JP2020003223A - Gas appliance discrimination device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gas appliance discrimination device capable of discriminating a use purpose of a gas appliance.SOLUTION: A gas appliance discrimination device includes: flow rate measurement means 102 for measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing in a flow channel 101 at a fixed time interval; gas appliance discrimination means 110 for discriminating a gas appliance from measured flow rate data; gas appliance stop determination means 111 for determining a stop of a predetermined gas appliance when a measured flow rate value becomes less than a stop determination flow rate value; discrimination interval clocking means 112 for clocking an interval from a stop determination of the predetermined gas appliance to a use start; discrimination frequency count means 113 for counting a frequency when an interval from a use stop to the use start is within a predetermined time; and installation information storage means 114 for storing information as installation of a predetermined facility when a counted frequency exceeds a predetermined frequency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for determining a gas appliance that has been used by detecting a change in a gas flow rate.

  2. Description of the Related Art A gas meter has been proposed that specifies the type of a gas appliance that has been used based on a change in the flow rate of gas flowing in a pipe. For example, Patent Literature 1 below measures a gas flow rate at fixed time intervals, acquires an obtained flow rate pattern as a difference value for each measurement, and corresponds to a flow rate pattern of a gas appliance registered in advance for each gas appliance. A flow measurement device that determines a gas appliance that has been used by comparing the difference value with a difference value is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a flow measurement device that determines whether to stop a gas appliance when the flow rate value falls below a predetermined threshold after a specific gas appliance is determined.

JP 2010-107208 A Japanese Patent No. 4861943

  However, among gas appliances, water heaters have various usages depending on the application, such as showers, bathing in bathtubs, floor heating, and the like, and the gas flow rate used at that time varies depending on the application. In particular, when the water heater is used as a heat source of a heating device such as floor heating, the gas flow rate during use is in the same flow band as other heating devices such as a fan heater.

  Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether the floor heater is used as the facility using the water heater, even if it is possible to determine the use of the water heater by the conventional method based on the flow rate pattern.

  In addition, in the conventional gas meter that holds a predetermined threshold value as the stop determination of the water heater, there is no change in the threshold value depending on the application. That is, it has been difficult to make an accurate stop determination.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and enables to determine the use application of an appliance having a different gas flow rate depending on the use application such as a water heater, and to accurately perform a stop determination according to the use application. It is intended to provide a gas appliance discriminating apparatus.

A gas appliance discriminating apparatus according to the present specification includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures a flow rate of a fluid flowing in a flow path at fixed time intervals, and a gas appliance determining unit that determines a gas appliance from flow rate data measured by the flow rate measuring unit. After the gas appliance discriminating means has determined that the use of the predetermined gas appliance has started, if the flow rate value measured by the flow measuring means is less than the stop determination flow value, the use of the predetermined gas appliance is stopped. Gas appliance stop judging means for judging, and discrimination interval timer means for measuring an interval from when the use of the gas appliance is judged to be stopped by the gas appliance stop judging means to when the use of the predetermined gas appliance is judged to be started by the gas appliance judging means Counting means for counting the number of times when the determination interval timer is within a predetermined time; and counting by the determination number counting means. If the number of times that is exceeds a first predetermined number of times, but which includes an installation information storage means for storing information as a predetermined facility is installed, the.

  This makes it possible to accurately determine the usage of the gas appliance, such as a water heater, that performs intermittent operation depending on the usage.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the gas appliance discriminating apparatus of this invention, even a gas appliance with a different gas flow rate depending on the intended use, such as a water heater, can correctly discriminate the intended use, and can perform the stop determination accurately.

1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a gas meter 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Processing flowchart in Embodiment 1 of the present invention (A) A graph for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention, and (b) a table showing a table for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. Graph for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention Block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of gas meter 200 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Processing flowchart in Embodiment 2 of the present invention (A) and (b) graphs for explaining the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

  A first aspect of the present invention provides a flow rate measuring means for measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing in a flow path at fixed time intervals, a gas appliance determining means for determining a gas appliance from flow rate data measured by the flow rate measuring means, After the determination unit determines that the use of the predetermined gas appliance has started, when the flow rate value measured by the flow rate measurement unit becomes less than the stop determination flow value, the gas appliance that determines to stop using the predetermined gas appliance. Stop determination means, determination interval timer means for measuring an interval from when the use of the gas appliance is determined to be stopped by the gas appliance stop determination means to when it is determined that the use of the predetermined gas appliance is started by the gas appliance determination means, and the determination interval A discrimination number counting means for counting the number of times when the time counting means is within a predetermined time; and a number of times counted by the discrimination number counting means being a first predetermined number. And an installation information storage means for storing information assuming that predetermined equipment is installed when the number exceeds a predetermined number, whereby a gas such as a water heater that performs an intermittent operation depending on the intended use is provided. It is possible to accurately determine the intended use of the device.

  In the second invention, in the first invention, in particular, when the gas appliance stop determination means is determined to be a predetermined gas appliance by the gas appliance determination means, the gas appliance stop determination means according to the information stored in the equipment storage information. This is characterized in that a stop determination flow rate value is set, thereby making it possible to accurately perform a stop determination of a gas appliance such as a water heater that performs an intermittent operation depending on an intended use.

  In a third invention, in particular, in the first or second invention, the installation information storage means deletes the stored installation information when the determination number counting means does not exceed a second predetermined number in a predetermined period. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, there is provided an instrument flow rate integrating means for integrating the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring means, wherein the instrument flow rate integrating means is adapted to determine the gas appliance discrimination. The gas flow rate is individually integrated by the predetermined gas appliance and the predetermined equipment based on the determination result determined by the means and the information stored in the equipment information storage means. is there.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a gas appliance discriminating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment described below, a gas meter will be described as an example of the gas appliance determination device, and the processing thereof will be described. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the components already described is omitted. Note that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described below.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of gas meter 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a gas meter 100 includes a flow path 101, a flow rate measuring means 102, a gas appliance determining means 110, a gas appliance stop determining means 111, a determination interval timer 112, a determination count counting means 113, and installation information. It comprises a storage means 114 and a control means 130 for controlling each of these means. Further, the gas meter 100 is connected to a gas pipe 1, and gas appliances 10 to 12 including a water heater are connected to the downstream side of the gas meter 100 via a gas pipe 2.

  The ultrasonic flow meter as the flow measuring unit 102 emits ultrasonic waves at a fixed time interval (for example, every 0.5 seconds or 2 seconds) to a gas as a fluid flowing in the flow path 101 and measures the flow rate. And a general one can be used.

  The gas appliance determination unit 110 determines the type of the gas appliance that has been started to be used (water heater) based on the flow rate value acquired by the flow measurement unit 102 and based on the flow rate change pattern obtained at the start of the operation of the gas appliances 10 to 12. , Fan heater, stove, etc.). In addition, when the start of use of the gas appliance is detected but the gas appliance cannot be determined, it is determined that the use of some appliance has been started, and the determination result is an unknown appliance.

  The gas appliance stop determination unit 111 determines that the gas appliance has been started to be used by the gas appliance determination unit 110, and then determines whether the flow rate value measured by the flow rate measurement unit 102 is less than the predetermined flow value. Is to be determined.

  The discrimination interval timer 112 measures the time from when the gas appliance stop judging unit 111 judges that the predetermined gas appliance is stopped to when the gas appliance discriminating unit 110 judges the predetermined gas appliance. .

  The number-of-discriminations counting means 113 counts the number of times the use of a predetermined gas appliance has been started when the time measured by the determination interval timer means 112 is within a predetermined time.

  The installation information storage unit 114 stores information that a predetermined facility is installed when the number counted by the determination number counting unit 113 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined number.

  Next, the processing in the gas appliance determination means 110, the gas appliance stop determination means 111, the determination interval time counting means 112, the determination count counting means 113, and the installation information storage means 114 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the predetermined gas appliance is a water heater, and this water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating (gas appliance A) as a predetermined facility together with hot water supply such as a bath. .

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the process of discriminating a predetermined gas appliance (water heater), discriminating gas appliance A (floor heating), and determining installation of gas appliance A in the present embodiment.

  First, in step S100, a flow rate value is obtained by the flow rate measuring means 102.

  In the process S101, the gas appliance discriminating means 110 determines whether or not the activation of the gas appliance is started. When the activation of the gas appliance is detected, the gas appliance is identified in the process S102. If the activation start of the gas appliance cannot be detected, the process proceeds to step S140.

  In process S110, it is determined whether or not the determination result obtained in process S102 is a water heater (predetermined gas appliance). In the case of a water heater, information on hot water heater use is set in process S111. If the determination result obtained in step S102 is not a water heater, the process proceeds to step S140.

  In step S120, it is determined whether or not the timer value T measured by the determination interval timer 112 is less than a predetermined time Tk (for example, 20 minutes). If the timer value T is less than the predetermined time Tk, the process proceeds to step S121 to count the number of times of determination. The number of times of discrimination N of the means 113 is counted up, and when the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time Tk, the count of the number of times of discrimination N is cleared in step S122.

  In step S130, it is determined whether or not the number of determinations N is equal to or greater than a predetermined number Dc (for example, four times). If the number of determinations N is equal to or greater than the predetermined number Dc, floor heating (gas appliance A) of the installation information storage unit 114 is performed in step S131. Set the installation information. Thereby, it can be determined that floor heating is installed as equipment using the water heater as a heat source.

  After the floor heating installation information is set, the number of determinations N is set to 0, and the number of determinations N is counted again. During a predetermined period (for example, three days), the number of determinations N is determined to be equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times Dd in step S130. If not performed, the configuration may be such that the floor heating installation information is cleared. Further, the predetermined number Dd of clearing the installation information may be the same as the predetermined number Dc at the time of setting the installation information.

  In process S140, it is determined whether or not the water heater is currently being used based on the water heater in use information set in process S111. If the water heater is being used, the process proceeds to step S160, and the water heater is being used. If not, the timer value T of the discrimination interval timer 112 is counted in step S150, and the process ends.

  In step S160, it is determined whether or not there is floor heating installation information. If there is floor heating installation information, in step S161, the hot water heater is used as a stop determination threshold Qs used by the gas appliance stop determination unit 111. Is set to a predetermined value Q1 (for example, 100 L / h) which is a stop determination value when the floor heater is used as a heat source for floor heating, and if there is no floor heating installation information, in step S162, the water heater turns on the floor heating. A predetermined value Q2 (for example, 250 L / h), which is a stop determination value when used for an application other than the heat source (for example, hot water supply to a shower or a bath), is set. The predetermined values Q1 and Q2 as the stop determination values are values that are set according to gas appliances (water heaters in the present embodiment) and gas appliances A (floor heating as equipment in the present embodiment). .

  In step S170, it is determined whether or not the flow rate value acquired by the flow rate measuring unit 102 is less than the threshold value Qs. If the flow rate value is less than the threshold value Qs, the process proceeds to step S171 to clear the hot water heater in-use information and to step S172. Then, the timer value T of the discrimination interval timer 112 is cleared, and restarted. The flow rate value to be compared with the threshold value Qs may be a flow rate value measured at regular intervals by the flow rate measuring means 102 or an average value of a predetermined number of flow rate values measured at regular intervals.

Next, the present embodiment will be described using a graph of a gas flow rate of a water heater when used as a heat source of gas appliance A (floor heating).

  FIG. 3A shows a change in the gas flow rate during the intermittent operation of the water heater while the floor heating is operating. The vertical axis of the graph indicates the flow rate [L / h], and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time after the start of the floor heating.

  FIG. 3B is a graph showing the time elapsed between the start and stop of the water heater shown in FIG. 3A and the interval from the stop to the start. In the case where the water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating, It can be seen that the water heater starts and stops periodically.

  In the case of the floor heating shown in FIG. 3, the gas appliance discriminating apparatus of the present embodiment determines the water heater by the first appliance discrimination based on the rising of the gas flow rate in the process S102 of FIG. It is determined that the water heater is stopped when the gas flow rate becomes 0 in the vicinity of the elapsed time of 38 minutes when the gas is in use (process S170 in FIG. 2). Then, while the water heater is being used for 0 to 38 minutes, the timer value T is not counted, and the timer value T starts counting at the 38 minute timing when the water heater stop determination is established (the processing in FIG. 2). S172).

  After that, the second rise of the gas flow rate is detected around 52 minutes, and if the appliance discrimination result is a water heater, the timer value T at that time is 14 minutes, and the predetermined time Tk (here, the process time S120 in step S120 in FIG. 2). 20 minutes), and since it is less than the determination value Tk, one is counted up from the initial value 0, and the number of determinations N = 1.

  Thereafter, the same processing is repeated at the third, fourth, and fifth rising of the gas flow rate, and at the fifth, the number of determinations N = 4. Here, since the number of times is equal to or more than the predetermined number of times Dc (here, four times) in step S130, floor heating installation information is set in step S131 in FIG. Thereafter, a predetermined value Q1, which is a stop determination value when the water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating, is set as the stop determination threshold Qs (process S161 in FIG. 2).

  Floor heating is heating by circulating hot water heated to a predetermined temperature by a water heater to a pipe buried under the floor, so even if floor heating is stopped, hot water remains in the pipe for a while It is in a state where it is set.

  FIG. 4 shows a change in gas flow rate in a case where floor heating is started in a state where hot water remains in the pipe, that is, in a state where the water temperature of the water heater is high (hereinafter, referred to as hot start). It is the same gas appliance as FIG. The vertical axis of the graph indicates the flow rate [L / h], and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time after the start of the floor heating.

  Comparing the flow rate changes of FIG. 3A and FIG. 4, there is no significant difference in the rising flow rate value, but there is a difference in the flow rate at the time of stability (around 30 minutes of elapsed time). In FIG. 3A, it is about 280 L / h, whereas in FIG. 4, it is about 130 L / h. In a normal use environment, a water heater is often used at a gas flow rate of 250 L / h, and if the stop determination threshold is set to 250 L / h, a correct stop determination is made in the case of a flow rate change as shown in FIG. Can not. However, in the present embodiment, when the floor heating installation information is set, it is possible to correctly perform the water heater stop determination by changing the threshold value of the water heater stop determination to, for example, 100 L / h. Become.

  Therefore, when the water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating as equipment, it is possible to accurately determine whether to stop the water heater even when the flow rate characteristic differs from normal due to hot start.

In the present embodiment, the time measured by the discrimination interval timer 112 is the time from the stop of the water heater. However, the time measured by the discrimination interval timer 112 is the time from the start of use of the gas appliance to the start of the next use. It may be time until.

  Further, the predetermined time during which the discrimination number counting means 113 counts the number of times the use of the gas appliance (the hot water supply device in the present embodiment) may be different for each facility (the floor heating in the present embodiment). .

  Further, the predetermined value used in the determination by the installation information storage unit 114 may be different for each facility (floor heating in the present embodiment).

  As described above, the stop determination of the gas appliance can be accurately performed by changing the stop determination threshold value of the gas appliance from the appliance installation information.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of gas meter 200 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that the gas flow rate of the gas meter 200 is calculated based on the information of the installation information storage unit 114 and the discrimination result of the gas appliance discriminating unit 110, and the gas usage is integrated for each specific gas appliance or each application. This is the point that the integrating means 120 is provided.

  Hereinafter, processes in the gas appliance determination unit 110, the gas appliance stop determination unit 111, the determination interval timer unit 112, the determination count counting unit 113, the installation information storage unit 114, and the appliance flow rate integration unit 120 in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a process of determining and integrating gas appliances A (in the present embodiment, floor heating which is a predetermined facility) in the present embodiment. Except for steps S112 to S116, step S160, step S165, and step S166, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

  After setting the hot water heater in use information in step S111, it is determined in step S112 whether or not floor heating installation information is present. If there is floor heating installation information, the process proceeds to step S113, and the maximum flow value Qmax after the activation of the water heater is acquired from the flow value measured by the flow measurement unit 102. If there is no floor heating installation information, the process proceeds to step S116. Note that Qmax may be an average value of the flow rates measured during a predetermined period at the time of rising.

  In processing S114, it is determined whether or not the maximum flow rate value Qmax is less than a threshold value Qt (for example, 400 L / h). If it is less than Qt, the result of this determination is determined to be a hot water heater determination using floor heating (during floor heating use) in step S115. If it is equal to or greater than Qt, it is determined in step S116 that the hot water heater is determined by means other than floor heating. Here, the threshold value Qt is a threshold value for determining the use of the water heater, and is set based on the type of the gas appliance A. Here, the maximum flow rate when the water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating is set. It is set based on.

  In step S160, it is determined whether or not the floor heating is being used. If the floor heating is being used, the process proceeds to step S161, and the integrated value obtained from the flow rate value by the flow rate measuring unit 102 in step S165 is integrated with the floor heating. The value is stored in the integrated value A. If the floor heating is not being used, the process proceeds to step S162, and in step S166, the integrated value is stored in the integrated value B as an integrated value other than floor heating.

  Next, the present embodiment will be described using a graph of the gas flow rate of the water heater.

FIG. 7A shows a change in gas flow rate when a water heater is used as a shower, and FIG.
b) shows a change in gas flow rate when a water heater is used as a heat source for floor heating. The vertical axis of the graph is the flow rate [L / h], and the horizontal axis is the serial number given to the flow rate data measured at regular time intervals (0.5 seconds in the present embodiment) by the flow rate measuring means 102. .

  When the water heater shown in FIG. 7A is used for hot water supply for a shower, the maximum flow rate value Qmax until water heater determination is performed is 750 L / h, and Qt (here, 400 L / h in step S114). ), The determination result is a hot water supply determination other than floor heating. Therefore, the integrated value of the gas flow rate used in FIG.

  When the water heater shown in FIG. 7 (b) is used as a heat source for floor heating, the maximum flow value Qmax until water heater determination is performed is 350 L / h, which is less than Qt in step S114. Is a hot water heater determination by floor heating. Therefore, the integrated value of the gas flow rate used in FIG.

  As described above, the determination result can be distinguished according to the intended use of the same water heater, so by dividing the area where the integrated value is stored for each purpose, the discount rate of the gas rate for floor heating used as a heating appliance can be reduced. Or higher. Therefore, it is possible to broaden the range of services such as applying a fee discount for each application.

  The embodiment of the invention has been described. The description of the above embodiment is an exemplification of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. Further, an embodiment in which the respective components described in the above embodiment are appropriately combined is also possible. The present invention can be modified, replaced, added, omitted, etc. within the scope of the claims or the equivalents thereof.

  As described above, the flow rate measurement device according to the present invention can accurately determine the stoppage of a device whose gas flow rate changes depending on the application, such as a water heater, so that the gas flow rate of city gas and LP gas can be determined. It can be applied to gas meters for measurement.

10-12 gas appliances 100, 200 gas meter (flow rate measuring device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Flow path 102 Flow rate measuring means 110 Gas appliance discriminating means 111 Gas appliance stop judging means 112 Discrimination interval timer means 113 Discrimination number counting means 114 Installation information storage means 120 Instrument flow integrating means 130 Control means

Claims (4)

Flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the flow path at fixed time intervals,
Gas appliance discriminating means for discriminating gas appliances from the flow rate data measured by the flow rate measuring means,
After the gas appliance determination unit determines that the use of the predetermined gas appliance has started, if the flow rate value measured by the flow measurement unit becomes less than the stop determination flow value, it is determined that the use of the predetermined gas appliance is stopped. Gas appliance stop determination means to be performed,
Discrimination interval timer means for counting an interval from when the use of the gas appliance is determined to be stopped by the gas appliance stop determination unit to when it is determined that the use of the predetermined gas appliance is started by the gas appliance determination unit,
The discrimination count counting means for counting the number of times when the discrimination interval timer means is within a predetermined time,
When the number counted by the determination number counting means exceeds a first predetermined number, installation information storage means for storing information that predetermined equipment is installed,
A gas appliance discriminating device comprising: The gas appliance stop determination means sets the stop determination flow value according to information stored in the installation information storage means when the gas appliance determination means determines that the gas appliance is a predetermined gas appliance. The gas appliance determination device according to claim 1. 3. The gas appliance according to claim 1, wherein the installation information storage unit deletes the stored installation information when the determination number counting unit does not exceed a second predetermined number in a predetermined period. 4. Discriminator. An instrument flow rate integrating means for integrating the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring means,
The appliance flow rate integrating means determines the gas flow rate between the predetermined gas appliance and the predetermined equipment based on the determination result determined by the gas appliance determination unit, and information stored in the installation information storage unit. The gas appliance discriminating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gas appliance is integrated individually.