JP2010231718A - Pressure regulating valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate replacement work by reducing the pressure of gas remaining in a high-pressure tank or high-pressure gas supply system. <P>SOLUTION: The pressure regulating valve 50 includes a pressure control unit which adjusts the pressure of gas remaining within a high-pressure gas supply system 100 including high-pressure tanks 22 and 24 for storing high-pressure gas, and charging pipes 12 and 14 and supply pipes 16 and 18 connected to the high-pressure tank 22 and 24. The pressure control unit includes a manual pressure control handle for adjusting the discharge pressure of the residual gas. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure regulating valve, and more particularly to a pressure regulating valve for reducing the pressure of residual gas remaining in a high pressure gas supply system including a high pressure tank.

  A fuel cell that supplies hydrogen as a fuel gas to a fuel electrode, supplies air as an oxidant gas to an oxidant electrode, generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air, and generates water at the oxidant electrode. Are known. On the other hand, high-pressure tanks that store high-pressure gas such as compressed gas or liquefied gas are widely known, such as hydrogen tanks. For example, fuel gas supply for supplying fuel gas to the fuel electrode side of the above-described fuel cell As a source, mounting a high-pressure gas supply system including such a high-pressure hydrogen tank in a vehicle together with a fuel cell has been studied (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-336726 A

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional high-pressure gas supply system including a high-pressure tank. In the high-pressure gas supply system shown in FIG. 7, the gas supplied from the filling port (not shown) to the filling-side manifold 10 is filled into the high-pressure tanks 22 and 24 via the filling pipes 12 and 14, respectively. The high-pressure gas filled in the high-pressure tanks 22 and 24 is collected in the supply-side manifold 20 via the supply pipes 16 and 18 and then pressure-adjusted as necessary. For example, the fuel electrode of the fuel cell is not shown. Supplied to the supplier. The high-pressure gas supply system shown in FIG. 7 is an exemplification, and in some cases, the filling line from the filling port (not shown) to the filling pipes 12 and 14 including the filling-side manifold 10 may be configured separately. In addition, the high-pressure tanks 22 and 24 may have one or three or more configurations.

  High-pressure tanks generally have a limited number of refills and useful lives depending on the type of gas to be filled and the strength of the tank, and the high-pressure tank and, in some cases, the high-pressure gas supply system must be replaced every predetermined period. There is a case. When replacing the high-pressure tank / high-pressure gas supply system, usually, from the viewpoint of safety, work is carried out in a specialized facility that is permitted to handle high-pressure gas, or residual gas remaining in the high-pressure tank and high-pressure gas supply system Is required to be reduced to a predetermined pressure (for example, 1 MPa (gauge pressure)) or less. For this reason, in conventional high-pressure tanks and high-pressure gas supply systems installed in vehicles, in order to reduce the residual gas to a predetermined pressure or less, it takes time to travel the vehicle, etc., except for work in specialized facilities. There is no appropriate method other than consuming gas, and there are cases where complicated work is required when replacing the high-pressure tank / high-pressure gas supply system.

  It is an object of the present invention to save time when replacing a high-pressure tank or a high-pressure gas supply system by easily reducing the pressure of the residual gas.

  The configuration of the present invention is as follows.

  (1) A pressure adjusting unit that adjusts the pressure of the residual gas remaining in the high pressure gas supply system including a high pressure tank that stores the high pressure gas and a pipe connected to the high pressure tank, and the pressure adjusting unit includes: A pressure regulating valve having a manual pressure regulating handle capable of adjusting the pressure of the residual gas.

  Since the pressure of the residual gas can be easily reduced, it is possible to save time and labor when replacing the high pressure tank or the high pressure gas supply system.

It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the high pressure gas supply system provided with the pressure regulation valve in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the principal part of the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. It is AA sectional drawing which looked at the part which interlock | cooperates according to operation of the pressure regulation handle shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure at the time of closing of the pressure regulation valve shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure at the time of the pressure reduction process by the pressure regulating valve shown in FIG. 2 (at the time of open | release). It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of a structure of a direct acting pressure reduction valve, and the principle of operation. It is a figure which shows the outline of a structure of the conventional high pressure gas supply system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a high-pressure gas supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The high-pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. 1 has substantially the same configuration as the conventional high-pressure gas supply system shown in FIG. 7 except that a pressure regulating valve 50 is provided on the downstream side.

  The pressure reducing valve is generally a pressure regulating valve that keeps the fluid pressure on the secondary side (outlet side) at or below a predetermined pressure lower than the fluid pressure on the primary side (inlet side). In JIS B8372-1982 “Pneumatic pressure reducing valve”, pressure adjusting characteristics, flow characteristics, pressure characteristics, valve leakage, pressure resistance, durability, and the like are defined as characteristics indicating the main performance of the pressure reducing valve. The pressure adjustment characteristic indicates whether the pressure can be continuously and smoothly changed within the set pressure range with respect to the rotation angle of the adjusting screw, and is a performance that indicates the ease of setting the pressure in use and the minimum width of the settable pressure. . On the other hand, the flow rate characteristic is a performance indicating a state of a pressure drop by the pressure reducing valve (a change amount of the secondary side fluid pressure with respect to the set pressure) with respect to the secondary side fluid flow rate.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a general configuration of a pressure reducing valve (direct acting pressure reducing valve) and an operation principle thereof. In FIG. 6, if the pressure reducing valve reaches an equilibrium state at the position where the valve body 34 is closed, the following equation is generally established:

[Equation 1]
F ₁ + S ₂ p ₂ = S ₁ p ₂ + S ₂ p ₁ + F ₂ (1)

From this state, assuming that the secondary pressure p ₂ drops by a certain value Δp _{2 to} open the valve body 34 by a predetermined length L and reach equilibrium, the following equation is generally established:

[Equation 2]
F ₁ −Lk ₁ + S ₂ (p ₂ −Δp ₂ ) = S ₁ (p ₂ −Δp ₂ ) + S ₂ p ₁ + F ₂ + Lk ₂
(2)

The definitions of the symbols shown in the formulas (1) and (2) are as follows:
p ₁ primary side pressure, p ₂ secondary side pressure, spring constant of k ₁ adjustment springs 26 and 28, spring constant of k ₂ valve springs 30 and 32, adjustment springs 26 and 28 at the time of setting F ₁ secondary side pressure Force, force of the valve springs 30 and 32 when the F ₂ valve body 34 is closed, effective pressure receiving area of the S ₁ diaphragm 36, pressure receiving area of the S ₂ valve body 34, and length moved from the closed state of the L valve body 34 (Height).

  From equations (1) and (2), the following relationship is obtained:

[Equation 3]
L / Δp ₂ = (S ₁ −S ₂ ) / (k ₁ + k ₂ ) (3)

As apparent from the above equation (3), the difference (S ₁ -S ₂ ) in the pressure receiving area between the diaphragm 36 and the valve body 34 shown in FIG. 6 is large, and the sum (k ₁ + k ₂ ) of the spring constant is small. more open L of the valve body 34 is increased relative to the amount of change Delta] p ₂ with the secondary pressure p _2, it can be seen that the flow characteristic is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the main part of the pressure regulating valve 50 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the AA cross section shown in FIG.

  2 includes a spring holder 60 that can move up and down, and spring members 56 and 58 that are supported by the spring holder 60 and expand and contract as the spring holder 60 moves up and down (into the adjustment springs 26 and 28 shown in FIG. 6). Corresponding to the expansion and contraction of the spring members 56, 58, and a pin 54 that adjusts the inflow of the gas remaining in the high-pressure gas supply system that is the primary side into the pressure regulating valve 50. 6), diaphragms 52 and 53 (corresponding to the diaphragm 36 shown in FIG. 6) deforming according to the pressure level of the inflowing gas, and the inflowing gas on the secondary side (not shown) And a gas discharge port 70 for discharging to the pipe, and has a basic configuration of a pressure reducing valve illustrated in FIG.

  2 includes a pressure adjustment handle 62, a pressure adjustment member 64, and a drive shaft 66 that penetrates the pressure adjustment member 64. The pressure adjusting member 64 is configured to move in a substantially horizontal direction along the drive shaft 66 in conjunction with the operation of the pressure adjusting handle 62. In the embodiment, the drive shaft 66 is processed into a male screw shape, and the inner peripheral surface of the pressure adjusting member 64 is processed into a female screw shape corresponding to the shape of the drive shaft 66. The pressure adjusting member 64 can be moved horizontally to a desired location in accordance with the accompanying rotation of the drive shaft 66.

  The pressure adjusting member 64 includes a first portion 64a having a predetermined height in the moving direction of the spring holder 60 and a second portion 64b having a height in the moving direction of the spring holder 60 smaller than the first portion 64a. Prepare. Referring to FIG. 3, the pressure adjusting member 64 is formed with a flange 64 c that slides along a guide rail 74 a provided on the cover 74. It is possible to hold the posture and move horizontally. A spherical ball 72 is inserted between a ball reservoir 60 a provided in the spring holder 60 and the pressure adjusting member 64, and the movement of the pressure adjusting member 64 along the drive shaft 66 is smooth. The pressing force between the pressure adjusting member 64 and the spring holder 60 is transmitted to each other. As shown in FIG. 3, it is also preferable to form a ball guide 64d for preventing the ball 72 from dropping off on the ball 72 side of the pressure adjusting member 64 as necessary.

  Next, in the high-pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. 1, reduction of the residual gas pressure by the pressure adjustment valve 50 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a normal configuration of the pressure regulating valve 50 shown in FIG. The spring holder 60 receives a pressing force from the first portion 64a of the pressure adjusting member 64 via the ball 72. At this time, a pin and a sheet (not shown here) are in pressure contact with each other, and the gas with the primary side Is interrupted (see FIG. 2).

  On the other hand, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a configuration at the time of pressure reduction processing by the pressure regulating valve 50 shown in FIG. As the pressure adjusting handle 62 is operated, the pressure adjusting member 64 moves in parallel as shown in FIG. At this time, based on the difference in the moving direction height of the spring holder 60 between the first portion 64a and the second portion 64b of the pressure regulating member 64, the spring holder 60 is moved from the second portion 64b of the pressure regulating member 64. So as to be received through the ball 72, the ball 72 moves upward. As the spring holder 60 moves, the pressure received by the spring members 56 and 58 is relaxed and reduced. In accordance with the reduced pressure and the pressure of the residual gas in the high-pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. 1, a pin (not shown) (see FIG. 2) is opened, and the inside of the high-pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. The gas flows in through the gas discharge port 70 and is discharged to the outside of the pressure regulating valve 50. According to the present embodiment, for example, by appropriately adjusting the shape of the pressure adjusting member 64 shown in FIG. 2 and the spring constants of the spring members 56 and 58, the residual gas in the high pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. The pressure can be reduced to a predetermined pressure or less. And after detecting that the pressure of the residual gas in the high-pressure gas supply system 100 has been reduced to a predetermined pressure or lower by the pressure sensor 25, the reduced residual gas can be appropriately discharged to the outside. .

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the pressure adjusting member 64 shown in FIG. 2 can be manually operated via the pressure adjusting handle 62. For this reason, even if the high-pressure gas supply system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is in a stopped state, the pressure of the residual gas remaining in the system can be easily reduced. Further, as another embodiment, for example, an electric operation by electric power from a power source such as a battery can be configured.

  The present invention can be used for a high-pressure gas supply system including a high-pressure tank.

  10 Filling side manifold, 12, 14 Filling pipe, 16, 18 Supply pipe, 20 Supply side manifold, 22, 24 High pressure tank, 25 Pressure sensor, 26, 28 Adjustment spring, 30, 32 Valve spring, 34 Valve body, 36, 52, 53 Diaphragm, 50 Pressure regulating valve, 54 pins, 56, 58 Spring member, 60 Spring holder, 60a Ball reservoir, 62 Pressure regulating handle, 64 Pressure regulating member, 64a First part, 64b Second part, 64c flange, 64d ball guide, 66 drive shaft, 68 seats, 70 gas discharge port, 72 balls, 74 cover, 74a guide rail, 100 high pressure gas supply system.

Claims (1)

A pressure adjusting unit that adjusts the pressure of the residual gas remaining in the high-pressure gas supply system including a high-pressure tank for storing high-pressure gas and a pipe connected to the high-pressure tank;
The pressure regulating valve, wherein the pressure regulating unit has a manual pressure regulating handle capable of adjusting a discharge pressure of the residual gas.

Images