JPS6115247Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a fuel consumption meter that is mounted on a vehicle, for example, and used in a fuel supply system that supplies fuel to a vehicle engine.

The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is a conventionally used fuel supply system, in which the inlet side of a positive displacement flowmeter 12 is connected to the outlet side of a fuel tank 11.
The inlet side of a fuel supply pump 13 is connected to the outlet side of the flow meter 12, and when the fuel supply pump 13 is driven, fuel is sucked out from the fuel tank 11, and the fuel supply pump 13 pumps the fuel to the subsequent stage. Supplied on the side. The flow rate of the fuel sucked and supplied from the fuel tank 11 by the fuel supply pump 13 is measured by the positive displacement flowmeter 12, and the flow rate of the fuel supplied from the fuel tank 11 can be detected.

A filter 14 is installed on the outlet side of the fuel supply pump 13.
The inlet side of the filter 14 is connected to the inlet side of the injection pump 15, and the outlet side of the filter 14 is connected to the inlet side of the injection pump 15. The inlet side of a nozzle 16 is connected to the outlet side of the injection pump 15, and fuel is supplied from the outlet side of the nozzle 16 to, for example, an engine section of a vehicle.

In this conventional fuel supply system, the filter 1
4. Injecting pump 15 and nozzle 16, the surplus fuel that is not supplied to the subsequent stage and wastefully flows out into the inlet side of surplus flow meter 17, and the outlet side of this surplus flow meter 17 is connected to the inlet of fuel tank 11. Connected to the side. In this way, the filter 14,
It is configured so that surplus fuel at the injection pump 15 and nozzle 16 portion is recovered into the fuel tank 11 via a surplus flow meter 17. In this way, it is possible to know the amount of fuel supplied from the fuel tank 11 and the amount of unused surplus fuel, and from the difference between these, it is possible to determine the exact amount of fuel supplied from the nozzle 16 to, for example, a vehicle engine. It becomes possible to know the quantity.

However, generally in the injection pump 15,
A phenomenon in which gas contained in the fuel is released is observed. In this case, since the released gas is generated as bubbles, the excess fuel from the injection pump 15 contains bubbles, causing an error in the flow rate measurement value by the excess flow meter 17.

In order to prevent a decrease in engine output due to air bubbles generated in this manner, a relief valve 20 is provided at the surplus fuel discharge port of the injection pump 15. For example, the relief valve 20 is a second
It has a configuration as shown in the figure, and the input opening 21 is connected to the surplus fuel discharge port of the injection pump 15.
The relief valve 20 has an outlet opening 22 formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the inlet opening 21 , and this output opening 22 is connected to the input side of the excess flow meter 17 . A flow path 23 is formed in the relief valve 20 by communicating the input opening 21 and the outlet opening 22. The end of the flow path 23 on the side of the input opening 21 is slightly narrowed, and the valve ball 24 is positioned and fitted into this narrowed portion.

A spring 2 is attached to the back side of the input opening 21 of this valve ball 24.
One end of the spring 25 is fixed, and the other end of the spring 25 is fixedly attached to a part of the relief valve 20. The spring 25 causes the valve ball 24 to close the input opening 21 of the flow path 23.
It is biased towards the side end and closes the input opening 21. Although not shown, the biasing force of the spring 25 can be adjusted from the outside of the relief valve 20.

When fuel flows in from the input opening 21, the valve ball 24 is slightly lifted by the pressure of the inflowing fuel, allowing the fuel to flow into the output opening 22 side through the gap between the valve ball 24 and the flow path 23. Become. When the fuel passes through this gap, the air bubbles in the fuel are pushed down by the increase in internal pressure between the valve ball 24 and the peripheral wall of the flow path 23, so that the air bubbles in the fuel can be eliminated.

However, with this relief valve 20, it is not easy to adjust the biasing force of the spring 25 with respect to the flow rate, and it is also difficult to completely seal the relief valve 20, so that air bubbles cannot be completely removed.

However, in a fuel consumption measuring system, it is necessary to separate the bubbles contained in the fuel from the fuel and remove them. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a conventionally used gas separator, in which an input opening 21 is provided at one end of the bottom of a substantially cylindrical casing 30, and the input opening 21 communicates with the inside of the casing 30. ing. On the other hand, an outlet opening 22 is provided at the other end of the bottom of the housing 30,
The outlet opening 22 likewise communicates into the housing 30 . A guide groove 31 is formed at the center of the bottom of the casing 30 at right angles to the bottom surface, and an opening 32 communicating with the outside of the casing 30 is formed in the end face opposite to the bottom of the casing 30. A float 33 is disposed for the fuel present in the casing 30, and a guide rod 34 is formed to protrude from the bottom side of the casing 30 of the float 33.

The end of the guide rod 34 is inserted into the guide groove 31. A valve rod 35 is attached to the surface of the float 33 opposite to the surface on which the guide rod 34 is formed, and a valve ball 36 is provided at the end of the valve rod 35. When the float 33 is floating in the fuel, the valve ball 36 closes the opening 32.

This gas separator is disposed between the surplus fuel discharge port of the injection pump 15 and the surplus flow meter 17. When air bubbles are present in the fuel flowing in from the input opening 21 of the gas separator, the gas in the bubbles is released from the liquid level of the fuel into the upper space within the housing 30. As the amount of bubbles released increases, the liquid level of the fuel decreases within the casing 30, and when this liquid level drops beyond the end surface position of the float 33 on the bottom side of the casing 30, , the float 33 moves toward the bottom under its own weight. As a result of this movement, the guide rod 34 falls into the guide groove 31 and the valve ball 36 separates from the opening 32, so that the opening 32 is opened and the gas in the bubbles is released from the opening 32 to the outside. When the gas on the liquid level is released to the outside, the liquid level rises and the valve ball 36
closes the opening 32.

With the conventional gas separator shown in FIG. 3 operating in this manner, it is possible to remove some air bubbles in the fuel. However, if there are relatively few bubbles, they cannot be completely removed. Particularly when used mounted on a vehicle, the liquid level vibrates due to vibrations caused by the running of the vehicle, causing the float 33 to resonate and vibrate, causing the valve ball 36 to open and close the opening 32, reducing its function. be.

This invention solves the above-mentioned difficulties in the conventional fuel supply system and provides a fuel consumption meter that can be used without being adversely affected by vibrations even when mounted on a vehicle.

According to this invention, when fuel containing bubbles is supplied, a vortex generator is provided which generates a vortex in the fuel. In this vortex generator, fuel free of air bubbles is taken out and supplied from the lower part of the vortex generator by a supply means, and bubbles that collect in the center of the upper part of the vortex generator are separated and drawn out by a separating means. It can be done.

Hereinafter, the fuel supply device of this invention will be explained in detail based on an embodiment thereof using the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the vortex generator 10, which generates a vortex in the fuel when fuel containing air bubbles is supplied, is provided with a substantially cylindrical housing 45, and this housing A fuel take-off pipe 46 is attached to the lower end plate of 45 . A vortex generation chamber 47 is formed within the housing 45 and has an inverted truncated conical surface whose circumferential surface is concentrated on the central axis of the housing 45 toward the fuel extraction pipe 46 side.

A foam extraction pipe 48 is inserted into the housing 45 and attached to the central position of the end plate on the upper side of the housing 45. An inflow hole 49 is formed in the wall of the casing 45 near the end of the foam extraction pipe 48 . Foam extraction pipe 4
8 is formed to have a small inner diameter in order to allow the gas in the bubbles to flow out and to make it difficult for the liquid to flow out. This value is the injection speed of fuel from the inflow hole 49, the vortex generation chamber 4
7, the fuel inflow pressure, etc.

The bubble extraction pipe 48 of this vortex generator 10 is connected to the suction port 51 of the gas extraction body 50. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the outlet side of a surplus flow meter 17 is connected to the inlet 52 of the gas extraction body 50, and the fuel extraction hole 46 of the vortex generator 10 is connected to the inlet side of this surplus flow meter 17. This is an example.

When fuel containing bubbles is injected from the inflow hole 49 of the vortex generator 10, this fuel flows into the vortex generation chamber 4.
It flows down from the upper side to the lower side along the circumferential surface of 7. For this reason, the fuel generates a vortex within the vortex generating chamber 47. Since the fuel portion that does not contain air bubbles has a larger unit mass than that that contains air bubbles, it receives a large centrifugal force due to rotation and is located outside the vortex generation chamber 47, flowing down along the side of the vortex generation chamber 47. It gathers at the bottom side of. This bubble-free fuel flows from the fuel extraction pipe 46 through the surplus flow meter 17 into the inlet 52 of the gas extraction body 50,
The gas is returned to the fuel tank 11 from the outlet 53 through the flow path in the gas extractor 50 .

On the other hand, fuel containing air bubbles with a small unit mass gathers in the upper central part of the vortex generation chamber 47. Therefore, the fuel containing the bubbles is collected on the liquid level of the fuel in the vortex generating chamber 47. The connecting portion between the inlet 52 and the outlet 53 of the gas extraction body 50 has a narrowed pipe diameter to form a thin tube portion. Therefore, the velocity of the fuel passing through this area increases, and the pressure in that area decreases due to Bernoulli's principle. Therefore, the gas in the bubbles in the vortex generation chamber 47 is drawn out through the suction port 51 from the bubble extraction pipe 48 whose tip is located near the liquid level of the fuel in the vortex generator 10 . The gas in the extracted bubbles is mixed with the fuel from the inlet 52 in the gas extraction body 50, and is returned from the outlet 53 into the fuel tank 11 (not shown), for example.

In this way, the surplus flowmeter 17 will not have any flow rate errors due to the presence of air bubbles, and when installed in a system as shown in FIG. It will show the amount of fuel supplied to the engine.

In the fuel consumption meter of this invention, there is no rotating part or movable part such as a float in the vortex generator 10 section. In addition, the bubble extraction pipe 48 is also connected to a gas extraction body 50 that has no moving parts, and has a structure in which bubbles are extracted, so that even if it is mounted on a vibrating vehicle, no malfunction will occur and the structure is solid. It has an extremely long usable life. Furthermore, accidents such as fires are less likely to occur due to the structure, and since the gas extraction body 50 is used, fuel from the fuel extraction pipe 46 will not flow back to the foam extraction pipe 48 side.

As explained in detail above, according to this invention, it is possible to completely and safely separate and extract the gas in the fuel, and since it is structurally solid and does not contain any moving parts, it can be mounted on a vehicle or the like and used. It is also possible to provide a fuel consumption meter that is not affected by external vibrations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a conventionally used fuel supply system, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of a relief valve, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventionally used gas separation device, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventionally used gas separation device. Figures A and B are diagrams showing the structure of the gas separation device used in the fuel meter of this invention, where A is a front sectional view, B is a sectional view taken along line K-K of A, and Figure 5 shows the fuel consumption meter of this invention. A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the fuel supply system used, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the gas extraction body 50 used in this invention. 12: Flow meter, 15: Injection pump, 17: Surplus flow meter, 45: Housing, 46: Fuel extraction pipe, 4
7: vortex generation chamber, 48: foam extraction pipe, 50: gas extraction body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] The fuel supplied from the fuel tank to the engine is measured with a flow meter, the surplus fuel flowing out from the injection pump is measured with the surplus flow meter and then collected into the fuel tank, In the fuel consumption meter, which measures the consumed fuel from the difference between the measured value of One end of the tube is inserted and disposed, the other end of this foam extraction tube is led out of the vortex generator, a fuel extraction tube is led out of the vortex generator from the lower part of the vortex generator, and the vortex generator is The inner circumferential surface of the vessel is formed into a substantially inverted truncated cone shape, and the surplus fuel is supplied to the vortex generator in the circumferential direction of the inverted truncated cone surface. On the other hand, a vortex is formed, and due to the centrifugal force exerted on the surplus fuel by this vortex, the gas contained in the surplus fuel is collected near the liquid surface, and the fuel extraction pipe is connected to the surplus flowmeter. the output port of the surplus flow meter is connected to the inlet of the gas extractor, the outlet of the gas extractor is connected to the recovery port of the fuel tank, and the inlet of the gas extractor is connected to the inlet of the gas extractor; A thin tube portion with a narrowed flow path is formed between the outlet ports, and the foam extraction tube is connected to an inlet formed in the gas extraction body so as to communicate with the thin tube portion. Fuel consumption meter.