JPH0533937Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a float level gauge that detects the height of the liquid level stored in a tank.

[Prior Art] FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which a float level gauge is installed in a liquefied gas tank.

In the tank 1, liquefied gas in a liquid state is stored. The upper wall of this tank 1 is provided with an insertion port 12 into which a float level gauge 2 is inserted.

The float level gauge 2 includes a support rod 3 and an arm 4. A lid 7 is fixedly attached to the upper end of the support rod 3. The lid 7 closes the insertion port 12 of the tank 1. A mounting member 8 is fixedly attached to the lower end of the support rod 3.

The arm 4 is rotatably attached to the attachment member 8 of the arm 4 via a shaft 9. A float 5 is fixedly attached to one end of the arm 4, and a balance weight 6 is fixedly attached to the other end. The float 5 floats on the surface of the liquefied gas in a liquid state.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the connecting portion between the support rod 3 and the tank 1. A gasket 11 is arranged between the flange portion of the lid 7 and the tank 1 to maintain airtightness. The lid 7 is fixedly attached to the upper wall of the tank 1 via bolts 10.

FIG. 7 shows a state when no liquefied gas is stored in the tank 1. As shown in the figure, when no liquefied gas is stored, the float 5 is at the lowest position. In order to avoid contact between the float 5 and the bottom wall of the tank 1, the structure is such that when the float 5 is at the lowest position, the axis 3a of the support rod 3 and the arm 4 form a predetermined acute angle θ. It is said that This θ is usually 20°.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view showing the connecting portion between the support rod 3 and the arm 4. When the float 5 is in the lowest position, the axis 3 of the arm 4 and the support rod 3
In order to form a predetermined acute angle θ with a,
A stopper pin 13 is provided on the mounting member 8 of the support rod. This stopper pin 13 abuts against the arm 4 when the float 5 is in the lowest position, thereby defining one end of rotation of the arm. In other words, arm 4 has stopper pin 1
3, rotation from the illustrated state in the direction indicated by arrow A in the figure is prohibited.
On the other hand, rotation in the opposite direction, that is, arrow B in the figure
Rotation in the direction shown is allowed. When the liquefied gas is introduced into the tank 1, the float 5 moves upward as the liquid level of the liquefied gas rises. This movement of the float 5 causes the arm 4 to rotate in the direction shown by arrow B in FIG.

Note that the amount of rotation of the arm 4 is displayed by a display meter (not shown) placed outside the tank 1. This display allows the observer to monitor the amount of liquefied gas in the tank 1.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Referring to FIG. 9, in the conventional float level gauge, the stopper pin 13 is firmly fixed to the mounting member 8, and its position cannot be moved. The stopper pin 13 defines one end of rotation of the arm 4 by coming into contact with the arm 4 . As mentioned above, when the float 5 is in the lowest position, the arm 4 is aligned with the axis 3 of the support rod 3.
For example, the positional relationship forms an angle of 20° with respect to a. In this state, the balance weight 6 attached to the upper end of the arm 4 protrudes in the radial direction of the support rod 3. After all, the float level gauge has a dimension D in the radial direction of the support rod 3 at the connecting portion between the arm 4 and the support rod 3. Dimension D is balance weight 6
is the distance between the maximum protrusion of and the outer surface of the mounting member 8 located furthest from this maximum protrusion.

When attaching the float level gauge 2 to the tank 1, the float level gauge 2 is inserted into the tank from the insertion port 12 of the tank 1 with the float 5 brought to the lowest position. To enable this insertion, the diameter of the insertion port 12 must be larger than the dimension D shown in FIG.
Therefore, the diameter of the insertion port 12 becomes considerably large, and accordingly, the size of the lid 7 attached to the upper end of the support rod 3 also becomes large. Considering material cost, it is preferable that the size of the lid 7 is small. Furthermore, if the tank has a large volume, it is easy to provide an insertion port with a relatively large diameter. However, in the case of a small volume tank,
It becomes difficult to provide a large diameter insertion port.

Note that if the arm 4 is rotated approximately 160 degrees until the float 5 is in a position where it overlaps the support rod 3, the support rod 3 and the arm 4 will be in a state where they are linearly overlapped. However, it is not possible to insert the support rod 3 and the arm 4 into the tank through the insertion port 12 of the tank 1 while keeping them linearly and completely overlapping each other. Because float level gauge 2
must detect the height of the liquid level from the "empty" state in which almost no liquid is stored in the tank 1 to the "full" state. 7th
In the figure, the position of the arm 4 indicated by a solid line corresponds to an "empty" state, and the position of the arm 4 indicated by an imaginary line corresponds to a "full" state. To achieve this movement, the shaft 9 rotatably connecting the support rod 3 and the arm 4 is adjusted so that it is located at a height approximately half the height of the tank 1. .
Therefore, even if the arm 3 and the support rod 4 are inserted into the tank 1 from the insertion port 12 in a completely overlapping state, the upper wall of the tank 1 will prevent the arm 4 from rotating. 4 cannot be rotated to a predetermined position.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a float level gauge that can reduce the diameter of the tank insertion port.

[Means for solving the problem] This invention is a float level gauge for detecting the height of the liquid level stored in a tank, and includes a support rod, an arm, and an elastic member. . The support rod is fixedly attached to the upper wall of the tank and extends long in the vertical direction. The arm is rotatably attached to the support rod and has a float at its tip. The elastic member has a structure that exhibits elasticity and is attached to the support rod. The elastic member includes an abutting portion. When the float is in the lowest position, this abutting portion abuts against the arm such that the axis of the support rod and the arm form a predetermined acute angle, thereby defining one end of rotation of this arm.

[Function] Since the elastic member has a structure that exhibits elasticity,
If a large force is applied to the abutting part, the abutting part will move. Therefore, the support rod and the arm can be arranged in a linearly aligned positional relationship. When inserting the float level gauge into a tank, the support rod and arm are aligned in a linear position. After inserting the arm into the tank, when the arm is released, the arm is pushed by the elastic force of the elastic member and returns to a position forming a predetermined intersecting angle with the axis of the support rod.

[Embodiment] The feature of this invention lies in the structure near the connecting portion between the support rod 3 and the arm 4. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a main part of an embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, a coil spring 20 is attached to a mounting member 8 fixed to the lower end of the support rod 3. One end 21 of the coil spring 20 is fixed to the mounting member 8. The other end of the coil spring 20 constitutes a contact portion 22 that can come into contact with the arm 4.

When the coil spring 20 is in a free state, the abutting portion 22 is in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When float 5 is at the lowest position,
The arm 4 abuts against the abutment portion 22 of the coil spring 20, thereby defining one end of rotation.
In that state, the arm 4 forms an intersecting angle of approximately 20° with the axis of the support rod 3.

When inserting the float level gauge into the tank 1, the arm 4 is rotated counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. Since the coil spring 20 exhibits elasticity, it allows the arm 4 to rotate. The situation is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in the figure, the arm 4 is connected to the support rod 3
The positional relationship is that they are aligned almost linearly with respect to each other. Therefore, even if the diameter of the insertion port 12 of the tank 1 is small, it is possible to insert the float level gauge into the tank 1. After inserting the float level gauge into the tank 1, if the force applied to the arm 4 is released, the arm 4 will be pushed by the elastic force of the coil spring 20 and will move as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The state returns to the state shown in the figure.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front views showing essential parts of other embodiments of this invention. In this embodiment, an elastic body 30 made of sponge, rubber, etc. is used instead of a coil spring. This elastic body 30 is fixedly attached to the attachment member 8. The elastic body 30 has contact portions 31 and 32 that can come into contact with the arm 4. When the elastic body 30 is in a free state, the arm 4 is in a positional relationship such that it comes into contact with the contact parts 31 and 32 of the elastic body 30 and forms an intersecting angle of approximately 20° with the axis of the support rod 3. become. If the arm 4 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure from the state shown in FIG. This results in a linearly aligned positional relationship. The float level gauge is inserted into the tank 1 in the state shown in FIG.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, according to this invention, the member that comes into contact with the arm and defines one end of rotation of the arm when the float is at the lowest position exhibits elasticity. Therefore, by rotating the arm against the elastic force of the elastic member, the arm can be linearly aligned with the support rod. Therefore, the diameter of the insertion port of tank 1 that allows insertion of the float level gauge is
It can be made relatively small. As a result, the lid that is fixedly attached to the top of the support rod can also be made smaller, and furthermore, it is possible to easily provide an insertion port that allows insertion of a float level gauge even in a small volume tank.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing essential parts of an embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1. 3 is a front view showing the state after the arm 4 has been rotated against the elastic force of the coil spring 20 from the state shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing the state shown in FIG. FIG. Fifth
The figure is a front view showing the main parts of another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the state after the arm 4 has been rotated from the state shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a schematic front sectional view showing a conventional float level gauge installed in a tank. FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure of the connecting portion between the support rod 3 and the tank 1 shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view showing the structure of the connecting portion between the arm 4 and the support rod 3 shown in FIG. 7. In the figure, 1 is a tank, 2 is a float level gauge, 3 is a support rod, 4 is an arm, 5 is a float, 6 is a balance weight, 7 is a lid, 8 is a mounting member, 9 is a shaft, 10 is a bolt, 11 is a Patsukin, 1
2 is an insertion opening, 13 is a stopper pin, 20 is a coil spring, 21 is one end of the coil spring, 22 is a contact portion,
30 is an elastic body, and 31 and 32 are contact portions. In each figure, the same numbers indicate the same or equivalent elements.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A float level gauge for detecting the height of the liquid level stored in a tank, which is fixedly attached to the upper wall of the tank and extends vertically. a support rod; an arm rotatably attached to the support rod and having a float at its tip; and an elastic member having a structure exhibiting elasticity and attached to the support rod; The elastic member contacts the arm such that the axis of the support rod and the arm form a predetermined acute angle when the float is at the lowest position, thereby defining one end of rotation of the arm. Float level gauge, including contact part.