JP2012088104A - Digital balance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a digital balance in which a desiccant disposed in a cabinet can be easily replaced so as to manage moisture absorption ability of the desiccant.SOLUTION: The digital balance measures a weight of an article, digitizes the measurement value obtained by the measurement, and electrically displays it. The digital balance includes a digital balance body accommodating a load cell 40, a control board 41, a battery box 38, and the battery 39, and sealed in a prescribed water proof level; and a desiccating unit 36 that is detachably attached from the outside so as to absorb moisture in the digital balance body and to desiccate inside the digital balance body.

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital scale that digitizes and electrically displays the weight of an article, and more particularly, to a digital scale having a desiccant for drying the inside of the housing of the digital scale.

  As a form for displaying a measurement value obtained by measuring the weight of an article, there are a display form by a needle type (analog) and a display form by a digital (numerical value). In recent years, in order to reduce misreading of measurement values and the like, scales adopting a digital display form from a needle display form have become widespread. Such a scale for displaying the measured value digitally is generally called a digital scale.

  Such a digital scale includes components that dislike moisture such as a substrate on which electronic components are mounted in a casing, a load cell for calculating a measured value, and the like. For this reason, digital balances have been developed that have a rubber packing attached to places where water is flooded in the housing, such as insets, so that they can be used even in food processing, dyeing and other environments where water is used. Yes.

  On the other hand, there is known a weighing system in which a desiccant (silica gel) supplier is provided in a housing (housing) of a balance to control humidity inside the housing (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, a configuration in which a desiccant is disposed around a resistor such as a strain gauge or a span resistance in a load cell and sealed with a moisture-proof agent has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

  In addition, as a desiccant arrange | positioned inside a housing | casing, the silica gel which discolors by the moisture absorption currently disclosed by patent document 3, and the color discolored by heating returns to the original color, for example can be utilized. .

Japanese National Publication No. 4-501169 JP-A 61-284612 JP 2010-48615 A

  By the way, even the digital scale with the above-described waterproofing measures cannot reliably prevent flooding. In addition, condensation may occur in the housing due to a sudden temperature change in the external environment surrounding the digital scale. Therefore, in a device other than the small scale, a configuration in which a small dehumidifier using a commercially available Peltier element is installed in the housing to perform dehumidification can be considered, but a battery-powered digital scale supplies this small dehumidifier. There is no margin of power. Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a configuration using a desiccant that does not consume power can be considered.

  However, the conventional technology as described above has a problem that the desiccant cannot be easily replaced.

  More specifically, the desiccant can adsorb only a predetermined amount of moisture, and the amount of moisture adsorbed by the desiccant decreases as the moisture is adsorbed. For this reason, it is necessary to replace the desiccant. However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the desiccant is disposed inside the housing and sealed as it is, the desiccant cannot be easily replaced. For this reason, even if the moisture adsorbing power of the desiccant decreases, the desiccant cannot be replaced, and drying in the housing cannot be realized.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital scale capable of easily exchanging the desiccant disposed inside the housing and managing the moisture adsorption capacity of the desiccant. Is to realize.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the digital scale according to the present invention is a digital scale that measures the weight of an article, digitizes the measured value obtained by the measurement, and electrically displays the measured value. A part of a weighing mechanism to be performed and an electrical component for digitizing and electrically displaying the measured value, and a casing sealed at a predetermined waterproof level, a desiccant, and a desiccant A drying unit detachably attached to the casing so as to adsorb moisture in the casing and dry the casing.

  Incidentally, as the desiccant contained in the drying unit, for example, silica gel that adsorbs moisture and releases moisture by heating can be used.

  In addition, being sealed at a predetermined waterproof level prevents water from entering the casing so that a part of the weighing mechanism housed in the casing and the electrical components do not cause problems due to moisture. It is sealed as much as possible.

  Since the casing houses a part of the measuring mechanism, it is necessary to maintain a balance between the pressure inside and outside the casing. Therefore, the casing can prevent water from entering from the outside, but the outside air needs to be maintained in a state where it can enter. That is, the case of the digital scale is not completely sealed.

  The weighing mechanism is a mechanism that is mechanically configured to place an article (non-weighed item) and measure the weight of the article from a load applied from the placed article. The part of the weighing mechanism is, for example, a part that measures the weight of an article, and includes an electronic component such as a strain gauge.

  According to the configuration described above, the digital scale according to the present invention is attached so that the drying unit can be detached from the housing. For this reason, a drying unit can be easily removed from the said housing | casing. Furthermore, the moisture adsorption capacity of the desiccant can be managed by removing and replacing the desiccant.

  Therefore, the digital scale according to the present invention has an effect that the desiccant disposed inside the housing can be easily replaced, and the moisture adsorption ability of the desiccant can be managed.

  The drying unit includes a housing portion for housing the desiccant, and the housing portion is close to a part of the weighing mechanism and a member that causes a malfunction due to moisture in the housing in the housing. As such, it may be attached to the housing.

  Here, examples of the member that causes a problem due to moisture include an electrical component such as an electronic circuit of a control board, or a part of a weighing mechanism such as a strain gauge of a load cell. In addition, the position close to the member that causes a problem due to moisture is a position within a range where the member can be sufficiently dried by the desiccant contained in the drying unit. That is, this close position can be determined according to the moisture adsorption force of the desiccant and the range in which moisture can be adsorbed.

  As described above, in the digital scale according to the present invention, since the drying unit can be attached so that the housing portion is positioned close to a member that causes a problem due to moisture, the member does not cause a problem due to moisture. Can be. Further, even in the case where the arrangement of the members that cause problems due to moisture is different in the housing, it can be dealt with by attaching the drying unit so as to arrange the accommodating portion according to each arrangement.

  The housing is provided with an opening in which a female screw is formed, the drying unit is formed in a columnar shape, and a male screw that is screwed to the opening of the housing is formed in a base end portion, and the base end portion The housing portion is formed in a further portion, and the drying unit is inserted into the opening of the housing so that the housing portion is located in the housing and the base end portion of the housing is It may be attached to the housing so as to be screwed into the opening.

  According to the above configuration, the drying unit can be easily detached from the housing of the digital scale by releasing the screwing between the base end of the drying unit and the opening of the housing and removing the drying unit from the opening of the housing. be able to.

  The desiccant changes in color according to the water content, and the drying unit is configured so that the color of the desiccant accommodated in the accommodating portion is visible from the base end of the drying unit. May be.

  According to the configuration described above, the drying unit is configured so that the color of the desiccant accommodated in the accommodating part is visible from the base end of the drying unit. It can be grasped without removing the unit.

  A part of the weighing mechanism may include a load cell that detects the weight of the article, and the drying unit may be attached to the housing so that the housing portion is close to the load cell.

  According to the configuration described above, since the housing portion is attached to the housing so as to be close to the load cell, it is possible to prevent the measurement accuracy from being deteriorated due to a malfunction of the load cell due to moisture.

  The electrical component includes a board on which electronic components for digitizing and displaying the measured value electrically are mounted, and the drying unit includes the casing so that the housing portion is close to the board. The structure attached to may be sufficient.

  According to the configuration described above, since the housing portion is attached to the housing so as to be close to the substrate, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being defective due to moisture.

  The electrical component includes a battery mounting portion to which a battery as a power source for operating the digital scale is mounted, and the drying unit is attached to the housing so that the housing portion is close to the battery mounting portion. It may be configured as follows.

  According to the configuration described above, since the housing portion is attached to the housing so as to be close to the battery mounting portion, it is possible to prevent a problem from occurring in the battery mounting portion due to moisture. Further, the vicinity of the battery attached to the battery attachment part is a place where condensation is likely to occur due to a rapid temperature change in the outside world. Therefore, it is advantageous in that moisture due to this condensation can be dried.

  The present invention is configured as described above, and has an effect that the desiccant disposed inside the housing can be easily replaced and the moisture adsorption ability of the desiccant can be managed.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure seen from diagonally backward of the digital scale which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure seen from diagonally forward of the digital balance of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the digital balance of FIG. It is a bottom view of the digital balance of FIG. It is an exploded view of the drying unit of the digital balance of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout all the drawings, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a digital scale according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from behind. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the digital balance of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the digital balance of FIG. In addition, in the digital balance 1, when the side provided with the display unit 34 is the front and the side opposite to the side provided with the display unit 34 is the rear, FIG. 3 shows the digital scale 1 along the rear from the front. The cross-sectional structure when cut vertically is shown.

  The digital scale 1 according to the present embodiment corresponds to this as long as the weight of the article is measured and the measured value obtained by the measurement is digitized and electrically displayed. The following is an example of a so-called digital upper plate automatic scale that measures the weight (weight) of an article placed on a weighing pan and digitally displays the measured value on a display unit. The digital balance 1 is configured to obtain the weight of an article (object to be weighed) using a strain gauge type load cell, for example.

  By the way, when agricultural (fishery) products, fresh foods, etc. are used as articles (objects to be weighed), the seafood, vegetables, etc. that are articles (objects to be weighed) contain a lot of water, and the environment surrounding the digital balance 1 is high humidity. It will be something. Further, in an environment where seafood and vegetables are handled, advanced food hygiene management is required. For this reason, it is necessary to frequently wash and disinfect the digital balance, and the digital balance 1 is required to have waterproofness (or water resistance) that can cope with washing.

  Therefore, the digital balance 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a seal member (for example, rubber packing or the like) at the joint 10 in the digital scale main body 3 so that it can be used in an environment where it is wetted by water, such as a food processing plant. ) 9 is disposed and attached to prevent flooding.

(Configuration of digital scale)
A more specific configuration of the digital balance 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the digital scale 1 includes a weighing pan 2, a digital scale body 3, and drying units 36 a and 36 b in its external shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the weighing pan 2 is a tray for placing an article (an object to be weighed). The weighing pan 2 has an article (object to be weighed) placed on the upper surface side. Further, it is in contact with the tray receiver 31 on the lower side and is supported by the tray receiver 31. And it is comprised so that the load of the mounted article | item (to-be-measured object) may be added to the tray receiver 31 supported on the downward side.

  The digital scale body 3 includes a housing 4 and a member housed or attached to the housing 4. The housing 4 is made of, for example, stainless steel, and members constituting the housing 4 are also made of stainless steel. The shape of the housing 4 is arbitrary. Below, the structure by which the housing | casing 4 is formed in the flat rectangular parallelepiped shape is illustrated. The housing 4 includes a bottom plate 5 and a cover member 6. For example, the bottom plate 5 is formed in a flat plate shape as a whole. The cover member 6 is formed, for example, in a hollow flat semi-open rectangular parallelepiped shape having a lower surface opened, a front surface inclined upward, and an opening 8 in the center of the upper surface. The lower edge portion of the cover member 6 is bent inward over the entire circumference to constitute an abutting portion 6a. The outer edge portion 5a of the bottom plate 5 comes into contact with the contact portion 6a, and the contact portion 6a and the outer edge portion 5a of the bottom plate 5 are joined by the screw 22. This joint portion constitutes a joint portion 10 between the bottom plate 5 and the cover member 6. In this way, a flat rectangular housing 4 is formed using the bottom plate 5 and the cover member 6. Between the contact part 6a of the cover member 6 and the outer edge part 5a of the bottom plate 5, a seal member (for example, rubber packing or the like) 9A is disposed, whereby the contact part 6a of the cover member 6 and the bottom plate 5 The space between the outer edge 5a is sealed to a predetermined waterproof level (waterproof specification).

  The casing 4 accommodates a lower portion of the tray receiver 31, a load cell 40, a control board 41, a battery box 38, electrical wiring (not shown), and the like. An opening 5b is formed in a part of the bottom plate 5, and a battery box housing portion 5c is formed so as to surround the opening 5b. A battery box 38 to which a battery 39 is attached is housed in the battery box housing portion 5c. The opening 5 b of the bottom plate 5 is closed by a plate-shaped bottom lid 7. The bottom lid 7 is detachably attached to the bottom plate 5 with screws (not shown) or the like. A sealing member (for example, rubber packing) 9B is disposed between the bottom lid 7 and the bottom plate 5 so that the gap between the bottom lid 7 and the bottom plate 5 is sealed to the predetermined waterproof level. Yes.

  The load cell 40 includes a strain body 29 and a strain gauge 30 attached to a predetermined part of the strain body 29. The tray receiver 31 includes a horizontally extending receiving portion 31a and a mounting portion 31b projecting downward from the central portion of the receiving portion 31a. The strain body 29 is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate 5 in a cantilever manner so that one end thereof is supported. The other end portion of the strain generating body 29 supports the attachment portion 31 b of the tray receiver 31.

  The upper end portion of the mounting portion 31b of the tray receiver 31 protrudes upward from the opening 8 of the cover member 6, the receiving portion 31a is located at the upper end, and the weighing pan 2 is attached to the receiving portion 31a. Thereby, when an article is placed on the weighing pan 2, the load of the article is applied to the strain body 29 of the load cell 40 via the tray receiver 31, and the strain of the strain body 21 is detected by the strain gauge 30. Is done. In this way, the weight of the article placed on the weighing pan 2 is detected.

  Further, the diaphragm 11 is disposed between the peripheral edge portion 6 b of the opening 8 of the cover member 6 and the outer edge portion of the receiving portion 31 a of the tray receiver 31. Thereby, the space between the cover member 6 and the tray receiver 31 is sealed to the predetermined waterproof level. The both ends of the diaphragm 11 are attached to the peripheral edge 6b of the opening 8 of the cover member 6 and the outer edge of the receiving part 31a of the tray receiver 31 by screws 23, 24 and the like. Moreover, the diaphragm 11 is comprised with the material rich in the softness | flexibility, and when the tray receiver 31 moves to an up-down direction, it is comprised so that a reaction force may not be exerted on the said tray receiver 31 substantially. Thereby, the weight of the article placed on the weighing pan 2 can be accurately measured with the inside of the housing 4 sealed from the outside.

  Further, a display unit 34 is provided on the front surface of the cover member 6, and a control board 41 is attached to the inner surface of the cover member 6 so as to be positioned behind the display unit 34. For example, the control board 41 is disposed in the vicinity of the battery box housing portion 5 c of the bottom plate 5.

  As described above, the lower part of the tray receiver 31, the load cell 40, the control board 41, and the battery box 38 are accommodated in the housing 4. Here, the weighing pan 2, the strain generating body 29, the strain gauge 30, the tray receiver 31, and the load cell 40 constitute a weighing mechanism. In addition, the battery box 38, the battery 39, the control board 41, and necessary electrical wiring (not shown) constitute electrical components.

  Further, a power ON / OFF sheet key switch 32, an operation sheet key switch 33, and height adjustment legs 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d are disposed on the outer surface of the housing 4 (the bottom plate 5 and the cover member 6). .

  The power ON-OFF sheet key switch 32 switches the power of the digital balance 1 on and off, and the operation sheet key switch 33 is an input means for performing various settings. Various settings include settings for zero correction, taring, and the like.

  The display unit 34 displays information such as a measurement value, and can be realized by an LCD (Liquid crystal display) or the like.

  The height adjustment legs 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d are legs for supporting the digital scale body 3 and are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the housing 4 so that the digital scale body 3 can be supported in a horizontal position. As such, the height of each leg can be adjusted. In particular, when there is no need to distinguish between the height adjustment leg 35a, the height adjustment leg 35b, the height adjustment leg 35c, and the height adjustment leg 35d, they are referred to as the height adjustment legs 35.

  The drying units 36a and 36b contain a desiccant 14 for absorbing moisture (moisture) inside the digital scale main body 3, and details thereof will be described later. Note that the drying unit 36a and the drying unit 36b are simply referred to as the drying unit 36 when there is no need to distinguish between the drying unit 36a and the drying unit 36b.

  As described above, the bottom lid 7 is for closing the opening of the battery box 38 housed in the digital scale body 3. That is, the bottom lid 7 can be attached to and detached from the digital scale body 3. When the bottom lid 7 is removed from the digital scale main body 3, the opening 5b of the battery box 38 is exposed to the outside. The battery 39 can be accommodated in the battery box 38 through the opening 5b. In addition, the sealing member 9B is attached to the fitting portion of the bottom lid 7 as described above, so that water from the outside can be prevented.

  The battery box 38 provided inside the housing 4 accommodates the battery 39 as described above. The battery box 38 includes an electrode (not shown), and the electrode is connected to a power supply terminal (not shown) of the control board 41 via a wiring (not shown).

  The load cell 40 obtains the weight of the article (object to be weighed) from the load applied from the article (object to be weighed) placed on the weighing pan 2. The load cell 40 includes a strain generating body 29 that deforms in proportion to a force and a strain gauge 30 that measures the amount of deformation (strain), and a load applied to the strain generating body 29 from an article (object to be weighed). The weight of the article (object to be weighed) is detected from the deformation amount (strain) of the strain body 29 caused by the above.

  More specifically, in the load cell 40, for example, a Wheatstone bridge is configured by four strain gauges 30 whose electric resistance changes in proportion to the strain. From the Wheatstone bridge, a very small voltage signal proportional to the applied voltage and proportional to the distortion is output to the control board 41. The control board 41 amplifies this small voltage signal and controls the display unit 34 to display the weight of the article as a numerical value.

  The control board 41 performs various controls of the digital balance 1. The control board 41 is provided on the front side of the digital balance 1, that is, on the side where the display unit 34 is provided in the digital scale body 3. In the example of FIG. 3, the control board 41 is provided on the back side of the display unit 34.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the bottom portion 20 of the digital balance 1 (exactly, the housing 4) is recessed from the bottom portion 20 toward the upper side of the digital balance 1 so that the digital balance 1 can be easily carried. Recesses 28a and 28b are provided. And at least one part of the side surface of the recessed part 28a, 28b is comprised from the waterproof moisture-permeable raw material 27a, 27b. FIG. 4 is a view showing the bottom side of the digital balance 1 of FIG.

  The digital balance 1 is sealed from the outside because the joint 10 and the like are closed with the sealing members 9A and 9B and the space between the housing 4 and the tray receiver 31 is sealed with the diaphragm 11 in order to improve waterproofness. Structure. However, in order to increase the weighing accuracy of the digital balance 1, it is necessary to maintain a balance between the pressure inside and outside the digital balance body 3 (more specifically, the housing 4). Therefore, in the digital balance 1 according to the present embodiment, the atmospheric pressure can be adjusted using the waterproof and moisture-permeable materials 27a and 27b on the side surfaces of the recesses 28a and 28b of the bottom portion 20 where the possibility of being splashed with water is small. ing.

  As the waterproof and moisture permeable materials 27a and 27b, a material made by combining a film obtained by stretching polytetrafluoroethylene and a polyurethane polymer, so-called Gore-Tex (registered trademark), can be used.

  As described above, since the digital balance 1 according to the present embodiment needs to keep the pressure inside and outside the digital balance main body 3 in balance, the waterproof / breathable materials 27 a and 27 b are used for a part of the bottom portion 20. For this reason, moisture-containing air enters the inside of the digital balance main body 3 through the waterproof and moisture-permeable materials 27 a and 27 b, and condensation is likely to occur due to a sudden temperature change in the external environment surrounding the digital balance 1. In addition, as a sudden temperature change of the external environment surrounding the digital balance 1, a case where the frozen processed product is weighed and then washed with hot water is assumed.

  Therefore, in the digital balance 1, the drying units 36 a and 36 b are digitally arranged so as not to adversely affect the moisture-reducing members such as the battery 39, the electronic circuit of the control board 41, and the strain gauge 30 of the load cell 40 due to the generated condensation. It is provided inside the scale body 3 (housing 4). Hereinafter, the drying unit 36 will be described in detail.

(Configuration of drying unit)
As shown in FIG. 5, the drying unit 36 includes a drying unit main body 15 for housing the desiccant 14 and a cap 13. The drying unit main body 15 and the cap 13 are made of a transparent synthetic resin. 5 is an exploded view of the drying unit 36 of the digital balance 1 of FIG.

  In addition, as the desiccant 14 accommodated in the drying unit 36, for example, silica gel that adsorbs moisture and releases moisture by heating can be used. Further, in order to show the state of water adsorption of silica gel, a water indicator such as cobalt chloride is added. For this reason, the presence or absence of the moisture adsorption force of the desiccant can be recognized by the color change.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the drying unit main body 15 has a columnar shape (so-called bolt shape) including a cylindrical shaft portion 51 and a polygonal head portion 52. The head portion 52 is formed at the base end portion of the drying unit main body portion 15, and the shaft portion 51 is formed at the entire portion except the head portion 52 of the drying unit main body portion 15.

  The shaft portion 51 includes a thread groove (male screw) 54, a rubber packing 55, and a housing portion 56.

  The accommodating part 56 is a hollow part formed in the axial part 51 over substantially full length, and can accommodate the desiccant 14 in this hollow part.

  More specifically, an opening 53 is provided at the end (screw tip) opposite to the head 52 of the shaft 51. The desiccant 14 can be accommodated in the accommodating portion 56 through the opening 53. In addition, a plurality of holes are formed in the wall surface of the accommodating portion 56, and air containing moisture can enter through the holes.

  The screw groove 54 is for inserting and screwing the drying unit 36 into a screw hole (opening, female screw) provided in the digital scale main body 3. The thread groove 54 is formed in a certain range on the head portion 52 side in the shaft portion 51.

  The rubber packing 55 is for preventing water from entering the mounting position after the drying unit 36 is mounted on the digital scale body 3. The rubber packing 55 is provided in the vicinity of the seating surface of the head portion 52 in the shaft portion 51.

  The cap 13 closes the opening 53 so that the desiccant 14 accommodated in the accommodating portion 46 does not fall out from the drying unit main body portion 15. After the desiccant 14 is accommodated in the drying unit body 15, the drying unit body 15 is fitted into the opening 53 of the drying unit body 15.

  Although the drying unit 36 according to the present embodiment is formed from a transparent synthetic resin, the drying unit 36 is not necessarily transparent. However, if the drying unit 36 is transparent and has a configuration in which the change in the color of the desiccant 14 contained in the drying unit 36 can be identified, the necessity of replacing the desiccant 14 can be easily determined. This is preferable.

  Moreover, although the drying unit 36 according to the present embodiment is formed of a synthetic resin, the drying unit 36 is not limited to this, and the entire drying unit 36 or a part thereof may be, for example, stainless steel or nickel chrome steel. Further, it may be formed of a metal such as chromium molybdenum steel. The material of the drying unit 36 is appropriately selected according to ease of processing, manufacturing cost, required strength, weight, and the like.

(Dry unit mounting position)
Next, the attachment position of the drying unit 36 having the above-described configuration will be described. The attachment position of the drying unit 36 is determined in consideration of the following conditions. That is, the drying unit 36 is attached so that the desiccant 14 is disposed in the vicinity of a member that dislikes moisture in the digital scale body 3.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the mounting position is difficult to be submerged from the outside, or the position where it is easy to confirm the state of moisture adsorption force of the desiccant 14.

  More specifically, the position where the desiccant is disposed in the vicinity of the member that dislikes moisture is, for example, between the control board 41 and the battery 39, the vicinity of the load cell 40, etc., as shown in FIG. The attachment position where the desiccant 14 is located is mentioned.

  Further, the position where the head 52 of the drying unit 36 is disposed (that is, the screwing position of the drying unit 36 and the digital scale body 3) is the bottom 20 of the digital scale body 3. Position. That is, it is the attachment position of the drying unit 36a in FIG.

  Further, as a position where it is easy to confirm the state of moisture adsorption force of the desiccant 14, the position of the head 52 of the drying unit 36 (the screwing position between the drying unit 36 and the digital scale body 3) is the digital scale body. The position used as the side surface 21 of the part 3 is mentioned. That is, it is the attachment position of the drying unit 36b in FIG.

  In the case of the position of the drying unit 36a, since the head 52 of the drying unit 36a is located at the bottom 20 of the digital scale main body 3, it is advantageous in that the possibility of being submerged is small and the waterproofness is improved. On the other hand, in order to investigate the moisture adsorption state of the desiccant 14, it is necessary to lift the digital balance 1, which places a burden on the user.

  On the other hand, in the case of the position of the drying unit 36b, the head 52 of the drying unit 36b is positioned on the side surface 21 of the digital scale main body 3. Therefore, when the measurement object contains a lot of moisture or at the time of washing, water is applied. There is a high possibility that the digital scale body 3 will be submerged. Therefore, it is inferior in terms of waterproofness compared to the former. However, since the moisture adsorption state of the desiccant 14 can be easily confirmed without lifting the digital balance 1, it is more advantageous than the former position.

  In the drying unit 36 according to the present embodiment, it is sufficient that the desiccant 14 is disposed at least in the vicinity of a member that dislikes moisture, and the screwing position of the drying unit 36 and the digital scale body 3 is set on the digital scale body 3. It is preferable that the bottom 20 or the side 21 is appropriately determined according to the usage mode of the digital balance 1.

  Further, the number of drying units 36 included in the digital balance 1 is not limited to two as shown in FIG. It may be configured to use one drying unit 36 that has a high moisture adsorption force and can accommodate a large-sized desiccant 14. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which uses three or more small-sized drying units.

  Next, the function and effect of the digital balance 1 configured as described above will be described. The digital balance 1 is used, for example, for weighing a frozen processed product. If it does so, the air containing moisture will penetrate | invade into the inside of the digital scale main-body part 3 through the waterproof moisture-permeable material 27a, 27b at the time of measurement. When the metering is completed, for example, washing is performed with hot water. In this case, when no dew condensation measures are taken, moisture (moisture) inside the housing 4 of the digital scale main body 3 is likely to dew. However, since the drying unit 36 is attached to the digital balance 1 of the present embodiment, moisture inside the housing 4 is adsorbed by the desiccant 14 accommodated in the accommodating portion 56 of the drying unit 36. For this reason, dew condensation inside the housing 4 can be prevented.

  In addition, since the weighing and washing of the digital scale are repeatedly performed, the drying unit 36 loses the moisture adsorption capability, but the drying unit 36 is detachably attached from the outside of the housing 4. For this reason, the drying unit 36 can be easily detached from the housing 4. Then, by removing the drying unit 36 and replacing the desiccant 14, the moisture adsorption capacity of the desiccant 14 can be managed. Also, the drying unit 36 can determine the presence or absence of the moisture adsorption ability of the desiccant 14 by visually recognizing the color of the desiccant 14 from the outside of the housing 4, so that it is possible to accurately replace the desiccant 14. I can grasp it.

  In addition, although the digital balance 1 which concerns on this Embodiment is a scale which calculates | requires the weight of articles | goods (to-be-measured object) using a strain gauge type load cell, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be a scale such as an electronic balance that employs an electromagnetic force balance method (electromagnetic force compensation method, electromagnetic method) as a load sensor, or a scale that employs a capacitance method.

  From the foregoing description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The digital balance of the present invention is useful as a digital balance or the like that is waterproof and can prevent condensation inside.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital scale 3 Digital scale main-body part 4 Case 5 Bottom plate 5a Outer edge part 5b Opening 6 Cover member 6a Contact part 7 Bottom cover 8 Opening 9A Seal member 9B Seal member 10 Joining part 11 Diaphragm 13 Cap 14 Desiccant 20 Bottom part 21 Side surface 22 to 24 Screw 30 Strain gauge 36 Drying unit 39 Battery 40 Load cell 41 Control board 51 Shaft portion 52 Head portion 54 Screw groove 56 Housing portion

Claims (7)

A digital scale that measures the weight of an article and numerically displays a measured value obtained by the measurement,
A housing that houses a part of a weighing mechanism that performs the weighing and an electrical component for digitizing and electrically displaying the measured value, and sealed to a predetermined waterproof level;
A digital scale comprising: a drying unit that houses a desiccant and is detachably attached to the housing so as to adsorb moisture in the housing by the desiccant and dry the inside of the housing.   The drying unit includes a housing portion for housing the desiccant, and the housing portion is close to a part of the weighing mechanism and a member that causes a malfunction due to moisture in the housing in the housing. The digital scale according to claim 1, wherein the digital scale is attached to the housing. The housing is provided with an opening in which a female screw is formed,
The drying unit is formed in a columnar shape, a male screw that is screwed into the opening of the housing is formed at a base end portion, and the housing portion is formed at a portion ahead of the base end portion,
The drying unit is attached to the housing such that the housing portion is inserted into the opening of the housing such that the housing portion is located in the housing and the base end portion is screwed into the opening of the housing. The digital balance according to claim 2. The desiccant is one that changes color depending on the water content,
The digital scale according to claim 3, wherein the drying unit is configured such that the color of the desiccant accommodated in the accommodating portion is visible from a base end portion of the drying unit. A part of the weighing mechanism includes a load cell that detects the weight of the article,
The digital scale according to claim 2, wherein the drying unit is attached to the housing such that the housing portion is close to the load cell. The electrical component includes a substrate on which electronic components for digitizing and displaying the measured value electrically are mounted,
The digital scale according to claim 2, wherein the drying unit is attached to the housing such that the housing portion is close to the substrate. The electrical component includes a battery mounting portion on which a battery as a power source for operating the digital scale is mounted,
The digital scale according to claim 2, wherein the drying unit is attached to the housing such that the housing portion is close to the battery mounting portion.

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