JPH0238204Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" This invention relates to a liquid level detection device for detecting and notifying the remaining level of liquid in a cartridge tank of a kerosene stove, burner, or the like.

"Prior Art and Its Problems" Some conventional oil stoves have a simple oil gauge attached to the cartridge tank as a device for determining the amount of oil remaining in the cartridge tank.

However, since such an oil level gauge has a narrow detection range, it cannot be detected unless the remaining amount is, for example, about 20% or less, which may be inconvenient in actual use.

Therefore, we supported the cartridge tank with a spring so that it could move up and down depending on the weight.
A device has been proposed that detects the weight, that is, the amount remaining in the cartridge tank from its vertical displacement.
According to this, the detection range can be widened by selecting the spring.

However, as the cartridge tank moves up and down, the oil level in the main tank of the kerosene heater changes, and this changes the oil level relative to the combustion wick, so the combustion state changes depending on the remaining amount. There is a problem with doing so.

"Purpose of the invention" The purpose of this invention is to provide a liquid level detection device that detects the liquid level in a cartridge tank by replacing it with the vertical displacement of the cartridge tank while keeping the oil level in the main body tank constant. There is a particular thing.

``Structure of the invention'' The cartridge tank liquid level detection device of this invention uses elastic force to move the cartridge up and down according to its weight when the cartridge tank is attached to the main body tank of a kerosene heater, etc. Cartridge tank support means for supporting a tank, if the liquid level of the main body tank is above a certain height, the liquid level of the main body tank is moved from the liquid outlet of the cartridge tank to the liquid level of the main body tank regardless of the vertical displacement of the cartridge tank. The present invention is characterized in that it includes an airtight maintenance means for keeping the space up to the cartridge airtight, and an alarm means for issuing an alarm in accordance with the above-mentioned vertical displacement of the cartridge tank.

"Example" This invention will be explained in more detail below based on the example shown in the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of the cartridge tank liquid level detection device of this invention, and FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the notification circuit of the liquid level detection device shown in FIG. 1. Note that this invention is not limited to this.

In FIG. 1, a cartridge tank liquid level detection device 1 basically consists of an oil level regulating tube 2, an oil pan 3, a spring 4, a packing 5, a packing 6, a reflector 7, and a photo interrupter 8. .

The oil level regulating cylinder 2 is fixed to the main body tank part 10 of the kerosene stove, and has an oil level regulating hole 2 in its lower part.
a is open. Further, a stopper 2b is provided to restrict upward movement of the oil pan 3.

The oil pan 3 supports the cartridge tank K with a pan portion 3a at its upper end.A cylindrical body portion 3b is inserted into the cylindrical portion of the oil level regulating cylinder, and the lower end of the cylindrical body portion 3b is inserted into the cylindrical portion of the oil level regulating cylinder. A bottom plate 3c is supported on the oil level regulating cylinder 2 by a spring 4. The bottom plate 3c is provided with a stopper hole 3d into which the stopper 2b of the oil level regulating tube 2 is inserted, and a protrusion 3e that fits into the cap C of the cartridge tank K to lead out the oil in the cartridge tank K to the outside. is provided.

A gasket 5 is attached between the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the oil level regulating tube 2 and the outer surface of the cylindrical body of the oil pan 3, and a gasket 6 is attached between the pan portion 3a of the oil pan 3 and the cartridge tank K. has been done.

The reflector plate 7 is attached to the lower surface of the pan portion 3a of the oil pan 3, at a portion facing the photo interrupter 8. The light emitted from the light emitting part 8a (FIG. 2) of the photo interrupter 8 is reflected by the reflection plate 7,
Again the light receiving section 8b of the photo interrupter 8 (Fig. 2)
It can be captured by At this time, the light intensity received by the light receiving section 8b changes depending on the distance between the photo interrupter 8 and the reflector 7, so conversely, it is possible to detect the distance to the reflector 7 based on the change in the received light intensity. It is. These will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG.

Now, when the cartridge tank K is filled with oil and placed on the pan portion 3a of the oil pan 3, the spring 4 is compressed due to its heavy weight and sinks together with the oil pan 3, as shown in FIG. The state shown in the left half of is obtained. The oil in the cartridge tank K is led out to the outside because the protrusion 3e is fitted into the cap C, and is gradually stored in the main tank 10.

When the oil level gradually rises in the main tank 10 and reaches the position of the oil level regulating hole 2a of the oil level regulating tube 2, that is, when the oil level becomes the oil level α in FIG. 1, the oil level α causes the cap C to rise. The space in contact with the outside space is cut off from the outside space. That is, a sealed space S is defined by the cartridge tank K, the gasket 6, the oil pan 3, the gasket 5, the oil level regulating tube 2, and the oil surface α. Therefore, since the outside air cannot enter the closed space S, oil no longer flows out from the space S, the oil level in the main tank 10 stops rising, and the oil level α is kept constant. It will be dripping.

On the other hand, since the sealed space S communicates with the inside of the cartridge tank K,
The oil inside continues to be led out to the closed space S,
The oil level in the sealed space S rises. and,
When the oil level rises to the cap C of the cartridge tank K, that is, the oil level β shown in FIG. The outflow of oil from has stopped and the oil level β no longer rises.

When oil is consumed in the kerosene stove, the liquid level α decreases, so outside air can enter into the oil level regulating cylinder 2 through the oil level regulating hole 2a, and the oil flows out from the inside by that amount. Therefore, the oil level α remains constant. Similarly, the oil level β is maintained at a level that corresponds to the position of the cap C of the cartridge tank K.

In this way, while keeping the oil level α constant, the amount of oil consumed by the oil stove flows out from the cartridge tank K. Therefore, as a result, the weight of the cartridge tank K gradually becomes lighter. Then, the cartridge tank K is pushed up together with the oil pan 3 by the elastic force of the spring 4, and at the highest pushed up position, the oil pan 3 comes into contact with the stopper 2b as shown in the right half of FIG. Rise. Even if the oil pan 3 moves upward,
Since the gasket 5 is present, the sealed space S remains formed. At this time, the oil level β' in the sealed space S rises as the cap C of the cartridge tank K rises, but since the position of the oil level regulating hole 2a is constant, the oil level α is still maintained at a constant position. .

As mentioned above, the oil level α in the main body tank 10 is kept constant, and the oil pan 3 and the cartridge tank K are displaced up and down according to changes in their weight, that is, changes in the amount of oil remaining in the cartridge tank K. be.

FIG. 2 shows a notification circuit 11 that converts the vertical displacement of the oil pan 3 into a notification signal to the user.

When a full cartridge tank K is placed on the oil pan 3, its weight causes the oil pan 3 to lower to its lowest position, that is, the position shown in the left half of FIG. 1. At this time, the reflector 7 is closest to the photo interrupter 8, so the light receiving section 8b of the photo interrupter 3 receives the strongest light. Therefore, the input voltage V ₁ to the comparators IC ₁ , IC ₂ , and IC ₃ becomes the highest voltage.

If the oil in the cartridge tank K spills out and the oil pan 3 rises accordingly, the distance between the photo interrupter 8 and the reflector 7 becomes longer, so the intensity of the light received by the light receiving part 8b gradually decreases. decreases, and the input voltage V ₁ gradually decreases accordingly.

Comparators IC ₁ , IC ₂ , and IC ₃ are input with higher voltages in this order as respective comparison voltages E ₁ , E ₂ , and E ₃ . E ₁ is a voltage slightly lower than V ₁ when the cartridge is full, B ₃ is a voltage slightly higher than V ₁ when the cartridge tank K is almost empty,
E ₂ is an intermediate voltage between E ₁ and E ₃ .

Therefore, when the cartridge tank K is full,
The outputs of IC ₁ , IC ₂ , and IC ₃ all become “L”,
LED ₁ , LED ₂ , and LED ₃ all light up. on the other hand,
LED ₄ does not light up because Tr ₂ is cut off.

When the oil in the cartridge tank K decreases,
Since the input voltage V ₁ decreases, first the comparator IC ₁
The output becomes “H”, LED ₁ goes out, and V ₁
When the voltage decreases, the output of the comparator IC ₂ becomes "H" and the LED ₂ turns off.Furthermore, when the cartridge K becomes almost empty and the input voltage _V1 falls below _E3 , the output of the comparator IC ₃ becomes "H". Then, LED ₃
The lights also go out. In other words, LED ₁ , LED ₂ , and LED ₃ all turn off. At this time, transistors Tr ₁ and Tr ₂
An unstable multivibrator circuit consisting of
LED ₄ flashes.

In this way, according to the notification circuit 11, LED ₁ ,
The remaining amount of oil in the cartridge tank K is displayed by LED ₂ and LED ₃ , and when it becomes empty.
LED ₄ will flash to remind you to refill the oil.

In the above configuration, the oil pan 3 and the spring 4 constitute the cartridge tank support means, the oil level regulating tube 2 and the gaskets 5 and 6 constitute the airtight maintenance means, and the notification circuit 11 constitutes the notification means. It is understood that there are

According to the liquid level detection device 1, combustion is stable because the oil level α is constant, and the LED display indicates whether the cartridge tank is full, more than half remaining, or less than half. This is very convenient as it allows you to easily know whether the space is empty or not.

As other embodiments, instead of optically detecting the positional displacement of the oil pan 3 with the photo interrupter 8, a Hall element or the like may be used to detect it magnetically, or a capacitor may be formed to detect the change in capacitance. Examples include things to do.

"Effect of the invention" According to this invention, a cartridge tank that supports the cartridge tank with elastic force so as to be displaced up and down according to the weight of the cartridge tank when the cartridge tank is attached to the main body tank of an oil stove, etc. The support means keeps the space from the liquid outlet of the cartridge tank to the liquid level of the main body tank airtight regardless of the vertical displacement of the cartridge tank as long as the liquid level of the main body tank is above a certain height. Provided is a liquid level detection device for a cartridge tank, characterized in that it is equipped with an airtight maintenance means and an alarm means for giving an alarm according to the above-mentioned vertical displacement of the cartridge tank. Since it moves up and down depending on the amount, it is possible to easily detect the liquid level from full to empty.
Moreover, since the liquid level in the main body tank can be maintained constant, it is possible to obtain the effect that there is no adverse effect on others.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the essential parts of an embodiment of the cartridge tank liquid level detection device of this invention, and Fig.
FIG. 2 is an electrical circuit diagram of a notification circuit of the liquid level detection device shown in the figure. Explanation of the symbols, 1... Cartridge tank liquid level detection device, 2... Oil level regulating tube, 2a... Oil level regulating hole, 3... Oil pan, 4... Spring, 5, 6...
...Packing, 7...Reflector, 8...Photo interrupter, 10...Main tank, α, β, β'...Oil surface, S...Closed space, IC ₁ , IC ₂ , IC ₃ ... Comparator, LED ₁ , LED ₂ , LED ₃ , LED ₄ ... Light emitting diode.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cartridge tank support means for supporting the cartridge tank with elastic force so as to be vertically displaced according to the weight of the cartridge tank when the cartridge tank is attached to the main body tank part of a kerosene stove, etc., the liquid level of the main body tank part is If the height is above a certain level, an airtight retaining means for keeping the space from the liquid outlet of the cartridge tank to the liquid level of the main body tank airtight regardless of the vertical displacement of the cartridge tank; A liquid level detection device for a cartridge tank, characterized in that it is equipped with a notification means that provides notification according to displacement.