JP2010091416A - Gas meter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas meter having a structure suitable for a wide-variety small-lot production. <P>SOLUTION: The gas meter 1 is configured such that a display means for conducting a display operation on the basis of detections using various sensors is contained in a unit case 4, and the unit case 4 includes unit cover (hereinafter called cover) 43. The cover 43 includes: a cover frame 44 having an aperture 44a enabling a display content of the display means to be recognized visually; and a transparent member 45 for closing the aperture 44a, wherein an explanation of the display content of the display means is inscribed in the transparent member 45. The cover frame 44 includes: a rib formed so as to project backward and surround the perimeter of the aperture 44a; and a plurality of projections formed so as to project backward on the outside perimeter of the rib. The transparent member 45 is made of an elastic material, has a plurality of engaging holes for engaging with the projections, is attached to the cover frame 44 detachably and brings its plane on the aperture 44a side to contact with the rib in its attached state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  An opening closed with a transparent member is formed in a case containing display means such as a liquid crystal display means so that the display contents of the display means can be visually recognized, and the display contents of the display means are described on the transparent member. Relates to a gas meter.

Gas meters in recent years monitor whether there is an abnormality based on the detection results of various sensors such as a flow sensor, and display means (for example, a liquid crystal display means) when an abnormality occurs or a warning should occur. The abnormality information and warning information are displayed in () (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Further, in the gas meter, the display means is housed in a case for protection, and the case has a case frame provided with an opening so that the above abnormal information can be visually recognized, and a transparent covering the opening. It is composed of a glass member.

In addition, since the display of the display means displays the type of abnormality or warning using symbols such as alphabets, an explanation for allowing the user to understand what the code indicates is written near the display means. ing.
In the conventional gas meter, such a description is written by directly printing on the display means in the glass member, and the case is insert-molded using the glass member as an insert.
JP 2002-181595 A

  However, gas meters are a variety of small-quantity products, and the explanation of the display contents differs depending on the model. Therefore, the case is insert-molded using the glass member on which the explanation of the display contents is printed as described above, and an opening is provided. It is not preferable from the viewpoint of cost to make the case frame and the glass member integral.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a gas meter having a structure suitable for various kinds of small-volume production.

  The invention of claim 1 is provided with a case for accommodating display means for performing display based on detection by various sensors including a flow sensor, and the case is provided with an opening so that the display contents of the display means can be visually recognized. A gas meter comprising a frame and a transparent member that closes the opening, the transparent member having a description of display contents of the display means, wherein the case frame surrounds the periphery of the opening and the inner direction of the case And a plurality of protrusions formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rib so as to protrude in the inner direction of the case, and the transparent member is formed of an elastic material. And a plurality of engagement holes that engage with the protrusions, and are detachably attached to the case frame, and in the attached state, the surface on the opening side of the case frame is in contact with the rib. It is intended.

  The invention of claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of engagement holes of the transparent member are engaged with the projections of the case frame in contact with both the vertical and horizontal directions, A second hole positioned in the vertical direction with respect to the first hole and in contact with the convex part from the horizontal direction, and a second hole positioned in the horizontal direction with respect to the first hole and in contact with the convex part from the vertical direction A contact portion of the second hole with the convex portion is a vertical portion extending in the vertical direction, and a contact portion of the third hole with the convex portion is extended in the horizontal direction. It is an existing horizontal part.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a tongue piece is formed in the engaging hole of the transparent member so as to extend toward the center of the engaging hole and to contact the convex portion of the case frame. It is characterized by.

  In the gas meter of the present invention, a transparent member that closes the opening of the case frame and has a transparent portion in order to make the display content of the display means visible can be attached to and detached from the case frame. Because the transparent material attached to the case frame can be changed according to the model by describing the display contents according to the model, the case frame can be made common to each model, and the increase in cost in the case of multi-volume production can be suppressed. it can. Further, since the transparent member comes into contact with the ribs provided around the opening when attached to the case frame, water and insects can be prevented from entering from the opening. Furthermore, since the transparent member is formed of an elastic material, it can absorb the dimensional variation of the transparent member and the case frame.

  The gas meter of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an external view of an example of the gas meter of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the cover showing a state around the opening of the unit cover of the gas meter in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a rear perspective view of a frame. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the transparent member attached to the cover frame. FIG. 4A is a rear view of the transparent member before being attached to the cover frame, and FIG. It is a rear view of the transparent member in the inserted state. In FIG. 4, the display content of the display unit, which is written on the transparent member, is not shown. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the holes of the transparent member, and FIGS. 5A to 5C respectively show the first to third holes of the transparent member of FIG.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the gas meter of the present invention includes a main body 2 at the rear and a counter display unit 3 and an electronic control unit 4 at the front.
The lower case 21 of the main body 2 constitutes a measuring chamber for measuring a gas flow rate, and a pressure sensor, a shut-off valve, and the like are attached in the upper case 22. In the present specification, the front, rear, upper side, lower side, and the like are defined with reference to the time when the gas meter 1 is installed at the normal position.
The counter display unit 3 has a built-in counter (not shown) including a number wheel for counting and displaying the integrated value of the gas flow rate.

  The electronic control unit 4 is configured by accommodating an electronic control unit (not shown) including display means in a unit case 41 disposed in front of the lower case 21. Based on the detection result of a flow rate detection sensor (an example of flow rate detection means) that detects the flow rate by detecting the reciprocating motion of the diaphragm of the measurement chamber in the lower case 21, for example, Monitoring is performed for abnormalities such as long-term use of gas, and control is performed so that abnormal information and warning information are displayed on the display means when an abnormality occurs or when a warning should be issued. The display means includes, for example, a liquid crystal display unit, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) indicator, and the like.

  The unit case 41 includes a base 42 on which the electronic control unit is mounted, and a unit cover 43 that is attached to the base 42 and covers the front, side, upper, and lower sides of the electronic control unit. The unit cover 43 is attached to the cover frame 44 so as to close the opening 44a and at least displays the cover frame 44 formed with an opening 44a so that the user can visually recognize the display contents of the display means in the unit case 41. The part corresponding to the means is composed of a transparent member 45 which is transparent.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a frame F is drawn on the transparent member 45 so as to surround the area A1 corresponding to the display means, and the area A2 outside the area A1 passes through the area A1. An explanation of the display contents of the display means that can be confirmed is printed or the like. Although details of the transparent member 45 will be described later, one of the features of the gas meter 1 is that the transparent member 45 is formed of an elastic material and is detachable from the cover frame 44.

  The cover frame 44 is molded using a resin material, and is formed so as to surround the periphery of the opening 44a and protrude in the inner direction (rear) of the unit case 41 as shown in FIG. Ribs 44b. In addition, there are projecting walls (upper projecting wall 44c and lower projecting wall 44d) for reinforcing the peripheral part of the opening 44a at the approximate center of the upper part and the lower part of the outer peripheral part of the rib 44b. Further, on both sides of the upper and lower sides of the outer peripheral portion of the rib 44b of the cover frame 44, in order to make the transparent member 45 detachable from the cover frame 44, cylindrical convex portions (first to And fourth bosses 44e to 44h). With the first boss 44e as a reference, the second boss 44f is positioned in the vertical direction, and the third boss 44g is positioned in the horizontal direction. The fourth boss 44h is in a position offset from a position horizontal to the second boss 44f and a position vertical to the third boss 44g.

Returning to the description of the transparent member 45. The transparent member 45 is formed in a film shape with an elastic material. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the transparent member 45 is attached to the cover frame 44, a slit 45a into which the lower rib 44d is inserted, and an upper portion And a notch 45b provided at a position corresponding to the rib 44c.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the transparent member 45 is a hole (first to fourth holes 45c to 45f) into which any of the bosses 44e to 44h is inserted when attached to the cover frame 44. ). The positional relationship between the holes 45c to 45f is the same as the positional relationship between the bosses 44e to 44h.

  The transparent member 45 has a cover frame so that the bosses 44e to 44h are inserted into the holes 45c to 45f and the ribs 44b are in close contact with (abut against) the surface of the transparent member 45 on the opening 44a side. 44. At that time, the transparent member 45 is fixed to the cover frame 44 by engaging all or a part of the holes 45c to 45f with the inserted bosses 44f to 44h. With such a structure, the transparent member 45 is detachably attached to the cover frame 44. Further, since the surface on the opening 44a side of the transparent member 45 comes into contact with the rib 44b provided around the opening 44a when the member 45 is attached, water and insects do not enter from the opening 44a. . Further, since the transparent member 45 is formed of an elastic material, it is possible to absorb dimensional variations of the transparent member 45 and the case frame 44.

  In the gas meter 1 of the present example, the first to third holes 45c to 45e of the transparent member 45 engage with the corresponding boss, and the fourth hole 45f does not engage with the boss. As described above, when the transparent member 45 is provided with a hole (fourth hole 45f) that does not engage with the boss of the cover frame 44, when the unit cover 43 is attached to the base 42, the fourth hole 45f of the transparent member 45 is provided. It is preferable that the peripheral part of the fourth hole 45f of the transparent member 45 is pressed and fixed by the elastic member or the like so that an elastic member or the like is sandwiched between the peripheral part of the transparent member 45 and the base 42 (or the electronic control unit).

The first to third holes 45c to 45e that engage with corresponding bosses will be described.
The first hole 45c is an engagement hole that engages with the inserted first boss 44e in the lower right (lower left in FIG. 4) when the transparent member 45 is attached to the cover frame 44. FIG. As shown to (A), it has four tongue pieces 45g extended toward the center of the said hole 45c at equal intervals (each tongue piece 45g is the same shape). In the first hole 45c, distances L1 and L2 between the tongue pieces 45g in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are smaller than the outer diameter of the first boss 44e. Therefore, when the first boss 44e is inserted into the first hole 45c, the boss 44e comes into contact with both the vertical direction (Y direction) and the horizontal direction (X direction).

  The second hole 45d is an engagement hole that is inserted when the transparent member 45 is attached to the cover frame 44 and engages with the second boss 44f on the upper right (upper left in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 2, there are two tongue pieces 45 h extending from the X direction toward the center of the hole. The tip of the tongue piece 45h is a vertical portion 45i extending in the Y direction. In the second hole 45d, the distance L3 between the tongue pieces 45h (between the vertical portions 45i) in the X direction is smaller than the outer diameter of the second boss 44f. Therefore, in the second hole 45d, when the second boss 44f is inserted, the boss 44f comes into contact with the boss 44f from the X direction.

  The third hole 45e is an engagement hole that is inserted into the upper right (upper left in FIG. 4) and engages with the third boss 44g when the transparent member 45 is attached to the cover frame 44. FIG. 2), there are two tongue pieces 45j extending from the Y direction toward the center of the hole. The tip of the tongue piece 45j is a horizontal portion 45k extending in the X direction. In the third hole 45e, the distance L4 between the tongue pieces 45j (between the horizontal portions 45k) in the Y direction is smaller than the outer diameter of the third boss 44g. Therefore, in the third hole 45e, when the third boss 44g is inserted, the boss 44g comes into contact with the boss 44g from the Y direction.

  As described above, since the engagement between the boss of the cover frame and the hole of the transparent member is performed through the tongue piece, the stress applied to the peripheral portion of the hole of the transparent member is suppressed as compared with the case where there is no tongue piece. Can do.

In addition, the second hole 45d into which the second boss 44f at a position in the vertical direction with respect to the first boss 44e is inserted has a vertical portion 45i that contacts the second boss 44f from the horizontal direction, The second boss 44f is not contacted from the vertical direction. By so doing, even if there is a large variation in the vertical direction of the position of the second boss 44f relative to the first boss 44e, it can be absorbed.
Further, the third hole 45e into which the third boss 44g located in the horizontal direction with respect to the first boss 44e is inserted has a horizontal portion 45j that contacts the third boss 44g from the vertical direction, The third boss 44g is not contacted from the horizontal direction. Thereby, even if the variation in the horizontal direction of the position of the third boss 44g with respect to the first boss 44e is large, it can be absorbed.
Since the gas meter 1 can absorb the dimensional variations of the cover frame 44 and the transparent member 45 in this manner, the transparent member 45 can be attached to the cover frame 44 in a bent state or in a state where a large tension is applied. It is running low.

  The shape of the hole of the transparent member 45 is not limited to the above. For example, the second and third holes have tongue shapes (tapered) such that the distance between the tongue pieces decreases as the distance from the first hole increases. You may make it have a shape tongue piece). Further, all the holes may have the same shape.

It is an external view of an example of the gas meter of the present invention. It is a partial front view of the said cover which shows the mode of the opening part periphery of the unit cover of the gas meter of FIG. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a frame (cover frame) of the unit cover of FIG. 2. It is a figure explaining the transparent member attached to the cover frame of FIG. It is a figure explaining the hole of the transparent member of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gas meter, 2 ... Main-body part, 3 ... Counter display part, 4 ... Electronic control part, 21 ... Lower case, 22 ... Upper case, 41 ... Unit case, 42 ... Base, 43 ... Unit cover, 44 ... Cover frame 44a ... Opening, 44b ... Rib, 44c ... Upper protruding wall, 44d ... Lower protruding wall, 44e-44h ... First to fourth bosses, 45 ... Transparent member, 45a ... Slit, 45b ... Notch, 45c-45f ... 1st-4th hole, 45g, 45h, 45j ... tongue piece, 45i ... vertical part, 45k ... horizontal part.

Claims (3)

A case housing a display unit that performs display based on detection by various sensors including a flow sensor, and the case includes a case frame provided with an opening so that the display content of the display unit can be visually recognized; A gas meter in which an explanation of display contents of the display means is written on the transparent member,
The case frame has a rib formed so as to surround the opening and projecting in the inner direction of the case, and a plurality of ribs formed in the outer peripheral part of the rib so as to project in the inner direction of the case. Has a convex part,
The transparent member is formed of an elastic material, and has a plurality of engagement holes that engage with the protrusions, and is detachably attached to the case frame. In the attached state, the transparent member is on the opening side of the case frame. A gas meter, wherein a surface abuts on the rib.   The plurality of engagement holes of the transparent member are positioned in the vertical direction with respect to the first hole that contacts and engages the convex portion of the case frame from both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. A second hole in contact with the convex portion from the horizontal direction, and a third hole positioned in the horizontal direction with respect to the first hole and in contact with the convex portion from the vertical direction. The contact portion of the second hole with the convex portion is a vertical portion extending in the vertical direction, and the contact portion of the third hole with the convex portion is a horizontal portion extending in the horizontal direction. The gas meter according to claim 1.   The gas meter according to claim 1, wherein a tongue piece is formed in the engagement hole of the transparent member so as to extend toward a center of the engagement hole and to contact a convex portion of the case frame. .

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