JP5237207B2 - Gas meter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas meter, and more particularly, to a gas meter having a drain hole that can prevent invasion of insects and the like.

  Since the gas meter is installed outdoors, countermeasures against condensation, waterproofing, and insectproofing are essential. For example, in Patent Document 1, a vent hole for preventing the occurrence of condensation is provided in a case housing of a communication device attached to a gas meter, and the vent has a characteristic of allowing gas to permeate but not liquid / solid to permeate. A case structure has been disclosed in which it is covered with a body to take measures against water and insects in addition to measures against condensation.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the gas meter 1 installed outdoors.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a main body of the gas meter 1, which includes a flow sensor for measuring a gas flow rate, a seismic sensor, and the like. 3 is a counter display part which displays the gas flow rate measured by the flow sensor. Reference numeral 4 denotes an electronic control unit cover, which covers an electronic substrate (described later) provided with electronic components and the like that control gas cutoff processing and the like based on the sensor of the main body unit 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a terminal block cover which covers the terminal block provided on the electronic board.

  FIG. 10 is a partially exploded perspective view of the gas meter 1 showing a state in which the electronic control unit cover 4 is removed in FIG. 9. 6 is a rubber bush for a connection cable, 10 is an electronic board including electronic parts for controlling gas cutoff processing, and 11 is an electronic board storage case (hereinafter referred to as a storage case) for storing (mounting) the electronic board. It is noted). C indicates a place where rainwater or the like which will be described later easily collects.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a box-shaped peripheral wall for storing the electronic substrate 10. A groove 111 a is formed in the upper part, and a sponge packing (not shown) is fitted in the groove 111 a. The inserted sponge packing is formed on the inner wall surface of the electronic control unit cover 4 when the electronic substrate 10 is stored inside the box-shaped peripheral wall 111 of the storage case 11 and the electronic control unit cover 4 covers the electronic substrate 10. It is pressed by a convex wall (not shown).
In this way, the electronic substrate 10 stored in the storage case 11 is hermetically stored. Here, it is assumed that a meter case is constituted by the electronic control unit cover 4, the terminal block cover 5, and the storage case 11.

JP 2001-024348 A

  Even when the electronic substrate 10 is hermetically stored in this manner, rainwater or the like may enter the storage case 11 from the gap between the sponge packing or the rubber bush 6 and the connection cable. And the rainwater which invaded accumulates in the inside of the storage case 11, for example, the place shown by the code | symbol C of FIG. 10, and causes the failure of the electronic component mounted in the electronic substrate 10. FIG. In particular, in the case of heavy rain or a typhoon, rainwater or the like easily enters. Similarly, water may accumulate in the place indicated by the symbol C due to condensation or the like.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to form a drainage hole for draining intruded rainwater or the like in a place where the rainwater or the like of the storage case 11 easily collects. However, simply forming the drainage hole may cause insects and dust from the drainage hole. Enters the inside of the storage case 11. In order to prevent the invasion of such insects, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a drain hole (vent hole) is formed, and the drain hole allows gas to permeate but does not allow liquid / solid to permeate. It is also conceivable to cover with a cover body having.

  However, such a special cover body is expensive, and if the drain hole is covered with the cover body, the manufacturing price of the gas meter will increase.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, and it aims at providing the gas meter provided with the drain hole which can prevent the penetration | invasion of an insect etc. of an inexpensive and simple structure.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a meter case for sealingly storing an electronic component such as an electronic board is attached to the main body, and the gas meter is installed outdoors, and the inner side of the lower end of the bottom plate of the meter case facing the main body of the gas meter. A cylindrical projection is formed on the cylindrical projection, and a circumferential groove is formed to surround the outer circumference of the cylindrical projection, and the bottom plate of the meter case is passed through a part of the bottom surface of the circumferential groove. A drainage hole communicating with the outside air is formed, a cylindrical member is fitted into the columnar protrusion, a lower end portion of the cylindrical member is fitted into the circumferential groove, and the electronic substrate attached to the meter case By pressing and fixing the upper end of the cylindrical member, a fine gap is formed through which the outside air communicates with the inside of the meter case through the drain hole.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas meter, which is installed outdoors, in which an electronic component such as an electronic board is hermetically housed, and is located outside the lower end of the bottom plate of the meter case facing the gas meter main body. In addition, a columnar projection is provided, and a drainage hole is formed through the bottom plate of the meter case along a part of the outer peripheral portion below the columnar projection to communicate with the outside air. A fine gap is formed through which the outside air communicates with the inside of the meter case through the drainage hole by fitting the shape member and pressing and fixing the upper end of the cylindrical member by the electronic substrate attached to the meter case. It is a gas meter characterized by doing.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the gas meter according to the first or second aspect, the cylindrical member is an elastic member such as a spring.

  According to the present invention, water in the gas meter can be drained, and by blocking a part of the drain hole with an inexpensive elastic member such as a spring, invasion of insects and the like from the drain hole can be prevented.

It is a front external view of the storage case of the gas meter concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of a cylindrical protrusion and a drain hole. It is a perspective view of the back and front of a storage case. It is an external view of a cylindrical member. It is a figure which shows the state which fitted the spring in the circumferential groove part. It is another front external view of the storage case of the gas meter concerning the present invention. It is other explanatory drawing of a cylindrical protrusion and a drain hole. It is another perspective view of the back surface and the surface of the storage case. It is an external appearance perspective view of a gas meter. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the electronic control part cover.

FIG. 1 is a front external view of a storage case 21 of a gas meter 1 according to the present invention. 211 is a box-shaped peripheral wall for storing the electronic substrate 10 (see FIG. 10). A groove 211a is formed in the upper portion, and a sponge packing (not shown) is fitted in the groove 211a.
The inserted sponge packing is pressed by a convex wall (not shown) formed on the inner wall surface of the electronic control unit cover 4 when the electronic control unit cover 4 covers the electronic substrate 10.

Reference numeral 212 denotes a cylindrical protrusion that protrudes inside the lower end of the bottom plate 213 of the storage case 21.
Hereinafter, a boss will be exemplified and described as a cylindrical protrusion. Here, the inside means the inside of the storage case 21 in which the electronic substrate 10 is stored. Further, the bottom plate 213 of the storage case 21 faces the main body 2 of the gas meter 1.

  The columnar protrusion 212 is formed at the center of the lower end portion of the bottom plate 213 in the box-shaped peripheral wall 211. The arrangement position of the columnar protrusion 212 is not limited to the center of the lower end, and may be the right or left of the lower end.

2A is a detailed view of the columnar protrusion 212, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the columnar protrusion 212 indicated by a straight line P in FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIG. 2, a circumferential groove 214 surrounding the outer periphery of the columnar protrusion 212 is formed, and a bottom plate 213 of the storage case 21 is attached to a part of the bottom surface 214 a below the circumferential groove 214. A drainage hole 215 is formed therethrough. The drain hole 215 communicates with the outside air. Here, the downward direction means the direction of arrow D.

  FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the back surface of the storage case 21, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the surface of the storage case 21. Water accumulated in the storage case 21 is drained from the drain hole 215.

In the present invention, a cylindrical member is fitted into the columnar protrusion 212, and the lower end portion of the cylindrical member is fitted into the circumferential groove portion 214, and pressed and fixed by the electronic substrate 10.
Examples of the cylindrical member include a spring 22 and a cylindrical rubber 23 having elastic characteristics shown in FIG. The cylindrical rubber 23 is preferably made of hard rubber whose shape is not easily deformed by pressing and fixing with the electronic substrate 10.

  FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the spring 22 is fitted to the columnar protrusion 212 and the lower end 22 a of the spring 22 is fitted to the circumferential groove portion 214. After the spring 22 is fitted into the columnar protrusion 212 and the lower end 22a of the spring 22 is fitted into the circumferential groove portion 214, the electronic substrate is placed inside the box-shaped peripheral wall 211 of the storage case 21, as shown in FIG. 10 is attached and fixed (storage). Then, the upper end 22 b of the spring 22 is pressed and fixed by the electronic substrate 10.

FIG. 5C is a partially enlarged view of the drainage hole 215 of FIG. 5B, and a fine gap 216 is formed through which the outside air communicates with the inside of the storage case 21 (inside the meter case). ing. Here, the gap (W1 + W2) between the circumferential groove 214 and the spring wire 22c of the spring 22 is set to 0.2 mm or less.
If there is such a gap, drainage can be performed, and further, insects can be prevented from entering.
Further, the size of the fine gap 216 can be adjusted by changing the diameter of the spring wire 22c and the interval between the spring wires 22c.

  By doing so, even when water enters the storage case 21, the water is drained from the drain hole 215 of the storage case 21. Since the spring 22 and the like are fitted into the circumferential groove 214 so as to block a part of the drain hole 215, insects and the like can be prevented from entering from the drain hole 215. Furthermore, since the drain hole 215 communicates with the outside air, the dew condensation inside the storage case 21 can be suppressed.

  In addition, since an elastic member such as the spring 22 that closes a part of the drain hole 215 is inexpensive, an increase in manufacturing price can be suppressed. Since the spring 22 is fixed when the electronic substrate 10 is stored in the storage case 21, it is not necessary to use an adhesive or the like for fixing, and work efficiency is not lowered.

In addition, a spring or the like covering a part of the drain hole can be fixed by various structures.
FIG. 6 is a front external view of another storage case 31 of the gas meter according to the present invention. Similar to the storage case 21 of FIG. 1, a cylindrical protrusion 312 protrudes inside the lower end portion of the bottom plate 313 of the storage case 31. Reference numeral 311 denotes a box-shaped peripheral wall. The arrangement position of the columnar protrusion 312 is not limited to the center of the lower end, and may be the right or left of the lower end.

7A is a detailed view of the cylindrical protrusion 312 and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the cylindrical protrusion 312 indicated by the straight line Q in FIG. 7A.
As shown in FIG. 7, a circumferential wall portion 314 is formed on a part of the outer peripheral portion above the cylindrical projection 312 so as to surround the cylindrical projection 312. A drainage hole 315 that penetrates the bottom plate 313 of the storage case 31 and communicates with the outside air is formed along a part of the outer peripheral portion below the cylindrical protrusion 312. Note that “upper” means the direction of the arrow U, and “lower” means the direction of the arrow D.

  Here, the spring 22 is fitted to the cylindrical protrusion 312 and the upper end 22b of the spring 22 is pressed and fixed by the electronic substrate 10 attached to the storage case 31 (see FIG. 5B). By doing so, a fine gap is formed through which the outside air communicates with the inside of the storage case 21 through the drain hole 315. The circumferential wall portion 314 serves as a guide for the spring 22, but is not necessarily required.

  FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the back surface of the storage case 31, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the surface of the storage case 31. Water accumulated in the storage case 31 is drained from the drain hole 315.

  As described above, the fine gaps of the drain holes can be formed by various structures.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gas meter, 2 ... Main-body part, 3 ... Counter display part, 4 ... Electronic control part cover, 5 ... Terminal block cover, 6 ... Rubber bush, 10 ... Electronic board, 11, 21, 31 ... Storage case, 111, 211 311 ... Box-shaped peripheral wall, 111a, 211a ... groove, 212, 312 ... cylindrical projection, 213, 313 ... bottom plate, 214 ... circumferential groove, 214a ... bottom, 215, 315 ... drainage hole, 216 ... fine gap, 22 ... Spring, 22a ... Lower end, 22b ... Upper end, 22c ... Spring wire, 23 ... Cylindrical rubber, 314 ... Circumferential wall part.

Claims (3)

In a gas meter that is installed on the main body, and a meter case that hermetically stores electronic components such as electronic boards,
A cylindrical projection is provided on the inner side of the lower end of the bottom plate of the meter case facing the gas meter main body, and a circumferential groove that surrounds the outer periphery of the cylindrical projection is formed.
Furthermore, a drain hole that penetrates the bottom plate of the meter case and communicates with the outside air is formed in a part of the bottom surface below the circumferential groove,
A cylindrical member is fitted into the columnar protrusion, the lower end of the cylindrical member is inserted into the circumferential groove, and the upper end of the cylindrical member is pressed and fixed by the electronic board attached to the meter case. By doing so, a fine gap is formed through which the outside air communicates with the inside of the meter case through the drain hole. In a gas meter that is installed on the main body, and a meter case that hermetically stores electronic components such as electronic boards,
A cylindrical projection is provided inside the lower end of the bottom plate of the meter case facing the gas meter main body, and penetrates the bottom plate of the meter case along a part of the outer peripheral portion below the cylindrical projection. Forming a drain hole communicating with the outside air,
A cylindrical member is fitted to the columnar protrusion, and the upper end of the cylindrical member is pressed and fixed by the electronic board attached to the meter case, so that the outside air enters the meter case through the drain hole. A gas meter characterized by forming a minute gap communicating therewith.   The gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member is an elastic member such as a spring.

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