JP3057634B2 - Fuel additive injection device and control method of injection pump for fuel injection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fuel burner for burning fuel such as a heating machine such as a hot air heater for heating a greenhouse or a greenhouse for agriculture, or hot water for hot water supply or a steam boiler. The present invention relates to a fuel additive injection device for injecting an additive into fuel sent to a fuel combustion section and a control method of the injection pump.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Taking a heater as an example of a conventional device having a fuel combustion section, a heater 44 for heating the inside of a greenhouse 42 is generally installed in the greenhouse 42 as shown in FIG. A fuel tank 46 is provided at a remote location outside the greenhouse 42. The heater 44 burns fuel such as fuel oil A and heats the fuel using the heat. An additive is added to the fuel for smoke during combustion, suppression of dew condensation in the combustion chamber, ash reforming, and the like. It is practiced to mix and burn. Conventionally, the additive is mixed into the fuel by pouring the additive 48 into the fuel tank 46 in an amount corresponding to the amount of the fuel.

[0003]

As described above, the work of pouring the additive 48 into the fuel tank 46 is performed by a person.
In general, it was necessary to climb and work on a fuel tank 46 having a height of about 2 m. For this reason, there is a problem that the work involves a danger of falling down and the like, and since the work is performed outdoors, the work becomes more difficult in bad weather.

[0004] Further, the additive 48 needs to be poured in accordance with the amount of fuel in the fuel tank 46, and it is necessary to grasp how much the additive 48 has been replenished in the fuel tank 46. There is also a problem that the amount of the additive to be mixed must be calculated with respect to the amount and the amount must be measured.

[0005] Further, when the refueling operation of the fuel tank 46 is left to a contractor, it is not known when the additive should be poured. The fuel tank of the system which is supplied by pressure
The lid was always closed and no additives could be mixed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to automatically add an additive and to easily and accurately mix an amount suitable for a heater or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an injection device and a control method of the injection pump.

[0007]

A fuel additive injection device according to the present invention comprises a tank for storing an additive, and an injector for sucking the additive from the tank and injecting the additive into a fuel system of a device having a fuel combustion section. A pump, an operation unit for setting an operation state of the infusion pump, means for judging on / off of an operation switch of the operation unit, and an operation unit for judging that the operation switch is in an on state. Means for setting the operation state of the infusion pump in accordance with the operation of the section, and means for operating the infusion pump in the set operation state.

A method for controlling an injection pump is provided in a fuel additive injection device which sucks an additive from a tank for storing the additive with an injection pump and injects the additive into a fuel system of a device having a fuel combustion section. In the method for controlling an infusion pump, one of a plurality of pulse signals having different pulse generation periods is selected according to an external operation and supplied to the infusion pump, so that the infusion pump is intermittently operated according to the pulse generation period. The pulse width of the selected pulse signal is varied according to an external operation to vary the discharge amount per drive of the infusion pump.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the operation of the operation switch is controlled by the control unit simply by putting the additive into the tank of the fuel additive injection device, and further operating the operation unit to set the operation state of the injection pump. The operation state is set at the same time as the judgment is made, and the injection pump is operated to suck the set amount of the additive and automatically inject it into the fuel system of the apparatus having the fuel combustion section.

The infusion pump is driven intermittently by a selected pulse signal, and the pulse width is varied to vary the discharge amount per drive. Therefore, it is possible to easily and accurately set the injection amount of the additive.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a fuel additive injection device and a heater according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an internal structure of the fuel additive injection device shown in FIG. It is a front view. In addition, as a device having a fuel combustion unit in the present invention, there are a heater, hot water for hot water supply, a steam boiler, and the like. In any of the devices, a fuel system unit that sends fuel to the fuel combustion unit has the same structure. Therefore, a description will be given of a heater as an example.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a fuel additive injection device, which is provided with a box-shaped tank cover 6 at a lower portion of the main body 4 and accommodates a tank 8 for storing the additive therein. The tank 8 is provided with an additive replenishing port 8a and an outlet 8b at upper corners thereof, and an injection pump 10 is attached to the outlet 8b. This infusion pump 1
0 is a cylindrical pump body 10b, as shown in FIG.
A coil 10a mounted therein, a cylindrical plunger 10c that slides in the coil 10a along its inner peripheral surface when the coil 10a is excited, and a pump body 1
0b, a ring-shaped spring seat 10d fixed between the plunger 10c and the spring seat 10d, and the plunger 10c.
First and second springs 10f and 10g respectively provided between the pump body 10b and the suction port 10e, a discharge port 10h of a spring seat 10d, and a suction port 10 of a plunger 10c.
i and discharge valve 10j and suction valve 10 respectively.
k, between the discharge valve 10j and the discharge port 10m of the pump body 10b, and between the suction valve 10k and the plunger 10.
and the third and fourth springs 10p and 10q provided between the third and fourth discharge ports 10n and 10n, respectively. The operation state of the infusion pump 10 is controlled by a control unit 12 provided on the upper part of the main body 4.

The control section 12 includes an operation section 12a and a control panel 12b. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation section 12a includes an operation switch 12c, a test operation switch 12d, a model selection switch 12e, a correction volume 12f, Concentration adjustment volume 12j, liquid replenishment LED 12g, injection LED 1
2h and an operation LED 12i are provided. In the present embodiment, a microcomputer in which a drive signal of the injection pump 10 including a plurality of pulse signals having different pulse generation periods is set so that the additive is injected at an optimum injection amount for each heater model. It is provided on the control panel 12b. Then, the model selection volume 12e of the operation unit 12a
When the model of the heater is selected by the operation of, the microcomputer selects the pulse signal corresponding to the model and the infusion pump 10
To drive the infusion pump 10 intermittently. Further, when the correction volume 12f is operated, the pulse width of the selected pulse signal can be changed, whereby the discharge amount per drive of the infusion pump 10 can be changed and corrected. Also, the density adjustment volume 1
2j is operated when the interval of pulse generation of the pulse signal selected by the model selection volume 12e is switched in several steps to adjust by widening or narrowing the driving interval. The details of the drive control of the infusion pump 10 will be described later.

The injection pump 10 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the ejection volume is varied by controlling the pulse width and cycle of the pulse-like drive signal by operating the correction volume 12f and the model selection volume 12e. When the frequency of the drive signal increases, the plunger 10
The number of vertical movements per time c increases, the discharge amount increases,
Further, the discharge amount per one vertical movement increases as the pulse width increases. That is, when a pulse is generated in the drive signal in the state shown in FIG. 4, the coil 10a is excited to move the plunger 10c upward in FIG.
It moves upward in the figure together with 0c. At this time, since the suction valve 10k has the suction port 10i of the plunger 10c closed, the plunger 10c and the suction valve 1c are closed.
The plunger 10c and the discharge valve 10j
Is pushed up, and the pressure increases. The discharge valve 10j is pushed up and opened by this pressure, and the additive in the portion B is discharged from the discharge port 10h of the spring seat 10d.
And is ejected. At the same time, A between the plunger 10c and the suction port 10e of the pump body 10b
Since the inside of the part becomes a negative pressure, the additive flows into the part A from the suction port 10e. Here, when the pulse of the drive signal is interrupted and the magnetic force of the coil 10a disappears, as shown in FIG. 7, the plunger 10c is pushed back in the figure by the force of the first spring 10f. As a result, the volume of the portion B increases and the pressure decreases, so that the discharge valve 10j closes and the suction valve 10k opens. As a result, the additive in the portion A is supplied to the inlet 10i and the outlet 1 of the plunger 10c.
It flows into the part B through 0n, and returns to the initial state as shown in FIG. This operation is repeated each time a pulse is generated in the drive signal. When the frequency increases, the number of times of up and down movement increases, and when the pulse width increases, the amount of movement of the plunger 10c increases, and the amount of additive to be discharged decreases. Will be variable. When the density adjustment volume 12j is operated, the pulse generation interval of the selected pulse signal is finely changed in several steps, so that the drive interval of the plunger 10c is finely changed and the number of driving times per hour is changed. Will increase or decrease.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a heater installed in a greenhouse, a greenhouse, or the like, and a fuel supply section 16 for sucking and introducing fuel from a fuel tank, and a fuel supply section 16 supplied from the fuel supply section 16. Combustion unit 18 that burns fuel
In the present embodiment, a combustion control unit 20 for controlling combustion and the like and a blower 22 are also provided. Further, the fuel supply section 16 is connected to a fuel tank (not shown) to an air separator 24 for separating air mixed in the fuel, a strainer 28 for filtering the fuel, and a pump 26 via a forward pipe 27. Three-way branch 32 with a check valve built-in cock from pump 26, air bleeding cock 30 for bleeding air accumulated in air separator 24, air separator 24
, And connected by a return pipe 29. Fuel such as fuel oil A in the fuel tank is supplied to the air separator 24 and the strainer 28 by the operation of the pump 26 so that
The fuel is sucked into a pump 26 through a pump 7 and sent to a burner nozzle (not shown) for combustion, while a part of fuel is connected to a three-way branch 32 with a check valve built-in cock and an air vent cock 30 through a return pipe 29. It is returned to the air separator 24. Further, the combustion unit 18 includes an electromagnetic valve 34 for shutting off and supplying fuel.
And a burner 36 for burning fuel.

In the present embodiment, the above-described fuel additive injection device 2 is mounted on a side surface of a heater 14,
The additive delivered from the infusion pump 10 is supplied to the heater 14
Is injected into a return pipe 29 of a fuel return path partially returned from the pump 26 to the air separator 24 through a three-way branch 32 with a check valve built-in cock.

Next, the operation of the fuel additive injection device 2 and the heater 14 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, when the power is turned on in step ST1 and the operation switch 12c is turned on in step ST2,
The control unit 12 turns on the operation LED 12i provided in the operation unit 12a in step ST4. When the operation switch 12c is turned off, the operation LED 12i is turned off in step ST3. Next, step ST
5, the correction is set by the correction volume 12f, the model is set by the model setting volume 12e in step ST6, and the density is adjusted and set by the density adjustment volume 12j in step ST7. Next, in step ST8, the liquid level sensor 9 determines the presence or absence of the additive in the tank. If there is no additive, in step ST9, the injection pump 10
Is stopped, the injection LED 12h is turned off, the liquid supply LED 12g is turned on and off, and the buzzer is turned on. If there is an additive, in step ST10, the liquid replenishment LED 12g is turned off and the buzzer is turned off.

Next, in step ST11, it is determined whether or not the trial operation switch 12d has been pressed. If the switch has been pressed, the injection pump is operated at the maximum injection amount and the injection LED 12h is turned on in step ST12. Let it. The reason why the operation is performed at the maximum injection amount during the test operation is that it takes time to bleed air from the injection pipe if the injection amount is small. Next, in step ST13, when it is determined that the trial run switch 12d is on for 5 minutes continuously, the pump is stopped and the injection LED 12h is blinked in step ST14, and the lock state is set in step ST15. Moreover, the lock state is the operation switch 1
It is released by turning off 2c. The reason why the test operation is forcibly stopped for a certain period of time is that when the test operation is performed for a long time due to a failure of the test operation switch 12d, the additive in the tank is unnecessarily injected in a large amount. The driven infusion pump 10 may also generate heat or shorten its life, and is forcibly stopped in consideration of safety. If the trial operation switch 12d has not been pressed, the injection LED 12h is turned off in step ST16.

Next, in step ST17, it is determined from the operating voltage of the oil supply solenoid valve 34 of the heater whether or not the heater is burning. If not, step ST1 is performed.
8, the injection pump is stopped and the injection LED 12
h is turned off. If the fuel is burning, the injection pump is operated and the injection LED 12h is turned on in step ST19. At this time, the pump is operated with the drive pulse width set by the correction volume 12f (ST5) and the drive pulse frequency set by the model selection volume 12e (ST6) and the density adjustment volume 12j (ST7).

As described above, when the injection pump 10 shown in FIG. 2 is operated to suck and discharge a predetermined amount of the additive in the tank 8, the additive is heated via the cock 32 as shown in FIG. It is injected into the fuel return path from the pump 26 of the machine 14 to the air separator 24. When the heater 14 operates, fuel flows from the fuel tank into the air separator 24, and is sent from the air separator 24 through the strainer 28 and the pump 26 to the burner 36 from the solenoid valve 34. At the same time, the air release cock 3 from the pump 26 is adjusted to adjust the pressure fed into the burner 36.
It is returned to the air separator 24 through the fuel return path on the zero side. For this reason, in the air separator 24, fuel accumulates below the inside thereof, air accumulates in the upper portion, and the air is separated from the fuel. At this time, the fuel flows from the fuel tank and is sucked out.
In 4, the fuel flows vigorously. Therefore,
The additive injected into the air separator 24 is sufficiently mixed by the flow of the fuel, and the fuel mixed with the additive is sucked out and sent to the burner 36.

[0021]

According to the present invention, an additive can be automatically injected from a fuel additive injection device into a heater or the like, and the additive can be mixed into the fuel. Can be injected.

Also, the user can inject an appropriate amount of additive only by selecting a pulse signal on the operation unit,
Further, the pulse width can be varied and finely adjusted as needed, so that the additive can be injected easily and accurately.

Further, since the injection pump is automatically stopped according to the presence or absence of the additive and the operation / stop of the heater or the like, useless injection of the additive can be prevented.

Furthermore, the air can be vented at the start of the operation of the injection pump in a short time only by turning on the test operation switch, and the injection of the additive can be started quickly with a simple operation.

Further, since the additive is injected into a fuel system portion such as a heater, for example, an air separator and sufficiently mixed with the fuel, the injection pump is intermittently driven to intermittently inject the additive. Also, there is no shading of the additive mixture, and the additive can always be mixed at an appropriate ratio.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fuel additive injection device and a heater according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal structure of the fuel additive injection device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed front view of the operation unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a structure of the infusion pump shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram showing a drive signal applied to the infusion pump shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the infusion pump shown in FIG. 4 when a pulse is generated in the drive signal.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the infusion pump shown in FIG. 3 when a pulse of a drive signal is interrupted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a control unit illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state of injection of a conventional additive.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Fuel additive injection device 8 Tank 10 Injection pump 12 Control unit 14 Heater 16 Fuel supply unit 18 Combustion unit 24 Air separator 26 Pump

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 50-160832 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F23K 5/08 F23C 11/00

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tank for storing an additive, an injection pump for sucking the additive from the tank and injecting the additive into a fuel system of a device having a fuel combustion unit, and an operation unit for setting an operation state of the injection pump. Means for determining whether the operation switch of the operation unit is on or off; and setting the operation state of the infusion pump in accordance with the operation of the operation unit when it is determined that the operation switch is on. Means for operating the infusion pump in a set operating state; a liquid level sensor for sensing the additive in the tank; and a determination as to whether the liquid level sensor is sensing the additive.
Means for determining the presence or absence of an additive, and stopping the infusion pump when determining that there is no additive.
Means for injecting a fuel additive. 2. The on / off operation of a test run switch of the operation unit.
Means for determining whether the test run switch has been turned on.
Sometimes, the infusion pump operates at its maximum
2. The fuel additive injection device according to claim 1 , further comprising means for rotating the fuel additive. 3. Judgment of operation / stop of the fuel combustion unit
Means, when it is determined that the fuel combustion unit is stopped,
3. The fuel additive injection device according to claim 1 , further comprising means for stopping the injection pump . 4. A tank for storing an additive, and a fuel combustion section for sucking the additive from the tank.
An infusion pump for injecting the fuel into the fuel system of the apparatus, an operation unit for setting an operation state of the infusion pump, and means for determining whether an operation switch of the operation unit is on or off
It is determined that the operation switch is in the on state.
Operating the infusion pump according to the operation of the operation unit.
Means for setting a state and means for operating the infusion pump in a set operating state
And a hand for determining whether the test run switch of the operation unit is on or off.
And the test run switch is determined to be on.
Sometimes, the infusion pump operates at its maximum
Means for inverting the fuel additive. 5. A tank for storing an additive, and a fuel burner for sucking the additive from the tank.
An infusion pump for injecting the fuel into the fuel system of the apparatus, an operation unit for setting an operation state of the infusion pump, and means for determining whether an operation switch of the operation unit is on or off
It is determined that the operation switch is in the on state.
Operating the infusion pump according to the operation of the operation unit.
Means for setting a state and means for operating the infusion pump in a set operating state
If, means for determining the operation and stop of the fuel combustion unit, when the fuel combustion unit is determined to be stopped, the
Means for stopping the injection pump . 6. An injection pump from a tank for storing the additive.
Fuel system section of a device that sucks additives and has a fuel combustion section
Injection port in a fuel additive injection device
In the method of controlling the pump, The pulse generation cycle differs depending on the external operation.
Select one of the number of pulse signals and supply it to the infusion pump
The pump according to the pulse generation cycle
Drive intermittently, The pulse of the pulse signal selected according to the external operation
By changing the width, the discharge amount per drive of the infusion pump is
Variable, Of the injection pump in the fuel additive injection device, characterized by
Control method.