JP2015207869A - Centralized management system for object information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform quick crime prevention and disaster prevention by centrally managing, through a communication network, locations of objects such as propane gas cylinders existing in great numbers in a city as well as detecting an abnormal state of a cylinder.SOLUTION: A PHS communication function 28, a seismic intensity sensor 21, a temperature sensor 22, a weight sensor 23, and a GPS sensor 24 are attached to an object; periodic observation of object accessory information detected by the sensors is performed and a result of the observation is transmitted to a centralized management server. Thereby, the server can be informed of locations and abnormality states of all objects to take countermeasures against the abnormality states.

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for centrally managing information attached to an object such as location information such as a gas cylinder of propane gas using communication means.

  In recent years, the detection accuracy of sensor elements such as seismic intensity sensors, temperature sensors, weight sensors, etc. has improved, and low-power-saving drive technology has evolved. By using the possible PHS wireless communication, an electronic circuit equipped with these elements can be driven with a battery for a period of more than one year.

  As a technique for knowing the location of an object, it is known that it can be estimated within a certain range even by using a GPS sensor or a cellular mobile phone technique.

  In Patent Document 1, in the PHS mobile phone communication system, the presence of a mobile phone in a communication area covered by one base station can be detected. In Patent Document 2, the mobile phone has a GPS function. The ability to tell where the mobile phone owner is now is clearly stated.

JP2003-134547 JP 2010-055583

  A large number of propane gas cylinders are installed outside the home and may be moved, and the location of objects that are at risk of theft is managed by a centralized management server. If it is determined that the movement is not an appropriate movement, or if it is determined that the usage change is not normal, it is presumed that some abnormal situation has occurred and the desired measures can be taken. It is. In addition, when a gas user moves, the gas dealer withdraws the gas cylinder and the cylinder is stored in the gas dealer. However, in the management that relies on the gas dealer, the gas supplier that supervises the gas dealer If you look at it, you cannot say that the storage management state is sufficient, and there is the inconvenience that it cannot be managed correctly.

  In view of the above points, the present invention has an object to make it possible to realize centralized management of information such as location and usage, and to enable a measurement circuit for observing such information to be driven by a battery.

  An information management unit is physically connected to each cylinder, and a place where the cylinder is placed is detected with an accuracy of a radius of 100 meters using a PHS communication technology with a narrow cell range.

  An accurate location can be detected by adding a GPS sensor to the unit. Since most gas cylinders are installed outdoors, the GPS sensor is an effective means if the object is a gas cylinder. By providing a seismic intensity sensor inside the information management unit, it is possible to detect vibrations that occur as the cylinder moves. If the gas store knows that the cylinder will be removed by moving, etc., it can be judged that this movement is normal, but if it is not scheduled to move, it is presumed theft.

  A weight sensor is provided inside the information management unit, the weight of the entire cylinder is measured, and the content (gas) capacity can be estimated. By grasping and managing the normal usage of gas users, it is possible to detect abnormal increases or decreases in usage, and if there is an increase, it is estimated that the gas has leaked or stolen, and the decrease (especially during a certain period of time) When zero) is detected, it is possible to detect that an abnormality has occurred in the user's house such as a weakened elderly person living alone. Also, by providing a temperature sensor, an abnormal temperature rise near the cylinder can be detected, which is useful for detecting a fire.

  These sensor information enables automatic centralized management by periodic automatic communication between the information management unit and the centralized management server every 30 minutes or every other day. In addition, by changing the measurement cycle and the communication cycle according to the sensor information, it is possible to achieve efficient matching between the improvement of the sense capability and the power saving.

  It is possible to estimate the abnormal state of gas cylinder users, detect illegal movement of cylinders, manage the location of cylinders centrally, and perform operations such as installing new users and replacing cylinders efficiently. Also, abnormalities in gas usage and abnormal temperature rises near the cylinder can be detected, which can be effectively used for disaster prevention and other measures.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the centralized management system by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of an information management unit. The figure shows the information management unit physically coupled to a gas cylinder.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an information centralized management system according to the present invention. An information management unit 12 is installed integrally with a gas cylinder 11, and the information management unit 12 and a public PHS communication network 13 are wirelessly communicated. The PHS communication network 13 is configured to communicate with the central management center 14. The information management unit 12 is attached to the bottom of the gas cylinder 11 so that the weight of the gas cylinder 11 can be sensed. The shape of the information management unit 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped, which is about the size of a slightly larger mobile phone.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the information management unit 12 is attached to a cylinder receiving base 31 that supports the bottom of the gas cylinder 11 via a unit holder 34, and the weight sensor 23 can measure a part of the weight of the gas cylinder 11. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electrical internal configuration of the information management unit 12 includes a seismic intensity sensor 21, a temperature sensor 22, a weight sensor 23, a GPS sensor 24, a clock 25, a sampling pulse generation circuit 26, a battery 27, and a battery remaining amount detection. Unit 27b, PHS communication unit 28, sensor information memory 29a, and terminal ID memory 29b. Note that the clock 25 may be omitted because the PHS communication unit 28 obtains clock information from the PHS communication network 13 every time it communicates with the PHS communication network 13. The PHS communication unit 28 also sends a cycle control signal transmitted from the central management center 14 to the sampling pulse generation circuit 26 in order to change the pulse generation cycle of the sampling pulse generation circuit 26.

  FIG. 3 illustrates the combined state of the gas cylinder 11 and the information management unit 12.

  The gas cylinder 11 is placed on the cylinder cradle 31 via a pressure contact rubber 32 and a spacer 37.

  The spacer 37 distributes the weight of the cylinder to the cylinder cradle 31 and the weight sensor 23. A hollow space S for the information management unit 12 to be placed on the bottom of the gas cylinder 11 is provided in the center of the cylinder receiving base 31. All of the electronic circuits of the information management unit 12 are mounted on a printed circuit board 33, and the printed circuit board 33 is held by a unit holder 34 with two stoppers 36. The unit holder 34 is fixed to the cylinder cradle 31 with two fasteners 35. The weight sensor 23 mounted on the printed circuit board 33 is placed on the upper side of the printed circuit board 33 so that the weight of the gas cylinder 11 is felt, and the temperature sensor 22, the seismic intensity sensor 21, and the GPS sensor 24 are placed on the lower side of the printed circuit board 33. The lower side of the unit holder 34 is opened so as to be exposed to the outside air.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the information management unit 12 monitors sensor information at regular time intervals (for example, 5 minutes or 30 minutes) by an output signal from the sampling pulse generation circuit 26. The monitored information is sent from the PHS communication unit 28 to the central management center 14 via the PHS communication network 13 each time. There is a method of sending all the sensor information to the central management center 14 every time sampling is performed by the sensor, but a method of sending the sensor information stored in the sensor information memory 29a to the central management center 14 once a day or a change There is also a device to save power by sending only the sensor information that has occurred and shortening the communication time. Also, the sampling time interval can be shortened by sensor information. For example, if a change in the output of the GPS sensor 24 monitored every 30 minutes is felt, the movement of the gas cylinder 11 can be monitored in more detail at intervals of 5 minutes.

  Each information management unit 12 corresponding to the gas cylinder 11 on a one-to-one basis is assigned an ID number. The central management center 14 can manage the installation storage location of the gas cylinder 11 supplied to the gas store by monitoring the ID number corresponding to the gas cylinder 11, which includes GPS information obtained from the GPS sensor 24. It is necessary to transmit the ID number from the PHS communication unit 28 of the information management unit 12 to the centralized management center 14 via the PHS communication network 13 immediately after installation. In addition, by referring to the PHS base station information and confirming that the GPS information is in the base station area, it is possible to determine whether the GPS information is correct or incorrect. When it is determined that the GPS information is not accurate, the location information of the gas cylinder 11 is managed using PHS base station information instead of GPS information.

  As means for detecting the movement of the gas cylinder 11, when the output of the GPS sensor 24 is unstable, the output information of the seismic intensity sensor 21 is used. The output of the seismic intensity sensor 21 can detect shaking caused by an earthquake, but can also detect shaking accompanying the movement of the gas cylinder 11. When the gas user withdraws the gas cylinder 11 for reasons such as moving, there is a change in the seismic intensity sensor 21 and the information reaches the central management center 14. In the central management center 14, it can be seen that the work is being carried out according to the withdrawal work plan that was sent in advance from the gas dealer. If the withdrawal work plan has not been delivered to the gas sales company, the gas supply company will call the gas sales office and ask if it has been stolen because it has detected the movement of the gas cylinder 11 in the sales office. Can also be used to prevent theft. If the gas dealer did not submit the withdrawal work plan to the gas supply company, it can contribute to thorough advance submission. Even if the GPS sensor 24 does not operate for some reason, the movement can be detected only by the seismic intensity sensor 21, and the location of the gas cylinder 11 can be grasped by using only the base station information of PHS communication, although the accuracy is lower than GPS.

  Based on the output of the weight sensor 23, the amount of gas used can be measured equivalently, and the amount of usage per day of the gas user can be grasped. At some point, if you see a usage that is significantly higher than the amount you know, you are not out of gas for the purpose of gas theft, or you are not leaking gas in your home. It is possible to estimate the gas leak by calling the user from the gas supply company. When gas leaks cannot be confirmed at the user's house, the gas dealer receives a telephone call from the gas supply company and assumes that someone is stealing the gas. Check if there is evidence of gas theft around 11.

  If a gas user lives alone and falls asleep because he does not use gas, the gas usage will be greatly reduced. If you feel that something abnormal has occurred in your home while comparing with the daily usage information described above, the gas supply company will call the emergency contact provided by the gas user or the user. However, if you know that you are absent during a long-term trip, etc., that is OK. If you do not know the reason for the absence, there is a high possibility that an abnormality will occur.

  The temperature around the gas cylinder 11 can be detected by the output of the temperature sensor 22, and the output of the temperature sensor 22 is not significantly different from the atmospheric temperature in a normal use state. In recent years, incidents such as arson tend to occur frequently, but when someone arsons to a gas user's house, the output of the temperature sensor 22 should increase abnormally (indicating a high temperature). 28 directly calls the user's telephone number and informs that the ambient temperature of the gas cylinder 11 is abnormally high.

  In order to take measures against arson, it may be possible to set the sampling interval to 5 minutes at night.

  The communication signals between the PHS communication unit 28 and the central management center 14 are shown in Table 1 below.

  The gas supply company supplies the information management unit 12 together with the cylinder cradle 31 to the gas dealer. When the gas dealer attaches the cylinder cradle 31 to the gas cylinder 11, first, the management number of the gas cylinder 11 and the information management unit Report the management number, the gas user's telephone number, and the emergency contact telephone number to the gas supply company in writing. Upon receiving the report, the gas supply company knows which information management unit is attached to which gas cylinder, and transmits the associated information from the centralized management center 14 as a terminal ID signal.

  After receiving the ID signal, the PHS communication unit 28 stores the received information in the terminal ID memory 29b and sends the sensor output information of the four sensors to the central management center 14, and the central management center 14 is installed. The initial registration is completed by placing these sensor information in the management table as the initial information, and the operation of the information management unit 12 is started. At this time, if the gas supply company determines that the sensor information sent from the central management center 14 is not normal as initial information, the gas supply company contacts the gas dealer and calls the cylinder cradle 31 of the gas cylinder 11. Is requested to re-confirm the installation work, and the correction of the initial registration is completed while the sensor information is transmitted and received again. Thereafter, the information management unit 12 monitors the sensor information at regular intervals such as every 30 minutes, and stores the information in the sensor information memory 29a. When the sensor information is within the normal use range, the contents of the sensor information memory 29a for one day are transmitted to the central management center 14 every day.

  When there is no change in the sensor information, “no change” information may be sent instead of the sensor information for shortening the communication time, or only the information of the weight sensor 23 for grasping the gas usage amount. Good. Shortening the communication time will prolong the battery life. If there is a change in the output of the seismic intensity sensor 21 or the GPS sensor 24, there is a risk of theft, so the measurement cycle is measured from 30 minutes to 1 minute, and the measurement data is sent to the central control center 14 for each measurement. To do. Since the output of the temperature sensor 22 may also cause a fire, it is similarly meticulously measured and information is transmitted to the center. The same applies when it is determined that the output of the weight sensor 23 is not normal because there is a large deviation from the steady usage amount. As an abnormality notification signal, in addition to temperature abnormality, location abnormality, and usage amount abnormality, the battery remaining amount detection unit 27b notifies the central management center 14 when it detects a decrease in the remaining amount, and replaces the battery with the gas dealer. There is a remaining amount decrease signal for requesting.

  When a gas cylinder is withdrawn / moved for reasons such as a gas user's move, the gas dealer submits a “withdrawal work plan” to the gas supply company in advance. Then, the “movement notification” information is sent to the PHS communication unit 28 to inform that it is not necessary to shorten the measurement cycle and that transmission of measurement data to the center is unnecessary. When the “movement notification” signal is received, it is not necessary to shorten the above-described measurement cycle to one minute. This prevents unnecessary battery consumption. Further, when the gas user is absent for a long time due to a trip or the like, it is possible to determine that there is no abnormality even if the amount of gas used is zero by notifying the gas supply company of this fact. The “outing notification” information is sent, and the PHS communication unit 28 does not transmit an abnormality notification signal to the center.

  Centralized management is used for detection of movement by the seismic intensity sensor 21 and GPS sensor 24, detection of abnormalities in gas usage by the weight sensor 23, and detection of abnormalities by the temperature sensor 22 when “notification of movement” or “notification of going out” is not issued. Not only the center 14 is notified of the abnormal state, but also the telephone number of the emergency contact registered in advance by the gas user is automatically transmitted and notified.

  In the above example, the measurement cycle has been described as an example of 30 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute, or 1 day. However, the measurement cycle can be changed by sending a “measurement cycle” signal from the central management center 14 as necessary. Is possible. By changing the measurement cycle according to the situation, it is possible to efficiently improve the sensing ability and save power.

  In addition, the information management unit shown in FIG. 3 is installed in a gas cylinder corresponding to an existing gas cylinder. However, if gas meter information can be obtained directly from the meter with a new gas cylinder, it is not necessary to perform weight measurement. The installation location does not have to be under the cylinder.

  Since the gas meter attached to the propane gas cylinder will be placed on the head of the propane gas cylinder, in the non-gravimetric method, the information management unit may be attached to the head of the gas cylinder, but the numerical value of the gas meter is electrically If it can be obtained, the installation location and installation method will further increase the degree of freedom.

  Where the GPS information can be accurately received, it is possible to use another public communication network such as a general telephone network or a mobile phone network without using the PHS communication network.

  In the above example, the management of propane gas cylinders has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rotation angle of the camera is normal for an object such as a surveillance camera that is installed in the city and is sometimes moved or replaced. Sensors to check whether the lamp is operating, or to check the lighting and lighting of the street light object together with the light sensor, or by the radiation measuring instrument object installed many places, crows and animals on the farm By using objects, sensors, and PHS technology, such as centralized management of information attached to the object such as whether the damage monitoring object is operating normally, has not been stolen, or has been moved without permission, , Function performance (measurement of gas usage in the case of propane gas, brightness measurement in street light), abnormality detection (change in installation environment (fire)), anti-theft measures (normal relocation or theft) Including, it is possible to centrally manage the operation status of the object with the current position, it is possible to deploy the present invention many fields.

  The location of home propane gas cylinders can be centrally managed, and the detection of movement and the like can also be used to prevent fraud and to detect abnormal conditions such as fire and gas leaks. Centralized management of all objects is facilitated, not limited to home use, industrial gas containers, and gas containers.

Close communication between the object supply company, the object sales company, and the object user is automatically performed, and the convenience is improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Gas cylinder 12 Information management unit 13 PHS communication network 14 Information management center 21 Seismic intensity sensor 22 Temperature sensor 23 Weight sensor 24 GPS sensor 25 Clock 26 Sampling pulse generation circuit 27 Battery 27b Battery residual amount detection part 28 PHS communication part 29a Sensor information memory 29b Terminal ID memory 31 Cylinder cradle 32 Pressure contact rubber 33 Printed circuit board 34 Unit holder 35 Unit holder stopper 36 Printed circuit board stopper 37 Spacer

Claims (6)

  An information management unit including a sensor that senses a communication circuit and object-attached information is installed on an object, and sensor information is observed at regular time intervals to estimate the information management unit and the location of the unit. Concentration of object information characterized by centralized management of object operating status and current location by providing a centralized management server that communicates via a communication network and communicating sensor information to the centralized management server at regular time intervals Management system.   2. The object information according to claim 1, wherein the information management unit includes a sensor for measuring a content amount of the object, detects a change in the content amount of the object by the sensor, and centrally manages the change amount of the object. Centralized management system.   2. The centralized object information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information management unit includes a GPS sensor, and centrally manages the current location of the object based on the GPS sensor and communication circuit information.   2. The object information centralized management system according to claim 1, wherein the information management unit includes a temperature sensor and centrally manages an installation environment temperature of the object.   2. The centralized object information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information management unit includes a seismic intensity sensor and centrally manages the movement of the object.   The centralized object information management system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor information controls an observation time interval of the sensor and a communication time interval of the sensor information to the centralized management server.

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