JP2000111370A - Centralized meter-reading system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect an earthquake and to break the breaking valves of all flowmeters simultaneously by selecting an arbitrary flowmeter for reading a meter in a centralized control panel, occasionally reading the arbitrary flowmeter, occasionally breaking the breaking valve of the arbitrary flowmeter, simultaneously breaking the breaking valves of all flowmeters, and releasing and returning the breaking valve of the broken, arbitrary flowmeter. SOLUTION: A centralized control panel for centrally controlling a plurality of flowmeters is provided with a flowmeter selection part 5 for selecting each flow meter, a meter-reading operation part 16 for occasionally reading the flowmeter, an individual break operation part 17 for individually breaking the breaking valve of the flowmeter, a simultaneous break operation part 18 for simultaneously breaking the break valve of all flowmeters, a break valve return operation part 19 for releasing and returning the broken break valve, and an earthquake-sensing sensor 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a centralized meter reading system in which a plurality of water meters, gas meters, and the like are connected to a centralized management panel, and meter reading data is centrally managed by the centralized management panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a meter reading system for remotely and centrally reading meter data from a water meter, a gas meter, and the like, the meter measurement data is transmitted to a meter reading center using a telephone line, and the meter reading center transmits the data. There was a system for centralized management on a large scale, and a system for connecting meters to a centralized control panel and performing centralized control on a relatively small scale with the centralized control panel.

[0003] As a conventional example of a system using a telephone line, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-183525 discloses a system in which measurement data transmitted from a gas meter to a meter reading center via a telephone line can be monitored by a meter indicating unit in a home. A system is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-32648 discloses a system in which measurement data of a gas meter can be read out by a call from a meter reading center via a telephone line, and a battery voltage of the gas meter can be checked. Also, JP-A-62-24
Japanese Patent Publication No. 113 discloses a system in which a gas meter side is provided with a regular calling function for making a regular call to a meter reading center through a telephone line so that the gas meter can transmit measurement data to the meter reading center at a regular time.

[0004] As a conventional example of a system using a centralized control panel, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-326951 discloses a state in which after a certain consumer's shut-off valve is closed, the consumer cannot open the shut-off valve. The centralized monitoring device (centralized control panel)
If the centralized monitoring device does not receive the shut-off valve opening data from the gas meter within a certain period of time after the shut-off valve is closed, this fact is displayed on the display of the centralized monitoring device so that it can be confirmed on the side. A disclosed system is disclosed.

Conventionally, as a countermeasure against an earthquake, in the case of any of the above-mentioned systems, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open
As disclosed in JP-A-208718 and JP-A-8-226832, the flowmeter itself is provided with a seismic sensor,
The seismic sensor of each flow meter senses the earthquake and closes its shut-off valve for each flow meter.

[0006]

However, the conventional system has the following problems. In a system using a telephone line, the telephone line usage fee, the installation of an NCU (Network Control Unit) and the installation of a center computer increase costs, and the telephone line to which the target flow meter is connected is used. If it is inside, data management cannot be performed.

[0007] In the case of a system that uses a centralized control panel to manage regular calls from a flow meter without using a telephone line, a meter reader goes to the installation location of the centralized control panel to collect measurement data from each flow meter. Even so, the measurement data collected and the current measurement data of the flow meter are different. Furthermore, one of the flowmeters connected to the centralized control panel does not normally communicate with regular calls due to some abnormalities.
If the data management of the flow meter alone is not performed by the central control panel, for example, wait until the next call of the flow meter on a regular basis, or measure the data of all the flow meters connected to the central control panel again. Must be read by the central control panel, and the data collection efficiency is very poor.

[0008] In the case of a system using a centralized control panel, since a consumer who has connected the flow meter to the centralized control panel has not paid the fee, even if the main cock is closed and supply is stopped,
If the consumer opens the main cock, it will be used again without paying the fee.

[0009] In a housing complex such as an apartment or a condominium, if a house is destroyed due to a disaster such as an earthquake or a fire and gas leaks or water leaks occur in all the houses at once, it is dangerous to continue to supply a supply body to each house. Therefore, we want to stop the supply promptly, but when controlling via telephone line, once contact the center computer,
After that, since control must be performed using a telephone line, it cannot be made in an emergency.

[0010] Even if the shutoff valve is closed from the central control panel to shut off the supply path to the flowmeter connected to the central control panel in order to stop the supply to the consumer, the shutoff valve returns to each flowmeter. If there is a switch, the consumer easily opens and returns the shut-off valve and consumes the supply body.

Even if a seismic sensor is provided for each flow meter, the secondary disaster prevention effect is small in an apartment house such as an apartment or a condominium where supply should be stopped at the same time in the event of a disaster.

In view of such a conventional problem, a first object of the present invention is to make it possible to select an arbitrary flow meter in a centralized control panel so that meter reading can be performed. The third object is to enable any flow meter to be read at any time in the centralized control panel, and to allow the shut-off valve of any flow meter to be shut off in the centralized control panel at any time. The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible to simultaneously shut off the shutoff valves of all flowmeters connected to it in the central control panel. The fifth object is to open and reset the shutoff valves of any flowmeters shut off in the central control panel. A sixth object is to make it possible to detect an earthquake in a centralized control panel and shut off all shut-off valves of all flow meters connected to it at the same time.

[0013]

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides a shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve driving circuit for driving the shut-off valve, and transmission and reception with the outside. A communication circuit to perform, a flow sensor for detecting the consumption of the supply body, a plurality of flow meters having a control unit for measuring the detected consumption and controlling the shut-off valve driving circuit and the communication circuit, and A communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from a communication circuit, a display unit for displaying meter reading data collected from the flow meter through the communication circuit, an output unit for externally outputting the collected meter reading data, these communication circuits, a display unit, and an output unit In a centralized meter reading system including a centralized control panel having a controller for controlling the flowmeter, the centralized control panel is provided with a flow meter selection unit for selecting each flow meter.

The above configuration is a basic configuration, and a configuration for achieving the second object is characterized in that, in addition to the basic configuration, a centralized control panel is provided with a meter reading operation unit capable of reading a flow meter at any time.

[0015] The structure for achieving the third object is characterized in that, in addition to the basic structure, an individual shut-off operation unit capable of individually shutting off the shut-off valves of the flow meter is provided on the centralized control panel.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve driving circuit for driving the shut-off valve, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the outside, and a consumption of the feeder. A plurality of flowmeters having a control unit for controlling a shut-off valve driving circuit and a communication circuit while measuring the detected consumption amount, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the communication circuit of the flowmeter, A central control panel having a display unit for displaying meter reading data collected from the flow meter through the circuit, an output unit for externally outputting the collected meter reading data, a communication circuit, a controller for controlling the display unit and the output unit, and In the centralized meter reading system configured as described above, the centralized control panel is provided with a simultaneous shutoff operation unit that can simultaneously shut off the shutoff valves of all the flow meters connected thereto.

The structure for achieving the fifth object is, in addition to the structure for achieving the third object or the structure for achieving the fourth object, a shut-off which can open and return the shut-off valve to the central control panel. A valve return operation unit is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve driving circuit for driving the shut-off valve, a communication circuit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the outside, and a consumption of the feeder. A plurality of flowmeters having a control unit for controlling a shut-off valve driving circuit and a communication circuit while measuring the detected consumption amount, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the communication circuit of the flowmeter, A central control panel having a display unit for displaying meter reading data collected from the flow meter through the circuit, an output unit for externally outputting the collected meter reading data, a communication circuit, a controller for controlling the display unit and the output unit, and , A seismic sensor is provided on the centralized control panel.

[0019]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the centralized meter reading system according to the present invention comprises one centralized control panel 1 and n flow meters M1 to Mn connected to the centralized control panel 1 by wire or wirelessly.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the flow meters M1 to Mn.
Each flow meter includes a shut-off valve 3 for shutting off the supply path 2, a shut-off valve driving circuit 4 for driving the shut-off valve 3, a meter main body 5 for detecting a flow of a supply body in the supply path 2, and detecting the flow rate thereof. Flow sensor 6, a shut-off valve return switch 7, a communication circuit 8 connected to the central control panel 1 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the central control panel 1. In response to a control signal from the panel 1, measurement data is responded to the central control panel 1 by the communication circuit 8, the shut-off valve drive circuit 4 is controlled to shut off the shut-off valve 3, and a signal from the shut-off valve return switch 7 is used. And a control unit 9 having a function of controlling the shut-off valve drive circuit 4 to open and return the shut-off valve 3.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the centralized control panel 1. The central control panel 1 displays n communication circuits C1 to Cn connected to the communication circuits 8 on the n flow meters M1 to Mn side, an operation input panel 10 for manual operation input, and various displays. A display unit 11 for performing the operation, an output unit 12 for outputting to the outside, and a seismic sensor 13 for detecting an earthquake are provided.

The central control panel 1 displays the contents of the operation signal from the operation input panel 10 on the display unit 1.
1 and control the communication circuits C1 to Cn to transmit and receive signals to and from the connected flow meters M1 to Mn. The results are displayed on the display unit 11 or printed out from the output unit 12, for example. When data is output to perform an earthquake or when an earthquake is detected by a signal from the seismic sensor 13,
In order to shut off the shut-off valve 3 for all the connected flow meters M1 to Mn, a controller 14 having a function of controlling the communication circuits C1 to Cn is provided.

It should be noted that the centralized control panel 1 may be provided with a single communication circuit for connection with each flow meter for bus communication.

The operation input panel 10 includes a flow meter selection unit 1
5, a meter reading operation unit 16, an individual shutoff operation unit 17, a simultaneous shutoff operation unit 18, and a shutoff valve return operation unit 19, which are turned on by a key operation, for example, so that Function is performed.

By operating the flow meter selection unit 15,
Any one of the flow meters M1 to Mn connected to the centralized control panel 1 can be selected, and extra data management and data collection other than the selected one flow meter are not performed. Data collection efficiency is improved.

By operating the meter reading operation section 16, it becomes possible to transmit and receive the meter reading control signal to only one of the flow meters selected by the flow meter selection section 15, for example. When the data cannot be managed by the centralized control panel 1, the abnormality can be known, and the flowmeter is excluded from the data collection targets, so that useless data collection can be omitted. Also, when a meter reader collects data, the meter reading of an arbitrary flow meter can be performed at any time.

By operating the individual shut-off operation section 17, for example, it is possible to select a flow meter used by a consumer who has not paid the charge and shut off the shut-off valve 3 thereof. In this case, even if the shutoff valve return switch 7 on the flowmeter side is turned on on the flowmeter side, it is easily possible to adopt a configuration in which opening and returning of the shutoff valve 3 can be prohibited. In addition, in a collective house such as an apartment or a condominium, when the manager collects a charge from the consumer collectively, since the centralized control panel 1 has the individual shut-off operation section 17, the consumer is not paid. The trouble of contacting the supply business owner and requesting the shutoff of the shutoff valve is eliminated.

By operating the simultaneous shut-off operation unit 18, in the event of an emergency such as a disaster, all the flow meters M1 to Mn connected to the central control panel 1 can be controlled by an administrator or the like who controls the central control panel 1. Can be quickly and easily shut off automatically. In this case, the transmission of the control signal to each flow meter is performed by the controller 14.
From the above, methods such as simultaneous transmission to each flow meter, sequential transmission, simultaneous transmission by bus communication, and the like can be considered. It is also possible to add to the centralized control panel 1 a simultaneous return operation unit that allows all the flow meters to be simultaneously opened and returned after the disaster has been avoided and the danger has disappeared and the shutoff valve 3 of each flow meter has been shut off. It is.

By operating the shut-off valve return operating section 19, for example, when the consumer of the flow meter whose shut-off valve 3 is shut off by operating the individual shut-off operating section 17 receives payment from the flow meter, Can be brought into a state in which the open / return of the shut-off valve 3 is possible. By doing so, if the shut-off valve return switch 7 is turned on in the flow meter,
The opening and returning of the shutoff valve 3 is performed. It is also conceivable that the shut-off valve 3 can be automatically opened and reset by control from the central control panel 1 without turning on the shut-off valve return switch 7.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the present invention, in which a number of flow meters M1 to M1n, M2 to M2n, MN to MNn are connected via repeaters R1 to R1n, R2 to R2n, RN to RNn for the respective flow meters. 1
It is connected to the bus communication circuit of the centralized control panel 1. In this example, a repeater is connected to each flow meter. However, it is also possible to connect a plurality of flow meters to one repeater and perform relay.

[0032]

The effects of the present invention will be described below for each claim. <Claim 1> In a conventional system in which a regular call from a flow meter is data managed by a centralized control panel without using a telephone line,
If one of the flowmeters connected to the centralized control panel does not normally communicate with the regular call due to some abnormality and the data management of the flowmeter alone is not performed by the centralized control panel,
Either wait until the next call of the flow meter on a regular basis, or read the measurement data of all flow meters connected to the central control board again, which requires a great deal of time and data collection efficiency. Was bad, but according to the present invention,
By operating the flow meter selection unit provided on the centralized control panel, any one of the flowmeters connected to the centralized control panel can be selected. Since unnecessary data management and data collection are not required, data collection efficiency is improved.

<Claim 2> By operating the meter reading operation unit provided on the centralized control panel, transmission and reception of meter reading control signals can be performed only to one flow meter selected by the flow meter selection unit. It becomes possible, and when the flow meter cannot perform data management with the centralized control panel due to some abnormality, the abnormality can be known, and unnecessary data collection can be omitted by excluding the flow meter from the data collection target. . Also, when the meter reader collects data, the meter reading of an arbitrary flow meter can be easily performed at any time.

[Claim 3] By operating an individual shut-off operation unit provided on a centralized control panel, for example, a flow meter used by a consumer who has not paid a fee is selected and its shut-off valve is quickly shut off. This makes it possible to easily prevent unauthorized use. In addition, in apartments, condominiums, and other apartments, if the manager collects fees from consumers in a lump, there is an individual shut-off operation unit on the centralized management panel,
The trouble of contacting the supplier and requesting the shutoff of the shutoff valve for the consumer who has not paid the fee is eliminated.

<Claim 4> By operating the simultaneous shut-off operation section provided on the centralized control panel, an emergency such as a disaster can be performed.
If there is a gas leak or water leak in each house and it is dangerous to keep supplying the supply, it is possible to quickly and simultaneously shut off the shut-off valves of all flow meters connected to the central control panel.
Secondary disasters can be prevented. In addition, it is not necessary to individually shut off the shutoff valves.

<Claim 5> By operating the shut-off valve returning operation unit provided on the centralized control panel, for example, the individual shut-off operation unit is operated to cut off the charge from the consumer of the flow meter whose shut-off valve is shut off. When payment is made, only the flow meter can be set to a state where the shut-off valve can be opened and returned, and by turning on the shut-off valve return switch in the flow meter, use of the supply body can be resumed. . Further, it is also possible to automatically open and return the shut-off valve under control from the central control panel without turning on the shut-off valve return switch.

<Claim 6> Since the seismic sensor is provided on the centralized control panel, it is not necessary to provide a seismic sensor for each flow meter, so that a centralized meter reading system taking measures against earthquakes can be constructed at low cost. In addition, since it is possible to control the flowmeters connected to the centralized control panel to automatically cut off the supply in the event of an earthquake, for example, in the case of an apartment house or apartment complex, the manager must perform centralized control. If the panels are managed, it will be possible to quickly respond to the safety of the entire apartment complex during an earthquake and to automatically shut off the shut-off valves of all flow meters simultaneously to prevent a secondary disaster in the apartment complex.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a centralized meter reading system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a flow meter.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a centralized management board.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the centralized meter reading system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Centralized control panel 2 Supply path 3 Shut-off valve 4 Shut-off valve drive circuit 5 Meter body 6 Flow sensor 7 Shut-off part return switch 8 Communication circuit 9 Control part 10 Operation input panel 11 Display part 12 Output part 13 Seismic sensor 14 Controller 15 Flow rate Meter selection unit 16 Meter reading operation unit 17 Individual shut-off operation unit 18 Simultaneous shut-off operation unit 19 Shut-off valve return operation unit C1-Cn Communication circuit M1-M1n, M2-M2n, MN-MNn Flow meters R1-R1n, R2-R2n, RN ~ RNn repeater

Continued on front page F term (reference) 2F030 CC13 CE22 CF05 2F031 AB01 AE07 AE11 2F073 AA08 AB01 BB09 BC01 DD02 FG01 5K048 AA04 AA15 BA36 CA06 DA02 EB02 EB10 HA01 HA02 HA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve drive circuit for driving the shut-off valve, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the outside, a flow sensor for detecting a consumption of the feeder, Flow meters having a control unit for controlling the shut-off valve drive circuit and the communication circuit while measuring the consumed amount, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the communication circuit of these flow meters, and meter reading collected from the flow meter through the communication circuit. In a centralized meter reading system composed of a display unit for displaying data and the like, an output unit for externally outputting collected meter reading data, a central control panel having a controller for controlling these communication circuits, a display unit and an output unit. A centralized meter reading system, wherein the centralized control panel is provided with a flow meter selecting unit for selecting each flow meter. 2. The centralized meter reading system according to claim 1, wherein the centralized control panel is provided with a meter reading operation unit capable of reading a flow meter at any time. 3. The centralized meter reading system according to claim 1, wherein the centralized control panel is provided with an individual shut-off operation unit capable of individually shutting off a shut-off valve of a flow meter. 4. A shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve driving circuit for driving the shut-off valve, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the outside, a flow sensor for detecting a consumption of the feeder, Flow meters having a control unit for controlling the shut-off valve drive circuit and the communication circuit while measuring the consumed amount, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the communication circuit of these flow meters, and meter reading collected from the flow meter through the communication circuit. In a centralized meter reading system composed of a display unit for displaying data and the like, an output unit for externally outputting collected meter reading data, a central control panel having a controller for controlling these communication circuits, a display unit and an output unit. A centralized meter reading system, wherein the centralized control panel is provided with a simultaneous shutoff operation unit that can simultaneously shut off shutoff valves of all flow meters connected thereto. 5. The centralized meter reading system according to claim 3, wherein the centralized control panel is provided with a shut-off valve returning operation unit that can open and return the shut-off shut-off valve. 6. A shut-off valve for shutting off a supply path of a feeder, a shut-off valve driving circuit for driving the shut-off valve, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the outside, a flow sensor for detecting a consumption of the feeder, Flow meters having a control unit for controlling the shut-off valve drive circuit and the communication circuit while measuring the consumed amount, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving to and from the communication circuit of these flow meters, and meter reading collected from the flow meter through the communication circuit. In a centralized meter reading system composed of a display unit for displaying data and the like, an output unit for externally outputting collected meter reading data, a central control panel having a controller for controlling these communication circuits, a display unit and an output unit. A centralized meter reading system, wherein a seismic sensor is provided on the centralized control panel.