JPH0460206B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a gas meter installed at the entrance of a supply pipe of a consumer of gas such as city gas or propane gas.

Conventional configurations and their problems Among the various measures that have been proposed for the purpose of preventing various accidents associated with gas use, there is one in which a gas meter has a built-in safety shutoff function. this is,
a flow rate sensor that determines the current flow rate by detecting the mechanical movement associated with metering by the gas meter;
The gas circuit is driven by a control part that receives a flow rate sensor signal and determines whether there is a dangerous situation that deviates from the preset operating conditions, and an electromagnetic part that receives a signal from the control part and energizes the gas circuit in the event of a danger. It has a structure in which a safety device is integrated into a gas meter that serves as a normal measuring instrument, and is equipped with a valve body that shuts off. It can perform the monitoring function no matter what part of the branch piping downstream of the gas meter is in use.
Since it is shut off at the supply source, it is extremely safe to prevent accidents.

FIG. 1 shows an external view of a conventional gas meter having such a safety function, and FIG. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional view of only the upper part. Here, the gas meter main body 1 includes a measuring section 4 that includes a pair of diaphragms for measuring the amount of gas passing from an inlet side joint 2 to an outlet side joint 3, and a diaphragm side chamber at a certain timing according to the operation of this diaphragm. It has a slide valve 5 for switching and supplying gas flow, and a link mechanism 6 for driving the slide valve. The number of operations of the link mechanism 6 is accumulated and displayed on the display 7 in a readable manner. A permanent magnet 9 is provided on the armrest 8 constituting the link mechanism 6, and a flow rate sensor 10 such as a magnetically sensitive reed switch or a magnetic resistance element corresponding to the permanent magnet 9 is fixed to the meter upper case 11. Since the amount of gas discharged by the reciprocation of the diaphragm is fixed, the number of times the armrest 8 is operated indicates the amount of gas used. A pulse signal generated each time the device makes a round trip is transmitted to a control section 13 housed in a control box 12 through a cable 14. Control unit 13
It has a battery and processes the pulse signal, and constantly monitors it with a microcomputer to see if it deviates from a preset range of normal operating conditions. When it is determined that there is an abnormality, electricity is supplied to the electromagnetic part 17 located in the operating chamber 15 housing the link mechanism 6 at a position corresponding to the valve seat 16 provided in the gas passage, and the valve body 18 is A spring 19 is used to bring the seat 16 into close contact with the seat 16 to cut off gas supply. The electromagnetic part 17 has a permanent magnet and a coil, and the attractive force of the permanent magnet is normally applied to the spring 19.
By energizing the coil, the permanent magnet attraction force is reduced, and the force of the spring 19 brings the valve into the closed state. Current is also supplied to the electromagnetic section 17 through the cable 14. Since the aforementioned flow rate sensor 10 and electromagnetic section 17 are located in the operating chamber 15 which is a gas atmosphere, an airtight terminal is required for electrical connection with the control section 13 located outside. It is built into the connection part 20 of the upper case 11. A hermetically sealed terminal connected to the cable 14 on the outside and connected to the electromagnetic section 17 and the flow rate sensor 10 on the gas side is used. Note that 21 is a display element provided on the control unit 13, and displays an abnormal state so that it can be seen from the outside. Further, although not shown in FIG. 2, 22 is an operation hole for operating a valve opening mechanism for reopening the closed valve body 18.

This conventional example naturally has the function of a measuring instrument, and also has the same external dimensions as a normal gas meter except for the control box 12. The position of control box 12 is display 7.
Because it is located at the bottom of the gas meter, there are no restrictions in terms of installation work or the mounting base, so the structure is completely compatible with normal gas meters in terms of installation. However, since the electrical components are arranged in the operating chamber 15 in a gas atmosphere, airtight terminals are required, and it is also necessary to fix the wiring within the meter upper case 11. Furthermore, in addition to preventing electrical parts from malfunctioning in a gas atmosphere, there is an electromagnetic part that generates power using coil inductance, so in order to avoid sparks, bare connections must be isolated from the gas to prevent wire breakage. Application of coating materials is also cumbersome. As described above, the above-mentioned conventional example had some difficulties in terms of assembly and manufacturing.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas meter structure that is easy to assemble while still having the function as a safety device of the conventional example.

Structure of the Invention To achieve this objective, the present invention includes, in addition to the basic structure of a normal gas meter, an operating chamber in which a meter link mechanism is housed in the upper case of the meter, and a gas passageway leading from the inlet joint to the operating chamber. a control chamber located in front of the operating chamber and in front of the meter upper case and adjacent to the operating chamber and the valve chamber, and a valve body is disposed in the valve chamber. , a control unit, an electromagnetic unit, and a flow rate sensor that detects mechanical operation for measuring gas flow rate, or a control unit, an electromagnetic unit, and a display that displays measurement results of the flow rate sensor and the meter are provided in the control room; The control chamber is closed with a front case, and the valve body and electromagnetic part are magnetically coupled. Since the valve chamber in which the valve body is housed is adjacent to the control chamber, magnetic coupling with the valve body is facilitated without placing the electromagnetic part in a gas atmosphere. Further, since the control room is located in front of the operation room, it is easy to detect the approaching and separating movements of the link mechanism, and there is no need to provide a sensor such as a reed switch in the gas atmosphere. In this way, the electromagnetic section and flow rate sensor associated with the gas passage and link mechanism are centrally installed together with the control section in the control room, making assembly work easier.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a right side view of a gas meter which is an embodiment of the present invention, and the AA cross section of the figure is shown in FIG. 4, and the BB cross section is shown in FIG. 5. Further, FIGS. 6a and 6b are cross sections taken along the line C--C in FIG. 4. Note that component names common to those in the conventional example have been given the same reference numerals as described above, and therefore, repeated explanations will be omitted. A gas passage 23 extends forward following the inlet joint 2, bends at a right angle at the valve chamber 24,
Furthermore, it bends at a right angle at a valve port 25 and communicates with the operating chamber 15 . In addition, a control chamber 26 is formed in the center of the front part of the upper meter case 11, and a display 7 is provided below the control chamber 26.
It is now room 27 that houses the. These chambers are independent from the operating chamber 15 and the valve chamber 24, and are adjacent to the operating chamber 15 and the valve chamber 24. The display device 7 is configured to convert the mechanical movement of the link mechanism 6 in the operating chamber 15 into a rotational movement of the shaft, and is transmitted and driven. The structure is designed to prevent gas from leaking. Next, a lever 30 is provided in the valve chamber 24 and is biased to rotate clockwise in FIG. 6 by a helical spring 29 with the support shaft 28 as the center of rotation. Valve rubber 32 on one side
A permanent magnet 33 is fixed to the other end. The valve shaft 31 has a larger diameter portion on the side of the permanent magnet 33 to prevent it from coming off, and a coil spring 34 is provided in a direction that separates the valve rubber 32 from the lever 30. That is, although the valve shaft 31 receives downward force from the spring 34 in FIG. 6a, it is configured to be able to swing freely relative to the lever 30. The parts shown here from the support shaft 28 to the coil spring 34 form the valve body 35.

Next, the end of the iron core 37 of the electromagnetic part 36 penetrates the wall between the valve chamber 24 and the control chamber 26, and the end of the iron core 37 of the electromagnetic part 36
4, and corresponds to the permanent magnet 33. A coil 38 is wound around the control chamber 26 side of the iron core 37, and a yoke 39 is arranged to wrap around the outer periphery of the coil 38. A control section 13 is located in the control room 26, and the output from the control section 13 excites the coil 38 of the electromagnetic section to reduce the attraction force of the permanent magnet 33, thereby changing the valve from the open state shown in FIG. 6a. This is to bring the valve into the closed state as shown in FIG. In the control room 26, a magnetically sensitive element such as a reed switch, a magnetoresistive element, or a Hall element is provided as a flow rate sensor near the wall closest to the operation chamber 15. Of course, like the conventional example, a permanent magnet is provided in a part of the link mechanism 6. In the above configuration, the valve chamber 24, the control chamber 26, and the chamber 27 are each provided in the front of the meter upper case 11, but each chamber is partitioned from the outside by closing the front surface with the front case 40. especially in the valve chamber 2
4, gas-tightness is maintained.

The operation in which the flow rate sensor 10 detects the operation of the link mechanism 6 and when an abnormality occurs, the coil 38 of the electromagnetic section 36 is excited by the output of the control section 13 so that the valve body 35 closes the valve hole 25 is conventional. The same is true. Since the valve rubber 32 of the valve body 35 is swingable with respect to the lever 30, the tightness of the valve rubber 32 during occlusion, etc. is ensured. Once the valve is closed, remove the cause of the abnormality and manually rotate the lever 30 in FIG. 6 in the counterclockwise direction (not shown). The valve is returned to the open state. It is easy to imagine that the manual operation position at this time will be on the left side as viewed in FIG.

Next, another embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional top view, and FIG. 8 is a cross section taken along line DD in the same figure. In this example, an electrical display such as a liquid crystal display is used instead of a display that mechanically displays the measurement results. The front part of the operation room 15 is a control room 26, and the control room 2
6 includes a flow rate sensor 10, a control section 13, and an electromagnetic section 36.
In addition, an electrical display 7 is provided, the front of which is a glass window 41 so that it can be read from the outside. As mentioned above, in the mechanical movement for measuring the gas flow rate, the gas flow rate per operation is known and the flow rate sensor 10 generates a pulse for each operation, so it is difficult to calculate the integrated value of the gas flow rate. It's easy. This calculation result is displayed on an electrical display such as a liquid crystal display, which not only shows the amount of gas used, but also
When the power is cut off due to abnormal usage, it is possible to display the reason for the shutdown in an easy-to-understand manner to the consumer, making it easier to eliminate the reason for the abnormality, and promoting safe usage, thereby further improving the function of the safety device.

Although the mechanism is as described above, it is not limited to the valve body structure that closes by rotational movement or the electromagnetic part structure in which the end of the fixed core protrudes into the valve chamber as shown here. For example, it may be of a solenoid type, in which a fixed electromagnetic part such as a coil, a yoke, or a permanent magnet is provided in the control chamber, and a movable plunger to which the valve body is attached and moves in the axial direction is arranged in the valve chamber. Of course, it is easy to ensure gas tightness between the valve chamber and the control chamber by known means. Further, it is natural that the return operation at this time can be easily performed directly. Even if such changes are made, the object of the present invention, which is to facilitate assembly without providing the current-carrying portion in a gas atmosphere, can be achieved.

Effects of the Invention The present invention provides an operating chamber in which a meter link mechanism is housed, a valve chamber located in the middle of a gas passage leading from a gas inlet joint to the operating chamber, and a valve chamber located in the front part of the operating chamber and in a case above the meter. A control chamber adjacent to an operating chamber and a valve chamber is formed in the upper case of the meter, and the valve chamber has a valve body, and the control chamber has a control section, an electromagnetic section, and a flow rate sensor or control section. This gas meter has an electromagnetic part, a flow rate sensor, and a display, and the control room is closed with a front case, and the valve body and electromagnetic part are magnetically coupled, so all electrical parts can be centrally installed in the control room, making wiring easy. It is omitted to facilitate assembly.

In particular, when an electrical display such as a liquid crystal display is used, the display can be placed in a position where it can be most easily read, since the positional relationship with the meter link mechanism can be freely set. In addition, there is no need for a worm gear part for transmission or a shaft sealing part for a rotating shaft passing through an operating chamber, which is necessary for a mechanical display, and the structural and machining aspects can be simplified. Furthermore, it is possible to arrange the display together with the control section and the flow rate sensor on a common printed circuit board, which further improves assembly efficiency.

In addition, since the control chamber is located in the front of the operating chamber and in front of the meter upper case, and is closed by the front case, the height of the gas meter does not become larger than before, and the safety device The control room, where all the parts are centrally installed, is located at the front of the meter case, and can be easily accessed by removing the front case, which is the lid, so parts can be inspected, repaired, or replaced without removing the gas pipe joints. This makes it easy to detect the motion from the motion chamber. Furthermore, since the height dimension of the present invention is almost the same as that of conventional gas meters and the meter reading operation is also the same as before, it can be centrally installed together with electricity meters and water meters called meter boxes in apartment complexes. Even if the gas meter is installed in a different location, it can be replaced with the highly functional gas meter of the present invention without the need for changing the gas piping.

Moreover, not only is the ease of assembly ensured, but since there is no exposed wiring, there is no fear that the wiring will be cut due to external factors, and the reliability of this type of safety device is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a conventional gas meter, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the same, FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the gas meter according to the present invention, and FIG.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in the figure, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in figure 3, Figures 6 a and b are cross-sectional views taken along line CC in Figure 4, and figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in Figure 4.
The figure is a partial sectional top view of a gas meter according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 7. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Gas meter, 2...Inlet joint, 6...Link mechanism, 7...Display device, 10...Flow rate sensor, 11...Upper meter case, 13...Control unit, 15...Operation chamber, 23
...Gas passage, 24...Valve chamber, 26...Control chamber, 35...Valve body, 36 ...Electromagnetic section, 40...Front case.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A metering section that measures the gas flow rate, a display that displays the measurement results of the metering section, a flow rate sensor that emits a signal according to the gas flow rate, and a meter that processes the signal of the flow rate sensor. A gas meter equipped with a control section that sends an output signal, an electromagnetic section that is excited by the output signal of the control section, and a valve body that is driven by the electromagnetic section and shuts off a gas circuit. The meter upper case includes an operating chamber in which the meter link mechanism is housed, a valve chamber located in the middle of the gas passage leading from the gas inlet joint to the operating chamber, and a valve chamber located in the front of the operating chamber and in front of the meter upper case. forming an operating chamber and a control chamber adjacent to the valve chamber, and disposing the valve body in the valve chamber;
A control unit, an electromagnetic unit, and a flow rate sensor that detects mechanical operation for measuring gas flow rate, or a control unit, an electromagnetic unit, the flow rate sensor, and the display are provided in the control room, and the control room is closed with a front case. A gas meter comprising a lid and magnetically coupling the valve body and the electromagnetic part. 2. The valve chamber and the control chamber are formed by the front part of the meter upper case and the front case that closes the front part of the meter upper case.
Gas meter as described in section.