JPH0733906B2 - Liquid fuel combustion device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a liquid fuel remaining amount display of a liquid fuel combustion apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

In the conventional liquid fuel combustion device having a cartridge type kerosene tank, it was not possible to confirm the residual oil amount sufficiently, but there is Japanese Patent Application No. 62-7815 which improves this point. Hereinafter, this improved one will be described as the prior art of this application.

FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the liquid fuel combustion apparatus described above,
FIG. 6 shows a part of it taken out.

In Fig. 4, (1) is the airtight tank, (2) is the oil meter window,
(3) is an oil pan, (4) is a weight sensor, (5a) and (5b) are actuators, (6) is a strain plate, (7) is a strain sensor, (8)
Is a bottom plate, (9) is a combustor, (10) is a fuel pump, (11) is a blower, (12) is a combustion chamber, (13) is a blower fan, and (14) is an outer case.

Liquid fuel such as kerosene is stored in the airtight tank (1).
The tank (1) is configured to be detachable from the main body.

The oil pan (3) stores the fuel supplied to the combustor (9) at a constant level. The fuel in the oil pan (3) is automatically replenished from the airtight tank (1) by utilizing the pressure difference.

The weight sensor (4) is composed of actuators (5a), (5b), a strain plate (6) and a strain sensor (7). This weight sensor (4) is provided between the oil pan (3) and the bottom plate (8), and the strain plate (6) and the actuators (5a), (5
The total weight of the oil pan (3) and the oil tank (1) above it is detected via b). Actuators (5a) and (5b) transfer the load between the oil tank (1) and the oil pan (3) to the strain plate (6).
When the strain plate (6) is distorted by the transmitted load, an electrical signal that changes according to this strain is generated by the strain sensor (7).
Is output from. The total weight of the oil tank (1) and the oil pan (3) is predetermined. Therefore, the weight sensor (4) provides a detection output related to the total weight of the fuel stored in the oil tank (1) and the oil receiving tray (3).

As shown in FIG. 2, the detection output of the weight sensor (4) is subjected to processing such as amplification and bias correction by a signal processing circuit in the circuit board (15), and then an indicator meter which is a kind of analog display. Given to (16). The display panel of the indicator meter (16) is provided with a scale and letters that indicate the input level as the oil amount. The mounting position of this indicating meter (16) can be freely selected. Therefore, the position where the liquid fuel combustion device is easy to see can be arbitrarily selected and installed. As a result, the total amount of liquid fuel remaining in the oil tank (1) and the oil pan (3) is displayed in an easy-to-see state regardless of the amount of liquid fuel.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The liquid fuel remaining amount display of the above-mentioned device has no calibration means when the output of the weight sensor changes with time or changes due to environmental conditions.
Or, if it changed due to environmental conditions, there was a problem that the fuel display was erroneously displayed.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables easy calibration even if the output value of the weight sensor changes over time or changes due to environmental conditions.

[Means for solving problems]

The liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to the present invention detects the weight of the liquid fuel together with the weight of the liquid fuel tank, and a sensor signal from the weight sensor to input a remaining amount signal corresponding to the remaining amount of the liquid fuel. Signal processing means for outputting,
Display means for inputting the remaining amount signal from the signal processing means to display the remaining amount of liquid fuel, a calibration switch for outputting a trigger signal for calibrating the sensor signal from the weight sensor, and operation of the calibration switch In response to the above, the storage means for storing the output value of the weight sensor is provided, and the remaining amount signal is corrected by the signal processing means based on the stored value.

[Action]

The liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to the present invention stores the output value of the weight sensor in response to the operation of the calibration switch, and the residual amount signal is corrected based on the stored value, and the corrected residual amount of liquid fuel is calculated. It is displayed on the display means.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the same symbols as those in FIGS. 4 and 5 indicate the same or corresponding portions. An analog signal processing function (25) is a circuit board that amplifies the sensor signal indicating the weight of the kerosene from the weight sensor (4) and the weight of the airtight tank (1) and performs preprocessing such as bias correction. Is to have. Reference numeral (30) is a microcomputer board on which a microcomputer to be described later is mounted. The analog output signal A of the circuit board (25) is converted into a digital signal by an A / D conversion circuit incorporated in the microcomputer, and is described later by the microcomputer. The remaining amount signal is obtained by performing predetermined calculations and corrections, the remaining amount signal is D / A converted, and the analog indicator meter (16) is driven. Reference numeral (40) is a calibration switch that outputs a trigger signal for storing the output value of the weight sensor (4) in the microcomputer. For example, the kerosene fuel in the cartridge type airtight tank (1) is empty. Sometimes, this switch
It is set to operate (40), and when the calibration switch (40) is operated, the trigger signal B is input to the microcomputer of the microcomputer board (30), and the microcomputer outputs the sensor output from the weight sensor (4) at that time. Signal A corresponding to
/ D converted, stored in memory, and memorized calibration value when kerosene fuel in airtight tank (1) is empty. After that time, the signal A of the weight sensor (4) is corrected by the value stored in the microcomputer, and the corrected value is displayed on the indicator meter (16) as a display means. That is, the weight sensor
Cartridge type airtight tank based on the deviation between the A / D converted value of signal A in (4) and the value stored in the microcomputer.
The remaining amount of kerosene fuel in (1) is calculated and displayed on the indicator meter (16).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, which is a more detailed block diagram including the microcomputer board (30). In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts.
Central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) on the microcomputer board (30)
(31), ROM (32) for storing various control programs and preset data such as initial values, RAM (33) for storing processing data of CPU (31) and calibration data, A / D converter (34 ),
Since the D / A converter (35), the input circuit (36), and the output circuit (37) are provided and the microcomputer board (30) is well known, its details are omitted.

Next, the ROM (32) and RAM (33) related to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the ROM (32), in addition to the program shown in FIG. 3, standard weight data of the airtight tank (1) at the time of manufacture is stored as preset values.
A radio wave E is connected to the RAM (33) so that the calibration data will not be erased when the power is turned off.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. First, when using the liquid fuel combustion device for the first time, the operator turns on the power, confirms that the airtight tank (1) is empty, and presses the calibration switch (40). switch
When (40) is pressed, the trigger signal B is sent through the input circuit (36).
Transmitted to the CPU (31), the CPU (31) converts the analog signal A from the weight sensor (4) into a digital signal by the A / D converter (34),
The converted calibration data value is stored in RAM (33) and the initial setting is completed. Next, the operator operates the airtight tank as usual.
Although kerosene will be used in (1), the remaining amount of kerosene will be displayed as follows in the usage state.
That is, the CPU (31) determines whether or not the RAM (33) has the calibration data at step S ₁ of FIG. 3, and if there is (YES), the CPU (31) causes the CPU (31) to perform the calibration data at step S _2. Is read from the RAM (33), and in the next step S ₃ , the CPU (31) executes an operation of subtracting the read value from the value from the weight sensor (4) to obtain the remaining amount value. The obtained remaining amount value is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter (35), the indicator meter (16) is driven, and the corrected remaining amount of kerosene is accurately displayed.

Next, if the operator forgets the initial setting, the CPU (31) determines that there is no calibration data in step S ₁ in FIG. 3, and if there is no (NO), the ROM (step S ₄ ) The preset data is read from 32), and the remaining amount of kerosene is displayed based on the preset data.

Another embodiment of the present invention, which operates effectively even if the operator forgets, will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the calibration switch (40) is provided inside the oil pan (3), and the magnetic float (43) in the oil pan (3) is shown.
The reed switch (44) constitutes a calibration switch, and the contact of the reed switch (44) is closed when the kerosene fuel in the oil pan (3) is reduced or lost.
That is, since the kerosene fuel in the oil pan (3) has decreased or disappeared, it is natural that the kerosene fuel in the cartridge type airtight tank (1) has become empty, and the cartridge type airtight tank has become empty.
The kerosene fuel in (1) can be automatically detected when it is empty, and the signal A of the weight sensor (4) can be automatically calibrated.

Here, the operation of the one shown in FIG. 4 will be briefly described. First, when using the liquid fuel combustion device for the first time, the operator turns on the power with the airtight tank (1) empty.
If this is done, the calibration data will be stored in the RAM (33) at this point, and the accurate remaining amount display will be made by steps S ₁ , S ₂ , S _{3 in} FIG. Also, if the operator turns on the power with kerosene put in, the remaining amount will be displayed by steps S ₁ , S ₄ , and S _{3 in} FIG. 3 until the kerosene becomes empty. Since it is automatically calibrated in the untouched state, the remaining amount is accurately displayed by steps S ₁ , S ₂ and S _{3 in} FIG. 3 thereafter.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the CPU (31) calculates the remaining amount of kerosene as the remaining amount data given to the indicator meter (16), but the weight sensor (4) The output value from is directly given to the indicator meter (16),
Based on the calibration data stored in the RAM (33), the display position of the remaining amount (zero) of the indicator meter (16) may be corrected to match the weight of the airtight tank (1) itself.

Further, the preset data for storing the weight of the airtight tank (1) itself in the ROM (32) is not always necessary because the calibration data is always stored in the RAM (33) if the battery E is installed at the time of product shipment. Absent.

Furthermore, the battery (B) for backup is provided in the RAM (33). Recently, there is a memory IC that holds data even if there is no battery for backup for one week or two weeks in RAM. If used, the battery E may not be practically used within the one-season range used as the heater.

Further, in the description of the embodiment of FIG. 1 of the present invention, the calibration switch (40) was explained as a manual operation by the operator. In such a case, the weight sensor is immediately responded to the calibration switch (40). Since the output value from (4) is not used as the calibration data and the calibration switch (40) may be pushed even when kerosene is considerably contained, the calibration data input by the CPU (31) and the ROM (32)
Compared with preset data stored in advance, if it is out of the predetermined value range, a sound or display warning is generated as an erroneous operation, and such calibration data is discarded. It is advisable to store the calibration data in RAM (33).

Furthermore, the independent switch has been described as a calibration switch that performs automatic calibration. However, this type of device has conventionally been provided with a detection switch that detects the absence of kerosene, and is also used as such a detection switch. May be.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the liquid fuel together with the weight of the liquid fuel tank, and a remaining amount signal corresponding to the remaining amount of the liquid fuel by inputting the sensor signal from the weight sensor. , A display means for inputting the remaining amount signal from the signal processing means to display the remaining amount of liquid fuel, and a calibration for outputting a trigger signal for calibrating the sensor signal from the weight sensor. Since the switch and the storage means for storing the output value of the weight sensor in response to the operation of the calibration switch are provided, and the remaining amount signal is corrected by the signal processing means based on the stored value, The output signal of the weight sensor, which changes due to changes and environmental changes, can be easily calibrated, and the remaining amount of liquid fuel can be displayed with high accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram including the microcomputer board (30) shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a structural diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention in which a calibration switch is provided inside an oil pan, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a structural diagram showing a display of the amount of residual oil in a cartridge type airtight tank of a liquid fuel combustion apparatus which is the basis of the present invention;
The figure is a block diagram of a part of FIG. In the figure, (4) is a weight sensor, (16) is an indicator meter, and (3)
0) is a microcomputer board, and (40) is a calibration switch. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A liquid fuel combustion apparatus having a cartridge type liquid fuel tank, wherein a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the liquid fuel together with the weight of the liquid fuel tank, and a sensor signal from the weight sensor are inputted to the liquid sensor. Signal processing means for outputting a remaining amount signal corresponding to the remaining amount of fuel, display means for displaying the remaining amount of liquid fuel by inputting the remaining amount signal from this signal processing means, and sensor signal from the weight sensor A calibration switch for outputting a trigger signal for calibrating the, and storage means for storing the output value of the weight sensor in response to the operation of the calibration switch, and based on the value stored in the storage means. A liquid fuel combustion apparatus, wherein the signal processing means corrects the remaining amount signal. 2. The calibration switch comprises a float and a reed switch which are provided inside an oil receiving tray to which liquid fuel is supplied from the liquid fuel tank and which operate by detecting a predetermined oil level. The liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight of the liquid fuel tank itself is stored in advance in the signal processing means. 4. A liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display position of the display means corresponds to the weight of the liquid fuel tank itself.