Connection structure between vacuum double pipe and fluid device

The connection structure with bypass flow paths and expandable partition members allows quick maintenance of vacuum double pipe-connected devices by isolating parts of the vacuum layer, ensuring rapid vacuum restoration.

JP2025078804AActive Publication Date: 2025-05-20SASAKURA ENG CO LTD
View PDF 9 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
JP2025035983
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-03-07
Publication Date
2025-05-20
Estimated Expiration
2041-05-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing vacuum insulated valves connected to vacuum double piping require disassembly for maintenance, exposing the vacuum layer to the atmosphere, leading to a prolonged recovery time for the vacuum state.

Method used

A connection structure featuring a bypass flow path with on-off valves and expandable partition members, allowing partial exposure of the vacuum layer during maintenance, with removable sections of the outer pipe to create a maintenance space while maintaining vacuum in other parts.

Benefits of technology

Enables quick and easy maintenance of fluid devices connected to vacuum double pipes by minimizing exposure of the vacuum layer to the atmosphere, facilitating rapid restoration of the vacuum state post-maintenance.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure 2025078804000001_ABST
    Figure 2025078804000001_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

To provide a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device that allows maintenance of the fluid device connected to the vacuum double pipe to be quickly performed.SOLUTION: A connection structure between a vacuum double pipe 1 and a fluid device 100 is provided. The vacuum double pipe 1 comprises an inner pipe 10 through which a low-temperature fluid is passed, and an outer pipe 20 covering the inner pipe 10. A vacuum layer 30 is formed between the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20. In the vacuum layer 30, an isolation part 33 is formed between an upstream side partition wall member 32a and a downstream side partition wall member 32b provided along a flow passage. The isolation part 33 is allowed to communicate with a portion of the vacuum layer 30 other than the isolation part 33 by bypass flow passages 34a and 34b comprising opening / closing valves 35a and 35b. In the isolation part 33, the fluid device 100 is provided in the inner pipe 10, and at least a portion of the outer pipe 20 is detachably constituted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to transport low-temperature fluids such as liquefied hydrogen, vacuum double piping has been used in the past, in which a vacuum layer is formed between an inner pipe through which the low-temperature fluid passes and an outer pipe that covers the inner pipe. Fluid equipment such as valves may be connected to the vacuum double piping, and Patent Document 1 discloses a vacuum insulated valve that opens and closes the flow path of the low-temperature fluid transported by such a vacuum double piping. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 4-62498 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The vacuum insulated valve disclosed in the above Patent Document 1 is connected to the vacuum double piping by screwing together screws, and can be removed from the vacuum double piping during maintenance.

[0005] However, this causes the vacuum layer of the vacuum double pipe to be exposed to the atmosphere, which causes the problem that it takes a long time to return the vacuum layer to its original vacuum state when maintenance is completed.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device, which enables quick and easy maintenance of the fluid device connected to the vacuum double pipe. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device, the vacuum double pipe comprising an inner pipe through which a low-temperature fluid passes and an outer pipe covering the inner pipe, a vacuum layer being formed between the inner pipe and the outer pipe, the vacuum layer being provided with an isolation section between an upstream partition wall member and a downstream partition wall member provided along a flow path, the isolation section being capable of communicating with a portion of the vacuum layer other than the isolation section by a bypass flow path having an on-off valve, the fluid device being provided in the inner pipe in the isolation section, and at least a portion of the outer pipe being configured to be removable, and the upstream partition wall member and the downstream partition wall member being configured to be connected to each other by a bypass flow path having an on-off valve, The members are supported by both the inner tube and the outer tube so that they can expand and contract in the radial and longitudinal directions of the vacuum double piping, and at least one of the upstream partition member and the downstream partition member has an inner tube side mounting portion and an outer tube side mounting portion which protrude in a ring shape at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction from the inner tube and the outer tube, respectively, and a bellows tube attached between the inner tube side mounting portion and the outer tube side mounting portion, and this is achieved by a connection structure between the vacuum double piping and fluid equipment, in which a mounting ring having a plurality of long holes extending radially is provided at the opening edge at at least one end of the bellows tube.

[0008] In this connection structure between the vacuum double piping and the fluid equipment, it is preferable that at least a portion of the outer pipe in the isolation section is constructed by combining a pair of semi-cylindrical divided bodies into a cylindrical shape, and the divided bodies can be removed radially.

[0009] The fluid device may be a valve, and it is preferable that at least a portion of the outer pipe is removable on the downstream side of the fluid device. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device, which allows quick and easy maintenance of the fluid device connected to the vacuum double pipe. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of the vacuum double pipe shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Diagram 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a part of the vacuum double pipe shown in FIG. 1 is removed. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another main part of the vacuum double piping shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a front view of the main part of FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is a diagram showing a modification of the main part shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe 1 and a fluid device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the vacuum double pipe 1 includes an inner pipe 10 and an outer pipe 20 made of a metal material such as stainless steel, and a low-temperature fluid such as liquefied hydrogen, liquefied ammonia, liquefied helium, liquefied nitrogen, or liquefied oxygen passes through the inside of the inner pipe 10 in the direction of the arrow F.

[0013] The outer pipe 20 is disposed concentrically with the inner pipe 10 so as to cover the inner pipe 10, and a vacuum layer 30 is formed between the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20. The vacuum layer 30 is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) to provide vacuum insulation for the inner pipe 10.

[0014] The fluid device 100 is a valve, and includes a valve body 102, a valve element 104 arranged in the valve body 102, and a valve shaft 106 that rotatably supports the valve element 104. The upstream and downstream sides of the valve body 102 are airtightly flange-connected to the upstream portion 10a and downstream portion 10b of the inner pipe 10 with fasteners such as bolts and nuts, and the flow path of the inner pipe 10 can be opened and closed by rotating the valve element 104 around the valve shaft 106.

[0015] The upstream portion 10a and downstream portion 10b of the inner pipe 10 are divided into first portions 11a, 11b, second portions 12a, 12b, and third portions 13a, 13b, sequentially from the fluid device 100 side, which are hermetically flange-connected to each other.

[0016] The outer pipe 20 includes a cover portion 29 that covers the fluid device 100, and an upstream portion 20a and a downstream portion 20b that are hermetically flange-connected to the upstream and downstream sides, respectively, of the cover portion 29. The valve shaft 106 of the fluid device 100 passes through the cover portion 29 and extends outward.

[0017] The upstream portion 20a and the downstream portion 20b of the outer pipe 20 are divided into first portions 21a, 21b, second portions 22a, 22b, and third portions 23a, 23b, in that order from the cover portion 29 side. The first portions 21a, 21b, second portions 22a, 22b, and third portions 23a, 23b of the outer pipe 20 are disposed at positions corresponding to the first portions 11a, 11b, second portions 12a, 12b, and third portions 13a, 13b of the inner pipe 10, respectively.

[0018] An inner pipe side mounting part 14a and an outer pipe side mounting part 24a are provided on the upstream portions 10a, 20a of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20, respectively. The inner pipe side mounting part 14a and the outer pipe side mounting part 24a are formed in a ring shape and are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the second part 12a and the inner peripheral surface of the second part 22a, respectively, by welding or the like so as to fit along the cross section of the vacuum double piping 1.

[0019] The inner pipe side mounting part 14a and the outer pipe side mounting part 24a are arranged at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20, and a bellows tube 31a that is expandable and contractable in the axial direction is attached between the inner pipe side mounting part 14a and the outer pipe side mounting part 24a. The inner pipe side mounting part 14a, the outer pipe side mounting part 24a, and the bellows tube 31a form an upstream partition member 32a that blocks the vacuum layer 30 in the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20.

[0020] As with the upstream portions 10a, 20a, the downstream portions 10b, 20b of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20 are provided with an inner pipe side mounting portion 14b and an outer pipe side mounting portion 24b, respectively. The inner pipe side mounting portion 14b and the outer pipe side mounting portion 24b are formed in a ring shape and are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the second portion 12b and the inner peripheral surface of the second portion 22b, respectively, by welding or the like so as to fit along the cross section of the vacuum double piping 1.

[0021] The inner pipe side mounting part 14b and the outer pipe side mounting part 24b are disposed at an interval in the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20, and an axially expandable bellows tube 31b is attached between the inner pipe side mounting part 14b and the outer pipe side mounting part 24b. The inner pipe side mounting part 14b, the outer pipe side mounting part 24b and the bellows tube 31b constitute a downstream side partition member 32b that isolates the vacuum layer 30 in the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20. An isolation part 33 that is separated from the other part of the vacuum layer 30 is formed between the upstream side partition member 32a and the downstream side partition member 32b of the vacuum layer 30.

[0022] A bypass flow path 34a is formed in the upstream portion 20a of the outer pipe 20 by piping that communicates the upstream side and the downstream side of the upstream partition member 32a in the vacuum layer 30. An on-off valve 35a is provided in the bypass flow path 34a, and the bypass flow path 34a can be opened and closed by operating the on-off valve 35a.

[0023] A bypass flow path 34b is formed in the downstream portion 20b of the outer pipe 20 by piping that communicates the upstream side and the downstream side of the downstream partition member 32b in the vacuum layer 30. An on-off valve 35b is provided in the bypass flow path 34b, and the bypass flow path 34b can be opened and closed by operating the on-off valve 35b.

[0024] Fig. 2 shows the first portion 21b in the downstream portion 20b of the outer pipe 20 shown in Fig. 1, with Fig. 2(a) being a front view and Fig. 2(b) being a side view. As shown in Fig. 2(a) and (b), the first portion 21b has a pair of divided bodies 25, 26 formed in a semi-cylindrical shape, and is configured by combining these divided bodies 25, 26 to form a cylindrical shape. On both circumferential sides of the divided bodies 25, 26, there are provided band-shaped flange portions 251, 261 extending in the axial direction, and the flange portions 251, 261 are airtightly joined to each other with fasteners such as bolts and nuts, and the divided bodies 25, 26 can be removed in the radial direction indicated by the arrows by removing the fasteners.

[0025] The first portion 21a in the upstream portion 20a of the outer pipe 20, the first portion 11a in the upstream portion 10a of the inner pipe 10, and the first portion 11b in the downstream portion 10b of the inner pipe 10 are also constructed by combining a pair of semi-cylindrical divided bodies 25, 26 into a cylindrical shape, similar to the first portion 21b described above, and the divided bodies 25, 26 can be removed radially.

[0026] The connection structure between the vacuum double piping 1 having the above-mentioned configuration and the fluid device 100 can connect the entire vacuum layer 30 by opening both the on-off valves 35a, 35b of the bypass flow paths 34a, 34b, and the entire vacuum layer 30 can be evacuated, as in the case of conventional vacuum double piping.

[0027] On the other hand, during maintenance of the fluidic device 100, the on-off valves 35a, 35b are both closed to isolate the isolation section 33 from the other portion of the vacuum layer 30. Thereafter, a pair of divided bodies 25, 26 (see FIG. 2) of the first portion 21b in the downstream portion 20b of the outer pipe 20 and the first portion 11b in the downstream portion 10b of the inner pipe 10 are radially removed, whereby a maintenance space M for performing maintenance of the fluidic device 100 can be formed on the downstream side of the fluidic device 100, as shown in FIG.

[0028] By forming the maintenance space M, the isolated portion 33 of the vacuum layer 30 is opened to the atmosphere, but the portion of the vacuum layer 30 other than the isolated portion 33 (the portion with the dot pattern) is maintained in a vacuum state. After the maintenance is completed, the maintenance space M is returned to the state shown in Fig. 1 again, and the on-off valves 35a, 35b of the bypass flow paths 34a, 34b are both opened to perform a vacuum, thereby putting the entire vacuum layer 30 into a vacuum state.

[0029] According to the connection structure between the vacuum double pipe 1 and the fluid device 100 of this embodiment, by restricting the vacuum layer 30 to only be partially exposed to the atmosphere during maintenance of the fluid device 100, the vacuum layer 30 can be returned to its original vacuum state in a short time after the maintenance is completed. Therefore, the maintenance of the fluid device 100 connected to the vacuum double pipe 1 can be performed quickly and easily.

[0030] In this embodiment, the first portion 21a in the upstream portion 20a of the outer pipe 20 and the first portion 11a in the upstream portion 10a of the inner pipe 10 are also configured by a pair of divided bodies 25, 26 shown in Fig. 2, so that a maintenance space can also be formed on the upstream side of the fluid device 100. However, if a maintenance space on the upstream side of the fluid device 100 is not required, the first portions 11a, 21a may be configured to be indivisible.

[0031] The formation of a maintenance space for performing maintenance on the fluid device 100 can be achieved by configuring at least a portion of the outer tube 20 to be removable, and in addition to the configuration of this embodiment, for example, this can be achieved by configuring an opening formed in the outer tube 20 to be openable and closable with a lid.

[0032] The connection points of the bypass flow paths 34a, 34b to the outer pipe 20 are not particularly limited as long as they are positions that allow communication between the isolation section 33 and other sections of the vacuum layer 30, but in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, both ends of the upstream bypass flow path 34a are connected to the first section 21a and the second section 22a, and both ends of the downstream bypass flow path 34b are connected to the second section 22b. Instead of providing the downstream bypass flow path 34b, the upstream bypass flow path 34a may be branched and connected to the downstream side of the isolation section 33.

[0033] The upstream partition member 32a and downstream partition member 32b forming the isolating section 33 may have any configuration capable of airtightly dividing the vacuum layer 30, and may be, for example, a ring-shaped partition member interposed when the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20 are formed by flange connection. However, since the inner pipe 10 expands and contracts due to temperature changes of the low-temperature fluid passing through the inside, the upstream partition member 32a and downstream partition member 32b of this embodiment are supported by both the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20 so as to be expandable in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum double pipe 1 by including the bellows pipes 31a, 31b and further expandable in the radial direction of the vacuum double pipe 1 as described later.

[0034] The bellows tube 31a of the upstream partition member 32a shown in Figure 1 has a mounting ring 36a at the opening edge at one end on the downstream side, and the upstream side of the bellows tube 31a is directly attached to the inner pipe side mounting part 14a, while the downstream side of the bellows tube 31a is attached to the outer pipe side mounting part 24a via the mounting ring 36a.

[0035] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the upstream partition member 32a shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the mounting ring 36a is formed with elongated holes 37a extending in the radial direction, and the mounting ring 36a is supported so as to be movable in the radial direction relative to the outer pipe side mounting part 24a by inserting bolts 38 into the elongated holes 37a and screwing them into the threaded holes of the outer pipe side mounting part 24a. As shown in the front view of Fig. 5, the elongated holes 37a of the mounting ring 36a are arranged in a circumferentially balanced manner so that multiple elongated holes 37a face each other with the center in between.

[0036] Like the upstream partition member 32a, the downstream partition member 32b is provided with a mounting ring 36b at the opening edge portion at one end of the upstream side of the bellows tube 31b, and is configured to be expandable and contractible in the radial and longitudinal directions of the vacuum double piping 1.

[0037] Fig. 6 shows a modification of the main part of the upstream partition member 32a shown in Fig. 1, in which mounting rings 36a, 36a are provided on the opening edges at both ends of the bellows tube 31a. Each mounting ring 36a has a plurality of elongated holes 37a extending in the radial direction, and is attached to the inner pipe side mounting part 14a and the outer pipe side mounting part 24a by using these elongated holes 37a.

[0038] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a vacuum double pipe 1 and a fluid device 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and shows another modified example of an upstream partition member 32a and a downstream partition member 32b. The upstream partition member 32a and the downstream partition member 32b shown in FIG. 7 are made of bent members formed in a ring shape and bent so that a radial center portion 39 protrudes in the axial direction of the vacuum double pipe 1. The inner peripheral edge portion and the outer peripheral edge portion of this bent member are clamped when the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20 are flange-coupled, and are supported by the inner pipe 10 and the outer pipe 20. The upstream partition member 32a and the downstream partition member 32b thus configured can also expand and contract in the radial and longitudinal directions of the vacuum double pipe 1.

[0039] The configuration of the fluidic device 100 to which the vacuum double pipe 1 is connected is not particularly limited, and for example, as shown in Fig. 7, when a maintenance hole 108 for performing maintenance inside the valve box 102 is provided downstream of the valve box 102, at least a portion U of the outer pipe 20 directly above the maintenance hole 108 can be configured to be removable, so that a maintenance cover 109 of the maintenance hole 108 can be opened and closed. In addition, the fluidic device 100 is not necessarily limited to a valve as long as it is any type of fluidic device through which a low-temperature fluid passes, is supplied, or is discharged, and may be, for example, a flow meter, a pump, an accumulator, a tank, a heat exchanger, or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Vacuum double piping 10 Inner tube 14a, 14b Inner pipe side mounting part 20 outer tube 24a, 24b Outer tube side mounting part 25,26 split field 30 vacuum layer 31a, 31b Bellows tube 32a Upstream bulkhead member 32b Downstream bulkhead member 33 Isolation section 34a, 34b Bypass flow path 35a, 35b Opening and closing valve 36a, 36b Mounting ring 37a,37b long hole 100 Fluid equipment

Claims

1. A connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device, The vacuum double pipe includes an inner pipe through which a low-temperature fluid passes and an outer pipe covering the inner pipe, and a vacuum layer is formed between the inner pipe and the outer pipe, an isolation section is formed in the vacuum layer between an upstream partition member and a downstream partition member provided along the flow path, and the isolation section is capable of communicating with a portion of the vacuum layer other than the isolation section through a bypass flow path having an on-off valve; In the isolation section, the fluid device is provided in the inner tube, and at least a portion of the outer tube is configured to be removable, the upstream partition member and the downstream partition member are supported by both the inner pipe and the outer pipe, respectively, so as to be expandable and contractable in a radial direction and a longitudinal direction of the vacuum double pipe; at least one of the upstream partition member and the downstream partition member includes an inner pipe side mounting portion and an outer pipe side mounting portion protruding in a ring shape at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction from the inner pipe and the outer pipe, respectively, and a bellows tube mounted between the inner pipe side mounting portion and the outer pipe side mounting portion, A connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device, in which a mounting ring having a plurality of radially extending long holes is provided on the opening edge portion at at least one end of the bellows pipe.

2. The connection structure between a vacuum double piping and a fluid device as described in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the isolation section of the outer pipe is formed by combining a pair of semi-cylindrical divided bodies into a cylindrical shape, and the divided bodies can be removed radially.

3. 3. The connection structure between a vacuum double pipe and a fluid device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid device is a valve, and at least a portion of the outer pipe is removable on the downstream side of the fluid device.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Gas supply system

    CN112219024A

  • Valve body of heat preservation butterfly valve

    CN210830661U

  • JP1987114292U

  • Heat insulating vacuum double pipe

    JP1999125390A

  • Valve

    JP2002206648A