JPS644625B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electronic water meters and flow meters.

An electronic water meter that measures the cumulative flow rate of water and displays it on a liquid crystal numerical display is currently in practical use as a pilot to indicate when water is flowing, as shown in Figure 1. There is something. In this system, a one-segment pilot 1 is integrally attached to a liquid crystal numeric display 2 as a display element, and is made to blink in synchronization with an impeller that detects the flow of fluid. However, with this conventional one-segment pilot 1, the direction of fluid flow cannot be determined.
Furthermore, when the impeller rotates at high speed, the response characteristics of the liquid crystal are slow, making it impossible to blink, or causing an afterimage to the naked eye, making it impossible to discern the blinking.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention has been improved, and embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a water meter according to the present invention, where 3 is a display panel thereof, 4 is a numerical display with 7 segments per digit formed on the liquid crystal plate, and 5 is a numeric display with 7 segments per digit formed on the liquid crystal plate. It's a pilot. The pilots 5 are five square-shaped pilots arranged in a straight line so as to face in the forward direction of fluid flow. An example of the drive circuit α of the pilot 5 is shown in FIG. In the same figure, 6
is a quinary up-down counter, and a pulse generated by the rotation of a permanent magnet attached to an impeller rotated by the flow of water is input to its clock terminal CK as an impeller rotation signal T. A forward/reverse rotation signal S indicating the direction of rotation of the impeller is input to the up-down terminal U/D. Also 7
is the BCD output from up-down counter 6
a decoder circuit that converts a code signal into a decimal code; 8 a driver circuit that drives the liquid crystal;
b, c, d, and e are square-shaped display segments of the pilot 5 formed on the liquid crystal panel and arranged in a straight line in the forward direction of the fluid flow. The up-down counter 6 is switched to the down-count mode when its up-down terminal U/D goes to the "high" level, and to the up-count mode when it goes to the "low" level, and one pulse is input to the clock terminal CK. Each time, it performs one count operation depending on the mode. Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

When fluid passes through the water meter and the impeller rotates, an electric signal synchronized with the rotation of the impeller (2 pulses are sent for each rotation of the impeller) is used to integrate the volume of fluid that has passed through the water meter. Display on display 4. Further, the pilot 5 displays by operating the drive circuit α of FIG. 3 with a signal waveform as shown in FIG. That is, when the liquid is flowing in the forward direction, the forward/reverse rotation signal S is at a "low" level, and the up-down counter 6 counts up the impeller rotation signal T as 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. Then, the output terminals A, B, of the up-down counter 6
C outputs this in BCD code. Then, signals appear at the output terminals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4) of the decoder circuit 7 in order from 0 to 1 → 2 → 3 → 4, and the driver circuit 8 drives the pilot 5 at a speed synchronized with the rotation of the impeller. Each display segment a, b, c, d,
Directing e in the forward direction of fluid flow, a→b→c
→ Move the blinking state one by one in the order of d → e.
If forward rotation continues, this blinking returns to display segment a again and is repeated, but when the fluid changes its flow in the negative direction, at that point the forward rotation/reverse rotation signal S goes to the "high" level, and the blinking returns to display segment a again. begins to operate. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the count operation changes from →3 → 4 → 0 → 1, and the forward/reverse rotation signal S becomes "high" level, the up/down counter 6 starts counting down and The count value changes from 1 → 0 → 4 → 3. Along with this, at a speed synchronized with the rotation of the impeller, each display segment of the pilot 5 blinks in the opposite direction of the fluid flow in the order of b → a → e → d one by one, and Since it flashes from left to right, you can clearly see the direction of fluid flow. Furthermore, since the blinking position moves for each pulse, blinking can be easily identified even during high-speed rotation.

Although the pilots 5 in the above embodiment have a rectangular shape and are arranged side by side along the numerical display 4 for displaying the flow rate, the present invention is not limited to this.

As explained above, the present invention provides a display panel of a water meter having a numerical display for displaying the cumulative flow rate or instantaneous flow rate of fluid, etc. a plurality of display segments; and a drive circuit that blinks the plurality of display segments at a speed synchronized with the rotation of an impeller that detects the flow of fluid, and sequentially shifted one by one in the direction of the flow of the fluid. This makes it easy to determine the direction of fluid flow, and since each display segment has a shape that points in the forward direction of fluid flow, it is very easy to see, and it is easy to see just the direction of flow. Instead, it can be quickly determined whether the fluid is flowing in the normal forward direction or in the reverse direction. Furthermore, even if the rotation speed of the impeller increases, the blinking can be identified regardless of conditions such as the use of a liquid crystal panel or afterimages seen with the naked eye. Even if it becomes difficult to distinguish on the display, each display segment blinks one by one at a speed synchronized with the rotation of the impeller, making it easy to distinguish, making it ideal as a pilot for electronic meters. can be provided. Further, when installing the water meter, the pilot serves as a guide for determining the installation direction with respect to the flow of fluid, and prevents installation in the opposite direction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an example of the display panel of a conventional electronic water meter, Fig. 2 is a front view showing the display panel of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an example of the pilot drive circuit. The block diagram shown in FIG. 4 is an operational waveform diagram. 3...Display panel, 4...Numeric display, 5...
Pilot.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. On the display panel of a water meter having a numeric display that displays the cumulative flow rate or instantaneous flow rate of fluid, etc., a plurality of 〓-shaped water meters are arranged in a straight line in the forward direction of fluid flow. and a drive circuit that causes the plurality of display segments to flash at a speed synchronized with the rotation of an impeller that detects the flow of fluid and sequentially shifted one by one in the direction of fluid flow. A pilot electronic meter featuring the following features: