JPH0486540A - Automatic oil sampling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify an apparatus by constituting a part of the second - forth flow paths as a common flow path part and providing the second pump in the common flow path part. CONSTITUTION:The line L-1 communicating with an oil pan 1 is set to the first flow path. The second flow path transferring the test oil collected from the oil pan 1 to a metering apparatus 4 is formed lime (line L-1) solenoid value SV-1 L-2 SV-2 L-3 pump P-1 L-4 manifold 2 SV-3 L-5 SV-4 L-6 metering pot 6. The third flow path sending the oil in the metering appara tus 4 to the oil pan 1 is formed like pot 6 SV-5 L-7 SV-2 L-3 P-1 L-4 manifold 2 SV-3 L-5 SV-4 L-S SV-1 L-1 oil pan 1. Fur ther, the fourth flow path sending the oil in the metering apparatus to a sam pling apparatus is formed like pot 6 SV-5 L-7 SV-2 L-3 P-2 L-4 manifold 2 SV-7 sample container 3. The second - fourth flow paths are driven by the pump P-7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an automatic oil sampling device, particularly an automatic oil sampling device that can automatically sample test oils in various tests of lubricating oils without causing contamination. This invention relates to a sampling device.

(Prior Art) Various lubricating oils are used in internal combustion engines such as gasoline engines and diesel engines. The method for evaluating the practical performance of this lubricating oil is specified, for example, in the high stability test method for automotive gasoline engine lubricating oil and the cleanliness testing method for automotive diesel engine lubricating oil established by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan. These test methods stipulate that the engine be operated continuously for a long period of time, and at predetermined time intervals, the amount of lubricating oil consumed must be measured, the test oil must be sampled, and a predetermined amount of new oil must be replenished. Therefore, these test methods not only require a great deal of labor to be carried out manually by the operator, but also require a long time for the operator to perform the tasks, such as sample sampling, replenishment of new oil, and weighing. There is a strong demand for the development of an automatic oil sampling device that can perform this automatically.

A conventional automatic oil sampling device has a configuration in which a new oil replenishment system and a sampling system for sampling a sample from an oil pan are separated. In other words, two openings are formed at the bottom of the oil pan of the test engine to provide two flow paths, and when supplying new oil, a predetermined amount of new oil is measured by a replenishment load cell and then transferred to the replenishment pump. When sampling, new oil is supplied to the oil pan via the oil pan, and when sampling is performed, another sampling pump is used for sampling, and the sample is sampled into a sample container while being measured by a sampling load cell. It is configured to be returned to the oil pan by a pump. The sample containers are placed on a turntable, and the turntable is rotated to accommodate each sample sampled in each sample container.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Conventional oil sampling devices use a specially designed test oil pan in which the bottom of the engine oil pan is machined to provide a flow passage, and the sampling system and new oil replenishment system are separated. Since the configuration is such that the sampling system is completely separated, it cannot be handled within the sampling device itself, and it is necessary to provide a pump and metering device for each flow path system, which not only complicates the flow path configuration but also reduces the number of parts. There is a drawback that the number of devices increases and the size of the device increases.

The purpose of the present invention is to make the component equipment available for use as much as possible, simplify the flow path configuration, eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and further minimize the amount of oil stagnant in the sampling device to prevent contamination due to such stagnant oil. To provide an automatic oil sampling device that is hardly affected by nation state.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The automatic oil sampling device according to the present invention collects test oil from an oil pan installed in a test internal combustion engine and replenishes new oil into the oil pan during a performance test of lubricating oil. an automatic oil sampling device that measures at least the amount of new oil to be replenished into the oil pan and the amount of test oil sampled from the oil pan; A sampling device for supplying new oil to the container, a first pump for supplying new oil stored in the new oil tank to the measuring device, sampling of test oil from the oil pan, replenishment of new oil to the oil pan, and a second pump for supplying test oil to the sampling device, a first channel communicating with the oil pan, and a second pump communicating the first channel and the supply port of the measuring device, and supplying test oil to the sampling device. a second channel for supplying the test oil sampled from the pan to the measuring device; and a third channel for communicating the measuring device and the first channel and supplying the oil in the measuring device to the oil pan. a fourth flow path that communicates the metering device and the sampling device, and a fifth flow path that connects the fresh oil tank and the metering device; The present invention is characterized in that at least a part of the flow paths of the pumps are formed by a common flow path section, and the second pump is disposed in this common flow path section.

(Function) When testing the performance of lubricating oil, it is necessary to weigh the sample taken from the oil pan and then put it into a sample container. Also, the new oil that needs to be replenished must be weighed first before being supplied to the oil pan. Must. In the present invention, one measuring device is used to measure the sample taken and the new oil to be replenished. and,
At least a part of the flow path for transferring the collected sample to the measuring device, the flow path for transferring from the measuring device to the sampling device, and the flow path for transferring new oil to be replenished to the oil pan are configured with a common flow path section, One pump is placed in this common flow path. In this way, by making a part of each flow path a common flow path, the length of the flow path as a whole of the device can be further shortened, and the flow path structure can be further simplified.

In particular, since the overall flow path length can be shortened, the influence of contamination can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, by arranging the pumps in a common flow path, it is possible to collect and measure the test oil in the oil pan to be sampled and to replenish the oil pan using only one pump and one metering device. New oil can be replenished and measured, and as a result, the overall structure of the sampling device can be further simplified, and the maintenance and inspection work of the sampling device can also be made easier.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flow path configuration of an example of an automatic oil sampling device according to the present invention. Each flow path is equipped with components controlled by electrical signals, such as solenoid valves and pumps.
Sampling of test oil, replenishment of new oil, and measurement operations can be performed under the control of the central processing unit.

The lubricating oil sampled for the test is stored in an oil pan 1 installed in the test engine.

The line L-1 constituting the first flow path has a predetermined insertion length so that its tip is located at the so-called Low level position of the oil pan 1 when it is attached to a level gauge guide (not shown). It is adjusted to the length of Line L-
1 is connected to the common port of the first solenoid valve 5V-1. The solenoid valve 5V-1 is a three-way valve that can switch the flow path under electrical control, one branch port is connected to the second line L-2, and the rear end is connected to the second solenoid valve 5V-1. Connect to one branch port of 2. The common port of the solenoid valve 5V-2 is connected to the first pump P-1 via the third line L-3. This first pump P-1 collects the test oil from the oil pan 1, supplies the collected test oil to the sample container 3, supplies new oil to the oil pan 1, returns the test oil, and flushes each flow path. and used for blowing.

A line L-4 is connected to the outlet of the first pump P-1, and this line L-4 is connected to a manifold-type sampling device that collects a sample. This sampling device sequentially fills each sample container 3 with a collected sample, and the manifold 2 has an inlet 2a and an outlet 2b, and a solenoid valve 5V-5 is installed in each of the 15 flow path branches between them.
7a to 7o are connected in parallel, and 15 types of samples are sequentially
sample containers 3a to 3o.

The sampling device may also be a turntable type sampling device in which sample containers are sequentially moved to one sampling port. The turntable full system has a complicated mechanism, but the manifold 2, solenoid valves 5V-3 and 5V-7a to 7o are combined into one three-way solenoid valve 5V.
-Replaced by 3a, the flow path length can be shortened (Figure 4)
. The outlet 2b of the sampling device is connected to the third solenoid valve SV~3.
Connect to. This t-magnetic valve 5V-3 is a two-way valve, and its outlet is connected to the common port of the fourth solenoid valve 5V-4 via line L-5. Then, connect the - branch port to the line L-6, and connect the other end of the line L-6 to the weighing device 4.
into the supply port of the weighing bot 6. The weighing device 4 includes a load cell 5 and a weighing bot 6, and the weighing bot 6 has a supply port 6a and a discharge port 6b. Weighing bot 6
The discharge port 6b provided at the lowest part of the solenoid valve 5V-S
A line L-7 is connected through the line L-7, and a flexible tube 7 is connected to the line L-7 near the solenoid valve 5V-S. In this way, all the oil in the weighing bot 6 can be discharged, and the amount can be measured by the load cell 5 at any time, whether it is when receiving or discharging lubricating oil.

In addition to load cells, the measuring device can also use a spring scale or a method that measures the liquid level in a measuring pot, but load cells are the most practical in terms of economy, ease of handling, size, etc. . Accurate measurements are a concern with flexible tubes, but high-precision measurements can be achieved by appropriately selecting flexible tubes, installing them properly, and using a calibration curve. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 3, the tip of the opening of line L-7 can be placed at the lowest point so that it does not touch the measuring pot to eliminate the influence of the moment of the piping, but the routing of the piping is complicated. This increases the influence of contamination due to residual oil in the measuring pot 6, and has drawbacks such as the need to correct the buoyancy of the piping in the oil. The other end of the line L-7 is connected to the other branch port of the second electromagnetic valve 5V-2. Further, the other branch port of the fourth solenoid valve 5V-4 is connected to the other branch port of the first solenoid valve 5V-1 via line L-8. Furthermore, one end of the line L-9 is inserted into the supply port of the weighing bot 6, and the other end of the line L-9 is connected to the solenoid valve 5V.
-6 and the discharge side of the second pump P-2 via line L-10. Line L on the suction side of pump P-2
-11 and connect the other end of line L-11 to new oil tank 9.
Insert into. A level sensor 10 is attached to the end of the line 11 to be inserted to detect the lower limit level of oil in the new oil tank. Incidentally, as the new oil tank, a cosmetic can or drum can for lubricating oil that is traded can be used as is.

Figures 2a-d are diagrams showing the flow path configuration. The line L-1 communicating with the oil pan is the first flow path, and this first
Collect test oil from the oil pan and replenish new oil to the oil pan through the flow path. The flow path for transferring the test oil sampled from the oil pan to the metering device is a second flow path, and this second flow path is shown in FIG. 2a. As shown in Figure 2a, the first flow path (line L-1) → solenoid valve 5V-1 → line L-2 → solenoid valve 5V-2 → line L-3 → pump P-
1 → Line L-4 → Manifold 2 → Solenoid valve 5V-3 →
Line L-5→Solenoid valve 5V-4→Line L-6→Meter pontoro, and thus the first pump P-
1, all the oil in the oil pan 1 above the Lo-level is transferred to the metering bot 6.

The third flow path that sends the oil in the metering device to the oil pan 1 is from the metering pot 6 to the solenoid valve 5V-5, as shown in Figure 2.
Line L-7 → Solenoid valve 5V-2 → Line L-3 → Pump P-1 → Line L-4 → Manifold 2 → Solenoid valve S sea 3 → Line L-5 → Solenoid valve S sea 4 → Line L-8 → Solenoid valve 5V-1 → Line L-1 → Oil pan 1, and when the first pump P-1 is driven in this way, the weighing bot 6
of oil is transferred to oil pan 1. The amount of oil to be returned or replenished to the oil pan 1 is measured and stored in advance, and it is sufficient to operate the first pump P-1 until the measuring bot 6 is empty.

The fourth flow path that sends the oil in the metering device to the sampling device is almost the same flow path as the third flow path, and as shown in FIG. Line L-
7→Solenoid valve 5V-2→Line L-3→Pump P-2→Line L-4→Manifold 2→Solenoid valve 5V-7→Sample container 3. When the first pump P-1 is driven in this manner, the oil in the measuring pot 6 is transferred to the sample container 3. The load cell 5 detects that a predetermined amount of oil has been sent, and based on this output, the solenoid valve 5V-7 is closed and the first pump P-1 is stopped.

The fifth flow path that sends the oil in the new oil container to the metering device is as shown in Figure 2d: new oil tank → line L-11 → pump P-2 → line L-10 → solenoid valve 5V- 6 → line L-
9 → Measuring pot 6. Calculate the amount of new oil corresponding to the sum of the lubricating oil consumption and the sampling amount to be transferred to the measuring pot 6 in advance, and when the output of the load cell 5 shows this value, the solenoid valve 5V- 6 and stop the second pump P-2. Note that the new oil sent to the metering device can be transferred to the oil pan 1 through the aforementioned third flow path.

Also, in the first flow path and the second flow path, L of the oil pan 1 is
Whether or not all of the oil above the O-level has been transferred to the measuring pot 6 can be determined by observing the point at which there is no more weight change in the load cell 5. That is, the output of the load cell 5 is A/D converted and guided to the central processing unit, and the output (
When there is no change in the minimum scale (1g unit in this example) for several seconds, the timer is activated for, for example, 1 minute, and if there is no weight change of 1g or more during that time (if there is a weight change, the timer is activated). Assuming that there is no change in the weight of the metering port 6 (which will be reset), another timer for the blow operation is activated, and the pump P-1 is stopped after the blow operation timer set time (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed. By performing such operation, the amount of oil in the engine can always be managed based on the position of the Loiv level of the oil pan 1. Furthermore, when the same operation as in the case of sampling the test oil is performed in the second flow path, the second pump P-1 enters a so-called blow operation that sucks the air in the metering pot 6, and the oil in the metering pot 6 as well as the oil in the metering pot 6 are removed. Since most of the oil remaining in the second flow path is also transferred to the oil pan 1, the influence of so-called contamination due to oil remaining in the apparatus of the present invention can be reduced to a negligible level.

Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 in accordance with a test procedure for evaluating the performance of lubricating oil using a test engine.

(1) Preparation (A) Assemble the test engine, fill the oil pan 1 with lubricating oil to the old gh level, and perform a rubbing operation. After that, drain all lubricating oil from the drain of oil pan L.

(B) Meanwhile, in this device, the following preparation work is performed.

The measuring pot 6 is washed with a solvent and dried. Next, a line L-11 having a level sensor 10 is set in the new oil tank 9 containing the lubricant to be evaluated, a 50th flow path is formed, and the first pump P-1 is driven to supply the test lubricant. 11 is transferred to weighing pot 6. A third flow path is formed and the entire amount of oil in the measuring pot 6 is drained. In this case, the sample container 3 may be replaced with a waste oil container.

(2) Flushing (A) Flush the engine lubricating oil system using the test oil.

(B) When flushing on the engine side is completed, stop the engine, insert line L-1 into oil pan 1, and set it on the level gauge guide.

The open end of the line L-1 is located at the LO-level of the oil pan 1. A second flow path shown in FIG. 2a is formed, the first pump P-1 is driven, and the oil on the Low level is transferred to the measuring pot 6.

Thereafter, a third flow path shown in FIG. 2 is formed, the first pump P-1 is driven, and the oil in the measuring pot 6 is transferred to the oil pan 1. In this way, the lines of this device are flushed. Incidentally, the pump P-1 ultimately performs a blowing operation to suck in air, and discharges oil to the oil pan 1 until there is no change in the weight of the load cell 5.

After completing operations (A) and (B) above, oil pan 1
Drain the oil from the drain.

(3) Initial settings of this device ■Perform zero and span adjustment of load cell 5.

■Set the time for timers 1 and 2.

・Timer 1: Time to judge whether there is no weight change Timer 2 Time for nib blow operation ■Select the sampling mode.

Select e.g. the next mode as specified by the test.

Mode 1: For tests where the amount of sample to be taken is specified.

The amount of new oil supplied is the sum of the amount of lubricating oil consumed and the sample fee.

mode 22 For tests where the amount of new oil replenishment is specified.

As a sample, take the amount obtained by subtracting the consumption amount from the specified amount of new oil replenishment.

■Set the times of sampling operation.

In practical tests of lubricating oil, the engine is temporarily stopped after each specified period of operation, and the lubricating oil consumption is measured during each stop.
Perform sampling and replenishment of new oil. However, since sampling is not necessarily performed every time the system is stopped, a specific surface on which this sampling is performed is set.

■Select automatic or manual operation.

Automatic operation: Signals are exchanged between the automatic operation control device on the engine side and the central processing unit on the device side, and throughout the entire lubricant performance test, the engine can be started, stopped, and consumed unattended. Operations such as sampling and replenishment of new oil are performed automatically until the end of the test. For example, if the engine is operated for a specified period of time in accordance with the performance test regulations and then stopped at -10, a signal to that effect is sent from the engine operation automatic control device to the central processing unit of this device, which performs sampling, consumption measurement, and new engine operation. Performs a series of tasks such as replenishing oil. When such work is completed, a signal to that effect is transmitted to the automatic engine operation control device, and the engine starts the next specified operation, which is repeated until the end of the test.

manual driving: Operate this device without interacting with the engine.

(4) Preliminary operation ■Replace the oil filter.

■Fill oil pan 1 with new oil.

■Perform idling operation.

■Stop idling and check and adjust the oil level.

■Operate the engine under specified conditions and raise the lubricating oil temperature to the specified temperature.

■When the oil temperature reaches the specified temperature, stop the engine after idling and adjust the oil level to High level.

(5) Set the line L-1 to the oil pan 1 for initial weight measurement. A second flow path shown in FIG. 2a is formed and the second pump P-2 is driven to transfer oil between the old gh level and the low level of the oil pan 1 to the measuring bot 6. The amount of oil in the measuring bot 6 is measured, and the measured value is stored in the memory of the central processing unit.

In addition, in order to minimize the oil in the flow path, pump P-1 was run in air suction mode for about 1 minute to confirm that there was no change in weight, and then it was run in blowing mode for about 3 minutes. implement. The above-mentioned time is adjusted and set to an appropriate time based on the experimental results of the timers 1 and 2 already mentioned in the initial setting.

After metering, a third flow path shown in FIG. In this case as well, the air suction operation up to the blow operation is performed. This completes the preparation of the device.

(6) Test start Start the engine. The engine is automatically started by an automatic operation control device based on various test conditions for lubricating oil and controlled to specified operating conditions. After operating for a specified period of time to measure lubricant consumption and perform sampling, etc.
The engine will automatically stop temporarily according to the program of the automatic control device. When the engine stops, an engine stop status signal is input from the automatic operation control device to the central processing unit of the device, and in response to this, the device starts.

End-cutting operation: Form the second flow path shown in Fig. 2a, drive pump P-1, and measure oil at Lo-level or higher in oil pan 1 by measuring bot 6.
Transfer to. The pump P-1 is continued to be driven and finally a blow operation is performed. After the blowing operation is completed, the second
0 flow path is formed to transfer oil from the measuring bot 6 to the oil pan 1.

In this way, the lubricating oil remaining in the apparatus is mixed with the oil in the oil pan 1, and the influence of contamination of the sampled oil mixed with the remaining lubricating oil can be minimized. Since the amount of oil in the oil pan 1 is extremely large compared to the amount of remaining lubricating oil, the influence of mixing contamination can be suppressed to 1% or less, which is sufficiently satisfactory as a practical test of lubricating oil.

Measurement of lubricating oil consumption: Form the second flow path shown in Figure 2a again, and open the pore 7”P-1.
Move the oil at a level higher than the Low level in the oil pan 1 to the measuring pot 6. After the pump P-1 continues to be driven and a final blow operation is performed, the amount of oil transferred to the metering pump is measured. The amount of lubricating oil consumed is determined from the difference between the thus measured value and the initial weight measurement value in item (5) above.

In addition, if the measured consumption exceeds the specified amount,
An in-clock signal will be sent to the engine operation automatic control system to cancel the test, and further operations will be canceled in order to readjust the engine. After readjusting the engine,
Perform the operations after flushing again.

Sampling: Form the fourth flow path shown in FIG.
Transferred to sample container 3 via. When the output of the load cell 5 reaches a value reduced by the specified sample amount, the solenoid valve 5
Close V-7 and stop pump P-1.

Note that air and oil are present in the fourth channel before sampling due to the blow operation in the previous process, and there is a risk that such air may cause an error in the sample amount.
Before forming the fourth flow path in Figure C, the next flow path, metering bot 6 → solenoid valve S sea 5 → line L-7 → tM! L valve SV
2 → Line L-3 → Pump P-1 → Line L-4 → Manifold 2 → Solenoid valve 5V-3 → Line L-5 → Solenoid valve 5
V-4→Line L-6→After forming a metering tube and filling the pipe with test oil, close the solenoid valve 5V-3 and turn off the pump P.
-1, then measure the amount of oil in the measuring bot 6, and then perform the above-mentioned sampling operation.

Supply of new oil: In order to always operate the engine with a constant amount of lubricating oil, an amount of new oil equivalent to the sum of the consumed amount and the sample amount is supplied to the oil pan 1. The 50th flow path shown in FIG. 2d is formed, and the pump P-2
is driven to transfer oil from the new oil tank to the measuring pot 6.

When the output of the load cell 5 increases by an amount corresponding to the sum of the consumption amount and the sample amount, close the solenoid valve S-sea 6 and pump P-
Stop 2.

Next, the third flow path in FIG. 2 is formed, and the pump P-1
is driven to transfer oil from the metering pump to oil pan 1. In order to minimize the amount of oil remaining in this device, blow operation is performed at the end here as well.

In this device, when the above series of operations are completed, a signal indicating the completion is sent to the engine operation automatic control device,
Run the engine again under the specified operating conditions. This process of starting and stopping the engine → starting and stopping this device → starting and stopping the engine → starting and stopping this device is repeated a specified number of times to measure the amount consumed in the lubricating oil performance test, sample the test oil, and replenish new oil. Note that sampling is not performed every time as described above, and in such cases, by initializing a specific port for sampling operation, consumption measurement can be performed without performing sampling operation at other times. Replenish new oil.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible. For example, in the embodiment described above, the first pump P-1 for the sampling system and the second pump P-2 for replenishing new oil are provided, but the pump P
-1 can also be used as pump P-2. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a three-way valve S sea 6 is connected to the suction side of the pump P-1, and a line L is connected to this three-way valve 5V-6.
-11 and connect this line to the new oil supply tank,
If the configuration is such that the flow path of the three-way valve 5V-6 is switched, 1
Test oil can be sampled and new oil can be replenished simply by using the pump on the machine.

(Effects of the Invention) The effects of the present invention explained above are summarized as follows.

(1) Since a single measuring device can measure the sample taken from the oil pan and the new oil to be replenished, the structure of the device can be simplified.

(2) At least part of the flow path for transporting the sample taken from the oil pan to the measuring device, the flow path for transporting measured new oil to the oil pan, and the flow path for transporting the measured sample to the sampling device shall be connected to a common flow path. Since the sampling pump is placed in the common flow path, the flow path structure can be further simplified, and the total flow path length can also be set shorter, reducing the effects of contamination. It is possible to reduce it to a negligible level.

(3) Oil pan is inserted into the level gauge guide,
Since it is connected through the first flow path installed, the oil pan can be used as is without any special processing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of the flow path form of the automatic oil sampling device according to the present invention, Figs. Figure 4 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a flow path configuration that is different from Figure 1 in terms of discharging oil. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a road configuration. 1... Oil pan 2... Manifold 3.
...Sample container 4...Measuring device 5...Load cell 6...Measuring pot P-1, P-2...
・Pump 9...New oil tank 10...Turntable

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an automatic oil sampling device that samples test oil from an oil pan installed in a test internal combustion engine and replenishes new oil to the oil pan during a lubricating oil performance test, at least the oil A measuring device that measures the amount of new oil to be replenished into the pan and the amount of test oil taken from the oil pan; a sampling device that supplies the test oil in the measuring device taken from the oil pan to each sample container; and the new oil. A first pump for supplying new oil stored in a tank to a measuring device, and a pump for collecting test oil from an oil pan, replenishing new oil to the oil pan, and supplying test oil to a sampling device. a second pump for performing the test, a first flow path communicating with the oil pan, and communicating the first flow path with a metering device to supply the test oil sampled from the oil pan to the metering device. a second flow path for communicating the measuring device and the first flow path, and a third flow path for supplying oil in the measuring device to the oil pan; and a third flow path for connecting the measuring device and the sampling device. A fourth flow path that communicates with the new oil tank and a fifth flow path that communicates with the metering device, and at least a portion of the second, third, and fourth flow paths are connected to a common flow path. An automatic oil sampling device characterized in that the second pump is arranged in this common flow path section. 2. A flow path switching means is connected to the flow path on the upstream side of the second pump in the common flow path, and the flow path is connected to the fifth flow path and the common flow path through the flow path switching means. 2. The automatic oil sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the first pump and the second pump are connected to each other so that the first pump and the second pump are commonly used as one pump.