Timed gas metering and distribution system

Abstract

A timed gas metering and distribution system provides a point of use metering and an individual remote meter readout capability in a branched-line gas distribution system, such as in a multi-unit apartment building. In such a system, a single main gas line enters the building and has branches of minimal length extending to a gas-fueled appliance, e.g., a heater, in each unit. Each heater has a fixed orifice in its gas line, to provide a specified fixed gas flow rate at a constant line pressure and an electrical pressure switch in its manifold to detect pressure changes and actuate an electrical circuit upon operation of the heater. The circuit transmits an electrical signal to a timing meter located remotely of the unit for convenient reading. One embodiment uses a direct current electrical circuit and a digitally controlled analog run-time meter. A second embodiment uses an oscillator low frequency pulsing circuit, shift register, and digital counter. It can be used to monitor gas consumption of multiple appliances by summing the pulse trains. As used in a fixed flow appliance, the pulsing circuit uses a mechanically tunable oscillator to proportion the pulse rates to constant pressure gas flow through a fixed orifice. For a variable flow appliance, e.g., a stove, a voltage-tunable oscillator, controlled by a switch-potentiometer coupled to the gas flow control, proportions the pulse rate to gas flow.