ES2389534B1 - Level alarm for lubrication oil tanks - Google Patents

Abstract

Level alarm for lubrication oil tanks, consisting of a level probe (1) connected to an electronic device (3) that has a light emitter (5) and an acoustic emitter (6), the probe (1) comprising a rod (7) on which a buoy (8) is incorporated which is capable of moving between an upper stop (9) and a lower stop (10), being arranged in relation to at least the lower stop (10), an electrical contact that is operable by the buoy (8), so that when said buoy (8) rests on that lower stop (10) the electrical contact acts, thereby causing the electronic equipment (3) to activate the light emitter ( 5) and the acoustic emitter (6).

Description

 LEVEL ALARM FOR LUBRICATION OIL TANKS

Technical sector

The present invention is related to the level control in system lubrication oil tanks

or mechanisms, proposing an alarm to warn of the need to refill the corresponding tank when the oil content in it reaches a minimum level, in order to avoid that the application lubrication can run out of power.

State of the art

In certain systems, such as vacuum groups or depressants that are used in milking facilities, particularly those of the vane type that work by rotating with friction of the vanes on the inside of the body of the depressor, lubrication of the parts is necessary that suffer friction, in order to avoid the seizure thereof, said lubrication being a fundamental factor for the useful life of such devices.

For this lubrication function, the arrangement of an oiler is known in relation to the devices that have movable elements with friction, said greaser being supplied with an oil reservoir, so that the oiler automatically doses the oil supply necessary for the application lubrication.

The automatic lubrication process requires, however, constant monitoring, to refill the oil supply tank when the content in it reaches a minimum level, in order to avoid the shortage of lubrication and, as a consequence, the seizure or breakage of the elements to be lubricated; having to carry out such monitoring an operator who must be attentive to the level of the oil in the lubrication supply tank, it being possible that the operator does not realize at the precise moment of the need to refill oil in the tank, resulting in a serious risk of damage to the lubrication application apparatus.

Object of the invention

In accordance with the invention, a level alarm is proposed for the lubrication oil supply tanks, by means of which a minimum level warning signal is automatically generated in the application tank, allowing an effective alert when it is necessary to refill oil in said application tank.

This level alarm object of the invention consists of a level probe intended to be located inside the application tank, formed by a sliding buoy along a vertical rod, between an upper stop and a lower stop, said connection being connected. probe to an electronic device that has a light emitter and an acoustic emitter, starting the connection from, at least, an electrical contact arranged in relation to the lower stop and which is operable by the buoy when it rests on said stop.

There is thus an assembly whose probe can be disposed within an oil tank, where the probe buoy rises and falls with the level of the oil contained in the tank, so that when the level drops, the buoy reaches resting on the lower end of the probe, the electrical contact related to said stop occurs, resulting in the electronic equipment activating the light emitter and the acoustic emitter, which produces a perfectly detectable alarm signal to alert of the need to replenish oil in the tank.

A plug is incorporated in the probe stem to close the oil reservoir and hold the probe in the position of use, said plug being able to slide along the rod, which allows the position of the probe to be adjusted according to the depth of the application deposit.

The stops between which the buoy of the probe is susceptible to move, are also susceptible to move and fix themselves in selective positions along the probe stem, which in turn allows to regulate the position of upper stop and lower stop of the buoy, to adjust the probe according to the height of the application tank; an electrical contact can also be arranged in relation to the upper stop to signal the filling of the tank at a certain level.

Therefore, the alarm object of the invention results in very advantageous characteristics for the function of warning of the need for replacement in the lubrication oil supply tanks, acquiring its own life and preferential character for that application.

Description of the figures

Figure 1 shows a representation of the set of an alarm according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows the alarm application arrangement in relation to a lubrication oil supply tank to a vacuum group.

Detailed description of the invention

The object of the invention relates to a level alarm for lubrication oil supply tanks, in order to alert in a detectable manner about the need to replenish oil in the corresponding tank when the content thereof reaches a minimum level, to prevent application lubrication from running out.

Said alarm consists of a level probe (1), which is connected through a connection (2) with an electronic device (3) which in turn has a connection output (4) to a power supply outlet. , said electronic equipment (3) incorporating a light emitter (5) and an acoustic emitter (6).

The level probe (1) comprises a rod (7) that is arranged vertically, on which a buoy (8) is incorporated in sliding assembly along it, stoppers (9 and arranged on the rod (7)) 10), which limit the travel of the buoy (8) between an upper stop position and a lower stop position, respectively.

In relation to, at least, the lower stop (10) an electrical contact (not shown) is arranged, which is operable by the buoy (8) when it rests on said stop (10), a state connected to that electrical contact the connection (2) that relates the probe (1) to the electronic equipment (3).

Thus, placing the probe (1) in an oil reservoir (11), for example in a reservoir (11) for automatic lubrication supply through a grease fitting (12) to a vacuum group (13) of a milking installation or other similar system, the buoy (8) rises and falls by sliding down the rod (7), together with the level of the oil contained in the tank (11), so that when the buoy (8) reaches resting on the stop (10), activates the electrical contact related to said stop (10), which causes the electronic equipment (3) to activate the light emitter (5) and the acoustic emitter (6), which produces a perfectly detectable alert that the oil contained in the tank (11) has reached the minimum level foreseen to proceed to a refill that avoids the shortage of application lubrication.

The stops (9 and 10) are arranged so that they can be moved on the rod (7), to be fixed on it selectively in the desired positions, which allows the probe (1) to be adjusted according to a maximum level and a minimum level of oil content in the application tank (11). In this sense, with respect to the upper stop (9), an electric contact that can be actuated by the buoy (8) can also be arranged to also determine a signaling of the filling of the application tank (11) up to a certain level.

The electrical contacts of the probe (1) actuated by the buoy (8), are provided, in any case, of a type that allows their immersion in the oil without affecting their operation, such as contacts "Reed", without this type being limiting.

A plug (14) is also incorporated on the stem (7) of the probe, by means of which the probe (1) is held in the position of placement in the application tank (11) through an opening thereof which is close with that cap (14); said plug (14) being able to slide along the stem (7) to regulate the position of the probe (1) in the assembly according to the depth of the application tank (11).

ES 2 389 534 Al

Claims (4)

1.- Level alarm for lubrication oil tanks, characterized in that it comprises a level probe (1) that is connected, via a connection (2), with an electronic device (3) that has a light emitter 5 (5) and an acoustic emitter (6), the probe (1) being formed by a rod (7) that is disposed in an upright position, on which a buoy (8) is incorporated that is capable of sliding between a stop ( 9) upper and a lower stop (10) disposed on said rod (7), being arranged in relation to at least the lower stop (10), an electrical contact that is operable by the buoy (8) when it rests on said stop (10), so that the electronic equipment (3) activates the light emitter (5) and the emitter 10 acoustic (6). 2. Level alarm for lubrication oil tanks, according to the first claim, characterized in that the stops (9 and 10) can be moved along the rod (7) and selectively fixed in different positions thereon, to adjust the probe (1) based on a maximum level and a minimum level 15 oil content in an application tank (11). 3.- Level alarm for lubrication oil tanks, according to the first claim, characterized in that a plug (14) is incorporated on the stem (7) of the probe, by which the probe is held ( 1) in the mounting position on an oil tank (11), said plug being able to move 20 (14) along the stem (7) to regulate the position of the probe (1) in the assembly. SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201230925 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 06.13.2012 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: G01F23 / 04 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

X

EN 2379922 A1 (CABECO, S.A.) 07.05.2012, page 5, line 23 - page 11, line 20; figures 1,2. 1-3

TO

ES 1060091 U (ZERTAN, S.A.) 16.07.2005, the whole document. 1-3

TO

EN 1017551 U (VEGLIA BORLETTI S.R.L.) 01.01.1992, the whole document. 1-3

TO

ES 1045514 U (BITRON INDUSTRIE SPAIN) 01.09.2000, claims; Figure 1. 1-3

TO

EN 2010756 A1 (VEGLIA BORTETTI S.R.L.) 01.12.1989, the whole document. 1-3

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of completion of the report 15.10.2012

Examiner G. Foncillas Garrido Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201230925 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) G01F Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201230925 Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 15.10.2012 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-3 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-3 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201230925  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

ES 2379922 A1 (CABECO, S.A.) 07.05.2012

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement Claim 1 The document closest to the object of the invention is D01, said document has a level probe (1) for liquid measurement, which comprises a float (2) that travels along a rod (3) depending on the level of liquid, the rod (3) being coupled to a housing (4) fixed provided with a control module comprising a data microprocessor and a data display (6), whose control module is connected to a source of power supply, the rod being internally provided with a printed circuit, connected to the microprocessor, which runs along the rod that has a plurality of resistors, arranged in series, connected to each other by reed blister medium (9) while the float has at least one magnet (10) attached to it, such that when moving the float (2) externally along the rod an electrical signal is transmitted to the microprocessor by reading of level. The difference of D01 with the object of the invention lies in the use of two "reed" contacts instead of a series of resistors (8) connected through the "reed" ampoules; based on document D01, it could be considered without difficulty Apparently, the approach presented in the present application, being therefore considered as an embodiment. On the other hand, normal design options for a level meter, the incorporation of a cap that holds the system to the tank, or a visual or light alarm system, as can be seen in the documents cited. Therefore, claim 1 is new (Article 6 LP) but lacks inventive activity (Article 8 LP). Claims 2 -3 Based on what is indicated and the dependence on R1, these claims are new (Article 6 LP) but lack inventive activity (Article 8 LP). State of the Art Report Page 4/4