JP2020134398A - Gas shut-off device and control method for gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gas shut-off device with which it is possible to determine the occurrence of an increase in water inside a piping with good accuracy and suppress the amount of electric power required for driving a humidity sensor.SOLUTION: A gas shut-off device pertaining to the present invention comprises: a measurement flow path in which a gas supplied via a piping circulates; a flow rate measurement unit for measuring the flow rate of a gas circuiting in the measurement flow path; a humidity sensor for intermittently detecting the humidity in the measurement flow path; a shut-off unit for opening/closing the measurement flow path; and a control unit. The control unit determines the occurrence of an increase in water inside the piping on the basis of a chronological change of the value of humidity detected by the humidity sensor while the measurement flow path is left open by the shut-off unit, and exercises control so that when it is determined on the basis of the value of flow rate of a gas measured by the flow rate measurement unit that a gas is flowing inside the measurement flow path, the interval at which the humidity sensor is intermittently driven is reduced to be shorter than an interval before it is determined that a gas is flowing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a gas shutoff device (gas meter) for detecting the generation of differential water in a pipe and a control method for the gas shutoff device.

When a water pipe is buried near the buried gas pipe, when the water pipe is damaged, the water flow from the damaged part entrains the surrounding earth and sand and stones, and the earth and sand and stones collide with the gas pipe. May occur. When the gas pipe is damaged by the sandblasting, muddy water may enter the inside of the gas pipe (hereinafter, may be referred to as differential water).

In this way, when water difference is generated in the pipe, water is contained in the supplied gas, which may cause a gas supply failure, a gas flow rate measurement failure, or the like. In addition, there is a possibility that the gas equipment installed in the gas consumer's house may have a burner ignition failure, or water may be ejected from the gas outlet of the burner.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a gas shutoff device (gas pipe differential water detection device) capable of detecting the occurrence of differential water in the pipe has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

The gas shutoff device (gas pipe differential water detection device) disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a predetermined device based on a humidity detector that detects the humidity in the gas flowing in a predetermined flow path and an output from the humidity detector. It is provided with a determination means for determining whether or not water has entered the gas pipe that guides the gas into the flow path of the above.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-318019

The conventional gas shutoff device has a problem that the suppression of the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor (humidity detector) used to determine whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe is not taken into consideration. ..

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to accurately determine whether or not a difference water is generated in a pipe, and to suppress the amount of electric power required to drive a humidity sensor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas shutoff device and a control method for the gas shutoff device.

One aspect (assist) of the gas shutoff device according to the present invention is a measurement flow path through which gas supplied via a pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and a flow rate measuring unit. A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path, a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path, and a control unit are provided, and the control unit is provided with the measurement flow path by the cutoff unit. In the open state, based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and the flow rate of the gas measured by the flow rate measuring unit is determined. When it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is made shorter than the interval before it is determined that gas is flowing. Control.

One aspect of the gas shutoff device according to the present invention is a measurement flow path through which gas supplied via a pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and the measurement flow. The control unit includes a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the road, a blocking unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path, and a control unit. The control unit is opened by the blocking unit. In this state, based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor. When it is determined that the humidity is rising, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is controlled to be shorter than the interval before determining that the humidity is rising.

One aspect of the control method of the gas shutoff device according to the present invention is a measurement flow path through which the gas supplied via the pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and a flow rate measuring unit. A control method for a gas shutoff device including a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path and a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path. In the open state, the step of determining whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, and the gas measured by the flow rate measuring unit. When it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the flow rate, the step of intermittently driving the humidity sensor is made shorter than the interval before determining that gas is flowing. And, including.

One aspect of the control method of the gas shutoff device according to the present invention is a measurement flow path through which the gas supplied via the pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and a flow rate measuring unit. It is a control method of a gas shutoff device including a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path and a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path. In the open state, the step of determining whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, and the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor. When it is determined that the humidity is rising based on the time-series change of, the step of intermittently driving the humidity sensor is made shorter than the interval before determining that the humidity is rising. Including.

According to the above configuration, the present invention has the effect that the presence or absence of the generation of differential water in the pipe can be accurately determined and the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

This is an example of time-series data showing the humidity change in the measurement flow path during the gas non-use period and the gas use period when the measurement flow path is opened. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the gas shutoff device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration related to a water difference determination process of the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the water difference determination process by the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the modification of the water difference determination process by the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration related to drive control of a humidity sensor included in the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the drive control of the humidity sensor which has the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor which has the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the modification 2 of the drive control of the humidity sensor which the gas shutoff device shown in FIG. 2 has.

(History of obtaining one form of the present invention)
As a gas shutoff device capable of detecting the generation of differential water in a pipe, the present inventors have a humidity sensor (humidity detection) like the gas shutoff device (gas pipe differential water detector) according to Patent Document 1 described above. As a result of diligently examining the configuration using the vessel), the following findings were obtained.

First, in the gas shutoff device (difference water detection device in the gas pipe) disclosed in Patent Document 1, the following configuration is proposed.

That is, based on the humidity detector that detects the humidity of the gas flowing in the predetermined flow path and the output from the humidity detector, it is determined whether or not water has entered the pipe that guides the gas to the predetermined flow path. A determination means is provided. With this configuration, it is possible to detect the mixing of water in the gas with the gas flowing in the flow path as the detection target.

However, the gas shutoff device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the mode of driving the humidity sensor and the amount of electric power required for driving are not taken into consideration.

That is, the humidity sensor consumes a large amount of power. Therefore, it is usually configured to be driven intermittently to detect humidity so as to suppress power consumption. Here, in the configuration of the gas shutoff device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the humidity sensor is intermittently driven, the following problems occur.

That is, if the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is shortened, the detection accuracy of the change in humidity (change in the time-series data of humidity) is improved, but the amount of power required for detecting the humidity is increased. On the other hand, if the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is lengthened, the amount of power required for detecting the humidity can be suppressed, but the accuracy of detecting the change in humidity is lowered.

Therefore, the present inventors shorten the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor during the period when it is necessary to grasp the change in humidity in detail in order to detect the occurrence of the difference water in the pipe, and to reduce the humidity. During the period when it is not necessary to grasp the change in detail, it is possible to detect the occurrence of the difference water appropriately while suppressing the power consumption of the humidity sensor by increasing the interval of intermittently driving the humidity sensor. I found out what I could do.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, it was found that when there is a difference in water in the pipe, a characteristic change is observed in the time series data of humidity during the gas non-use period and after the start of gas use.

Note that FIG. 1 is an example of time-series data showing changes in humidity in the measurement flow path during the gas non-use period and the gas use period while the measurement flow path is open. In FIG. 1, the solid line shows the time-series change in humidity when there is water difference in the pipe, and the alternate long and short dash line shows the time-series change in humidity when there is no water difference in the pipe.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, when the difference water is generated in the pipe, the humidity gradually rises during the period when the gas is not used. On the other hand, when there is no difference in water in the pipe, there is almost no change in humidity during the period when the gas is not used. Furthermore, when there is water difference in the pipe, when the use of gas is started, a peak occurs in which the humidity rises sharply for a short time (several tens of seconds), but if there is no water difference in the pipe, Such a peak does not occur.

As described above, the present inventors have noticed that when the water difference is generated in the pipe, the time series data of the humidity shows a characteristic change during the gas non-use period and after the start of the use of the gas. ..

Then, the presence or absence of the difference in water in the pipe is determined from the change in the characteristic time-series data of the humidity shown in FIG. 1 when the difference in water is generated in the pipe. It was found that it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not water is being generated.

Furthermore, during the period when this characteristic time-series data change is observed, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is shortened, and during the other period, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is lengthened. It has been found that the occurrence of differential water in the pipe can be accurately determined and the amount of power required to drive the humidity sensor can be reduced.

The above-mentioned findings of the present inventors and others have not been clarified so far, and have novel technical features that exert remarkable action and effect. Therefore, the present invention specifically provides the following aspects.

The gas shutoff device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a measurement flow path through which gas supplied via a pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and the above. A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path, a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path, and a control unit are provided, and the control unit is opened by the cutoff unit. In this state, based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring unit is measured. When it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is controlled to be shorter than the interval before it is determined that gas is flowing. To do.

According to the above configuration, when the control unit determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit, the control unit intermittently drives the humidity sensor at intervals of gas. It is controlled to be shorter than the interval before it is determined that is flowing. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a peak of the time-series change in humidity after the start of use of the gas, which appears when the difference water is generated in the pipe.

Further, since the control is performed so as to shorten the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor after the start of using the gas, the amount of electric power required for driving the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and it is possible to suppress the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor.

The gas shutoff device according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a measurement flow path through which the gas supplied via the pipe flows, a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing through the measurement flow path, and the above. The control unit includes a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path, a blocking unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path, and a control unit. The control unit opens the measurement flow path by the blocking unit. In this state, based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and when the humidity value is detected by the humidity sensor. When it is determined that the humidity is increasing based on the series change, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is controlled to be shorter than the interval before determining that the humidity is increasing.

According to the above configuration, when the control unit determines that the humidity is rising based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, the humidity rises at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. It is controlled to be shorter than the interval before it is determined that the operation is performed. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a characteristic time-series change in humidity that appears when water difference is generated in the pipe.

Further, since the control is performed so as to shorten the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor from the time when it is determined that the humidity is rising, the amount of electric power required for driving the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and it is possible to suppress the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor.

In the gas shutoff device according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect described above, the humidity of the control unit is increased based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor. When it is determined, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is controlled to be changed to the first interval, which is shorter than the interval before determining that the humidity is rising. When the control unit determines that the humidity is rising and determines that the gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the previous flow measurement unit, the humidity The interval for intermittently driving the sensor may be controlled to be changed to a second interval, which is shorter than the first interval.

According to the above configuration, when the control unit determines that the humidity is rising, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor can be changed to the first interval and shortened. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a characteristic time-series change in humidity that appears when water difference is generated in the pipe.

Further, since the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor can be changed to the first interval from the time when it is determined that the humidity is rising, the amount of power required for driving the humidity sensor can be suppressed. Can be done.

Furthermore, when the control unit determines that the humidity is rising and that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is set to be larger than the first interval. Since the second interval, which is a short interval, can be changed to shorten the interval, the amount of power required to drive the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

Further, here, the time-series change in humidity after the start of use of the gas changes significantly in a shorter time than the time-series change in humidity during the gas non-use period in which the gas does not flow in the measurement flow path.

Therefore, the gas shutoff device according to the third aspect of the present invention is configured so that the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is shorter after the start of gas use than during the gas non-use period.

Therefore, it is possible to appropriately obtain time-series changes in humidity during the gas non-use period and after the start of gas use. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of the difference water in the pipe.

The control method of the gas shutoff device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of the gas flowing through the measuring flow path and the measuring flow path through which the gas supplied through the pipe flows. A method for controlling a gas shutoff device including a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path and a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path. In the state where the road is open, the step of determining whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor and the measurement by the flow rate measuring unit. When it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is shorter than the interval before determining that gas is flowing. Including steps to do.

According to the above method, when it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring unit, the gas flows at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. Make it shorter than the interval before determining that it is present. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a peak of the time-series change in humidity after the start of use of the gas, which appears when the difference water is generated in the pipe.

Further, since the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor after the start of using the gas is shortened, the amount of electric power required for driving the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and it is possible to suppress the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor.

The control method of the gas shutoff device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is a measurement flow path through which the gas supplied via the pipe flows and a flow rate measuring unit for measuring the flow rate of the gas flowing through the measurement flow path. A method for controlling a gas shutoff device including a humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path and a cutoff unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path. In a state where the road is open, a step of determining whether or not a difference water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor. When it is determined that the humidity is rising based on the time-series change of the value of, the step of intermittently driving the humidity sensor is shorter than the interval before determining that the humidity is rising. ,including.

According to the above method, when it is determined that the humidity is increasing based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined that the humidity is increasing at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. Make it shorter than the interval before. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a characteristic time-series change in humidity that appears when water difference is generated in the pipe.

Further, since the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor from the time when it is determined that the humidity is rising is shortened, the amount of electric power required for driving the humidity sensor can be suppressed.

Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the difference water is generated in the pipe, and it is possible to suppress the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor.

Hereinafter, typical embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements will be designated by the same reference numerals throughout all the figures, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

[Configuration of gas shutoff device]
As shown in FIG. 2, the gas shutoff device 100 according to the present embodiment is a gas meter including a flow rate measuring unit 20, a control unit 21, a notification unit 22, a shutoff unit 23, and a humidity sensor 24. is there. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the gas shutoff device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the gas shutoff device 100, the measurement flow path 11 is a supply pipe 10 and a first connection portion 25 connected to, for example, a pipe (not shown) laid under a public road at an upstream end in the gas flow direction. It is connected via. On the other hand, the measurement flow path 11 is connected to the indoor pipe 12 drawn into the customer via the second connecting portion 26 at the downstream end.

Therefore, the gas flowing through the pipe can flow through the measurement flow path 11 through the supply pipe 10 and can be supplied to the gas appliance provided to the customer through the indoor pipe 12.

The measurement flow path 11 is provided with a cutoff unit 23, a humidity sensor 24, and a flow rate measurement unit 20 in this order from the upstream side.

The blocking unit 23 is a device that opens and closes the measurement flow path 11, and blocks the measurement flow path 11 to a closed state or opens it to an open state in response to a control instruction from the control unit 21. The shutoff unit 23 may include, for example, an electromagnetic shutoff valve or a mechanical shutoff valve. In the event of an emergency such as an earthquake, the cutoff unit 23 may be configured to cut off the measurement flow path 11 in response to an electric signal transmitted from the control unit 21, or may be configured to cut off the measurement flow path 11 according to the operation of the seismic sensor (not shown). The measurement flow path 11 may be blocked.

The humidity sensor 24 is a device that detects the humidity in the measurement flow path 11, and the detected value is transmitted to the control unit 21.

The flow rate measuring unit 20 is a device that measures the flow rate of gas per unit time flowing through the measuring flow path 11. The flow rate measuring unit 20 may be a membrane type gas meter or an ultrasonic type gas meter. Alternatively, for example, it may be configured to obtain the gas flow rate by a flow sensor using an electronic detection principle or an instantaneous flow meter such as a fluidic method. A value indicating the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring unit 20 is transmitted to the control unit 21.

The control unit 21 performs various controls of each unit included in the gas shutoff device 100, and includes a calculation unit (not shown) such as a CPU and a storage unit (not shown) such as a ROM and RAM. For example, information such as a basic program of the gas shutoff device 100 and various fixed data is stored in the storage unit, and the calculation unit reads and executes the basic program and the like, so that the control unit 21 operates each unit. Control. The control unit 21 may be composed of a single control unit for centralized control, or may be composed of a plurality of control units for distributed control in cooperation with each other.

The notification unit 22 is a device that notifies information to the outside, and can, for example, notify the outside of the occurrence of differential water in the pipe. Examples of the notification unit 22 include an acoustic device when notifying by voice, a communication interface when notifying an external device through a communication network, and a light emitting device when notifying by light or the like.

Next, FIG. 3 for explaining the configuration related to the water difference determination process for determining the presence or absence of the water difference in the gas shutoff device 100 according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 3 shows the difference of the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the structure about the water determination process.

[Water difference judgment process]
(Structure related to water difference judgment processing)
As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 21 includes a humidity rise determination unit 31, a flow rate calculation unit 32, a distribution determination unit 33, and a water difference determination unit 34 as functional blocks related to the water difference determination process.

The humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity values in the measurement flow path 11 detected by the humidity sensor 24 at predetermined intervals, and determines whether or not the humidity has risen. The humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor 24, and stores the time series data in the storage unit (not shown). Then, the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines whether or not the humidity has risen based on the change in the time series data.

For example, the humidity increase determination unit 31 may be configured to determine whether or not there is an increase in humidity by comparing the latest humidity value with the previously received humidity value in the time series data. Alternatively, the humidity rise determination unit 31 is configured to determine whether or not there is a humidity rise from the change in the moving average value obtained by averaging the latest n (n is an arbitrary natural number) data in the time series data. May be good.

Further, when the humidity value changes by a predetermined value or more, the humidity increase determination unit 31 may determine that the humidity has increased. In other words, in order to deal with the humidity measurement error by the humidity sensor 24, if the humidity value does not change by more than a predetermined value, the latest detected humidity value is larger than the previously detected humidity value. Even if it is, it is not judged that the humidity has risen.

The flow rate calculation unit 32 sequentially receives the values measured by the flow rate measurement unit 20 at predetermined intervals. Then, the flow rate calculation unit 32 obtains the flow rate value of the gas flowing through the measurement flow path 11 based on the received value.

The distribution determination unit 33 determines whether or not gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 based on the flow rate value of the gas obtained by the flow rate calculation unit 32.

Here, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that the gas is flowing, it indicates that the gas is in use. On the other hand, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that the gas is not flowing, it indicates that the gas is not being used.

The water difference determination unit 34 determines the presence or absence of water difference in the pipe based on the determination result of the humidity rise determination unit 31 and the determination result of the distribution determination unit 33. Specifically, when the difference water determination unit 34 determines that the humidity is rising and determines that gas is not flowing in the measurement flow path 11, it is determined that the difference water is generated in the pipe. judge.

When the difference water determination unit 34 determines that the difference water has occurred in the pipe in the determination result of the presence or absence of the difference water, the difference water determination unit 34 transmits the determination result to the notification unit 22. Upon receiving the determination result of the difference water determination unit 34, the notification unit 22 notifies the outside of the occurrence of the difference water in the pipe.

(Water difference judgment processing flow)
In the gas shutoff device 100 having the above-described configuration, the water difference determination process is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the water difference determination process by the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, in a state (open state) in which the measurement flow path 11 is opened by the cutoff unit 23, the humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity value from the humidity sensor 24 (step S11). .. Then, based on the received humidity value, it is determined whether or not the humidity has risen (step S12).

Here, when the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has not risen (“No” in step S12), the process returns to step S11 and sequentially receives the humidity values at predetermined intervals.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the humidity has increased (“Yes” in step S12), the flow rate calculation unit 32 obtains the flow rate of the gas flowing in the measurement flow path 11 based on the value detected by the flow rate measurement unit 20 (“Yes”). Step S13). Based on the value of the gas flow rate obtained by the flow rate calculation unit 32, the distribution determination unit 33 determines whether or not gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (step S14).

Here, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“No” in step S14), the flow rate calculation unit 32 returns to step S13 by the flow rate measurement unit 20. The measured values are sequentially received at predetermined intervals, and the flow rate of the gas flowing in the measurement flow path 11 is obtained.

On the other hand, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is not flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“Yes” in step S14), the water difference determination unit 34 determines that water difference has occurred in the pipe. judge. Then, the notification unit 22 is controlled so as to notify the occurrence of the difference water in the pipe (step S15).

In the above, after the humidity rise is determined in steps S11 and S12, when the humidity is rising, it is determined in steps S13 and S14 whether or not gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11. Met.

However, steps S13 and S14 may be executed first, and steps S11 and S12 may be executed when the gas does not flow in the measurement flow path 11. Alternatively, when steps S11 and S12 and steps S13 and S14 are executed in parallel to satisfy the condition that the humidity rises and the gas does not flow in the measurement flow path 11, the difference water is generated in the pipe. The difference water determination unit 34 may determine that it has occurred.

As described above, the gas shutoff device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines whether or not a water difference has occurred in the pipe when the measurement flow path 11 is in the valve open state and no gas is flowing. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the difference water has occurred in the pipe before the gas is used, and notify the outside.

The gas shutoff device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which it is determined that a difference in water is generated in the pipe when the humidity in the measurement flow path 11 rises during the gas non-use period. .. However, from the timing when the use of gas is confirmed (the timing when it is determined that the gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11), the humidity rises by a predetermined value or more in the predetermined period from the time series data of the humidity in the predetermined period, and The configuration may be such that it is determined whether or not the humidity is decreasing and the generation of the difference water in the pipe is determined.

That is, the configuration may be such that the generation of the difference water in the pipe is determined from the change in which the humidity suddenly increases and the peak occurs in a short time after the start of use of the gas. Hereinafter, a modified example of the water difference determination process will be described.

[Modified example of water difference judgment processing]
Since the functional block of the control unit 21 regarding the modified example of the water difference determination process is the same as the functional block shown in FIG. 3, the description thereof will be omitted.

The gas shutoff device 100 implements a modified example of the water difference determination process as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a modification of the water difference determination process by the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the state (open state) in which the measurement flow path 11 is opened by the cutoff unit 23, the flow rate calculation unit 32 measures the measurement flow path based on the value detected by the flow rate measurement unit 20. The flow rate of the gas flowing in 11 is obtained (step S21). Based on the value of the gas flow rate obtained by the flow rate calculation unit 32, the distribution determination unit 33 confirms whether or not the gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11, and determines whether or not the use of the gas has started ( Step S22).

While it is not determined that the use of gas has started (“No” in step S22), the process returns to step S21 and the flow rate calculation unit 32 obtains the flow rate of the gas.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the use of gas has started, the humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity value from the humidity sensor 24 (step S23). Then, based on the received humidity value, it is determined whether or not the humidity has increased by a predetermined value or more in a predetermined period and then decreased (step S24).

When the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has increased by a predetermined value or more in a predetermined period and then has decreased (“Yes” in step S24), the water difference determination unit 34 has a water difference in the pipe. Judge that it has occurred. Then, the notification unit 22 is controlled so as to notify the occurrence of the difference water in the pipe (step S25).

On the other hand, if "No" is set in step S24, it is determined that no differential water has been generated in the pipe (step S26).

The control unit 21 performs both the above-mentioned water difference determination process and the modified example of the water difference determination process, and when it is determined that the water difference has occurred in the pipe by both judgments, the water difference in the pipe The notification unit 22 may be controlled so as to notify the occurrence of.

As described above, the control unit 21 can determine the presence or absence of the difference water in the pipe based on the time-series change of the value detected by the humidity sensor 24. Further, in carrying out the water difference determination process in this way, the control unit 21 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to be intermittently driven as follows.

[Humidity sensor drive control]
(Configuration related to drive control of humidity sensor)
Next, a configuration related to drive control of the humidity sensor in the gas shutoff device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration related to drive control of the humidity sensor 24 included in the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 21 includes a humidity rise determination unit 31, a flow rate calculation unit 32, a distribution determination unit 33, and a measurement interval instruction unit 35 as functional blocks related to drive control of the humidity sensor 24. Since the humidity rise determination unit 31, the flow rate calculation unit 32, and the distribution determination unit 33 have been described in the above-mentioned "configuration related to the difference water determination process", the description thereof will be omitted here.

The measurement interval indicating unit 35 instructs an interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 based on at least one determination result of the determination result of the distribution determination unit 33 and the determination result of the humidity rise determination unit 31.

In the gas shutoff device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as a drive pattern for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24, a drive pattern A having a shorter interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 and a drive pattern having a longer interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 B is set.

The drive pattern A may be a pattern for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 at intervals of, for example, several seconds, and the drive pattern B may be a pattern for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 at intervals of, for example, several tens of seconds.

Then, normally, the humidity sensor 24 is intermittently driven by the drive pattern B to suppress the power consumption of the humidity sensor 24. Then, the drive pattern B is switched to the drive pattern A in a predetermined period after the start of use of the gas that can determine whether or not the difference water is generated, so that the detection accuracy of the humidity change is improved. .. The predetermined period from the start of use of the gas may be a fixed period, or may be a period until it is determined that the flow rate of the gas exceeds the predetermined value.

The interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 is not limited to the above-mentioned drive patterns A and B, and the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 is longer than that of the drive pattern B (drive pattern C). ) May be further set.

Information about this drive pattern is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown), and the measurement interval indicator unit 35 refers to the stored drive pattern to separate the drive pattern for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24. Control to switch to the drive pattern of. For example, the measurement interval indicator 35 controls to switch the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 from the drive pattern B to the drive pattern A or from the drive pattern A to the drive pattern B.

Further, when the period in which the humidity sensor 24 is driven by the drive pattern A is a fixed period after the start of use of the gas, the measurement interval indicating unit 35 is based on the time measured by the time measuring unit (not shown). The drive pattern A manages the period for driving the humidity sensor 24. On the other hand, when the period during which the humidity sensor 24 is driven by the drive pattern A is from the start of use of the gas until the flow rate of the gas exceeds a predetermined value, the measurement interval indicating unit 35 uses the gas flow rate calculation unit 32 to obtain the gas. Based on the flow rate value of, it may be determined whether or not the gas flow rate exceeds a predetermined value, and the period for driving the humidity sensor 24 in the drive pattern A may be managed.

(Humidity sensor drive control flow)
In the gas shutoff device 100 having the above configuration, the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of drive control of the humidity sensor 24 included in the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in a state (open state) in which the measurement flow path 11 is opened by the cutoff unit 23, the flow rate calculation unit 32 measures the measurement flow path based on the value detected by the flow rate measurement unit 20. The flow rate of the gas flowing in 11 is obtained (step S31). Based on the value of the gas flow rate obtained by the flow rate calculation unit 32, the distribution determination unit 33 determines whether or not gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (step S32).

Here, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is not flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“No” in step S32), the flow rate calculation unit 32 returns to step S31 by the flow rate measurement unit 20. The measured values are sequentially received at predetermined intervals, and the flow rate of the gas flowing in the measurement flow path 11 is obtained. When the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 is set to the drive pattern A in the gas shutoff device 100 when the determination in step S32 is performed, when the determination is “No” in step S32, the measurement interval indicator 35 receives the measurement interval indicator 35. The interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 may be returned to the drive pattern B.

On the other hand, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“Yes” in step S32), the measurement interval indicator unit 35 changes the interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 (“Yes”). Step S33).

Specifically, the measurement interval indicating unit 35 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to be driven by the drive pattern A in which the interval for driving from the drive pattern B is shorter. In this way, the control unit 21 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to be driven by the drive pattern A for a predetermined period after the start of use of the gas.

As described above, when it is determined that the gas flows in the measurement flow path 11 and the gas has started to be used, the humidity sensor 24 can be controlled so that the interval for intermittently driving the sensor 24 becomes shorter. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to accurately detect the peak of the humidity change that appears after the start of use of the gas when the difference water is generated in the pipe.

Further, until the gas starts to be used, the humidity sensor 24 is controlled to be driven by the drive pattern B in which the interval for intermittently driving the gas sensor 24 is long, and the humidity sensor 24 is operated for a predetermined period from the start of using the gas. It is controlled to be driven by the drive pattern A in which the interval of intermittent drive is shortened. Therefore, the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor 24 can be suppressed.

[Modification example 1 of drive control of humidity sensor]
Hereinafter, a modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 will be described. Since the functional block of the control unit 21 according to the first modification of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 is the same as the functional block shown in FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted.

The gas shutoff device 100 implements modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 included in the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in the state where the measurement flow path 11 is opened by the blocking unit 23 (open state), the humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity value from the humidity sensor 24 (step S41). .. Then, based on the received humidity value, it is determined whether or not the humidity has risen (step S42).

Here, when the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has not risen (“No” in step S42), the process returns to step S41 and sequentially receives the humidity values at predetermined intervals. When the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 is set to the drive pattern A in the gas shutoff device 100 when the determination in step S42 is performed, when the determination is “No” in step S42, the measurement interval indicator 35 receives the measurement interval indicator 35. The interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 may be returned to the drive pattern B.

On the other hand, when the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has risen (“Yes” in step S42), the measurement interval indicator unit 35 changes the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 (step S43). ..

Specifically, the measurement interval indicator 35 controls the humidity sensor 24 so that the humidity sensor 24 is driven by the drive pattern A in which the drive interval from the drive pattern B is shorter. In this way, the control unit 21 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to be driven by the drive pattern A for a predetermined period from the timing when the humidity rises.

As described above, when it is determined that the humidity in the measurement flow path 11 has risen, it is possible to control so that the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 becomes shorter. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to accurately detect the increase in humidity that appears during the non-use period of the gas when the difference water is generated in the pipe.

Further, until the humidity in the measurement flow path 11 rises, the humidity sensor 24 is controlled to be driven by the drive pattern B in which the interval for intermittently driving is long, and the predetermined period after the humidity rise is The humidity sensor 24 is controlled to be driven by a drive pattern A in which the interval for intermittently driving the sensor 24 is shortened. Therefore, the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor 24 can be suppressed.

Further, in the modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor described above, whether or not the gas is flowing is also determined in parallel based on the flow rate of the gas, and the gas is not flowing (gas non-use period) and is in a state of no gas. When it is determined in step S42 that the humidity has risen, the drive pattern may be changed so that the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 is shortened in step S43.

In "Modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor", the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 at the timing when the increase in humidity is detected can be set to a shorter interval. Therefore, as compared with the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to more reliably detect a characteristic change in the time-series data of the humidity that appears when the difference water is generated in the pipe.

On the other hand, in order to shorten the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 before the start of gas use, the amount of electric power required to drive the humidity sensor 24 is the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 shown in FIG. It becomes larger in comparison.

In addition, as a configuration in which the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 shown in FIG. 8 and the modification 1 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 shown in FIG. 8 are combined to change the intermittent drive interval of the humidity sensor 24. May be good. In the following, a modification 2 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of modification 2 of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 included in the gas shutoff device 100 shown in FIG.

[Modification 2 of drive control of humidity sensor]
First, in the second modification of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24, there are three drive patterns, the drive pattern A, the drive pattern B, and the drive pattern C, as the drive patterns for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24. Here, the drive pattern A corresponds to the second interval of the present invention, and the drive pattern B corresponds to the first interval of the present invention.

Since the functional block of the control unit 21 relating to the second modification of the drive control of the humidity sensor 24 is the same as the functional block shown in FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the gas shutoff device 100, when the measurement flow path 11 is opened by the shutoff unit 23 (open state), the humidity rise determination unit 31 sequentially receives the humidity value from the humidity sensor 24. (Step S51). Then, based on the received humidity value, it is determined whether or not the humidity has risen (step S52).

Here, when the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has not risen (“No” in step S52), the process returns to step S51 and sequentially receives the humidity values at predetermined intervals. When the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 is set to the drive pattern A or the drive pattern B in the gas shutoff device 100 when the determination in step S52 is performed, when it is determined as "No" in step S52, the measurement interval instruction is given. The unit 35 may be configured to return the interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 to the drive pattern C.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the humidity has risen (“Yes” in step S52), the measurement interval indicator 35 controls to change the interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 (step S53). Specifically, the measurement interval indicator 35 controls the humidity sensor 24 so that the humidity sensor 24 is driven by the drive pattern B in which the drive interval from the drive pattern C is shorter. In this way, the control unit 21 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to be driven by the drive pattern B from the timing when the humidity rises.

Further, the flow rate calculation unit 32 obtains the flow rate of the gas flowing in the measurement flow path 11 based on the value detected by the flow rate measurement unit 20 (step S54). Based on the value of the gas flow rate obtained by the flow rate calculation unit 32, the distribution determination unit 33 determines whether or not gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (step S55).

Here, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is not flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“No” in step S55), the flow rate calculation unit 32 returns to step S54 by the flow rate measurement unit 20. The measured values are sequentially received at predetermined intervals, and the flow rate of the gas flowing in the measurement flow path 11 is obtained. When the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 is set to the drive pattern A in the gas shutoff device 100 when the determination in step S55 is performed, when the determination is “No” in step S32, the measurement interval indicating unit 35 receives the measurement interval indicator 35. The interval for driving the humidity sensor 24 may be returned to the drive pattern B.

On the other hand, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11 (“Yes” in step S55), the measurement interval indicator unit 35 changes the interval for driving the humidity sensor 24. (Step S56). Specifically, the measurement interval indicator 35 controls the humidity sensor 24 so that the humidity sensor 24 is driven by the drive pattern A in which the interval of driving from the drive pattern B is shorter.

In this way, the control unit 21 controls the humidity sensor 24 so as to drive the gas in the drive pattern A for a predetermined period from the timing when the use of the gas is started.

In the above, after determining the increase in humidity in steps S51 and S52, when the humidity is increasing, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor 24 is changed, and then in steps S54 and S55. The configuration was such that it was determined whether or not gas was flowing in the measurement flow path 11.

However, steps S51 to S53 and steps S54 to S56 may be executed in parallel. Then, when the humidity rise determination unit 31 determines that the humidity has risen, the measurement interval indicator unit 35 may be controlled to change the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 from the drive pattern C to the drive pattern B. Further, when the distribution determination unit 33 determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path 11, the measurement interval indicator unit 35 controls to change the drive pattern of the humidity sensor 24 from the drive pattern B to the drive pattern A. You may.

The present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the techniques disclosed in different embodiments and a plurality of modifications are provided. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the means are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely and suitably used in a field such as a gas shutoff device capable of determining whether or not a water difference has occurred in a pipe based on a value detected by a humidity sensor.

11 Measurement flow path 20 Flow rate measurement unit 21 Control unit 22 Notification unit 23 Blocking unit 24 Humidity sensor 31 Humidity rise judgment unit 32 Flow rate calculation unit 33 Distribution judgment unit 34 Difference water judgment unit 35 Measurement interval indicator 100 Gas shutoff device

Claims (5)

A measurement flow path through which gas supplied via piping flows, and
A flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas flowing in the measuring flow path,
A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path,
A blocking unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path
With a control unit
The control unit determines whether or not a difference in water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor in a state where the measurement flow path is opened by the cutoff unit. At the same time, when it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring unit, the gas flows at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. A gas shutoff device that controls the interval to be shorter than the interval before it is determined to be. A measurement flow path through which gas supplied via piping flows, and
A flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas flowing in the measuring flow path,
A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path,
A blocking unit that opens and closes the measurement flow path
With a control unit
The control unit determines whether or not a difference water is generated in the pipe based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor in a state where the measurement flow path is opened by the cutoff unit. At the same time, when it is determined that the humidity is increasing based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, it is determined that the humidity is increasing at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. A gas shutoff device that controls the interval to be shorter than the interval before judgment. When the control unit determines that the humidity is rising based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, the humidity is increased at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. It is controlled to change to the first interval, which is shorter than the interval before determining that it is present.
When the control unit determines that the humidity is rising and determines that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement unit, the humidity The gas shutoff device according to claim 2, wherein the interval for intermittently driving the sensor is controlled to be changed to a second interval which is shorter than the first interval. A measurement flow path through which gas supplied via piping flows, and
A flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas flowing in the measuring flow path,
A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path,
A method for controlling a gas shutoff device including a cutoff portion for opening and closing the measurement flow path.
A step of determining whether or not a difference water is generated in the pipe based on a time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor in a state where the measurement flow path is opened by the cutoff portion.
When it is determined that gas is flowing in the measurement flow path based on the value of the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring unit, it is determined that the gas is flowing at intervals for intermittently driving the humidity sensor. A method of controlling a gas shutoff device, including a step of making the interval shorter than the interval before determination. A measurement flow path through which gas supplied via piping flows, and
A flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas flowing in the measuring flow path,
A humidity sensor that intermittently detects the humidity in the measurement flow path,
A method for controlling a gas shutoff device including a cutoff portion for opening and closing the measurement flow path.
A step of determining whether or not a difference water is generated in the pipe based on a time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor in a state where the measurement flow path is opened by the cutoff portion.
When it is determined that the humidity is increasing based on the time-series change of the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor, the interval for intermittently driving the humidity sensor is set before it is determined that the humidity is increasing. How to control the gas shutoff device, including steps to make it shorter than the interval.

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