JP2001347571A - Controlling device for energization of joint made of resin - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controlling device for energization of a joint made of a resin which can afford general-purpose properties by enabling alteration of the contents of the information on abnormality conditions as occasion demands. SOLUTION: The controlling device for energization of the joint made of a resin controls energization of a heater 6 provided inside the joint 4 so as to weld resin pipe members 2A and 2B. The device is equipped with a reading means 20 for reading mainly the control data on the joint, a power source part 22 supplying power to the heater, a rewritable abnormality condition information storage part 26 storing the information on abnormality conditions for detection of abnormality and a welding control part 24 controlling the operation of the power source part on the basis of the control data inputted from the reading means and the information on abnormality conditions stored in the abnormality condition information storage part. According to this constitution, the contents of the information on abnormality conditions can be altered as occasion demands, and thereby general-purpose properties are afforded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply control device for a resin joint for connecting resin pipe members used for flowing gas, water or the like, or passing an optical fiber or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, pipe members made of resin (polyethylene, polybutene, polypropylene, etc.) tend to be frequently used for flowing gas, water, hot water, sewage, or the like, or for passing communication cables such as optical fibers. . When installing or repairing these pipe members, use a resin joint with a heater embedded inside, and generate heat by energizing this heater, and the resin joint and the resin pipe member Are fused.
At this time, the electric power supplied to the heater of the resin joint often differs depending on the type such as the size of the joint, and the control parameters such as the voltage, current, and energizing time are set to different values for each type of joint. I have. Therefore, in order to energize the resin joint, an energization control device (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-208) configured to supply electric power corresponding to the control parameter is provided.
24548 and JP-A-9-123286).

[0003] The control data that constitutes the control parameters is generally recorded on a bar code label attached to the resin joint, and the operator needs to control the bar code prior to the fusing operation. The data is obtained by reading the bar code on the code label with an attached bar code reader. The bar code label information includes, in addition to the joint manufacturer name and dimensions, control data such as an initial voltage value, a standard resistance value of the heater, a standard energizing amount, a fluctuation range of the resistance value, and a target energizing amount. Are recorded.

[0004]

In the welding of pipe members, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of defective welding in order to prevent gas leakage, water leakage, and the like. Therefore, before the fusion operation or during the fusion operation, it is necessary to constantly monitor that the operation is proceeding normally and that no abnormal state has occurred. Abnormal condition information is used as information for determining the presence / absence of an error. For example, the environmental temperature such as the outside air temperature is not within a predetermined temperature range defined by the abnormal condition information,
If this is too high, the melting of the resin will be promoted too much.For example, if the wall thickness of the pipe member is too thin than specified, or if the ambient temperature is too low, it will take too much time to heat the resin, causing insufficient melting of the resin. Poor wearing may occur.

[0005] Further, a short-circuit of the heater may occur during the fusing operation, but if the short-circuit is left unattended, a poor fusion may also occur. Furthermore, for example, when an input voltage within a specified range defined by the abnormal condition information, for example, AC 80 V to 120 V is not supplied, or an output voltage within a specified range defined by the abnormal condition information is supplied to the heater. Even when the power is not supplied, shortage of power supply or excessive power supply occurs, which also causes poor fusion. In such a situation, conventionally, generally, the same manufacturer as the resin joint and the manufacturer of the energization control device are used, so that the above-described abnormal condition information is used by the operation of the energization control device. Fixedly embedded in the program. In many cases, these pieces of abnormal condition information are different for each manufacturer, and have their own standards. For this reason, if the manufacturer of the energization control device is different from the manufacturer of the resin joint, the energization control device cannot be used, and there is a problem of lack of versatility.

[0006] In this case, there is a case where the malfunction detection function is forcibly used, for example, by not operating the abnormality detection function. However, this causes unsatisfactory fusion and is not preferable. The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems and effectively solving them. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a resin joint energization control device capable of providing versatility by changing the content of abnormal condition information as needed.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a resin joint energization control device for fusing a resin pipe member by performing a controlled energization to a heater provided inside a resin joint, reading means for mainly reading control data related to the resin joint, A power supply unit for supplying power to the heater, a rewritable abnormality condition information storage unit for storing abnormality condition information for abnormality detection, and the control data and the abnormality condition information input from the reading unit. A fusion control unit for controlling the operation of the power supply unit based on the abnormal condition information stored in the unit. When this is used, if necessary, the abnormal condition information stored in the abnormal condition information storage section is rewritten to correspond to the resin joint to be used now. As a result, regardless of the resin joint manufacturer,
It is possible to appropriately determine or monitor the occurrence of an abnormal state, and it is possible to improve the versatility of the current supply control device.

For example, as set forth in claim 2, a temperature sensor for detecting an environmental temperature is provided, and the abnormal condition information includes:
Outside air temperature abnormality data relating to outside air temperature, short circuit abnormality data relating to the short circuit abnormality of the heater, input voltage abnormality data relating to an input voltage abnormality of external power input to the power supply unit, and output voltage output from the power supply unit And at least one of the output voltage abnormality data relating to the abnormality of. Further, as defined in claim 3, a data input unit for rewriting the contents of the abnormal condition information storage unit is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the abnormal condition information corresponding to the manufacturer of the resin joint used is read by the reading means and stored in the abnormal condition information storage section. Good. According to this, it is possible to rewrite the abnormal condition information having a plurality of items at once at once with appropriate information, and it is possible to improve the operability. Further, as specified in claim 5, the apparatus has a maker-specific abnormal condition information storage unit for storing each abnormal condition information corresponding to the manufacturer of the resin joint, and when the information regarding the manufacturer is input, the abnormal condition information is stored. The abnormal condition information corresponding to the information on the manufacturer may be read from the manufacturer-specific abnormal condition information storage unit and stored in the abnormal condition storage unit. Also in this case, the abnormal condition information having a plurality of items can be immediately rewritten to appropriate information by the operation inside the apparatus, and the operability can be improved.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a power supply control device for a resin joint according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state of use of an energization control device for a resin joint according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the energization control device, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the content of abnormal condition information.
As shown in FIG. 1, here, two resin pipe members 2
A and 2B show a state in which the end portions of each other are inserted into a cylindrical resin joint 4 and mounted, and a heater 6 is provided on the inner surface side of the joint 4 over substantially the entire inner peripheral surface. Embedded. Input terminals 8 for receiving electric power are provided at both ends of the heater 6 so as to protrude outward. A bar code label 10 including control data of the joint 4 at the time of fusion is attached to the surface of the resin joint 4 at the time of shipment from a manufacturer.

In the vicinity of the resin joint 4, an energization control device 12 for supplying fusion power to the joint 4 is provided. The energization control device 12 has a control device main body 14 that accommodates main components. Two output cables 16 are drawn out from the control device main body 14, and connectors 18 provided at the ends thereof are detachably connected to the input terminals 8, 8 of the resin joint 4 so as to be controlled. It is designed to supply power. The control device main body 14 is configured to input required electric power from, for example, an external power supply. The external power source is, of course, a normal commercial 100 V AC power source, for example, a generator for welding or a generator for lighting in which the output voltage is small when there is no load and the output voltage increases when a load is applied. Etc. can be used.

The control device main body 14 is provided with, for example, an optical bar code reader 20 as reading means for reading predetermined data, thereby recording the data on the bar code label 10 of the joint 4. It is possible to read barcodes containing control data. As described above, the information of the barcode label 10 includes, as described above, the initial voltage value, the standard resistance value of the heater, the standard amount of electricity, and the fluctuation of the resistance value in addition to the joint manufacturer name and dimensions. A correction coefficient and the like for calculating the width and the target energization amount are recorded.

As shown in FIG.
A power supply unit 22 for supplying power to the heater 6 (see FIG. 1); a rewritable abnormal condition information storage unit 24 composed of, for example, a non-volatile memory for storing abnormal condition information for abnormality detection; A fusion control unit comprising, for example, a microcomputer for controlling the operation of the power supply unit 22 based on the control data input from the bar code reader 20 and the abnormal condition information stored in the abnormal condition information storage unit 24. 26 mainly. In addition, the apparatus includes a temperature sensor 28 that detects an ambient temperature such as an outside air temperature and a temperature of the joint 4, and a fusion sensor that can track and trace the actual voltage, current, and time during the fusion operation later. A tracing storage unit 30 composed of, for example, a non-volatile memory for storing various operation data at the time of operation, a temporary storage composed of, for example, a RAM or the like, for temporarily storing data and the like necessary for the fusion control unit 26 to perform calculations. Unit 32, a display panel 34 for displaying the contents of the respective storage units, predetermined instructions, and the like as a message, an operation panel 36 having a data input unit function for manually inputting necessary data, and an alarm when an abnormal state is detected. It has an alarm mechanism 38 that emits. The abnormal condition information storage unit 24 and the tracing storage unit 30 may use the same non-volatile memory by dividing the area.

The operation panel 36 has a plurality of operation buttons to which necessary functions are assigned. By appropriately operating the operation buttons, the abnormal condition information shown in FIG. It can be displayed and its value can be arbitrarily rewritten. Specifically, the abnormal condition information shown in FIG. 3 is rewritably recorded in the abnormal condition information storage unit 24 composed of a nonvolatile memory. Abnormal data, abnormal input voltage data, and abnormal output voltage data are included. The environmental temperature abnormality data indicates, for example, a range of the outside air temperature at which the joint maker can guarantee the fusion performance of the joint, and is particularly important when, for example, performing the fusion work in a cold region or a high temperature environment. The range of the outside air temperature often differs depending on the use of the piping. For example, in the case of a gas piping, the lower limit is −5 ° C., the upper limit is around + 40 ° C. to + 50 ° C., and in the case of a water piping, the lower limit is, for example. -10 ° C, upper limit is + 40 ° C
In the case of hot water supply piping, the lower limit is -5 ° C and the upper limit is +4.
0 ° C, the lower limit is -10 for optical cable piping
° C and the upper limit may be variously + 40 ° C. In the illustrated example, data of a gas pipe is shown.

The short-circuit abnormality data is for indirectly detecting a short-circuit in the heater 6 (see FIG. 1).
When the current increase rate during energization becomes, for example, 10% or more and the state continues for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds or more, it is determined that the current state is abnormal. It should be noted that the method of detecting a short-circuit abnormality is merely an example here, and there are various other methods, and a short-circuit detection program is executed as a predetermined routine without using such numerical data. In some cases. In the case of such a program, the program is written in the storage area for the short-circuit abnormality data. The above-mentioned input voltage abnormality data indicates an allowable range of the input voltage from the external power supply, and here, the lower limit is shown as 80V, and the upper limit is shown as 120V. The output voltage abnormality data indicates a permissible fluctuation range of the voltage output to the joint. For example, the output voltage abnormality data is ± 2.5% for a gas pipe and ± 1.5% for a water supply pipe. And for hot water supply pipes ±
1.5%, and ± 2.5% for optical cable tubes. In the illustrated example, data for a gas pipe is shown.

Next, a description will be given of a fusion operation (operation) of the resin pipe member performed using the power supply control device 12 configured as described above with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing each step of the fusion operation (operation);
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing each step of the abnormality determination operation. First, before the energization is started, two resin pipe members 2A, 2B to be fused are inserted into the cylindrical resin joint 4 as shown in FIG. 1 until their ends abut against each other. The connectors 18, 18 of the energization control device 12 are connected to the terminals 8, 8. In this state, first, the operator reads information on the barcode label 10 attached to the joint 4 by the barcode reader 20 (S1). As a result, as described above, the control data of the initial voltage value determined for the joint together with the maker data of the joint and the like are input to the fusion control unit 26.

Next, the outside air temperature is measured here as the environmental temperature from the temperature sensor 28, and this data is fetched (S
2). The temperature of the pipe member may be taken as the environmental temperature. Then, the resistance of the heater 6 is measured (S3), and the measured resistance value is compared with a standard resistance value (bar code value) (S4) to determine whether or not the comparison result is within an allowable range. A determination is made (S5). That is,
The environmental temperature (outside air temperature) is measured as described above for the purpose of correcting the temperature-dependent control variable, and an appropriate heater 6 is measured.
It is determined whether or not is mounted. For example, if the measured resistance value Rt of the heater 6 satisfies the following expression 1, it is determined that the resistance value is appropriate. Rb (1−a / 100) ≦ Rt ≦ Rb (1 + a / 100) (1) Here, Rb is a standard resistance value (barcode value), and a is a fluctuation width (barcode value). It should be noted that it may be determined whether or not the heater 6 is appropriate based on the following equation 2 instead of the above equation 1. Rb (1−ΔT (B / 100)) ≦ Rt ≦ Rb (1 + ΔT (B / 100)) (2) where ΔT = (current temperature−20 ° C.), and B is a coefficient of variation. When the measured resistance value is outside the allowable range (N in S5)
O), it is determined that an incorrect bar code label or the like is attached to the joint, the connector 18 is removed from the joint 4 side (S6), and the operation is terminated.

When the measured resistance value is within the allowable range (YES in S5), an initial voltage value (bar code value) is set (S7), and a target energization amount is calculated (S7).
8). Here, the target energization amount Eb ′ is determined as in the following Expression 3 or Expression 4 based on the standard energization amount Eb (bar code value) and the environmental temperature (outside air temperature) To. When To ≧ 20 ° C .: Eb ′ = Eb [1−β1 (To−20 ° C.) / 100] (3) When To <20 ° C .: Eb ′ = Eb [1 + β2 (20 ° C.−To) / 100] (4) Here, β1 and β2 are correction coefficients (% / ° C.), respectively, and are input as barcode values. The standard energization amount is also input as a barcode value, which is expressed as energization time (sec) or energy (voltage × current × energization time).

Next, as a characteristic step of the present invention, input and rewrite of various abnormal data are performed (S9). As an example of this rewriting method, specifically, on the operation panel 36, an abnormal condition information change button 36A, a data field change button 36B, a numerical value increase button 36C, a numerical value decrease button 36D, a setting button 36E and the like are provided. ing. Pressing the abnormal condition information change button 36A enters a mode in which each numerical value shown in FIG. 3 can be changed. Each time the data field change button 36B is pressed, the portion corresponding to each numerical value in FIG. When clicked, it is displayed on the display panel 34. Then, in the display state, the numerical value increase button 36C
Alternatively, a desired numerical value is input by appropriately operating the numerical value decrease button 36D. Then, when a desired numerical value is input, the numerical data can be determined by pressing the setting button 36E. In this way, for each numerical data in FIG. 3, an appropriate numerical value corresponding to the joint 4 used here is inputted and determined. Here, the types of the operation buttons are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the contents, and are not limited to these as long as they have the same functions.

When the various abnormal data shown in FIG. 3 are changed to appropriate values in this manner, the power supply start button 3
Press 6F to start energizing the heater 6 of the joint 4 (S10). As described above, when the fusion operation is started by energization, the fusion control unit 26 constantly determines the presence or absence of an abnormality based on the updated abnormality condition information (see FIG. 3) (S1).
1) After a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of energization without any abnormality occurring, the target energization amount E expressed by Expression 2 or 3
If b 'has been reached (YES in S13), the fusing operation is terminated. On the other hand, if any abnormality is recognized in the abnormality determination operation (YES in S11),
For example, by operating the alarm mechanism 38 (see FIG. 2) (S12), this is indicated to the operator, thereby removing the connector 18 from the input terminal 8 (S6).
It will terminate abnormally.

The abnormality determination step in S11 is performed, for example, as shown in FIG. First, the temperature sensor 2
It is checked whether the environmental temperature (outside air temperature in this case) input from 8 does not exceed the lower limit or upper limit of the environmental temperature abnormal data (S11-1). Since this environmental temperature hardly fluctuates sharply during the fusing operation, this determination is made before the energization is started, and if an environmental temperature outside the lower and upper limits is detected, the energization itself is not performed. May not be possible. Next, the current increase rate is a predetermined value (10
%) Or more for a predetermined time (3 seconds) or more (S11-2). Then, if the state where the current increase rate exceeds the predetermined value continues for a predetermined time or more,
The abnormality is recognized as a short circuit occurring in the heater.

Next, it is determined whether the input voltage input from the external power supply has exceeded the lower limit or the upper limit (S11).
-3). If the input voltage exceeds the lower limit or the upper limit, a sufficient amount of power cannot be supplied to the heater, or an excessive amount of power may be supplied. As described above, as an external power supply, the output voltage is extremely low when there is no load as described above.
It has a characteristic that the output voltage suddenly rises to about 100 V at the time of load, although it decreases to about 0 V.
For example, a welding generator can be used. In this case, if the lower limit of the input voltage abnormality data is set to, for example, 30 V, the welding generator having such characteristics is also suitable for welding. Can be used.

Next, it is determined whether or not the output voltage applied to the heater 6 has exceeded a predetermined allowable fluctuation range (for example, ± 2.5%) (S11-4). If the output voltage exceeds a predetermined allowable range, a sufficient amount of power cannot be supplied to the heater, or an excessive amount of power may be supplied. The above-described abnormality determination process is constantly performed during energization. As described above, in this embodiment, the abnormal condition information as shown in FIG. 3 can be arbitrarily changed (rewritten) in correspondence with the resin joint 4 to be used.
The energization control device can be used with any type of fitting or with any manufacturer's specifications, and its versatility can be increased. In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the allowable ranges of four types of abnormal data are shown.
At least one of them may be provided, and in this case, the fusion control device does not make a determination regarding an abnormality for a type for which abnormality data is not provided.

In the present embodiment, each numerical data shown in FIG. 3 is selected and rewritten in order. (If the numerical value is the same as the previously stored numerical value, the rewriting is of course unnecessary. Yes), but not limited to this. For example, in general, abnormal condition information is different for each manufacturer of resin joints. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, abnormal condition information for each manufacturer, for example, company A to company D, is used as an abnormal data barcode label 40 in advance. Record and create. in this case,
Create different abnormal data for each field of use, such as gas pipes and water pipes. Then, prior to energization, abnormal data corresponding to the manufacturer of the joint to be used is read by the bar code reader 20 (see FIG. 1), and this information is stored in the abnormal condition information storage unit 24 as abnormal data as shown in FIG. You may write it. According to this, it is possible to rewrite the abnormal data shown in FIG. 3 at a stretch to appropriate data corresponding to the joint to be used.

Further, for example, a non-volatile memory storing all the abnormal data shown in FIG. 6 above may be provided as the manufacturer-specific abnormal condition information storage section 42 as shown in FIG. In this case, the operation panel 36 is provided with a manufacturer selection button and a type button for piping use, for example, a button for selecting gas piping or water piping or the like, and by appropriately operating these, It is also possible to read out abnormal data of a desired maker and a desired piping application from the manufacturer-specific abnormal condition information storage section 42 and write this in the abnormal condition information storage section 24. In this case, the information on the manufacturer and the piping application is obtained from the bar code label 1 attached to the resin joint 4.
It may be obtained from the read information of the barcode information of 0 (see FIG. 1). The bar code reader 20 generally includes a scanner type for reading the number of digits of a bar code at a time and a pen type for reading by running a special pen on a bar code label. 14 can be interchangeably mounted, and may be provided with a type-specific button to indicate which type of barcode reader is mounted.

[0026]

As described above, according to the power supply control apparatus for a resin joint of the present invention, the following excellent operational effects can be exhibited. According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the abnormal condition information stored in the abnormal condition information storage unit can be rewritten to the one corresponding to the resin joint to be used now. Irrespective of the manufacturer of the joint, the presence or absence of the occurrence of an abnormal condition can be properly determined or monitored, and the versatility of the power supply control device can be improved. According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, it is possible to rewrite the abnormal condition information having a plurality of items at once at once with appropriate information, thereby improving operability. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the abnormal condition information having a plurality of items can be immediately rewritten to appropriate information by an operation inside the device, and the operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a state of use of a power supply control device for a resin joint according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a power supply control device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the content of abnormal condition information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing each step of a fusion operation (operation).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing each step of an abnormality determination operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing contents of a nonvolatile memory storing all abnormal data.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention in which a manufacturer-specific abnormal condition information storage unit is provided.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2A, 2B Resin pipe member 4 Resin joint 6 Heater 10 Barcode label 12 Electricity control device 14 Control device body 18 Connector 20 Barcode reader (reading means) 22 Power supply unit 24 Fusion control unit 26 Abnormal condition information storage unit 28 Temperature Sensor 30 Trace Storage Unit 36 Operation Panel (Data Input Unit) 42 Maker Abnormal Condition Information Storage Unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A resin joint energization control device for welding a resin pipe member by applying a controlled energization to a heater provided inside the resin joint, wherein control data relating to the resin joint is transmitted. A reading unit mainly for reading, a power supply unit for supplying power to the heater, a rewritable abnormal condition information storage unit for storing abnormal condition information for abnormality detection, and the control data input from the reading unit. A fusion control unit that controls the operation of the power supply unit based on the abnormal condition information stored in the abnormal condition information storage unit. A temperature sensor for detecting an environmental temperature;
The abnormal condition information includes outside air temperature abnormal data relating to an outside air temperature, short circuit abnormal data relating to a short circuit abnormality of the heating heater, input voltage abnormal data relating to an abnormal input voltage of external power input to the power supply unit, and the power supply unit. The energization control device for a resin joint according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the output voltage abnormality data relating to the abnormality of the output voltage output from the controller is included. 3. The energization control device for a resin joint according to claim 1, further comprising a data input unit for rewriting the contents of the abnormal condition information storage unit. 4. The abnormal condition information storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the abnormal condition information corresponding to a manufacturer of the resin joint used is read by the reading unit and stored in the abnormal condition information storage unit. The energization control device for a resin joint according to any one of the above. 5. A maker-specific abnormal condition information storage unit for storing each abnormal condition information corresponding to a maker of a resin-made joint, wherein when the information on the maker is input, the input information on the maker is stored. 5. The energization control of the resin joint according to claim 1, wherein the corresponding abnormal condition information is read from the manufacturer-specific abnormal condition information storage unit and stored in the abnormal condition storage unit. 6. apparatus.