JPH037358Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention is a so-called automatic refueling system that automatically refuels a vehicle's fuel tank to a predetermined level with a single refueling operation. Relating to a type oil supply device.

[Prior art]

For example, an automatic valve-closing type refueling nozzle is known in which an automatic valve-closing mechanism operates to automatically close a valve mechanism in a nozzle body when the liquid level in a fuel tank reaches a predetermined liquid level.

This type of self-closing refueling nozzle has a negative pressure chamber that forms part of the automatic valve closing mechanism inside the nozzle body, and a liquid level detection hole that communicates with the negative pressure chamber at the tip of the discharge pipe. When the liquid level detection hole is blocked by a rise in the liquid level and the negative pressure chamber becomes negative pressure, the automatic valve closing mechanism is activated and the valve is set to the open state by the operating lever. The valve mechanism is configured to automatically close the valve mechanism (for example,
-Refer to Publication No. 21614).

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

By the way, in the automatic closing type refueling nozzle, the negative pressure generation mechanism provided in the nozzle body sucks in outside air from the liquid level detection hole and discharges it from the discharge pipe along with gasoline, etc. A large amount of bubbles are generated in the fuel tank due to the air discharged together with gasoline and the like. When the liquid level detection hole is blocked by the bubbles, the negative pressure chamber becomes negative pressure, and as a result, the automatic valve closing mechanism immediately operates to close the valve mechanism.

For this reason, the prior art has a drawback in that the automatic valve closing mechanism malfunctions due to the bubbles and refueling is interrupted before the liquid level in the fuel tank actually reaches a predetermined liquid level. When performing additional refueling, the refueling nozzle must be pulled up from the fuel tank and the operating lever must be operated again to perform additional refueling, which has the drawback of requiring extra labor and time for refueling.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, and aims to provide a refueling device that can automatically refuel a vehicle's fuel tank to a predetermined level with a single refueling operation. purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the configuration adopted by the present invention includes a refueling nozzle provided at the tip of a flow path and having a discharge pipe inserted into the refueling port of the fuel tank, and a refueling nozzle located upstream of the refueling nozzle. a refueling control mechanism that is located in the middle of the flow path and controls the amount of oil supplied to the refueling nozzle; a negative pressure passage that opens at the tip of the discharge pipe of the refueling nozzle; and a negative pressure generating mechanism. A sensor that outputs an analog detection signal of a magnitude corresponding to the negative pressure state in the pressure chamber communicated with the mechanism; Predetermined according to the magnitude of the detection signal output from the sensor so that the amount of oil supplied from the oil supply control mechanism to the oil supply nozzle is zero when the output detection signal reaches a predetermined magnitude. a storage circuit for storing the detected flow rate control data, and when a detection signal is input from the sensor, calculates flow rate control data corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal from the storage circuit, and generates a flow rate control signal based on the calculation result. and a control circuit that outputs an output to the flow rate control mechanism and controls the amount of supply from the flow rate control mechanism based on the flow rate control signal.

[Effect]

With this configuration, during refueling work, the sensor detects the negative pressure in the pressure chamber that is generated when the negative pressure passage that opens at the tip of the refueling nozzle's discharge pipe is blocked by liquid or foam. Since an analog detection signal with a detection value that differs in magnitude depending on the state is output, when this detection signal is input to the control circuit, the control circuit reads this signal from the storage circuit that stores the flow rate control data. Calculates flow control data corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal,
This calculation result is output as a flow control signal to a flow control mechanism consisting of a solenoid valve, a pump motor, etc. As a result, the flow rate control mechanism is driven based on the flow rate control signal, the negative pressure passage opened at the tip of the discharge pipe of the refueling nozzle is completely blocked by the liquid level, and the detection signal from the sensor reaches a predetermined level. In this state, the flow rate control mechanism is controlled so that the amount of oil supplied to the refueling nozzle becomes zero, and automatic full refueling can be performed with a single refueling operation.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a fixed oil supply device main body, and the main body 1 is roughly composed of a lower case 2 and an upper case 3. Inside the lower case 2, there is a pipe 4 with one end connected to an underground tank (not shown).
A pump 6 driven by a motor 5, a flow meter 7 having a pulse transmitter 7A, and a normally open solenoid valve 8 are provided in the middle of the pipe 4. A hose 9 and a refueling nozzle 10 connected to the hose 9 are provided at the other end. Here, the electromagnetic valve 8 controls the amount of oil supplied via the oil supply nozzle 10 by a flow rate control signal P, which will be described later.
This constitutes a refueling control mechanism that automatically controls the oil supply.

Further, on the side of the lower case 2, there is a nozzle storage part 11 for storing the refueling nozzle 10 in a hung state when not refueling, and a nozzle storage part 11 is arranged adjacent to the nozzle storage part 11. Nozzle switch 1
2, and the nozzle switch 12 is opened when the refueling nozzle 10 is hooked to the nozzle storage portion 11, and closed when the nozzle is unhooked.

On the other hand, the upper case 3 is provided with a display 13 for displaying the amount of refueling, amount of money, unit price, etc., and a control device 14, and the control device 14 is connected to the pulse transmitter 7.
The function is to display the amount of refueling etc. on the display 13 based on the flow rate signal from A, and when the refueling nozzle 10 is removed and the nozzle switch 12 is closed, the motor 5 is started and the refueling nozzle 10 is applied. It has a function of stopping the motor 5 when the nozzle switch 12 is opened. Furthermore, the control device 14 is provided with a control circuit 29, etc., which will be described later, and the control circuit 29 is
A flow rate control signal P is outputted to the electromagnetic valve 8 as the oil supply control mechanism via the oil supply control mechanism 9.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of the refueling nozzle 10. In the figure, 15 is a nozzle body whose one end is connected to the hose 9. A fluid flow path 16 is provided in the nozzle body 15, and the fluid flow path 16 is opened and closed by an operating lever 17 in the middle. Valve mechanism 18
is provided. 19 is a discharge pipe protruding from the other end of the nozzle body 15;
9 is inserted into a fuel filler port (not shown) of a fuel tank, and the valve mechanism 1 is opened by operating the operating lever 17.
When the valve 8 is opened, oil such as gasoline is discharged from the fluid passage 16 into the fuel tank.

A locking spring 20 is fitted around the outer circumference of the discharge pipe 19 from the middle part to the base end, and locks the discharge pipe 19 to the filler port of the fuel tank;
1 is a detection hole provided at the tip side of the discharge pipe 19 to detect the liquid level or bubble level in the fuel tank, and the detection hole 21 is connected to a negative pressure chamber 23 to be described later through a negative pressure pipe 22. It is communicated. When the detection hole 21 is blocked by an oil liquid such as gasoline filled in the fuel tank or by bubbles generated during refueling, the detection hole 21 is activated by creating a negative pressure state in the negative pressure chamber 23. Together with a photo interrupter 26, which will be described later, it constitutes a sensor that detects the liquid level or foam level.

A negative pressure chamber 23 is provided in the nozzle body 15 and isolated from the atmospheric chamber 25 by a diaphragm 24. The negative pressure chamber 23 is connected to the negative pressure pipe 22 through a passage 23A, and there is a Fluid channel 16
A negative pressure generating mechanism (not shown) is provided that sucks outside air from the detection hole 21 using oil flowing therein. This negative pressure generation mechanism sucks outside air through the negative pressure pipe 22 while the detection hole 21 is open to the outside air during refueling, and maintains the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 at atmospheric pressure. When the suction of outside air through the negative pressure pipe 22 becomes impossible as the negative pressure pipe 22 gradually becomes blocked by oil or bubbles, air is gradually sucked from inside the negative pressure chamber 23 and the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 is removed. It is designed to be in a negative pressure state.

26 is a light emitting section 26 fixedly installed on the atmospheric chamber 25 side.
A and a light receiving section 26B, the photo interrupter 26 has a light emitting section 26A,
One end is connected to the diaphragm 24 between the light receiving parts 26B.
The free end of the shielding plate 27 fixed to the diaphragm 24 is inserted, and as the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes in a negative pressure state, the free end of the shielding plate 27 is displaced downward in the figure together with the diaphragm 24. There is. The photo interrupter 26 together with the detection hole 21 constitutes a sensor that detects the liquid level or foam level.
The detection hole 21 is blocked by oil liquid or bubbles,
As the negative pressure inside the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes negative, the amount of displacement of the shielding plate 27 is converted into an analog detection signal S as shown in FIG. 4, and this detection signal S is output to a control circuit 29 to be described later. It's becoming like that.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram for controlling the closing operation of the solenoid valve 8 as the oil supply control mechanism based on the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26.

In the figure, 28 is an amplifier that amplifies the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 and outputs it to a control circuit 29 (described later), 29 is a control circuit consisting of, for example, a CPU, and 30 is a storage circuit consisting of RAM, ROM, etc. Shows a function generator. Here, flow rate control data predetermined according to the magnitude of the analog detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 is stored in the function generator 30 as a function, and this flow rate control data is stored as a function as shown in FIG. The characteristic curve is such that when the detection signal S reaches a predetermined magnitude, the solenoid valve 8 is completely closed. Further, the control circuit 29 outputs a flow rate control signal P corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal from the amplifier 28 to the electromagnetic valve 8 based on a predetermined function by the function generator 30, thereby causing the electromagnetic The opening degree of the valve 8 is controlled as shown in the characteristic curve T shown in FIG.
The control circuit 29 is provided in the control device 14 of the upper case 3 together with the amplifier 28 and the function generator 30. Then, the control circuit 29 detects that the detection hole 21 begins to be blocked by bubbles generated on the liquid level in the fuel tank, and the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 gradually becomes a negative pressure state, causing the displacement of the shielding plate 27. When the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 reaches a predetermined value in response to The flow rate of the oil liquid flowing into the oil supply nozzle 10 is greatly suppressed, and then, in response to the increase in the detection signal S, the valve opening of the solenoid valve 8 is gradually reduced to gradually suppress the flow rate of the oil liquid. I'm going to go. Then, when the liquid level in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined level and the detection hole 21 is blocked by the oil liquid, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes a predetermined large negative pressure state, and the shielding is performed accordingly. Since the plate 27 also changes greatly and the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 becomes a predetermined large value, at this time the control circuit 29 closes the solenoid valve 8 via the flow rate control signal P. .

Next, the operation of the oil supply system configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

Figure 6 shows the time from the start of refueling to the stop of refueling on the horizontal axis, and the detection signal S in relation to this refueling time.
and the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8, respectively, are represented by characteristic curves S ₁ ,
By also expressing T ₁ , the relationship between the two is made clear. Then, in the area shown in FIG. 6, the operating lever 17 is operated to open the valve mechanism 18,
It shows the time range from the start of refueling until the detection hole 21 of the refueling nozzle 10 begins to be blocked by bubbles generated on the liquid surface of the fuel tank during refueling. During this time, since the detection hole 21 is open to the outside air, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 is at atmospheric pressure, the shielding plate 27 is not substantially displaced, and the detection signal S is at the initial value.
V is maintained at a value of ₀ . Further, the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 is maintained in the fully open state by the flow rate control signal P output from the control circuit 29 in response to the detection signal S (see FIG. 5), and a large amount of oil is discharged from the oil supply nozzle 10. Fuel is refilled into the fuel tank.

Next, when the detection hole 21 begins to be blocked by bubbles in the area, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 gradually becomes a negative pressure state, and the detection from the photo interrupter 26 corresponds to the displacement of the shielding plate 27. Signal S exceeds a predetermined value. As a result, the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 is rapidly narrowed down along the characteristic curve _T1 by the flow rate control signal P output from the control circuit 29 in response to the detection signal S, and the flow rate is reduced through the solenoid valve 8. The flow rate of the oil flowing out to the fuel nozzle 10 can be greatly suppressed, and the amount of oil discharged from the fuel nozzle 10 into the fuel tank can be greatly suppressed.

Thereafter, since the detection hole 21 continues to be blocked by bubbles in the region, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes further in a negative pressure state, the shielding plate 27 is displaced, and the value of the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 is also becomes larger.
Then, the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 is further gradually reduced by the flow rate control signal P output from the control circuit 29 in response to the detection signal S, and the refueling nozzle 1
The amount of oil discharged into the fuel tank from zero can be suppressed to a small amount, and the occurrence of overflow can be suppressed in preparation for when the tank is full. When the liquid level in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined level and the detection hole 21 is blocked with oil, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes a predetermined large negative pressure state, so that the displacement of the shielding plate 27 In response to this, the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 becomes a predetermined large value, and the control circuit 29 outputs the flow rate control signal P.
The solenoid valve 8 can be closed via the solenoid valve 8, and refueling can be automatically stopped.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the discharge pipe 19 is caused by bubbles generated on the liquid level of the fuel tank during refueling.
As the detection hole 21 located at the tip side of the negative pressure chamber 23 is closed, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 gradually becomes a negative pressure state.
This is transmitted to the photo interrupter 2 via the shielding plate 27.
7 as a detection signal S, and a predetermined flow rate control signal P corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal S.
By outputting this from the control circuit 29 to the solenoid valve 8, the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 can be controlled to suppress the overflow amount when the tank is full. Further, when the liquid level in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined level, the detection hole 21
When the valve is blocked by oil, the inside of the negative pressure chamber 23 becomes a predetermined large negative pressure state, so a flow rate control signal P corresponding to the detection signal S from the photo interrupter 26 is sent from the control circuit 29 to the solenoid valve 8. The electromagnetic valve 8 can be closed by outputting an output to the fuel tank, and when the inside of the fuel tank is full, refueling can be automatically stopped, and full refueling can be automatically performed with a single refueling operation.

In each of the above embodiments, the solenoid valve 8 is used as the oil supply control mechanism, but instead of this, the flow rate control signal P from the control circuit 29 is output to the motor 5, and the rotation speed of the motor 5 is controlled. The discharge amount of the pump 6 driven and stopped by the motor 5 may be controlled by controlling the motor 5. In this case, the motor 5 and the pump 6 can constitute an oil supply control mechanism, and the solenoid valve 8 may be omitted.

Further, in the above embodiment, the valve opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 is controlled along the characteristic curve T, but instead of this, the function generator 30 generates another function and the control circuit 29 generates another function. By outputting the signal, the opening degree of the solenoid valve 8 can be controlled, for example, along a characteristic curve as shown by a dotted line or a chain line in FIG. Of course, in this case as well, the rotational speed of the motor 5 or pump 6 may be controlled instead of the solenoid valve 8.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the control circuit 29
A timer, a memory device, etc. are incorporated in the device, and the detection signal S input at each time point is stored in the memory device, and compared with the detection signal S input at the next time point, and if the detection signal S does not increase. This may be cut to prevent the control circuit 29 from malfunctioning due to detection errors or the like.

[Effect of idea]

As detailed above, according to the present invention, a sensor is provided that outputs an analog detection signal of different magnitude depending on the situation where the negative pressure passage opened at the tip of the discharge pipe of the refueling nozzle is blocked by liquid or bubbles, When the detection signal from the sensor is input to the control circuit, the control circuit calculates a flow control signal corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal based on the flow control data stored in the memory circuit, and A configuration in which the oil supply control mechanism is driven based on the oil supply control mechanism to control the amount of oil supplied to the oil supply nozzle, and when the detection signal from the sensor reaches a predetermined level, the amount of oil supplied by the oil supply control mechanism is set to zero. Therefore, depending on the situation where the negative pressure passage opening at the tip of the discharge pipe is blocked by bubbles or liquid level that occur on the liquid surface during refueling into the fuel tank, the oil should be adjusted appropriately. The amount of liquid supplied can be controlled, and while the amount of overflow when the tank is full is suppressed, refueling is automatically performed when the liquid level in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined level that completely blocks the opening of the negative pressure passage. It is possible to automatically stop the tank and refill the tank automatically with a single refueling operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 show embodiments of the present invention,
Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the oil supply device, Figure 2 is a partial sectional view showing an enlarged view of the oil supply nozzle in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the oil supply nozzle in Figure 1.
The figure is a circuit diagram for controlling the amount of oil supplied during refueling, Figure 4 is a characteristic line diagram showing the relationship between the displacement amount of the shielding plate shown in Figure 2 and the detection signal output from the photo interrupter, and Figure 5 is FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the detection signal and the valve opening of the solenoid valve. FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the detection signal and the valve opening of the solenoid valve in relation to the time during refueling. 8...Solenoid valve, 10...Refueling nozzle, 21...
Detection hole, 23... Negative pressure chamber, 26... Photo interrupter, 27... Shielding plate, 29... Control circuit, S
...detection signal, P...flow control signal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A refueling nozzle provided at the tip of the flow path and having a discharge pipe inserted into the refueling port of the fuel tank; A refueling control mechanism that controls the supply amount of oil fluid, a negative pressure passage opened at the distal end side of the discharge pipe of the refueling nozzle, and a negative pressure generation mechanism, the size of which corresponds to the negative pressure state in the pressure chamber. A sensor that outputs an analog detection signal,
When the negative pressure passage opened at the tip of the discharge pipe of the refueling nozzle is completely blocked by the liquid level and the detection signal output from the sensor reaches a predetermined magnitude, the refueling control mechanism a storage circuit that stores predetermined flow rate control data according to the magnitude of the detection signal output from the sensor so as to set the amount of oil supplied to the oil supply nozzle to zero; and a storage circuit that receives the detection signal from the sensor. When it is done,
Flow rate control data corresponding to the magnitude of the detection signal is calculated from the storage circuit, a flow rate control signal based on the calculation result is output to the flow rate control mechanism, and the supply amount from the flow rate control mechanism is controlled by this flow rate control signal. A refueling device consisting of a control circuit that controls the