JP2001152902A - Throttle control device for fire engine pump - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a throttle control device for a fire engine pump which can smoothly and minutely control valve opening. SOLUTION: A throttle valve of a fire engine pump is driven by a DC motor. Pulse voltage composed of a plurality of controlling states having different duty ratios from each other is applied to the DC motor. Duty frame F of the pulse voltage can be varied in shifting of control stages or within each control stage. It is thus possible to control a throttle opening minutely with satisfactory follow-up property, and automatically control discharge pressure and a discharge flow amount with accuracy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a throttle control for a fire engine pump, and more particularly to a throttle control device for a fire engine pump in which a throttle valve is driven by a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In fire fighting pumps, conventionally,
A so-called engine pump that drives a pump by an engine (internal combustion engine) to discharge or supply water has been widely used. As for this engine pump, in addition to those that manually open and close the throttle valve of the engine, those that are driven by a motor in recent years have appeared. In a fire engine pump having such a motor-driven throttle valve, the opening / closing control of the throttle valve is performed by ON / OFF control of the motor.

[0003]

However, in such ON / OFF control of the motor, there is a problem that the opening / closing speed of the throttle valve is too fast, so that a fine adjustment of the valve opening cannot be performed. In particular, automatic control of the discharge pressure and the discharge flow requires delicate throttle adjustment, and there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a constant output due to hunting or the like by simple ON / OFF control. Also, when performing relay water supply, it is necessary to finely adjust the discharge pressure, etc., following the pulsation of water supply from the previous stage,
Fine tracking control cannot be achieved by the ON / OFF control, and improvement thereof has been desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a throttle control device for a fire engine pump capable of performing smooth and fine valve opening control.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A throttle control device for a fire engine pump according to the present invention comprises: an engine provided with a throttle valve driven by a motor; and a pump driven by the engine. A throttle control device for an engine pump, comprising a motor speed control means for controlling the rotation speed of the motor based on a plurality of preset control stages.

According to the throttle control device of the present invention, by performing speed control including a plurality of control stages for the throttle driving motor, it is possible to perform fine throttle opening control with good follow-up characteristics. Automatic control of the discharge pressure and the discharge flow rate can be performed with high accuracy.

[0007] In this case, the motor speed control means controls the ON time and the O in each control stage for the motor.
The drive of the motor may be controlled by applying pulse voltages having different FF time ratios, that is, different duty ratios.

Further, the pulse voltage has a length of one cycle for each control stage or within each control stage,
That is, the duty frame may be configured to be changeable. Thereby, the range of the control form is expanded, and more subtle and delicate control can be realized.

Further, in the fire engine pump of the present invention, a DC motor can be used as a motor for driving the throttle valve.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a fire pump control system to which a fire engine pump using a throttle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a configuration of a control system in the system of FIG. FIG.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, a controller 3 (3a) is connected to a fire engine pump (hereinafter abbreviated as a pump) 1 via a twisted pair wire (twisted pair wire) 2.
To 3e) to form a network, and the pump 1 can be remotely controlled by the controller 3 as well. 1 and 2 show an example in which a portable pump is used as the pump 1. The pump 1 is a water-cooled pump.
A cycle engine and a vacuum pump driven by the cycle engine are provided. Then, water is pumped up from the water source 4 via the suction pipe 5 and sent to the fire hose 6 while adjusting the flow rate and the water pressure by the pump 1.

Here, the pump 1 is controlled by a main controller 10 composed of a microcomputer housed in the pump 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the main control unit 10 includes a control circuit 1 having an operation control circuit 11 and a communication control circuit 12.
3 is provided. In this case, the operation control circuit 11 and the communication control circuit 12 each include a CPU (not shown)
An M, a RAM, a timer, an input / output (I / O) unit, an A / D conversion unit, and the like are provided, and control of the engine and the like is performed based on detection data from various sensors.

The operation control circuit 11 includes various actuators such as an engine ignition device 21, a cell starter 22, a throttle drive motor 23, and an engine speed sensor 2.
4. Various sensors such as an engine coolant temperature sensor 25, an engine oil sensor 26, a fuel sensor 27, a water discharge pressure sensor 28, a water discharge flow sensor 29, a water pressure detection sensor 30, and a battery level sensor 31 are connected. The water pressure detection sensor 30 is a sensor that is used exclusively when performing relay water supply, and detects the water supply pressure from the preceding pump and automatically starts the engine, performs throttle control, and stops the engine. belongs to.

The operation control circuit 11 constantly monitors the sensors when the power is turned on. This is because the fire pump is not a device that is always used, so it is difficult to grasp the failure in advance, and if a failure occurs during use, it is necessary to take immediate action. Therefore, the diagnosis process is started at the same time when the power is turned on. When the sensor output value is equal to or more than a certain level or equal to or less than a certain level, it is determined that an error has occurred and the error process is performed. That is, an error is displayed on the operation display panel 18 described later,
By notifying the operator of the occurrence of the error, the occurrence of the error can be immediately confirmed when the power is turned on. At this time, depending on the error state, the engine is stopped to prevent the failure from spreading due to the error, and to actively notify the operator of the error.

Further, the operation control circuit 11 automatically executes the zero setting of the water pressure detection sensor 30. This is because when the water source is higher than the pump position as in the case of rooftop water supply, an error occurs in the sensor detection value due to the atmospheric pressure, and accurate control can be performed by correcting the error. This correction operation is performed by pressing a power key 51 of the operation display panel 18 described later, and the sensor detection values before and after the correction are stored in the RAM in the operation control circuit 11. Therefore, when the power of the pump 1 is turned on, the zero reset of the sensor is automatically executed, and when the power key 51 is pressed at a desired time, the zero reset can be performed at that time.

The main control unit 10 further includes a power supply circuit 14 connected to a battery and supplying power to the control circuit 13;
Operation input circuit 15 receiving instructions from operation display unit 17
And a display output circuit 16 for outputting various current data of the pump 1 to an operation display unit 17 in response to a request from an operator. In this case, the operation display section 17 has a configuration including an operation display panel 18 and a throttle operation key 19, and is arranged on the upper surface of the pump 1.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the operation display unit 17. On the operation display panel 18 side, various switch keys and a display unit are provided. In this case, an operation unit is arranged on the right side of the operation display panel 18 and a display unit is arranged on the left side in consideration of the convenience of an operator who is often right-handed. That is, first, a power key 51, an engine start key 52, and an engine stop / reset key 53 are provided in a lower right portion, and an operation mode switching key 54, a display switching key 55, and a set value change key 56 are provided in an upper right portion. Are located.

These keys are used to “pick”
Such an operation sound is issued, the operator can clearly recognize that the apparatus has accepted the operation, and the operator is alerted about the switching of the mode and the like. Also,
The engine stop / reset key 53 is continuously operated for t seconds (for example, 3 seconds) in order to prevent the power from being turned ON / OFF due to an accidental erroneous operation due to an unexpected contact or the like.
Unless the key is kept pressed, the power cannot be turned on / off.

A mode display lamp 57 for displaying the current operation mode is arranged on the left side of each key in the upper right part. Each time the operation mode switching key 54 is pressed, the operation mode changes from “manual water discharge” to “automatic water absorption” to “relay water supply”.
The mode is switched in the order of “pressure control” → “flow rate control” → “manual water discharge”, and in response to this, the mode display lamp 57 also turns on the corresponding mode part.

In this case, when switching the operation mode,
In the operation display unit 17, a delay time is set between the mode switching and the mode determination, and the mode is not determined simultaneously with the mode switching. This is because, when the operation mode switching key 54 is pressed, the mode is switched immediately and the mode is settled. If the input water pressure equal to or more than the predetermined value is detected by the water pressure detection sensor 30, the mode is switched to the mode after “relay water supply”. This is because it may not be possible.

That is, in the "relay water supply" mode, when the input water pressure reaches a certain pressure, the engine is automatically started to start the relay water supply. For example, when receiving water from the previous pump or receiving water from the rooftop water tank, the input water pressure must be higher than the starting pressure due to subsequent changes in conditions despite the zero reset function described above. Is also assumed. At this time, when the operation mode is switched from, for example, "automatic water absorption" to "pressure control", the engine is started at the moment when the operation mode switching key 54 is pressed and the mode becomes "relay water supply", and "relay water supply" is set. A situation occurs in which the operation is started and fixed, and cannot be shifted to “pressure control”.

Further, once operating in the "relay water supply" mode, the mode immediately before the power is turned off is stored even if the power is turned off, and the operation is started from that mode at the next operation. Therefore, even if the power is turned off to stop the “relay water supply” mode, the apparatus operates in the “relay water supply” mode and cannot escape from the mode.

Therefore, in the pump 1, a delay time is provided between the mode switching and the mode determination to prevent the next mode from being immediately determined even when the operation mode switching key 54 is pressed, thereby preventing the relay mode from sticking. . That is, when the operation mode switching key 54 is pressed to move to the next mode, t
The mode is not determined for seconds (for example, 3 seconds), and the mode is determined only after t seconds. At this time, the mode display lamp 57 blinks during the delay time to indicate to the operator that the mode determination standby is in progress. When the mode is determined after elapse of t seconds, the display is turned on, and the operation in the mode starts. As a result, even when the input water pressure equal to or higher than the starting pressure is applied, the mode can be freely selected without causing the operation mode to be stuck.

At the upper left of the operation display panel 18, a numerical display section 58 for displaying 7 segments is arranged. Above the numerical value display unit 58, a numerical value attribute display unit 59 showing the attribute of the numerical value shown there is provided.
A unit display section 60 indicating a unit of a numerical value is arranged. Each time the display switching key 55 is pressed, the display mode changes from “engine speed” → “discharge pressure or discharge flow rate set value” → “discharge pressure or discharge flow rate measured value” → “engine cooling water temperature” → “engine rotation speed”. In this order, the numerical attribute display section 59 and the unit display section 60 are lit in this order in accordance with the number.

As described above, in the pump 1, the operator can easily know the engine speed, the engine cooling water temperature, and the discharge flow rate which cannot be known by the operator by one switching operation of the operator. In addition, the discharge pressure, which has been conventionally read by a pressure gauge, can be confirmed on a digital display without reading the vibrating pointer. Therefore, accurate information on the state of the pump 1 can be obtained over a wider range, and more accurate operation can be performed.

The numerical value display section 58 displays not only numerical data but also various messages. For example, the throttle opening is increased by the throttle operation key 19,
When the throttle is fully opened and no longer increases, a message "FULL" is displayed. Also,
A plasma display may be used as the numerical value display unit 58 instead of the 7-segment.
When the engine stop / reset key 53 is pressed, a display such as "START" or "STOP" is also displayed. Further, when the above-mentioned zero reset is performed, "0SET" is displayed, and when this is returned to the initial state, "INIT" (for initial) is displayed.

In addition, when an error is detected by the sensor abnormality diagnosis by the operation control circuit 11, an error display “Er” is displayed on the numerical value display unit 58 in accordance with the type of the error.
r. 1 "is displayed. FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of the error code. For example, when "Err. 1" is displayed, it indicates that the water discharge pressure sensor 28 has failed. The release of the error display is performed by the engine stop / reset key 53. Further, not only an error display but also an alarm buzzer or the like may be activated at the same time.

In the lower left portion of the operation display panel 18, an abnormality warning display section 61 is arranged. This abnormal warning display section 6
1 includes a fuel warning lamp 6 which is turned on when the remaining fuel amount falls below a predetermined value.
2. There is provided an engine oil warning lamp 63 which lights up when the engine oil remaining amount becomes lower than a predetermined value, and an engine cooling water temperature warning lamp 64 which lights up when the engine cooling water temperature becomes higher than a predetermined value. In addition, the abnormality warning display section 61 includes a drain cock warning light 65 that lights up when a drain cock for draining fuel is opened during long-term storage or the like, and a pump operation warning light 66 that lights up when the vacuum pump is operating. A battery level warning lamp 67 is provided which lights when the battery level falls below a predetermined position.

A throttle operation key 19 is provided below the operation display panel 18 so that the throttle valve can be opened and closed by operating the key.
In the pump 1, the throttle valve is opened and closed by a throttle drive motor 23 composed of a DC motor, and is controlled by an operation control circuit 11 functioning as a motor speed control unit.

Here, when the throttle valve is driven by a motor, fine throttle adjustment cannot be performed by simple ON / OFF control as described above. Therefore, in the present invention, a shift control consisting of a plurality of control stages is performed on the throttle drive motor 23 to achieve fine adjustment of the opening with good followability. That is, a pulse voltage as shown in FIG. 5 is applied to the throttle drive motor 23. For example, seven forward rotations, eight reverse rotations, and one stop are performed according to the duty ratio of ON time / OFF time.
Speed control is performed based on a control stage including a total of 16 stages. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pulse voltage applied to control of the throttle drive motor 23.

In this control, the duty frame F of the pulse voltage (the length of one pulse period) can be arbitrarily set for each control stage. In FIG. The stage is set smaller (F ₁ > F ₂ ). Furthermore, the duty frame F can be set arbitrarily in each control stage, and can be changed, for example, between when the motor is started and after that. In the first stage of the normal rotation in FIG. 5, the duty frame F at the time of startup is set to be small, and the duty frame F is gradually increased (F ₁ <
F ₃ ).

Therefore, in the control mode according to the present invention, the duty ratio can be arbitrarily changed by changing the duty frame F even if the ON times t of the respective control stages are all set to be the same. Therefore, by setting one is ON time t _x, can be realized stepwise rotation control, phase adjustment can also be performed easily.

The duty frame F of each control stage
And the speed may be controlled stepwise by making the length of the ON time t different. That is,
By setting the ON time t of the forward two-stage to be longer than the ON time t of the forward one-stage, it is also possible to make the motor rotation speed of the forward two-stage higher than the forward one-stage. Further, the length of the duty frame F and the length of the ON time t can be set arbitrarily, and a wider range of control can be executed. Further, the number of control steps is merely an example, and the setting of the normal rotation x stage, the reverse rotation y stage, and the stop stage is optional.

As described above, in the pump 1, since the duty frame F can be arbitrarily set for each control stage, the range of the control form is widened, and more delicate control can be realized by a simple setting operation. It has become.

Although the pump 1 uses a DC motor as the throttle drive motor 23, the type of motor used is not limited to the DC motor. For example, a stepping motor or an AC motor may be used. good.
In this case, pulse control similar to that described above may be performed for a stepping motor, and frequency control may be performed for an AC motor using an inverter.

On the other hand, in the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pump 1 can be remotely controlled by the controller 3. That is, in the system, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a network is constructed by connecting the twisted pair wires 2 which are less attenuated than the parallel type conductor wires and are less affected by noise, and the pump 1 and a plurality of Distributed communication control is performed with the controller 3 to realize remote control of many pumps 1.

In the present system, the controller 3 can be connected and disconnected at any place of the twisted pair line 2. That is, the controller 3a of FIG.
It is possible to appropriately arrange them as in 3d, and it is also possible to separately add them (up to 255). Alternatively, the connector 7 may be provided like the controller 3e, and may be connected as needed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 3
The control unit 70 includes a microcomputer, and includes a control circuit 73, a power supply circuit 74, an operation input circuit 75, and a display output circuit 76, similarly to the main control unit 10 of the pump 1. The control circuit 73 includes an operation control circuit 71 and a communication control circuit 72. The communication control circuit 72 is connected to the twisted pair line 2. The twisted pair line 2 is connected to the communication control circuit 12 of the main control unit 10 of the pump 1, and the controller 3 and the pump 1 exchange signals via the twisted pair line 2.

In this case, the system uses p-CSM
A (p-persistent, Carrier, Sense, Multiple, Access) network system is adopted. Even if the network becomes saturated at a tense site such as a fire, the throughput is kept high and the collision rate is maintained. Is set to hold down.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal configuration in the p-CSMA system. As shown in FIG.
In the SMA system, each transmitted packet is a Beta
Sent following the 1 period and some Beta2 period slots. During the Beta1 and Beta2 periods, it is sufficient for all controllers 3 on the network to detect the start of signaling from other controllers 3 and to suppress their own signaling start in the next Beta2 slot. Has a width. Also, when each controller 3 is ready to transmit a packet, 1 to 1
Generate a random number up to 6. Then, the controller 3 determines which Beta2 during the next packet cycle.
Decide whether to transmit in a slot and avoid signal collisions.

The controller 3 has an operation display section 77 similar to that shown in FIG. 3, in which an operation display panel 18 and a throttle operation key 19 are arranged. The operation display unit 77 includes an operation input circuit 75 and a display output circuit 76.
Is connected to the control circuit 73 via the. When a key on the operation display panel 18 or the throttle operation key 19 is operated, a control signal is output from the communication control circuit 72 to the pump 1 via the twisted pair line 2 based on a command from the operation control circuit 71. That is, for example, when the engine start key 52 is operated by the controller 3a, the operation signal is transmitted to “the communication control circuit 72 → the twisted pair line 2 → the communication control circuit 12”, and the cell starter 22 is instructed by the operation control circuit 11. Is driven to start the engine of the pump 1.

On the other hand, various data such as the engine speed and the water discharge pressure are sent out from the pump 1 to the twisted pair line 2. Then, the operation control circuit 71 of each controller 3
Acquires the data via the communication control circuit 72, and displays the data on the operation display panel 18 according to the selection of the operator. For example, when the display switching key 55 is operated to select the “engine speed” display, the operation control circuit 7
1 selects “engine speed” from the data acquired from the pump 1 and outputs the selected value to the display output circuit 76. As a result, the lamp of the “rpm” portion is turned on in the unit display section 60 of the operation display panel 18, and a numerical value such as “3000” is displayed on the numerical value display section 58.

In this case, in this system, all the controllers 3 including one pump have the same relation, and the same operation and display can be performed by all the controllers 3. Therefore, even when the pump 1 is located away from the fire site, it is possible to control the pump 1 from an optimal position from near the site to the pump main unit. Note that the priorities between the controllers 3 are not set, and when commands conflict, the preceding command has priority. However, priorities are set for the contents of the commands themselves, and the commands on the safe side always take precedence. For example, when the engine start command and the engine stop command conflict at the same time or within a predetermined time, the stop command has priority and the engine is not started.

As described above, in this system, a network is constructed by using the twisted pair wire 2 which is inexpensive and lightweight, and which is resistant to attenuation and noise and easy to lay, and the controller 3 controls the communication of the pump 1. This makes it possible to perform advanced remote control with simpler wiring than before. Therefore, it is possible to control not only the independently installed pump 1 as shown in FIG. 1 but also the pump of a portable pump loading vehicle from a remote place while monitoring the operation state thereof.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say,

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a portable fire engine pump has been described as an example, but the pump to which the control device of the present invention can be applied is not limited thereto.
The present invention is applicable to various types of pumps, such as a vehicle-mounted type, a facility type, and a facility installation type.

Further, in the embodiment, the configuration in which water is supplied only by the pump 1 has been described. However, it is also possible to connect a plurality of similar pumps to perform relay water supply. In this case, the main control unit of the last stage pump is the main control unit 10 in FIG.
The preceding pump acts as a controller. At this time, when the pump of each stage is set to the “relay water supply” mode and the water pressure detection sensor 30 detects a water pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the start, throttle control, and stop of the engine are automatically executed. Then, by multi-stage control of the throttle drive motor 23, the water supply pressure and flow rate are controlled based on the water supply pressure and flow rate from the previous stage, and water is sent to the next stage.

[0048]

In the throttle control apparatus for a fire engine pump according to the present invention, the throttle drive motor is subjected to a speed control comprising a plurality of control stages, so that a fine throttle opening control with good followability can be achieved. Can be performed. Therefore, the automatic control of the discharge pressure and the discharge flow rate can be performed with high accuracy, and for example, it is possible to perform the automatic control with good responsiveness to the pulsation of water supply during relay water supply.

Further, the duty frame of the pulse voltage applied to the motor can be arbitrarily set for each control stage or within each control stage, so that the range of control forms is widened and more delicate and delicate control is realized. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a fire fighting pump control system to which a fire engine pump using a throttle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a control system in the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation display unit.

FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of an error code.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pulse voltage applied to control of a throttle drive motor.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal configuration in the p-CSMA system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fire engine pump 11 Operation control circuit (motor speed control means) F _{1 to} F ₃ Duty frame t ON time

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A throttle control device for a fire engine pump, comprising: an engine having a throttle valve driven by a motor; and a pump driven by the engine, wherein the rotation speed of the motor is A throttle control device for a fire engine pump, comprising motor speed control means for controlling based on a plurality of control stages set in advance. 2. A throttle control device for a fire engine pump according to claim 1, wherein said motor speed control means controls said motor at a pulse voltage having a different ratio between an ON time and an OFF time in each control stage. And a throttle control device for a fire engine pump. 3. The fire engine pump according to claim 2, wherein the pulse voltage can change the length of one cycle for each control stage. Throttle control device. 4. The fire engine pump according to claim 2, wherein the pulse voltage can change the length of one cycle in each of the control stages. Throttle control device. 5. The throttle control device for a fire engine pump according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a DC motor.