JP2011007529A - Method and device for calibrating smoke detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for calibrating a smoke detector and to enable the miniaturization of the device and the stable and rapid calibration of the sensitivity of the device by simple constitution.SOLUTION: The calibration device 1 includes a smoke producing part 2 having predetermined volume and a sensor arranging part 3 both of which are adjacent to each other through a partition 4. A smoke generator 21 is arranged in the smoke producing part 2 and the smoke detector 5 can be arranged on the sensor arranging part 3, removably. The partition 4 has an opening (not shown). and a movable valve for opening and closing the opening and the flow of gas between the smoke producing part 2 and the sensor arranging part 3 is cut off by closing the opening by the valve while the gas is allowed to freely flow between the smoke producing part 2 and the sensor arranging part 3 by operating the valve to open the opening of the partition 4. Calibration is performed in a stationary state after the gas detector is filled with smoke of definite concentration, so that stable and precise calibration can be repeatedly performed. The smoke producing part 2 and the sensor arranging part 3 may be volumetrically kept to a necessary minimum and the whole of the calibration device 1 can be miniaturized.

Description

  The present invention relates to a smoke detector calibration method and calibration apparatus.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), a smoke generation unit 92, a control smoke concentration meter 93, a rectifying honeycomb 94, There is known a calibration method and a calibration device 9 for performing sensitivity adjustment, that is, calibration of the smoke detector 5 in which the motor fans 95 are arranged in order and are opposed to the smoke densitometer 93. The calibration device 9 circulates smoke generated by the smoke generator 92 as a laminar flow by the rectifying honeycomb 94 and the motor fan 95, and determines the smoke concentration flowing into the smoke detector 5a of the smoke detector 5 as a smoke densitometer. The smoke detector 5 is calibrated in accordance with 93. The plurality of smoke detectors 5 to be calibrated can be sequentially attached to and detached from the calibration device 9 from the outside of the inspection tank 91 in which smoke is continuously flowed, and can be calibrated one after another (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

  Further, a calibration method and a calibration device are known in which smoke is flowed from below to above to calibrate a smoke detector disposed above. In this apparatus, the smoke detector is put in an upper box, and when the smoke concentration in the rising airflow reaches a predetermined value, the box is opened and the smoke detector is exposed to smoke for calibration (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-161698 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-13389

  However, in the method and apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 described above, the space part for circulating the smoke is very large compared to the smoke detector to be calibrated, and the apparatus becomes large and expensive. There is. Moreover, in the method and apparatus as shown in Patent Document 2 described above, the calibration is performed by exposing the smoke detector in the rising airflow of smoke, so that the upward airflow is stable when trying to suppress fluctuations in the smoke concentration. Waste of time and waste of smoke occur. If it is attempted to eliminate waste during calibration in such a smoke flow, the configuration becomes the same as in the case where the smoke is circulated, and the same problem as described above occurs.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and provides a smoke detector calibration method and a calibration device capable of performing sensitivity calibration stably and quickly with a downsized apparatus with a simple configuration. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a sensor placement section having a predetermined volume that generates a certain amount of smoke in a smoke generation section having a predetermined volume and is partitioned by a partition with respect to the smoke generation section. A smoke detector is disposed, and with the smoke detector disposed in the sensor placement portion, the partition is opened to diffuse smoke from the smoke generation portion. Fully calibrate the smoke detector.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the smoke detector calibration method according to the first aspect, before the partition is opened, the pressure sensor is depressurized using a pressure reducing device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the smoke detector calibration method according to the first or second aspect, before the partition is opened, the smoke is removed from the sensor placement portion using a smoke removal device. is there.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the smoke detector calibration method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the smoke concentration measurement disposed in the smoke generating unit is performed before the partition is opened. The smoke density in the smoke generating part is measured using a vessel, and the smoke density in the smoke generating part is adjusted to a predetermined value based on the measured value.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the smoke detector calibration method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, after the partition is opened, the sensor arrangement is made from the smoke generating unit using a diffusion device. The smoke is forcibly diffused toward the part.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is a calibration device for calibrating a smoke detector using the calibration method according to the first to fifth aspects.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the volumes of the smoke generating part and the sensor arrangement part may be set to the minimum required constant volume, the entire calibration device can be miniaturized. In addition, the partition between the smoke generation unit and the sensor arrangement unit allows the operations of the smoke generation unit and the sensor arrangement unit to be performed independently, and sensitivity calibration can be performed stably and quickly. Since calibration is not performed in a smoke stream, but calibration is performed in a static state after the sensor placement portion is filled with smoke at a constant concentration, calibration can be performed stably and with high accuracy. Smoke density is inevitably constant by generating a certain amount of smoke in the minimum necessary constant volume part, so the smoke detector calibration method and calibration device are stable, quick, downsized and automated. Can be realized.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sensor placement portion is decompressed, the inflow of smoke to the sensor placement portion after the partition is opened can be promoted, the waiting time for stabilizing the smoke concentration can be shortened, and more rapid calibration is performed. be able to.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the smoke is removed from the sensor arrangement part, it is possible to reduce the variation factor with respect to the smoke density in the sensor arrangement part, and to set the smoke density with high accuracy and good reproducibility and stably and quickly. Sensitivity calibration can be performed.

  According to the invention of claim 4, not only a certain amount of smoke is generated in the smoke generating part, but also the smoke density is adjusted based on the measured value of the smoke density. Even in a situation, calibration failure does not occur, and highly reliable calibration can be performed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to promote the diffusion and inflow of smoke into the sensor placement portion after the partition is opened, to shorten the waiting time for stabilizing the smoke concentration, and to perform more rapid calibration.

  According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to realize a miniaturized calibration device with a simple configuration, and to realize a calibration device capable of performing sensitivity calibration stably and quickly.

(A) is sectional drawing of the state before the partition opening of the calibration apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is sectional drawing of the state after the partition opening of the apparatus. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the calibration method using the same apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the apparatus. Sectional drawing of the calibration apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the calibration method using the same apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the apparatus. Sectional drawing of the calibration apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the apparatus. (A) is sectional drawing of the conventional calibration apparatus, (b) is an external appearance perspective view of the apparatus.

Hereinafter, a smoke detector calibration method and calibration apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIG. 2 show the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a modification thereof. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the calibration device 1 includes a smoke generating unit 2 having a predetermined volume and a sensor placement unit 3 having a predetermined volume so as to be adjacent to each other via a partition 4. The generating unit 2 is provided with a smoke generating device 21, and the sensor arranging unit 3 is configured to detachably arrange a smoke detector 5 as a calibration object. The smoke generating unit 2 and the sensor placement unit 3 are formed by dividing a rectangular room by a partition 4. The partition 4 has an opening (not shown) and a movable, for example, a plate-like valve body that opens and closes the opening. By closing the opening with the valve body, the partition 4 is disposed between the smoke generating unit 2 and the sensor placement unit 3. The gas flow is interrupted. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the gas can freely flow between the smoke generating unit 2 and the sensor arranging unit 3 by operating a valve body (not shown) to open the opening and opening the partition 4. It is said.

  The smoke generator 21 is a device that generates a certain amount of smoke particles. For example, a device that generates a smoke by dropping a certain amount of oil on a heated heater, or an alternative to smoke by dropping a liquid onto a high-frequency vibration surface such as a piezoelectric element or a surface acoustic wave generating element A device that performs this can be used as the smoke generator 21.

  The smoke detector 5 includes, for example, a pair of light emitting elements and a light receiving element with the light receiving and emitting surfaces facing each other, and the amount of received light is reduced by the smoke particles flying between the light receiving and emitting surfaces. It is a detector that detects the presence of smoke. The calibration of the smoke detector is a process for setting the smoke detection sensitivity, that is, the degree of feeling smoke against the smoke density, ie, how much smoke density is detected to detect the presence of smoke. The smoke detector 5 includes a smoke detector 5a having a light emitting / receiving unit, a circuit for controlling the operation of the smoke detector 5a, a power source, a detector body 5b having a buzzer for alarming when detecting smoke, and the like. It is configured. Such a smoke detector 5 to be calibrated is arranged in the sensor arrangement unit 3 with the smoke detection unit 5a facing the internal space of the sensor arrangement unit 3. Calibration of the smoke detector 5 is performed, for example, by adjusting a circuit in the detector main body 5b so that a warning buzzer sounds when a predetermined smoke concentration is exceeded.

  Next, the operation of the calibration device 1 and the smoke detector calibration method will be described. With the partition 4 closed, as shown in FIG. 2, a certain amount of smoke is generated in the smoke generating unit 2 (S1), and the smoke detector 5 is arranged in the sensor arranging unit 3 (S2). Either of these two steps (S1, S2) may be performed first or simultaneously. With the smoke detector 5 placed in the sensor placement section 3, the partition 4 is opened (S3), and the smoke from the smoke generating section 2 is diffused into the sensor placement section 3 so that the sensor placement section 3 has a constant concentration. Smoke is filled (S4). Thereafter, the smoke detector 5 is calibrated (S5), and the smoke detector 5 is taken out and the partition 4 is closed (S6). When the calibration of the other smoke detector 5 is finished (Yes in S7), the process is finished. If the other smoke detectors 5 are continuously calibrated and the calibration is not completed (No in S7), the processes from the above steps (S1, S2) are repeated. Note that a step of calibrating the smoke detector 5 in the smokeless state may be added before the step of opening the partition 4 (S3).

  The calibration apparatus 1 can include a control device for performing automatic processing, various actuators, and the like. For example, a sequencer, a computer, an input / output device for operation, and the like can be provided as control devices, and the above steps (S1 to S7) can be automatically performed sequentially. Automatic generation of smoke by the smoke generator 21, automatic opening / closing of the partition 4, automatic adjustment of the circuit for calibrating the smoke detector 5, and automatic operation of the smoke detector 5 using an actuator such as a robot hand Thus, the smoke detector 5 can be efficiently calibrated by sequentially removing and replacing the components.

  According to the present embodiment, the volume of the smoke generation unit 2 and the sensor placement unit 3 may be set to a minimum fixed volume, so that the entire calibration device 1 can be downsized. In addition, the partition 4 between the smoke generation unit 2 and the sensor arrangement unit 3 enables the operations in the smoke generation unit 2 and the sensor arrangement unit 3 to be performed independently, and sensitivity calibration can be performed stably and quickly. Since calibration is not performed in a smoke stream, but calibration is performed in a static state after the sensor placement unit 3 is filled with a certain concentration of smoke, stable and highly accurate calibration can be performed. Smoke density is inevitably constant by generating a certain amount of smoke in the minimum necessary constant volume part, so the smoke detector calibration method and calibration device are stable, quick, downsized and automated. 1 can be realized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a diffusion device 6 can be provided in the sensor placement unit 3. The diffusing device 6 forcibly diffuses smoke from the smoke generating unit 2 toward the sensor arranging unit 3 after opening the partition 4. According to this modification, it is possible to promote the diffusion and inflow of smoke into the sensor placement unit 3 after the partition is opened, to shorten the waiting time for stabilizing the smoke concentration, and to perform quicker calibration.

(Second Embodiment)
4 and 5 show the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows a modification thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, the present embodiment is an apparatus in which the smoke generation unit 2 includes a smoke concentration measuring device 22 and the sensor placement unit 3 includes a decompression device P in the calibration device 1 according to the first embodiment. The present invention also relates to a calibration method using the same. The smoke concentration measuring device 22 is a measuring device for measuring the smoke concentration in the smoke generating unit 2, and manually determines the smoke concentration in the smoke generating unit 2 based on the measured value or automatically by a separately provided control device. Can be adjusted to the value. The smoke density measuring device 22 can be used to correct the fluctuation of the smoke density generated by the smoke generator 21, and the smoke generation accuracy by the smoke generator 21 and the smoke density due to residual smoke in the previous configuration in the smoke generator 2. Can compensate for fluctuations. For the purpose of realizing the desired smoke density by measuring the concentration of residual smoke in the smoke generator 2 and generating additional smoke in response to this, in addition to the purpose of use for such complementation. Can be used. Specifically, with the partition 4 closed, before the smoke generation by the smoke generator 21, the smoke concentration measuring device 22 measures the smoke concentration of the smoke generating unit 2, and the difference between the measured value and the target concentration. An amount of smoke calculated from the above is generated from the smoke generator 21. In this case, it is not necessary to remove or replace the residual smoke in the smoke generator 2, and the amount of smoke generated can be suppressed to save the material for generating smoke.

  As the decompression device P, for example, a vacuum pump, an exhaust fan, a blower, or the like can be used. The decompression device P is for making the pressure of the sensor placement unit 3 lower than the pressure of other regions, particularly the smoke generation unit 2. The decompression device P can be used as a smoke removal device for exhausting and removing smoke in the sensor placement unit 3 and further in the smoke generation unit 2. When operating the decompression device P, by introducing air or any other gas, the gas in the sensor placement unit 3 or the smoke generation unit 2 can be replaced by these gases. In addition, in order to replace the gas in the sensor placement unit 3 and the smoke generation unit 2 more positively, gas replacement for blowing air or other arbitrary gas into the sensor placement unit 3 or the smoke generation unit 2 under pressure. An apparatus may be provided. When only such pressure replacement is performed, the operation of the decompression device P is unnecessary.

  Next, the operation of the calibration device 1 and the smoke detector calibration method will be described. The processing flow shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by adding two steps (S10, S20) to the processing flow shown in FIG. That is, after the step (S1) of generating a certain amount of smoke in the smoke generating unit 2, the smoke concentration in the smoke generating unit 2 is measured by the smoke concentration measuring device 22, and the smoke in the smoke generating unit 2 is measured based on the measured value. A step (S10) for adjusting the density to a predetermined value is added. Further, after the step (S2) of placing the smoke detector 5 on the sensor placement unit 3, a step (S20) of decompressing the sensor placement unit 3 using the decompression device P is added. During the decompression, the smoke in the sensor placement unit 3 can be removed, and a replacement gas can be introduced if necessary.

  According to the present embodiment, not only a certain amount of smoke is generated in the smoke generating unit 2, but also the smoke density is adjusted based on the measured value of the smoke density. Therefore, highly reliable calibration can be performed. In addition, since the sensor placement unit 3 is decompressed, the inflow of smoke into the sensor placement unit 3 after the partition 4 is opened can be promoted, the waiting time for stabilizing the smoke concentration can be shortened, and more rapid calibration can be performed. . Furthermore, since smoke can be removed from the sensor placement unit 3 during decompression, the variation factor for the smoke density in the sensor placement unit 3 can be reduced, and the smoke density can be set with high accuracy and good reproducibility.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a diffusion device 6 can be further provided in the sensor placement unit 3. The diffusion device 6 opens the partition 4 and then forcibly diffuses smoke from the smoke generation unit 2 toward the sensor placement unit 3 to make the smoke density uniform. According to this modified example, in addition to the effect of decompression, it is possible to promote the diffusion of smoke into the sensor placement unit 3 after the partition is opened and the uniform concentration.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows the third embodiment, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show modifications thereof. In this embodiment, the partition 4 is constituted by a valve 7 used for piping or the like, for example, an electromagnetic valve in the second embodiment described above. The effective opening in the partition by the valve 7 is narrower by one digit or more than the opening in the partition 4 described above, but by using a commercially available inexpensive solenoid valve or the like as the valve 7, it is easier than the plate-like partition 4 or the like. In addition, the calibration device 1 can be obtained at low cost. When the smoke is introduced into the sensor placement unit 3 via the valve 7, the sensor placement unit 3 is decompressed in advance by the decompression device P, so that the calibration can be made sufficiently quickly. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a diffusion device 6 may be further provided. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, only the diffusion device 6 may be provided without the decompression device P. With such a configuration, a practical calibration apparatus 1 can be realized at low cost.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and various modifications can be made. For example, the configurations of the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other. For example, a plurality of valves 7 in the third embodiment may be provided in parallel. Thereby, smoke can be introduced into the sensor placement unit 3 more quickly. Moreover, the structure of the smoke generation part 2 and the sensor arrangement | positioning part 3 can be made into arbitrary shapes other than a square shape other than a square shape. Moreover, these arrangement | positioning is good also as an up-down arrangement instead of horizontal parallel. In addition, the number of smoke detectors 5 arranged in the sensor arrangement unit 3 is not limited to one at a time, but a plurality of smoke detectors 5 can be arranged and calibrated batchwise. Also good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Calibration apparatus 2 Smoke generating part 3 Sensor arrangement | positioning part 4 Partition 5 Smoke detector 6 Diffusion apparatus 7 Valve (partition)
22 Smoke density measuring device P Pressure reducing device

Claims (6)

A certain amount of smoke is generated in the smoke generator with a predetermined volume,
A smoke detector is disposed in a predetermined volume sensor arrangement section partitioned by a partition with respect to the smoke generation section,
In a state where the smoke detector is arranged in the sensor arrangement part, the smoke is diffused by opening the partition and diffusing the smoke from the smoke generation part, so that the sensor arrangement part is filled with a certain concentration of smoke. Calibration method for smoke detectors, characterized in that   The method for calibrating a smoke detector according to claim 1, wherein the sensor placement unit is decompressed using a decompression device before the partition is opened.   The smoke detector calibration method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein smoke is removed from the sensor arrangement portion using a smoke removing device before the partition is opened.   Before opening the partition, measure the smoke concentration in the smoke generation unit using a smoke concentration measuring device arranged in the smoke generation unit, and determine the smoke concentration in the smoke generation unit based on the measured value 4. The smoke detector calibration method according to claim 1, wherein the smoke detector is adjusted to a value.   5. The smoke is forcibly diffused from the smoke generation unit toward the sensor arrangement unit using a diffusion device after the partition is opened. Calibration method for smoke detectors.   A calibration device for calibrating a smoke detector using the calibration method according to claim 1.

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