WO2020148541A1

WO2020148541A1 - Flow monitoring device for liquefied gas tank

Info

Publication number: WO2020148541A1
Application number: PCT/GB2020/050088
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francisco Sebastian RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ
Original assignee: Kopa Tech Limited
Priority date: 2019-01-16
Filing date: 2020-01-16
Publication date: 2020-07-23
Also published as: JP3235642U; BR112021013984A2; ZA202105230B; BR112021013984B1

Abstract

The present invention discloses a flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank, comprising a pressure valve, a pulse valve, a flow meter, a delivery outlet, a knob rod, a switch handle, a switch shaft, a gas inlet device, a supporting member, and a clamping member. When the monitoring device of the above structure is used, a knob is turned, the knob rod is linked with the switch handle to rotate the switch shaft, and a push rod of the gas inlet device is pushed out by the switch shaft, thereby triggering a gas outlet device of a gas cylinder. When the knob is in an OFF state, the knob is pressed, the linked knob rod and switch handle squeeze a switch spring in the switch handle, the switch handle drives a clamping column on the clamping member to push a clamping ring away, and the canned gas cylinder is disengaged from a gas cylinder ring groove of the gas inlet device; when the knob is in an ON state, the clamping ring cannot be pushed away, and the canned gas cylinder cannot be disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove, thereby preventing energy waste and safety problem caused by gas leakage.

Description

FLOW MONITORING DEVICE FOR LIQUEFIED GAS TANK

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of flow meters, and in particular to a flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank.

Background of the Invention

Infrastructures for transporting natural gas through supply pipelines are not popular in some places, so it is necessary to purchase canned liquefied gas. However, manual valves disposed at the gas outlets of the existing liquefied gas tanks need to be closed manually after use, which often causes the leakage of natural gas. In most of the existing gas pressure valves, a switch hook is used to hook a gas outlet end of a gas cylinder, while a valve needle is moved down to trigger a gas outlet device of the gas cylinder, thereby introducing gas into a valve body, which may cause gas leakage during operation. If the liquefied gas cylinder is disengaged from the pressure valve during use, more gas will leak, resulting in greater harm.

Summary of the Invention

An embodiment of the present invention provides a flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank to solve the problem of gas leakage caused by disengagement of a liquefied gas cylinder from a pressure valve during use. In order to have a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a brief summary is given below. This summary is neither a general review, nor is intended to determine key/important constituent elements or to describe the scope of protection of these embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in simple forms as a prelude to the more detailed description below.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank is provided, including a housing, and a pressure valve, a switch handle, a switch shaft and a gas inlet device disposed in the housing, wherein the gas inlet device is disposed at the bottom of the pressure valve, a gas outlet end of the pressure valve is connected to a gas inlet end of a pulse valve, a gas outlet end of the pulse valve is connected to a delivery outlet through a flow meter, a knob rod vertically penetrates a side wall of the housing, a knob is disposed at an exposed end of the knob rod, the end of the knob rod in the housing is fixedly connected to a socket rod of the switch handle through a screw, a gas inlet nozzle is disposed in the gas inlet device, a push rod and a push rod spring are disposed in the gas inlet nozzle, the push rod spring is sleeved outside the push rod, an end of the push rod away from the push rod spring penetrates vertically into a gas cavity of the pressure valve, the push rod is in contact with a side of a first boss of the switch shaft, the switch shaft is rotatably disposed in the gas cavity of the valve body, a first stop block and a second stop block are disposed on an outer wall of the switch shaft, a second boss is provided at an end of the switch shaft close to the switch handle, a third stop block is disposed at the top of the second boss and in a switch hole of the switch handle, a switch pin is vertically disposed on a wall of the switch hole, the second boss abuts against one end of a switch spring, the other end of the switch spring abuts against the bottom of the switch hole, and a gas cylinder ring groove and a fourth stop block are disposed at the bottom of the gas inlet device close to the housing.

A supporting member and a clamping member are disposed in the housing, and the supporting member is fixedly connected to the bottom of the housing; a first supporting bar, a second supporting bar, a first clamping column, and a first step are disposed at the top of the supporting member; the switch handle is provided with a first ring groove, the clamping member is provided with a clamping ring and a second clamping column, the second clamping column driven by the clamping ring and the first ring groove pushes the clamping ring away from the gas inlet nozzle, an moving direction of the clamping ring is perpendicular to an axis of the gas inlet nozzle, a clamping slot is provided at the bottom of the clamping member, a side of the second boss is in contact with a top column of the clamping member, and the fourth stop block is clamped at the top of the first step and the clamping ring.

A second groove is provided on a side of the third stop block away from the switch spring, and the switch pin stretches into the second groove.

A first ring groove is provided on the outer wall of the switch shaft, and an O-ring is disposed between the first ring groove and the gas cavity wall of the pressure valve.

The switch shaft, the switch spring, the switch handle, and the knob rod are coaxial. The switch handle and the socket rod are integrally formed; the switch shaft, the first boss, and the third stop block are integrally formed; the gas cylinder ring groove, the fourth stop block, and the gas inlet nozzle are integrally formed; the first supporting bar, the second supporting bar, the first clamping column, and the first step are integrally formed; and the clamping ring, the clamping slot, the second clamping column, and the top column are integrally formed.

In an example arrangement, a flow monitoring device for mounting on a gas cylinder is provided. The flow monitoring device comprises a housing, and a pressure valve, a switch handle, a switch shaft, a gas inlet device and a clamping member disposed in the housing, wherein the gas inlet device is disposed at the bottom of the pressure valve, a knob rod extends through a side wall of the housing, a knob is disposed at an exposed end of the knob rod, the end of the knob rod in the housing is coupled to the switch handle for rotating the switch shaft when the knob is moved between a first state and a second state (for example, between an ON’ state and an OFF’ state), a gas cylinder ring groove, for engaging with (or coupling to) the gas cylinder, is disposed at the bottom of the gas inlet device, the clamping member is provided with a clamping ring for clamping the gas cylinder within the gas cylinder ring groove (for example, during use of the flow monitoring device with a gas cylinder, the clamping ring of the clamping member clamps the gas cylinder within the gas cylinder ring groove) and a top column linked to the clamping ring, wherein when the knob is in the first state (for example, the ON’ state), the top column of the clamping member is caught between the switch shaft and the switch handle such that the clamping ring is prevented from being (or cannot be) moved away from the gas cylinder ring groove.

The flow monitoring device may further comprise a push rod disposed in the gas inlet device and being in contact with the switch shaft, with an end of the push rod extending into a gas cavity of the pressure valve. In an example arrangement, when the knob is turned to the first state (for example, the ON’ state), the switch shaft is configured to push the push rod out from the gas cavity of the pressure valve for triggering a gas outlet device of the gas cylinder.

In an example arrangement, when the knob is in the second state (for example, the OFF’ state) and the knob is pressed, the switch handle is configured to drive the clamping member to push the clamping ring away from the gas cylinder ring groove in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the gas inlet device.

The switch shaft may be configured such that when the knob is in the first state (e.g. ON’ state), the switch shaft is in a first rotated position in which the clamping member is caught between the switch shaft and the switch handle and when the knob is in the second state (e.g. OFF’ state), the switch shaft is in a second rotated position, which is different to the first rotated position, in which the clamping member is not caught between the switch shaft and the switch handle. For example, the flow monitoring device may include a first stop block disposed on an outer wall of the switch shaft. In this example arrangement, the first stop block is disposed on the outer wall of the switch shaft such that when the knob is in the first state (e.g. ON’ state) and the switch shaft is in the first rotated position, clamping member is caught between the first stop block disposed on an outer wall of the switch shaft and the switch handle and when the knob is in the second state (e.g. OFF’ state) and the switch shaft is in the second different rotated position, the clamping member is not caught between the first stop block and the switch handle.

The knob may be rotated between the first state and the second state.

The switch shaft may be rotatably disposed in a gas cavity of the pressure valve. A gas outlet end of the pressure valve may be coupled to a delivery outlet. The gas outlet end of the pressure valve may be coupled to a delivery outlet through a flow meter.

In an example arrangement when the flow monitoring device is mounted on the gas cylinder and the gas cylinder is clamped by the clamping member within the gas cylinder ring groove, when the knob is in the first state (for example, the ON’ state), and the top column of the clamping member is caught between the switch shaft and the switch handle such that the clamping ring is prevented from being pushed away from the gas cylinder ring groove, the gas cylinder cannot be disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove.

In an example arrangement when the flow monitoring device is mounted on a gas cylinder and the gas cylinder is clamped by the clamping member within the gas cylinder ring groove, when the knob is in the second state (for example, the OFF’ state) and the knob is pressed, the switch handle is configured to drive the clamping member to push the clamping ring away from the gas cylinder ring groove in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the gas inlet device such that the gas cylinder can be disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove.

The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present invention may include the following beneficial effects: the anti-disassembly pressure valve with the above structure is used to access gas, the knob is turned, the knob rod is linked with the switch handle to rotate the switch shaft, and the push rod of the gas inlet device is pushed out by the switch shaft, thereby triggering a gas outlet device of a gas cylinder. When the knob is in an OFF state, the knob is pressed, the linked knob rod and switch handle squeeze the switch spring in the switch handle, the switch handle drives the clamping column on the clamping member to push the clamping ring away, and the canned gas cylinder is disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove of the gas inlet device; when the knob is in an ON state, even if the knob is pressed, the top column on the clamping member is caught between the switch shaft and the switch handle, and the clamping ring cannot be pushed away, thereby preventing the gas cylinder from being disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove during use, and effectively preventing energy waste and safety problems caused by gas leakage.

It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and illustrative, and should not limit the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic external view of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-section view of a partial structure taken along line A-A in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of a switch handle, a switch shaft, and a gas inlet device; Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a supporting member and a clamping member.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the description of the following embodiments is schematic and does not constitute specific limitation to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig. 5, a flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank is provided, including a housing 1, and a pressure valve 2, a switch handle 6, a switch shaft 7 and a gas inlet device 8 disposed in the housing 1, wherein the gas inlet device 8 is disposed at the bottom of the pressure valve 2, a gas outlet end of the pressure valve 2 is connected to a gas inlet end of a pulse valve 3, a gas outlet end of the pulse valve 3 is connected to a delivery outlet 11 through a flow meter 4, a knob rod 5 vertically penetrates a side wall of the housing 1, a knob 5a is disposed at the exposed end of the knob rod 5, the end of the knob rod 5 in the housing 1 is fixedly connected to a socket rod 6d of the switch handle 6 through a screw 11, a gas inlet nozzle 8c is disposed in the gas inlet device 8, a push rod 13 and a push rod spring 13a are disposed in the gas inlet nozzle 8c, the push rod spring 13a is sleeved outside the push rod 13, the end of the push rod 13 away from the push rod spring 13a penetrates vertically into a gas cavity of the pressure valve 2, the push rod 13 is in contact with a side of a first boss 7a of the switch shaft 7, the switch shaft 7 is rotatably disposed in the gas cavity of the valve body 2, a first stop block 7c and a second stop block 7d are disposed on the outer wall of the switch shaft 7, a second boss 7e is provided at the end of the switch shaft 7 close to the switch handle 6, a third stop block 7f is disposed at the top of the second boss 7e and in a switch hole 6b of the switch handle 6, a switch pin 6c is vertically disposed on a wall of the switch hole 6b, the second boss 7e abuts against one end of a switch spring 12, the other end of the switch spring 12 abuts against the bottom of the switch hole 6b, and a gas cylinder ring groove 8a and a fourth stop block 8b are disposed at the bottom of the gas inlet device 8 close to the housing 1.

The flow meter may also be referred to as a measuring sensor and may include any suitable type of flow meter or measuring sensor such as a mechanical meter, an ultrasonic sensor, a piezo-electric sensor, a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensor. The MEMS sensor may include or use a thermopile or thermistor.

A supporting member 9 and a clamping member 10 are disposed in the housing 1, and the supporting member 9 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the housing 1. A first supporting bar 9a, a second supporting bar 9b, a first clamping column 9c, and a first step 9d are disposed at the top of the supporting member 9. The switch handle 6 is provided with a first ring groove 6a, the clamping member 10 is provided with a clamping ring 10a and a second clamping column 10c, the second clamping column 10c driven by the clamping ring 10a and the first ring groove 6a pushes the clamping ring 10a away from the gas inlet nozzle 8c, the moving direction of the clamping ring 10a is perpendicular to the axis of the gas inlet nozzle 8c. A clamping slot 10b is provided at the bottom of the clamping member 10, a side of the second boss 7e is in contact with a top column lOd of the clamping member 10, and the fourth stop block 8b is clamped at the top of the first step 9d and the clamping ring 10a.

A second groove 7fl is provided on a side of the third stop block 7f away from the switch spring 12, and the switch pin 6c stretches into the second groove 7fl.

A first ring groove 7b is provided on the outer wall of the switch shaft 7, and an O-ring 14 is disposed between the first ring groove 7b and the gas cavity wall of the pressure valve 2.

The switch shaft 7, the switch spring 12, the switch handle 6, and the knob rod 5 are coaxial.

The switch handle 6 and the socket rod 6d are integrally formed; the switch shaft 7, the first boss 7a, and the third stop block 7f are integrally formed; the gas cylinder ring groove 8a, the fourth stop block 8b, and the gas inlet nozzle 8c are integrally formed; the first supporting bar 9a, the second supporting bar 9b, the first clamping column 9c, and the first step 9d are integrally formed; and the clamping ring 10a, the clamping slot 10b, the second clamping column 10c, and the top column lOd are integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the flow meter 4 is a sonic flow meter, the knob 5 a downward is in an OFF state, and the knob 5a upward is in an ON state. The flow meter may also be referred to as a measuring sensor and may include any suitable type of flow meter or measuring sensor such as a mechanical meter, an ultrasonic sensor, a piezo-electric sensor, a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensor. The MEMS sensor may include or use a thermopile or thermistor. The bottom of the clamping ring 10a is an inclined surface. When a gas inlet of the supporting member 9 is mounted into a gas cylinder, the gas cylinder pushes the clamping ring 10a away from the gas inlet nozzle 8c, the clamping ring 10a is linked with the top column lOd to stop at the second stop block 7d, at the same time, the second clamping column 10c drives the switch handle 6 to squeeze the switch spring 12, and the gas cylinder slips into the gas cylinder ring groove 8a. After the gas cylinder slips into the gas cylinder ring groove 8 a, the switch spring 12 is reset to restore the switch handle 6 and the clamping member 10 to original positions (as shown in Fig. 3), and the clamping ring 10a clamps the gas cylinder within the gas cylinder ring groove 8a. During the process of mounting the gas cylinder, the first clamping column 9c moves back and forth within the clamping slot 10b with the expansion and contraction of the switch spring 12, which can limit the expansion and contraction range of the switch spring 12 to protect the switch spring 12 most likely to deform. When the knob 5a is in the OFF state, an A side of the first stop block 7c is in contact with the step of the pressure valve 2, and the first boss 7a is in contact with the push rod 13. During use, the knob 5a is turned from OFF to ON, the knob rod 5 is linked with the switch handle 6, the switch shaft 7 is rotated, an A side of the second stop block 7d is in contact with the step of the pressure valve 2, and as the switch shaft 7 rotates, the first boss 7a pushes the push rod 13 out from the gas cavity of the pressure valve 2, thereby triggering a gas outlet device of the gas cylinder. When the knob 5a is in the OFF state, the knob 5a is pressed, the linked knob rod and switch handle 6 squeeze the switch spring 12, the first ring groove 6a drives the second clamping column 10c leftward to push the clamping ring 10a away from the gas inlet nozzle 8c, and the canned gas cylinder is disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove 8a. When the knob 5a is in the ON state, even if the knob 5a is pressed, the top column lOd is caught between a B side of the first stop block 7c and the switch handle 6, the clamping ring 10a cannot be pushed away from the gas inlet nozzle 8c, and the canned gas cylinder cannot be disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove 8a. The gas cylinder is prevented from being disengaged from the gas cylinder ring groove during use, and energy waste and safety problems caused by gas leakage are effectively prevented.

The present invention can also cooperate with a GPRS or an SMS to communicate with a server, and the opening and closing of the valve of the present invention are controlled by a mobile phone (GPRS/ SMS/ Bluetooth, etc.) or swiping cards (RFID) to realize the functions of real-time billing and deduction, intelligent data transmission, alarm, unlocking prevention, and the like. The opening and closing of the valve of the present invention may be controlled by other wireless technologies, such as Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IOT), Bluetooth, GSM, WiFi, cellular technologies such as fifth generation (5G) technology. In the regions without the natural gas pipeline network, people are relatively poor and cannot afford the purchase cost of a full tank of liquefied gas, so most of them use charcoal and wood as fuels for heating and cooking. By using the Internet of Things technology and the unique mechanical design as described above, liquefied gas can be used in the poor regions every day with little money. After the expense for recharge is used up, the equipment automatically closes the valve till next recharge, and the valve can be reopened for use, so that everyone can use liquefied gas.

The flow monitoring device may further include an actuator. The actuator may be configured to control the opening and closing of the pressure valve to release or prevent flow of gas from the gas cylinder in response to commands received wirelessly.

It will be clear from the above that the terms gas tank and gas cylinder are used interchangeably in the above description.

The above description is merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments. All technical solutions for achieving the object of the present invention by means of basically the same means fall into the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flow monitoring device for a liquefied gas tank, comprising a housing (1), and a pressure valve (2), a switch handle (6), a switch shaft (7) and a gas inlet device (8) disposed in the housing (1), wherein the gas inlet device (8) is disposed at the bottom of the pressure valve (2), a gas outlet end of the pressure valve (2) is connected to a gas inlet end of a pulse valve (3), a gas outlet end of the pulse valve (3) is connected to a delivery outlet (11) through a flow meter (4), a knob rod (5) vertically penetrates a side wall of the housing (1), a knob (5a) is disposed at an exposed end of the knob rod (5), an end of the knob rod (5) in the housing (1) is fixedly connected to a socket rod (6d) of the switch handle (6) through a screw (11), a gas inlet nozzle (8c) is disposed in the gas inlet device (8), a push rod (13) and a push rod spring (13a) are disposed in the gas inlet nozzle (8c), the push rod spring (13a) is sleeved outside the push rod (13), an end of the push rod (13) away from the push rod spring (13a) penetrates vertically into a gas cavity of the pressure valve (2), the push rod (13) is in contact with a side of a first boss (7a) of the switch shaft (7), the switch shaft (7) is rotatably disposed in the gas cavity of the valve body (2), a first stop block (7c) and a second stop block (7d) are disposed on an outer wall of the switch shaft (7), a second boss (7e) is provided at an end of the switch shaft (7) close to the switch handle (6), a third stop block (7f) is disposed at the top of the second boss (7e) and in a switch hole (6b) of the switch handle (6), a switch pin (6c) is vertically disposed on a wall of the switch hole (6b), the second boss (7e) abuts against one end of a switch spring (12), the other end of the switch spring (12) abuts against the bottom of the switch hole (6b), and a gas cylinder ring groove (8a) and a fourth stop block (8b) are disposed at the bottom of the gas inlet device (8) close to the housing (1).

2. The flow monitoring device for the liquefied gas tank according to claim 1, wherein a supporting member (9) and a clamping member (10) are disposed in the housing (1), and the supporting member (9) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the housing (1); a first supporting bar (9a), a second supporting bar (9b), a first clamping column (9c), and a first step (9d) are disposed at the top of the supporting member (9); the switch handle (6) is provided with a first ring groove (6a), the clamping member (10) is provided with a clamping ring (10a) and a second clamping column (10c), the second clamping column (10c) driven by the clamping ring (10a) and the first ring groove (6a) pushes the clamping ring (10a) away from the gas inlet nozzle (8c), a moving direction of the clamping ring (10a) is perpendicular to an axis of the gas inlet nozzle (8c), a clamping slot (10b) is provided at the bottom of the clamping member (10), a side of the second boss (7e) is in contact with a top column (lOd) of the clamping member (10), and the fourth stop block (8b) is clamped at the top of the first step (9d) and the clamping ring (10a).

3. The flow monitoring device for the liquefied gas tank according to claim 1, wherein a second groove (7fl) is provided on a side of the third stop block (7f) away from the switch spring (12), and the switch pin (6c) stretches into the second groove (7fl).

4. The flow monitoring device for the liquefied gas tank according to claim 1, wherein a first ring groove (7b) is provided on the outer wall of the switch shaft (7), and an O-ring (14) is disposed between the first ring groove (7b) and the gas cavity wall of the pressure valve (2).

5. The flow monitoring device for the liquefied gas tank according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the switch shaft (7), the switch spring (12), the switch handle (6), and the knob rod (5) are coaxial.

6. The flow monitoring device for the liquefied gas tank according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the switch handle (6) and the socket rod (6d) are integrally formed; the switch shaft (7), the first boss (7a), and the third stop block (7f) are integrally formed; the gas cylinder ring groove (8a), the fourth stop block (8b), and the gas inlet nozzle (8c) are integrally formed; the first supporting bar (9a), the second supporting bar (9b), the first clamping column (9c), and the first step (9d) are integrally formed; and the clamping ring (10a), the clamping slot (10b), the second clamping column (10c), and the top column (lOd) are integrally formed.