JP4335173B2 - Gas station unloading system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an unloading system for a gas station when unloading fuel oil from a tank truck to an underground tank in the gas station.

Conventionally, the following methods have been proposed in connection with unloading of fuel oil from a tank truck to a filling station.
The unloading method is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
A method of referring to oil level gauge data when unloading is disclosed in Patent Document 2.
A method for managing the remaining amount of the tank based on the amount of oil supplied from the fueling device is disclosed in Patent Document 3.
JP-A-10-236597 (summary) JP 2002-255299 (SUMMARY) JP 02-166100 (Abstract)

  By the way, due to the recent revision of the law, even after the gas station is closed, the tank truck driver can unload the fuel oil to the gas station alone at night without the presence of a gas station worker. Hereinafter, “single unloading” is possible. In order to enable the single unloading, it is important to provide safety equipment.

  A system called a DCD system is used in the industry as a safety facility for a gas station. In the DCD system, after determining the amount of oil that can be unloaded from the tank truck based on the liquid level detected by the oil level detector provided in the underground tank of the filling station, the oil quantity is unloaded from the tank truck. It is done. In addition, as an underground tank which performs unloading, and the collation system of an oil kind, the method etc. which used the barcode of the above-mentioned patent document 1 etc. are employable, for example.

  However, the amount of oil that can be unloaded from the tank truck to the underground tank is based on the assumption that the oil level detector is operating normally. You may not be able to. For example, if the level of the underground tank is excessively measured due to a failure of the oil level detector, the amount of oil that can be refueled decreases, so the tank truck operator returns without being able to unload a sufficient amount. It will be. Therefore, daily inspection of the oil level detector is important.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an unloading system for a gas station that can automatically and routinely determine whether or not an oil level detector has failed.

To achieve the above object, unloading system of the present onset Ming oil plants, underground tanks for storing fuel oil, a unloading system service station for beating load of fuel oil from the tank truck, An oil level detector installed in the underground tank, an oil level gauge main body having first calculation means for calculating a remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank based on a signal from the oil level detector, and the oil A management device that acquires remaining amount data from the surface meter main body and manages the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank, and the management device is capable of unloading from the acquired remaining amount of fuel oil. Based on the amount of fuel oil pumped from the underground tank and refueled via a metering device, second communication means for calculating The refueling process corresponding to the change in the remaining amount of fuel in the underground tank A third calculating means for calculating a value, and the change in the remaining amount and the accumulated oil supply value are compared, and if the deviation between the two values is greater than a predetermined range, the oil level detector has failed. Discriminating means for discriminating that it is present.

  According to the present invention, a failure of the oil level detector is automatically determined by comparing the change in the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank and the accumulated value of the fuel oil supplied via the weighing machine. be able to. Therefore, the failure of the oil level detector can be detected early and reliably.

In the present invention, when it is determined that the oil level detector is out of order, it intends unloading line control of the fuel oil of the to the underground tanks as possible amount defeated load refueling accumulated value. In this case, the fuel oil can be unloaded using data of a weighing machine capable of accurate weighing.

  Delete.

In the present invention, a storage unit for storing the past remaining amount at a predetermined timing is further provided, and a change in the remaining amount is obtained by subtracting a newly calculated current remaining amount from the past remaining amount stored in the storage unit. It is preferable to calculate.
According to this aspect, it is possible to determine the failure of the oil level detector by subtracting the current remaining amount from the past remaining amount and calculating a change in the remaining amount.

In the present invention, it is preferable to perform the comparison and determination when a predetermined refueling is performed.
The comparison and determination may be performed when a predetermined number of times of refueling is performed for one underground tank.
Further, the comparison and determination may be performed when a predetermined amount or more of fuel oil set in advance for one underground tank is supplied.
Since it is difficult to accurately detect changes in the remaining amount of several liters or several tens of liters with the oil level detector, after a certain amount of fuel oil has been pumped up, the change in the remaining amount is compared with the accumulated refueling value. By doing so, it is possible to accurately grasp whether or not the oil level detector has failed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to notify when it is determined that the oil level detector has failed. According to this aspect, since the failure of the oil level detector is notified, it is possible to immediately know the failure of the detector.

Reference example 1:
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the system of the present invention, reference examples will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show Reference Example 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of underground tanks Li for storing fuel oil are buried underground in the gas station. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a plurality of measuring machines Ui are installed on the ground of the gas station.

Underground tank Li:
The underground tank Li shown in FIG. 1 is embed | buried for every oil seed | species, and is connected to the above-mentioned weighing machine Ui (FIG. 2), respectively. Each of the underground tank Li and the weighing machine Ui (FIG. 2) is connected by a plurality of supply pipes (not shown) for each oil type. Only the tank Li will be described as an example.

  An oil supply pipe 1B is connected to the underground tank Li, and an oil supply port 1A is provided in the oil supply pipe 1B. At the time of unloading, an unillustrated unloading hose is connected from the tank truck 2 to the oil filling port 1A, and the fuel oil is unloaded to the underground tank Li through the oil filling pipe 1B.

Oil level detector 6a:
The underground tank Li is provided with an oil level detector 6a for each underground tank Li. The oil level detector 6a detects the level (oil level) of the fuel oil in the underground tank Li, and is connected to the oil level gauge main body 6b. The oil level gauge main body 6b has first calculation means 41 for calculating the remaining amount of the underground tank Li based on the level signal transmitted from the oil level detector 6a. The oil level gauge main body 6 b is connected to a DCD unit (management device) 4 provided in the office of the gas station, and outputs the calculated remaining amount data to the DCD unit 4.
Various mechanisms are conceivable as the oil level detector 6a. For example, the oil level can be measured by measuring the electromagnetic change with a measuring device using a float described in JP-A-7-63595. A measuring device or the like of a measuring type can be employed.

  The external operation unit 3 is provided outside the filling station office, while the DCD unit 4, the POS terminal 5, and the oil level gauge main body 6b are provided inside the office. As shown in FIG. 2, the external operation unit 3, the POS terminal 5, and the oil level gauge main body 6 b are connected to the DCD unit 4 via the interface 13. The DCD unit 4 and the POS terminal 5 are connected to each other using a connection line such as an industry standard SS-LAN, for example, and the weighing machine Ui is connected to the connection line.

Weighing machine Ui:
The measuring machine Ui pumps up the fuel oil in the underground tank Li and supplies the fuel oil, and is provided with a control device for controlling the fuel oil supply by the measuring machine Ui. The measuring machine Ui includes a flow meter (not shown) for counting the amount of fuel oil pumped up, that is, the amount of fuel supplied. The measuring machine Ui outputs the amount of fuel oil counted by the flow meter to the DCD unit 4 and the POS terminal 5.

DCD unit 4:
The DCD unit 4 includes, for example, a microcomputer (microcomputer) 4A, a wireless modem (wireless communication means) 11, a display 12 and the like.
The microcomputer 4A includes a CPU 40 and a memory 45. The CPU 40 includes second calculation means 42, third calculation means 43, and determination means 44. On the other hand, the memory 45 is provided with a refueling accumulated value storage unit 46, a refueling number storage unit 47, a remaining amount storage unit 48, a threshold storage unit 49, and the like.

  The second calculating means 42 calculates the unloadable amount based on the remaining amount of fuel oil obtained from the oil level gauge main body 6b. That is, the second calculation means 42 subtracts the remaining amount from the tank capacity registered in advance to calculate the unloadable amount.

  The third calculating means 43 integrates the amount of fuel oil supplied each time the measuring machine Ui supplies fuel, and calculates the refueling accumulated value after the previous unloading. The calculated refueling accumulated value is updated and stored in the refueling accumulated value storage unit 46. On the other hand, the CPU 40 increments the number of times of refueling every time refueling, and updates and stores the number of times of refueling in the number of times of refueling storage 47. Note that the accumulated value of the refueling and the number of times of refueling are cleared to 0 each time the unloading is performed.

When the number of times of refueling reaches a predetermined number of times, the determination means 44 compares the change in the remaining amount of the underground tank Li with the accumulated value of refueling for the same underground tank Li as follows.
First, the first calculation means 41 of the oil level gauge main body 6 b calculates the remaining amount (current remaining amount) of the underground tank Li based on the level signal from the oil level detector 6 a and transmits it to the DCD unit 4. . On the other hand, the determination unit 44 reads the remaining amount (the past remaining amount) from the remaining amount storage unit 48. The determination unit 44 calculates a change in the remaining amount by subtracting the current remaining amount newly calculated from the past remaining amount. The discriminating means 44 compares the change in the remaining amount with the accumulated fuel supply value up to the present, and the deviation between the two values is larger than a predetermined threshold range read from the threshold storage unit 49. Is determined that the oil level detector 6a is out of order.

Specifically, for example, the current remaining amount newly calculated from the past remaining amount stored in the storage unit is subtracted to calculate the change value of the remaining amount. When the absolute value of the calculated value is larger than the threshold value, that is, the detection error of the oil level detector 6a or the measuring device Ui is subtracted from the change value of the remaining amount. When the range is exceeded, it is determined that the oil level detector 6a is out of order. On the other hand, when the absolute value is within the threshold value, it is determined that the oil level detector 6a is not malfunctioning.
The current remaining amount is updated and stored in the remaining amount storage unit 48 for each comparison. Each time unloading is performed, the remaining amount immediately after unloading is updated and stored in the remaining amount storage unit 48.

Indicator 12:
The display device 12 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device and performs various displays such as notification of failure of the oil level detector 6a.

External operation unit 3:
As shown in FIG. 1, the external operation unit 3 is provided outside the office. The external operation unit 3 is a device used for unloading alone, and is connected to the DCD unit 4 and the oil level gauge main body 6b. The external operation unit 3 is provided with an outdoor display 30 made of, for example, a liquid crystal display.

Communication terminal 21:
Here, the driver (worker) of the tank lorry 2 carries a communication terminal (handy terminal) 21 and operates the communication terminal 21 and the external operation unit 3 to operate the fuel as described below. Unload oil alone.

At the time of unloading alone, the second calculation means 42 in FIG. 2 calculates the unloadable amount, and the wireless modem (an example of communication means) 11 transmits the unloadable amount to the communication terminal 21 in FIG. . Based on the unloadable amount, fuel oil is unloaded from the tank truck 2 to the underground tank Li.
In addition, about the confirmation method and unloading method of the oil type using the communication terminal 21, the system using the portable apparatus for transportation works described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 10-236957 is employable. The communication terminal 21 and the modem 11 may communicate wirelessly or by wire.

Refueling operation:
When refueling is performed from the weighing machine Ui in FIG. 2, the refueling amount is output to the DCD unit 4 and the POS terminal 5. From the POS terminal 5, a bill corresponding to the refueling amount is issued. On the other hand, the third calculation means 43 of the DCD unit 4 reads the fuel supply cumulative value from the fuel supply cumulative value storage unit 46, and adds the current fuel supply amount to the fuel supply cumulative value to calculate a new fuel supply cumulative value. The value storage unit 46 is updated and stored. At the same time, the CPU 40 increments the number of refueling times in the refueling number storage unit 47.

Failure detection of the oil level detector 6a:
When the refueling operation is repeated and the number of times of refueling reaches a predetermined number, the determination means 44 compares the change in the remaining amount of the underground tank Li with the refueling accumulated value.
First, the determination unit 44 reads the past remaining amount from the remaining amount storage unit 48. On the other hand, the first calculation means 41 of the oil level gauge main body 6b calculates the current remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank Li based on the level signal from the oil level detector 6a, and the calculated remaining amount is used as the DCD unit 4. Send to. As a result, the CPU 40 acquires remaining amount data.

The discriminating means 44 subtracts the current remaining amount from the past remaining amount to calculate a remaining amount change value. On the other hand, the determination unit 44 reads the accumulated fuel value from the accumulated fuel value storage unit 46, adds the current amount of oil, and calculates the current accumulated oil value.
The determination unit 44 subtracts the current refueling accumulated value from the change value of the remaining amount, and when the calculated absolute value (deviation of the two values) is larger than a predetermined threshold range, It is determined that the oil level detector 6a has failed.

When it is determined that the oil level detector 6a has failed, the display 12 of the DCD unit 4 indicates that the oil level detector 6a has failed, and a buzzer or the like The worker is notified.
On the other hand, when the deviation is within a predetermined threshold, it is prepared for the next refueling.

  In this way, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not the oil level detector 6a has failed each time a predetermined number of times of refueling is performed. Therefore, since the failure of the oil level detector 6a can be detected early and reliably, the oil level detector 6a informed of the failure can be repaired quickly.

Single unloading:
After closing the gas station, the driver (operator) of the tank truck 2 unloads at night as follows.
The operator operates the communication terminal 21 and the external operation unit 3 to designate the underground tank Li corresponding to the fuel oil to be unloaded. Based on the designation, the second computing means 42 calculates the unloadable amount, and the wireless modem 11 transmits the unloadable amount to the communication terminal 21. The unloading amount of the tank lorry 2 is controlled based on the unloadable amount, and the fuel oil is unloaded from the tank lorry 2 to the underground tank Li within the unloadable amount range.
Prior to the unloading, the operator reads the barcode attached to the external operation unit 3 into the communication terminal 21 or the barcode attached to the hose of the tank truck 2 and the oil filler 1A to the communication terminal. The collation work is performed such as causing 21 to read.

  Here, when it is determined that the oil level detector 6a is out of order by the determination means 44, unloading is prohibited and the display of the communication terminal 21 and / or the outdoor display of the external operation unit 3 is displayed. A message indicating that the unloading cannot be performed due to the failure of the oil level detector 6a is displayed on the container 30.

In the reference example 1 described above, when a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times) of refueling is performed for one underground tank Li, comparison and determination by the determination unit 44 are performed. The comparison and determination may be performed when fuel oil of a predetermined amount (for example, 1 kiloliter) or more set in advance for one underground tank Li is supplied.

Further, in Reference Example 1, when it is determined that the oil level detector 6a is out of order, unloading is prohibited. In this case, in the present invention, the refueling accumulated value storage is performed. refueling accumulated value read from the parts 46 and unloading possible amount, it intends rows unloading.

Reference example 2:
FIG. 3 shows Reference Example 2. As shown in FIG. 3, in the second reference example, the second calculation means 42 described in the first reference example is not provided. On the other hand, the CPU 40 is provided with monitoring means 42A for sequentially monitoring the unloading amount based on the remaining amount data from the oil level gauge main body 6b when unloading from the tank truck 2 to the underground tank Li.
Other configurations are the same as those in Reference Example 1, and the same reference numerals are given to the same portions or corresponding portions, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  When unloading is started from the tank truck 2 at the time of unloading, the first calculation means 41 of the oil level gauge body 6b calculates the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank Li at a predetermined short interval. The remaining amount data is transmitted to the monitoring unit 42A in real time. When the remaining amount (oil amount) of the underground tank Li that increases momentarily according to the unloading reaches the oil amount when the underground tank Li is full, the monitoring means 42A stops the unloading.

  Also in such a system, the determination means 44 can determine whether or not the oil level detector 6a has failed by periodically and automatically determining the failure of the oil level detector 6a. Therefore, unloading can be performed using the oil level detector 6a that has not failed.

  The present invention can be used for a gas station system including an underground tank for storing fuel oil.

It is a schematic diagram of the entire gas station according to the present onset Akira. It is a schematic block diagram of the various apparatuses in the gas station. It is a schematic block diagram of the various apparatuses in the gas station concerning the reference example 2.

Li: underground tank 2: tank truck 6a: oil level detector 4: DCD unit (management device)
41: first computing means 42: second computing means 43: third computing means 11: wireless modem (wireless communication means)
44: Discriminating means 42A: Monitoring means

Claims (6)

An unloading system of a gas station that unloads fuel oil from a tank truck to an underground tank that stores fuel oil,
An oil level detector installed in the underground tank;
An oil level gauge main body having first calculation means for calculating the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank based on a signal from the oil level detector;
A management device that acquires the remaining amount data from the oil level gauge body and manages the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank,
The management device
Second calculating means for calculating a possible unloading amount from the obtained remaining amount of fuel oil;
A communication means for transmitting the unloadable amount that can be unloaded in an underground tank;
Third calculating means for calculating a refueling accumulated value corresponding to a change in the remaining amount of fuel oil in the underground tank, based on the amount of fuel oil pumped up from the underground tank and refueled via a meter;
A discriminating means for comparing the change in the remaining amount and the fuel supply accumulated value, and discriminating that the oil level detector has failed when a deviation between the two values is larger than a predetermined range ;
An unloading system at a filling station that performs unloading control of fuel oil to the underground tank when the oil level detector is determined to be malfunctioning and using the accumulated value of refueling as an unloadable amount . Oite to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit for storing the past remaining amount at a given timing, by subtracting the current remaining amount newly calculated from the past remaining amount stored in the storage unit the remaining amount Unloading system at gas station to calculate changes in The unloading system of a gas station according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the comparison and determination are performed when predetermined predetermined fueling is performed. The unloading system for a gas station according to claim 3 , wherein the comparison and determination are performed when a predetermined number of times of refueling are performed for one underground tank. The unloading system for a gas station according to claim 3 , wherein the comparison and determination are performed when fuel oil of a predetermined amount or more set in advance for one underground tank is supplied. The unloading system of the gas station which alert | reports, when it determines with the said oil level detector having failed in Claims 1-5 .

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