US5335553A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Fluidic gas meter provided with a printed wiring board
Assignee: Tokyo Gas Co Ltd
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Filing: 1991-11-13
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Granted: 1994-08-09
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Expires: 2011-11-13
Abstract
Abstract A fluidic gas meter including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element, a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board and having a function of lead wires. Each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor are fixed to the flow path structure. The electronic circuit unit is made up of a counter board and a control circuit board. The counter board is mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor and a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed. The control circuit board is mounted with a control circuit for controlling the cut-off valve, wherein each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the electronic circuit unit is provided with a plurality of terminals extending perpendicularly to the wiring board. The wiring board is provided with a printed circuit for the interconnection among the terminals. The wiring board has a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves formed therein for receiving the terminals and guiding the terminals to through holes formed at an apex of the V-shape of the guide grooves, wherein the terminals form an electrical connection with the printed circuit of the circuit board, thereby avoiding wiring errors.
Inventors
- 👤 Takashi Ueki
- 👤 Katsuhito Sakai
- 👤 Koichi Kanda
- 👤 Hideo Kamiya
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 17:03
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01F; G01F7/00; G01F1/00; G01F1/05; G01F1/20; G01F1/32; G01F1/3227; G01F1/68; G01F1/684; H; H05; H05K; H05K1/00; H05K1/02; H05K1/14; H05K1/148; H05K3/00; H05K3/30; H05K3/306; H05K2201/00; H05K2201/09; H05K2201/09009; H05K2201/09063; H05K2201/09072; H05K2201/0909; H05K2201/10; H05K2201/10431; H05K2201/10439; H05K2201/105; H05K2201/10613; H05K2201/10742; H05K2201/1075; H05K2201/10863; H05K3/0011; H05K3/0044; H05K3/0052; H05K3/32; H05K3/34; H05K3/3447; H05K3/36; H05K3/361; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49002; Y10T29/49117; Y10T29/49124; Y10T29/4913; Y10T29/49139
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
238 words
A fluidic gas meter including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element, a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board and having a function of lead wires, each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor being fixed to the flow path structure, the electronic circuit unit being made up of a counter board and a control circuit board, the counter board being mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor and a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed, the control circuit board being mounted with a control circuit for controlling the cut-off valve, wherein each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the electronic circuit unit provided with a plurality of terminals extending perpendicularly to the wiring board, the wiring board being provided with a printed circuit for the interconnection among the terminals, said wiring board having a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves formed therein for receiving said terminals and guiding said terminals to through holes formed at an apex of the V-shape of the guide grooves, wherein said terminals form an electrical connection with the printed circuit of the circuit board, thereby avoiding wiring errors.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
238 words
A fluidic gas meter including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element, a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board and having a function of lead wires, each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor being fixed to the flow path structure, the electronic circuit unit being made up of a counter board and a control circuit board, the counter board being mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor and a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed, the control circuit board being mounted with a control circuit for controlling the cut-off valve, wherein each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the electronic circuit unit provided with a plurality of terminals extending perpendicularly to the wiring board, the wiring board being provided with a printed circuit for the interconnection among the terminals, said wiring board having a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves formed therein for receiving said terminals and guiding said terminals to through holes formed at an apex of the V-shape of the guide grooves, wherein said terminals form an electrical connection with the printed circuit of the circuit board, thereby avoiding wiring errors.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 1, wherein said terminals are disposed horizontally or vertically in the same plane.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
45 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit unit is disposed at a top of the flow path structure, and the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor are disposed on an outlet side of the flow path structure in series.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit unit is disposed at a middle of the flow path structure, and the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor are disposed on an outlet side of the flow path structure in series.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 1, wherein a guide hole is formed in a central portion of the wiring board, and the flow path structure is provided with a guide shaft fitted into the guide hole thereby facilitating the positioning of the wiring board during assembly of the gas meter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the wiring board includes an external terminal for transmitting a signal outside the gas meter.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 2, wherein the electronic circuit unit is disposed at the top of the flow path structure, and the flow-sensor and the piezoelectric-film sensor are disposed on an outlet side of the flow path structure in series.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 2, wherein the wiring board includes an external terminal for transmitting a signal outside the gas meter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 3, wherein the wiring board includes an external terminal for transmitting a signal outside the gas meter.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
A fluidic gas meter according to claim 4, wherein the wiring board includes an external terminal for transmitting a signal outside the gas meter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
237 words
A fluidic gas meter, including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element; a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board having the function of lead wires; each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor being fixed to the flow path structure; the electronic circuit unit being made up of a counter board and a control circuit board, the counter board being mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric-film sensor and with a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed; a control circuit for controlling the cut-off valve is mounted on the control circuit board, wherein each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor, the piezoelectric-film sensor and the electronic circuit unit are provided with a plurality of terminals extending perpendicularly to said wiring board; said wiring board being provided with a printed circuit for the interconnection among the terminals, said wiring board having a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves formed therein for receiving said terminals and guiding said terminals to through holes formed at an apex of the V-shape of the guide grooves, wherein said terminals form an electrical connection with the printed circuit of the circuit board, thereby avoiding wiring errors.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
237 words
A fluidic gas meter, including a flow path structure provided with a fluidic element; a cut-off valve, a pressure switch, a flow sensor, a piezoelectric film sensor, an electronic circuit unit, and a wiring board serving as a mother board having the function of lead wires; each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor and the piezoelectric film sensor being fixed to the flow path structure; the electronic circuit unit being made up of a counter board and a control circuit board, the counter board being mounted with an electronic circuit for counting up flow-rate signals from the flow sensor and the piezoelectric-film sensor and with a liquid crystal display device for displaying the amount of gas consumed; a control circuit for controlling the cut-off valve is mounted on the control circuit board, wherein each of the cut-off valve, the pressure switch, the flow sensor, the piezoelectric-film sensor and the electronic circuit unit are provided with a plurality of terminals extending perpendicularly to said wiring board; said wiring board being provided with a printed circuit for the interconnection among the terminals, said wiring board having a plurality of V-shaped guide grooves formed therein for receiving said terminals and guiding said terminals to through holes formed at an apex of the V-shape of the guide grooves, wherein said terminals form an electrical connection with the printed circuit of the circuit board, thereby avoiding wiring errors.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-08-08 | 1998-02-07 | 1998-08-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-08-08 | 2002-02-07 | 2002-08-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-08-08 | 2006-02-07 | 2006-08-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |