JP5340033B2 - Lubricating oil supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying lubricating oil to a compressor.

  For example, in a power plant, compressed air is used for various miscellaneous tasks in the plant, and a compressor is operated for that purpose. During the operation of such a compressor, it is necessary to supply lubricating oil to a sliding portion such as a cylinder. The compressor is provided with a dedicated lubricator (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and is configured such that lubricating oil is drawn into the lubricator from an external replenishment tank. Lubricating oil is injected into the compressor via the lubricator, and the injected lubricating oil is consumed little by little in the compressor. Therefore, it is necessary to always supply the lubricating oil.

  With the above configuration, if an abnormality (for example, clogging of piping) occurs in the lubricating oil supply system from the replenishing tank to the compressor, the lubricating oil may not flow normally, and the sliding portion such as the cylinder may be burned out. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically monitor whether the lubricating oil is being supplied smoothly to the compressor.

JP-A-63-259297

The amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor can be estimated to some extent by, for example, a flow meter of the lubricator. However, this flow meter is extremely simple, and it is difficult to accurately read the injection amount.
On the other hand, it is theoretically possible to read the amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor by looking at the amount of lubricating oil reduced on the replenishing tank side, but the amount of injected oil is very small even though the capacity of the replenishing tank is large. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately read the injection amount in a short period.
Further, if the injection amount cannot be read accurately, the time required for a fixed amount of injection cannot be accurately known.

  In view of such conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a lubricating oil supply apparatus that can accurately manage the amount of lubricating oil injected into a compressor and detect the presence or absence of an abnormality.

The present invention is a lubricating oil supply device that supplies lubricating oil to a compressor, and is connected to the replenishing tank through which the lubricating oil is stored, an on-off valve, and the on-off valve, and is smaller than the replenishing tank. An intermediate container for supplying the compressor with the lubricating oil dispensed in advance from the replenishing tank, the amount of the lubricating oil being in a high level, and the high A metering tank capable of detecting and outputting a signal when it is at a re-entry level subtracted by a certain amount from the level, and opening / closing control of opening the on-off valve and closing at the high level upon detection of the re-entry level addition to performing, relatively short-term and long-term two sets the monitoring period allowed to proceed in parallel two monitoring, in the short term the re imposition from the high level level Time required lubricating oil is reduced to, and, in the long term on the basis of the number of times the re-imposition is performed to within a certain period, control and monitoring to detect the presence or absence of abnormality in the function of supplying lubricating oil to the compressor Means.

In the lubricating oil supply device configured as described above, the amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor is accurately controlled by detecting the level of the liquid level in a measuring tank as a dispensing intermediate container having a smaller capacity than the replenishing tank. can do. Further, the level detection can grasp the pace at which the lubricating oil decreases. If there is an abnormality in the function of supplying the lubricating oil to the compressor, the decreasing rate of the lubricating oil changes, so that it is possible to detect whether there is an abnormality in the function of supplying the lubricating oil to the compressor based on the pace. .

In addition, by proceeding in parallel with the two types of monitoring, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of an abnormality with a single injection in the short term. it can.

In the long term, it is necessary to measure a certain number of times as the number of times the re-entrapping level has been reached, and the diagnosis requires a relatively long time, but the trend of increasing / decreasing the pace at which the lubricating oil in the measuring tank decreases It is suitable for detecting abnormalities by continuously detecting the error.

  According to the lubricating oil supply apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to accurately manage the amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor and detect the presence or absence of abnormality.

It is a schematic block diagram of the lubricating oil supply apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control monitoring operation suitable for short-term abnormality monitoring. It is a diagram of elapsed time T as an example. It is a flowchart which shows the control monitoring operation | movement suitable for long-term abnormality monitoring. It is a diagram of the count number of 10 days as an example. 5 is a circuit example in a case where the processes of the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 4 are specifically realized by a programmable controller.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a lubricating oil supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the compressor 1 includes an oiling device 2. The lubricator 2 lubricates the supplied lubricant so as to reach the sliding portion such as the cylinder 1a. The replenishing tank 3 stores lubricating oil therein. An open / close valve 5 that can be opened and closed by an open / close signal is provided in the middle of the discharge pipe 4 that guides the lubricating oil discharged from the replenishing tank 3. The measuring tank 6 communicates with the replenishing tank 3 through the on-off valve 5. The metering tank 6 communicates with the lubricator 2 via the lubrication pipe 7 and functions as an intermediate container that supplies the compressor 1 with the lubricating oil that has been drawn out from the replenishing tank 3 and pulled in (pulled in). Have The supply of lubricating oil from the replenishing tank 3 to the lubricator 2 is performed by natural dripping due to gravity.

  The measuring tank 6 has a smaller capacity than the replenishing tank 3, and a certain amount of lubricating oil dispensed from the replenishing tank 3 is injected into the compressor 1 through the lubricator 2 little by little over time. Further, the measuring tank 6 is long (vertical) so that the change in the liquid amount can be easily detected. That the liquid level is at a predetermined height can be detected, for example, by detecting a float (built-in magnet) (not shown) by sensors 6a, 6b, 6c (reed switches).

  That is, the “high level” corresponding to “full tank” of the measuring tank 6 can be detected by the sensor 6a. The level at which a certain amount of lubricating oil is injected into the compressor 1 from the high level state, that is, the “re-insertion level” can be detected by the sensor 6b. Note that the re-sticking level is a level that is a starting point for sticking new lubricating oil from the replenishing tank 3 into the measuring tank 6. Further, the “low level” that is further reduced from the re-sticking level can be detected by the sensor 6c.

  Each sensor 6a, 6b, 6c sends a sensor output to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 is a device incorporating a microcomputer, and can control opening and closing of the on-off valve 5 and can send a predetermined alarm signal to the alarm output unit 9. The alarm output unit 9 can perform an alarm announcement by voice and an alarm display by an indicator lamp or a display. These alarms continue until the supervisor is artificially reset. In the following description, only alarm announcements will be mainly described, but it is needless to say that warning indications using indicator lights or displays can be used together.

Further, a signal indicating operation / stop of the compressor 1 is sent to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 and the alarm output unit 9 constitute control monitoring means 10 that detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the function of supplying lubricating oil from the measuring tank 6 to the compressor 1 in addition to performing on-off control of the on-off valve 5. ing. The presence / absence of abnormality is basically determined based on the pace (required time and number of times) when the lubricating oil decreases from the high level to the re-entrapping level. Hereinafter, the operation of such control monitoring will be described.
In practice, for example, three units (compressor 1 and lubricating oil supply device) shown in FIG. 1 are prepared, and are operated alternately every certain period (for example, two weeks). Therefore, the start / stop of the compressor 1 occurs periodically. Further, even if the load is small, the compressor 1 is continuously operated without being stopped.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control monitoring operation suitable for short-term abnormality monitoring. In the figure, when receiving the operation start signal from the compressor 1, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the level of the liquid level in the measuring tank 6 is high (step S1). If it is not at a high level, the control unit 8 opens the on-off valve 5 (step S10), and lubricates the metering tank 6 with the lubricating oil from the replenishing tank 3. When the lubricating oil accumulates and reaches a high level and receives a sensor output from the sensor 6a that detects this, the control unit 8 closes the on-off valve 5 (step S2). Here, the control unit 8 starts an internal timer (step S3), and thereafter, the lubricating oil in the measuring tank 6 is gradually injected into the compressor 1 via the lubricator 2.

  Next, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the level of the lubricating oil in the measuring tank 6 is at the re-tightening level (step S4). Immediately after the timer is started, it is still far from the re-entry level, and in step S12, it is determined whether or not an elapsed time T from the start of the timer is 13 hours or more. Again, immediately after the timer is started, it is still far from 13 hours and the process returns to step S4. In this way, steps S4 and S12 are repeatedly executed until either the re-adhesion level is reached or 13 hours elapses.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram of elapsed time T as an example. The elapsed time T (the time required to decrease from the high level to the re-entrapping level) when the lubricating oil that has been at a high level in the measuring tank 6 is decreased to the re-entrapping level is about 12 hours if normal. Even in the case of the error, 11 hours <T <13 hours. Therefore, it is normal within this range, and abnormal for 11 hours or less or 13 hours or more. If it is 11 hours or less, the time is insufficient, that is, the decrease rate of the lubricating oil is fast, and for example, leakage of the lubricating oil from the lubricating pipe 7 or the lubricating apparatus 2 is assumed. On the contrary, if it is 13 hours or more, the time is exceeded, that is, the decreasing speed of the lubricating oil is slow, and for example, clogging of the lubrication pipe 7 or failure of the lubricator 2 is assumed. Note that 24 hours is the maximum time shown for convenience, and does not mean that any determination or control is performed at the time of 24 hours. Actually, the compressor 1 can be burned out if it greatly exceeds 13 hours.

  Returning to FIG. 2, if the elapsed time T when the level of the lubricating oil in the measuring tank 6 reaches the level of re-entrapping is within the normal range of 11 hours <T <13 hours, the control unit 8 Steps S5 and S11 are executed from S4, and an announcement notifying the abnormality is not performed or a display indicating normality is performed (step S11). Subsequently, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the level is low (step S7). Usually, the low level is not reached (the same applies hereinafter), and the controller 8 resets the timer (step S8) and returns to step S1. Accordingly, the opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve 5 is performed again, and new lubricating oil is applied to a high level. Thereafter, similar step processing is performed.

  On the other hand, in step S5, when the elapsed time T reaches 11 hours or less and reaches the re-entry level, the control unit 8 executes step S6, and the alarm output unit 9 has insufficient time (the rate of decrease in the lubricating oil is fast). .) Make an announcement to the effect. And the control part 8 resets a timer through "No" of step S7 (step S8), and returns to step S1. Accordingly, the opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve 5 is performed again, and new lubricating oil is applied to a high level. Thereafter, similar step processing is performed. On the other hand, even if the elapsed time T is 13 hours or longer, if the re-entry level has not yet been reached, the control unit 8 executes steps S4 to S12 and S13, and the alarm output unit 9 has exceeded the time ( Decrease in lubricant oil is slow.)

  If the re-entry level is not reached after 13 hours, the compressor 1 may be burned out. Therefore, the process is not returned to step S1, but is stopped in steps S13 and S14. In this case, when the operator stops the compressor 1, the process of FIG. 2 can be stopped. However, before the operator stops the compressor 1, when the liquid level reaches the re-entry level (“Yes” in step S14), the control unit 8 performs timer reset (step S8) and returns to step S1. Accordingly, the opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve 5 is performed again, and new lubricating oil is applied to a high level. Thereafter, similar step processing is performed.

  With the process of FIG. 2 as described above, if normal, a timer reset is performed every 12 hours (less than 1 hour before and after), and the control monitoring operation is automatically continued. In addition, the time shortage abnormality is detected within 11 hours, and the time overtime abnormality is detected in 13 hours.

In the lubricating oil supply apparatus configured as described above, the amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor 1 can be accurately managed by detecting the level of the liquid level in the measuring tank 6 serving as a dispensing intermediate container. . Further, the level detection can grasp the pace at which the lubricating oil decreases. If there is an abnormality in the function of supplying the lubricating oil to the compressor 1, the decreasing speed of the lubricating oil changes, and based on the pace, detecting whether there is an abnormality in the function of supplying the lubricating oil to the compressor 1 Can do. Therefore, it is possible to provide a lubricating oil supply apparatus that can accurately manage the amount of lubricating oil injected into the compressor 1 and detect the presence or absence of abnormality.
In addition, according to the process of FIG. 2, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of an abnormality with a single injection, and because it is detected at the latest in 13 hours, the presence or absence of an abnormality can be diagnosed in a relatively short time. Also, the announcement can surely notify the abnormality.

  When the refilling level is reached, the on-off valve 5 is then opened and new lubricating oil is filled, so that the liquid level in the measuring tank 6 is not normally lowered as described above. However, when new lubricating oil is not sent into the metering pump 6 due to oil leakage or the failure of the on-off valve 5, the liquid level may reach a low level ("Yes" in step S7). In such a case, in step S9, the control unit 8 causes the alarm output unit 9 to output an alarm.

Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control monitoring operation suitable for long-term abnormality monitoring. The operation of this flowchart is executed in parallel with the operation of the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 4, when receiving the operation start signal from the compressor 1, the control unit 8 resets and starts an internal counter in step S <b> 21. At the same time, the internal timer is reset and started. Then, the control unit 8 accumulates the number of times that the re-sticking level is reached in the counter, and displays the current count number on the alarm output unit 9 (step S22). For example, the number of counts may be counted as a one-time operation when the output of the sensor 6a is changed to the output of the sensor 6b.

  As described above, if it is normal, the re-entrenchment level is about every 12 hours. Therefore, the count number of the re-entrenchment level is, for example, 20 times in 10 days, for example. Therefore, the control unit 8 executes step S22 until 10 days have elapsed from the start of the timer (step S23).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram of the number of counts for 10 days as an example. If the count is normal, it is around 20 times, and even if some errors are seen, it is within the range of 19 to 21 times. Therefore, it is normal if it is within this range, and is abnormal 18 times or less or 22 times or more. If it is 18 times or less, the decrease rate of the lubricating oil will be slow, and for example, clogging of the lubrication pipe 7 or failure of the lubricator 2 is assumed. On the other hand, if the abnormality is 22 times, the decrease rate of the lubricating oil is fast, and for example, the leakage of the lubricating oil from the oil supply pipe 7 or the oil supply device 2 is assumed.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when 10 days have elapsed (“Yes” in step S <b> 23), the control unit 8 determines whether or not the number of counts is within 18 (step S <b> 24). Here, if it is 18 times or less, the control unit 8 causes the alarm output unit 9 to make an announcement that the number of counts is insufficient (the decreasing speed of the lubricating oil is slow) (step S25). If it is 19 times or more, the control unit 8 next determines whether or not the count number is 22 times or more (step S26). Here, if it is 22 times or more, the control unit 8 causes the alarm output unit 9 to make an announcement to the effect that the number of counts has been exceeded (the reduction rate of the lubricating oil is fast) (step S27). Further, since it is normal if it is 21 times or less, that is, within the range of 19 to 21 times, the control unit 8 does not make an announcement or displays that it is normal (step S28).

After executing any of the above steps S25, S27, S28, the control unit 8 returns to step S21, resets the counter and timer, and restarts. Similarly, the number of counts is monitored while resetting every 10 days.
According to the processing of FIG. 4 as described above, the control monitoring operation is automatically continued at a long period (here, 10 days). Such long-term monitoring requires a relatively long period of time for diagnosis compared to short-term monitoring. However, it is possible to detect abnormalities by continuously monitoring the increasing / decreasing trend of the lubricating oil in the measuring tank 6. Suitable for detection. For example, in FIG. 3, 12.9 hours is within the normal range in short-term monitoring, but the count number when 10 days (240 hours) have elapsed at that pace is 240 / 12.9 = 18.6, 19 times Therefore, the long-term monitoring in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a circuit example in the case where the processing of the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 4 is specifically realized by a programmable controller. Hereinafter, each operation will be described. The alarm based on the low level detection is omitted here.
《Open / close valve closed》
The closing command of the on-off valve 5 is given only by detecting the high level of the measuring tank 6, and other conditions are not required.
<Open / close valve open>
When the one-shot signal indicating that the compressor 1 has started up is input when the measuring tank 6 is not at a high level due to the presence of the NOT circuit 801, the one-shot circuit 802, the AND circuit 803, and the OR circuit 806, the on-off valve 5 is opened. A directive is given. Further, when the measuring tank 6 reaches a re-tightening level during the operation of the compressor 1 by the AND circuit 805 and the OR circuit 806, an opening command for the on-off valve 5 is given.

《Not enough time announcement》
If the high level is interrupted by the start of lubrication to the compressor 1 after the measuring tank 6 once becomes high level, the input signal of the off-delay timer 808 is lost at that time. The off-delay timer 808 is turned off when 11 hours have passed since the moment when the input was turned off. Therefore, the logic signal that the metering tank 6 is at the re-filling level during the operation of the compressor 1 is within 11 hours from the start of lubrication after the high level, that is, while the output of the off-delay timer 808 is alive. When given to the AND circuit 810 via the circuit 806, a lack of time announcement is made.

《Overtime Announcement》
When the measuring tank 6 becomes high level, the flip-flop circuit 809 is set and an input signal is given to the on-delay timer 811. The output of the on-delay timer 811 is turned on after 13 hours. On the other hand, the flip-flop circuit 809 is reset when a signal is input from the NOT circuit 804 via the OR circuit 807 due to the stop of the compressor 1. Further, if the compressor 1 is in operation, when the measuring tank 6 reaches the re-entry level, a signal is input from the AND circuit 805 to the flip-flop circuit 809 via the OR circuit 807 and reset. That is, the flip-flop circuit 809 is reset if the refilling level is reached or the compressor 1 is stopped before 13 hours have passed since the metering tank 6 became high level and started lubrication, but it is reset. If 13 hours elapse, the overtime announcement is made.

<Number of times display>
Each time an event occurs that the metering tank 6 is at a re-filling level during the operation of the compressor 1, a one-shot signal is given to the counter 816 via the AND circuit 805 and the one-shot circuit 815. The counter 816 counts this. The current number of counts is used as a count display signal.
The counter 816 is turned on in response to the operation signal of the compressor 1 and is turned off via the NOT circuit 814 when the compressor 1 is stopped. When the compressor 1 is started, the counter 816 is reset from the one-shot circuit 812 through the OR circuit 813.

<< Announcement of over / undercount counts >>
The output (count count) of the counter 816 after the elapse of 240 hours, that is, 10 days later, is given to the high / low monitor 818 by the on-delay timer 817. If the count number is 22 or more, an announcement that the count number is exceeded is executed, and conversely if it is 18 or less, an announcement that the count number is insufficient is made. Further, the counter 816 is reset via the OR circuit 813 after 240 hours. When the counter 816 is reset, the on-delay timer 817 is also reset.

In the lubricating oil supply apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, short-term abnormality detection based on the time required for the level of the measuring tank 6 to drop by a predetermined amount and long-term based on the number of times the re-entry level has been reached in a longer period of time. Although both abnormality detection are performed, only one of them may be performed independently as necessary.
3 and 5 are merely examples, and an optimum numerical value can be selected depending on the capacity of the measuring tank 6 and the amount of lubrication.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 3 Supply tank 5 On-off valve 6 Measuring tank 8 Control part 9 Alarm output part 10 Control monitoring means

Claims (1)

A lubricating oil supply device that supplies lubricating oil to a compressor,
A replenishment tank storing lubricating oil;
An on-off valve;
The intermediate tank communicates with the replenishing tank via the on-off valve, has a smaller capacity than the replenishing tank, and supplies the lubricating oil that has been dispensed from the replenishing tank in advance to the compressor. A measuring tank capable of detecting and outputting a signal indicating that the amount of lubricating oil introduced is at a high level and a re-entry level subtracted from the high level by a certain amount;
In addition to performing the opening and closing control of opening and closing the on-off valve and closing at the high level by detecting the re-entrapping level, two types of monitoring are set in parallel by setting two relatively short-term and long-term monitoring periods. Based on the time required for the lubricant to decrease from the high level to the refill level in the short term , and the number of times the refill has been performed within a certain period in the long term. A lubricating oil supply apparatus comprising: control monitoring means for detecting the presence or absence of abnormality in the function of supplying the lubricating oil.

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