JP2502548B2 - Centralized gas meter reading device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for ensuring total safety of gas supply and for centrally measuring gas consumption by a host microcomputer.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, gas concentration meter devices have become small and low-cost due to the development of microelectronics, and have become popular in general households. Moreover, while the price of hardware for equipment self-confidence is decreasing year by year, the cost of communication is increasing, and the centralized gas meter reading equipment is required to be more intelligent and reliable than ever. ing.

Hereinafter, an example of the above-described conventional gas concentration meter device will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a conventional gas concentration meter reading device. 1 is a gas meter provided in the gas supply path 1a, 2 is a flow rate sensor attached to the gas meter 1, 3 is a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) for controlling the interruption function, that is, an interruption control unit, 4 is a meter reading and communication control Microcomputer to perform, namely meter reading and communication control unit,
Reference numeral 5 is a shutoff valve drive circuit, 6 is a shutoff valve of the gas supply path 1a leading to the gas meter 1, and 7 is a communication unit for sending data to the host computer. Reference numeral 8 denotes a notification unit that receives a signal from the cutoff control unit 3 and notifies the reason for the cutoff and an alarm. 9 is a battery as a power source.

Regarding the gas centralized meter reading device configured as described above,
The operation will be described below. Gas flows as indicated by the arrow and is transmitted from the flow rate sensor 2 to the meter reading and communication control unit 4. The meter reading and communication control unit 4 integrates the gas consumption amount based on the signal from the flow sensor 2, sends data to the communication unit 7 as necessary, and the gas consumption amount is sent to the host of the gas supplier. Send to computer. On the other hand, the signal from the flow rate sensor 2 is also transmitted to the shutoff control device 3. The shutoff control device 3 operates the shutoff valve drive circuit 5 to operate the shutoff valve 6 to shut off the gas supply path 1a when the gas flow rate is abnormal or when a certain gas flow rate continues for an abnormal time. Notify by 8. Also, for a minute flow rate of the inner pipe leakage for a long period of time, both signals from the flow rate sensor 2 are rectified for a long period of time, and if it is determined that the inner pipe is leaking, the notification unit 8 gives a notification.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, according to the above configuration, the shutoff control unit 4 determines that the device has stopped when the signal from the flow rate sensor 2 does not exist for a certain period (2 minutes). In spite of this, in order to detect a minute flow rate due to leakage of the inner pipe, the internal timer until the next signal from the flow rate sensor 2 and the flow rate sensor continue to operate. Further, the meter reading and communication control units are continuously operated in order to constantly integrate the gas flow rate. When the two control units are configured by a microcomputer or the like, the battery is loaded twice as much, which shortens the life of the gas concentration meter device and lowers the reliability. On the other hand, when batteries are added, not only the cost increases, but also many problems occur such as the storage space inside the meter and the installation space for the meter.

The present invention solves the problem of the conventional technique as described above, and an object thereof is to obtain a low power consumption type device without impairing the conventional function.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the gas concentration meter device of the present invention includes a gas flow rate sensor and a shutoff valve provided in a gas supply path, a drive circuit for driving the shutoff valve, and Controls the shutoff valve via the drive circuit in response to a signal from the flow rate sensor and stops the control when there is no signal from the flow rate sensor for a certain period of time. And a communication unit that sends the data from the flow sensor, and a meter reading and communication control unit that sends data to the communication unit, and a signal from the meter reading and communication control unit is received to stop the control. The activation unit that activates the interruption control unit, the notification unit that receives a signal from the interruption control unit or the meter reading and communication control unit and notifies the reason and the interruption, and the battery as the power source. I have it.

When the signal from the flow sensor does not exist for a certain period of time, the cutoff control unit temporarily stops the control. On the other hand, the meter reading and the communication control constantly monitor the flow rate, and when the next flow rate signal is detected, the interruption control section is activated via the activation section. In addition, the minute flow rate of the inner pipe leakage is detected by the meter reading and communication control unit, and when it is determined that the inner pipe is leaked, the notification unit informs. As a result, it is possible to improve the reliability of the device with a low-cost battery without compromising the conventional functions and with the conventional space.

Example Hereinafter, a gas concentration meter device of one example of the present invention,
This will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas concentration meter reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 represent the same items. 3a is a cutoff control unit having a stop mode (clock stop) function in addition to the conventional function, and 10 is an activation unit for activating the cutoff control unit 3a. In this embodiment, the shutoff control unit 3a and the activation unit
10 is composed of a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer). This microcomputer has a fixed period (for example, 2 minutes),
When there is no signal from the flow rate sensor 2, the stop mode is set by the program. When the activation unit 10 generates an interrupt at the interrupt port, the cutoff control unit 3a starts operating again. 4a
Is a detection / communication control unit, and in addition to the conventional function, a function of detecting the minute flow rate of the inner pipe leakage, which the shutoff control unit 3a has, and notifying by the notification unit 8a is added. This notification unit
8a can be controlled by the interruption control unit 3a and the meter reading and communication control unit 4a.

The operation of the gas concentration meter reading device configured as described above will be described. Now, when the gas is flowing in the gas supply path 1a, both the shutoff control unit 3a and the meter reading and communication control unit 4a are operating. However, if there is no signal from the flow sensor 2 for a certain period (2 minutes), the shutoff control unit 3a determines that the gas appliance has stopped and enters the stop mode. After this, a gas instrument is used and a signal from the flow sensor 2 is constantly detected by the meter reading and communication control section 4a, and the meter reading and communication control section 4a is activated by the activation section.
A signal is sent to 10 to operate the cutoff control unit 3a to enter the cutoff control. By doing so, the power consumption of the cutoff control unit 3a can be suppressed while the gas appliance is not used for 2 minutes or more. Therefore, the load on the battery 9 can be lightened, and the gas concentration meter device can have a long life and high reliability in a limited space and cost.

Effects of the Invention According to the invention as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The battery can be made smaller and the capacity can be reduced compared to the conventional one.
The gas concentration detection device can have a long life and high reliability in a limited space and cost.

(2) A gas concentration centralized meter reading device having a meter reading function and a safety function can be obtained, which can be easily incorporated into the space of a conventional meter reading device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas centralized meter reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional gas centralized meter reading device. 2 ... Flow rate sensor, 3a ... Shutoff control unit, 4a ... Meter reading and communication control unit, 5 ... Drive circuit, 6 ... Shutoff valve, 7 ... Communication unit, 8a ... Notification unit, 9 ... Battery , 10 startup units.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A gas flow rate sensor and a shutoff valve provided in a gas supply path, a drive circuit for driving the shutoff valve, and a signal from the flow rate sensor for controlling the shutoff valve via the drive circuit. Along with this, a shutoff control unit that stops the control and suppresses electric power when there is no signal from the flow rate sensor for a certain period of time, a communication unit that sends data to the host computer, and a communication unit that integrates gas consumption from the signal of the flow rate sensor. Meter reading and communication control section for sending data to the device, a starting section for receiving a signal from the meter reading and communication control section and activating the cutoff control section that has stopped the control, the cutoff control section or the meter reading and communication control A centralized gas meter reading device equipped with a battery as a power source, and an alarm unit that receives a signal from the alarm unit to notify the user of a disconnection reason and an alarm.