JP2007178285A - Gas meter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure both safety and convenience of use of a used gas appliance by setting an earthquake level for blocking gas according to the kind of used gas appliance. <P>SOLUTION: The gas meter includes an appliance discrimination means 16 for discriminating the used gas appliance 13, 14, 15 from a detected flow rate by an ultrasonic flowmeter 10, and an earthquake level setting means 17 for setting the earthquake level for blocking a passage 9 relative to each gas appliance 13, 14, 15. Hereby, the earthquake level for blocking the gas can be set according to the kind of used gas appliance 13, 14, 15, and both safety and convenience of the used gas appliance 13, 14, 15 can be ensured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gas meter that is connected to a gas pipe and measures the flow rate of gas used, and relates to an apparatus that determines the type of gas appliance that is connected to the downstream side of the gas meter and performs the security process for each appliance. It is.

  Conventionally, this type of gas meter is known from Patent Document 1. The configuration will be described below with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a shutoff valve 2 that shuts off the gas pipe 1, a drive unit 3 that drives the shutoff valve 2, a gas pressure detector 4 that detects the gas pressure in the gas pipe 1, and the gas pipe 1 A flow rate measuring unit 5 for measuring the flow rate of gas passing through the gas, an earthquake detecting unit 6 for detecting an earthquake by impact or vibration, a display unit 7 for integrating and displaying the gas flow rate measured in the flow rate measuring unit 5, and each part It consists of the control part 8 which consists of a microcomputer which controls.

In the above configuration, when an earthquake of a predetermined value or more is detected, a control signal is given from the control unit 8 to the drive unit 3, and the drive unit 3 closes the shut-off valve 2 and shuts off the gas pipe 1.
JP-A-8-285641

  However, in the conventional configuration, the gas is shut off when the level of the earthquake is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. However, depending on the gas appliances used, it may not be as dangerous as closing the gas meter shut-off valve at a seismic intensity of 5 or higher. When an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher is detected, it is a safety-oriented measure that gas is immediately shut off as an abnormal condition. However, in areas where there are many earthquakes, gas shutoff frequently occurs and sacrifices convenience. There was a problem of becoming.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a gas meter according to the present invention includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures a flow rate of a gas flowing through a flow path, and a seismic sensing unit that detects an earthquake level by detecting vibration in the vicinity of the flow path. If the seismic sensing means detects an earthquake level greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the shutting means for opening and closing the flow path, the appliance connected downstream of the flow rate detecting means, and the detected flow rate of the flow rate detecting means are used. There is provided an appliance discriminating means for discriminating an appliance, and an earthquake level setting means in which an earthquake level for blocking the flow path is set for each appliance.

  Thereby, since the earthquake level which interrupts | blocks gas can be set with the kind of used gas appliance, both the safety | security of gas use and convenience can be ensured with the gas appliance currently used.

  The gas meter of the present invention includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures a flow rate of a gas flowing through a flow path, a seismic means that detects a vibration level by detecting vibrations in the vicinity of the flow path, and the seismic means has a predetermined value or more. Blocking means for opening and closing the flow path if an earthquake level is detected, an instrument connected downstream of the flow rate detecting means, an instrument discriminating means for discriminating an instrument used from the detected flow rate of the flow rate detecting means, By providing an earthquake level setting means that sets the earthquake level that blocks the flow path for each instrument, the gas cutoff earthquake level can be set according to the type of gas instrument being used. Both convenience and security can be ensured.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flow rate measuring means for measuring a flow rate of a gas flowing in a flow path, a seismic sensitivity means for detecting an earthquake level by detecting vibration in the vicinity of the flow path, and the seismic sensitivity means having a predetermined value or more. Blocking means for opening and closing the flow path if an earthquake level is detected, an instrument connected downstream of the flow rate detecting means, an instrument discriminating means for discriminating an instrument used from the detected flow rate of the flow rate detecting means, By having an earthquake level setting means that sets the earthquake level that blocks the flow path for each device, the earthquake level that blocks gas can be set according to the type of gas device used, and gas usage Both safety improvement and convenience can be ensured.

  In the second invention, in particular, the earthquake level setting means in the gas meter of the first invention sets the threshold of the earthquake level to be lower than other instruments when the instrument discriminated by the instrument discriminating means is a gas table. When using a gas table, gas can be shut off during weak vibrations, and safe measures can be taken with emphasis on gas shut-off even in weak earthquakes.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, the earthquake level setting means of the gas meter according to the first aspect of the invention is an earthquake level detected by the seismic means when the appliance discriminated by the appliance discriminating means is a cooking utensil such as tempura. Regardless of how the vibration oscillates, the gas can be immediately shut off by setting it to be shut off immediately, so that it can be handled more safely.

  In particular, the seismic level setting means of the gas meter according to the first aspect of the present invention can change any seismic level according to the determined instrument when the instrument discriminating means is used. Even if is used, gas can be shut off at an earthquake level corresponding to the instrument being used, so both safety and convenience of gas use can be achieved.

  In the fifth aspect of the invention, the earthquake level setting means of the gas meter according to the fourth aspect of the invention is used by adopting a configuration in which the earthquake level is not changed when the appliance determined by the appliance discriminating means is a water heater. When the appliance is a water heater, the gas can be shut off after the earthquake is reliably determined by using the initial earthquake level setting value.

  In the sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, the seismic means of the gas meter of the first aspect of the present invention is configured to be installed in an instrument connected downstream of the flow path, so that the seismic instrument is installed in the gas instrument. Since the vibration of the gas appliance itself can be detected, the gas can be shut off more accurately and safely.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the gas meter includes an ultrasonic flow meter 10 as a flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing through the flow path 9 and a feeling as a seismic sensitivity means for detecting an earthquake level by detecting vibration in the vicinity of the flow path 9. A seismic device 11, a shut-off valve 12 as a shut-off means for opening and closing the flow path 9 when the seismic device 11 detects an earthquake level equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and a gas appliance 13 connected downstream of the ultrasonic flow meter 10, 14, 15, appliance discriminating means 16 for discriminating a gas appliance used from the detected flow rate information of the ultrasonic flowmeter 10, and an earthquake level setting means in which an earthquake level for blocking the flow path 9 is set for each gas appliance. 17. Here, 18 indicates a gas meter, and the earthquake level setting means 17 is set to an earthquake level having a seismic intensity of 5 or more as an initial value.

  The operation and action of the gas meter configured as described above will be described below using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the basic operation is to measure the instantaneous flow rate every 2 seconds by the ultrasonic flow meter 10. And which gas appliance 13, 14, 15 was used among the gas appliances 13, 14, 15 connected to the downstream side of the ultrasonic flowmeter 10 based on the flow rate information such as the flow rate value and fluctuation of the instantaneous flow rate. The appliance discriminating means 16 performs the discriminating operation as necessary. Simultaneously with the flow rate measurement, the seismic device 11 determines whether or not an earthquake has occurred while monitoring the earthquake.

  Here, when it is determined that the use of a new gas appliance is started when the flow rate change is large, the appliance discriminating means 16 identifies which gas appliance 13, 14, 15 the gas appliance used is. Then, the earthquake level setting means 17 sets the earthquake level for shutting off the gas according to the determined gas appliance.

  If it is determined that an earthquake has occurred, it is first determined whether or not the gas appliance in use is present. And when there exists, it is judged whether the gas should be interrupted | blocked on the basis of the earthquake level set according to the gas appliance currently used. And if it is more than a setting earthquake level, the cutoff valve 12 will be closed so that gas may be interrupted | blocked. Further, when an earthquake does not occur, the operation is returned to the flow rate measurement and the earthquake monitoring, and the above operation is continuously performed. That is, the gas cutoff is determined by using the gas appliance being used and the earthquake level corresponding to the gas appliance as the judgment criteria for gas cutoff.

  Here, an example of the operation of the appliance discrimination means 16 will be described. When the differential flow rate is greater than a predetermined value and a positive value, it is determined that one of the gas appliances has started to operate, and when the differential flow rate is greater than a predetermined value and a negative value, some gas appliance has stopped operating. It is determined. Then, the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15 are specified by using a combination of subsequent changes in the differential flow rate as compared with the characteristics of the appliances input in advance. The differential flow rate is calculated by obtaining a flow rate difference at specific time intervals (for example, 4 seconds) of instantaneous flow rate values measured at intervals of 2 seconds. The appliance discrimination is performed by combining features of different differential flow rates such as a 2-second differential flow rate, a 4-second differential flow rate, and a 6-second differential flow rate to distinguish the gas appliance being used.

  It should be noted that the shorter the measurement time interval, the more accurately the change in the flow rate can be detected and the determination can be made with high accuracy. However, with a gas meter driven by a battery, the differential flow rate per second from the viewpoint of low power consumption and measurement accuracy It is suitable to use.

  Moreover, the earthquake level setting means 17 which sets the earthquake level for every instrument operate | moves as follows in a specific gas appliance.

  For example, in a normal gas appliance, gas is set to be shut off at an earthquake level of seismic intensity 5 or higher. However, if the gas appliance identified by the appliance is a gas table for cooking, gas is supplied at a level of seismic intensity 4. Set to block. In this way, by making it possible to change the setting to a level lower than that of other gas appliances, gas appliances for cooking with a high degree of risk should shut off gas in consideration of safety even in weak earthquakes. It can be set.

Furthermore, when the gas appliance determined by the appliance determination means 16 is a cooking appliance for cooking tempura, for example, when the tempura cooking operation of the gas table is determined, the seismic level detected by the seismic sensing means and the vibration fluctuation Regardless of the direction, it can also be set to immediately shut off. As a result, even in a very weak earthquake, gas can be stopped instantaneously and safety can be improved.

If the appliance discriminated by the appliance discriminating means 16 is a water heater, the gas can be shut off in the event of a very dangerous strong earthquake by keeping the normal seismic intensity 5 strong and not changing it. Yes, it is possible to use a water heater in the event of a weak earthquake, ensuring convenience.
In this way, the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15 used are identified from the instantaneous flow rate measured by the ultrasonic flowmeter, and the gas when the earthquake occurs according to the gas appliance used. By realizing setting or changing the seismic level of the shut-off, the gas shut-off according to the appliance being used is performed, and it is possible to achieve both safety and convenience of gas use.

  Although the above description has been given of the case where an ultrasonic flowmeter is used, it is obvious that the same effect can be obtained with other instantaneous flow rate measuring means. In addition, the seismic device can be dealt with by discriminating the level of the earthquake into about three stages, whether using a ball-type seismic device or using an electronic acceleration sensor. However, when it is technically difficult to detect low level earthquakes such as seismic intensity 4, the same effect can be obtained in three stages of seismic intensity 5 or higher, seismic intensity 5 or lower, and no seismic intensity detection.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a gas meter according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

  In FIG. 3, 19 is a seismic device installed in each gas appliance 13, 14, 15, 20 is a wireless transmission means installed in each gas appliance 13, 14, 15, and 21 is a wireless reception installed in the gas meter 18. Means.

  In such a gas meter, when the seismic device 19 is installed in each of the gas appliances 13, 14, 15, the gas meter 18 determines the seismic level of the seismic device 19 on the gas appliance 13, 14, 15 side by wireless means. It is possible to determine whether or not to shut off the gas according to the received earthquake level.

  In this case, since the appliance discriminating means 16 can discriminate from which gas appliance the seismic device has received the earthquake information, the gas appliance can be discriminated from the presence or absence of the flow rate and the appliance information of the seismic device. And it is judged whether gas is interrupted | blocked by the earthquake level reference | standard of the earthquake level setting means by the gas appliance. It is obvious that the accuracy of device discrimination is greatly improved if the seismic device is linked to the operation of the gas appliances 13, 14, 15.

  Since the seismic device 19 is installed in the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15 connected downstream of the flow path in this way, vibrations of the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15 themselves can be detected. The gas appliances can be specified more accurately and the gas can be shut off at an earthquake level corresponding to the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15. Accordingly, the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15 can be more reliably and safely responded. Gas can be shut off.

  In addition, although it demonstrated by transmission / reception by radio | wireless, it is clear that the same effect is acquired even if comprised by a wire. Moreover, although the description has been made with the configuration in which the seismic device 19 is attached to all the gas appliances 13, 14, and 15, it may be configured to be attached only to some appliances, particularly gas tables that are considered dangerous. It is also possible to realize this operation by a signal from a seismic device installed in a part of a room other than 13, 14, 15 or a part of a house.

  As described above, the gas meter according to the present invention includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of the gas flowing in the flow path, a seismic means that detects vibration near the flow path to detect an earthquake level, and the seismic sensitivity. If the means detects an earthquake level greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it discriminates the shutoff means for opening and closing the flow path, the equipment connected downstream of the flow rate detection means, and the equipment used from the detected flow rate of the flow rate detection means Seismic level that shuts off gas depending on the type of gas appliance being used by having a configuration comprising an appliance discriminating means to be configured and an earthquake level setting means in which an earthquake level is set for each appliance. Can be set, and it is possible to ensure both the improvement of safety and the convenience of the gas appliances used.

Block diagram of a gas meter in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Flowchart showing part of processing of the gas meter Block diagram of a gas meter in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Block diagram of a conventional flow measurement device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Flow path 10 Ultrasonic flow meter 11 Seismic detector 12 Shut-off valve 13, 14, 15 Gas appliance 16 Instrument discrimination means 17 Earthquake level setting means 18 Gas meter

Claims (6)

A flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing in the flow path; a seismic means for detecting an earthquake level by detecting vibrations in the vicinity of the flow path; and if the seismic means detects an earthquake level equal to or greater than a predetermined value. For each gas appliance, a blocking means for opening and closing the flow path, a gas appliance connected downstream of the flow rate detection means, an appliance discriminating means for discriminating an appliance used from the detected flow rate of the flow rate detection means, and A gas meter comprising an earthquake level setting means in which an earthquake level for blocking a flow path is set. The gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the earthquake level setting means sets the threshold of the earthquake level to be lower than that of other instruments when the instrument discriminated by the instrument discriminating unit is a gas table. The seismic level setting means is set so that if the utensil identified by the utensil discriminating means is a cooking utensil such as tempura, it is immediately shut off regardless of the seismic level detected by the seismic means or the vibration method. The gas meter according to claim 1. The gas meter according to claim 1, wherein the earthquake level setting means changes the earthquake level in accordance with the determined appliance when the appliance discriminating means is used. 5. The gas meter according to claim 4, wherein the earthquake level setting means does not change the earthquake level when the appliance determined by the appliance discrimination means is a water heater. The gas meter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the seismic means is installed in an instrument connected downstream of the flow path.

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