JPH10122655A - Fluid heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heat a fluid without additionally providing an electric heating wire onto a flowing pipe itself by heating the fulid by heating of a tubular heater through power supply. SOLUTION: A sealing-agent application gun 12 provided on a wrist part 11 of a sealing-agent application robot 10 is connected with a sealing-agent supply apparatus 30 through a sealing-agent supply pipe 20. As the sealing agent-supply pipe 20 there is used a flexible pipe such as a rubber pipe. The sealing agent supply apparatus 30 includes pump means 32 for pressurizing the upper surface of the sealing agent contained in a can 31, and discharges the sealing agent pushed up with pressurization action of the pump means 32 into the sealing-agent supply pipe 20. Between a coupling box 40 located on the side of the wrist part 11 of the robot 10 and a coupling box 40 located on the side of the sealing-agent supply apparatus 30 there is interposed a flexible treating pipe 60 engaged removably with an outer periphery of the sealing-agent supply pipe 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid heating device for heating a fluid in a pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a fluid supply means for supplying a high-viscosity fluid such as a sealant or an adhesive, a fluid supply pipe in which a heating wire is integrally wound around the outer periphery of a pipe body, There has been proposed a fluid supply device provided with: In this fluid supply device, the pipe body and the fluid are heated by the heat generated by the heating wire.

[0003]

In the fluid supply pipe, since the pipe body and the heating wire are integrally connected, even if only one of them has an abnormality, it is necessary to replace the entire pipe. Occurs.

[0004] Further, when the present invention is applied to an existing facility using a fluid supply pipe having no heating function, there is a disadvantage that the fluid supply pipe must be removed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid supply device capable of heating a fluid without adding a heating wire to the pipe itself through which the fluid flows in view of such a situation.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus for heating a fluid in a tube, comprising a tubular heating body fitted around the outside of the tube, and an energizing means for energizing the tubular heating body. ,
The fluid is heated by heat generation of the tubular heating body by the energization.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a sealant application gun 1 attached to a wrist 11 of a sealant application robot 10 is shown.
Numeral 2 is connected to a sealant supply device 30 via a sealant supply pipe 20, which is a fluid supply pipe. Note that a flexible tube such as a rubber tube is used as the sealant supply tube 20.

[0008] The sealant supply device 30 includes pump means 32 for pressurizing the upper surface of the sealant contained in the can 31.
The sealant pushed up by the pressurizing action of the pump means 32 is discharged into the sealant supply pipe 20.

A connection box 13 provided on the wrist 11 of the robot 10 and a connection box 40 located on the side of the sealant supply device 30 are attached to and detached from the outer periphery of the sealant supply pipe 20. A flexible heating tube 60 fitted freely is interposed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the heating tube 60 is
It has a configuration in which a tubular connection fitting 62 is attached to an end of a pipe main body 61. The connection fittings 62 are attached to both ends of the tube main body 61.

As shown in FIG. 4, the tube main body 61 has a flexible tube 63 as a tubular heating element. The flexible tube 63 has a configuration in which the edges are entangled with each other while forming a strip-shaped stainless steel sheet into a spiral shape, and the outer peripheral surface is coated with an electrically insulating coating material 64 made of heat-resistant vinyl or the like. A cylindrical bush fitting 65 is press-fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the end.

The flexible tube 63 is commercially available as a protection means for a hose, an electric wiring material and the like.
It can be used after being cut to a desired length.

The connecting metal fitting 62 has threads 62a and 62b engraved on the outer peripheral surface at one end and the outer peripheral surface at the other end, respectively, and is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cap metal 66 attached to the end of the covering material 63. After press-fitting the end on the thread 62b side, the nut 68 is attached to the pipe main body 61 by screwing into the thread 62b.

When the nut 68 is tightened, the nut 68 contacts the step 66a of the cap 66 to lock the connection fitting 62.

The heating tube 60 is connected to the connection box 13 shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, after fitting the end of the connection fitting 62 on the screw thread 62a side into the hole 13a of the box 13, the nut 70 is screwed onto the screw thread 62a to connect to the connection box 13. I do. At this time, the connecting fitting 62
Electrical insulating members 71 and 72 are interposed between the box and the box 13, thereby electrically insulating the two from each other.

The other end of the heating tube 60 is connected to the connection box 40 shown in FIG. 1 by the same operation as described above.

Electric wires 80 are respectively connected to the connecting metal fittings 62 at both ends of the heating tube 60 by using bolts 67 shown in FIG. And the other end.

This is because each connecting fitting 62 is electrically connected to a corresponding end of the flexible tube 63 via a cap fitting 66, a nut 68, and a bush fitting 65.

As shown in FIG. 1, a temperature sensor 90 is provided at an appropriate position of the heating tube 60, and the temperature sensor is connected to the heating control device 100 together with the electric wires 80.

The heating tube 60 and the heating control device 100
The fluid heating device according to the present invention is configured, and its operation will be described below.

When the sealant supply device 30 is operated,
The sealant discharged from the supply device 30 is supplied to the application gun 12 of the robot 10 via the sealant supply pipe 20. As a result, the work (not shown)
The sealant is applied along the second movement locus.

In order to smoothly apply the sealant, it is necessary to control the temperature of the sealant and to maintain the viscosity of the sealant properly. Heat it up. This is because the sealing agent in the sealing agent supply tube 20 is indirectly heated as the flexible tube 63 is heated.

The heating of the flexible tube 63 is realized by direct energization of the flexible tube 63, that is, by making the flexible tube 63 function as an electric heating element.

According to experiments, the length is 1000 mm and the diameter is 25
When a voltage of about 10 V is applied between both ends of the flexible tube 63 mm, a current of about 5 A flows between the both ends and Joule heat (power consumption is about 50 W) is generated.
The temperature of the flexible tube 63 rises to about 30C to 40C.

The heating control device 100 applies a voltage corresponding to the length of the flexible tube 63 between the one end and the other end of the member 63 via the electric wire 80, and sets a preset target temperature ( For example, the power supplied to the flexible tube 63 is adjusted so that there is no deviation between the actual heating temperature of the heating tube 60 detected by the temperature sensor 90 and 40 ° C.).

Since the means for adjusting the supplied power is a known means using a power control element such as a thyristor, the description thereof is omitted here.

The temperature sensor 90 is provided so as to detect the outer surface temperature of the heating tube 60. However, since the difference between this outer surface temperature and the temperature of the sealant in the sealant supply tube 20 is extremely small, The temperature of the sealant can be sufficiently controlled based on the detection signal of the sensor 90. Of course, if necessary, the temperature sensor 90 can be provided so that the temperature of the sealant is directly detected.

The target temperature set by the heating control device 100 is a temperature at which the viscosity of the sealant is adjusted to a viscosity suitable for coating. Accordingly, the sealant having an appropriate viscosity is discharged from the application gun 12, and as a result, the sealant is smoothly applied to a work (not shown).

The above-described fluid heating device can also be used as a heat retaining means for preventing the sealant from freezing.
In addition, since the heating pipe 60 is independent of the sealant supply pipe 20, only the sealant supply pipe 20 is used when the sealant supply pipe 20 is broken, and when the heating pipe 60 is broken down. The economical convenience that only the heating tube 60 can be replaced is obtained.

In addition, the sealing agent in the sealing agent supply pipe 20 can be heated while utilizing the sealing agent supply pipe 20 provided in the existing sealing agent application equipment, so that it is economically convenient. Can be

If the diameter of the sealant supply pipe 20 is largely different from that of the flexible pipe 63, there is a possibility that thermal conductivity may be reduced due to the space formed between them. The amount of displacement of the sealant supply pipe 20 with respect to the center position of the flexible pipe 63 may be increased, and the thermal conductivity may be biased.

Therefore, when the difference between the diameters is large,
Suitable inclusions made of a material with good thermal conductivity between them,
For example, it is desirable to provide a flexible coil-shaped member wound around the outer periphery of the sealant supply pipe 20.

Of course, in the case where an intervening member such as the above-mentioned coil-shaped member is provided, the heating pipe 6 with respect to the sealant supply pipe 20 is provided.
The thickness of the inclusion is selected so that the ease of separation of 0 is not impaired.

Although the heating tube 60 has a flexible tube 63 made of stainless steel, a flexible tube 63 'shown in FIG. 5 can be used instead of the flexible tube 63.

The flexible tube 63 'has a configuration in which a strip-shaped synthetic resin plate is spirally wound, and a heating wire 63a' having an appropriate electric resistance is inserted into each of the entangled portions. Although the heating conductor 63a 'shown is a single wire, a stranded wire can naturally be used as the conductor 63a'.

The conductor 63a 'is heated by the electric power supplied from the heating control device 100 shown in FIG.
Therefore, even when the flexible pipe 63 ′ is applied to the heating pipe 60, the sealant in the sealant supply pipe 20 can be heated.

The above-described fluid heating device of the present invention
The present invention is applicable not only to the heating of the sealant but also to the heating of other fluids such as paints and various gases.

[0038]

According to the present invention, since the tubular heating body is independent of the fluid flow pipe, only the flow pipe is broken if the fluid flow pipe fails, and the tubular heating body is broken if the tubular heating body fails. Only the heating element can be replaced, so that maintenance costs can be reduced. In addition, there is also provided an economical convenience that the fluid in the circulation pipe can be heated while utilizing the existing fluid circulation pipe.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a heating tube.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a heating tube.

FIG. 4 is a half sectional view of a heating tube.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing another example of the flexible pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sealant application robot 12 Sealant application gun 20 Sealant supply pipe 30 Sealant supply device 60 Heating tube 61 Tube main body 62 Connection fitting 63, 63 'Flexible tube 100 Heating control device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kuniyama Uchiyama 300, Takatsuka-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Suzuki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Minato 300, Takatsuka-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Suzuki Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for heating a fluid in a pipe, comprising: a tubular heating element fitted around the outer circumference of the pipe; and an energizing means for energizing the tubular heating element, wherein the tubular heating element is energized. Wherein the fluid is heated by the heat generated by the fluid heating device. 2. The fluid heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tubular heating body is a flexible tube made of metal, and the electric current is supplied between both ends of the flexible tube. 3. The fluid heating device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular heating element is a flexible tube made of a resin in which a conductive wire is provided, and the current is supplied to the conductive wire.