JP2019124655A - Method for attaching communication device to gas meter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method for attaching a communication device to a gas meter that allows connection work between the gas meter and the communication device to be easily performed, and can improve appearance of the gas meter and prevent disconnection of a communication line.SOLUTION: A gas meter 1 is provided with an accommodation part 22 opening toward in front of the gas meter 1. A radio slave unit 30 is accommodated in the accommodation part 22 such that a terminal block 32 faces forward. A terminal block 15 provided in the accommodation part 22 and a terminal block 32 of the radio slave unit 30 are connected by a communication line 16. The radio slave unit 30 is reversed, and the radio slave unit 30 and the communication line 16 are accommodated in the accommodation part 22. An opening 22a of the accommodation part 22 is covered with a cover member 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of attaching a communication device to a gas meter.

  In recent years, by constructing a network connecting the gas supply source and the gas meter using a public line and radio, etc., the amount of gas used at the customer's home is remotely detected to improve the efficiency of the meter reading. A remote meter reading system is provided. Further, the gas meter applied to such a remote meter reading system is provided with a communication device for transmitting an electric signal corresponding to the meter reading value.

  And as a conventional gas meter which was mentioned above, it is indicated by patent documents 1, for example.

JP-A-8-178725

  In the above-mentioned conventional gas meter, since the communication device is exposed and attached to the outside of the gas meter, the communication line for connecting them is exposed to the outside. This not only impairs the appearance of the gas meter, but also may lead to a disconnection accident of the communication line.

  The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the connection work between the gas meter and the communication device can be easily performed, and the appearance of the gas meter can be improved and the disconnection of the communication line can be prevented. The purpose is to provide a mounting method.

  In the method for attaching a communication device according to the present invention to a gas meter, the gas meter is provided with a storage portion opened toward the front of the gas meter, and a communication device is provided in the storage portion. Connect the communication device side terminal unit and the meter side terminal unit provided in the storage unit with a communication line, turn over the communication device, and place the communication device and communication line in the storage unit. It accommodates and the opening part of a accommodating part is covered with a cover member.

  According to the present invention, the connection work between the gas meter and the communication device can be easily performed, and the appearance of the gas meter can be improved and the disconnection of the communication line can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view of the gas meter to which the attachment method of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. FIG. 1A is a front view of a gas meter with a cover member attached. FIG. 1B is a front view of a gas meter with a communicator attached. FIG. 1C is a front view of the gas meter with the cover member and the communication device removed. It is the II-II arrow sectional drawing of FIG. 1A. It is the figure which showed the procedure of the attachment method to the gas meter of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state before the communication device is stored in the gas meter. FIG. 3B is a view showing how the communication device is stored in the gas meter in a state of being turned over. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing how the communication device and the gas meter are connected by a communication line. FIG. 3D is a diagram showing how the communication device is reversed and stored again in the gas meter.

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

Embodiment 1
1A to 1C are external views of a gas meter to which a method of attaching a communication device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1A.

  The gas meter 1 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 2 is a so-called smart meter, which is a gas meter having a wireless function.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2, the gas meter 1 includes a housing 11, a front case 12 and a wireless slave device 30 as a communication device. The housing 11 and the front case 12 constitute a main body of the gas meter 1. The metal housing 11 is disposed on the back side of the gas meter 1, and the resin front case 12 is disposed on the front side of the gas meter 1. The wireless slave device 30 is built in the front case 12.

  The housing 11 includes a gas inlet 13a and a gas outlet 13b. The gas inlet 13 a and the gas outlet 13 b are provided in the upper part of the housing 11 and are in communication with the measurement flow path formed inside the housing 11. That is, the gas inlet 13a allows the supplied gas to flow into the upstream end of the measurement flow path. Further, the gas outlet 13 b is for causing the gas flowing into the measurement flow path to flow out of the downstream end portion to the outside of the gas meter 1.

  The gas meter 1 has a function of measuring the flow rate and the integrated flow rate in the process of passing the supplied gas through a series of measurement flow paths from the gas inlet 13a to the gas outlet 13b. In addition, the gas meter 1 includes a substrate (not shown), and the substrate converts the measured flow rate and integrated flow rate into an electric signal as a meter reading value of the gas meter 1 and transmits the electric signal.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the front case 12 is provided with a display unit 14 on its front surface. The display unit 14 is electrically connected to the above-described substrate, and can transmit an electric signal from the substrate to display the flow rate and the integrated flow rate as the meter reading value of the gas meter 1.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the front case 12 includes a cover member 21. The cover member 21 constitutes the lower front surface of the front case 12 and is detachably attached to the lower portion of the front case 12.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C and FIG. 2, the front case 12 is provided with a storage 22. The storage portion 22 is provided to face the cover member 21 attached to the front case 12 in the front-rear direction, and is a storage space that opens toward the front of the gas meter 1. That is, the storage portion 22 partitioned and formed at the lower portion of the front case 12 has an opening 22 a opening toward the front of the gas meter 1, and the opening 22 a is a cover member attached to the front case 12 21 is covered from the front side.

  The storage unit 22 accommodates the terminal block 15 and the wireless slave device 30 serving as the meter-side terminal unit. The terminal block 15 is disposed along the upper side of the opening 22a and is electrically connected to the substrate. The wireless slave device 30 is disposed below the terminal block 15 and is detachably attached to the inside of the storage unit 22 using a screw 17. At this time, the surface 30 a of the wireless slave device 30 is opposed to the cover member 21 in the front-rear direction via the opening 22 a of the housing 22. On the other hand, the back surface 30 b of the wireless slave device 30 is opposed to the bottom surface 22 b of the storage portion 22 in the front-rear direction.

  The wireless slave device 30 performs wireless communication with a wireless master device (not shown). The wireless master unit is connected to the host computer of the gas supply source through the public line, and transmits the electric signal corresponding to the meter reading value wirelessly transmitted from the wireless slave unit 30 to the host computer. Thereby, each gas meter 1 installed in a plurality of customer houses and a host computer of a gas supply source constitute a remote meter reading system.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless slave device 30 incorporates a substrate 31, and the substrate 31 is provided with a terminal block 32 to be a communication device side terminal portion. The terminal block 32 protrudes outward from the back surface 30 b of the wireless slave device 30, and is electrically connected to the terminal block 15 of the gas meter 1 via the communication line 16. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 2, the communication line 16 is disposed between the bottom surface 22 b of the storage section 22 and the back surface 30 b of the wireless slave device 30.

  Furthermore, the wireless slave device 30 is provided with a recess 33. The recess 33 is formed to be recessed from the back surface 30 b. On the other hand, the storage portion 22 is provided with the projecting portion 23. The protruding portion 23 is formed to project forward from the bottom surface 22 b of the storage portion 22. The protrusion 23 and the recess 33 can be fitted in the front-rear direction.

  Therefore, when the wireless slave device 30 is mounted in the storage portion 22 of the gas meter 1, the protrusion 23 and the recess 33 are fitted to position the wireless slave device 30 with respect to the storage portion 22. The wireless handset 30 is screwed into the housing 22. Then, an electrical signal corresponding to the reading value of the gas meter 1 is transmitted from the terminal block 15 of the gas meter 1 to the terminal block 32 of the wireless slave device 30 via the communication line 16, and then the wireless slave device 30 wirelessly It is wirelessly transmitted to the parent device.

  Here, the wireless slave device 30 can be stored in the storage portion 22 even in the reverse state. That is, at the time of normal use of the wireless slave 30, that is, at the time of wireless transmission, the wireless slave 30 is stored with the surface 30a facing forward. On the other hand, when the gas meter 1 and the wireless slave device 30 are connected, the wireless slave device 30 is stored with the back surface 30b facing forward.

  Thus, the wireless slave device 30 is reversible with respect to the storage unit 22. At this time, the screw 17 is capable of screwing the wireless slave device 30 in the same screwing position regardless of which of the front surface 30a and the rear surface 30b faces forward. Furthermore, as described above, when the wireless slave device 30 is stored with the front surface 30a facing forward, the protrusion 23 engages with the recess 33 of the rear surface 30b, while the wireless slave device 30 has the rear surface 30b forward. When it is directed and stored, it comes in contact with the portion of the surface 30 a that faces the terminal block 32.

  In addition, with the inversion of the wireless slave unit 30, the state where the front surface 30a is facing forward, the state where the back surface 30b is facing forward, and the state where the front surface 30a is facing forward from the state where the back surface 30b is facing front Includes both inversion and inversion. Then, the former inversion is applied, for example, when the wireless slave device 30 is removed from the gas meter 1. On the other hand, the latter inversion is applied, for example, when attaching the wireless slave 30 to the gas meter 1.

  Next, a method of attaching the wireless slave device 30 to the gas meter 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the cover member 21 is removed from the front case 12.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the wireless slave device 30 is stored in the storage section 22 with the back surface 30b and the terminal block 32 facing forward, that is, in the reversed state. Subsequently, the wireless slave device 30 stored in that state is screwed using a screw 17.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the terminal block 15 of the gas meter 1 and the terminal block 32 of the wireless slave device 30 are connected by the communication line 16. At this time, the surface 30 a of the wireless slave device 30 is opposed to the bottom surface 22 b of the housing 22, and the projecting portion 23 is in contact with the portion of the surface 30 a opposed to the terminal block 32.

  Thereby, since the protrusion part 23 can receive the pressing force which generate | occur | produces when connecting the communication wire 16 to the terminal block 32, at the time of the connection, the radio | wireless child machine 30 is not pushed, The machine 30 is stably disposed without tilting. Therefore, the connection work between the gas meter 1 and the wireless slave device 30 puts the wireless slave device 30 in the reverse state in which the terminal block 32 faces the front, and furthermore, pressing the projecting portion 23 of the wireless slave device 30 Since the storage position is stabilized, this can be easily performed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, after removing the screw 17, the wireless slave device 30 is inverted and stored in the storage portion 22 with the surface 30a facing forward. That is, the wireless slave device 30 is stored such that the back surface 30b, the terminal block 32, and the recess 33 face the bottom surface 22b. Subsequently, the wireless slave device 30 stored in that state is screwed using a screw 17.

  Thereby, as shown to FIG. 1B, the communication wire 16 is arrange | positioned between the bottom face 22b of the accommodating part 22, and the back surface 30b of the wireless slave device 30. As shown in FIG. In addition, since the projection 23 of the storage unit 22 and the recess 33 of the wireless slave device 30 are fitted, the wireless slave device 30 is positioned in the storage unit 22.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the cover member 21 is attached to the front case 12. As a result, the communication line 16 and the wireless slave device 30 are covered by the cover member 21 and thus can not be seen from the appearance of the gas meter 1.

  The method of removing the wireless slave device 30 from the gas meter 1 may be performed in the reverse procedure of the procedure of the mounting method described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Further, in the method of attaching the wireless slave device 30 to the gas meter 1 according to the first embodiment, the communication line 16 stored in the storage portion 22 is the bottom surface 22 b of the storage portion 22 and the back surface 30 b of the wireless slave device 30. However, it is sufficient if both the communication line 16 and the wireless slave device 30 can be stored in the storage section 22.

  That is, the arrangement at the time of storing the communication line 16 is appropriately adjusted according to the diameter size and length of the communication line 16, the shape and size of the storage portion 22, the shape and size of the wireless slave device 30, etc. It is possible. For example, the communication line 16 may be disposed on the surface 30 a of the wireless slave 30, or the communication line 16 may be disposed along the outer peripheral edge of the wireless slave 30.

  Furthermore, in the method of attaching the wireless slave device 30 to the gas meter 1 according to the first embodiment, when the gas meter 1 and the wireless slave device 30 are connected, a portion of the surface 30 a facing the terminal block 32 and the projecting portion 23 If the wireless slave device 30 can be stabilized by receiving the pressing force generated when the projecting portion 23 connects the communication wire 16 to the terminal block 32, the projecting portion 23 It may be in contact with any part of the surface 30 a which is the back side of the terminal block 32.

  As mentioned above, according to the attachment method to the gas meter of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, the connection work of the gas meter 1 and the wireless slave 30 is performed via the opening part 22a opened toward the front. Thereby, the connection work can be easily performed. Further, the communication line 16 can be concealed from the appearance of the gas meter 1 by storing the communication line 16 together with the wireless slave device 30 in the housing 22 and covering the opening 22 a with the cover member 21. Thereby, the appearance improvement of the gas meter 1 and the disconnection prevention of the communication wire 16 can be achieved.

  Moreover, when the communication wire 16 is connected to the terminal block 32 of the wireless slave 30, the wireless slave 30 is stabilized by bringing the portion of the surface 30a facing the terminal block 32 into contact with the projecting portion 23. The connection work can be performed in the state as described above.

  Then, when the wireless slave device 30 is inverted and stored after wire connection, the recess portion 33 of the wireless slave device 30 and the projecting portion 23 of the storage portion 22 are fitted, so that the wireless slave device 30 is accommodated in the storage portion 22. Can be easily positioned.

  In addition, by screwing the wireless slave 30 at the time of wire connection and screwing to the wireless slave 30 inverted after the wire connection at the same position and using the same screw 17, the efficiency of the screwing operation is achieved. Can be done.

  Furthermore, by disposing the substrate 31 of the finally stored wireless slave device 30 on the front side of the gas meter 1 in the wireless slave device 30, the substrate 31 can be separated as far as possible from the housing 11. As a result, there is no possibility that the wireless characteristics of the wireless slave device 30 will be affected by the metallic casing 11, so that the malfunction of the wireless slave device 30 can be prevented.

  In the present invention, within the scope of the invention, modification of any component of the embodiment or omission of any component of the embodiment is possible.

Reference Signs List 1 gas meter 11 housing 12 front case 13a gas inlet 13b gas outlet 14 display 15 terminal block 16 communication line 17 screw 21 cover member 22 cover 22a opening 22b bottom 23 protrusion 30 wireless slave 30a surface 30b back 31 Substrate 32 Terminal block 33 Recess

Claims (6)

The gas meter is provided with a storage portion that opens toward the front of the gas meter,
In the storage unit, store the communication device so that the communication device side terminal portion provided in the communication device faces forward,
Connecting the communication device side terminal portion and a meter side terminal portion provided in the storage portion by a communication line;
Inverting the communication device to store the communication device and the communication line in the storage unit;
The opening part of the said accommodating part is covered with a cover member, The attachment method to the gas meter of the communication apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method for attaching a communication device to a gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the communication line is stored between the storage portion and the communication device. At the time of wire connection between the communication device side terminal portion and the meter side terminal portion, the back side of the communication device side terminal portion in the communication device is brought into contact with the projecting portion projecting forward from the inside of the storage portion A method of attaching a communication device to a gas meter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method for attaching a communication device to a gas meter according to claim 3, wherein when the communication device is inverted and stored, the recess provided in the communication device is fitted with the projection. The screwing on the communication device at the time of connection between the communication device side terminal portion and the meter side terminal portion and the screwing on the communication device inverted after the connection are performed at the same position. The attachment method to the gas meter of the communication apparatus of any one of claim 1 to 4. The communication device includes a substrate having the communication device side terminal portion.
The method for attaching a communication device to a gas meter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the substrate is disposed on the front side of the gas meter in the inverted communication device.

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