JP2024066047A - Equipment operation panel - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To obtain an equipment operation panel that can easily restore the interlocking/shutoff setting state during fire monitoring. [Solution] An equipment operation panel that controls multiple disaster prevention devices installed in a fire monitoring area in a fire monitoring mode, and checks the operation of the multiple disaster prevention devices by outputting a start command to the disaster prevention devices in an operation inspection mode in which the operation of the multiple disaster prevention devices is checked, has a status setting confirmation unit that accepts an operation input to switch the setting as to whether or not to forcibly shut off the start command for each of the multiple disaster prevention devices, and displays a list of the setting states regarding whether or not to forcibly shut off the start command, and further has a status storage processing unit that stores the setting state at the time when a storage command signal is received in the storage unit. [Selected Figure] Figure 3

Description

This disclosure relates to an equipment control panel suitable for checking the operation of disaster prevention equipment.

There is an automatic fire alarm system that is equipped with a fire receiver, a transmitter, a repeater, an audio device, a detector, smoke control equipment, etc., and that quickly detects a fire that occurs in a fire monitoring area in a building that is a fire prevention target, and performs fire extinguishing operations and evacuation guidance, etc. (For example, see Non-Patent Document 1). In an automatic fire alarm system, the detector detects heat or smoke and sends a fire signal to the fire receiver.

The fire receiver that receives the fire signal will sound an alarm and activate an audio device depending on the location of the fire, informing people in the building of the occurrence of a fire. In addition, the fire receiver that receives the fire signal will operate smoke control and exhaust equipment in conjunction with the location of the fire to prevent the spread of flames or smoke.

In this way, the fire receiver performs centralized control of the various disaster prevention devices included in the automatic fire alarm system. Note that such centralized control can also be performed by other equipment, such as a general operation panel. Therefore, in this disclosure, equipment such as the fire receiver and general operation panel that perform centralized control of the various disaster prevention devices will be collectively referred to as an equipment operation panel.

During inspection work on automatic fire alarm systems, for example, when checking the operation of detectors, commands from the equipment control panel may be blocked to prevent other equipment from operating in tandem. Specific examples of blocking interlocking operations include blocking interlocking to prevent smoke control equipment such as shutters from operating in tandem, stopping audio alarms, blocking area sound so that area bells do not ring, and blocking reporting to prevent reporting to other equipment.

In operation inspection mode, in order to shut off linked operations as necessary, individual shutoff settings are made so that operation commands are not output to specific devices. When returning from operation inspection mode to fire monitoring mode, the shutoff settings must be released and the original settings must be restored so that linked operations are performed during normal fire monitoring.

If the settings for interlocking and cutoff are not reset, normal interlocking operation will not occur during fire monitoring. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, before carrying out an operational inspection, the settings for the fire monitoring mode are handwritten in a settings table, and when the operational inspection is completed, the inspector returns the settings to their original state while referring to the settings table.

Nohmi Fire Prevention Co., Ltd. website, Automatic fire alarm system (URL: https://www.nohmi.co.jp/product/materiel/fid.html)

However, the conventional techniques have the following problems.
From a disaster prevention perspective, it is recommended that all operations be released in fire monitoring mode. However, depending on the actual installation environment, due to operational constraints, for example, there may be cases where the interlocking operations of smoke control equipment installed in a certain location are intentionally blocked even in fire monitoring mode.

Therefore, it may not be appropriate to uniformly release the shutdown in fire monitoring mode, and when returning to fire monitoring mode after completing an operational inspection, it is important to ensure that the settings are returned to the state they were in before the operational inspection, depending on the installation environment.

Currently, a settings status table is used to restore settings to the state before the operational inspection, and this is done manually by inspectors. However, this type of restoration work places a burden on the inspector, and in some cases there is a risk of human error, such as making a mistake when filling out the status setting table or forgetting to reset the interlocking and cutoff settings.

This disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an equipment operation panel that can easily restore the interlocking and cutoff settings during fire monitoring.

The equipment operation panel according to the present disclosure is an equipment operation panel that controls multiple disaster prevention devices installed in a fire monitoring area in a fire monitoring mode, and checks the operation of the multiple disaster prevention devices by outputting a start command to the disaster prevention devices in an operation inspection mode in which the operation of the multiple disaster prevention devices is checked, and has a status setting confirmation unit that accepts an operation input to switch the setting of whether or not to forcibly cut off the start command for each of the multiple disaster prevention devices, and displays a list of the setting status regarding whether or not to forcibly cut off the start command, and further has a status storage processing unit that stores the setting status at the time when the storage command signal is received in the storage unit.

This disclosure makes it possible to obtain an equipment operation panel that can be easily restored to the interlocking/shutoff setting state during fire monitoring.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic fire alarm system including a fire receiver corresponding to an appliance control panel in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting state table used during an operation inspection work. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an appliance operating panel according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a distinguishable display performed by a state storage processing unit according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the device operation panel of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
The technical feature of the device operation panel according to the present disclosure is that it has a function of storing the current setting state regarding whether or not to forcibly cut off the start command at the timing when the storage command signal is received. In the following, a detailed explanation will be given using a fire receiver as an example of the device operation panel and an automatic fire alarm system equipped with a fire receiver as a specific example.

Embodiment 1.
First, an overview of the automatic fire alarm system will be explained.
1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic fire alarm system including a fire receiver corresponding to an appliance operation panel according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire receiver 10 is connected to an addressable transmitter 20, fire detectors 31 and 32, a detector repeater 40, and a smoke control repeater 50 via a signal line SG1.

Multiple fire detectors are connected to the detector repeater 40. In FIG. 1, two fire detectors 41 and 42 are shown as an example. In addition, a fire door 51, a smoke exhaust machine 52, a shutter 53, and a siding wall 54 are connected to the smoke control repeater 50.

The fire receiver 10 is also connected to the audio devices 61 and 62 and the audio device repeater 70 via the signal line SG2. Furthermore, multiple audio devices are connected to the audio device repeater 70. In FIG. 1, two audio devices 71 and 72 are shown as examples.

The fire receiver 10 is also connected to an emergency broadcast panel 80. Multiple speakers are connected to the emergency broadcast panel 80. In FIG. 1, two speakers 81 and 82 are shown as examples.

Here, fire detectors 31, 32 and fire detectors 41, 42 correspond to a plurality of fire detectors that detect the occurrence of a fire in each of the predefined fire monitoring areas. A detector group is made up of a plurality of fire detectors.

Furthermore, the fire door 51, smoke exhaust fan 52, shutter 53, and drop wall 54 correspond to a plurality of terminal equipment that operates in conjunction with the detection results of the respective plurality of fire detectors and functions to prevent the spread of fire, smoke, etc. The plurality of terminal equipment constitutes a terminal equipment group.

In addition, audio devices 61, 62 and audio devices 71, 72 correspond to a plurality of local audio devices that notify the occurrence of a fire in each pre-defined area. The multiple local audio devices make up a group of audio equipment.

Speakers 81 and 82 correspond to multiple broadcasting equipment that outputs messages such as fire occurrence and evacuation guidance in each pre-defined area. A broadcasting equipment group is made up of multiple broadcasting equipment.

Each of the multiple fire detectors is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual fire detector. Each of the multiple fire detectors can transmit a fire signal to the fire receiver 10 as a signal including the address information assigned to it. Meanwhile, the fire receiver 10 can transmit the necessary information to the desired fire detector by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

In addition, each of the multiple terminal devices is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual terminal device. Therefore, the fire receiver 10 can transmit a start command to operate the desired terminal device by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

In addition, each of the multiple audio devices is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual audio device. Therefore, the fire receiver 10 can send a start command to activate the desired audio device by adding the address information and transmitting the information.

Furthermore, each of the multiple broadcasting equipment is assigned address information in advance to identify the individual broadcasting equipment. Therefore, by adding the address information and transmitting information, the fire receiver 10 can transmit a start command via the emergency broadcast panel 80 to output a desired voice message from the desired broadcasting equipment.

With this configuration, the fire receiver 10 collects fire signals from multiple fire detectors and addressable transmitters 20 installed in various predetermined fire monitoring areas. Then, the fire receiver 10 can issue a fire alarm and activate a group of terminal equipment based on the collected fire signals.

Furthermore, the fire receiver 10 can ring the bell of an audio device installed in an area where an alarm is required based on the collected fire signal, and can output a desired voice message from a broadcasting device installed in an area where evacuation guidance by voice message is required. Note that each of the multiple audio devices and each of the multiple broadcasting devices is specified in advance as to which fire detector detection result it will operate in conjunction with.

Although not shown in the figure, the fire receiver 10 can output a notification signal based on the collected fire signal, activate the fire extinguishing equipment to start fire extinguishing operations, or transmit the fire signal to a higher-level device via the network.

In this embodiment 1, each disaster prevention device included in the terminal equipment group, audio equipment group, and broadcasting equipment group shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to a device that performs linked operation in response to a start command from the fire receiver 10 when a fire signal is collected from the sensor group or the addressable transmitter 20.

In the operation inspection mode, the operation of each device included in the automatic fire alarm system is checked. Unlike the normal fire monitoring mode, in this type of operation inspection mode, linked operations are forcibly prohibited and activation commands are prevented from being output from the fire receiver, and then an operation check is performed on each individual device such as a detector.

The operation of the equipment may be checked by operating the fire receiver 10 to output a start command to each piece of equipment. Alternatively, a start command may be output from the fire receiver 10 to a group of detectors, etc., causing the group of detectors to operate in the same state as when a fire is detected, and the terminal equipment group, etc. may be operated in conjunction based on the fire signal, thereby checking the operation of the terminal equipment group. Alternatively, smoke or heat may actually be applied to the group of detectors to output a fire signal, causing the terminal equipment group, etc. to operate in conjunction, thereby checking the operation of the terminal equipment group.

As explained at the beginning, currently, a setting status table is used to restore the settings regarding whether or not to forcibly shut off the start command before the operation inspection, and when returning from the operation inspection mode to the fire monitoring mode, the settings are restored manually by the inspector.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting status table used during an operation inspection work. In the setting status table shown in Fig. 2, the following items are specifically shown as cutoff target items that can be switched on or off by forcibly cutting off the output of a start command from the fire control panel:
- Bulk linked alarm cutoff: When "cutoff" is set, the alarm signal for activating the fire extinguishing equipment and the alarm signal for notifying a higher-level device that a fire has been detected are cut off.

Broadcast facility group cutoff: When "cutoff" is set, message output from the broadcast facility group is cut off.
Audio equipment group shutoff: When "shutoff" is set, audio output from the audio equipment group is shut off.
Individual linked cutoff: When "cutoff" is set, the operation of each of the fire doors 51, smoke exhaust fan 52, shutters 53, and drop walls 54 within the terminal equipment group is individually cut off.

If all items are set to the "normal position" side, no shutoff will occur and a command to start the linked operation will be output.

In conventional inspection work, inspectors would use such a setting status table to record the status of each item before the inspection, whether it was "normal" or "shut off," and then re-record the status of each item after the inspection when returning to fire monitoring mode, thereby confirming that the status before and after the inspection were the same.

The purpose of the equipment operation panel in this embodiment 1 is to reduce the workload of the inspector in relation to such manual checking work and to eliminate forgetting to reset the settings due to human error, and the detailed configuration will be explained using drawings.

Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of an equipment operation panel according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that the equipment operation panel in this disclosure corresponds to the fire receiver 10 as shown in Figure 1 or a general operation panel, and performs monitoring control in the fire monitoring mode and inspection control in the operation inspection mode.

In FIG. 3, corresponding to FIG. 1, the equipment operation panel is shown as the fire receiver 10. Also, in FIG. 3, the person who provides operational input to the fire receiver 10 is described as the operator, and the operator means anyone including an inspector.

The fire receiver 10, which corresponds to an equipment operation panel, is configured to include a fire determination processing unit 11, a status setting confirmation unit 12, and a status storage processing unit 13. The fire determination processing unit 11 has the following function 1.
Function 1: In fire monitoring mode, when a fire signal is received from the transmitter group 201 or the detector group 202, this function controls the activation of the linked operation target device 100 and performs a series of disaster prevention operations, such as transmitting information, fire extinguishing operations, alarm processing, and processing to prevent the spread of fire, smoke, etc.

As described above, the linked operation target devices 100 include the higher-level device 101, the fire extinguishing equipment 102, the terminal equipment group 103, the broadcasting equipment group 104, and the audio equipment group 105. By having function 1, when the fire receiver 10 receives a fire signal while monitoring a fire monitoring area, it can output a start-up command to the desired linked operation target devices 100, thereby carrying out appropriate disaster prevention work.

Moreover, the status setting confirmation unit 12 has the following functions 2 to 4.
Function 2: A function to switch between a fire monitoring mode for monitoring the fire monitoring area and an operation inspection mode for inspectors to check the operation of disaster prevention equipment based on operational input from the operator.

When switching modes, the state setting confirmation unit 12 takes into consideration various interlock conditions and performs switching control so that mode switching is not performed unless the interlock conditions are met.

One example of an interlock condition is when a fire is occurring, and if a fire signal is received from the transmitter group 201 or the detector group 202, the system cannot be switched from the fire monitoring mode to the operation inspection mode.

By having function 2, the operator can switch to the desired mode. Note that such a mode switching control function can be configured to be performed by the fire judgment processing unit 11 or the state storage processing unit 13 instead of by the state setting confirmation unit 12.

Function 3: A function to receive operational input from an operator to switch the setting of whether or not to forcibly cut off the startup command output when performing a linked operation for each device included in the linked operation target devices 100, and to execute processing to switch the setting state related to the linked operation.

Function 3 makes it possible to select the devices whose linked operations should be cut off in both fire monitoring mode and operation check mode.

Function 4: A function that provides the operator with a list of settings related to whether or not to forcibly shut off the startup command in response to an operation input from the operator. With function 4, the operator can easily check the current setting status.

Moreover, the state storage processing unit 13 has the following functions 5 to 9.
Function 5: A function of storing the setting state at the timing of receiving the storage command signal in the storage unit. Note that, when storing the setting state, the state storage processing unit 13 can store the setting state in the storage unit as a setting state associated with the date and time when the storage command signal was received.

By having function 5, the operator can store the setting state at a desired timing as data in the memory unit without writing it by hand, and can read it out as needed. Furthermore, by storing the setting state associated with the date and time, the operator can easily check what the setting state was at any point in time.

Function 6: A function that receives a trigger signal indicating the timing when the mode is switched from fire monitoring mode to operation inspection mode as a memory command signal, and stores the current setting state in fire monitoring mode in the memory unit as the monitoring setting state.

By having function 6, the setting state in fire monitoring mode before the operation inspection work is performed can be automatically stored in the memory unit as the monitoring setting state.

Function 7: When a comparison command signal is received, a list of the current settings is displayed, and items that are different from the settings at the time of monitoring are identified.
Function 8: A function for switching settings to restore the current setting state to the monitoring setting state when a state restoration signal is received while the identification display by function 7 is being performed.

Function 7 allows the operator to easily compare the current setting state, particularly during operation check mode, with the setting state during monitoring, and easily restore the setting state in fire monitoring mode. Furthermore, function 8 allows the operator to easily restore the setting state in fire monitoring mode with a single, integrated operation.

Function 8 describes a case where a setting change is performed to restore the current setting state to the monitoring setting state when a state restoration signal is given to the state storage processing unit 13 by an operation input by the operator. However, as an alternative function to this function 8, the state storage processing unit 13 can also perform a setting change to automatically restore the current setting state to the monitoring setting state by receiving a trigger signal indicating the timing of the mode change from the operation inspection mode to the fire monitoring mode as a state restoration signal.

Function 9: When a trigger signal is received indicating the timing of returning from operation inspection mode to fire monitoring mode, the setting state after returning to fire monitoring mode is monitored as the post-return setting state, and if the state in which the post-return setting state and the monitoring setting state do not completely match continues for a pre-set judgment time, an abnormality report is sent to a pre-set reporting destination indicating the mismatch.

By having function 9, even if the setting state is forgotten to be reset, the mismatch state can be reported immediately after the judgment time has elapsed, and it is possible to prevent the fire monitoring mode from continuing due to the mismatch state.

The device operation panel according to the present disclosure has a technical feature in that it is equipped with a state storage processing unit 13, which will be further explained using FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example in which the state storage processing unit 13 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure identifies and displays function 7. In FIG. 4, whether the item is blocked or normal is shown for the same items as in the setting state table shown in FIG. 2 above. Also, in FIG. 4, the "state before inspection" in FIG. 2 is the "monitoring setting state," and the "state after inspection" in FIG. 2 is the "current setting state."

In FIG. 4, function 7 is executed by the state storage processing unit 13, and the "monitoring setting state" and "current setting state" stored by function 6 are displayed, and the set state is identified by being surrounded by an ellipse.

Specifically, the "Monitoring setting state" in Figure 4 shows an example in which, in the most recent fire monitoring mode prior to the operational inspection, only the "shutter" was set as "blocking," and the other items were set as "normal position."

Furthermore, in the "Current setting state" in Figure 4, the setting parts that are different from the "Monitoring setting state" are displayed in reverse video, with the "Audio equipment group blocking" item set to "Blocked" and the "Shutter" item set to "Positioned."

In other words, Figure 4 shows an example of a situation where, when returning from the operation inspection mode to the fire monitoring mode, the "Shutter" item, which should be set to "Shut off", is set to "Normal position", and the "Audio equipment group shutdown" item, which should be set to "Normal position", is forgotten to be set back to "Shut off", resulting in a mismatch.

After visually checking the identification display as shown in Figure 4, the operator can change the settings for each item individually so that the "current setting state" matches the "monitoring setting state". Alternatively, the operator can use function 8 to match the "current setting state" with the "monitoring setting state" by sending a "state restoration signal" to the state storage processing unit 13.

The state memory processing unit 13 has, as a minimum function, a function 5 for storing the setting state at the time when the memory command signal is received in the memory unit, thereby realizing an equipment operation panel that can easily restore the interlocking/shutoff setting state during fire monitoring.

Furthermore, by utilizing this function 5, the setting state at a desired timing can be stored in the memory unit even when the mode is not being switched. In particular, by storing the setting state associated with the date and time in the memory unit in chronological order, it is possible to easily manage what the setting state was at what point in time.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, by providing a status storage processing unit, it is possible to reduce the workload of inspectors who manually enter and check the setting status table, and to realize an equipment operation panel that can easily restore the interlocking/shutoff setting status during fire monitoring.

10 Fire receiver, 11 Fire judgment processing section, 12 Status setting confirmation section, 13 Status storage processing section, 20 Addressable transmitter, 31 Fire detector, 40 Detector repeater, 41 Fire detector, 50 Smoke control repeater, 51 Fire door, 52 Smoke exhaust machine, 53 Shutters, 54 Wall, 61 Sound device, 70 Sound device repeater, 71 Sound device, 80 Emergency broadcast panel, 81 Speaker, 100 Device to be linked, 101 Upper device, 102 Fire extinguishing equipment, 103 Terminal equipment group, 104 Broadcast equipment group, 105 Sound equipment group, 201 Transmitter group, 202 Detector group.

Claims (5)

Multiple disaster prevention devices installed in the fire monitoring area,
An equipment operation panel that controls a plurality of disaster prevention devices installed in a fire monitoring area in a fire monitoring mode, and outputs a start command to the disaster prevention devices in an operation inspection mode for checking the operation of the plurality of disaster prevention devices,
A state setting confirmation unit is provided for accepting an operation input for switching a setting as to whether or not to forcibly cut off the start-up command for each of the plurality of disaster prevention devices, and for displaying a list of setting states as to whether or not to forcibly cut off the start-up command,
The equipment operation panel further comprises a state storage processing unit that stores the setting state in the storage unit at the timing when the storage command signal is received. The state storage processing unit includes:
receiving a trigger signal indicating a timing of switching from the fire monitoring mode to the operation inspection mode as the storage command signal, and storing the setting state in the fire monitoring mode as a monitoring time setting state in the storage unit;
2. The equipment operation panel according to claim 1, wherein, when a comparison command signal is received, a list of current setting states is displayed, and items in the current setting states that are different from the monitoring time setting states are identified and displayed. The equipment operation panel according to claim 2 , wherein the state storage processing unit, when receiving a state restoration signal while the identification display is being performed, performs setting switching to restore the current setting state to the monitoring time setting state. The state storage processing unit includes:
When a trigger signal indicating the timing of switching from the operation inspection mode to the fire monitoring mode is received, a setting state after returning to the fire monitoring mode is monitored as a setting state after returning;
The equipment control panel according to claim 2 or 3, which sends an abnormality report indicating a mismatch state to a preset notification destination if a state in which the post-recovery setting state and the monitoring setting state do not completely match continues for a preset judgment time. The device operation panel according to claim 1 , wherein the state storage processing unit stores the setting state at the timing of receiving the storage command signal in the memory unit in association with a date and time when the storage command signal was received.