JP2663311B2 - Gas leak detection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas leakage detecting device for detecting gas leakage from a gas passage or a gas burning appliance and, when an abnormality is found, shutting off the gas flow in the gas passage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a flow rate sensor is provided in a gas flow path and the flow rate sensor detects the flow of gas even though a combustion appliance is not used, gas leakage occurs from the gas flow path. There has been a gas leak detection device that generates an alarm or shuts off the flow of gas in a gas flow path.

[0003]

However, in the above-described gas leak detection device, when the combustion device is used and the gas flows in the gas flow path, whether the combustion device is burning normally or disappears. For example, it is not possible to distinguish whether gas is leaking from the combustion appliance. Therefore, when gas is leaking from the combustion appliance, it is not possible to generate an alarm or to shut off the flow of gas in the gas flow path, thereby causing a danger such as gas explosion.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and is intended to detect gas leakage from a gas passage and gas leakage from a combustion appliance. blocking a flow sensor for detecting opening and closing sensor for detecting the opening and closing status of the plug fitting, a combustion sensor for detecting the combustion condition of the combustion appliances, the flow of gas in the gas flow path provided on an upstream side of the flow sensor Shut-off valve and flow sensor
Signal, the signal from the open / close sensor , and the signal from the combustion sensor .
It is characterized by comprising an arithmetic means for judging a gas leak location based on a signal, and a display for displaying the judgment result of the arithmetic means.

[0005]

By the action flow rate sensor monitors the gas flow rate of the gas flow path, the flow sensor that detect a flow of gas. The open / close sensor detects the open / close state of the appliance plug, and the combustion sensor detects the combustion state of the combustion appliance. The operation means, and signal from the flow sensor <br/>, and signal from the opening and closing sensor, performs gas leakage location determination process by the signal from the combustion sensor, a gas leakage <br/> model points to decide. Then, determine by calculation means on the display
That displays the cross-sectional results.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the gas leak detection device according to the present invention. The gas leak detection device 1 includes a shutoff valve 3 provided in the middle of a gas flow path 2, and a gas meter 4 which is a flow rate sensor for detecting a flow rate of gas flowing through the gas flow path 2 is provided downstream of the shutoff valve 3. An instrument plug 6 is provided on the upstream side of the combustion instrument 5 connected to the end of the gas flow path 2.
An open / close sensor 7 composed of a reed switch or the like for detecting the open / close state of the device is provided. Further, the combustion appliance 5 is provided with a combustion sensor 8 for detecting the combustion state of the combustion appliance 5. A sound signal transmitter 9 for converting an electric signal into an ultrasonic signal is provided at a main plug portion of the gas flow path 2, and the open / close sensor 7 and the combustion sensor 8 are electrically connected to the sound signal transmitter 9. I have. In the vicinity of the gas meter 4 in the gas flow path 2,
Sound signal receiver 10 for converting an ultrasonic signal into an electric signal
Is provided. The gas meter 4 is electrically connected to the microcomputer 11 via the flow rate signal transmitter 13 and the sound wave signal receiver 10 is electrically connected to the microcomputer 11 as the arithmetic means.
Further, the microcomputer 11 is electrically connected to a display 12 for displaying a result of the judgment by the microcomputer 11 and a shutoff valve 3 for shutting off the gas flow path 2. The microcomputer 11 is supplied with driving power from a battery or the like.

[0007] The flow signal transmitter 13 has a
Each time it rotates, it changes its mechanical movement into an electrical signal. The case where the flow signal transmitter 13 is provided in a membrane gas meter will be described.
Consists of a membrane driven by the flow of gas, a magnet that rotates in conjunction with the movement of the membrane, and a reed switch that detects the movement of the magnet and repeats on / off. When the magnet rotates in response to the flow of gas, the magnet approaches or moves away from the reed switch, and the reed switch is turned on and off. Sends a pulse flow signal. A flow signal is given to the microcomputer 11.
So that it is not necessary to go through the flow signal transmitter 13
To the microcomputer 11 directly from the gas meter 4
A flow signal may be provided.

The sound signal transmitter 9 is for converting an electric signal to an ultrasonic signal, for example, comprises a speaker or the like, and the sound signal receiver 10 is for converting an ultrasonic signal to an electric signal. , For example, a microphone.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the open / close sensor 7 and the combustion sensor 8 are not directly connected to the microcomputer 11 by using signal lines, but are converted into an ultrasonic signal by converting an electric signal into an ultrasonic signal. It is transmitted in the path 2. Therefore, it is not necessary to make a hole in the wall to insert the signal line. Also, since signals are not transmitted using wireless equipment that requires measures against crosstalk, the equipment is inexpensive and simple.
In addition, without converting an electric signal into an ultrasonic signal, it is also possible to directly connect using an electric wire or transmit a signal using a wireless device as in the related art. The display device 12 includes, for example, display lamps 14 made of three colors of red, blue, and yellow.
And turns on or blinks each lamp 14 according to the judgment of the microcomputer 11 . The display 12 may be any means as long as it can display gas leakage or the like, and may be configured to display using a liquid crystal or a light emitting diode, or to generate an alarm sound from a speaker.

[0010] The determination process for gas leakage and the like in the microcomputer 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The microcomputer 11 determines a gas leak or the like based on signals from the open / close sensor 7, the flow signal transmitter 13, and the combustion sensor 8. In the judgment process,
First, it is determined whether the open / close signal of the instrument plug 6 is “open” or “closed”, and then, in each case, it is determined whether the flow signal is “present” or “absent”. Further, in each case, it is determined whether the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “present” or “absent”, and the abnormality is determined.

[0012]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, the judgment patterns for gas leakage and the like consist of eight patterns. 1. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “open”, the flow signal is “yes”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “Yes”, the abnormality is not displayed on the display 12 because the combustion appliance 5 is used normally. 2. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “open”, the flow signal is “yes”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “absent”, it is determined that the gas is leaking from the combustion appliance 5 because the gas is not burning even though the gas is supplied to the combustion appliance 5. Then, an abnormality display (red display) is performed on the display 12 and the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 3. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “closed”, the flow signal is “present”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “Yes”, the combustion sensor 8
Since the output of, it is determined that the abnormality occurs in the combustion sensor 8, line abnormality display (blue) on the display 12
Then , the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 4. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “closed”, the flow signal is “present”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “absent”, it is determined that the gas has leaked from the gas flow path 2 because the gas flows even though the gas is not used in the combustion instrument 5. Then, an abnormality display (yellow display) is performed on the display 12, and the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 5. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “open”, the flow signal is “none”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “Yes”, the combustion sensor 8
Since the output of, it is determined that the abnormality occurs in the combustion sensor 8, line abnormality display (blue) on the display 12
Then , the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 6. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “open”, the flow signal is “none”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “absent”, it is determined that the appliance plug 6 is open, that is, the appliance plug 6 has been forgotten to be closed, and an abnormality is displayed on the display 12 (red, blue, yellow 3). Then, the shutoff valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 7. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “closed”, the flow signal is “none”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “Yes”, the combustion sensor 8
Since the output of, it is determined that the abnormality occurs in the combustion sensor 8, line abnormality display (blue) on the display 12
Then , the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas . 8. The open / close signal of the instrument tap 6 is “closed”, the flow signal is “none”,
When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is “absent”, it is determined that the combustion device 5 is not used and there is no gas leakage, and the display 12 does not perform the abnormality display.

The gas leak judging process will be described in more detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. A household using gas usually has a plurality of combustion appliances 5,
I'm using Therefore, the abnormality determination is performed for each combustion appliance 5. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that ten combustion appliances 5 are used, and the open / close sensors 7,
A combustion sensor 8 is provided. The opening / closing sensor 7 and the combustion sensor 8 are registered in the microcomputer 11 correspondingly.

When the judging process is started, a timer is initialized, and first, the state of the open / close sensor 7 for the first burning appliance 5 (the appliance number 0) is determined. Then, when the appliance plug 6 is "open", the appliance plug flag is set to "1", and when the appliance plug 6 is "closed", the appliance plug flag is set to "0". When the output of the combustion sensor 8 is "present", the combustion flag is set to "1", and when the output of the combustion sensor 8 is "no", the combustion flag is set to "0". Then, the above processing is performed on each of the remaining combustion appliances 5 (apparatus numbers 1 to 5).
Perform step 9).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a flow signal. When the flow signal is “present”, first, a determination process is performed for the first combustion appliance 5 (apparatus number 0). Here, when the appliance plug flag is “0” and the combustion flag is “1”, it is determined that the combustion sensor 8 is abnormal, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is operated to release the gas. Cut off (pattern 3). If the appliance plug flag is "1" and the combustion flag is "0", it is determined that gas is leaking from the combustion appliance 5, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is turned off.
Is operated to shut off the gas (pattern 2). This processing is performed up to the tenth combustion appliance 5 (apparatus number 9).

When each open / close flag is "0",
It is determined that there is a gas leak from the gas pipe, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas (pattern 4).

Next, a judgment process is performed for the sixth combustion appliance 5 (apparatus number 5) having a 90-minute timer. Here, if the open / close flag is “1” and the combustion flag is “1”, the duration is checked and the duration is 90
If the time exceeds minutes, it is determined that the continuous use time has been exceeded, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is operated.
Shut off gas . Here, the reason why the continuous use time is checked for the sixth burning appliance 5 (the appliance number 5) is as follows.
For the following reasons. That is, since the use time of a specific combustion appliance is almost fixed, it is desirable to restrict the use of gas even when there is no gas leakage. For example, in a bath (pot), it is necessary to prevent excessive boiling due to prolonged burning or forgetting to turn off. In this embodiment, the burning device 5 with the device number 5 corresponds to a bath burning device. Although this timer is not always necessary, it is necessary to monitor the continuous use time in order to effectively use the gas and to prevent overheating of the burning appliance due to long-time use and to avoid forgetting to turn off the stove or the like.

On the other hand, if the open / close flag of the sixth combustion appliance 5 (apparatus number 5) is "1" and the combustion flag is not "1", the timer is reset, and after 30 seconds, the above processing is performed. repeat. Also, when the use duration time of the sixth burning appliance 5 (the appliance number 5) does not exceed 90 minutes,
The process returns to the initial step of the above process.

When the flow rate signal is "absent", a determination process is first performed for the first combustion appliance 5 (apparatus number 0). Here, when the appliance plug flag is “0” and the combustion flag is “1”, it is determined that the combustion sensor 8 is abnormal, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is operated to operate the gas sensor.
Interrupting the scan (pattern 7). When the appliance plug flag is "1" and the combustion flag is "0", it is determined that the appliance plug 6 has been forgotten to be closed, an abnormality is displayed, and the shutoff valve 3 is operated to release gas. Cut off (pattern 6). If the appliance plug flag is "1" and the combustion flag is "1", it is determined that the combustion sensor 8 is abnormal, an abnormality is displayed, and the shut-off valve 3 is operated to operate.
Interrupting the scan (pattern 5). This process is repeatedly performed up to the tenth combustion device 5 (device number 9). As a result, it is possible to specify from which burning appliance or from which piping the gas leakage is caused.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, detection and flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate of the gas flowing through the gas passage, and closing sensor for detecting the opening and closing status of the plug fitting, the combustion status of the burner a combustion sensor, a gas is provided on the upstream side of the flow sensor, and a shut-off valve for interrupting the flow of a gas passage provided on the basis of the calculation means into signals from the respective sensors gas
To determine the leakage point, when a malfunction occurs, an abnormal number on the display device
It can perform display of place, Ru can also shut off the gas flow to operate the shut-off valve in the gas flow path. Therefore,
When the gas stopper is open and gas flows in the gas flow path, it is possible to distinguish whether the combustion device is burning normally or whether the gas is leaking from the combustion device due to extinguishing. Gas leakage from the device can be detected early and reliably, and a serious accident can be prevented from occurring. Further, even if an opening / closing sensor for detecting the opening / closing of the main cock (gas cock) is added to the present embodiment, the same result can be obtained although the judgment becomes complicated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process for determining a gas leak or the like in the microcomputer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a gas leak or the like in the microcomputer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a gas leak or the like in the microcomputer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gas leak detection apparatus 2 Gas flow path 3 Shut-off valve 4 Gas meter 7 Open / close sensor 8 Combustion sensor 11 Microcomputer 12 Display 13 Flow signal transmitter

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flow rate sensor for detecting a flow rate of gas flowing in a gas flow path, an open / close sensor for detecting an open / closed state of an appliance plug, a combustion sensor for detecting a combustion state of a combustion appliance, and an upstream side of the flow sensor. A shut-off valve for shutting off a gas flow in a provided gas flow path ; and determining a gas leak location based on a signal from a flow sensor, a signal from an open / close sensor , and a signal from a combustion sensor .
That the arithmetic means, a display for displaying the determination result of the operation means, the gas leakage detection device characterized by comprising a.