The present disclosure relates to a nozzle unit.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for processing or cleaning an object by injecting liquid nitrogen instead of water. In a water jet method using water, since cutting pieces or the like and dirt are mixed with water, it is necessary to consider the treatment of water itself, and a large amount of secondary waste may be generated. On the other hand, in the case of using liquid nitrogen that evaporates after injection, since liquid nitrogen is separated and vaporized from cutting pieces and dirt, processing and cleaning can be performed without generating secondary waste.
[Patent Document 1] U.S. Pat. No. 7,310,955
When using a liquefied fluid that evaporates and expands after injection such as liquid nitrogen or the like, an object is destroyed by an expansion force of the liquefied fluid. For this reason, when the object is, for example, a concrete structure including inclusions such as reinforcing bars and pipes into which the liquefied fluid does not enter, it is possible to easily process or remove only the concrete portion into which the liquefied fluid permeates, without damaging the inclusions. For this reason, it is conceivable to perform drilling or the like of a concrete structure without damaging the inclusions, by injection of a vaporizable liquefied fluid such as liquid nitrogen.
However, in Patent Document 1, liquid nitrogen is injected from a straight tubular nozzle unit. For this reason, when the drilling of the concrete structure advances and the nozzle unit is made to enter the inside of the concrete structure, the nozzle unit cannot be tilted, and liquid nitrogen can be injected only in front of the nozzle unit. For this reason, it is difficult to enlarge a diameter of a hole, and only a hole corresponding to the diameter of the nozzle unit can be formed. Further, when the nozzle unit hits inclusions during drilling, the nozzle unit cannot be advanced while avoiding the inclusions. That is, the nozzle unit disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not have a shape suitable for processing a porous structure including inclusions such as a reinforcing bar.
The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to enable processing of a porous structure including inclusions such as a reinforcing bar or a pipe to be easily performed by a nozzle unit that injects a liquefied fluid that evaporates after injection.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a nozzle unit which is configured to inject a liquefied fluid which evaporates after injection, and includes a tubular portion which has a base portion and a distal end portion and in which a flow path configured to guide the liquefied fluid to a part including the distal end portion and the base portion is formed, the distal end portion having an injection opening and being bent or curved and connected to the base portion.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the base portion may be formed in a straight tube shape, and the distal end portion may be configured to inject the liquefied fluid in a direction inclined with respect to an axis of the base portion.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the injection opening of the distal end portion may open toward a side opposite to the base portion.
In the nozzle unit of the aspect, the nozzle unit may further include a heat insulating portion which is fixed to the tubular portion and surrounds the flow path from a radially outer side.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the heat insulating portion may cover the tubular portion from the radially outer side, and is capable of being divided in an extending direction of the tubular portion.
The nozzle unit according to the aspect of the invention may further include a gripping portion which is attached to the tubular portion and protrudes to a radially outer side from the tubular portion.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the gripping portion may include a plurality of gripping portions which are provided on the base portion to be spaced apart from each other in an extending direction of the flow path.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the plurality of gripping portions may protrude in different directions around the tubular portion.
In the nozzle unit according to the aspect, the gripping portion may be attached to be movable in an extending direction of the tubular portion.
According to the present disclosure, the tubular portion has a distal end portion that is bent or curved and connected to the base portion, and the distal end portion has an injection opening. For this reason, by rotating the base portion, the injection opening can be moved in a circumferential direction when viewed from the base portion side, and an inner wall surface of a hole can be scraped without tilting the tubular portion, and the diameter of the hole can be easily enlarged. In addition, since the tubular portion can be tilted by enlarging the diameter of the hole, even when the distal end portion of the tubular portion hits inclusions, the inclusions can be easily avoided by performing tilting or the like of the tubular portion. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, by using the nozzle unit that injects a liquefied fluid that evaporates after injection, it is possible to easily process a porous structure including inclusions such as a reinforcing bar or a pipe.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a nozzle unit according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
The storage tank 2 is a pressure tank which stores a liquid nitrogen X, and is connected to the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the chiller 4. Note that the liquid nitrogen injection system 1 may be configured to receive the supply of the liquid nitrogen X from outside, without including the storage tank 2.
The liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 boosts the liquid nitrogen X, which is supplied from the storage tank 2, to a predetermined injection pressure. For example, the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 is equipped with a boost pump for pumping the liquid nitrogen X, a pre-pump for primarily boosting the liquid nitrogen X sent from the boost pump, an intensifier pump for secondarily boosting the primarily-boosted liquid nitrogen X up to the injection pressure, and the like. The liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 is connected to the chiller 4.
The chiller 4 is a heat exchanger which cools the boosted liquid nitrogen X to an injection temperature, by performing a heat exchange between the liquid nitrogen X heated by being boosted with the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the liquid nitrogen X supplied from the storage tank 2. One end of the flexible hose 5 is connected to the chiller 4.
For example, the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the chiller 4 are unitized and disposed on a single mobile carrier. Since the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the chiller 4 which are unitized, and the storage tank 2 as necessary are disposed in the mobile carrier, the liquid nitrogen injection system 1 can be easily moved. The liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the chiller 4 do not necessarily need to be unitized. For example, the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and the chiller 4 may be disposed separately, and the chiller 4 may be disposed near the nozzle unit 6. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the liquid nitrogen X, which has been cooled by the chiller 4, from rising before the liquid nitrogen X reaches the nozzle unit 6 and to enhance a jet force of the liquid nitrogen X injected from the nozzle unit 6.
The flexible hose 5 is a hose with flexibility having one end connected to the chiller 4 and the other end connected to the nozzle unit 6. The flexible hose 5 guides the boosted liquid nitrogen X from the chiller 4 to the nozzle unit 6. The flexible hose 5 has pressure resistance and heat insulation, and guides the liquid nitrogen X, which is supplied from the chiller 4, to the nozzle unit 6, while suppressing a decrease in pressure and temperature to a minimum.
The tubular portion 6b includes a cylindrical trunk portion 6c having a flow path R formed therein, and an orifice portion 6d fixed to the distal end portion of the trunk portion 6c. The trunk portion 6c is, for example, a long pipe-shaped part that is heat-insulated, and guides the liquid nitrogen X from the connecting portion 6a to the orifice portion 6d through the flow path R formed therein along a longitudinal direction thereof. The trunk portion 6c is gripped by an operator when injecting the liquid nitrogen X onto the object. The orifice portion 6d is fixed to the distal end of the trunk portion 6c, and has an injection opening 6d1 for injecting the liquid nitrogen X forward. The injection opening 6d1 is connected to the flow path R of the trunk portion 6c, and the liquid nitrogen X flowing through the flow path R is injected from the injection opening 6d1 to the outside of the tubular portion 6b.
The tubular portion 6b has a straight tubular base portion 61 and a distal end portion 62 including the orifice portion 6d. The base portion 61 is a part on a base side (the connecting portion 6a side) of the trunk portion 6c, and extends linearly along a linear axis L. The distal end portion 62 includes the injection opening 6d1 by having the orifice portion 6d, and injects the liquid nitrogen X. As shown in
The nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment has the tubular portion 6b in which the distal end portion 62 having the injection opening 6d1 is curved and connected to the base portion 61 and which has the flow path R which guides the liquid nitrogen X to the base portion 61 and the distal end portion 62. Further, the tubular portion 6b has the base portion 61 set to have a straight tube shape, and the distal end portion 62 which injects the liquid nitrogen X in a direction inclined with respect to the axis L of the base portion 61.
In the liquid nitrogen injection system 1 including the nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment, the liquid nitrogen X is supplied from the storage tank 2 to the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3. The liquid nitrogen X is boosted to the injection pressure by the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 and then is supplied to the chiller 4. The liquid nitrogen X supplied from the liquid nitrogen boosting device 3 to the chiller 4 is cooled by exchanging heat with the liquid nitrogen X supplied from the storage tank 2 to the chiller 4 through another route. The liquid nitrogen X cooled by the chiller 4 is supplied to the nozzle unit 6 via the flexible hose 5. The liquid nitrogen X supplied to the nozzle unit 6 flows through the flow path R inside the tubular portion 6b, and is injected to the outside from the injection opening 6d1.
According to the nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment, the tubular portion 6b includes the distal end portion 62 that is curved and connected to the base portion 61, and the distal end portion 62 has the injection opening 6d1. For this reason, for example, by rotating the base portion 61 about the axis L, the injection opening 6d1 can be moved in the circumferential direction when viewed from the base portion 61 side, an inner wall surface of a hole can be scraped without tilting the tubular portion 6b, and the diameter of the hole can be easily enlarged. In addition, since the tubular portion 6b can be tilted by enlarging the diameter of the hole, even when the distal end portion of the tubular portion 6b hits inclusions such as a reinforcing bar or a pipe, the inclusions can be easily avoided, by performing tilting or the like of the tubular portion 6b. Therefore, according to the nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment, it is possible to easily perform processing of a porous structure (for example, a concrete structure) including inclusions such as a reinforcing bar or a pipe by the nozzle unit that injects the liquid nitrogen X that evaporates after the injection.
Further, in the nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment, the tubular portion 6b has the base portion 61 set to have a straight tube shape, and the distal end portion 62 which injects the liquid nitrogen X in a direction inclined with respect to the axis L of the base portion 61. For this reason, by rotating the straight tubular base portion 61 about the axis L, the injection direction of the liquid nitrogen X can be easily changed in the circumferential direction, and the injection direction of the liquid nitrogen X can be changed with the minimum necessary operation.
In addition, in the nozzle unit 6 of the present embodiment, the injection opening 6d1 of the distal end portion 62 is opened toward the side opposite to the base portion 61. For example, it is also possible to tilt the injection opening 6d1 with respect to the axis L and direct the injection opening 6d1 toward the base portion 61 side. However, by directing the injection opening 6d1 toward the side opposite to the base portion 61, concrete or the like in front of the nozzle unit 6 can be easily destroyed, and therefore the nozzle unit 6 can be suitably used for drilling a concrete structure or the like.
Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the second embodiment, description of parts the same as those in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.
The gripping portion 6e is attached to the tubular portion 6b and protrudes from the tubular portion 6b to a radially outer side of the tubular portion 6b. As shown in
The lock portion 6e2 is a screw part screwed into the aforementioned screw hole provided in the main body portion 6e1, and is moved in a direction along an axis thereof (a radial direction of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b) by being rotated about the axis. As the lock portion 6e2 is rotated in a tightening direction (a direction in which the lock portion 6e2 moves to the radially inner side of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b), the distal end portion of the lock portion 6e2 comes into contact with the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b to regulate the movement of the main body portion 6e1 with respect to the base portion 61 by the frictional force.
The gripping portion 6e can be moved along the extending direction (the longitudinal direction) of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b by loosening the lock portion 6e2. Further, the gripping portion 6e is fixed to the tubular portion 6b by tightening the lock portion 6e2.
As shown in
The nozzle unit 6A of the present embodiment is equipped with the gripping portion 6e attached to the tubular portion 6b and protruding radially outward from the tubular portion 6b. For this reason, the operator can operate the nozzle unit 6A by gripping the gripping portion 6e, and the operability of the nozzle unit 6A can be improved.
In addition, in the nozzle unit 6A of the present embodiment, the plurality of gripping portions 6e are provided apart from each other in the extending direction of the flow path R on the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b. For this reason, the operator can stably hold the nozzle unit 6A with both hands, and the workability can be improved.
In addition, in the nozzle unit 6A of the present embodiment, the two gripping portions 6e protrude in different directions around the tubular portion 6b. For this reason, for example, the operator can grip the nozzle unit 6A with both left and right hands from both sides, and the workability can be further improved.
Further, in the nozzle unit 6A of the present embodiment, the gripping portion 6e is attached to be movable in the extending direction of the tubular portion 6b. For this reason, the position of the gripping portion 6e can be adjusted depending on the working position and the physique of the operator, and the workability can be further improved.
Further, as shown in
The support portion 6f1 has a penetration hole 6f4 having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b, and the base portion 61 is inserted through the penetration hole 6f4. The support portion 6f1 rotatably supports the main body portion 6f2, as shown in
The main body portion 6f2 is a substantially triangular annular portion, and one of the apexes thereof is rotatably connected to the support portion 6f1. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 6f2 is rotatable about a rotation axis orthogonal to the axis L (see
The lock portion 6f3 is a screw portion screwed into the aforementioned screw hole provided in the support portion 6f1, and is moved in a direction along an axis thereof (the radial direction of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b) by being rotated about the axis. As the lock portion 6f3 is rotated in a tightening direction (a direction in which the lock portion 6f3 moves to the radially inner side of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b), the distal end portion of the lock portion 6f3 comes into contact with the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b to regulate the movement of the main body portion 6f2 with respect to the base portion 61 by the frictional force.
The gripping portion 6f can be moved along the extending direction (the longitudinal direction) of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b by loosening the lock portion 6f3. Further, the gripping portion 6f is fixed to the tubular portion 6b by tightening the lock portion 6f3.
According to the gripping portion 6f, since the main body portion 6f2 is rotatable with respect to the support portion 6f1, the operator can arbitrarily adjust a rotation angle of the main body portion 6f2 with respect to the support portion 6f1, and the operability is improved.
Furthermore, as shown in
The lock portion 6g2 is a screw portion screwed into the aforementioned screw hole provided in the main body portion 6g1, and is moved in a direction along an axis thereof (the radial direction of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b) by being rotated about the axis. As the lock portion 6g2 is rotated in a tightening direction (a direction in which the lock portion 6g2 moves to the radially inner side of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b), the distal end portion of the lock portion 6g2 comes into contact with the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b, and regulates the movement of the main body portion 6g1 with respect to the base portion 61 by the frictional force.
The gripping portion 6g is movable along the extending direction (the longitudinal direction) of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b by loosening the lock portion 6g2. Further, the gripping portion 6g is fixed to the tubular portion 6b by tightening the lock portion 6g2.
Next, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the third embodiment, the description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.
The heat insulating portion 6h is fixed to the tubular portion 6b to cover the periphery of the base portion 61 of the tubular portion 6b. That is, the nozzle unit 6B of the present embodiment has the heat insulating portion 6h which is fixed to the tubular portion 6b and covers the flow path R from the radially outer side. The heat insulating portion 6h prevents cold heat of the liquid nitrogen flowing through the flow path R of the tubular portion 6b from reaching the operator, and is formed of, for example, a foamed plastic material.
According to the nozzle unit 6B of the present embodiment, by attaching and detaching the heat insulating blocks 6i, it is possible to change a range in which the heat insulating portion 6h covers the tubular portion 6b. That is, according to the nozzle unit 6B of the present embodiment, the heat insulating portion 6h can be divided in the extending direction of the tubular portion 6b. Therefore, for example, when a concrete structure is drilled by the nozzle unit 6B, it is possible to change the shape of the heat insulating portion 6h so that the concrete structure and the heat insulating block 6i do not interfere with each other.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to the drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments. The shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the aforementioned embodiments are merely examples, and can be variously changed on the basis of design requirements and the like, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
For example, the configuration in which the nozzle unit 6 or the like is used for processing (chipping or drilling) a concrete structure including a reinforcing bar or a pipe has been described in the above-described embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the nozzle unit 6 or the like may be used for peeling a lining material of a concrete structure or a pipe, which has been lining-treated, from a base material. In this case, liquid nitrogen is injected from the nozzle unit 6 or the like into a part of the lining material to form a hole, and liquid nitrogen is injected between the lining material and the base material from the hole by the nozzle unit 6 or the like. Here, the injected liquid nitrogen is evaporated and expanded, and the lining material can be peeled from the base material by the expansion force.
Further, the configuration using liquid nitrogen as the liquefied fluid has been described in the aforementioned embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, liquid carbon dioxide or liquid helium may be used as the liquefied fluid.
Further, the configuration in which the distal end portion 62 of the tubular portion 6b is curved and connected to the base portion 61 has been described in the aforementioned embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the distal end portion 62 may be bent and connected to the base portion 61 in the tubular portion 6b.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to easily perform processing of a porous structure including inclusions such as a reinforcing bar or a pipe by a nozzle unit that injects a liquefied fluid that evaporates after being injected.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-006624 | Jan 2018 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation application based on International Application No. PCT/JP2018/040284, filed Oct. 30, 2018, which claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-006624, filed Jan. 18, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2018/040284 | Oct 2018 | US |
Child | 16930023 | US |