JP2006037759A - Compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compressor having relatively simple structure, for filling fuel gas to a vehicle with high filling efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The compressor comprises: a plurality of compression chambers constituted of cylinders 11, 21 and pistons 12, 22 and having diameters different from each other; a drive cylinder 1 having operating levers 3, 4 which are connected with the piston 2. The large-diameter compression chamber is connected in series with the small-diameter compression chamber, and cooling means 33 to 35 are connected with an exhaust port of at least one of the compression chambers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a compression apparatus suitable for a facility for filling a vehicle with fuel gas at a high pressure.

In recent years, in order to cope with environmental problems, particularly carbon dioxide emission problems, it has been promoted to use hydrogen or natural gas as a fuel as an energy source for vehicles.
Such hydrogen and natural gas, which can be obtained locally by naphtha and alcohol reforming operations and transported by lorries, are stored in high-pressure conditions suitable for filling automobiles. Due to the necessity of the structure, the cost increases and it is not possible to be an appropriate method from the viewpoint of safety.
For this reason, it is conceivable to install a compression device and compress a relatively low-pressure gas while compressing it, but the adiabatic compression increases the temperature of the gas to a high temperature, which reduces the charging efficiency of the fuel tank of the vehicle. There's a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a compression device that has a relatively simple structure and can fill a vehicle with a high filling rate.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a compression device that can compress the pressure up to twice the standard of the compression device without requiring a high pressure resistant compression device.

  In order to achieve such a subject, the invention of claim 1 is composed of a plurality of compression chambers formed of a cylinder and a piston, each having a different diameter, and a drive cylinder having an operating rod connected to the piston. The compression chamber having a diameter and the compression chamber having a small diameter are connected in series, and a cooling unit is connected to at least one exhaust port of the compression chamber.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the large-diameter compression chamber is formed by two regions partitioned by a piston on the same cylinder and connected in parallel, and the small-diameter compression chamber is connected to the same cylinder by a piston. It is formed by two partitioned regions and is connected in series via a check valve, and one region is connected to the large-diameter compression chamber.

  The invention of claim 5 communicates the exhaust port of the first compression device and the inflow port of the second compression device, and the second compression device is accommodated in a pressure-resistant container supplied with high-pressure gas, A cooling means is connected to any exhaust port of the compression device.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the high-pressure gas is an inert gas.

  According to invention of Claim 7, the exhaust port of the said 1st compression apparatus is connected to the pressure-resistant container, the inflow port of the said 2nd compression apparatus is connected to the said pressure-resistant container, Gas compressed by the first compression device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to compress in stages in at least two stages by a single drive cylinder, and the charging gas can be supplied to a vehicle or the like in a state of being reliably cooled by the cooling means, thereby increasing the filling rate. be able to.

  According to the invention of claim 4, a large amount of compressed gas supplied from the outside can be compressed to a predetermined pressure and supplied to a cylinder for high pressure compression, and can be compressed in two stages in a cylinder for high pressure compression. A total of three stages of compression is possible.

  According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, the pressure can be increased to double the pressure by using two substantially identical compression devices, and a high pressure resistant compression device is not required, thereby reducing the cost. Can do.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the running cost can be reduced by eliminating the need for a high-pressure inert gas.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a gas filling equipment using a compression apparatus of the present invention, and operating rods 3 and 4 are provided on both sides of a drive piston 2 loaded in a drive cylinder 1, respectively. A large-diameter compression cylinder 11 and compression pistons 12 and 22 loaded in a smaller-diameter cylinder 21 are connected to the ends.

  Inflow areas 7 and 8 and outlets 9 and 10 are formed in the two regions 5 and 6 with the piston 2 of the drive cylinder 1 as a boundary, and the inlets 7 and 8 are driven via switching valves V1 and V2. A working fluid storage tank 32 is connected to the pump 31 and the outlets 9 and 10 via switching valves V3 and V4.

  In the cylinder 11 that cooperates with the large-diameter piston 12 that functions as a low-pressure compressor, each region (compression chamber) defined by the piston 12 includes check valves V5 and V6 for suction, and a check valve for discharge. After being connected in parallel via V7 and V8, the former is connected to a gas supply means (not shown), and the latter is connected to the inlet of one region (compression chamber) 23 of a small diameter cylinder via a first cooling means 33. Is connected through a check valve V9 for suction.

  In the cylinder 21 cooperating with the small-diameter piston 22 functioning for high-pressure compression, one region (compression chamber) 23 partitioned by the piston 22 is connected to the first cooling means 33 via an intake check valve V9. The 2nd cooling means 34 is connected via the exhaust port of this, and the check valve V10 for exhaust.

  In addition, the other region (compression chamber) 24 partitioned by the piston 22 is connected to an exhaust port of the second cooling means 34 via an intake check valve V11 and an exhaust check valve V12. The cooling unit 35 is connected to a third cooling unit 35, and a dispenser 37 is connected to the exhaust port of the third cooling unit 35 via a pressure regulating valve 36.

  In this embodiment, when the switching valves V1 and V4 of the drive cylinder 1 are closed and the switching valves V2 and V3 are opened and the working fluid is press-fitted into the region 6 from the drive pump 31, the piston 2 moves in one direction (see FIG. In the direction of arrow A). As a result, the gas of about 2 atm supplied from the outside is compressed by the low pressure compression piston 12 to become about 12 atm, flows into the first cooling means 33, and is generated by the compression by the first cooling means 33. The heat is removed and flows into the region 23 of the high pressure compression cylinder 21 via the intake check valve V9.

  When the piston 2 of the drive cylinder 1 reaches the dead point, the switching valves V2 and V3 are closed and the switching valves V1 and V4 are opened, so that the piston 2 moves in the other direction (the direction of arrow B in the figure). The gas that has already been compressed and pressurized to about 12 atm is compressed to about 70 atm and flows into the other region (compression chamber) 24 via the second cooling means 34.

  Although the gas of about 2 atm supplied from the outside is compressed by the low pressure compression piston 12 to become about 12 atm and flows into the first cooling means 33, the piston 2 moves in the other direction (arrow B direction). Since the pressure in the region (compression chamber) 23 is rising, the check valve V9 is prevented from flowing into the region.

  Next, when the switching valves V1 and V4 of the driving cylinder 1 are closed again and the switching valves V2 and V3 are opened and the working fluid flows into the region 6 from the driving pump 31, the piston 2 moves in one direction (in the drawing, The gas of about 2 atm supplied from the outside is compressed by the low pressure compression piston 12 to about 12 atm and flows into the first cooling means 33. At this time, since the high-pressure compression piston 22 is moving in the direction of expanding the region (compression chamber) 23, the check valve V9 is opened and compressed in the region (compression chamber) 13 in the immediately preceding process. It flows into the region (compression chamber) 23 together with the gas.

  At the same time, the region (compression chamber) 24 of the cylinder 21 for high pressure compression is compressed by the piston 22, so that the 72 atm gas flowing in here is compressed to about 400 atm and heated by the third cooling means 35. After being removed, it flows into the dispenser 37.

  According to this embodiment, two cylinders and pistons having a large diameter and a small diameter are driven by a drive cylinder, and two regions (compression chambers) of the large diameter are connected in parallel to be used for low-pressure compression, and also for a small diameter. Since two regions are connected in series and used for high-pressure compression, gas can be efficiently compressed in three stages with a single drive cylinder, and cooling means are connected to the exhaust ports of each stage to generate heat. Since it removes, the pressure drop after filling can be prevented as much as possible, and the vehicle can be supplied at a high filling rate.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the drive piston 2 moves in the other direction (the direction of arrow B in the figure), the flow path connecting the check valve V8 and the check valve V9 and the cooling means 33 are used as the buffer tank. The gas exhausted from the low pressure compression cylinder 11 during compression in the region 23 of the cylinder 21 is temporarily stored, but the flow connecting the check valve V8 and the check valve V9 is It is desirable to connect a buffer tank to the road.

  In addition, when a higher pressure gas, for example, a gas having a pressure of about 800 atm, is required, the above-described compression device 40 may be further connected in series. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the latter-stage compression device 40 ′ is accommodated in the pressure-resistant container 41, and the container 41 is connected to a high-pressure inert gas source to surround the compression device 40 ′ up to about 400 atmospheres. By increasing the pressure, the same compression apparatus can be used for high-pressure compression, and the cost can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the high-pressure inert gas is injected into the pressure vessel 41. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust port 42 of the preceding compressor 40 is communicated with the pressure vessel, and the pressure vessel If the 41 gas is further compressed by the compression device 40 'accommodated therein, expensive inert gas and inert gas pressurizing means are not required.

  In the second and third embodiments, the piston type compression device is used as the compression device. However, it is obvious that the same effect can be obtained even if another type of compression device is used. The cooling means for removing heat due to adiabatic compression is preferably connected to the exhaust port at the subsequent stage.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the low-pressure compression piston and the high-pressure compression piston 12 and 22 are arranged on both sides of the working piston 2, respectively, and the sealing structure of the compression cylinders 11 and 12 is simplified and driven. Although the force is equalized, it is clear that the same effect can be obtained even if they are arranged in series on one side.

It is a figure which shows one Example of the gas filling equipment which uses the compression apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example in the case of using it for high pressure compression of the compression apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Example in the case of using it for high pressure compression of the compression apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

    DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drive cylinder 2 Drive piston 3, 4 Actuation rod 11 Large diameter compression cylinder 12 Piston 21 Small diameter cylinder 22 Piston 22, 23 Compression chamber for high pressure V1-V4 Switching valve V5-V12 Check valve 33-35 Cooling means 36 Pressure regulating valve 37 Dispenser 40, 40 'Compressor 41 Pressure vessel

Claims (8)

  It consists of a plurality of compression chambers formed of a cylinder and a piston, each having a different diameter, and a drive cylinder having an operating rod connected to the piston. The large-diameter compression chamber and the small-diameter compression chamber are connected in series. A compression device in which a cooling means is connected to at least one exhaust port of the compression chamber.   The compression apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive cylinder is driven by hydraulic pressure.   The compression apparatus according to claim 1, wherein pistons of the large-diameter compression chamber and the small-diameter compression chamber are respectively connected to one end and the other end of the operating rod.   The large-diameter compression chamber is formed by two regions partitioned by a piston in the same cylinder and connected in parallel, and the small-diameter compression chamber is formed by two regions partitioned by a piston in the same cylinder. The compressor according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is connected in series via a check valve, and one region is connected to the large-diameter compression chamber.   The exhaust port of the first compression device communicates with the inlet of the second compression device, and the second compression device is accommodated in a pressure-resistant container to which high-pressure gas is supplied. A compression device in which cooling means is connected to the exhaust port.   The compression apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the high-pressure gas is an inert gas.   The exhaust port of the first compression device is connected to the pressure vessel, and the inlet of the second compression device is connected to the pressure vessel, so that the high pressure gas is compressed by the first compression device. The compression apparatus according to claim 5, which is a gas.   The first and second compression devices include a plurality of compression chambers formed of a cylinder and a piston, each having a different diameter, and a drive cylinder having an operating rod connected to the piston, and the compression chamber having a large diameter. The compression device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the compression chamber and the small-diameter compression chamber are connected in series.

Images