JP3120115B2 - Filling, moving and transporting gas cylinders - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of filling a cylinder with a high-pressure gas or a liquefied gas and moving or transporting the cylinder, and in particular, stores a plurality of cylinders in an upright posture. The present invention relates to the above-mentioned method using a storage device, which is safe and has high working efficiency.

(Prior art and its problems) Industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen are charged into a high-pressure container generally called a cylinder, and carbon dioxide, propane, and the like are charged in a liquid state into a pressure-resistant container and placed in a distribution channel. I am carrying it. Filling pressure depends on the type of gas, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. 150 kg / cm ^2, the carbon dioxide 80 kg / cm ^2, propane
Although 7.7 kg / cm ² is commonly used, as is well known, these cylinders are very heavy, have a long cylindrical shape, have poor stability, and are difficult to handle.

For this reason, the present applicant has developed gas filling equipment for cylinders that can move cylinders at any time with the aim of improving the efficiency of gas filling work for cylinders (Japanese Patent Application Nos. 56-36212 and 62-23197). . However, unloading an empty cylinder (hereinafter referred to as an empty bottle) returned from the customer, moving to an empty bottle filling place, and a cylinder filled with gas (hereinafter referred to as a filled bottle)
In general, operations such as moving vehicles and loading trucks still rely on human power, and the fact is that they are not mechanized.

One of the reasons for this is that conventional gas filling factories have a platform called a platform whose height is almost equal to the height of the truck bed surface.
All the empty bottles / filled bottle storage areas are installed on this platform, and the empty bottles, the movement of the filled bottles, the unloading of the empty bottles, and the loading of the filled bottles with gas filling are done manually on the same plane platform. The fact that it was a convenient structure to perform.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention is to provide a method for safely and efficiently filling and moving (transporting) a cylinder by mechanical force by almost eliminating the conventional movement of the cylinder by manual power as described above.

(Constitution of the Invention) In the method of the present invention, the empty bottle storage space, the filling space, and the filled bottle storage space are floors having substantially the same height as the ground surface. Moving from the empty bottle storage area, which is also a floor surface having substantially the same height as the ground surface, to the filling location, which is also a floor surface having substantially the same height as the ground surface, and movably above the cylinder storage device. Filling the empty bottle with gas through a erected flexible supply pipe; and filling the gas storage container containing the gas-filled bottle with a floor having a height substantially equal to the ground surface. Moving to a bottle storage area, and loading the container storage container containing the filled bottles of the filled bottle storage space on a truck, wherein the movement and loading of the cylinder storage device in each step are performed by the same forklift. Things.

Hereinafter, the method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing examples.

(Embodiment) In the illustrated embodiment, a cylinder container 2 (a detailed structure is not shown) in which a plurality of cylinders 1 are stored in an upright position is moved from an empty bottle storage (not shown) to a filling place 3 by a forklift. It is carried and placed in place. Filling place 3
Is at approximately the same height as the ground on which they travel, so that forklifts and trucks can freely access them. The worker performs the following work on the worker's table 4, but does not move the cylinder by himself.

In order to fill an empty bottle placed at a predetermined position with gas, for example, it is convenient to use a gas filling equipment erected movably above a filling place disclosed in the patent specification. However, although this equipment is used, it is also possible to use equipment that does not move and is installed above each filling place.

The moving frame 11 erected above the filling place 3 is moved to the third position by the rolling wheels 12, 12 running on the guide rails 13, 13.
The front and depth directions of the figure (the horizontal direction in FIG. 4), that is, the first direction
It can move freely in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The gas to be filled passes from a fixed gas supply pipe 14 fixed to the ceiling via a flexible pipe 15,
The branching main pipe 16 supported by the frame 11 is reached. The branching main pipe 16 has a plurality of connecting ports 17 and an on-off valve 18 (eight in the illustrated embodiment, but if the frame 11 is arranged side by side in FIG. (Corresponding to the number of cylinders in the filling place 3 in the figure). The worker pulls the flexible supply tube 19 on the worker's table 4 to position the movable frame 11 above the cylinder container 2 to be almost filled, and the ring near the distal end of the flexible supply tube 19.
20 is removed from the hook 21 provided on the frame 11, and the connection port 17 at the tip of the flexible supply pipe is connected to the base 22 of the cylinder 1. Then, the on-off valves 18 are sequentially opened from the end of the connection, and gas filling is started. When the gas filling is completed, the above operation is performed in the reverse order, and the cylinder container 2 filled with the filled bottles is again transported to the filled bottle storage area by a forklift. Moving frame
11 is moved above the cylinder container 2 to be filled next with gas, and the same operation is repeated (in the example of FIGS. 1 and 2, filling can be alternately performed at two filling places 3 on the left and right).

Once the bottle containing container 2 is transported to the storage bin,
It is loaded on a truck bed by a forklift in a standing position and transported to customers.

In the embodiment shown in the figure, the cylinder container 2 accommodates eight cylinders 1 (four rows and two rows), and the worker connects the cylinder base 22 and the connection port 17 from above the worker table 4. The dimensions are within the range that can be attached and detached, and if the dimensions are such that they can be placed on the truck bed, 9 (3 3 rows), 12 (3 4 rows), 16
An appropriate number such as four (four rows) may be used, and the number of flexible supply pipes 19 of the moving frame 11 may be adjusted accordingly.

Although the empty bottle storage area and the full bottle storage area are conventionally provided on the platform as described above, in order to effectively carry out the method of the present invention, forklifts and trucks can run and approach freely as well as the filling place. Preferably, it is at approximately the same height as the ground surface as possible. Although the worker's table 4 is not an essential component of the method of the present invention, the height of the cylinder accommodated in the cylinder accommodating tool 2 is considerably high. Desorption can be easily performed.

In addition to a forklift, for example, a crane may be provided on the operator's table 4 to use the container storage device 2 in and out of the gas filling place 3, or a unit crane truck may be used as a truck. However, the former case usually requires the use of a forklift.

If a truck having a structure suitable for loading the cylinder container 2 is used as a truck, it is more convenient for loading, unloading and transportation. In this type of truck, for example, a cargo bed is divided into three sections extending in the longitudinal direction, two sections on the left and right are provided at a place where a cylinder container is placed, and a central section is used as a fixing means of the cylinder container and a cylinder moving passage. Things. That is, since the cylinder container 2 is placed on the bed by a forklift from the side of the truck, and the surface on the opposite side is in contact with the substantially vertical rising surface of the central section, If the length in the width direction is slightly longer than the depth of the cylinder storage device 2, the cylinder storage device 2 is clamped between the lift and the rising surface of the central section when the carrier is lifted up, so that a stable state is obtained. Can be transported by Also, by making the upper surface of the central section approximately the same height as the bottom plate of the storage section of the cylinder storage device 2, one or two cylinders can be unloaded from the rear end of the loading platform for very small customers. It can be a passage for cylinder movement by human power. In this case, if the rear end of the central section is formed as a slope, or if a power gate is provided at the rear portion of the loading platform, the work is further facilitated.

Although not covered by the method of the present invention, each operation of unloading the filled cylinder container at the customer's site, loading the empty bottle container, and unloading the container at the gas filling factory. In addition, of course, labor can be saved using mechanical force.

(Effects of the Invention) The method of the present invention is to use an empty container, in which a plurality of cylinders are accommodated in an upright position, and to make the gas filling place almost at the same height as the ground surface. In addition to increasing the safety by introducing mechanical force to the movement of the bottles, we were able to move, load and unload cylinders to improve work efficiency and save labor.

The cylinder container used in the method of the present invention only needs to be capable of accommodating a plurality of cylinders in an upright position and moving them together by mechanical force. It is not necessary to use a so-called curdle which can fill and take out gas from various bases. Therefore, the only manual work is to put the cylinder in and out of the container, but in reality, if the content gas of one container is used as the transaction unit, it is necessary to perform other operations such as in the case of unavoidable pressure tests for cylinders. Does not take out or put in a cylinder, so there is almost no need for human power to move the cylinder.

By abolishing the platform of the conventional gas filling factory, which was an obstacle to mechanization, and by making the filling place almost the same level as the ground surface, a much larger area than the platform is secured, so that empty or filled bottles It has become possible to easily move the container containing containers using a mechanical force such as a forklift.

According to the method of the present invention, since no manpower is required to move the cylinder, it is possible to prevent an accident of an operator due to the movement of the heavy cylinder, to release from the conventional heavy labor, and to integrate a plurality of cylinders at once. In addition, the working efficiency can be greatly improved by moving by mechanical force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a gas filling station according to the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 3 is one of gas filling facilities convenient for use in the method of the present invention. Front view of the embodiment,
FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of the same. 1 ... cylinder, 2 ... cylinder container, 3 ... filling place,
4 ... worker's table, 11 ... moving frame, 12 ... wheel,
13 ... guide rail, 14 ... fixed gas supply pipe, 15 ... flexible pipe, 16 ... branch main pipe, 17 ... connection port, 18 ... on-off valve,
19 ... Flexible supply tube, 20 ... Ring, 21 ... Hook, 22 ...
… Cylinder cap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F17C 5/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An empty bottle storage, a filling place, and a filling bottle storage are floors having a height substantially equal to the ground surface, and a plurality of empty bottles stored in a cylinder storage device in an upright posture are also substantially equal to the ground surface. Moving from the empty bottle storage site, which is a floor surface of the height, to the filling site, which is also a floor surface having a height substantially equal to the ground surface; and a flexible movably installed above the cylinder storage device. Filling the empty bottle with gas through a supply pipe, and moving the gas container containing the gas-filled bottle to the filled bottle storage area, which is a floor surface having substantially the same height as the ground surface. Loading the cylinder storage tool containing the bottles in the storage bin on a truck, wherein the movement and loading of the cylinder storage tool in each step are performed by the same forklift. Filling, moving and transporting method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the empty bin or the full bin is at a height approximately equal to the truck bed.