JP2010203872A - Flow rate measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flow rate measuring device for discriminating an apparatus by comparing a flow rate outputted from a flow rate measuring means with an apparatus flow rate registered beforehand by time-series data, and by determining agreement therebetween. <P>SOLUTION: The device has a constitution including a measuring means 5 for measuring a gas flow rate at a prescribed interval, a registration means 11 for registering data of a flow rate change by use of a gas apparatus or the like, and a discrimination means 8 for determining whether or not a flow rate value measured by the measuring means 5 agrees with data registered in the registration means 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention applies a flow rate measuring device installed at the entrance of a gas supply pipe in each home and measures the gas flow rate, and uses a new fee or a new security according to the usage equipment such as a separate fee for the gas equipment. It is related with the technique which discriminate | determines the gas appliance in use in order to provide such services.

  Conventionally, examples of this type of flow rate measuring device include the following configurations. In general, a flow rate measuring device with a gas flow meter is installed at the entrance of a gas supply line in each household.

  When implementing a separate charge for equipment in a conventional flow measurement device, using a plurality of integration devices connected to the flow measurement device, and using an integrated flow rate or a specific range of flow rate when used for a specific time That is, the flow rate for each time segment and the flow rate for each flow segment are determined, and the charge system is determined based on the integrated value. An example of the fee system will be described based on FIG. A predetermined discount flow rate category and a predetermined discount time zone are set in advance, and the gas rate of the flow rate corresponding to the discount flow rate category and the discount time zone is targeted for discount. That is, the part divided by the oblique lines in FIG. 13 is an object (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, with this method, the specific determination of the appliance is ambiguous, and it is difficult to make a convenient and easy-to-understand fee setting such as charging a fee for the specific appliance. Therefore, the following proposal has been made as a method for discriminating a specific instrument.

The operation of the proposed example will be described. FIG. 14 shows a gas flow rate change pattern when a certain gas appliance is activated and reference values (pattern table) for performing pattern matching based on the pattern. For one gas appliance, this pattern table needs to be prepared for a series of gas flow rate change patterns generated along with the combustion control of the gas appliance, and it is also necessary for the total number of gas appliances used in each household. . A matching device is extracted by constantly comparing the change in the flow rate value measured by the flow meter of the gas meter with these pattern tables to identify the appliance (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-71421 A JP 2003-149027 A

  In the discrimination of appliances in the conventional configuration, since the characteristics of the flow rate data pattern are extracted and discriminated, the flow patterns by the appliances are various, and when similar appliances exist, the specific discrimination is ambiguous. become. In addition, complicated calculation processing for processing flow rate data for feature extraction is necessary, and the processing for that purpose becomes complicated and increases the calculation load.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a flow rate measuring device capable of accurately determining even a system having high versatility with a simple determination means and low ability such as arithmetic processing. The purpose is to do.

A flow rate measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes a measuring unit that measures a gas flow rate at predetermined intervals, a change detecting unit that detects a change in a gas flow rate measured by the measuring unit, and a registration unit that registers data of a flow rate pattern of the gas flow rate. And a determination unit that determines whether the flow rate value measured by the measurement unit matches the flow rate pattern registered in the registration unit.

  This makes it possible to discriminate instruments that are highly versatile with simple determination means and that can be used by an inexpensive microcomputer without applying a large calculation load.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily and inexpensively discriminate appliances, and as a result, it is possible to construct various fee systems that are convenient for gas users as a value-added service. In addition to being promoted, by determining the appliance, it is possible to make more advanced settings for security such as gas leakage, and the gas appliance can be used safely.

  The first invention is registered in the measuring means for measuring the gas flow rate at predetermined intervals, the registering means for registering the data of the flow rate change due to the use of the gas appliance, the flow rate value measured by the measuring means, and the registering means. With the configuration having the discriminating means for discriminating whether the data matches, it is not necessary to perform complicated processing of data for discrimination processing, and processing by an inexpensive microcomputer is possible without applying a large calculation load.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, in particular, the configuration of the discriminating unit based on simple data is possible because the flow rate pattern data registered in the registering unit of the first aspect of the invention is an arrangement data of a predetermined number of flow rate values.

  In particular, the third invention has a change detection means for detecting a change in the gas flow rate in the first or second invention, and the flow rate measured by the data of the registration means and the measurement means according to the start instruction from the change detection means. By having a configuration that is a discriminating unit that compares and discriminates values, the starting point of flow rate data measured by the measuring unit for comparison with the data of the registration unit can be easily determined, so that the instrument discrimination is facilitated.

  In the fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, the actual flow rate data measured by the configuration in which the permissible range of the measured flow rate regarded as the same by the discriminating means of any one of the first to third inventions is set to a constant ratio of the absolute value of the measured flow rate. Since the error and the permissible amount when comparing the registered data and the permissible amount are allowed at a certain rate with respect to the flow rate, stable discrimination can be made regardless of the magnitude of the absolute flow rate of the appliance used.

  In particular, the fifth aspect of the invention has a setting storage means in which the allowable flow range determined to be the same is registered in the determination means of any one of the first to third aspects of the invention, and the flow rate when the determination means makes a determination. In order to use the value registered in the setting storage means, the error when comparing the measured actual flow rate data with the registered data and the allowable amount have the optimum allowable value for the flow rate Stable discrimination is possible regardless of the equipment used.

  The sixth invention has flow rate storage means for storing the flow rate value measured by the measurement means of any one of the first to fifth inventions for a predetermined period, and the flow rate value data and flow rate pattern registration means of the flow rate storage means. By comparing the registered data, the flow rate value is recorded in the storage means, so that even if a problem occurs during the determination due to some reason, the data can be retrieved again from the storage means, improving the reliability of the system To do. In addition, once the flow rate information is stored in the storage means, it is possible to modify and process the data, and since it is not necessary to process in real time, it is possible to devise such as using the system operations while time sharing. .

The seventh invention has compression means for compressing the data to be skipped especially in the flow rate data in which the flow rate data without change in both the front and rear flow values in the gas flow rate data in any one of the first to sixth inventions, By using a configuration in which the data registered in the change registration means and the data of the measurement means are compared and determined via the compression means, the use environment and other controls are performed by the equipment used when the measured flow rate changes, such as when the equipment is activated. When the time during which the flow rate value does not change is indefinite due to a reason or the like, it is possible to determine the same change pattern by ignoring the data that does not change, and it is possible to determine the appliance with higher accuracy.

  In an eighth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the measurement means is an ultrasonic method, so that high-accuracy measurement with a wider range capability is possible and the sampling time is short. Since measurement is possible, it is possible to cope with applications that require instantaneous measurement. It is also possible to measure backflow.

  In the ninth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the eighth aspect of the invention, the flow rate measuring unit has a function of measuring at a time interval of 0.5 seconds or less, so that it is possible to more accurately capture the flow rate change pattern when the instrument is started. It becomes possible.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a gas supply form of a flow rate measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  A flow meter 2 as a gas meter is installed at the entrance of the gas supply pipe 1 in each household, and various gas appliances that are branched from the gas pipe 3 after passing through the flow meter 2 are used at home. Piping to the place and gas is supplied.

  And when the installed gas appliance is used and gas consumption occurs, the amount of use is measured by the flow rate measuring device.

  Next, the configuration of the flow rate measuring device will be described with reference to FIG. The inside of the flow meter device 2 displays a gas shutoff valve 4 provided in a gas flow path connected to a gas pipe, a measuring means 5, a calculating means 6 for calculating a signal from the measuring means 5, and a used gas flow rate. Whether or not a change occurs in the flow rate value measured by the display unit 7, the discriminating unit 8 for discriminating the gas appliance according to the present invention, the flow rate storage unit 9 for storing and holding the flow rate measured by the measuring unit 5 for a certain period of time. Change detecting means 10 for detecting, registering means 11 for recording data for discrimination, setting storage means 12 for recording data such as allowable values for judgment, and control circuit 13 for overall control and their power sources A battery (not shown) is built in.

  As for the measuring means 5 of the present invention, ultrasonic measuring means as will be described later are used. However, as a measuring method, other flow rate measuring methods such as a full dick method can be used in a short cycle. Any continuous measurement can be used.

  The operation will be described below. First, ultrasonic flow velocity measurement will be described with reference to FIG. The measurement channel 14 has a rectangular cross section, and a pair of ultrasonic transmitters / receivers 15 and 16 are located upstream of the channel with the measurement channel 14 sandwiched between walls perpendicular to the gas flow direction of the measurement channel 14. The side and the downstream side are mounted to face each other at an angle φ. Ultrasonic waves are alternately transmitted and received between the ultrasonic transmitters / receivers 15 and 16, and the difference between the propagation times of the ultrasonic waves in the forward direction and the reverse direction with respect to the flow of the fluid is measured at regular intervals, and output as a propagation time difference signal. Have a job. In response to the propagation time difference signal, the calculation means calculates the flow velocity and flow rate of the fluid to be measured. The calculation formula is shown below.

Formula (1) V = L / 2 cosφ (1 / t1-1 / t2)
In FIG. 3, L is the measurement distance, t1 is the transmission time from the upstream, t2 is the transmission time from the downstream, C is the speed of sound, and V is the flow velocity.

  The measurement time interval can be set within a range where ultrasonic waves can be transmitted and received. In the embodiment of the present invention, measurement is performed at intervals of 0.5 seconds, as will be described later. By making the sampling interval shorter and measuring with higher resolution, it is possible to more appropriately determine the flow rate change due to the start of the gas appliance, but from the balance of power consumption etc. In the embodiment, 0.5 seconds is used as an appropriate value. It is also possible to change the sampling interval other than 0.5 seconds by focusing on performance or cost such as power consumption.

  Problems caused by the difference in sampling time will be described below. FIG. 4 shows an example of a gas activation pattern. FIG. 5 shows an image of measurement points when the wavemeter of FIG. 4 is sampled at intervals of 0.5 seconds. The flow rate shown in FIG. 5 and the sampling interval (0.5 seconds) indicated by the chain line and the cross point (● mark) are measured flow values. FIG. 6 shows an image of measurement points when the waveform of FIG. 4 is sampled at intervals of 2 seconds.

  FIG. 6 shows the deviation of the measurement points when the sampling timing is different. ● and ▲ sample the same waveform, but because the measurement timing is different, as shown in the figure, there is a large difference in the measured value when the flow rate changes greatly.

  As described above, when the sampling interval is wide, it is difficult not only to faithfully reproduce the activation waveform of the instrument, but also because the error of the extracted data becomes large depending on the sampling timing, in direct comparison of the sampling data and the stored data, Misjudgment is increased.

  Next, a procedure for determining the operation of the gas appliance will be described. In the present invention, the flow rate measuring device measures and outputs the gas flow rate every 0.5 seconds as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 7, as the gas activation pattern, the gas flow rate reaches the stable flow rate at the time of activation from 0 to a predetermined time by opening the gas valve simultaneously with the ignition operation of the gas appliance. This stable flow rate is unique to each instrument, and the trajectory of the flow rate change until the stable flow rate is reached varies depending on the instrument.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when there is a change in flow rate exceeding the activation threshold (larger ● points), as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, it matches the data registered in the registration means starting from that point in time. Start to determine whether the flow rate has changed.

  In the present invention, the flow rate of the data after the activation determination of the flow rate measured by the measuring means every 0.5 seconds and the flow rate of the registered data (the data image is shown in FIG. 9) exceeds 0 (large ● points). The value data is sequentially compared and if the data within the determination period is the same, it is determined that the same instrument as the registered data has been activated.

  Even if the model is the same, there is no guarantee that the flow rate activation pattern will be exactly the same depending on the individual difference and measurement sampling timing, so it is necessary to make the same judgment with a certain tolerance for comparison. Become.

  In the present invention, the allowable range for determining whether the data (flow rate values) are the same is set to ± 5% with respect to the absolute flow rate of the measurement data.

  In addition, it is possible to set to an appropriate ratio according to the accuracy required for the appliance or environment being used or the determination even if it is other than ± 5%.

  Further, by providing the setting storage unit with the set value of the allowable range as a reference table as shown in FIG. 10, the allowable range is determined while referring to the value of the reference table from the flow rate value obtained by the measuring unit. Therefore, discrimination accuracy with higher adaptability can be obtained.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 11, depending on the appliance, there is an appliance having a different flow rate (circled portion in FIG. 11) depending on the combustion pattern control method at the time of activation. Even if the measured data is the same instrument, it may not match.

  In the present invention, the measured data is once recorded in the flow rate storage means that is a buffer, and if there is no change compared to the previous and subsequent data with respect to the data at an arbitrary time during the determination, the data is skipped. 11 has the data compression means (not shown), and when the discrimination means performs the discrimination, the discrimination data is passed through the compression means, so that the measurement data shown in FIG. 11 and the registration data shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the flow rate measuring device according to the present invention includes a measuring unit for measuring a gas flow rate, a change detecting unit for detecting a change in the gas flow rate measured by the measuring unit, and a flow rate change pattern of the gas flow rate at a predetermined flow rate value. And determining means for determining whether the flow rate value measured at predetermined intervals by the registration means registered as the time series data and the data registered in the registration means matches with the start signal from the change detecting means. With this configuration, it is possible to identify appliances easily and at low cost. As a result, it is possible to construct various fee systems that are convenient for gas users as a value-added service, and promote the use of gas and the use of gas appliances. In addition, by determining the appliance, it is possible to make more advanced settings for security such as gas leakage, and the gas appliance can be used safely.

The figure which shows the gas supply form of the flow measuring device in embodiment of this invention Configuration diagram of a flow rate measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention Flow rate measurement unit configuration diagram in an embodiment of the present invention The figure of the gas appliance flow waveform in an embodiment of the invention Flow rate sampling conceptual diagram in an embodiment of the present invention Flow rate sampling conceptual diagram in an embodiment of the present invention The figure of the gas appliance flow waveform in an embodiment of the invention Flow chart of discrimination operation in the embodiment of the present invention The flow rate registration value conceptual diagram of the gas appliance in embodiment of this invention Conceptual diagram of discrimination allowable value reference table in the embodiment of the present invention The figure of the gas appliance flow waveform in an embodiment of the invention The figure of the gas appliance flow rate waveform after compression processing in an embodiment of the invention Discrimination method conceptual diagram of conventional flow measurement devices Discrimination method data structure diagram of conventional flow measurement device

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gas supply pipe 2 Flow measuring device 3 Gas piping 4 Gas shut-off valve 5 Measuring means 6 Calculation means 7 Display part 8 Discriminating means 9 Flow rate memory means 10 Change detection means 11 Registration means 12 Setting storage means 13 Control circuit 14 Measurement flow path 15 16 Ultrasonic transceiver

Claims (9)

Measuring means for measuring a gas flow rate at a predetermined interval, registration means for registering data on a flow rate change due to use of a gas appliance, a flow value measured by the measuring means, and data registered in the registration means A flow rate measuring device having discrimination means for judging whether or not they match. 2. The flow rate measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate pattern data registered in the registration unit is array data of a predetermined number of flow rate values. 3. A discriminating unit comprising a change detecting unit for detecting a change in gas flow rate, and comparing and discriminating data of a registering unit and a flow rate value measured by the measuring unit in accordance with a start instruction from the change detecting unit. The flow rate measuring device described. The flow rate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining means sets a permissible range of the flow rate in which the data of the registration unit and the flow rate value measured by the measuring unit are the same as a certain ratio of the absolute value of the measured flow rate value. Measuring device. The determination unit has a setting storage unit in which an allowable flow rate range in which the data of the registration unit and the flow rate value measured by the measurement unit are the same is registered, and the determination storage range when the determination unit performs the determination The flow rate measuring device according to claim 1, wherein a value registered in the means is referred to. 6. The determination unit according to claim 1, further comprising a flow rate storage unit configured to store a flow rate value measured by the measurement unit, wherein the flow rate value data of the flow rate storage unit is compared with the registration data of the registration unit. The flow rate measuring device described. When there is no change in the data value of both the front and back of the data of the gas flow rate value measured by the measuring means or the data registered in the registration means, the data at the arbitrary point compresses the data to be skipped. The flow rate measuring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a compression unit configured to compare and determine data registered in the registration unit and measurement data of the measurement unit via the compression unit. The flow rate measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the measuring means uses an ultrasonic flowmeter. The flow rate measuring device according to claim 8, wherein the measuring means has a function of measuring at a time interval of 0.5 seconds or less.