JP4326715B2 - Gas filling apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gas filling apparatus and method, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for boosting and filling a gas container with a liquefied gas stored in a liquefied gas storage tank without using a booster pump.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing an example of a conventional gas filling apparatus. This gas filling device includes a liquefied gas storage tank 12 that stores a gas supplied to the gas filling section 11 in a liquid state, a reciprocating liquefied gas pump 13 that compresses a low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the liquefied gas storage tank 12 to a required pressure, and And an evaporator 14 for evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas compressed by the liquefied gas pump 13 with a heat source such as atmospheric air, and the gas evaporated by the evaporator 14 is supplied to the gas filling unit 11 to The gas containers 15 and 16 are formed so as to be filled with a predetermined pressure.
[0003]
As a means for boosting the gas supplied to the gas filling unit 11 to a required pressure, a gas compressor that boosts the gas after evaporation can be used in place of the liquefied gas pump 13. In the same case, the gas compressor is larger than the liquefied gas pump, the compression power is increased, the installation space is increased, and the noise is also large, so the adoption is limited, and when the gas supply amount is small, Only used when supply pressure is low. That is, when the gas supply amount is large, or when the supply pressure is about 10 MPa or more, a liquefied gas pump is used as the pressure increasing means.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, although the volume of a liquefied gas pump is lower than that of a gas compressor, noise generated from the drive unit may be a problem depending on the installation location, and maintenance involving periodic disassembly is required. There is a problem that needs to be done.
[0005]
Further, since the liquefied gas pump can smoothly increase the pressure as the suction pressure is higher, it is preferable to provide a difference in level between the liquefied gas storage tank 12 and the liquefied gas pump 13, but the liquefied gas storage tank 12 is a small portable liquefied gas. In the case of a storage tank, a difference in height cannot be gained, and as a result, the liquefied gas compression efficiency is lowered without sufficiently extracting the performance of the liquefied gas pump.
[0006]
Accordingly, the present invention provides a gas filling apparatus and method using a quiet pressure-up means that has sufficient pressure-up performance even when the pressure of the low-temperature liquefied gas supplied to the pressure-up means is low and does not generate noise such as driving noise. The purpose is to do.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a gas filling device of the present invention is a device for boosting a liquefied gas stored in a liquefied gas storage tank to a predetermined pressure and filling the gas container, wherein the liquefied gas storage tank stores a low-temperature liquefied gas. And a pressurized tank for temporarily storing the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the liquefied gas storage tank, and the inside of the pressurized tank by evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized tank and reintroducing it into the pressurized tank. and pressurizing evaporator pressurizing, an evaporator for evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized圧槽, a gas-filled portion of the gas evaporated in the evaporator is filled in the gas container, in the prior SL pressurized圧槽and a measuring means for measuring the pooled low temperature liquefied gas amount, before Symbol measuring means, the capacity of the gas container in the gas filling unit, by inputting the number and pressure, low temperature liquefied to be stored in a pressurized圧槽Computation means to calculate the amount of gas It is characterized in that.
[0008]
Further, the gas filling method of the present invention is a method of increasing the liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank to a predetermined pressure and filling the gas container, wherein the low-temperature liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank is derived. When introducing into the pressurized tank, the required amount of liquefied gas is calculated and introduced from the total amount and pressure of the gas filled in the gas container, and the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized tank is pressurized and evaporated. After introducing into the vessel and evaporating, pressurize the inside of the pressurized tank by reintroducing it into the pressurized tank, lead out the pressurized low-temperature liquefied gas from the pressurized tank and evaporate the whole amount by the evaporator, The gas container is filled with the gas after evaporation in a gas filling section.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the gas filling apparatus of the present invention. This gas filling device temporarily stores a liquefied gas storage tank 24 for storing the gas for filling the gas containers 22 and 23 in the gas filling section 21 in a state of a low temperature liquefied gas, and a low temperature liquefied gas derived from the liquefied gas storage tank 24. A pressurized tank 25 to be stored; a pressurized evaporator 26 that pressurizes the pressurized tank 25 by evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized tank 25 and reintroducing it into the pressurized tank 25; An evaporator 27 for evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressure tank 25 and a load cell 28 as a measuring means for measuring the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas stored in the pressurization tank 25 are provided. The gas evaporated in this step is supplied to the gas filling unit 21 to fill the gas containers 22 and 23, respectively.
[0010]
The liquefied gas storage tank 24 and the pressurizing tank 25 are connected by a pipe 33 having a switching valve 31 and a liquid supply source valve 32, and between the switch valve 31 and the liquid supply source valve 32 and the liquid supply source. Safety valves 34 and 35 are provided between the valve 32 and the pressurizing tank 25 as safety measures when the low-temperature liquefied gas is sealed. In addition, as shown by the broken line in the figure, when the switching valve 31 uses a plurality of liquefied gas storage tanks 24 and 24a, the switching valve 31 and 31a are switched to open and close to supply low-temperature liquefied gas continuously. It can be omitted if there is only one liquefied gas storage tank.
[0011]
The pressurizing tank 25 is provided with a purge valve 36 for purging the gas in the tank, the inlet side pipe 37 of the pressurizing evaporator 26 is provided with a pressurizing source valve 38, and the outlet side A pressure gauge 40 is provided in the pipe 39. In addition, it is desirable that each piping connected to the pressurizing tank 25 uses a heat insulating flexible tube having flexibility in order to accurately measure the weight by the load cell 28.
[0012]
A pipe 41 connected to the gas filling unit 21 from the pressure tank 25 through the evaporator 27 is provided with a pressure gauge 42 and a plurality of filling lines, for example, a first filling line 43 and a second filling line downstream thereof. Branches to the series 44 via gas supply source valves 45 and 46, respectively, and pressure gauges 47 and 48 and safety valves 49 and 50 are provided in the filling series 43 and 44, respectively.
[0013]
The load cell 28 is provided with calculation means 51 and control means 52. The computing means 51 calculates the amount of low-temperature liquefied gas to be stored in the pressurizing tank 25 by inputting the capacity, number and pressure of each gas container 22 and 23 in the gas filling unit 21 and the type of gas. The control means 52 is configured to perform opening / closing control of each valve based on information from the calculation means 51 and the like.
[0014]
Hereinafter, a procedure for filling the gas containers 22 and 23 with a gas having a predetermined pressure using the gas filling apparatus formed as described above will be described. First, the gas containers 22 and 23 are set in the filling lines 43 and 44, respectively. At this time, the volumes of the gas containers 22 and 23 may be the same or different, but the filling pressures of the gas containers set in one filling line are made to be the same. Next, the capacity, number and pressure of the gas container and the type of gas are input to the calculation means 51.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of this input operation. First, in step 61, the type of gas is input. If there is only one type of gas to be filled with this gas filling device, it is not necessary to input the type of gas at step 61. Next, in step 62, the pressure of the gas remaining in each gas container, that is, the residual pressure in the container is read from the pressure gauges 47 and 48. This step 62 is a step performed only when the additional filling is performed in a state where the gas remains in the gas container, and is unnecessary when the empty container subjected to the purge operation is filled with the gas.
[0016]
In step 63, the volume of the gas container is input, and in step 64, the number of gas containers is input. When the gas containers having different volumes are filled with gas at the same time, step 63 and step 64 are repeated to input the numbers corresponding to the respective volumes. Finally, when the filling pressure is input in step 65, the total filling gas amount can be calculated from the total volume of the gas container and the filling pressure. If this is converted into the weight of the low-temperature liquefied gas, it is added from the liquefied gas storage tank 24. The amount of low-temperature liquefied gas transferred to the pressure vessel 25 can be calculated.
[0017]
Note that the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas at this time is a correction value obtained by adding the volume of the pressurized evaporator 26, the evaporator 27, the pipes 41, 43, and the like, in addition to the volume of the pressurized tank 25. When purging the interior with real gas, correction including purge loss is performed, and furthermore, the temperature of each part is measured and temperature correction is also performed to calculate the required amount of low-temperature liquefied gas more accurately Can do.
[0018]
The necessary items are input as described above, and the start of filling is instructed. In addition, it is assumed that the parts other than the switching valve 31 are closed at the start of filling. First, with the start of filling, the liquid supply source valve 32 and the purge valve 36 are opened, and liquid supply from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 toward the pressure tank 25 is started. The low-temperature liquefied gas from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 is vaporized by cooling each pipe and valve, and initially only the gas flows into the pressurizing tank 25, but this gas is released to the outside from the purge valve 36.
[0019]
When the passage of the low-temperature liquefied gas is sufficiently cooled and the pressurized tank 25 is also sufficiently cooled, the low-temperature liquefied gas begins to accumulate in the pressurized tank 25. The amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas flowing into the pressurizing tank 25 is measured by the load cell 28. When the measured value reaches the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas calculated as described above, the liquid is sent by a signal from the control means 52. The main valve 32 and the purge valve 36 are closed, and the supply of the low-temperature liquefied gas from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 to the pressurizing tank 25 is completed.
[0020]
Next, the pressurization source valve 38 and the gas supply source valves 45 and 46 are opened, and pressurization in the pressurization tank 25 and gas filling into each gas container are started. When the pressurizing source valve 38 is opened, a part of the low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurizing tank 25 flows into the pressurized evaporator 26 through the inlet side pipe 37, and the pressurized evaporator 26 generates a heat source such as atmospheric air. Is heated and evaporated, and is reintroduced into the pressure tank 25 through the outlet side pipe 39. Thus, by re-introducing the gas evaporated by the pressure evaporator 26 into the pressure tank 25, the inside of the pressure tank 25 is gradually pressurized by the volume expansion when it changes from a liquid to gas. This pressurization state is measured by the pressure gauge 40, and when the pressure rises too much, the pressurization source valve 38 is temporarily closed.
[0021]
The pressurized low-temperature liquefied gas flows from the pressurizing tank 25 into the evaporator 27 and is heated by atmospheric air or the like to evaporate the entire amount, branching to the respective filling lines 43 and 44, and the gas supply source valve The gas containers 22 and 23 are filled through the gas tanks 45 and 46. When the entire amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurizing tank 25 is evaporated, the gas containers 22 and 23 are filled with the gas of a predetermined pressure, so that the filling operation is finished by closing the valves. To do. The completion of the filling operation can be confirmed by pressure gauges 47 and 48 provided in the filling lines 43 and 44, respectively.
[0022]
Thus, the weight of the pressurizing tank 25 is measured by the load cell 28, and the filling operation is performed after the low-temperature liquefied gas amount corresponding to the pre-calculated and corrected filling gas amount is fed into the pressurizing tank 25. By starting, it can be determined that the filling is completed when the low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurized tank 25 is completely evaporated and the measured weight of the load cell 28 returns to the weight before the start of liquid feeding. Gas filling can be automatically performed only by inputting the container volume, the number of containers, and the filling pressure, which are to be calculated. In addition, since the required amount of low-temperature liquefied gas can be sent to the pressurized tank 25 by measuring the amount of low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurized tank 25, the amount of low-temperature liquefied gas exceeding the required amount in the pressurized tank 25 at the end of the filling operation. Does not remain, and the loss of the low-temperature liquefied gas due to the discharge of the remaining low-temperature liquefied gas can be reduced.
[0023]
As described above, the pressure of the gas to be filled is increased by the combination of the pressurized tank 25 and the pressurized evaporator 26, so that noise such as driving sound of the liquefied gas pump is not generated. The liquid supply from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 to the pressurizing tank 25 may be performed by supplying the low-temperature liquefied gas to the pressurizing tank 25 in an approximately atmospheric pressure state when the purge valve 36 is opened. Even if it is a case where the height difference is low and the height difference cannot be obtained, for example, even in the case of a small portable liquefied gas storage tank, the liquid feeding operation is not hindered.
[0024]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of an input operation when filling pressures in a plurality of filling sequences are different from each other. The first step 71 is a step of inputting the type of gas, and this step 71 can also be omitted as described above. Further, a step of reading the in-container residual pressure similar to the step 62 can be added. Next, a filling sequence is input in step 72, and in steps 73 and 74, the input of the container volume and the number of containers in the filling sequence is performed in the same manner as in steps 63 and 64. In step 75, the filling pressure in the filling series is input. This completes the input of necessary items in one series. Subsequently, returning to step 72, the next filling sequence is input, the container volume and the number of containers are input in step 73 and step 74, and the filling pressure in the filling sequence is input in step 75. If there are three or more filling series having different filling pressures, steps 72 to 75 are repeated to input the container volume, the number of containers, and the filling pressure of each filling series. When there are three or more filling series, and two or more of them have the same filling pressure, a plurality of series having the same filling pressure can be input together.
[0025]
Then, after a predetermined amount of low-temperature liquefied gas is sent to the pressurized tank 25 in the same manner as described above, the filling operation is started and the gas containers 22 and 23 of the filling series 43 and 44 are filled with gas. The filling operation at this time may be performed independently for each filling line, or may be started simultaneously for all filling lines and ended when each filling line reaches a predetermined pressure.
[0026]
When performing the filling operation independently for each filling line, for example, the first filling line is first opened by first opening the gas supply source valve 45 of the first filling line 43 and closing the gas supply source valve 46 of the second filling line 44. 43. When the pressure gauge 47 provided in the first filling line 43 reaches the set pressure of the first filling line 43, the gas supply valve 45 is closed and the filling operation in the first filling line 43 is performed. Exit. Subsequently, the gas supply source valve 46 is opened, and the filling operation of the second filling line 44 is performed. When the filling operation of the second filling line 44 is the final filling operation, the filling operation ends when the entire amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurizing tank 25 has evaporated. When the third and fourth filling series exist, when the pressure gauge 48 of the second filling series 44 reaches the set pressure, the gas supply source valve 46 is closed and the next filling series can be filled. That's fine.
[0027]
On the other hand, when the filling operation is started simultaneously in all the filling lines, the pressure is monitored for each filling line, and the first filling line 43 has a lower filling pressure, for example, the first filling line 43 than the filling pressure of the second filling line 44. When the filling pressure is set low, when the pressure gauge 47 of the first filling line 43 reaches the set pressure, the gas supply source valve 45 is closed to finish the filling operation in the first filling line 43, and the second In the filling line 44, the filling operation may be continued until the set pressure is reached. That is, the filling operation of the filling system can be performed simultaneously by sequentially closing the gas supply source valves of the filling system having a set low priority pressure based on the measurement value of the pressure gauge.
[0028]
The measuring means for measuring the amount of low-temperature liquefied gas is not limited to the load cell 28, and other weight measuring means can be used. The pressurizing tank 25 is installed so as to be slightly displaceable in the vertical direction, and the amount of displacement is determined. It is possible to measure the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas even if it is measured or the liquid level in the pressurized tank 25 is measured. Furthermore, the filling operation can be performed by a predetermined operation depending on the type of gas or the like, and the gas container may be purged or evacuated.
[0029]
It is also possible to calculate the amount of liquid fed from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 to the pressurizing tank 25 by another computer and manually perform the liquid feeding operation while checking the weight change of the pressurizing tank 25. Further, when the objects of the filling operation are the same, that is, when the gas filling is performed at a pressure determined by a fixed number of gas containers having a fixed volume, the input operation as shown in FIGS. Is not necessary, and a predetermined amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas may be sent from the liquefied gas storage tank 24 to the pressurizing tank 25 at the start of the filling operation.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since no liquefied gas pump or gas compressor is used for boosting the gas to be filled, no noise is generated and the time and cost required for maintenance can be reduced. Further, by measuring the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas in the pressurization tank, a necessary and sufficient amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas can be sent to the pressurization tank, so that the loss of the low-temperature liquefied gas can also be reduced. Moreover, the loss of the low-temperature liquefied gas can also be reduced by calculating the total amount of gas to be filled from the volume and number of gas containers to be filled, and the pressure, and setting the amount of liquid fed to the pressurizing tank.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of a gas filling apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of an input operation when performing a filling operation.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of input operation when filling pressures in a plurality of filling series are different from each other.
FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing an example of a conventional gas filling device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Gas filling part, 22, 23 ... Gas container, 24 ... Liquefied gas storage tank, 25 ... Pressurization tank, 26 ... Pressurization evaporator, 27 ... Evaporator, 28 ... Load cell, 31 ... Switching valve, 32 ... Liquid sending Source valve 33 ... Piping 34,35 ... Safety valve 36 ... Purge valve 37 ... Inlet side piping 38 ... Pressure source valve 39 ... Outlet side piping 40 ... Pressure gauge 41 ... Piping 42 ... Pressure gauge , 43 ... 1st filling series, 44 ... 2nd filling series, 45, 46 ... Gas supply source valve, 47, 48 ... Pressure gauge, 49, 50 ... Safety valve, 51 ... Calculation means, 52 ... Control means

Claims (2)

A device that boosts the liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank to a predetermined pressure and fills the gas container with the liquefied gas storage tank for storing the low-temperature liquefied gas, and temporarily stores the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the liquefied gas storage tank. A pressurized tank, a pressurized evaporator that pressurizes the inside of the pressurized tank by evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized tank and reintroducing it into the pressurized tank, and the aforementioned derived from the pressurized tank An evaporator for evaporating the low-temperature liquefied gas, a gas filling unit for filling the gas container with the gas evaporated by the evaporator, and a measuring means for measuring the amount of the low-temperature liquefied gas stored in the pressurization tank, The measuring means comprises a calculating means for calculating the amount of low-temperature liquefied gas to be stored in the pressurized tank by inputting the capacity, number and pressure of the gas containers in the gas filling section. Filling equipment. A method of increasing the pressure of the liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank to a predetermined pressure and filling the gas container, in deriving the low-temperature liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank and introducing it into the pressurized tank, After calculating and introducing the required amount of liquefied gas from the total amount and pressure of the gas filled in the gas container, after introducing the low-temperature liquefied gas derived from the pressurized tank into the pressurized evaporator and evaporating it, The inside of the pressurizing tank is pressurized by being reintroduced into the pressurizing tank, the pressurized low-temperature liquefied gas is led out from the pressurizing tank and evaporated in its entirety by the evaporator, and the gas after evaporation is the gas filling unit. A gas filling method comprising filling a gas container .

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