JP3136719B2 - Fuel tank residual oil detector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for detecting the amount of residual oil in a separately installed fuel tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of fuel tank residual oil amount detecting device uses the float buoyancy as shown in FIG. 5, and a float 101, an arm 102 connected to the float 101, and an arm 102 Pointer 103 provided at the tip
Or an arm 1 which is constituted by a variable resistor or the like and which is linked to a float 101 which moves up and down according to the oil level of the fuel tank.
02, the residual oil amount is detected by changing the resistance value of the pointer 103 or the resistor.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the movable range of the pointer 103, which is a display unit, and the sliding range of the variable resistor cannot be made too wide due to the mechanical structure. It is limited to a predetermined range.
Therefore, the operating range of the arm 102 and the float 101 connected to the display unit is also restricted. In other words, since the operating range of the float 101 from “full” to “empty” varies depending on the size (height) of the fuel tank, it is necessary to set the movable range of the pointer with respect to the vertical movement of the float 101 each time. And provided only a fuel tank and a pair of residual oil amount detection devices. In addition, in the case of a conventional mechanical type, where a general-purpose residual oil amount detection is to be performed regardless of the size of the fuel tank, a complicated mechanical mechanism for amplifying or attenuating the vertical movement of the float. And a very high degree of accuracy is required for the adjustment method.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is possible to easily detect the residual oil amount in any fuel tank simply by adjusting the variable resistance provided on the display unit according to the size of the fuel tank. It is intended to be.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a fuel tank having a separate fuel tank, a pressure sensor disposed on the outlet side of the fuel tank, the output of which varies linearly depending on the oil level, Using the linear output of the pressure sensor as the power supply
A display for displaying the oil level of the fuel tank, a variable resistor connected to the output side of the pressure sensor and capable of arbitrarily changing the power supply to the display, and an output of the pressure sensor having a predetermined value. And an alarm circuit for issuing a refueling notice, so that the `` full capacity '' display position of the display can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the upper limit output value of the pressure sensor that changes according to the size of the fuel tank, After this adjustment
Determined by the "full" position and the output characteristics of the pressure sensor
Between the "empty amount" position, the remaining oil amount of the fuel tank is informed linearly by two display means of an indicator and a warning circuit for issuing a notice of refueling when a predetermined remaining oil amount is reached.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when detecting the residual oil amount of a separately provided fuel tank having a non-constant size, the output of the pressure sensor is used as a power source and connected to the output side to supply the display to a display. by adjusting arbitrarily variable can variable resistor power, size of the fuel tank, that is, when can be arbitrarily set to "full amount" position of the indicator in response to oil level DOO
In the first place, the “empty” position must be set to a fixed position.
Therefore, versatile residual oil level detection can be performed regardless of the size of the fuel tank, and the remaining oil level in the fuel tank is displayed in a linear manner and two notification means for issuing a refueling notice when the residual oil level reaches a predetermined level. Since the notification is performed, a user-friendly residual oil amount detection device can be provided.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the system configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
1 is a fuel tank installed outdoors, 2 is a filter, and a pressure sensor 3 is provided at the outlet of the filter, branched by a T-shaped pipe. Reference numeral 4 denotes a lead wire connecting the pressure sensor 3 and the display 6, reference numeral 5 denotes a pipe for supplying fuel from the fuel tank 1 to the combustor 8, and reference numeral 6 denotes a display, according to the output of the pressure sensor 3 as shown in FIG. It comprises a meter 9 for displaying the tank residual oil amount and a lamp 11 for giving a notice of refueling when the tank residual oil amount becomes a predetermined value or less. 7 is a power cord, 8 is a combustor installed indoors, 9 is a meter, 11 is a refueling notice lamp, 12
Is a power lamp.

Next, the circuit configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
A variable resistor 13 is connected in series to the meter 9 and sets the swing of the meter 9 to the "full" position according to the output of the pressure sensor 3 when the fuel tank 1 is full. 14, 1
Reference numerals 5 and 16 are reference value setting resistors for giving a notice when the output of the pressure sensor 3 falls below a predetermined value. Reference numeral 17 denotes a comparator, and reference numeral 18 denotes an oscillating circuit for blinking the refueling notice lamp 11. Reference numeral 19 denotes a diode for compensating for meter fluctuation at the time of low output of the pressure sensor 3.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the output characteristics of the pressure sensor 3. The output voltage changes substantially linearly in accordance with the oil level (H) of the fuel tank 1, that is, the pressure change. In the above configuration, first, with the fuel tank 1 being full, the variable resistor 13 built in the display 6 is adjusted to set the deflection of the meter 9 to the "full" position. For example, if the size of the fuel tank 1 is H = 450 mm, an output voltage of 3.1 V is generated when the fuel tank 1 is full, so that the current at the 3.1 V is such that the meter 9 indicates a full scale. Adjust the variable resistor 9. After the above adjustment, as long as the size of the fuel tank 1 does not change, the oil level (H), that is, the output voltage changes in accordance with the state of the residual oil amount, the fluctuation of the meter 9 changes, and the residual oil amount changes. Can be detected. When the oil level (H) decreases and the output voltage of the pressure sensor 3 falls below the reference voltage set by the resistors 14, 15, and 16, the output of the comparator 17 is inverted and the oscillation circuit 18 starts operating. , The refueling notice lamp 11 starts blinking and the fuel tank 1
To inform you that the residual oil level has decreased.

Next, when the size of the fuel tank 1 is H = 600 m
A description will be given of a case in which the device is attached to the m-type device. Even if the size of the fuel tank changes, the adjustment operation is performed in the same manner as described above, and the variable resistor 13 is adjusted with the fuel tank 1 being full to set the deflection of the meter 9 to the "full" position. I do. In the case of H = 600 mm, 3.9 V is generated as the output voltage of the pressure sensor 3. Therefore, the variable resistor 13 is adjusted so that the meter 9 becomes a current indicating the full scale at 3.9 V. Thereafter, the deflection of the meter 9 is changed by the output of the pressure sensor 3 which changes according to the oil level,
A change in the residual oil amount can be detected linearly.

As described above, by setting the fuel tank to a full state and adjusting the runout of the meter to full scale by the variable resistor, the state of the residual oil amount can be linearly determined regardless of the size of the fuel tank. , And when the fuel consumption becomes lower than a predetermined value, a refueling notice can be given by a lamp.

In the above embodiment, the method of displaying the residual oil amount by a meter has been described. However, a method of digitally displaying by using A / D conversion is also possible.

[0013]

As described above, the fuel tank residual oil amount detecting device according to the present invention detects the residual oil amount of the fuel tank by using the pressure sensor, and displays a meter on the basis of the linear output thereof . Reminder is issued when the remaining oil level is reached
To be notified by two notification means
It is said that the state of residual oil in the fuel tank can be checked at a glance
In addition, an easy-to-use residual oil level detection device that prevents running out of fuel
Can be provided. Furthermore, the configuration in which a variable resistor is connected in series with the meter allows the runout of the meter to be adjusted arbitrarily according to the output state of the pressure sensor, so that the residual oil amount can be detected regardless of the size of the fuel tank. It is possible to provide a highly versatile residual oil amount detection device that can respond to such a fuel tank.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a residual oil amount detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of detecting a residual oil amount in a fuel tank using the same device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a display of the device.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing output characteristics of a pressure sensor of the device.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional residual oil amount detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel tank 3 Pressure sensor 6 Indicator 9 Meter 11 Refueling notice lamp 13 Variable resistor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A separately provided fuel tank, a pressure sensor disposed on the outlet side thereof, the output of which varies linearly with the oil level, and a linear output of the pressure sensor as a power supply.
A display for displaying the oil level of the fuel tank, a variable resistor connected to the output side of the pressure sensor and capable of arbitrarily changing the power supply to the display, and an output of the pressure sensor having a predetermined value. And an alarm circuit for issuing a refueling notice, so that the `` full capacity '' display position of the display can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the upper limit output value of the pressure sensor that changes according to the size of the fuel tank, After this adjustment
Determined by the "full" position and the output characteristics of the pressure sensor
The fuel tank is configured to notify the fuel tank of the fuel tank between two “empty” positions by a display device that linearly displays the remaining oil amount of the fuel tank and an alarm circuit that issues a refueling notice when the remaining oil amount reaches a predetermined amount. Residual oil level detection device.