JPH09318413A - Gas flowmeter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain electric power for LCDs, LEDs, illumination lamps, etc., which are added by incorporating inexpensive, charging type batteries additionally. SOLUTION: This flowmeter incorporates a battery 1, which supplies electric power to control various operations stipulated by regulations. A charging type battery 2 is additional one, which permits LCD or LED display of a meter indication part 3 for example, or illuminates a mechanical counter. The battery 2 can be charged, for example, by supplying successively a gas by specified volume. When a well-known diaphragm type metering device 4 is used, an electric power is generated through mechanical movement of the device 4, and the battery 2 may be charged by using the generated electric power, or solar cells 5 are provided on the outer surface of the gas meter, so that the battery 2 may be charged thereby.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas flow meter, and more particularly to a rechargeable battery built-in, which supplies electric power to an additional electric component such as an LCD. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Gas flow meters for general households have been extended in service life from 7 years to 10 years due to the recent revision of the law. Therefore, the life of the built-in battery and the power saving of the internal electric circuit are reduced. More demanded. On the other hand, in recent gas flow meters, LCD, LED, etc. are displayed, or in order to make it easier to read the meter display value, the lighting lamp is turned on when the meter is read, etc. It has become necessary to use electric power even for specific matters.

[0003]

However, as described above, the built-in battery is as full as possible to comply with the matters stipulated by law, and there is no room to use it for these additional parts such as LCDs. Of course, if you increase the capacity of the built-in battery,
There is no problem at all, but increasing the capacity increases the cost and is not realistic.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an inexpensive rechargeable battery is additionally provided, which is added by the rechargeable battery. This is done for the purpose of obtaining electric power for an additional electric component such as an LCD, an LED, and an illumination lamp, which is not applicable.

[0005]

According to the invention of claim 1, a rechargeable battery is built in and electric power is supplied to electric parts additionally provided by the rechargeable battery.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a volume type gas flow rate measuring mechanism for sequentially feeding a predetermined volume of gas and counting the number of feedings to obtain the gas flow rate is provided. Power is generated by utilizing mechanical movement when moving the gas of the predetermined volume, and the rechargeable battery is charged by the generated power.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a solar cell is provided on the outer surface, and the rechargeable battery is charged by the solar cell.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the solar cell is attached near the display portion.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an example of a gas flow meter to which the present invention is applied. As is well known, the gas flow meter includes a battery (lithium battery) 1. The built-in battery 1 supplies electric power for performing various fail-safe controls specified by law. As described above, the battery 1 must be able to withstand use for 10 years or more, and therefore each electric circuit connected to the battery 1 is designed to save power.

The rechargeable battery 2 is a battery added according to the present invention. The rechargeable battery 2 is used to display, for example, the LCD or LED of the meter display unit 3 or to illuminate a mechanical counter. ing. Of course, these L
It is not necessary to constantly display the CD or LED or illuminate the counter. For example, it is used when it is dark and these displays are difficult to read. Even if the battery becomes dead and cannot be used, it is a serious problem. There is no such thing.

As described above, according to the present invention, the rechargeable battery 2 is built in, and the LCD of the weighing display unit 3 is provided by the rechargeable battery 2.
Or a LED is displayed, or the display of a counter is illuminated. To charge the rechargeable battery 2, for example, a well-known diaphragm-type metering system in which gas is sequentially supplied in predetermined volumes When the device 4 is used, the mechanical movement of the diaphragm-type weighing device 4 may be used to generate electricity, and the electricity may be used to charge the rechargeable battery 2. The solar panel 5 may be arranged on the outer surface, and the rechargeable battery 2 may be charged by the solar panel 5.

When a solar panel is used, it is simply attached to the outer surface of the gas meter.
May be inadvertently covered and may not function properly. Considering such a case, the solar panel 5 is located at the position indicated by 5'in the figure, that is,
If it is pasted in the vicinity of the counter display unit 3, the counter display unit is hardly covered up, and there is almost no possibility that the solar panel will become inoperable.

[0013]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, an inexpensive rechargeable battery is additionally built into the conventional gas flowmeter with a built-in battery, and the rechargeable battery allows the gas to flow. Since electric power is supplied to the electrical components that perform the additional functions of the flowmeter, it is additionally provided without impairing the original functions of the gas flowmeter (such as the fail-safe function prescribed by law). It is possible to effectively perform the various functions described above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part for explaining an embodiment of a gas flow meter according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Built-in battery, 2 ... Rechargeable battery, 3 ... Gas meter display unit, 4 ... Gas flow rate measuring unit, 5, 5 '... Solar cell.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A gas flow meter, comprising a rechargeable battery built-in, wherein the rechargeable battery supplies electric power to additional electric parts. 2. A machine for feeding a predetermined volume of gas, comprising a volumetric gas flow rate measuring mechanism for sequentially feeding a predetermined volume of gas and counting the number of feedings to obtain the gas flow rate. The gas flow meter according to claim 1, wherein the rechargeable battery is charged with the power generated by using the physical exercise. 3. The gas flowmeter according to claim 1, wherein a solar cell is provided on the outer surface, and the rechargeable battery is charged by the solar cell. 4. The gas flowmeter according to claim 3, wherein the solar cell is attached near the display portion of the meter.