JP2018190252A - System, program, device and method for gas container exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase delivery efficiency of gas containers, while avoiding gas shortage at a delivery destination.SOLUTION: A gas container exchange system and a gas container exchange device comprise: a data acquisition section (8) that acquires meter reading data showing a gas usage amount or a gas residual amount in a gas container; and a processing section (12) that determines a meter reading timing of the next and subsequent times from trend data (TD) showing a trend of the gas usage amount or the gas residual amount, calculates a gas container exchange date determined according to the gas usage amount or the gas residual amount, and that includes a) candidate dates for exchanging a single or plural gas containers, including a gas exchange date, b) a delivery segment, c) a single or plural delivery routes, d) required time to the delivery destination, e) meteorological information, and f) traffic information, in order to determine a gas container exchange date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more items among the items a) to f).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a delivery management technique such as delivery exchange of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) containers.

The LPG is loaded in a gas container such as a cylinder or cylinder, and delivered to the eaves of the contracted user. A plurality of gas containers are installed, and replacement work is performed before a predetermined number of containers are emptied due to gas consumption. In this gas container replacement, the gas usage tendency varies depending on the user, so there may be a case where gas runs out, or conversely, there may be a large amount of residual gas in the gas container, and setting a predetermined container replacement date is not possible Can not. Exchange at a timing when there is a large amount of residual gas results in waste of the number of deliveries and increases the burden of gas container replacement work.
In conventional gas container delivery and replacement, for example, the out-of-gas date is predicted from the monthly gas meter reading results, and the day of the out-of-gas date is specified with a safety factor taking into account prediction errors and delivery work. The delivery person is instructed.

  For example, a gas container deliverer has a large number of users in charge of delivery and exchange as customers, receives a delivery slip for several days from the gas container replacement management side, and starts from the delivery date specified in this delivery slip. Delivery and exchange work within several days. Each deliverer determines a delivery order and a delivery route for the received delivery slip.

Regarding the management of the remaining amount of gas in the gas container, the gas consumption facility uses the gas consumption detected by the flow rate measuring means arranged in the gas supply path between the gas container and the gas consumption facility and the gas remaining amount in the gas container. It is known to calculate and display the remaining time that can be consumed (Patent Document 1).
Regarding gas container delivery prediction, there is known a method for predicting a gas outbreak occurrence date using a safety factor master and calculating a delivery date in consideration of the delivery efficiency and the risk of gas exhaustion (for example, Patent Document 2). . The amount of gas used is obtained from multiple meter readings of the gas meter, and the remaining amount of gas is updated. Based on the change in the amount of gas used by comparison with the past amount of gas used, the updated amount of remaining gas is reduced and future gas is reduced. It is known that the remaining amount is predicted, and the date when the predicted remaining gas amount becomes a predetermined value is determined as the delivery date of the gas container (Patent Document 3).
For LP gas delivery management, the center server performs delivery prediction based on meter-reading information and sends the information to the delivery base, and the daily delivery area is set based on the delivery capability of each delivery person In addition to being transmitted to each delivery person's mobile phone, the delivery data is displayed on a car navigation system (for example, Patent Document 4).

JP, 2006-075366, A Japanese Patent No. 5802225 Japanese Patent No. 5570553 Japanese Patent No. 5331157

By the way, when a delivery destination such as a specific user is fixed to each delivery person in charge of delivery of gas containers, if the delivery person assigns a route or delivery date, delivery information such as road information of the area in charge, delivery order, etc. It is necessary to be familiar with When such a delivery skill is requested from a person in charge, there is a problem that the delivery efficiency is affected by the delivery skill, for example, the delivery efficiency varies depending on the delivery person, depending on the experience and ability.
In the delivery management of gas containers, for example, in the winter, when a lot of gas is used and the number of times the gas container is changed, it is possible to provide assistance to other deliverers and to assign inexperienced personnel in charge. There is no problem. In other words, not only the person in charge who is unfamiliar with delivery cannot be entrusted, but also unexpected situations such as poor physical condition of the person in charge occur, and it is difficult for a skilled delivery person to take a vacation, so the burden on the delivery person tends to be biased There are also challenges. Considering such delivery circumstances, in order to avoid unforeseen circumstances such as running out of gas, the delivery safety rate must be increased, and the amount of gas remaining in the delivery destination gas container will increase. However, there is a problem that the delivery efficiency is lowered.

  In the delivery of gas containers, uncertain factors are added to the confirmed delivery date, such as the delivery route, the traffic situation on the delivery date, the weather situation, etc., and there is a problem that it is dependent on the familiarity and intuition of the deliverer . Even if the optimal delivery date is set, if the delivery route or the like is wrongly selected, the situation that the burden of delivery becomes large on the contrary cannot be ignored.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to improve the delivery efficiency of a gas container while avoiding a gas exhaustion at a delivery destination.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container replacement system of the present invention, it is obtained within a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. A data acquisition unit that acquires meter reading data representing a gas usage amount or a gas remaining amount, and a trend data that represents a trend of the gas usage amount or the gas remaining amount from the meter reading data. Determine the meter reading timing, calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the gas usage amount or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including traffic information of the delivery route or delivery section, and a processing unit that determines a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f).

In the gas container replacement system, any one of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, and the traffic information Or two or more and a storage unit for storing any one or more of meter reading data, trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval, and the processing unit stores the information in the storage unit. Alternatively, updating may be performed to dynamically change the information.
The gas container replacement system may further include an information presentation unit that presents delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route.
In the gas container replacement system, the processing unit may further select a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.

In the gas container replacement system, the processing unit may select or change a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and may change a delivery route according to the traffic information.
The said gas container replacement | exchange system WHEREIN: Furthermore, the said process part may output the map information showing the said delivery route including the said gas container replacement | exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the delivery person of the said gas container.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container replacement program of the present invention, it is obtained in a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers of the delivery destination A function to acquire meter reading data representing gas usage or gas remaining, and trend data representing the trend of gas usage or gas remaining from the meter reading data are created. Determine, calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the gas usage amount or gas remaining amount acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) The traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section is included, and the computer is caused to execute a function of determining a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f).

In the gas container replacement program, any one of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, and the traffic information Or two or more, a function of storing any one or more of meter reading data, the trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval or two or more in the storage unit, updating the information, and dynamically And a function to change.
The gas container replacement program may further include a function including a function of presenting delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route to an information presentation unit connected by wire or wirelessly.
The gas container replacement program may further include a function of selecting a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.
The gas container replacement program may include a function of selecting or changing a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and changing a delivery route according to the traffic information.
The gas container replacement program may include a function of outputting map information representing the delivery route including the gas container replacement date and the delivery destination to the terminal device of the gas container delivery person.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container exchange device of the present invention, it is obtained in a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. A data acquisition unit that acquires meter reading data representing the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas, and a trend that is connected to the data acquisition unit by wire or wirelessly and that represents the trend of the gas usage or the remaining amount of gas from the meter reading data Create data, determine the next meter reading timing from this trend data, calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) A processing unit that includes traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section and determines a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f), and a gas container output by the processing unit An information presenting unit for presenting information including an exchange date and a delivery route is provided.

In the gas container exchange device, any one of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, the traffic information, or 2 or more, and a storage unit for storing any one or more of meter reading data, trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval, or the processing unit stores or updates the information in the storage unit The information may be changed dynamically.
The gas container exchange device may include an information presentation unit that is connected to the processing unit by wire or wirelessly and presents delivery instruction information including the gas container exchange date and the delivery route.
In the gas container exchange device, the processing unit may select a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.
In the gas container replacement device, a gas container replacement date may be selected or changed from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and a delivery route may be changed according to the traffic information.
The said gas container replacement | exchange apparatus WHEREIN: The said process part may output the map information showing the said delivery route containing the said gas container replacement | exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the delivery person of the said gas container.

In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the gas container replacement method of the present invention, the data acquisition unit has a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter-reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. A step of obtaining meter reading data representing the amount of gas used or the amount of remaining gas, and a processing unit creates trend data representing a trend of the amount of gas used or amount of remaining gas from the meter reading data. Determine the subsequent meter reading timing, calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and determining a gas container replacement date and delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f).

In the gas container replacement method, the processing unit further includes identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container in the storage unit, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, and the weather. Any one or more of the information, the traffic information, the meter reading data, the trend data, the information indicating the meter reading timing or the meter reading interval, or a step of storing two or more, and the processing unit in the storage unit Storing or updating the stored information, and dynamically changing the information.
The gas container replacement method may further include a step in which the information presentation unit presents delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route.
The gas container replacement method may include a step of selecting a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.
In the gas container replacement method, the processing unit includes a step of selecting or changing a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and changing a delivery route according to the traffic information. Good.
In the gas container replacement method, the processing unit may include a step of outputting map information representing the delivery route including the gas container replacement date and the delivery destination to the terminal device of the gas container delivery person.

According to the present invention, any of the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The gas container replacement date and the delivery route can be determined while avoiding the out of gas at the delivery destination, and the delivery efficiency of the gas container can be improved.
(2) Optimal gas by the combination of gas container replacement date, delivery route, delivery section, required time, weather information and traffic information included in the gas container replacement candidate date determined by the trend of gas usage or gas remaining amount The container replacement date and the delivery route can be determined, and the delivery efficiency and the intuition can be eliminated to improve delivery efficiency.

(3) It is possible to reduce the impact on delivery due to weather deterioration and traffic congestion, and to select an efficient delivery order and delivery route.
(4) The delivery time can be shortened and an efficient delivery route can be selected.
(5) It can absorb uncertain factors such as seasonal fluctuations in gas use and temperature changes, and can improve the estimation accuracy of gas container replacement dates and select gas container replacement dates. A delivery route can be determined by a combination of two or more traffic information.

It is a figure which shows the gas container exchange system which concerns on one embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st process sequence of gas container replacement | exchange. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd process sequence of gas container replacement | exchange. 1 is a diagram illustrating a gas container replacement system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of gas container replacement | exchange. It is a flowchart which shows the process procedure 1 of gas container replacement | exchange. It is a flowchart which shows the process procedure 2 of gas container replacement | exchange. It is a figure which shows transition of a gas remaining amount, and data processing. It is a figure which shows a gas container exchange data table. It is a figure which shows an example of a customer information data table. It is a figure which shows an example of a delivery information data table. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of a delivery route. It is a figure which shows an example of the status information on a delivery date. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of delivery instruction information. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a gas container exchange process. It is a figure which shows an example of the management data table of a delivery state. It is a figure which shows transition of the gas remaining amount and data processing which concern on Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows a gas container exchange data table. It is a figure which shows the gas container exchange system which concerns on Example 3. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a gas container replacement system according to Embodiment 4. It is a figure which shows the gas container exchange system which concerns on Example 5. FIG.

[One embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a gas container replacement system according to an embodiment. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.
As shown in FIG. 1, the gas container replacement system 2 includes a measurement unit 6 and a data acquisition unit 8 on the user's gas meter 4 side, and a gas container replacement device 10 side installed in a management center or a relay station. A processing unit 12, a storage unit 14, and an information presentation unit 16 are provided.
The gas meter 4 is installed in a gas supply path 22 that connects the gas container 18 and the gas device 20. The gas container 18 includes two systems, for example, a gas container 18-1 and a gas container 18-2, which are a supply system and a standby system. The gas container 18-1 is for normal gas supply, and the gas container 18-2 is for countermeasures against gas exhaustion. That is, when the gas container 18-1 runs out of gas, the switch 24 switches the gas supply source from the gas container 18-1 to the standby gas container 18-2, and the gas container 18-2 switches to the gas equipment. The gas is supplied to 20. The gas device 20 includes a plurality of gas devices 20-1 and 20-2 such as a gas appliance and a hot water supply device.

The measuring unit 6 measures the gas G flowing from the gas container 18 to the gas device 20 and outputs meter reading data S including a meter reading value. For the meter reading data S, either the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 18 may be used. The meter reading value of the measuring unit 6 represents the gas flow rate, and the remaining gas amount represents the remaining gas amount in the gas container 18. When the total amount of the gas container 18 is “100” and the meter reading value changes from, for example, an initial meter reading value = 40 to “42”, the remaining gas amount changes from “100” to “98”.
The remaining amount of the container can be expressed by equation (1).
Remaining gas amount = total amount of container-(meter reading-initial meter reading) (1)
From equation (1)
Container remaining amount = 100− (42−40) = 98 (2)
It becomes.
As the meter reading data S, any of the meter reading value of the flow rate of the gas flowing from the gas container 18 to the gas device 20, the output pulse of the load survey and the gas meter 4, and the data indicating the gas use and the remaining amount of gas as well as the meter reading value may be used. Two or more may be combined. Hereinafter, in order to facilitate the explanation, the meter reading data S will be used for explanation.
The data acquisition unit 8 acquires the meter reading data S from the measurement unit 6 and outputs it to the communication unit 26-1. The data acquisition unit 8 is configured by a computer, for example. The data acquisition unit 8 and the communication unit 26-1 may be configured separately from the gas meter 4 and may be connected to the measurement unit 6 wirelessly or by wire, but may be built in the casing of the gas meter 4 and integrated with the gas meter 4.
The data processing of the data acquisition unit 8 and the communication unit 26-1 includes A.I. B. Acquisition of meter reading data S at the container replacement timing or meter reading timing; Sending meter-reading data S, C.I. Processing such as transmission of meter reading data S by the communication unit 26-1 is included. The container replacement timing represents the meter reading timing at the time of gas container replacement.

The processing unit 12 specifies the replacement date of the gas container 18 from the acquisition of the meter reading data S at the meter reading timing through the data communication between the communication unit 26-1 and the communication unit 26-2, and the replacement date and Perform delivery route decision processing.
The processing unit 12 is configured by a computer such as a management server. The data processing of the processing unit 12 includes D.I. Reception of meter reading data S at the meter reading timing; Storage of meter reading data S; Creation of trend data TD, G. Determination and storage of meter reading timing and replacement date of gas container 18; The determination and presentation of the replacement date from the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18 are included.
Thus, the data processing of the gas container replacement system 2 includes the following processing.

A. Acquisition of meter reading data S:
The data acquisition unit 8 acquires meter reading data S at the gas container replacement timing CH or meter reading timing ST.
B. Sending meter reading data S:
The data acquisition unit 8 sends the meter reading data S to the communication unit 26-1 at the gas container replacement timing CH or the meter reading timing ST.
C. Transmission of meter reading data S:
The meter reading data S is transmitted from the communication unit 26-1 to the communication unit 26-2 on the management center side. In this case, the meter reading data S may be received from the communication unit 26-1 to the communication unit 26-2. This data transmission / reception may be either wired or wireless.

D. Receiving meter reading data S:
The communication unit 26-2 receives the meter reading data S transmitted from the communication unit 26-1, and provides the meter reading data S to the processing unit 12.
E. Storage of meter reading data S:
The processing unit 12 stores the meter reading data S acquired from the data acquisition unit 8 in the storage unit 14.
The storage unit 14 includes a plurality of reference information used for data processing for determining a gas container replacement date and a delivery route.
a. Single or multiple candidate gas container replacement dates including gas container replacement date b. Delivery section including delivery destination c. Single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment d. Time required for delivery to each delivery route e. Weather information on gas container replacement date f. Stores traffic information for delivery routes or delivery sections.
These plural pieces of information are stored in the storage unit 14 as a database of gas container replacement data for determining a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining all or two or more.
F. Creating trend data TD:
The processing unit 12 uses the acquired meter reading data S to create trend data TD that represents a trend of the gas usage amount or the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 18. This trend data TD includes the meter reading timing and meter reading interval of the meter reading data S, and is used for determining the next meter reading timing and the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18.

G. Determination and storage of meter reading timing and gas container 18 replacement timing:
The processing unit 12 grasps the trend from the trend data TD, calculates the meter reading timing of the meter reading data S and the gas exhaust timing of the gas container 18, determines the meter reading timing ST and the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18 from the next time, and the storage unit 14 to store. As this exchange candidate date, for example, only a specific date or a plurality of dates including this specific date are set. When multiple candidate days are designated as exchange candidate days, for example, a plurality of non-consecutive days including a specific day set according to trends in gas usage and gas remaining, or a period of several days before and after that specific day, or A period of several days may be set starting from a specific day and ending with the date of out-of-gassing or the day before it.
H. Determination and presentation of replacement date from replacement date of gas container 18:
When out of gas is predicted from the trend obtained from the trend data TD, that is, when the processing unit 12 outputs the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18, the information presenting unit 16 uses the gas container 18 as replacement information for the gas container 18. 18 exchange dates are determined and presented. This information presentation may be any form such as image information on the screen, print medium output from the printer, screen display of the communication terminal, etc., as long as the information can be recognized by the delivery person.

<Processing procedure for meter reading data>
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 12 performs the initial setting of the gas container replacement date (S1) by using the first processing procedure for gas container replacement (S1), and a plurality of gas container replacement candidates including the gas container replacement date. A day is determined (S2).
Next, the processing unit 12 has information stored in the storage unit 14 as:
a. Single or multiple candidate gas container replacement dates including gas container replacement date b. Delivery section including delivery destination c. Single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment d. Time required for delivery to each delivery route e. Weather information on gas container replacement date f. A combination process of information a to f including the traffic information of the delivery route or delivery section is executed (S3), and the optimum gas container replacement date and delivery route are determined (S4). The gas container replacement date and the delivery route are presented by the information presentation unit 16 (S5).

FIG. 3 shows a second processing procedure for gas container replacement, which further embodies the determination (S2) of the gas container replacement candidate date from the initial setting (S1) of the gas container replacement date in the first processing procedure (FIG. 2). Show.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the processing unit 12 determines whether it is the replacement timing CH of the gas container 18 or the meter reading timing ST as an opportunity to acquire the meter reading data (S101). The exchange timing CH of the meter reading data S represents the timing of the first meter reading date due to gas container exchange, and the meter reading timing ST is timing data created from the trend data TD. If it is not exchange timing CH or meter-reading timing ST (NO in S101), it will be in a standby state until any of these arrives.
If it is exchange timing CH or meter-reading timing ST (YES of S101), meter-reading data S will be acquired from the measurement part 6 (S102), and the timing which presents gas container replacement information will be judged by using this as a trigger (S103).

  After the acquisition of the meter reading timing ST (S102), if it is time to present the gas container replacement information (YES in S103), the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18 is determined (S104). As a process for determining the replacement date of the gas container 18, in addition to the replacement candidate date, information related to the delivery section, information related to the delivery destination, and the like are read (S105), and the replacement date and delivery route of the gas container 18 are combined by combining these information. This is determined and presented (S106), and this process is terminated. The information about the delivery section includes, for example, delivery section information including the delivery destination of the gas container delivered on the gas container replacement date, single or plural delivery candidate route information in the delivery section, and the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route Information etc. are included. The information on the delivery destination includes, for example, weather information on the gas container replacement date, traffic information on the delivery route or delivery section, and the like. A delivery date and a delivery route are set by combining at least two of these pieces of information.

If it is not time to present the gas container replacement information (NO in S103), the processing unit 12 stores the meter reading data S acquired from the measuring unit 6 in the storage unit 14, or the meter reading data S in the storage unit 14 Is updated (S107).
The processing unit 12 creates trend data TD from the acquired meter reading data S (S108). This trend data TD shows the tendency of the user to use the gas, and specifically represents the transition of the gas flow rate from the time of replacement of the gas container 18 to the next time of replacement.
The processing unit 12 determines the subsequent meter reading timing ST from the trend data TD (S109), returns to S101, and performs the processes of S102 and S103.

<Effect of one embodiment>
According to one embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the gas container with a small amount of gas is replaced, the burden on the delivery person can be reduced, and there is no need to assign a specific delivery person to the delivery destination, which can eliminate problems such as uneven load on the delivery person. it can.
(2) Optimal delivery dates and routes can be set in consideration of weather information, delivery section information, required time, traffic information, etc. that affect delivery processing, reducing delivery time and improving delivery safety. I can plan.
(3) By setting the delivery section and delivery order on the management side, it is possible to perform efficient delivery processing even for a person in charge with little or no experience.
(4) By referring to weather information such as bad weather and traffic information such as traffic jams, it is possible to estimate and set the optimal delivery order and delivery route, prevent delivery delays to the delivery destination, and avoid running out of gas it can.
(5) Even without constantly collecting meter reading data, the accuracy of the gas container replacement date can be improved by transmitting and receiving a small amount of meter reading data. For example, the battery life of a battery-powered gas meter or data transmission facility can be extended. The reliability of the system can be increased.
(6) Even if a significant change in gas demand occurs between meter reading timings, gas container replacement can be speeded up without causing gas exhaustion, and convenient gas container replacement management can be realized.

<Gas container replacement system 2>
FIG. 4 shows a gas container replacement system 2 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are given to the common parts with FIG.
The gas container exchange system 2 includes a gas container exchange device 30. The gas container exchange device 30 includes a management server 32, a communication unit 26-2, and an information presentation unit 16. The management server 32 is an example of the processing unit 12 described above, and is configured by a computer. The management server 32 includes a communication unit 26-3, a processor 34, a clock generation unit 36, an input / output unit (I / O) 38, and storage units 14-1 and 14-2 as the storage unit 14 described above.

The storage unit 14-1 is used for recording an OS (Operating System), a gas container replacement program, and the like. As the storage unit 14-1, a hard disk device may be used in addition to a storage element such as a ROM (Read-Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and a RAM (Random-Access Memory). Programs such as the processing program for the OS and meter reading data S are stored in the ROM and EEPROM. The RAM is used as an information processing area for acquiring and storing meter reading data S, creating and storing trend data TD, indexing trends, sending or transmitting meter reading data S and trend data TD, and the like.
The storage unit 14-2 constitutes an external storage unit with respect to the storage unit 14-1. As the storage unit 14-2, a hard disk device may be used in addition to the semiconductor storage elements such as the ROM and EEPROM described above. In the storage unit 14-2, a database for storing variation data such as meter reading data S and trend data TD is constructed, and the variation data can be stored and updated. For example, a gas container replacement data table 46-1 (FIG. 9) is stored in the storage unit 14-2. Further, in the storage unit 14-2, for example, a customer information data table 50 (FIG. 10), a delivery information data table 60 (FIG. 11), and delivery route data are stored as databases for storing information for determining exchange dates and delivery routes. A table 70 (FIG. 12), a weather / traffic information table (FIG. 13) as the delivery date state information data table 80, etc. are constructed. Thereby, in the storage unit 14-2, for example, any one or more of identification information for identifying a delivery destination or a gas container, a gas container replacement candidate date, a delivery section, a delivery route, a required time, weather information, and traffic information, One or two or more of meter reading data, trend data, information indicating meter reading timing or meter reading interval is stored.

The communication unit 26-2 is used for data communication with the communication unit 26-1, and is used for transmission / reception of data related to meter reading data such as meter reading data S and trend data TD. On the other hand, the communication unit 26-3 is controlled by the processor 34 and used for transmission / reception of data related to output data of the management server 32. The communication unit 26-3 is used for wireless transmission and reception with, for example, an information communication terminal 44 that is an example of the information presentation unit 16.
The processor 34 executes the OS in the storage unit 14-1 and executes a gas container replacement program and the like. By executing this gas container replacement program, the functions of information processing D, E, F, G, and H are executed by the computer as well as the information processing A, B, and C of the data acquisition unit 8 and the communication unit 26-1. Realized.

The clock generation unit 36 generates a clock signal having a constant period. This clock signal is used as a reference signal for meter reading timing ST, meter reading data S acquisition, generation, transmission, transmission, creation of trend data TD, gas container replacement timing, and the like. The I / O 38 is used for gas container replacement timing, gas container replacement date output, and the like.
The information presentation unit 16 includes a display unit 40, a printer 42, and an information communication terminal 44. The display unit 40 includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and information such as a gas container replacement date is presented. The printer 42 is used for form output, which is an example of information presentation such as a gas container replacement date. The information communication terminal 44 is a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like, and can receive presentation information such as a gas container replacement date from the communication unit 26-3, and can display the presentation information on the screen. The information communication terminal 44 includes, for example, a terminal device that is carried by a delivery person who replaces the gas container 18, an information processing terminal installed in a delivery vehicle, a data logger that acquires traveling data, and the like. For example, the information communication terminal 44 may have a function of acquiring weather information such as a travel log of a delivery vehicle, current location information, temperature, humidity, and dew point.

<Gas container replacement processing sequence>
In the gas container replacement system 2, as shown in FIG. 5, data processing is performed according to a gas container replacement processing sequence.
The data acquisition unit 8 side receives the meter reading data S from the measuring unit 6 at the replacement timing CH or the meter reading timing ST of the gas container 18 by receiving the gas container replacement timing CH or the meter reading timing ST from the management server 32 (S201). Acquisition (S202), transmission of meter reading data S to the management server 32 (S203), etc. are executed.
The management server 32 acquires the meter reading data S from the data acquiring unit 8 (S204), creates the trend data TD (S205), determines the meter reading timing ST (S206), and transmits the meter reading timing ST to the data acquiring unit 8 ( S207), gas container replacement candidate date determination by trend (S208), presentation of replacement information of gas container 18 (S209), and the like are executed. Further, a delivery date and a delivery route are determined for the determined replacement date of the gas container 18 (S210), and this delivery date and delivery route are transmitted from the management server 32 to the information communication terminal 44 side (S211). .
The information communication terminal 44 acquires the determined delivery date and delivery route (S212).

<Gas container replacement procedure 1>
FIG. 6 shows a processing procedure 1 from the gas container replacement to the next gas container replacement.
In this processing procedure, the above-mentioned one piece (for example, gas out of the first-use gas container 18-1), two pieces (for example, from the gas out of the first-use gas container 18-1 to the spare side gas container 18- 2 out of gas) can be envisaged.
In this processing procedure, tn: acquisition date and time of meter reading data S, n: number of times of reading of meter reading data S, N: threshold value of the number of times of reading of meter reading data S, T, T ′: meter reading interval, K: prediction from trend The date and time when one or both of the gas containers 18-1 and 18-2 are cut out, L: a threshold value of the remaining amount of gas in the gas containers 18-1 and 18-2.
In this processing procedure, for example, the gas container 18-1 is replaced (S301), and immediately after this, n ← 1 is set (S302). Acquisition of the n-th meter reading data Sn is executed at time tn (S303).

It is determined whether the number n of acquisitions of meter-reading data S is greater than or equal to a threshold value N (n ≧ N) (S304). If n ≧ N is not satisfied (NO in S304), t (n + 1) ← tn + T (for example, T = 24 hours) is incremented to n ← (n + 1) (S305), and the processing of S303 to S304 is continued.
If n ≧ N (YES in S304), the trend is grasped from the meter reading data S1, S2,... Sn, and K is calculated from the trend (S306).
Update to t (n + 1) ← tn + T ′, n ← (n + 1) (S307). The date and time of the updated tn is always before K. The meter reading interval T ′ is, for example, as shown in equation (3):
T ′ = (K−tn) / 2 (3)
It may be determined from

The nth meter reading data Sn is acquired at time tn (S308). The remaining amount of gas represented by the meter reading data Sn is compared with the threshold value L of the remaining gas amount, and it is determined whether it is equal to or less than the remaining threshold value L (Sn ≦ L) (S309).
If it is not Sn <= L (NO of S309), the process of S306-S309 will be continued and acquisition of meter-reading data S and the grasp of a trend will be cut back.
If the remaining amount of gas reaches a threshold value L or less (Sn ≦ L) (YES in S309), a replacement candidate date for the gas container 18 is set (S310). Then, based on the replacement candidate date, the replacement date of the gas container 18 is set, the delivery route is set, the information is presented (S311), and this process is terminated.

In this processing procedure, the meter reading timing ST may be periodically performed by specifying the meter reading interval T, but is not limited to this, and a specific meter reading date / time is set and the meter reading timing for each meter reading date / time is set. May be set.
Regarding the processing of S301 to S304, when a trend already exists, S301 to S304 may be omitted.
Since K is an example of the gas exhaustion timing, tn and K may be set on the gas container exchange device 30 side, or may be set by a local station such as a relay station through autonomous processing.
The meter reading timing ST may be periodically performed by designating the meter reading interval T, but is not limited thereto, and a specific meter reading date / time may be set to set the meter reading timing for each meter reading date / time.

<Threshold L>
The threshold L is a reference for determining the gas exhaustion timing and the like, and is a comparison reference value for comparison with the meter reading data S. Since the meter reading data S may be either a gas usage amount or a gas remaining amount, the threshold value L is a value that varies depending on the gas usage amount or the gas remaining amount. In the first embodiment, the threshold value of the remaining gas amount is used as the threshold value L as an example.
This threshold value L may be set from the relationship of the above-described equation (1). In this case, since the amount of gas used in the gas container 18 having a finite volume is assumed, if the amount of gas used increases, the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 18 decreases. There is an increase / decrease relationship. In other words, because the gas container replacement candidate date is determined based on the gas usage amount or the remaining gas amount, the gas replacement candidate date is determined above the threshold value for the gas usage amount, whereas it is below the threshold value for the remaining gas amount. The gas exchange candidate date will be determined.
This threshold value L may be either a fixed value or a fluctuation value. As a result of the simulation, a threshold value may be selected from a plurality of values assuming a trend of gas use at the delivery destination, and the magnitude of the threshold value L is stepped according to the trend of the gas use amount and the remaining gas amount. May be changed. That is, for example, if a plurality of threshold values L1, L2, L3, etc. having different levels are set, the gas container replacement candidate date can be calculated for each of the threshold values L1, L2, L3.
A plurality of gas container replacement dates may be set in a period between a specific gas container replacement date and a gas exhaustion timing, or an arbitrary plurality of gas container replacement dates may be set before the optimal gas container replacement date. Good.

<Processing procedure 2 for meter reading data>
FIG. 7 shows a processing procedure 2 based on the data processing. This processing procedure 2 is an example of a gas container replacement program or a processing method thereof, and shows a processing that embodies the processing procedure 1.
In this process procedure 2, it is determined whether or not the gas container 18 is to be replaced (S401), and the standby state is maintained until the gas container 18 is replaced. If the gas container 18 is replaced (YES in S401), data initialization is performed (S402). In this example, the management server 32 acquires meter reading data S from the data acquisition unit 8 during a certain period T1-2 from time t1 to time t2 (S403).

As determination of whether it is time to present the container replacement information, it is determined whether the meter reading data S is equal to or less than the threshold value L of the remaining gas amount (Sn ≦ L) (S404).
If Sn> L (NO in S404), the acquired meter reading data S is stored in the storage unit 14, or the meter reading data S is updated (S405). The management server 32 creates trend data TD using the meter reading data S (S406).
The management server 32 determines the meter reading timing ST and the gas exhaustion timing from the trend data TD (S407). The meter reading timing ST and the gas exhaustion timing are generated, the existing data in the storage unit 14-2 is updated (S408), and the process returns to S404.
Then, it is determined whether the meter reading data Sn is equal to or less than a threshold value L (Sn ≦ L) (S404). If Sn ≦ L (YES in S404), a replacement candidate date for the gas container 18 is set by prediction. (S409) Using this exchange candidate date, the exchange date and delivery route of the gas container 18 are set (S410), and this process ends.

<Collecting and processing meter reading data>
FIG. 8 shows data processing for the transition of the remaining amount of gas, acquisition of meter reading data S, creation of trend data TD, transmission of meter reading interval T and meter reading timing ST. This data processing conforms to the processing procedure shown in FIG.
In FIG. 8, A indicates a gas remaining amount line LC indicating the gas remaining amount G, B indicates trend data TD, C indicates a meter reading interval T, and D indicates meter reading timing signals St1 to St7 indicating meter reading timing ST. The gas remaining amount line LC is shown as a straight line showing a gradual decrease tendency as an example, but becomes a curve due to the gradual decrease tendency.
As shown in FIG. 8A, the management server 32 takes in a plurality of meter reading data S1, S2, S3,... S7 from the measuring unit 6 from time t1 to time t8. The time point t1 is the meter reading timing at the replacement timing CH of the gas container 18, that is, corresponds to the first meter reading date of the gas container 18. The gas remaining amount G gradually decreases from the maximum gas remaining amount Gmax at the time point t1 according to the use of the gas. And the remaining gas amount G0 = 0.

As a result of the acquisition of the meter reading data S, the management server 32 responds to the passage of time as trend data for grasping the trend of gas usage or remaining gas from the acquired meter reading data S as shown in FIG. 8B. A plurality of trend data TD1, TD2, TD3... TD7 are created. Trend data TD1 is created from meter reading data S for a certain period from time t1 to t2, trend data TD2 is created from meter reading data S for a certain period from time t2 to t3, and trend data TD3 is created from a certain period from time t3 to t4. It is created from the meter reading data S, and similarly, trend data TD4, TD5, TD6, TD7 are created.
As shown in FIG. 8C, the management server 32 generates meter reading intervals T1-2, T2-3,..., T6-7, which are data collection periods. T1-2 is the initial meter reading interval (t1 ≦ T1-2 <t2) in a certain period from the time point t1, which is the first meter reading date, and T2-3 is the meter reading interval from the time point t2 (t2 ≦ T2-3 <t3). ), T3-4 is the meter reading interval from time t3 (t3 ≦ T3-4 <t4), T4-5 is the meter reading interval from time t4 (t4 ≦ T4-5 <t5), and T5-6 is from time t5. The meter reading interval (t5 ≦ T5-6 <t6), and T6-7 is the meter reading interval from time t6 (t6 ≦ T6-7 <t7).

  Then, meter reading timing signals St1, St2, St3... St7 for acquiring meter reading data S are generated in the management server 32 as shown in FIG. That is, the meter reading timing signal St1 corresponds to the meter reading timing on the first meter reading date. The trend data TD requires, for example, meter reading data S obtained at a plurality of meter reading timings. As an example, in FIG. 8D, trend data TD2 is created from meter reading data S1, S2 at time points t1 and t2, and a timing signal St3 is generated using the trend data TD2. Similarly, trend data TD3 is created from meter reading data S2 and S3 at time points t2 and t3, and a timing signal St4 is generated using the trend data TD. Such processing is repeated until the trend data TD7 is created. The timing signal St2 may be set using an appropriate initial value or a past trend, and the trend data TD1 is set from an initial value or past meter reading data. In this example, a trend based on trend data obtained from the latest meter reading data S is used. However, the meter reading timing ST may be determined by adding the latest trend to the past trend. For each timing signal St in FIG. 8D, as an example, H represents a high level section and L represents a low level section, but these may be reversed.

<Gas container replacement data table 46-1>
FIG. 9 shows an example of the first gas container replacement data table 46-1 created by the data processing shown in FIG. This gas container replacement data table 46-1 is an example of a meter reading database. The gas container replacement data table 46-1 stores a time point t, meter reading data S, trend data TD, meter reading timing ST and replacement timing CH. The meter reading timing ST includes a meter reading interval T and timing signals St1, St2,... St7.
The meter reading intervals T2-3, T3-4, T4-5, T5-6, T6-7 are corrected and updated at every meter reading timing ST by grasping the trend obtained from the trend data TD. As a result, based on the meter reading interval T and the meter reading timing signal St determined by the trend corresponding to the transition of the remaining gas amount, the replacement candidate date indicating the transition to the replacement of the gas container 18 and the replacement date for performing the replacement process are represented. The exchange timing CH is optimized.

Next, data and data tables used for setting the exchange date and determining the delivery route will be described.
<Customer information data table 50>
The customer information data table 50 is an example of a database for managing the delivery destination of a contracted user who performs delivery processing of the gas container 18, and for example, as shown in FIG. 10, customer name information 51, area information 52, address Information 53, gas container replacement candidate date information 54, gas container replacement date information 55, gas exhaustion predicted date information 56, and the like are included. In the customer name information 51, a name for identifying a user is registered. The region information 52 is an example of information for identifying and managing users included in each region, for example, by dividing the delivery area of the gas container 18 into regions according to predetermined conditions. The area information 52 may be used as information indicating a base supplying the gas container 18 and a delivery destination of the delivery person for the base, for example. The address information 53 is an example of user delivery destination information. In the gas container replacement candidate date information 54, the replacement candidate date determined based on the meter reading data S such as the amount of gas used and the remaining amount of gas is registered. As the replacement candidate date, for example, a single day or a plurality of days that are equal to or higher than the threshold value L or lower than the threshold value L set for the gas usage amount and the remaining gas amount are set. In the gas container replacement date information 55, a replacement date for gas container set by using information such as a replacement candidate date, weather information, road information, and the like to be described later is registered. The gas outage prediction date information 56 registers the date at the time point t8 when the gas container predicted using the trend calculated in the meter reading process of the gas usage becomes empty. In the determination of the replacement date of the gas container, the replacement date may be determined, for example, between the container replacement candidate date and the gas exhaustion prediction date, or before the container replacement candidate date.

<Delivery information data table 60>
The delivery information data table 60 is an example of a database stored in the storage unit 14-2 of the gas container exchange device 30 and stores, for example, delivery section and delivery time record information associated with past weather information. In the delivery information data table 60, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, registered weather condition information 61, delivery section information 62, actual required time information 63, and recording date and time 64 are included. The weather condition information 61 stores the weather at the time of past delivery. As the weather, for example, “sunny”, “rain”, “snow”, and the like are stored. In addition, temperature, humidity, and the like may be stored as weather conditions.
The delivery section information 62 is an example of a delivery section of the present disclosure. For example, a delivery section between two points such as registered users or a delivery base that manages gas containers and fills gas and a specific user is shown. Information to be stored is stored. In the delivery section information 62, for example, information indicating a delivery route such as a road name used during delivery and coordinate information on a map may be stored together with a registration number indicating a user or a base.
The actual required time information 63 is an example of the required time of the present disclosure, and stores time information required for the delivery process for the registered delivery section. In the delivery information data table 60, for example, all delivery records may be registered for the same section, or the actual required time may be registered for each weather condition. Here, for the delivery section “1-2”, for example “actual”, “rain”, “snow”, the actual required time is registered. In the case of “rain” or “snow”, for example, the running state of the road changes, and it may take time for delivery compared to “sunny” due to traffic congestion.
As the recording date and time 64, for example, date information on which a delivery record for each delivery section is registered is registered.

<Delivery route setting process>
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting a delivery route. This delivery route setting procedure and processing contents are examples. FIG. 12A shows the delivery route data table 70. FIG. 12B shows an example of the delivery route setting state on the map. The delivery route data table 70 is an example of delivery sections and delivery route candidates, and is delivery route information registered in association with the delivery section information 62 of the delivery information data table 60, for example. In the delivery route data table 70, for example, specific information on a delivery route between two points is registered, and section information 71, delivery route information 72, elapsed time information 73, and the like are registered. The section information 71 is information indicating a delivery section including a delivery destination for delivery on the gas container replacement date. The delivery route data table 70 may be read by selecting the delivery section information 62 of the delivery information data table 60.
The delivery route information 72 is an example of delivery route performance information that registers which road or point has passed through the delivery section. The delivery route information 72 includes, for example, a route such as the name of a road or a coordinate information on a map, a travel distance of each road, location information of a destination of a delivery destination, etc., starting from a user or a base. It is shown. As the delivery route information 72, for example, character information that can be grasped by the deliverer may be registered, or only a program processed by the computer may be registered.
As the elapsed time information 73, actual required time information 63 in the delivery information data table 60, time information in which time required for replacement of the gas container 18 is added to the time information, and the like are registered. The time required for replacing the gas container 18 increases or decreases according to the number of replacements.

In setting the delivery route, for example, when delivery section information is selected from the delivery information data table 60 according to the weather condition, the delivery route data table 70 is read and registered delivery route information is selected. In the selection of the delivery route information, for example, when a plurality of delivery routes are registered for each section, information satisfying a predetermined delivery condition is selected. This delivery condition includes, for example, the minimum elapsed time, passing a predetermined road, and a small number of roads passing through. In this delivery route setting process, for example, as shown in FIG. 12B, delivery destination information 75 between two points, elapsed time information 76, and route display information 77 for clearly indicating a passing road are included in the map data 74. It is.
Then, the management server 32 extracts the delivery route information between the two points for the delivery destination assigned for each delivery person, and generates a delivery route that connects all the delivery destinations so as to meet the delivery conditions.

<Meteorological / Traffic Information Table 80>
FIG. 13 shows a weather / traffic information table 80 as an example of state information related to the delivery date. This weather / traffic information table 80 is a database for registering, as a delivery date state, prediction of meteorological information or observation information on the gas container replacement candidate date or exchange date, and traffic information of an area in charge of gas container delivery. It is an example. As this delivery date state, for example, date information 81, area information 82, weather information 83, road identification information 84, traffic information 85, and the like are registered. In the date information 81, for example, weather forecast or observed weather information for each day or every predetermined time is registered. The area information 82 stores information that identifies and specifies the delivery range. This area may be the same information as the area information 52 of the customer information data table 50. In the weather information 83, for example, weather information acquired through a network as weather forecast is registered. In the traffic information 85, for example, traffic jam information and accident information are registered for each road identification information 84.

<Delivery instruction information table 90>
For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, the information communication terminal 44 is provided with a delivery instruction information table 90 in which delivery instruction information indicating delivery destinations assigned to deliverers is registered. In this delivery instruction information, for example, delivery order information 91, number information 92, delivery route information 93, delivery time information 94, and the like are registered. In the delivery order information 91, for example, an assigned user name is registered so that delivery is performed from the top.
The number information 92 is the number of gas containers contracted for each user, or the number of gas containers 18 that have run out of gas due to meter reading information or have reached a predetermined gas remaining amount. The number of is specified.

In the delivery route information 93, road data indicating a route to a delivery destination is registered. For example, the same content as the delivery route information 72 registered in the delivery route data table 70 described above may be registered in the road data. The road data may be displayed in a form that can be understood by the user by text information or the like, or may be displayed on the display means 45 that displays the map application shown in FIG.
The delivery time information 94 is an example of information for specifying a reference time for reaching the delivery destination from the start of delivery or completing the exchange work. This delivery time is used, for example, for delay management, which will be described later, and for instructions for a delivery person's break time.
The information communication terminal 44 that has received the delivery instruction information displays the map information on the display means 45 as shown in FIG. 14B, for example, and displays the delivery destination display 95 and the delivery route display 96 on the map. Further, the display means 45 may display delivery time information 94, a delay warning display, a break instruction display, and the like, for example.

<Delivery management procedure>
FIG. 15 shows an example of delivery route setting processing. In this process, exchange information and exchange timing information, which are delivery schedule data for the day, are read (S501). For each user for whom gas container replacement information has been generated, a travel time corresponding to the weather performance between the two points is set (S502). In this travel time setting, for example, the delivery information data table 60 is read based on weather information and delivery sections. Then, the travel time between the two points is determined based on the weather forecast of the day, and the replacement time for one cylinder as a gas container is determined (S503). In this process, information having a predetermined condition is extracted from the delivery route information in the delivery route data table 70 based on the delivery destination and weather information. Then, a delivery route for each delivery person is set based on the transfer time and the exchange time (S504). The set delivery route is transmitted to the information communication terminal 44 as delivery instruction information.

  Next, as delivery management, the management server 32 determines whether or not the delivery processing end time is reached for each delivery person (S505). If it is not the end time (NO in S505), is there congestion information? Alternatively, the information communication terminal 44 is inquired whether the actual weather is different from the prediction, and a determination process is performed to determine whether or not a delay has occurred in the delivery process. The management server 32 reads the traffic jam information and the actual weather information at the time of delivery, recalculates the travel time between the two points, sets the delivery route of the delivery person again (S506), and notifies the information communication terminal 44 To do. For example, when there is no traffic jam information or when the actual weather information at the time of delivery matches or is close to the originally predicted weather, that is, when the predicted delivery time does not change, the management server 32 delivers It is not necessary to reset the route. After notification of a new delivery route, a certain period of time elapses (S507), and it is again determined whether or not it is the delivery process end time (S505).

<Management Data Table 100 for Delivery Status>
FIG. 16 shows a management data table 100 as an example of delivery status management. The management server 32 generates delivery state management data as shown in FIG. 16, for example. This management data may be processed continuously during the delivery processing time, for example. In the delivery status management process, it is monitored whether a delay or other trouble has occurred in the delivery work of each deliverer. That is, it manages whether there is a situation in which delivery processing cannot be performed according to the delivery instruction information transmitted to each deliverer before the start of delivery, or whether there is an error in the generated delivery instruction information.
The delivery status management data table 100 includes, for example, deliverer information 101, current location information 102, next delivery destination information 103, scheduled delivery time information 104, weather information 105, and road information 106.
In the delivery person information 101, information on a person in charge who has received the delivery instruction information is registered.
The current location information 102 is, for example, position information of a delivery vehicle or the information communication terminal 44, and may be GPS (Global Positioning System) information or delivery completion information notified from the delivery destination gas meter 4 after delivery has been completed. Good.
The next delivery destination information 103 is information indicating the current delivery order, for example, information fetched from the gas meter 4, and uses the first meter reading information, delivery completion information, etc. performed when the gas container 18 is replaced. May be.

As the scheduled delivery time information 104, the same information as the delivery time information 94 in the delivery instruction information table 90 may be registered, and the scheduled delivery time of the gas container 18 set for the next delivery destination is recorded.
The weather information 105 is the weather information of each delivery destination acquired from each information communication terminal 44 or an external website. The weather information 105 is used to determine whether or not the weather information used in generating the delivery instruction information matches the current weather.
The road information 106 is an example of information for predicting whether the delivery process is delayed or likely to occur. Information received from the information communication terminal 44 or collected from an external website or the like is registered. Is done.
By managing the delivery state in this way, it is possible to quickly grasp the occurrence of a delivery delay and reduce the risk of the occurrence of out of gas at the delivery destination due to the inability to deliver.

<Effect of Example 1>
According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the previous gas container replacement, indicators such as safety factor and safety date set based on past data were used, whereas in Example 1, the gas container replacement timing and meter reading timing were used for a predetermined period. Based on the acquired meter reading data, grasp the trend of gas usage or gas remaining amount, determine the next replacement timing and meter reading timing, or determine the replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date, and determine the meter reading interval of meter reading timing according to the trend Since it is increased or decreased, the accuracy of the replacement timing of the gas container with a small remaining amount of gas can be improved while avoiding the out of gas.
(2) Gas container replacement frequency and delivery frequency can be reduced, and gas container replacement efficiency can be increased while avoiding gas exhaustion.

(3) Trend data is created from meter reading data to grasp the trend of gas consumption and gas remaining in the gas container.In addition to meter reading data, meter reading data includes alarm information, load survey and pulse values of gas meters, etc. Similar to meter readings, data indicating gas usage and remaining amount of gas, alarm information, data indicating pressure in the container indicating gas usage and remaining gas amount, or a combination of two or more of these can be used. The degree of freedom for grasping the trend of meter reading data can be increased.
(4) The meter reading timing and meter reading interval are dynamically changed according to the trend grasped from the meter reading data, that is, the trend data, so the meter reading data in real time of the gas usage and the remaining amount of gas can be obtained. In the period immediately before 18-1 running out of gas (one piece), or in the period immediately before running out of gas in both gas containers 18-1, 18-2, the meter reading interval S of the meter reading data S is narrowed to reduce the meter reading density. As a result, the measurement accuracy of the remaining amount of gas is improved, and after using the gas until the timing just before the gas runs out, the gas container can be replaced in a timely manner and the remaining amount of gas when replacing the gas container is reduced. can do.
(5) In the gas container replacement system 2 according to the first embodiment, the gas meter 4 is provided with a communication function, and the gas container replacement device 30 acquires the meter reading data S together with the setting of the meter reading timing ST by radio, which is efficient. Gas container replacement can be realized, and unexpected situations such as running out of gas can be avoided.

(6) Since the gas remaining amount of the gas container to be replaced can be suppressed, the replacement efficiency of the gas container can be improved and the replacement cost of the gas container can be reduced.
(7) The gas container replacement information can be confirmed not only on the screen display of the display unit 40 and the form printing by the printer 42 but also on the information communication terminal 44. Timely response such as a trend change during delivery can also be made in a timely manner. Can be done.
(8) Absorbs fluctuation factors due to seasonal increase and decrease of gas use and temperature change, and can improve the accuracy of meter reading timing, meter reading interval, gas exhaustion timing, and gas container replacement date.
(9) Since it is possible to prevent the user from running out of gas, the frequency of delivery can be reduced, and the usage status of the spare gas container can be accurately grasped, so the number of spare gas containers 18-2 can be reduced, and the number of spare gas containers can be reduced. The gas used on the gas container 18-2 side can be used until immediately before the gas runs out, and the reliability of gas container replacement can be improved.

(10) Combining delivery routes using weather information, section information, and delivery route information registered as delivery results makes it efficient without causing out-of-gassing without depending on the experience value of the deliverer. In addition, it is possible to generate a delivery date and a delivery route that can replace the gas container.
(11) Monitor the delivery status during the delivery process, acquire road information and weather information, and reset the delivery route to quickly deal with the occurrence of delivery delay and the possibility of the occurrence. It is possible to avoid the possibility of the user's loss of trust due to running out of gas.
(12) By generating precise delivery instruction information using past delivery results and weather information that affects delivery processing, there is no need to set safety factor or safety date for gas container replacement timing or minimize it Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of deliveries and reduce the work load of the deliverer.

The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in the gas container replacement system 2 (FIG. 4). The gas container 18-1 runs out of gas (one piece) to the gas container 18-2 runs out of gas. The case where the gas container 18 is replaced in units of up to a cut is shown.
Also in the second embodiment, the same gas container replacement system 2 as in the first embodiment can be used, and therefore the description of the gas container replacement system 2 is omitted.

<Changes in remaining gas amount and processing of meter reading data>
FIG. 17 shows the transition of the remaining amount of gas from one piece to all pieces and meter reading data processing. 17A shows the remaining amount lines LC1 and LC2. The remaining amount line LC1 is a transition of the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 18-1, and the remaining amount line LC2 is the gas supply after the gas container 18-1 is out of gas. It is transition of the gas residual amount by the side of the gas container 18-2 at the time of switching to the container 18-2. S11, S12,... S18 are meter reading data S of the gas container 18-1, and S21, S22,... S28 are meter reading data S of the gas container 18-2.
B of FIG. 17 shows trend data TD, TD11, TD12,... TD18 are trend data representing trends obtained from the meter reading data S of the gas container 18-1, and TD21, TD22,. It is the trend data showing the trend calculated | required from the meter-reading data S of 18-2.

C in FIG. 17 indicates the meter reading interval T, corresponding to the time points t11 to t18 / t21 to t27, and the meter reading intervals T11-12, T12-13... T17-18 / 21, T18 / 21-22, T22-23. ... T26-27 is set.
17D shows meter reading timing signals St11, St12... St18 / 21, St22... ST27 representing meter reading timing ST.
Similar to the first embodiment, the data in the second embodiment is updated by correction by grasping the trend after the trend data is acquired.

<Gas container replacement data table 46-2>
FIG. 18 shows an example of the second gas container replacement data table 46-2 created by the data processing shown in FIG. This gas container replacement data table 46-2 is an example of a meter reading database. The gas container replacement data table 46-2 stores a time point t, meter reading data S, trend data TD, meter reading timing ST and replacement timing CH. The meter reading timing ST includes a meter reading interval T and timing signals St11, St12... St17, St18 / 21, St22, St23.
The meter reading intervals T11-12, T12-13... T17-18 / 21 are corrected and updated at every meter reading timing ST by grasping the trend obtained from the trend data TD11, TD12. Similarly, the meter reading intervals T18 / 21-22, T22-23... T26-27 are corrected and updated at every meter reading timing ST by grasping the trend obtained from the trend data TD21, TD22. As a result, the replacement timing CH representing the replacement date of the gas containers 18-1 and 18-2 is optimized based on the meter reading interval T and the meter reading timing signal St determined by the trend corresponding to the transition of the remaining gas amount.

<Effect of Example 2>
According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the second embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.
(2) In the second embodiment, after the gas in the gas container 18-1 is exhausted, the replacement date of the gas container 18 is extended until the gas supply is exhausted to the gas in the gas container 18-2. However, also in the second embodiment, by grasping the trend of the meter reading data S, the gas can be used up to a stage where the remaining amount of gas is small, and the gas container can be exchanged efficiently.
(3) Since at least two gas containers 18 serve as replacement units in one replacement, the efficiency of gas container replacement can be improved.
(4) According to the second embodiment, the period from the start of use of the gas container 18-2 to the gas exhaustion is used by using this gas exhaustion as one trend instead of overlooking the gas container 18-1. Can be managed as the replacement period of the gas container 18, and the efficiency of the gas container replacement can be improved. In that case, if the gas remaining amount in the gas container 18-2 is, for example, one half or more, only the gas container 18-1 is to be replaced, and the gas container 18-1 side is removed from the gas out of the gas container 18-2. As a spare system, after the gas container 18-2 has run out of gas, the period from the start of use of the gas container 18-1 to the end of gas can be managed as the replacement period of the gas container 18, etc. In addition, an efficient exchange system that can avoid running out of gas can be constructed.

In the first embodiment, direct communication is performed between the communication units 26-1 and 26-2. In the third embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 19, a relay station 48 is provided to perform data communication. The relay station 48 includes a storage unit 14-3, stores the meter reading data S in the storage unit 14-3, and the processing unit 12 acquires the meter reading data S in response to an instruction from the gas container exchange device 30. Good.
In FIG. 19, the configuration of the gas container replacement device 30 is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 4), and the description thereof is omitted.

<Effect of Example 3>
According to the third embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The meter reading data S and the like can be taken into the gas container exchange device 30 from the data acquisition unit 8 via the relay station 48, and the reliability of data exchange can be improved.
(2) If the relay station 48 includes the storage unit 14-3 for storing the meter reading data S and the like, a data logger that stores and stores the meter reading data S from the data acquisition unit 8 in the storage unit 14-3 is configured. can do.

<Processing procedure for meter reading data>
FIG. 20 illustrates a processing procedure of the gas container replacement system 2 according to the fourth embodiment. In Example 1, the meter reading data S and the threshold value L are compared before the next meter reading timing ST is determined. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, a process for making the determination of the next meter reading timing ST precede is executed.
In this processing procedure, as shown in FIG. 20, it is determined whether it is the replacement timing CH or the meter reading timing ST of the gas container 18 (S601). If it is not exchange timing CH or meter-reading timing ST (NO in S601), it will be in a standby state until any of these arrives.
If it is the exchange timing CH or the meter reading timing ST (YES in S601), the meter reading data S is acquired from the data acquiring unit 8 (S602), and the meter reading data S is stored in the storage unit 14 or the meter reading data S in the storage unit 14 Is updated (S603).
The processing unit 12 creates trend data TD from the acquired meter reading data S (S604). This trend data TD indicates the tendency of the user to use the gas in the gas container 18, and specifically represents the transition of the gas flow rate from the time of replacement of the gas container 18 to the next time of replacement.
The processing unit 12 determines the next meter reading timing ST from the trend data TD (S605), and determines whether it is time to present the container replacement information (S606).
If it is not time to present the container replacement information, the process returns to S601 with the current meter reading timing ST, and the processes of S601 to S606 are repeated.
If it is time to present the container replacement information (YES in S606), the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18 is determined (S607), and the delivery person information, the delivery section information, the information on the required time for delivery to this delivery section, etc. Reading (S608), combining these pieces of information, determining the gas container replacement date and delivery route (S609), and ending this process.

<Effect of Example 4>
Also by the processing procedure of the fourth embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 21 shows a processing procedure of the gas container replacement system 2 according to the fifth embodiment. In the processing procedure shown in FIG. 3, immediately after the acquisition of the meter reading data S (S102), it is determined whether it is time to present the container replacement information (S103), but the present invention is not limited to this.
In the processing procedure of the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, immediately after the determination of the replacement timing CH of the gas container 18 or the meter reading timing ST (S701) and the acquisition of the meter reading data S (S702), 14 or the update of the meter reading data S in the storage unit 14 (S703) is performed, and thereafter the timing for presenting the container replacement information is determined (S704). If it is time to present the container replacement information (YES in S704), the replacement candidate date of the gas container 18 is determined (S705), information on the delivery section and information on the delivery destination are read out (S706), and these information are combined. The gas container replacement date and delivery route are determined (S707).
If it is not time to present the container replacement information (NO in S704), the process of creating trend data TD (S708) and determining the next meter reading timing ST (S709) is executed. Thus, it is good also as a process which stores the meter-reading data S in the memory | storage part 14, or updates the meter-reading data S before judgment of the presentation time of container replacement information.

<Effect of Example 5>
According to such a processing procedure, storage and update of the meter reading data S is preceded before the determination of the container replacement time, so that data can be stored and updated regardless of the arrival of the container replacement time, and data storage Sexuality is enhanced.

In the first embodiment, in the delivery route determination process before the delivery process is started, the weather information and the delivery section, the actual time required for the delivery section, and the delivery route information are combined, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the sixth embodiment, for example, a delivery date and a delivery route may be set by combining all of the following information, or a delivery date and a delivery route are determined by combining at least two of these pieces of information. You may use it.
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates determined according to the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the meter reading timing or replacement timing b) Delivery section including the delivery destination of the gas container c) Single in the delivery section One or more candidate delivery routes d) Time required for delivery to each delivery route e) Weather information on gas container replacement date f) Traffic information on delivery route For example, a) Gas container replacement candidate date and b) Delivery section In combination with the information, the replacement date may be set before the gas runs out due to the prediction of the meter reading result, and the delivery route may be set using the delivery section based on the past delivery results. Further, after selecting a date before the predicted date of gas exhaustion, for example, a delivery route that shortens the overall delivery time may be set from information on the delivery route candidate and the required time.

<Effect of Example 6>
According to the sixth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) By using at least two pieces of information a) to f) and combining optimum states selected from the pieces of information, it is possible to reduce the load for setting the delivery date and the delivery route.
(2) If the number of information items a) to f) is increased, the delivery date and route can be set taking into account the conditions affecting the delivery time, such as weather conditions and road conditions, and the delivery time can be shortened. And delivery safety can be improved, and delivery delays can be suppressed.
(3) By setting the delivery section and delivery order on the management side, it is possible to perform efficient delivery processing even for a person in charge who has little intuition or a person with little experience.
(4) Furthermore, since the occurrence of delivery delays due to weather and the experience value of the delivery person can be suppressed, in the management of gas usage, it is possible to set fewer safety days until the predicted out-of-gas date.

  In the above-described Examples 1 to 6, regarding the setting of the replacement date, a single or a plurality of gas container replacement candidate dates are set according to the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing. A replacement date is set from the replacement candidate date, and the delivery person is instructed to replace the gas container 18 on the replacement date. On the other hand, in the seventh embodiment, for example, gas container replacement priority information including a margin before the gas exhaustion prediction date may be added to the user information together with the set replacement date. The customer information data table 50 uses, for example, trend information of gas usage, and there is an urgent user that must be replaced on the set gas container replacement date, or the next day or on the replacement date. Information indicating that the user can afford to deliver by shifting more days may be registered. For example, in the setting of the delivery route, the management server 32 has a margin when the day of delivery is in bad weather or when there is an event that induces a delay such as construction on the delivery route to a user with a margin. For the user, the delivery date may be shifted based on the exchange priority information.

<Effect of Example 7>
(1) The gas container 18 can be preferentially delivered to a user with a low margin, and the reliability of gas container replacement can be improved by reducing the risk of the occurrence of gas exhaustion.
(2) The risk of delivery delay can be reduced by adjusting the delivery of low-priority users against bad weather and worsening traffic conditions.
(3) By adjusting the number of deliveries and the delivery route according to the worsening weather conditions, the risk of danger to the deliverer can be reduced.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) In the first to seventh embodiments, the meter reading data S is acquired continuously or discontinuously from the measuring unit 6 by the data acquiring unit 8, and the acquired data is taken into the gas container changing device 30 at the meter reading timing and the meter reading interval. It is good also as a structure.
(2) Regarding the estimation judgment of the gas container replacement date, the meter reading timing predicted from the gas remaining amount and the gas exhaustion timing due to the gas remaining amount in the gas container 18 are calculated, and the arrival time of these two timings is ahead of time The process of estimating the gas container replacement date when the gas exhaustion timing is early may be used.
(3) Regarding the determination of the gas container replacement date, the gas container replacement date may be determined in consideration of the time required from the gas container replacement timing to the replacement. By adding the time required for gas container replacement, it is possible to avoid an unexpected situation such as the occurrence of gas exhaustion in the time required for replacement, to allow the delivery person's delivery time to be increased, and to improve the reliability of the replacement work.
(4) About the delivery status monitoring process For example, the management server 32 analyzes the notification information from the information communication terminal 44 and corrects the instruction information of the delayed delivery person when it is determined that the delay has occurred. At the same time, delivery information indicating a delivery route, a delivery destination, the number of pieces of support, etc. may be generated and output to a nearby delivery person or a delivery person who has already been delivered. As a result, with the cooperation of another delivery person, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of gas exhaustion without causing a delivery delay or a delivery impossible state for a user for whom a delivery instruction date has been set.

(5) In the above embodiment, the case where the management server 32 notifies the information communication terminal 44 of the information of all the delivery destinations and delivery routes before starting delivery is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management server 32 may notify the information including the route of the next delivery destination every time delivery of one delivery destination is completed. In this case, the information communication terminal 44 notifies the management server 32 of completion information when one delivery is completed, and notifies the next delivery information and delivery route information from the management server 32 upon receipt of this completion notification. You may make it do.
(6) In the above-described embodiment and examples, in the delivery state management process, the management server 32 requests weather information and traffic jam information from the information communication terminal 44, and acquires the response result. Not limited to this. Regardless of the response from the information communication terminal 44, the management server 32 acquires information from a Web site that provides weather information and traffic information, etc., and there is a possibility that a delivery delay or a delay may occur. The corrected exchange instruction information may be determined and transmitted to the information communication terminal 44 side. In this case, for example, each information communication terminal 44 may be inquired about the delivery status, and the correction information may be transmitted only to the delayed information communication terminal 44, or the correction information may be transmitted to all the information communication terminals 44. May be.

(7) In the above embodiment or example, the case where the delivery order and the delivery section are set in consideration of the weather information is shown as the delivery management process, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the delivery management process, for example, date information may be considered in addition to weather information. For example, the delivery section and the delivery time may be set in consideration of information such as the fact that the weather is likely to change for each region and the temperature is lowered. In particular, in a mountainous area, even if the weather is “sunny”, it is possible to predict that the delivery time of the delivery vehicle will be slow due to freezing of the road surface in the winter, and that it will take a long delivery time.
As described above, the most preferable embodiment of the present invention has been described. The present invention is not limited to the above description. Various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art based on the gist of the invention described in the claims or disclosed in the embodiments for carrying out the invention. It goes without saying that such modifications and changes are included in the scope of the present invention.

The gas container replacement system according to the present invention improves the efficiency of gas container delivery and gas container replacement while avoiding unexpected situations such as gas exhaustion in LPG delivery in units of gas containers, etc. This can be beneficial, for example, by reducing or preventing bias.

2 Gas container exchange system 4 Gas meter 6 Measurement unit 8 Data acquisition unit 10, 30 Gas container exchange device 12 Processing unit 14, 14-1, 14-2, 14-3 Storage unit 16 Information presentation unit 18, 18-1, 18 -2 gas container 20, 20-1, 20-2 gas equipment 22 gas supply path 24 switch 26-1, 26-2, 26-3 communication unit 32 management server 34 processor 36 clock generation unit 38 I / O
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 Display part 42 Printer 44 Information communication terminal 45 Display means 46-1, 46-2 Gas container replacement data table 48 Relay station 50 Customer information data table 51 Customer name information 52 Area information 53 Address information 54 Gas container replacement candidate date information 55 Gas container replacement date information 56 Gas outage prediction date information 60 Delivery information data table 61 Weather condition information 62 Delivery section information 63 Actual required time information 64 Recording date and time 70 Delivery route data table 71 Section information 72 Delivery route information 73 Elapsed time information 74 Map Data 80 Status information data table of delivery date 81 Date information 82 Area information 83 Weather information 84 Road identification information 85 Traffic information 90 Delivery instruction information table 91 Delivery order information 92 Quantity information 93 Delivery route information 94 Delivery time information 100 Delivery status information 100 Management day Scheduled time information 105 weather information 106 road information table 101 delivery person information 102 current position information 103 following delivery destination information 104 Shipping

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container replacement system of the present invention, it is obtained within a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. A data acquisition unit that acquires meter reading data that represents the amount of gas used or the amount of gas remaining, and trend data that represents a trend in the amount of gas used or the amount of gas remaining from the meter reading data obtained by a plurality of meter readings. Then, the meter reading timing is determined from the meter reading interval calculated by using the gas outage prediction date predicted by the trend data and the current meter reading date, and the gas usage amount or gas acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing is determined. Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the remaining amount,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and combining at least two or more from a) to f) with past weather information associated with the information, and the gas container replacement date and delivery route. And a processing unit to be determined.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container replacement program of the present invention, it is obtained in a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. Trend data that represents the trend of the gas usage or the remaining amount of gas is created from the meter reading data obtained by multiple times of meter reading and the function of acquiring the meter usage data that represents the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas. The next meter reading timing is determined based on the meter reading interval calculated using the predicted gas outage date predicted by the data and the current meter reading date, and the gas usage amount or remaining gas amount acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing is determined. Calculate the gas container replacement date determined accordingly,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and combining at least two or more from a) to f) with past weather information associated with the information, and the gas container replacement date and delivery route. The computer determines a function to be determined.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the gas container exchange device of the present invention, it is obtained in a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. A data acquisition unit that acquires meter reading data representing the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas, and is connected to the data acquisition unit by wire or wirelessly, and from the meter reading data obtained by a plurality of meter readings, Trend data representing the trend of the remaining amount of gas is created , and the meter reading timing is determined from the next meter reading interval based on the gas outage prediction date predicted by this trend data and the current meter reading date. Or calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas acquired at the replacement timing,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and combining at least two or more from a) to f) with past weather information associated with the information, and the gas container replacement date and delivery route. A processing unit to be determined, and an information presenting unit for presenting information including a gas container replacement date and a delivery route output by the processing unit are provided.

In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the gas container replacement method of the present invention, the data acquisition unit has a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter-reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination. The process of acquiring meter reading data representing the amount of gas used or the amount of gas obtained, and the trend data representing the trend of the amount of gas used or the amount of gas remaining from the meter reading data obtained by the meter reading a plurality of times. The next meter reading timing is determined by the meter reading interval calculated using the gas outage prediction date predicted by the trend data and the current meter reading date, and the gas usage acquired at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing is determined. Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the amount or the remaining amount of gas,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and combining at least two or more from a) to f) with past weather information associated with the information, and the gas container replacement date and delivery route. Determining.

Claims (24)

A data acquisition unit for acquiring meter reading data representing a gas usage amount or a gas remaining amount obtained from a replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among a single or a plurality of gas containers at a delivery destination; and
Trend data representing the trend of the gas usage or the gas remaining amount is created from the meter reading data, the meter reading timing is determined from this trend data on and after the next time, and the gas usage obtained at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing or Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the remaining gas amount,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) a processing unit including traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and determining a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f);
A gas container exchange system comprising: In addition, one or more of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, the traffic information, and meter reading A storage unit for storing any one or more of data, trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval,
The gas container replacement system according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit stores or updates the information in the storage unit and dynamically changes the information.   The gas container replacement system according to claim 1, further comprising an information presentation unit that presents delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route.   The gas container replacement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing unit selects a delivery route according to the required time to a delivery destination.   The processing unit selects or changes a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and changes a delivery route according to the traffic information. The gas container replacement system according to claim 4.   Furthermore, the said process part outputs the map information showing the said delivery route containing the said gas container exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the delivery person of the said gas container, The 1 thru | or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. The gas container replacement system according to claim 5. A gas container replacement program to be executed by a computer,
A function of acquiring meter reading data representing the amount of gas used or the remaining amount of gas obtained in a predetermined period from the replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among the single or plural gas containers at the delivery destination;
Trend data representing the trend of the gas usage or the gas remaining amount is created from the meter reading data, the meter reading timing is determined from this trend data on and after the next time, and the gas usage obtained at the meter reading timing or the replacement timing or Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the remaining gas amount,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) a function that includes traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and determines a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f);
A gas container replacement program for realizing the above in the computer. In addition, one or more of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, the traffic information, and meter reading A function of storing any one or more of data, trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval in a storage unit,
A function of updating the information and dynamically changing the information;
The gas container replacement program according to claim 7, comprising:   The gas container according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising a function of presenting delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route to an information presentation unit connected by wire or wirelessly. Exchange program.   The gas container replacement program according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising a function of selecting a delivery route according to the required time to a delivery destination.   11. The function of selecting or changing a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information and changing a delivery route according to the traffic information. The gas container exchange program according to any one of claims.   Furthermore, it has the function to output the map information showing the said delivery route including the said gas container exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the delivery person of the said gas container, The Claims 7 thru | or 11 characterized by the above-mentioned. The gas container replacement program according to any one of claims. A data acquisition unit for acquiring meter reading data representing a gas usage amount or a gas remaining amount obtained from a replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among a single or a plurality of gas containers at a delivery destination; and
Connected to the data acquisition unit by wire or wirelessly, creates trend data representing the trend of the gas usage or the gas remaining amount from the meter reading data, determines the meter reading timing from the next time on the basis of the trend data, and reads the meter Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the gas usage amount or the remaining gas amount acquired at the timing or the replacement timing,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) a processing unit including traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and determining a gas container replacement date and a delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f);
An information presentation unit for presenting information including a gas container replacement date and a delivery route output by the processing unit;
A gas container exchanging device comprising: In addition, one or more of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, the traffic information, and meter reading A storage unit for storing any one or more of data, trend data, information indicating the meter reading timing or meter reading interval,
The gas container exchange device according to claim 13, wherein the processing unit stores or updates the information in the storage unit and dynamically changes the information.   The gas according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising: an information presentation unit that is connected to the processing unit by wire or wirelessly and presents delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route. Container changer.   16. The gas container exchange device according to claim 13, wherein the processing unit selects a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.   14. The processing unit selects or changes a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and changes a delivery route according to the traffic information. The gas container exchange device according to any one of claims 16.   Furthermore, the said process part outputs the map information showing the said delivery route containing the said gas container exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the delivery person of the said gas container, The thirteenth thru | or 13 characterized by the above-mentioned. The gas container exchange device according to any one of claims 17. A step of acquiring meter reading data representing a gas usage amount or a remaining amount of gas obtained in a predetermined period from a replacement timing or meter reading timing of at least one gas container among a single or a plurality of gas containers at a delivery destination; ,
The processing unit creates trend data representing the gas usage amount or the trend of the gas usage amount from the meter-reading data, determines the next meter-reading timing from this trend data, and gas acquired at the meter-reading timing or the replacement timing Calculate the gas container replacement date determined according to the amount used or the remaining amount of gas,
a) Single or multiple gas container replacement candidate dates including the gas container replacement date,
b) a delivery segment containing the delivery destination;
c) single or multiple delivery routes in the delivery segment;
d) the required time to the delivery destination by each delivery route;
e) weather information on the gas container replacement date,
f) including the traffic information of the delivery route or the delivery section, and determining the gas container replacement date and delivery route by combining at least two or more from a) to f);
A gas container exchange method comprising: Further, any one of identification information for identifying the delivery destination or the gas container in the storage unit, the gas container replacement candidate date, the delivery section, the delivery route, the required time, the weather information, and the traffic information in the storage unit. Or storing two or more of the information indicating meter reading data, the trend data, the meter reading timing or the meter reading interval,
A step of storing or updating the information stored in the storage unit and dynamically changing the information;
The gas container replacement method according to claim 19, comprising:   21. The gas container replacement method according to claim 19 or 20, further comprising a step of an information presentation unit presenting delivery instruction information including the gas container replacement date and the delivery route.   The gas container replacement method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the processing unit includes a step of selecting a delivery route according to the required time to the delivery destination.   The processing unit includes a step of selecting or changing a gas container replacement date from the gas container replacement candidate date according to the weather information, and changing a delivery route according to the traffic information. The gas container replacement method according to any one of claims 22 to 22. Furthermore, the said process part contains the process of outputting the map information showing the said delivery route including the said gas container exchange date and the said delivery destination to the terminal device of the said gas container delivery person, The said process part is characterized by the above-mentioned. The gas container replacement method according to any one of claims 23 to 23.

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