Dust collection adapter

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a dust collection adapter that has a simple configuration and makes it possible to efficiently collect dust in a gas without causing a loss in pressure.　This dust collection adapter is arranged in the interior of the housing of a gas meter and collects dust in a gas. The dust collection adapter comprises: a shutoff valve attachment joint having one end connected to an inlet-side gas passage; an outlet opening that is provided to the other end of the shutoff valve attachment joint and opens inside the housing; and a collision wall facing the outlet opening.

Description

Dust collection adapter

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dust collection adapter that is attached to the inlet of a gas meter.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a dust collection filter comprising a steel housing assembly, a valve, a passage housing, a baffle plate, a cover plate, and a passage cover, in which the baffle plate is disposed in the channel housing, and a filtering mesh is formed on the baffle plate.

[0003] China Utility Model Registration No. 214702382

[0004] The present disclosure provides a dust collection adapter that has a simple configuration and can efficiently collect dust in gas without causing pressure loss.

[0005] The dust collection adapter of the present disclosure is a dust collection adapter that is disposed inside the housing of a gas meter and is used to collect dust contained in gas, and includes a shutoff valve mounting joint having one end connected to an inlet gas passage, an outlet opening provided at the other end of the shutoff valve mounting joint and opening into the housing, and a collision wall facing the outlet opening. This specification includes the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-218315, filed in Japan on December 25, 2023.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, when gas flows into the shutoff valve mounting joint and flows out through the outlet opening, it collides with the collision wall, causing dust particles mixed in the gas to fall downward and accumulate on the inside bottom surface of the housing. Therefore, with a simple configuration, dust particles in the gas can be collected inside the housing.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a gas meter to which a dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment.

[0008] (Knowledge, etc. that forms the basis of the present disclosure) Gas meters are required to pass a specified dust test. This is because it is assumed that the gas, which is the fluid to be measured, contains dust. As a measure to pass the dust test, the gas meter is provided with a dust collection filter for removing dust. Conventionally, such a dust collection filter includes a steel housing assembly, a valve, a passage housing, a baffle plate, a cover plate, and a passage cover, with the baffle plate disposed in the channel housing, and a filtering mesh formed on the baffle plate.

[0009] However, in conventional dust collection adapters, the configuration is made up of multiple parts with different shapes and sizes, resulting in an increased number of parts and higher manufacturing costs. The inventors also discovered a problem: the baffle plate has numerous small holes that form the filtration mesh, which increases the pressure loss of the gas flowing through the dust collection adapter. To solve this problem, the present disclosure has come up with the subject matter of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a dust collection adapter that has a simple configuration and can efficiently collect dust in gas without incurring pressure loss.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of already well-known matters or redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. Note that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. [1-1. Configuration] [1-1-1. Configuration of gas meter] Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a gas meter to which a dust collection adapter according to embodiment 1 is applied. As shown in Fig. 1, gas meter 10 includes a housing 11 having a generally box-like shape. A gas inlet side connecting pipe 12 that allows gas to flow into the housing 11 is provided on one side of the upper part of the housing 11. A gas outlet side connecting pipe 13 that allows gas that has flowed into the housing 11 to flow out is provided on the other side of the upper part of the housing 11. Gas pipes (not shown) are connected to the gas inlet side connecting pipe 12 and the gas outlet side connecting pipe 13, respectively.

[0012] A dust collection adapter 20 connected to the gas inlet side connecting pipe 12 is attached inside the housing 11. A flow rate measurement unit 14 is attached inside the housing 11. The flow rate measurement unit 14 is arranged to extend in the vertical direction. The upper end of the flow rate measurement unit 14 is connected to the gas outlet side connecting pipe 13, and the lower end is open to the inside of the housing 11. The flow rate measurement unit 14 contains, for example, an ultrasonic measuring instrument (not shown) and is configured to measure the gas flow rate when gas inside the housing 11 flows toward the gas outlet side connecting pipe 13.

[0013] [1-1-2. Configuration of the Dust Collection Adapter] Fig. 2 is a front view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3 is a side view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the dust collection adapter according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the dust collection adapter 20 according to the first embodiment includes a shutoff valve mounting joint 21. The shutoff valve mounting joint 21 includes a substantially box-shaped joint body 22, an inlet portion 23 that protrudes from the upper surface of the joint body 22 and is connected to the gas inlet side connecting pipe 12 from the inside of the housing 11, and an outlet portion 24 that protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the inlet portion 23 (in this embodiment, a direction toward the side surface 11a, which is one surface of the housing 11). An outlet opening 25 is formed in the outlet portion 24. As shown in FIG. 5, an annular mounting portion 27 is provided at the center of the outlet opening 25, and the mounting portion 27 is supported by three support members 28 extending in the radial direction.

[0014] A support plate 26 having a substantially circular plate shape and extending in the circumferential direction of the outlet opening 25 is provided on the outer periphery of the outlet opening 25. A pair of shielding plates 29 are provided on both sides of the support plate 26 in the substantially horizontal direction, protruding from the edges of the support plate 26 in substantially perpendicular directions toward the side surface 11a of the housing 11. The shielding plates 29 are formed in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the support plate 26 and are configured to shield part of the radial direction of the support plate 26. The circumferential length of the shielding plates 29 can be set as appropriate. Furthermore, the positions of the shielding plates 29 are not limited to being provided in the substantially horizontal direction as in this embodiment, but can be provided at any position on the support plate 26. Furthermore, any number of shielding plates 29 can be provided.

[0015] Furthermore, a substantially disk-shaped collision wall 30 is provided at the outlet opening 25 so as to be substantially parallel to the outlet opening 25. The collision wall 30 is fixed to a mounting portion 27 of the outlet opening 25. As a result, the center of the outlet opening 25 and the center of the collision wall 30 are positioned coaxially. Furthermore, the collision wall 30 is disposed substantially parallel to the side surface 11 a of the housing 11, and is disposed at a position with a predetermined gap from the side surface 11 a of the housing 11.

[0016] The collision wall 30 has an outer diameter that is larger than the inner diameter of the outlet opening 25 and smaller than the outer diameter of the support plate 26. In other words, a small gap forms an outlet port 31 between the outer periphery of the collision wall 30 and the inside of the shielding plate 29. In addition, a protrusion 32 that is fixed to the shielding plate 29 is provided at a location of the collision wall 30 that faces the shielding plate 29. This allows the collision wall 30 to be supported by the mounting portion 27 and the shielding plate 29, making it possible to support the collision wall 30 more firmly.

[0017] The gas flowing out from the outlet opening 25 collides with the collision wall 30, moves along the collision wall 30 toward the outer periphery of the collision wall 30, and is released into the interior of the housing 11 through the gap between the shielding plate 29 and the collision wall 30. In this case, some of the dust particles mixed in the gas fall downward upon colliding with the collision wall 30 and accumulate on the inner bottom surface of the housing 11. Meanwhile, the dust particles that do not fall upon collision with the collision wall 30 are released into the interior of the housing 11 through the gap between the shielding plate 29 and the collision wall 30 together with the gas. However, when released into the interior of the housing 11, they collide with the side surface 11 a of the housing 11, and the remaining dust particles also accumulate on the inner bottom surface of the housing 11. In this way, the dust particles contained in the gas collide with two points, the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11 a of the housing 11, making it possible to efficiently capture the dust particles.

[0018] The collision wall 30 is disposed at a position with a predetermined gap from the side surface 11a of the housing 11, but the gap between the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11a of the housing 11 can be set arbitrarily. In this case, the smaller the gap between the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11a of the housing 11, the faster the speed at which dust collides with the side surface 11a, thereby increasing the dust collection efficiency. On the other hand, the larger the gap between the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11a of the housing 11, the slower the speed at which dust collides with the side surface 11a, reducing the dust collection efficiency and increasing the risk of dust dispersing inside the housing 11. For this reason, it is preferable not to make the gap between the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11a of the housing 11 too large.

[0019] A shutoff valve 40 is housed inside the joint body 22. The shutoff valve 40 is composed of, for example, a valve element 41 for closing the opening of the outflow portion 24 and a plunger mechanism 42 for driving the valve element 41 forward and backward. The shutoff valve 40 is configured so that, during normal use of the gas meter 10, the valve element 41 is held in a retracted position, and in this state, gas flowing into the joint body 22 from the gas inlet side connection portion via the inflow portion 23 flows out from the outflow portion 24. Then, by operating the plunger mechanism 42 to protrude the valve element 41, the outflow portion 24 can be closed by the valve element 41. This makes it possible to shut off the flow of gas from the outflow portion 24.

[0020] [1-2. Operation] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the dust collection adapter 20 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 3, during normal use of the gas meter 10, the valve body 41 of the shutoff valve 40 is held in a retracted position, and in this state, gas that flows into the interior of the fitting body 22 from the gas inlet side connection portion via the inlet portion 23 flows out from the outlet portion 24 into the interior of the housing 11.

[0021] The gas flowing out from outlet opening 25 collides with collision wall 30, moves along collision wall 30 to the outer periphery of collision wall 30, and is released into the interior of housing 11 from outlet 31 between shielding plate 29 and collision wall 30. In this case, some of the dust mixed in the gas falls downward when it collides with collision wall 30 and accumulates on the inner bottom surface of housing 11. The gas flowing in from the gas inlet side connection does not pass through small holes as in the conventional case, from inlet portion 23, joint body 22, and outlet portion 24 through outlet opening 25 until it collides with collision wall 30, so that pressure loss during gas flow can be significantly reduced.

[0022] On the other hand, dust that does not fall after colliding with the collision wall 30 is released together with the gas from the outlet 31 between the shielding plate 29 and the collision wall 30 into the interior of the housing 11, and when released into the interior of the housing 11, it collides with the side surface 11a of the housing 11, causing the remaining dust to accumulate on the interior bottom surface of the housing 11. In this way, the dust contained in the gas collides with two points, the collision wall 30 and the side surface 11a of the housing 11, making it possible to efficiently collect the dust.

[0023] The gas from which the dust has fallen is sent into the housing 11 and then sent from the lower end of the flow rate measurement unit 14 into the flow rate measurement unit 14. At this time, the flow rate of the gas is measured by a sensor inside the flow rate measurement unit 14, and then the gas is sent to a predetermined gas usage point via the gas outlet side connecting pipe 13.

[0024] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the dust collection adapter 20 in embodiment 1 includes the shutoff valve mounting joint 21 having one end connected to the inlet-side gas passage, the outlet opening 25 provided at the other end of the shutoff valve mounting joint 21 and opening into the interior of the housing 11, and the collision wall 30 facing the outlet opening 25. As a result, when the gas that has flowed into the shutoff valve mounting joint 21 flows out through the outlet opening 25, it collides with the collision wall 30, causing dust mixed in the gas to fall downward and accumulate on the interior bottom surface of the housing 11. Therefore, with a simple configuration, dust in the gas can be collected inside the housing 11.

[0025] Furthermore, in dust collection adapter 20 in embodiment 1, collision wall 30 has an outer shape larger than the inner shape of outlet opening 25, and outlet opening 25 overlaps with collision wall 30 when viewed in the axial direction of outlet opening 25. This causes all gas flowing out from outlet opening 25 to collide with collision wall 30, allowing dust mixed in the gas to fall downward efficiently.

[0026] Furthermore, in dust collection adapter 20 in embodiment 1, support plate 26 is provided on the outside of outlet opening 25, and outlet 31 is provided between support plate 26 and collision wall 30. This allows gas that flows out from outlet opening 25 and collides with collision wall 30 to flow into housing 11 from outlet 31 between support plate 26 and collision wall 30.

[0027] Furthermore, in the dust collection adapter 20 in the first embodiment, the outlet 31 faces the side surface 11a (one surface) of the housing 11, and the outlet 31 is disposed with a predetermined gap between it and the one surface of the housing 11. This allows the gas flowing out from the outlet 31 to flow toward the side surface 11a of the housing 11. Therefore, by causing the gas from the outlet 31 to collide with the side surface 11a of the housing 11, dust that has not been able to fall due to collision with the collision wall 30 can be made to fall, making it possible to efficiently collect dust.

[0028] Furthermore, in dust collection adapter 20 according to the first embodiment, a shielding plate 29 is provided on the outside of support plate 26, protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to support plate 26 and shielding a portion of outlet 31 in the radial direction. This allows shielding plate 29 to prevent gas flowing out from outlet 31 from flowing in the radial direction of support plate 26, and allows the gas to flow toward one surface of housing 11. Therefore, by causing gas from outlet 31 to collide with one surface of housing 11, dust that was unable to fall due to collision with collision wall 30 can be made to fall, making it possible to efficiently collect dust.

[0029] (Other Embodiments) Note that the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can also be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made.

[0030] (Additional Notes) The above description of the embodiments discloses the following techniques.

[0031] (Technology 1) A dust collection adapter that is disposed inside the housing of a gas meter and that collects dust contained in gas, the dust collection adapter comprising: a shutoff valve mounting joint having one end connected to an inlet-side gas passage; an outlet opening that is provided at the other end of the shutoff valve mounting joint and opens into the interior of the housing; and a collision wall that faces the outlet opening. With this configuration, when gas flows into the shutoff valve mounting joint and flows out through the outlet opening, it collides with the collision wall, causing dust mixed in the gas to fall downward and accumulate on the interior bottom surface of the housing. Therefore, with this simple configuration, dust contained in the gas can be collected inside the housing.

[0032] (Technology 2) The dust collection adapter according to Technology 1, wherein the outer shape of the collision wall is formed larger than the inner shape of the outlet opening, and the outlet opening overlaps with the collision wall when viewed in the axial direction of the outlet opening. With this configuration, all gas flowing out from the outlet opening collides with the collision wall, allowing dust mixed in the gas to fall downward efficiently.

[0033] (Technology 3) The dust collection adapter according to Technology 1 or Technology 2, wherein a support plate is provided outside the outlet opening, and an outlet is provided between the support plate and the collision wall. With this configuration, gas that flows out of the outlet opening and collides with the collision wall can be discharged into the housing from the outlet between the support plate and the collision wall.

[0034] (Technology 4) The dust collection adapter according to Technology 3, wherein the outlet faces one surface of the housing and is disposed with a predetermined gap between the outlet and the one surface of the housing. With this configuration, the gas flowing out from the outlet can be directed toward the one surface of the housing. Therefore, by causing the gas from the outlet to collide with the one surface of the housing, dust that would not fall due to collision with the collision wall can be made to fall, thereby enabling efficient dust collection.

[0035] (Technology 5) The dust collection adapter according to Technology 3 or Technology 4, further comprising a shielding plate provided on the outer side of the support plate, protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the support plate and shielding a portion of the outlet in the radial direction. With this configuration, the shielding plate can prevent the gas flowing out of the outlet from flowing in the radial direction of the support plate, allowing the gas to flow toward one surface of the housing. Therefore, by causing the gas from the outlet to collide with the one surface of the housing, dust that would not have been able to fall due to collision with the collision wall can fall, allowing the dust to be collected efficiently.

[0036] The present disclosure can be suitably used widely in the field of gas meters that measure gas flow rates, and is particularly suitable for use in cases where gas, which is a fluid to be measured by a gas meter, may contain dust.

[0037] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Gas meter 11 Housing 11a Side surface 12 Gas inlet side connecting pipe 13 Gas outlet side connecting pipe 14 Flow rate measuring unit 20 Dust collection adapter 21 Shutoff valve mounting joint 22 Joint body 23 Inlet portion 24 Outlet portion 25 Outlet opening 26 Support plate 27 Mounting portion 28 Support member 29 Shielding plate 30 Collision wall 31 Outlet port 32 Protrusion 40 Shutoff valve 41 Valve body 42 Plunger mechanism

Claims

1. A dust collecting adapter disposed inside a casing of a gas meter for collecting dust in gas, comprising: a shut-off valve mounting joint having one end connected to an inlet side gas passage; an outlet opening provided at the other end of the shut-off valve mounting joint and opening inside the casing; and a collision wall facing the outlet opening.

2. The dust collecting adapter according to claim 1, wherein an outer shape of the collision wall is formed larger than an inner shape of the outlet opening, and the outlet opening overlaps the collision wall when viewed from an axial direction of the outlet opening.

3. The dust collecting adapter according to claim 1, wherein a support plate is provided outside the outlet opening, and an outlet is provided between the support plate and the collision wall.

4. The dust collecting adapter according to claim 3, wherein the outlet faces one surface of the casing, and the outlet is disposed with a predetermined gap from the one surface of the casing.

5. The dust collecting adapter according to claim 3, wherein a shielding plate is provided outside the support plate, protruding in a direction substantially orthogonal to the support plate and shielding a part in a radial direction of the outlet.

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