JP2001182936A - Method and device of cutting off gas - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure safety until a device is exchanged when a battery voltage is lowered. SOLUTION: Since a time when a battery voltage is decreased and an alarm is sounded, receipt of artificial test cut-off is prohibited, and battery capacity enough to cut off gas when unexpected leakage of gas occurs is ensured. Consequently, a gas cut-off control part 13 periodically monitors the voltage of a battery 11, and when voltage is lowered to a value lower than a specified value, a test cut-off prohibition flag allotted to a built-in memory 133 is set to effect display of an alarm. Since this time when a demand for test cut-off input is effected, it is checked whether a test cut-off prohibition flag is set. When the flag is not set, processing of test cut-off is carried out and when the flag is set, processing of test cut-off is not executed and a return to normal processing is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas shut-off method suitable for use in a gas meter, especially when the voltage of a battery for supplying power to the device drops, to ensure security until the device is replaced. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Along with miniaturization of a device, a battery has come to be used as a driving power source for supplying power to a gas shutoff device. Therefore, if the remaining capacity of the battery drops unnecessarily,
It becomes impossible to drive the gas shut-off valve that shuts off the gas passage when an abnormality occurs.

Therefore, the conventional gas shut-off device monitors the battery voltage at regular time intervals as shown in FIG.
41, S42), and if there is a voltage drop exceeding a predetermined set value, an alarm is displayed (step S43, S42).
S44) is performed to prompt the exchange of the device in advance. Thereafter, the operation is guaranteed for a certain period until the gas company rushes to the site to replace the device, and the remaining capacity required for at least one gas shutoff operation is secured.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional gas shut-off device, it is necessary to ensure security until the device is replaced even when the battery voltage drops.
For example, if the gas consumption of the combustion equipment at the installation site exceeds a preset cutoff value, if there is an abnormally large increase in gas flow rate, or if the gas continues to be used for a long time,
It is necessary to judge that the gas leaks due to erroneous opening of the main plug, disconnection of the rubber hose, and the like, and to shut off the gas, and it is required that each of them be functioned normally. The same applies when an unexpected situation occurs, such as interruption due to detection of a gas leak signal from a gas leak alarm connected to the apparatus.

[0005] By the way, when an alarm is displayed and the gas company rushes to the site, there is a case where the test is shut off in order to confirm whether or not the device is normal. Here, the test shut-off means the operation of a microcomputer control unit built in the device and serving as a control center, and the operation of a shut-off valve for shutting off a gas passage in case of abnormality.
And a test for confirming whether the security display is normal or not. Specifically, a gas shutoff valve closing instruction is issued by a magnet.

[0006] By performing the test shut-off operation, the battery having a small remaining capacity is further consumed, and
It is assumed that security cannot be secured until the device is replaced thereafter, and there has been a security problem that it is not possible to cope with the unexpected situation described above.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and after the battery voltage drops and an alarm display is made,
A process that does not accept processing for test shutoff that is performed artificially, secures the remaining capacity of the battery so that it can shut off gas even in the event of unexpected gas leakage, etc., and improves gas reliability It is an object to provide a shut-off method and device.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas shut-off method, comprising: monitoring a voltage of a battery for supplying operating power to a device including a gas shut-off valve; Is used for a gas shut-off device that performs an alarm display when there is a voltage drop exceeding a set value, stores the state as information when the voltage drop occurs, and after the alarm display, the gas cut-off When there is a test cutoff input including a valve operation check, the state information is referred to, and depending on the content thereof, processing for test cutoff is prohibited.

According to this method, when the battery voltage drops, even if there is a test cut-off input, the reception of the test cut-off input is prohibited by referring to the status information. This process is not performed, so that the battery is not consumed. Therefore, it is possible to secure the remaining battery capacity to cope with unexpected gas leakage or the like after the alarm is displayed.

In order to achieve the above object, a gas shut-off device according to a second aspect of the present invention has a battery voltage monitoring means for monitoring a voltage of a battery for supplying operating power to the device at regular time intervals as shown in FIG. Alarm display means for displaying an alarm when a voltage drop exceeding a set value is detected by the battery voltage monitoring means, and a test cut-off input for detecting that there is a test cut-off input including an operation check of a gas cut-off valve. Detecting means;
While an alarm is being displayed by the alarm display means, a control means for prohibiting processing for test shut-off when a test shut-off input is received is provided.

According to such a configuration, a battery voltage drop is detected by the battery voltage monitoring means 11 and set as state information to that effect by the gas cutoff control section 13. Even if a test cutoff input is detected at this time, The reception is prohibited by referring to the previous state information.

Therefore, even if there is a test shut-off instruction which is inadvertently and artificially performed, the processing is not performed, and the battery is not consumed for that. Therefore, it is possible to cope with an unexpected gas leak after the alarm display. Battery remaining capacity can be secured. Therefore, when the battery voltage drops, security until the device is replaced can be secured.

Further, the gas shut-off device according to claim 3 is
In the gas shut-off device according to the second aspect, the alarm display means indicates that the process for shutting off the test is prohibited. Furthermore, the gas shut-off device according to claim 4 is the gas shut-off device according to claim 2,
As shown in FIG. 2, the control device (gas cutoff control unit 13) has a memory (RAM 133) in which state information is set by a microprocessor 131. The microprocessor 131 stores a program in a ROM 132 in advance. When there is a voltage drop based on the contents, a flag is set as a state information in the memory (RAM 133) to that effect, and after a warning display is instructed, when there is a test cutoff input including the gas cutoff valve 15, It is configured to refer to a flag and prohibit the process for shutting down the test when the flag indicates a certain state, and permit the process for shutting down the test when indicating another state. .

According to such a configuration, the microprocessor 131 sets a flag (memory 133) when the battery voltage drops, and sets the flag by referring to the memory 133 when there is a test cutoff input. Check if the flag is not set, and execute the simple program step of performing the test interruption processing if the flag is not set, and perform the normal processing without performing the test interruption processing if the flag is set. Even if there is a test shut-off instruction that is inadvertently performed artificially, the processing is not performed, and the battery is not consumed for that. Therefore, after the battery voltage is lowered and an alarm is displayed, the process for artificially shutting off the test is not accepted, thereby preventing the gas from being shut down even in an unexpected gas leak or the like. It is possible to secure the remaining capacity of the battery as much as possible.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a gas shut-off method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the gas cutoff device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
11 is a battery for supplying power to each unit constituting the apparatus,
12 is a battery voltage detector that monitors the battery voltage of the battery 11 at regular time intervals and detects that the battery voltage has dropped below a set value.
Reference numeral 13 denotes a gas cutoff control unit, 14 denotes an alarm display unit that prompts device replacement based on a decrease in battery voltage under the control of the gas cutoff control unit 13, and 15 denotes a warning display unit that is controlled by the gas cutoff control unit 13. This is a gas shutoff valve that shuts off the gas passage when an abnormality occurs.

The gas cutoff control unit 13 is provided with
A microprocessor serves as a control center, and controls each unit in the apparatus based on contents programmed and recorded in advance in a built-in memory. The gas shutoff control unit 13 is supplied with a gas open / close instruction and a test shutoff input from outside through a switch (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the gas cutoff controller 13. In the figure, reference numeral 131 denotes a microprocessor (MPU) serving as a control center.
In accordance with the program stored in the RAM 32, each part in the apparatus is controlled using the RAM 133 used as a work memory. Reference numeral 134 denotes a timer LSI, which performs time monitoring based on a monitoring cycle defined in advance to check the battery voltage. Here, the monitoring cycle is once every 25 hours.

Reference numeral 135 denotes an input / output interface unit, which includes various switches 136 including an instruction to open / close the gas shutoff valve 15 and an instruction to input a test shutoff, a display unit 137 such as an LCD or LED, and various sensors 139 such as a pressure sensor and a flow sensor. , A mechanical unit such as a gas shutoff valve 15 is connected. The sensors 139 are provided via an A / D conversion circuit 138.
The gas shutoff valve 15 is connected to the input / output interface unit 135 via the drive circuit 140.

The above-mentioned microprocessor 131,
The ROM 132, the RAM 133, the timer LSI 134, and the input / output interface unit 135 are connected to the internal bus 141.
, And data is exchanged through a plurality of lines for data, addresses, and controls of the internal bus 140.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG.
2, only the procedure related to the present invention is extracted and shown.

According to the present invention, as described above, after the battery voltage is lowered and an alarm is displayed, the process for artificially shutting off the test is not accepted. The main purpose is to secure the remaining capacity of the battery so that gas can be shut off even in the event of a leak or the like. For this purpose, the battery voltage is periodically checked and the test assigned to the RAM 133 is performed. Preparation processing before setting the cut-off prohibition flag and test cut-off prohibition processing after the test cut-off input instruction is prepared as a program,
3A and 3B, respectively.

Hereinafter, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The battery voltage detector 12 monitors whether or not the battery voltage is in a normal operation range in order to monitor the remaining battery capacity of the battery 11 at present, for example, once every 25 hours. (Steps S31 and S32). This monitoring cycle is performed by counting the value programmed in the timer LSI 134 by the microprocessor 131. In the monitoring cycle, the battery voltage detector 12 supplies a valid signal to the gas cutoff controller 13 when the voltage falls below a predetermined set value.

The gas cutoff controller 13 includes a battery voltage detector 1
When a valid signal is received through the microprocessor 1 and the built-in microprocessor 131 knows that the voltage of the battery 11 is lower than the specified voltage (step S33), the RAM is activated.
A test cutoff prohibition bit is set in a flag area allocated to 133 (step S34) to prepare for the subsequent processing, and an alarm is displayed via a display unit 137 such as an LCD (step S35). This flag bit is never reset once set.

Next, the input / output interface unit 13
5 constantly scans the key switch 136 under the control of the microprocessor 131, and the key switch 13
When it is detected that the instruction to cut off the test input has been given via the control unit 6, the microprocessor 131 is notified of the fact. Upon receiving the test cutoff input (step S36), the microprocessor 131 accesses the RAM 133 and refers to the contents of the test cutoff prohibition flag in the flag area (step S37). Here, if the flag is set, the test cutoff processing (step S38) is skipped and the normal processing is performed. If the flag is not set, the prepared test cutoff processing is executed (step S38). In the test cutoff processing step, the gas cutoff control unit 13 is operated in accordance with the contents programmed in advance.
And the operation of the gas shutoff valve 15 and the display unit 137 are checked.

As described above, according to the present invention, after the battery voltage is lowered and an alarm is displayed, the processing for artificially interrupting the test is not accepted. The remaining capacity of the battery can be ensured so that the gas can be shut off even in the event of gas leakage or the like.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the battery voltage drops, even if there is a test cut-off input, the reception of the test cut-off input is prohibited by referring to the state information. Even if there is an instruction to shut off the test, the processing is not performed, and the battery consumption for that is eliminated. Therefore, the total flow cutoff when gas flows in large quantities,
It is possible to cope with unexpected situations that may occur until the equipment is replaced, such as shutting off the increased flow rate, shutting down the usage time when the gas continues to be used for a long time, and shutting off by detecting the gas leak signal connected to the equipment. Thereby, security until the device is replaced can be ensured, and as a result, consumers can use gas with confidence.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the battery voltage monitoring means 11 detects the battery voltage drop, and the first means in the control device 13 sets the state information to that effect. Even if the test cutoff input is detected by the second means in the control device 13, the third means in the control device 3 inhibits the reception by referring to the previous state information. Therefore, even if there is a carelessly performed test shutoff instruction, the processing is not performed, and it is possible to secure the remaining battery capacity to cope with an unexpected gas leak or the like after the alarm display. Reliability is improved.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the microprocessor 131 sets the flag 133 when the battery voltage drops, and when there is a test cutoff input,
It is checked whether or not the flag is set with reference to the memory 133. If the flag is not set, the process of the test cutoff is performed. If the flag is set, the normal process is performed without performing the test cutoff process. By simply executing the simple program step described above, even if there is a carelessly performed test interruption instruction, the processing is not performed, and the battery consumption for that purpose is eliminated. Therefore, when the battery voltage drops, security until the device is replaced can be ensured, and as a result, consumers can use gas with confidence.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a gas cutoff control unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of monitoring a battery voltage of a conventional gas shut-off device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Battery 12 Battery voltage detection part 13 Gas cutoff control part 14 Alarm display part 15 Gas cutoff valve 131 Microprocessor (MPU) 132 ROM 133 RAM 134 Timer LSI 135 Input / output interface unit 136 Key switches 137 Display unit (LCD / LED) 138 A / D conversion circuit 139 Sensors 140 Drive circuit 141 Internal bus

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Ichitaka Asano 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Reference) 3K068 NA04 5H209 AA11 DD13 FF05 GG20 HH02 HH12 JJ09

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A gas shut-off device for monitoring a voltage of a battery for supplying operating power to a device including a gas shut-off valve at regular time intervals and displaying an alarm when there is a voltage drop exceeding a set value, When the voltage drop occurs, the state is stored as information, and after the alarm display, when there is a test cutoff input including the operation check of the gas shutoff valve, the state information is referred to. A gas shutoff method characterized by prohibiting processing for test shutoff depending on the content. 2. A battery voltage monitoring means for monitoring a voltage of a battery for supplying operating power to the apparatus at predetermined time intervals, and displaying an alarm when the battery voltage monitoring means detects a voltage drop exceeding a set value. Alarm display means, test cut-off input detection means for detecting that there is a test cut-off input including confirmation of operation of the gas cut-off valve, and when there is a test cut-off input while the alarm display means displays an alarm. And a control means for prohibiting processing for shutting off the test. 3. The gas shut-off device according to claim 2, wherein the alarm display means further indicates that processing for a test shut-off input is prohibited. 4. The control means has a memory in which state information is set by a microprocessor, and the microprocessor, when there is a predetermined voltage drop based on contents programmed in advance, to that effect, After setting the status information in the memory and instructing the display of the alarm, the status information is referred to when there is a test shutdown input including the operation check of the shutoff valve. 3. The gas shut-off device according to claim 2, wherein a process for prohibiting the test is prohibited, and a process for shutting off the test is permitted when another state is indicated.