JP4639158B2 - Dry air supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dry air supply apparatus that is easy to handle and confirms the drying capacity of a desiccant and is excellent in air drying capacity.

  An apparatus for reducing moisture contained in air and supplying it as dry air is desired in a wide range of industries. For example, in a connection box (so-called closure, etc.) provided at a connection point of a telephone communication cable, dry gas is sealed in order to reduce moisture in order to prevent the deterioration of the insulation property of the metal cable. Therefore, in order to check the degree of sealing of the dry gas in the box and the like, it is common to perform an inspection by separately supplying a dry gas into the box.

Conventionally, as such a dry gas supply device, a nitrogen gas cylinder equipped with a pressure reducing valve and a pressure gauge is used, and this is connected to a connection valve provided in a communication cable connection box via a gas injection valve. Thus, an inspection method has been adopted in which nitrogen gas is supplied into the box and the pressure of the nitrogen gas at this time is monitored with the pressure gauge.
However, since the gas cylinder is heavy, there is a problem that not only a great amount of labor is required when moving to the inspection place, but also there is a possibility that the worker may be in danger as the heavy object is transported.

  Therefore, as a gas check device for a communication cable connection box that solves such problems, a compressor, an air filter, two sorption tanks filled with a desiccant, a pressure reducing valve, and a pressure gauge are connected in series from the upstream side. A connected device is disclosed (see Patent Document 1). An example of the device stored in the storage box is shown in FIG. 7 as a plan view. In the gas check device 70, the air supplied from the compressor 71 is removed from the foreign matter by the air filter 72, then passes through the two sorption tanks 73, 73 to remove moisture, and the pressure reducing valve 74 and pressure are reduced. After passing through the total 75, the air is supplied to the communication cable connection box as dry air through a connection valve provided in the communication cable connection box. And the pressure of the dry air at the time of dry air supply is monitored with the pressure gauge 75, and it can test | inspect the dry gas enclosure degree in a connection box. In FIG. 7, the cover of the storage box is not shown.

Here, the sorption tank 73 filled with the desiccant used in the apparatus 70 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a desiccant-filled container 80 in which the sorption tanks 73 conventionally used are connected in series. The sorption tank 73 is a double-structure cartridge-like container in which a cylindrical inner container (not shown) made of a material such as acrylic resin is housed in an outer container 730 provided with a notch 731 for visualizing the contents. Is. A desiccant such as silica gel is filled in the inner container of the sorption tank 73 (not shown). The bottom of the sorption tank 73 on the upstream side and the bottom of the sorption tank 73 on the downstream side are connected by a connection path 732.

  Accordingly, the air supplied from the compressor 71 and having passed through the air filter 72 flows into the desiccant filling container 80 from the suction port 733, flows in the upstream sorption tank 73 from the top to the bottom, and the connection path It flows from the bottom of the sorption tank 73 on the downstream side to the top via the 732, and is supplied to the pressure reducing valve 74 via the discharge port 734. That is, the air supplied from the compressor 71 passes through the desiccant filling container 80 in the order of paths a, b, c, and d and is dried.

On the other hand, as described with reference to FIG. 7, in the apparatus 70, the air is decompressed by the decompression valve 74 after passing through the sorption tanks 73, 73. It has not been. Therefore, by making the sorption tank 73 have a double structure as described above, even if the inner container is damaged by the pressure of the air supplied from the compressor 71, the outer container 730 prevents the fragments from being scattered. , So as to increase the safety of work.
Japanese Patent No. 2649093

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the sorption tank 73 filled with the desiccant is provided in a double-structured cartridge and double as described above, the desiccant filling container The number of members constituting 80 is large, and the structure of the container 80 is also complicated. Therefore, the amount of desiccant that can be filled per sorption tank 73 cannot be increased as it is.

  In addition, in order to make the gas checking device 70 easy to carry, the space for providing the desiccant filling container 80 in the device 70 cannot be made large, so the sorption tank 73 can be enlarged. Finally, the amount of desiccant that can be filled in one sorption tank 73 cannot be increased. Further, since the desiccant-filled container 80 itself is large and bulky with a structure in which the sorption tanks 73 are connected in series, it is difficult to provide a plurality of containers 80 in the gas check device 70. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the amount of the desiccant to be filled in the gas check device 70. When the device 70 is used, the desiccant must be frequently replaced.

  On the other hand, the sorption tank 73 has a double structure as described above, and the outer container 730 is provided with a notch 731 for visually recognizing the contents. However, the outer container 730 prevents the scattering of fragments when the inner container is broken. Considering the function, the notch 731 cannot be enlarged. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately check the state of the filled desiccant from the outside. For example, even when colored silica gel adsorbed with cobaltous chloride is used as the desiccant, it is necessary to confirm the color of the silica gel from the outside. Is difficult. Therefore, as it is, the current drying ability of silica gel cannot be easily confirmed by visual observation, and there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the usable time of subsequent silica gel. In other words, when evaluating the current drying capacity of silica gel, there is a problem that it is necessary to perform an evaluation work each time using a separate moisture sensor or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, can be filled with a large amount of desiccant, can easily see the state of the filled desiccant from the outside, and efficiently supply dry air It is an object of the present invention to provide a dry air supply device that is small, light, and easy to handle.

In order to solve the problem,
The invention according to claim 1 is a dry air in which a compressor, a regulator, an air filter, and a container filled with a desiccant are connected in series from the upstream side, and dry air can be supplied downstream from the container through these. A supply device, wherein the container is in the shape of a long tube made of a transparent soft resin, and the container is bundled in a coil shape so that the central axis of the coil is perpendicular to the vertical direction. The dry air supply device is characterized in that it is provided.
The invention according to claim 2 is the dry air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the desiccant is colored silica gel adsorbed with cobaltous chloride.
The invention according to claim 3 is the dry air supply device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the inner diameter of the desiccant filling portion of the container is 10 mm or more.
The invention according to claim 4 is the dry air supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the length of the central axis of the desiccant filling portion of the container is 150 cm or less. .
The invention according to claim 5 is the dry air supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container is detachable.

  According to the present invention, a larger amount of desiccant can be filled in a smaller space than before. Therefore, it is possible to provide an apparatus that can supply dry air efficiently with a small size and light weight, with less frequent desiccant replacement. In addition, the state of the desiccant can be easily visually recognized from the outside, the desiccant can be easily replaced, and a dry air supply device having excellent handleability can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown here.
FIG. 1 is a wiring diagram showing an example of the dry air supply apparatus of the present invention.
In the dry air supply device 1, a compressor 2, a regulator 3, an air filter 4, and a container 5 filled with a desiccant are connected in series from the upstream side, and the compressor 2 and the regulator 3 are provided in the compressor 2. The air supply port 20 and the air suction port 30 provided in the regulator 3 are connected by connecting with a pipe. Further, the regulator 3 and the air filter 4 are shown here as being integrated, but a single unit of the regulator 3 and the air filter 4 may be connected by piping or the like. The air filter 4 and the desiccant filling container 5 are connected by connecting a dust removal air supply port 40 provided in the air filter 4 and the upstream opening 53 of the desiccant filling container 5 with a pipe. ing.

When the dry air supply device 1 of the present invention is used, for example, as a gas check device for a communication cable connection box, the opening 53 on the downstream side of the desiccant filling container 5 is connected to the valve joint 6 via a pipe. Then, the valve joint 6 may be connected to a connection valve (not shown) provided in the communication cable connection box.
The structure of the opening 53 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the desiccant filling container 5 will be described in detail later.

  The dry air supply device 1 of the present invention operates as follows. That is, the air supplied from the compressor 2 is decompressed by the regulator 3 and adjusted to a pressure suitable for the intended use, and the pressure at that time can be confirmed by the pressure gauge 31 provided in the regulator 3. In addition, the pressure suitable for the purpose of use mentioned here specifically refers to the pressure resistance of the device to which the dry air is supplied and the pressure resistance of the desiccant-filled container to be described later, so that these are not damaged. It is a pressure. For example, when supplying dry air to the communication cable connection box, the supply pressure of the dry air is suitably about 0.1 Mp.

  Further, the depressurized air is dust-filtered through the air filter 4. Again, according to the purpose of use of the dry air, a foreign substance that needs to be removed may be specified and a filter corresponding to that may be used. For example, when supplying dry air to a communication cable connection box, it is preferable to strictly remove oil in addition to solids having a size of about several μm, such as various oil mist filters. Select. At this time, a commercially available filter can be used.

Subsequently, the air removed by the air filter 4 is dried by a desiccant (not shown) while passing through the desiccant filling container 5. Here, the desiccant filling container 5 will be described in detail.
As described above, since the dust removal air has already been depressurized when it flows into the opening 53 on the upstream side of the desiccant filling container 5, the material of the desiccant filling container 5 does not react with the desiccant to be filled. If so, it is not always necessary to use a high pressure-resistant material. For example, when supplying dry air to the communication cable connection box, it is sufficient if it can withstand a pressure of about 0.1 Mp. However, the filled desiccant is made of a soft resin that is transparent and easily deformable such as bending so that the desiccant can be visually recognized from the outside. Specific examples of such a material include vinyl chloride.

  In the present invention, since the desiccant filling container 5 is used by being bundled in a coil shape, a long cylindrical shape is used. The cross-sectional shape is not particularly limited as long as it is a long cylinder and can be bundled in a coil. Specifically, for example, a commercially available vinyl chloride pipe can be exemplified.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the desiccant-filled container 5, and FIG. 2 (a) shows a cross-sectional view when cut along a plane orthogonal to the central axis of the desiccant-filled portion, These show sectional drawing when cut | disconnected by the plane containing the central axis of a desiccant filling part. In FIG. 2, the desiccant is not shown.
The length of the central axis x and the inner diameter r of the desiccant filling part 50 of the desiccant filling container 5 are not particularly limited as long as the container can be bundled in a coil shape of double winding or more, and required drying of dry air. Depending on the degree, the amount of desiccant required or the ease of work when changing the desiccant may be selected as appropriate. In addition, although the desiccant filling part 50 in the cut surface has shown the circular shape here, this invention is not limited to this, The size of the desiccant filling part 50 in this case should just adjust suitably.

  For example, when the desiccant filling container 5 is removed from the dry air supply apparatus 1 of the present invention and the desiccant is exchanged, the desiccant is taken in and out from the container 5 when the container 5 is held in the vertical direction. Is easy. In particular, when a funnel is applied to the opening 53 located at the upper part of the container 5 and the desiccant is filled, a larger amount of desiccant than in the past can be filled easily and in a short time. When such a desiccant replacement method is employed, the length of the central axis of the desiccant filling unit 50 can be easily operated when it is shorter than the height of the operator. Therefore, it is preferable that the length of the central axis of the desiccant filling unit 50 is 150 cm or less because this condition can be generally satisfied.

Further, the area of the desiccant filling part 50 occupying the cut surface of the container 5 by a plane orthogonal to the central axis x of the desiccant filling part 50 is not particularly limited, but the wider one is generally used when the desiccant is replaced. Good workability.
When the kind and amount of the desiccant used are the same, the area is determined in consideration of the length of the central axis x of the desiccant filling unit 50.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the desiccant filling part 50 in the cut surface is circular, the inner diameter r of the desiccant filling part 50 is 10 mm or more when the desiccant is replaced. Good workability and preferable.

  The type of desiccant to be filled in the desiccant-filled container 5 is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected according to the purpose. However, the appearance changes according to the moisture absorption, and the degree of drying ability is visually observed from the outside of the container 5. What can confirm is preferable. Specific examples of such preferable desiccant include colored silica gel adsorbed with cobaltous chloride. Since the colored silica gel changes from blue to pink when moisture absorption absorbs cobaltous chloride, the degree of drying ability can be easily confirmed visually. That is, as the usage time of the dry air supply device of the present invention becomes longer, the deterioration of the silica gel in the desiccant-filled container 5 progresses faster as the position is closer to the upstream opening 53. Therefore, when the dry air supply device is used for a certain period of time, for example, the color of silica gel is pink as it is closer to the opening 53 on the upstream side, whereas it is blue as it is closer to the opening 53 on the downstream side. A certain state can be easily confirmed. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine the replacement time of the silica gel by confirming the degree occupied by the blue region of the silica gel.

In the present invention, the desiccant filling container 5 is bundled in a coil shape as described above, and the dry air supply device 1 is arranged so that the central axis X of the coil is perpendicular to the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Deploy. 3A is a perspective view of the desiccant filling container 5, FIG. 3B is a side view, and FIG. 3C is a front view. In FIG. 3, the desiccant is not shown.
As for the desiccant filling container 5, the container main body 51 is connected to the connection pipe 54 in the opening part 53 of the both ends. 1 and 3, the opening 53, 53 of the desiccant-filled container 5 is located on the front side of the sheet, that is, the lowermost part of the container 5, and the opening direction is either the central axis X direction or the vertical direction. The direction perpendicular to the upstream side is the upstream side, located on the back side of the page, that is, at the top of the container 5, and the opening direction is perpendicular to the central axis X direction and parallel to the vertical direction. Is on the downstream side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening position and the opening direction of the upstream and downstream openings 53 can be arbitrarily selected.

  When the type and amount of the desiccant used are the same, the inner diameter R of the coil when the desiccant filling container 5 is bundled in a coil shape is the number of turns of the coil (in other words, the width P in the direction of the central axis X of the coil). It is decided in balance with. In the present invention, the inner diameter R is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately selected in consideration of the installation space in the dry air supply device 1.

As described above, in the present invention, the desiccant-filled container 5 bundled in a coil shape is arranged so that the central axis X is perpendicular to the vertical direction, so that air can be dried with the highest efficiency. it can.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arrangement state of the desiccant-filled container 5, FIG. 6 (a) shows the arrangement state in the present invention, and FIG. 6 (b) shows the container 5 in the direction in which the central axis X is vertical. Shows a state of being arranged in parallel with each other. The desiccant filled in the desiccant-filled container 5 may be biased to the lower part in the container 5 due to the action of gravity over time, and a gap may be formed in the upper part. In FIG. 6, the code | symbol 511 shows the actual filling part of a desiccant, and the code | symbol 512 shows the clearance gap part which is not filled with the desiccant.

In the arrangement state shown in FIG. 6B, the gap 512 is continuously formed in the container 5 from the upstream opening 53 of the desiccant filling container 5 to the downstream opening 53 (not shown). May occur. In this case, a part of the air supplied from the compressor 2 is supplied to the supply destination without being subjected to the drying process without passing through the gap 512 consistently in the container 5 and contacting the desiccant. Will end up. However, in the arrangement state according to the present invention shown in FIG. 6A, even if a gap 512 is generated in the desiccant-filled container 5, the opening on the downstream side from the opening 53 on the upstream side of the container 5. It does not occur continuously until it reaches 53, and all the air supplied from the compressor 2 always passes through the actual filling section 511. Moreover, as described above, in the present invention, since the filling amount of the desiccant can be increased as compared with the conventional case, air can be dried with high efficiency.
In addition, when the desiccant filling container 5 is filled with the desiccant, it is preferable that the desiccant is filled in the container 5 by suitably vibrating the container 5.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the opening 53 of the desiccant filling container 5 and the connection 52 of the connection pipe 54. One end of a connector 55 is inserted in the vicinity of the opening 53 in the container 5, and the other end of the connector 55 is inserted in the vicinity of the opening in the connecting pipe 54. Are connected to the desiccant filling container 5 and the connecting pipe 54. The desiccant-filled container 5 and the connector 55 are fastened and closely attached by a large-diameter fastening fitting 56 at a position where they are overlapped in the vicinity of the opening 53, and the connection pipe 54 and the connector 55 are connected to the opening of the connection pipe 54. In the vicinity where these are overlapped, they are tightened and brought into close contact with a small-diameter fastening fitting 57, and leakage of the dry air in the desiccant-filled container 5 to the outside is prevented. In the desiccant-filled container 5, an inclusion 58 made of a material that does not react with the desiccant 59 and capable of conducting air is inserted between the connector 55 and the desiccant 59. It is prevented from moving from the inside of the container 5 into the connection pipe 54 via the connector 55, and the desiccant is prevented from being mixed into the dry air supply destination.
Note that the method of connecting the opening 53 of the desiccant filling container 5 and the connection pipe 54 is not limited to the one shown here. Leakage of dry air to the outside, movement of the desiccant 59 into the connection pipe 54 Any method may be used as long as it is prevented.
In addition, it is preferable that the desiccant-filled container 5 be detachable from the dry air supply device of the present invention because the desiccant can be easily exchanged. In this case, for example, the desiccant may be replaced by, for example, extracting the used desiccant from the removed desiccant filling container 5 and newly filling the desiccant into the container 5 or filling the desiccant with the desiccant. If a certain unused desiccant-filled container 5 is prepared separately and replaced with a used desiccant-filled container 5, the operation becomes easier.

  The dry air supply apparatus of the present invention can be easily carried and handled by being stored in an appropriate storage box or the like. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a specific storage example of the dry air supply device. In FIG. 5, the cover of the storage box is not shown. In addition, the regulator 3 and the air filter 4 are not integrated here, but each unit is connected via a pipe. Since the other points of each component are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the dry air supply device of the present invention, the desiccant filling container 5 is bundled in a coil shape, and is provided so that the central axis of the coil is perpendicular to the vertical direction. A larger amount of desiccant than before can be stored in a narrower space than before, and the drying efficiency is also high. In other words, the dry air supply device of the present invention has a better drying capacity with a smaller size than conventional devices. It is easy to further increase the amount of the desiccant. Moreover, since this container 5 is transparent, the external appearance of desiccants, such as a colored silica gel, can be easily visually recognized from the outside, and a drying capability can be easily confirmed visually. Furthermore, when the desiccant is replaced, the container 5 can be removed and held in a vertical direction so that the operation can be easily performed. The dry air supply device of the present invention provided with such a desiccant-filled container 5 is excellent in portability and handleability.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.
Example 1
In a dry air supply apparatus as shown in FIG. 5, a pipe-shaped soft vinyl chloride desiccant-filled container having an inner diameter of 19 mm and an outer diameter of 23 mm was used, and 98 g of colored silica gel was filled in the container. Then, air at 20 ° C. and a relative humidity of 70% is supplied to the compressor. After the air is increased to a relative pressure of 0.18 Mp by the compressor, the pressure is reduced to 0.1 Mp by a regulator, and then filtered by an oil mist filter. It supplied to the desiccant filling container. The flow rate of the dry air supplied from the desiccant-filled container at this time was 8 L / min. Immediately after the start of the supply of dry air, the humidity of the dry air was continuously measured, and the time until the dew point temperature became −30 ° C. was measured.

(Example 2)
The time until the dew point temperature of the dry air became −30 ° C. was measured under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the length of the desiccant-filled container was 1 m and 170 g of colored silica gel was filled. Minutes.

(Example 3)
The time until the dew point temperature of the dry air reached −30 ° C. was measured under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the length of the desiccant-filled container was 2 m, and 340 g of colored silica gel was filled. Minutes.

(Comparative Example 1)
In the dry air supply apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, using a desiccant-filled container in which a sorbing tank having an inner diameter of 38 mm in the desiccant-filled portion is connected in series, a total of colored silica gel is used as the desiccant in the sorption tank. Filled with 98 g. The other conditions were the same as in Example 1, and the time until the dew point temperature of the dry air reached −30 ° C. was 3 hours and 20 minutes.

From the results of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, it was confirmed that the present invention was superior in air drying capability to the conventional dry air supply device. That is, when the same amount of colored silica gel is used, the inner diameter of the silica gel filling portion is smaller and the length in the central axis direction (in the case of Comparative Example 1, the total value of the depth of the silica gel filling portion) is longer. It was confirmed that it was effective in maintaining the drying capacity of silica gel.
Further, from the results of Examples 2 and 3, when the inner diameter of the silica gel packed portion is the same, the maintenance time of the drying capacity can be extended depending on the length of the silica gel packed portion in the central axis direction, that is, the amount of silica gel packed. Moreover, it has been confirmed that the maintenance time can be greatly extended as compared with the case where the conventional dry air supply device is used.
Furthermore, in Examples 1-3, the color of the silica gel in the silica gel filling part is pink as it is closer to the opening on the upstream side of the desiccant filling container, whereas it is blue as it is closer to the opening on the downstream side. It was confirmed that the replacement time of the silica gel can be easily determined by visually observing the external appearance.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dry air supply device having high drying efficiency and excellent portability and handling. Especially, it is suitable as an apparatus for gas check of a communication cable connection box.

It is a wiring diagram which shows an example of the dry air supply apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2A shows an example of a cross-sectional view of a desiccant-filled container used in the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the desiccant-filled portion, and FIG. ) Shows a cross-sectional view when cut along a plane including the central axis of the desiccant filling portion. It is a figure which shows an example of the desiccant filling container used by this invention, Fig.3 (a) is a perspective view, FIG.3 (b) is a side view, FIG.3 (c) is a front view. It is an enlarged view which shows an example of the structure of the opening part vicinity of the desiccant filling container used by this invention. It is a top view which shows the specific example of accommodation of the dry air supply apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning state of the desiccant filling container used by this invention, Fig.6 (a) is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning state of this invention, FIG.6 (b) is an arrangement state different from the arrangement | positioning state of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example. It is a top view which shows an example of the conventional dry air supply apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the desiccant filling container used with the conventional dry air supply apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Dry air supply apparatus, 2 ... Compressor, 3 ... Regulator, 4 ... Air filter, 5 ... Desiccant filling container

Claims (5)

From the upstream side, a compressor, a regulator, an air filter, a container filled with a desiccant is connected in series, and through these, a dry air supply apparatus that can supply dry air downstream from the container,
The container is in the shape of a long cylinder made of a transparent soft resin, and the container is bundled in a coil shape and arranged so that the central axis of the coil is perpendicular to the vertical direction. Dry air supply device.   The dry air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the desiccant is colored silica gel on which cobaltous chloride is adsorbed.   The dry air supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an inner diameter of the desiccant filling portion of the container is 10 mm or more.   The length of the center axis | shaft of the desiccant filling part of the said container is 150 cm or less, The dry air supply apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The dry air supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container is detachable.

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