JP2002181299A - Positioning device for vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability of a detector for detecting the direction of a filling port in a positioning device for positioning a gas cylinder so that the filling port of the valve of the cylinder is turned to a prescribed direction prior to the carrying of the cylinder to the filling machine of a gas filling device. SOLUTION: This device comprises a rotating device for rotating a vessel around the vertical central axis and a detector 44 for detecting the direction of the filling port 11 of the valve 10 provided on the upper surface of the vessel. The detector 44 is provided with a detection part 70 to make contact with the filling port 11 in the process of rotating the vessel around the central axis by the rotating device to detect the direction of the filling port 11. The direction of the filling port 11 is detected by the detection part 70, and the rotating device is stopped, whereby the vessel is positioned so that the filling port 11 is turned to the prescribed direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, a method of automatically loading cylinders sequentially into a gas filling apparatus and automatically filling the loaded cylinders with gas such as LPG by a filling machine of the gas filling apparatus. The present invention relates to a device for positioning a container such as a cylinder employed in a high-pressure gas filling system configured to automatically carry out a cylinder from a gas filling device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional high pressure gas filling system for automatically filling a large number of cylinders with a gas such as LPG is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-219396.
As shown in FIG. 10, the high-pressure gas filling system includes a gas filling device 81, a carry-in line 82 for carrying a cylinder into the gas filling device 81, and a carry-out line 83 for carrying out a cylinder from the gas filling device 81. . In this high-pressure gas filling system 80, empty cylinders brought into the platform are transferred to the receiving conveyor 84 of the loading line 82.
Is transferred to the carry-in conveyor 85 of the carry-in line 82, and is carried by the carry-in conveyor 85 to the carry-in device 86 before the gas filling device 81, and the cylinder is carried into the gas fill device 81 by the carry-in device 86. .

In the course of transferring an empty cylinder to the carry-in device 86 by the carry-in conveyor 85, first, the type of the cylinder (20 kg cylinder, 30 kg cylinder, 50 kg cylinder, or the like) is determined by the cylinder type reader 87. Next, the bar code attached to the cylinder is read by the identification number reader 88, and the identification number read from the bar code is referred to a computer to read the type of the cylinder, the tare weight, and the like. In the identification number reading device 88, the weight of the cylinder is measured by the weighing machine, and the remaining gas is calculated from the measured weight and the tare weight.

[0004] After passing through the identification number reading device 88, empty cylinders are transferred to the auxiliary carry-in conveyor 90, for example, 20 kg cylinders by the journalizing device 89, and those of 50 kg are transferred to the cap removing device 91 by the carry-in conveyor 85 as they are. Is transferred by the cap removing device 91,
The cap covering the valve provided at the top of the cylinder is removed. The cylinder transported by the auxiliary carry-in conveyor 90 and passed through the cap removing device 91 are positioned by the orienteering device 92 such that the filling port of the valve of the cylinder faces forward in the carry-in / transport direction A. As it is, it is carried into the gas filling device 81 by the carry-in device 86.

The gas filling device 81 comprises a rotary table 93 which rotates in the direction of arrow B about the vertical axis, and a plurality of filling machines 94 which are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the rotary table 93 in the circumferential direction. And Each filling machine 94 is installed so as to face outward in the radial direction of the rotary table 93,
The cylinder can be received from the outside of the rotary table 93 in the radial direction, and the cylinder is loaded into the filling machine 94 by the carry-in device 86 while the filling machine 94 is moving in the B direction. It is configured as follows.

The filling nozzle 95 of the filling valve of the filling machine 94 is provided so as to face radially outward of the rotary table 93. On the other hand, when the gas is filled in the cylinder by the filling machine 94, the cylinder is carried out by the carrying-out device 96 when the filling machine 94 comes to the carrying-out line 83. The unloaded cylinder is transported in the unloading and transporting direction C by the unloading conveyor 97, and the excess or deficiency check device 98 checks whether the filling amount is excessive or insufficient. If the amount is insufficient or the plugging is poor, it is removed from the discharge line 83 by the defective conveyor 100, and if the filling amount and plugging are good, the seal cap is attached to the safety valve part of the cylinder valve by the seal cap device 101, and thereafter For example, a cap is attached to a valve of a 50 kg cylinder by the cap attaching device 102.

[0007] Finally, the articles are carried out by the journalizing device 103 for each type of cylinder. The orienteering device 92 includes a rotating device for rotating the cylinder around a central axis in a vertical direction and a detecting device for detecting the direction of a valve of the cylinder, and an optical sensor is employed as the detecting device.

[0008]

In the prior art, a cylinder is loaded into the gas filling apparatus 81 in order to automate the operation of loading the cylinder into the gas filling apparatus 81 and filling the cylinder with gas. Prior to this, the direction of the filling port of the cylinder valve is corrected in accordance with the direction of the filling nozzle 95 of the filling machine 94, but an optical sensor is used to detect the direction of the filling port of the cylinder valve. Although this optical sensor itself is highly reliable, the method used (for example, repeated operation)
And the environment (e.g., dusty places, places with external light, etc.) may be less reliable,
There was a risk of malfunction.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a container positioning device that aims to improve the reliability of a detection device.

[0010]

The technical measures taken by the present invention to solve the technical problems include a rotating device for rotating the container about a vertical center axis, and a valve provided on the upper surface of the container. And a detector for detecting the direction of the filling port of the
The detector has a detecting unit that detects the direction of the filling port by contacting the filling port in the process of rotating the container around the central axis by the rotating device, and detects the direction of the filling port by this detecting unit. The container is positioned such that the filling port faces in a predetermined direction by stopping the rotating device.

Another technical means is that a container is provided with a valve on an upper surface of the container, and a handle for opening and closing the valve is provided above the valve so as to cover above a filling port of the valve. A container rotation device that rotates the container about the center axis in the vertical direction, a detector that detects the direction of the filling port of the valve, and an elevating device that moves the detector up and down. The detection body includes a detection unit that detects the direction of the filling port by contacting the filling port in a process of rotating the container around the center axis by the rotating device, and the detecting body is positioned above the container. The detecting unit is configured to enter the lower side of the handle in conjunction with the lowering operation of the elevating device for lowering from the ascending position, and the detecting unit detects the direction of the filling port and stops the rotating device. More filling port is characterized by being configured so as to position the container so as to face a predetermined direction.

Further, a supporting rod which is raised and lowered by an elevating device is provided in a vertical direction, and the supporting body suspended from the supporting rod is provided so as to pivotally support a base of the detecting body so as to be vertically swingable. , A detector is provided on the distal end side of the detector, a suspending member is provided between the support rod and the detector to suspend the distal end of the detector, and the support rod is lowered from a rising position located above the container. After the support comes into contact with the handle of the valve and the lowering of the support is restricted, the support rod is further lowered to lower the hanging member, whereby the detector swings downward by its own weight and the detection is performed. The detection unit on the tip side of the body may be configured to enter the lower side of the handle.

Further, in order to know the size and empty weight of the container, it is preferable to provide a code reader for reading a code attached to the upper portion of the container, and this code reader can be moved up and down together with the detector. If the code is not read at the time when the container is first positioned, it is preferable that the container be further rotated once. Further, after positioning the container so that the filling port of the valve faces the direction corresponding to the direction of the filling nozzle of the filling machine, the container is carried into the gas filling machine,
It is preferably used in a high-pressure gas filling system in which a gas is filled into a container from a filling nozzle of a filling machine through a filling port.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a high-pressure gas filling system 1 for automatically filling a large number of cylinders (containers) 2 with a gas such as LPG. A loading section 4 for loading an empty cylinder 2 into the filling device 3 and a cylinder 2 filled with gas;
And an unloading section 5 for unloading from the gas filling device 3.

The cylinder 2 is an ordinary pressure-resistant container, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper and lower ends are formed in a closed cylindrical shape, and a valve 10 is provided at the center of the upper surface. The valve 10 is provided with a filling port (gas outlet) 11 and a safety valve 19 protruding radially outward of the cylinder 2 from a valve body 10A having a valve body for opening and closing the valve 10 therein. On the upper end side of 10A,
A handle 20 that opens and closes the valve 10 (operates the valve body) so as to cover the filling port 11 and the safety valve 19 is provided so as to be freely rotatable about a vertical axis.

The filling port 11 has a safety valve 1 at its upper end.
9 is provided above (at a higher position) than the upper end of the reference numeral 9. An empty cylinder 2 carried in from the carry-in entrance 6 is transferred to the carry-in section 4 in the carry-in transfer direction A, and
Conveyor for transferring the gas to the gas filling device 3 side, and an orienteering code reading unit 7, a weighing unit 8, and a loading device 9 are arranged in order from the rear in the loading / transporting direction A to the front. . The empty cylinder 2 automatically or manually loaded into the loading port 6 is transported by the loading conveyor in the loading and transporting direction A, and first reaches the orienteering code reading section 7, where the cylinder 2 is moved.
The cylinder 2 is positioned (position corrected) such that the direction of the filling port 11 of the valve 10 provided on the upper part of the valve 10 is directed to a predetermined direction, and the bar code (or number or number) attached to the upper part of the cylinder 2 An identification code such as a symbol) is read.

The code read from this bar code is
The size of the cylinder 2 (for example, a 20 kg cylinder, 3
The empty weight (empty capacity) of the cylinder 2 (0 kg cylinder or 50 kg cylinder) or the like is read. If a cap is attached to the valve 10 of the cylinder 2, the cap is removed before reaching the orienteering code reader 7. Next, the cylinder 2 is transferred to the measuring section 8, where
The current weight of the cylinder 2 is measured, and the remaining gas is calculated by comparing the measured weight with the empty weight.

The gas filling device 3 has a central axis X in the vertical direction.
The rotary table 12 includes a rotary table 12 that rotates around in the direction of arrow B, and a plurality of filling machines 13 that are arranged in a circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the rotary table 12. Each filling machine 13 is installed so as to face outward in the radial direction of the rotary table 12, and is capable of receiving the cylinder 2 from the radial outside of the rotary table 12. Machine 13
The cylinder 2 is configured to be loaded by the loading device 9 in a state where the cylinder 2 is moving in the direction B.

The filling machine 13 includes
A filling nozzle is provided which is attached to the filling port 11 of the cylinder 2 inserted into the tank and injects gas into the cylinder 2 from the filling port. The filling nozzle is provided so as to face inward in the radial direction of the rotary table 12. Have been. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the orientation of the filling port 11 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2 in the orienteering code reading section 7 is changed so as to face rearward in the transport direction A. The unloading section 5 is provided with an unloading conveyor for transferring the cylinder 2 from the gas filling device 3 to the unloading port 14 in the unloading transfer direction C, and also has the unloading device 15 and the gas filling amount checking section 1.
6, gas leak check unit 17 and seal cap device 18
Are sequentially arranged from the rear in the unloading / transporting direction C to the front.

When the gas is filled into the cylinder 2 by the filling machine 13, when the filling machine 13 comes to a position substantially opposite to the carrying-out device 15, the cylinder 2 is taken out by the carrying-out device 15.
Is taken out, the taken-out cylinder 2 is transferred by the unloading conveyor in the unloading transfer direction C, and the gas filling amount checking unit 16 checks whether the gas filling amount is excessive or insufficient. It is checked whether or not the filling amount and the closure are good, and the seal cap is attached to the safety valve 19 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2 by the seal cap device 18.
A cap is attached to the valve 10 of the g cylinder 2 by a cap attaching device, and the valve 10 is discharged from the carry-out port 14.

It should be noted that the case where the filling amount is insufficient or the plugging is insufficient is appropriately excluded. The orienteering code reader 7 has a cylinder 2 as shown in a rear view in FIG.
An orienteering device 21 for correcting the direction of the filling port 11 of the valve 10 and a code reading device 22 for reading a code such as a bar code attached to the cylinder 2 are provided. In the following description, the front of the carry-in transfer direction A is referred to as front, the rear of the carry-in transfer direction A is referred to as rear, the left side is referred to as the front of the carry-in transfer direction A, and the right side is referred to as the forward of the carry-in transfer direction A. Is called the right side.

The orienteering device 21 has a device frame 23 which is formed in a rear view portal shape and is installed so as to straddle the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in portion 4, and a detecting device 24 which detects the direction of the filling port 11 of the cylinder 2. An elevating device 25 for elevating and lowering the detecting device 24, a chucking device 26 for rotatably holding the cylinder 2 around its central axis Y, and a rotating device 27 for rotating the cylinder 2 around its central axis Y. It has. The elevating device 25 includes guide rods 28 that are vertically arranged and supported by the device frame 23.
And an elevating frame 29 supported by the guide rod 28 so as to be able to move up and down, and a driving means 30 constituted by an actuator such as an air cylinder for moving the elevating frame 29 up and down.

A supporting frame 31 is attached to the elevating frame 29 of the elevating device 25 so as to be rotatable about an axis Z in the vertical direction.
The detection device 24 is attached so as to be movable in the left-right direction (horizontal direction or horizontal direction orthogonal to the vertical direction). Accordingly, the position of the detection device 24 can be adjusted around the axis Z and can be adjusted in the left-right direction (lateral direction). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7 (in FIGS. 4 and 6, the upper side of the drawing shows a view from the front, and the lower side of the drawing shows the left side from the left side. A slider 33 supported movably in the left-right direction on a guide rail 32 provided on a support frame 31; a support rod 34 fixed to the slider 33 in a downwardly extending shape; A support 72 suspended from the support rod 34 and a detector 4 provided on the support 72
4 and a limit switch 53 attached to the slider 33.

A cylindrical body 35 is fitted on the support rod 34 so as to be movable vertically (axially) and non-rotatably about the axis. Retaining member 36 for preventing the lowering member 34 from falling down
Has been fixed. Further, a flange member 37 is fixed to the cylindrical body 35, and a sensor cup 38 which can be fitted over the handle 20 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2 from above is disposed below the flange member 37 at a predetermined interval. ing. The sensor cup 38 has a cylindrical side wall 38a.
, And a substantially circular upper wall 38b, and the upper wall 38b of the sensor cup 38 is connected to the flange member 37 via a plurality of connecting members 39.

At the center side of the upper wall 38b of the sensor cup 38, a contact member 40 which contacts the upper surface of the handle 20 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2 rotates about a vertical axis via a bearing 41. It is provided freely. Also,
A tapered guide surface 43 is formed on a lower inner peripheral side of the side wall 38 a of the sensor cup 38 so as to expand downward. The support body 72 is composed of the cylindrical body 35, the flange member 37, the sensor cup 38, the connection 39, and the like.

The detector 44 is provided on the upper surface of the sensor cup 38 so as to be pivotable up and down with its base side pivotally supported. The detection body 44 includes a swing lever 47, a support arm 48, a holding member 49, a switch 50 held by the holding member 49, a pushing member 51, and a sensing member 52. The swing lever 47 has a lower end side (a base side of the detection body 44) rotatably supported by a bracket 45 fixed to a front portion of the upper surface of the sensor cup 38 through a support shaft 46 around a left-right axis. Have been.

The support arm 48 is provided on the upper end side of the swing lever 47 so as to protrude rearward, and is located above the contact member 40. The holding member 49 is connected to the front base 4.
9a is fixed to the rear end side of the support arm 48, and the middle part extends rearward from the base to form the switch mounting part 49.
b, and the rear portion extends downward from the middle portion to form a sensing member holding portion 49c. The swing lever 4
7, the support arm 48 and the holding member 49 may be integrally formed.

One end of a suspending member 54 composed of a tension coil spring or the like is locked on the rear side (the base 49a of the holding member 49 in the illustrated example) of the detecting body 44.
The other end of 4 is locked to the retaining member 36,
The rear portion of the detection body 44 is suspended by the suspension member 54. A space 55 is formed in the holding member 49 from the middle part to the rear part, and the switch 50 is attached to the switch holding part 49 b so that the contact 50 a of the switch 50 projects into the space 55.

A pushing member 51 is accommodated in the space 55 so as to be vertically movable, and the contact member 50a of the switch 50 can be pushed by the pushing member 51. The sensing member 52 is held by the sensing member holding portion 49c so as to be vertically movable, and the upper end of the sensing member 52 is fixed to the pushing member 51. The lower end of the sensing member 52 is the lower end of the sensing member holding portion 49c. (The end of the holding member 49). Further, the sensor cup 38 has a cutout 56 for avoiding interference with the holding member 49.

The limit switch 53 is provided with a roller 53b at the lower end of a lever 53a rotatable about a horizontal axis. The roller 53b comes into contact with the flange member 37. Is rotated so that the limit switch 53 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 3, the chucking device 26 includes a pair of left and right holding members 57 that are located on the left and right sides of the cylinder 2 and that rotatably hold the cylinder 2 around the center axis Y.

The holding body 57 is provided with a pair of front and rear rollers 59 provided on the support frame 58 facing the cylinder 2 vertically, and each of the rollers 59 is supported by the support frame 58 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The support frame 58 is supported by a support body 60 fixed to the apparatus frame 23 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and the holding body 57 is freely movable toward and away from the cylinder 2. Each holding body 57 is connected to the upper end side of a swing lever 62 via a link 61, and a middle portion of the swing lever 62 is connected to a frame 6 of the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in section 4.
3 is rotatably supported around a longitudinal axis through a support shaft 64 and the like. One end of an interlocking rod 65 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the swing lever 62. The end side is pivotally connected to the outer peripheral side of the rotating body 66 that rotates about the vertical axis.

In the chucking device 26, the holding body 57 is separated from the cylinder 2 as shown in FIG.
When the rotating body 66 is rotated by a driving means such as a motor, the lower end side of the swing lever 62 is pushed in the direction of arrow D in FIG. Swing in the direction of arrow E of 3 to link 6
1, the holding body 57 is pushed and moved so that the holding body 57 approaches the cylinder 2, the roller 59 contacts the cylinder 2, and the cylinder 2 is rotatably supported around the center axis Y. It is configured.

When the rotating body 66 is rotated in the opposite direction, the holding member 57 is separated from the cylinder 2 by the operation opposite to the above operation. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotating device 27 is supported on a frame 63 or the like of the carry-in conveyor of the carry-in section 4 via a support 69 and includes a lifter 67 such as an air cylinder that lifts the cylinder 2 from the carry-in conveyor. And a drive means 68 such as a motor for rotating the lifter 67 about the vertical axis. The rotating device 27 is configured such that the cylinder 2 is rotated around the central axis Y by lifting the cylinder 2 by the lifter 67 and driving the driving means 68 in the lifted state.

In the orienteering device 21 having the above-described structure, when the detecting device 24 is at a raised position (retracted position) located above the cylinder 2 as shown in FIG. 3, the solid line in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cylindrical body 3 is provided on the upper surface of the retaining member 36 at the lower end of the support rod 34.
5 is in contact with the lower end, and the support 72, that is, the sensor cup 38 and the detector 44 are suspended from the support rod 34. In addition, the detection body 44 includes a hanging member 54.
In a state of being lifted. In this state, the cylinder 2 is placed in the orienteering code reading section 7.
The cylinder 2 is lifted from the carry-in conveyor by the lifter 67 of the rotating device 27, and the cylinder 2 is held by the left and right holding members 57 of the chucking device 26.
Is restrained from moving left and right and from moving back and forth, and the center axis Y
It is supported rotatably around.

Next, the lifting frame 29, the support frame 3
1 and the detecting device 24 are lowered, and the sensor cup 38 covers the handle 20 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2 from above,
When the contact member 40 of the sensor cup 38 contacts the upper surface of the handle 20 and the contact member 40 contacts the upper surface of the handle 20, the lowering of the sensor cup 38 and the detection body 44 is restricted. In this state, the lower end of the sensing member holding portion 49c of the holding member 49 and the lower end of the sensing member 52 are located on the outer side of the handle 20 of the valve 10 in the cylinder 2 radial direction. When the switch 53 further descends, the suspending member 54 that suspends the rear part of the detecting body 44 also descends.
As shown in (2), the detecting body 44 swings downward around the support shaft 46 by its own weight, and the lower end portion of the sensing member holding portion 49c enters the lower side of the handle 20.

On the other hand, the roller 53 of the limit switch 53
8 contacts the upper surface of the flange member 37, and as shown in FIG.
Is located between the upper end G of the safety valve 19 and the upper end G of the safety valve 19, the limit switch 53 is turned on, the driving means 30 of the elevating device 25 stops, and the lowering of the support rod 34 and the like stops. Next, the driving means 68 of the rotating device 27 is driven, and the cylinder 2 rotates in one direction around the center axis Y.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the filling port 11 comes into contact with the lower end of the sensing member holding portion 49c of the detecting body 44, and is pressed by the filling port 11 to swing the detecting body 44 upward.
The lower end of the sensing member holding portion 49c moves to the top of the filling port 11, and the sensing member 52 is gradually pressed and pushed up by the filling port 11. When the pressing member 51 is pushed up by the sensing member 52, the pressing member 51 presses the contact 50a of the switch 50, and when the switch 50 is turned on, the filling port 11 is directed rearward. The rotation device 27 is detected by the detection signal of the switch 50 and
Is stopped, and the rotation of the cylinder 2 is stopped.

Accordingly, the lower end portion of the sensing member holding portion 49c and the sensing member 52 (the tip portion of the detector 44) is a detecting portion 70 which comes into contact with the filling port 11 and detects the direction of the filling port 11. . As described above, the cylinder 2
The filling port 11 of the valve 10 is positioned so as to face a predetermined direction (the rear of the carrying-in / transporting direction A). Cylinder 2
Is positioned, the restraint of the cylinder 2 by the holding body 57 is released, the cylinder 2 is placed on the carry-in conveyor, and the detection device 24 is further raised.

Next, in this state, the cylinder 2 is transferred to the gas filling device 3 side. In the above configuration, the sensing member 52 is constituted by the switch 50, and the contact 50a of the switch 50 is configured to protrude from the lower end of the sensing member holding portion 49c. The filling port 11 may be detected. In addition, in order to detect the direction of the filling port 11 of the valve 10 of the cylinder 2, for example, after lowering the detection body and positioning it in the vertical direction, the detection body is moved in the horizontal direction, so that the tip of the detection body can be detected. A structure in which the detection unit is inserted below the handle may be employed, but in this case, a drive mechanism for moving the detection body in a lateral direction is required, and the structure is complicated. According to the present embodiment, the detection unit 70 of the detection body 44 can be located at the detection position below the handle 20 only by the lowering operation of lowering the detection device 24 by the lifting device 25, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the cost. Reductions are being made.

As shown in FIG. 3, the code reading device 22 includes a code reader 71 for reading a bar code or the like attached to the cylinder 2, the elevating device 25, the chucking device 26, and the rotating device 27. And a height positioning mechanism including the limit switch 53, the sensor cup 38, and the like. The lifting device 25, the chucking device 26, the rotating device 27, and the height positioning mechanism are the same as those of the orienteering device 21. Used and conventional code reader (identification number reader)
As compared with a device having a separate and orienteering device, the system is made more compact, the structure is simplified, the cost is reduced, and the like.

The code reader is attached to a lifting frame 29 of a lifting device 25, and is configured to descend together with the detection device 24 to a position where a bar code or the like attached to the upper side of the cylinder 2 can be read. The code is read during the rotation of the cylinder 2 or when the cylinder 2 is positioned. If the position where the barcode is attached is determined so that the barcode can be read by the code reader 22 at the position where the cylinder 2 is positioned, the code can be surely read. In the present embodiment, if the bar code cannot be read when the cylinder 2 is first positioned,
The cylinder 2 is rotated once again about the center axis Y, and is controlled so that the bar code can be read reliably.

In this embodiment, the cylinder 2 is configured such that the filling port 11 is positioned so as to face the rear of the carry-in / transport direction A. However, as shown in the conventional example, the filling machine 13 is used. Of the filling nozzle of the rotary table 12
If it is configured to face outward in the radial direction of
1 is configured so as to face forward in the carrying-in transfer direction A, and the direction of the filling port 11 is directed to a direction corresponding to the direction of the filling nozzle of the filling machine 13. Further, the present invention is not limited to being adopted in the high-pressure gas filling apparatus in the above-described embodiment, but can be adopted in other fluid filling systems for filling a container with a fluid.

[0043]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rotating device for rotating a container about a vertical central axis, and a detector for detecting the direction of a filling port of a valve provided on the upper surface of the container. Has a detection unit that detects the direction of the filling port by contacting the filling port in the process of rotating the container about the center axis by the rotating device, and detects the direction of the filling port by this detecting unit, With the configuration in which the container is positioned so that the filling port faces in a predetermined direction by stopping the rotating device, there is an effect that reliability is improved and maintenance is easy.

In addition, when the container is transferred to the positioning position or when the container is transferred after positioning, the detection object is an obstacle when it is at the detection position. In such a case, the detection body can be retracted to a raised position located above the container, but a valve is provided on the upper surface of the container, and the valve is opened / closed above the valve. When positioning the cylinder provided so that the handle to be plugged covers the filling port of the valve, simply lowering the detection object simply moves the detection part of the detection object to the detection position on the lower side of the handle. Can not be located.

Therefore, a rotating device for rotating the container about the center axis in the vertical direction, a detector for detecting the direction of the filling port of the valve, and an elevating device for raising and lowering the detector are provided. A detector for detecting the orientation of the filling port by contacting the filling port in the process of rotating the container around the center axis by the rotating device, and lowering the detector from a raised position located above the container; In conjunction with the lowering operation of the device, the detecting portion is configured to enter the lower side of the handle, and the direction of the filling port is detected by this detecting portion, and the filling device turns to a predetermined direction by stopping the rotating device. With such a configuration that the container is positioned, the orientation of the filling port can be favorably detected by the contact sensor.

Further, if the detecting portion of the detecting body is positioned below the handle of the valve of the container by a driving means different from the lifting / lowering device, the structure becomes complicated. Therefore, a support rod that is raised and lowered by an elevating device is provided in the up-down direction, and the base suspended by the support rod is provided on the support body so as to pivotally support the base of the detection body, and the detection body is vertically swingable. A detection unit is provided on the distal end side of the container, a suspending member for suspending the distal end side of the detector is provided between the support rod and the detector, and the support rod is lowered from a raised position located above the container to support the detector. After the body comes in contact with the handle of the valve and the lowering of the supporting body is restricted, the supporting body is further lowered to lower the suspension member, whereby the detecting body swings downward by its own weight and the tip of the detecting body Since the side detecting portion is configured to enter the lower side of the handle, it can be configured with a simple structure and can be provided at low cost.

When the container positioning device is employed in a high-pressure gas filling system for automatically filling a container with gas, a code for reading a code attached to the upper portion of the container to know the size and empty weight of the container. A reader is provided, the code reader includes a code reader for reading a code, a lifting device for raising and lowering the code reader,
A rotating device or the like for rotating the container around the central axis is required, and if a container determining device and a code reader are separately provided, the system will be increased in size and cost will be increased.

Therefore, by making the code reader movable up and down together with the detection body, a rotating device, an elevating device and the like can be used, and the system can be made compact. Also, in the container positioning device of the above configuration, while the container does not rotate too much, the container may be positioned,
If the code reader is movable up and down together with the detection object, the code may not be read. In other words, if the position where the code is attached is determined so that the code can be read at the position where the container is positioned, the code can be read reliably, but the position where the code is attached may vary,
If the container does not rotate too much, the code may not be read.

Therefore, if the code is not read at the time when the container is first positioned, the container is further rotated by one turn so that the code reader can be moved up and down together with the detection body. The code can be read reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a high-pressure gas filling system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of an orienteering code reading unit.

FIG. 4 is a composite diagram of a detection device in which an upper portion shows a front surface and a lower portion shows a side surface.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a detection device.

FIG. 6 is a composite diagram of a detection device in which an upper portion indicates a front surface and a lower portion indicates a side surface.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a detection device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a detection portion of a detection device is inserted below a handle of a valve.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a process of detecting the direction of the filling port of the valve.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional high-pressure gas filling system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 High-pressure gas filling system 2 Cylinder (container) 10 Valve 11 Filling port 20 Handle 25 Elevating device 27 Rotating device 34 Support rod 44 Detector 54 Suspended member 70 Detector 71 Code reader 72 Supporter Y Center axis

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A rotating device for rotating a container about a center axis in a vertical direction, and a detector for detecting the direction of a filling port of a valve provided on an upper surface of the container, wherein the detector is configured to rotate the container by the rotating device. A detecting unit for detecting the direction of the filling port by contacting the filling port in the process of rotating the rotating device about the center axis, and detecting the direction of the filling port by this detecting unit to stop the rotating device. A container positioning device characterized in that the container is positioned so that the filling port faces a predetermined direction. 2. A container positioning device for positioning a container provided with a valve on an upper surface of the container and a handle for opening and closing the valve provided above the valve so as to cover above a filling port of the valve. A rotating device for rotating the container about a center axis in the vertical direction, a detector for detecting the direction of the filling port of the valve, and an elevating device for lifting and lowering the detector, the detector includes a rotating device. An elevating device that includes a detection unit that contacts the filling port and detects the direction of the filling port in a process of rotating the container around the center axis by the device, and lowers a detection body from a rising position located above the container. The detector is configured to enter the lower side of the handle in conjunction with the downward movement of the handle. The detector detects the direction of the filling port and stops the rotating device so that the filling port moves in a predetermined direction. Positioning device of the container, characterized by being configured so as to position the container so as to face. 3. A support rod vertically moved by an elevating device is provided in a vertical direction, and a support suspended from the support rod is provided so as to pivotally support a base of a detection body so as to be vertically swingable. , A detector is provided on the distal end side of the detector, a suspending member is provided between the support rod and the detector to suspend the distal end of the detector, and the support rod is lowered from a rising position located above the container. After the support comes into contact with the handle of the valve and the lowering of the support is restricted, the support rod is further lowered to lower the hanging member, whereby the detector swings downward by its own weight and the detection is performed. 3. The container positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the detection unit on the tip side of the body is configured to enter a lower side of the handle. 4. To know the size and empty weight of the container,
The container positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a code reader for reading a code attached to an upper portion of the container, wherein the code reader is movable up and down together with the detector. 5. The container positioning device according to claim 4, wherein if the code is not read at the time when the container is first positioned, the container is further rotated one turn. 6. After positioning the container so that the filling port of the valve faces the direction corresponding to the direction of the filling nozzle of the filling machine, the container is carried into the gas filling machine, and the filling port is inserted from the filling nozzle of the filling machine. The container positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the container positioning device is used in a high-pressure gas filling system configured to fill a gas into a container via the container.