JPH0338468Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea]

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic drain discharge device for discharging to the outside the condensate accumulated in an air compressor or air compressor peripheral equipment, and more specifically relates to an automatic drain discharge device for discharging the condensate accumulated in an air compressor or air compressor peripheral equipment. In order to control the discharge valve, timer control by a sequential timer and control by a drain sensor are performed in parallel, and a delay is added to the drain detection signal from the drain sensor by a time constant adding means to discharge the drain. It controls the opening and closing of the valve, and the time constant adding means does not delay the input of the detection signal of the drain detection signal, but adds a delay only when the input of the drain detection signal stops. By doing so, the drain discharge valve is immediately opened when the drain sensor detects the drain, and a delay is added to the stop of the drain detection by the drain sensor, and the drain discharge valve is opened immediately when the drain sensor detects the drain. It is related to an automatic drain discharge device that can better discharge residual drain remaining during detection. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, compressed air is commonly produced by compressing atmospheric air using an air compressor. Therefore, water vapor in the atmosphere changes into water and saturated water vapor depending on the compression ratio. In addition, since compressor cylinder oil, dust, iron rust, etc. are mixed into the compressed air, the discharge side of the air compressor is contaminated with condensate containing water, oil, dust, iron rust, etc. Drain) is generated. This drain accumulates under peripheral equipment such as the air compressor, receiver tank, aftercooler, dehumidifier, and drain separator. Therefore, the air compressor and its peripheral equipment are provided with a drain outlet for discharging the drain, so that the drain can be discharged to the outside. On the other hand, since the air compressor and its peripheral equipment are filled with compressed air, they need to be closed as much as possible to prevent the compressed air from leaking outside. For this purpose, a drain discharge valve made of a solenoid valve is installed at the drain discharge port, and the drain discharge valve is opened for a fixed period of time at a fixed cycle by timer control using a sequential timer to discharge the drain. There is something that makes me The amount of condensate that accumulates in the air compressor and its peripheral equipment varies depending on the output of the air compressor, the temperature and humidity of the surrounding atmosphere, and the like. For this reason, during the closed time between the opening operation of the drain discharge valve, the drain may accumulate so much that it may not be possible to completely discharge it within the time of the opening operation of the drain discharge valve, which is not preferable. Accordingly, the following solution has been developed through research by the present applicant. That is, in addition to the above-mentioned timer control, a drain sensor such as a float switch is provided to detect when drain exceeding a specified value has accumulated in the air compressor and its peripheral equipment, and the drain from the drain sensor is installed. Control based on detection signals is also used. Then, the control by the drain sensor is preferentially interrupted to the timer control, and the cycle of opening operation of the drain discharge valve in the sequential timer is reset by the drain detection signal. be. Furthermore, when discharging the drain, a delay is added to the onset and stop of the drain detection signal, so that the remaining drain that cannot be detected even by the drain sensor is better discharged. A time constant circuit is provided for closing the drain discharge valve after a predetermined time period during which the residual drain can be discharged. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned prior art makes it possible to discharge the condensate according to the amount of condensate generated, and to better discharge the condensate remaining when the condensate is discharged. However, depending on the time constant circuit, a delay is added to the transmission of the drain detection signal from the drain sensor. In other words, even though the drain has accumulated above a specified value, the drain discharge valve is not opened and the drain continues to accumulate, which is very inconvenient. This is shown in the truth table in Table 1 below. It should be noted that since the sequential timer is reset when the drain detection signal is transmitted, the description of the control of opening and closing of the drain discharge valve by the sequential timer is omitted in Table 1.

〔the purpose〕

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic drain discharge device for the above-mentioned air compressor and its peripheral equipment, in which the drain discharge valve is opened and closed at fixed intervals for a fixed period of time by timer control using a sequential timer. In addition, in parallel, the drain sensor detects that the drain has accumulated in excess of a specified value, and opens and closes the drain discharge valve, and further includes time constant adding means for adding a delay to the drain detection signal. and the time constant adding means causes the drain discharge valve to open immediately without adding any delay when the drain detection signal is issued, and without any delay when the drain detection signal stops. In addition, by delaying the closing of the drain discharge valve, when the drain accumulates above a specified value, the drain is immediately discharged, and when the drain detection signal from the drain sensor stops, the drain discharge valve closes. To provide an automatic drain discharge device which can delay and close the drain and better discharge the residual drain. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has the following technical means to solve the above problems. That is, to explain this using the symbols used in the attached drawings corresponding to the embodiments, the air compressor and the air compressor peripheral equipment such as the receiver tank, aftercooler, and dehumidifier connected to the air compressor are shown. a drain discharge valve for discharging drain accumulated inside the frequency divider to the outside; a variable frequency oscillation means for outputting a different frequency signal to the frequency divider according to a frequency switching signal from the frequency divider; Receiving the input of a frequency signal from the frequency oscillation means, controlling and outputting the emission signal according to the time determined by the input frequency and the frequency division value, and transmitting the frequency switching signal to the variable frequency oscillation means. and the frequency divider for resetting the input frequency count according to the reset signal from the time constant means, and the opening and closing of the drain discharge valve is controlled by the start and stop of the discharge signal. In addition, it has a sequential timer for detecting the accumulation of condensate exceeding a specified value in the air compressor or the air compressor peripheral equipment and outputting a condensate detection signal. a drain sensor; adding a delay to the drain detection signal from the drain sensor and outputting it to the frequency divider as the reset signal;
On the other hand, the interrupt signal insertion means includes a time constant adding means for outputting as an interrupt discharge signal, and receives the discharge signal from the frequency divider and the interrupt discharge signal from the time constant adding means and operates the drain discharge valve. In an automatic drain discharge device having interrupt signal insertion means for opening and closing; When the time constant adding means 1 receives the drain detection signal from the drain sensor 2, the time constant adding means 1 performs the above-mentioned operation according to the input of the drain detection signal. Start outputting the reset signal to the frequency divider DIV and the interrupt discharge signal to the interrupt signal insertion means 3, and
The automatic drain is characterized in that a delay is added only when the input of the drain detection signal stops, and the output of the reset signal and the interrupt discharge signal is stopped after a predetermined time from the stop of the input of the drain detection signal. It is a discharge device. Further, the time constant adding means 1 outputs the reset signal and the interrupt discharge signal for a predetermined period of time after the power supply V is connected, in response to the power supply V being connected to the automatic drain discharge device. It is also preferable to provide the automatic drain discharge device as described above. Further, the sequential timer 4 includes two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 that output frequency signals of frequencies f1 and f2 having different high and low frequencies, and frequency signals from the two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 to the frequency divider DIV. Variable frequency oscillation means 5 consisting of a switching contact SW1 for switching
and has a single above-mentioned frequency divider DIV, and above-mentioned frequency divider
In response to the frequency switching signal from DIV, the frequency signal from the frequency oscillator OSC2, which oscillates at a higher frequency at the time of transmitting the discharge signal among the two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2, at the switching control point SW1. output,
On the other hand, it is also desirable that the automatic drain discharge device described above is characterized in that when the discharge signal does not oscillate, the frequency signal from the frequency oscillator OSC1 having a lower oscillation frequency is switched to be output. In addition, the sequential timer 4 includes a single variable frequency oscillator OSC3 that switches frequencies f1 and f2 of the frequency signal to be output in accordance with the frequency switching signal from the frequency divider DIV;
It has a single frequency divider DIV, and the frequencies f1 and f2 of the frequency signal output from the variable frequency oscillator OSC3 are switched by the frequency switching signal from the frequency divider DIV, It can also be the automatic drain discharge device described above. [Function] With the above configuration, first, in the sequential timer 4, the frequency signal from the variable frequency oscillation means 5 is input to the frequency divider DIV, and the input frequencies f1, f2 and the frequency division value N are input. Thus, the discharge signal is outputted to the interrupt signal insertion means 3 for a certain period of time corresponding to the determined times t1 and t2.
On the other hand, when the drain sensor 2 detects drain that is equal to or greater than the specified value H, a drain detection signal is output. Next, the drain detection signal is input to the time constant adding means 1. At this time, the time constant addition means 1 immediately outputs a reset signal to the frequency divider DIV, and also immediately outputs an interrupt discharge signal to the interrupt signal insertion means 3. Then, the drain discharge valve 6 is opened by the interrupt signal insertion means 3, and the discharge of the drain accumulated above the specified value H is immediately started. On the other hand, the frequency divider DIV receives the reset signal, stops counting the input frequencies f1 and f2, and resets them. Next, as the drain is discharged,
The drain detection signal from the drain sensor 2 stops. At this time, the time constant adding means 1 adds a delay from the stop of the drain detection signal to stop outputting the reset signal and the interrupt discharge signal. Therefore, the interrupt signal insertion means 3
As a result, the drain discharge valve 6 is closed with a delay from the stop of the output of the drain detection signal. Therefore, the residual drain that remains when the drain sensor 2 detects the drain can be discharged from the time when the drain detection signal stops until the drain discharge valve 6 is closed. [Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the drain discharge device of the first embodiment will be explained as being installed in the air compressor 7, it is not limited to the air compressor 7, but can be used in various ways such as a receiver tank, an aftercooler, a dehumidifier, a drain separator, etc. It can also be installed for air compressor peripheral equipment. The above-mentioned drain is generated in the air compressor 7 and its peripheral equipment depending on the compression ratio of the compressed air, etc., and the above-mentioned drain is made as possible so as not to leak the compressed air to the outside. In order to discharge the water without leaving any residue, a drain discharge valve is provided at the drain outlet, and the opening and closing of the drain discharge valve is controlled. The automatic drain discharge device according to the present invention also has the following features. That is, the first embodiment includes a sequential timer 4 for controlling the opening and closing of the drain discharge valve 6, a drain sensor 2 for detecting the drain, and a sequence from the sequential timer 4 to the drain discharge valve 6. An interrupt signal insertion circuit 3 for inserting a drain detection signal from the drain sensor 2 is provided between the drain sensor 2 and the drain sensor 2 to perform the timer control and the control by the drain sensor 2 in parallel. A time constant circuit 1 is provided as time constant adding means for adding a delay to the drain detection signal from the sensor 2. The above sequential timer 4 is 2 in this example.
The variable frequency oscillation circuit 5 includes two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 and a changeover switch SW1, and a frequency divider DIV. Above frequency oscillator
As shown in FIG. 2, OSC1 and OSC2 both have similar circuit configurations. Furthermore, each of the frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 has a variable resistor VR.
1 and VR2 are provided, and the oscillation frequency can be set appropriately. One of the frequency oscillators OSC1 is set in advance to output a frequency signal of frequency f1, and the other frequency oscillator OSC2 is set in advance to output a frequency signal of frequency f2.
The frequencies f1 and f2 are set to satisfy f1≧f2. It should be noted that the circuit configuration of the frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 shown above is one example, and other circuit configurations may be used. The above changeover switch
SW1 consists of an electromagnetic relay in this example, and includes the frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 mentioned above and the frequency divider described later.
DIV and above frequency oscillator
The frequency signal from either OSC1 or OSC2 is switched to be selectively output to the frequency divider DIV. In this example, the changeover switch SW1 is the electromagnetic relay, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other switches such as a semiconductor switch can also be used. The frequency divider DIV inputs and counts the frequency signal, and repeats starting and stopping of the discharge signal in accordance with times t1 and t2 determined by the input frequency and the frequency division value N. Therefore, in this example, when the frequency signal with the frequency f1 is input, the discharge signal is not output at time t1 determined by N/f1×2=t1, and the frequency signal with the frequency f2 is input. The discharge signal is output only for a time t2 determined by N/f2×2=t2 only when Therefore, the discharge signal is outputted only during time t2 with a period of time t1+t2. Further, the frequency divider DIV receives the input of a reset signal from the time constant circuit 1, which will be described later, and stops counting the input frequency and resets it. is restarted from zero. In this example, the drain sensor 2 uses a float switch using a float. Then, when the condensate accumulates in the air compressor 7 and reaches a specified value H or more, a detection signal is output.Furthermore, in this example, as the condensate is discharged, the amount of the condensate is determined by the float switch. The above detection signal is output until the lower limit value L that can be detected is reached. For this reason, the flow switch has two detection contacts, a self-holding circuit, etc., but since it is commonly used, detailed description is omitted and shown in a simplified diagram. (See Figure 3) The interrupt insertion circuit 3 inputs the discharge signal from the frequency divider DIV and the interrupt discharge signal from the time constant circuit 1, which will be described later, and gives priority to the interrupt discharge signal. Further, upon receiving the input of the discharge signal and the interrupt discharge signal, the drain discharge valve 6 is energized to open the drain discharge valve 6. Further, a time constant circuit 1 is connected between the drain sensor 2 and the interrupt signal insertion circuit 3. The above are the same parts as the conventional drain discharge device, and the first embodiment of the present invention is constructed as follows in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
That is, this time constant circuit 1 has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. 3. This time constant circuit 1 will be explained next using the graph of FIG. 4 based on voltage values at positions a, b, c, and d. First, when the power supply V is connected at time P0, the power supply V
Voltage from capacitor CO and gate circuit ICO
It takes. At this time, the capacitor CO is not charged, and the voltage applied to position c is small. Here, the gate circuit ICO is one that opens the gate and outputs an interrupt discharge signal when the input voltage is below a predetermined set value h. Therefore, when the above power supply V is connected at time P0,
The interrupt discharge signal is output from the gate circuit ICO. Next, as the capacitor CO is charged, the voltage applied to the position c through the resistor R3 increases. Then, at time P1 after time t3 from time PO, when the voltage to the gate circuit ICO becomes equal to or higher than the set value h, the gate circuit ICO is closed and the output of the interrupt discharge signal is stopped. Next, when drain is detected by the drain sensor 2 at time P2, that is, when the contact of the drain sensor 2 is closed, the voltage from the power source V is applied to the drain sensor 2 from position a. This energization is used to generate the drain detection signal. At this time, the charge stored in the capacitor CO is discharged through the diode DO, position b, position a, and drain sensor 2. At the same time, the voltage applied to the gate circuit ICO is immediately lowered, and output of the interrupt discharge signal from the gate circuit ICO is immediately started. Next, as the drain is discharged, time P3
When the contact of the drain sensor 2 is opened, the voltage from the power supply V is again applied to the capacitor CO and the gate circuit ICO. At this time P3, the capacitor CO has already been discharged, so the voltage applied to the gate circuit ICO is low, similar to the time P0. Therefore, the interrupt discharge signal from the gate circuit ICO continues to be output. Next, the capacitor CO is charged, and when the voltage applied to the gate circuit ICO exceeds the set value h at time P4, the output of the interrupt discharge signal is stopped as at time P1. As described above, the time constant circuit 1 of this example outputs the interrupt discharge signal for the time t3 from the time P0 when the power supply V is connected to the time P1, and
When the drain detection signal is inputted, that is, at time P2, the output of the interrupt discharge signal is immediately started without adding any delay, and then when the input of the drain detection signal is stopped, that is, at time P3. In this case, the stop of the interrupt discharge signal is delayed by the time t4 from time P3 to time P4. In addition to outputting the interrupt discharge signal, a reset signal is also output to the frequency divider DIV at the same time. Note that the time t3 can be set individually by the values of the resistors R1 and R2, and the time t4 can be individually set by the values of the resistors R0 and R1. The truth table in Table 2 below shows whether or not there is a delay in the drain detection signal, the time constant circuit 1, and the opening/closing of the drain discharge valve 6 in this embodiment with the above configuration.

〔effect〕

As detailed above, the present invention has the following effects. According to the invention of claim 1, in the automatic drain discharge device for the air compressor and its peripheral equipment, the drain discharge valve is opened and closed at fixed intervals for a fixed period of time by timer control using a sequential timer. In addition, in parallel, the drain sensor detects that the drain has accumulated in excess of a specified value, and opens and closes the drain discharge valve, and further includes a time constant adding means for adding a delay to the drain detection signal. and the time constant adding means causes the drain discharge valve to open immediately without adding any delay when the drain detection signal is issued, and without any delay when the drain detection signal stops. In addition, by delaying the closing of the drain discharge valve, when the drain accumulates above a specified value, the drain is immediately discharged, and even when the drain detection signal from the drain sensor stops, the drain is discharged immediately. It is possible to provide an automatic drain drain device that can close the valve with a delay and better drain the residual drain. According to the invention of claim 2, the time constant means outputs the reset signal and the interrupt signal for a predetermined period of time when the drain discharge device is connected to a power source, and opens the drain discharge valve. Therefore, the drain accumulated in the air compressor and its peripheral equipment can be discharged before the drain discharge device is connected to the power source. Moreover, by connecting a power source to the drain discharge device and opening the drain discharge valve at the same time as the air compressor and its peripheral devices are started, internal Compressed air can be released to the outside, reducing the load applied during startup. Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 3, in the sequential timer, two frequency oscillators are used to set the period of drain discharge and the time of drain discharge, but the switching contact is used to set the drain discharge period and the drain discharge time. By switching the frequency signals from each of the two frequency oscillators, the frequency divider can be made into a single one, and the structure of the sequential timer can be simplified. In addition, according to the invention of claim 4, in the sequential timer, a single variable frequency oscillator is used to set the drain discharge cycle and the drain discharge time; The above settings can be realized by one frequency divider, and the configuration of the sequential timer can be made simpler.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The attached drawings 1 to 5 are the first part of the present invention.
Fig. 1 shows the overall configuration, Fig. 2 shows the circuit diagram of the sequential timer, Fig. 3 shows the circuit diagram of the time constant circuit, and Fig. 4 shows the delay of the drain detection signal in the time constant circuit. FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the operation of the entire first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the sequential timer of the second embodiment. In the figure, 1... Time constant circuit, 2... Drain sensor, 3... Interrupt signal insertion circuit, 4... Sequential timer, 5... Variable frequency oscillation circuit,
6... Drain discharge valve, 7... Air compressor, DIV... Frequency divider, OSC1, OSC2... Frequency oscillator, OSC3... Variable frequency oscillator, SW
1, SW2...switch, ICO...gate circuit, R0, R1, R2, R3...resistance, VR
1, VR1', VR2, VR2'...variable resistor, arrows a, b, c, d...each position of the time constant circuit, arrow t1...time determined by frequency f1 and frequency division value N,
Arrow t2...Time determined by frequency f2 and frequency division value N, Arrow t3...Drain discharge valve opening operation time when power is connected, Arrow t4...Delay time due to time constant circuit, Position H...Specification Value, position L... Lower limit value, position h... Indicates the voltage value at which the gate circuit opens and closes, respectively.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] Drainage accumulated inside the air compressor and peripheral equipment of the air compressor, such as the receiver tank, aftercooler, dehumidifier, drain separator, etc. connected to the above air compressor, is removed to the outside. a drain discharge valve for discharging; a variable frequency oscillation means for outputting a different frequency signal to the frequency divider according to a frequency switching signal from the frequency divider; and an input of the frequency signal from the variable frequency oscillation means. and controls and outputs the emission signal in accordance with the time determined by the input frequency and the frequency division value, and also outputs the frequency switching signal to the variable frequency oscillation means, and further includes a time control signal. the frequency divider for resetting the input frequency count in response to a reset signal from the constant means, and a sequential timer for controlling opening and closing of the drain discharge valve by starting and stopping the discharge signal; In addition, there is a drain sensor for detecting that drain exceeding a specified value has accumulated in the air compressor or the air compressor peripheral equipment and outputting a drain detection signal, and a drain sensor for outputting a drain detection signal. A delay is added to the detection signal and outputted as the reset signal to the frequency divider, while the interrupt signal insertion means includes a time constant adding means for outputting as the interrupt discharge signal, and a discharge signal from the frequency divider. and an automatic drain discharge device having interrupt signal insertion means for opening and closing the drain discharge valve in response to input of an interrupt discharge signal from the time constant addition means; the time constant addition means 1 is connected to the drain sensor 2;
When inputting the drain detection signal from the drain detection signal, start outputting the reset signal to the frequency divider DIV and the interrupt discharge signal to the interrupt signal insertion means 3 in response to the input of the drain detection signal, The automatic drain is characterized in that a delay is added only when the input of the drain detection signal stops, and the output of the reset signal and the interrupt discharge signal is stopped after a predetermined time from the stop of the input of the drain detection signal. Ejection device. The time constant adding means 1 outputs the reset signal and the interrupt discharge signal for a predetermined time after the power supply V is connected to the automatic drain discharge device. The automatic drain discharge device according to claim 1. The sequential timer 4 switches between two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 that output frequency signals of frequencies f1 and f2 of different high and low frequencies, and frequency signals from the two frequency oscillators OSC1 and OSC2 to the frequency divider DIV. variable frequency oscillation means 5 consisting of a switching contact SW1, and a single frequency divider DIV; the frequency switching signal from the frequency divider DIV causes the switching contact SW1 to switch between the two frequencies. Of the oscillators OSC1 and OSC2, when the discharge signal is emitted, the frequency oscillator OSC2 that oscillates at a higher frequency outputs the frequency signal, while when the discharge signal does not oscillate, the frequency oscillator that oscillates at a lower frequency outputs the frequency signal. 3. The automatic drain discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic drain discharge device is switched to output the frequency signal from the OSC 1. The sequential timer 4 includes a single variable frequency oscillator OSC3 that switches frequencies f1 and f2 of the frequency signal to be output according to the frequency switching signal from the frequency divider DIV;
It has a single frequency divider DIV, and the frequencies f1 and f2 of the frequency signal output from the variable frequency oscillator OSC3 are switched by the frequency switching signal from the frequency divider DIV, An automatic drain discharge device according to claims 1 and 2.