JP2014211184A - High-pressure gas container cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cover suitable for a high-pressure gas container, which can cover a high-pressure gas container to shade the high-pressure gas container from direct sunlight, and also allows watering to the container without any troublesome.SOLUTION: The container cover 30 is provided in an upper part of the high-pressure gas container A. A pair of right and left plates 31 can cover the container A while the marginal part thereof is butted, and also can open widely the upper part of the container A by being moved apart from each other in a horizontal direction and changed in the posture thereof in a vertical direction in an outside position of the container A.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cover for a high-pressure gas container that is provided so as to cover an upper part of the container at an installation location of the high-pressure gas container.

  As a container for filling a high-pressure gas such as hydrogen, a container having a filling pressure of 350 atm or more has been widely used in recent years. It is not made of steel as in the prior art, but is generally a composite container in which carbon fiber or the like is wrapped around the outer periphery of a lightweight metal container such as aluminum. If such a container can be used for high-pressure gas filling, the efficiency in gas transportation and the like can be greatly improved.

  A vehicle that can transport gas using a container capable of high-pressure filling as described above is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below. The vehicle described in the document 1 is shown in FIG. 9, and a platform 15 having a lower base 16 and front and rear partition walls 17 is placed on the loading platform 5, and the horizontal direction and upper and lower sides are placed on the platform 15. A plurality of high-pressure gas containers A are mounted in the direction.

Japanese National Patent Publication No. 8-510428

When a high-pressure gas container as described above is mounted on a vehicle or installed in a specific place, it is necessary to consider that the container does not rise in temperature excessively. Especially in the summer, high-pressure gas containers tend to become hot due to direct sunlight, and it is necessary to take countermeasures. In other words, some measures are desired, such as covering the top of the container with a plate or sheet, and facilitating watering the container if necessary.
However, when a container is covered with a roof or the like, it is generally difficult to spray water on the container, so it is not easy to take appropriate measures. Such a countermeasure is not described in Patent Document 1 described above.

  The invention according to the claims was made to solve the above-described problems. The high-pressure gas that covers the high-pressure gas container and can block direct sunlight and can also spray water into the container without difficulty. Provide a suitable cover for the container.

The cover of the invention is a cover for a high-pressure gas container provided at the top of the high-pressure gas container,
The pair of left and right plates cover the container with the edges in contact with each other, and the plates move left and right to leave the upper part of the container by changing the posture vertically at the outer position of the container. It is configured so that it can be opened.
The cover 30 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is an example thereof, and the plate 31 covers the high-pressure gas container A, and moves to the left and right according to the arrows in the figure, and further changes the posture in the vertical direction at the outer position of the container. .

According to the cover of the invention, when the pair of left and right plates cover the container with the edges abutted against each other, it is possible to block direct sunlight from above, so that the container is excessively heated even in summer. It can be prevented from rising.
On the other hand, when the pair of plates move to the left and right and become a vertical posture at the outer position, the upper part of the container can be opened widely, so that the container can be sprinkled with water from the opened upper part. Can be cooled. At that time, the plate of the container cover not only moves to the left and right, but also changes its posture in the vertical direction at the outside position of the container. And there is no expansion of the occupied space. If the occupied space does not increase, it is advantageous because it is easy to select the installation location of the container.
In addition, since the cover of the invention uses not only one sheet but a pair of left and right plates, even when the container is widely installed on the left and right, the entire area can be covered without difficulty.

For the above cover according to the invention,
A straight tooth (straight tooth) extending in the moving direction is attached to the lower surface of the plate, and a rotating tooth that meshes with the straight tooth is attached at a fixed position.
Each of the plates moves with the linear teeth when the rotating teeth rotate, and changes its posture as described above according to its own weight balance while maintaining the state where the linear teeth and the rotating teeth mesh (reversely) Move in different directions and postures)
It is preferable that it is.
In addition to rack and pinion, the combination of linear teeth and rotating teeth is a combination of a chain (with a straight line) and a sprocket, a toothed belt (with a straight line) and its belt wheel. Can be adopted.
7 and 8, the chain 32 is attached to the lower surface of the plate 31, and the sprocket 33 that meshes with the chain 32 is attached at a fixed position.

When the plate, linear teeth and rotating teeth are assembled in the above relationship, when the rotating teeth rotate in a specific direction,
1) The plate moves to the left and right (that is, away from the other plate) together with the linear teeth that interlock with each other because it meshes with the rotating teeth.
2) When the weight balance of the plate changes due to the movement amount of the plate exceeding a predetermined value (that is, the portion that protrudes outside the rotating tooth as shown in FIG. 8 increases and the weight of the portion exceeds the weight of the other portion. And) the plate changes its vertical orientation at the outer position of the container.
And after that, when the rotating teeth rotate in the opposite direction to the above,
1) When the plate moves upward together with the linear teeth interlocking with the rotating teeth and the weight balance is reversed from the above, the plate changes its posture to the side (horizontal or near),
2) Furthermore, the plate moves to the left and right (that is, in the direction to face the other plate) together with the straight teeth.
As described above, only by rotating the rotating teeth, the above-mentioned plate moves and changes its posture, so that the upper part of the container can be covered or opened.

It is further preferable that the above plate is one that obtains driving force by manually operating the handle, moves as described above, and changes its posture.
In the example of FIG. 8 as well, the rotating tooth (sprocket) 33 is rotated by manually rotating the handle 36, and the driving force is transmitted to the plate 31 having the straight teeth (chain 32).
If the plate is operated with a manual handle, the cover is constructed at a low cost and with few failures.

In the edge portions of the pair of plates that are to be butted against each other,
-It is preferable that each of the bending members that can be combined to form a labyrinth-like barrier that allows gas to pass up and down but does not allow raindrops to pass downward in a state of being abutted.
8 are examples of bending members that can be combined as described above.
When the bending member as described above is provided at the edge of the plate, when the pair of left and right plates are brought into contact with each other, the gas can pass up and down, so that ventilation is effectively performed. It is easy to suppress the temperature rise of the high-pressure gas container even in summer. On the other hand, since raindrops do not pass from the above-mentioned portions that are abutted with each other, rainwater does not fall on the high-pressure gas container or its supporting means, and progress of rust, corrosion, etc. is prevented.

The pair of left and right plates in the container cover is preferably a nonflammable high heat insulating material.
If the plate is non-flammable, it is safer to handle the high-pressure hydrogen container, and the higher the thermal insulation of the plate, the easier it is to suppress the temperature rise of the container when covering the high-pressure hydrogen container. is there.

The above-described high-pressure gas container cover is particularly useful when mounted on a hydrogen station indwelling vehicle that carries a high-pressure gas container filled with hydrogen and travels and is detained as a hydrogen station.
The hydrogen station indwelling vehicle as described above is equipped with a high-pressure hydrogen container and travels and is detained at a certain location. For this reason, the cover as described above, which covers the container with a plate at normal times, including during running, and is easy to sprinkle water on the container by opening the upper part appropriately at high temperatures in summer is very useful. is there.

According to the cover for a high-pressure gas container of the invention, the high-pressure gas container can be covered with a plate to block direct sunlight, and the upper part of the container can be opened widely to facilitate water spraying to the container. Also, even when the upper part of the container is opened, the occupied space does not expand to the left and right, so the cover is always compact.
It is also possible to configure the above plate so as to cover or open the upper part of the container by simply rotating the rotating teeth.

FIG. 1A is a side view showing the hydrogen trailer 1 and the like, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the inside of the hydrogen trailer 1 (a view showing the side panel removed). 2A, 2B, and 2C are a side view, a plan view, and a rear view, respectively, showing the gantry 10 of the hydrogen trailer 1 and the like. 2A and 2B also show the disassembled state of the gantry 10. FIGS. 3A and 3B are a IIIa-IIIa arrow view and a IIIb-IIIb cross-sectional view, respectively, in FIG. 3 (c), (d), (e), and (f) are views taken along arrows cc, dd, ee, and ff in FIG. 3 (a). FIG. 4A is a front view showing the fixing device 20 of the container A, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the fixing device 20. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rubber pad 26 used in the fixing device 20 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a distribution of surface pressure acting on the rubber pad 26 when the container A is fixed. 2 is a front view showing a container cover 30 and the like in the hydrogen trailer 1. FIG. It is also an enlarged view of FIG. 3 (d) or (e). It is the elements on larger scale which show operation | movement of the cover 30 for containers, and its drive mechanism. It is a side view which shows the conventional vehicle (it describes in patent document 1) which can be used as a hydrogen trailer.

  1 to 8 show a hydrogen trailer 1 which is an embodiment of the invention. In the following description, “front” and “rear” refer to the front and rear in the traveling direction of the hydrogen trailer 1, and “left” and “right” refer to the left and right in the traveling direction. .

  The illustrated hydrogen trailer 1 is a means for supplying hydrogen to a hydrogen vehicle (including a fuel cell vehicle) using hydrogen as a fuel, and is loaded with a high-pressure hydrogen container A filled with hydrogen and transported to a hydrogen station. In addition, it is placed in a hydrogen station to supply hydrogen to hydrogen vehicles. During transportation, the vehicle travels by being pulled by the tractor 2 as shown in FIG.

  The hydrogen trailer 1 has two sets of front and rear mounts 10 mounted on a cart 1a, and a plurality of high-pressure hydrogen containers A are attached to each of the mounts 10 as shown in FIG. The high-pressure hydrogen container A is a substantially cylindrical composite container in which a fiber layer such as carbon fiber is laminated on the outside of a lightweight metal container such as an aluminum alloy, and can be filled with hydrogen at a pressure of 350 atm or more. .

  Each of the two sets of mounts 10 for fixing the high-pressure hydrogen container A is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the shelf-like frame 11 having the horizontal support member 12 is attached to the four columns 13 standing vertically at the front, rear, left, and right positions in three stages so that each stage can be attached and detached. . In order to detachably connect the frame 11 of each stage to the support column 13, the joints of both are fastened with bolts and nuts as shown in FIG. 2A so that the position of the frame 11 does not shift. The connection rod 14 including the turnbuckle is also connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, four high-pressure hydrogen containers A are mounted side by side on the frame 11 at each stage so that the axes are parallel to each other. Since the frame 11 is provided with four horizontal support members 12 extending in parallel to the left and right (see FIG. 3B), each container A uses a fixing device 20 described later on the support member 12. It is fixed.

  Since the frames 11 as described above are stacked in three stages on each base 10, a total of 12 containers A are mounted on one set of the bases 10. As described above, since the frames 11 at each stage can be removed, the container A can be fixed to the lower and middle frames 11 without difficulty.

  The position of the gantry 10 provided on the hydrogen trailer 1 and the direction of the high-pressure hydrogen container A on each gantry 10 are as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B. That is, the container A is fixed in the same direction for each gantry 10, the container A on the front gantry 10 faces the main valve Aa, and the container A on the rear gantry 10 has the main valve Aa. Make the side forward. That is, all the containers A on the front gantry 10 and all the containers A on the rear gantry 10 are arranged so that the main valve Aa sides face each other. In addition, a space is provided between the front and rear mounts 10 so that an operation space 55 sufficient for an operator to enter is provided between the front and rear sets of containers A.

  On the side of the main valve Aa of each container A, it is necessary to perform the valve operation related to the supply / stop of hydrogen. However, as described above, the valve operation as described above for all the containers A in both the front and rear sets is performed. In the one operation space 55, the operation can be efficiently performed. In particular, in the case of a large hydrogen trailer, the container A may be fixed to three or more sets of mounts. In such a case as well, the main valve Aa side of the container A between the two adjacent groups in the front and rear is a space for operation. It is good to arrange them so that they face each other. In addition, at the end Ab opposite to the original valve Aa side of the container A, a lead pipe to a safety valve (not shown) is usually attached. .

  In order to fix the high-pressure hydrogen container A on the frame 11 of the gantry 10, a fixing device 20 shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) is used. The fixing device 20 binds the body portion of the container A with a flexible annular band 21 made of a metal strip having a leg portion 21b at the lower portion. Since the leg portion 21b is attached on the frame 11 (support member 12) in advance, the container A can be fixed when the band 21 is wound around the trunk portion and tightened. However, since the body portion of the container A has a carbon fiber layer on the outer periphery and is easily damaged, the rubber pad 26 is sandwiched on almost the entire inner periphery of the band 21. As the rubber pad 26, what was divided | segmented by the multiple places (8 places in the example of FIG. 4) in the circumferential direction is used. This is because it can be easily inserted into the band 21 and replacement at the time of wear can be reduced.

  The band 21 is provided with a connectable cut 21a at a position inclined by 45 ° laterally from a position directly above the container A as shown in FIG. Then, flanges 22 are integrally provided at both ends of the band 21 sandwiching the cut 21a, and bolts 23 (with nuts 24) are passed through both flanges 22 to serve as connecting means for the cut 21a. After the band 21 is wound around the body of the container A, the cut line 21a (with the flanges 22) is connected by the bolt 23, and the winding force of the band 21 is adjusted appropriately. , So as not to damage the outer peripheral fiber layer and to prevent the container A from shifting.

  Since the position of the cut line 21a is provided at the upper position inclined by 45 ° as described above, the position of the band 21 adjacent to the left and right as shown in FIG. Can be placed very close together. Even if the containers A are closely arranged so as to be close to each other, the positions of the adjacent bands 21 are different, and the cut 21a is not located directly beside or directly above the container A. And the work for releasing it can be done smoothly.

  As a means for adjusting the winding force of the band 21, a washer 25 is sandwiched between the opposing surfaces of the pair of flanges 22 that sandwich the cut 21a so that the number and thickness can be changed. The number and thickness of the washers 25 are determined in advance based on the actual measurement values of the circumference of the container A and the length of the band 21 so that the winding force becomes an appropriate value. Thereby, the winding force of the band 21 can be made appropriate only by tightening the bolt 23 (with respect to the nut 24) without measuring torque.

  In order to attach the leg portion 21b to the frame 11 as described above, serration bolts 27 are used. The serration bolt 27 is used with its head directed toward the leg 21b, and the vicinity of the head is closely inserted into the bolt hole of the leg 21b. Thereby, the rotation of the bolt 27 when the nut 28 is tightened can be prevented.

  As the rubber pad 26 sandwiched between the band 21 and the body portion of the container A, a rubber pad having a cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 5 is used. That is, the inner surface has a cylindrical flat surface 26a that follows the circumferential surface of the body portion of the container A, and the outer surface has an uneven surface including peaks and valleys extending in the length direction of the container A. 26b. When the rubber pad 26 having such a shape is used between the band 21 and the container A, it is possible to avoid a large pressure from acting locally on the body of the container A, and the fiber layer on the surface of the container A. Etc. are effectively prevented.

  FIG. 6 shows the distribution (analysis result by the inventor) of the pressure (surface pressure, equal to the pressure acting on the outer peripheral surface of the container A) acting on the inner surface of the rubber pad 26 when the band 21 is tightened. It is recognized that the surface pressure tends to increase in the middle of the width direction, and changes in the surface pressure appear regularly according to the shape of the outer concavo-convex surface 26b. It does not occur.

  Container covers 30 shown in FIG. 7 are provided on the upper portions of the front and rear mounts 10, respectively. The cover 30 is formed by attaching two plates 31 each having a non-combustible high heat insulating material board attached to a steel frame to the upper portion of the gantry 10. When the two plates 31 are made substantially horizontal (inclined so that the outer side is slightly lowered) and the inner edges are brought into contact with each other, all of the high-pressure hydrogen containers A attached to the gantry 10 can be covered. By covering the container A, the sunlight is blocked, and the temperature rise of the container A in the summer is suppressed.

  Each plate 31 of the container cover 30 is movable, and can move away from each other left and right as indicated by phantom lines in FIGS. it can. When the plate 31 moves in such a manner and changes its posture, the upper part of the gantry 10, that is, the upper part of the container A can be largely opened, and the container A can be cooled by watering from above.

  In order to make the plate 31 operate as described above, as shown in FIG. 8, a chain (straight tooth) 32 is attached to the lower surface of the plate 31 so as to extend linearly, and a sprocket (rotating tooth) 33 meshing with the chain is mounted on the gantry 10. It is attached. An operation handle 36 is connected to the shaft 34 of the sprocket 33 via a transmission means such as a transmission chain 35. Further, a movement guide frame 37 for the plate 31 is attached to the upper portion of the gantry 10 so that the guide frame 37 can swing around the same axis as the shaft 34.

  When the operation handle 36 is rotated in a state where the plate 31 is near the center on the gantry 10 and the edges are abutted with each other, the sprocket 33 is rotated through the transmission chain 35 and the like, and the plate 31 together with the chain 32 meshing with the sprocket 33 is rotated. It moves left and right along the guide frame 37. When the plate 31 moves and its center of gravity moves to the left and right outside of the position of the shaft 34, the plate 31 swings with the movement guide frame 37, and is in a vertical orientation (slightly above the upper part) as shown in the phantom line in the figure. It changes to an almost vertical posture on the inside. On the other hand, when the operation handle 36 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above while the plate 31 is in the vertical orientation, the plate 31 first rises together with the chain 32 and swings as the center of gravity moves inward from the position of the shaft 34. And change the posture almost horizontally. Thereafter, when the operation handle 36 is further rotated, the plate 31 moves toward the center of the gantry 10 and is brought into contact with the other plate 31. When the plates 31 are in a state in which the edges are abutted with each other, a snap lock that is a manually openable connecting tool is connected to prevent the plates 31 from being separated by vibration or the like.

  Bending members 38 </ b> A and 38 </ b> B shown in FIG. 8 are attached to the edges of the pair of plates 31 constituting the container cover 30 on the side to be abutted with each other. The bending members 38A and 38B are formed by welding a steel plate or L-shaped steel that is long in the front-rear direction. When the edges of the plates 31 abut each other, a part of the bending member 38B of the other plate 31 enters the inner space of the bending member 38A of the one plate 31 so that rainwater or the like does not pass downward. Constitutes a barrier. However, in this state, air can pass up and down between the bending members 38A and 38B, so that ventilation characteristics can be ensured while preventing rainwater.

  The gantry 10 on the trailer 1 covers the periphery with a protective plate 40 or the like as shown in FIG. 1 or FIGS. 3A and 3B in order to protect the high-pressure hydrogen container A. And, in place of (or along with) the fixedly arranged protective plate 40, openable and closable panels (or doors) 41, 42, 43, and 44 are arranged on the parts that need to be inspected and maintained. Yes. A ventilator or a louver is attached to the fixed protective plate 40 so that the internal temperature does not rise in summer or the like, and punched metal plates with vent holes are used for the panels 41, 42, 43, and 44.

  The main valve Aa of each high-pressure hydrogen container A is connected to a fixed pipe 52 fixed to the gantry 10 via a connection pipe 52 as shown in FIG. These fixed pipes 52 are connected to a pipe system 50 (FIG. 3 (f)) provided at the rear part of the trailer 1, and in the unit of the pipe system 50, various instruments, operation valves, and a one-touch coupler for taking out hydrogen. The nozzles (or receptacles) having a structure are collected and arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the piping system 50 is attached at a position immediately behind the rear frame 10 and inside (front) several tens of centimeters or more from the rear end edge of the carriage 1 a of the trailer 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (f), in the piping system 50, devices are arranged with an interval of several tens of cm inside from the side edge of the carriage 1. This takes into consideration that an operation space 56 such as a valve by an operator is secured at the rear part of the piping system 50 and that the piping system 50 is not damaged by a traffic accident or the like.

Regarding the above-described piping system 50 including the connecting piping 52, the following measures are taken. That is,
a) The connection pipe 52 includes a spiral portion as shown in FIG. This is because the position of the original valve Aa can change due to the expansion and contraction of the high-pressure hydrogen container A according to the state of hydrogen filling.
b) The thickness and length of the pipe, the attachment position, etc. are determined so that the natural frequency of the connection pipe 52 is about 50 Hz exceeding the actual frequency (10 to 30 Hz) of the trailer 1.
c) An emergency shutoff valve (not shown) is provided in the piping system 50 to shut off the gas at a certain temperature or higher. Further, a nitrogen cylinder 53 shown in FIG. 3F is installed as an energy source for opening and closing the valve. When the gas temperature rises, the emergency shut-off valve is closed with the power of nitrogen gas, which has excellent explosion-proof characteristics, to ensure safety.
d) The nitrogen cylinder 53 can be connected to other parts of the piping system 50 so that the nitrogen purge in the piping can be performed. This is to prevent air from being mixed into the piping when replacing valves and instruments.
e) An overflow prevention valve (not shown) is provided in the piping system 50 in order to prevent a large amount of hydrogen from flowing out from any part of the piping. In addition, a backfire preventer (not shown) is also incorporated in the piping system 50 in order to prevent the backflow of the flame when hydrogen in the exhaust gas starts to burn.

  In the above, the Example of the invention in a hydrogen trailer was introduced. However, the invention can be practiced without being limited to this embodiment. For example, the invention can be configured as a cover for a high-pressure gas container other than hydrogen. When the high-pressure gas container is not installed in a transportation means such as a vehicle but simply installed, the invention can be configured as a cover provided on the upper portion of the high-pressure gas container.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hydrogen trailer 10 Base 11 Frame 12 Support member 20 Fixing device 21 Band 21a Cut 25 Washer 26 Rubber pad 26a Flat surface 26b Concavity and convexity 30 Container cover 31 Plate 32 Chain (straight tooth)
33 Sprocket (Rotating tooth)
36 Operation handle 38A / 38B Bending member 40 Protection plate 41/42/43/44 Panel 50 Piping system 52 Connection piping 55/56 Space for operation A High-pressure hydrogen container Aa Main valve

Claims (6)

A high-pressure gas container cover provided at the top of the high-pressure gas container,
A pair of left and right plates cover the container with the edges in contact with each other, and the plates move left and right, and the upper part of the container is opened by changing the posture vertically at the outer position of the container. A cover for a high-pressure gas container, characterized by being configured to be able to. A straight tooth extending in the moving direction is attached to the lower surface of the plate, and a rotating tooth that meshes with the straight tooth is attached at a fixed position.
Each of the plates moves together with the linear teeth when the rotating teeth rotate, and changes its posture as described above according to its own weight balance while keeping the linear teeth and rotating teeth meshing. The cover for a high-pressure gas container according to claim 1.   The cover for a high-pressure gas container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plate obtains a driving force by manually operating a handle and moves and changes its posture as described above. On the edge on the side where the pair of plates are abutted against each other,
2. A combinable bending member that constitutes a labyrinth-like barrier that allows gas to pass up and down but does not allow raindrops to pass downward in the face-to-face state is provided. The cover for high pressure gas containers in any one of -3.   The said pair of board is a nonflammable highly heat insulating material, The cover for high pressure gas containers in any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The high-pressure gas container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the high-pressure gas container filled with hydrogen is mounted on a hydrogen station indwelling vehicle that travels and is detained as a hydrogen station. cover.

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