Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
:12982~;~
72874-~
The present invention relates to a vaporizable liquid
supply apparatus. Petroleum or other vaporizable industrial
liquid is always accompanied by danger because of its properties.
Therefore, it is expected to confirm and discriminate a kind of
liquid prior to transfer thereof.
From the industrial view point, the vaporizable liquid
is transferred under the careful check for safety in order to
prevent accident. However, it is expected to realize automatic
check from the requirement of labor saving.
With progress in recent motorization, the number of cars
having a diesel engine is increasing and an accident of supplying
the light oil by mistake in place of the gasoline is often
generated at the gas service station. Therefore, some effective
measures have also been expected.
Meanwhile, there has been such accident as generated
through erroneously supply of fuels to lndividual underground tank
on the occasion of supplying several kinds of fuels to the blocks
provided in the tank for the convenience of fuel transfer to the
gas service station by a large size tank lorry.
EP-A-0 068 747 discloses a monitored liquid delivery
system. In this dellvery system a liquid fuel pump nozzle carries
an optical bar code reader. A vehicle fuel reservoir has an entry
port provided with an optical bar code strip. The reader thus
reads the optical bar code during receiving movement of the nozzle
into the entry port. A comparator compares data read from the
reader with data from a data source and optionally also with data
from a credit card security system to determine whether the
2 ,
1298254
72874-2
vehicle is authorized to receive fuel.
EP-A-o ~46 684 whic-h was filed prior to the present
application and thus is considered to be comprised in the state of
art according to artieles 54(3) and (4) EPC discloses a
misfuelling prevention device. In a system for preventing the
accidentally adding of automotive diesel fuel to the fuel tank of
a gasoline fuel vehicle at retail filling stations the vapour
pressure in the tank to be filled is measured by means of a sensor
and the difference in vapour pressure between petrol and diesel
fuel is used to give a safety cut off system.
The monitored delivery system according to EP-A-0 068
747 is operative only uncler the condition that the vehicle fuel
reservoir is provided with a special optical bar code which is
normally not the case. The misfuel prevention device according to
EP-A-0 246 684 which uses a sensor to measure the vapour pressure
of the vaporized gas of the remainlng liquid in the reservoir
requires considerable time until this measurement is completed,
especially it needs considerable regeneration time after it has
been used once.
The invention as claimed is intended to remedy these
drawbacks. It solves the problem of providing a liquid supply
apparatus which excludes or minimizes the danger of erroneous
liquid supply, i.e. supply of a certain kind of liquid to a
reservoir for which it is not intended.
The present invention therefore provides a liquid supply
apparatus which discriminates a kind of liquid to be supplied from
a gas vaporized from the liquid remaining in the tank which
I~ ~
1298254
7287~-2
requires additional supply and allows supply of liquid when the
remaining liquid which requires addition supply matches the liquid
to be supplied or stops supply of liquid when they do not match,
in order to prevent accident and realize labor saving.
More particularly, the invention provides liquid supply
apparatus for supplying liquid to a reservoir which requires
additional supply of liquid, comprising a detecting element for
detecting the vaporized gas of the remaining liquid in the
reservoir to generate a signal, differentiating means for
determining a differentiating value of said signal, a
discriminator generating a locking signal by use of said
differentiating value, in the case said differentiating value
indicates that the remaining liquid is different from the liquid
being supplied, and locking means for suspending the supply of
liquid on the basis of the locking signal from the discriminator.
In such a structure, when the detecting element is
provided to the external circumference of the liquid supply end,
for example, to the extexnal circumference of the end part of a
liquid supply gun, the liquid which requlres additional supply can
be detected accurately and it is not invaded by the liquid
supplied. Accordingly, it is convenient that the detecting
element can be used without waiting for drying condition. If the
detecting element is provided within the liquid supply path, it is
preferably provided through a film which allows transmission of
gas but the liquid. On the other hand, the locking means can
effectively utilize a sequence circuit which stops operation of
1298;~4
72874-2
the liquid supply pump, a valve body and a mechanical locking
element which stops operation of the liquid supply pump, a valve
body and a mechanical locking element which stops ON condition of
switch for motor to drive the liquid suppl~ pump.
Since the remaininy liquid which requires additional
supply can be detected from the vaporized gas thereof, the
detecting means can be formed simply, requires less detecting
period and can be set quickly to the reusable condition.
Moreover, precise discrimination can also be realized depending on
the timing element such as the differentiation value or integral
value.
In case the remaining liquid which requires additional
supply matches the liquid to be supplied, liquid supply can be
realized smoothly without effectuation of the locking operation.
However, if the liquid to be supplied does not match the remaining
liquid which requires additional supply, the discriminator
generates the locking signal based on the information sent from
the detecting element and thereby the locking means operates,
suspending supply of liquid.
The detecting element can be protected from wetting
condition by the liquid to be supplied and can be immediately used
for the next detection by providing it to the external
circumference of the liquid supply end, namely to the outside of
liquid passing route.
The invention will be described now in greater detail
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 indicates the concept of gas service station
1298254
72~74-2
utilizing the liquid supply apparatus of the present invention;
Fig. 2 indicates the concept of liquid supply from a
tank rolly indicating another embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 1 shows the concept of gas service station for
supplying the gasoline to an automob:ile. In Fig. 1, 1 is class 2
oil supply post providing a light oil
5a
, ,~
12~3254
72874-2
supply hose 2, a light oil supply gun ~ and light oil meter 4 in
the left side and a gasoline supply hose 5, a gasoline supply gun
6 and a gasoline meter 7 in the right side.
According to the present invention, in the gas service
station of this type, a gas sensible type detecting element 8 is
provided to the external circumference of end part of light oil
supply gun 3 and that of gasoline supply gun 6, respectively.
This detecting element 8a utilizes, for example, the conductive
tetrafluoride ethylene resin film including a conductive member
such as a carbon black of 50 wt% as the gas sensible part and has
excellent weather resistance property. The detecting element 8
generates different information depending on the incoming gas.
The vaporizable liquid detection element has the
structure that at least a pair of electrodes are bridged by a gas
sensible member made of a resln material including a conductive
substance. Therefore, for example, the molecules of oil element
volatiled from oil penetrate lnto sald gas sensible member and
surround the particles of the conductive substance preventing
electrical contlnuity of the vaporizable ll~uid detection element
and thereby the reslstance value or lmpedance value between the
electrodes increases. An impedance detected by the measuring
means or its function value is transmitted to the discriminating
means. The increment of the impedance value has a positive
correlation with the number of molecules of oil surrounding
particles of said conductlve substance and the increment of
gasoline having high volatility rises sharply in comparison with
that of light oil and kerosene. A degree of volatility which is
12~82S4
72874-2
different depending on the kind of oil shows a particular
impedance value under the constant condltion. Therefore, a
certain kind of oil can be discriminated by comparing the
impedance value in case the vaporizable liquid detection element
is placed in the volatile gas ambience with the precedingly
measure sample value or by deciding whether such impedance value
has exceeded the constant threshold value or not or in accordance
with a va]ue such as integral value or differential value
(variation rate).
The detecting element 8 provides a different information
or a signal depending on an incoming gas, and when it detects the
incoming vaporized gas from the remaining liquid which requires
additional supply, the resistance value or the impedance value
corresponding to this gas is generated in the detecting element 8
and the signal thereof is outputted.
The signal from the detecting element 8 is
differentiated to obtain its rate of change or a differentiating
value by a discriminator 9, and this discrlmlnator 9 will
discriminate a kind of oil to generate a locking signal. Namely,
the discriminator 9 will generate the locking signal to actuate a
locking means, when it determines that the differentiating value
obtained by differentiating the signal from the detecting element
8 is different from the set dlfferentiating value, which means a
different oil.
Accordingly, since the locking signal is generated on
the basis of the differentiating value, it is possible to
discriminate the kind of oil in a very short time.
6a
12982S~
72374-2
In this embodiment, supply of gasoline is disablea by
mechanically fixing a trigger 10 of the liquid supply guns 3, 6
depending on the signal generated by the discriminator 9. The
locking means can also be capable of employing a sequence circuit
which operates to suspend ~he drive of
6b
,, ~;
129132S4
oil supply pump provided, for example, within the oil
supply post 1 or others, a valve body which is provided
between the oil supply paths to suspend flow of liquid
and others.
In the gas service station where the liquid supply
apparatus of the present invention is provided, when a
passenger car 11 loading a diesel engine enters and a
service man unconsciously applies the gasoline supply
gun 6 to the supply port 12 in spite the passenger car
requires supply of light oil, the detecting element 8
provided to the end part of supply gun 6 detects the
vaporized gas of the remaining fuel flowing from such
supply port.
Here, the discriminator 9 decides that the supply
of light oil is requested depending on the information
sent from the detecting element 8. Since this inform-
ation is different from preset information of gasoline,
a locking signal is generated. Thereby, the trigger 10
for supplying the liquid is locked and the fuel cannot
be supplied, preventing errorneous supply of fuel.
Accordingly, the gasoline supply gun 6 is accommodated
to the oil supply post 1 and the lIghtoil supply gun 3
is then taken out to supply the light oil. In this
case, since the discriminator responding to the detect-
-- 7
129825~
ing element provided to the end part of light oil
supply gun 3 is preset to the light oil, the locking
signal is no longer generated and the light oil is
accurately supplied to the passenger car 11.
Fig. 2 is another embodiment of the presentinvention, namely an example of supplying oil to the
underground tank of gas service station from a tank
rolly.
In Fig. 2, the other end of supply hose 19
connected the the lightoil tank release valve 18 of the
tank rolly 17 is coupled with a oil supply valve 16 of
the underground tank 19 for gasoline. In this case,
when the oil supply valve 16 is opened, the detecting
element 20 protected by the film which transmits a gas
but a liquid and provided within the other end of oil
supply hose 19 detects vaporized gas of gasoline within
the underground tank 15. Thereby, the discriminator 22
receives information through a lead wire 21 connected
to the detecting element 20 and the discriminator 22
which is preset to the light oil generates the locking
signal to suspending opening of the release valve 18.
Accordingly, generation of an accident that the
light oil in the tank rolly 17 is supplied to the
underground tank 15 for gasoline and the light oil
~298254
72874-2
appears from the gasoline supply post through the coupling pipe 23
can be prevented.
The present invention is not limited to oil supply as
explained in above embodiments and can be applied to supply of
vaporizable liquid for industrial use.
According to the present invention described earlier,
the vaporizable liquid to be supplied can be detected quickly and
erroneous supply can also be prevented by forming a liquid supply
apparatus being provided to the end part of liquid supply system
and comprising a detecting element for detecting the liquid to be
supplied from the vaporized gas of the remaining liquid which
requires additional supply, a discriminator for discriminating the
informatlon obtained from such de~ecting element and generating a
lock signal and a locking means for suspending supply of liquid on
the basis of a signal generated from the discriminator.
Accordingly, the present invention provides the effect of
preventing danger and realizing labor saving.
.~ 9
