JP5270198B2 - Piping connection device for household fuel cell - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for connecting units of a household fuel cell by a pipe line, and more particularly to a pipe connecting apparatus of a type using an O-ring.

Prospects and challenges for full-fledged commercialization of stationary fuel cell cogeneration systems that have both energy saving and environmental friendliness, and efforts to solve them are being promoted under the initiative of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The details are described in the report on the review of the fuel cell market strategy for automobiles (April 11, 2005). (Non-Patent Document 1)
In this report, the reduction of system costs is a major issue in the spread of the fuel cells. Among them, it is important to reduce the cost of peripheral equipment (auxiliary equipment). The specifications required for the auxiliary machinery should be announced, and new companies should be encouraged to supply auxiliary machinery, an important issue for cost reduction. "

  Based on the recommendations of the report, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry provides system manufacturers with specifications required for peripheral equipment (auxiliary equipment) for household fuel cell systems (output 1 kw to 700 w) such as pumps and sensors. Based on the results of the questionnaire surveys, etc., published on April 21, 2005, and in order to promote further standardization, taking into account the subsequent changes in the situation, the required specifications have been scrutinized once again and almost unified. "Common specifications" have been published. (Non-Patent Document 2)

  FIG. 6 is an outline of a stationary fuel cell cogeneration system described in Non-Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG. 6, this system includes G1 (raw fuel booster pump), B1 (combustion burner air blower), B2 (CO remover air blower pump), B3 (battery reaction air blower), W1. (Reforming water pump), W2 (battery cooling water pump), W3 (hot water storage volume control pump) vaporizer, burner, exhaust heat recovery device, desulfurizer, reformer, CO converter, CO remover, fuel electrode, Many piping parts are required to connect between each unit such as air electrode, cooler, cooling water tank, heat exchanger, water treatment device, hot water tank unit, etc. Therefore, cost reduction including assembling work of these connecting piping parts has become a big issue. Therefore, a de facto standardization is adopted in which each unit side has a structure as shown in FIG. 7 instead of a conventional female taper screw.

As shown in FIG. 7, the use of three types of O-rings P7, P10, and P14 is specified in the opening that is an interface with the piping portion, and the inner diameter (round) of the opening contacting the outer periphery of these O-rings. (Indicated by A in the mark) are 10 mm, 13 mm, and 18 mm.
A sleeve having a cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 8 is conceivable on the assumption that a commercially available pipe material for piping can be used to realize the sealing function of the O-rings arranged in these three types of inner diameter portions.
“Fuel Cell Market Strategy Review Meeting Report (April 11, 2005)”: http: // www. meti. go. jp / info / committee / mokuji. html “Specification List of Peripheral Equipment (Auxiliary Equipment) Related to Stationary Fuel Cell System”, Policy Division, New Energy Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Fuel Cell Promotion Office: http: // www. meti. go. jp / press / 200504421002/200504421002. html

  In the example of FIG. 8 described above, the dimension d of the sleeve S in consideration of the fact that a commercially available pipe material such as steel or stainless steel having an outer peripheral dimension that directly matches the inner diameter of the designated O-ring is not produced. Is advantageous in that it can be machined in accordance with the outer circumference of a commercially available pipe, but the connecting pipe is welded and fixed at the Z1 portion of the sleeve S, and the machining of the sleeve S is performed by the O-ring groove Z2. In addition, there are many processing parts including the above, and it is relatively complicated.

  The inventor of the present application has conducted intensive research, examination, and trial manufacture in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, the outer circumference of a commercially available pipe material for piping does not match the specified inner diameter of the O-ring. It was found that the above problem can be basically solved by crimping the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the pipe, and forming the O-ring housing portion by plastic deformation at the end of the pipe extending from the sleeve. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pipe connection device in a domestic fuel cell that does not have a welded structure that becomes an obstacle to popularization, and that can be easily installed on the installation site of a household fuel cell and that can reduce costs as much as possible. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a pipe connection device in a household fuel cell according to the present invention is provided.
A device for connecting each unit of a household fuel cell by a conduit,
The opening formed integrally with each unit and connected to the pipe has a first length L in the pipe axis direction and a first inner diameter D, and a first end at the outer peripheral end thereof. A main body with a stepped portion,
The cylindrical portion inserted into the opening of the main body has a cylindrical portion shorter than the first length L, and has a vertical surface that comes into contact with the end surface of the opening, and the first stepped portion on the outer periphery. And a sleeve having a second step portion arranged to be a target position,
A connecting conduit that is crimped and fixed to the inner diameter portion of the sleeve and that is formed with an O-ring housing portion following the crimped fixing portion;
An O-ring disposed in the O-ring storage unit;
An engagement member that engages with the first and second step portions to prevent the sleeve that contacts the main body from being separated from the vertical surface via the vertical surface;
The engaging member is
A side wall formed so as to hang from the top and be opposed to each other, and a peak portion comprising a pair of inclined surfaces extending from the side wall and having an opening for engaging with the first and second stepped portions. And the engaging member main body which has elasticity which consists of the flare part which follows the mountain part,
The clasp member has an opening in the middle portion and a bent portion that wraps the flare portion at both ends, and the clasp member opening is located on the opposite side to the top portion. A claw part that is engaged with the stepped part and is formed by punching a part of the bent part is formed on one side of the bent part, and the tip of the claw part is in contact with and presses the flare part in the assembled state. Yes,
The O-ring storage portion is formed with an outer diameter substantially equal to the first inner diameter D and a large diameter portion in contact with the O-ring side portion, and a pipe portion in contact with the O-ring inner diameter portion following the large diameter portion. Furthermore, the flare for preventing the O-ring from falling off is formed at the end of the pipe following the pipe.
The large-diameter portion of the O-ring storage portion is formed by bending a part of the connecting pipe line,
The outer diameter of the O-ring storage portion is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the material of the connection pipe, and the inner diameter of the O-ring storage portion is an inner diameter portion of the pipeline fixed to the sleeve. It is formed so that it may become the same.

According to the present invention, a commercially available pipe material for piping is formed by crimping the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the pipe, and forming the O-ring storage portion at the pipe end extending from the sleeve by plastic deformation. It is possible to provide a pipe connection device in a domestic fuel cell that does not require a conventional sleeve (see FIG. 8) even under the condition that the outer peripheral dimension of the pipe does not match the designated O-ring inner diameter.

FIG. 1 is a pipe connection device of an example based on an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper half of an axial direction showing a main part of a connection portion, and FIG. The top view of (a) and the figure (c) are the left view seen from the axial direction of (b).
In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 10 denotes a connection main body integrally formed in one unit constituting the fuel cell system, and the left end portion of the main body 10 has an inner diameter D and a length L. An opening SP having a cylindrical portion 10a is formed.
The left end portion of the cylindrical portion 10a is an engaging portion 10b formed with a large diameter, and a step portion 10c is formed on the right side of the engaging portion 10b. The outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 10a following the stepped portion 10c is a mounting space for an engagement member body 18 described later.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes a sleeve inserted into the opening SP. The sleeve 12 includes a cylindrical portion 12a having a length shorter than the length L of the cylindrical portion 10a of the main body 10 and a shaft portion 12d having a diameter larger than that of the cylindrical portion 12a. A step having a vertical surface 12e that contacts the end surface of the engaging portion 10b is formed. The shaft portion 12d on the left side of the vertical surface 12e is formed with a large-diameter engaging portion 12b, and a stepped portion 12c is formed on the left side thereof. The parts 10b and 12b are arranged to face each other via the vertical surface 12e.

  Reference numeral 14 is a commercially available stainless steel pipe having an outer diameter A, and is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 12 by pressure. The outer diameter of the pipe portion 14a located on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 12 is larger than the outer diameter A along with the crimping process. The pipe portion extending rightward from the crimping portion constitutes the storage portion X of the O-ring 16 as shown in the drawing. The storage portion X includes a bent portion 14b in contact with the left side surface of the O-ring 16, a conduit portion 14c in contact with the inner diameter portion of the O-ring 16, and a flare 14d for preventing the O-ring 16 from falling off. The bent portion 14b is in contact with the end face of the sleeve 12, and thus has a function of preventing the pipe 14 from coming off from the sleeve 12. The bent portion 14b can be formed by compressing the pipe portion 14a in advance from both sides in the axial direction using a mold having a predetermined shape and plastically deforming only in the radial direction. Moreover, the outer peripheral part of the pipe line part 14c is plastically deformed in advance to an outer peripheral diameter so as to press and contact the inner diameter part of the O-ring 16. The plastic deformation processing of the crimped portion and the O-ring storage portion X can be performed in advance with a dedicated pipe end processing machine, for example, a processing machine of Osgar Machine Co., Ltd.

  FIG. 1B is a plan view of FIG. 1A viewed from above, in which a part (four locations) of the pair of engaging portions 10b and 12b arranged to face each other is an opening 18a of the engaging member main body 18. It shows that it is engaged with 18b, and it is engaged so that the ridgeline of opening part 18a, 18b may contact a pair of engaging part side surface, and the movement to an axial direction may be controlled.

  FIG.1 (c) is the figure which looked at the state which attached the engaging member main body 18 to the engaging part from the axial direction, and the engaging member main body 18 is a single state from a natural state, as shown by arrow A. Since the elastic force toward the arrow direction is acting, the engaging member main body 18 does not fall down downward. The engaging member main body 18 is commercially available as a stainless steel clip member, and examples thereof include a joint clip (trade name) manufactured by Taiyo Stainless Spring Co., Ltd.

  FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the openings 18 a and 18 b of the engaging member main body 18. In the figure, from the top portion 18c of the engaging member main body 18, side walls 18e and 18e formed so as to face each other, and extending from the side walls 18e and 18e, respectively, are engaged with the step portions 10c and 12c. It consists of a peak made of a pair of inclined surfaces 18f, 18g having openings 18b, 18a for the purpose, and a flare 18d following the peak, and is made of a stainless steel member having elasticity.

FIG. 3 shows an operation procedure for assembling the fastener 20 having an opening to the flare portion 18d in the state shown in FIG. 1C with the engagement member main body 18 attached. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the end of the flare portion 18d is wrapped by the bent portion 20c on the right end side of the fastener 20 that engages with the flare portion 18d of the engaging member main body 18. Reference numeral 20b is a bent portion on the left end side of the fastener 20, and the claw portion 20a is formed by punching a part of the bent portion 20b.
FIG. 3 (b) shows an assembled state in which the left flare portion 18d is further pushed in from the tip of the claw portion 20a by pushing down and plastically deforming the fastener 20 from above as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 (a). Further, a state where a stepped portion protrudes from the opening is shown.
FIG. 3 (c) shows that the fastener 20 is engaged with the engaging portion main body 18 by rolling up the bent portion 20b upward as shown by the arrow while pushing the claw portion 20a back to the punched portion 20d using a tool such as radio pliers. Indicates that you can leave.

FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 3B, and shows a state where the fastener 20 is assembled to the engaging portion main body 18.
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an assembled state of the fastener 20 viewed from the Z direction in FIG. 4.

  Next, assembly and removal of the pipe connection device according to the present invention will be described. The assembling work is such that each unit of the household fuel cell is installed at a substantially fixed position, and these units are connected by piping. Prior to the assembly work at the site, the pipe 14 is fixed to the sleeve 12 by crimping and the O-ring storage portion X is formed at the end by a pipe end processing machine or the like. At the time of assembly at the site, the sleeve 12 is inserted into the opening SP of the main body 10 with a predetermined O-ring 16 mounted on the storage portion X, and the vertical surface 12e is in contact with the end surface of the engaging portion 10b. By aligning the axial positions of the openings 18a and 18b of the engagement member main body 18 and the engagement portions 10b and 12b, and pushing the top portion 18c of the engagement member main body 18 toward the center Q of the sleeve 12, the flare portion 18d, The mounting of the engaging member main body 18 is completed by causing the engaging portions 10b and 12b to be fitted into the openings 18a and 18b at four positions, while 18d moves while being spread.

  Next, the assembling work of the pipe connecting portion is completed by assembling the fastener 20 according to the operation procedure of FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b), and 3 (c).

  For the removal work, the fastener 20 fixed by crimping to the flare portion 18d is engaged with the engagement member main body using the tool 22 or the like in the reverse procedure of the operation procedure of FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c). After being detached from the joint 18, it is possible to release the fastening by pulling the top 18 c of the engagement member main body 18 away from the center Q of the sleeve 12, thus simplifying the work at the site of assembly and removal. .

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these exemplified contents, and those skilled in the art can implement various modifications based on them. is there. For example, it is possible to prevent the flare portion from spreading by attaching a plate material or the like between the flare portions 18d, 18d and fixing them with bolts and nuts instead of the fastener 20.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure explaining the pipe connection apparatus of the Example based on embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the upper half of the axial direction which shows the principal part of a connection part, (b) is (a). The top view seen from the upper side of the figure, the figure (c) is the left side view seen from the axial direction of (b). It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which passes along the opening part of an engaging member main body. An operation procedure for assembling a fastener having an opening to the flare portion in a state where the engagement member main body is attached is shown. (A) is a diagram of the right end side of the fastener engaging with the flare portion of the engagement member main body. (B) shows the assembled state in which the left flare part is further pushed in from the tip part of the claw part by pushing down the stopper from above and pushing down from above. c) It is a figure which shows that a fastener can be removed from an engaging part main body using tools, such as a radio pliers. It is a figure which shows the state corresponding to FIG.3 (b) which assembled | attached the fastener to the engaging member main body. The figure which shows the state which assembled | attached the fastener to the engaging member main body. It is a block diagram explaining the outline | summary of the stationary fuel cell cogeneration system described in the nonpatent literature 2. FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of Reference 3 attached to “Specification List of Peripheral Devices (Auxiliary Equipment) Related to Stationary Fuel Cell System” of Non-Patent Document 2. FIG. 8 is an axial longitudinal sectional view of a sleeve structure that satisfies the specifications shown in FIG. 7 but is premised on the use of welding.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body 10a Cylinder part 10b Engagement part 10c Step part 12 Sleeve 12a Cylinder part 12b Engagement part 12c Step part 12d Shaft part 12e Vertical surface 14 Pipe 14a Crimp part 14b Bending part 14c Pipe line part 14d Flare 16 O-ring 18 Engagement Member body 18a Opening portion 18b Opening portion 18c Top portion 18d Flare portion 20 Fastener 20a Claw portion 20b Left end side bent portion 20c Right end side bent portion 20d Punched portion SP Opening X O-ring storage portion

Claims (1)

A device for connecting each unit of a household fuel cell by a conduit,
The opening formed integrally with each unit and connected to the pipe has a first length L in the pipe axis direction and a first inner diameter D, and a first end at the outer peripheral end thereof. A main body with a stepped portion,
  The cylindrical portion inserted into the opening of the main body has a cylindrical portion shorter than the first length L, and has a vertical surface that comes into contact with the end surface of the opening, and the first stepped portion on the outer periphery. And a sleeve having a second step portion arranged to be a target position,
  A connecting conduit that is crimped and fixed to the inner diameter portion of the sleeve and that is formed with an O-ring housing portion following the crimped and fixed portion;
  An O-ring disposed in the O-ring storage unit;
  An engagement member that engages with the first and second step portions to prevent the sleeve that contacts the main body from being separated from the vertical surface via the vertical surface;
  The engaging member is
A side wall formed so as to hang from the top and be opposed to each other, and a peak portion comprising a pair of inclined surfaces extending from the side wall and having an opening for engaging with the first and second stepped portions. And the engaging member main body which has elasticity which consists of the flare part which follows the mountain part,
The clasp member has an opening in the middle portion and a bent portion that wraps the flare portion at both ends, and the clasp member opening is located on the opposite side to the top portion. A claw part that is engaged with the stepped part and is formed by punching a part of the bent part is formed on one side of the bent part, and the tip of the claw part is in contact with and presses the flare part in the assembled state. Yes,
The O-ring storage portion is formed with an outer diameter substantially equal to the first inner diameter D and a large diameter portion in contact with the O-ring side portion, and a pipe portion in contact with the O-ring inner diameter portion following the large diameter portion. Furthermore, the flare for preventing the O-ring from falling off is formed at the end of the pipe following the pipe.
The large-diameter portion of the O-ring storage portion is formed by bending a part of the connecting pipe line,
The outer diameter of the O-ring storage portion is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the material of the connection pipe, and the inner diameter of the O-ring storage portion is an inner diameter portion of the pipeline fixed to the sleeve. A pipe connection device in a household fuel cell, characterized in that they are formed to be the same.