JP4397470B2 - Float drain trap life estimation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to maintenance of a float drain trap that automatically discharges condensate, condensed water, and other drains generated in steam, compressed air, and gas piping systems, and in particular, measures the number of opening and closing operations of the float drain trap. The present invention relates to a life estimation apparatus for a float type drain trap.
[0002]
Float type drain traps are formed by forming an inlet, a valve chamber, and an outlet by casing, providing a valve port in the lower part of the valve chamber that connects the valve chamber and the outlet, and a float that opens and closes the valve port in the valve chamber. The float rises and falls according to the amount of drain flowing into the valve chamber, opens and closes the valve opening, and discharges the drain to the outside.
[0003]
If this float drain trap does not operate normally, it will seriously hinder gas transportation and production activities. That is, if the valve opening function is reduced or insufficient and the drain discharge capacity is small, the drain stays on the inlet side of the trap, and the efficiency of the gas using device is reduced or the device is destroyed. Further, if the valve closing function is lowered and gas is leaked, expensive energy is wasted.
[0004]
[Prior art]
Therefore, conventionally, the maintenance of the float drain trap has been performed regularly and strictly. In other words, the equipment and various plants are suspended and the float drain traps are disassembled and inspected and repaired once every year or once every six months.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this case, maintenance must be performed including a float type drain trap that is not frequently used and therefore has a low probability of failure. This results in a waste of maintenance costs, that is, unnecessary maintenance costs. It was.
[0006]
Therefore, the technical problem of the present invention is to provide a lifetime estimation device for a float drain trap that can estimate the lifetime by measuring the number of opening and closing operations of the float drain trap.
[0007]
[Technical means for solving the problems]
The means of the present invention devised to solve the above-described problem is that a casing is formed with an inlet, a valve chamber, and an outlet, a valve port that communicates the valve chamber and the outlet is provided in the lower portion of the valve chamber, and a float that opens and closes the valve port is provided. In a float type drain trap that opens and closes the valve port and discharges the drain to the outside by floating up and down according to the amount of drain flowing into the valve chamber and guiding the float vertically The guide tube fixed in the valve chamber, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver attached to the outer surface of the bottom of the valve chamber outside the guide tube, and the ultrasonic waves radiated upward from the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver are reflected on the water surface. A water level detecting means for detecting the water level of the valve chamber from the time until it returns, and a frequency measuring means for measuring the number of opening / closing operations from the water level of the valve chamber detected by the water level detecting means. Float type drain In the life estimation apparatus of the lap.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Float type drain traps float and descend according to the amount of drain that flows into the valve chamber, open and close the valve port, and discharge the drain to the outside. Progresses and the life is shortened. Therefore, the water level of the valve chamber is detected from the time until the ultrasonic wave radiated upward from the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is reflected by the water surface and returned, and the number of opening / closing operations is measured from the water level of the valve chamber. Thus, the lifetime of the float drain trap can be estimated.
[0009]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a float drain trap life estimation apparatus according to the present invention. The present embodiment is applied to a free float type steam trap 20. A casing of the free float type steam trap 20 is formed by a main body 1 and a lid body 2 fastened to the main body 1, and has a valve chamber 3 inside. The main body 1 has an inlet 4, an outlet passage 5 and an outlet 6, and the inlet 4 communicates with the upper portion of the valve chamber 3. A valve seat 8 having a valve opening 7 is attached to the lower side wall of the valve chamber 3. The lower part of the valve chamber 3 communicates from the outlet passage 5 to the outlet 6 via the valve port 7. A hollow spherical float 9 that opens and closes the valve port 7 is disposed in the valve chamber 3 in a free state. A guide cylinder 16 for guiding the float 9 in the vertical direction is fixed to the valve chamber 3. The guide tube 16 has a small hole on one side.
[0010]
An ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 14 is attached to the bottom outer surface of the valve chamber 3 and connected to the control calculator 15. The control calculator 15 controls the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 14 every predetermined time, emits ultrasonic waves upward from the outer surface of the bottom of the valve chamber 3, and starts from the time until it returns after being reflected by the water surface. The water level in the chamber 3 is detected, and the number of opening / closing operations is measured from the change in the water level in the valve chamber 3 and displayed.
[0011]
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the free float type steam trap, but can also be applied to a lever float type steam trap. Further, it can be applied not only to a float type steam trap but also to a float type air trap or a float type gas trap.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the water level of the valve chamber is detected using the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver attached to the outer surface of the bottom of the valve chamber of the float drain trap, and the number of opening / closing operations is determined from the water level of the valve chamber. By measuring, the outstanding effect that the lifetime of a float type drain trap can be estimated is produced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a float drain trap life estimation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Main Body 2 Lid 3 Valve Chamber 4 Inlet 6 Outlet 7 Valve Port 9 Float 14 Ultrasonic Transceiver 15 Control Calculator 20 Free Float Steam Trap

Claims (1)

The casing forms an inlet, a valve chamber, and an outlet. A valve port that connects the valve chamber and the outlet is provided in the lower part of the valve chamber. A float that opens and closes the valve port is placed in the valve chamber, and the amount of drain that flows into the valve chamber In the float type drain trap that opens and closes the valve opening and discharges the drain to the outside when the float rises and falls, a guide cylinder fixed in the valve chamber for guiding the float in the vertical direction, and a guide cylinder outside the guide cylinder An ultrasonic transmitter / receiver attached to the bottom outer surface of the valve chamber, and a water level that detects the valve chamber water level from the time it takes for the ultrasonic wave radiated upward from the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver to be reflected back from the water surface A float drain trap life estimation device comprising: a detecting means; and a frequency measuring means for measuring the number of opening and closing operations from the water level of the valve chamber detected by the water level detecting means.

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