JP6214499B2 - Electronic water meter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic water meter.

  Conventionally, an electronic water meter detects a change in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet that rotates in proportion to the amount of water used, measures it with an electronic circuit unit (control unit), converts it into an electrical signal, and calculates an integrated flow rate value, etc. Data is transmitted to the outside through a signal terminal (communication terminal) extending from the electronic circuit unit and a cable connected to the signal terminal. The electronic circuit part of such an electronic water meter is stored in a sealed container (electronic component protective container) with high airtightness to prevent water from entering, and a sealed container is provided outside the sealed container. In order to protect, a protective frame body (water shielding container cover) made of resin or the like is covered. On the upper surface of the protective frame body, a connection housing structure for connecting the signal terminal and the cable extending from the electronic circuit portion is formed by a housing case (filling container), and the cable is drawn out to the outside. And in this connection accommodation structure, an insulator (filler) is filled (for example, patent document 1).

JP-A-8-233623

Generally, a window made of a glass plate is airtightly held in an electronic component protective container constituting an electronic water meter. The window is formed with a hole through which the communication terminal can be inserted so that the communication terminal extending from the control unit inside the electronic component protective container can protrude into the filling container outside the electronic component protective container.
For this reason, when the filler is put in the filling container, it is filled from the filling container to the control unit side in the electronic component protection container through the gap between the communication terminal and the window hole before the filling agent is cured. The agent sometimes leaked and flowed out. If the filler leaks and flows out, there is a problem from the viewpoint of water resistance and insulation of the electronic water meter, and therefore it is necessary to suppress the filler leakage as much as possible.

  This invention was made in order to solve the above subjects, and it aims at obtaining the electronic water meter which can suppress that a filler leaks to the control part side.

  An electronic water meter according to the present invention includes an electronic component protective container in which a control unit for calculating the amount of water is stored, a window that closes the opening of the electronic component protective container, a plate member that is attached to the back surface of the window, and electronic component protection A rib provided in the container, a communication terminal extending from the control unit and penetrating the rib, the plate member, and the window, and connected to the cable outside the electronic component protection container; and a connection portion between the communication terminal and the cable The window is provided with a filling container that is surrounded by a surface and filled with a filler, and a hole is formed in the window through the communication terminal and having a larger diameter at the end on the plate member side than the diameter at the other part, The plate member is formed with a notch extending through the communication terminal and extending outwardly so that the outer peripheral portion comes into contact with the rib.

  According to the present invention, the hole of the plate member into which the incision can be made can be formed with a small diameter, and the outer peripheral portion of the hole of the plate member abuts on the rib to stop the flow of the filler at the abutment portion. Since it can do, it can suppress that a filler leaks.

It is a cross-sectional perspective view of the electronic water meter which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the electronic water meter which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the electronic water meter which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows a part of scale plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure when the principal part expansion perspective view of FIG. 3 is seen from another viewpoint. It is a figure which shows the modification of the window and rib in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the part about the modification of the scale plate in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows a part of scale plate used as a reference example. It is a figure which shows the electronic water meter comprised using the scale board used as a reference example as a comparison object with FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an electronic water meter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 2 is sectional drawing at the time of cut | disconnecting an electronic water meter in the position of the AA line shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, communication terminals 8 and ribs 12 described later are plan views.
In the electronic water meter, a bottomed cylindrical electronic component protection container 2 made of copper is similarly housed in a resin-made bottomed cylindrical water shielding container 1. An electronic component protective container 2 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 3a, a substrate (not shown), a battery (not shown), and a resin holder (not shown) that holds the LCD 3a, the substrate, and the battery. The control part 3 which consists of etc. is stored. Although not shown, an impeller that rotates when water flows and a permanent magnet attached to the impeller are installed below the impermeable container 1. A magnetic sensor (not shown) that detects a change in the magnetic field of the permanent magnet is installed inside the electronic component protective container 2, and the amount of water is calculated by the substrate of the control unit 3 based on the output of the magnetic sensor. The calculation result is displayed on the LCD 3a.

The upper end of the electronic component protective container 2 is closed by a window 4 made of a disk-shaped glass plate. Since the window 4 is fixed by the folding claws 2b with an elastic member 5 such as an O-ring sandwiched between the step surface 2a provided on the inner peripheral surface of the electronic component protective container 2, the electronic component protective container 2 It is in an airtight state. The inner surface (back surface) of the electronic component protection container 2 of the window 4 is made of a flexible material, such as vinyl chloride, and has a model number of the electronic water meter and the amount of water measured by the electronic water meter. A scale plate (plate member) 6 on which units and the like are written is affixed. The central portion of the scale plate 6 is greatly opened, and the LCD 3a is exposed from the opening. From the calculation result displayed on the LCD 3a and the unit of the amount of water written on the scale plate 6, the user can know the amount of water used and the like.
The lower end portion 7a of the resin impermeable container cover 7 is fitted into the recess 1b formed on the upper end surface 1a of the impermeable container 1, and the impermeable container 1, the electronic component protecting container 2, and the impermeable water The container cover 7 is assembled. On the cover surface 7b of the water-impervious container cover 7, a display opening 7c for the user to view the scale plate 6 and the LCD 3a through the window 4 and an attachment opening 7d for attaching a filling container 10 to be described later are formed. Has been.

The window 4 is formed with four holes 4a, and the four communication terminals 8 extending from the substrate of the control unit 3 project outside the electronic component protective container 2 through the holes 4a. The tip of the communication terminal 8 protruding to the outside of the electronic component protective container 2 is connected to the cable 9, and this connection portion between the communication terminal 8 and the cable 9 is formed on the cover surface 7 b of the water shielding container cover 7. The box-shaped filling container 10 attached to the attachment opening 7d and the surface of the window 4 are surrounded. The inside of the filling container 10 attached to the attachment opening 7d is filled with, for example, an insulating filler made of resin through the injection hole 10a for the purpose of water shielding inside and outside the electronic water meter.
The cable 9 is drawn out of the filling container 10, and data such as the amount of water calculated by the substrate of the control unit 3 can be transmitted to the outside through the communication terminal 8 and the cable 9.

  In order to project the communication terminal 8 from the inside of the electronic component protective container 2 to the outside in this way, the control unit 3 provided with the communication terminal 8 is first placed in the electronic component protective container 2, and then the scale plate 6. Cover the window 4 to which is attached. At this time, the communication terminal 8 is inserted into the hole 4 a of the window 4. Thereafter, the window 4 is assembled by being fixed by the folding claws 2b of the electronic component protective container 2.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part near the hole 4a. The window 4 and the scale plate 6 attached thereto are shown in a cross-sectional state. The scale plate 6 is affixed to the back surface of the window 4 by a double-sided seal 11 also shown in cross section. Note that the scale plate 6 may be attached by other attaching means such as an adhesive. The communication terminal 8 passes through the resin rib 12 provided in the holder of the control unit 3 and is inserted into the hole 4 a while being supported by the rib 12.

Here, the plan view shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by extracting a part of the plan view of the scale plate 6. Specifically, the part located around the rib 12 shown in FIG. 3 is extracted. The scale plate 6 is formed with four holes 6a through which the communication terminals 8 are passed.
In the hole 6a, four slit-like cuts 61 extending toward the outer side of the circumference are provided at substantially equal intervals. Note that the number of cuts 61 is not limited to four, and an arbitrary number may be provided as appropriate. By inserting the notch 61, the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a has a function as an elastic piece.

  FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 3 viewed from the direction B in the drawing. The end of the hole 4a formed on the window 4 on the scale plate 6 side (lower end on the paper surface) has a larger diameter toward the tip, in other words, the window 4 around the lower end of the hole 4a. Has a tapered cross section. The scale plate 6 is affixed to the back surface of the window 4 with the hole 6a facing the hole 4a. The rib 12 through which the communication terminal 8 passes is a substantially cylindrical protrusion whose tip is tapered, and its outer diameter is larger than the diameter of the hole 6 a formed in the scale plate 6.

  For these reasons, the hole 4a and the hole 6a are opposed to the communication terminal 8 extending from the substrate of the control unit 3 and penetrating the rib 12, and the elastic member 5 is sandwiched between the step surface 2a of the electronic component protective container 2. As shown in FIG. 5, when the window 4 with the scale plate 6 is assembled to the electronic component protective container 2, the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a abuts against the rib 12 and is pushed up toward the window 4 to be bent. Become. Thus, since the outer peripheral part 62 of the hole 6a bends, even if the diameter of the hole 6a is reduced, the assemblability of the hole 6a with respect to the communication terminal 8 does not deteriorate. Therefore, since the diameter of the hole 6a can be made smaller by making the cut 61, the hole 6a of the scale plate 6 is for the filler that has flowed into the gap between the hole 4a and the communication terminal 8 from the inside of the filling container 10. It will be difficult to get through. Moreover, the outer peripheral part 62 of the hole 6a contacts the rib 12, and the flow of the filler is stopped at the contact part.

Unlike the hole 6 a shown in FIG. 4, as a reference example, consider a case where a simple circular hole 6 b without a notch 61 is formed in the scale plate 60 as shown in FIG. 8. In this case, since it is difficult for the outer peripheral portion of the hole 6b to be bent like the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a, the positional deviation of the hole 6b that occurs when the hole 6b is formed in the scale plate 60, and the substrate in the holder of the control unit 3 In consideration of factors that hinder the passage of the communication terminal 8 through the hole 6b, such as an assembly error when assembling, that is, a positional deviation of the communication terminal 8, the diameter of the hole 6b needs to be designed to be large with a margin. There is. That is, the diameter of the hole 6b is inevitably larger than the diameter of the hole 6a, and a large gap is formed between the hole 6b and the communication terminal 8, and between the hole 6b and the rib 12. The situation at this time is shown in FIG. 9 for comparison with FIG.
Thus, when the circular hole 6b is simply formed in the scale plate 60, the filler put in the filling container 10 flows into the gap between the hole 4a and the communication terminal 8, and then the hole 6b and the communication terminal. 8, passes between the hole 6 b and the rib 12, and flows out to the control unit 3 side below the scale plate 60.

  On the other hand, in the electronic water meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the scale plate 6 is formed with the hole 6a having the shape of the notch 61 shown in FIG. 4, the position of the hole 6 a on the scale plate 6, which is a problem when assembled to the electronic component protective container 2, the position of the communication terminal 8 when assembled to the holder of the control unit 3, etc. Since the outer periphery 62 of 6a bends and can absorb, the diameter of the hole 6a can be reduced. By reducing the diameter of the hole 6 a, the filler that has flowed into the gap between the hole 4 a and the communication terminal 8 from the inside of the filling container 10 is less likely to pass through the gap 6 a of the scale plate 6. Moreover, the outer peripheral part 62 of the hole 6a contacts the rib 12, and the flow of the filler is stopped at the contact part. That is, it is suppressed that a filler flows out to the control part 3 side below the scale plate 6, and the leakage of a filler is suppressed.

  Further, when the scale plate 6 is placed between the control unit 3 and the window 4 in a free state, the filler flows between the back surface of the window 4 and the surface of the scale plate 6 in the horizontal direction on the paper surface. Although it leaks to the control part 3 side, by sticking the scale plate 6 to the back surface of the window 4 as described above, it is possible to prevent the filler from flowing and leaking in the horizontal direction on the paper surface in such a path. Can do.

Further, by forming the hole 4a of the window 4 so that the diameter at the lower end portion is larger than the diameter at the portion other than the lower end portion, the rib 12 may contact the window 4 or may contact the rib 12. Thus, the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6 a pushed up toward the window 4 does not come into contact with the window 4. Therefore, there is no case where the window 4 is broken due to continuous stress applied to the glass window 4. Note that the shape of the hole 4a for this purpose is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, for example, a step surface 41 as shown in FIG. The part may be a small diameter part.
However, as shown in FIG. 5 in particular, the diameter of the lower end portion of the hole 4a is formed so as to increase toward the tip, and the tip of the rib 12 is tapered so that the periphery of the lower end of the hole 4a is increased. The window 4 becomes thinner than necessary and the strength is not lowered, and the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a can be bent and well bent without applying stress to the window 4.

Instead of the hole 6 a shown in FIG. 4, a hole 6 c as shown in FIG. 7 may be formed in the scale plate 6.
In the hole 6c, four cuts 63 extending toward the outer side of the circumference are formed at substantially equal intervals. Note that the number of cuts 63 is not limited to four, and any number of cuts 63 may be provided as appropriate. And from each front-end | tip of the cut 63 put in the hole 6c, the circular arc-shaped cut 64 along the concentric circle of the hole 6c is branched and formed.

  In the case of the hole 6c, as in the case of the hole 6a, when the window 4 with the scale plate 6 is assembled to the electronic component protective container 2, the outer peripheral portion 65 of the hole 6c abuts against the rib 12 and is pushed up toward the window 4 to be bent. It will be in a state. That is, similarly to the hole 6a, the hole 6c can have a small diameter so that the filler is difficult to pass through without deteriorating the assemblability, and the outer peripheral portion 65 is in contact with the rib 12, The flow of filler will be stopped. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the filler from flowing out to the control unit 3 side below the scale plate 6 and to suppress the leakage of the filler. In addition, since the outer peripheral portion 65 of the hole 6c is more easily bent than the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a, the use of the hole 6c further improves the incorporation into the communication terminal 8.

Moreover, in the above, the scale plate 6 has the function of suppressing the leakage of the filler by forming the holes 6a and 6c in the scale plate 6 on which the unit of the amount of water is written. However, the scale plate 6 may be a simple seal plate in which holes 6a and 6c are formed without having a scale function, and the scale function may be transferred to the LCD 3a to display a unit of water amount or the like on the LCD 3a. . Or it replaces with the scale plate 6 which has both the scale function and the function which suppresses the leakage of a filler, and has the function which suppresses the leak of a filler by forming the scale board which has a scale function, and the holes 6a and 6c. The seal plate may be provided as a separate member.
In addition, the rib 12 is provided in a holder that holds the LCD 3a, the substrate, and the battery. However, the rib 12 may be provided in a completely separate member from the holder and placed in the electronic component protective container 2. Furthermore, as long as the rib 12 can contact the outer peripheral portion 62 of the hole 6a and be pushed up toward the window 4, the tip of the rib 12 does not have to be tapered as shown in FIG.
Further, although the four holes 4a, the holes 6a, the holes 6c, and the ribs 12 are illustrated, the number of these holes is not limited to this, and the number of these is naturally designed according to the number of the communication terminals 8. It is.

  As described above, according to the electronic water meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the holes 6a and 6c in which the outer peripheral portions 62 and 65 are bent are formed in the scale plate 6, the incorporation into the communication terminal 8 is improved. The diameter of the holes 6a and 6c can be reduced without deteriorating. Thereby, the filler flowing into the gap between the hole 4 a and the communication terminal 8 from the inside of the filling container 10 is difficult to pass through the gaps of the holes 6 a and 6 c of the scale plate 6, and the outer peripheral portions 62 and 65 become the ribs 12. The abutting portion stops the flow of the filler at the abutting portion. Therefore, since the filler is prevented from flowing out to the control unit 3 side below the scale plate 6 and the leakage of the filler is suppressed, it is difficult to cause problems in water resistance and insulation of the electronic water meter. In addition, the filler does not spread on the surface of the LCD 3a of the control unit 3 so that the measurement result of the water amount is not easily seen.

  In addition, the hole 4 a of the window 4 is formed to be larger as the diameter of the end portion on the scale plate 6 side is toward the tip, and the rib 12 is tapered toward the scale plate 6. Therefore, the window 4 around the lower end portion of the hole 4a is not thinned more than necessary, and the strength is not lowered. Can be bent.

  In addition, an arc-shaped cut 64 along a concentric circle of the hole 6c is branched and formed from the tip of the cut 63 inserted in the hole 6c of the scale plate 6. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the outer peripheral portion 65 that is more easily bent, and the incorporation into the communication terminal 8 is further improved.

  In the present invention, any constituent element of the embodiment can be modified or any constituent element of the embodiment can be omitted within the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water shielding container 1a Upper end surface 1b Recessed part 2 Electronic component protection container 2a Step surface 2b Folding nail 3 Control part 3a LCD
4 Window 4a Hole 5 Elastic member 6 Scale plate (plate member)
6a to 6c Hole 7 Water-impervious container cover 7a Lower end 7b Cover surface 7c Display opening 7d Mounting opening 8 Communication terminal 9 Cable 10 Filling container 10a Injection hole 11 Double-sided seal 12 Rib 41 Step surface 60 Scale plate 61 Notch 62 Outer part 63 Notch 64 Arc-like notch 65 Outer part

Claims (3)

An electronic component protective container in which a control unit for calculating the amount of water is stored
A window for closing the opening of the electronic component protective container;
A plate member attached to the back surface of the window;
A rib provided inside the electronic component protective container;
A communication terminal extending from the control unit, penetrating the rib, the plate member, and the window, and connected to a cable outside the electronic component protection container;
Surrounding the connection portion of the communication terminal and the cable with the surface of the window, comprising a filling container filled with a filler,
The window is formed with a hole through which the communication terminal passes and the diameter at the end on the plate member side is larger than the diameter at the other part,
An electronic water meter, wherein the plate member is formed with a notch extending through the communication terminal and extending outwardly so that an outer peripheral portion contacts the rib. The hole of the window is formed larger as the diameter of the end on the plate member side is toward the tip,
The electronic water meter according to claim 1, wherein the rib is tapered toward the plate member.   3. The electronic type according to claim 1, wherein an arc-shaped cut along a concentric circle of the hole is branched from a tip of the cut inserted in the hole of the plate member. Water meter.

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