GB2189321A - Steam trap operation judging device - Google Patents

Description

1 GB 2 189 321 A

SPECIFICATION prediction of a repair or replacement period.

Tosolvethis problem,the present invention Steam trap operation judging device provides a device with which the operation of each trap is judged and the steam leakage is measured This invention relates to a stea m tra p operation 70 and stored by-means of a steam leakage detector; judging device which judges the operating condition the aforesaid 'stored data are transmitted to a host of steam traps, that is, whether or notthe steam traps computer, which records and displays a result of the are leaking steam, or measures the leakage of steam. judgement of the operation and leakage of each trap, A steam trap is mounted on steam lines or summation and analysis of total leakage at all traps equipment using steam and permits the automatic 75 and the leakage in terms of cost or rejection rate, and removal of collected water withoutthe leakage of a change in each steam trap with time.

steam. As a result of increasing cost of fuel, more The function of the aforementioned technological and more strict demands are at present imposed on means will be described below.

the monitoring of steam leaks. The avoidance of The judgement of the operation of each steam trap steam leakage has now become a prerequisite for 80 and the measurement of steam leakage are the employment of a steam trap. Steam pipelines, performed bythe steam leakage detector. A result of after installation, are strictly monitored; and a steam this judgement of the operation and measurement of trap which is leaking steam is repaired or replaced leakage is once stored in the storage section of the forthwish. steam leakage detector, and afterthe check of all There have been developed and putto practical 85 steam traps,the data stored aretransmitted to the usevarious types of steam trap leakage detectors. hostcomputer.

For instance, a sightwindow is provided in the The host computer records and displays a resultof pipeline on the outietside of the steam trapto allow thejudgement of the operation of, and leakage at, the visual observation of the state of a fluid inside, each steam trap, the necessary totalization and and also a temperature gauge and vibrometerare 90 analysis of thetotal leakage at all traps and the employed to measurethe surface temperature of the leakage in terms of costand rejection rate, and a steam trap and the sound caused bythefluid flowing change in the leakage at each steam trap withtime.

through it. In this way, printing, totalization and analysis of a In eithercase, the state of leakiness of the steam resultof checkups can automatically and correctly be trap was determined qualitively only, and the 95 carried out and accordinglythe maintenance control quantitative measurement of leakage could not be of steam traps can easily be performed. Also, asthe made. Therefore, the judgement of the degree of change of leakage with time is recorded and leakage had to be dependent on the operator's displayed, the time of repair or replacement can insight. automatically be known by predetermining the time It is accordingly an object of the present invention 100 of repair or replacement on the basis of leakage.

to provide simple steam trap leakage detectors. Manual operations for inputting into the computer One of the known detectors is proposed in can be saved by reading, with a bar-code reader,the Japanese patent application no. 61-57499. That trap number and type of each steam trap printed on a concerns an invention for determining steam bar-code provided on each steam trap.

leakage on the basis of a correlation between 105 The particular effect achieved with the present vibrations by using a steam pressure as a parameter invention will now be elucidated.

and the steam leakage that has been measured and Sincethe result of the checkups is automatically stored in advance by placing a detector with built-in recorded, totalized and printed bythe host vibration and temperature sensors onthe outside computer, manual workcan be dispensedwith, surface of a casing ofthe steamtrap. 110 enabling worksaving and standardization.

Another device, proposed in Japanese patent Furthermore, since changes in steam leakage at application no. 61-56521, is disposed between the the steam trap with time are recorded and displayed, steam supply end and the steam trap, and the steam defective parts can be found and repaired or leakage is determined from a correlation between replaced in good time, which can preventthewaste the quantity of steam passing through an orifice and 115 of production cost, and contribute toward energy a water level on its primary side. saving.

The aforementioned device is capable of judging One preferred embodiment according to the the operation of each steam trap and measuring present invention will now be described, by way of steam leakage, but cumbersome manual operation example, with reference to the accompanying single is required forthe preparation of a list of results of 120 figure of the drawing.

operation judgement and leakage measurement, Figure 1 is a schematic drawing showing the and forthe summation of leakage and the constitution of a steam trap operation judging device totalization and analysis of leakage in terms of cost of the present invention.

or rejection rate. In addition, repair or replacement of The steam trap operation judging device of the a trap which leaks steam is carried out after 125 present invention, as shown, comprises a steam checkups, and accordingly could not be positive leakage detector 1, an arithmetic display device 2 maintenance of the steam traps. and a host computer3.

The technical problem underlying the present Atrap operation detecting section 10 is formed at invention therefore, isto enablethe automatic one end of the detector 1 and a bar-code reader 11 at totalization and analysis of checkup data and the 130 the other end.

2 GB 2 189 321 A 2 The bar-code reader 11 readsthetrap numberand type and inputsthis data into a microcomputer 6 of the arithmetic display device 2. A signal received by theoperation detecting section 10 istransmittedto the arithmetic display device 2through a cable 12, amplified byan amplifier4, digitallyconverted byan analog/digital converter5, andthen fed intothe microcomputer& The microcomputer6 computesthe presence or absence of leaks andthe leakage, displays this data onthe displaysection 7 and, atthe sametime,stores in a storagesection 8the data regardingthe judgement of the number and type, operation, and leakage of each trap. After all steam traps have been checked,the measured data stored in the storage section 8 are sentfrom a data transmitter section 9 through a cable 13 to the host computer& The host computer 3 records and displaysthe result of the judgement of the operation and leakage of each trap, the summation and analysis of thetotal leakage of all traps and leakage in terms of cost or rejection rate, and changes in each steam trap with time.

Although the present invention has been described byway of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, it is to be noted thatvarious changes and modifications will be apparentto those skilled in the art, and thatthe protection claimed includes such changed and modified embodiment as are within the reach of the skilled workerwithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (3)

1. A steam trap operation judging device characterized in thatthe operation of each steam trap and steam leakage are measured and stored by a steam leakage detector; and the stored data are transferred to a host computer, which records and displays the summation of the leakage at all steam traps, the totalization and analysis of the leakage in terms of cost or rejection rate, and a change of each of said steam traps with time.

2. A steam trap operation judging device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a bar-code reader is mounted on said steam leakage detector, for reading the trap number and type of each steam tra p.

3. A steam trap operation judging device substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawing.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Croydon Printing Company (U K) Ltd,8187, D8991685. Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.