JP2009210244A - Gas supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform energy management for reducing a gas use amount for reducing CO2. <P>SOLUTION: A management center device 40 is composed of a timer part 44, an integration part 45, a conversion part 46, a storage part 47, a comparison part 48, and a feedback part 49. The integration part 45 integrates the gas consumption amount during a predetermined period by the timer part 44 from the gas use amounts communicated from a gas shutoff device 10. The conversion part 46 calculates the CO2 generation amount by multiplying a prescribed coefficient by the gas consumption amount. The storage part 47 stores the gas consumption amount integrated by the integration part 45 and the CO2 generation amount calculated by the conversion part 46. The comparison part 48 compares the gas consumption amount integrated by the integration part 45 with the gas consumption amount stored in the storage part 47, and compares the CO2 generation amount calculated by the conversion part 46 with the CO2 generation amount stored in the storage part 47. The feedback part 49 notifies a gas consumer of the result compared in the comparison part 48. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an appliance management system that manages the use status of appliances and gas supply paths, and management of security processing, etc., using a gas meter that measures a gas flow rate installed in a house or the like.

  When using equipment, to prevent accidents caused by forgetting to turn off the gas or leaking gas, notify the gas user's home or the center that manages the gas supply path, etc. The system that shuts down is becoming widespread.

  This is a system in which a gas company, a propane supplier, etc. charge a gas fee to a user based on the amount of gas used.

In addition, there is a system that performs safety monitoring of gas usage status via a network and notifies a user when there is an abnormality (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-262367 A

  However, in the conventional gas supply system, the gas cutoff judgment and the alarm judgment are performed using the flow rate value, the integrated flow rate value, and the gas usage time. There is no means to suggest or promote replacement with high-efficiency equipment, and there is no function for the gas supplier to easily grasp the amount of gas used within the jurisdiction, thus reducing gas usage to reduce CO2 Energy management was not possible.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is connected to a gas supply pipe and measures a gas consumption, a communication unit that communicates the measured gas consumption to a gas supplier, Comparing the integration unit that integrates the usage amount of each gas consumer for a predetermined period, the conversion unit that converts the gas consumption amount into the CO2 generation amount, the CO2 generation amount of the previous predetermined period and the CO2 generation amount of the current predetermined period Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply system that accelerates CO2 reduction of a gas supplier and a gas consumer by using a comparison unit that compares the gas consumption of the previous predetermined period with the gas consumption of the present predetermined period. And

  The gas supply system of the present invention is connected to a gas supply pipe, and includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures gas consumption, a communication unit that communicates the measured gas consumption to a gas supplier, and a predetermined period for each gas consumer. An integration unit that integrates the usage amount, a conversion unit that converts gas consumption into CO2 generation amount, a comparison between the CO2 generation amount of the previous predetermined period and the CO2 generation amount of the present predetermined period, or the gas of the previous predetermined period The comparison unit that compares the consumption amount with the gas consumption amount for the predetermined period of time, the CO2 generation amount of the previous predetermined period and the CO2 generation amount of the predetermined period of time compared with the comparison unit, or the gas of the previous predetermined period It has a feedback section for reporting the consumption and the result of the gas consumption during the predetermined period to the gas user.

  As a result, gas suppliers can grasp the transition of gas usage by each consumer, reducing gas usage by reforming consumer awareness by presenting gas consumers and promoting replacement with high-efficiency appliances. In addition, the amount of CO2 generated can be reduced.

  In addition, the present invention includes a total integrating unit that sums up the usage amounts of all the gas consumers to be supplied in a predetermined period.

  As a result, it is possible to grasp the transition of the gas usage amount for each gas supply company, and to promote the reform of the consciousness of the gas supply company and the proposal of highly efficient equipment to the gas consumer.

  Further, the present invention is based on the instantaneous flow rate of the gas, an appliance discriminating unit that discriminates an appliance that uses the gas flowing through the gas supply pipe from the flow rate change characteristic of the gas flow rate, and for each appliance discriminated by the appliance discriminating unit. It has an appliance integrating unit that integrates the amount used for a predetermined period. As a result, the gas consumption for each appliance is clarified, so that the gas consumer can reduce the amount of gas usage by avoiding unnecessary use of the appliance. Furthermore, it has a data encryption part that makes it impossible to rewrite the accumulated gas usage data.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent forgery of the result for the CO2 reduction target for each gas supply company, and thus fraud related to CO2 trading can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the gas supplier can grasp the transition of the gas usage amount for each consumer, and by revising the consumer awareness by presenting to the gas consumer and promoting replacement by purchase of high efficiency appliances, The amount can be reduced and the amount of CO2 generated can be reduced.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The gas appliance management system of the present embodiment includes a management center device 40 that manages the gas supply path 20 and a user home device 10 that is provided in a gas user's house or the like. The management center device 40 and the user home device 10 are connected via a communication unit 41 such as a public telephone line, a mobile phone line, an optical communication line, a wired or wireless LAN, a wide area wireless, a relay wireless, and other communication interfaces. Various signals and information can be transmitted and received. The communication unit 41 is connected to a user display device 42 from which the user confirms the usage status from the outside, and various signals and information can be transmitted and received between the management center device 40 and the user display device 42.

  The user home apparatus 10 is provided in the middle of a gas supply pipe 20 laid in the user's house or the like, and a pipe A on the downstream side of the gas supply pipe 20 includes a plurality of gas appliances A1, B2, and C3. It is connected. The user home device 10 is installed at a predetermined position outdoors or indoors. The number of gas appliances to be connected is not limited to the illustrated example, and is arbitrary. In addition, the user home includes not only a general residential house but also an apartment house, a store, a factory, and other various facilities.

  The gas cutoff device 10 includes a flow rate measurement unit 13 using an ultrasonic flow meter 11 and a flow rate calculation unit 12, a control unit 15, a seismic device 16, a cutoff valve 17, and a display unit 18. The ultrasonic flowmeter 11 is connected in the path of the gas supply pipe 20 and, as will be described later, obtains a propagation time difference caused by the gas flow in the gas supply pipe 20 using an ultrasonic signal, and detects an instantaneous gas flow rate. To do. Based on the detected instantaneous flow rate, the flow rate calculation unit 12 calculates a flow rate value based on an average of the instantaneous flow rate, calculates an integrated flow rate value by integrating the instantaneous flow rate, and calculates a flow rate value for device discrimination. Various calculations related to the flow rate such as calculation are performed.

  The control unit 15 has a security processing function, and performs security processing such as operation control of each part of the gas cutoff device, communication, warning, and gas cutoff.

  Here, the flow rate calculation unit 12, the control unit 15, a processor (microcomputer) and the like are configured by a processor and an operation program, and each function is performed by executing a predetermined operation program in the processor and performing a corresponding process. Realized. The seismoscope 16 detects vibration such as an earthquake and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 15. The shut-off valve 17 is connected in the path of the gas supply pipe 20 and shuts off the gas supply by closing the gas supply pipe 20 based on an instruction from the control unit 15.

  The display unit 18 includes an LED, a liquid crystal display, and the like, and displays a gas flow rate, an operating state of the gas appliance, a warning, and the like.

  The management center device 40 includes a timer unit 44, an integration unit 45, a conversion unit 46, a storage unit 47, a comparison unit 48, and a feedback unit 49. The integrating unit 45 integrates the gas consumption amount for a predetermined period defined by the timer unit 44 from the gas usage amount communicated from the gas cutoff device 10. The conversion unit 46 calculates the CO2 generation amount by multiplying the gas consumption amount by a predetermined coefficient. The storage unit 47 stores the gas consumption accumulated by the accumulation unit 45 and the CO 2 generation amount calculated by the conversion unit 46. The comparison unit 48 compares the gas consumption accumulated in the accumulation unit 45 with the gas consumption stored in the storage unit 47, the CO2 generation amount calculated in the conversion unit 46, and the CO2 generation amount stored in the storage unit 47. Compare The feedback unit 49 notifies the gas consumer of the result of comparison by the comparison unit 48. The notification method can be described in a gas charge notification table, displayed on the display unit 18 of the gas shut-off device 10, or the like.

  The operations of the ultrasonic flowmeter 11 and the flow rate calculation unit 12 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of the ultrasonic flowmeter 11.

  The ultrasonic flowmeter 11 has a measurement flow path 35 having a rectangular cross section communicating with the gas supply pipe 20, and a pair of super flow meters is provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the flow path walls facing each other. Sonic transmitters / receivers 36 and 37 are arranged. These ultrasonic transmitters / receivers 36 and 37 are set so that the ultrasonic propagation path obliquely crosses the gas flow flowing through the measurement flow path 35, and by sequentially transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves, the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception is sequentially performed with respect to the gas flow. Propagation of ultrasonic waves in the opposite direction.

  At this time, the distance between the ultrasonic transceivers 36 and 37, that is, the measurement distance is L, the angle of the ultrasonic propagation path with respect to the gas flow is φ, and the ultrasonic propagation time from the upstream to the downstream of the ultrasonic transceivers 36 and 37 is If t1, the ultrasonic propagation time from downstream to upstream is t2, and the sound velocity is C, the flow velocity V can be obtained by the following equation.

V = L / 2 cos φ ((1 / t1) − (1 / t2)) (1)
The instantaneous flow rate of the gas flow is calculated from the flow velocity V and the cross-sectional area of the measurement channel 35.

  The time interval for measuring the instantaneous flow rate can be set within a range where ultrasonic waves can be transmitted and received. Since the time to change by activation and control varies depending on the gas appliance, reducing the measurement time interval is advantageous in terms of instantaneous instrument discrimination, but shortening the measurement time interval increases battery consumption. . Further, if the measurement time interval is a two-digit order interval equivalent to the membrane type used in the conventional gas meter, it is difficult to determine the flow rate change. Therefore, in this embodiment, the gas appliance is discriminated by measuring the periodic instantaneous flow rate at intervals of 2 seconds. The measurement time interval can be further shortened. For example, after starting the gas appliance, control such as shortening the measurement time interval may be performed in order to increase measurement accuracy. Based on the detected instantaneous flow rate, the flow rate calculation unit 12 performs various calculations related to the flow rate, such as calculating the gas flow rate by integrating the instantaneous flow rate, or calculating a flow rate value for appliance discrimination described later.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The management center device 40 includes a total integration unit 50 that integrates the gas usage amount communicated for each of the gas cutoff devices 10 in the gas supply jurisdiction. The management center device 40 can grasp all gas consumptions supplied by the gas company. Further, by converting the conversion unit 46, it is possible to grasp the amount of CO2 generated by the gas consumption supplied by the gas company.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Next, the operation of the appliance discriminating unit 22 that integrates the gas consumption for each appliance discriminated by the appliance discriminating unit 22 by the appliance integrating unit 23 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 24 is a start command, 25 is a flow rate measurement command, 26 is a flow rate change determination command, 27 is an interval setting command, 28 is a rising waveform creation command, 29 is a device pattern comparison determination command, 30 is an interval setting command, 31 is a device specifying command It is.

  The program is started by the start command 24. The normal flow rate measurement described above is performed by the flow rate measurement command 25. Here, when any one of the appliance A1, the appliance B2, and the appliance C3 is used, a flow rate change occurs, which is set to Yes by the flow rate change determination command 26. If the appliance A1, appliance B2 or appliance C3 is not rising, it becomes No, and after the time set by the interval setting command 27, the same operation is repeated. When the flow rate change is detected, a rising waveform of the flow rate is formed by the rising waveform creation command 28. This is compared with the rising pattern registered in advance by the appliance pattern comparison / decision command 29, and when there is a match, the appliance to be used is specified by the appliance specifying command 31. If it does not match, it is due to another factor, so the No side is taken, and after the time set by the interval setting command 27, the above contents are repeated again. The determination storage unit 14 includes a memory such as a flash ROM and a RAM.

  Further, the integrated gas consumption and CO2 generation amount are encrypted so that the gas company and the gas consumer cannot change it.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to those shown in the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art can also make changes and applications based on the description in the specification and well-known techniques. Yes, included in the scope of protection.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a gas supply system that reduces gas usage and reduces CO2 generation, and a gas supply system that clarifies CO2 generation and realizes CO2 trading without fraud.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the gas supply system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Configuration diagram showing schematic configuration of the ultrasonic flowmeter The block diagram which shows the structure of the gas supply system in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the gas supply system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the operation procedure of the instrument discrimination

Explanation of symbols

13 Flow measurement unit 40 Management center device 41 Communication unit 45 Integration unit 46 Conversion unit 48 Comparison unit 49 Feedback unit

Claims (4)

A flow rate measuring unit connected to the gas supply pipe for measuring gas consumption;
A communication unit that communicates the measured gas consumption to the gas supplier;
An accumulating unit for accumulating the usage amount for a predetermined period for each gas consumer;
The conversion unit that converts the gas consumption into the CO2 generation amount, and compares the CO2 generation amount of the previous predetermined period with the CO2 generation amount of the present predetermined period, or the gas consumption amount of the previous predetermined period and the gas of the present predetermined period A comparison unit for comparing consumption,
The gas user is notified of the CO2 generation amount of the previous predetermined period and the CO2 generation amount of the present predetermined period, or the gas consumption amount of the previous predetermined period and the gas consumption amount of the present predetermined period compared by the comparison unit. Gas supply system with a feedback unit to report.   The gas supply system according to claim 1, further comprising a total integration unit that sums up the usage amounts of all the gas consumers to be supplied in a predetermined period. An appliance discriminating unit that discriminates an appliance that uses the gas flowing through the gas supply pipe from a flow rate change characteristic of the gas flow rate based on an instantaneous gas flow rate;
An appliance integration unit that integrates the usage amount of the appliance for a predetermined period determined by the appliance determination unit;
With gas supply system.   A gas supply system having a data encryption unit that makes it impossible to rewrite the accumulated gas usage data.

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