JP2011207487A - Valve with erroneous operation preventing function, loading arm, and method for preventing erroneous operation of valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a valve for a blow valve which is able to more securely prevent accidental LPG release when LPG is loaded, and to provide a loading arm and a method for preventing erroneous operation of a valve.SOLUTION: The valve with the erroneous operation preventing function is for the blow valve provided for a loading arm used to load LPG into an LPG lorry, A valve handle is provided with a through-hole. A hole is provided in the external face of the casing of the valve, in a place that faces the through-hole when the valve is fully closed. A hole is not provided in the external face of the casing, in a place that faces the through-hole when the valve is not fully open. A pin is provided, which fits into the hole, made in the casing external face, via the through-hole when the valve is fully closed. The loading arm has this valve as a blow valve. The method for preventing erroneous operation of a valve includes the step using this valve, in which a pin is inserted into the hole made in the casing external face of the valve via the through-hole when the valve is fully closed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a loading arm used to load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a storage facility to an LPG lorry (tank lorry vehicle), and to a blow valve provided in the loading arm.

  The liquefied petroleum gas is transferred from a storage facility such as a spherical tank to an LPG lorry, and is delivered to a consumption area or the like by the LPG lorry.

  When transferring LPG from the storage facility to the LPG lorry, that is, when handling LPG lorry, a loading arm connected to the storage facility (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “arm”) is connected using a coupling joint, Connect to LPG lorry handling line. After unloading, before removing the arm from the LPG lorry, the LPG remaining in the connecting portion is released. For this purpose, a valve (blow valve) is provided at the tip of the arm. This blow valve is manually closed in advance by a lorry crew member, etc. before starting the cargo handling and after connecting the arm. If LPG is transferred in a state where the blow valve is not closed, LPG is released from the blow valve.

  In Patent Document 1, it is possible to reliably unload petroleum products from a tank truck that transports multiple types of petroleum products such as regular gasoline, high-octane gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil at a gas station without misoperation. An unloading control device for a tank truck is disclosed.

JP-A-10-258898

  However, as described above, there is no known mechanism that can more reliably prevent LPG from being released from the blow valve during LPG handling.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a valve for a blow valve and a loading arm and a method for preventing erroneous operation of the valve, which can more reliably prevent unintended LPG release during LPG handling.

According to one aspect of the invention,
A valve for a blow valve provided in a loading arm for loading liquefied petroleum gas into a liquefied petroleum gas lorry,
A through hole is provided in the handle of the valve,
A hole is provided on the outer surface of the valve casing at a position facing the through hole when the valve is fully closed.
There is no hole at a position facing the through hole in a state other than the fully closed state of the valve on the outer surface of the valve casing,
There is provided a valve with an erroneous operation preventing mechanism having a pin that fits into a hole provided in the outer surface of the casing through the through hole when the valve is in a fully closed state.

  It is preferable that the handle has a shape that covers a hole provided in the outer surface of the casing in a state other than the fully closed state of the valve.

  An indicator may be attached to the pin to indicate that the valve is fully closed.

According to another aspect of the invention,
A loading arm for loading liquefied petroleum gas into a liquefied petroleum gas lorry,
There is provided a loading arm having the above-mentioned valve with an erroneous operation preventing mechanism as a blow valve.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
There is provided a method for preventing erroneous operation of a valve, comprising the step of inserting the pin into a hole provided on an outer surface of the casing of the valve through the through hole when the valve is fully closed.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, there are provided a valve for a blow valve and a loading arm, and a method for preventing erroneous operation of the valve, which can more reliably prevent unintended LPG release during LPG handling.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one form of the valve | bulb of this invention, (a) shows a fully open state, (b) shows a fully closed state. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which removed the handle about one form of the valve | bulb of this invention, (a) shows a casing and (b) shows a handle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the pin and label | marker which can be mounted | worn with the valve | bulb of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which mounted | wore with the pin about one form of the valve | bulb of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows another form of the valve | bulb of this invention, (a) shows a fully open state, (b) shows a fully closed state. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the equipment which transfers LPG from LPG storage equipment to LPG lorry. It is a schematic diagram which shows the connection part of the LPG lorry and the loading arm of the installation shown in FIG. 6 in detail.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

<First form of valve>
A first embodiment of the valve of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, wherein (a) shows a valve in a fully open state, and (b) shows a valve in a fully closed state. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 2 shows a state where the handle is removed from the valve, (b) shows the handle, and (a) shows the casing. FIG. 3 shows a pin 5 attached to the valve in the fully closed state, and a mark 6 attached to the pin for indicating that the valve is in the fully closed state. FIG. 4 shows a state in which this pin is attached to the valve.

  A hole 2 for inserting a pin 5 is provided in the casing 1 of the valve. The valve handle 3 is provided with a through hole 4. The hole 2 is provided at a position facing the through hole 4 when the valve is fully closed. In the fully closed state, the pin 5 passes through the through hole 4 and fits into the hole 2.

  If the sign 6 is attached to the pin, the sign is attached to the valve together with the pin. For example, a tag with the letters “closed” can be attached to the pin using appropriate fastening means such as a wire.

  When the valve is changed from the fully closed state to the fully opened state, the handle is moved, but the through hole 4 moves with the movement of the handle. Therefore, although there is a portion facing the through hole 4 in a state other than the fully closed state on the outer surface of the casing, a hole for inserting a pin is not provided in this portion. Therefore, in a state other than the fully closed state, the pin cannot be attached to the valve through the through hole of the handle. As shown in FIG. 4, the pin can be attached to the valve through the through hole only in the fully closed state. When the pin 5 is fitted into the hole 2 through the through hole 4, the handle cannot be moved in the fully closed state, and an erroneous operation can be prevented. Moreover, it can be clearly shown that the valve is in the fully closed state by using the mark.

  FIG. 2 also shows a valve stem 7 incorporated in the casing.

<Valve>
As a type of the valve, a known valve that can be used as a blow valve provided in a loading arm for loading LPG can be appropriately used. The rotation angle of the valve stem from the fully closed state to the fully open state is preferably less than 360 °. For example, a valve having this angle of about 90 ° or less can be suitably used. Typically, a cock valve or a ball valve can be used. FIG. 1 shows a valve that opens and closes by rotating the valve stopper at about 90 °.

  As the shape of the handle, the shape of the handle provided in the known valve can be appropriately adopted. As shown in FIG. 1, a lever-type handle can be suitably used.

  In the present specification, the valve casing does not mean only a casing having a known valve structure (body, body cap, bonnet, bonnet plate, etc.). It is also possible to configure the casing by fixing a separate member such as a plate (flat plate member) to a known valve structure casing. A hole 2 can be provided in a member such as this plate.

  The hole 2 may be a through hole or a bottomed hole. The hole 2 overlaps with the through hole of the handle, and can have an appropriate shape that can receive the pin. Of course, the hole 2 is provided so as not to impair the function of the valve for controlling the flow.

  As the pin, a pin having a shape and a material that can prevent the handle from rotating by fitting into the hole 2 through the through hole 4 can be appropriately used.

  The valve shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured as follows, for example. A through hole is provided in the handle (lever) of a commercially available cock valve to allow the pin to pass, and a plate is attached to the body. The plate is provided with a hole 2 at a position overlapping the through hole in the fully closed state. No hole is provided at a position overlapping with the through hole in a state other than the fully closed state. The plate is provided between the body and the handle in parallel with the moving surface of the handle. The distance between the handle and the plate can be appropriately determined in consideration of the length of the pin and the like.

<Second form of valve>
FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the valve of the present invention. In the first embodiment, in a state other than the fully closed state, a pin cannot be put into the hole of the valve body through the through hole of the handle. However, there is a case where a pin can be put in the hole of the valve body without passing through the through hole of the handle.

  In the second mode, since the handle 3 has a shape covering the hole 2 in a state other than the fully closed state of the valve, a pin cannot be attached to the valve in a state other than the fully closed state.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (b), in the fully closed state of the valve, the through hole 4 of the handle and the hole 2 of the casing overlap with each other as in the first embodiment, and a pin is inserted into the hole 2 through the through hole 4. be able to. However, in a state other than the fully closed state, the hole 2 is covered with the handle 3, and the hole 2 is hidden behind the handle. FIG. 5A shows the valve in a fully opened state, but the hole 2 (indicated by a wavy line) is hidden behind the handle 3 and cannot be pinned. Even in the state between the fully closed state and the fully open state, the shape of the handle can be determined so that the hole 2 is hidden behind the handle.

  Such a handle can be obtained, for example, by fixing a plate for covering the hole 2 to a lever of a commercially available cock valve. At this time, the through-hole 4 may be provided in the lever of a commercially available cock valve, the through-hole 4 may be provided in the plate, and if necessary, the through-hole 4 is provided in both so that they overlap each other. May be.

<Working procedure>
The above valve can be used as a blow valve provided in a loading arm for loading LPG into an LPG lorry.

  FIG. 6 shows an outline of an example of equipment for loading LPG from the LPG storage equipment to the LPG lorry. LPG can be fed from the spherical tank 11 storing LPG to the loading arm 14 through the LPG line 13 including the shipping pump 12. At the time of cargo handling, the loading arm 14 is connected to the LPG lorry 16, and the LPG is transferred from the spherical tank to the LPG lorry through the line 13 and the loading arm 14. Line 15 is a vapor return line for returning vaporized LPG to the spherical tank.

  FIG. 7 shows in more detail a portion connecting the LPG lorry and the loading arm. Hereinafter, an example of an operation procedure for loading LPG into the LPG lorry will be described. As the arm side blow valve 22, the valve with an erroneous operation preventing mechanism of the present invention is used.

The following operations are performed before loading LPG.
Confirm that the LPG lorry liquid valve 24 and the arm liquid valve 21 are closed.
Release the LPG lorry side bleeder valve 25 and release the stagnant gas.
Remove the pin 5 and the marker 6 attached to the arm side blow valve 22 and place them in place (for example, put them in a dedicated holder).
Release the arm side blow valve 22 and release the staying gas to the vent.
-Use the coupling joint 23 to connect the arm to the LPG lorry.
-Close the LPG lorry bleeder valve 25.
-Close the arm side blow valve 22.
-Attach the pin 5 and the marker 6 to the arm side blow valve 22. Specifically, the pin 5 to which the marker 6 is tied is inserted into the hole 2 through the through hole 4 of the handle of the arm side blow valve.

After the above operation, the LPG is transferred from the LPG storage facility to the LPG lorry through the loading arm 14, and when the transfer is completed, the following operation is performed.
-The arm side liquid valve 21 and the lorry side liquid valve 24 are closed.
Remove the pin 5 and the marker 6 attached to the arm side blow valve 22 and place them in place.
Open the arm side blow valve 22 and discharge the residual liquid and residual gas from the connection part to the vent.
-Close the arm side blow valve 22.
-Attach the pin 5 and the marker 6 to the arm side blow valve 22.
・ Open the bleeder bleeder valve 25 to release the residual pressure in the pipe.
Disconnect the coupling joint 23 and remove the loading arm 14 from the LPG lorry 16.

  As explained above, the blow valve provided in the loading arm is a valve for discharging the LPG remaining at the tip of the loading arm (connection portion with the LPG lorry). The lorry-side emergency shut-off valve 26 is not used in normal times.

  According to the present invention, erroneous operation of the blow valve can be more reliably prevented in the above-described operation.

1: Valve casing 2: Hole provided in casing 3: Valve handle 4: Through-hole provided in handle 5: Pin 6: Marking 7: Valve rod 11: Spherical tank 12: Shipping pump 13: LPG line 14 : Loading arm 15: vapor return line 16: LPG lorry 21: arm side liquid valve 22: arm side blow valve 23: coupling joint 24: lorry side liquid valve 25: lorry side bleeder valve 26: lorry side emergency shutoff valve

Claims (5)

A valve for a blow valve provided in a loading arm for loading liquefied petroleum gas into a liquefied petroleum gas lorry,
A through hole is provided in the handle of the valve,
A hole is provided on the outer surface of the valve casing at a position facing the through hole when the valve is fully closed.
There is no hole at a position facing the through hole in a state other than the fully closed state of the valve on the outer surface of the valve casing,
A valve with an erroneous operation preventing mechanism having a pin that fits into a hole provided in the outer surface of the casing through the through hole when the valve is fully closed.   The valve with an erroneous operation prevention mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the handle has a shape covering a hole provided in the outer surface of the casing in a state other than a fully closed state of the valve.   The valve with an erroneous operation prevention mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an indicator for indicating that the valve is in a fully closed state is attached to the pin. A loading arm for loading liquefied petroleum gas into a liquefied petroleum gas lorry,
A loading arm having the valve with an erroneous operation preventing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as a blow valve.   The valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a step of inserting the pin into a hole provided in an outer surface of the casing of the valve through the through hole in a fully closed state of the valve. Misoperation prevention method.

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