JP2001202586A - Remote monitoring system for gas supply governor room - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate an airtight partition for explosion protection, to eliminate the lead-in construction of commercial power, to eliminate the wire pull-in construction of a general telephone line, to prolong the inspection interval of a governor room, to raise the maintenance level of gas leakage detection in the governor room and to give information on illegal door opening in the governor room. SOLUTION: Gas pressures at the inlet and the outlet of a governor 3 are converted into electric signals by pressure sensors 8 and 10. They are A/D- converted and stored in a recording device 14. Pressure data is periodically transmitted to a center device 47 through a radio communication unit 42A. Gas leakage is detected by a gas warning unit 55 and it is alarm-reported to the center device 47 through the radio communication unit 42A. The recording device 14, the radio communication unit 42A and the gas warning unit 55 are driven by a battery and they are constituted of an intrinsically safe circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system for monitoring a gas pressure, a gas leak and the like in a gas supply governor chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a gas supply business, a governor for reducing and maintaining a constant gas pressure is provided at a base of a high / medium pressure conduit which is a main line for supplying gas, and a governor chamber is provided with a primary side of the governor. A self-recording pressure gauge that records the pressure on the secondary side is provided.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
Japanese Patent No. 108788 discloses a digital self-recording pressure gauge (hereinafter referred to as a first conventional technique).

[0004] This digital type self-recording pressure gauge has a CPU for collecting data, a PC card mounting section, a connector section for connecting cables of two pressure sensors, and a connector section for connecting a battery cable. And a battery box with a built-in dry cell and a current limiting resistor and connected to a cable with a connector, two pressure sensors connected to a cable with a connector, and a PC card. One of the two pressure sensors is primary. Connect to the side fluid conduit to detect the fluid pressure, connect the other to the secondary fluid conduit to detect the fluid pressure, and separate the cable with connector of both pressure sensors to the connector part of the recording device Cable, connect the cable with connector of the battery box to the connector of the acquisition device in a separable manner, and mount the PC card on the PC card mounting section. And drives the two sensors and acquisition device by the battery, the data from the two pressure sensors C
The necessary data recorded in the PU is recorded in a PC card in which necessary data recorded in the CPU is collected. The recorded card is collected, and data processing is performed by a personal computer using the PC card.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the digital self-recording pressure gauge is connected to a gas pipe of a governor chamber.

In FIG. 4, a primary gas pipe 1 on the high-pressure side and a secondary gas pipe 2 on the low-pressure side are connected via a governor 3, and the inside of the secondary gas pipe 2 is controlled by the governor 3. Is kept constant.

[0007] A pressure extraction pipe 4 is connected to the primary gas conduit 1, and a connector 5 is provided at the end thereof. Further, a pressure extraction pipe 6 is connected to the gas pipe 2 on the secondary side,
The connector 7 is provided at the tip.

A connector 9 provided on a primary pressure sensor 8 as an inlet pressure sensor is connected to the primary connector 5, and a secondary connector as an output pressure sensor is connected to the secondary connector 7. A connector 11 provided on the pressure sensor 10 is connected.

The two pressure sensors 8 and 10 sense the gas pressure in the gas conduits 1 and 2 connected to the pressure sensors 8 and 10, respectively. To be sent. Further, a primary connector 15 is attached to the other end of the primary cable 12, and the primary connector 15 is detachably connected to a primary connector 16 provided in the recording device 14. Further, a secondary connector 17 is attached to the other end of the secondary cable 13 so as to be detachably connected to a secondary connector 18 provided in the recording device 14.

A battery box 19 is attached to the recording device 14 so as to be separable.
Is connected to a connector 21 attached to the other end of the cable 20 so as to be separable to a connector section 22 provided on the recording device 14.

The case 14a of the recording device 14 has an insertion hole 24 forming a mounting portion for a PC card 23 as a recording medium.
The opening is formed at the lower end of the opening, and the opening / closing lid provided at the lower end of the opening is opened downward in the drawing, so that the PC card 23 can be detachably mounted in the insertion hole 24 from the lower surface of the case 14a. ing.

Next, the collecting device 14 and the battery box 19
Will be described with reference to FIG.

The recording device 14 includes the two pressure sensors 8, 1
A voltage generated at 0 is input through both the connector sections 16 and 18, A / D-converted by the A / D converter 26 and stored in the memory of the CPU 27, and a necessary part of the data stored in the CPU 27 is provided. A liquid crystal display 28 for displaying data on a screen, a display switch 29 for displaying and operating the liquid crystal display 28, and a P to which data stored by the CPU 27 are attached.
It has a PC card interface 30 for recording on the C card 23, a communication interface 31, and a communication connector 31a.

When the display switch 29 is turned on, the screen of the liquid crystal display 28 displays the highest pressure and the lowest pressure in the recording period of the primary pressure and the secondary pressure, and the date and time of occurrence and the current pressure. The current time can be displayed.

In the battery box 19, a dry battery 32,
A current limiting resistor 33 connected in series with this is built in, and the dry cell 32 drives the recording device 14 and both pressure sensors 8 and 10 through the cable 20. Recording device 1
The so-called intrinsically safe explosion-proof circuit is such that even if an accident (short circuit, etc.) occurs on the four side, the current is limited and the ignition energy to the gas is suppressed to prevent ignition. Further, since the battery box 19 and the collecting device 14 can be separated from each other, and the cable 20 thereof can be separated from the collecting device 14 by the connectors 21 and 22, the battery box 19 can be separated from the gas conduit portion of the governor chamber. To carry out battery replacement.

A mounting piece (not shown) is provided on the case 14a of the recording device 14, and the collecting device 14 and the battery box 19 are mounted on the wall surface of the governor room by the mounting piece.

The pressure sensors 8 and 10 are time-divisionally driven by a program of the CPU 27 in the recording device 14. The drive cycle (measurement cycle) is, for example, every 0.5 seconds. The driving time is set to about 7 ms.

By driving the two pressure sensors 8 and 10,
The gas pressure in the primary gas conduit 1 on the high pressure side and the gas pressure in the secondary gas conduit 2 on the low pressure side are detected, and the voltage generated at both pressure sensors 8 and 10 during the above-mentioned time is represented by A. A / D conversion is performed by the / D converter 26 and the result is stored in the memory of the CPU 27. The recording cycle is 3 minutes, and the maximum pressure value and the minimum pressure value on the high pressure side and the maximum pressure value and the minimum pressure value on the low pressure side are stored every 3 minutes. The date and time when the value occurred is stored.

The stored data is stored in the recording device 1
4 is written and recorded on the PC card 23 inserted therein.
This recording is performed every 12 minutes. That is, the data is written to the PC card 23 when the data for every three minutes is taken four times. With such writing, for example, when a 4 MB PC card is used, the recordable data amount is about six months.

At regular intervals, the patrol inspector removes and collects the PC card 23 on which the data has been recorded from the recording device 14, reads the data recorded on the PC card 23 into a personal computer, and reads the file on the personal computer side. Create, modify and process that data. That is, based on the read data, it is possible to confirm whether there is a pressure abnormality on the graph display screen or to transfer the data to a hard disk or an external MO.
It performs data processing and data management such as batch registration on a disk or the like and reading of data registered in the past.

As described above, by performing data processing on a personal computer, data verification and search can be performed quickly, and details of data in a desired period such as one hour, one day, and one week can be easily seen. We can respond quickly. Further, the operation time on the side of the recording device is shortened and the current consumption is reduced, and the intermittent driving of the pressure sensor, together with the intermittent driving of the pressure sensor, prolongs the life of the dry cell, and the four dry cells can last for 6 months or more.

Although the liquid crystal display section 28 is normally off,
The patrol inspector turns on the display switch 29 of the recording apparatus 14 at the site to turn on the light, and confirms the maximum pressure, the minimum pressure, the occurrence date and time, the current pressure, and the current time during the recording period. I have.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-232579 discloses a remote monitoring system for transmitting gas pressure collected by a collecting device provided in a governor chamber to a center device at a remote position via a wireless transmission path ( This is hereinafter referred to as a second conventional technique).

According to the second prior art, in FIG. 6, the gas pressure in the gas pipe 1 on the primary side of the governor 3 and the gas pressure in the gas pipe 2 on the secondary side are detected by pressure sensors 8 and 10, respectively. The signal is converted into a signal and input to the recording device 14. The recording device 14 finely samples the electric signal at predetermined time intervals and stores it as a digital value in an electric memory.
Note that the collecting device 14 is configured by an intrinsically safe circuit (intrinsically safe explosion-proof circuit), and is disposed in a danger area 37 in the on-site governor room 36. This dangerous place 37 is shown by a solid line in FIG.

The partition wall 38 separates and insulates the danger area 37 from the non-danger area 39 adjacent thereto.

A communication line 40 is laid between the dangerous place 37 and a non-dangerous place 39 adjacent to the non-dangerous place 39 with the partition wall 38 therebetween. The right end of the recording device 14 is connected to the photocoupler of the intrinsically safe related device 41 disposed in the non-hazardous area 39.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a PHS adapter, 43 denotes an antenna of the PHS adapter 42, and 44 denotes a lithium battery. The intrinsically safe related device 41, the PHS adapter 42, the antenna 43, the lithium battery 44, and the like constitute a terminal device 45.
Are connected to each other.

The intrinsically safe related device 41 has a control circuit composed of a microcomputer, and the photocoupler electrically insulated from the microcomputer and connected to the right end of the communication line 40 as shown in the figure. PHS adapter 4
2 and an interface circuit between the recording device 14 and the communication device 2, and performs communication speed conversion and communication control.

The electric power from the battery 44 is supplied to the control circuit and P
Power is supplied to the HS adapter 42 and the like.

The photocoupler electrically separates and insulates the recording device 14 provided in the dangerous place 37 from the intrinsically safe related equipment 41 provided in the non-dangerous place 39, and excessive energy is transferred from the intrinsically safe related equipment 41 to the dangerous place 37. The explosion-proof property is maintained by not going to the recording device 14 side.

The gas pressure data collected by the collection device 14 is converted into an electric code and sent to the safety related equipment 41 via the communication line 40.

The central unit 4 via the general telephone line 46
7 is connected to the PHS adapter 42 via a wireless transmission path, and transmits data to the base station 48 by radio or receives data from the base station 48 and
1 to the control circuit.

Reference numeral 49 denotes another base station connected to the general telephone line 46, which is wirelessly connected to the wireless modem 50 of the center device 47.

The center device 47 includes a personal computer 51, the wireless modem 50 connected to the personal computer 51, a modem 52 connecting the general telephone line 46 to the personal computer 51, and a magneto-optical (MO) disk for storing collected data from the recording device. And a magneto-optical disk drive 53 having a PC card reader and a PC card reader.

The control circuit of the intrinsically safe related device 41 has a PH
The power supply of the power supply of the S adapter 42 is also controlled. For example, when an abnormality to be communicated with the center device 47 occurs on the recording device 14 side or when there is a matter of periodic data transmission, the control circuit uses a signal from the recording device 14 to control the P.
The power of the HS adapter 42 is turned on to perform communication.

By the way, gas alarms (also referred to as gas detectors) which detect gas leaks and warn them with light or sound, or send out external output signals, have been widely used for home use. This type uses a commercial power supply because the detection method is a semiconductor type or a contact combustion type, and always heats a gas sensor for detecting gas leakage and consumes about 2 W of power even during monitoring ( This is hereinafter referred to as a third conventional technique).

[0037]

Work to collect and exchange the recording paper of the self-recording pressure gauge provided in the governor chamber, and to collect and exchange the PC card of the first prior art digital self-recording pressure gauge. As described above, there is a demand to reduce the burden of the patrol inspection work by adopting a remote monitoring system by electric communication as in the second related art.

At the time of the patrol inspection, an inspection is made to check for any gas leakage in the governor chamber. However, since the inspection cycle is at most about one week or more, an improvement in the security level is desired. In addition, there is a demand that, when the governor room door is opened illegally, the management center immediately knows it.

However, in the second prior art, the PH
Since the S-adapter etc. are not intrinsically safe circuits, it is necessary to install an airtight bulkhead in the governor room at the site to block hazardous and non-hazardous areas. There was a problem that.

In order to improve the security level by shortening the interval of gas leak detection and, for example, always operating a gas alarm, it is necessary to draw in a commercial power supply. There was a problem that the cost was high and it was not practical.

Furthermore, there is a problem that there is no means for knowing other abnormalities in the governor chamber such as an illegal opening of the governor chamber.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor room which can solve these problems.

[0043]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 comprises a digital self-managing pressure gauge each of which is driven by a battery and constituted by an intrinsically safe circuit; a gas alarm unit; The unit is installed in the gas supply governor room, and the gas pressure data stored in the digital self-recording pressure gauge and the external output signal of the gas alarm unit are transmitted to the center device via a general telephone line via a wireless base station, and the terminal The gas alarm unit is a remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor room, wherein a gas alarm unit is operated intermittently for a short time at a time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor chamber according to the first aspect, an abnormality detection of the governor chamber such as an open door detection sensor for detecting an open door in conjunction with a door of the governor chamber. A sensor is provided, and a signal of the detection sensor is input to the wireless communication unit.

As the abnormality detection sensor for the governor chamber, a switch for detecting the opening and closing of the shut-off valve and transmitting a signal may be used in addition to the door detection sensor for detecting the opening of the governor chamber door.
The signal of this switch may be input to the contact input terminal of the gas alarm unit and input to the wireless communication unit via the gas alarm unit.

[0046]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments of the drawings, the same parts as those of the conventional technique are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as much as possible.

[Embodiment 1] The embodiment shown in FIG.

14A includes the first and second prior art recording devices 14, the battery box 19, the two pressure sensors 8, 10 and the like, and transmits the collected gas pressure data to the later-described wireless communication unit via the communication line 11A. It has a communication function to send it out, and is hereinafter referred to as a digital self-recording pressure gauge. This digital self-recording pressure gauge has a battery for power supply and a current limiting resistor connected in series to the battery in a battery box 19, and supplies power to the recording device 14 through a cable 20. The digital self-recording pressure gauge 14A is thus constituted by a battery-driven intrinsically safe circuit.

Reference numeral 42A denotes a wireless communication unit using a PHS. The battery box 42a contains a battery for power supply and a current limiting resistor connected in series to the battery.
Power is supplied to the electronic circuit of the wireless communication unit through 2b.

Reference numeral 40A denotes a communication line for transmitting gas pressure data from the digital type self-recording pressure gauge to the wireless communication unit 42A.

Numeral 55 denotes a gas alarm unit having a gas sensor 55a. The gas power supply provided in the battery box 55b operates the gas sensor 55a and the attached electronic circuit every minute for one hour to intermittently detect a gas leak. I do.
Battery life can be several months or more. Reference numeral 55c denotes a power supply cable.

As described above, the wireless communication unit 42A and the gas alarm unit 55 are both driven by batteries and constituted by intrinsically safe circuits.

When the batteries are replaced, the digital self-recording pressure gauge 14A, the wireless communication unit 42A and the gas alarm unit 55 remove the battery boxes 19, 42a and 55b together with the cables 20, 42b and 55c, respectively. Transport to a hazardous area, replace batteries, and provide explosion-proof measures.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, the inlet pressure of the governor 3 is converted into an electric signal by the primary side pressure sensor 8, and the outlet pressure is converted into an electric signal by the secondary side pressure sensor 10. Each time it is collected by the collecting device 14.
The collected data is transmitted to the wireless communication unit 42A via the communication line 40A. The wireless communication unit 42A collects the transmitted gas pressure data for a certain period, for example, one week, and wirelessly transmits the gas pressure data to the base station 48 via the PHS communication when the gas pressure data for the predetermined period is accumulated. , And to the center device 47 via the general telephone line 46.

The center device 47 takes in the gas pressure data into the personal computer 51 via the terminal adapter 52A. 53 is a magneto-optical disk driver.

When detecting a gas leak, the gas alarm unit 55 transmits an external output signal to the wireless communication unit 42A via the signal line 56. When the wireless communication unit receives the external output signal from the gas alarm unit 55, it notifies the center device 47 as an alarm signal.

In this embodiment, the digital self-recording pressure gauge 1
The 4A is composed of a battery-operated intrinsically safe circuit, and gas pressure data is automatically transmitted to the center device over a fixed period of time by wireless communication and a general telephone line, and the pressure data is also recorded on a PC card. Also, the wireless communication unit 42A and the gas alarm unit 55 are both battery-powered and configured with an intrinsically safe circuit, and the gas alarm unit operates intermittently for a short time of one minute every hour. The installation of a gas alarm unit is not required, and the battery life of the gas alarm unit is about half a year or more.

It can be said that the intermittent operation of the gas alarm unit every hour is substantially always monitoring for gas leakage, compared to the conventional case where gas leakage inspection is performed only during weekly patrol inspection.

[Embodiment 2] The embodiment shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a switch 57 for an opening detection sensor having a non-voltage contact as a sensor for detecting the opening of the governor chamber door is provided in the embodiment 1 of FIG. The signal is input to the wireless communication unit 42A. When the wireless communication unit 42A receives the door opening signal from the switch 57, the wireless communication unit 42A generates
Report to 7.

[Embodiment 3] The embodiment of FIG. 3 also corresponds to the second aspect. In this embodiment, a switch 59 for sending a shutoff valve opening / closing signal is provided in addition to the embodiment 2 of FIG.
5 is input to the contact input terminal. When the open / close signal is input to the gas alarm unit 55, an external output signal of the gas alarm unit 55 is input to the wireless communication unit 42A via the signal line 56 as an alarm signal, and is automatically notified to the center device 47.

[0061]

Since the remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor room of the present invention is constructed as described above, construction costs such as installation of an airtight bulkhead for explosion-proof or installation of a commercial power supply or a general telephone line are required. Is not required, and installation of this type of system can be promoted.

In addition, the inspection interval can be extended to several months or more,
This interval can be very promising, as it can be extended accordingly as battery life improves in the future.

Further, the interval of the gas leak detection can be shortened, and the inspection interval of the governor chamber can be greatly extended while substantially constantly monitoring, thereby contributing to labor saving of inspection personnel. And the level of security against gas leaks and accidental accidents in the governor room is improved. This means that the security level can be improved by alarm information based on an abnormality detection sensor other than the gas alarm, as in the second aspect of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an installation state according to the related art.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a wiring state of a recording device unit and a battery box unit of the prior art in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Gas conduit 3 Governor 8, 10 Pressure sensor 14 Acquisition device 14A Digital self-recording pressure gauge 19, 42a, 55b Battery box 42A PHS wireless communication unit 55 Gas alarm unit 46 General telephone line 47 Center device 48 Base station 51 Personal computer 52A Terminal adapter 57 Open door detection sensor switch 58, 60 Signal line 59 Shut-off valve open / close signal sending switch

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Kanamaru 19-18 Sakuradacho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya-shi Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hatsuko Takahashi 1-2-70, Sennen 1-chome, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiromasa Yamaguchi 1-70, Chiten 2-chome, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term (reference) 2F073 AA19 AB02 AB12 BB01 BB09 BC01 BC02 CC08 GG01

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A digital self-managing pressure gauge each of which is driven by a battery and constituted by an intrinsically safe circuit, a gas alarm unit,
A wireless communication unit is installed in the gas supply governor room, and gas pressure data stored in the digital self-recording pressure gauge,
A system in which an external output signal of a gas alarm unit is transmitted to a center device via a general telephone line via a wireless base station, and received by a center device equipped with a terminal adapter and a personal computer. A remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor room, wherein the system is operated for a short period of time. 2. An abnormality detection sensor for a governor chamber, such as an open door detection sensor that detects an open door in conjunction with a governor chamber door,
The remote monitoring system for a gas supply governor room according to claim 1, wherein a signal of the detection sensor is input to the wireless communication unit.