JP2000291894A - Bulk supply equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a parts installation space and lower a cost by installing a valve unit on the upper face of a bulk storage tank and connecting a pressure regulator via a joint. SOLUTION: In the upper part of a bulk storage tank 1, a valve unit 6 is arranged in the center, while a gas take-out valve 4 and a liquid intake valve 5 are arranged in the left and right sides of the valve unit 6 individually. An apparatus necessary for gas supply is connected to the valve unit 6, while a pressure regulator 13 is installed via a joint 8 arranged above the valve unit 6 so as to reduce a pressure of high pressure gas taken out from the bulk storage tank 1 via a ball valve 10 in the valve unit 6 to a combustible pressure. In this way, the valve unit 6 is connected to the upper part of the bulk storage tank 1 while the pressure regulator 13 is connected via the joint 8, so that the valve unit 6 and the pressure regulator 13 are compactly gathered in the lamination structure on the bulk storage tank 1. Consequently, a size of a bulk feeder is reduced as a whole, and the space-saving low-cost bulk feeder can be constructed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a bulk supply device, and more particularly to a bulk supply device capable of supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas) with a compact facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general household LP gas is a cylindrical L gas.
Although a cylinder system in which P gas cylinders are delivered and replaced is generally used, it is preferable to use a bulk supply device in consideration of heavy labor in delivery work, competition with other energy, consideration for consumers, and the like.

[0005] That is, as shown in FIG. 5, equipment 2 is provided on a bulk storage tank 1, and gas is supplied from the equipment 2 to gas equipment in a house through a gas pipe. The bulk storage tank 1 is filled with LP gas from a bulk lorry vehicle via a hose.

The equipment 2 includes a gas take-out valve 4, a liquid take-in valve 5,
Level gauge 11, safety valve 12, pressure regulator 13, equalizing valve 32
Etc., and these are attached to the bulk storage tank 1 as individual products.

[0005]

As described above, a structure in which a single accessory is attached to the bulk storage tank 1 requires a large space for mounting components in the bulk storage tank 1 and
Since a large number of single components are required, there is a problem that component costs and assembly costs are required.

[0006] The present applicant has solved the above problem,
A valve unit including a safety valve and a liquid level gauge is attached to the upper surface of the vertical bulk storage tank, a regulator is attached to the upper part of the valve unit, a gas meter is connected to the side of the regulator, and the gas meter is connected to gas equipment. A new technology for gas piping is proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-24).
No. 2160).

[0007] The present invention is an improvement of the above-mentioned prior application, and in particular, provides a bulk supply apparatus which can reduce the space for installing parts and reduce the cost by using a compact and integrated valve unit. The purpose is to:

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bulk supply apparatus for supplying gas from a bulk storage tank filled with liquefied petroleum gas to gas equipment. A valve unit including a safety valve, a liquid level gauge, a ball valve, and a joint is attached to an upper surface of the storage tank, and a pressure regulator is joined via the joint.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the valve unit and the pressure regulator are mounted on the bulk storage tank via a joint in a laminated structure, the valve unit and the pressure regulator are mounted on the bulk storage tank. , And the overall size is reduced to a space-saving device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the bulk supply device according to the first aspect, wherein the valve unit comprises:
The safety valve, a liquid level gauge, and a ball valve are built in the main body, and an open / close lever of the ball valve, a discharge port of the safety valve, and a display unit of the liquid level gauge are provided outside the main body, A joint made of a union nut is provided at an upper end of the main body, and a screw portion to be screwed into an upper surface of the bulk container is provided at a lower end thereof.

Therefore, in the invention according to the second aspect, the ball valve and its opening / closing lever, the safety valve and its discharge port, the liquid level gauge and its display unit, the union nut, the screw unit and the like are compactly provided in the main body of the valve unit. And can be easily connected to the bulk storage tank and pressure regulator by screw operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the bulk supply device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the liquid level gauge comprises:
It is characterized by comprising a sensor unit for detecting a liquid level, and a processing circuit for processing a detection signal from the sensor unit and displaying on the display unit a liquid level and completion of filling.

For this reason, according to the third aspect of the present invention, based on the signal from the sensor section, it is possible to display the liquid level, the completion of filling, and various other information on the display section of the liquid level gauge.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same members or those having the same functions as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a bulk supply device according to the present invention. The bulk supply device A includes a bulk storage tank 1 and devices 2 disposed on the upper surface of the bulk storage tank 1.
And a protector 3 for covering the devices 2.

The bulk storage tank 1 is installed on a foundation (not shown). Although the illustrated one is of a cylindrical vertical type, it can also be implemented in a horizontal type.

A valve unit 6 is provided at the center of the upper part of the bulk storage tank 1, a gas take-out valve 4 is provided at the left side, and a liquid take-up valve 5 is provided at the right side. The gas extraction valve 4 is for collecting the residual liquid in the bulk storage tank 1, and the liquid intake valve 5
Is for filling LP gas from a bulk lorry vehicle. The liquid intake valve 5 is preferably of an L type so that a hose from a bulk lorry can be easily connected.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, the valve unit 6 couples supply devices required for gas supply (natural vaporization), that is, a ball valve 10, a liquid level gauge 11, and a safety valve 12. In addition, it has a structure in which a joint 8 is provided on the upper part to make a unit. A pressure regulator 13 is attached to the upper part of the valve unit 6 via a joint 8. The pressure regulator 13 reduces the pressure of the high-pressure gas coming out of the bulk storage tank 1 through the ball valve 10 of the valve unit 6 into one or two stages to a combustible pressure.

As shown in FIG. 3, a joint 8 is provided on the upper part of the main body 14 of the valve unit 6, and the pressure regulator 1 is provided.
3 is joined. As the joint 8, a high-pressure union joint or a quick joint using a union nut 15 as shown is used. An O-ring or packing is provided inside the joint 8, and the space between the main body 14 and the pressure regulator 13 is sealed. A tapered screw 16 is provided at the lower end of the main body 14.
The tapered screw 16 is screwed into the female screw portion 17 at the upper end of the bulk storage tank 1 to be joined to the bulk storage tank 1. The O-ring 18 is used for the bulk storage tank 1 and the main body 14.
Sealed by

A liquid level gauge 11 is provided inside the main body 14, and a display section 11 a of the liquid level gauge 11 is displayed on the surface of the main body 14. FIGS. 4A and 4B show two examples of the liquid level gauge 11.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a magnetostrictive or float type liquid level meter, in which the sensor section 20 is connected to the rod 2 together with the liquid level.
Move up and down along 1. A power supply circuit, a position-volume ratio conversion circuit, and an output circuit for transmitting the remaining amount and detecting the position are built in the liquid level gauge case 22, and the liquid level / filling is performed on the display unit 11a according to the detection signal of the sensor unit 20. A display such as completion is displayed.

FIG. 4B shows an example of an ultrasonic type liquid level meter, in which an ultrasonic sensor section 23 is provided at the bottom to detect a reflected wave from the liquid level. A processing circuit including a power supply circuit, a position-to-volume ratio conversion circuit, an output circuit for transmitting the remaining amount and detecting the position, and the like are built in the liquid level gauge case 22, and are displayed according to a detection signal of the sensor unit 23. The display of the liquid level, the completion of filling, and the like are performed on the section 11a. With this processing circuit, in addition to the display of the liquid level and the completion of filling, the remaining amount signal from the sensor unit 20 or 23 is received, the delivery prediction is displayed, and the filling signal from the bulk lorry vehicle is received by receiving the full signal at the time of filling. It is also possible to display a work stop command.

The above-mentioned liquid level gauge case 22 is incorporated in the main body 14, and the display 11a is arranged on the surface of the main body 14. Note that the above liquid level gauge is merely an example, and other well-known ones may be used.

The ball valve 10 includes an open / close lever 10
This is a stop valve that is operated by a to shut off the LP gas, and is provided in a passage in the main body 14. The safety valve 12 is for releasing gas from the discharge port 12a when an abnormal pressure rise occurs in the bulk storage tank 1 to prevent damage to the equipment.

The pressure regulator 13 is provided with a gas meter (not shown). In addition to the function of calculating gas consumption, the gas meter also has functions of detecting abnormal pressure, detecting minute leakage, and shutting off the maximum flow rate.

Further, it is also possible to have a function of a transmission controller for receiving these detection signals via a telephone line and monitoring them at the monitoring center. The gas is piped from the gas meter to gas equipment in the house via a gas pipe.

The protector 3 is detachably mounted on the upper part of the bulk storage tank 1 and has a display 11
It is preferable to use a transparent material or to form a transparent window so that a and the display section of the gas meter can be seen.

As described above, the valve unit 6 including the ball valve 10, the liquid level gauge 11, and the safety valve 12 is joined to the upper part of the bulk storage tank 1, and the pressure regulator 13 is joined to the valve unit 6 via the joint 8. As a result, the valve unit 6 and the pressure regulator 13 are compactly integrated on the bulk storage tank 1 in a laminated structure, so that a bulk-size, space-saving and low-cost bulk supply device can be configured.

[0029]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a safety valve, a liquid level gauge,
Since the valve unit including the ball valve and the fitting was attached and the pressure regulator was joined via the fitting, the valve unit and the pressure regulator were mounted in a stacked structure on top of the bulk storage tank, and the valve unit and the pressure regulator were bulk The components are vertically arranged on the storage tank, and the size is reduced as a whole to save space, and the component cost and the assembly cost can be reduced by consolidating the components.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the safety valve, the liquid level gauge, and the ball valve are built in the main body, and the union joint and the screw are provided on the upper and lower sides of the main body to constitute the valve unit. In addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1, members such as a ball valve and its opening / closing lever, a safety valve and its discharge port, a liquid level gauge and its display unit, a union nut, and a screw unit are compact in the main body of the valve unit. And can be easily connected to the bulk storage tank and pressure regulator by screw operation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the liquid level gauge includes a processing circuit for processing a detection signal from a sensor unit for detecting a liquid level. In addition to the effects described above, in addition to the display of the liquid level and the completion of filling on the display unit of the liquid level gauge, it is also possible to display a delivery prediction and a command to stop the filling operation to the bulk lorry vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a bulk supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a valve unit.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view showing details of a valve unit.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing two examples of a liquid level gauge.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a conventional bulk supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bulk storage tank 6 Valve unit 8 Joint 10 Ball valve 10a Opening / closing lever 11 Level gauge 11a Display part 12 Safety valve 12a Discharge port 13 Pressure regulator 14 Main body part 15 Union nut

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bulk supply device for supplying gas from a bulk storage tank filled with liquefied petroleum gas to gas equipment, wherein a valve including a safety valve, a liquid level gauge, a ball valve, and a joint is provided on an upper surface of the bulk storage tank. A bulk supply device, wherein a unit is mounted and a pressure regulator is joined via the joint. 2. The valve unit according to claim 1, wherein the safety valve, the liquid level gauge, and the ball valve are built in a main body, and an opening / closing lever of the ball valve, a discharge port of the safety valve, and the liquid level are provided outside the main body. And a joint portion formed of a union nut at an upper end of the main body, and a threaded portion screwed into an upper surface of the bulk container at a lower end. The bulk supply device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The liquid level gauge includes a sensor unit for detecting a liquid level, and a processing circuit for processing a detection signal from the sensor unit and displaying a liquid level and a completion of filling on the display unit. 3. The bulk supply device according to claim 1, wherein