JP2023125651A - Terminator search system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a terminator search system that allows search for an installation location of a terminator without opening a ceiling and can reduce a time required for replacement of the terminator.SOLUTION: A terminator search system includes: a flying unit (23) which includes an antenna and receives an electric wave from an electric wave transmitter (21) attached to a terminator (14) provided at a termination of a sensor line as a component of a fire alarm system, detects a strength of the received electric wave and transmits reception strength information; and a maneuver device (24) that includes a display unit and an input operation unit for receiving a control command to the flying unit from an operator, and that transmits the input control command to the flying unit and sequentially updates and displays information based on the reception strength information received from the flying unit on the display unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for searching for ancillary equipment of a building using a flying object equipped with a receiver, and relates to a technique that is effective when used, for example, to search for a terminator installed in a ceiling for configuring a fire alarm system. .

In a fire alarm system equipped with a P-type fire receiver, multiple fire detectors are connected in parallel to a detector line consisting of two signal lines (signal line L and common line C), and each fire detection Under normal conditions, the device maintains the voltage between the L line and the C line at 24 [V], for example, and when the smoke concentration or temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold, the voltage between the L line and the C line is lower than normal, for example 5 V. It is configured to notify the receiver of the occurrence of a fire by setting it to [V].
In addition, in a fire alarm system using a P-type receiver, a terminator made of a resistive element is connected to the end of the signal line to monitor disconnections in the wiring. If the connection cannot be confirmed, it is determined that there is a disconnection somewhere in the sensor line, and a disconnection indicator light is turned on.

In a fire alarm system, the detector is installed on the ceiling so that it can be visually confirmed, but the terminator is usually installed in the ceiling where it cannot be seen. If a malfunction occurs in this terminator, a false disconnection will be displayed, so if a malfunction in the terminator is discovered during maintenance of the fire alarm system, the terminator must be replaced. Furthermore, when replacing a fire receiver, the existing terminator may also be replaced at the same time.
Furthermore, although terminators usually do not require frequent replacement, they may need to be replaced if sensors are reinstalled or wiring is changed due to layout changes or renovation work. be.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-194645 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-228292

To replace a terminator installed in the ceiling, it is first necessary to locate the terminator. To find the installation location of the terminator, the basic method is to refer to the construction drawings created at the time of installation and open the ceiling near where the terminator is supposed to be. The exact location may not be exactly as shown on the drawing. In addition, the contractor performing the wiring work may, at his own discretion, use an arrangement consisting of four signal lines, connect the sensor to two of them, and use the remaining two signal lines. In some cases, the signal line from the sensor at the end is folded back and the terminator is installed inside a fire hydrant box or equipment storage box equipped with a transmitter and alarm lamp.

For this reason, it may not be possible to visually find the terminator near the ceiling once it has been opened, and in that case, the ceiling must be opened again at another location to search for the terminator.
However, when replacing a terminator, it is a big burden to open the ceiling and move the stepladder to go up and down, and in addition, the above work becomes even more difficult in halls with high ceilings. Ta.

Note that, as an invention related to detection of an existing terminator, there is one described in Patent Document 1. The invention of Patent Document 1 requires a large amount of work to replace the existing terminator when replacing the receiver, so no matter what type of terminator is already installed, it is possible to determine the type of the terminator. This will be supported in new receivers. According to the system described in Patent Document 1, since the type of the existing terminator is checked on the receiver side, the necessity of actually opening the ceiling can be reduced.
However, the invention of Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining the type of terminator, which makes it easy to search for the installation position of the terminator when the need for replacing the terminator actually arises. It's not something you do.

Further, there is an invention described in Patent Document 2 as an invention related to a system for detecting the position of an article in a relatively small space such as a home or office. In the invention of Patent Document 2, a target area such as a floor where wireless tags are scattered is scanned by a reader installed on a ceiling or the like. Based on the detection results of the reader, a plurality of wireless tags (location IDs) are selected from among the wireless tag group to serve as a reference for position detection, and based on whether or not the second reader detects the selected wireless tags. This method detects the position of the item.
However, in the invention of Patent Document 2, two readers are provided in a space where an article is to be detected, so if there are multiple such spaces, two readers may be provided in each space. This poses a problem of increasing costs.

By the way, the unique circumstances of automatic fire alarm systems include:
1. One terminator shall be installed at the end of the sensor line of the P-type system for each line (one security area).
2. Generally, in a large office, searching manually when the location of the terminal device is lost somewhere in the ceiling requires curing everything on the floor, and two workers The process requires the use of a stepladder, and involves the tedious work of opening one wall of the system ceiling other than the ceiling where the sensor is installed, visually searching for the terminator, and repeating this process until it is found.
3. If wiring is drawn with a margin for the number of cores, return the sensor line from the last sensor to the remaining terminal in the equipment housing box, and if a terminator is connected to the remaining terminal, If you are a fire alarm person, you would check here first, but this is not always the case.
4. If only one sensor is connected to one line (e.g. in an elevator shaft), the terminator is installed near the sensor or sent back to the surplus terminal in the equipment storage box, making it easy to search. However, since it is common for multiple sensors to be connected to one line, the above-mentioned complexity is unavoidable.
There are things like this.

The present invention makes it possible to easily discover a terminal device in the above-mentioned cases by operating a search drone and scanning from the beginning, thereby saving the labor that was previously required. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a search system for a terminator that is useful when the location of the terminator becomes unknown due to layout changes.
In other words, an object of the present invention is to use a flying vehicle such as a drone equipped with a radio wave receiver to search for the installation position of a terminator without opening the ceiling, thereby reducing the time required to replace the terminator. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminator search system that can be shortened.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
Searching for a terminator connected to the end of the sensor line in a fire alarm system comprising a plurality of P-type sensors and a receiver or repeater to which the P-type sensor is connected via a sensor line. In the search system,
The mobile receiver includes an antenna, receives radio waves from a radio wave transmitter attached to the terminator, detects the strength of the received radio waves, and transmits and/or reports reception strength information to the surroundings. This is what I did.

According to the terminator search system configured as described above, the mobile receiver receives radio waves from the radio wave transmitter attached to the terminator, detects the strength of the received radio waves, and transmits reception strength information, and This makes it possible to find the location with the highest radio wave strength and search for the location of the terminator without opening the ceiling. As a result, the time required to replace the terminator can be shortened. The mobile receiver can be, for example, a portable search terminal equipped with a notification unit that reports reception strength information to the surrounding area.

Here, desirably, the mobile receiver is a flying object that can fly near the ceiling of a building,
comprising a display unit and an input operation unit that receives a control command for the flying object from an operator, transmits the input control command to the flying object, and displays information based on the reception strength information received from the flying object. The apparatus further includes a control device for sequentially updating and displaying the information on the screen.
Alternatively, the mobile receiver is a flying object that can fly near the ceiling of a building,
a control device comprising an input operation unit that receives control commands for the flying object from an operator, and transmitting the input control commands to the flying object;
The present invention further includes a terminal device having a display section and sequentially updating and displaying information based on the reception strength information received from the flying object on the display section.

According to the terminator search system configured as described above, an operator operates a control device to fly an aircraft equipped with an antenna along the ceiling near the ceiling, and a radio wave transmitter attached to the terminator is It is possible to receive radio waves, detect the strength of the received radio waves, and display the received radio wave strength on the display of the operator's control device or mobile terminal, making it possible to find the location with the highest radio wave strength. This allows you to locate the terminal device without opening the ceiling. As a result, the time required to replace the terminator can be shortened.

Here, desirably, the flying object further includes a light emitting means provided on the lower surface of the casing, and is configured such that the higher the intensity of the detected received radio wave is, the brighter the light is emitted from the light emitting means.
According to this configuration, even if the control device does not have a display unit or a mobile terminal is not possessed, the highest radio field intensity can be determined by observing changes in the brightness of the light emitting means on the bottom surface of the casing of the aircraft. You can find high places. Additionally, based on the brightness of the light emitting means on the bottom surface of the aircraft's casing, it is possible to find areas with high radio wave intensity without looking at the display of the control device or mobile terminal, so you can easily locate the aircraft by taking your eyes off the aircraft. It is possible to avoid contact with the ceiling or wall of the building.

Preferably, the flying object further includes a sound output means, and is configured to emit a predetermined sound at a higher volume and/or higher frequency as the intensity of the detected received radio wave is higher. .
According to this configuration, the operator can judge the magnitude of the received radio wave intensity by listening to the sound emitted by the acoustic output means, so that by taking his eyes off the aircraft, the operator can detect whether the aircraft is in contact with the ceiling or wall of the building. You can avoid putting it away.

According to the search system according to the present invention, by using a flying object such as a drone equipped with a radio wave receiver, it is possible to search for the installation position of the terminator without opening the ceiling, so it is possible to replace the terminator. This has the effect of reducing the time required.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a search system according to the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing an example of composition of a screen of a display part when a controller which constitutes a search system of an embodiment is constituted by a smart phone and a dedicated application. (A) is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a drone as a flying object constituting the search system of the embodiment, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing changes in brightness of an LED provided on the bottom surface of the drone.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a terminator search system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the search system of this embodiment, when installing a terminator for a fire detection system, a radio wave transmitter that emits radio waves, such as a beacon or a wireless tag, is attached to the terminator in advance in a place that cannot be seen from inside the room, such as in the ceiling. A flying object such as a drone equipped with the function of receiving radio waves is flown near the ceiling of the room where the terminator is installed according to the blueprints, etc. The system finds the location and displays the installation location on the display of a mobile terminal, such as a smartphone or tablet, owned by the searcher.

The flying object is equipped with a distance measuring device (distance sensor) using a gyroscope or a laser scanner such as LiDER (Light Detection and Ranging), or a video camera, and can determine its own position by referring to 3D map data. However, such a flying object needs to store 3D map data of the space to be explored in advance in memory, which increases costs. Therefore, in this embodiment, a remote control drone is used as the flying object. Note that since the drone flies indoors, it is desirable to have a protective cover around the rotor (propeller) to prevent the rotor (propeller) from touching a wall or the like and causing damage.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fire detection system equipped with the terminator to be searched by the search system of this embodiment includes a P-type fire receiver 11 and two signal lines ( A plurality of fire detectors 13 are connected in parallel to a sensor line 12 consisting of a signal line L and a common line C), and a terminator 14 consisting of a resistive element etc. connected to the end of the sensor line 12. It is configured. Note that a repeater may be provided in the middle of the sensor line 12.

In FIG. 1, the symbol C is the ceiling of the building, and a fire detector 13 is installed on the lower surface of the ceiling C, and a terminator 14 is installed on the upper surface of the ceiling C, that is, in the attic. . A radio wave transmitter 21 that transmits radio waves is attached to the terminator 14. Note that the radio wave transmitter 21 may transmit radio waves continuously or may transmit radio waves intermittently. Further, the radio wave transmitter 21 normally operates with a power supply voltage supplied from a signal line, but is configured to be switched to battery drive in the event of a disconnection. Furthermore, the radio wave transmitter 21 may be one that transmits information such as its own identification code such as a device ID on radio waves, but it may also be one that simply transmits radio waves of a predetermined frequency without including any information.

The search system of this embodiment includes the above-mentioned radio wave transmitter 21 attached to a terminator 14 installed in the ceiling, and a drone 23 equipped with a receiver 22 equipped with an antenna and receiving radio waves from the radio wave transmitter 21. and a controller 24 for remotely controlling the drone 23.
Of these, the drone 23 has a function of receiving the radio waves emitted by the transmitter 21 and detecting the intensity thereof, and a function of transmitting information regarding the intensity of the received radio waves. Further, a light emitting means such as an LED (light emitting diode) is provided at the bottom of the drone 23, and depending on the detected received radio wave intensity, the light emitting means is made to shine brightly when the received radio wave intensity is high, and when the received strength is low, the light emitting means is made to shine brightly. It may also be possible to make it glow dimly.

On the other hand, the controller 24 includes a display section, and has a function of receiving information regarding the strength of received radio waves transmitted by the drone 23 and a function of displaying the received information on the display section.
Further, the controller 24 may be one equipped with one or two operation sticks like a general remote controller, or it may be a smartphone and a dedicated application program (hereinafter referred to as a dedicated application) installed on the smartphone. It may be configured by the following.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example where the controller 24 is configured by a smartphone and a dedicated application. Note that FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a screen displayed on a touch panel display section provided on a smartphone by an installed dedicated application.
In the screen shown in FIG. 2, a command input operation area A1 is provided at the bottom for giving control commands such as commands regarding the front, back, left, and right movement directions to the drone, hovering, and start of search (detection), and a command input operation area A1 is provided at the top. A result display area A2 is provided for displaying information regarding the strength of received radio waves received from. Furthermore, between the command input operation area A1 and the result display area A2, images of an update button B1 for inputting an update command and a reset button B2 for inputting a reset are displayed.

In FIG. 2, the input button B0 for commands regarding the forward, backward, left, and right directions of movement is displayed as an annular button, and by moving your finger along the annular ring, you can input a command to move in any direction 360 degrees. It is configured so that it can be done.
In addition, in FIG. 2, the result display area A2 shows a case where information regarding the received radio wave strength is displayed as a ratio (%) to the maximum received strength, but the result display area A2 shows the received radio wave strength (dB). ) may be displayed as is. The reference maximum reception strength when expressed as a ratio (%) may be, for example, the intensity of radio waves received from the terminator by a receiver mounted on the drone when a drone is placed next to the terminator before installation. Alternatively, the maximum radio field intensity received in past search operations may be used as a reference, and the display may be expressed as a percentage (%).

An embodiment of the drone 23 is shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B). Among them, FIG. 3(A) shows a block configuration diagram of the control system of the drone 23, and FIG. 3(B) shows the lighting state of the LED as the light emitting means.
As shown in FIG. 3(A), the drone 23 includes a receiver 31 that receives radio waves from the terminator 14, a wireless communication device 32 that wirelessly communicates with the controller 24, and four rotors that rotate the four rotors. It includes motors 33A to 33D, an LED 34 as a light emitting means, and a control section 35 for these.

The control unit 35 includes a radio field strength detecting means 51 that detects the strength of the radio waves received by the receiver 31, and transmits reception strength information detected by the radio field strength detecting means 51 to the controller 24 via the wireless communication device 32. 24, an LED drive control means 53 that controls the brightness of the LED 34 as a light emitting means according to the reception intensity detected by the radio wave intensity detection means 51, and a gyro sensor etc. and a rotor drive control means 55 that drives and controls the motors 33A to 33D that rotate the rotor.

Among these, the LED drive control means 53 lights up the LED brightly as shown in the right side (c) of FIG. 3(B) when the reception intensity detected by the radio wave intensity detection means 51 is high, and when the reception intensity detected is low, the LED is illuminated brightly as shown in FIG. 3(B). Drive control is performed to darken the LED as shown in (a) on the left side of (B). Note that the brightness of the LED 34 may not be in three levels but may be in four or more levels.
The worker operating the drone 23 observes the brightness of the LED 34 on the bottom of the drone 23's casing, determines the brightest point to be the installation position of the terminator 14, and opens the ceiling panel at that position. , the terminator 14 can be quickly found and replaced.

As mentioned above, four signal lines are used as the sensor line to connect the fire receiver 11 and the detector 13, and by folding back the signal lines, the terminator 14 can be connected to the inside of the fire hydrant box or equipment storage box. It may be installed in In that case, since the casings of the fire hydrant box and equipment storage box are made of metal, radio waves are blocked, making it impossible to discover the terminator using the drone 23.
However, it is customary for workers to first search inside the fire hydrant box or equipment storage box if a terminator is listed on the construction drawings. Alternatively, it can be defined as a work rule. Therefore, if the terminator is not found by first searching inside the fire hydrant box or equipment storage box, the search system according to the present invention can be used to search for the frequency position in the ceiling using the drone 23. There will be an incentive to hire them.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the embodiment described above, an LED 34 is provided on the bottom surface of the casing of the drone 23 to notify the strength of the received radio waves. A predetermined sound may be emitted at a higher volume or frequency as the intensity is higher, or at a higher volume and higher frequency.
Further, in the above embodiment, a smartphone is used as the controller 24, and the received radio wave intensity is displayed on the display section of the smartphone, but a mobile terminal such as a PC (laptop computer) that is separate from the control device of the aircraft. The receiver may be configured to receive the received radio field strength and display the received radio field strength on the display section.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the drone 23 is controlled by wireless remote control, but the drone 23 and the controller 24 are connected by wire, and command signals are sent from the controller 24 by wire. The configuration may be such that the information is transmitted to the drone 23 or the received strength information of the radio waves detected by the drone 23 is transmitted to the controller 24 by wire.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the drone 23 and the controller 25 are used to cause the drone 23 to receive radio waves from the radio wave transmitter, but in a very simple manner, the controller receives radio waves from the radio wave transmitter without using the drone. In this way, the reception strength information may be output from the notification section.
In this case, for example, the intensity can be displayed on the liquid crystal screen of the controller as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the intensity of the predetermined sound may be changed or the frequency may be changed. The brightness of a particular lighting device, such as an LED, may be made variable depending on the intensity.

In addition, instead of the drone changing its position and receiving radio waves from a radio wave transmitter according to control commands input by the operator, the operator himself/herself carries the controller while walking, and the reception strength information is updated and displayed sequentially. Visually observe and identify the position where the maximum value is found. Then, the termination device may be installed in the ceiling directly above the location, and the location may be determined as a work location for maintenance or the like.
Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in the case where it is applied to a system that searches for a terminator that constitutes a fire detection system, it can also be applied to a system that searches for the position of a building accessory other than a terminator.

11 Fire receiver 12 Detector line 13 Fire detector 14 Terminal 21 Radio transmitter 22 Receiver 23 Drone 24 Controller

Claims (7)

Searching for a terminator connected to the end of the sensor line in a fire alarm system comprising a plurality of P-type sensors and a receiver or repeater to which the P-type sensor is connected via a sensor line. A search system,
A mobile receiver that has an antenna, receives radio waves from a radio wave transmitter attached to the terminator, detects the strength of the received radio waves, and transmits and/or reports reception strength information to the surroundings. A search system for terminators characterized by: The mobile receiver is a flying object that can fly near the ceiling of a building,
comprising a display unit and an input operation unit that receives a control command for the flying object from an operator, transmits the input control command to the flying object, and displays information based on the reception strength information received from the flying object. 2. The search system for a terminator according to claim 1, further comprising a control device for sequentially updating and displaying the display on the terminal. The mobile receiver is a flying object that can fly near the ceiling of a building,
a control device comprising an input operation unit that receives control commands for the flying object from an operator, and transmitting the input control commands to the flying object;
2. The search for a terminator according to claim 1, further comprising: a terminal device having a display section and sequentially updating and displaying information based on the reception strength information received from the flying object on the display section. system. The flying object further includes a light emitting means provided on the lower surface of the casing, and is configured such that the higher the intensity of the detected received radio wave is, the brighter the light is emitted from the light emitting means. 4. The search system for a terminator according to item 2 or 3. The flying object further includes a sound output means, and is configured such that the higher the intensity of the detected received radio wave is, the more the sound output means emits a predetermined sound at a louder volume and/or a higher frequency. The search system for a terminator according to any one of claims 2 to 4. 2. The terminal unit search system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile receiver is a portable search terminal equipped with a notification unit that reports reception strength information to the surrounding area. Any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminator is attached to the end of a two-core wire to which other equipment including a sensor constituting the fire alarm system is connected. Terminal device search system described in .

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