JPH0868494A - Gas feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a gas feeder constituted in such a way as to automatically confirm the closure of a fuel tank side valve after the completion of gas charging. CONSTITUTION: A gas feeder is constituted of a pressure generating unit 4 for boosting city gas to the specified pressure, a dispenser unit 5 for feeding the gas, compressed by the pressure generating unit 4, to a fuel tank 3, and a control device 6 for controlling the respective equipments of the pressure generating unit 4 and dispenser unit 5. The control device 6 reads the pressure value detected by a secondary pressure transmitter 20 after the completion of gas charging and confirms the closure of the manual switching valve 24 of the fuel tank 3 on the basis of this pressure value. In the case of judging the manual switching valve 24 to be closed, the control device 6 opens a low pressure switching valve 26 so as to discharge gas, remaining in connecting couplers 21, 22, to a low pressure line 25.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas supply device, and more particularly to a gas supply device configured to accurately measure the amount of supplied gas.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a gas supply device for supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) obtained by compressing natural gas to another tank, there is a device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-64699. The device of the said gazette adopts a method of rapidly filling compressed gas, and a gas whose pressure has been raised to a predetermined pressure or higher by a compressor is once stored in a gas supply tank and then stored in the gas supply tank. Gas is injected into a fuel tank (filled tank) of an automobile to be filled until the inside of the fuel tank reaches a predetermined pressure.

The amount of gas supplied to the fuel tank of an automobile is measured by a flow meter, and the filling pressure of the fuel tank can be detected by a pressure transmitter that outputs a signal according to the pressure.
A connecting member (for example, a quick coupler or the like) that is connected to a connection portion (for example, a quick coupler or the like) of the fuel tank is provided at the tip of the hose pulled out from the main body of the device. Is connected to the fuel tank of the vehicle before gas supply and removed from the fuel tank after gas filling is completed.

However, when the pressure in the hose is high, the connecting member cannot be removed from the connecting portion of the fuel tank. Therefore, when the connecting member is removed from the fuel tank after the completion of gas filling, the operator manually operates. The gas in the hose was released to the low pressure pipe side by depressing the three-way valve to reduce the pressure in the hose to atmospheric pressure. Then, before switching the three-way valve, the worker closes the on-off valve provided at the connection portion of the fuel tank in order to prevent the gas filled in the fuel tank from flowing out to the low pressure pipe side.

Therefore, the operator must confirm that the on-off valve provided at the connection portion of the fuel tank is closed before the pressure inside the hose is reduced to atmospheric pressure. And
When the on-off valve of the fuel tank is closed, the three-way valve is switched to release the high-pressure gas remaining in the hose to the low-pressure pipe side to reduce the pressure in the hose.

After the depressurizing operation in the hose is completed,
The connecting member can be removed from the connecting portion of the fuel tank.

[0007]

However, in the conventional gas supply device, when the gas filling operation for the fuel tank of the automobile is completed, the operator needs to perform the depressurizing operation in the hose as described above. The work is troublesome, not only takes a lot of time and labor, but also the operation procedure may be incorrect. For example, if the three-way valve is switched before closing the on-off valve provided at the connection part of the fuel tank, not only the gas in the hose but also the gas in the fuel tank will flow out to the low-pressure tank.

[0008] In that case, the filling work is redone, the customer is annoyed, and the accurate gas filling amount cannot be known, and the reliability of the gas filling work may be lost.

In order to prevent the gas from flowing out of the fuel tank due to the operation error of the valve as described above, it is considered to arrange a check valve instead of the opening / closing valve. When the body or the valve seat is damaged and the valve is not closed, when the three-way valve is switched to depressurize the hose in the same manner as described above, the gas in the fuel tank flows out to the low pressure pipe side.

Further, when the check valve is arranged between the fuel tank and the opening / closing valve, the opening / closing valve is not closed, and when the check valve cannot be closed due to some trouble, it is a three-way valve. When the pressure in the hose is reduced by switching the above, the gas in the fuel tank will flow out to the low pressure pipe side.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply device that solves the above problems.

[0012]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A gas supply tank that stores compressed gas, a connecting member that is attached to and detached from a connection portion of a filled tank that is filled with gas from the gas supply tank, one end is connected to the gas supply tank, and the other end is A gas supply pipeline connected to the connecting member, a gas supply on-off valve disposed on the gas supply pipeline, and the gas supply pipeline located downstream of the gas supply on-off valve, Pressure detection means for detecting the pressure of the gas supply pipeline communicating with the connecting member, a low pressure pipeline branched from the gas supply pipeline located downstream of the pressure detection means, and filling the filling tank After completion, before separating the connecting member from the connecting portion of the filled tank, the gas supply pipeline detected by the pressure detecting means in a state where the low pressure pipeline and the gas supply pipeline are in communication with each other. Read the pressure and the pressure value Determination means for determining whether said is the filling tank side of the valve is closed based, characterized in that more becomes.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a gas supply tank for storing compressed gas, a connecting member which is attached to and detached from a connecting portion of a filled tank filled with gas from the gas supply tank, and one end thereof. Is connected to the gas supply tank, the other end is connected to the connecting member, a gas supply pipeline, a low pressure pipeline branched from the gas supply pipeline, and the low pressure pipeline,
After the pressure detection means for detecting the pressure of the low-pressure line communicated with the connection member, and the completion of filling the tank to be filled,
Before separating the connecting member from the connecting portion of the tank to be filled, reading the pressure of the low-pressure pipeline detected by the pressure detecting means in a state of communicating the low-pressure pipeline and the gas supply pipeline, Determination means for determining whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value;
Is characterized in that

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the filling of the tank to be filled is completed and before the connecting member is separated from the connecting portion of the tank to be filled, the pressure in the low pressure line and the gas supply line are communicated with each other. By reading the pressure of the gas supply line detected by the detection means and determining whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value, the valve on the fuel tank side is not closed. Prevent depressurizing operation of the connecting member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, after the filling of the filling tank is completed and before the connecting member is separated from the connecting portion of the filling tank, the low pressure line and the gas supply line are in communication with each other. By reading the pressure in the low-pressure line detected by the pressure detection means and determining whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value, it is possible to check whether the valve on the fuel tank side is not closed. Prevent depressurizing operation of the connecting member.

[0016]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a gas supply device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the gas supply device 1 is installed, for example, in a gas supply station for supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) obtained by compressing city gas to a predetermined pressure to a fuel tank (filled tank) 3 of an automobile 2. ing. The compressed natural gas is an example, and the gas handled by the gas supply device 1 is not limited to this, and includes other gases that are compressed and used in a high pressure range from atmospheric pressure to about 200 atm.

The gas supply device 1 generally includes a pressure generating unit 4 for increasing the city gas to a predetermined pressure, a dispenser unit 5 for supplying the gas compressed by the pressure generating unit 4 to the fuel tank 3, and these pressures. The control unit 6 controls each device of the generation unit 4 and the dispenser unit 5.

The pressure generation unit 4 is a multi-stage compressor (for compressing gas from an intermediate pressure line (not shown) to which city gas is fed at an intermediate pressure (pressure higher than the pressure used at home). (Not shown). In this compressor, for example, a plurality of cylinders (3 or 4) for compressing gas are provided, and the gas compressed by the cylinder of the previous stage is pressurized to a higher pressure by the cylinder of the next stage, The gas supplied from the medium pressure line is compressed stepwise.

Further, the variable pressure pipe 7 and the high pressure pipe 8 are connected in parallel to the compressor, and the variable pressure pipe 7 and the high pressure pipe 8 are respectively connected to the variable pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas accumulator 10.
Is connected. The variable-pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high-pressure gas accumulator 10 are also generally referred to as "gas accumulators" in the literature.

In this embodiment, when the maximum pressure of the fuel tank 3 is 200 kgf / cm ² , the maximum pressure of the variable pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas accumulator 10 is 250 kgf / cm.
Set to ² . Therefore, the compressor compresses the city gas (about 5 to 8 kgf / cm ² ) supplied from the medium pressure pipeline to bring the pressures of the variable pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas accumulator 10 to the above set pressures.

Further, discharge pipe lines 11 and 1 for discharging the gas from the variable pressure gas pressure accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas pressure accumulator 10.
The on-off valves 13 and 14 which are electromagnetic valves are arranged at 2. In addition, in FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, the on-off valves 13 and 14 are set to V _PA1, V
_{Represented as PA2} .

The discharge pipelines 11 and 12 communicate with the gas supply pipeline 15. The variable pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas accumulator 10 are connected to the fuel tank 3 via the gas supply pipeline 15.
Connected to. Further, in the gas supply pipe line 15, a gas supply opening / closing valve 16 composed of a solenoid valve, a variable pressure gas pressure accumulator 9, and a supply gas pressure supplied from the high pressure gas pressure accumulator 10 are sequentially detected from the upstream side. A pressure transmitter 17, a mass flow meter 18 for measuring the flow rate of the gas supplied to the fuel tank 3, a pressure control valve 19 for adjusting the gas pressure supplied to the fuel tank 3 to a predetermined pressure, and a fuel supply to the fuel tank 3. A secondary pressure transmitter (pressure detecting means) 20 for measuring the supplied gas pressure is provided.

Further, the mass flow meter 18 has a pressure resistant structure so that the flow rate of relatively high pressure gas can be accurately measured, and the tube through which the gas passes is vibrated so that the mass flow meter 18 can be connected to the inflow side and the outflow side by the Coriolis force. The measurement signal according to the phase difference of is output to the control device 6.

Further, a connecting coupler (connecting member) 21 is provided at the tip of the gas supply conduit 15. And
The pipe 22 drawn out from the fuel tank 3 has a connecting coupler 23 as a connecting portion to which the connecting coupler 21 is connected.
And a manual on-off valve 24 that opens or closes the conduit 22.

Reference numeral 25 is a low-pressure pipe, one end of which is a connection coupler 21.
Gas supply line 1 located between the secondary pressure transmitter 20 and the secondary pressure transmitter 20
It is branched from 5, and the other end is connected to a low pressure tank (not shown) on the low pressure side. The other end of the low pressure pipe 25 may be open to the atmosphere at a place sufficiently separated from the dispenser unit 5.

A low pressure on-off valve 26, which is an electromagnetic valve, is disposed in the low pressure pipe 25. The low-pressure on-off valve 26 is opened after the gas filling is completed, and the residual gas pressure in the connecting couplers 21 and 23 is released to the low-pressure tank so that the connecting couplers 21 and 23 can be released.
Decompress the inside. As a result, the pressure in the connection couplers 21 and 23 is reduced to the extent that the connection release operation can be performed, and the connection between the connection coupler 21 and the connection coupler 23 can be easily released.

The control device 6 is connected to each of the above devices, and is also connected to a start button 27, a display 28, an alarm device 29, a filling display lamp 30, and a gas discharge lamp 31. Further, in the memory 32 of the control device 6, as will be described later, it is confirmed that the manual opening / closing valve 24 of the fuel tank 3 has been closed after completion of the gas filling operation program and the inside of the couplers 21 and 23. And a degassing work program for releasing the residual gas pressure of.

Since the mass flowmeter 18 is located upstream of the pressure control valve 19, the pressure supplied to the mass flowmeter 18 is
The supply pressure from the variable pressure gas accumulator 9 and the high pressure gas accumulator 10 is always constant and does not change. Therefore, since the pressure supplied to the mass flowmeter 18 does not change rapidly, the temperature change is almost equal to the temperature change of the surrounding atmosphere. Therefore, the mass flowmeter 18 can perform accurate flow rate measurement without being affected by sudden pressure fluctuations and temperature changes, and can maintain stable measurement accuracy.

Next, a description will be given of the gas filling work in the gas supply device 1 having the above-mentioned structure and the process executed by the control device 6.

2 and 3 are main flow charts executed during the gas filling work.

The worker attaches the connecting coupler 21 provided at the tip of the gas supply pipe 15 to the connecting coupler 23 of the fuel tank 3.
After that, the manual on-off valve 24 is opened. Then, the operator confirms the connection work and the valve operation, and turns on the start button 27.

In FIG. 2, the control device 6 reads the pressure value from the secondary pressure transmitter 20 in step S1 (hereinafter "step" is omitted), and the connecting coupler 21 makes the connecting coupler 23.
Make sure you are connected to. That is, the connection coupler 2
When the valves 1 and 23 are normally connected and the manual on-off valve 24 is open, the residual pressure in the fuel tank 6 is detected. If the connection couplers 21 and 23 are not properly connected, air is introduced from the connection coupler 21 and atmospheric pressure is detected. In that case, the alarm device 29
A further alarm is issued and a message such as "coupler connection failure" is displayed on the display unit 28 to stop the apparatus.

Next, all solenoid valves, that is, the on-off valves 13 and 1
4. Confirm that the gas supply on-off valve 16, the pressure control valve 19, and the low-pressure on-off valve 26 are in the initial closed state (S
2) The open / close valve 13 is opened (S3). This allows
The gas accumulated in the variable pressure gas accumulator 9 is supplied to the gas supply pipeline 15 via the pipeline 11.

At S4, the supply pressure P _in detected by the primary pressure transmitter 17 and the filling pressure P _out of the fuel tank 3 detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 (where the filling pressure P _out is the fuel tank 3). (Which is considered to be equivalent to the pressure of), (P _in −
It is checked whether P _out ) is greater than or equal to a preset specified value.

That is, when P _in -P _out is equal to or larger than the preset specified value, it is determined that the fuel tank 3 is low in pressure and can be filled.

Therefore, in S4, P _in -P _out
If is equal to or greater than the preset specified value, the process proceeds to S5, and the filling display lamp 30 is turned on to inform the operator that filling is possible. Then, the gas supply on-off valve 16 is opened (S6), and the pressure control valve 19 is opened (S6).
7).

If P _in- P _out is less than the preset specified value _in S4, S5 to S10
The process is omitted and the process proceeds to S11 described later.

In the next step S8, the valve opening of the pressure control valve 19 is controlled to perform constant pressure increase control. Then, in S9, the filling pressure P _out detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 is 2
Check if it has reached 00 kgf / cm ² . if,
When the filling pressure P _out is 200 kgf / cm ² or less, the process proceeds to S10, and it is checked whether the differential pressure P _in- P _out is equal to or more than a preset specified value.

In S10, when P _in −P _out ≧ specified value, the process returns to S8 and the processes of S8 to S10 are repeated. However, in S10, when P _in −P _out <specified value, the process proceeds to S11, the on-off valve 13 is closed, and S
At 12, the high-pressure side on-off valve 14 is opened. This allows
The high-pressure gas accumulated in the high-pressure gas accumulator 10 is supplied to the gas supply pipeline 15 via the pipeline 12.

In S13 shown in FIG. 3, the primary pressure transmitter 1
7 between the supply pressure P _in detected by 7 and the filling pressure P _out of the fuel tank 3 detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 (P
_in -P _out) to check whether a pre-set specified value or more. That is, as in the case of S4 described above, when P _in -P _out is equal to or greater than the preset specified value, it is determined that the fuel tank 3 has a low pressure and can be filled.

Therefore, in S13, P _in -P
_{If out} is equal to or greater than the preset specified value, S1
4, the valve opening of the pressure control valve 19 is controlled to perform constant pressure increase control. Further, in S13, P _in -P _out
<If it is a specified value, the gas supply pressure from the high pressure gas pressure accumulator 10 is close to the filling pressure P _out of the fuel tank 3 that has been completely filled by the variable pressure gas pressure accumulator 9, so it is determined that filling is not possible. Then, the process proceeds to S17 described later.

Then, in S15, it is checked whether the differential pressure between P _{in and} P _out is equal to or greater than a preset specified value. If P _in −P _out ≧ specified value,
Proceeding to S16, it is checked whether or not the filling pressure P _out detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 has reached 200 kgf / cm ² .

At S16, the filling pressure P _out is 200 kg.
In the case of f / cm ² or less, the process returns to S14 and the processes of S14 to S16 are repeated. However, in S16, the filling pressure P _out
When ≧ 200 kgf / cm ² , it is judged that the pressure in the fuel tank 3 has reached the target of 200 kgf / cm ² , and it is determined in S17.
Then, the gas supply opening / closing valve 16 is closed.

In S15, P _in -P _out <
When the value is the specified value, the gas supply pressure from the high-pressure gas accumulator 10 is close to the filling pressure P _out of the fuel tank 3 that has been completely filled by the variable-pressure gas accumulator 9, so that the pressure of the high-pressure gas accumulator 10 is reduced. It is judged that the pressure has dropped significantly and S
27, an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29, and a message such as "There is an abnormality in the high pressure gas accumulator" is displayed on the display 28.

Further, after closing the pressure control valve 19 in S18, the high-pressure side opening / closing valve 14 is closed in S19. Then, the filling display lamp 30 is turned off to notify the operator that the gas filling into the fuel tank 3 is completed (S2).
0).

Then, the operator confirms that the filling display lamp 30 is turned off and manually closes the manual on-off valve 24 of the automobile 2.

Therefore, in S21, it is confirmed that the manual on-off valve 24 is closed, as will be described later, and in S22, the low pressure on-off valve 26 is opened to open the gas supply line 15 downstream of the pressure control valve 19. The gas remaining in the pipe 22 inside and inside the pipe 22 upstream of the manual on-off valve 24 is collected in a low-pressure tank (not shown) via the low-pressure pipe 25 and connected to the couplers 21 and 23.
Reduce the internal pressure.

Now, the worker can disconnect the connection couplers 21 and 23 to separate the couplers from each other.

Therefore, in S23, the pressure value from the secondary pressure transmitter 20 is read in the same manner as in S1 described above, and it is confirmed that the connecting coupler 21 is separated from the connecting coupler 23. That is, the connection couplers 21 and 23 are normally separated from each other,
When the manual on-off valve 24 is closed, the atmospheric pressure is reached. If the connecting couplers 21 and 23 are connected, a low-pressure gas (a pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure) remains, so that the pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure is detected. In that case, an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29 and the display 2
A message such as "connecting coupler" is displayed at 8.

In S9, the secondary pressure transmitter 2
When the filling pressure P _out detected at 0 reaches 200 kgf / cm ² , the gas filling is completed, and the process proceeds to S24, where the gas supply opening / closing valve 16 is closed. Further, in S25, the pressure control valve 1
After closing the valve 9, the open / close valve 13 on the variable pressure side is closed in S26. After that, the process proceeds to S20 and the above S20-
The process of S23 is executed.

Next, the process for checking that the manual on-off valve 24 of the vehicle 2 is closed, which is executed in S21, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, in S31, it is confirmed that the gas filling into the fuel tank 3 is completed. And S32
In step S33, the filling pressure P _out1 detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 is read, and in step S33, the gas supply on-off valve 16 is closed.

In the next step S34, it is checked whether or not the elapsed time from the completion of filling the gas into the fuel tank 3 has reached a preset specified value (standby time). If the elapsed time has not reached the specified value yet, proceed to S35,
After the low-pressure on-off valve 26 is opened to complete gas filling, the gas remaining in the gas supply pipe 15 downstream of the pressure control valve 19 and in the pipe 22 upstream of the manual on-off valve 24 is removed by the low-pressure pipe. Discharge via 25 to a low pressure tank (not shown). However, when the elapsed time reaches the specified value in S34,
Proceeding to S36, the low-pressure on-off valve 26 is closed to terminate the residual gas release.

Then, the process proceeds to S37, the secondary pressure transmitter 2
The pressure P _out2 after the residual gas release detected by 0 is read, and the pressure decrease rate P _dv due to the residual gas release is read in S38.
To calculate. Then, the process proceeds to S39, and it is checked whether or not the pressure decrease rate P _dv (= (P _out1 −P _out2 ) / elapsed time) per unit time is equal to or greater than a preset specified value.

If the pressure decrease rate P _dv is greater than or equal to the specified value in S39, it is determined that the manual on-off valve 24 is closed, and the process proceeds to S40, and the gas discharge lamp 31 is turned on. Then, in S41, after opening the low-pressure on-off valve 26, it is checked in S42 whether the pressure value detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 becomes substantially atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, when the pressure in the connecting couplers 21 and 23 is reduced to almost atmospheric pressure, the process proceeds to S43, and the low pressure on-off valve 26 is closed. In the next S44, the on-off valves 13, 14 other than the low pressure on-off valve 26, the gas supply on-off valve 16, and the pressure control valve 19 are closed. And the gas discharge lamp 3
Turn off 1

In S39, the pressure decrease rate P _dv
<When it is a specified value, it is determined that the manual on-off valve 24 is open, and the process proceeds to S46, where an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29 and a message such as “close the on-off valve of the automobile” is displayed. It is displayed on the display 28 to inform the operator.

The operator confirms the content of the abnormality by the message displayed on the display 28 and confirms the manual on-off valve 2 of the automobile.
4 is closed.

On the other hand, the controller 6 returns to S32 again,
The processes of S32 to S39 are repeatedly executed to check whether the manual on-off valve 24 is closed. Then, when it is confirmed that the manual open / close valve 24 is closed, the processing of S40 and thereafter is executed, and the confirmation processing of closing the manual open / close valve 24 ends.

As described above, the low-pressure on-off valve 26 is opened after the control device 6 self-diagnoses and confirms that the manual on-off valve 24 of the automobile 2 has been closed. After the gas filling is completed, the operator manually opens / closes the valve 2
Even if the valve 4 is forgotten to be closed, it is possible to prevent an accident such that the low-pressure on-off valve 26 is opened to cause the gas in the fuel tank 3 to flow out. Therefore, the reliability of the gas supply device 1 for the gas filling work can be enhanced, and it is possible to prevent the customer from being annoyed by a simple mistake made by the worker.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the gas supply device 41 is provided with a three-way valve 42 at the connecting portion between the gas supply pipe line 15 and the low pressure pipe line 25.

The three-way valve 42 is an electromagnetically driven valve driven by a solenoid, and the gas supply line 1 is connected to the inflow port a.
5 is connected to the filling port b of the three-way valve 42, which is connected to a supply hose 21a having a connection coupler 21.
The low pressure pipe 25 is connected to the exhaust port c of the three-way valve 42.

In the three-way valve 42, the inflow port a and the filling port b communicate with each other and the exhaust port c is shut off during gas filling.

After the gas filling is completed, the gas supply on-off valve 16 is closed to switch the ports a to c of the three-way valve 43 to the communicating state. As a result, the gas supply pipeline 15 on the downstream side of the pressure control valve 19 and the connection couplers 21, 2 are connected.
The gas in 3 is discharged to a low pressure tank (not shown) via the low pressure line 25.

As in the first embodiment described above, by reading the measured value of the secondary pressure transmitter 20 at this time, it can be determined whether or not the manual on-off valve 24 is closed. That is, the pressure P _out2 after the residual gas release detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20 is read, and the pressure decrease rate P _dv due to the residual gas release is calculated. When the pressure decrease rate P _dv (= (P _out1 −P _out2 ) / elapsed time) per unit time is equal to or greater than a preset specified value, it is determined that the manual open / close valve 24 is closed. And then the gas discharge lamp 3
Turn on 1.

However, when the pressure drop rate P _dv <specified value, it is determined that the manual open / close valve 24 is open, and an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29.
For example, a message such as "close the opening / closing valve of the automobile" is displayed on the display 28 to inform the operator.

Further, in FIG. 5, in the case where the low pressure pipe 25 is provided with a third pressure transmitter 43 (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5), the gas filling is completed by the third pressure transmitter 43. Gas supply line 15 downstream of the rear pressure control valve 19
It is possible to detect the internal pressure and the internal pressure of the connection couplers 21 and 23. Therefore, the three-way valve 42 is
The inflow port a and the filling port b are communicated with each other, and the exhaust port c is shut off.

After the gas filling is completed, the gas supply on-off valve 16 is closed, and then the three-way valve 42 connects the filling port b and the exhaust port c and shuts off the inflow port a.
As a result, the gas in the gas supply pipe 15 downstream of the pressure control valve 19 and in the connecting couplers 21 and 23 is discharged to the low pressure tank (not shown) via the low pressure pipe 25.

By reading the measured value of the third pressure transmitter 43 at this time, the manual on-off valve 24 is read in the same manner as above.
It can be determined whether the valve is closed.

The automobile 2 of the above-described embodiment has the same structure as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, only the manual open / close valve 24 was provided in the conduit 22 communicating with the fuel tank 3.
In order to prevent forgetting to close the valve No. 4, a check valve 33 may be provided instead of the manual on-off valve 24 as shown in FIG.

In this case, the control device 6 confirms that the check valve 33 is closed after the gas filling is completed by executing the processing shown in FIGS. Then, when it is confirmed that the check valve 33 is closed, the control device 6 opens the low pressure on-off valve 26 to reduce the pressure in the connection couplers 21 and 23.

However, when the check valve 33 cannot be closed due to some malfunction, an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29 without opening the low-pressure on-off valve 26 and, for example, "check valve malfunction of automobile". A message is displayed on the display 28 to inform the operator.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the vehicle 2 having the manual opening / closing valve 24 and the check valve 33 in the conduit 22 communicating with the fuel tank 3 is filled with gas, the control device 6 controls By executing the processing of FIGS. 2 to 4, it is confirmed that the manual on-off valve 24 and the check valve 33 are closed after the gas filling is completed. Then, the control device 6 confirms that the manual on-off valve 24 and the check valve 33 are closed,
The low-pressure on-off valve 26 is opened to reduce the pressure inside the connecting couplers 21 and 23.

However, if the manual open / close valve 24 is forgotten to be closed and the check valve 33 cannot be closed due to some malfunction, an alarm is issued from the alarm device 29 without opening the low pressure open / close valve 26 and, for example, " A message such as "Forgot to close the on-off valve of the automobile and failure of the check valve" is displayed on the display 28 to inform the operator.

In the above embodiment, the case where compressed natural gas (CNG) obtained by compressing city gas is supplied has been given as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and gas such as butane or propane may be supplied. Of course, it can be applied.

In the above embodiment, the pressure reduction rate P _dv is calculated and it is determined whether the manual on-off valve 24 is closed or not depending on whether the pressure reduction rate P _dv is equal to or less than the specified value. However, the determination may be made based only on the pressure value detected by the secondary pressure transmitter 20, for example.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the fuel tank 3 of the automobile 2 is filled with the compressed gas has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a device for supplying the compressed gas to another container or the like. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a device configured to be installed in the middle of a pipeline for simply feeding compressed gas to another place.

Further, in the above embodiment, the city gas or the like is compressed from the medium pressure pipeline 10 before it is branched to the home. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is branched from the medium pressure pipeline 10, for example. The gas may be taken out from the household pipeline.

[0081]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
After completing the filling of the tank to be filled and before separating the connecting member from the connecting portion of the tank to be filled, the gas supply pipeline detected by the pressure detecting means in the state where the low pressure pipeline and the gas supply pipeline are in communication with each other. The pressure in the fuel tank is read out to determine whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value, so the gas in the fuel tank flows out to the low pressure side even if the valve on the fuel tank side is not closed. It can be surely prevented. That is, it is possible to prevent an accident in which a worker forgets to close the valve on the fuel tank side or opens the low pressure on-off valve to cause the gas in the fuel tank to flow out even if the valve on the fuel tank side fails. So, in the gas supply device,
The reliability of the gas filling work can be enhanced, and it is possible to prevent the customer from being annoyed by a simple mistake made by the operator.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the filling of the tank to be filled is completed and before the connecting member is separated from the connecting portion of the tank to be filled, the low-pressure pipeline and the gas supply pipeline are communicated with each other. In this state, the pressure in the low-pressure line detected by the pressure detection means is read, and it is determined whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value.Therefore, the valve on the fuel tank side is not closed. Thus, the depressurizing operation of the connecting member can be prevented, and the same effect as that of claim 1 can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a process executed by a control device during a gas filling operation.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process executed subsequent to the process of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for confirming that the opening / closing valve of the automobile has been closed.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the gas supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of an automobile.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another modification of the automobile.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,41 Gas supply device 3 Fuel tank 4 Pressure generation unit 5 Dispenser unit 6 Control device 9 Variable pressure gas accumulator 10 High pressure gas accumulator 13,14 Open / close valve 15 Gas supply pipeline 16 Gas supply on / off valve 17 Primary pressure transmission Device 18 Mass flowmeter 19 Pressure control valve 20 Secondary pressure transmitter 21, 23 Connection coupler 24 Manual on-off valve 25 Low pressure line 26 Low pressure on-off valve 42 Three-way valve

Front Page Continuation (71) Applicant 000003056 Tokiko Corporation 1-3-6 Fujimi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa (72) Inventor Kazuo Kanai 6-9-6 Sodegaura, Narashino-shi, Chiba (72) Inventor Akifumi Kobayashi 4-1-2, Hiranocho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Manabu Hattori 4-7 Kawanahon-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi (72) Inventor Tokio Yoshida, Fukuoka, Fukuoka 1-17-1 Chiyo, Hakata-ku, Nishi-Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takuya Matsumoto 1-6-3 Fujimi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Tokiko Co., Ltd. (72) Shinji Kumagaya Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 1-6-3 Fujimi, Kawasaki-ku Tokiko Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Nakamura 1-3-6 Fujimi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Tokiko Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gas supply tank for storing compressed gas, a connecting member which is attached to and detached from a connecting portion of a filled tank filled with gas from the gas supply tank, and one end of which is connected to the gas supply tank. And a gas supply pipeline whose other end is connected to the connecting member, a gas supply opening / closing valve arranged in the gas supply pipeline, and the gas supply pipeline so as to be located downstream of the gas supply opening / closing valve. A pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure of the gas supply pipeline communicating with the connecting member, a low pressure pipeline branching from the gas supply pipeline located downstream of the pressure detecting means, After the completion of filling the filling tank, before separating the connecting member from the connection portion of the tank to be filled, the low pressure pipe and the gas supply pipe communicated with each other, the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means. Read gas supply line pressure A gas supply device, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the valve on the filling tank side is closed based on the pressure value. 2. A gas supply tank for storing compressed gas, a connecting member which is attached to and detached from a connecting portion of a filled tank filled with gas from the gas supply tank, and one end of which is connected to the gas supply tank. A gas supply pipeline having the other end connected to the connecting member, a low pressure pipeline branching from the gas supply pipeline, and the low pressure pipeline disposed in the low pressure pipeline and communicating with the connecting member. A pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure of the passage, and after completion of filling the filled tank, before separating the connecting member from the connection portion of the filled tank, the low pressure pipe and the gas supply pipe Reading the pressure of the low-pressure pipe detected by the pressure detecting means in the state of communicating,
A gas supply device comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the valve on the filled tank side is closed based on the pressure value.