WO2016020506A1

WO2016020506A1 - Storage unit for one or more fluids

Info

Publication number: WO2016020506A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/068216
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Michel Garreau
Original assignee: Fives Filling & Sealing
Priority date: 2014-08-07
Filing date: 2015-08-06
Publication date: 2016-02-11
Also published as: EP3177562A1; FR3024721B1; FR3024721A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage unit (1) for one or more fluids (10), intended for the preparation and/or transfer to an external container of the fluid or fluids, having application, in particular, in the preparation of fluids such as liquid refrigerant, brake fluid and air conditioning fluid, for the corresponding circuit of a vehicle, and in the filling of such a circuit, for example on a motor vehicle assembly line, or in the energy sector for the filling of heat pumps, or of fluid-containing electric radiators. The storage unit comprises a storage device (3, 4, 5) for the fluid or fluids, equipment (2) for preparation and/or transfer to an external container of the fluid or fluids, and a framework directly or indirectly supporting said equipment, the unit having an overall shape comprising at least two first faces (6, 7). The storage device comprises at least three storage means (3, 4, 5) at least one of which does not structurally communicate with the others, and said storage means are distributed over the at least two first faces in such a way that said storage means constitute at least a part of the framework.

Description

Storage unit of one or more fluids

The present invention relates to a unit for storing one or more fluids for the preparation and / or transfer to an external container of the fluid or fluids. It finds particular application to the preparation of fluids such as coolant, brake fluid, air conditioning fluid, for the corresponding circuit of a vehicle, and the filling of such a circuit, for example on a chain automotive assembly, or in the energy sector for filling heat pumps, or electric radiators fluid.

The fluid or fluids can be mixtures of fluids, as in the case of a heat-transfer mixture of the water / glycol type, or of a mixture obtained by successive injection of a first fluid such as a polyalkylene glycol type oil ( PAG) and a second fluid such as a refrigerant such as tetrafluoroethane (R134A).

On the car chains, it is always necessary to be able to have fluids to fill the various circuits of the vehicles being assembled on the chain of production. Nevertheless, many of its fluids require treatments before injection into the vehicle. The circuit to be filled on the vehicle must also be prepared, for example by putting the circuit of the vehicle under vacuum.

Generally, the units equipping the assembly lines comprise firstly a frame, intended to support all the equipment necessary for the preparation, storage and transfer of the fluid or fluids, and other equipment. The required framing function is thus obtained by means other than the means making it possible to perform the various other functions required.

The volume required to provide both the framing and other means is generally large and access to equipment, for example for maintenance operations, is often difficult.

The invention particularly aims to provide a storage unit resolving the aforementioned problems, incorporating multiple features, combining in particular compactness and ease of access for maintenance.

Thus, the subject of the invention is a unit for storing one or more fluids, comprising a device for storing the fluid or fluids, equipment for preparing, and / or transferring to an external container, the fluid or fluids, and a frame supporting directly or indirectly said equipment, said unit having an overall shape comprising at least two first faces.

The storage device comprises at least three storage means, at least one of which does not communicate structurally with the others, and the storage means storage are distributed over at least two first faces, so that said storage means constitute at least a part of the frame.

According to some embodiments, the storage unit further comprises one or more of the following features, taken in isolation or in any technically possible combination:

the at least three storage means form three substantially vertical pillars;

the unit has an overall shape comprising at least two other faces, these two other faces and the first two faces forming at least three angles, and the three storage means being disposed respectively at these three angles;

at least two of the storage means each have two ends and are connected to one another and / or the other of their respective ends by connections, fluidic or not, constituting a part of the frame;

at least one of the connections is a fluidic connection, preferably a tubular connection;

the fluidic connection ensures the fluidic junction between the two storage means that it connects;

the fluidic connection constitutes a fluid storage means independent of the two storage means that it connects;

the fluidic connection is able to form a means for storing compressed air;

at least one of the storage means is capable of forming an incondensable trap;

at least one of the storage means is capable of forming a trap of the vacuum pump type;

at least two of the storage means are capable of storing the same fluid in a different state of preparation;

at least two storage means are able to store two different fluids;

at least one of the storage means is capable of maintaining a fluid under pressure; at least one of the storage means is doubled in order to add an additional storage and / or mixing functionality.

Thus, the storage unit of the invention makes it possible to combine several functions, such as the storage, the treatment, the mixing, the handling, the transfer, of fluids with the mechanical framework function, the unit containing in particular the equipment required for mixing and storage (valves, pump, etc.). Thus, the storage unit according to the invention makes it possible to multiplex many functionalities, since it is possible to combine or isolate the storage means with respect to one another.

The invention also makes it possible to work with several fluids by isolating storage means.

It also makes it possible to increase the volume capacity of the unit by combining storage means to add the individual capacities. In this case, storage means are connected to ensure fluid communication, for example via a tubular section, the latter serving at the same time frame.

The invention also makes it possible to perform a sequential fluid treatment: a first storage means contains the fluid in the initial state. After passing through a set of equipment, for example filtration, the treated fluid is transferred to a second storage means. He is then in an intermediate state. It can then be transferred to a third storage means with the passage in another set of equipment to undergo another treatment, for example a degassing. It then reaches a final state, ready to be used. The intermediate storage means then act as buffer stocks allowing always to make available a minimum quantity of products for each preparation step.

Geometrically, in a variant, this storage unit is close to a rectangular parallelepiped, integrating the storage means as substantially vertical pillars. This parallelepiped is preferably formed with the storage means, these constituting totally or partially vertical edges of said parallelepiped. This form allows a better integration and a greater modularity if one wishes to juxtapose several storage units as in the use cases described later.

The storage unit becomes a key element when it is implemented in a fluid filling machine.

On car chains, fluids must always be available to fill vehicles that are being assembled on the production line. Nevertheless, many of its fluids require treatments before injection into the vehicle. The circuit to be filled on the vehicle must also be prepared, for example by putting the circuit of the vehicle under vacuum. A unit according to the invention makes it possible to prepare the fluid in parallel with the preparation of the vehicle circuit in order to optimize the production cycle time. The invention also makes it possible to eliminate fluid preparation plants installed on the ground along the automobile production lines, thus freeing up space for the operators and thus increasing their safety.

The storage unit is also a key element when it incorporates additional features to protect the equipment, for example liquid traps or an air reserve to improve the sealing of the storage unit, and its equipment, in case of compressed air supply failure, as we will see later.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example, and not by way of limitation, with reference to the following appended figures:

FIG. 1: schematic representation of a storage unit for brake fluid intended for the braking circuit of a vehicle, and associated functionalities,

FIG. 2: schematic representation of a storage unit for conditioned air fluid intended for the air conditioning circuit of a vehicle, and associated functionalities,

FIG. 3: schematic representation of a storage unit for fluid intended for the engine cooling circuit of a vehicle, and associated functionalities,

- Figure 4: schematic representation of a large volume fluid storage unit.

The examples of implementations of the invention given in the present description relate to the automotive sector but are in no way limitative since such an invention may be applicable to all sectors requiring fluid storage and preparation means in order to their transfer, especially in the energy sector for filling heat pumps, or electric radiators fluid.

According to the invention, the geometry of the units dedicated to the filling of brake fluid, air conditioning fluid or cooling fluid are very close, as can be seen respectively in FIGS. 1 to 3. This geometry allows an integration and an advantageous modularity of the storage units next to each other on the automobile production lines.

However, each fluid has its peculiarities and requires a clean process, in particular in terms of fluid circulation between the different storage means and through the different equipment. This therefore imposes fluidic connections, preferably tubular, between certain storage means. This also imposes taps at defined heights to ensure the fluid inlets and outlets on said storage means.

In addition, additional taps make it possible to equip these storage means with equipment such as sensors, for example measuring level, flow, or fluid quality, as well as actuators, such as valves or pumps. .

According to an exemplary implementation of the invention, not limiting, Figure 1 shows a unit 1 for storing and preparing a fluid 10 for automobile brake fluid.

For the sake of clarity of the graphical representation of the invention, the equipment of the unit 1 for preparing, treating, measuring, transferring or injecting the fluid 10 into the unit 1 is shown schematically by a single element 2 in Figures 1 to 3. Advantageously, these equipment 2 are placed inside the framework delimited by storage means 3, 4 and 5 and connections 9.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the fluid 10 arrives via an inlet 11 coming from the distribution network of the plant or storage barrels. The inlet 11 is positioned on a tubular connection 9a connecting the storage means 4 and 5 at the top. This connection 9a provides a fluid connection to the storage unit 5 but not to the storage unit 4. Thus, the fluid 10 flows from the inlet 1 1 to the storage unit 5.

The quality of this fluid 10 is uncertain and it must be treated. In this storage means 5. The fluid 10 is stored under vacuum (pressure of a few absolute millibars) and without circulation. The vacuum makes it possible to remove a portion of the air contained in the fluid 10, improving its quality for the first time.

Once this first rough treatment has been carried out, a controlled quantity of fluid

10 is transferred from the storage means 5 to the storage means 3 and 4 by one of the equipment 2. The fluid 10 leaves the storage means 5 by a stitching 18 in the lower part towards the inlet 19 located on the fluidic connection 9c connecting storage units 3 and 4.

The storage means 3 and 4 are connected together, in the lower part, by a fluidic tubular connection 9b and a connection 9c, which can be fluidic, in the upper part. These two connections 9b, 9c constitute a part of the frame 8 and allow the storage means to be at the same level of fluid.

In FIG. 1, the connection 9c at the top of the storage means 3 and 4 serves as a support for an inlet 19 making it possible to return the fluid 10 coming from the outlet 18 to the said storage means 3 and 4. The means for storage 3 and 4 communicate and form the same space to increase the exchange surface between the fluid 10 and the vacuum, and a larger storage volume. The stored amount of fluid 10 in 3 and 4 must be limited for additional dynamic degassing treatment to remove the maximum amount of air from the fluid 10. The fluid stored in 3 and 4 is sucked at a stitching 20 by a equipment 2 and circulates in a treatment loop before being rejected again in 3 and 4 by the input 19.

As a reminder, in the case of a brake fluid, the less air in the brake fluid, the higher its boiling point, so the more braking is ensured, even over a long period of braking (such as down mountain pass) or in extreme conditions (emergency braking with or without ABS). If the liquid starts to boil, there is a loss of efficiency and therefore a risk in terms of safety.

Once these treatments have been carried out, a device 2 can pump fluid into 3 and 4 at the outlet 20 and inject it into the braking circuit of the vehicle (not shown) which has also been previously prepared. Once the filling of the vehicle circuit is done, fluid 10 from the tank 5 goes to the tanks 3 and 4 to find the initial fluid level. Then, fluid 10 arrives in the tank 5 to compensate for the amount transferred and thus ensure availability of the treated product.

As previously announced, it is necessary to prepare the circuit of the vehicle by drawing to vacuum. This is usually done through a vacuum pump vane part of the equipment 2. These pumps are made to extract gas and therefore must be protected from any traces of liquids present in the vehicle circuits. For this, a reservoir 13 is integrated in the filling unit. It is isolated from other storage means. The reservoir 13 is a dynamic trap preventing a rise of liquid to the vacuum pump. This reservoir 13 is the fourth pillar of the filling unit. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, it is geometrically smaller than the other pillars to free space for equipment 2, including the vacuum pump.

In a particular embodiment, in order to protect the equipment 2, the storage unit integrates a connection 15 independent of the previous ones. It allows to contain a reserve of compressed air. This makes it possible to keep the valves in their normal state and to improve in particular the overall tightness of the machine. The use of compressed air to seal the valves (forcing in the closed position) is well known to those skilled in the art. This reserve 15 makes it possible to compensate for a possible cutoff of supply of compressed air from an external source.

To facilitate the integration of this storage unit 1 into its work area, assembly systems 16 on a chassis are positioned on top of each storage means 3, 4 and 5 and on the tank 13. Without limitation, storage unit 1 can be advantageously suspended or posed. Similarly, a retention tank can be placed below the unit.

Without such a storage unit 1, the same functionalities would require at least five storage means as well as a frame and a frame to link all the elements to the frame.

FIG. 2 represents another example of non-limiting implementation of the invention, dedicated to the preparation and filling of fluids for conditioned air.

This storage unit also incorporates various storage means 3, 4 and 5, a vacuum pump trap 13, a supply of compressed air and equipment 2 which can be a filtration, a vacuum pump or any other equipment.

The fluid 10 arrives at the top of the storage means 3 via an inlet 11. It is recovered by a pumping equipment 2 via an outlet 18 located, for example, at the bottom of the storage means 3 or at the connection 9b at the bottom of the storage means 3 and 4. It is then stored under pressure in a means Regulated pressure storage.

It is possible to use the storage means 4, for example by isolating it from the storage means 5, as a pressure accumulator. This requires the integration of a pressurizing system in this storage means 4. A rubber membrane compatible with the refrigerant is a solution known to those skilled in the art.

The inlet 19 and the outlet 20 allow the loading and unloading of the tank 4. The storage means 3 at the inlet makes it possible to trap the incondensables. In fact, refrigerant fluids are more effective than they are pure in an air conditioning circuit.

The presence of incondensables (such as water) can also be detrimental to the longevity of air conditioning system components. It is therefore important to filter them. A large exchange surface and an all-height shape, improves the performance of incondensable traps.

Similarly to the braking circuit, the air conditioning circuit of a car needs to be prepared by a drawdown in particular. The preparation of the fluid 10 is made in parallel with the preparation of the vehicle, in masked time, in order to always have a sufficient quantity of fluid prepared in the storage unit.

However, the air conditioning circuit has a specific component, the compressor, which requires a specific oil 10b which must be injected into the air conditioning circuit before the injection of the refrigerant which then sweeps the circuit and thus allows to distribute homogeneously the oil 10b, previously injected into this circuit. The storage means 5 makes it possible to store this liquid 10b before injection in the air conditioning circuit (injection of the specific oil 10b prior to, and separately from, the injection of the refrigerant).

The tanks 4 and 5 are connected together by non-fluidic connections 9, at the bottom and at the top, constituting part of the framework. The storage means 5 is filled with fluid 10b through the inlet 21 and empties through the outlet 22.

As mentioned before, you have to prepare the circuit by a drawdown. This is usually done by a vane pump. For this, the tank 13 is integrated in the unit, isolated from other storage means. The operation is similar to that described for Figure 1.

In addition, the unit 1 also incorporates a reserve of compressed air 15 independent of the other storage means of the unit. This is necessary because refrigerant fluids are generally fluorinated fluids subject to regulation. It is therefore essential to control the fluids and limit the leaks as much as possible. In particular, the air reserve makes it possible to reinforce the closing force of certain key valves of the unit 1 and must therefore be dimensioned accordingly in order to guarantee the tightness of the unit.

FIG. 3 is a representation of another nonlimiting exemplary embodiment of the invention, dedicated to the filling of fluid requiring mixtures, such as, for example, the engine coolant which is generally a mixture of glycol and water.

The example shown in Figure 3 shows the storage means 3, 4 and 5 to have a large amount of fluid available. The fluid 10 enters the inlet 1 1 on the storage means 3 and leaves the outlet 18, for example positioned on the connection 9e in the lower part of the storage means 3, for a first fluid mixing step 10.

Indeed, unlike the case of an air conditioning circuit described above with reference to Figure 2, the fluid mixture for cooling an engine, such as water and glycol, must be obtained before injection. Otherwise, the homogeneity of the mixture is insufficient and this can have serious consequences, especially in case of freezing of the circuit.

Once mixed, the fluid 10 is introduced at the inlet 20 on the connection 9c at the top of the storage means 3 and 4. The connection 9C is fluid to the storage means 4 but not to the storage means 3 .

A large storage space is formed by the storage means 4 and 5 completed by the fluidic connections 9a, 9c and 9d.

For this application, the diameters of the connections 9a, 9c and 9d can be increased to enlarge their fluid storage volume 10. The fluid 10 comes out, by for example, in the lower part of the storage means 5 through the outlet 20 to fill the cooling system of the vehicle.

However, it is quite possible to isolate the storage means 3, 4 and 5 to use, for example, the storage means 3 as a mixing plant by adding the necessary equipment to make a mixture and its homogenization. This mixture is then transferred to the storage means 4 and 5. Other combinations are possible.

Nevertheless, it must be taken into account that mixing and homogenization take up cycle time which is done in masked time during the preparation of the vehicle circuit as for the previous circuits.

Another solution consists in doubling the storage means 3 and / or 4 and / or 5. FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration with additional storage means 31 and 41 which complete the structure by providing new elements in the framework. These additional storage means 31 and 41 make it possible to increase the storage capacities and / or to integrate mixing functions.

In this example, two storage means are dedicated to the mixture and the other three are devoted to the storage of the homogeneous mixture. Inputs and outputs are positioned according to the needs on the storage means.

As before, it is necessary to prepare the circuit by a draw with vacuum. This is usually done by a vane pump. For this, a reservoir 13 is integrated in the unit 1, isolated from the storage means. The operation is similar to that described for the examples of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

The reservoir can incorporate a reserve of compressed air 15 independent of the storage means of the unit.

In addition to these descriptions, it should be noted that the frame must be sized according to the equipment 2 that is to be integrated in the storage unit 1. This serves as a support structure for itself and for the equipment 2 that it integrates. Some reinforcements 17 visible in the four figures can be removed depending on the case. The person skilled in the art knows, for example, the mass of a paddle vacuum pump and he will immediately deduce the need or not to position certain reinforcements such as the reinforcements 17 in the framework of the unit 1.

It is recalled that the present description is given by way of non-limiting example of the invention. Thus, the invention is not limited to a unit with application to the automotive sector. The unit according to the invention is also applicable to all sectors requiring fluid storage and preparation means for transferring them, especially in the energy sector for filling heat pumps, or electric radiators fluid.

Claims

1. - Unit (1) for storing one or more fluids (10), comprising a storage device (3, 4, 5) for the fluid or fluids (10), equipment (2) for preparing, and / or transferring to an outer container, fluid or fluids (10), and a framework supporting directly or indirectly said equipment (2), said unit (1) having an overall shape having at least two first faces (6, 7), characterized in that the storage device (3, 4, 5) comprises at least three storage means (3, 4, 5), at least one of which does not communicate structurally with the others, and in that said storage means ( 3, 4, 5) are distributed over the at least two first faces (6, 7), so that said storage means (3, 4, 5) constitute at least a part of the framework.

2. - Unit (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least three storage means (3, 4, 5) form three pillars (3, 4, 5) substantially vertical.

3. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it has an overall shape comprising at least two other faces, in that the other two faces and the first two faces ( 6, 7) form at least three angles, and in that the three storage means (3, 4, 5) are respectively arranged at these three angles.

4. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least two storage means (3, 4, 5) each have two ends and are connected one to the other at one and / or the other of their respective ends by connections (9) constituting part of the framework, said connections (9) being fluidic or not when they connect two storage means (3, 4 5) which communicate structurally with each other or non-fluidics when they connect two storage means (3, 4, 5), one of which does not structurally communicate with the other storage means (3, 4, 5).

5. - Unit (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that at least one of the connections (9) is a fluid connection, preferably tubular.

6.- Unit (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the fluidic connection (9) ensures the fluidic junction between the two storage means (3, 4, 5) it connects.

7.- Unit (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the connection (9) fluidic fluid storage means (10) independent of the two storage means (3, 4, 5) it connects.

8. - Unit (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the connection (9) fluidic is able to form a compressed air storage means.

9. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one of the storage means (3, 4, 5) is capable of forming an incondensable trap.

10. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least one of the storage means (3, 4, 5) is adapted to form a trap type vacuum pump.

1 1 .- Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that at least two storage means (3, 4, 5) are able to store the same fluid (10) in a different state of preparation.

12. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1, characterized in that at least two storage means (3, 4, 5) are able to store two fluids

(10) different.

13. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that at least one of the storage means (3, 4, 5) is adapted to maintain pressure a fluid (10).

14. - Unit (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that at least one of the storage means (3, 4, 5) is doubled to add additional storage functionality and / or mixing.