JPS6362440B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a refueling control device for refueling vehicles such as automobiles with gasoline at a refueling station.
In particular, refueling is prohibited when the refueling nozzle is not completely inserted into the vehicle's refueling port, and refueling is stopped when the liquid level in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined height. Regarding a control device.

Various refueling devices have been known for a long time, but for example, ground-mounted ones are usually
When the refueling nozzle is removed from the nozzle hook, the motor for driving the refueling pump is automatically activated in response to this.

When the refueling pump operates, oil is pumped from the pump through the hose to the refueling nozzle, so that it is ready for refueling at any time. That is,
By inserting the refueling nozzle into the refueling port of an automobile, etc., and pulling the nozzle lever, refueling can be started immediately.

Therefore, if you accidentally pull the lever before fully inserting the fuel nozzle into the vehicle's fuel filler port,
There is a danger that oil liquid will be scattered from the outlet of the refueling nozzle, causing a fire, explosion, or accident.
Furthermore, if the timing of releasing the lever is delayed when the fuel tank is full, the oil will overflow, creating a similar danger.

Furthermore, even after the refueling nozzle has been inserted into the refueling port and refueling has started, vibrations may cause the refueling nozzle to be inserted incompletely or come off, resulting in similar accidents. There is a risk of

Furthermore, in this type of conventional refueling device, the motor is operated after the refueling nozzle is removed from the nozzle hook and while it is inserted into the vehicle's fuel filler port, and after refueling is completed and until the refueling nozzle is hooked onto the nozzle hook. Therefore, there are drawbacks such as a large amount of wasteful power consumption.

In addition, refueling work is not dependent on the worker at the filling station.
Refueling is done by the driver of the vehicle being refueled - In so-called self-service refueling systems, refueling is performed directly by a person who is inexperienced with refueling, so before inserting the refueling nozzle into the refueling port, There is a high probability that an erroneous operation will cause an oil leak, or that the lever release timing will be delayed and the oil will overflow.

Therefore, until the refueling nozzle is firmly inserted into the refueling port and after the oil level in the fuel tank reaches the expected height, it is necessary to take measures to reliably prevent oil from being discharged from the refueling nozzle. Control means are required.

For this purpose, for example, a light amount detection means is attached to the tip of the refueling nozzle, and when the refueling nozzle is inserted into the refueling port of the vehicle, the amount of light in that part decreases. Conventionally, there has been proposed a refueling control device that detects whether or not the refueling nozzle is completely inserted into the refueling nozzle, and prohibits discharge of oil from the refueling nozzle while the refueling nozzle is not inserted.

An example of such a conventional oil supply control device is shown in FIG.

In the figure, Rin and Rout are photosensitive resistors such as a photoconductor or a photoelectric conversion element made of a material whose resistance value changes depending on the amount of light received, and are connected in series with fixed resistors R1 and R2, respectively. These series circuits are connected to power supply E in parallel.

Therefore, the resistors R1, R2 and the photosensitive resistor
Rin and Rout constitute a bridge circuit.

In addition, Rin is irradiated with the light from the tip of the refueling nozzle via the light guide 11, and Rout is irradiated with the light from the tip of the refueling nozzle via the light guide 11.
2, the surrounding external light is irradiated. Therefore,
At the connection points A and B of the bridge, signal voltages are generated depending on the respective amounts of light.

The signal voltage at the connection points A and B is applied to the differential amplifier 1.
4. The opening and closing of the control contact 15 is controlled by the output of the differential amplifier 14. Control contact 1
5 is connected in series with a power supply 18 along with a nozzle switch 16 and a relay 17. Relay 17 controls power switch 20 of pump motor 1a.

During the refueling operation, when the refueling nozzle is removed from the nozzle hook, the nozzle switch 16 is closed. However, until the refueling nozzle is inserted into the vehicle's refueling port, the amount of light transmitted and irradiated to the photosensitive resistors Rin and Rout via the light guides 11 and 12 is approximately equal, and normally the resistance values of R1 and R2 are are chosen to be equal, so the signal voltages at points A and B will be approximately equal.

Therefore, the output of differential amplifier 14 is at a low level, control contact 15 is maintained open, and therefore relay 17 is not energized. For this reason, the pump motor 1a is also not driven, and even if the lever of the oil supply nozzle is pulled by mistake, no oil will be discharged.

When the refueling nozzle is completely inserted into the vehicle's refueling port, the amount of light irradiated onto the photosensitive resistor Rin through the light guide 11 becomes sufficiently small, so that its resistance value becomes large and occurs at point A of the bridge. The signal voltage passes through the reference value and rises above it. On the other hand, the signal voltage at point B hardly changes.

Therefore, the output of the differential amplifier 14 becomes high level, and the control contact 15 is closed. As a result, the relay 17 is energized, and the pump motor 1a
is driven, the oil is force-fed to the oil supply nozzle, and the oil is discharged from the nozzle to perform oil supply.

As mentioned above, according to the device shown in FIG. 1, as long as the refueling nozzle is not completely inserted into the vehicle's refueling port, even if the refueling nozzle is removed from the nozzle switch,
Since the oil is not discharged, accidents such as spilling or scattering of the oil outside the fuel tank of the vehicle can be prevented.

However, it has been found that the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has the following drawbacks.

That is, since this device is not equipped with a means for detecting the height of the oil level in the fuel tank 4, the operator must check the fuel filler opening 5 to determine whether the tank is full. This can be done either by visual inspection, etc., or based on readings from a separately installed liquid level gauge.

Therefore, in any case, workers are forced to carry out stressful refueling work, and since it is difficult to leave the area, it is difficult to perform other tasks while refueling at the same time. However, it is difficult to improve work efficiency, and since two light quantity detection means are used, it is expensive.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to ensure that the refueling nozzle is completely inserted into the fuel filler port of the vehicle, and that the liquid level in the fuel tank is below the planned height. These two conditions can be reliably detected by using only one light amount detection means, and if necessary, if at least one of the above two conditions is not satisfied, the oil liquid can be removed from the oil supply nozzle. An object of the present invention is to provide a refueling control device that can prevent oil from being discharged.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a light-sensitive resistor whose resistance value changes depending on the ambient light, as a light amount detection means, inside the tip of the refueling nozzle.
and a light emitting element (for example, a light emitting diode) is provided as a light emitting means for periodically irradiating the photosensitive resistor, and the resistance value (i.e., the amount of light received) of the photosensitive resistor during the light emitting period of the light emitting element exceeds a second reference value. It is detected whether the oil level has reached a set height based on the fact that the oil level has reached a set height, and the resistance value (i.e., the amount of light received) of the photosensitive resistor during the non-emission period of the light emitting element is detected. The system is configured to detect whether the refueling nozzle has been completely inserted into the refueling port of the vehicle based on the fact that the refueling nozzle has exceeded (passed) one reference value.

The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the appearance of the oil supply control device to which the present invention is applied.

In the figure, 1 is a refueling machine, which is composed of a motor 1a, a pump 1b, a flow meter 1c, a pulse oscillator 1d, a refueling amount indicator 1e, a hose 1f, a nozzle hook 1g, a refueling nozzle 1h, a nozzle switch 1i, and a nozzle lever 1k. Ru.

Further, 2 is a control circuit for the motor 1a provided according to the present invention, 50 is a detector provided inside the tip of the refueling nozzle 1h, 3 is a car that is about to be refueled, and 4 is its fuel tank. , 5 is a fuel filler port of the fuel tank 4.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the refueling nozzle 1h portion of FIG. 2, and the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2 represent the same parts. 1l is a lead wire for connecting the detector 50 to the control circuit 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are illustrations of the tip of the refueling nozzle 1h for explaining the structure and operation of the sensor section for detecting the oil level using the detector 50 provided inside the tip of the refueling nozzle 1h. FIG.

In these figures, 35 is the nozzle tip, 3
Reference numeral 6 denotes a light-emitting element, which is a light-emitting means, provided inside the nozzle tip 35, facing the photosensitive resistor Rin, which is a light amount detection means, and 37 and 38 are provided in front of the light-emitting element 36 and the photosensitive resistor Rin, respectively. The condensing lens 39 is a support member for fixing and holding the photosensitive resistor Rin, the light emitting element 36, the condensing lenses 37, 38, etc. in a predetermined positional relationship.

(1) As shown in FIG. 4, when the oil level is low and there is air between the two, light is emitted from the light emitting element 36, and the condensing lenses 37 and 38 Therefore, almost all of the light converted into parallel light is focused onto the photosensitive resistor Rin by the condensing lens 38, and the resistance of the photosensitive resistor Rin becomes sufficiently small. (2) As shown in FIG. 5, when the oil level rises and oil (for example, gasoline) is present between both lenses 37 and 38, the condensing lens 37 , 38 is weakened, the amount of light focused on the photosensitive resistor Rin is reduced, and the material, distance, curvature, etc. of both are selected so that the resistance of the photosensitive resistor Rin increases. There is.

Next, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the control circuit 2 in FIG.
The same reference numerals as in the figures represent the same or equivalent parts.

The resistor R1 and the switching element (transistor) Tr1 are connected in series with the light emitting element 36, and the resistor R2 and the switching element (transistor) Tr2 for liquid level detection mode are connected in series with the photosensitive resistor Rin, which is a light amount detection means. be done. These two series circuits are then connected in parallel between the power supply VD and ground.

Resistor R3 and refueling nozzle insertion detection mode (hereinafter referred to as
The series circuit with the switching element (transistor) Tr3 for the insertion detection mode (simply referred to as insertion detection mode) is connected to the resistor R2.
and the photosensitive resistor Rin, and the power supply VD. I1, I2, and I3 are inverters.

As is clear from the figure, the switching element
Switching element for Tr1 and liquid level detection mode
Tr2 is turned on during the low level period of the output pulse of the pulse oscillator 21, and is cut off during the high level period.

On the other hand, the switching element for the insertion detection mode
Tr3 is turned on during the high level period of the pulse oscillator and is cut off during the low level period.

Resistors R4 and R5, and R6 and R7 are connected in series between the power supply VD and ground, respectively, and constitute a voltage divider circuit. Connection points E and F of each voltage dividing circuit are connected to inverting inputs of differential amplifiers (or comparators) 43 and 44, respectively.

The output of each differential amplifier 43, 44 is supplied to each AND gate 45, 46 together with the output of pulse oscillator 21 and its inverted signal. Retriggerable monostable multi 47 is triggered by the output of AND gate 45 and its output is fed to AND gate 49 .

Further, the retriggerable monostable multi 48 is triggered by the output of the AND gate 46, and the output is inverted by the inverter I3 and then supplied to the AND gate 49. The output of the AND gate 49 is used to control the control contact 15 on and off.

During refueling operation, refueling nozzle 1h is connected to nozzle hook 1.
When the nozzle is removed from g, a signal indicating that the nozzle has been removed is output from the nozzle switch 1i, and the nozzle switch 16 is closed. At this time, the control contact 15 is open, as will be clear from what will be described later.

The pulse oscillator 21 generates a pulse with a constant period as shown by a waveform 21 in FIG. The switching element Tr1 and the liquid level detection mode switching element Tr2 are conductive during the low level period of the pulse waveform, while the insertion detection mode switching element Tr3 is conductive during the high level period of the pulse waveform.

Therefore, the light emitting element 36 has waveform 3 in FIG.
In other words, it emits light only during the period when the switching element Tr1 is conductive.

Therefore, the resistance value of the photosensitive resistor Rin is determined mainly by the light emission intensity of the light emitting element 36 during a period when the output pulse waveform of the pulse oscillator is at a low level, and on the other hand, during a period when the output pulse waveform is at a high level. will be determined primarily by the intensity of the ambient light.

During the period when the output pulse waveform of the pulse oscillator 21 is at a high level, the insertion detection mode switching element Tr3 is conductive, so the resistor R3 becomes a photosensitive resistor.
On the other hand, the switching element Tr1 and the liquid level detection mode switching element Tr2, which are connected in series with Rin, are cut off, so the light emitting element 36 does not emit light.

In this state, the resistance value of the photosensitive resistor Rin depends on the brightness around the refueling nozzle 1h.
As shown by waveform A in the figure, the potential at point A is also determined by the surrounding brightness.

Also, at this time, the potential at point A is the differential amplifier 43
is fed to the non-inverting input of Voltage dividing resistor R4, R
The value of 5 is the potential of the connection point E (i.e., the first
(1) When the refueling nozzle 1h is completely inserted into the refueling port 5 of vehicle 3, the potential is lower than the potential at point A, and (2) When the refueling nozzle 1h is fully inserted into the refueling port 5 of vehicle 3, The potential is selected so that it is higher than the potential at point A when it is not completely inserted into point A. Therefore, until the refueling nozzle 1h is completely inserted into the refueling port 5, the differential amplifier 43 does not generate a high level output at the timing when the output of the pulse oscillator 21 is high level, and the AND gate 45 is closed.

Therefore, the output pulse of the pulse oscillator 21 is not supplied to the retriggerable monostable multi 47, the retriggerable monostable multi 47 is not triggered, and the AND gate 49 remains closed.

Of course, at this time, the control contact 15 is not energized, so the motor 1a does not rotate and the refueling nozzle 1h
No oil is discharged from the This state is
This corresponds to time periods T1 and T4 in FIG.

The differential amplifier 44 may also generate an output at the timing of this insertion detection mode. but,
Since the output of the pulse oscillator 21 inverted by the inverter I2 is input as the other input of the AND gate 46, the AND gate 46 is not opened and a low level signal is input to the monostable multi 48.

When the refueling nozzle 1h is completely inserted into the refueling port 5, the resistance value of the photosensitive resistor Rin becomes large, and the potential at point A passes the potential at point E and becomes higher than this. Therefore, the differential amplifier 43 generates an output and opens the AND gate 45, so that the pulse oscillator 21
The retriggerable monostable multi 47 is repeatedly triggered by the output pulse of , and generates a continuous high level signal.

This opens AND gate 49.
Therefore, the energization of the motor 1a is determined by the output of the other retriggerable monostable multi 48. This state is at times T2 and T in FIG.
Corresponds to 3.

Next, while the output pulse waveform of the pulse oscillator 21 is at a low level, the insertion detection mode switching element Tr3 is cut off, while the switching element Tr1 and the liquid level detection mode switching element Tr2 are conductive, so that the resistance R2 is connected in series with the photosensitive resistor Rin, and at the same time, the light emitting element 3
6 emits light and liquid level detection is performed.

In other words, it is determined whether oil or air exists between the light emitting element 36 and the photosensitive resistor Rin, which are arranged opposite each other as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. .

If no oil exists, as shown in Figure 4,
Most of the light emitted from the light emitting element 36 is
Since the photosensitive resistor Rin is irradiated, its resistance value decreases, and the potential at point A also decreases. That is, point A
The potential of will change depending on the height of the liquid level in the fuel tank.

The values of the voltage dividing resistors R6 and R7 are as follows: (1) When air exists between the light emitting element 36a and the photosensitive resistor Rin, When the potential at point A becomes lower than the potential at point F, and (2) when oil exists between the light emitting element 36a and the photosensitive resistor Rin, the potential at point A becomes lower than the potential at point F. It has also been selected to have a high When the output pulse waveform of the pulse oscillator 21 is at a low level, the potential at point A is supplied to the non-inverting input of the differential amplifier 44 and compared with the potential at point F. At this time, the differential amplifier 43 is also supplied with the potential at point A and produces an output, but since the output of the pulse oscillator 21, which is the other input of the AND gate 45, is at a low level, the output of this AND gate is low. level.

While the oil level does not reach the height of the light emitting element 36 and photosensitive resistor Rin, the differential amplifier 44 does not produce an output and the AND gate 46 is closed, so the retriggerable monostable multi 48 produces no output. Does not occur. Therefore, the output of inverter I3 is at high level.

Therefore, in this state, if a high-level signal is supplied from the retriggerable monostable multi 47 (that is, if the refueling nozzle 1h is completely inserted into the refueling port 5), the waveform 49 in FIG. AND gate 49 produces a high level output to close control contact 15, as shown in FIG.

This energizes the relay 17, closes the power switch 20, and starts the motor 1a. Therefore, if the nozzle lever 1k is pulled in this state, oil liquid is discharged from the tip of the fuel supply nozzle 1h, and the fuel tank 4 is refueled. This state corresponds to time period T2 in FIG.

As refueling progresses and the oil level in the fuel tank 4 comes to immerse the light emitting element 36 and the photosensitive resistor Rin, the amount of light reaching the photosensitive resistor Rin from the light emitting element 36 decreases, so the potential at point A decreases. It passes through the potential at point F and rises, and finally the differential amplifier 44 begins to produce an output.

Then, the AND gate 46 is opened and the retriggerable monostable multi 48 is repeatedly triggered by the output pulse of the pulse oscillator 21, so that the output of the inverter I3 becomes low level.

Accordingly, the AND gate 49 is closed and the control contact 15 is opened, so that the motor 1a also stops and refueling is no longer possible. That is, when the oil level reaches a predetermined height, refueling is automatically stopped. This state corresponds to time period T3 in FIG.

If the refueling nozzle 1h falls out from the refueling port 5 during refueling, or if refueling is completed and the refueling nozzle 1h is pulled out, the initial state will be restored, so the output of the retriggerable monostable multi 47 will become low level, and the AND gate 49 will return to its original state. is closed.

As a result, refueling is no longer possible regardless of the states of the differential amplifier 44 and the retriggerable monostable multi 48. This state corresponds to time period T4 in FIG.

In this example, the light emitting means and the light amount detection means were provided directly at the tip of the refueling nozzle, but the light emitting part of the light emitting means and the light receiving part of the light amount detection means were provided inside the refueling machine main body, and an optical fiber was used to connect the refueling nozzle. It may also be guided to the tip of the

Furthermore, in the above explanation, by the relay 17,
The motor 1a was controlled on and off, but
Instead of the motor 1a, a motor 1a and a pump 1
relay 17.
It is clear that the discharge of oil from the oil supply nozzle 1h may be prohibited while the oil supply nozzle 1h is not energized.

Further, each of the condensing lenses 37 and 38 has the effect that, contrary to what was described above, when the oil level is low, the amount of light incident on the photosensitive resistor Rin becomes small, while when the oil level rises. When the photosensitive resistance is
Of course, the material, distance, curvature, etc. may be selected so that the amount of light incident on Rin is large.

In short, the photosensitive resistance depends on whether an oil layer exists between the light emitting element 36 and the photosensitive resistance Rin.
It is sufficient that the configuration is such that the amount of light incident on Rin changes, and therefore the resistance value of the photosensitive resistor Rin changes to a discernible extent.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, refueling is prohibited when the refueling nozzle is not completely inserted into the refueling port of the vehicle, and the liquid level in the fuel tank is lowered to the planned height. Since the refueling is stopped when the temperature reaches the limit, it is possible to guarantee reliable and safe refueling operation, reduce wasteful power consumption, and use a set of light emitting elements and light amount detection means. Since it is sufficient to just
A great effect can be achieved in that the cost can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional refueling control device, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the external appearance of the refueling control device to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the refueling nozzle portion of FIG. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of the tip of the refueling nozzle for explaining the insertion state of the refueling nozzle and the structure and operation of the sensor unit for detecting the oil level, and FIG. 6 is a control in an embodiment of the present invention. A block diagram showing an example of the circuit, and FIG. 7 is a time chart for explaining its operation. 1...Refueling machine, 1a...Motor, 1b...Pump, 1f...Hose, 1g...Nozzle hook, 1h
...Refueling nozzle, 1i...Nozzle switch, 1k
... Nozzle lever, 2 ... Control circuit, 3 ... Car, 5 ... Fuel filler port, 15 ... Control contact, 16 ...
Nozzle switch, 17... Relay, 20... Power switch, 21... Pulse oscillator, Rin,... Light amount detection means (photosensitive resistor), Tr2... Switching element for liquid level detection mode, Tr3... Insertion detection mode switching element, 43, 44... differential amplifier, 47, 48... retriggerable monostable multi, 50... detector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A refueling control device for a refueling machine in which oil is pumped through a hose and discharged from a refueling nozzle provided at the tip of the hose, comprising: a light emitting means and a light detecting means disposed inside facing each other; a means for periodically driving the light emitting means to flicker; and an output of the light detecting means when the light emitting means is not emitting light exceeding a first reference value. means for determining whether or not the refueling nozzle is inserted into the refueling port of the vehicle based on the fact that the output of the light detecting means when the light emitting means emits light exceeds a second reference value; means for determining whether the oil level has reached at least one of the light emitting means and the light detection means; A refueling device characterized by comprising means for prohibiting discharge of oil from the refueling nozzle when two conditions that the surface does not reach the height of either the light emitting means or the light detecting means are satisfied. Control device.