JP2018204442A - Gas engine start controller and power supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gas engine start controller capable of improving startability of a gas engine.SOLUTION: A gas engine start controller comprises: a pressure regulator 70 configured to decompress liquid gas in a gas cylinder 40 to predetermined pressure, to supply the liquid gas to a suction side of a gas engine ENG; a solenoid 76c configured to make the regulated pressure of the pressure regulator 70 act on a high pressure side; a starter motor SM configured to crank the gas engine ENG; and a control unit 35 configured to operate the starter motor SM. The control unit 35 is configured to: before cranking with the starter motor SM, switch an on-off valve 60 from a closed state to an open state; further drive the solenoid 76c to operate the pressure regulator 70 on the high pressure side; and after supplying to the suction side of the gas engine ENG LP gas having higher pressure than the predetermined pressure, execute cranking.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas engine start control device and a power supply system.

Conventionally, a gas engine start control device that controls start of a gas engine is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this prior art, when the gas engine is started, the gas engine is started by performing an initialization process for adjusting the gas and the intake air to have an optimum mixing ratio.

JP 2014-070491 A

However, in the above-described conventional technology, city gas is assumed as the fuel gas. However, when LP gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is used as the fuel gas, it has the following problems.
Before the gas engine is started, air exists in the gas supply pipe that connects the gas cylinder and the gas engine. Therefore, in the initial stage of the start, the air in the gas supply pipe is discharged by the cranking operation of the gas engine. Until then, the fuel gas is not supplied to the gas engine. In this case, when a person performs a starting operation, the engine can be started by repeating the cranking operation a plurality of times until the gas engine completes explosion.
However, when a power supply system that drives a generator to supply power in the event of a power failure in a power supply network such as a commercial power supply is automatically cranked by detecting a power failure, the cranking time and frequency are insufficient. In addition, there was a risk that the gas engine would not completely explode. In this case, power supply is not executed.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and includes a gas engine start control device capable of improving the startability of the gas engine, and a gas engine started by the gas engine start control device. An object is to provide a power supply system.

In order to achieve the above object, a gas engine start control device of the present disclosure includes:
A gas engine start control device for starting a gas engine driven by liquefied gas supplied from a gas cylinder through a gas supply path,
An on-off valve provided in the gas supply path, for opening and closing the gas supply path, and a pressure regulator for reducing the liquefied gas filled in the gas cylinder to a predetermined pressure and supplying the liquefied gas to the intake side of the gas engine;
An actuator for operating the adjustment pressure of the pressure regulator to the high pressure side;
A starter motor for cranking the gas engine;
A start control unit for operating the starter motor;
With
The start control unit switches the open / close valve from the closed state to the open state before cranking by the starter motor, further drives the actuator to operate the pressure regulator to the high pressure side, The gas engine start control device executes the cranking after supplying the liquefied gas having a pressure higher than the predetermined pressure to the intake side of the gas engine.

In the gas engine start control device of the present disclosure, the gas supply pipe is automatically supplied to the gas supply pipe before the cranking of the gas engine. The gas concentration can be increased and the startability can be improved.
In addition, in the power supply system of the present disclosure, when the power supply network is not normal, such as when a power failure occurs, the gas engine can be started automatically and reliably, and the generator can generate power to reliably supply power.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the power supply system A provided with the gas engine starting apparatus of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the housing | casing which accommodates the gas engine in the power supply system provided with the gas engine starting apparatus of Embodiment 1, a generator, a control unit, and a gas cylinder. It is sectional drawing which shows the pressure regulator applied to the power supply system provided with the gas engine starting device of Embodiment 1. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for maintaining a battery capacity of a battery at a predetermined capacity by a control unit in a power supply system including the gas engine starter according to Embodiment 1. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the charging process by the said control part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the engine starting process by the said control part. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply system according to a second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the best mode for realizing the gas engine starting device and the power supply system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the overall configuration of the power supply system A provided with the gas engine starter according to Embodiment 1 will be described.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply system A including the gas engine starting device according to the first embodiment.
The power supply system A is a system that supplies power to a load 10, and includes a control unit 30 that includes a battery 31 that is a power supply source to the load 10, and a power supply network 20 that is a power supply source to the battery 31. And a generator G. The control unit 30 includes a power supply switching unit 34 that switches power supply to the battery 31 to either the power supply network 20 or the generator G, and a control unit 35 that performs switching control thereof.

  In the first embodiment, the load 10 is a traffic light. Note that the load 10 is not limited to a traffic light, and a load that needs to be constantly driven by electric power, such as lighting, can be applied.

The power supply network 20 supplies AC power such as commercial power.
The generator G is driven by the gas engine ENG, converts rotational energy into electrical energy, and generates AC power.

  The gas engine ENG is driven by using LP gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) as liquefied gas as fuel. The gas engine ENG is provided with a starter motor SM, and the gas engine ENG performs cranking by driving the starter motor SM.

The LP gas is stored in a liquid state in the gas cylinder 40.
The gas cylinder 40 and the suction side of the gas engine ENG are connected by a gas supply pipe 50. The gas supply pipe 50 is further connected to an opening / closing valve 60, a pressure regulator 70, and the like from the side close to the gas cylinder 40. , Is provided. In the gas supply pipe 50, a carburetor 80 for mixing LP gas and air is provided immediately before the suction side of the gas engine ENG.

  The on-off valve 60 is a valve that is closed when the gas engine ENG is stopped and shuts off the gas supply pipe 50 and is opened when the gas engine ENG is driven to connect the gas supply pipe 50. The on-off valve 60 is automatically opened and closed by driving an actuator such as a solenoid or a motor (not shown).

  The pressure regulator 70 is a well-known one that decompresses the LP gas in the gas cylinder 40 and supplies it to the gas engine ENG. That is, the gas pressure in the gas cylinder 40 is 0.4 to 1.2 MPa, and this is supplied to the gas engine ENG by the pressure regulator 70 as a low pressure gas of 2.0 to 3.3 kPa.

  The control unit 30 controls power supply to the load 10 and includes a battery 31, an inverter 32, a converter 33, a power supply switching unit 34, a control unit 35, and voltage sensors 36 and 37.

  In the first embodiment, DC discharge power from the battery 31 is supplied to the load 10 as AC power by the inverter 32. Further, the battery 31 is charged with AC power of the power supply network 20 and the generator G as DC power by the converter 33.

The power source switching unit 34 selectively switches the power source for charging the battery 31 to either the power supply network 20 or the generator G.
As the battery 31, a lead battery, a nickel hydrogen potential, a lithium ion battery, or the like can be used.

  The control unit 35 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and controls the charging / discharging of the battery 31 and the operation of the inverter 32 and the converter 33 associated therewith, and the switching operation of the power supply switching unit 34. Specifically, if the power supply network 20 is in a normal power supply state, the power supply switching unit 34 is in a state of supplying power from the power supply network 20 to the battery 31. On the other hand, if the power supply network 20 is not in a normal power supply state such as a power failure, the gas engine ENG is driven to supply power from the generator G to the battery 31.

  The voltage sensor 36 detects the voltage of the power supply network 20. The voltage sensor 37 detects the voltage of the battery 31. Here, the detection value of the voltage sensor 37 is used to calculate the battery capacity (SOC) of the battery 31. Preferably, the battery capacity is obtained more accurately by measuring the current and temperature together. Is possible.

(Case configuration)
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the casing 90 that houses the gas engine ENG, the generator G, the control unit 30, and the gas cylinder 40 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
The housing 90 is made of a steel plate and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape surrounding the housing housing portion 100 as shown in FIG.

  The housing accommodating portion 100 includes a gas cylinder accommodating portion 11a that accommodates two gas cylinders 40, 40, a generator accommodating portion 11b that accommodates the generator G and the gas engine ENG, and a control unit accommodating portion that accommodates the control unit 30. 11c. The gas cylinder housing part 11 a is partitioned from the generator housing part 11 b and the control unit housing part 11 c by a fire barrier 106. The fire barrier 106 is thicker than other walls such as side walls, and is formed of a steel plate having a thickness of 2.3 mm or more in order to obtain a desired fire resistance.

(Arrangement of gas supply pipe)
Next, wiring of the gas supply pipe 50 that connects the gas cylinders 40 and 40 and the gas engine ENG will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the gas supply pipe 50 penetrates the bottom wall 13 of the gas cylinder housing part 11 a without penetrating the fire barrier 106, and is a space inside the leg 15 along the cylindrical bottom wall 13. And is connected to the gas engine ENG of the generator G through the bottom wall 13 of the generator housing 11b.

  The gas supply pipe 50 includes cylinder side pipe parts 50a and 50a that connect the two gas cylinders 40 and 40 and the pressure regulator 70, and a gas engine side pipe part that connects the pressure regulator 70 and the gas engine ENG. 50b. The gas engine side pipe 50b is connected to the carburetor 80 (see FIG. 1) of the gas engine ENG.

(Configuration of pressure regulator)
Next, the pressure regulator 70 will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the pressure regulator 70 is a well-known one that depressurizes the high-pressure gas in the gas cylinder 40 to a predetermined low pressure for combustion in the gas engine ENG, and its configuration will be briefly described.

The pressure regulator 70 includes a case 71 that forms an outer shell, and a diaphragm 74 that divides the inside of the case 71 into an upper first chamber 72 and a lower second chamber 73.
Further, on the first chamber 72 side of the case 71, a gas introduction port 71a that is connected to the cylinder side pipe portion 50a of the gas supply pipe 50 and into which high-pressure LP gas is introduced is formed on the left side in the drawing. ing. Further, in the case 71, a gas discharge path 71b that connects the second chamber 73 and the gas engine side pipe portion 50b of the gas supply pipe 50 is formed in the right part in the drawing.

Further, the pressure regulator 70 includes a valve mechanism 75 capable of blocking and communicating between the gas introduction port 71a and the second chamber 73.
The valve mechanism 75 includes a valve body 75a and a lever 75b.
The lever 75b is supported with respect to the case 71 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction in the drawing with the pivot 75c as the center. The lever 75b is connected to the valve body 75a at the left end with respect to the pivot 75c in the drawing, and is connected to the central portion of the diaphragm 74 at the right end with respect to the pivot 75c in the drawing.

  Here, the right end portion of the lever 75b in the drawing is connected to the central portion of the lower diaphragm 74 and the upper interlocking plate 75g, and moves up and down integrally with the diaphragm 74 and the interlocking plate 75g.

  Further, the left end portion of the lever 75b in the drawing is applied with an urging force counterclockwise by a coil spring 75f for adjusting the urging force.

The valve body 75a is formed in a substantially disk shape that can form a valve-closed state in contact with the gate portion 75e provided on the upper portion of the cylindrical valve seat member 75d and a valve-opened state separated from the gate portion 75e. The lever 75b is connected via a universal joint 75h.
That is, the lever 75b swings through the pivot 75c, so that even when the relative angle between the valve body 75a and the gate portion 75e changes, the valve body 75a is surely fully closed to the gate portion 75e when the valve is closed. It is formed so that it can be.

  When the valve body 75a is closed, the gas introduction port 71a and the second chamber 73 are shut off. On the other hand, when the valve body 75 a is opened, the gas introduction port 71 a and the second chamber 73 are communicated with each other, and high-pressure LP gas on the gas cylinder 40 side is introduced into the second chamber 73.

The diaphragm 74 is urged to a predetermined position in the vertical direction in the drawing by the coil springs 74a and 75f so that the pressure (gas pressure) in the second chamber 73 is within a predetermined range. That is, when the gas pressure in the second chamber 73 is equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure, the diaphragm 74 is positioned relatively downward in the drawing, the lever 75b swings in the clockwise direction in the drawing, and the valve body 75a is opened. And As a result, high pressure gas is introduced into the second chamber 73 from the gas introduction auto 71a.
On the other hand, when the gas pressure in the second chamber 73 exceeds a predetermined pressure and the diaphragm 74 is displaced upward in the figure, the lever 75b swings counterclockwise in the figure, closing the valve body 75a, The introduction of the high-pressure gas from the introduction port 71a to the second chamber 73 is blocked.

  That is, when driven, the gas engine ENG sucks LP gas in the second chamber 73 of the pressure regulator 70 by suction negative pressure. As a result, when the gas pressure in the second chamber 73 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure, the diaphragm 74 is displaced downward in the figure, and in conjunction with this, the valve body 75a moves upward to open the gate portion 75d, and the high pressure Of LP gas is supplied to the second chamber 73 from the gas introduction port 71a. Since the gas pressure supplied from the gas cylinder 40 is high, the diaphragm 74 is displaced upward in the drawing, and in conjunction with this, the valve body 75a moves downward, the gate portion 75d is closed, and the second chamber is closed. The supply of gas to 73 is stopped. By repeating the above operation, the gas pressure in the second chamber 73 is reduced to a pressure lower than the gas pressure supplied from the gas cylinder 40 and maintained at a pressure within a predetermined range. The biasing force on the lever 75b can be adjusted by adjusting the meshing amount of the adjusting screw 75j and adjusting the upper end position of the coil spring 75f. As a result, the pressure within the predetermined range maintained by the operation of the diaphragm 74 can be adjusted.

Further, the pressure regulator 70 is provided with a forced valve opening mechanism 76.
The forced valve opening mechanism 76 includes a push rod 76a, a return spring 76b, and a solenoid 76c.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the push rod 76a is located above the connecting portion of the lever 75b with the diaphragm 74 and above the interlocking plate 75g, and is supported by the case 71 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. ing.

  The push rod 76a is urged upward in the drawing by the return spring 76b when the solenoid 76c is not driven, and is spaced apart from the interlocking plate 75g and the lever 75b as shown in the drawing. Yes.

  On the other hand, when the solenoid 76c is driven, the plunger 76d slides downward in the drawing to push the push rod 76a downward against the urging force of the return spring 76b. As a result, the interlocking plate 75g is pushed down, and in conjunction with this, the lever 75b swings in the clockwise direction in the drawing, the valve body 75a is displaced upward, and the valve mechanism 75 can be forcibly opened. .

(Control by control unit)
Next, control by the control unit 30 will be described.
The control unit 30 operates the inverter 32 so as to supply power from the battery 31 to the load 10 and controls the battery capacity (battery SOC) of the battery 31 to always be within a predetermined range.

  The battery capacity control of the battery 31 will be briefly described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. In step S101, it is determined whether or not the battery capacity has decreased below a preset lower limit threshold SOCLlim. If the battery capacity is less than or equal to the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, the process proceeds to step S102. If the battery capacity is greater than the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, the process returns to the start. The lower limit threshold SOCLlim is set to a value that can drive the load 10 for a certain period of time even when the battery capacity becomes the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, and is not a value that requires at least immediate charging.

  In step S102 that proceeds when the battery capacity is equal to or lower than the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, the battery 31 is charged. Details of this charging process will be described later.

  In step S103, which proceeds after starting the charging process, it is determined whether the battery capacity is equal to or higher than a preset upper limit threshold SOCHlim. And when battery capacity is more than upper limit threshold value SOCHlim, it progresses to Step S104 and ends charging processing. On the other hand, if the battery capacity is less than the upper limit threshold SOCHlim in step S103, the process returns to step S102 and the charging process is continued. The upper threshold value SOCHlim is set to a value indicating that the battery 31 is fully charged.

Next, the flow of the charging process executed in step S102 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
That is, when charging the battery 31, first, in step S201, it is determined whether or not the power supply network 20 is normal. Whether or not the power supply network 20 is normal is determined based on whether or not the detection value of the voltage sensor 36 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, that is, the voltage of power supplied from the power supply network 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Judgment is made by whether or not there is.

  If it is determined in step S201 that the power supply network 20 is normal, the process proceeds to step S202, and the power supply switching unit 34 is controlled to the side that supplies power to the battery 31 from the power supply network 20.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the power supply network 20 is abnormal (for example, a power failure), the process proceeds to step S203, the on-off valve 60 is opened, and the gas engine ENG is started. Start ENG. Details of the starting process of the gas engine ENG will be described later.

  And after performing the gas engine starting process of step S203, it progresses to step S204 and controls the power supply switching part 34 to the side which supplies electric power to the battery 31 from the generator G. FIG. At this time, the fact that the power generation by the generator G has been started in response to a power failure via a network that is not shown in the figure is signaled to a signal control center that is not shown that has control over the load 10 (signal). Output a reportable signal.

  In step S204 which proceeds after the supply of generated power by the generator G is started in step S203, it is determined again whether or not the power supply network 20 is normal, that is, whether or not the power supply network 20 has been recovered from the power failure. . And when the power supply network 20 is abnormal, it returns to step S203 and the power supply from the generator G is continued. On the other hand, if the power supply network 20 is restored normally, the process proceeds to step S205, the on-off valve 60 is closed, the gas engine ENG is stopped, and then the process returns to step S201. In this case, the process proceeds to step S202, and power is supplied from the restored power supply network 20.

  As described above, when charging the battery 31, when power is normally supplied from the power supply network 20, charging is performed using the power from the power supply network 20. On the other hand, when the power supply network 20 fails, such as when a power failure occurs, the gas engine ENG is started and the power generated by the generator G is charged.

Next, the gas engine start process in step S203 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the gas engine starting process.
First, the on-off valve 60 is opened in step S301. As a result, the LP gas in the gas cylinder 40 is supplied to the gas supply pipe 50.

  In step S302, the solenoid 76c is turned on a predetermined number of times or is turned on for a predetermined time. When the solenoid 76c is turned on, the plunger 76d pushes down the push rod 76a and the interlocking plate 75g, and the lever 75b swings clockwise in FIG. As a result, the valve body 75a moves upward, the gate portion 75d is opened, and high-pressure LP gas is supplied to the carburetor 80 of the gas engine ENG.

  In this case, since the valve body 75a is forcibly opened, the gas pressure exceeding the predetermined adjustment pressure of the diaphragm 74 can be supplied to the carburetor 80 side. Therefore, in the gas supply pipe 50, the gas engine side pipe portion 50b between the pressure regulator 70 and the carburetor 80 is supplied with high-pressure LP gas even in a state where only air is filled. The gas concentration can be increased to a certain level. In particular, as in the first embodiment, when the length of the gas supply pipe 50 (gas engine side pipe portion 50b) from the pressure regulator 70 to the suction side of the gas engine ENG is long, the air capacity is also large. For this reason, when the above-mentioned forced valve opening is not performed, the cranking operation time required for discharging the air becomes long.

  Therefore, the number of times or the drive time of the solenoid 76c in step S302 is determined based on the concentration of the gas mixed with the air present in the gas engine side pipe portion 50b and the concentration at which smooth startability can be obtained when cranking the gas engine ENG. Set to be able to.

  In step S303, which proceeds after the solenoid 76c is driven in step S302, the starter motor SM is driven to perform cranking of the gas engine ENG. Then, in subsequent step S304, it is determined whether or not the gas engine ENG has completely detonated. If the detonation has been completed, the gas engine start process is terminated. If the detonation is not complete, cranking is continued. The complete explosion of the gas engine ENG can be determined when the gas engine speed exceeds a predetermined speed.

(Operation of Embodiment 1)
Next, the operation of the power supply system A including the gas engine starter according to Embodiment 1 will be described.
In the first embodiment, power is supplied to the load 10 and the control unit 35 by discharging from the battery 31. In this case, even if the power supply to the battery 31 is any of the power supply network 20 and the generator G, and even when the power is switched, a stable power supply is always performed from the inverter 32 to the load 10. be able to. Moreover, since alternating current power is always supplied, the existing signal that is driven by the power from the power supply network 20 can be used as it is as the traffic light that is the load 10. Note that either AC power or DC power may be supplied to the control unit 35.

  Further, when the battery 31 is discharged and the battery capacity decreases and falls below the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, the battery 31 is charged. In this case, if the power supply network 20 is normal, charging is performed with the power of the power supply network 20. Therefore, the battery 31 always has a battery capacity larger than the lower limit threshold SOCLlim, and power supply to the load 10 is never stopped.

Next, a case where the power supply network 20 has a power failure (when not normal) will be described.
As described above, since the load 10 is driven by the discharged power of the battery 31, even when the power supply network 20 fails, the power supply to the load 10 does not stop immediately. Thereafter, when the battery capacity is reduced below the lower limit threshold SOCLlim due to the discharge of the battery 31, the gas engine ENG is started, the power generation of the generator G is started, and the battery 31 is charged with the generated power.

  When starting the gas engine ENG, first, the on-off valve 60 is opened, and further, the solenoid 76c is driven (ON). Thereby, in the pressure regulator 70, LP gas whose pressure is higher than the pressure adjusted by the diaphragm 74 is supplied to the gas engine side pipe portion 50b of the gas supply pipe 50, and the gas concentration in the gas engine side pipe portion 50b is improved. The concentration can be such that startability can be obtained.

  Thereafter, the gas engine ENG is cranked and the gas engine ENG is started. At this time, since the high-concentration LP gas is supplied to the gas engine side pipe portion 50b, it can be started smoothly.

  That is, when the forced opening by the drive of the solenoid 76c is not performed, air is present in the gas engine side pipe portion 50b before the gas engine ENG is cranked. When the gas engine ENG is cranked from this state, the LP gas decompressed to a predetermined pressure is supplied from the pressure regulator 70. Therefore, until the air existing before the LP gas is supplied is exhausted to the gas engine ENG. The LP gas of the desired concentration is not inhaled, and during that time it is difficult to start the gas engine ENG.

  When the cranking operation is performed by a person, it can be repeated until the gas engine ENG is completely detonated. However, when the gas engine ENG is automatically started at the time of a power failure of the power supply network 20 as in the first embodiment, the gas engine ENG may not be started even if the cranking is repeated a predetermined number of times. In this case, the driving of the traffic light as the load 10 is stopped, which may cause traffic disruption.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment, before cranking the gas engine ENG, the solenoid 76c is driven to automatically open the valve mechanism 75 of the pressure regulator 70, and the pressure regulator 70 High pressure LP gas is supplied without pressure reduction by the automatic pressure control function. For this reason, even if the air exists in the gas engine side pipe part 50b, the P gas of the density | concentration which can obtain favorable startability in the gas engine ENG can be supplied to the gas engine side pipe part 50b.
Therefore, even in the automatic cranking operation, it is possible to reliably start the gas engine ENG and supply power to the battery 31 so that the driving of the load 10 does not stop.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the power supply source supplies power from the battery 31 to the load 10 in both cases of the power supply network 20 and the generator G. For this reason, when the power supply source is switched, the power supply to the load 10 does not become unstable, and the operation of the load 10 can be stabilized. Furthermore, even if the power supply (voltage) of the generator G becomes unstable, the unstable power is not directly supplied to the load 10, and the operation of the load 10 can be always stabilized. .

(Effect of Embodiment 1)
The effects of the gas engine starting device and the power supply system according to Embodiment 1 are listed below.
1) A gas engine starter according to Embodiment 1
A gas engine starting device for starting a gas engine ENG driven by liquefied gas supplied from a gas cylinder 40 through a gas supply pipe 50,
An on-off valve 60 provided in the gas supply pipe 50 and for opening and closing the gas supply pipe 50, and a pressure regulator 70 for reducing the liquefied gas filled in the gas cylinder 40 to a predetermined pressure and supplying it to the intake side of the gas engine ENG When,
A solenoid 76c as an actuator for operating the adjustment pressure of the pressure regulator 70 on the high-pressure side;
A starter motor SM for cranking the gas engine ENG;
A control unit 35 as a start control unit for operating the starter motor SM;
With
The control unit 35 switches the open / close valve 60 from the closed state to the open state before cranking by the starter motor SM, and further drives the solenoid 76c to operate the pressure regulator 70 to the high pressure side, thereby A cranking operation is performed after LP gas having a pressure higher than a predetermined pressure is supplied to the intake side of the engine ENG.
Therefore, LP gas having a desired concentration can be supplied to the gas engine side pipe portion 50b of the gas supply pipe 50 even when the intake negative pressure is not generated before the cranking of the gas engine ENG. Therefore, it is possible to improve the startability of the gas engine ENG.

2) The gas engine start control device of Embodiment 1
The pressure regulator 70 has a valve mechanism 75 that closes when the pressure in the second chamber 73 into which the liquefied gas is introduced exceeds a predetermined pressure, and opens when the pressure in the second chamber 73 becomes less than the predetermined pressure. ,
The solenoid 76c is provided to open the valve mechanism 75 regardless of the pressure in the second chamber 73 during driving.
Therefore, high-pressure LP gas is supplied to the gas engine side pipe portion 50b of the gas supply pipe 50 without being affected by the adjustment pressure of the pressure regulator 70, and the startability of the gas engine EMG is reliably improved. Can do.

3) The gas engine start control device of Embodiment 1
The control unit 35 drives the solenoid 76c a predetermined number of times to open the valve mechanism 75 a predetermined number of times.
Therefore, the concentration at which a good startability of the gas engine ENG can be obtained by feeding the high-pressure LP gas before pressure regulation by the pressure regulator 70 into the gas engine side pipe portion 50b of the gas supply pipe 50 a predetermined number of times. LP gas can be sent in. Thereby, the startability of gas engine ENG can be improved further reliably.

4) The power supply system A of Embodiment 1 is
A power supply system including a generator G that is driven by a gas engine ENG that is started by the gas engine start control device according to any one of 1) to 3) to generate electric power,
A load 10 that operates by supplying power from the power supply network 20;
A control unit 30 as a power supply controller for starting the gas engine ENG and generating the generator G in the event of a power failure in the power supply network 20;
It was set as the power supply system provided with.
Therefore, since the generator G is caused to generate power by driving the gas engine ENG having excellent startability at the time of a power failure of the power supply network 20, it is possible to reliably supply power to the load 10.

5) The power supply system A of Embodiment 1
A battery 31 for supplying power to the load 10;
When the power supply network 20 is normal, the control unit 35 charges the battery 31 with the power of the power supply network 20, and when the power supply network 20 is not normal, the control unit 35 starts the gas engine ENG and supplies the power generated by the generator G to the battery. 31 is charged.
Therefore, stable power supply can always be performed from the battery 31 to the load 10.

For example, normally, power is directly supplied from the power supply network 20 to the load 10 and power generation of the generator G is started at the time of a power failure of the power supply network 20, and power is supplied from the generator G to the load 10. There is a case where the power supply is interrupted or becomes unstable after the power supply network 20 is powered off until the power supply by the generator G is started. Further, when the power generated by the generator G is directly supplied to the load 10, the supply voltage may become unstable due to variations in the operation of the gas engine ENG. In this case, the operation of the load 10 becomes unstable. There is a risk.
On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since power is always supplied from the battery 31 to the load 10, even if the power supply network 20 fails or the power supply network 20 fails, the load 31 from the battery 31 There is no interruption in power supply or instability.
Further, even when the power generated by the generator G becomes unstable, the power is once stored in the battery 31 and is not directly supplied to the load 10, so the operation of the load 10 is unstable. Never become.

(Other embodiments)
Next, another embodiment will be described.
Note that in the description of other embodiments, components that are the same as those in the other embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the present embodiment, and description thereof is omitted. Only differences from the present embodiment will be described.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 7 shows an outline of the configuration of the power supply system according to the second embodiment.
The control unit 240 executes control for switching to the power supply network 20 generator G as a power source for the load 10. That is, when power is normally supplied from the power supply network 20, the power supply network 20 is used as a power source, and control is performed using the generator G as a power source when the power supply network 20 is out of power or abnormal.

The control unit 240 includes a terminal block 241, a power supply switching unit 242, an automatic operation control circuit 243, an automatic start / automatic stop control unit 244, a manual operation control unit 245, an automatic maintenance operation control unit 246, a charging circuit 247, and an alarm output unit. 248.
The terminal block 241 has terminals (not shown) connected to the load 10 and the power supply network 20.

  The power supply switching unit 242 is configured by a switch group that switches the supply of power to the load 10 between a state in which power can be supplied from the power supply network 20 and a state in which power can be supplied from the generator G. Further, the power supply network 20 is connected to the charging circuit 247 via the power supply switching unit 242, and the battery 231 can be charged by converting the power of the power supply network 20 into direct current by the charging circuit 247.

  The automatic operation control circuit 243 controls the switching operation of the power supply switching unit 242, the power generation by the generator G, and the stop thereof. That is, the automatic operation control circuit 243 monitors the state (normal state or power failure state) of the power supply network 20 based on the signal from the voltage sensor 243a that detects the voltage of the power supply network 20, and the power supply network When 20 is in a normal power supply state, the power supply switching unit 242 supplies power from the power supply network 20 to the load 10.

  On the other hand, at the time of a power failure in the power supply network 20, the automatic operation control circuit 243 starts the gas engine EMG by the same control as in the first embodiment, and sets the power switch unit 242 to supply the power of the generator G to the load 10. Switch to the supply state. In addition, when the generator G generates power, the battery B2 is charged as necessary.

  Further, when the power supply network 20 is restored, the automatic operation control circuit 243 stops the generator G and switches the power supply switching unit 242 to a state in which the power of the power supply network 20 is supplied to the load 10.

  The automatic operation by the automatic operation control circuit 243 is executed when the automatic operation mode is selected by operating the operation switch group 270 provided in the control unit 240. The operation switch group 270 includes a switch for switching to a manual mode that allows the generator G to be started, operated, and stopped by manual operation, although details are omitted. In the first embodiment, the same manual operation is possible.

  The automatic start / automatic stop control unit 244 controls the switching operation of the power supply switching unit 242 and the power generation by the generator G and its stop based on the operation from the remote operation unit 260. Here, the remote operation unit 260 is provided in a signal control center or the like that performs integrated control of the signal (load 10), and controls the signal (load 10) from a remote place and the power supply to the signal (load 10). Is possible.

The manual operation control unit 245 controls the start, operation, and stop of the generator G in accordance with operations of a start switch and a stop switch (not shown) included in the operation switch group 270.
The automatic maintenance operation control unit 246 performs control to automatically start, operate, and stop the generator G periodically at the time of setting the automatic mode described above. Note that, when the generator G is driven by the control of the automatic maintenance operation control unit 246, the power source switching unit 242 does not switch the power source. Also in the first embodiment, the same control is performed.
When the gas leak sensor 248a detects a gas leak in the housing 90, the alarm output unit 248 performs an output for reporting the gas leak to the remote control unit 260. Note that the same configuration is provided in the first embodiment.

Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the automatic operation control circuit 243 closes the open / close valve 60 before cranking by the starter motor SM when the gas engine ENG is started. Then, the solenoid 76c is driven to operate the pressure regulator 70 to the high pressure side to supply LP gas having a pressure higher than a predetermined pressure to the intake side of the gas engine ENG. Perform ranking operation.
Therefore, even in the second embodiment, the effects 1) to 3) are achieved.

As described above, the gas engine start control device and the power supply system of the present disclosure have been described based on the embodiment. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and each claim of the claims Design changes and additions are permitted without departing from the spirit of the invention.
For example, the arrangement of the gas cylinders and the arrangement of the gas supply pipes are not limited to those shown in the embodiment. Specifically, the gas supply pipe may be routed along the side wall through the side wall, or may be routed along the ceiling wall through the ceiling wall. Further, in the embodiment, the example in which the gas cylinder is disposed beside the gas engine and the generator in the horizontal direction is shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the gas engine and the generator may be disposed on the gas cylinder. Good.

Further, the pressure regulator is well known and is not limited to the structure shown in the embodiment. Moreover, the arrangement of the actuator for forcibly opening the valve mechanism of the pressure regulator can be appropriately arranged according to the structure of the pressure regulator and the valve mechanism.
Further, the forced valve opening mechanism is not limited to that shown in the embodiment. For example, instead of the lever, the valve body may be moved directly as the drive target. Furthermore, a motor other than the solenoid may be used as the actuator. In this case, a rotational force may be applied to the lever.
Further, as the gas supply path, at least a part other than the pipe can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Load 20 Electric power supply network 30 Control unit 31 Battery 35 Control part (startup control part)
40 Gas cylinder 50 Gas supply pipe (gas supply path)
60 On-off valve 70 Pressure regulator 73 Second chamber 74 Diaphragm 75 Valve mechanism 76 Forced valve opening mechanism 76c Solenoid (actuator)
80 carburetor 231 battery 240 control unit 243 automatic operation control circuit (starting control unit)
A Power system EMG Gas engine G Generator SM Starter motor

Claims (4)

A gas engine start control device for starting a gas engine driven by liquefied gas supplied from a gas cylinder through a gas supply path,
An on-off valve provided in the gas supply path, for opening and closing the gas supply path, and a pressure regulator for reducing the liquefied gas filled in the gas cylinder to a predetermined pressure and supplying the liquefied gas to the intake side of the gas engine;
An actuator for operating the adjustment pressure of the pressure regulator to the high pressure side;
A starter motor for cranking the gas engine;
A start control unit for operating the starter motor;
With
The start control unit switches the open / close valve from the closed state to the open state before cranking by the starter motor, further drives the actuator to operate the pressure regulator to the high pressure side, A gas engine start control device that performs cranking after supplying the liquefied gas having a pressure higher than the predetermined pressure to an intake side of the gas engine. In the gas engine start control device according to claim 1,
The pressure regulator has a valve mechanism that closes when the pressure in the second chamber into which the liquefied gas is introduced exceeds the predetermined pressure, and opens when the pressure in the second chamber becomes less than the predetermined pressure. And
The actuator is a gas engine start control device provided to open the valve mechanism regardless of the pressure in the second chamber during driving. The gas engine start control device according to claim 2,
The actuator is a solenoid;
The start control unit is a gas engine start control device that drives the solenoid a predetermined number of times to open the valve mechanism a predetermined number of times. A power supply system comprising a generator that is driven by the gas engine started by the gas engine start control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to generate electric power,
A load that operates by supplying power from the power supply network; and
A power supply controller for starting the gas engine and generating the generator when the power supply network is abnormal;
Power supply system comprising.