal bellows 44 extends in the axial direction and thus releases the medium or fluid supply line via the control rod 36.
• the release of the control pressure on the control line 46 (and thus then the release of the fluid flow in the main line 47) is preferably carried out by a return line R on the control block 20, as shown in Fig. 4, ie only after the blocking element 21 or the blocking piston 21a have "blocked" the hand lever 15 in the connecting position.
• a return line R on the control block 20 ie only after the blocking element 21 or the blocking piston 21a have "blocked" the hand lever 15 in the connecting position.
• the interior space 45 is depressurized via the control line 46.
• the compression spring 41 thus pushes the control rod 36 with the metal bellows 44 in the closed position of the coupling.
• the process is aided by the pressures in both ends of the line, as the effective bellows and sealing surfaces create additional closing forces.
• the pressure at the pressure line P is switched off, so that the locking piston 21a move back into the interior of the control block 20 and thus the hand lever 15 can be swung up to its original position.
• the locking sleeve 31 is simultaneously withdrawn and the clutch is disconnected again.
• a signal on the return line R can be issued with the switching off of the pressure P on the control block 20, whereby the safety standard is increased again.
• This may be in the form of a visual indication to the operator (eg, "you can now pay / start") or a clearance ("green light") for the gas station personnel or an audible signal or an electronic lock / unlock (eg, opening a barrier the gas station).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Quick-Acting Or Multi-Walled Pipe Joints (AREA)
• Filling Or Discharging Of Gas Storage Vessels (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=40418492

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (10)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (28)

Family Cites Families (25)

• 2007
  • 2007-12-22 DE DE202007018142U patent/DE202007018142U1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2008
  • 2008-12-17 AU AU2008340701A patent/AU2008340701A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-12-17 CA CA2712592A patent/CA2712592A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-12-17 EA EA201001046A patent/EA201001046A1/ru unknown
  • 2008-12-17 KR KR1020107016449A patent/KR20100126663A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2008-12-17 WO PCT/EP2008/010734 patent/WO2009080260A1/de active Application Filing
  • 2008-12-17 JP JP2010538446A patent/JP2011508163A/ja active Pending
  • 2008-12-17 EP EP08863678A patent/EP2229551A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-12-17 CN CN200880127210XA patent/CN101946113B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-12-17 US US12/809,973 patent/US20110005639A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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