Granted Patent B2

US 12,589,368 · App. 17/788,941 · Granted Mar 31, 2026

Inventors: Masaharu Takada (Osaka, JP); Kiichi Yamashita (Osaka, JP)

Assignee: SUNSTAR ENGINEERING INC.

B01F23/235B01F23/291B01F35/7174B01J4/02G05D7/0635

Abstract

Claims (76)

1 . A gas supply system for a mixing-discharging apparatus equipped with a piston pump having a predetermined volume to mix gas and paste material, the gas supply system comprising:

a regulator adapted to control pressure of gas supplied from a gas supply source;

a flow meter adapted to measure a flow rate of the gas;

a gas storage portion adapted to store the gas; and

a valve adapted to open and close a gas introduction path to the mixing-discharging apparatus,

wherein in the gas storage portion, a volume ratio of the gas storage portion to the predetermined volume of the piston pump is established between 4 and 100 such that sudden flow rate fluctuations in a flow path in which the flow meter is placed do not occur in a shorter amount of time than a sampling time of the flow meter when the valve is open and gas is supplied to the piston pump of the mixing-discharging apparatus, the sudden flow rate fluctuations being flow rate fluctuations in the shorter amount of time which would cause sampling distortion in measurements of the flow meter.

2 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the flow meter is placed upstream of the gas storage portion and downstream of the regulator with respect to a flow of the gas.

3 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the volume ratio of the gas storage portion to the predetermined volume of the piston pump is between 8 and 50.

4 . The gas supply system according to claim 3 , wherein a volume of the gas storage portion is 20 cc to 2000 cc.

5 . The gas supply system according to claim 4 , wherein a material of the gas storage portion is SUS.

6 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the regulator is a precision regulator.

7 . The gas supply system according to claim 6 , wherein the precision regulator is a constant bleed regulator or a nozzle flapper regulator.

8 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a check valve installed on a gas flow path between the gas storage portion and the valve.

9 . The gas supply system according to claim 8 , wherein a pressure difference between gases in front and back of the check valve is 0.01 MPa or less when gas does not flow.

10 . The gas supply system according to claim 8 , wherein a pressure of gas supplied to the regulator is 1 MPa or less.

11 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller adapted to control the gas supply system, wherein

the controller is configured to:

open the valve in a state in which the gas supplied from the gas supply source is subjected to pressure regulation by the regulator and stored in the gas storage portion, thereby sending gas into a space of the predetermined volume of the piston pump and storing the gas therein;

measure the flow rate of the gas with the flow meter;

calculate an amount of the gas stored in the piston pump from the flow rate of the gas measured by the flow meter; and

close the valve when a predetermined closing condition is satisfied.

12 . The gas supply system according to claim 11 , wherein the controller determines whether the calculated amount of the gas stored in the piston pump falls within a preset range between upper and lower limits and issues a system stop command when the amount of the gas falls outside the range between the upper and lower limits.

13 . The gas supply system according to claim 11 , further comprising a display unit adapted to display the calculated amount of the gas stored in the piston pump and a range between upper and lower limits representing an appropriate range of the amount of the gas.

14 . The gas supply system according to claim 13 , wherein the display unit further displays a time variation of the flow rate measured by the flow meter.

15 . The gas supply system according to claim 11 , further comprising a pressure gage adapted to detect a pressure of the gas, the pressure gage being installed on a gas flow path between the gas storage portion and the valve.

16 . The gas supply system according to claim 15 , wherein the predetermined closing condition for closing the valve is any of conditions (1) to (3) below:

(1) a gas flow rate measured by the flow meter falls to 0 or falls to or below a threshold;

(2) gas pressure fluctuations detected by the pressure gage disappear or a pressure fluctuation range of the gas falls to or below a threshold; and

(3) a predetermined time elapses after the valve is opened.

17 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the gas storage portion is a gas tank.

18 . The gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the gas storage portion is made up of a pipe having a length and a sectional area that achieve a predetermined volume ratio to a predetermined volume of the piston pump.

19 . A mechanical foaming system comprising:

the gas supply system according to claim 1 ; and

a mixing-discharging apparatus equipped with a piston pump supplied with gas from the gas supply system.

20 . The mechanical foaming system according to claim 19 , further comprising a controller adapted to control the gas supply system and the mixing-discharging apparatus,

wherein the piston pump of the mixing-discharging apparatus includes:

a cylinder connected to the gas supply system; and

a piston driven up and down in the cylinder,

wherein the mixing-discharging apparatus further includes:

a material supply apparatus adapted to supply paste material;

a conduit for the paste material, the conduit being connected to the material supply apparatus; and

a discharge valve adapted to open or close a gas supply path from the cylinder to the conduit, and

wherein the controller is configured to:

move the piston upward in the cylinder with the discharge valve closed;

introduce gas from the gas supply system into a cylinder space formed in the cylinder by upward movement of the piston and having a fixed volume;

pour a fixed amount of the paste material to the conduit from the material supply apparatus;

compress the gas by moving the piston downward; and

open the discharge valve and thereby mix discharged gas in the paste material.

21 . The mechanical foaming system according to claim 19 , further comprising a controller adapted to control the gas supply system and the mixing-discharging apparatus,

wherein the piston pump of the mixing-discharging apparatus includes:

a cylinder connected to the gas supply system; and

a piston driven up and down in the cylinder,

wherein the mixing-discharging apparatus further includes:

a material supply apparatus adapted to supply paste material; and

a material valve installed between the material supply apparatus and the cylinder, and

wherein the controller is configured to:

move the piston upward in the cylinder with the material valve closed;

introduce gas from the gas supply system into a cylinder space formed in the cylinder by upward movement of the piston and having a fixed volume;

supply the paste material to the cylinder space from the material supply apparatus by opening the material valve; and

discharge the gas and the paste material from the cylinder by moving the piston downward.

22 . A method for supplying gas to the piston pump in the mechanical foaming system according to claim 20 , the method comprising:

opening the valve in a state in which the gas supplied from a gas supply source is subjected to pressure regulation by the regulator and stored in the gas storage portion, thereby sending gas into a space of the predetermined volume of the piston pump and storing the gas therein;

measuring the flow rate of the gas with the flow meter;

calculating an amount of the gas stored in the cylinder space formed in the cylinder by upward movement of the piston and having a fixed volume from the flow rate of the gas measured by the flow meter; and

closing the valve when a predetermined closing condition is satisfied.

23 . The method according to claim 22 , wherein the predetermined closing condition for closing the valve is any of conditions (1) to (3):

(1) a gas flow rate measured by the flow meter falls to 0 or falls to or below a threshold;

(2) gas pressure fluctuations detected by the pressure gage disappear or a pressure fluctuation range of the gas falls to or below a threshold; and

(3) a predetermined time elapses after the valve is opened.

24 . The method according to claim 22 , further comprising:

determining whether the calculated amount of the gas stored in the cylinder space falls within a preset range between upper and lower limits; and

stopping the mechanical foaming system when the amount of the gas falls outside the range between the upper and lower limits.

25 . The method according to claim 22 , further comprising:

closing the valve;

moving the piston downward; and then mixing the gas and the paste material.

26 . The method according to claim 25 , further comprising discharging and applying the mixed gas and paste material on a surface.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (25)