Tanker truck

Abstract

To provide a tank truck that allows the bottom valve to be opened and closed without having to manually rotate the bottom valve handle. [Solution] In a tank truck in which the bottom valve 33 can be opened and closed by the rotation of the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction at a shaft end drive unit 31 connected to the upper end of the bottom valve shaft 32 at the top of the tank 15, the shaft end drive unit rotates the bottom valve shaft with an air motor 43. In addition, the vehicle is equipped with an air brake for braking the vehicle, which uses compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle as the working fluid, and the compressed air is also used as the working fluid for the air motor. Furthermore, if necessary, the valve body 47 of the bottom valve engages with the valve seat 53 via a packing made of fluororesin, and the control panel for driving and stopping the air motor is located at approximately the same height as the discharge port for liquid cargo located on the side or rear of the vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a tank truck.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when transporting liquid cargo, tank trucks are widely used.

[0003] The discharge (unloading) of the liquid cargo stored inside the tank truck is sometimes carried out by releasing the bottom valve installed at the bottom of the tank, and is known as one of the typical structures that has been adopted since relatively long ago.

[0004] Also, generally, the opening and closing of this bottom valve is performed by an operator rotating a wheel-shaped bottom valve handle installed beside the manhole at the top of the tank.

[0005] That is, the bottom valve arranged at the bottom (lower part) of the tank is configured to be operated at the upper part of the tank which is separated. This is because when discharging a predetermined amount of liquid cargo from the tank, etc., the discharge of the liquid cargo is carried out while confirming the remaining amount inside the tank with the naked eye or a dipstick at the upper part of the tank.

[0006] Therefore, the bottom valve handle at the upper part of the tank and the bottom valve at the bottom of the tank are configured to be interlocked via a long rod-shaped bottom valve shaft extended inside the tank, and the rotation operation of the bottom valve handle becomes an operation around the axis of the bottom valve shaft, so that a rotational force is transmitted to the bottom valve and the opening and closing operation is performed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] However, with the conventional tank trucks described above, the operator had to manually turn the bottom valve handle, which was cumbersome.

[0009] This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a tank truck that can open and close the bottom valve without having to manually rotate the bottom valve handle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the tank truck according to the present invention provides (1) a tank truck in which the bottom valve can be opened and closed by the rotation of the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction at a shaft end drive unit connected to the upper end of the bottom valve shaft at the top of the tank, wherein the shaft end drive unit rotates the bottom valve shaft with an air motor.

[0011] Furthermore, the tank truck according to this invention also has the following features. (2) The vehicle is equipped with an air brake for braking the vehicle, which uses compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle as the working fluid, and is also characterized in that the compressed air is used as the working fluid for the air motor. (3) The valve body of the bottom valve engages with the valve seat via a packing made of fluororesin. (4) The control panel for driving and stopping the air motor is located at approximately the same height as the liquid cargo discharge port located on the side or rear of the vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the tank truck of this invention, in a tank truck in which the bottom valve can be opened and closed by the rotation of the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction at a shaft end drive unit connected to the upper end of the bottom valve shaft at the top of the tank, the shaft end drive unit rotates the bottom valve shaft with an air motor, so that the bottom valve can be opened and closed without turning the bottom valve handle by hand. Furthermore, there is no risk of generating electrical sparks like with motors that use electricity to drive, and liquid cargo can be safely discharged even if the liquid cargo is flammable.

[0013] Furthermore, if the vehicle is equipped with an air brake that uses compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle as the working fluid, and if the compressed air is also used as the working fluid for the air motor, the air motor can be driven using the existing compressed air supply system, eliminating the need to provide a new working fluid supply system for driving the air motor.

[0014] Furthermore, if the valve body of the bottom valve engages with the valve seat via a fluororesin packing, it can maintain liquid tightness not only for water-based and petroleum-based liquid cargoes, but also for alcohols and organic solvents, enabling the transport of various types of liquid cargo.

[0015] Furthermore, if the control panel for driving and stopping the air motor is located at approximately the same height as the liquid cargo discharge port on the side or rear of the vehicle, the operator will not need to climb onto the top of the tank to operate the bottom valve, and the discharge operation can be carried out safely. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing the external appearance of the tank truck according to this embodiment in a side view. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the extraction mechanism as viewed from the left side. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing the external appearance of the control panel. [Figure 4] It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the extraction mechanism part by perspective view from the rear part of the vehicle. [Figure 5] It is an explanatory diagram showing the internal configuration of the bottom valve in the closed state and the open state.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] The present invention provides a tanker that can open and close the bottom valve without manually rotating the bottom valve handle in a tanker that enables the opening and closing of the bottom valve by rotating the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction at the upper end of the bottom valve shaft at the upper part of the tank.

[0018] Here, the shaft end drive part is a part for rotating the upper end of the bottom valve shaft at the upper part of the tank. For example, in the case of a conventional tanker as described above, a wheel-shaped bottom valve handle is arranged at the upper end of the bottom valve shaft to construct the shaft end drive part, and the operator rotates the bottom valve handle to enable the opening and closing of the bottom valve by rotating the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction.

[0019] On the other hand, in this regard, the present invention is characterized in that the shaft end drive part rotates the bottom valve shaft with an air motor, eliminating the complexity when manually rotating the bottom valve handle and enabling the opening and closing of the bottom valve.

[0020] Also, even in the case of a flammable liquid cargo such as gasoline, the risk of ignition due to an electric spark from the motor can be avoided, and it can be safely discharged.

[0021] Further, the tanker according to this embodiment includes an air brake for vehicle braking that uses compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle as a working fluid, and the compressed air generated by the air compressor mounted on this vehicle may also be used as the working fluid of the air motor.

[0022] In other words, compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle to supply the working fluid for the vehicle's air brakes may be used as the working fluid for the air motor.

[0023] In particular, large tank trucks are often equipped with air brakes that use compressed air to brake while driving. By utilizing this, the existing compressed air supply system can be used to drive the air motor, eliminating the need to install a new working fluid supply system for driving the air motor and enabling the opening and closing of the bottom valve without the hassle of manual operation.

[0024] Furthermore, the valve body of the bottom valve may be configured to engage with the valve seat via a packing made of fluororesin.

[0025] The fluororesin used here is not particularly limited as long as it has high chemical resistance and can function as a packing material. For example, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE), perfluoroethylene-propene copolymer (FEP), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer (ECTFE), etc., can be used.

[0026] Among these, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is the most common fluororesin, making it readily available, and it also has excellent functionality as a packing material, making it a suitable choice.

[0027] The packing may be disposed on the valve body or on the valve seat. In other words, it is not particularly limited as long as the engagement between the valve body and the valve seat is performed via the packing.

[0028] Furthermore, this configuration allows the material to exhibit good resistance to liquid cargo containing organic solvents such as alcohols, acetone, and xylene, and to function effectively as a packing material, enabling the transportation of a wide range of liquid cargo while maintaining robust liquid-tightness.

[0029] Furthermore, the control panel for driving and stopping the air motor may be configured to be located at approximately the same height as the liquid cargo discharge port, which is located on the side or rear of the vehicle.

[0030] Here, "near the discharge port" refers to a range of approximately 2 to 3 meters from the discharge port, a distance that allows for smooth and easy operation of both the discharge port and the control panel.

[0031] Similarly, regarding the height of the discharge port, it is acceptable as long as it is roughly the same height so that both operations can be performed smoothly. However, to give an example, it is preferable to position the control panel so that the operating component, such as a switch at the highest position on the control panel, is lower than the position where it is about 100 cm higher than the height of the discharge port (hereinafter referred to as the preferred upper limit position), and the operating component at the lowest position is higher than the position where it is about 100 cm lower than the height of the discharge port (hereinafter referred to as the preferred lower limit position) in order to have superior operability.

[0032] In particular, when liquid cargo is discharged using a gravity-feed method (natural flow method), the discharge port is located slightly below the bottom of the tank. By installing the control panel at approximately the same height, it becomes unnecessary to climb onto the top of the tank to operate it, as is the case with conventional bottom valve handles, thus making the unloading of liquid cargo even safer.

[0033] Furthermore, if the control panel is positioned at approximately the same height near the discharge port, the mounting location of the control panel is not particularly limited. For example, in a left-right unloading system where the discharge port is on the side of the vehicle, the control panel may be located on the side, or it may be located at the rear. Similarly, in a rear unloading system, the control panel may be located at the rear or on the side.

[0034] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the external appearance of a tank truck A according to this embodiment in a side view. In the following description, the direction of travel of the tank truck A may be referred to as the front, the direction of reversing as the rear, the side shown in Figure 1 as the left side, and the opposite side as the right side.

[0035] As shown in Figure 1, tank truck A is a so-called three-axle tank truck with two axles at the front and one at the rear, and is broadly composed of a chassis section 10 and a body section 11.

[0036] The chassis section 10 is the part that constitutes the chassis of the tank truck A, including the drive system. The chassis section 10 is configured to allow the tank truck A to be driven while being steered, by having a running section 12 equipped with wheels located below the base frame 13, and by having the driving operation performed in the cab section 14 located in front of the base frame 13.

[0037] Furthermore, the chassis section 10 is equipped with an air brake mechanism for braking the movement of the tank truck A. The air brake mechanism stores compressed air, which is used as a working fluid generated by a compressor (not shown), in an air tank, and takes out the compressed air when needed to brake the vehicle.

[0038] The body section 11 is a part configured to load cargo on the base frame 13, and is constructed by arranging a bottomed, lidded, oval cylindrical tank 15 in a horizontal position.

[0039] Furthermore, the upper part of the tank 15 is an upper work space 16 where the shaft end drive unit 31 (described later), a manhole (not shown), a safety valve, etc. are located, and workers can perform work in the upper work space 16 by using a ladder 17 located at the rear end of the tank 15.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the tank truck A employs a gravity-fed method (natural flow method) as the method for discharging liquid cargo, and the discharge port 20 is located slightly lower than the bottom of the tank 15.

[0041] Furthermore, the rear of the tank 15 is provided with a removal mechanism 30, which is one of the characteristic features of the tank truck A according to this embodiment.

[0042] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the extraction mechanism 30 as viewed from the left side, and Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the extraction mechanism 30 as viewed from the rear of the vehicle. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the extraction mechanism 30 consists of a shaft end drive unit 31, a bottom valve shaft 32, and a bottom valve 33. By operating the extraction mechanism 30, the bottom valve 33 is opened, enabling the extraction of liquid cargo from the discharge port 20. The extraction mechanism 30 will be further explained later with reference to Figure 4.

[0043] As shown in Figure 1, the tank truck A is also equipped with an operation panel 21 for operating the extraction mechanism 30. In particular, in this embodiment, the operation panel 21 is located near the discharge port 20 on the left side of the tank truck A at approximately the same height, so that the operator can continuously and smoothly perform operations at both the discharge port 20 and the operation panel 21.

[0044] Furthermore, the drive operation of the shaft end drive unit 31 located on top of the tank 15 can be performed from the control panel 21 located near the ground at a distance. This eliminates the need for workers to climb onto the upper work space 16 when unloading liquid cargo, thus making unloading operations even safer by eliminating work at height.

[0045] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the external appearance of the control panel 21. As shown in Figure 3, the control panel 21 includes a display unit 22 and an operation switch 23.

[0046] The display unit 22 is a part that indicates the status of the extraction mechanism 30, particularly the open / closed state of the bottom valve 33, and is equipped with an open indicator light 22a that lights up when the bottom valve 33 is open, and a closed indicator light 22b that lights up when the bottom valve 33 is closed.

[0047] The operation switch 23 is a switch for controlling the drive of the shaft end drive unit 31. In this example, the operation switch 23 is a selector switch that can be switched between the open position, the stopped position and the closed position.

[0048] Operational instructions (hereinafter simply referred to as "operator's operations") entered by the operator via the control panel 21 (operation switch 23) are transmitted to the extraction system air supply valve (not shown) and reflected in the air supply status to the shaft end drive unit 31.

[0049] Next, the configuration of the extraction mechanism 30 will be described in detail. As mentioned above, as shown in Figure 4, the extraction mechanism 30 comprises a shaft end drive unit 31, a bottom valve shaft 32, and a bottom valve 33.

[0050] The extraction mechanism 30 in this embodiment is characterized in that the rotation of the bottom valve shaft 32 in the shaft end drive unit 31 is performed using an air motor 43. In addition, the compressed air from the air tank, which is also used for vehicle braking as described above, is used as the working fluid for the air motor 43.

[0051] Specifically, the shaft end drive unit 31 comprises a drive shaft 41, a shaft seal 42, an air motor 43, and a gear mechanism 44.

[0052] The drive shaft 41 is the part that functions as the output shaft of the shaft end drive unit 31, and is the shaft for driving the bottom valve shaft 32.

[0053] The shaft seal portion 42 is a part that allows the drive shaft 41 to pass through the inside of the tank 15 in a rotatable state while ensuring the airtightness of the tank 15.

[0054] The air motor 43 is the prime mover for generating the driving force of the drive shaft 41. In this embodiment, compressed air is supplied from a predetermined air supply system that reflects instructions input by the operator via the control panel 21, causing the motor shaft 43a to rotate in the opening or closing direction.

[0055] The gear mechanism 44 is a mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the motor shaft 43a to the drive shaft 41. The gear mechanism 44 also has the role of buffering the vertical movement of the bottom valve shaft 32 and the drive shaft 41 that occurs when the valve body 47 of the bottom valve 33 is raised and lowered, as will be described later.

[0056] The bottom valve shaft 32 is a component that transmits the driving force generated by the air motor 43 of the shaft end drive unit 31 to the bottom valve 33.

[0057] The bottom valve shaft 32 is equipped with a shaft body 32a, and the upper end is connected to the drive shaft 41 of the shaft end drive unit 31 and the lower end to the valve stem 46 of the bottom valve 33 via universal joints 32b provided at both the upper and lower ends of the shaft body 32a. This configuration allows the rotation of the drive shaft 41 around its axis in response to the operator's operation on the control panel 21 to be transmitted to the bottom valve 33 via the shaft body 32a.

[0058] The bottom valve 33 is a valve for discharging liquid cargo, located at the bottom of the tank 15. In this embodiment, the bottom valve 33 employs a valve with a structure similar to a globe valve, and comprises a valve body 45, a valve stem 46, and a valve element 47.

[0059] The valve body 45 has an internal flow path from the inlet 50 to the outlet 51, and a valve seat 53 is formed in the middle of this internal flow path 52. The valve body 47 presses against the valve seat 53 to close the internal flow path 52, thereby preventing the discharge of liquid cargo. The outlet 51 is connected to the discharge port 20 via an outlet passage (not shown), allowing for the unloading of liquid cargo via the bottom valve 33.

[0060] The valve stem 46 is a shaft that moves the valve body 47 up and down within the valve casing 45 as the valve stem 46 rotates.

[0061] Figure 5 shows the internal structure of the bottom valve in the closed and open states. Specifically, as shown in Figure 5, a female thread is engraved on the inner circumference of the shaft hole 54a of the lid 54 located at the top of the valve body 45, and a male thread is formed on the circumferential surface of the valve stem 46 that screws into it. The valve stem 46 rises when rotational force is transmitted to the bottom valve shaft 32 in response to the operator's opening operation on the control panel 21, and falls when rotational force is transmitted in response to the closing operation.

[0062] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the valve body 47 is positioned at the lower end of the valve stem 46 so as to move up and down in accordance with the vertical movement of the valve stem 46. It moves between a position of pressure contact with the valve seat 53 and a non-contact position separated by a predetermined distance, and is the part that determines the state of the bottom valve 33, either in the closed state shown in Figure 4(a) or the open state shown in Figure 4(b).

[0063] Another feature of this embodiment is that the packing 47a, which is positioned at the engagement portion of the valve body 47 with the valve seat 53, is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a type of fluororesin, and is configured to accommodate a wide range of liquid cargoes.

[0064] Furthermore, in a tank truck A having such a configuration, the bottom valve (for example, bottom valve 33) can be opened and closed by rotating the bottom valve shaft (for example, bottom valve shaft 32) in the axial direction at a shaft end drive unit (for example, shaft end drive unit 31) connected to the upper end of the bottom valve shaft (for example, bottom valve shaft 32) at the top of the tank (for example, tank 15). In this tank truck, the shaft end drive unit rotates the bottom valve shaft using an air motor (for example, air motor 43), so that the bottom valve can be opened and closed without having to manually turn the bottom valve handle. In addition, there is no risk of generating electrical sparks like with motors that use electricity to drive, and liquid cargo can be safely discharged even if the liquid cargo is flammable.

[0065] Finally, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Therefore, it goes without saying that various modifications are possible depending on the design, etc., even in embodiments other than those described above, as long as they do not depart from the technical idea related to the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0066] 20 outlet 21 Control panel 30 Ejection mechanism section 31 Shaft end drive unit 32 Bottom valve shaft 33 Bottom valve 43 Air motor 46 valve stems 47 Valve body 47a Packing 53 valve seats A Tanker truck

Claims

1. In a tank truck in which the bottom valve can be opened and closed by the rotation of the bottom valve shaft in the axial direction at a shaft end drive unit connected to the upper end of the bottom valve shaft at the top of the tank, The aforementioned shaft end drive unit is characterized by rotating the bottom valve shaft with an air motor.

2. The vehicle is equipped with an air brake that uses compressed air generated by an air compressor mounted on the vehicle as the working fluid, The tank truck according to claim 1, characterized in that the compressed air is also used as the working fluid for the air motor.

3. The tank truck according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the valve body of the bottom valve engages with the valve seat via a packing made of fluororesin.

4. The tank truck according to claim 1, characterized in that the control panel for driving and stopping the air motor is located at approximately the same height as the liquid cargo discharge port located on the side or rear of the vehicle.

Images