JPH04267797A - Oil feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To identify kinds of oil prior to oil feeding and recover the vapor. CONSTITUTION:An oil feeding nozzle 3 is connected to an oil feeding hose 5 and inserted into an oil inlet 6a of a fuel tank 6 on feeding the oil. The vapor within the tank 6 flows in pipes 17a, 17c through a vapor suction pipe 16 along the feeding hose 5 by the driving suction pump 19. The kind of oil is detected with the oil-vapor pressure of the vapor fed by the vapor suction pipe 16 by use of an oil-kind sensor 18 equipped at the detecting pipe 17a. When the oil- kind of the underground tank coincides with that of the tank 6, a pump 9 is driven to feed the oil in the underground tank 8 to the tank 6. And also change over switches 20, 21 are actuated and the vapor sucked from the vapor suction pipe 16 flows in the underground tank 8 through the bypass pipe 17b. And the contact time of the sensor 18 is shortened.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel supply device used at a gas station or the like to supply oil such as gasoline or diesel oil to a fuel tank of an automobile.

0002

[Prior art] At gas stations, etc., there are
A refueling device is installed for each type of oil to be supplied, such as one for supplying light oil.

[0003] Therefore, when refueling the tank of a customer's car, this type of refueling device may accidentally refuel the tank of a customer's car using a refueling device designed for supplying light oil instead of gasoline, for example. To prevent refueling accidents,
They tend to be equipped with an oil type discrimination function. The oil supply device equipped with this oil type discrimination function sucks the residual oil vapor in the tank that is being refueled and applies it to the oil vapor sensor of the oil type discrimination device to determine the oil type. Refueling is possible only when the type of residual oil matches the type of oil supplied from the oil supply device.

[0004] In general, in a refueling system, when the oil discharged from the refueling nozzle flows into the tank during refueling, vapor generated based on the saturated vapor pressure of the oil enters the atmosphere from the tank's refueling port. It is squirted. The vapor produced by the vaporization of oil liquid such as gasoline is not only flammable and dangerous, but also environmentally undesirable. Therefore, a pipe for sucking the vapor is installed in the refueling nozzle to remove the vapor generated during refueling. Refueling devices equipped with a vapor recovery function that sucks up vapor and collects it in a safe location such as an underground tank at a gas station are also being considered.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventional oil supply devices have only one of the above-mentioned oil type discrimination function or vapor recovery function, and in oil supply devices that have an oil type discrimination function, vapor during refueling The oil ejected into the atmosphere from the mouth, and a refueling device with a vapor recovery function was unable to determine the type of oil in the tank to be refueled.

[0006] Therefore, if an attempt is made to provide an oil type discrimination function and a vapor recovery function in one oil supply device, two systems of vapor suction pipes and suction pumps are required, which complicates the configuration of the oil supply device. Moreover, since two vapor suction pipes are provided in the refueling nozzle and the refueling hose to which the refueling nozzle is connected, work efficiency during refueling is also reduced. In addition, it is possible to share the vapor suction pipe and suction pump for the oil type discrimination function and vapor recovery function, but the oil vapor sensor in the oil type discrimination device can be used for initial detection in preparation for the next refueling operation. From the viewpoint of early return to normal condition and its durable life, it is not preferable that the vapor recovered by the vapor recovery function is continuously applied during refueling.

[0007] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refueling device that solves the above problems.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a hose whose proximal end is connected to a liquid feeding means, and a hose connected to the distal end of the hose, which is inserted into a fuel supply port of a tank and supplied by the liquid feeding means. A refueling nozzle for discharging oil liquid, one side opening at the tip side of the refueling nozzle to collect oil vapor in the tank, and the other side extending along the hose, and the suction pipe. A suction means for suctioning oil vapor in the tank through a pipe, a detection pipe provided with an oil vapor sensor for determining the type of oil remaining in the tank, A determination/recovery mechanism comprising a bypass pipe for communicating the suction pipe with an oil vapor recovery container, and a switching means for selectively communicating the detection pipe or the bypass pipe with the other side of the suction pipe. When starting the refueling operation, the switching means is driven to connect the other side of the suction pipe to the detection pipe, and the oil type of the remaining oil in the tank is determined based on the output of the oil vapor sensor. A control means is provided for driving the liquid feeding means when the type of oil matches the type of oil supplied from the liquid feeding means, and driving a switching means so that the other side of the suction pipe is communicated with the bypass pipe.

[0009]

[Operation] By inserting the refueling nozzle into the refueling port, oil vapor in the tank is supplied to the oil vapor sensor via the suction pipe and the detection pipe to determine the oil type. When the oil type determined by the output from the oil vapor sensor matches the oil type in the oil supply nozzle, oil supply becomes possible and the switching means switches so that the oil vapor sucked from the suction pipe passes through the bypass pipe. It will be collected.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the oil supply system according to the present invention.

In the figure, a refueling device 1 is installed at a refueling site at a refueling station, and a refueling hose 5 connected to a refueling nozzle 3 is pulled out from the side of the main body 2 of the device. The refueling nozzle 3 is usually hung on a nozzle hook 4 provided on the side of the device main body 2. For example, when a customer's car arrives at a gas station, an operator removes the refueling nozzle 3 from the nozzle hook 4 and removes the fuel nozzle 3 from the nozzle hook 4. It is inserted into the fuel filler port 6a of the fuel tank 6 to refuel.

The oil supply hose 5 is connected to the oil supply system within the main body 2 of the apparatus. Reference numeral 7 denotes a fuel supply system piping connected to an underground tank 8. Further, the refueling hose 5 is connected to the piping 7 via a flow meter 10 and a pump 9.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a control device, and when the refueling nozzle 3 is inserted into the refueling port 6a and the nozzle switch 11 provided on the nozzle hook 4 is turned on, oil vapor (vapor) is generated as described later.
The oil type is determined based on the following. Then, when the detected oil type in the tank 6 matches the preset oil type corresponding to the underground tank 8, the control device 12 starts the pump motor 13 to drive the pump 9. The oil in the underground tank 8 is pumped up through the pipe 7 by the drive of the pump 9, and the oil is pumped up to the flow meter 1.
0, Pass through the refueling hose 5 and enter the tank 6 from the refueling nozzle 3
will be refueled.

Note that during refueling, the flow meter 10 measures the amount of refueling, and the flow pulse generator 10a transmits flow pulses to the control device 12.
Output to. Then, the control device 12 integrates the flow rate pulses and displays the amount of oil supplied on the oil amount display 14.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a status indicator for notifying the operating status of the oil supply device 1, which is provided on the front side of the device body 2 and flashes a lamp when determining the oil type and during sensor cleaning.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a flexible vapor suction pipe, one end of which opens at a conical cover 3a provided at the tip of the refueling nozzle 3, and is integrally attached to the outer periphery of the refueling hose 5 so as to run along the refueling hose 5. The other end is connected to the oil type determination/recovery system in the main body 2 of the device. Therefore, when the refueling nozzle 3 is inserted into the refueling port 6a, the refueling port 6a
a is closed by the cover 3a, and the vapor in the fuel tank 6 flows into the vapor suction pipe 16.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an oil type determination/recovery pipe line, which includes a detection pipe 17a connected to the vapor suction pipe 16, and a detection pipe 1
Bypass piping 17b branched from 7a and detection piping 17
a recovery pipe 17c that connects the bypass pipe 17b and the underground tank 8; and an intake pipe 1 that branches from the recovery pipe 17c and connects to the bypass pipe 17b or the detection pipe 17a.
7d and more.

Furthermore, an oil type detection sensor (oil vapor sensor) 18 is provided in the middle of the detection pipe 17b to detect the type of oil from the oil vapor pressure sucked from the vapor suction pipe 16. Further, an intake pump 19 for sucking oil vapor from the vapor suction pipe 16 is provided in the middle of the recovery pipe 17c.

A three-way switching valve 20 is connected to the vapor suction pipe 16, the upper end of the detection pipe 17a, and the upper end of the bypass pipe 17b. 21 is a four-way switching valve, which includes the lower end of the detection pipe 17a, the lower end of the bypass pipe 17b, and the recovery pipe 1.
7c and an intake pipe 17d are connected.

[0020] The above three-way switching valve 20 and four-way switching valve 21
As will be described later, when determining the oil type, the vapor in the tank 6 sucked by the vapor suction pipe 16 is detected by the oil type detection sensor 18.
The switch is made so that the vapor that has passed through the sensor 18 is collected into the underground tank 8. During refueling after determining the oil type, the sucked vapor passes through the bypass pipe 17b and is collected into the underground tank 8, and then the vapor adhering to the sensor 18 is sucked through the intake pipe 17d that opens on the side of the device body 2. The system switches to exhaust the air outside.

Further, the exhaust pipe 17d is provided with an exhaust pump 24 for exhausting the vapor (oil vapor) remaining in the suction pipe 16 and the detection pipe 17a into the atmosphere.

As the oil type detection sensor 18, for example, a semiconductor type gas sensor that detects the vapor pressure of vapor is used. The saturated vapor pressure differs depending on the type of oil (in this embodiment, gasoline or light oil) in the remaining liquid in the fuel tank 6, and the saturated vapor pressure of gasoline is higher than that of light oil. Therefore, when gasoline vapor is sucked, the output of the sensor 18 becomes high, and when light oil vapor is sucked, the output of the sensor 18 becomes low.

However, due to the characteristics of semiconductor type gas sensors, if oil liquid is directly attached to them, not only will it be impossible to accurately detect the type of oil, but it may also cause a malfunction.

Therefore, vapor is supplied to the sensor 18 only before the start of refueling, and during refueling, vapor is supplied to the bypass pipe 17b.
Switch the vapor recovery route so that it passes through the

[0025] The refueling operation of the refueling device 1 having the above configuration will now be explained. During refueling, the control device 12 is shown in FIG.
The process shown in FIG. 3 is executed.

In both figures, the control device 12 turns on the nozzle switch 11 when the refueling nozzle 3 is removed from the nozzle hook 4 (S1), and the switching valve 20 connects the vapor suction pipe 16 and the detection pipe 17a. The switching valve 21 is connected to the detection pipe 17.
The intake path is switched so that a and the recovery pipe 17c are communicated with each other (S2). Subsequently, the intake pump 19 is driven (S
3).

Therefore, when the refueling nozzle 3 is inserted into the refueling port 6a as shown in FIG. 1, the vapor in the tank 6 is sucked into the suction pipe 16 that opens at the tip of the refueling nozzle 3. The vapor sucked into the suction pipe 16 is sent to the detection pipe 1
7a, and is fed to an underground tank 8 via a recovery pipe 17c.

[0028] The detection pipe 17a is equipped with a sensor 1 for determining the oil type.
8 is provided, the pressure of the vapor sucked from the suction pipe 16 is detected by the sensor 18. In this way, when the oil type of the vapor is determined by the sensor 18 in S4, it is checked in the next S5 whether or not the oil type of the vapor matches the oil type corresponding to the underground tank 8 set in advance. .

That is, if the oil type in the tank 16 and the oil type in the underground tank 8 match, the process moves to S6 and the switching valve 20 is switched to connect the suction pipe 16 and the bypass pipe 17b. In the next S7, the switching valve 21 is switched and the bypass piping 1
7b and the recovery pipe 17c are communicated with each other.

Next, start the motor 13 of the pump 9,
Force the oil in the underground tank 8 to the oil supply nozzle 3 (S8)
. Then, when the operator pulls the nozzle lever of the refueling nozzle 3, refueling the tank 6 is started.

Incidentally, while refueling, the vapor in the fuel tank 6 is sucked by the intake pump 19, passes through the suction pipe 16, the bypass pipe 17b, and the recovery pipe 17c, and is collected in the underground tank 8. This prevents vapor generated during refueling from spewing out from the refueling port 6a, improving safety at the refueling station.

[0032] Also, the pipes 17a, 17 for vapor recovery
c also functions as a pipe line for oil type discrimination as described above, and has a simpler configuration than providing pipes for each purpose.

After the tank 6 has been refueled, the refueling nozzle 3
When the nozzle is returned to the nozzle hook 4, the nozzle switch 11 is turned off. When the nozzle switch 11 is turned off in S9, the motor 13 of the pump 9 is stopped (S10), and then the intake pump 19 is stopped (S11).

In the next step S12, the switching valve 20 is switched to the suction pipe 1.
6 and the detection pipe 17a are switched to communicate with each other, and the S
At step 13, the switching valve 21 is switched so that the detection pipe 17a and the intake pipe 17d communicate with each other. Thereafter, the exhaust pump 24 is driven for a predetermined period of time, and the air sucked through the intake pipe 17d is force-fed to the detection pipe 17a. As a result, the vapor remaining in the suction pipe 16, the detection pipe 17a, and the sensor 18 is discharged into the atmosphere by the air sucked through the intake pipe 17d (S14).

As a result, the oil adhering to the sensor 18 is removed by the air sucked in through the suction pipe 16, and the surface of the sensor 18 is cleaned. Therefore, suction pipe 1
6 and piping 17a, no vapor from the previous time remains.
The accuracy of the next oil type detection will be improved and false detection due to residual liquid will be prevented.

When it is confirmed that the output level of the sensor 18 has fallen to the atmospheric level and the cleaning operation of the sensor 18 is completed (S15), the process moves to S16 and the exhaust pump 2
Stop 4.

If the oil types do not match in S5, the intake pump 19 is stopped without starting the pump 9 (S17).
), then the switching valve 21 is switched so that the detection pipe 17a and the intake pipe 17d communicate with each other (S18).

Subsequently, the exhaust pump 24 is driven (S1
9) The oil adhering to the vapor inside the suction pipe 16, the pipes 17a and 17b, and the sensor 18 is discharged into the atmosphere. Then, when the refueling nozzle 3 is returned to the nozzle hook 4, the nozzle switch 11 is turned off and the processes of S15 and S16 described above are executed.

Incidentally, FIG. 4 is a timing chart when the oil types match.
9 shows the on/off operations of the exhaust pump 24 and pump motor 13. In addition, the status indicator 15 flashes a display lamp from the time the refueling nozzle 3 is removed from the nozzle hook 4 until it is determined that the oil type matches.

Therefore, the operator can see that the oil type is being determined by the blinking of the status indicator 15, and confirms that the oil types match by turning off the status indicator 15. As a result, the operator pulls the nozzle lever of the refueling nozzle 3 to start refueling.

When the refueling nozzle 3 is returned to the nozzle hook 4 after refueling, the status indicator 15 flashes again to indicate that the sensor 18 is being cleaned by the exhaust pump 24 described above.

[0042] When cleaning of the sensor 18 is completed,
Since the status indicator 15 is turned off, the operator should turn off the status indicator 1.
5. Confirm that the light is off before refueling next time.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart when the oil types do not match. That is, if the oil types do not match in S5 of FIG. 2, the status indicator 15 is switched on, so when the operator confirms that the status indicator 15 is lit, the operator returns the refueling nozzle 3 to the nozzle hook 4 without refueling.

When the refueling nozzle 3 is returned to the nozzle hook 4, the exhaust pump 24 is driven to clean the sensor 18, and the status indicator 15 is switched to blinking. Then, when the status indicator 15 goes out, it can be confirmed that cleaning has been completed, and the next refueling becomes possible.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, an insertion detection sensor 26 is provided on the cover 3a at the tip of the fuel nozzle 3 to detect that the fuel nozzle 3 has been inserted into the fuel fill port 6a. This sensor 26 is composed of a proximity sensor, a reed switch, or the like, and outputs a detection signal to the control device 12 when inserted into the fuel filler port 6a.

A three-way switching valve 27 and a check valve 28 are provided in the recovery pipe 17c for recovering vapor. The intake pipe 17d is connected to this switching valve 27.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a suction/discharge pump, which is disposed in a pipe 17e connecting between the three-way switching valves 21' and 27, and is connected to the first pump.
It is provided to serve both as the intake pump 19 and the exhaust pump 24 of the embodiment. Therefore, compared to the oil supply apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the oil supply apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 6 has fewer pumps, and has a structure that can be simplified and miniaturized.

[0048] The refueling operation of the refueling device 30 having the above configuration will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In both figures, when the refueling nozzle 3 is removed from the nozzle hook 4 and the nozzle switch 11 is turned on (S21), the control device 12 drives the insertion detection sensor 26 (S22).

When the refueling nozzle 3 is inserted into the refueling port 6a and a detection signal is output from the insertion detection sensor 26 (S23), the suction/discharge pump 29 is driven to rotate in the forward direction (
S24). Due to the forward rotation of the suction and exhaust pump 29, the vapor in the fuel tank 6 is transferred to the vapor suction pipe 16, the piping 17a,
It is recovered via 17e and 17c.

The oil type detection sensor 18 provided in the detection pipe 17a detects the vapor pressure of the vapor sucked by the suction pump 29. The type of oil in the oil tank 6 is determined based on the signal from the sensor 18 (S25).

In S25, if the oil types match, the intake path is changed so that the switching valves 20, 21' connect the suction pipe 16 and the bypass pipe 17b, and the bypass pipe 17b and the pipe 17e, as in S6 to S8 shown in the figure. is switched to drive the pump motor 13 (S27 to S29).

In the next step S30, it is detected whether the sensor 26 is turned off, that is, whether or not the refueling nozzle 3 is pulled out from the refueling port 6a. Therefore, when the detection signal from the sensor 26 turns off in S30, the process moves to S31 and the pump motor 13 is stopped, and then the process moves to S32 and the suction/discharge pump 29 is stopped.

In the next step S33, the switching valve 20 is switched to the suction pipe 1.
6 and the detection pipe 17a are switched to communicate with each other, and S3
4, the switching valve 21' is switched so that the detection pipe 17a and the pipe 17e communicate with each other. Then, in S35, the switching valve 2
7 is switched so that the pipe 17e and the exhaust pipe 17d communicate with each other.

Next, the process moves to S36, where the suction and exhaust pump 29 is driven in reverse rotation, and atmospheric air is supplied to the piping 17e via the intake piping 17d. Note that since a check valve 28 is provided on the downstream side of the pipe 17c, the vapor in the underground tank 8 is prevented from flowing back even if the suction pump 29 is driven to rotate in the opposite direction.

Therefore, the air sucked from the intake pipe 17d passes through the pipes 17e and 17a and flows out from the suction pipe 16. This airflow removes the oil adhering to the sensor 18, thereby cleaning the sensor 18.

In S27, after confirming that the output level of the sensor 18 has fallen to the atmospheric level, the sensor 18 is
When the cleaning is completed, the process moves to S38 and the suction/discharge pump 29 is stopped. Then, in S39, the switching valve 27 is switched to communicate the pipes 17e and 17c, and the insertion detection sensor 26 is stopped (S40). However, S
When it is determined in step 26 that the oil types do not match, the process moves to step S41, and the suction/discharge pump 29 is stopped.

Then, the switching valve 27 is switched to connect the exhaust pipe 1.
7d and the pipe 17e (S42), and then the suction/discharge pump 29 is driven to rotate in reverse (S43). As a result, the sensor 18 is cleaned by the airflow sucked from the intake pipe 17d to the pipe 17e, similar to S36 above.

When the cleaning of the sensor 18 is completed in S45, the process moves to S46, where the suction and exhaust pump 29 is stopped, and then the switching valve 27 is switched to connect the bypass pipe 17b and the pipe 17e.

When the refueling nozzle 3 is returned to the nozzle hook 4 and the nozzle switch 11 is turned off (S48), the process moves to S40 and the insertion detection sensor 26 is stopped.

However, in S48, the refueling nozzle 3
is not returned to the nozzle hook 4 (when the nozzle switch is on), specifically, if the refueling nozzle 3 is mistakenly inserted into the refueling port 6a of a different type of oil, the operator must
5 turned on, and realized that he had placed the wrong fuel filler port 6a, so he did not return the fuel filler nozzle 3 to the nozzle hook 4 and replaced it with the correct fuel filler port 6a.
You will have to reinsert it.

In this case, the process moves to S49 and it is checked whether the sensor 26 detects insertion. In this S49, if the sensor 26 does not detect insertion, it means that the fuel nozzle 3 is not inserted into the correct fuel fill port 6a, and the process returns to S48. However, when the sensor 26 detects in S49 that the oil supply nozzle 3 has been inserted into the correct oil supply port 6a, the process returns to S24 and the oil type determination is performed again.

Furthermore, if the oil type in the refueling tank 6 and the oil type corresponding to the preset underground tank 8 match, but it is erroneously determined that the oil types do not match, the refueling nozzle 3
It is possible to once remove the fuel nozzle 3 from the fuel filler port 6a, clean the sensor 18, and then insert the fuel nozzle 3 into the fuel filler port 6a again, thereby redoing the oil type determination.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the pump motor 13 is not driven in the case of oil mismatch, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a solenoid valve may be provided between the flow meter 10 and the pump 9.
The solenoid valve may be opened when the oil types match.

Cleaning of the oil type detection sensor 18 is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the intake pipe 17d is used as an exhaust pipe, and the sensor 18 is cleaned with air sucked from the vapor suction pipe 16, and the exhaust gas is The air may be discharged to the outside through the intake pipe 17d.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment has been described as discriminating between gasoline and light oil, it is of course possible to discriminate other types of oil.

[0067]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, when refueling, the oil supply device according to the present invention distinguishes the oil type and starts refueling when the oil types match, so it can prevent mixing of different oil types, and moreover, it can suck vapor in the tank. Since the pipe line can be configured to serve both for oil type determination and vapor recovery, the pipe line configuration inside the device can be simplified, making assembly work easier and reducing the size of the device. can also be handled. Furthermore, by changing the flow of vapor to the bypass line after the oil type is detected, the time that the oil type detection sensor is in contact with the oil liquid can be minimized, thereby extending the life of the sensor. , and can prevent the occurrence of failures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a refueling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining processing executed by a control device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing executed subsequent to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a time chart when oil types match.

FIG. 5 is a time chart when oil types do not match.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing executed in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing executed subsequent to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lubrication device 3 Refueling nozzle 4 Nozzle hook 5 Refueling hose 8 Underground tank 9 Pump 10 Flowmeter 11 Nozzle switch 12 Control device 15 Status indicator 16 Vapor suction pipe 17a Detection piping 17b Bypass piping 17c Recovery piping 17d Intake piping 18 Oil type detection sensor 19 Intake pump 20, 27 Three-way switching valve 21 Four-way switching valve 24 Exhaust pump 26 Insertion detection sensor 28 Check valve 29 Suction and exhaust pump

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hose whose base end side communicates with a liquid feeding means, and a refueling nozzle connected to the distal end of the hose and inserted into a refueling port of a tank to discharge the oil supplied by the liquid feeding means. , one side opens at the tip of the oil supply nozzle to collect oil vapor in the tank, and the other side has a suction pipe extending along the hose, and a suction pipe that connects to the tank through the suction pipe. A suction means for suctioning oil vapor, a detection pipe provided with an oil vapor sensor for determining the type of oil remaining in the oil liquid in the tank, and the suction pipe is connected to an oil vapor recovery container without passing through the detection pipe. a determination/recovery mechanism comprising a bypass line for communicating with the suction line and a switching means for selectively communicating the detection line or the bypass line with the other side of the suction line; The switching means is driven to connect the other side of the pipe to the detection pipe, and the oil type of the remaining oil in the tank determined based on the output of the oil vapor sensor is supplied from the liquid sending means. An oil supply device comprising: a control means for driving the liquid feeding means when the oil type matches the oil type, and driving a switching means so that the other side of the suction pipe is communicated with the bypass pipe.