JP2814203B2 - LPG filling equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling device for filling liquefied propane gas, liquefied butane gas or a mixed gas thereof (hereinafter, referred to as LPG) into a cylinder. It is related to the safe release or recovery of LPG remaining near the valve of the filling device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various devices for filling LPG into cylinders have been developed. Applicant also disclosed in JP-A-3-8155.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3 (1993), a safe filling system and a filling valve for liquefied gas have been disclosed. Here is LPG on the cylinder
Discloses a configuration of a filling valve for filling LPG. The configuration fills the cylinder with LPG, and removes LPG remaining in the valve body by reducing the pressure. Such measures prevent gas from being released directly into the working environment.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional filling valve, the handle is manually operated at the start of the operation, but the tumbler valve must be manually operated even in the process of processing the residual LPG. is there. With such a configuration, the operator must check the entire process of the LPG filling operation, which is very troublesome. Also,
If the timing of operating the tumbler valve is too early, the residual LPG is released into the working environment, so that the purpose of solving the problem cannot be achieved. On the other hand, if the timing is delayed in anticipation of safety, working efficiency is reduced. Have conflicting problems.

[0004] By the way, in the conventional example, there is a contradictory problem as described above, but it is more important to prevent the residual LPG from being directly released into the working environment. In this case, a decrease in work efficiency cannot be essentially avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. While the LPG is surely filled, a timer device is activated at the same time as the end of the work to collect the remaining LPG or to remove the LPG from the work environment. LPG that can be released
Is provided.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in an apparatus for filling LPG into a cylinder, a nozzle for LPG filling is slid onto an inner cylindrical portion while being urged in a projecting direction by a spring. A cylinder provided with a valve body for freely accommodating and abutting against the nozzle base to open and close the LPG flow path, wherein when the nozzle slides into the cylinder from a normal state, the base of the nozzle is the valve body Is opened to fill the cylinder with LPG, and after the filling is completed, the control medium sealed in the cylinder is discharged after the elapse of a predetermined time by the timer device, while the control medium is discharged within the predetermined time. L for recovering residual LPG
A means of providing a PG switching valve was used.

As means for moving the cylinder,
Compressed air was used. Further, as means for driving the timer device with the compressed air, a throttle valve for adjusting the amount of compressed air passing therethrough, a chamber for retaining the air output from the throttle valve to a certain pressure, and an air output from the chamber. A means for providing a timer piston that moves at a constant speed and an exhaust port that exhausts air supplied from the chamber when the timer piston moves to a predetermined position is used.

Further, a three-way valve is used as the LPG switching valve, and means for switching the three-way valve according to the air pressure applied to the cylinder is also used.

[0009]

[Function] The cylinder cooperates with the nozzle and the LPG cylinder is L
It has the function of filling PG. The valve element functions as an on-off valve when filling the LPG into the cylinder. The nozzle is chucked by the LPG cylinder, and when the cylinder is pressed, the valve opens to supply LPG. The timer device has a function of regulating the time for collecting the LPG, and performs an operation of holding the control medium remaining in the cylinder for a predetermined time. The LPG switching valve supplies LPG to the cylinder during filling, and performs a switching operation for returning the LPG remaining in the cylinder to the recovery circuit at the same time as the completion of filling.

By employing a control system using compressed air, safe operation can be ensured. In driving the timer device, a combination of a throttle valve and a chamber serves to supply compressed air adjusted to a constant pressure to the timer chamber, and the timer piston is moved at a constant speed.
The timer chamber has a function of discharging compressed air by moving a timer piston for a certain period of time, and pressurization of the cylinder is completed by discharging air in this portion. The three-way valve is configured to selectively supply and recover LPG.

[0011]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a control system of the filling valve of the present invention, and shows an example in which control is performed using compressed air as a control medium. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylinder, which slides against the resilience of a spring 2 'by receiving compressed air on a pressure receiving flange 2. Cylinder 1
The inner cylinder 3 has a flow path for LPG, and a nozzle 4 adapted to an injection port (not shown) of the LPG cylinder is slidably incorporated at the front end thereof. 5 is the cylinder 1
, And constitutes an LPG valve in relation to a valve seat 6 formed in the middle of the inner cylinder portion. Reference numeral 7 denotes a spring which constantly urges the nozzle 4 outward. In addition, the seat 4 'abuts against the inside of the container valve to prevent the LPG from flowing out to the atmosphere. Reference numeral 8 denotes a protrusion provided on the outer periphery of the nozzle, and the tip of the protrusion comes into contact when the cylinder 1 slides. The valve element 5 and the nozzle 4 are integrated and cooperate. Reference numeral 9 denotes a hook which hooks around the injection port of the LPG cylinder and positions the LPG cylinder and the filling valve of the embodiment. Here, as for the relationship between the spring 2 ′ and the spring 7 and the pressurization, the pressing force needs to be stronger than the sum of the repulsive force of the spring 2 ′ and the repulsive force of the spring 7.

Next, a control system of the filling valve having the above-described structure will be described. Reference numeral 10 denotes a control compressed air switching valve, and the illustrated state shows a state when the injection of the LPG is completed and the residual LPG is recovered. The operation of the switching valve 10 is manually performed. When the switch valve 10 is pushed in the direction of arrow A, the filling is started, and when the switch valve 10 is pushed in the direction of arrow B as shown in the figure, the operation is completed. 11 is an air inlet, and 12 is an air outlet. 13 is a throttle valve, 14
Is a switching valve having a built-in piston 16 for a timer, 17 is an exhaust port, 18 is a check valve, 19 is a three-way valve,
0 is a switching device for the three-way valve 19, 21 is an LPG supply port,
22 is an LPG recovery port, and 23 is a relief valve. In this device, if the switching valve 10 is pushed in the direction of arrow A to start filling, the air entering from the inflow port 11 acts on the switching device 20 to open the LPG supply port 21 side to cause L
PG is supplied to the cylinder 1. On the other hand, the compressed air pushes the check valve 18 open and presses the pressure receiving flange 2 against the spring. When cylinder 1 slides gradually by pressurization,
The nozzle 4 also slides toward the LPG cylinder side in synchronization with this. In this case, the valve element 5 is seated on the valve seat 6 by the pressure of the LPG flowing into the cylinder 1 and the spring 7, and the LPG is sealed. If the slide advances, the nozzle 4 comes into contact with the injection port of the LPG cylinder, and the nozzle 4 is chucked to the container valve of the LPG cylinder. Since a known structure is sufficient for the chuck mechanism, detailed description is omitted. When the nozzle 4 is chucked to the container valve of the LPG cylinder, the position of the nozzle 4 is fixed, but the cylinder 1 is further slid because the compressed air is still applied to the cylinder 1, and the cylinder 8 is further slid by the protrusion 8. Move until tip is regulated. In this case, since the nozzle 4 is chucked and fixed to the LPG cylinder, the valve element 5 is detached from the valve seat 6 by the amount of movement of the cylinder 1 to the protruding portion 8, and the filling of the LPG cylinder into the cylinder starts. Is done.

On the other hand, when the LPG is full or a predetermined weight is filled, the switching valve 10 is operated to the arrow B side to complete the filling operation. To monitor whether or not LPG has been charged to a predetermined weight, it is sufficient to place an LPG cylinder on a measuring instrument at the time of filling. However, since these are well-known techniques, description thereof is omitted, and the switching valve 10 is set to the arrow B side. The control after the above operation is described. When the switching valve 10 is operated on the arrow B side, that is, as shown in FIG. 1, the compressed air from the inlet 11 passes through the throttle valve 13 and is introduced into the chamber 14. When the compressed air reaches a predetermined pressure in the chamber 14, the timer piston 16 is gradually pressed by the compressed air. When the timer piston 16 slides a predetermined distance, the switching valve 15 is operated, and the residual compressed air of the cylinder 1 communicates with the exhaust port 17 of the switching valve 15. With such a configuration, the decompression time in the cylinder 1 can be determined by the constant-pressure compressed air supplied from the chamber 14 pressing the timer piston 16 at a constant speed. Specifically, the time can be freely determined by the moving distance of the throttle valve 13, the chamber 14, and the timer piston 16.

On the other hand, when the switching valve 10 is operated to the arrow B side, the compressed air in the switching device 20 is immediately discharged to the exhaust port 1.
2, the LPG supply port 21 is closed, and the collection port 22 is open. Further, although the pressurization of the pressure receiving flange 2 from the air inlet 11 is released, the check valve 18 operates. Therefore, the compressed air in the cylinder 1 remains sealed. That is, the chuck of the LPG cylinder container valve is held, the valve element 5 is detached from the valve seat 6, and the LPG remains in the inner cylinder 3 and the like, but the LPG is collected through the collection port 22 described above. can do.
Although the recovery method is free, for example, the gas may be reused by suctioning with a compressor, or a pipe may be piped from the recovery port 22 to safely discharge the gas to the outside of the factory. Then, when the switching valve 15 incorporating the timer piston 16 is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed, the exhaust port 17 is opened, the compressed air remaining in the cylinder 1 is discharged from the exhaust port 17, and a series of operations ends. Reference numeral 23 denotes a relief valve, and the switching valve 1
When 0 is switched to the direction A again, the compressed air remaining in the chamber 14 is released.

In the above embodiment, compressed air is used as the medium of the control system. However, even when liquid is used as in hydraulic control, the basic configuration does not need to be changed at all. However, in the case of liquid, a structure for recovering and circulating the liquid discharged from the exhaust ports 12 and 17 of the present embodiment is required, but it is sufficient to adopt a known circulation structure. .

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment, in which the timer device is separated from the main body of the filling valve. Reference numeral 30 denotes a timer device separated from the filling valve body by a pipe. The configuration of the timer device 30 is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the same numbers as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same configurations. Reference numeral 31 denotes a switching valve for manually starting and ending the operation, similarly to the switching valve 10 in FIG. The drawing shows a state in which the switching valve 31 is at the work end position and the timer device 30 is working. Reference numeral 34 denotes an exhaust path, which is closed in the illustrated state. When the switching valve 31 is operated to the state shown in the drawing at the end of the filling operation, compressed air is supplied from the path 32 to the timer device 30, and after the remaining LPG is recovered within a set time, the compressed air is released. Work is completed. The LPG supply route and configuration are the same as those in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration for electrically controlling a three-way valve for supplying and recovering LGP, in addition to the control circuit shown in FIG. Here, 40 is a three-way valve, and 41 is an electromagnetic controller of the three-way valve 40. The control of the electromagnetic controller 41 is performed by the pneumatic / electrical signal converter 42, and the direction of the three-way valve 40 is changed according to the difference in the air pressure given to the pressure detection unit of the pneumatic / electrical signal converter 42, on the LPG supply side, or Switch to LPG collection side. In this embodiment, the passage of the LPG is changed by the three-way valve. However, as shown in FIG.
The same function as that of the three-way valve 40 can be achieved by connecting the 43b and alternately opening one of them by the pneumatic / electrical signal converter 42. The configuration for electrically supplying LPG has been described with reference to FIG. 2 in which a timer device is remotely provided. However, as shown in FIG. 1, an electromagnetic three-way valve or a double electromagnetic two-way valve is provided in the filling valve body. However, it is needless to say that they are technically equivalent.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration in which the switching valve 10 shown in FIG. 4 is replaced with a three-way solenoid valve for air control, and the delay timer and the air / electric signal converter 42 are replaced with an electrical control panel having a built-in electrical timer. Is shown. It goes without saying that the functions of the replaced configurations are technically equivalent to those of the above-described embodiment, and the details thereof are omitted.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the time for collecting the LPG remaining in the cylinder is set by the timer after the operation of pressing the cylinder and the nozzle for filling the cylinder with the LPG is completed. Therefore, when starting the work, the worker only needs to perform a specific operation to start the filling work,
If the switching valve is operated after the supply of the LPG to the cylinder ends, the LPG remaining in the cylinder can be collected while the timer device is operating. That is, it is possible to prevent the residual LPG from being released into the working environment at the same time as when the work is completed and the switching valve is operated as in the related art, thereby contributing to environmental improvement. Further, the operator only has to operate the switching valve, and the work content is simple, so that it is possible to contribute to improvement of workability.

Further, the configuration in which the cylinder is pressed by the compressed air has high safety and can provide a favorable working environment even when handling LPG which is dangerous as an explosive.

Further, if the timer device is constituted by a throttle valve, a chamber and a timer chamber, the set time can be easily adjusted by the relationship between the displacement of the timer piston and the constant pressure set by the throttle valve and the chamber. The maintenance and inspection can be performed easily and conveniently.

Further, in the configuration in which the supply and the recovery of LPG are switched by the three-way valve, the circuit can be reliably switched only by controlling the three-way valve commonly by the timer device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure and a circuit of a filling device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram in the case where an electromagnetic valve is used to control the flow path of the LPG,

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylinder 2 Pressure receiving flange 2 'Spring 3 Inner cylinder part 4 Nozzle 5 Valve body 6 Valve seat 7 Spring 8 Projection part 9 Hook 10 Switching valve 11 Inflow port 12 Exhaust port 13 Throttle valve 14 Chamber 15 Switching valve 16 Timer piston 17 Exhaust Port 18 Check valve 19 Three-way valve 20 Switching device 21 LPG supply port 22 LPG recovery port 23 Relief valve 30 Timer device 31 Switching valve 32 Path 34 Exhaust path

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] In an apparatus for filling a cylinder with liquefied propane gas or the like, an LPG filling nozzle is slidably housed in an inner cylinder portion while being urged in a projecting direction by a spring, and further abuts on the nozzle base. A cylinder provided with a valve element for opening and closing the LPG flow path, and when the nozzle slides into the cylinder from a normal state, the base of the nozzle opens the valve element to fill the cylinder with LPG; After the filling is completed, the control medium sealed in the cylinder is discharged after elapse of a predetermined time by a timer device, and is provided with an LPG switching valve for recovering LPG remaining within the predetermined time. LPG characterized by the following:
Filling equipment. 2. A control medium for moving a cylinder,
The LPG filling device according to claim 1, wherein compressed air is used. 3. A timer device for adjusting the amount of compressed air passing therethrough, a chamber for retaining the air output from the throttle valve to a constant pressure, and moving at a constant speed by the air output from the chamber. A timer piston to
3. The LPG filling device according to claim 2, further comprising an exhaust port for exhausting compressed air remaining in the cylinder when the timer piston moves to a predetermined position. 4. A three-way valve is used as the LPG switching valve, and the three-way valve is switched according to air pressure applied to a cylinder.
An apparatus for filling LPG according to the above.