JP2009063326A - Gas meter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas meter usable in common for a city gas specification and an LP gas specification, capable of improving assembly workability by utilizing a component in common, and reducing cost. <P>SOLUTION: In the gas meter having a case body 11 provided with a gas inflow port 12 and a gas outflow port 13, for allowing gas flowing in from the gas inflow port 12 to flow into a measuring channel through an inflow passage 46, and measuring a gas flow rate, first and second shut-off valve holders 45, 67 forming the inflow passage 46 are exchangeably provided between the gas inflow port 12 and an inflow part 32 of the measuring channel, and the first shut-off valve holder 45 is equipped with a shut-off valve 58 on the upstream side and a pressure sensor 63 on the downstream side, and the second shut-off valve holder 67 includes a pressure sensor 63 on the upstream side and a shut-off valve 58 on the downstream side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas meter that can correspond to city gas specifications and LP gas specifications.

  Membrane gas meters are the mainstream as gas meters for general households, but in recent years, ultrasonic gas meters that detect changes in the propagation time of ultrasonic waves using ultrasonic sensors and measure gas flow rates, flow gas meters that use flow sensors Vortex gas meters are known.

  These gas meters incorporate a shut-off valve that shuts off in an emergency such as an earthquake, and a pressure sensor that detects a pressure fluctuation such as a gas leak and outputs a signal that shuts off the shut-off valve at an abnormal pressure.

  By the way, there are city gas specifications and LP gas specifications as gas meters for general households. In city gas specification gas meters, a shut-off valve is provided on the gas inflow side, and a pressure sensor is provided on the downstream side of the shut-off valve. It is done. In the gas meter of the LP gas specification, a pressure sensor is provided on the upstream side of the shutoff valve.

  Here, a conventional ultrasonic gas meter will be described. A gas inlet and a gas outlet are provided in the case body, and the gas inlet is connected to a measurement flow path provided with an ultrasonic sensor via a gas inlet passage. . In the city gas type ultrasonic gas meter, a shutoff valve is provided in the gas inflow passage, and a pressure sensor is provided in the measurement flow path downstream of the shutoff valve. When this city gas type ultrasonic gas meter is an LP gas type, a pressure extraction port is provided in the gas inlet passage upstream of the shutoff valve, and a pressure sensor provided in the pressure extraction port and the measurement channel is provided. Are connected by a rubber tube or the like. In other words, a configuration is adopted in which the gas pressure upstream of the shutoff valve is guided by a rubber tube to a pressure sensor provided in the measurement flow path.

Further, there is known a gas meter in which the meter body can be attached to both a suspended type and a mounting type (for example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, two openings are provided in a housing so as to be separated from each other on the left and right. On the other hand, an inflow port is provided at one end and an outflow port is provided at the other end of a flow rate measurement block including a shutoff valve, a pressure sensor, and the like. In addition, the inlet and outlet of the flow measurement block are configured to be reversible and attachable to the two openings of the housing, and the meter body can be attached to either a suspended type or a mounting type. Furthermore, both a shut-off valve and a pressure sensor are provided on the gas inflow side, or a shut-off valve is provided on the gas inflow side so that the pressure sensor can be switched in a flow measurement block.
JP 2005-172479 A

  As described above, when the city gas type ultrasonic gas meter is the LP gas type, a pressure extraction port is provided in the gas inflow passage upstream of the shutoff valve, and the pressure extraction port and the measurement channel are provided. A structure in which the pressure sensor is connected by a rubber tube or the like has a large number of parts, which makes the assembly complicated and causes an increase in cost.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, the meter body can be attached to either a suspended type or a mounting type, and the inlet and outlet of the flow measurement block can be attached in reverse, but the shutoff valve The pressure sensor can be switched on the upstream side or the downstream side of the gas chamber and cannot be used for both the city gas specification and the LP gas specification.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is that it can be used for both city gas specifications and LP gas specifications. In addition, the parts can be shared to improve the assembly workability and reduce the cost. It is to provide a gas meter that can be realized.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the gas inlet 12 and the gas outlet 13 are provided in the case body 11, and the gas flowing in from the gas inlet 12 is passed through the inlet passage 46. In a gas meter that flows into a measurement channel and measures a gas flow rate, first and second shut-off valve holders 45 that form the inflow passage 46 between the gas inlet 12 and the inflow portion 32 of the measurement channel. 67 is provided in a replaceable manner, the first shut-off valve holder 45 is provided with a shut-off valve 58 on the upstream side and a pressure sensor 63 on the downstream side, and the second shut-off valve holder 67 is provided with a pressure sensor 63 on the upstream side. A shutoff valve 58 is provided on the downstream side.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the gas inlet 12 and the gas outlet 13 are provided in the case body 11, and the gas flowing in from the gas inlet 12 flows into the measurement channel via the inlet passage 46 to measure the gas flow rate. In the gas meter, a shut-off valve holder 71 that forms the inflow passage 46 is provided between the gas inlet 12 and the inflow portion 32 of the measurement flow path. The shut-off valve holder 71 includes a shut-off valve 58 and the shut-off valve 58. Further, pressure sensor mounting portions 73 and 74 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side, and the pressure sensor 77 can be selectively mounted on the pressure sensor mounting portions 73 and 74 on the upstream side and the downstream side.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the upstream side of the shutoff valve holder 45, 67, 71 of the first or second aspect, an upstream connection portion facing the gas inlet 12 is provided, and an inflow portion 32 of the measurement channel is provided on the downstream side. The upstream connection portion of the shut-off valve holders 45, 67, 71 is connected to the gas by the attachment of the shut-off valve holders 45, 67, 71 and the measurement flow path to the case body 11. It is connected to the inflow port 12, and the downstream connection part of the shut-off valve holders 45, 67, 71 is connected to the inflow part 32 of the measurement flow path.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the pressure sensor mounting portions 73 and 74 provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the shut-off valve holder 71 of the second aspect have a pressure extraction port communicating with the inflow passage 46. The pressure extraction port of the pressure sensor mounting portion 73 or 74 on the side where the pressure sensor 77 is not mounted is closed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the shut-off valve holder 71 is die-cast, and one of the pressure outlets of the pressure sensor mounting portions 73 and 74 provided on the upstream side and the downstream side communicates with the inflow passage 46, and the pressure The other outlet is formed in a state of being cut off from the inflow passage 46.

  According to the present invention, according to claim 1, it is possible to use both the city gas specification and the LP gas specification simply by exchanging the first and second shut-off valve holders, and the parts are shared to improve the assembly workability. To reduce costs.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to use both the city gas specification and the LP gas specification simply by changing the position where the pressure sensor is attached without replacing the shut-off valve holder, and the parts are shared to improve the assembly workability. Cost reduction can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 5 show a first embodiment of an ultrasonic gas meter, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the ultrasonic gas meter, FIG. 2 is a front view of the ultrasonic gas meter with the front panel removed, and FIG. FIG. 4 shows a shut-off valve holder in the case of gas specifications, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, FIG. 4 shows a shut-off valve holder in the case of LP gas specifications, (a) is a front view, and (b). Is a side view, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the ultrasonic gas meter excluding the case main body.

  The case main body 11 has a rectangular box shape formed by aluminum die casting or the like, and a gas inlet 12 is provided on one side of the upper wall, and a gas outlet 13 is provided on the other side. Openings 14 and 15 are provided in the lower part and the front part of the case body 11, the lower opening part 14 is closed by a lid 16, and the front opening part 15 is formed by a front panel (not shown) having a display part. It is supposed to be blocked. An inflow side connecting tube 17 that communicates with the gas inlet 12 and an outflow side connecting tube 18 that communicates with the gas outlet 13 are integrally provided on the lower surface of the upper wall of the case body 11. Projecting downward from the upper wall.

  A rectifying box mounting table 19 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the lid 16. An inner packing storage groove 20 and an outer packing storage groove 21 are provided on the outer periphery of the rectifying box mounting table 19, and rubber packings 22 and 23 are stored in the storage grooves 20 and 21. A plurality of screw holes 24 are provided in the outer peripheral portion of the inner packing storage groove 20 on the upper surface of the lid body 16. In addition, mounting holes 25 penetrating in the vertical direction are provided at the four corners of the lid body 16 at the outer peripheral portion of the outer packing storage groove 21.

  A rectification box 26 that forms a measurement channel is placed on the upper surface of the rectification box placement table 19 of the lid 16. The rectifying box 26 has a rectangular rectangular tube shape, and is provided with an inlet 27 at one end and an outlet 28 at the other end. Opening windows 29 (only one is shown) are provided on both sides of the rectifying box 26, and these opening windows 29 are opposed to ultrasonic sensors (not shown) installed at an angle with respect to the gas flow. It has become.

  A measurement flow path housing 30 is provided on the rectifying box 26 so as to cover it. The measurement channel housing 30 is formed by aluminum die casting or the like, and a gas inflow portion 32 is provided at one end of the main body portion 31 covering the cylindrical portion of the rectifying box 26 and a gas outflow portion 33 is provided at the other end. ing.

  An attachment hole 34 is provided on the outer periphery of the measurement flow path housing 30 so as to face the screw hole 24 of the lid body 16. Fixing screws 35 are inserted into the mounting holes 34 and are fixedly screwed into the screw holes 24 of the lid 16. Therefore, the rectifying box 26 is fixed to the lid 16 at the same time as the measurement flow path housing 30 is fixed to the lid 16. Further, an ultrasonic sensor mounting portion 36 is provided in the main body portion 31 of the measurement flow path housing 30 so as to face the opening window 29 of the rectifying box 26.

  The gas inflow part 32 of the measurement flow path housing 30 is substantially rectangular, and an L-shaped bent passage 37 is provided inside, and a rectangular connection cylinder part 38 is provided at the upper part. A rubber packing 39 is provided on the end surface of the connecting cylinder portion 38 in a state where it is stored in the packing storage groove 40. The connection cylinder portion 38 is provided with a boss 41 having a through hole 41a and an attachment portion 42 having a screw hole 42a. The gas flow-out portion 33 of the measurement flow path housing 30 has a cylindrical shape, and an L-shaped bent passage 43 is provided inside, and a cylindrical connecting tube portion 44 is provided at the upper portion. The connecting cylinder portion 44 is fitted and connected to the outflow side connecting cylinder 18 that communicates with the gas outlet 13 of the case main body 11.

  A first shut-off valve holder 45 having a city gas specification is provided above the gas inflow portion 32 of the measurement flow path housing 30. The first shut-off valve holder 45 is formed by aluminum die casting or the like, has a substantially rectangular box shape, and has an inflow passage 46 penetrating in the vertical direction inside. A connection cylinder portion 47 as a cylindrical upstream connection portion communicating with the inflow passage 46 is provided on the upper portion of the first shutoff valve holder 45. The connecting cylinder portion 47 is provided with a flange portion 48. The connection cylinder portion 47 of the first shut-off valve holder 45 is fitted and connected to the inflow side connection cylinder 17 that communicates with the gas inlet 12 of the case body 11.

  At the lower part of the first shut-off valve holder 45, a connection base 50 is provided as a rectangular downstream connection portion communicating with the inflow passage 46. The connection base 50 is provided with a flange portion 51, and the flange portion 51 is provided with an attachment hole 52. The connection cap 50 of the first shut-off valve holder 45 is joined to the connection tube portion 38 of the measurement flow path housing 30, a fixing screw 53 is inserted into the attachment hole 52, and is screwed into the lid body 16 through the through hole 41 a. It is fixed. Further, the fixing screw 53 inserted into the other mounting hole 52 is screwed into the screw hole 42a of the mounting portion 42 and fixed.

  A valve attachment port 54 is provided on the side wall of the first shut-off valve holder 45, and a pressure outlet 55 is provided below the valve attachment port 54 (downstream of the inflow passage 46). An O-ring 56 is attached to the opening edge of the valve attachment port 54 and a screw hole 57 is provided. The valve mounting port 54 is mounted with the valve body 59 of the shut-off valve 58 inserted therein, and the shut-off valve 58 is fixed to the side wall of the first shut-off valve holder 45 by a fixing screw 60. The valve body 59 of the first shut-off valve holder 45 faces a valve seat (not shown) provided on a partition wall that partitions the upstream side and the downstream side inside the inflow passage 46 so that the inflow passage 46 can be shut off. It has become.

  Boss 61 is provided on both the left and right sides of the pressure outlet 55, and a screw hole 62 is provided in the boss 61. A pressure sensor 63 for detecting the gas pressure downstream of the shutoff valve 58 of the inflow passage 46 is attached to the pressure outlet 55, and the pressure sensor 63 is fixed to the screw hole 62 of the boss 61 by a fixing screw 64. Yes.

  Next, a method for assembling the ultrasonic gas meter configured as described above will be described.

  The rectification box 26 is placed on the rectification box placement table 19 of the lid body 16, and the main body portion 31 of the measurement flow path housing 30 is placed on the lid body 16 so as to cover the rectification box 26. Note that an ultrasonic sensor (not shown) is attached in advance to the ultrasonic sensor attachment portion 36 of the measurement flow path housing 30.

  When the mounting hole 34 of the measurement channel housing 30 is positioned in the screw hole 24 of the lid body 16 and the fixing screw 35 is tightened to the screw hole 24 to fix the measurement channel housing 30 to the lid body 16, The road housing 30 is sealed with a rubber packing 22.

  On the other hand, a shutoff valve 58 is fixed to the valve mounting port 54 of the first shutoff valve holder 45 by a fixing screw 60. A pressure sensor 63 is attached to the pressure outlet 55, and the pressure sensor 63 is fixed to the boss 61 by a fixing screw 64.

  Next, the connection base 50 of the first shut-off valve holder 45 having the shut-off valve 58 and the pressure sensor 63 is fitted into the gas inflow portion 32 of the measurement flow path housing 30, and the mounting hole 52 is formed in the measurement flow path housing 30. The through holes 41a and the screw holes 42a are positioned. Then, when the fixing screw 53 is inserted into the mounting hole 52 and screwed into the screw hole 24 of the lid body 16 through the through hole 41a, and tightened to the screw hole 42a, the first blocking with respect to the measurement channel housing 30 is performed. The valve holder 45 is fixed and both are sealed by the rubber packing 39.

  Next, the case body 11 is fitted from above so as to enclose the measurement flow path housing 30 and the first shut-off valve holder 45, and the lower opening 14 of the case body 11 is positioned on the upper surface of the lid body 16. . Then, when the fixing screw 65 is inserted into the attachment hole 25 from the lower side of the lid body 16 and tightened to a screw hole (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the case body 11, the lid body 16 and the case body 11 are fixed. Both are sealed by rubber packing 23.

  By fixing the case body 11 to the lid body 16, the connection cylinder portion 47 of the first shut-off valve holder 45 is fitted and connected to the inflow side connection cylinder 17 that communicates with the gas inlet 12 of the case body 11. The The connecting tube portion 44 is fitted and connected to the outflow side connecting tube 18 communicating with the gas outlet 13.

  Therefore, the city gas flowing in from the gas inlet 12 flows into the gas inflow portion 32 of the measurement flow path housing 30 via the inflow passage 46 of the first shut-off valve holder 45, and further passes through the measurement flow path inside the rectifying box 26. It passes through and flows from the gas outlet 33 to the gas outlet 13. The rectifying box 26 is provided with an ultrasonic sensor, and a change in ultrasonic propagation time can be detected to measure the gas flow rate. The gas flow rate is instructed to be integrated on a display unit (not shown).

  As described above, in the city gas type ultrasonic gas meter, as shown in FIG. 3, the first shut-off valve holder 45 provided with the pressure sensor 63 is provided on the downstream side of the shut-off valve 58. In the ultrasonic gas meter of the specification, as shown in FIG. 4, a second shut-off valve holder 67 provided with a pressure sensor 63 is provided upstream of the shut-off valve 58. The second shut-off valve holder 67 is basically the same as the first shut-off valve holder 45, and by fixing the connection base 50 to the gas inflow portion 32 of the measurement flow path housing 30, the connection cylinder portion 47 is placed in the case. The main body 11 can be fitted and connected to the inflow side connection tube 17 communicating with the gas inlet 12 of the main body 11.

  A valve attachment port 54 is provided on the side wall of the second shutoff valve holder 67, and a pressure outlet 55 is provided above the valve attachment port 54 (upstream of the inflow passage 46). A shut-off valve 58 is attached to the valve mounting port 54, and a pressure sensor 63 that detects a gas pressure upstream of the shut-off valve 58 is attached to the pressure take-out port 55.

  Therefore, the ultrasonic gas meter of the present invention becomes a city gas specification by incorporating the first cutoff valve holder 45, and by incorporating the second cutoff valve holder 67 in place of the first cutoff valve holder 45, LP gas specification. Therefore, components such as the case main body 11, the lid body 16, the rectifying box 26, and the measurement flow path housing 30 can be shared, and the assembly workability can be improved.

  6 and 7 show a second embodiment of an ultrasonic gas meter, FIG. 6 shows a shut-off valve holder in the case of city gas specifications, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, and FIG. The shut-off valve holder in the case of the LP gas specification is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a connection cylinder portion 47 connected to the inflow side connection cylinder 17 communicating with the gas inlet 12 of the case body 11 is provided at the upper part of the shut-off valve holder 71, and a measurement flow path is provided at the lower part. A connection base 50 connected to the connection tube portion 38 of the housing 30 is provided.

  A valve mounting port 72 is provided in the middle portion in the vertical direction on the side wall of the shut-off valve holder 71, and a first pressure as a pressure sensor mounting unit is provided above the valve mounting port 72 (upstream of the inflow passage 46). A second pressure extraction port 74 as a pressure sensor mounting portion is provided below the extraction port 73 (downstream of the inflow passage 46). The first and second pressure outlets 73 and 74 have the same structure, and bosses 75 are provided on both left and right sides of the pressure outlets 73 and 74, and screw holes 76 are provided in the bosses 75. . A pressure sensor 77 for detecting the gas pressure in the inflow passage 46 is attached to one of the first and second pressure extraction ports 73 and 74, and this pressure sensor 77 is fixed to the screw hole of the boss 75 by a fixing screw 78. 76 to be fixed.

  That is, in the case of the city gas specification, it is necessary to mount the pressure sensor 77 on the downstream side of the shut-off valve 58. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 is closed by a blind plug or the like, and in the case of the LP gas specification, it is necessary to mount a pressure sensor 77 on the upstream side of the shut-off valve 58. Therefore, as shown in FIG. A pressure sensor 77 is provided at the port 73, and the second pressure extraction port 74 is closed by a blind plug or the like.

  As a means for closing the first or second pressure extraction port 73, 74 on the side where the pressure sensor 77 is not mounted, a core is set in the mold when the shut-off valve holder 71 is die-cast molded. Although the first and second pressure outlets 73 and 74 are formed, the pressure outlets 73 and 74 may be opened or closed by inserting and removing the core.

  Furthermore, although the present invention has been described with respect to an ultrasonic gas meter, it can also be applied to a flow gas meter, a vortex gas meter, and the like using a flow sensor.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an ultrasonic gas meter showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the ultrasonic gas meter of the state which showed the same embodiment and remove | excluded the front panel. The shut-off valve holder in the case of the city gas specification of the embodiment is shown, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view. The shut-off valve holder in the case of the LP gas specification of the embodiment is shown, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view. The perspective view which shows the internal structure of the ultrasonic gas meter except the case main body of the embodiment. The shut-off valve holder in the case of the city gas specification of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. The shut-off valve holder in the case of the LP gas specification of the embodiment is shown, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Case main body, 12 ... Gas inflow port, 13 ... Gas outflow port, 45 ... 1st shut-off valve holder, 46 ... Inflow passage, 58 ... Shut-off valve, 63 ... Pressure sensor, 67 ... 2nd shut-off valve holder

Claims (5)

In the gas meter for measuring the gas flow rate by providing a gas inlet and a gas outlet in the case body and flowing the gas flowing in from the gas inlet into the measurement channel through the inlet channel,
The first and second shutoff valve holders that form the inflow passage between the gas inlet and the inflow portion of the measurement flow path are provided to be replaceable,
The first shut-off valve holder is provided with a shut-off valve on the upstream side, a pressure sensor on the downstream side, and the second shut-off valve holder is provided with a pressure sensor on the upstream side and a shut-off valve on the downstream side. Gas meter. In the gas meter for measuring the gas flow rate by providing a gas inlet and a gas outlet in the case body and flowing the gas flowing in from the gas inlet into the measurement channel through the inlet channel,
Providing a shut-off valve holder that forms the inflow passage between the gas inlet and the inflow portion of the measurement flow path;
The shut-off valve holder is provided with shut-off valves and pressure sensor mounting portions upstream and downstream from the shut-off valve, and pressure sensors can be selectively attached to the upstream and downstream pressure sensor mounting portions. A characteristic gas meter.   An upstream connection portion facing the gas inlet is provided on the upstream side of the shut-off valve holder, and a downstream connection portion facing the inflow portion of the measurement channel is provided on the downstream side, and the shut-off valve holder for the case body And by attaching the measurement flow path, the upstream connection portion of the shut-off valve holder is connected to the gas inlet, and the downstream connection portion of the shut-off valve holder is connected to the inflow portion of the measurement flow path. The gas meter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that   The pressure sensor mounting portions provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the shut-off valve holder have pressure outlets communicating with the inflow passage, and the pressure sensor mounting portion on the side where the pressure sensor is not mounted 3. The gas meter according to claim 2, wherein the pressure outlet is closed.   The shut-off valve holder is die-cast, and one of the pressure outlets of the pressure sensor mounting portion provided on the upstream side and the downstream side communicates with the inflow passage, and the other of the pressure outlets is shut off from the inflow passage. The gas meter according to claim 2, wherein the gas meter is molded into a state to be formed.

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