JPH0583131B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a liquid level display device for a liquid container, and particularly to a liquid level display device for displaying the liquid level in a liquid container using a liquid level pipe. This invention relates to a liquid level display device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a liquid level display device used in, for example, an electric pot is arranged so as to be visible from the outside, facing inside a liquid level window formed in the case of the electric pot, and containing liquid. Equipped with a transparent liquid level pipe that communicates with the liquid container and guides the liquid, and inside this liquid level pipe, the liquid that is led from the liquid container floats on the surface of the liquid and moves up and down within the liquid level pipe in accordance with the position of the liquid level. The float moves up and down according to the level of the liquid in the liquid level pipe, and the position of the float indicates the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container.

In addition, it detects from the position of the float in the liquid level pipe that the liquid level in the liquid container has fallen below a predetermined level.
The information is displayed by performing a display operation such as blinking a display lamp. In other words, a photocoupler is installed at the bottom of the liquid level pipe to detect a float that has fallen due to a drop in the liquid level in the liquid level pipe, and when the photocoupler detects a float, the liquid level indicator lamp etc. blinks to display an indication. The display will display when the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container is small. The photocoupler is attached to a photocoupler cover that is attached to a liquid level window cover that is attached to the liquid level window.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the liquid level pipe described above does not use any special fixing means, but has a structure in which it is supported by a connection such as a rubber joint pipe that communicates with the liquid container. Because of this, the center of the liquid level pipe is likely to shift with respect to the optical axis between the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the photocoupler.
Malfunctions of the photocoupler were likely to occur. Also,
During assembly, the positioning adjustment operation for positioning the liquid level pipe with respect to the photocoupler etc. was difficult and assembly was troublesome.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it prevents the positional displacement of the liquid level pipe to prevent malfunction of the photocoupler, and also facilitates assembly by making it easy to adjust the positioning of the liquid level pipe during assembly. The object of the present invention is to provide a liquid level display device for a liquid container.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The liquid level display device for a liquid container of the present invention includes a liquid container that stores liquid, and is visually visible from the outside through a liquid level window cover attached to a liquid level window of a case. a transparent liquid level pipe that is capable of communicating with the liquid container and through which the liquid is led; a float is floated on the surface of the liquid that is led into the liquid level pipe; A photocoupler that detects the float at a predetermined liquid level and performs a display operation is attached to a photocoupler cover that is locked to the liquid level window cover, and the liquid level pipe is locked to the photocoupler cover. A locking part is provided.

(Function) In the liquid level display device for a liquid container of the present invention, a liquid level pipe is positioned and supported with respect to a photocoupler cover by a locking portion of the photocoupler cover.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In the figure, 1 is an electric pot, and this electric pot 1 is provided with a liquid container 2 formed in a cylindrical shape with an opening on the top surface and containing a liquid w such as water, and this liquid container 2 has a cylindrical case forming an outer shell. A leg frame 4 is attached to the lower part of the case 3, and a liquid container 2 is attached to the upper part of the case 3.
A lid body 5 equipped with an inner lid that opens and closes the top surface and an air-type pump mechanism that applies pressure inside the liquid container 2.
is provided so as to be openable and closable, and furthermore, a discharge port 6 is provided on the side of the case 3 to communicate with the liquid container 2 and discharge the liquid w.
is provided. Note that the liquid container 2 is provided with a heater (not shown), which applies heat to the liquid w contained in the liquid container 2 to boil it or keep it warm.

The liquid level display device 11 provided in the electric pot 1 includes a transparent liquid level pipe 12 made of glass, for example, which is disposed substantially vertically between the liquid container 2 and the case 3. The lower part of the liquid container 12 is connected to the outlet 2a at the lower part of the liquid container 2 through a joint pipe 13 made of rubber, for example, and the upper part thereof is connected to the discharge port 6 through a joint pipe (not shown). The liquid w contained in the liquid container 2 is guided into the liquid level pipe 12 via a joint pipe 13, and the liquid w
A spherical float 14 having a specific gravity smaller than that is arranged,
The float 14 floats on the surface of the liquid w and moves up and down within the liquid level pipe 12 depending on the liquid level position. In addition, the liquid level pipe 1 of the float 14
The vertical movement within the liquid level pipe 12 is regulated by a stopper member (not shown) at the upper part of the liquid level pipe 12 and a stopper 15 provided inside the lower part of the liquid level pipe 12.

Further, a liquid level window 16 that is long in the vertical direction is provided on the front side of the case 3, that is, on the lower side of the discharge port 6, and the liquid level pipe 12 is provided inside the liquid level window 16.
is located therein, and a transparent liquid level window cover 17 is attached to the liquid level window 16. This liquid level window cover 17 has a mounting groove 18 fitted to a bent edge 16a bent inwardly at the edge of the case 3, and a surface that shows the amount of liquid w in the liquid container 2. A scale 19 is provided to display the following, and on the back side of the lower part of the liquid level window cover 17 where it joins to the inside of the case 3,
A rectangular frame-shaped mounting piece 20 is provided to protrude inward, and mounting holes 21 are provided at the upper and lower edges of this mounting piece 20.

A photocoupler cover 22 is attached to the liquid level window cover 17, and this photocoupler cover 22
is formed into a rectangular frame shape with an edge 23 protruding in the direction of the liquid level window cover 17, and the edge 23 fits on the outside of the mounting piece 20, and the upper and lower edges 2
Each mounting claw 24 protruding from the mounting piece 2
0, and is positioned and fixed to the liquid level window cover 17.

This photocoupler cover 22 is provided with a pair of photocoupler storage sections 25 that protrude from both sides of the liquid level pipe 12.
A light emitting section including a light emitting element of the photocoupler 26 and a light receiving section including a light receiving element are housed in the photocoupler 26 . The optical axis of the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the photocoupler 26 substantially coincides with the center position of the float 14 in the liquid level pipe 12, and the opposing sides of each photocoupler storage part 25 are transparent or open. ,
The light receiving section can receive the light emitted from the light emitting section through the liquid level pipe 12.

Further, a locking portion 27 for locking the liquid level pipe 12 is provided at the upper part of the side surface of the photocoupler cover 22 from which the photocoupler storage portion 25 is protruded. It is constituted by a pair of locking claws 27a that are clamped and locked to the surface from both sides.

Further, a photocoupler printed wiring board 28 is attached to the outside of the photocoupler cover 22 facing the liquid level window cover 17, and the photocoupler 26 is wired to the photocoupler printed wiring board 28. A liquid level detecting section is configured that detects that the liquid level of the liquid w has decreased to a predetermined level when the light reception signal is cut off, and performs a display operation such as blinking an indicator lamp.

In addition, when assembling the liquid level display device 11,
The photocoupler printed wiring board 28 to which the photocoupler 26 is attached is attached to the photocoupler cover 22, and this photocoupler cover 22 is attached to the liquid level window cover 17, and the photocoupler cover 2
The liquid level pipe 12 is fitted and attached to the locking portion 27 of No. 2. At this time, simply by attaching the liquid level pipe 12 to the locking portion 27 of the photo coupler cover 22, the liquid level pipe 12 is positioned relative to the photo coupler 26 of the photo coupler cover 22 and the scale 19 of the liquid level window cover 17. , positioning and adjustment are simple, and assembly is easy.

Then, when the liquid w is contained in the liquid container 2, by looking at the float 14 in the liquid level pipe 12 through the liquid level window cover 17 of the liquid level window 16, the liquid w in the liquid container 2 can be seen. You can check the remaining amount of liquid.

Then, by operating the pump mechanism built into the lid 5, the liquid w in the liquid container 2 is discharged through the joint pipe 13, the liquid level pipe 12, and the liquid discharge port 6.

When the liquid w is discharged and the amount of liquid in the liquid container 2 decreases, the liquid level in the liquid level pipe 12 decreases, and
The float 14 floating on the liquid surface lowers accordingly.

When the float 14 is lowered to the position of the photocoupler 26, the light emitted from the light emitting part of the photocoupler 26 is blocked by the float 14, and the light receiving part no longer receives the light. Printed wiring board 2
The liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection section on the upper part 8, and display operations such as flashing an indicator lamp or sounding a buzzer are performed to display the information to the user. After confirming the display operation, the user knows that the amount of liquid w remaining is small and that it is necessary to refill water or turn off the power to the electric pot 1.

In addition, since the liquid level pipe 12 is locked to the photocoupler cover 22 by the locking part 27, the optical axis of the photocoupler 26 and the center of the liquid level pipe 12, that is, the float 14 are surely aligned, and the photocoupler 26 There are no malfunctions.

Further, the structure for locking the liquid level pipe 12 to the photocoupler cover 22 by the locking portion 27 is as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a liquid level back cover 32 is provided with a circular arc portion 31 that joins to the back side of the liquid level pipe 12 that is away from the photocoupler cover 22, and the lower end of this liquid level back cover 32 is provided. is locked by a pair of locking claws 27b of a locking portion 27 protruding from the lower part of the photocoupler cover 22, that is,
The liquid level pipe 12 may be indirectly locked by the locking claw 27b of the photocoupler cover 22 via the liquid level back cover 32. Note that the upper end of the liquid level back cover 32 is locked by a groove in the upper structure inside the case 3 or a claw similar to the locking claw 27b, and also prevents interference with the photocoupler housing 25 of the photocoupler cover 22. A notch (not shown) is provided to prevent this.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the structure of the locking claws 27a and 27b was adopted as the locking portion 27, but the structure is not limited to the claw structure, and various structures that can lock the liquid level pipe 12 can be adopted.

Further, in the above embodiment, the liquid level pipe 12 also serves as a liquid discharge passage that guides the liquid w in the liquid container 2 to the liquid discharge port 6, but the upper part of the liquid level pipe 12 is connected to the upper part of the liquid container 2. Alternatively, the lower part of the liquid container 2 and the liquid discharge port 6 may be connected to each other by a pipe of the liquid discharge passage.

Furthermore, although the above embodiments have shown cases in which a liquid level display device is employed in an electric pot, the liquid level display device as described above can also be employed in other mechanisms equipped with a liquid container.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since the liquid level pipe is locked by the locking part provided on the photo coupler cover, the optical axis of the photo coupler can be reliably aligned with the center of the liquid level pipe, that is, the float, and the photo coupler It is possible to accurately detect the liquid level by preventing malfunction of the photocoupler cover, and when assembling, the liquid level pipe can be easily positioned by simply attaching it to the locking part of the photocoupler cover, making assembly easy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a part of an electric pot showing an embodiment of the liquid level display device for a liquid container of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a part of the electric pot as seen from the plane, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the electric pot showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of the electric pot as seen from the plane. 2...Liquid container, 3...Case, 12...Liquid level pipe, 14...Float, 16...Liquid level window, 17...
...Liquid level window cover, 22...Photocoupler cover,
26...photo coupler, 27...locking part, w...
liquid.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A liquid container containing a liquid, a case having a liquid level window and a liquid level window cover attached to the liquid level window, and a case that is visible from the outside through the liquid level window cover of the case. and a transparent liquid level pipe that communicates with the liquid container to which the liquid is guided; a float that floats on the surface of the liquid that is guided into the liquid level pipe; A photocoupler for detecting the float and performing a display operation, and a photocoupler cover to which the photocoupler is attached and locked to the liquid level window cover, and locking the liquid level pipe to the photocoupler cover. 1. A liquid level display device for a liquid container, characterized in that a locking portion is provided.