FR2484640A1 - HEAT COUNTER - Google Patents

Abstract

HEAT METER 25 WHICH MEASURES THE QUANTITY OF HEAT TRANSMITTED BY A RADIANT BODY 10 TO THE AMBIENT AIR OF A ROOM IN WHICH IT IS INSTALLED. THE MAIN CHARACTERISTIC OF THE METER 25 IS THAT IT CONTAINS: -AT LEAST ONE THERMOCOUPLE TC1 HAVING A MEASURING JUNCTION 1B ARRANGED ADJACENT TO THE RADIANT BODY (NOT REPRESENTED) SO AS TO OBTAIN THE TEMPERATURE OF THIS RADIANT BODY, AND A JUNCTION 1A ARRANGED AT THE INTERIOR OF THE PREMISES TO OBTAIN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OF IT; AND AN INTEGRATING ELECTRICAL LOAD METER 18 AGENCY TO GIVE AN INDICATION PROPORTIONAL TO THE INTEGRAL AS A FUNCTION OF THE TIME OF THE ELECTRIC ENERGY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ELECTRICAL VOLTAGE SIGNALS EMITTED BY THE THERMOCOUPLE TC1.

Description

The present invention relates to a heat meter.

  It relates in particular to a meter which gives an indication of the amount of heat exchanged over time between

  a radiator and the room in which it is located.

  As we know, the considerable and growing difficulties

  encountered in obtaining primary sources of energy, such as, for example,

  continues the expenses that the user has to face.

  Particularly in the case where these energy sources are used to heat premises and, especially in the case where the cost of heating is distributed among several users in the same building, the distribution

  expenditure on the basis of actual consumption.

  Thermal energy raises problems. In fact, a proper allocation should avoid unfairly penalizing an absent user, or a user who keeps a low temperature in his apartment; in addition, this correct distribution would encourage other users to

  regulate the temperature more carefully in their rooms.

  with unmistakable advantages both from the point of view of saving energy sources and from the point of view of

spending.

  There are currently devices on the market which

  give indications on the thermal energy released in a room by a radiator. These devices can be divided

Z484640

  practically in two groups, namely a group that requires

  site a power supply energy to operate and a group that does not require such energy. Due to the high cost of installing the devices of the first group, only those of the second group are currently considered. Among the latter, there are on the market devices called "evaporative candles" which are arranged on the radiator and are formed practically by a bulb having a first volume containing a liquid taking the temperature of the radiator and evaporating as a function of the absolute value taken by this temperature. By determining the amount of

  liquid remaining in the first compartment, or in

  the amount of liquid evaporated and collected in a

  second compartment of the device, we obtain an indica-

  proportional to the integral, as a function of time, of the temperature reached by the radiator. Well

  that, being widely used, this device

  disadvantages. Firstly, the evaporation of the liquid is only a function of the temperature reached by the radiator, whereas the amount of heat that the radiator transmits to the room in which it is located depends on the temperature difference between the radiator. and the local; Consequently,

  the indication given by these earlier devices is

  this is incorrect. In addition, because the

  the temperature in the radiator is not uniform and because, for reasons of economy, a

  the only heat meter for each radiator, it is always

  particularly difficult days to determine the area the

  more suitable for mounting the device on the radiator.

  Finally, the indication given by these devices is of conventional type, because in fact it is impossible to predict

  for each radiator a device taking into account the characteristics

  * Structural characteristics of the radiator, such as for example

  the number of radiant elements of the radiator. As a result

  each device must be provided with a conversion table which makes it possible to obtain for each radiator the quantity of heat released based on the knowledge of the

amount of liquid evaporated.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a counter

  of heat that eliminates the disadvantages of

  known positives as indicated above.

  This object is achieved by the present invention by means of a

  heat meter which measures the amount of heat

  by a radiant body in the ambient air of a room in which it is installed, characterized in that it comprises:

  at least one thermocouple having a measurement junction

  adjacent to the radiant body so as to obtain the

  temperature of this radiant body, and a cold junction

  in the room to obtain the room temperature

  of this room, the thermocouple being designed to emit

  voltage level whose amplitude depends on the

  difference between the radiant body temperature and the temperature

  erasure of the premises; and an integrating meter of electrical charges designed to

  give a proportional indication to the integral

  the time of the electrical energy associated with the

  electrical voltage emitted by the thermocouple.

  The invention will be understood on reading the description de-

  cut, given hereinafter by way of example only, of a preferred embodiment, in connection with the attached drawing in which: Figure 1 shows parts of the device according to the invention, installed in an application example; and

  FIG. 2 is a functional electrical diagram of the device

tif shown in Figure 1.

  Referring now to Figure 1 in which the reference designates as a whole a radiator of known type,

  formed by a multiplicity of radiant elements 11 within the

  wherein a heating fluid circulates. A plurality of "measurement junctions" lb, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, of respective thermocouples tc 1, tc 2, te 3, tc 4, tc 5, tc 6 are installed on the radiator 10. , te 7, tc 8 shown

  Figure 2. In particular, the first four

  measurements are available in the upper part of the

  diateur 10, that is to say on the side by which the heating fluid, while the other four measuring junctions are arranged in the lower part of the radiator 10.

  Referring particularly to Figure 2, each heat

  mocouple tc 1-tc 8 is equipped with a cold junction respec-

  tive la-8a; these are connected in series to the measuring junctions of the adjacent thermocouples and are arranged inside a box (not shown) disposed in a region of the room in which the radiator is installed, so as to obtain the ambient temperature. The thermocouples so connected in series together form an active thermoelectric transducer element disposed to produce

  at its terminals 13, 14 an electrical signal depending on the difference

  between the temperature values of the radiator 10 and

  of the room in which it is installed.

  Terminal 13 is connected to a first terminal of adjustable resistors 16, 17; the second terminal of the resistor 16 is connected to a first terminal of an electric charge integrator counter as a whole at 18, while the second terminal of the resistor 17 is connected to both the terminal 14 and the second terminal integrator meter terminal

  18. Resistors 16 and 17 together form an attenuated network

  passive cloud 20 which makes it possible to regulate the voltage and the inten-

  sent by the transducer element 15 and sent to the

  The latter is of known type and comprises practically a rectangular dial 21 having a linear scale 22 formed by a multiplicity of graded notches and a capillary tube (not shown) within which

  are contained two columns of mercury 23a, 23b and one elec-

  liquid trolyte 24 interposed between the two columns. By way of

  more particularly, the liquid 24 separates the menisci from the respective columns 23a, 23b while ensuring continuity

  electric between them; it also makes it possible to highlight

  on the scale 22 the exact position taken by the

  niscs of each column 23a, 23b. In operation, the

  electrolyte on one side or the other is proportionally

  the amount of electrical charge that passes through one

  or the other direction between the terminals of the integra-

  18. An analogue device, extremely precise and ex-

  also very sensitive to the minimum voltage values

  applied on the terminals, is currently provided by

  the company "CURTIS INDACHRON" under the name of "compu-

integrator electrolytic ".

  The thermocouples tc 1 to tc 8, the integrating counter 18 and possibly the network 20 form a device 25 which measures the amount of heat transmitted over time.

  by the radiator 10 to the surrounding atmosphere.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation of the device 25 will now be described assuming that the heating fluid circulates within each element of the device.

  10. In these circumstances, a difference in temperature

  The gap between the measuring junctions lb-8b (which has almost the temperature of the heating medium) and the

  cold junctions la-8a (having room temperature).

  Consequently, each thermocouple tc 1-tc 8 generates a

  electromotive force proportional to the difference in

  mentioned above and which adds to the strengths

  electromotive generated by adjacent thermocouples.

  Thus, there exists at the terminals 13 and 14 a DC voltage which causes a current flow inside the

  integrator counter 18 so that by monitoring the

  placing the electrolyte 24 with respect to the scale 22,

  it is possible to obtain an indication of the quantity of

  thermal energy that the radiator 10 to emitted in the environ-

ment.

  When the electrolyte 24 reaches one of the ends of

  scale 22, it suffices to reverse the direction of arrival of the cou-

  rant, for example by interchanging terminals 13 and 14,

  also to reverse the direction of travel of the electri-

  trolyte himself. It is necessary to act on the network of 20

  that each annual heating period does not require

more than one polarity reversal.

  By analyzing the characteristics of the device 25 according to the invention, it can be seen that it makes it possible to eliminate the disadvantages

  known devices mentioned above.

  Firstly, the measurement of the amount of heat transmitted by the radiator to the ambient air is done in a conceptually correct manner, provided that this measure takes into account the difference in temperatures instead of

  account of the absolute value taken by the temperature of the

mediator.

  In addition, the combination of a thermoelectric measuring element

  extremely precise active tracer, such as a thermocouple; with an integrating meter of electrical charges sensitive to the minimum signal values and also extremely

  accurate, such as the electrolytic integrator counter of.

  the firm Indachron, allows to obtain a heat meter

  extremely precise, which also requires no connection

  electrical supply to the supply network. Due to the low price of the components used, the device according to the present invention is extremely economical so that it can be

  put on sale at a very moderate price.

  The indication provided by the integrating counter 18 can be expressed both in conventional units, as can be seen on

  FIG. 2, or in thermal units by adjusting

  proprié, in this case, the value of each resistance 16, 17

forming the network 20.

  In the case where the device 25 is used to measure the

  amount of heat supplied by radiators with structural

  are different or the number of elements is different

  simply change the network 20 each time.

  Finally, it is clear that changes can be made

  cations to the embodiment described here of the device 25 without

  deviate from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, the scale 22 of the integrating counter 18 can be moved along the tube containing the liquid to coincide, at the beginning of each season, the position of

  the electrolyte 24 with the indication "" at the beginning of the scale.

  In addition, taking into account that the displacement of the electrolyte 24 can be carried out in opposite directions on the scale 22, it can be provided on it other graduations which increase in the direction opposite to that of the graduations

shown in Figure 2.

  Finally, to facilitate, in an apartment, the reading

  the total amount of heat transmitted to the ambient air

  By virtue of the radiators installed in various rooms, a transducer 13 with the respective passive network 20 and a single electrolytic integrator counter 18 can be conveniently disposed in each room.

  the resulting signals emitted by the various transduc-

  corrected in the respective passive networks. In this case, the output terminals of these passive networks must

  be connected in series so that the electrical signals

  respective ones are in phase with each other.

Claims (6)

claims   1. A heat meter which measures the amount of heat transmitted by a radiant body (10) to the ambient air of a room in which this radiant body is installed, characterized in that it comprises   at least one thermocouple (tc 1) having a junction of   sure (lb) disposed adjacent the radiant body to obtain the temperature of the radiant body, and a cold junction (la) disposed within the room to obtain the room temperature of the room, the thermocouple being adapted to emit a signal electrical voltage whose amplitude is a function of the difference between the temperature of the ambient body (10) and the temperature of the room; and an integrator meter for electric charges (18) arranged to give an indication proportional to the integral in   time function of the electrical energy associated with the   electrical voltage signals emitted by the thermocouple.   2. Counter according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of thermocouples (tc 1 ... tc 8)   connected in series to each other.   3. Counter according to claim 2, characterized in that each thermocouple (tc 1 ... tc 8) has a respective measurement junction (lb ... 8b) arranged to be mounted in a   specific position on the radiant body (10).   4. Meter according to any one of the preceding claims   characterized in that this integrator counter of   Electric Gages is an electrolytic integrator meter.   The meter according to any of the preceding claims   dentes, characterized in that it comprises a passive network (20) disposed between each thermocouple (tc 1) and the counter   integrator of electric charges (18).   6. Counter according to claim 5, characterized in that the passive network (20) comprises one or more resistors. adjustable (16, 17).