JPH0415399B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a pump device that houses a gas-liquid separation device, a gas-liquid separation chamber, and a pump in a casing, and is used in a gasoline metering machine or the like. .

[Prior Art] As is well known, in a refueling system at a refueling station that handles volatile liquids such as gasoline, a pump device is provided with a device for separating gas mixed in the liquid as bubbles.

By the way, in a conventional gas-liquid separation device, a large filter chamber is formed to reduce the flow rate, and the gas, that is, the liquid containing bubbles, is floated upward, and the liquid flows into the gas-liquid separation chamber, and then the gas-liquid separation is performed. The chamber was designed to separate gas and liquid. In this way, conventional gas-liquid separators utilize the natural floating of air bubbles, so in order to improve the separation effect, it is necessary to reduce the liquid flow rate, which requires a larger filter chamber and therefore a pump The disadvantage was that the entire device became larger. In addition, since the air bubbles are allowed to float naturally, it is difficult for the air bubbles to completely separate from the liquid, and as a result, the liquid mixed with air bubbles may flow out from the discharge side of the pump device.To prevent this, the filter chamber must be made larger. Alternatively, the amount of outflow to the gas-liquid separation chamber must be increased, which further increases the size of the pump and reduces its efficiency.

The present applicant has proposed a pump device that eliminates the various drawbacks mentioned above in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-190829 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-198)
-Refer to Publication No. 85272). This separation device has a vortex chamber on the pump discharge side, and a separation pipe with an open tip at the center of the vortex chamber. Therefore, the liquid that flows into the swirl chamber from the inlet swirls, so the liquid has a high specific gravity, so
The air bubbles flow outward in the radial direction due to centrifugal force, and since the specific gravity of the bubbles is small, they gather in the center in the radial direction,
It is sufficient to separate the liquid containing bubbles collected in the center using a separation pipe and allow it to flow into the gas-liquid separation chamber, thus eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional apparatus.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, the separation device of the pump device proposed by the present applicant consists of a vortex chamber and a separation pipe arranged in the vortex chamber. Although the separation is reliable and the flow rate flowing from the gas-liquid separator to the gas-liquid separation chamber is small, it has been found that there is room for further improvement. In other words, the above-mentioned separation device proposed by the present applicant is designed to separate a liquid containing bubbles from a liquid that does not contain bubbles using a separation pipe provided concentrically with the outer cylinder, but the tip of the separation pipe is located away from the point where the swirling energy is maximum, the separation efficiency is not necessarily good, and the structure is relatively complex because the separation pipe, or inner cylinder, is provided inside the outer cylinder. In addition, since the outer cylinder is long, the flow resistance is large. For example, if a large amount of bubbles are temporarily generated, the bubbles will not be able to enter the separation pipe until the liquid in the separation pipe flows out, which will reduce the separation efficiency. I knew it was bad.

In addition, in conventional pump devices used in gasoline metering machines, etc., in which a gas-liquid separator, a gas-liquid separation chamber, and a pump are housed in a casing, the gas-liquid separator does not contain a mixture of gas and liquid. A method was used in which the cross-sectional area of the flowing channel (gas-liquid separation channel) was widened and the flow rate was slowed, so that the gas in the liquid rose while flowing through the channel. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was necessary to enlarge the chamber constituting the gas-liquid separation device, and the casing had to be enlarged.

Here, there is a desire to make the pump device as small as possible from the viewpoint of effective use of space, labor saving, and reduction of operating costs, but based on the reasons mentioned above, it is necessary to ensure gas-liquid separation. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to increase the size of the chamber that constitutes the gas-liquid separation device, so conventional techniques have not been able to meet the demand for miniaturization.

The present invention was proposed in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and provides a gas-liquid separation device that can separate a liquid containing bubbles from a liquid without bubbles at the point where the swirling energy of the liquid is maximum. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pump device that includes a pump device and can be miniaturized as a whole.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The pump device of the present invention includes a rotary pump that includes a casing having an inlet and an outlet, and that sucks liquid from the inlet, and a gas-liquid separator provided in the discharge flow path of the rotary pump. and a gas-liquid separation chamber communicating with a gas outflow opening of the gas-liquid separation device, the gas-liquid separation chamber having a first opening formed above and communicating with the atmosphere, and a first opening of the gas-liquid separation device communicating with the atmosphere. It is constituted by a chamber having a second opening communicating with the opening, and a third opening formed below and communicating with the flow path on the suction side of the rotary pump, and the third opening In a pump device having a float valve that opens and closes, the gas-liquid separation device has a swirl chamber that separates gas and liquid by swirling a liquid in which gas is mixed, and the swirl chamber is connected to the rotation shaft of the rotary pump. The openings are parallel to each other and are located so as to tangentially guide the liquid from the discharge side flow path of the rotary pump. It is installed on the end wall of the vortex chamber.

[Description of Effects] According to the present invention having such a configuration, the liquid flowing into the swirl chamber from the discharge side of the pump swirls;
Due to this swirl, the liquid flows in the radial direction due to centrifugal force due to its high specific gravity, and the air bubbles gather inward at the center because their specific gravity is small, and the liquid containing the air bubbles gathered at this center becomes a vortex. It flows out into the gas-liquid separation chamber through the small hole formed in the central end wall. The bubble-free liquid flows from the barrel to the filter chamber.

That is, in the gas-liquid separator, a mixture of gas and liquid is swirled and separated into a liquid containing bubbles and a liquid not containing bubbles, and the separated liquid containing bubbles is captured at a point where the swirling energy is maximum and becomes a gas. Transferred to liquid separation chamber. Therefore, the gas-liquid separation efficiency is improved, and there is no need to enlarge the chamber in order to lower the flow rate as in the prior art. As a result, the casing of the pump device can be made compact and the entire device can be downsized, and it can be easily incorporated into a gasoline metering machine. In addition, equipment incorporating the pump device of the present invention, such as a gasoline metering machine, itself can be downsized.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, according to the present invention, the separation efficiency is high, gas and liquid can be separated even if the outer cylinder of the separation device is short, and the outflow resistance of liquid that does not contain bubbles is small, and the gas-liquid separation device The energy loss in is small. And, the present applicant has previously proposed Japanese Patent Application No. 1982-1982 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 85272-1982).
Compared to the original, the structure is simpler as there is no separation pipe.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it is clear that the pump device embodying the present invention can be applied to pumps other than the illustrated internal gear pump. In addition, the small hole in the separation pipe has been devised and can be configured as a valve type. Regarding other configurations, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pump device embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same pump device. Referring to these figures, the pump device P includes a casing C, and the casing C is provided with an inlet I and an outlet O for liquid. A check valve 1 is provided at the inner end of the inlet I, and opens into a chamber 2 provided with a strainer 2a on the inlet side. As shown in the figure, the check valve 1 is of the type that closes by gravity, and a stopper 50 is provided above it to prevent the valve from coming off during transportation or operation of the pump device.
has been established. A pump 3 is provided approximately in the center of the casing C. In the illustrated embodiment, the pump 3 is a known internal gear pump. This pump 3 has a suction port 3a and a discharge port 3b, and a liquid path 10 is formed in the casing C to connect the chamber 2 and the suction port 3a. A discharge port 3b of the pump 3 communicates with a gas-liquid separator 4, which will be described later. A liquid path is configured such that the liquid flowing outside in the radial direction of the gas-liquid separator 4, that is, the liquid that does not contain bubbles, flows into a chamber 5 provided with a strainer 5a on the outflow side, and a strainer chamber 5 on the outflow side. A control valve 6 is provided between the outlet O and the outlet O. This control valve 6 resists the spring 6a when the pump is driven, and the liquid that opens the valve flows out, and after the oil supply is stopped,
Although not shown, when the pressure inside the pipe connected to the outlet increases due to a rise in temperature, etc., a small valve is opened against the spring 6b provided on the valve 6 to allow the liquid to flow backwards. It's getting old. A bypass valve 12 is provided in a liquid path 11 for liquid flowing radially outward of the gas-liquid separation device 4, and this liquid path 11 communicates with the suction port 3a of the pump 3.

On the other hand, the liquid containing bubbles flowing inside the gas-liquid separator 4 in the radial direction flows into the liquid path 13 through the gas-liquid outflow control mechanism 7. This liquid path 13 is formed in the side cover of the casing. This liquid path 13 communicates with a gas-liquid separation chamber 8, which will be described later. The gas separated in the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 is discharged from the air vent 14, and the liquid from which the gas has been separated flows into the liquid path 15. A check valve 9 is provided in this liquid passage 15, and this liquid passage 15 communicates with the strainer chamber 2 on the inflow side.

Therefore, when the pump 3 is rotated by a suitable prime mover, the liquid flows from the inlet I to the check valve 1, the strainer chamber 2 on the inlet side, the pump 3, the gas-liquid separator 4, the strainer chamber 5 on the outlet side, and the control valve 6. It passes through the outlet O and is discharged from the outlet O. Also, the gas-liquid separator 4
A portion of the liquid is bypassed to the pump 3 through the bypass valve 12. This is because the amount of liquid to be discharged is determined by the number of revolutions of the gear pump 3, so it is necessary to cope with changes in the amount of discharged liquid. On the other hand, in the gas-liquid separator 4, the liquid containing gas flows through the gas-liquid outflow control mechanism 7 to the gas-liquid separation chamber 8, where the gas is released from the air vent 14, and the liquid passes through the check valve 9 on the inflow side. It is returned to the strainer room 2.

Next, one embodiment of the gas-liquid separator will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gas-liquid separator 4
A liquid path 18 from the pump discharge port 3b leading to the gas-liquid separator is configured to lead the liquid tangentially to the gas-liquid separator and communicates with the swirl chamber S. This vortex chamber is extended rightward in the figure by a relatively short outer cylinder 20, and its end 20a is open and communicates with the strainer chamber 5 and the flow path 11 on the outflow side.

Therefore, the gas-free liquid flowing out from the end 20a of the outer cylinder 20 flows from the outside to the inside of the strainer 5, flows into a chamber formed at the axial end of the strainer 5, and then passes through the control valve 6. Then, it flows out from the outlet O.

A small hole 41 for gas-liquid outflow is formed in the end wall 40 of the swirl chamber S of the gas-liquid separation device 4, substantially concentrically with the swirl chamber S. The small hole 41 opens into a flow path 44 formed by the cover 42 and the outer surface 43 of the end wall 40, and this flow path 44 communicates with the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 via the flow path 13. Since the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 communicates with the atmosphere via the air vent 14, the flow path 4
4, the pressure inside is also almost atmospheric.

As mentioned above, when the pump 3 is driven, liquid is sucked in from the inlet I of the pump device P and discharged from the outlet O, but the liquid discharged from the discharge port of the pump 3 is transferred to the gas-liquid separation device 4. flows tangentially into the spiral chamber S of. In the swirl chamber S, the liquid swirls, and during this swirl, the liquid with high specific gravity that does not contain bubbles gathers radially outward of the swirl chamber S, and the liquid with low specific gravity that contains bubbles gathers in the center in the radial direction. get together. Most of the liquid that does not contain air bubbles is in the outer cylinder 2.
0 end to the strainer 5 and exits from the outlet O through the control valve 6.
The remaining portion returns to the suction side of the pump 3 through the flow path 11 and the bypass valve 12. The liquid with low specific gravity containing air bubbles passes directly from the swirl chamber S through the small hole 41 to the flow path 4.
4, and is further led to the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 through the flow path 13. A buffer member is provided in the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 at a position facing the flow path 13, and the liquid is guided through the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 without bubbling.

The gas-liquid separation chamber 8 is provided with a float valve, etc., and when liquid accumulates, the float valve opens and the liquid returns to the strainer chamber 2 through the check valve 9. The gas separated in the gas-liquid separation chamber 8 exits through the air vent 14.

Now, the small hole 41 for gas and liquid outflow formed in the end wall 40 of the swirl chamber S constitutes a control mechanism 7 for gas and liquid outflow, and as shown in FIG. and a valve seat 46, the valve body 45 is pressed in the opening direction by a spring 47, and openings 48a and 48b may be provided in the center and side portions of the valve body 45. Such a valve body 45 and valve seat 4
6, if there are many bubbles, both openings 4
Gas and liquid flow out from the openings 8a and 48b, and when there is less gas and liquid, they flow out only from the central opening 48a, improving the efficiency of air bubble removal and the recovery efficiency of liquid.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the pump device of the present invention, the liquid containing bubbles separated by the gas-liquid separation device is taken in at a point where the swirling energy is maximum and transferred to the gas-liquid separation chamber. Because of this, gas-liquid separation efficiency is high.
There is no need to make the chamber larger and lower the flow rate. Therefore, since the entire casing can be made compact, the entire device can be downsized.

Furthermore, since gas and liquid are separated by the swirling flow of liquid, separation efficiency is high.
Furthermore, since the gas-liquid separation device is composed of only a relatively short outer cylinder, the outflow resistance of the liquid is small, the structure is simple, and the device itself incorporating the pump device of the present invention is also compact. It is something.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a pump device embodying the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same as above, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a gas-liquid separation device, and Fig. 4 is a gas-liquid separation device. Figure 3 is another embodiment of a control mechanism for outflow. 3... Pump, 4... Gas-liquid separation device, 8... Gas-liquid separation chamber, 40... End wall of swirl chamber, 41... Small hole for gas-liquid outflow.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A rotary pump equipped with a casing having an inlet and an outlet, which sucks liquid from the inlet, a gas-liquid separator provided in the discharge flow path of the rotary pump, and a gas-liquid separator provided at the gas outlet opening of the gas-liquid separator. The gas-liquid separation chamber is provided with a first opening formed in the upper part and communicating with the atmosphere, a second opening in communication with the opening of the gas-liquid separation device, and a lower part. and a third opening formed in the rotary pump and communicating with the flow path on the suction side of the rotary pump, and the pump device has a float valve that opens and closes the third opening. The liquid separation device has a swirl chamber that separates gas and liquid by swirling a liquid in which gas is mixed, and the swirl chamber is parallel to the rotation axis of the rotary pump and is connected to The opening is provided at a position that leads the liquid in a tangential direction, and the opening communicating with the gas-liquid separation chamber is provided in the end wall of the swirl chamber on the side communicating with the discharge side flow path of the rotary pump. pump equipment.