JP2001248791A - Filling device having cylinder cooling function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filling device having a cylinder cooling function capable of filling a specified amount of gas into a cylinder with a simple operation by cooling the cylinder under being filled with the gas to suppress temperature rise due to adiabatic compression. SOLUTION: At a cylinder install portion in a cylinder filling device, a cooling flow passage in which a refrigerant for cooling a cylinder flows is provided to cool the cylinder while being filled with the gas.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling apparatus with a cylinder cooling function, and more particularly, to a filling apparatus suitable for filling a gas such as oxygen whose temperature rise is problematic during filling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Gases such as oxygen and nitrogen are supplied to a use destination in a state of being filled at a high pressure in a cylinder. When filling such a gas into a cylinder, the temperature rises due to the adiabatic compression of the gas, and the pressure changes with the rise in temperature. In the factory,
Conventionally, various devices have been devised.

[0003] On the other hand, cylinders filled with various gases have various capacities according to the demands of the places where they are used. For example, for medical oxygen, several types of cylinders are used, from a standard 47 liter cylinder to 1.1 liter, 2.4 liter, and 10 liter small volume cylinders. Further, it is preferable that the temperature rise during filling of the oxygen gas, which is a supporting gas, should be avoided as much as possible. Therefore, it is necessary to gradually fill the oxygen gas slowly to suppress the temperature rise due to adiabatic compression.

When simultaneously filling gas into such various capacity cylinders, the amount of gas to be charged changes each time. Therefore, it is not possible to select a filling pump according to the amount of gas to be charged. It was necessary to use special equipment such as For example, in a medical oxygen filling factory that handles various cylinders, for example, three types of buffer tanks are prepared, and the first buffer tank is filled with oxygen at a pressure equivalent to the final filling pressure of the cylinder, and the second buffer tank is filled with oxygen. The buffer tank is filled with oxygen at a pressure of approximately 最終 of the final filling pressure of the cylinder, and the third buffer tank is filled with oxygen at a pressure of approximately １ ／ of the final filling pressure of the cylinder. Then, oxygen is gradually transferred from the third buffer tank having the lowest filling pressure to the cylinder, and after the filling pressure of the third buffer tank becomes equal to the filling pressure of the cylinder, the second buffer tank is filled. And the transfer and filling of oxygen are performed in the same manner. And finally, the first with the highest filling pressure
Multi-stage filling such as transferring and filling oxygen from a buffer tank to a cylinder in the same manner. Therefore, there is a problem that the equipment becomes large-scale, the equipment cost is required, and the filling takes a long time.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a filling device with a cylinder cooling function which suppresses a rise in temperature due to adiabatic compression by cooling a gas-filled gas cylinder and can fill a predetermined amount of gas into the gas cylinder with a simple operation. It is intended to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a filling apparatus with a cylinder cooling function according to the present invention is used for filling a gas filling pipe for filling a gas into a cylinder, a cylinder installation part for installing a cylinder, and the like. In a cylinder filling apparatus provided with equipment, a cooling flow path through which a refrigerant for cooling the cylinder flows is provided in the cylinder installation section.

Further, in the filling device with a cylinder cooling function of the present invention, a cylinder mounting portion for mounting the cylinder in a lying state is provided in the cylinder mounting portion, and the mounting portion is formed of a hollow material. The cooling passage is formed inside the hollow member by connecting both ends to a refrigerant supply pipe and a refrigerant recovery pipe, and a cover that covers the cylinder and the cooling passage is provided in the cylinder installation portion. Features.

[0008]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a filling apparatus with a cylinder cooling function according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view, and FIG. This filling device with a cylinder cooling function has a plurality of cylinder mounting portions 12 in which cylinders 11 are arranged in a horizontal direction, and has a two-stage configuration in which the cylinders 11 are mounted on a frame 13 provided with casters 13a. In addition to the provision of the mounting portion 12 and the gas filling pipe 14, a cooling means for cooling the cylinder 11 is provided.

[0009] The cylinder mounting portion 12, which is a cylinder installation portion,
A hollow member (pipe) bent substantially in a U-shape is mounted on a support member 15 provided on a frame 13, and supports a cylinder receiving portion 16 for supporting a cylinder body and a cylinder head. And a head receiving portion 17. The cylinder mounting part 12 is formed so that the container valve 18 side of the cylinder 11 is directed toward the gas filling pipe 14 in front, and the cylinder 11 is mounted with the container valve 18 side inclined downward. I have.

The width between the opposed pipes in the body receiving portion 16 is set to a size capable of supporting a cylinder having the smallest diameter among cylinders handled by the filling device. In addition, the head receiving portion 17 prevents the cylinder 11 placed on the body receiving portion 16 from sliding down to the near side by bending the front side of the body receiving portion 16 upward according to the shape of the top of the cylinder. It is formed with a bending angle and a shape that does not hit the container valve 18. The cylinder mounting portion 12 thus formed supports the top of the mounted cylinder 11 with the head receiving portion 17 so that the position of the container valve 18 can be maintained at a substantially constant location regardless of the shape of the cylinder 11. Can be aligned.

The gas filling pipe 14 includes a main pipe 19 connected to a filling unit, a filling branch pipe 21 branched from the main pipe 19 via a filling valve 20, and a filling pipe attached to the tip of the filling branch pipe 21. The filling valve 20 and the filling fitting 22 are provided on the front side and slightly below each cylinder mounting portion 12 in consideration of the operability, the taking in and out of the cylinder 11, and the like. Further, the filling branch pipe 21 is provided with a coil portion 23 for facilitating the position adjustment of the filling fitting 22.

The filling unit is a device for performing a series of operations such as purging and filling when filling the cylinder with gas. Since the same unit as that of the related art can be used, its detailed description and illustration will be omitted. Omitted.

The cooling means has a cooling flow path formed by using a pipe of the cylinder mounting portion 12. One end of the pipe is connected to the refrigerant supply pipe 31 and the other end is connected to the refrigerant recovery pipe 32.
Connected to each other. As shown in FIG.
Pump 34 supplies refrigerant supply pipe 31 from refrigerant tank 33.
The refrigerant is supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 31 through the refrigerant flow path in the pipe to the refrigerant recovery pipe 32,
Circulates. Further, the refrigerant tank 33 is provided with a cooler 35 for adjusting the refrigerant temperature. Although various refrigerants can be appropriately selected as the refrigerant to be used, it is preferable to select a stable fluid such as water or ethylene glycol in consideration of the influence on the working environment and the like.

The cooling means formed as described above operates the pump 34 to start circulation and supply of the refrigerant after the cylinder 11 is mounted on the cylinder mounting portion 12, so that the inside of the pipe of the cylinder mounting portion 12 is formed. The gas flowing through the cylinder 11 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing therethrough, thereby indirectly cooling the gas inside.
As described above, the cylinder mounting portion 12 with which the cylinder 11 comes into contact is formed of a hollow material such as a pipe, and the cooling channel is provided in the hollow material, thereby simplifying the device configuration and reducing the manufacturing cost. be able to.

Further, by circulating and using the refrigerant in a closed circuit, the consumption of the refrigerant can be reduced, and the refrigerant is not scattered around the filling device and the working environment is not deteriorated. Depending on the size of the filling device and the type of gas to be filled, the refrigerant is ejected from the periphery of the filling device toward the cylinder 11, and the used refrigerant is caused to flow down the device and is collected from the floor. You can also.
At this time, a sheet or the like that covers the entire filling device is detachably provided, and the filling device is covered with the sheet or the like at the time of ejecting the refrigerant, so that the refrigerant can be prevented from scattering around.

By cooling the cylinder 11 in this way, it is possible to cool the cylinder 11 which has been heated by the heat generated by the adiabatic compression during gas filling, and to suppress an increase in the gas temperature during filling. A predetermined amount of gas can be charged at a predetermined pressure, and the filling speed can be increased.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a receiving tray 42 is fixed to a supporting member 41 provided on a frame, and a cylinder mounting portion 44 is installed on the receiving tray 42 via a support fitting 43.
A lid 45 which is substantially closed with respect to the receiving tray 42 is provided so as to be openable and closable by a hinge 46, and a pipe 47 serving as a coolant flow path is provided on the inner surface of the lid 45 and fixed by a fixing bracket 48. . A refrigerant supply pipe 49 for supplying and recovering a refrigerant and a refrigerant recovery pipe (not shown) penetrate the rear part of the tray 42 in a liquid-tight state, and the pipe 48 is connected to the refrigerant supply pipe. 49 and a refrigerant recovery pipe via a flexible bellows pipe 50. Further, a filling branch pipe 21 penetrates in a liquid-tight state at a rear portion of the receiving tray 42, and a filling fitting 22 is attached to a front end of the filling branch pipe 21. A handle 51 is provided on the front surface of the lid 45.

The gas filling cylinder 11 is mounted on the cylinder mounting portion 44 with the lid 45 opened, and the filling fitting 22 is mounted on the container valve 18. Next, when the lid 45 is closed and the gas filling operation is started and the supply of the refrigerant is started, the periphery of the cylinder 11 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path in the pipe 47, whereby the cylinder 11 and the charged gas are filled. The cooled gas is cooled.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a refrigerant outlet 52 at the lower end of the tray 42 and a refrigerant outlet 53 connected to the refrigerant recovery pipe, so that the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply pipe 49 to the refrigerant flow path in the pipe 47 can be supplied. The cylinder 11 is ejected from the refrigerant outlet 52 toward the cylinder 11, so that the cylinder 11 can be directly cooled by the refrigerant. The jetted refrigerant can be collected from the tray 42 through the refrigerant outlet hole 53 into the refrigerant collection pipe.

As described above, the refrigerant is blown out and the cylinder 11 is blown.
By bringing the refrigerant and the refrigerant into direct contact, it is possible to effectively cool the cylinder with a small amount of the refrigerant. At this time,
By arranging the cylinder 11 in the closed space formed by the receiving plate 42 and the lid 45, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from scattering around the apparatus, so that the working environment around the apparatus is not impaired.

The supply of the refrigerant may be performed by a liquid head from a tank installed at a high place, and the collected refrigerant may be pumped up to the tank. Further, in the above-described embodiment, each refrigerant flow path is provided in parallel with the supply pipe and the recovery pipe, but may be connected in series. Further, the form of the cylinder installation section is arbitrary, and the present invention can be applied to a filling apparatus that installs the cylinder in an upright state and charges the gas.

[0022]

As described above, according to the filling apparatus with the cylinder cooling function of the present invention, the temperature rise due to adiabatic compression during gas filling can be suppressed, and the temperature inside the cylinder can be kept substantially constant. Therefore, even when various cylinders having different capacities are simultaneously charged with gas, a predetermined amount of gas can be charged into each cylinder by monitoring the pressure.
Therefore, the equipment can be greatly simplified as compared with the case where a buffer tank is installed. In addition, the filling speed can be increased to improve the filling efficiency by shortening the filling time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a filling device with a cylinder cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part in the same manner.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... cylinder, 12 ... cylinder mounting part, 13 ... frame,
14 ... gas filling pipe, 15 ... support member, 16 ... body receiving part,
17 head receiving portion, 18 container valve, 19 main pipe, 20 filling valve, 21 filling branch pipe, 22 filling metal fitting, 23 coil part, 31 refrigerant supply pipe, 32 refrigerant collection pipe, 33 Refrigerant tank, 34, pump, 35, cooler, 41, support member, 42, receiving tray, 43, support fitting, 44, cylinder mounting part, 45, lid, 46, hinge, 47, pipe, 48
Fixing fittings, 49: refrigerant supply pipe, 50: bellows pipe, 51: handle, 52: refrigerant outlet, 53: refrigerant outlet

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Kobayashi F-16 terms in Nippon Sanso Co., Ltd. 1-16-7 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo (reference) 3E072 AA01 AB01 CA04 DA06 GA30

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder filling apparatus provided with a gas filling pipe for filling a gas into a cylinder and a filling device such as a cylinder installation section for installing a cylinder, wherein:
A filling device with a cylinder cooling function, comprising a cooling channel through which a refrigerant for cooling the cylinder flows. 2. A cylinder mounting section for mounting a cylinder in a lying state on the cylinder installation section, the mounting section being formed of a hollow material, and both ends connected to a refrigerant supply pipe and a refrigerant recovery pipe. The filling device with a cylinder cooling function according to claim 1, wherein the cooling flow path is formed inside the hollow material. 3. The filling device with a cylinder cooling function according to claim 1, wherein a cover for covering the cylinder and the cooling channel is provided in the cylinder installation portion.