JPS5926836B2 - Gas cylinder valve remote control device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a valve remote control device for gas cylinders.

Valves for high-pressure gas cylinders such as propane gas are generally configured as manually operated valves, but when using high-pressure flammable gas cylinders such as propane gas, it is recommended to install the cylinders in a location away from the place where the gas is used. As is customary, the valve cannot be immediately closed in the event of an accident such as a gas leak, earthquake, or fire under such customary usage conditions.

Taking these circumstances into consideration, electromagnetic shut-off valves have been proposed to be installed in propane gas piping, but the proposed solenoid shut-off valves are expensive and cannot be attached to the propane gas cylinder itself. However, there was a drawback that installation work to the piping system was required, and there was also a drawback that the valve on the cylinder body could not be closed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas cylinder valve remote control device that can be easily attached to a gas cylinder main body without any modification to the existing piping system.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As described in the claims, the device of the present invention includes: 1- a non-automatic operator detachably mounted on the top of a gas cylinder; A device that includes an installed control box, and a gas leak detector, seismic motion detector, and fire detector that are electrically connected to the control box.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a non-automatic operating device 1, which constitutes the main part of the device of the present invention, is attached to a cylindrical frame 3 for conveying and gripping a propane gas cylinder 2 with bolts 4. It is connected to a control box 5 at a remote location via.

A gas leak detector 6, an earthquake motion detector 7, and a fire detector 8 are connected to the control box 5 via signal lines 12 to 14, respectively.

The casing 9 of the non-automatic operating device 1 has a skirt portion 9C that is fitted to the cylindrical frame 3 for transporting and gripping the propane gas cylinder 2 with bolts 4.
In addition, the upper side of the skirt portion 9C has two upper and lower sides.
It has two chambers 9A and 9B separated from each other in stages.

Further, a bundle operating shaft 10 protrudes below the housing 9 through the bottom plate of the housing 9, and a bundle operating member 12 that engages with the valve operating bundle 11 of the propane gas cylinder 2 is provided at the lower end of the bundle operating shaft 10. installed.

The valve operation bundle 11 of the propane gas cylinder 2 is a valve stem 13
As shown in FIG. 2, six recesses 11a are formed around the bundle 11.

The bundle operating member 12 is located in the recess 11 of the valve operating bundle 11.
It is a disc member equipped with three drive pins 12a that engage with a, and the member 12 is adapted to be rotated by the bundle operating shaft 10.

A cam 12b is attached to the upper surface of the member 12, and an IJ Mitswitch 29 attached to the bottom plate of the housing 9 is engaged with the cam 12b.

The limit switch 29 is a double-throw switch, and has a structure in which two contacts a7 and a8, which will be described later, are alternately closed.

The lower chamber 9B of the housing 9 accommodates a gear 14 fixed to the bundle operating shaft 10 as well as groups of reduction gears 15 to 19 related to the gear 14.

A shaft 20 integral with the bundle operating shaft 10 projects into the upper chamber 9A, and a gear 39 is fitted to the top end of the shaft 20.

As shown in FIG. 4, a camshaft 40 parallel to the shaft 20 is provided in the chamber 9A, and a gear 41 fitted on the camshaft 40
meshes with the gear 39 on the shaft 20.

The reduction ratio between the gear 39 and [i41 is determined so that the camshaft 40 rotates at most one revolution per the total number of revolutions of the shaft 20 (which is equal to the total number of revolutions of the valve shaft 13 of the pants cylinder 2). Therefore, even if the bundle operating shaft 10 rotates several times during the valve opening/closing operation of the gas cylinder 2, the camshaft 40 only rotates once at the maximum.

Two cams 24 and 25 are fitted into the cup/shaft 40, and three IJ switches 26 to 28 are provided in the chamber 9A to engage with the cams 24 and 25, respectively. There is.

Among these limit switches, the two IJE switches 2γ and 28 that engage the cam 25 are arranged at the valve fully open position and the valve fully closed position, respectively. Therefore, the limit switch 27 When the cam 25 is fully opened,
The other IJ Mitswitch 28 is opened by the projection 25a with a force of 1·25 when the valve is fully closed.

Further, a limit switch 26 that engages with the cam 24 is arranged with respect to the protrusion 24a of the cam 24 so as to be closed by the force j, 24 when the valve is fully opened.

Note that the cams 24 and 25 may have a configuration in which cam ridges are formed on one plate.

A motor 22 for rotating the bundle operating shaft 10 via AiJ reduction gear groups 14 to 19 is disposed in the chamber 9A, and a power supply line to the motor 22 and the limit switch 26 are arranged in the chamber 9A.
The signal lines connected to the cables 1 to 28 form a cable 1 and are connected to a control box 5 in a remote location such as a place where gas is used or indoors.

A socket 42 is provided on the bottom plate of the housing 9, and a small incandescent light bulb 43 used as a heater is installed in this socket 42.
is screwed in.

This incandescent light bulb 43 is installed on the valve stem 13 of the gas cylinder 2 in winter.
The wattage is determined so that the temperature inside the cylindrical frame 3 for conveying and gripping does not exceed 40°C.

The control box 5 has an open operation switch button 30, a close operation switch button 31, a valve open/close operation indicator light L3, an open operation indicator light L1, a close operation indicator light L2, on the casing "human side" of the control box 5.
It is equipped with a switching lever 32 for manned operation and unmanned operation, and is configured to be able to connect a gas leak detector 6, an earthquake motion detector 1, a fire detector 8, etc.

Figure 1 is a wiring diagram of the circuits built into the control box 5, the circuits of the gas leak detector 6, etc., and the switches installed in the non-automatic operating device 1. The displayed portion is a portion provided within the non-automatic operating device 1.

In FIG. 5, switches 32A and 32B are switches that are interlocked with the switching lever 32 on the control box 5, and are designed to interlock with each other, and depending on the operation of the lever, the contacts a3 and 32B are connected to each other. b3 and a4. They are switched to b4 and turned on, respectively.

Contacts a3 and a4 are contacts corresponding to "attended operation", while contacts b3 and b4 are contacts corresponding to "unmanned operation".

The switches S1 and S2 provided in series with the switches 32A and 32B, respectively, are double-throw switches that operate in conjunction with each other, and are switched to the valve opening operation contacts 30a1 and 30a2 and the valve closing operation contacts 31b1 and 31b2, respectively. It's getting wet.

The switches S1 and S2 are mechanically connected to the open operation switch button 30 and the close operation switch button 31 on the control box 5, and when the open operation switch button 30 is pressed, the contacts 30a1 and 30a2 are connected. Injected,
On the other hand, when the close operation switch button 31 is pressed, the contacts 31b1 and 31b2 are respectively closed.

34 and 35 are 1 loop, and each switch 34A
, 35A.

Switches 34A and 35A are held in the solid line position in FIG. 5 when relays 34 and 35 are demagnetized.

The switch 35A is a double-throw switch that switches between contacts a5 and b5.

36 is a transistor that becomes conductive when there is an input signal from the gas leak detector 6, and the switch 7a of the seismic motion detector T and the switch 8c of the fire detector 8 are connected in parallel between the emitter and collector of the transistor 36. ing.

As shown in the figure, the fire detector 8 has a switch 8c, a thermally responsive element 8a such as a thermistor, and a buzzer 8b.
and a relay 8e for closing the switch 8d and switch 8c of the buzzer 8b.

The transistor 36 is provided in the control box 5, and its emitter is connected to a contact b4 in parallel with the motor power supply circuit and also to the relay 34.

The collector of the transistor 36 is connected in parallel with the motor power supply circuit, and is cut off from the motor power supply circuit by the diode 37.

The gas leak detector 6 has a neon tube 6a and a buzzer 6b inside.
and a detector main body 6c, and is configured to be connectable to the control box 5 via a connector.

A number of gas leak detectors 6, seismic motion detectors 7, and fire detectors 8 can be connected to one control box 5.

In addition, the buzzer 8b of the fire detector 8 and the gas leak detector 6
A plurality of buzzers 6b are provided, and they are placed both outdoors and indoors.

As shown in FIG. 5, the fire detector 8 and the gas leak detector 6 are normally supplied with power from a commercial AC power source 44, but in the event of a power outage, they are connected in parallel to the commercial AC power source 44. Power is supplied via an inverter 45 from a power supply device 33, which will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 6, the power supply device 33 consists of a DC power supply device 33A connected to a commercial AC power supply and a backup power supply device 33B connected to its output end, and an inverter 45 and switches 32A and 32B are connected to the backup power supply device 33A. They are configured to be connected in parallel to output terminals 33a and 33b of device 33B.

The backup power supply device 33B and the DC power supply device 33A have, for example, the following configurations.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the standby power supply 33B has therein a standby DC power supply 33c consisting of a rechargeable Ni-Cd battery, and is kept in a de-energized state during an uninterrupted commercial power supply ( (Because the internal resistance 33d is very large), when the commercial power supply fails, the backup DC power supply 33c discharges through the diode 33e and the output terminals 33a, 33b
Supplies DC voltage to.

On the other hand, the DC power supply device 33A is a rectifier circuit, as shown in the figure, and is configured to convert commercial 100 volt AC into 12 volt DC.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention having the above structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6 and FIGS. 7 to 12.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the valve of the propane gas cylinder 2 is fully open and no valve operation is performed.

In this case, each switch group is at the position shown in FIG. 7, and the cams 24 and 25 are stopped at the positions shown.

To close the valve from the state shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8, first operate the switching lever 32 on the control box 5 to close the switches 32A and 32B to contacts a3 and a4, respectively, and then switch the closing operation switch. When the button 31 is pressed, the switches S1 and S2 are turned on to the contacts 31b1 and 31b2, respectively, and the power source 33 is connected to the motor 22.

Therefore, the motor 22 starts rotating counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow f1 in FIG. 8, and the cams 25 and 24 also rotate in the direction fl.

Further, the cam 12b that engages with the switch 29 also begins to rotate together with the bundle operating member 12.

The switch 2γ closes as the cam rotates 250 times.

On the other hand, even if the cam 24 starts rotating, the cam 24 does not press the switch 26 until the valve is fully closed, so the switch 26 does not close.

While the cam 12b rotates several times together with the shaft 10 until the valve is fully closed, the switch 29 engaged with the cam 12b swings several times in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8 and alternately switches between contacts a7 and a8. Since the valve is turned on, the valve opening/closing operation indicator light L3 is on while the shaft 10 is rotating.
blinks and at the same time the buzzer 38 sounds intermittently.

When the valve is completely closed, the cam 25 opens the switch 28 and the cam 24 closes the switch 26, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the power supply to the motor 22 is cut off and the motor 22 stops.

On the other hand, even if switch 26 is closed, power is not supplied to relay 34, so switches 34A and 35A do not operate.

Next, when the opening operation switch button 30 on the control box 5 is pressed to open the valve from the fully closed state shown in FIG.
and 30a2, the motor 22 is connected to the power supply 33, and the motor 22 is turned on in the clockwise direction f.
2 and begin to open the valve via the shaft 10 and the bundle operating member 12.

As the motor 22 rotates, the cam 25 also begins to rotate in the clockwise direction f2 and the switch 28 closes, while the cam 24 also begins to rotate in the clockwise direction f2 and the switch 26 opens.

Then, since the cam 12b that engages with the switch 29 also rotates, the switch 29 swings in the same manner as described above, alternately contacting the contact a7.
and a8, the valve opening/closing operation indicator light L3 blinks and the buzzer 38 sounds intermittently.

When the valve is completely opened, the cam 25 returns to the position shown in FIG. 7 and the switch 27 is opened as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
4 and 25 and the cam 12b are stopped.

Therefore, the swinging of the switch 29 also stops.

Next, while in use with the valve fully open, the switching lever 3 on the control box 5
11, a case will be explained with reference to FIG. 11.

When the switching lever 32 is switched to "unattended operation", the switches 32A and 32B interlocked with the lever 32 are turned on to the contacts b3 and b4, respectively.

If, for example, a gas leak occurs in this state, the gas leak detector main body 6c becomes conductive (the gas leak detector 6 is connected to the commercial power supply through one of its sockets, and connected to the control box 5 through the other socket). Connect to.

) An input signal is applied to the base of the transistor 36, and as a result, the transistor 36 becomes conductive, and a power supply circuit for the motor 22 is completed via the transistor 36 and the switch 32B.

Therefore, since the motor 22 is energized with the polarity shown, it rotates counterclockwise, that is, in the valve closing direction, and closes the valve via the bundle operating member 12.

As the motor 22 rotates, the cams 12b, 24, and 25 also rotate counterclockwise, the switch 29 is swung by the cam 12b, the opening/closing operation indicator light L3 blinks, and the buzzer 38 sounds intermittently.

When the valve is completely closed, the protrusion of the cam 24 closes the switch 26, while the protrusion of the cam 25 opens the switch 2B.

When the switch 28 is opened, the power supply to the motor 22 is cut off, so the motor 22 stops and the cam group also stops.

On the other hand, when the switch 26 is closed, a power supply circuit to the relay 34 is completed via the switch 26 and the switch 32B, so the relay 34 is energized and the switch 34A is closed to the contact a6.

When the switch 34A is turned on to the contact a6, the power supply circuit to the relay 35 is completed, and when the relay 35 is energized, the switch 35A is switched from the contact a to the contact I (see Fig. 12). ).

Therefore, the power supply circuit to the motor 22 is opened and the voltage to the collector of the transistor 36 disappears, but since the power supply to the relay 34 continues via the switch 26 and the switch 32B, the power supply to the relay 35 is also carried out. continue.

Therefore, after the state shown in FIG. 12 is reached, the switch 32A
Even if 32B and 32B are applied to contacts a3 and a4, it becomes impossible to automatically operate the valve again, and if you really want to open the valve, you have to operate it directly by hand or temporarily turn off the power supply to the power supply 33. You must either decline the request and return the switches 34A and 35A to their original positions.

Next, the operation in the event of an earthquake or fire will be explained with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

For example, if an earthquake occurs and the switch 7a of the seismic motion detector γ is closed while the gas cylinder is being used in the state shown in FIG. 11 (that is, the valve is fully open), the The power supply circuit to the motor 22 is completed, and as a result, the motor 22 starts rotating in the valve closing direction, and the cams 24 and 25 also start rotating at the same time.

When the valve is completely closed, the cam 25 opens the switch 28 in the same manner as described above (see FIG. 12), so the motor 22
is stopped and switch 26 is closed by cam 24.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, a power supply circuit to the relay 34 is completed via the switch 26 and the switch 32B, the relay 34 is energized, and the switch 34A is closed to the contact a6.

As a result, the relay 35 is energized, the switch 35A is switched from contact a5 to closed, and the power supply circuit to the motor 22 is opened.

Therefore, as described above, after this state is reached, the motor 22 cannot be operated even if the switching lever 32 is operated and the switches 32A and 32B are turned on to the contacts a3 and a4, and as a result, the gas cylinder cannot be operated. valve is held closed.

The above operations are the same even in the event of a fire, so a detailed explanation will be omitted (although the process up to energizing the motor will be explained).

When a fire occurs, the heat-sensitive element 8a in the fire detector 8 becomes conductive, energizing the relay 8e, which activates the switch 8c.
and 8d are closed, the buzzer 8b sounds, and the power supply circuit to the motor 22 is completed via the diode 37 and the switch 8c in the same manner as described above.

The circuit operation after the power supply circuit to the motor is completed is exactly the same as when detecting a gas leak or when an earthquake occurs, so the explanation will be omitted, but it should be noted that the buzzer 8b continues to sound even after the valve is closed. .

Next, the operation when the commercial AC power supply is in a power outage state will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

When the commercial AC power supply 44 is in a power outage state and the power supply to the motor 22 and the gas leak detector 6 and fire detector 8 are temporarily disabled, the output terminals 33a t 33b of the standby power supply device 33B Because the potential of the device 3 decreases,
Diode 33e in 3B conducts, and backup DC power supply 33
As a result of the electromotive force c being applied to the output terminals 33 a and 33 b, the standby power supply device 33 B operates at the same time as a power outage, thereby supplying power to the motor 22 and to the fire detector 8 and gas leak detector 6. power supply will not become unavailable.

In this case, the fire detector 8 and gas leak detector 6 are supplied with an AC voltage obtained by converting the DC 12 volt voltage generated from the standby power supply 33B to single-phase AC 100 volts by the inverter 45, which may interfere with their operation. This does not occur at all.

Note that the inverter 45 may be incorporated into each of the fire detector 8 and gas leak detector 6, but may also be incorporated into the control box 5.

As described above, according to the device of the present invention, when a situation such as a gas leak, fire, or earthquake occurs, the valve of the gas cylinder can be manually or automatically closed by remote control from the place where the gas is used.

On the other hand, in consideration of usage conditions in which the vicinity of the valve stem of a gas cylinder may freeze in the winter, making it impossible to close the valve, in the device of the present invention, the area near the valve stem of the cylinder is Since a heater 43 is provided to prevent freezing, the valve can be operated reliably even in the coldest season.

In the above description, a plurality of heat sensitive response elements 8a of the fire detector are installed at appropriate locations indoors and outdoors.

Further, it is desirable that the buzzers 8b are provided at least indoors and outdoors, and those indoors will notify the household members, and those outdoors will notify the neighbors.

The features and advantages of the apparatus of the present invention as described above are listed below.

(1) It can be installed without any modification to existing gas cylinders and their piping systems.

(11) It can be easily engaged with the operating bundle of an existing gas cylinder, and the engagement can be easily released.

Therefore, switching between automatic and manual operation of the valve is very easy.

(+n) Gas cylinder valves can be remotely operated even from indoors, and the status of the valve (that the valve is being operated and whether it is fully open or fully closed) can be known from a remote location.

(1) The valve is automatically closed in the event of a gas leak, earthquake, or fire, and remains in that state thereafter, making it extremely safe.

(V) The valve operating mechanism is housed in a sealed casing, and the casing is configured to cover the gas cylinder operating bundle, so it can be used outdoors even in snowy areas. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the valve operating section due to snow accumulation.

(■1) It can also be used in areas where there is a risk of freezing near the valve stem of the cylinder during the winter.

Q10 Even in the event of a power outage, the standby power supply operates immediately, so it can always be operated.

911 Since the alarm buzzer sounds at the same time as the shutoff valve starts to close, the alarm of fire etc. is issued quickly and damage is reduced.

(The mechanism is simple because the limiter I switch can be switched just by rotating the IX cam once.

As described above, according to the present invention, a valve remote control device having various features is provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the device of the present invention.
■A sectional view taken along arrows, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along ■-■ arrows in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a view taken along ■-IV arrows in Figure 1, and Figure 5 shows the inside of the device shown in Figure 1. The circuit diagram, FIG. 6 is a connection diagram between the power supply device, the seismic motion detector and the fire detector, and FIGS. 7 to 12 are circuit diagrams showing the operating state of the device of the present invention. 1: Non-automatic operator, 2: Gas cylinder, 5: Control box, 6:
Gas leak detector, 7: Earthquake motion detector, 8: Fire detector,
9: Housing (of non-automatic operating device), 10: Handle operating shaft,
11: Valve operation bundle (of gas cylinder valve), 12: Handle operation member, 22: Motor, 24, 25: Cam, 2
6-29: Switch, 33B two backup power supplies, 45: Inverter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A non-automatic operator detachably attached to the top of a gas cylinder such as a propane gas cylinder; and an automatic valve operator installed at a remote location from the non-automatic operator and electrically connected to the valve. A gas cylinder valve remote control device comprising: a control box connected to a mechanism within the non-automatic gas cylinder; and a gas leak detector, seismic motion detector, and fire detector electrically connected to the control box. The operating device includes a bundle operating member that engages with the valve operating bundle of the gas cylinder, a bundle operating shaft fixed to the bundle operating member, and a drive device for rotating the bundle operating shaft in both forward and reverse directions. ,
a cam that is attached to a part of the drive device and rotates a maximum of one revolution per the total number of rotations of the bundle operating shaft; at least one limit switch that is operated by engaging with the cam; The housing includes a driving device, the bundle operating member, the cam, etc., and is attached to the top of the gas cylinder, and the control box has a built-in circuit for controlling the driving device,
The circuit includes an open operation switch and a close operation switch for opening and closing the valve, a valve operation indicator light and a valve operation alarm for notifying rotational operation of the valve, the gas leak detector, the seismic motion detector, and A gas cylinder valve remote control device, characterized in that a switch group for each of the fire detectors is provided.