JP2010261672A - Gas appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas appliance for stopping gas combustion immediately after an emergency earthquake alert is reported. <P>SOLUTION: The gas appliance 10 for burning gas includes: a casing 13; a gas combustion device 18 fixed to the casing 13; a gas pipe 14 arranged within the casing 13 and supplying gas to the gas combustion device 18; a first valve 16 arranged within the casing 13 and opening/closing the gas pipe 14; a receiving means 22 for receiving an emergency earthquake alert; and a control means 24 closing the first valve 16 when the emergency earthquake alert is received during operation of the gas combustion device 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas appliance for burning gas.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a gas cutoff unit. This gas cutoff unit receives the earthquake early warning. The emergency earthquake bulletin is a signal that is notified before the main motion (S wave) of an earthquake arrives when an earthquake occurs. When receiving the earthquake early warning, the gas cutoff unit stops the gas supply to the indoor gas supply pipe by blocking the outdoor gas supply pipe. Therefore, it is said that safety can be ensured when an earthquake occurs.

JP 2008-293182 A

  According to the gas shut-off unit of Patent Document 1, it is possible to shut off the gas supply from the outdoor gas supply pipe to the indoor gas supply pipe before the earthquake shakes. However, even if the gas supply from the outdoor gas supply pipe to the indoor gas supply pipe is shut off, the gas remains in the indoor gas supply pipe. At the timing when the gas supply is cut off, the gas remaining in the indoor gas supply pipe has a pressure of the same level as that before the cut-off. For this reason, the gas remaining in the indoor gas supply pipe is supplied to the gas appliance. Therefore, even after the gas supply is cut off, the gas appliance continues to burn the gas for a certain period of time. Since the time from the receipt of the earthquake early warning to the occurrence of an earthquake shake is extremely short, if the gas combustion does not stop immediately, the earthquake shake may occur before the gas combustion stops. There is.

  The present invention was created in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a gas appliance that can immediately stop the combustion of gas when an earthquake early warning is received.

The gas appliance of the present invention burns gas. The gas appliance includes a casing, a gas combustion device fixed to the casing, a gas pipe that supplies gas to the gas combustion apparatus, a gas pipe that supplies gas to the gas combustion apparatus, A first valve that opens and closes, a receiving unit that receives the earthquake early warning, and a control unit that closes the first valve when the earthquake early warning is received during operation of the gas combustion apparatus.
In this gas appliance, when the earthquake early warning is received, the first valve arranged in the casing of the gas appliance is closed. That is, the supply of gas is cut off at the most downstream part of the path through which the gas flows. For this reason, a very small amount of gas remains on the downstream side of the first valve blocking the gas pipe. Therefore, when the earthquake early warning is received, the gas combustion of the gas appliance being used can be stopped immediately.

In the gas appliance described above, it is preferable that the control unit shifts to a prohibition state in which the first valve is not opened in a normal use operation after the emergency earthquake warning is received and the first valve is closed.
In addition, normal use operation is operation performed when using a gas appliance in a normal use state. By shifting to the prohibited state in this way, it is possible to prevent the gas appliance from being used before safety is confirmed.

The gas appliance described above further includes a second valve installed in the gas pipe upstream from the first valve, and when the earthquake early warning is received during operation of the gas combustion apparatus, the control means It is preferable to close the second valve after closing the first valve.
Thus, fail safe can be realized by providing two valves for shutting off the supply of gas. Moreover, by closing the 1st valve installed in the downstream more first, the residual gas in an instrument can be decreased more and the combustion of gas can be stopped earlier.

In the gas appliance described above, it is preferable that when the earthquake early warning is received when the gas combustion apparatus is not operating, the control means shifts to a prohibited state in which the first valve is not opened in a normal use operation.
According to such a configuration, safety can be ensured even if an emergency earthquake warning is received when a gas appliance is not used.

When the above-mentioned gas appliance receives the earthquake early warning, it is preferable to notify by at least one of light and sound.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to notify the user that the earthquake early warning has been received, and it is possible to reliably call attention.

It is preferable that the gas appliance described above can be released from the prohibited state by a specific manual operation different from the normal use operation.
According to such a configuration, the gas appliance can be returned from the prohibited state to the normal state by the user performing a specific manual operation after confirming safety.

  According to the gas appliance provided by the present invention, when emergency earthquake information is received while using the gas appliance, the combustion of gas can be stopped immediately.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the gas fan heater 10, the gas stove 30, and the water heater 50 of an Example. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the gas fan heater 10 and the gas stove 30 when an earthquake early warning is received. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the water heater 50 when receiving an earthquake early warning.

  A gas fan heater, a gas stove, and a water heater will be described as gas equipment according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the gas fan heater 10, the gas stove 30, and the water heater 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the gas fan heater 10, the gas stove 30, and the water heater 50 are connected to a gas supply pipe 70. The upstream end of the gas supply pipe 70 is connected to an external gas supply pipe 90 via a gas meter 80. Gas is supplied to the gas supply pipe 70 from an external gas supply pipe 90. The gas meter 80 detects the amount of gas supplied from the gas supply pipe 90 to the gas supply pipe 70. The gas supply pipe 90 is branched on the downstream side of the gas meter 80 to form a gas supply pipe 70, and the gas fan heater 10, the gas stove 30, and the water heater 50 are connected to the downstream end of each branch pipe. .

  The gas fan heater 10 is connected to the gas supply pipe 70 through the gas plug 12. The gas fan heater 10 includes a casing 13, a gas pipe 14, an on-off valve 16, a burner 18, a fan 20, a receiving device 22, and a control device 24. The gas pipe 14, the on-off valve 16, the burner 18, the fan 20, the receiving device 22, and the control device 24 are arranged in the casing 13. Although not shown, the gas fan heater 10 includes various operation switches, a display screen, a display lamp, and a speaker.

  The upstream end of the gas pipe 14 is connected to the gas supply pipe 70, and the downstream end of the gas pipe 14 is connected to the burner 18. The burner 18 burns the gas supplied from the gas pipe 14. The fan 20 sends air toward the burner 18. The air that has passed through the burner 18 is discharged to the outside of the gas fan heater 10. The on-off valve 16 is interposed in the gas pipe 14. The on-off valve 16 opens and closes the gas pipe 14. The receiving device 22 receives a radio signal when a signal indicating the emergency earthquake bulletin is wirelessly transmitted from the emergency earthquake bulletin system 100 operated by an external organization (for example, the Japan Meteorological Agency). The receiving device 22 converts the emergency earthquake bulletin received wirelessly into an electrical signal and inputs it to the control device 24. The control device 24 is electrically connected to the on-off valve 16, the burner 18, the fan 20, the receiving device 22, the operation switch, the display screen, the display lamp, and the speaker. The control device 24 controls each unit based on an operation signal input from the operation switch or an emergency earthquake warning input from the receiving device 22.

  The normal operation of the gas fan heater 10 will be described. When an operation button of the operation switches is pressed, an operation start command is input to the control device 24. Then, the control device 24 opens the on-off valve 16 and ignites the burner 18. At the same time, the fan 20 is rotated. Thereby, warm air is sent out from the gas fan heater 10.

  The operation of the gas fan heater 10 at the time of receiving the earthquake early warning will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the control device 24 when receiving the earthquake early warning. When an earthquake occurs, a radio signal indicating an emergency earthquake warning is transmitted from the emergency earthquake warning system 100. This radio signal is normally received by the receiving device 22 before the main motion of the earthquake arrives. The received earthquake early warning is input from the receiving device 22 to the control device 24. Upon receiving the emergency earthquake warning information, the control device 24 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. Therefore, except for the case where the epicenter is extremely close, the processing of FIG. 2 is completed before the shaking due to the earthquake occurs.

  In step S2, the control device 24 determines whether or not the burner 18 is burning. If the burner 18 is in combustion, it is determined YES in step S2, and if the gas fan heater 10 is not used or if the gas fan heater 10 is used but before the burner 18 is ignited. If there is, it is determined NO in step S2.

  If it is determined as YES in step S <b> 2, the burner 18 is burning, so the on-off valve 16 is open and gas is supplied to the burner 18. Therefore, the control device 24 closes the on-off valve 16 in step S4. When the on-off valve 16 is closed, the gas supply to the burner 18 is stopped, and the gas combustion is stopped. Since the distance of the gas pipe 14 between the on-off valve 16 and the burner 18 is extremely short, the combustion of gas in the burner 18 stops at substantially the same timing as the on-off valve 16 is closed. Further, the control device 24 stops the operation of the fan 20 in step S4. On the other hand, when it is determined NO in step S2, the on-off valve 16 is closed, and therefore step S4 is not executed. That is, the state where the on-off valve 16 is closed is maintained.

  In step S6, the control device 24 shifts to a prohibited state. The prohibition state is a state in which, even if an operation command is input to the control device 24 by pressing the operation button, the control device 24 does not accept the operation command and does not execute an operation. As shown in FIG. 2, in the gas fan heater 10, the control device 24 shifts to a prohibited state regardless of which determination is made in step S <b> 2.

  In step S8, the control device 24 warns the user with a display screen, a display lamp, and a speaker. On the display screen, a message indicating that the earthquake early warning has been received is displayed. The display lamp blinks. An electronic sound is emitted intermittently from the speaker. The blinking speed of the display lamp and the cycle of the electronic sound from the speaker are controlled so as to become gradually faster. Thereby, a warning is given to the user.

  If step S8 is performed, the control apparatus 24 will be in the state of waiting for the input of the cancellation | release command of a prohibition state by step S10. When a specific operation is performed by the operation switch, a command for canceling the prohibited state is input to the control device 24 from the operation switch. When receiving the release command, the control device 24 shifts from the prohibited state to the normal state in step S12. That is, the control device 24 enters a state in which a normal operation is executed when an operation command is input to the control device 24 by pressing the operation button. That is, the prohibition state of the control device 24 can be canceled by a manual operation. If step S12 is performed, the control apparatus 24 will complete | finish the process of FIG.

  As described above, in the gas fan heater 10, when the earthquake early warning is received during combustion of the burner 18, the on-off valve 16 is closed. Since the gas flow path between the on-off valve 16 and the burner 18 is extremely short, the combustion of the burner 18 stops immediately when the on-off valve 16 is closed. For this reason, the gas fan heater 10 can stop the combustion of the burner 18 immediately upon receiving the earthquake early warning. Thereby, the possibility that combustion of the burner 18 can be stopped before shaking due to an earthquake is increased, and safety is further improved.

  Moreover, the gas fan heater 10 mentioned above will transfer to a prohibition state, regardless of whether the burner 18 is burning, if an emergency earthquake warning is received. This prevents the gas fan heater 10 from being used before safety confirmation.

  Next, the gas stove 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the gas stove 30 is connected to a gas supply pipe 70 via a gas plug 32. The gas stove 30 includes a casing 33, a gas pipe 34, an on-off valve 36, a burner 38, a receiving device 42, and a control device 44. The burner 38 is fixed to the casing 33 such that the gas combustion portion is exposed on the upper surface of the casing 33. The gas pipe 34, the on-off valve 36, the burner 38, the receiving device 42, and the control device 44 are disposed in the casing 33. Although not shown, the gas stove 30 includes various operation switches, a display screen, a display lamp, and a speaker. The function of each part of the gas stove 30 is substantially equal to the function of the corresponding part of the gas fan heater 10.

  The normal operation of the gas stove 30 will be described. When the ignition knob of the operation switch is twisted, an operation start command is input to the control device 44. Then, the control device 44 opens the on-off valve 36 and ignites the burner 38.

  The operation of the gas stove 30 when receiving the earthquake early warning will be described. When receiving the emergency earthquake warning information, the control device 44 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 in substantially the same manner as the control device 24 of the gas fan heater 10. That is, when the burner 38 is in combustion, the control device 44 determines YES in step S2, and closes the on-off valve 36 in step S4. If the burner 38 is not burning, the control device 44 determines NO in step S2, and does not execute step S4. Thereafter, the control device 44 shifts to a prohibited state in step S6, performs a warning operation in step S8, and enters an input waiting state in step S10. When a specific operation is performed by the operation switch and a cancel command for prohibition is input, the control device 44 cancels the prohibition in step S12 and ends the process of FIG.

  As described above, even in the gas stove 30, when the earthquake early warning is received while the burner 38 is in use, the on-off valve 36 is closed and combustion of the burner 38 is stopped. Since the gas flow path between the on-off valve 36 and the burner 38 is very short, the combustion of the burner 38 can be stopped immediately.

  Next, the water heater 50 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the water heater 50 is connected to a gas supply pipe 70. The water heater 50 is connected to a water supply pipe 85 and a hot water discharge pipe 86. The water supply pipe 85 and the hot water supply pipe 86 supply tap water to a hot water tap 87 provided at a hot water use location such as a bathroom. The water heater 50 includes a remote controller 52, a casing 53, a gas pipe 54, on-off valves 56 and 57, a burner 58, a water amount sensor 59, a water amount servo 60, a heat exchanger 61, a receiving device 62, and a control device 64. Yes. The gas pipe 54, the on-off valves 56 and 57, the burner 58, the water amount sensor 59, the water amount servo 60, the heat exchanger 61, the receiving device 62, and the control device 64 are disposed in the casing 53. The remote controller 52 is installed on the wall surface or the like of the hot water use location. Although not shown, the remote controller 52 includes a power button, various operation switches, a display screen, a display lamp, and a speaker.

  The heat exchanger 61 is connected to the water supply pipe 85 and the hot water discharge pipe 86. Tap water is supplied from the water supply pipe 85 to the heat exchanger 61. The tap water supplied to the heat exchanger 61 flows through the heat exchanger 61 to the hot water discharge pipe 86. The water amount sensor 59 and the water amount servo 60 are interposed in the water supply pipe 85. The water amount sensor 59 detects the flow rate of water flowing through the water supply pipe 85. The water amount servo 60 opens and closes the water supply pipe 85. The opening amount of the water amount servo 60 can be controlled, and the flow rate of the water flowing through the water supply pipe 85 is adjusted by controlling the opening amount of the water amount servo 60. The upstream end of the gas pipe 54 is connected to the gas supply pipe 70, and the downstream end of the gas pipe 54 is connected to the burner 58. The burner 58 is disposed below the heat exchanger 61. The burner 58 heats the heat exchanger 61 by burning the gas supplied from the gas pipe 54. The on-off valve 56 is interposed in the gas pipe 54. The on-off valve 57 is interposed in the gas pipe 54 on the upstream side of the on-off valve 56. The on-off valves 56 and 57 open and close the gas pipe 54. The receiving device 62 receives the earthquake early warning that is wirelessly transmitted from the earthquake early warning system 100, converts the earthquake early warning received wirelessly into an electrical signal, and inputs the electrical signal to the control device 64. The control device 64 is electrically connected to the remote controller 52, the on-off valves 56 and 57, the burner 58, the water amount sensor 59, the water amount servo 60, and the receiving device 62. The control device 64 controls each unit based on an operation signal input from the remote controller 52 or an emergency earthquake bulletin input from the receiving device 62.

  The normal operation of the water heater 50 will be described. When the faucet of the hot-water tap 87 is opened after the power button of the remote controller 52 is pushed and the control device 64 of the hot-water heater 50 becomes operable, the water heater 50 starts normal operation. When the hot-water tap 87 is opened, water flows into the water supply pipe 85, and the water amount sensor 59 counts the flow rate of water flowing through the water supply pipe 85. When the water amount sensor 59 starts counting, an operation start command is input to the control device 64. Then, the control device 64 opens the on-off valves 56 and 57 and ignites the burner 58. When the burner 58 burns, the heat exchanger 61 is heated and the water flowing through the heat exchanger 61 is heated. Accordingly, the hot water is supplied from the water supply pipe 85 to the hot water supply tap 87 through the heat exchanger 61 and the hot water supply pipe 86, and the hot water is discharged from the hot water supply tap 87.

  The operation of the water heater 50 when receiving an earthquake early warning will be described. Upon receiving the emergency earthquake warning information, the control device 64 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S22, the control device 64 determines whether or not the burner 58 is burning. If the burner 58 is burning, it is determined YES in step S22, and if the water heater 50 is not used or if normal temperature water is supplied to the hot water use location, NO is determined in step S22. Determined.

  If it is determined as YES in step S22, the burner 58 is in combustion, so that the on-off valves 56 and 57 are open. Therefore, the control device 64 closes the on-off valve 56 in step S24. When the on-off valve 56 is closed, the gas supply to the burner 58 is stopped, and the gas combustion is stopped. Since the distance of the gas pipe 54 between the on-off valve 56 and the burner 58 is extremely short, the combustion of gas in the burner 58 stops at substantially the same timing as when the on-off valve 56 is closed. Next, the control device 64 closes the on-off valve 57 in step S26. Thus, by closing the downstream on-off valve 56 of the two on-off valves 56 and 57 first, combustion of the burner 58 can be stopped more quickly. Moreover, fail safe is achieved by closing both the two on-off valves 56 and 57. On the other hand, if it is determined as NO in step S22, the on / off valves 56 and 57 are already closed, so the control device 64 does not execute steps S24 and 26. That is, the state where the on-off valves 56 and 57 are closed is maintained.

  In step S28, the control device 64 shifts to a prohibited state. The prohibition state means that even when an operation command is input to the control device 64 by the water amount sensor 59 counting the flow rate of water in the water supply pipe 85 while the power button of the remote controller 52 is pressed, the control device 64 operates. This is a state in which an operation is not executed without receiving a command.

  In step S30, the control device 64 warns the user with the display screen of the remote control, the display lamp, and the speaker.

  If step S30 is performed, the control apparatus 64 will be in the state of waiting for input of the cancellation | release command of a prohibition state by step S32. When a specific operation is performed by the operation switch of the remote controller 52, a command for canceling the prohibited state is input from the remote controller 52 to the control device 64. Thereby, the control device 64 shifts from the prohibited state to the normal state in step S34. That is, the control device 64 is in a state of executing a normal operation when an operation command is input to the control device 64 by the water amount sensor 59 counting the flow rate of water in the water supply pipe 85. That is, the prohibition state of the control device 64 can be canceled by a manual operation. If step S34 is performed, the control apparatus 64 will complete | finish the process of FIG.

  As described above, even in the water heater 50, when the earthquake early warning is received while the burner 58 is in use, the on-off valves 56 and 57 are closed and the combustion of the burner 58 is stopped. Since the gas flow path between the on-off valve 56 and the burner 58 is extremely short, the combustion of the burner 58 can be stopped immediately.

  In addition, although the Example mentioned above demonstrated the gas fan heater, the gas stove, and the water heater, this invention is applicable also to another gas appliance. For example, you may apply to a gas microwave oven, a gas rice cooker, etc.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, a warning is given to the user by blinking the display lamp and intermittently emitting an electronic sound from the speaker. However, the warning may be given by turning on the display lamp (that is, continuously emitting light instead of blinking). In addition, a warning may be issued by a continuous electronic sound (that is, an electronic sound emitted without interruption) instead of an intermittent electronic sound from a speaker. Further, a warning may be given by sound being emitted from a speaker.

  Moreover, in the Example mentioned above, the water heater 50 had two on-off valves which open and close a gas pipe. However, the gas fan heater 10 or the gas stove 30 may be provided with two on-off valves that open and close the gas pipe. The gas fan heater 10 and the gas stove 30 can also be made fail-safe by closing the two on-off valves when receiving the earthquake early warning. In this case, combustion of the burner can be stopped more quickly by closing the on-off valve installed on the downstream side first.

  In the above-described embodiment, the earthquake early warning is received wirelessly, but may be received by wire. Moreover, you may receive via networks, such as HEMS (Home Energy Management System).

Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.
The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology illustrated in the present specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical utility by achieving one of the objects.

10: Gas fan heater 12: Gas plug 13: Casing 14: Gas pipe 16: On-off valve 18: Burner 20: Fan 22: Receiver 24: Control device 30: Gas stove 32: Gas plug 33: Casing 34: Gas pipe 36: On-off valve 38: burner 42: receiving device 44: control device 50: water heater 52: remote controller 53: casing 54: gas pipe 56: on-off valve 57: on-off valve 58: burner 59: water amount sensor 60: water amount servo 61: heat exchange Device 62: Receiver 64: Controller 70: Gas supply pipe 80: Gas meter 85: Water supply pipe 86: Hot water outlet 87: Hot water tap 90: Gas supply pipe 100: Emergency earthquake warning system

Claims (6)

A gas appliance for burning gas,
A casing,
A gas combustion device fixed to the casing;
A gas pipe disposed in the casing for supplying gas to the gas combustion device;
A first valve disposed in the casing for opening and closing the gas pipe;
A receiving means for receiving the earthquake early warning;
Control means for closing the first valve when an earthquake early warning is received during operation of the gas combustion device;
The gas appliance characterized by having.   2. The gas appliance according to claim 1, wherein the control unit shifts to a prohibition state in which the first valve is not opened in a normal use operation after the earthquake early warning is received and the first valve is closed. A second valve installed in the gas pipe upstream of the first valve;
The gas appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when an earthquake early warning is received during operation of the gas combustion apparatus, the control means closes the second valve after closing the first valve.   The control means shifts to a prohibition state in which the first valve is not opened in a normal use operation when an emergency earthquake warning is received when the gas combustion device is not operating. The gas appliance according to any one of the above.   The gas appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when an earthquake early warning is received, notification is made by at least one of light and sound.   The gas appliance according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the prohibited state can be canceled by a specific manual operation different from a normal use operation.

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