JP2003329200A - Safety valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety valve wherein positioning is easily done when it is connected to a gas discharge pipe, and fastening to secure the closeness is not needed. <P>SOLUTION: This safety valve comprises a first main body 10 having a gas inlet 11 connected to a gas escape passage 3 from a gas cylinder, and a second main body 20 having a gas outlet 21 connected to the discharge pipe 4. The gas inlet 11 and the gas outlet 21 are communicated with each other by a communication passage 7 formed over the first main body 10 and the second main body 20, and the communication passage 7 is sealed by a safety member 30 mounted in the first main body 10. The second main body 20 is externally fitted to the first main body 10 rotatably in a closed state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a safety valve used for a gas container such as a gas cylinder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a safety valve of this type has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
-281398. As shown in FIG. 1 (A) of the same document, this safety valve presses the second body against the first body by a nut member and connects and fixes both.

Such a safety valve is a discharge port of the safety valve with respect to a discharge pipe when the gas cylinder is replaced or when the gas cylinder is regularly inspected internally and the safety valve is temporarily removed and refastened after the completion of the internal inspection. Even if the connection angle of the (gas outlet) is misaligned, the second body of the safety valve can be swung to a position that matches the discharge pipe by loosening the nut member, so connection work with the discharge pipe is easy and reliable. It is excellent in that it can However, there is still room for improvement in the following points.

[0004]

That is, in the above safety valve, the tightness between the first body and the second body is ensured by pressing the second body against the first body by the nut member. Safety valve discharge port (gas outlet)
It was necessary to tighten the nut member after connecting with the discharge pipe. However, if the nut member is tightened with an excessively strong force (torque) to secure the tightness, an unreasonable force (torque) may be applied to the connection portion between the safety valve and the discharge pipe.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration. That is, the invention of claim 1 is a safety valve connected between the gas escape passage 3 from the gas container 2 and the discharge pipe 4 for guiding the gas in the gas escape passage 3 to the external space. Comprises a first body 10 having a gas inlet 11 connected to the gas escape passage 3 and a second body 20 having a gas outlet 21 connected to the discharge pipe 4, 2 body 20
The gas inlet is provided by a communication passage 7 formed over
11 and the gas outlet 21 communicate with each other, and the first main body
The communication passage 7 is sealed by a safety member 30 provided inside the second main body 20, and the second main body 20 is a hermetically sealed state in the first main body 10.
Moreover, it is characterized in that it is fitted so as to be rotatable.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the first body 10 is provided with a turning restraint means 5, and the turning restraint means 5 can restrain the turning of the second body 20. Is characterized by.

[0007]

(Advantageous Effects of the Invention) (Invention of Claim 1) In the invention of Claim 1, the second main body 20 is externally fitted to the first main body 10, so that the tightness between the two can be maintained. ,
It is also possible to secure the swivelability of the second body 20 with respect to the first body 10. Therefore, at the time of connecting the safety valve 1 and the discharge pipe 4, even if the connection angle of the gas outlet 21 of the safety valve 1 with respect to the discharge pipe 4 is deviated, only the second main body 20 needs to be swung. Not only does the connection work between the safety valve 1 and the discharge pipe 4 become easy and quick, but also after connecting the safety valve 1 to the discharge pipe 4, it is not necessary to tighten a nut member or the like to secure the tightness. There is no concern that a heavy load will be applied to the connection portion between the safety valve 1 and the discharge pipe 4 due to excessive tightening.

(Invention of Claim 2) The invention of Claim 2 has the following effect in addition to the effect of the invention of Claim 1. That is, since the turning restraint means 5 is provided on the first body 10 and the turning restraint means 5 can restrain the turning of the second body 20, the safety restraint 1 is connected to the discharge pipe 4 by the turning restraint means 5. If the rotation of the second main body 20 is restrained, there is no concern that the safety valve 1 wobbles with respect to the discharge pipe 4.
Therefore, it is possible to meet the demand for fixing the safety valve 1 to the discharge pipe 4.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view when the safety valve of the first embodiment is used in a gas cylinder for a natural gas vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the safety valve 1 of this first embodiment comprises a first body 10 and a second body 20. The first main body 10 has a nozzle mounting hole 13 in the left side portion thereof, and has a gas inlet 11 in the nozzle mounting hole 13. This first body 10
A body connecting hole 12 is formed in the body of the body. In this embodiment, four body part communication holes 12 are provided.

Inside the first body 10 is a first passage portion 7a.
Is formed, and the gas inlet 11 and the body communication hole 12 are communicated with each other. The first passage portion 7a is sealed with a safety member 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the safety member 30 includes a low melting point alloy 31, a piston 32, and a compression spring 33. The low melting point alloy 31 melts when the temperature rises above a predetermined temperature, and the compression spring
As the piston 32 is pushed by the spring force of 33 and the gas pressure, it is discharged from the alloy discharge hole 36 to the adjacent storage chamber 37. And the piston 32 is a low melting point alloy 31
Is discharged, the first passage portion 7a is opened.
Reference numeral 38 is a cap of the storage chamber 37.

On the other hand, the second body 20 has a gas outlet 21 connected to the discharge pipe 4. The second main body 20 is fitted on the first main body 10 so as to be rotatable. An outer peripheral passage 7b is formed between the first main body 10 and the second main body 20. Also, the second body
A second passage portion 7c is bored inside 20. The outer peripheral passage 7b communicates with the gas outlet 21 through the second passage portion 7c. The gas inlet 11 and the gas outlet 21 described above are communicated with each other by a communication passage 7 formed so as to extend across the first main body 10 and the second main body 20. This communication path 7 is the first
It comprises a passage portion 7a, a body connecting hole 12, an outer peripheral passage 7b and a second passage portion 7c. The first body 10 and the second body
The tightness with the main body 20 is ensured by the first seal member 45 and the second seal member 46.

The safety valve 1 operates as follows. That is, when the low melting point alloy 31 is in the solid state, the piston 32 seals the first passage portion 7a. On the other hand, when the safety valve 1 is heated to a predetermined temperature or higher and the piston 32 discharges the low melting point alloy 31 into the storage chamber 37, the first passage portion 7a formed inside the first main body 10 causes the gas inlet 11 and the body portion. The communication hole 12 communicates. As a result, the first passage portion 7a, the body connecting hole 12, the outer peripheral passage 7b, and the second passage portion 7 are formed.
The gas inlet 11 and the gas outlet 21 communicate with each other through c and the order.

As shown in FIG. 1, a swivel restraint nut 5, which is swivel restraint means, is screwed onto the first main body 10. When the turning restraint nut 5 is tightened, the turning of the second main body 20 is restrained via the ring member 40. In this case, the turning restraint nut 5 only needs to restrain the turning of the second body 20, and does not need to be excessively tightened.

Next, the case where the safety valve 1 thus constructed is used in the gas cylinder 2 for a natural gas vehicle will be described. FIG. 2 shows a case where two safety valves 1 are used for one gas cylinder 2. Each safety valve 1A on the right side of FIG. 2 is attached to the gas cylinder 2 itself.
On the other hand, each safety valve 1B on the left side is attached to the container valve 6, respectively. In either case, the gas inlet 11 of the safety valve 1
Is connected to a gas escape passage 3 communicating with the gas cylinder 2.
Further, the gas outlet 21 of the safety valve 1 is connected to the discharge pipe 4.
The discharge pipe 4 communicates with an external space (not shown). In addition,
Reference numeral 8 indicates a supply pipe for supplying the gas in the gas cylinder 2 to an engine (not shown).

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the second embodiment. The same elements and members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the structure of the second main body 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the second body 20 of the second embodiment has two gas outlets 21.
Have. These two gas outlets 21 are in communication with each other. Therefore, if the safety valve 1 of the second embodiment is used in addition to the safety valve 1 of the first embodiment, piping as shown in FIG. 4 is possible, and the piping configuration of the discharge pipe 4 can be simplified.

5 and 6 show a third embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a sectional view of the third embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a right side view of FIG. However, in FIG. 6, the cap 38 is removed. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it has two gas outlets 21 communicating with each other and that the second passage portion 7c is bent at a substantially right angle. In addition,
The same reference numerals are given to the same elements and members as those in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it has two gas outlets 21 communicating with each other and that the second passage portion 7c is inclined. In addition,
The same reference numerals are given to the same elements and members as those in the first embodiment.

As described above, in each of the above embodiments, the second
Only the structure of the main body 20 is different, and the first main body 10 is common to all. Therefore, it is convenient to replace the second main body 20 and to deal with the discharge tubes 4 having different arrangements.

The safety valve according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Although two safety valves are provided for each gas cylinder in FIGS. 2 and 4, one safety valve may be provided. In each of the above-described embodiments, the safety member 30 includes the low melting point alloy 31, the piston 32, and the compression spring 33, but the compression spring 33 may be omitted. Further, the safety member 30 may be composed of only the low melting point alloy 31. Furthermore, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the turning restraint means is constituted by the nut, but it may be constituted by a member other than the nut. In each of the above-described embodiments, the ring member 40 is interposed between the turning restraint nut 5 and the second main body 20, but the turning restraint nut 5 and the second main body 20 are arranged.
It may be configured to directly abut with 20. The gas container is not limited to a gas cylinder for a natural gas vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram when the safety valve according to the first embodiment is used in a gas cylinder for a natural gas vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram when each of the safety valves of the first embodiment and the second embodiment is used in a gas cylinder for a natural gas vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Gas container (gas cylinder), 3 ... Gas escape passage, 4 ... Discharge pipe, 5 ... Swirling restraint means (swirl restraining nut), 7 ... Communication passage, 10 ... First body, 11 ... Gas inlet, 20 ... Second Body, 21 ...
Gas outlet, 30 ... Safety member.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gas escape passage (3) from a gas container (2) and a discharge pipe (4) for guiding the gas in this gas escape passage (3) to an external space.
A safety valve connected between the gas inlet and the safety valve, the safety valve being connected to the gas escape passage (3).
A first main body (10) having (11) and a second main body (20) having a gas outlet (21) connected to the discharge pipe (4), and the first main body (10) and the second main body (10) The gas inlet (11) and the gas outlet (21) are provided by a communication passage (7) formed over the main body (20).
And the communication passage (7) is sealed by a safety member (30) provided in the first main body (10), and the second main body (20) is connected to the first main body (10). ) Is a hermetically sealed state and is fitted to the outside so that it can swivel freely. 2. The safety valve according to claim 1, wherein the first main body (10) is provided with a turning restraining means (5), and the turning restraining means (5) restrains turning of the second main body (20). A safety valve that has been made possible.