Gas compression device

Abstract

Provided is a gas compression device including: at least one gas compressor (compressor body 1, 2); an oil reservoir (case 3) for storing oil; an oil pump 5 for feeding oil from the oil reservoir to the gas compressor; an oil smoke recovery device 28 for recovering oil smoke from the oil reservoir and extracting oil; an oil accumulation device (device 30) for accumulating the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device 28 and discharging oil when the accumulated oil exceeds a predetermined amount; a first path (path 12) that connects the oil reservoir and a suction port of the oil pump 5; a second path (paths 33, 34) that connects the oil smoke recovery device 28 and the oil accumulation device; a third path (paths 36, 37) that connects the oil accumulation device and the first path; and a processor that performs control such that, when solid matter of oil is generated in the third path, a fluid is made to flow into the second path and is discharged from the oil accumulation device to the third path.

Description

Gas Compressor

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas compression device.

[0002] Gas compressors sometimes use oil to cool the high-temperature compressed gas, the gas compressor body, bearings, gears, etc., or for lubrication.

[0003] Oil is circulated throughout the compressor by an oil pump via piping, etc. Some of the oil used for cooling or lubrication turns into mist and fills the case or tank (hereinafter referred to as the case).

[0004] If the pressure inside the case becomes too high, oil may enter the gas compressor body connected to the case. To prevent this, the pressure inside the case is sometimes released to the atmosphere.

[0005] At this time, the oil smoke inside the case is also released into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of oil flowing through the entire gas compressor.

[0006] For this reason, gas compressors are sometimes equipped with an oil smoke recovery device to recover the oil mist, and there are various recovery methods, such as using compressed air or the suction pressure of the oil pump. This oil smoke recovery device allows the oil to circulate within the gas compressor without being lost.

[0007] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-193584

[0008] In the case of an oil smoke recovery device that recovers oil smoke using the suction pressure of an oil pump, a path (hereinafter referred to as the oil recovery path) that sends the oil recovered from the oil smoke is connected to the path that flows into the oil pump (hereinafter referred to as the oil pump inlet path), but to prevent air from getting caught in the oil pump, it is necessary to fill the oil recovery path with oil using a device (oil accumulation device) such as a float.For this reason, for example, a float or the like automatically discharges oil only when a certain amount of oil has accumulated, and the discharged oil is recovered by the suction pressure of the oil pump, but on the other hand, because the device activates and discharges the oil only when a certain amount of oil has accumulated, the oil in the oil recovery path remains for a certain period of time.

[0009] At this time, depending on the properties of the oil used and the surrounding environment, solid matter may be generated, and if this solid matter adheres to the oil recovery path, the path narrows, reducing the amount of oil that can be recovered and hindering the circulation of the oil. In particular, if the path is narrow, the path narrows more quickly.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a gas compression system that can eliminate clogging of the passage downstream of the oil accumulation device by solid matter.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the gas compression device of the present invention comprises at least one gas compressor, an oil reservoir that stores oil, an oil pump that sends oil from the oil reservoir to the gas compressor, an oil smoke recovery device that recovers oil smoke from the oil reservoir and extracts the oil, an oil accumulation device that accumulates the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device and discharges the oil when the accumulated oil exceeds a predetermined amount, a first path connecting the oil reservoir and an inlet of the oil pump, a second path connecting the oil smoke recovery device and the oil accumulation device, a third path connecting the oil accumulation device and the first path, and a processor that, when oil solids occur in the third path, controls to flow a fluid into the second path and discharge the fluid from the oil accumulation device to the third path.

[0012] According to the present invention, clogging of the passage downstream of the oil accumulation device due to solid matter can be eliminated. Objects, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram showing the configuration of a multistage gas compressor of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an example of a diagram showing a configuration for supplying oil 11 from a part of an oil system to a device 30 in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an example of a diagram showing the configuration of a multistage body compressor of the second embodiment.

[0014] Example 1 Example 1 will be described as an example of a two-stage gas compressor 100 equipped with two compressor bodies as shown in Fig. 1, among other multi-stage gas compressors having a plurality of compressor bodies that compress gas. The present invention can also be implemented in cases where there are three or more compressor bodies or in cases where there is a single-stage compressor having only one compressor body, because the method of recovering oily smoke inside the case 3 is the same.

[0015] The two-stage gas compressor 100 comprises a compressor body 1 that first compresses the gas sucked in, a compressor body 2 that further compresses the gas compressed by the compressor body 1, a power source 10, a control unit 9 that receives power from the power source 10 and controls the electric motor 8, the electric motor 8 that receives control commands from the control unit 9 and drives the compressor body 1 and the compressor body 2, a power transmission unit 4 that transmits the power of the electric motor 8 to the compressor body 1 and the compressor body 2, a case 3 that combines the power transmission unit 4 and a tank unit that stores oil 11, an oil pump 5 that supplies the oil 11 to the entire two-stage gas compressor 100, and a compressor 100 in which the oil 11 in the case 3 is drawn into the oil pump 5. a filter 6 that collects dust and the like in the oil 11 when the oil 11 is discharged; a path 12 that sends the oil 11 that has passed through the filter 6 to the oil pump 5; a path 13 that sends the oil 11 from the oil pump 5 to a cooler 7 (oil cooler); the cooler 7 that cools the oil 11; an oil supply path 14 that supplies the oil 11 cooled by the cooler 7 to the compressor main body 1, the compressor main body 2, and the power transmission unit 4; oil discharge paths 15 to 16 that return the oil 11 discharged from the compressor main body 1 and the compressor main body 2 into the case 3; an oil smoke recovery device 28 that recovers the generated oil smoke; and valves 29A and 29B that switch the direction of the fluid flow. (valves 29A, 29B), oil recovery paths 36-37, a device 30 (hereinafter referred to as device 30) that fills the oil recovery paths 36-37 with oil, a sensor or oil level gauge 31 (hereinafter referred to as instrument 31) that measures the amount of oil accumulated in the device 30 or the rate at which the accumulated oil decreases, a path 32 for sending the oil smoke that fills the case 3 to the oil smoke recovery device 28, paths 33-34 for sending the oil 11 recovered by the oil smoke recovery device 28 to the device 30, a path 35 that supplies oil when paths 36-37 are determined to be clogged, and a path 38 through which a mixed fluid of fixed objects and oil flows when clogging is determined.

[0016] In this embodiment, the control unit 9 controls the valves 29A, 29B and the device 30 in addition to controlling the electric motor 8, for example, but a separate control unit may control the valves 29A, 29B and the device 30. The control unit 9 is, for example, a microcomputer, and is composed of a CPU (processor), a memory (storage device), an input / output circuit (communication device), etc.

[0017] Valves 29A and 29B communicate paths 33 and 34 and paths 36 and 37, respectively, and close paths 35 and 38 until the occurrence of solid matter is detected.

[0018] The oil 11 may be supplied to the passage 35 from a supply source other than the oil pump 5, or as shown in FIG. 2, the oil 11 may be supplied from another passage somewhere inside the gas compressor.

[0019] A threshold value Th1 (hereinafter referred to as threshold value Th1) for the amount of oil accumulated in device 30, a threshold value Th2 (hereinafter referred to as threshold value Th2) for the time until the accumulated amount of oil is discharged, or a threshold value Th3 (hereinafter referred to as threshold value Th3) for the rate at which the accumulated amount of oil decreases are set in advance.

[0020] However, the threshold value Th1 is set between the oil level at which the discharge of the oil 11 accumulated in the device 30 is completed and the oil level at which the device 30 starts (operates).

[0021] Power is supplied from power source 10 to control unit 9, and control unit 9 sends a control command to electric motor 8 to drive it, which also drives oil pump 5. When oil pump 5 is driven, oil 11 stored in case 3 is drawn into oil pump 5 and pressurized, then cooled by cooler 7, and supplied to bearings and gears of compressor body 1 and compressor body 2 to lubricate or cool them, before passing through oil discharge paths 15-18 and returning to case 3.

[0022] Some of the oil 11 used to lubricate or cool the bearings and gears turns into mist and fills the case 3, and the oil smoke is collected by the oil smoke collection device 28 and returned to the state of oil 11, and then sent to the device 30. When a certain amount of oil has accumulated, the device 30 is activated and the oil 11 accumulated in the device 30 is drawn into the oil pump 5.

[0023] When the amount of oil 11 accumulated in device 30 exceeds a predetermined threshold value Th1, the device starts monitoring the amount of oil in device 30 or the rate at which the amount of oil is decreasing. If the amount of oil exceeds the time of threshold value Th2 or the rate at which the amount of oil is decreasing falls below threshold value Th3, it determines that solid matter has formed in oil recovery paths 36-37 and the flow path has begun to narrow. Valves 29A and 29B are activated to block paths 33 and 37, and paths 34 and 35, and paths 36 and 38 are connected, and a fixed amount of oil is allowed to flow in through path 35 or for a fixed period of time, and device 30 is forcibly operated to flush the solid matter into case 3.

[0024] After a certain amount of oil 11 has flowed or for a certain period of time, valves 29A and 29B are operated to reconnect paths 33 and 34 with paths 36 and 37, respectively, and paths 35 and 38 are closed.

[0025] The solid matter swept into the case 3 is removed by the filter 6.

[0026] In addition, a time interval may be set before the operation of forcibly flushing away solid objects is performed again, and if the same operation is performed again sooner than that time interval, i.e., within a short period of time, it may be determined that the solid objects have not been flushed away and an alarm may be issued.

[0027] Alternatively, after the operation of sweeping away solid objects has been performed a certain number of times, it may be determined that the solid objects have not been washed away, and an alarm may be issued.

[0028] Here, in the above, after a certain amount of oil 11 has flowed or for a certain period of time, valves 29A and 29B are operated to reconnect paths 33-34 and paths 36-37, respectively, and paths 35 and 38 are closed, but it is also possible to leave oil 11 flowing as is without operating valves 29A and 29B and issue an alarm.

[0029] The main features of the first embodiment can be summarized as follows.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the gas compression device includes at least one gas compressor (compressor body 1, 2), an oil reservoir (case 3) for storing oil, an oil pump 5 for sending oil from the oil reservoir (case 3) to the gas compressor (compressor body 1, 2), an oil smoke recovery device 28 for recovering oil smoke from the oil reservoir (case 3) and extracting the oil, an oil accumulation device (device 30) for accumulating the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device 28 and discharging the oil when the accumulated oil exceeds a predetermined amount, and a gas compressor (compressor body 1, 2) and an oil storage device (device 30) for storing the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device 28 and discharging the oil when the accumulated oil exceeds a predetermined amount. The oil storage system includes a first path (path 12) connecting the suction port of the oil pump 5, a second path (paths 33 and 34) connecting the oil smoke recovery device 28 and the oil accumulation device (device 30), a third path (paths 36 and 37) connecting the oil accumulation device (device 30) and the first path (path 12), and a processor that controls the flow of fluid into the second path (path 34) and the discharge of fluid from the oil accumulation device (device 30) to the third path (path 36) when solid oil is generated in the third path (paths 36 and 37).

[0031] The fluid flushes away the oil solids, clearing any clogging caused by solids in the third path downstream of the oil storage device. Clearing the clogging in the third path can prevent oil from overflowing from the oil storage device (device 30). As a result, deterioration in the cooling and lubrication performance of the sliding parts (bearings, gears, etc.) of the gas compression device can be suppressed.

[0032] The gas compression device includes a fourth path (path 35) that supplies a fluid (e.g., oil) to the second path (paths 33 and 34), a first valve (valve 29A) provided at a connection between the second path (paths 33 and 34) and the fourth path (path 35), a fifth path (path 38) that connects the oil reservoir (case 3) and the third path (paths 36 and 37), and a second valve (valve 29B) provided at a connection between the third path (paths 36 and 37) and the fifth path (path 38).

[0033] By controlling the first valve (valve 29A) and the second valve (valve 29B), the direction of the fluid supplied from the second path (paths 33, 34) can be changed to flush away the solids.

[0034] In this embodiment, the fluid that washes away the solids is oil. When oil solids occur in the third path (paths 36 and 37), the processor controls the first valve (valve 29A) to connect the fourth path (path 35) to the second path (path 34) downstream of the first valve (valve 29A) and close the second path (path 33) upstream of the first valve (valve 29A), and controls the second valve (valve 29B) to connect the fifth path (path 38) to the third path (path 36) upstream of the second valve (valve 29B) and close the third path (path 37) downstream of the second valve (valve 29B).

[0035] The first valve (valve 29A) directs the fluid toward the third path, making it easier for solids generated in the third path to be washed away by the fluid. The second valve (valve 29B) directs the fluid containing the washed-out solids into the oil reservoir (case 3) via the fifth path (path 38). In this embodiment, the solids are collected by filter 6, which is provided at the connection between the oil reservoir (case 3) and the first path (path 12).

[0036] The gas compression device includes a sensor that measures a value used to derive the velocity of oil being discharged from the oil accumulation device (device 30) or a value correlated with the velocity of the oil (such as the position or rate of decline of the oil level, or the time required for a predetermined amount of oil to be discharged).The processor determines whether oil solids have occurred in the third path (paths 36, 37) based on the value (measured value).This makes it easy to determine whether oil solids have occurred in the third path (paths 36, 37).

[0037] For example, the processor derives the velocity of the oil being discharged by differentiating the position of the oil level (measured by the sensor) with respect to time, and determines that an oil solid has occurred on the third path (paths 36, 37) if the velocity of the oil being discharged is less than a predetermined value. Alternatively, the processor determines that an oil solid has occurred on the third path (paths 36, 37) if the downward velocity of the oil level (measured by the sensor) is less than a predetermined value. Alternatively, the processor determines that an oil solid has occurred on the third path (paths 36, 37) if the time it takes for a predetermined amount of oil to be discharged is greater than a predetermined value.

[0038] In this embodiment, the gas compression device includes two or more gas compressors (compressor bodies). This allows the compression ratio of each gas compressor (compressor body) to be reduced, thereby suppressing air leakage from sealed portions between the screws and improving volumetric efficiency. The fourth path (path 35) is connected to, for example, the path of oil circulated by the oil pump 5 (Figure 2). Since there is no need to provide an oil pump separate from the oil pump 5, the device can be made smaller and its manufacturing costs reduced.

[0039] The processor issues an alarm if the period between when it is determined that solid oil has occurred on the third path (paths 36 and 37) and when it is determined that solid oil has occurred again is shorter than a threshold value, thereby letting the user know that solid oil remains on the third path (paths 36 and 37).

[0040] When the processor determines that no solid oil particles have occurred in the third path (paths 36, 37) and a predetermined amount of oil has been discharged from the oil accumulation device (device 30), it causes the oil accumulation device (device 30) to stop discharging oil. This causes the third path (paths 36, 37) to be filled with oil, thereby preventing air from being sucked into the oil pump 5.

[0041] The gas compression device is provided with a filter 6 that collects foreign matter in the path of oil circulated by the oil pump 5. As a result, solid matter swept away from the third path (paths 36, 37) is collected by the filter 6. In this embodiment, the filter 6 is provided at the connection between the oil reservoir (case 3) and the first path (path 12), but the position of the filter 6 may be changed as appropriate.

[0042] Example 2 A method of removing solids using compressed gas will be described in Example 2. While in Example 1 the solids are flushed away with oil, in Example 2 the solids are flushed away with compressed gas.

[0043] As in the first embodiment, of the multi-stage gas compressors having a plurality of compressor bodies that compress gas, a two-stage gas compressor 200 equipped with two compressor bodies shown in Fig. 3 will be described as an example. The present invention can also be implemented in the case of a compressor having three or more compressor bodies or a single-stage compressor having only one compressor body.

[0044] The determination method up to detecting the generation of solid matter is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0045] If it is determined that solid matter has been produced, valves 29, 40, and 41 are operated to connect paths 34 and 35, paths 36 and 39, and paths 38 and 42, and paths 33 and 37 are closed. Compressed gas is then allowed to flow through path 35 for a certain period of time or in a certain amount to flush out the solid matter and then discharge it through path 39.

[0046] The outlet of path 39 is left open to the atmosphere, and after the compressed gas is discharged, the pressure in paths 36 and 39 is returned to atmospheric pressure, and then valves 29 and 40 are operated to close paths 35 and 39, and paths 33 and 34, and paths 36, 38 and 42 are connected to each other, allowing oil 11 to flow into paths 36 and 42.

[0047] After the paths 36 and 42 are filled with oil 11, the valve 41 is operated to connect the paths 37 and 42 and close the path 38.

[0048] Here, similarly to the first embodiment, it may be determined whether or not the solid objects have been washed away, and if they have not been washed away, an alarm may be issued.

[0049] In addition, in FIG. 3, two valves, 40 and 41, are used to operate the opening and closing of the path, but it may be possible to operate it using one valve.

[0050] Furthermore, similarly to the first embodiment, the compressed gas may be allowed to continue to flow without operating the valves 29 and 40, and an alarm may be issued.

[0051] The main features of the second embodiment can be summarized as follows.

[0052] 3, the gas compression device includes a sixth path (path 39) that discharges fluid from the third path (paths 36 and 42) upstream of the second valve (valve 41), and a third valve (valve 40) provided at a connection between the third path (paths 36, 42, and 37) and the sixth path (path 39). In this embodiment, the fluid that pushes away solids is compressed gas (e.g., compressed air). When oil solids occur in the third path (paths 36, 42, 37), the processor controls the first valve (valve 29) to communicate the fourth path (path 35) with the second path (path 34) downstream of the first valve (valve 29) and close the second path (path 33) upstream of the first valve (valve 29), controls the second valve (valve 41) to communicate the fifth path (path 38) with the third path (path 42) upstream of the second valve (valve 41), and closes the third path (path 37) downstream of the second valve (valve 41), and controls the third valve (valve 40) to communicate the sixth path (path 39) with the third path (path 36) upstream of the third valve (valve 40) and closes the third path (path 42) downstream of the third valve (valve 40). This allows the oil solids to be expelled to the outside of the gas compression device by the compressed gas. Since the gas compression device can easily generate high-pressure compressed gas, it is easy to increase the force that pushes away the oil solids.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0054] The embodiment of the present invention may be in the following form.

[0055] (1) A gas compressor comprising at least one gas compressor body that compresses gas, a case or tank for storing oil, an oil pump, an oil smoke recovery device that recovers oil smoke using the suction pressure of the oil pump, a path for recovering the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device, a device for filling the path with oil, and an oil level gauge or sensor that measures the oil level in the device for filling the path with oil, or a sensor that measures the rate at which the oil amount decreases, the oil level gauge or sensor detects changes in the oil level in the device for filling the path with oil, determines that solid matter has been generated in the path, and allows oil to flow through the path between the oil smoke recovery device and the device for filling the path with oil to wash away the solid matter.

[0056] (2) In contrast to (1), a gas compressor has two or more gas compressors that compress gas.

[0057] (3) In relation to (1) to (3), a gas compressor having a passage for supplying oil from an oil system in the gas compressor to the device for filling the passage with oil to flush out solids.

[0058] (4) A gas compressor that uses compressed gas to flush out solids, as opposed to (1) to (3).

[0059] (5) A gas compressor that has the function of sounding an alarm if it is unable to flush away solid objects as described in (1) to (4).

[0060] According to (1) to (5), the formation of solids in the oil flow path can be detected and resolved early.

[0061] 1...compressor body, 2...compressor body, 3...case, 4...power transmission section, 5...oil pump, 6...filter, 7...cooler, 8...electric motor, 9...control section, 10...power supply, 11...oil, 12...oil pump inlet path, 13...oil pump outlet path, 14-18, 32-33...paths through which only oil flows, 28...oil smoke recovery device, 29, 29A, 29B, 40-41...valves, 30...oil recovery piping path Oil filling device, 31... oil level gauge or sensor for measuring the rate at which the oil level or oil volume decreases, 32... oil smoke recovery path, 34-35... paths through which oil or compressed gas flows, 36-37, 42... oil recovery piping path, 38... path through which oil and solids flow, 39... path through which oil, compressed gas, and solids flow, 100... two-stage gas compressor 1, 101... two-stage gas compressor 2, 200... two-stage gas compressor 3

Claims

1. A gas compression device comprising: at least one gas compressor; an oil reservoir that stores oil; an oil pump that sends oil from the oil reservoir to the gas compressor; an oil smoke recovery device that recovers oil smoke from the oil reservoir and extracts the oil; an oil accumulation device that accumulates the oil extracted by the oil smoke recovery device and discharges the oil when the accumulated oil exceeds a predetermined amount; a first path connecting the oil reservoir to an inlet of the oil pump; a second path connecting the oil smoke recovery device to the oil accumulation device; a third path connecting the oil accumulation device to the first path; and a processor that, when oil solids occur in the third path, controls to cause a fluid to flow into the second path and to discharge the fluid from the oil accumulation device to the third path.

2. A gas compression device according to claim 1, comprising: a fourth path for supplying the fluid to the second path; a first valve provided at a connection between the second path and the fourth path; a fifth path connecting the oil reservoir and the third path; and a second valve provided at a connection between the third path and the fifth path.

3. A gas compression device according to claim 2, wherein the fluid is oil, and wherein the processor, when oil solids occur in the third path, controls the first valve to connect the fourth path to the second path downstream of the first valve and close the second path upstream of the first valve, and controls the second valve to connect the fifth path to the third path upstream of the second valve and close the third path downstream of the second valve.

4. A gas compression device according to claim 2, comprising: a sixth path that discharges the fluid from the third path upstream of the second valve; and a third valve provided at the connection between the third path and the sixth path, wherein the fluid is compressed gas; and wherein the processor, when oil solids occur in the third path, controls the first valve to connect the fourth path with the second path downstream of the first valve and close the second path upstream of the first valve, controls the second valve to connect the fifth path with the third path upstream of the second valve and close the third path downstream of the second valve, and controls the third valve to connect the sixth path with the third path upstream of the third valve and close the third path downstream of the third valve.

5. A gas compression device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for measuring a value used to derive the velocity of oil discharged from said oil accumulation device or a value correlated with the velocity of oil, and said processor determines whether oil solids have occurred in said third path based on said value.

6. A gas compression device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two or more of the gas compressors.

7. A gas compression device according to claim 2, characterized in that the fourth path is connected to a path for oil circulated by the oil pump.

8. A gas compression device according to claim 5, wherein the processor issues an alarm if the period from when it is determined that solid oil has occurred in the third path until it is determined that solid oil has occurred again is shorter than a threshold value.

9. A gas compression device according to claim 5, characterized in that the processor causes the oil storage device to stop discharging oil when it is determined that no oil solids have occurred in the third path and the predetermined amount of oil has been discharged from the oil storage device.

10. A gas compression device according to claim 3, characterized in that it is provided with a filter for collecting foreign matter in the path of the oil circulated by the oil pump.

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