JP2520224B2 - LP gas filling device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention opens an on-off valve of a gas container when filling a gas container with LP gas, connects a gas filling nozzle to a gas filling port of an on-off valve body, and after filling the gas is completed. The present invention relates to an LP gas filling device that automates the work of closing an on-off valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the filling work of LP gas has been carried out by using various filling devices, but all of these devices are connected and detached from a gas filling nozzle of a gas filling port of a gas container, and an opening / closing valve. The operator had to manually open and close the.

[0003]

For example, the applicant of the present application, in the prior application (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-93598), carries in a gas container to a gas filling place in order to centralize and rationalize the filling work. And an application for a LP gas filling device that automatically carries out the discharge. In the above-mentioned device, a carry-in port and a carry-out port are provided at fixed positions on the turntable, and a carry-in route and a carry-out route for transferring a gas container are continuously provided at each port. And
A gas container is automatically loaded into the container mounting portion, which is arranged at a constant interval on the same circumference of the upper surface of the turntable by the above-mentioned loading path, and gas is introduced into the gas filling port of the gas container mounted on the container mounting portion. The operator manually connects the gas filling nozzle of the filling machine. Then, while the gas container is transferred from the carry-in port to the carry-out port by rotating the turntable, a predetermined amount of LP is supplied.
When the gas is filled and transferred to the carry-out port, the gas filling nozzle is manually removed from the gas filling port of the gas container.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, when connecting the gas filling nozzle, it is necessary for the worker to rotate the container while aligning the direction and the position of the gas filling port of the container with respect to the filling nozzle. It was hard work. Therefore, it has been desired to automate the above work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and automates the direction and alignment of the gas filling port and the gas filling nozzle of the gas container and the opening / closing operation of the open / close valve. The purpose is to streamline.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the LP gas filling apparatus of the present application is a vertical reference in which the outer periphery of a gas container is received and the axis of the gas container is set at a predetermined position. A clamp mechanism that holds it in a state of being aligned with the core, a valve opening / closing head that is installed directly above the gas container and is supported so as to be able to descend and rise and rotate with respect to the handle of the gas container opening / closing valve, and the opening / closing valve body. An engaging member having a shape that matches from the outside along the outer periphery in plan view is provided, and the engaging member is movable back and forth with respect to a reference core connecting between the valve opening / closing head and the opening / closing valve of the gas container and along the reference core. Supported by the upper and lower parts of the open / close valve body by pressing the above-mentioned engaging body against the open / close valve body from above and horizontally rotating the same. The valve direction detecting portion configured to engage with the outer periphery of the valve body and the above-mentioned valve direction detecting portion are made to correspond to each other in the direction and the vertical position, and the valve direction detecting portion and the valve direction detecting portion are rotated 360 ° or more around the reference core. And a gas filling nozzle that is movably supported and is movable back and forth with respect to the gas filling port of the on-off valve body.

According to the above means, the outer peripheral portion of the gas container is received by the clamp mechanism, so that the axial center of the gas container is held in a state where it coincides with the reference core set at a predetermined position. A valve opening / closing head is installed immediately above the gas container held as described above, and is supported so as to be movable down and up and engaged with the opening / closing valve of the gas container. Therefore, the valve opening / closing head engages with the handle of the opening / closing valve of the gas container by descending, and further rotates left to open the opening / closing valve, and rotates right to close the opening / closing valve.

The engagement member of the valve direction detecting portion has a shape that conforms from the outside along the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body in plan view. The engagement body is supported so as to be movable back and forth with respect to a reference core that connects the valve opening / closing head and the opening / closing valve of the gas container, and moves up and down on the reference core. The above-mentioned engagement body moves toward the reference core when necessary and descends on the reference core, so that it is pressed against the on-off valve body of the gas container from above, and at the same time, it can be horizontally rotated by 360 ° or more. Become. The shape of the engagement body conforms to the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body in a plan view, which faces in a certain direction, in the course of its rotation. Due to this shape matching, the engaging body descends and engages with the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body. The direction and position of the on-off valve body and the gas filling port are detected based on this engagement relationship. After the detection, the valve direction detector moves up and then retracts from the reference core.

The gas filling nozzle installed at a predetermined position in correspondence with the above-mentioned valve detecting portion in the direction and the vertical positional relationship,
360 with the valve direction detection unit centered on the reference core
It is supported so that it can rotate more than °. Therefore, the gas filling nozzle is aligned with the gas filling port provided on the side surface of the on-off valve body, and is connected to the gas filling port by advancing with respect to the gas filling port, and is also retracted. It moves away from the gas filling port.

Next, an example of the operation process of the gas filling work will be described. The gas container carried in to the specified position is held in a state where it is concentric with the reference core by the clamp mechanism, and by detecting the direction and position of the open / close valve facing the unspecified direction by the valve direction detection unit. , The gas filling nozzle and the gas filling port of the opening / closing valve body are aligned,
A gas filling nozzle is connected. Then, after the valve direction detection unit retracts from the reference line, the handle of the opening / closing valve is rotated and opened by lowering and rotating the valve opening / closing head to fill gas. After the gas is filled, the handle of the opening / closing valve is closed, the gas filling nozzle is retracted, and the valve opening / closing head is raised to complete the filling process.

[0011]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention is configured as described above, the positioning, connection, disconnection, and opening / closing valve of the gas filling port and the gas filling nozzle of the gas container that is carried in to the predetermined position are aligned. It becomes possible to automatically perform all of the opening and closing operations of the above, and it is possible to reasonably automate the LP gas filling operation, which was a heavy labor. Further, by supporting both the gas filling nozzle and the valve direction detection unit so as to be rotatable by 360 ° or more, the valve direction can be detected regardless of the direction of the opening / closing valve of the gas container. Therefore, when the gas container is moved to the position of the reference core, it is not necessary to set the direction of the open / close valve in a certain direction, and the work efficiency can be improved. Further, the direction of the opening / closing valve is detected by the valve direction detecting unit by horizontally rotating the engaging body having a shape matching from the outside along the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body in plan view, while pressing the engaging body from above against the opening / closing valve body. When the shape of the on-off valve main body matches the shape, the engagement body descends and engages with the outer periphery of the on-off valve body, so that the direction of the engagement body and the actual direction of the on-off valve body are different. The error can be suppressed minutely, and the direction of the on-off valve can be detected accurately and surely.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The LP gas filling device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 holds the gas container a carried in by the carry-in conveyor c at a predetermined position (reference core e), and after opening the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a. , The gas filling nozzle 7 is connected to the gas filling port a3 of the main body a1 ′ of the opening / closing valve, and a predetermined amount of L
After the P gas is filled, the gas filling work for closing the opening / closing valve a1 is automatically performed.
Is installed on the turntable d to which is connected.

A gas container a is used for the LP gas filling device.
In the middle of the carry-in conveyor c for carrying in the
An electronic scale (not shown) that measures the weight of each gas container a moving above, a bar code reading device that reads a bar code such as container type information written on the circumferential surface of the gas container a, and a measurement using the electronic scale Based on the weight of each gas container a, the remaining gas amount in the gas container a and the gas filling amount necessary to fully fill each gas container a are calculated, and the gas filling amount for each gas container a is calculated. Control unit (not shown) for controlling
Is installed.

A plurality of LP gas filling devices are installed at regular intervals along the outer periphery of the turntable d to which the terminal end of the carry-in conveyor c is connected. Each LP gas filling device sequentially passes through the end portion of the carry-in conveyor c. Then, each LP gas filling device on the turntable d calculates by the control unit (not shown) while the turntable d makes about one rotation with respect to the gas container a received when passing through the carry-in conveyor c. The specified amount of gas is charged.
Further, the gas container filled with a predetermined amount of gas is transferred to the carry-out conveyor g installed in parallel with the carry-in conveyor c, and conveyed to a predetermined collecting place.

The LP gas filling device is equipped with a carry-in conveyor c.
Clamping mechanism 1 for holding the outer peripheral portion of the gas container a, which is loaded in an upright state, by keeping the shaft center of the container a in line with the reference core e.
A valve opening / closing head 3, which is installed immediately above the valve opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a and supports the handle a2 of the opening / closing valve a1 so as to be capable of descending and ascending and engagingly rotating, and the valve opening / closing head 3 and the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a. A valve direction detection unit 5 that supports the reference core e that connects between the two so that it can move forward and backward and can move up and down on the reference core. The valve direction detection unit 5 and the valve direction detection unit 5 are rotatably supported around the reference core e. In addition, the gas filling nozzle 7 is configured to be connectable to the gas filling port a3 of the opening / closing valve a1, and each member is attached and supported to the machine frame 9 standing on the outer peripheral portion of the turntable d. .

The gas container a, which has been carried upright from the carry-in conveyor c onto the turntable d, is held at its outer peripheral portion by the clamp mechanism 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamp mechanism 1 includes upper and lower clamps 11 and 12 that sandwich the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical gas container a from both sides, and these clamps 11 and 12 are provided in the lower part of the machine frame 9. It is mounted and supported at intervals above and below. One clamp 11 that holds the upper portion of the gas container a has a pair of clamp bodies 11a and 11b that hold the gas container a while sandwiching the outer periphery thereof, as shown in FIG.

The holding portions of the clamp bodies 11a and 11b are notched in a substantially rectangular shape, and rollers 13c are provided at both projecting ends that come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gas container a. Both clamp bodies 1
The base ends of the arms 13a and 13b that support 1a and 11b are slidably attached and supported along a slide plate 14 that is attached horizontally to the machine frame 9.
1a and 11b are configured so as to approach or separate from each other at the same time toward the axis of the gas container a.

The racks 15a and 15b are projected inward from the clamp bodies 11a and 11b, and the gear 16 is engaged between the tooth surfaces of the racks 15a and 15b facing each other in parallel. I am allowed. 1 The gear 16 rotates integrally with the drive gear 18 via the shaft 17. As shown in FIG. 4, the drive gear 18 meshes with a rack 20 that linearly reciprocates by an air cylinder 19.
Therefore, the reciprocating linear drive of the rack 20 by the air cylinder 19 causes the drive gears 18 and 16 to rotate,
The racks 15a and 15b meshing with the gear 16 move in parallel at the same time toward the outside or the inside, whereby the clamps 11a and 11b are opened and closed.

The above-described upper clamp 11 slidably mounts and supports the sliding plate 14 which is a supporting substrate along the two guide rods 21 which are vertically mounted to the machine frame 9, and at the same time, the rodless air is used. The cylinder 22 is configured so that it can be moved to a predetermined height by the operation of the cylinder 22.
The upper holding position can be changed according to the size of the.

On the other hand, the clamp 12 for holding the lower portion of the gas container a is constructed in exactly the same manner as the clamp 11 described above and operates in synchronization with the clamp 11, but is fixedly attached to the machine frame 9. That is, the holding position of the lower clamp 12 with respect to the gas container a is fixed. The lower clamp 12 receives the lower portion of the gas container a transferred from the conveyor c at a predetermined position, but the stopper 25
Is provided. The stopper 25 is supported by the air cylinder 25a, and is supported so as to be movable toward the reference core e corresponding to the diameter of the gas container a.

Both clamps 11, which are constructed as described above,
When the outer peripheral portion of the gas container a is clamped by 12, the gas container a is held with its axis aligned with the reference axis e (FIG. 1). A container mounting portion b is provided on the ground surface of the gas container a held by the clamp mechanism 1. The container mounting part b is in electrical communication with the above-mentioned control part (not shown),
The weight change of the gas container a while moving on the turntable d, that is, the filling amount of LP gas is measured, and the measurement signal is output to the control unit. Further, a large number of rollers are arranged in parallel on the upper surface of the container mounting portion b so that the grounding surface of the gas container a transferred from the carry-in conveyor c can smoothly slide.

As described above, the valve opening / closing head 3 for opening / closing the handle a2 of the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a is provided directly above the gas container a held in a state of being aligned with the reference core e.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the valve opening / closing head 3 includes a head portion 31 that fits into the handle a2 of the opening / closing valve a1 from above. The head portion 31 is attached and fixed to a lower end of a piston rod 33 of an air cylinder 32 provided vertically along a reference axis e, and descends and rises toward the handle a2 on the reference axis e as the piston rod 33 moves back and forth. To do. A spline groove is formed in the piston rod 33 described above and penetrates the lower surface wall of the cylinder tube 34. Further, the cylinder cylinder 34 communicates with a motor 36 via a gear mechanism 35 attached to the upper portion of the air cylinder 32, and is rotated forward / reverse by the drive of the motor 36, and further the head is connected via the spline engagement. The part 31 is configured to rotate. That is, the head portion 31 is supported by driving the air cylinder 32 and the motor 36 so as to be capable of descending / ascending and rotating forward / reversely along the reference axis e.

The air cylinder 32 is mounted and fixed in a vertical state along the vertical side of a rotary frame 45 that is rotatably suspended from the mounting base 40 on the machine frame 9 side, and the shaft center is a reference core e. To match. Rotating frame 45 formed in a substantially right triangle
Of the air cylinder 32 mounted along the vertical side as described above by pivotally supporting the apex portion to the tip end portion of the support plate 40a extending horizontally from the mounting base 40 via the pivot support portion 80. It is hung so that it can freely rotate 360 ° around the axis (reference axis e).

As shown in FIG. 7, the shaft support 80 for rotatably suspending the rotary frame 45 has a hollow rotary shaft 81 with respect to the tip of the support plate 40a of the mounting base 40. The rotary frame 45 is vertically inserted through the thrust bearings 82, and the lower end of the rotary shaft 81 is fitted with the apex portion of the rotary frame 45 together with the set screw 81a. The apex is suspended by the support plate 40a of the mounting base 40, and is further supported so as to freely rotate around the rotary shaft 81. A gear 41 is fitted and fixed to the upper end of the rotary shaft 81, and is meshed with the gear 41 attached to the output shaft of a drive motor 43 such as an air motor. The air motor 43 is mounted on the mounting base 40.
Is fixed to the support plate 40a of the air motor 4
The rotary shaft 81 and the rotary frame 45 are driven and rotated in the range of 360 ° or more by the driving of No. 3.

Further, a joint portion 85 of the compressed air supply pipe system is provided on the above-mentioned shaft support portion 80. The joint portion 85 is capable of freely rotating an air supply pipe 86 connected to a compressed air supply source (not shown) and an air supply pipe 88 connected to the valve direction detection unit 5 and the air cylinder of the gas filling nozzle 7 without twisting. An inner ring 85a that is connected to the upper portion of the gear 41 of the shaft support portion 80 and rotates integrally with the gear 41, and an outer ring that is slidably fitted to the outer side of the inner ring 85a. The ring 85b and the gear 4
It is constructed by stacking in a concentric manner and in a multi-stage manner. That is, each outer ring 85b is non-rotatably attached and fixed on the mounting plate 87 that is attached and fixed to the attachment base 40, and each inner ring 85a fitted in these outer rings 85b is the gear 41, It rotates together with the rotary shaft 81 and the rotary frame 45.

A ventilation groove 85c is provided along the inner peripheral surface of each inner ring 85b, while an air supply pipe 86 communicating with the ventilation groove 85c is connected to the outer peripheral portion of each outer ring 85b. Each of the air supply pipes 86 communicates with a compressed air supply source (not shown). On the other hand, one end port of an air supply pipe 88, which passes through the hollow portion and communicates with an air cylinder provided in the valve direction detection unit 5 and the gas filling nozzle 7, which will be described later, is connected to the inner peripheral surface of each inner ring 85a. Air supply pipe 86 and supply pipe 88
And are communicated with each other via a ventilation groove 85c which is in contact with the sliding surface. Further, O-rings are fitted to the fitting surfaces of the inner and outer rings 85a and 85b and the connecting surfaces, respectively, to maintain the airtightness of the joint surfaces. Although the above-mentioned joint part 85 is configured to connect the air supply pipe 86 and the air supply pipe 88 for sending compressed air, it may be configured as a joint part for sending hydraulic liquid.

The gas supply pipe 91 mounted and fixed to the upper end of the support column 86a of each air supply pipe 86 is bent downward through a swivel joint 92 that absorbs rotation similarly to the joint portion 85, and the joint portion 85 and the shaft are bent. Branch 80
Of the gas filling nozzle 7 through the flexible tube 93.

The mounting base 40 for mounting and supporting the joint portion 85 and the rotating frame 45 is supported so as to be vertically slidable along guide rails 46 provided vertically along both sides of the upper portion of the machine frame 9. is there. In addition, the tip of the arm 47 protruding from the mounting base 40 toward the rear side is erected between the upper portion of the machine frame 9 and the pulleys 48a and 48b provided in the middle position.
It is connected to c. Then, the mounting base 40 and the rotating frame 45 are configured to descend and rise within the range of the guide rail 46 by rotational driving of a drive motor 49 such as an air motor with a brake provided on the lower pulley 48b. .
Further, the attachment base 40 has pulleys 6 provided on both sides of the upper portion of the machine frame 9.
1 is connected to one end of the wire 62 and a weight 63 is hung on the other end of the wire 62, whereby the weight of the mounting base 40 and the upper thread 63 is balanced, and the air motor 49 reduces the load when the mounting base 40 is moved up and down.

The valve direction detector 5 detects the direction of the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a carried in various directions, and as shown in FIG. Engagement pieces 51a and 51b that engage with the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body a1 'are attached and supported at the rod tips of the air cylinders 52 that project. Also,
At the center of the air cylinder 52, an abutment body 56 that abuts the handle a2 of the opening / closing valve a1 is axially supported so as to elastically project and retract right below. The air cylinder 52 is mounted and supported on the tip of a rotary arm 55 that extends horizontally from the tip of a piston rod 53a of the air cylinder 53. The air cylinder 53 is an elastic air cylinder 54.
It is mounted and supported on the vertical side portion of the rotating frame 45 in a state of being connected in series with, and is supported with the 54 piston rod 53a facing downward.

The air cylinder 53 is a piston rod 53a.
The vertical movement of the piston rod 53a causes the center of the engagement pieces 51a and 51b provided at the tip of the rotation arm 55 to open and close the valve opening / closing head 3 and the opening / closing valve of the gas container a. It rotates between a position on the reference core e connecting a1 and a position separated from the opening / closing valve a1. In addition, due to the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 53, the reference core e
The upper engaging pieces 51a and 51b and the abutment body 56 are configured to move down / up with respect to the opening / closing valve a1.

The above-mentioned engaging pieces 51a, 51b are attached to the tip of the piston rod of the air cylinder 52 so that they can be opened and closed as shown in FIG. The gap is larger than the diameter of the handle a2, and the handle a2 passes vertically between the engaging pieces 51a and 51b. When the engagement pieces 51a and 51b are closed, the cutout portions 57a and 57a formed at the tips of the engagement pieces 51a and 51b are
57b substantially coincides with the outer peripheral shape of the opening / closing valve body a1 ′ in plan view of the gas filling port a3 and the circumferential portion on the opposite side, and the opening / closing valve body a1 ′ has an appropriate clearance between the notches 57a and 57b. To fit (Fig. 1
0).

For example, when both the engaging pieces 51a and 51b are closed and pressed against the opening / closing valve a1 from above, the direction of the opening / closing valve body a1 'and the direction of the notches 57a and 57b of the engaging pieces 51a and 51b. In the state where the two do not match, the opening / closing valve body a1 ′ is not fitted in the engaging pieces 51a and 51b. However, when the engaging pieces 51a and 51b are horizontally rotated to match the directions of both, the engaging pieces 51a and 51b are rotated.
The opening / closing valve body a1 ′ is provided between the cutout portions 57a and 57b of b.
Are fitted, and the direction of the valve body a1 'is detected by the direction of the engaging pieces 51a, 51b at that time.

The elastic air cylinder 54, which is connected in series with the air cylinder 53, has the engagement pieces 51a and 51b lowered by the air cylinder 53 to just above the opening / closing valve body a1 as shown in FIG. The stroke is as small as the radius of a3, and is weakly and elastically pressed so that an excessive load is not generated, and the engaging pieces 51a, 51b are applied while applying a pressing force by the elastic air cylinder 54.
When the valve is turned, as described above, the opening / closing valve body a1 '
When the direction of the engaging pieces 51a and 51b coincides with each other, the shapes of the engaging pieces 51a and 51b coincide with each other.
Will fall by the stroke of the elastic air cylinder 54.

The sensor 58 provided on the air cylinder 52 which supports the engaging pieces 51a and 51b is provided with a contact body 56 when the contact body 56 comes into contact with the upper surface of the handle a2 due to the lowering of the valve direction detecting portion 5. Is operated by coming into contact with the upper end of the support shaft 56a of the air cylinder 52, the descent of the valve direction detector 5 is stopped based on the operation of the sensor 58, and the air cylinder 52
Contracts to close the engagement pieces 51a and 51b, and the elastic air cylinder 54 extends. Further, the sensor 59 provided side by side with the sensor 58 has the engagement pieces 51a, 5
1b and the direction of the on-off valve main body a1 'coincide with each other, and as described above, when the engaging pieces 51a, 51b are depressed by the stroke of the elastic air cylinder 54, they come into contact with the upper end of the support shaft 56a of the contact body 56. The detection of the direction is confirmed by the operation of the sensor 58.

The gas filling nozzle 7 is provided with a nozzle 71 horizontally fitted and connected to the gas filling port a3 of the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a, and a control valve 72. It is provided on the bottom side of the rotating frame 45 in a state of facing the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container. A flexible pipe 93 that connects the gas supply pipe 91 is connected to the rear portion of the control valve 72 to supply LP gas to the control valve 72. The sliding base plate 73 that mounts and supports the control valve 72 and the nozzle portion 71 slidably supports along a guide rail 74 that is horizontally provided along the bottom side of the rotating frame 45, and the sliding base plate 73 of the rodless air cylinder 75. It is configured to linearly move back and forth toward the reference core e by driving.

The direction of the nozzle 71 described above coincides with the direction of the locking pieces 51a, 51b of the valve direction detection unit 5 described above, and faces the reference extension e. Also, the vertical gap between the nozzle 71 and the locking pieces 51a, 51b maintains a predetermined dimension, and the nozzle 71 is opened and closed while the locking pieces 51a, 51b are fitted to the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body a1 '. It is configured to coincide with the position of the gas filling port a3 of the valve a1.

Next, the operation process of the LP gas filling device configured as described above will be described. When the gas container a placed on the carry-in conveyor c and conveyed to the end of the moving conveyor is placed on the container mounting portion b by an automatic charging machine or manually, the air cylinder 19 of the clamp mechanism 1 operates and both clamps 11 and 12 are tightened and clamped so that the outer periphery of the gas container a is sandwiched from both sides. As a result, the gas container a is held in a state of being aligned with the reference core e.

In the above-mentioned state, the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a may be oriented in any direction. Therefore, even when the gas container a is placed on the container mounting part b from the carry-in conveyor c, the opening / closing valve a1 may be opened. You don't have to worry about the direction.
Therefore, there is no problem even when the gas container a is charged by the automatic charging machine. The distance between the upper and lower clamps 11 and 12 corresponds to the type of the gas container a to be filled, and is changed before the gas container a is loaded. The type of each gas container a is read by a bar code reader (not shown) provided in the middle of the carry-in conveyor c, and the rodless cylinder 22 is read based on a control signal from a controller (not shown).
Is performed by activating.

After the gas container a is held by the clamps 11 and 12, the air motor 49 of the pulley 48b is operated,
Due to the lowering of the mounting base 40, the valve opening / closing head 3 in the raised position and the valve direction detection unit 5 located on the reference core e are lowered, and the contact body 56 of the detection unit 5 moves to the handle a2. The sensor 58 operates by contacting the upper surface (FIG. 7).

Based on the operation of the sensor 58, the air cylinder 52 of the valve direction detecting portion 5 contracts, the engagement pieces 51a and 51b that were in the open state are closed, and the elastic air cylinder 54 further extends. As a result, the engagement pieces 51a in the closed state,
51b is elastically pressed against the opening / closing nozzle body a1 ′ with a relatively weak force. In most cases, for example, FIG.
Since the direction of the opening / closing valve body a1 ′ does not match the direction of the shape of the cutouts 57a, 57b of the locking pieces 51a, 51b as shown in FIG. 5, the locking pieces 51a, 51b are located above the opening / closing valve body a1 ′. It is pressed against (Fig. 7).

Next, the air motor 43 of the valve opening / closing head 3 is operated, and the valve direction detector 5 and the gas filling nozzle 5 are rotated together with the rotating frame 45. When this rotation progresses, the cutouts 57a, 5 of the locking pieces 51a, 51b at some point.
7b has the same shape as that of the opening / closing valve body a
The locking pieces 51a, 51b are fitted on the outer side of 1 ', and the engaging pieces 51a, 51b are inserted as shown in FIG. 8 so that the tip of the support shaft 56a of the contact body 56 hits the sensor 59. The sensor 59 operates. The operation of the air motor 43 is stopped based on the operation of the sensor 59, and the rotation of the locking pieces 51a and 51b and the gas filling nozzle 7 is also stopped. At this time, the direction of the opening / closing valve a1 is detected, and the gas filling nozzle 7 is in a state where the direction and the height of the opening / closing valve a1 coincide with the gas filling opening a3 of the opening / closing valve a1. As described above, the rotary frame 45 has 36
It is possible to rotate over 0 ° or more. Therefore, no matter which direction the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a is facing at the time of loading, the engagement 51 as described above is performed while the valve direction detection unit 5 is rotated 360 degrees together with the rotation frame 45.
The a and 51b are always fitted to the outside of the opening / closing valve body a1 ′, and the direction of the opening / closing valve a1 can be detected.

As the sensor 59 operates, the air cylinder 52 of the valve direction detecting portion 5 expands and both locking pieces 5 move.
1a and 51b are opened, then the air cylinders 53 and 54 are both contracted to raise the valve direction detector 5, and the air cylinder 53 is rotated 90 ° to retract the valve direction detector 5 from the on-off valve a1. , Stand by at the position shown in FIG. The air cylinder 32 of the valve opening / closing head 3 extends,
The head part 31 descends to move the handle a2 of the opening / closing valve a1.
Fit from above. Then, the head portion 31 rotates the handle a2 in the opening direction by driving the motor 36.
As a result, the open / close valve a1 is opened.

The rodless air cylinder 75 of the gas filling valve 7 is operated and the nozzle 71 is moved to move the nozzle filling port a.
3, the control valve 72 is opened and gas filling is started. The gas filling amount is measured on the container mounting portion b based on the weight change of the gas container a, and the value is sent as a signal to a control unit (not shown). Control unit (not shown)
When a predetermined amount of gas is filled based on the control from the control valve 72, the control valve 72 is closed, and then the motor 4 of the valve opening / closing head is closed.
By driving 3, the head portion 31 rotates in the closing direction of the handle a2, and the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a is closed.

After that, the gas filling nozzle 7 is retracted by the operation of the air cylinder 75 and is removed from the gas filling port a3 of the opening / closing valve a1, and then the valve opening / closing head 3 is raised to its original position, and the clamps 11 and 12 are moved. Is opened, and the valve opening / closing head 3, the valve direction detection unit 5, and the gas filling nozzle 7 are lifted up to their home positions by raising the mounting base 40.
Further, when the air motor 43 is driven, the rotating frame 45 is rotated in the reverse direction to the original position, the air cylinder 53 of the valve direction detecting unit 5 is extended, and is rotated by 90 °, and the filling device is returned to the initial state.

In the above filling work, the turntable d is 1
The gas container a, which has been filled while being rotated, is moved to an unloading conveyor g installed in parallel with the carrying conveyor c by an automatic unloader or manually, and is transported to a predetermined collecting place. Further, in the above-described filling device, the opening / closing valve a1 of the gas container a is oriented in any direction by supporting both the gas filling nozzle 7 and the valve direction detection unit 5 so as to be rotatable by 360 ° or more. Since it is also possible to detect the valve direction, it is not necessary to pay attention to the direction of the opening / closing valve a1 when the gas container a is transferred from the carry-in conveyor c onto the container mounting portion b as described above. Absent. Therefore, the operator does not have to worry about the direction of the on-off valve a1 when manually inserting the gas, so that the work is very easy and the gas container a can be charged by the automatic charging machine without any trouble. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an LP gas filling device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a valve opening / closing head portion by cutting out.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a pivotal support portion of a rotating frame.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the valve direction detection unit in a lowered state.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a valve direction detection unit in a state in which the direction of the opening / closing valve is detected.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the valve opening / closing head with the head portion lowered.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 a ... Gas container a1 ... Open / close valve a1 '... Open / close valve body a2 ... Handle a3 ... Gas filling port c ... Carry-in conveyor e ... Reference core 1 ... Clamp mechanism 3 ... Valve opening / closing head 5 ... Valve direction detector 7 ... Gas filling nozzle

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A clamp mechanism for receiving an outer peripheral portion of a gas container and holding the axial center of the gas container in alignment with a vertical reference core set at a predetermined position, and a clamp mechanism installed directly above the gas container. A valve opening / closing head supported so as to be capable of descending and ascending with respect to a handle of the gas container opening / closing valve and rotatably movably, and an engaging body having a shape that matches from the outside along the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body in plan view. Is supported so as to be movable back and forth with respect to a reference core that connects between the valve opening / closing head and the opening / closing valve of the gas container, and can be moved up and down along the reference core, and the above-mentioned engaging body from above with respect to the opening / closing valve body. A valve direction detector configured so that when it is horizontally rotated while being pressed, the engaging body descends due to conformity with the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body and engages with the outer periphery of the opening / closing valve body, Corresponds the direction and the vertical positional relationship to the detection part, supports it together with the valve direction detection part so that it can rotate 360 ° or more around the reference core, and can move back and forth with respect to the gas filling port of the opening / closing valve body. An LP gas filling device comprising a supported gas filling nozzle.