JP6892870B2 - Foot valve, and caisson with foot valve - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a caisson for accommodating a pump in a fuel tank. This caisson is made of a fluid impermeable material and has an elongated tubular element with an opening at the proximal end and an orifice at the distal end, and a valve with a valve seat and placed on the caisson. A plate in which the valve seat of the valve plate abuts on the distal end of the caisson to close the orifice and an opening position where the valve seat is located slightly away from the orifice to provide flow through the orifice. It is equipped with a valve plate that can be moved between and. The caisson comprises one or more elastic members that urge the valve plate toward its opening position and a closing mechanism for positioning the valve plate at its closing position.

In particular, ships that use LNG, butane, ethane, or propane gas as fuel must have the gas stored in the tank. The gas is typically pumped from the tank to the motor that consumes the gas. The pump is typically located in a caisson that extends from the upper part of the tank to the inside of the tank. It is often required to be able to inspect the pump used to pump the gas, and to avoid emptying the tank and to empty the tank, a foot valve that is a shutoff mechanism. Has been attempted to be installed at the bottom of the caisson. By applying such a foot valve, the interior of the caisson can be isolated from the interior of the tank, thereby ideally placed within the caisson while keeping the gas in the tank under pressure. The pump can be retracted from the caisson.

The foot valve of the previous solution, which acts like a check valve by a disk (or sphere in some cases), is seated on the orifice, thereby preventing any flow through the orifice described above. The disc is held in contact with the seat by the weight of the disc itself and, in some cases, by a spring that closes. If the pressure difference between the two surfaces of the disk is relatively large, the disk will be lifted from the seat to allow flow through the orifice.

This is a viable solution, but the solution is to shut off the caisson used in the tank that stores the gas, when the pressure in the tank exceeds the opening pressure of the check valve. We have recognized that we may suffer from the drawback of not being able to reliably prevent the mechanism from being opened unintentionally.

A foot valve assembly for a submersible pump including a substantially open-ended submersible pump housing having an internal volume is disclosed (see, eg, Patent Document 1). The foot valve assembly also includes an actuator configured to be operated by a pressurized fluid. The foot valve assembly also includes a sealing mechanism that is positioned at the open end of the submersible pump housing and is configured to vary the flow rate into the pump housing. The sealing mechanism is attached to the actuator. The actuator is configured to move the sealing mechanism between a first position and a second position, the first position being the closed position and the second position being the open position.

However, the device in Patent Document 1 is a "failure-closed" valve configured to require force to open the valve, and in some embodiments includes a manual mechanical override system. It is disclosed as a thing.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015217987A1

An object of the present invention is to apply a closing mechanism to a caisson for accommodating a pump in a container such as a fuel tank.

The present invention relates to, in the first aspect, a caisson for accommodating a pump in a container such as a fuel tank.

In the following, the terms proximal end and distal end are preferably used to mean the upper and lower portions of the embodiment, respectively.

Caisson
− An elongated tubular element made of a fluid impermeable material and having a proximal end opening and a distal end orifice and valve seat.
− A valve plate placed on the caisson, the closure position where the valve plate abuts on the distal end of the caisson to close the orifice and the orifice located slightly away from the orifice. It comprises a valve plate, which is movable to and from an opening position that provides flow through.

Caisson also
-With one or more elastic members that urge the valve plate toward its opening position,
− Provide a closing mechanism for positioning the valve plate in its closed position.

By "urging", it is typically intended that a force be applied to close the valve. Therefore, a caisson according to a preferred embodiment is typically configured to apply a force to close the valve.

A caisson according to a preferred embodiment comprises a closing mechanism that includes a tie rod, a wire or chain, and a traction mechanism for traction of the wire. The tie rod is connected to the wire at the proximal end and to the valve plate at the distal end. The wire or chain extends from the proximal end of the tie rod to the traction mechanism to move the plate to its closed position when the traction mechanism is utilized.

The traction mechanism preferably comprises a winch to which the wire or chain is connected, a hydraulically operated piston, a pneumatically operated piston, and / or a solenoid.

Another embodiment of the closing mechanism comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic actuator. The pneumatic actuator further comprises a piston disposed in a cylinder disposed on the caisson, preferably at its lower end. The piston is preferably hydraulically actuated by supplying fluid to the cylinder so that it reciprocates between two longitudinally spaced positions within the cylinder. The actuator further comprises a tie rod connected to the piston at the proximal end and connected to the valve plate at the distal end. The reciprocating motion of the piston results in motion between the open and closed positions of the plate.

In some embodiments where the closure mechanism comprises a solenoid, the solenoid comprises a tie rod made of metal and an electrical coil that surrounds at least a portion of the tie rod. The tie rod is preferably connected to the valve plate at the distal end. When an electric current is applied to the electric coil, the tie rod is pulled into and maintained in the coil, thereby moving the plate to its closed position.

Further, or as an alternative, embodiments according to the invention also include one or more elastic members, such as mechanical springs, that urge the valve plate toward its opening position. The force of the elastic member is preferably sufficient to overcome the pressure difference from the tank in order to urge the valve plate towards its opening position.

One or more sealing elements are provided within or within the distal end of the tubular element to provide a seal between the valve plate and the distal end of the tubular element and to surround the orifice. It is preferable to be provided.

It is preferred that the valve plate be provided with a sealing element to provide a sealing between the valve seat and the distal end of the tubular element. The sealing element preferably surrounds the orifice when the valve plate is in its closed position.

The caisson according to the invention preferably has a flange provided with an orifice at the distal end of the tubular element. The flange is preferably releasably attached to the tubular element of the caisson.

The sealing element is preferably located on or within the flange.

The length of the tubular element as measured between the distal and proximal ends is preferably between 1 and 30 meters, between 1 and 25 meters, and between 1 and 8 meters. Such as, preferably between 1 meter and 5 meters, preferably between 1 meter and 3 meters, and the like.

The diameter or equivalent diameter (4 ^* area / perimeter) of the tubular element is preferably constant over the length of the tubular element and preferably between 0.25 and 1 meter.

In another aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a container for storing fuels such as LNG, butane, ethane, or propane gas, the container comprising a cason according to the first aspect of the invention.

Therefore, according to the closing mechanism according to the present invention, the opening and closing are controlled independently as compared with the conventional valve in which the opening and closing are controlled by the pressure difference between the upper surface side and the bottom surface side of the disk. .. As presented herein, the closing mechanism includes a wire pull or pneumatic, electric, or hydraulic piston. The elastic member ensures the valve opening, for example when the wire pull is relaxed.

In this context, some terms will be used in a way that is familiar to those skilled in the art. However, some of those terms are explained below.

The "foot valve" is preferably used to refer to a combination of an orifice / opening into the caisson at the lower end of the caisson and a member that closes the orifice / opening in a sealed manner. The foot valve also includes a flange on the caisson and a closing mechanism.

"Caisson" is preferably used to mean a submerged watertight box in a container such as a fuel tank. The caisson houses a pump used to pump a fluid, such as a liquid or gas, from a tank to a gas-consuming motor.

Next, the present invention, and particularly preferred embodiments, will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show how the invention is practiced and should not be construed as limiting other possible embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

It is a figure which shows schematic cross section of the fuel tank provided with a caisson according to a preferable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the caisson according to a preferable embodiment of this invention schematicly, the figure on the left shows a caisson with a foot valve open, and the figure on the right shows a state with a foot valve closed. It is a figure which shows a caisson. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing various embodiments of a closing mechanism for closing a foot valve in a caisson. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing various embodiments of a closing mechanism for closing a foot valve in a caisson. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing various embodiments of a closing mechanism for closing a foot valve in a caisson. FIG. 6a is a diagram schematically showing a further embodiment of a caisson according to the present invention, FIG. 6a is a diagram showing an open foot valve, FIG. 6b is a diagram showing a closed foot valve, and FIG. 6c is a diagram showing a closed foot valve. It is a cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. 6a. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a further embodiment in which a tie rod extends to a position above the proximal end of an elongated tubular member.

See FIGS. 1 and 2 showing caissons for accommodating the pump in the container. The container is typically a fuel tank that stores, for example, LNG, butane, ethane, or propane gas in ships where gas is used as fuel, for example for a ship's motor and / or a motor for a ship's auxiliary equipment. It is 17. However, the container may be used to store other articles than fuel, or it may be used to store powdered material.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the caisson comprises an elongated tubular element 1 or is made of an elongated tubular element 1. The tubular element 1 is made of a fluid impermeable material and has an opening at the proximal end, and an orifice 2 and a valve seat 4 at the distal end. The tubular element 1 may be a simple substance that is welded to one component and placed in a container by, for example, a welding method.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the distal end of tubular element 1 is the farthest end from the top of the vessel and the proximal end is the end closest to the top of the vessel. ..

The elongated tubular element was placed on the caisson 23 so that it could move between the closed and open positions (in the indicated embodiment, it was placed on the elongated tubular member 1 so that it could move). With the plate 3, in the closed position, the valve plate 3 abuts on the distal end of the caisson 23 at the valve seat 4 (at the distal end of the elongated tubular element in the indicated embodiment) and the orifice 2 In the open position, the valve plate 3 is located slightly away from the orifice to provide flow through the orifice. Therefore, when the valve plate 3 is in its opening position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, fluid flows from the inside of the container through the gap between the valve seat 4 and the valve plate 3 and the orifice 2. It can flow into the elongated tubular element 1.

The impeller is placed inside the elongated tubular element 1, also as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The impeller can advantageously be placed on the rotating shaft 14 in close proximity to the orifice 2, whereby when the shaft 14 rotates, the impeller draws fluid from inside the vessel through the orifice 2-or pumps it up. The fluid can be delivered to the outside of the container through the upper opening of the elongated tubular element 1 (the upper opening of the elongated tubular element 1 is shown as an outwardly open opening, but the opening is mostly Note that in the case of, it is connected to the dividing pipe).

The caisson 23 also comprises one or more elastic members 5 such as mechanical springs that urge the valve plate 3 towards its opening position (arrows are used in FIG. 2 to symbolize the elastic members 5). Please note that). By urging the valve plate 3 toward its opening position, the valve is perceived as "always" open unless a force is applied to the valve plate to move the valve plate to its closed position. The movement of the valve plate 3 toward the closed position is provided by the closing mechanism 18 for positioning the valve plate 3 at the closed position in the embodiment shown in FIG.

In certain preferred embodiments, the elastic member 5 is preferably four mechanical springs that are geometrically evenly arranged, which, when arranged along a circular perimeter, of each mechanical spring. It means that they are arranged with a space of 90 degrees. This means that an external force is applied to close the valve.

FIG. 5 discloses one embodiment of a closing mechanism for closing a foot valve. The closing mechanism includes a sufficient number of tie rods 7 to engage the valve plate 3 and to move the valve plate 3 vertically toward the valve seat 4 to its closing position. From the proximal end of the tie rod 7, a wire or chain 8 is connected to a traction mechanism 9 such as a winch. A winch is a cylindrical element with a groove in which a wire or chain is pulled when rotated about its axis. The winch may be made of stainless steel and is driven by an electric motor or hydraulic pump. The number of traction mechanisms corresponds to the number of tie rods 7. The tie rod 7 extends through a hole in the flange 16 to the valve plate 3 and is connected to the valve plate 3 at the distal end. The embodiment preferably has two, three, four, or five tie rods evenly distributed along the perimeter of the flange 16. The traction mechanism 9 can traction the wire, thereby exerting a force on the valve plate 3 to move the valve plate 3 vertically toward its closed position.

One or more sealing elements, such as an O-ring, to provide a seal between the valve plate and the distal end of the tubular element 1 when the valve plate 3 is in a fully closed position. 22 is provided at the distal end of tubular element 1. As the fluid from the inside of the vessel provides pressure and thereby exerts a force on the valve plate 3, the dominance of the tie rods is relaxed and the valve plate is kept in its closed position.

The embodiment also comprises one or more elastic members 5 such as mechanical springs that urge the valve plate 3 towards its opening position. The force of the elastic member is sufficient to overcome the pressure difference from the tank in order to urge the valve plate towards its opening position.

FIG. 3 discloses different embodiments of the closing mechanism for closing the foot valve. The closing mechanism comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic actuator 10 made of stainless steel. The closing mechanism further comprises a piston 19 arranged in a cylinder 20 arranged on the caisson. By supplying fluid to the cylinder 20, the piston is hydraulically actuated to reciprocate between two longitudinally distant positions within the cylinder 20. The fluid is supplied from a hydraulic pump with a sufficient number of valves to move the piston up and down.

The closing mechanism includes a sufficient number of tie rods 7 to engage the valve seat 3 and move the valve seat 3 vertically toward the valve seat 4 to its closing position. The number of traction mechanisms corresponds to the number of tie rods 7.

The reciprocating motion of the piston 19 pulls the tie rod 7 connected to the piston at the proximal end. The tie rod 7 is connected to the valve plate 3 at the distal end through a hole in the flange 16. The embodiment preferably has two, three, four, or five tie rods evenly distributed along the perimeter of the flange 16.

The tie rod 7 moves the valve plate 3 between its opening and closing positions when the piston 19 is hydraulically actuated. As the fluid from the inside of the vessel provides pressure and thereby exerts a force on the valve plate 3, the dominance of the tie rods is relaxed and the valve plate is kept in its closed position.

The embodiment also comprises one or more elastic members 5 such as mechanical springs that urge the valve plate 3 towards its opening position. The force of the elastic member is sufficient to overcome the pressure difference from the tank in order to urge the valve plate towards its opening position.

FIG. 4 discloses another embodiment of a closing mechanism for closing a foot valve. The closing mechanism includes a solenoid 21 and an electric coil 11 that surround at least a portion of the metal tie rod 7. The tie rod 7 is connected to the valve plate 3 at the distal end through a hole in the flange 16. The embodiment preferably has two, three, four, or five tie rods evenly distributed along the perimeter of the flange 16.

When a current is applied to the electric coil 11, the tie rod 7 is pulled into and maintained by the coil 11, thereby moving the valve plate 3 toward its closed position. The current is supplied by the power supply. As the fluid from the inside of the vessel provides pressure and thereby exerts a force on the valve plate 3, the dominance of the tie rod is relaxed and the valve plate is kept in its closed position.

The embodiment also comprises one or more elastic members 5 such as mechanical springs that urge the valve plate 3 towards its opening position. The force of the elastic member is sufficient to overcome the pressure difference from the tank in order to urge the valve plate towards its opening position.

One or more sealing elements are preferably provided within or on the distal end of the tubular element to provide a seal between the valve plate and the distal end of the tubular element. , This sealing element surrounds the orifice when the valve is in its closed position.

Further, or instead, a sealing element 22 is provided in the valve plate 3. The sealing element provides a sealing between the valve seat 4 and the distal end of the tubular element 1 and surrounds the orifice 2 when the valve plate 3 is in its closed position. The sealing element 22 is preferably located on or within the flange 16 which is releasably connected to the tubular element 1 of the caisson. The sealing element 22 may be in the form of an O-ring as disclosed in FIG. 6, for example.

In FIG. 1, tubular element 1 has a length between 1 and 8 meters (measured between the distal and proximal ends). The diameter or equivalent diameter (4 ^* area / perimeter) of the tubular element 1 is constant over the length of the tubular element 1 and is between 0.25 and 1 meter.

As disclosed in FIG. 6, the closing mechanism may be in the form of a rod containing a ring bolt that is firmly attached to the upper side of the flange. The rod of the ring bolt passes through a bore hole in the flange 16 and a wire or chain 8 is connected to the ring of the ring bolt. If the foot valve is desired to be closed, the wire is towed and the valve plate 3 is pulled up into contact with the valve seat 4. A seal may be added to the valve plate 3 or flange, which further reduces any flow through the valve when the valve seat is in contact with the valve plate, providing a sealing connection for the flange. Achieve. The upper portion of the flange 16 is preferably welded to the elongated tubular element 1. The lower portion of the flange 16 is connected to the upper portion of the flange by bolts that are evenly distributed along the perimeter of the flange 16. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the lower portion of the flange 16 defines the size of the orifice 2.

FIG. 6 further shows the foot valves at two different positions. In the upper left figure, the foot valve is in its open position, and in the upper right figure, the foot valve is in its closed position.

With reference to FIG. 7, in a further embodiment, the tie rod 7 extends to a position above the proximal end of the elongated tubular member 1 and is a traction mechanism for pulling the tie rod 7. Be connected. The traction mechanism includes a nut 24 that cooperates with a thread (not shown in FIG. 7) provided on the tie rod 7 so that the tie rod 7 is towed in response to the rotation of the nut 24. .. It should be noted that the nut 24 has a constant vertical position, for example by abutting on a surface, or is otherwise maintained in a constant vertical position while allowing the nut to rotate. Alternatively, the traction mechanism comprises a hydraulically operated piston, a pneumatically operated piston, and / or a solenoid to which the tie rod 7 is connected. The traction mechanism is preferably located above the tank. In certain preferred embodiments, two such tie rods 7 are used and the tie rods 7 are placed at an angle of 180 degrees between them. Also, the tie rod is in a particular preferred embodiment, the tie rod is typically cylindrical and has a diameter of 6-12 mm, 6-10 mm, etc., preferably 6 mm.

Although the present invention has been described in the context of a particular embodiment, it should not be construed as being more or less limited to the examples presented. The scope of the present invention is presented by the appended claims. In the claims, the terms "comprising" or "comprising" do not exclude other possible elements or steps. Also, references to criteria such as "a" or "an" should not be construed as excluding multiple references. The use of reference numerals in the claims for the elements shown in the figure should also not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Moreover, the individual features mentioned in the various claims can be combined in an advantageous manner in some cases, and the reference to those features in the various claims makes it impossible and inconvenient to combine the features. Is not excluded.

1 (Cason's) elongated tubular element 2 Solenoid 3 Valve plate 4 Valve seat 5 Spring 6 Impeller 7 Tie rod 8 Wire or chain 9 Winch 10 Hydraulic or pneumatic actuator 11 Electric coil 12 Magnetic actuator 14 Rotating shaft 15 Bolt 16 Flange 17 Fuel tank 18 Closing mechanism 19 Piston 20 Cylinder 21 Solenoid 22 Sealing element 23 Cason 24 Nut

Claims (14)

A caisson for housing the pump (6) in a container, said caissons,
− An elongated tubular element (1) made of a fluid impermeable material and having a proximal end opening and a distal end orifice (2) and valve seat (4).
-A valve plate (3) arranged on the caisson (23).
-A closing position where the valve plate (3) abuts on the valve seat (4) at the distal end of the caisson (23) to close the orifice (2).
− The valve plate (3) is provided with an opening position in which the valve plate (3) is located a short distance from the orifice to provide flow through the orifice, and a valve plate (3) which is movable between.
− The caisson
-One or more elastic members (5) that urge the valve plate (3) toward its opening position, and
− Provided with a closing mechanism (18) for positioning the valve plate (3) at its closing position.
Each of the elastic members (5) directs the valve plate (3) to the opening position where the valve plate (3) is located at a distance from the orifice to provide a flow through the orifice. A caisson composed of a mechanical spring that moves, thereby applying a force to the valve plate to move the valve plate toward the closed position. The closing mechanism (18) comprises a tie rod (7), a wire (8) , and a traction mechanism for pulling the wire.
The tie rod (7) is connected at the proximal end to the wire (8) connected to the valve plate (3) at the distal end.
The wire (8) extends from the proximal end of the tie rod (7) to the traction mechanism so as to move the valve plate (3) to its closed position when the traction mechanism is utilized. The caisson according to claim 1 that exists. The caisson of claim 2, wherein the traction mechanism comprises a winch (9) to which the wire (8) is connected, a hydraulically operated piston, a pneumatically operated piston, and / or a solenoid. It said closure mechanism comprises an actuator (10) of the hydraulic or pneumatic includes a piston (19) disposed in the arranged cylinder (20) on said caisson at the lower end of that,
The piston can be hydraulically actuated by supplying fluid to the cylinder (20) so that it reciprocates between two longitudinally spaced positions within the cylinder (20).
The actuator further comprises a tie rod (7) connected to the piston at the proximal end and to the valve plate (3) at the distal end, resulting in the piston (19). The caisson according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating motion of the valve plate (3) results in a motion between the opening position and the closing position of the valve plate (3). An electric coil (11) in which the closing mechanism surrounds at least a portion of the metal tie rod (7) and the tie rod (7), including the proximal end of the tie rod (7). When a current is applied to the electric coil (11), the tie rod (7) includes a solenoid (21) including, and the tie rod (7) moves the valve plate (3) to its closed position. The cason according to claim 1, wherein the tie rod (7) is distally connected to the valve plate (3) so that it is pulled into and maintained by the coil (11). Into the distal end of the tubular element (1) or at the distal end to provide a seal between the valve plate (3) and the distal end of the tubular element (1). Any of claims 1-5, wherein the sealing element surrounds the orifice (2) when one or more sealing elements (22) are provided and the valve plate (3) is in its closed position. The caisson described in item 1. A sealing element (22) is provided within the valve plate (3) to provide a seal between the valve plate ( 3) and the distal end of the tubular element (1). The caisson according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sealing element surrounds the orifice (2) when the valve plate (3) is in its closed position. The length of the tubular element (1) when measured in between said distal end portion proximal end is between 1 meter 30 meters, any one of claims 1 to 7 one The caisson described in the section. The diameter or equivalent diameter of the tubular element (1) (4 ^* area / perimeter) of the is constant over the length of the tubular element (1) is between 1 meter and 0.25 meters claim The caisson according to any one of 1 to 8. The closing mechanism (18) comprises a tie rod (7) and a traction mechanism.
The tie rod (7) extends to a position above the proximal end of the elongated tubular member (1) where the traction mechanism is located, and the tie rod (7) The caisson according to claim 1, which is connected to the traction mechanism for traction. The nut (24) cooperates with a thread provided on the tie rod (7) so that the traction mechanism pulls the tie rod (7) in response to rotation of the nut (24). ), The caisson according to claim 10. 10. The caisson of claim 10 , wherein the traction mechanism comprises a hydraulically operated piston, a pneumatically operated piston, and / or a solenoid to which the tie rod (7) is connected. The caisson according to any one of claims 10 to 12 , wherein two tie rods (7) are used and the tie rods (7) are arranged at an angle of 180 degrees between them. Comprising a caisson according to any one of claims 1 to 13, a container for storing the fuel.

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