JPS6220120B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a liquid vacuum filling device used, for example, when vacuum filling oil into an oil tank of a power steering device. The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can always accurately fill liquid to a certain level even if there is a slight error in the volume of the liquid.

Conventional vacuum filling devices of this type have a structure in which the inside of the supplied liquid container is evacuated by vacuum suction, and then a fixed amount of liquid is injected using a meter, or the liquid is injected for a fixed period of time. However, with either structure, it is impossible to confirm that the liquid has been filled to a predetermined level, and there may be manufacturing errors in the volume of the liquid containers such as multiple oil tanks.
When there is a slight change in volume due to the presence of residual liquid, etc., this volume change cannot be followed, and there are disadvantages such as differences in the level of liquid after filling and between individual liquid containers. .

The present invention provides a vacuum filling device that can always keep the level of liquid at an accurate constant level after filling by having the configuration described in the claims.

The configuration of the illustrated example will be explained below.

In the figure, a filling device 1 is configured to be fitted and fixed at a mounting portion 2 to a liquid supply port 4 of a liquid container 3 such as an oil tank.

A suction tube 5 for vacuum suction is fixed to the mounting part 2 of the filling device 1 and protrudes by a predetermined length l,
A vacuum suction path 6 that communicates with the suction tube 5 is provided in the filling device 1, and the vacuum suction path 6 communicates with an opening 7 that communicates with a vacuum pump (not shown).

A first needle valve 8 is disposed in the vacuum suction path 6 described above, and the vacuum suction path 6 can be opened and closed by a valve head 10 that cooperates with a valve seat 9. The vacuum suction path 6 around the valve head 10 is formed into a large diameter chamber 11.

The first needle valve 8 has a hole 14 that is bored in the axial direction from the first opening 13 of the rear end 12.
The hole 14 is located at a second side of the valve head 10.
It communicates with the opening 15 of.

Further, a piston 16 is formed in a portion near the rear end 12 of the first needle valve 8, and is arranged in a cylinder chamber 17 of the filling device, and a spring 18 is compressed between the end wall of the cylinder chamber 17 and the piston 16. Further, the cylinder chamber 17 is provided with a hole 19 that communicates with the atmosphere. The piston 16 is supplied with pilot air from the air inlet 20 and moves upward, separating the valve head 10 of the first needle valve 8 from the valve seat 9 to open the vacuum suction path 6 and cutting off the pilot air. , the valve head 1 moves back due to the elasticity of the spring 18.
0 is brought into pressure contact with the valve seat 9 and the vacuum suction path 6 is closed.

During the opening movement of the first needle valve 8 mentioned above,
A sealing body 2 made of an elastic material or the like is provided on the end wall of the cylinder chamber 17 that can be in contact with the first opening 13 of the valve 8.
1 is attached, and at the end of the opening movement,
The rear end 12 of the first needle valve 8 is connected to the sealing body 21
By coming into close contact with the first opening 13, the first opening 13 is sealed and closed.

A liquid supply port 22 is opened in the mounting portion 2 of the filling device 1 adjacent to the suction pipe 5, and a liquid supply path 2 is provided in the filling device 1 and communicates with the liquid supply port 22.
3 is connected to a pressurized liquid supply device (not shown) at a liquid inlet 24.

In the part of this liquid supply path 23 near the liquid inlet 24,
A second needle valve 25 is disposed, and is configured to open and close the liquid supply path 23 using a valve head 26 and a valve seat 27. This second needle valve 25 has a piston 29 arranged in a cylinder chamber 28 in the filling device 1, and this piston 29
is reciprocated by the pilot air supplied from the air inlet 30 and the elasticity of a spring 31 compressed between the cylinder chamber 28, the end wall, and the piston 29.

Further, in the partial liquid supply path 32 between the liquid supply port 22 which forms a part of the liquid supply path 23 and the second needle valve 25, there is a third liquid supply path 32 that opens and closes this partial liquid supply path 32. A needle valve 33 is arranged.

The third needle valve 33 is configured to open and close the partial liquid supply path 32 by a valve head 34 facing the liquid supply port 22 side and a valve seat 35 that cooperates with the valve head 34 . The partial liquid supply path 32 around the is formed into a large diameter chamber 36.

The third needle valve 33 has a rear end 37
from the first opening 38 of the valve head 34 to the second opening 38 of the valve head 34.
A hole 40 reaching the opening 39 is bored.

Further, a piston 41 is formed in a portion near the rear end 37 of the third needle valve 33 and is disposed within the cylinder chamber 42 of the filling device 1.
A spring 43 is compressed between the end wall 2 and the piston 41, and a hole 44 communicating with the atmosphere is provided in the cylinder chamber 42.

The piston 41 is supplied with pilot air from the air inlet 45 and moves upward, separating the valve head 34 of the third needle valve 33 from the valve seat 35. When the pilot air is cut off, the elasticity of the spring 43 The valve head 34 is operated to press the valve head 34 against the valve seat 35.

A sealing body 46 made of an elastic material is attached to the end wall of the cylinder chamber 42 that can come into contact with the first opening 38 of the third needle valve 33 during the opening movement. , the rear end 37 of the third needle valve 33 comes into close contact with the sealing body 46, so that the first opening 38 is sealed and closed.

Further, the large diameter chamber 36 of the partial liquid supply path 32 mentioned above is
A communication passage 47 communicates with a pressure switch 48 fixed to the filling device 1 .

The first, second and third needle valves 8, 25 and 33 of the filling device 1 having the above structure are operated by an operating circuit as illustrated in FIG. The valve 8 is operated by supplying and shutting off pilot air to the cylinder chamber 17 by the solenoid valve SOL1, and the second needle valve 25 is operated by the solenoid valve SOL1.
The third needle valve 33 is actuated by cutting off the supply of pilot air to the cylinder chamber 28 by SOL2, and the third needle valve 33 is actuated by cutting off the supply of pilot air to the cylinder chamber 42 by solenoid valve SOL3. The solenoid valve is operated in one cycle at a predetermined timing, as will be described later, by the action of a timer inserted in a solenoid valve operating circuit (not shown) and the aforementioned pressure switch.

Hereinafter, the operation of the vacuum filling device according to the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 3 to 8.

Now, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the first
needle valve 8 and second needle valve 25
is in the closed position and the third needle valve 33 is in the open position, the mounting part 2 of the filling device 1 is
is fitted into the liquid supply port 4 of the oil tank, etc., which is the liquid container 3, and is sealed and fixed. When the vacuum suction on the vacuum pump side is applied and the start button is turned on, the solenoid valve SOL1 is turned on and the pilot Air enters the lower piston chamber of the cylinder chamber 17 from the air inlet 20, and the piston 16 of the first needle valve 8 moves upward, as shown in FIG.
The needle valve 8 of occupies the open position. Note that at the beginning of suction on the vacuum pump side, the first needle valve 8 occupies the closed position, but the hole 19 of the cylinder chamber 17 communicating with the atmosphere, the first needle valve 8 of the first needle valve 8 opening 13, hole 14,
Through the second opening 15, a vacuum suction effect takes place.

As described above, when the first needle valve 8 is in the open position, the first opening 13 thereof is closed by the sealing body 21 on the end wall of the cylinder chamber 17, so that the vacuum suction action is performed as follows. suction path 6,
The suction tube 5 is passed through to the liquid container 3 to be supplied, and the container 3 is
Evacuate the supplied liquid space. When the supplied liquid space reaches a specified degree of vacuum due to the action of a timer or the use of a vacuum sensor, the solenoid valve SOL
1 is turned OFF and the pilot air is cut off, the piston 16 returns to the old position by the action of the spring 18, the first needle valve 8 occupies the closed position, and the vacuum suction to the liquid container 3 is performed. The action is stopped. At this time, as described above, the vacuum suction action toward the vacuum pump continues while sucking the atmosphere through the hole 19, the first opening 13, the hole 14, and the second opening 15. By continuing this vacuum suction, residual oil in the vacuum suction system is removed and recovered.

The solenoid valve operating circuit, not shown, is as follows:
It is configured so that when solenoid valve SOL1 turns OFF, solenoid valve SOL2 turns ON, and solenoid valve SOL2 turns ON.
Then, the pilot air enters the lower piston chamber of the cylinder chamber 28 from the air inlet 30, the piston 29 of the second needle valve 25 moves to the left in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. The needle valve 25 of No. 2 is in the open position, and the liquid is supplied to the liquid inlet 24 by the pressurized liquid supply device as shown by arrow A.
The liquid is filled from the liquid supply port 22 into the liquid container 3 through the liquid supply path 23 and through the gap between the valve head 34 and valve seat 35 of the third needle valve 33, which is in the open position from the beginning of operation. Ru.

As the filling of liquid into the supplied liquid container 3 progresses,
The pressure in the liquid space to be supplied is transmitted from the large diameter chamber 36 of the partial liquid supply path 32 to the liquid to be supplied container 3 and the communication path 47 to the pressure switch 48, and when a predetermined pressure is sensed,
The solenoid valve SOL2 is turned OFF, and the second needle valve 25 is moved again to the closed position by the elasticity of the spring 31, and liquid supply is stopped. At this time, it is assumed that the liquid level occupies a position indicated by level L.

As mentioned above, solenoid valve SOL2
After the second needle valve 25 is turned off and the second needle valve 25 assumes the closed position, a timer separately inserted into the solenoid valve operating circuit (not shown) pauses each solenoid valve for a certain period of time, and each needle valve also returns to the above position. , the liquid filled in the liquid to be supplied container 3 is kept calm, and the liquid level is calmed down.

After the liquid level has subsided after the elapse of the above-mentioned certain period of time, the solenoid valves SOL1 and SOL3 are turned ON by the operation of the timer, and the first needle valve 8 is opened again as shown in FIG. Then, the third needle valve 33 is closed. At this time, the second needle valve 25 is maintained in the closed position. The movement of the third needle valve 33 to the closed position is achieved by cutting off the pilot air that has been acting on the piston lower chamber of the cylinder chamber 42 through the air inlet 45 and lowering the piston 41 by the elasticity of the spring 43. It is done.

By the above-mentioned third needle valve 33 occupying the closed position, the partial liquid supply path 32 is cut off from the liquid supply port 22, and the liquid supply port 22 is connected to the hole 44 of the cylinder chamber 42, the third The first opening 38, the hole 40, and the second opening 39 of the rear end 37 of the needle valve 33 communicate with the atmosphere, so that the space of the liquid to be supplied in the liquid to be supplied container 3 is communicated with the atmosphere. The Rukoto.

At the same time, as shown by the arrow B in FIG. Acts on the liquid receiving space.

As shown in FIG. 7, if the aforementioned liquid is filled so that the liquid level L is above the lower end of the suction tube 5, the liquid will be transferred to the suction tube 5 by the vacuum suction action. The suction of the liquid ends when the liquid level reaches a level L' that matches the lower end of the suction tube 5.

In the solenoid valve operating circuit described above, a timer is set in advance to set the time required for the liquid level to go from level L to level L' as described above, and when the liquid level reaches L'. Then, turn off the solenoid valves SOL1 and SOL3, and turn off both the first and third needle valves 8 and 33.
is returned to the state shown in FIG. 3, and one cycle of liquid filling is completed.

The vacuum filling device according to the present invention has the configuration and operation described above, and after evacuating the inside of the liquid container by vacuum suction, fills the liquid with liquid, and at that time, the inside of the liquid container is filled with liquid. It detects the increase in internal pressure, stops filling the liquid, keeps the inside of the supplied liquid container calm until the liquid level has calmed down, and after the liquid level has calmed down, the suction tube communicating with the vacuum suction path is used to remove the supplied liquid. Since the liquid in the liquid supply container is sucked up to the lower end of the suction tube and removed, the liquid level in the container can always be maintained at a constant level regulated by the lower end of the suction tube.
Even if there is a difference in the volume of the supplied liquid container due to manufacturing errors, or even if there is residual liquid used for watertight inspection during the manufacturing of the container, it will always be supplied and filled. It is possible to bring the liquid to a precise and constant level.

Further, in the above-mentioned operation, both the first needle valve and the third needle valve are connected to the first needle valve and the third needle valve.
Both second openings and a hole that communicates the two openings are provided, and the chamber of the filling device in which the first openings of both valves are located is open to the atmosphere, and further, both valves are moved to open. In this case, since a sealing body for sealing off the first opening is attached to the chamber, the vacuum suction, liquid filling, and liquid level regulation described above can be performed quickly and accurately using a relatively simple mechanism. It has the effect of

In addition, vacuum suction inside the liquid container, filling of liquid,
It also has the effect of automatically realizing a series of actions such as calming the liquid level and regulating the liquid level to a certain level as one continuous cycle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an example of the embodiment, Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line - in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 3, Fig. 5, Figures 6 and 7 show the third
FIG. 8, which is a sectional view taken at the same position as the figure, is an operating circuit diagram of the first to third needle valves each having a solenoid. 1: Filler, 2: Mounting part, 3: Liquid container,
4: Liquid supply port, 5: Suction tube, 6: Vacuum suction path, 8:
first needle valve, 10: valve head of the first needle valve, 11: large diameter chamber, 12: rear end of the first needle valve, 13: first opening of the first needle valve, 14: hole of the first needle valve, 15: second opening of the first needle valve, 19: hole communicating with the atmosphere of the cylinder chamber,
21: Sealing body for the first needle valve, 2
2: Liquid supply port, 23: Liquid supply path, 24: Liquid inlet, 2
5: second needle valve, 32: partial liquid supply path,
33: third needle valve, 34: valve head of third needle valve, 36: large diameter chamber, 37: rear end of third needle valve, 38: first opening of third needle valve part, 39: second opening of the third needle valve, 40: hole of the third needle valve, 44: hole communicating with the atmosphere of the cylinder chamber, 46: sealing body for the third needle valve , 48: Pressure switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A suction pipe is protruded by a predetermined length from the mounting part of the filling device that is brought into close contact with the liquid supply port of the liquid container to be supplied,
A first needle valve that opens and closes the passage is disposed in a vacuum suction passage in the filling device that communicates the suction pipe with the vacuum pump side, and the liquid supply port that opens to the mounting part is connected to the pressurized supply. A second needle valve for opening and closing the liquid supply path in the filling device that communicates with the liquid device is disposed, and a partial liquid supply path between the liquid supply port and the second needle valve is further provided with a second needle valve for opening and closing the liquid supply path. is provided with a third needle valve that opens and closes this partial liquid supply path, and the first needle valve is connected to the first needle valve at the rear end.
A hole is drilled in the axial direction from the opening of the
It communicates with a second opening on the side of the valve head, the second opening opens at a portion of the vacuum suction path that communicates with the vacuum pump side, and the second opening opens at a portion of the vacuum suction path that communicates with the vacuum pump side of the filling device where the rear end of the needle valve is located. A hole communicating with the atmosphere is opened in the chamber, and a sealing body is attached that comes into close contact with and closes the first opening during the opening movement of the first needle valve, and further In the third needle valve, a hole formed in the axial direction from the first opening at the rear end communicates with the second opening in the valve head. A hole communicating with the atmosphere is opened in the chamber of the filling device where the end is located, and a sealing body that comes into close contact with the first opening and seals it when the third needle valve opens. is attached, and the first,
Each of the second and third needle valves is configured such that the second needle valve is closed by an operating circuit in which a pressure switch interposed in the partial liquid supply path is inserted.
After a certain period of time has passed since the first needle valve is opened while the third needle valve is open, the first needle valve is closed and the second needle valve is opened, and the pressure switch is activated. Then, the second needle valve closes from the above state, and after it remains in that state for a certain period of time, the third needle valve closes, and the first needle valve opens, so that the suction tube is covered up to the lower end level. A liquid vacuum filling device for a power steering device, etc., characterized in that the device is operated so that the liquid in the supplied liquid is sucked out.