EP-4741703-A1 - CONTAINER AND PUMP SYSTEM

EP4741703A1EP 4741703 A1EP4741703 A1EP 4741703A1EP-4741703-A1

Abstract

A hollow container (3, 4) is disposed above a hollow column (2) disposed around a pump (P), with a cable (8) being passed through a central portion of the container (3, 4) from bottom to top. The container (3, 4) includes a lower plate member (5, 6) having, in a central portion of the lower plate member, a cable passage hole (9, 10) through which the cable (8) can be passed, and a stuffing box member (12) disposed in the central portion of lower plate member (5, 6) around the cable passage hole (9, 10) and having, in a central portion of the stuffing box member, a cable insertion hole (13) into which the cable (8) is inserted. The stuffing box member (12) includes an opening diameter adjustment mechanism (14, 20) for adjusting a size of an opening diameter of the cable insertion hole (13).

Inventors

KIKUCHI HYUGA
KASATANI TETSUJI
HONDA SHUICHIRO
WATAJI KEI
IWAMI MITSUTAKA
TANAKA HIDEKI
SUZUKI ASAKI
HAYAKAWA JUNICHI

Assignees

EBARA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240604

Claims (9)

A hollow container that is disposed above a hollow column disposed around a liquefied gas pump, with a cable for installation and extraction of the liquefied gas pump being passed through a central portion of the container from a lower side of the container toward an upper side, the container comprising: a lower plate member disposed in a lower portion of the container and having, in a central portion of the lower plate member, a cable passage hole through which the cable can be passed; and a stuffing box member disposed in the central portion of the lower plate member around the cable passage hole and having, in a central portion of the stuffing box member, a cable insertion hole into which the cable is inserted, wherein the stuffing box member includes an opening diameter adjustment mechanism for adjusting a size of an opening diameter of the cable insertion hole.
The container according to claim 1, wherein the opening diameter adjustment mechanism includes: a rotary ring member capable of rotating around a central axis of the cable insertion hole; a pair of upper and lower linear-moving ring members disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the rotary ring member, respectively, and capable of sliding along the central axis of the cable insertion hole; and a pair of upper and lower cloth members each being fixed at opposite edges to a corresponding one of the pair of upper and lower linear-moving ring members and to the rotary ring member, and being disposed so as to cover peripheries of the linear-moving ring member and the rotary ring member, wherein a pair of upper and lower cable insertion holes are formed by the pair of upper and lower cloth members, and wherein the sizes of the opening diameters of the pair of upper and lower cable insertion holes can be adjusted simultaneously by rotating the rotary ring member.
The container according to claim 2, wherein the rotary ring member is provided with a gas inlet port for allowing purging gas to flow to the inside of the rotary ring member.
The container according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the rotary ring member, the linear-moving ring members and the cloth members are each divisible into two parts, from a ring-closed state to a ring-open state.
The container according to claim 1, wherein the opening diameter adjustment mechanism includes: a ring-shaped body member having the cable insertion hole in a central portion; a pair of right and left, plate-shaped seal members being disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the body member, respectively, and being openable and closeable; and spring members for biasing the pair of right and left seal members, respectively, in a direction of closing toward the central portion, wherein the cable insertion hole is formed in a central portion of the pair of right and left seal members, and wherein the size of the opening diameter of the cable insertion hole is adjustable by movement of the pair of right and left seal members in a direction of opening against elastic forces of the spring members.
The container according to claim 5, wherein the body member is provided with a gas inlet port for allowing purging gas to flow to the inside of the body member.
The container according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the body member is divisible into two parts in a direction in which the pair of right and left seal members open.
The container according to claim 1, comprising: a glove box provided inside the container and configured to allow a user to insert his hands thereinto from outside of the container for operating the stuffing box member; and an observation window positioned near the glove box and the stuffing box member such that the glove box and the stuffing box member can be seen from outside of the container.
A pump system comprising: a liquefied gas pump; and the container according to any of claims 1 to 8.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a container and a pump system. Background Art Among liquefied gas pumps, conventional liquefied natural gas (LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas) pumps address leakage of LNG to the outside by placing a temporary plate on a flange of a column top (see Patent Literature 1, for example). Since LNG is heavier than air in lower temperature ranges, it is not emitted into the atmosphere. By contrast, in the case of cryogenic fluid such as liquefied hydrogen and liquefied ammonia, the specific gravity of their gasified gas is lighter than air. Hence, there is a risk of emission of liquefied hydrogen or liquefied ammonia. In maintenance of a liquefied hydrogen pump, the boiling point of liquefied hydrogen is -253°C, whereas air (primarily oxygen and nitrogen) liquefies and solidifies in the region of -253°C. Liquefaction of air produces liquid oxygen, which poses a risk of explosion, while solidification of air poses a risk of damage to the pump by both nitrogen and oxygen. In maintenance of a liquefied ammonia pump, leakage of ammonia to the outside can lead to human health hazard because of its toxicity. When performing maintenance of a liquefied gas pump, in order to avoid entry of air or emission of the liquid in question (such as liquefied hydrogen and liquefied ammonia) to the outside in pulling out of a cryogenic pump or installing of a cryogenic pump, it is necessary to provide a barrier chamber, like a buffer container which is disposed on a column around the liquefied gas pump to form a barrier zone, or a purge container disposed on the buffer container. While such a barrier chamber is equipped with a door for partitioning its interior from the atmosphere side or the tank side, a cable (wire) for installation and extraction of the liquefied gas pump passes through the interior of the barrier chamber. Thus, there is a problem of gas leak through a hole for cable passage. For a liquid hydrogen pump, entry of nitrogen and oxygen into the column cannot be sufficiently prevented, and for an ammonia pump, ammonia gas leaks to the upper side and the outside as well. Furthermore, as a cable is not constant in diameter and accessories such as shackles and links are attached to it, the hole bored in the door needs to be large relative to the cable diameter. It has thus been very difficult to prevent leakage of gas from a hole for cable passage. Citation List Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-80801 Summary of Invention Technical Problem The present invention has been made against the background outlined above. An object of the present invention is to provide a container and a pump system that can prevent leakage of gas through a hole for cable passage. Solution to Problem One aspect of the present invention is a container. The container is a hollow container that is disposed above a hollow column disposed around a liquefied gas pump, with a cable for installation and extraction of the liquefied gas pump being passed through a central portion of the container from a lower side of the container toward an upper side, the container including: a lower plate member disposed in a lower portion of the container and having, in a central portion of the lower plate member, a cable passage hole through which the cable can be passed; anda stuffing box member disposed in the central portion of the lower plate member around the cable passage hole and having, in a central portion of the stuffing box member, a cable insertion hole into which the cable is inserted,wherein the stuffing box member includes an opening diameter adjustment mechanism for adjusting a size of an opening diameter of the cable insertion hole. Another aspect of the present invention is a pump system. The pump system includes a liquefied gas pump and the container set forth above. As will be described below, the present invention has other aspects. Hence, the disclosure of this invention is intended to provide some of the aspects of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as described and claimed herein. Brief Description of the Drawings [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram (a side view) showing a pump system in an embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram (a perspective view) showing the pump system in the embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram (a side view) showing a stuffing box in an embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 4] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram (a side view) showing the stuffing box in the embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 5] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram (a plan view) showing the stuffing box in the embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram (a plan view) showing the stuffing box in the embodiment of the present invention.[Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram (a side view) showing how purgin