KR20090102606A - Pump apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A pump apparatus is provided to control the amount of flow of fluid which is separated from a vapor-liquid separator and stabilize the fluid in the apparatus. CONSTITUTION: A pump apparatus comprises a pump, vapor-liquid separator (11), separation room, and float valve. The pump pressurizes fluid which is flowed into inlet port. The vapor-liquid separator separates vapor and liquid by centrifugal force and make vapor flow out in separation hole. The vapor-liquid separator comprises a pipe (12) and variable valve. The separation room separates liquid collected to the pump from fluid which is flowed in through separation hole. The float valve is installed at flow path.

Description

Pump apparatus

The present invention relates to a pump device for pumping a liquid to a predetermined device while recovering bubbles contained in the fluid conveyed by the pump to a float chamber, and more particularly, a gas-liquid separation mechanism for separating gas and liquid.

The gas station handles volatile liquids such as gasoline and light oil, and the oil supply device used for oil supply includes a pump for pumping liquid, a gas-liquid separator for separating bubbles mixed in the liquid, and a float for collecting the separated liquid. The seal and the float valve which return to a pump side when the separated liquid became predetermined amount are provided.

As the gas-liquid separation mechanism used for this kind of application, for example, it has a cylindrical shape arranged horizontally and is configured to introduce a fluid in the tangential direction to the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body while providing a small hole in the center of the lower part. The thing is used (for example, refer patent document 1). The fluid flowing into the gas-liquid separation mechanism is swirled in a vortex form, and the components containing as few bubbles as possible and those containing as many bubbles are separated from each other by centrifugal force. The liquid containing a large amount of gas flows into the float chamber from the small hole at the bottom, and the gas is discharged into the atmosphere from the atmospheric communication hole in the upper portion of the float chamber, and the liquid is pumped back through the return flow path installed at the bottom of the float chamber. Is returned. The components with as few bubbles as separated by the gas-liquid separation mechanism are discharged from the outlet.

[Patent Document 1]

 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-54212

However, in the conventional gas-liquid separation mechanism, since the diameter of the small hole for discharging the gas-liquid component is fixed, if there is a large amount of liquid separated into a large amount of bubbles, it is impossible to discharge all the bubbles from the small hole to the float chamber. There is a possibility that can not be. On the other hand, if the diameter of the small hole is set to be large in advance, the fluid having a large amount of liquid components to be discharged from the outlet port flows out into the float chamber unless there is a small amount of separated fluid or there is not much inflow into the float chamber when the throughput is small. The discharge amount of the fluid is reduced.

This invention is proposed in view of such a situation, and a main objective is to provide the pump apparatus which can change the separation ability of a gas-liquid separation mechanism by big and small of a bubble component.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention provides a pump for pressurizing a fluid introduced from an inlet port and a gas-liquid separation of the fluid after pressurization by centrifugal force, to allow gas to flow out from a separation hole provided at the center of the inlet side, and an open end on the opposite side. A gas-liquid separation mechanism for passing the liquid through the liquid crystal, a separation chamber for separating the liquid recovered in the pump from the fluid introduced from the separation hole of the gas-liquid separation mechanism, and a flow path from the separation chamber to the suction port of the pump. In a pump device including a float valve, the gas-liquid separation mechanism comprises a pipe which is arranged substantially horizontally and the fluid passes through the inside, and a variable valve that can adjust the amount of fluid sent to the separation chamber on the inlet side of the fluid The variable valve may include a cap in which the separation hole is formed, and the cap in the pipe. A valve main body that is urged in a spaced apart direction, a nozzle having an external shape capable of closing the separation hole, and a small hole having a diameter smaller than the separation hole so as to communicate with the separation chamber, formed around the nozzle and separated It is a pump apparatus characterized by having a communication hole which can lead the drawn fluid to the said separation hole.

The invention according to claim 2 is the pump device according to claim 1, wherein the separation hole and the small hole are arranged on the same shaft as the pipe.

According to the invention according to claim 3, in the pump device according to claim 1 or 2, the valve body extends toward an open end through a connection port through which fluid enters the pipe, and the valve body includes a fluid at the connection port. Characterized in that the slit is provided to allow the inflow of.

According to the invention according to claim 4, in the pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, at least one rib is provided outside the valve body in parallel with the sliding direction of the valve body. And a narrow elongated groove engaged with the rib inside the pipe.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, an outer shape orthogonal to a sliding direction of the valve body is formed in a D shape, and the inner shape of the pipe is changed. The valve body is characterized by having a D shape.

According to the invention according to claim 6, in the pump device according to claim 3, the rectifying plate for rectifying the flow of the fluid flowing through the slit is preferably in the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the valve body provided with the valve body It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, when the variable valve is opened, the fluid flows out into the separation chamber through the separation hole having a large opening area, and when the variable valve is closed, the fluid separated through the hole having a diameter smaller than the separation hole at the same time as the separation hole is closed. Since the gas flows out into the separation chamber, it is possible to control the flow rate of the fluid separated from the gas-liquid separation mechanism by the variable valve, so that the fluid can be stabilized and discharged by the pump device.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the gas-liquid separation mechanism

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a pipe of the gas-liquid separation mechanism

FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 2A viewed in the A direction, and the front view of the cap

FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 2B viewed from the direction B, and a perspective view of the back side of the valve body; FIG.

6 is a perspective view of the front side of the valve body;

7 is a view showing a closed state variable valve

8 is a graph showing a measurement error and a conventional measurement error of the pump apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention

9 is a sectional view showing a modification of the gas-liquid separation mechanism, showing a state in which the variable valve is closed.

10 is a sectional view showing a modification of the gas-liquid separation mechanism, showing a state in which the variable valve is opened.

※ Explanation of code for main part of drawing

      1: Pump device 3: Inlet

      9: pump 10A: connection port

     11: gas-liquid separator 12: pipe

 13, 63: variable valve 14: separation hole

     21 separation chamber 31, 71 valve body 32, 72 cap 34 nozzle

     38: groove 40: rectification plate

     41: Slit 42: Rib

     44: communication hole 46: nozzle tip

     47: small hole

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a sectional view of a pump apparatus according to the present embodiment. The pump device 1 has a housing 2, and the inlet 3 and outlet 4 of the fuel oil (fluid) are provided in the housing 2. The check valve 5 is provided inside the inlet port 3, and communicates with the filter chamber 7 provided with the filter 6. The filter chamber 7 is connected to the suction port 9A of the pump 9 through the upper suction chamber 8. A well-known internal gear pump is used for the pump 9 in this embodiment. The discharge port 9B of the pump 9 is connected to the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 via the liquid passage 10. The liquid passage 10 is elongated in a substantially straight shape, and the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 so that fuel oil flows in the tangential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the pipe 12 to an end side in one direction of the pipe 12 of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11. )

The gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 is provided with the variable valve 13 characterized by this invention at the edge part (edge part of an inflow side) of the side to which the liquid flow path 10 is connected, and has a cylindrical shape as a whole. Have. The open end communicates with the filter chamber 15. On the other hand, the separation valve 14 is formed in the variable valve 13 and communicates with the separation chamber 21 (float chamber) via the separation hole 14.

The open end of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 is drawn out in the filter chamber 15. The filter chamber 15 is provided with a filter 16 so as to surround the end of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11. The control valve 17 is always forced in the valve closing direction by a spring. In addition, the filter chamber 15 is provided with a bypass hole 18 in communication with the suction chamber 8. Opening and closing of the bypass hole 18 is controlled by the bypass valve 19 provided on the suction chamber 8 side.

The separation chamber 21 is a space for temporarily retaining a liquid mixed with some bubbles discharged from the separation hole 14 to separate the gas and the liquid in the fluid by gravity or buoyancy. In the upper part of the separation chamber 21, a hole 22 for discharging the separated air is formed. The float valve 23 is provided in the lower side of the separation chamber 21. The float valve 23 is provided for controlling the opening and closing of the return flow passage 24 from the separation chamber 21 to the filter chamber 7.

Here, the detailed description of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 concerning this Example is given.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pipe 12 of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 is arrange | positioned substantially horizontally, and the connection opening 10A of the liquid flow path 10 is provided. In the vicinity of the connection port 10A including the connection port 10A, the inner diameter of the variable valve 13 is enlarged, and the valve body 31 of the variable valve 13 is slidably inserted therein. In addition, inside the portion where the diameter of the pipe 12 is enlarged, a pair of grooves 38 are positioned to avoid the connection port 10A, and at the same time, they are engraved parallel to the axis in positions symmetrical with respect to the central axis. The end of the connection port 10A side of the pipe 12 is closed by the cap 32 of the variable valve 13.

The variable valve 13 has a cap 32 covering the end of the pipe 12 and a nozzle 34 which can enter the separation hole 14 provided in the same axis as the pipe 12 at the center of the cap 32. ) And a coil spring 35 inserted between the valve body 31 and the cap 32.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the cap 32 has a separation hole 14 formed in the center thereof. On the inner surface of the cap 32, a receiving portion 32A into which the coil spring 35 is inserted is made concave in a ring shape.

2 and 5, the valve body 31 has a cylindrical portion 39 extending in the axial direction, and a cross section orthogonal to the axis of the cylindrical portion 39 is D-shaped. The cylindrical portion 39 is provided with a horizontal rectifying plate 40 so as to be substantially parallel to the flow of fuel oil flowing into the gas-liquid separating mechanism 11, and a portion of the upper portion of the rectifying plate 40 is connected to a connection port 10A. A slit 41 is formed to allow the inflow of fuel oil from the. In this embodiment, since the liquid passage 10 extends substantially vertically upward, the rectifying plate 40 is disposed substantially vertically. In addition, the rectifying plate 40 is installed in a direction limited to a range of ± 20 ° so that the flow of fuel oil flowing through the connection port 10A is preferably in the tangential direction of the migration surface of the valve body 31.

The diameter d1 of the inner portion of the cylindrical portion 39 of the arc portion excluding the rectifying plate 40 is approximately equal to the inner diameter d2 of the unexpanded portion of the pipe 12. In addition, a pair of ribs 42 protrude parallel to the central axis at the same time as the pair of ribs 42 on the curved portion of the valve body 31 at the position where the groove 38 on the pipe 12 side is formed. It is formed. In the valve main body 31, the lower part 43 is provided in the position which once descended to the edge part of one direction which faces the cap 32, and the opposite end part is open | released.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the lower portion 43 of the valve body 31 has a nozzle 34 integrally formed at the center and a pair of communication holes 44 passing through the lower portion 43 are provided with the nozzle 34. ) Is formed in the shape of an arc to surround each other. A circular rib 45 protrudes around the communication hole 44. The end of the coil spring 35 is accommodated in the annular groove formed from the rib 45 to the outer wall of the valve body 31.

The nozzle 34 protrudes outward from the lower part 43 along the axis line, and the front end part is provided with the front end part 46 expanded in the radial direction. The distal end portion 46 has a circular flat surface at its distal end portion, and the outer circumferential portion has a guide face 46A having a tapered shape so as to reduce the outer diameter toward the protruding direction of the nozzle 34.

On the outer side of the guide surface 46A, the nozzle 34 is inserted into the separation hole 14 when the nozzle 34 is inserted into the cap 32, and is closed. The smallest diameter of the tip side of the guide surface 46A is closed. The part is smaller than the diameter of the separation hole 14, and the largest diameter part of the base end side of 46 A of guide surfaces is formed in cone shape larger than the diameter of the separation hole 14. As shown in FIG. In addition, a small hole 47 penetrates in parallel with the axis line in the nozzle 34. The hole diameter of the small hole 47 is smaller than the separation hole 14 on the cap 32 side.

The variable valve 13 aligns the slit 41 of the valve body 31 with the connection port 10A, and inserts the rib 42 of the valve body 31 into the groove 38. The rib body 42 is inserted into the groove 38 at the same time that the D-shape of the valve body 31 and the pipe 12 coincide with each other, thereby preventing rotation of the valve body 31 with respect to the pipe 12.

Next, the operation of the pump device 1 will be described.

The fuel oil supplied to the inlet port 3 of the pump device 1 of FIG. 1 is introduced into the suction chamber 8 after the debris and the like are removed from the filter 6 of the filter chamber 7. In addition, it is sucked into the pump 9 at the suction port 9A, pressurized to a predetermined pressure, and then discharged to the liquid passage 10. The fuel oil is introduced into the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 through the liquid passage 10. In the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11, fuel oil and air mixed as bubbles are separated from each other by the action of centrifugal force. The fuel oil is mainly discharged from the end of the open side in the other direction through the inner circumferential surface of the pipe 12 of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 and enters the filter chamber 15. Then, the control valve 17 is opened and taken out from the outlet 4, and supplied to the fuel tank of the vehicle through, for example, a lubrication nozzle. On the other hand, the bubbles contained in the fuel oil are mainly collected in the center of the pipe 12 of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 and discharged to the separation chamber 21 through the variable valve 13. Air, which is a bubble, is discharged to the atmosphere from the upper hole 22 of the separation chamber 21, and fuel oil, which is a liquid component, is collected in the lower portion of the separation chamber 21. When the liquid level in the separation chamber 21 rises, the float valve 23 opens, and the collected fuel oil returns from the return passage 12 to the filter chamber 7 and is pressurized by the pump 9 again.

Here, the fuel oil flowing into the gas-liquid separator 11 by the rectifying plate 40 of the cylindrical portion 39 of the valve body 31 is rectified and introduced in the tangential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the valve body 31 as much as possible. As a result, a flow in which the fuel oil turns in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 is formed, and gas and liquid are separated by the centrifugal force generated thereby. Further, in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 according to this embodiment, since the fuel oil is separated into a component having a small amount of air and a component having a large amount of air, the variable valve 13 in response to the fluid pressure changed by the amount of air intake is provided. ) Is opened and closed to control the amount of outflow to the separation chamber 21.

In the case where the air mixing amount of the fuel oil is high, since the air amount is large, the viscosity as the whole fluid decreases, the fluid resistance decreases, and the fluid pressure in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 decreases due to the relatively low amount of fuel. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the force that the valve main body 31 presses the cap 32 is weakened, and the coil spring 35 extends so that the valve main body 31 is separated from the cap 32 and the variable valve 13 is removed. Is opened. That is, the nozzle 34 is fully drawn in the pipe 12 to open the separation hole 14 of the cap 32.

The fuel oil flowing into the gas-liquid separator 11 flows from the connection port 10A along the inner circumferential surface of the valve body 31 so that heavy fuel oil is directed to the outside by the centrifugal force and light air is directed to the center and separated from each other. do. In the center, the fluid mainly containing air separates a small amount of fuel oil. This separated fluid is formed by the valve body 31 and the cap 32 through the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34 and the communication hole 44 surrounding the nozzle 34, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2. It flows out from the separation hole 14 of the cap 32 through the space 51 to the separation chamber 21.

The opening area and the shape of the small hole 47 and the pair of communication holes 44 of the nozzle 34 of the variable valve 13 are equal to or greater than that of the separation hole 14 so that the fluid easily flows. Therefore, the separated fluid flows out into the separation chamber 21 smoothly.

On the other hand, the fluid mainly composed of the fuel oil collected on the outer side of the pipe 12 and the valve body 31 flows into the filter chamber 15 at the open end of the pipe 12, and the outlet port 4 as described above. ) Is discharged.

On the other hand, when the air mixing amount of fuel oil is low, since the amount of air is small, the viscosity as a whole fluid becomes large, fluid resistance increases, and it becomes relatively fuely, and the fluid pressure in the gas-liquid separator 11 rises. When the pressure of the fluid in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 exceeds a predetermined pressure, as shown in FIG. 7, the force that the valve body 31 presses the cap 32 becomes strong, and the coil spring 35 contracts and the variable valve 13 is closed. Closed. At this time, the nozzle 34 enters the separation hole 14 of the cap 32. The nozzle 34 is smoothly drawn into the separation hole 14 by the taper of the guide surface 46A, and closes the separation hole 14 to the separation chamber 21 with only the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34. Communicating.

Therefore, the fluid separated in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 and collected at the center flows out into the separation chamber 21 through only the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34 as indicated by the arrow. On the other hand, the fluid mainly composed of fuel oil collected on the outside flows out into the filter chamber 15 at the open end of the pipe 12. That is, since the variable valve 13 changes from the open state to the closed state, the valve opening amount changes according to the gas mixing amount due to the action of the coil resistance 35 and the fluid resistance force related to the fluid pressure, viscosity, and density before separation. In addition, it is possible to change the discharge amount to the separation chamber 21 in response to the change of the gas mixing amount.

Here, FIG. 8 shows the results of examining the relationship between the air mixing amount and the measurement error of the pump apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As a comparison, the measurement error of the conventional pumping apparatus is shown by the dotted line. In the conventional pumping device, the separation hole is adjusted assuming a small amount of air mixing. Therefore, when the air mixing amount increases, the air that could not be separated is discharged together with the fuel oil, and when the air mixing amount exceeds 30%, a measurement error occurs. It became 3% or more, and the measurement error was large. In contrast, in the pump device 1 according to the present embodiment, since the valve opening amount is adjusted in accordance with the air mixing amount, the measurement error becomes less than 1% regardless of the air mixing amount, so that the measurement error can be reduced to a small extent. .

As described above, in the pump device 1 according to this embodiment, a variable valve 13 is installed in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 11 in which the valve opening amount is automatically adjusted by the fluid pressure corresponding to the content of bubbles. Since the flow path of the fluid which flows out into the separation chamber 21 becomes large when there is much mixing amount, the large amount of fluid mainly containing air can be reliably recovered to the separation chamber 21. When the amount of air mixed is small, since the variable valve 13 is closed and the flow path of the fluid flowing out into the separation chamber 21 becomes small, a large amount of fuel oil does not flow out into the separation chamber 21 so that the pump device 1 is closed. It can operate efficiently and stably.

In other words, the pump device 1 also opens the variable valve 13 when the amount of fuel oil flowing into the gas-liquid separator 11 is small, and when the variable valve 13 is closed when the amount of inflow is large, the separation chamber 21. It is possible to adjust the amount of fluid to be discharged to ().

Moreover, since the valve main body 13 extends in the axial direction, it is possible to slide the inside of the pipe 12 stably. Although the valve body 31 extends to the filter chamber 15 side beyond the position where the connection port 10A is formed, the valve body 31 is provided with the slit 41 in the valve body 13 and the pipe 12 and The flow of fuel oil is not disturbed because the curved surface is formed in the same shape.

Since the cross section of the valve body 31 was made into D shape and the internal shape of the pipe 12 which receives this was also made into D shape according to this, rotation of the valve body 31 is prevented. By combining the groove 38 and the rib 42 in this manner, the rotation of the valve body 31 is prevented. In addition, the D-shaped groove 38 and the rib 42 also serve to facilitate positioning when the valve body 31 is inserted into the pipe 12.

That is, only one of the cross section of the valve body 31 and the internal shape of the pipe 12 may be D-shaped, and the groove 38 and the rib 42 may be provided. When installing the ribs 42, one or more may be installed.

Here, as a modification of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the cross-sectional structure of the gas-liquid separation mechanism 61 used for the pump apparatus 1 is shown.

The gas-liquid separation mechanism 61 is provided with a variable valve 63 at the connection port 10A side of the cylinder 62. The variable valve 63 has a cap 72 covering the end of the cylinder 62 and a valve body 71 which receives a force in a direction falling from the cap 72 via the coil spring 35. Although the cap 72 has only the separation hole 14 formed in the center, you may provide the accommodating part 32A of the coil spring 35 like the cap 32 of FIG. The valve body 71 has a shape in which a cylinder extends from the lower portion 43 toward the cap 72, and the lower portion 43 is provided with a nozzle 34 and a pair of flow holes 44.

The cylinder 62 has a space for sliding the valve body 71. For this reason, the valve main body 71 can move to the connection port 10A side until it contacts with a level | step difference.

When the air mixing amount of the fuel oil is high and the fluid pressure in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 61 is low, the force that the valve body 71 presses the cap 72 is weak, so that the coil spring 35 extends to the valve body 71. The variable valve 63 is opened away from the cap 72. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle 34 is fully drawn in the pipe 62, and the separation hole 14 of the cap 72 is opened. The separated fluid passes through the space 51 formed by the valve body 71 and the cap 72 through the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34 and the communication hole 44 surrounding the nozzle 34. It flows out into the separation chamber 21 from the separation hole 14 of 72.

On the other hand, when the air mixing amount of fuel oil is low and the fluid pressure in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 61 is high, the force which the valve main body 71 presses the cap 72 becomes strong. When the fluid pressure in the gas-liquid separation mechanism 61 exceeds a predetermined pressure, as shown in FIG. 10, the coil spring 35 contracts and the variable valve 63 is closed. At that time, the tip portion 46 of the nozzle 34 enters and closes the separation hole 14 of the cap 72, and communicates with the separation chamber 21 only with the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34. The separated fluid flows out into the separation chamber 21 through only the small hole 47 of the nozzle 34.

Claims (6)

A pump for pressurizing the fluid introduced from the inlet port, a gas-liquid separator for separating the gas after pressurization by centrifugal force to allow gas to flow out from the separation hole formed in the center of the tip of the inlet side, and for passing the liquid from the open end of the opposite side; In the pump apparatus comprising a separation chamber for separating the liquid recovered by the pump from the fluid introduced through the separation hole of the gas-liquid separation mechanism, and a float valve provided in the flow path from the separation chamber to the inlet of the pump , The gas-liquid separation mechanism includes a pipe which flows through the inside of the gas-liquid separation device substantially horizontally, and a variable valve which adjusts the amount of fluid to be sent to the separation chamber on the inflow side of the fluid, wherein the variable valve includes the separation valve. A cap having a hole, a valve body receiving a force in a direction away from the cap in the pipe, and an outer shape capable of closing the separating hole, and a small hole having a smaller diameter than the separating hole communicates with the separating chamber. And a nozzle configured to be able to be installed, and a communication hole for introducing a fluid formed and separated around the nozzle into the separation hole. The method of claim 1, And the separation hole and the small hole are arranged on the same axis as the pipe. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The valve body, the pump device characterized in that it extends toward the open end beyond the connecting port through which the fluid is introduced into the pipe, the valve body is provided with a slit to allow the flow of fluid from the connecting port. The method according to claim 1 or 2, At least one rib on the outside of the valve body in parallel to the sliding direction of the valve body, the pump device, characterized in that the groove provided in the pipe engaging the rib.  The method according to claim 1 or 2, A pump device characterized in that the outer shape orthogonal to the sliding direction of the valve body is made into a D shape, and the inner shape of the pipe is made into a D shape that can accommodate the valve body. The method of claim 3, wherein And a rectifying plate installed in the valve body so as to rectify the flow of the fluid introduced through the slit so as to be in a tangential direction of the main surface of the valve body.