Patent Application
20240052820
The present invention relates to a high-pressure gas transfer compressor having a wide inlet pressure fluctuation range and an ultrahigh outlet pressure, and a high-pressure gas station using the same.
Japanese Patent No. 6160876, titled “HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE HAVING HONEYCOMB CORE ARRANGED PARALLEL TO A PANEL SURFACE AND A MANUFACTURING PROCESS THEREFOR” discloses a method of manufacturing a high-pressure gas tank based on a honeycomb structure. In addition, Japanese Patent No. 6160876 also proposes an idea of an ultrahigh-pressure gas station. The high-pressure gas tanks for transportation and storage are indispensable for operation and/or management of the high-pressure gas station. Japanese Patent No. 6160876 proposes a honeycomb structure gas tank as a high-pressure gas tank for transportation and storage. The evaluation of the honeycomb structure gas tank has been verified through a hydraulic pressure test. In addition, the indispensable part of the high-pressure gas station is a compressor for transferring the high pressure gas from the transportation gas tank to the storage gas tank. Even though Japanese Patent No. 6160876 proposes a high-pressure compressor, it fails to provide a mechanical structure for the high-pressure compressor.
Even when a pair of gas tanks, one filled with high-pressure gas and the other empty without gas, are simply connected, it is impossible to transfer all of the high pressure gas to the empty tank. This is because the transfer of high pressure gas stops when the internal pressures of the high-pressure gas tank and the transfer destination gas tank become equal. A transfer compressor is required to transfer highly compressed gas from the high-pressure gas tank to the destination gas tank.
In the prior art, a multi-stage piston type compressor is employed as the high-pressure compressor. The multi-stage piston system is a combination of two sets of pistons. The first piston and the second piston are connected in series. The first piston has a compression ratio of approximately 20:1. The second piston has a compression ratio of approximately 2:1. Resultantly, the multi-stage piston can achieve a total compression ratio of approximately 40:1. The reason why the compression ratio of the second piston cannot be increased is as follows.
(1) For example, it is assumed that high pressure gas of 4.0 MPa is generated from gas of 0.1 MPa by the multi-stage compressor. The compressed high-pressure gas is stored in the high-pressure gas tank. It is assumed that the first compressor has a cylinder volume of 1000 cc and a compression ratio of 20:1.
(2) The gas compressed by the initial (first) compressor enters the cylinder of the second compressor. In this case, the gas is discharged from the first compressor. The compressed gas has a volume of 50 cc and a pressure of 2.0 MPa. Assuming that the second compressor has a cylinder volume of 100 cc, the internal pressure of the second cylinder becomes 1.0 MPa. Therefore, it makes no sense for the volume of the second compressor to exceed 50 cc.
(3) When the second compressor has a compression ratio of 2:1, the volume and pressure of the compressed gas produced by the second compressor are 25 cc and 4.0 MPa, respectively. It is not realistic to increase the compression ratio with such a small compressor.
In view of the problems described above, the present invention has been made to develop a novel technology for completing the imperfect high-pressure gas station of Japanese Patent No. 6160876. It is difficult to describe this issue in a few words. Description will be made with reference to the explanatory diagrams.
The high-pressure gas station includes transportable tanks 20 for movement, coupling valves 21 detachably installed to the transportable tanks 20, a transfer line 22 having the coupling valves 21 at its ends, a three-way valve 23 provided in the middle of the transfer line 22, a bypass line 24 switched by the three-way valve 23, and a storage gas high-pressure line 26 for storing gas through a transfer compressor 36. The storage gas high-pressure line 26 is connected to a storage tank 27, an outlet of the storage tank 27 is connected to a pressurization line 29 through a pressurization compressor 37, the pressurization line 29 is connected to a fueling tank 30, and a fueling valve 32 is provided at an outlet of the fueling tank 30 via a fueling high-pressure line 31. As a result, a gas vehicle 33 can be fueled. In addition, a management building 34 and a site 35 are provided.
The concept of the high-pressure gas station in
(1) It is assumed that the initial pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 60 MPa. It is assumed that the pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa. It is assumed that the pressure of the fueling tank 30 is 80 MPa. It is assumed that the transfer compressor 36 has a compression ratio of 20:1. It is assumed that the pressurization compressor 37 has a compression ratio of 20:1.
(2) In the high-pressure gas station shown in
(3) The transfer compressor 36 pressurizes the high-pressure gas delivered by the transportable tank 20 and transfers it to the storage tank 27. The pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa.
(4) The transfer line 22, the three-way valve 23, the bypass line 24, the transfer compressor 36, the storage gas high-pressure line 26, and the storage tank 27 are installed underground.
(5) The high pressure gas of 60 MPa stored in the storage tank 27 is pressurized by the pressurization compressor 37 and is transferred to the fueling tank 30 of 80 MPa via the pressurization line 29.
(6) The pressurization compressor 37, the pressurization line 29, and the fueling tank 30 are installed underground.
(7) The high pressure gas of 80 MPa stored in the fueling tank 30 is fueled to the gas vehicle 33 by the fueling valve 32 via the fueling high-pressure line 31.
The transportable tank 20 is a gas tank for delivering gas from the gas supply base to the gas station. The transportable tank 20 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876. The initial pressure of the transportable tank 20 is assumed to be 60 MPa.
The coupling valve 21 is an open/close valve to the transfer line 22. The transfer line 22 is connected to the three-way valve 23. The three-way valve 23 is a switching valve between the bypass line 24 and the transfer compressor 36. The bypass line 24 and the transfer compressor 36 are connected to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The bypass line 24 coming out of the three-way valve 23 is connected in the middle of the storage gas high-pressure line 26.
When the three-way valve 23 is opened to the bypass line 24, the gas in the transportable tank 20 flows directly to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The transfer compressor 36 is connected to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The storage gas high-pressure line 26 is connected to the storage tank 27. The transfer compressor 36 transfers the high pressure gas in the transportable tank 20 to the storage tank 27.
The storage tank 27 is a gas tank that stores the high-pressure gas delivered from the gas supply base by the transportable tank 20. Similar to the transportable tank 20, the storage tank 27 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876. The pressurization compressor 37 is connected to the storage tank 27 via a high-pressure pipeline. The pressurization compressor 37 pressurizes the high-pressure gas in the storage tank 27 to 80 MPa. The high-pressure gas pressurized to 80 MPa is transferred to the fueling tank 30 via the pressurization line 29. The pressurization line 29 is a high-pressure pipeline capable of withstanding a high pressure of 80 MPa or higher.
The fueling tank 30 is an ultrahigh-pressure gas tank assumed to be 80 MPa. The fueling tank 30 stores high pressure gas for fueling the gas vehicle 33. This fueling tank 30 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876. The fueling high-pressure line 31 is connected to the fueling tank 30. The fueling high-pressure line 31 is an ultrahigh-pressure gas pipeline that transfers the high-pressure gas stored in the fueling tank 30 to the fueling valve 32. The fueling valve 32 is a pressure regulating valve that refuels the gas vehicle 33 with the high pressure gas. The gas vehicle 33 is a vehicle having a vehicle-mounted gas tank such as natural gas or hydrogen gas. The gas tank of the gas vehicle 33 is assumed to have a pressure of 60 MPa. The management building 34 and the site 35 refer to a management building and a site of the gas station.
The system of the high-pressure gas station shown in
(1) Since the high pressure gas of 60 MPa is supplied to the vehicle-mounted gas tank of the gas vehicle 33, it is desirable to maintain the internal pressure of the fueling tank 30 at 80 MPa.
(2) The ultrahigh pressure gas in the fueling tank 30 is supplied from the storage tank 27 by the pressurization compressor 37. It is assumed that the pressurization compressor 37 is a piston type compressor having a compression ratio of 20:1 as well known in the prior art.
(3) When the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa, the pressurization compressor 37 can easily generate ultrahigh pressure gas of 80 MPa from the high pressure gas of 60 MPa. Therefore, the gas of 80 MPa can be easily supplied to the fueling tank 30.
(4) For example, high pressure gas of 60 MPa and 1000 cc becomes ultrahigh pressure gas of 80 MPa and 750 cc. The compression ratio is 1.33:1.0. The compression ratio of the pressurization compressor 37 is higher than this value.
(5) However, when the high-pressure gas is continuously supplied from the storage tank 27 to the fueling tank 30, the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 gradually decreases. When the pressure of the storage tank 27 becomes 4.0 MPa or lower, the pressurization compressor 37 cannot supply the ultrahigh pressure gas of 80 MPa to the fueling tank 30. That is, the high-pressure gas of 4.0 MPa or lower remaining in the storage tank 27 becomes completely dead stock. A pressure of 4.0 MPa corresponds to approximately 40 atmospheres.
(6) Assuming that the compressor uses a multi-stage piston having a compression ratio of 40:1, it can be used until the pressure of the storage tank 27 is reduced to 2.0 MPa. However, the multi-stage piston is a combination of first and second pistons. When the pressure of the storage tank 27 is 4.0 MPa or higher, the second piston of the multi-stage piston becomes a useless obstacle.
This similarly applies to a relationship between the transportable tank 20 and the storage tank 27. For simplicity of calculation, it is assumed that the internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 60 MPa, and the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 is zero. In addition, it is assumed that the volume of the transportable tank 20 is 3000 liters, and the volume of the storage tank 27 is also 3000 liters. Shortly to say, it is assumed that high pressure gas of 60 MPa and 3000 liters is transferred from the transportable tank to an empty underground tank. In the techniques of the prior art, this transfer is performed as follows.
(1) The transportable tank 20 is delivered from the gas supply base to the gas station.
(2) The transportable tank 20 is connected to the transfer line 22, the three-way valve 23, the bypass line 24, the transfer compressor 36, the storage gas high-pressure line 26, and the storage tank 27 by the coupling valve 21.
(3) When the coupling valve 21 is opened, the high pressure gas of 60 MPa moves to the three-way valve 23 via the transfer line 22.
(4) When the three-way valve 23 is opened to the bypass line 24, the high pressure gas of 60 MPa flows to the storage tank 27 via the bypass line 24 and the storage gas high-pressure line 26.
(5) Since the transportable tank 20 and the storage tank 27 have the same volume, the high pressure gas in the transportable tank 20 stops flowing when the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 reaches 30 MPa.
(6) The high pressure gas of 30 MPa remaining in the transportable tank 20 is left in the transportable tank 20 as dead stock. The internal pressure of the storage tank 27 remains at 30 MPa and does not reach 60 MPa. That is, it is impossible to transfer the high pressure gas from the transportable tank to the underground tank simply by opening the bypass valve.
Next, a piston type compressor of the prior art for addressing this problem will be described. A piston type compressor is effective even when the inlet pressure fluctuates significantly.
(1) It is assumed that the transfer compressor 36 is a piston type compressor of the prior art having a compression ratio of 20:1.
(2) The transfer compressor 36 can easily make high pressure gas of 60 MPa from high pressure gas of 30 MPa. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 30 MPa, it is easy to transfer high pressure gas of 30 MPa to the storage tank 27. High pressure gas of 30 MPa and 1000 cc becomes high pressure gas of 60 MPa and 500 cc. The compression ratio is 2:1. The compression ratio of the transfer compressor 36 is higher than this value.
(3) However, when the high pressure gas is continuously supplied from the transportable tank 20 to the storage tank 27, the internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 gradually decreases. When the pressure of the transportable tank 20 reaches 3.0 MPa or lower, the transfer compressor 36 can no longer supply high pressure gas of 60 MPa to the storage tank 27.
(4) That is, the high pressure gas of 3.0 MPa or lower remaining in the transportable tank 20 becomes completely dead stock. A pressure of 3.0 MPa corresponds to approximately 30 atmospheres.
(5) Assuming that the compressor uses a multi-stage piston having a compression ratio of 40:1, it can be used until the pressure of the transportable tank 20 is reduced to 1.50 MPa. However, a multi-stage piston is a combination of two pistons. When the pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 3.0 MPa or higher, the second piston of the multi-stage piston becomes a useless obstacle.
The invention described herein is a novel compressor for transferring high pressure gas, by which the function of the high-pressure fueling station can be implemented. The novel compressor is a compressor that implements the function of the multi-stage piston with a single piston.
The piston type compressors of the prior art are inadequate to implement the high-pressure gas station described in “Problems to be Solved by the Invention”. Therefore, there is a need for a novel type of compressor. However, this does not mean that the piston systems of the prior art are completely useless. They are quite effective where the inlet pressure fluctuates widely, and the outlet pressure is high. If the compressor according to the present invention could obtain the multi-stage piston function without the second piston, the aforementioned problems could be solved. That is, if a compressor having the function of the multi-stage piston system with a single piston can be invented, it will be possible to implement the high-pressure gas station shown in
In order to obtain the function of the multi-stage compressor with a single piston, two pressurization chambers are necessary. It looks impossible, but it is not. In fact, two-cycle engines (two strokes) have a pressurization chamber behind an engine piston. In the case of a piston-and-cylinder type, it is called a double-action cylinder.
However, applying the mechanism of the two-stroke engine to the high-pressure compressor is dangerous. The present invention is based on a linear actuator or linear motor to move the piston. Compared to the crank-and-piston type, the linear actuator is inferior in rapid pressurization. However, since fueling of a high-pressure gas station is performed by the pressure difference between the high-pressure gas of the gas station and the vehicle-mounted tank of the gas vehicle, there is no need for the transfer compressor to rapidly pressurize the high pressure gas. Therefore, the capability required for the compressor in
The principle of the present invention is the same as a two-stroke engine. That is, intake and compression processes occur simultaneously in a single piston cycle. Specifically, according to the present invention, there is disclosed a compressor comprising a piston that divides a cylinder into a compression chamber and an intake chamber, wherein the piston includes a check valve allowed to open unidirectionally from the intake chamber to the compression chamber, the compression chamber has an outlet provided with a check valve allowed to open only in an exit direction, the intake chamber has an inlet provided with a check valve allowed to open only to the inside of the chamber, and the piston is connected to an actuator capable of changing internal volumes of both the chambers.
In this configuration, intake and compression processes are performed simultaneously in a single cycle of the piston, and a compression ratio of the compression chamber is allowed to increase multiple times by continuously performing the intake process a plurality of times. In addition, in this compressor, high pressure gaseous matter is allowed to be filled in the output tank continuously even when a gaseous matter pressure of a supply tank supplied to the intake chamber decreases.
According to the present invention, there is disclosed a high-pressure gas station comprising the compressor having the aforementioned configuration. In this case, high pressure gaseous matter is allowed to be continuously transferred to a storage tank even when a gaseous matter pressure of a transportable tank decreases. In addition, high pressure gaseous matter is allowed to be continuously transferred to a fueling tank for fueling a gas vehicle even when a gaseous matter pressure of the storage tank decreases. Furthermore, there is disclosed a high-pressure gas station comprising a compressor arranged on a path connecting one or more high-pressure tanks, wherein the compressor includes a piston that divides a cylinder into a compression chamber and an intake chamber, the piston includes a check valve allowed to open unidirectionally from the intake chamber to the compression chamber, the compression chamber has an outlet provided with a check valve allowed to open only in an exit direction, the intake chamber has an inlet provided with a check valve allowed to open only to the inside of the chamber, the piston is connected to an actuator capable of changing internal volumes of both the chambers, the inlet of the compressor is connected to one of the high-pressure tanks, and the outlet of the compressor is connected to the other high-pressure tank.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in connection with the drawings described above. Specific embodiments of a transfer compressor according to the invention and an ultrahigh-pressure gas station using the same will be described below with reference to the drawings. This compressor implements the function of a multi-stage piston with only a single piston.
The cylinder 2 is a cylinder of a single piston type compressor. The cylinder 2 can contain high pressure gas. The piston 3 is a piston of a single piston type compressor. The piston 3 can pressurize high pressure gas. The piston rod 4 is a piston rod for driving the piston 3. The piston rod 4 performs only a rectilinear motion. The linear actuator 5 is an actuating device that drives the piston rod 4 only in a rectilinear direction. The linear actuator 5 is a device driven by an electrically driven ball-screw or linear motor.
The supply tank 13 is a high-pressure gas tank for transportation. It is assumed that the initial pressure of the supply tank 13 is 60 MPa. The output tank 14 is a high-pressure gas tank for fueling a gas vehicle. It is assumed that the internal pressure of the output tank 14 is kept at 80 MPa. The gas vehicle is not shown in
The inlet pipe 6 is a high-pressure pipe that connects the supply tank 13 and the multi-function compressor 1. The outlet pipe 7 is a high-pressure pipeline that connects the multi-function compressor 1 and the output tank 14. The inlet valve 8 is a check valve. The inlet valve 8 is placed at the inlet of the multi-function compressor 1. Since the inlet valve 8 is a one-way check valve, the high pressure gas in the supply tank 13 flows unidirectionally from the supply tank 13 to the multi-function compressor 1. The outlet valve 9 is a check valve. The outlet valve 9 is placed at the outlet of the multi-function compressor 1. Since the outlet valve 9 is a one-way check valve, the compressed gas of the multi-function compressor 1 flows unidirectionally from the multi-function compressor 1 to the output tank 14.
The cylinder 2 of the multi-function compressor 1 is divided into two chambers by the piston 3. One is the intake chamber 11 and the other is the compression chamber 12. The intake chamber 11 and the compression chamber 12 are connected through the intermediate valve 10. The intermediate valve 10 is a one-way check valve. The intermediate valve 10 is placed on the bearing wall of the piston 3. A plurality of intermediate valves 10 is desirable. Since the intermediate valve 10 is a one-way check valve, the compressed gas in the intake chamber 11 flows unidirectionally from the intake chamber 11 to the compression chamber 12.
The principle of the present invention is the same as a two-stroke engine. That is, intake and compression processes occur simultaneously in a single piston cycle. However, it becomes too complicated to simultaneously describe the intake and compression processes. This paragraph describes the intake process. The intake process is as follows.
The intake gas 15 is gas supplied from the supply tank 13. The initial pressure of the supply tank 13 is assumed to be 60 MPa. The piston action 16 refers to movement directions of the piston 3 and the piston rod 4. The direction of the piston action 16 is indicated by arrows.
The process of Intake-1 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16.
(2) As the volume of the intake chamber 11 increases, the following events occur in the inlet valve 8, the intake chamber 11, and the supply tank 13.
(3) As the volume of the compression chamber 12 decreases, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
The intake gas 15 is gas supplied from the supply tank 13. As the amount of the intake gas 15 increases, the internal pressure of the supply tank 13 gradually decreases. The piston action 16 refers to movement directions of the piston 3 and the piston rod 4. The direction of the piston action 16 is indicated by the arrows, and the piston action 16 in
The process of Intake-2 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16 and stops at the left end of the linear actuator 5.
(2) When the volume of the compression chamber 12 becomes the smallest, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
(3) When the volume of the intake chamber 11 becomes the largest, the following events occur in the inlet valve 8, the intake chamber 11, and the supply tank 13.
(4) The intake gas 15 is the gas extracted from the supply tank 13. As the amount of the intake gas 15 increases, the internal pressure of the supply tank 13 gradually decreases.
The intake gas 15 is gas left in the intake chamber 11 from the previous process shown in
The process of Transfer-1 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16.
(2) As the volume of the intake chamber 11 decreases, the following events occur in the inlet valve 8, the intake chamber 12, and the supply tank 13.
(3) As the volume of the compression chamber 12 increases, and the volume of the intake chamber 11 decreases, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
(4) As the volume of the compression chamber 12 increases, the following events occur at the outlet valve 9, the compression chamber 12, and the output tank 14.
The transfer gas 17 is gas transferred from the intake chamber 11 to the compression chamber 12.
The process of Transfer-2 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16 and stops at the right end of the linear actuator 5.
(2) When the compression chamber 12 has the largest volume, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
(3) When the intake chamber 11 has the smallest volume, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
(4) The transfer gas 17 transferred from the intake chamber 11 is the gas extracted from the supply tank 13 in
The principle of the present invention is the same as the two-stroke engine. That is, intake and compression processes occur simultaneously in a single piston cycle. However, it is an object of the present invention to obtain the function of the multi-stage piston with only a single piston. This paragraph describes the compression process. The compression process has the following two cases.
(1) Case (1) is a case where the internal pressure of the compression chamber is higher than that of the output tank.
(2) Case (2) is a case where the internal pressure of the compression chamber is not higher than that of the output tank.
First, Case (1) will be described.
The process chart of Compression-1 includes the multi-function compressor 1, the cylinder 2, the piston 3, the piston rod 4, the linear actuator 5, the inlet pipe 6, the outlet pipe 7, the inlet valve 8, the outlet valve 9, the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, the compression chamber 12, the supply tank 13, the output tank 14, compressed gas 18, the piston action 16, and the intake gas 15.
The compressed gas 18 is gas that has been transferred from the intake chamber 11 to the compression chamber 12 and remains in the compression chamber 12. Since the internal pressure of the compression chamber 12 becomes higher than that of the intake chamber 11, the intermediate valve 10 is closed. The compressed gas 18 is gradually compressed by the piston 3. The intake gas 15 is the gas extracted from the supply tank 13. As the amount of the intake gas 15 increases, the internal pressure of the supply tank 13 gradually decreases.
The process of Compression-1 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16.
(2) As the volume of the compression chamber 12 decreases, and the volume of the intake chamber 11 increases, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, the compression chamber 12, the compressed gas 18, and the output tank 14.
(3) As the volume of the intake chamber 11 increases, the following events occur in the inlet valve 8, the intake chamber 11, the intake gas 15, and the supply tank 13.
In Case (1), the multi-function compressor can transfer the intake gas from the supply tank to the output tank by repeating Intake-1, Intake-2, Transfer-1, Transfer-2, and Compression-1. That is, the novel multi-function compressor can transfer the intake gas from the supply tank to the output tank without any obstacle on the way until the internal pressure of the compression chamber becomes lower than that of the output tank.
Next, Case (2) will be described.
The compressed gas 18 is gas that has been transferred from the intake chamber 11 to the compression chamber 12 and remains in the compression chamber 12. Since the internal pressure of the compression chamber 12 is higher than that of the intake chamber 11, the intermediate valve 10 is closed. The compressed gas 18 is fully compressed by the piston 3 when the piston action 16 stops at the left end of the linear actuator 5.
Case (2) is more complicated than Case (1). For the sake of clarity, the description will be made using specific numerical values. First, it is assumed that the compression ratio of the multi-function compressor is 20:1, the internal pressure of the output tank is 80 MPa, and the internal pressure of the supply tank is 4.0 MPa. The process of Compression-2 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16 and stops at the left end of the linear actuator 5.
(2) When the compression chamber 12 has the smallest volume, and the intake chamber 11 has the largest volume, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, the compression chamber 12, the outlet valve 9, and the output tank 14.
(3) When the intake chamber 11 has the largest volume, the following events occur in the inlet valve 8, the intake chamber 11, and the supply tank 13.
(4) As a result, the compressed gas 18 remains in the compression chamber 12, and the intake chamber 11 is filled with the intake gas 15.
Case (2) will be further described.
The compressed gas 18 is the gas remaining in the compression chamber 12. The initial pressure of the compressed gas 18 is 80 MPa, but decreases to approximately 4.0 MPa as the compression chamber 12 expands. The intake gas 15 is the gas left in the intake chamber 11. The initial pressure of the intake gas 15 is 4.0 MPa, but increases to approximately 80 MPa as the intake chamber 11 contracts. The piston action 16 refers to movement directions of the piston 3 and the piston rod 4. As the piston action 16 moves to the right, the compression chamber 12 expands, and the intake chamber 11 contracts.
The process of Transfer-3 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 is moving in the arrow direction of the piston action 16.
(2) When the volume of the compression chamber 12 is larger than that of the intake chamber 11, the following events occur in the intermediate valve 10, the intake chamber 11, and the compression chamber 12.
Further, the case (2) will be described.
The process of Transfer-4 shown in
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16 and stops at the right end of the linear actuator 5.
(2) When the intake chamber 11 has the smallest volume, the following phenomenon occurs.
(3) It is not easy to accurately calculate the pressure of the mixed gas 19. However, rough calculation is possible.
The process of Compression-3 is as follows.
(1) The piston rod 4 moves in the arrow direction of the piston action 16 and stops at the left end of the linear actuator 5.
(2) When the compression chamber 12 has the smallest volume, the following events occur in the compression chamber 12, the outlet valve 9, and the output tank 14.
(3) The compressor according to the novel invention can double the output pressure by taking the intake twice. There is no limit to the number of intake.
The transfer compressor 25 and the pressurization compressor 28 are the same as the multi-function compressor 1 shown in
The concept of the high-pressure gas station of
(1) It is assumed that the initial internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 60 MPa. It is assumed that the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa. It is assumed that the internal pressure of the fuel tank 30 is 80 MPa. It is assumed that the transfer compressor 25 has a compression ratio of 20:1. It is assumed that the pressurization compressor 28 has a compression ratio of 20:1.
(2) In the high-pressure gas station of
(3) The transfer compressor 25 pressurizes the gas of the transportable tank 20 and transfers it to the storage tank 27. The pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa.
(4) The transfer line 22, the three-way valve 23, the bypass line 24, the transfer compressor 25, the storage gas high-pressure line 26, and the storage tank 27 are installed underground.
(5) The gas of 60 MPa stored in the storage tank 27 is pressurized by the pressurization compressor 28 and is transferred to the fueling tank 30 of 80 MPa via the pressurization line 29.
(6) The pressurization compressor 28, the pressurization line 29, and the fueling tank 30 are installed underground.
(7) The high pressure gas of 80 MPa stored in the fueling tank 30 is fed from the fueling valve 32 to the gas vehicle 33 via the fueling high-pressure line 31.
The transportable tank 20 is a transportation gas tank from the gas supply base to the high-pressure gas station. The transportable tank 20 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure gas tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876.
The coupling valve 21 is an open/close valve to the transfer line 22. The transfer line 22 is connected to the three-way valve 23. The three-way valve 23 is a switching valve to the bypass line 24 and the transfer compressor 25. The bypass line 24 and the transfer compressor 25 are connected to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The bypass line 24 from the three-way valve 23 is connected in the middle of the storage gas high-pressure line 26. When the three-way valve 23 is opened to the storage gas high-pressure line 26, the gas in the transportable tank 20 flows directly to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The transfer compressor 25 is connected to the storage gas high-pressure line 26. The storage gas high-pressure line 26 is connected to the storage tank 27. The transfer compressor 25 transfers the gas in the transportable tank 20 to the storage tank 27.
The storage tank 27 is a high-pressure gas tank for storing the high pressure gas delivered from the gas supply base by the transportable tank 20. The storage tank 27 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure gas tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876. The pressurization compressor 28 is connected to the storage tank 27 by a pipeline. The pressurization compressor 28 pressurizes the gas in the storage tank 27 to 80 MPa. The gas pressurized to 80 MPa is fed to the fueling tank 30 via the pressurization line 29. The pressurization line 29 is a pipeline that can withstand high pressure of 80 MPa or higher.
The fueling tank 30 is an ultrahigh pressure gas tank assumed to have an operation pressure of 80 MPa. The fueling tank 30 stores gas for fueling the gas vehicle 33. The fueling tank 30 is made as a honeycomb structure high-pressure gas tank envisaged from Japanese Patent No. 6160876. The fueling high-pressure line 31 is connected to the fueling tank 30. The fueling high-pressure line 31 is an ultrahigh pressure gas pipeline that distributes the high pressure gas accumulated in the fueling tank 30 to the fueling valves 32. The fueling valve 32 is a valve for fueling the gas vehicle 33 with high pressure gas. The gas vehicle 33 is a vehicle that stores natural gas or hydrogen gas in a vehicle-mounted tank. It is assumed that the vehicle-mounted gas tank of the gas vehicle 33 has a pressure of 60 MPa. The management building 34 and the site 35 are bordered as the gas station management building and the gas station.
The system of the high-pressure gas station shown in
(1) In order to supply the high pressure gas of 60 MPa to the vehicle-mounted gas tank of the gas vehicle 33, it is desirable to maintain the internal pressure of the fuel tank 30 at 80 MPa.
(2) The gas in the fueling tank 30 is supplied from the storage tank 27 by the pressurization compressor 28. The pressurization compressor 28 is the multi-function compressor 1 of
(3) When the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 is 60 MPa, the pressurization compressor 28 can easily produce ultrahigh pressure gas of 80 MPa from high pressure gas of 60 MPa. Therefore, it is easy to supply gas of 80 MPa to the fueling tank 30.
(4) The high pressure gas of 1000 cc and 60 MPa becomes ultrahigh pressure gas of 750 cc and 80 MPa. The compression ratio in this case is just “1.33:1”.
(5) As the gas from the storage tank 27 is continuously supplied to the fueling tank 30, the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 gradually decreases.
(6) In the prior art, when the pressure of the storage tank 27 becomes 4.0 MPa or lower, it is impossible to supply ultrahigh pressure gas of 80 MPa to the fuel tank 30 with a single piston type compressor. That is, the high pressure gas of 4.0 MPa or lower remaining in the storage tank 27 becomes completely dead stock.
(7) In the prior art, there is a multi-stage piston type compressor having a compression ratio of 40:1. When the multi-stage piston type compressor is used in the gas fueling system, the compressor can compress the gas in the storage tank 27 to 80 MPa until the pressure in the storage tank 27 is reduced to 2.0 MPa. However, the multi-stage piston is a combination of two pistons. When the pressure in the storage tank 27 is 2.0 MPa or higher, the second piston of the multi-stage piston becomes a completely useless obstacle.
(8) According to the present invention, the transfer compressor 25 and the pressurization compressor 28 correspond to the multi-function compressor 1 shown in
The relationship between the transportable tank 20 and the storage tank 27 is also similar. For simplicity of calculation, it is assumed that the internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 60 MPa. It is assumed that the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 is zero. In addition, it is assumed that the transportable tank 20 has a volume of 3000 liters. Furthermore, the volume of the storage tank 27 is similarly set to 3000 liters. Briefly, consider that high pressure gas of 60 MPa and 3000 liters is transferred from the transportable tank to an empty underground tank. This task is performed as follows with the compressor according to the novel invention.
(1) The transportable tank 20 is delivered from the gas supply base to the gas station.
(2) The transportable tank 20 is connected to the transfer line 22, the three-way valve 23, the bypass line 24, the transfer compressor 25, the storage gas high-pressure line 26, and the storage tank 27 by the coupling valve 21.
(3) When the coupling valve 21 is opened, the high pressure gas of 60 MPa moves to the three-way valve 23 via the transfer line 22.
(4) When the three-way valve 23 is opened to the bypass line 24, the high pressure gas of 60 MPa flows to the storage tank 27 via the bypass line 24 and the storage gas high-pressure line 26.
(5) Since it is assumed that the transportable tank 20 and the storage tank 27 have the same volume, the high pressure gas in the transportable tank 20 stops flowing when the internal pressure of the storage tank 27 reaches 30 MPa.
(6) The high pressure gas of 30 MPa remains in the transportable tank 20 as dead stock. The internal pressure of the storage tank 27 stops at 30 MPa and does not reach 60 MPa. That is, it is impossible to transfer all the high pressure gas in the transportable tank to the underground tank simply by opening the bypass valve.
It has been described in the previous section that it is impossible to transfer the high pressure gas from the transportable tank to the underground tank simply by using the bypass valve. The compressor according to the present invention tries to address this problem.
(1) It is assumed that the transfer compressor 25 is the multi-function compressor 1 of
(2) When the internal pressure of the transportable tank 20 is 30 MPa, the transfer compressor 25 can easily generate high pressure gas of 60 MPa from high pressure gas of 30 MPa. Therefore, it is easy to transfer the gas of 30 MPa to the storage tank 27. High pressure gas of 1000 cc and 30 MPa becomes high pressure gas of 500 cc and 60 MPa. The compression ratio is 2:1.
(3) As the gas is continuously transferred from the transportable tank 20 to the storage tank 27, the pressure of the transportable tank 20 gradually decreases. However, even when the pressure of the transportable tank 20 becomes 3.0 MPa or lower, the transfer compressor 25 can transfer the gas of 3.0 MPa or lower to the storage tank 27.
(4) The multi-function compressor 1 in
(5) Since the multi-function compressor 1 is not a combination of two pistons, it does not serve as an obstacle in the gas fueling system. In addition, the compressor according to the present invention is effective even when the inlet pressure of the compressor fluctuates significantly.
Various changes in the shape or purpose of the compressor according to the present invention are conceivable. The spirit of the present invention is a compressor that achieves the function of the multi-stage piston type compressor with a single piston-and-cylinder module. In addition, the compressor according to the present invention can be applied when the inlet pressure fluctuates widely, and highly compressed gaseous matter is required for the outlet pressure. While the present invention has been fully described in terms of embodiments with reference to accompanying drawings, it should be noted that various changes or modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes or modifications are to be defined by the appended claims and are construed within the scope of the present invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/046816 | 12/15/2020 | WO |
