JP5655523B2 - Fuel filling method and fuel tank filling device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fuel filling method and a fuel tank filling device capable of shortening a filling time with a simple configuration for a plurality of fuel tanks.

  A fuel filling device for a vehicle using DME (dimethyl ether) fuel is manufactured in conformity with the structure handling standard for LP gas vehicles under the current regulations. The DME fuel supply stand that supplies DME fuel has a similar structure to the LP gas supply stand. Hereinafter, DME fuel is simply referred to as fuel.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a fuel supply stand 901 is provided with a storage tank 902 for storing fuel, and the fuel in the storage tank 902 is discharged by a pressure pump 903 and is pumped to the fuel filling device 904. The fuel passes through a meter 905 in the fuel filling device 904 and is filled into a fuel tank 907 of an automobile through a hose 906 provided downstream of the meter 905. A pipe 908 connected to the fuel tank 907 is provided with a filling port 909, and a hose 906 is provided with a nozzle 910 that can be attached to and detached from the filling port 909.

  The nozzle 910 is attached to the filling port 909 when performing fuel filling. The fuel filling operation / stop is performed by opening and closing a valve (not shown) provided in the nozzle 910. On the other hand, the fuel tank 907 is provided with an overfill prevention mechanism 911. When the fuel is full in the fuel tank 907 (about 85% of the fuel tank capacity), the pipe 908 is shut off, and the fuel from the hose 906 is piped. Filling is forcibly stopped by not flowing into 908. Even if the filling is stopped by the overfill prevention mechanism 911, the pressure feed pump 903 is not stopped in the fuel supply stand 901, and the pressure-fed fuel is relieved by a path (not shown) in the fuel supply stand 901. The pump (903) is operated / stopped by operating a switch (not shown) of the fuel filling device 904.

  The overfill prevention mechanism 911 is provided with a valve body (not shown) in the pipe 908, and the valve body opens or shuts off the pipe 908. The overfilling prevention mechanism 911 has a lever 912 that acts as an insulator, a valve body is attached to a position to be an action point of the lever 912, a fulcrum is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the action point, and a force point increases a moment. Therefore, it is arranged away from the fulcrum. A float 913 that is lighter than the fuel is attached to a position that is the power point of the lever 912. When the fuel in the fuel tank 907 is low, the float 913 is separated from the liquid surface, and the force point side of the lever 912 is lowered by the gravity of the float 913, and the valve body at the operating point is moved to a position where the pipe 908 is opened. When the fuel level increases and the liquid level rises, the float 913 rides on the liquid level, and when the liquid level rises further, the float 913 rises and the power point side of the lever 912 rises, so the valve body at the operating point blocks the pipe 908. Moved to position.

  When the overfilling prevention mechanism 911 blocks the pipe 908 while fuel is being pumped by the pressure pump 903, a shock wave is generated in the pipe 908. Due to the shock wave, excessive pressure is applied to the pipe 908, the filling port 909, the nozzle 910, the hose 906, the measuring device 905, and the like. When the pressure due to the shock wave exceeds the allowable pressure resistance of the member, the member is adversely affected and may be damaged in some cases. The shock wave is larger as the filling speed is higher. Therefore, even if a shock wave occurs at low speed filling (low flow rate filling), no problem occurs. However, since high speed filling (high flow rate filling) causes a problem, a countermeasure against shock waves is required.

  In order to prevent problems due to shock waves during high-speed filling, the predicted liquid level is set lower than the shut-off liquid level at which the piping 908 is blocked by the overfill prevention mechanism 911, and the liquid level rises to the predicted liquid level. Then, a fuel filling method for reducing the filling speed has been devised.

  As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a float-type or ultrasonic-type liquid level sensor 914 is installed in the fuel tank 907 so that the predicted liquid level can be detected. The electrical or optical signal from the liquid level sensor 914 is communicated to the fuel filling device 904 via the communication cable 915 as shown in FIG. 10A, or between the transmitter 916 and the receiver 917 as shown in FIG. 10B. Wireless communication is good at. The fuel filling device 904 is provided with a flow rate control valve 918 that switches between high speed filling and low speed filling by controlling the flow rate of the fuel fed into the hose 906.

  According to this, high-speed filling becomes possible until the liquid level reaches the predicted liquid level. When the pipe 908 is shut off, there is no problem because it is filled at low speed.

JP 2009-138755 A

  By the way, since the conventional DME fuel supply stand 901 is based on the LP gas supply stand, the filling speed is 20-30 liters / minute, which is a relatively low speed. Since the LP gas supply stand is a passenger car or a small truck, there is no problem with this filling speed. However, assuming that DME is supplied to a large truck, this filling speed is insufficient.

  DME has a smaller calorific value than light oil, and in order to obtain the same calorific value, 1.86 times the volume of DME is required. Therefore, in order to obtain a cruising distance equivalent to that of a light oil vehicle, a DME vehicle is loaded with 1.86 times the volume of fuel. In order to fill this amount of fuel in the same time as filling a light oil vehicle with a light oil, a filling speed of 1.86 times is required. In addition, when the filling amount is large as in a large truck, it is desired to reduce the filling time by setting the filling speed to 80 to 100 liters / minute, so that the filling speed is higher.

  In addition, in a large truck or other automobiles that travel long distances, a plurality of fuel tanks 907 are mounted in order to ensure sufficient fuel for long distance traveling. When a plurality of fuel tanks 907 of one automobile are filled with fuel, it is wasteful to use a plurality of the configurations shown in FIG. 9 in parallel. Further, as a countermeasure against shock waves, it is wasteful to use a plurality of the configurations shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B in parallel. Therefore, a new fuel filling method is desired to simplify the apparatus and reduce the cost.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a fuel filling method and a fuel tank filling device that can shorten the filling time with a simple configuration for a plurality of fuel tanks.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel filling method according to the present invention includes a plurality of fuel tanks connected to a common filling port of an automobile by attaching a nozzle at the tip of a hose to which fuel is pumped, via a pipe branched from the common filling port. When the fuel is filled in parallel, a cutoff liquid level that shuts off the piping to prevent overfilling in each fuel tank and a forecast liquid level that is lower than the cutoff liquid level are set. In this fuel tank, a high-speed filling is performed when the predicted liquid level is not detected, and when the predicted liquid level is detected in any of the fuel tanks, the fuel filling method is switched to the low-speed filling.

  After the predicted liquid level is detected in any one of the fuel tanks and switched to the low-speed filling, the high-speed filling may be restored when the pipe is shut off.

Fuel tank filling device of the present invention includes a fuel tank of multiple common to the fuel to each fuel tank, a fuel filler apparatus supplied by switching at a high speed filling and slow filling nozzle of the fuel filling apparatus is mounted An overfilling prevention mechanism that shuts off the pipe when a shutoff liquid level is detected, provided in each fuel tank , and connected to the pipe, and a pipe branched from the common filling port to each fuel tank when the liquid level sensor conduction is interrupted upon detection of a low forecasts fluid level than the cut-off fluid level is provided in each fuel tank, Ri Na Zen'ekimen sensor are connected in series, is Zen'ekimen sensor And a sensor circuit that switches the fuel filling device to high speed filling when in a conducting state and switches the fuel filling device to low speed filling when any of the liquid level sensors is cut off .

  You may provide the common line connected between the mutually adjacent liquid level sensors of the said sensor circuit.

  The present invention exhibits the following excellent effects.

  (1) The filling time can be shortened with a simple configuration for a plurality of fuel tanks.

The first embodiment of the present invention is a configuration diagram of shows to fuel tank filling device. (A), (b) is a circuit diagram which shows operation | movement of the liquid level sensor in the fuel tank filling apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure in the structure of FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the time change of the filling speed in the structure of FIG. The second embodiment of the present invention is a configuration diagram of shows to fuel tank filling device. (A), (b) is a circuit diagram which shows operation | movement of the liquid level sensor in the fuel tank filling apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure in the structure of FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the time change of the filling speed in the structure of FIG. It is a block diagram of a conventional fuel tank filling device. Conventional shock wave measures is a configuration diagram of a decorated with fuel tank filling device.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, fuel tank filling apparatus 1 has a plurality of fuel tank 2 (2a, 2b) and a common filling port 3 the nozzle 910 of the fuel filling apparatus 904 is attached, from the common filling port 3 A pipe 4 branched to each fuel tank 2, an overfill prevention mechanism 911 provided in each fuel tank 2 to shut off the pipe 4 when a cutoff liquid level is detected, and a cutoff liquid level provided in each fuel tank 2. A liquid level sensor 5 (5a, 5b) that is turned off when a lower predicted liquid level is detected, and a sensor circuit 6 in which all liquid level sensors 5 are connected in series.

  The same members as those in FIG. 10A, such as the fuel filling device 904, are used. The storage tank 902 and the pressure pump 903 are not shown. The flow rate in the flow rate control valve 918 is set to 80 to 100 liters / minute during high-speed filling, and the flow rate is set as high as possible to the extent that a shock wave due to interruption does not cause a problem during low-speed filling.

  The shut-off liquid level at which the overfill prevention mechanism 911 shuts off the pipe 4 is full, that is, 85% of the fuel tank capacity, and the predicted liquid level is 5-10% before full tank, that is, 75-80% of the fuel tank capacity. And

  FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show details of the sensor circuit 6 when there are two liquid level sensors 5. The liquid level sensor 5 is configured to be conductive when the liquid level is lower than the predicted liquid level, and to be disconnected when the liquid level is equal to or higher than the predicted liquid level. The sensor circuit 6 includes a liquid level sensor 5a and a liquid level sensor 5b connected in series.

  As the liquid level sensor 5, a known liquid level sensor 5 in which a float activates a detector such as a mechanical switch, a proximity sensor, an optical switch, etc. to conduct / cut off a mechanical contact or a semiconductor may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, when the liquid level sensor 5a and the liquid level sensor 5b are both conducted, the sensor circuit 6 conducts between the two output terminals 7 and 8. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the liquid level sensor 5a is cut off, the output terminals 7 and 8 are cut off even if the liquid level sensor 5b is conductive. The same applies when the liquid level sensor 5a is conductive and the liquid level sensor 5b is cut off. That is, when the predicted liquid level is not detected in either of the fuel tanks 2a and 2b, the output terminals 7 and 8 are connected, and when the predicted liquid level is detected in either of the fuel tanks 2a and 2b, the output terminal 7 and 8 are blocked.

  The fuel filling method of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described according to the control procedure shown in FIG.

  In step S1, it is determined whether a forecast is possible. For example, when the liquid level sensor 5 has failed, or when the communication cable connecting the sensor circuit 6 and the fuel filling device 904 is not connected, the signal of the sensor circuit 6 cannot be obtained correctly in the fuel filling device 904. The determination is no and the process proceeds to step S2. If YES, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S2, since it is impossible to forecast, low-speed filling is executed.

  In step S3, high-speed filling is executed, and in step S4, it is determined whether or not a predicted liquid level has been detected. Since this determination is made based on conduction / interruption between the output terminals 7 and 8, the predicted liquid level is not detected in either of the fuel tanks 2a and 2b, or the predicted liquid level is detected in either of the fuel tanks 2a and 2b. It is determined whether the level is detected. If the determination is NO, the high-speed filling may be continued, and the process returns to step S3. If YES, the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the high-speed filling is switched to the low-speed filling.

  Thereafter, the liquid level rises in one fuel tank 2 and the filling is stopped by the overfilling prevention mechanism 911, and the liquid level also rises in the other fuel tank 2 and the filling is stopped by the overfilling prevention mechanism 911.

  By such a control procedure, as shown in FIG. 4, when both the fuels in the two fuel tanks 2 are sufficiently small, high-speed filling is executed, and the predicted liquid level is detected by one of the liquid level sensors 5. High speed filling is continued until done. When the predicted liquid level is detected, it is switched to low-speed filling that does not have a problem due to a shock wave at the time of shut-off. Thereafter, even if the liquid level rises to the blocking liquid level and the overfill prevention mechanism 911 stops filling, the shock wave is small and no malfunction occurs.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the fuel tank filling apparatus 51, the fuel tank filling apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, it is obtained by adding a common line 52. That is, in the sensor circuit 53, the common line 52 is connected between the liquid level sensors 5 adjacent to each other. In order to cope with this, a control procedure different from that shown in FIG. The same members as those in FIG. 1 are the same members.

  In the fuel filling device 54, when the predicted liquid level is detected in any one of the fuel tanks 2, the switching to the low speed filling is the same, but after that, when the pipe 4 is shut off, the control to return to the high speed filling is performed. It is like that. The interruption of the pipe 4 is determined from the fact that the flow rate has decreased by the measuring device 905.

  FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show details of the sensor circuit 53 when there are two liquid level sensors 5. The configuration of the liquid level sensor 5 is the same as that of the first embodiment. The sensor circuit 53 includes a liquid level sensor 5a and a liquid level sensor 5b connected in series, and a common line 52 connected between the liquid level sensor 5a and the liquid level sensor 5b.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when both the liquid level sensor 5a and the liquid level sensor 5b are conductive, the sensor circuit 53 is electrically connected between the three output terminals 7, 8, and 55. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the liquid level sensor 5a is cut off and the liquid level sensor 5b is turned on, the output terminals 7 and 55 are cut off and the output terminals 8 and 55 are turned on. When the liquid level sensor 5a is conductive and the liquid level sensor 5b is cut off, the output terminals 8 and 55 are cut off and the output terminals 7 and 55 are turned on. Thereby, the predicted liquid level of the fuel tanks 2a and 2b can be detected individually.

  The fuel filling method of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described according to the control procedure shown in FIG.

  Steps S1 to S5 are the same as the control procedure of FIG. After step S5, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, it is determined whether the flow rate in the measuring device 905 has decreased. If the determination is NO, it is necessary to continue the low-speed filling, and the process returns to step S5. If YES, it can be determined from the decrease in flow rate that the overfill prevention mechanism 911 has shut off the piping 4 and stopped filling in the fuel tank 2 where the predicted liquid level has already been detected, and the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the low-speed filling is switched to the high-speed filling.

  In step S8, it is determined whether a predicted liquid level has been detected. Since the predicted liquid level has already been detected in one fuel tank 2, only the other fuel tank 2 is determined. If the determination is NO, the high-speed filling may be continued, and the process returns to step S7. If YES, the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S9, the high-speed filling is switched to the low-speed filling.

  By such a control procedure, as shown in FIG. 8, when both the fuels in the two fuel tanks 2 are sufficiently small, high-speed filling is executed, and the predicted liquid level is detected by one of the liquid level sensors 5. High speed filling is continued until done. When the predicted liquid level is detected, it is switched to low-speed filling that does not have a problem due to a shock wave at the time of shut-off. Thereafter, even if the liquid level rises to the blocking liquid level and the overfill prevention mechanism 911 stops filling, the shock wave is small and no malfunction occurs.

  At this time, the flow rate decreases due to the fact that filling is stopped in one fuel tank 2. As a result, high-speed filling is performed again, and high-speed filling is continued until the remaining liquid level sensor 5 detects the predicted liquid level. When the remaining liquid level sensor 5 detects the predicted liquid level, it is switched to low-speed filling in preparation for a shock wave at the time of interruption.

In the second embodiment, the following effects are obtained. In the fuel tank filling devices 1 and 51, the pipe 4 is branched from the common filling port 3 to the plurality of fuel tanks 2. Thereby, the fuel from the fuel filling devices 904 and 54 is filled in the plurality of fuel tanks 2 in parallel. Although the amount of fuel to be branched is not necessarily equal, it is assumed that the fuel is equally divided and high-speed filling is performed in the plurality of fuel tanks 2 at the same filling speed. However, the remaining amount of each fuel tank 2 is not originally the same, and therefore the liquid level does not become the same even if the filling is performed at the same filling speed. If a predicted liquid level is detected in any one of the fuel tanks 2 at this time, the fuel filling devices 904 and 54 must change the filling speed to low-speed filling in preparation for a shock wave when the overfilling prevention mechanism 911 shuts off. . However, the liquid level of the other fuel tank 2 may still be sufficiently lower than the predicted liquid level. If the fuel tank 2 is filled to a full tank while being filled at a low speed, the filling time becomes longer. In that respect, in the fuel tank filling device 51, since the common line 52 is connected between the liquid level sensors 5, the fuel filling device 54 independently recognizes the detection of the predicted liquid level in each fuel tank 2. be able to. Therefore, after recognizing that the pipe 4 of one fuel tank 2 is shut off from the flow rate drop in the measuring device 905, it is possible to return to high speed filling. As a result, the filling time can be further shortened. If the predicted liquid level is detected in the other fuel tank 2 during the low-speed filling in step S5, the high-speed filling does not return even if the pipe 4 of the one fuel tank 2 is shut off.

  In the first embodiment, after the predicted liquid level is detected in one of the fuel tanks 2 and the low-speed filling is performed, the high-speed filling does not return. If it is larger, the filling time becomes longer. Therefore, it is desired that the fuel is consumed almost uniformly in the plurality of fuel tanks 2 in the automobile. If the liquid level difference before the start of filling is small in a plurality of fuel tanks 2, the predicted liquid level is almost the same in all the fuel tanks 2, so that the filling time in the first embodiment can be shortened.

  In the first and second embodiments, the number of the fuel tanks 2 is two. However, the present invention can be applied even when the number of fuel tanks is three or more, and the same effect as that of the two cases can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel tank filling apparatus 2 (2a, 2b) Fuel tank 3 Common filling port 4 (4a, 4b) Piping 5 (5a, 5b) Liquid level sensor 6 Sensor circuit

Claims (4)

When the nozzle at the tip of the hose to which the fuel is pumped is attached to the common filling port of the automobile and the fuel is filled in parallel to the plurality of fuel tanks through the pipe branched from the common filling port,
In order to prevent overfilling in each fuel tank, a cutoff liquid level that shuts off the piping and a predicted liquid level that is lower than the cutoff liquid level are set in advance.
When the predicted liquid level is not detected in any fuel tank, perform high-speed filling,
A fuel filling method comprising switching to low speed filling when a predicted liquid level is detected in any one of the fuel tanks.   2. The fuel filling method according to claim 1, wherein after the predicted liquid level is detected in any one of the fuel tanks and is switched to low-speed filling, the fuel filling method is returned to high-speed filling when the pipe is shut off. Multiple fuel tanks ,
A fuel filling device that supplies fuel to each fuel tank by switching between high-speed filling and low-speed filling; and
A common filling port nozzle of the fuel filling apparatus is mounted,
Piping branched from the common filling port to each fuel tank ;
An overfill prevention mechanism that is connected to the pipe and is provided in each fuel tank and shuts off the pipe when a shut-off liquid level is detected;
A liquid level sensor that is provided in each fuel tank and that shuts off continuity when a predicted liquid level lower than the cutoff liquid level is detected;
Ri Na Zen'ekimen sensor are connected in series, a low speed the fuel filling device when Zen'ekimen sensor quickly filling the fuel filling device when in a conductive state, the conduction of one of the liquid level sensor is interrupted A fuel tank filling device comprising: a sensor circuit for switching to filling . 4. The fuel tank filling device according to claim 3, further comprising a common line connected between liquid level sensors adjacent to each other in the sensor circuit.