JP2733272B2 - Gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas shut-off device for automatically shutting off a gas passage when an abnormality occurs, thereby preventing an explosion accident or a poisoning accident caused by city gas, propane gas or the like. About.

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional gas shut-off device of this type comprises a flow rate measuring means 1 for issuing a signal in accordance with a passing gas amount of a gas meter provided in a gas supply line; A use condition detector 2 for detecting a use condition of a gas using a flow rate signal sent from the apparatus, an initial condition storage unit 3 for preliminarily storing a gas proper use condition as an initial value, and a signal from the use condition detector for the gas proper use condition. A proper use condition judging unit 4 for judging an abnormality when the condition is deviated and outputting a cutoff signal;
A timer 5 for counting a first predetermined period; activation signal applying means 6 for activating the timer; and a signal from the use state detector for storing the gas use state during the timer operation and for storing the stored use. A use condition storage / calculation unit 7 for calculating use conditions based on a state; and a proper use condition setting change unit for comparing the output of the use condition storage / calculation unit with the initial condition and changing a predetermined value as a new proper use condition. 8 and a shut-off means 9 for shutting off the gas passage in response to a shut-off signal from the proper use condition judging section.

Here, the proper use conditions indicate items such as a total flow rate, an individual maximum flow rate, and a safe continuous use time set according to the capacity of each gas meter. The total flow rate is the total flow rate of gas that passes through the gas meter within a predetermined measurement period.If the current total flow rate exceeds a predetermined value, such as when the gas hose is disconnected or the gas appliance burns out, it is considered abnormal. Judge,
The individual maximum flow rate, which is a use condition for operating the shut-off device, is how many types of gas appliances are currently used by detecting a change in gas flow rate for each predetermined measurement period, and how much gas consumption each is. When the maximum gas consumption exceeds the set value, a shut-off signal is output to the shut-off device to cope with gas leaks such as cracks in the gas hose and burn-out when the gas plug is half-open. In addition, safe continuous use time,
In the continuous use time set for each range from the statistical data of the gas appliance in a certain combustion range is used continuously, the cut-off device when the data from the use state detection unit exceeds the set time An operation signal is sent to ensure safety even when the gas appliance is forgotten to be turned off.

The operation of the conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. The vertical axis indicates the interruption level of each interruption condition, and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time. When a start signal is applied to the timer, counting of a predetermined time T starts,
At the same time, the gas use pattern during the time is measured by the operation of the use state storage / calculation unit. That is, during this time, the actual measurement values such as the total flow rate, the individual maximum flow rate, and the continuous use time described above are updated, and at the same time when the timer ends, the final data is multiplied by a predetermined value in the use state storage calculation unit (for example, The coefficient k is multiplied by 1.7) and sent to the gas use condition setting change unit. In this figure, the maximum value p1 of the observation data is multiplied by k at the end of timing under a predetermined condition. The gas proper use condition setting change unit compares the initial condition L1 (the maximum value allowed as the cutoff level) with the data L2 of the storage operation unit, and determines a predetermined gas proper use condition, here the smaller L2.
Is set anew. Thereafter, the proper use condition determining unit compares the new setting condition with the signal from the use state detecting unit, and when the condition is deviated, determines that there is an abnormality and activates the shut-off means. (For example, see JP-A-63-108
However, in the above-described configuration, the gas consumption pattern of each gas meter installation user during the period in which the timer is operating is grasped, and the appropriate use condition for each individual is set. However, the cutoff condition during the timer counting period is fixed as an initial value (usually the maximum value allowed as a cutoff level or unlimited). There is a problem that the sex is not appropriate for a long period of time (for example, the predetermined period of the timer is 2 weeks ‥‥ the period when the life pattern is considered to be almost grasped).

The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and provisionally sets a cutoff condition from observation data in a short time in the initial period of the timer operation, and thereafter, finally sets a cutoff condition based on data within the timer period. Accordingly, it is an object to provide a safer gas shut-off device.

Means for Solving the Problems The gas shut-off device of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems,
A flow rate measuring means for emitting a signal in accordance with the amount of gas passing through a gas meter provided in the gas supply line, a use state detecting section for detecting a gas use state by a flow rate signal sent from the flow rate measurement means, An initial condition storage unit for storing conditions in advance as initial values, a proper use condition determining unit for judging an abnormality when a signal of the use state detecting unit deviates from the gas proper use condition and outputting a cutoff signal; A first timer for counting a predetermined period; a second timer for starting and counting a second predetermined period shorter than the first predetermined period simultaneously with the first timer; Activation signal applying means for simultaneously activating the two timers; storing a gas usage state during operation of the first timer with a signal from the usage state detection unit; A first use state storage operation unit for producing use conditions, and a gas use state during operation of the second timer is also stored by a signal from the use state detection unit, and based on the stored use state. A second use state storage / calculation section for calculating use conditions, a monitoring level calculation / set section for calculating and setting a use state monitoring level by multiplying a set proper use condition by a predetermined coefficient, and the second timer At the end of counting, the output of the second use state storage operation unit is compared with the output of the monitoring level operation setting unit, and when the former output is smaller than the latter output, a signal is output to reduce the proper use condition by a predetermined width. At the same time, the count of the second timer is updated, and when the count is less than the predetermined count, the timer is restarted. When the output of the former is equal to or greater than the output of the latter, the counting of the second timer is stopped. Comparing the output of the first use state storage operation unit with the initial condition in response to a signal from the proper use condition provisional setting change unit and the signal from the proper use condition provisional setting change unit, or at the end of the first timer count. ,
The apparatus is provided with a configuration of a proper use condition setting change unit that changes the setting of a predetermined value as a proper use condition, and a shutoff unit that shuts off a gas passage in response to a cutoff signal from the proper use condition determination unit.

According to the present invention, the first timer operates and the second timer also starts counting at the same time as the above-described configuration. At the end of the second timer, the operation is calculated based on actual gas consumption pattern data. The state is compared with a monitoring level calculated and set according to the set interruption level, and when the former is smaller than the latter, the proper use condition is reduced by a predetermined width and the proper use condition of the meter-installed home is provisionally set. At the same time, when the number of times counted by the second timer is less than a predetermined number, the timer is restarted, and after that, data observation is continued, and at the time when the first timer is counted down, the proper use condition based on the data during that time, that is, the cutoff is performed. We formally set the conditions.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a gas shut-off device of the present invention, and components having the same numbers as those in FIG. 7 are components having the same functions. Reference numeral 10 denotes a first timer for counting a first predetermined period, and reference numeral 11 denotes a second timer for counting a second predetermined time shorter than the first predetermined period. Reference numeral 12 denotes activation signal application means for simultaneously activating the first and second timers. Reference numeral 13 denotes a signal from the use state detection unit that stores the gas use state during the operation of the first timer and the memory. A first use state storage calculating unit 14 for calculating use conditions based on the used state is also used to store the gas use state during the operation of the second timer by a signal from the use state detection unit and to store the same. A second use state storage / calculation unit that calculates use conditions based on the used state. 15 is a monitoring level calculation setting section for calculating and setting the monitoring level of the usage state by multiplying the set proper usage condition by a predetermined coefficient, and 16 is a monitoring level calculation setting section for the second usage state storage calculation section at the end of counting the second timer. The output is compared with the output of the monitor level calculation setting unit. When the output of the former is smaller than the output of the latter, a signal is output to reduce the appropriate use condition by a predetermined width, and the count of the second timer is updated. When the number of times is less than a predetermined number, the timer is restarted, and when the output of the former is equal to or more than the output of the latter, the counting of the second timer is stopped. Or when the first timer count ends, compares the output of the first use state storage operation unit with the initial condition, and changes a predetermined value as a proper use condition. Is a matter setting changing unit. In the above configuration, the cutoff condition is provisionally set every time the second timer count ends, and then the cutoff condition is formally reset at the end of the first timer count.

 This will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time, and the vertical axis indicates the appropriate use condition, that is, the level for each cutoff condition. An x mark represents observed data, that is, a use state. The alternate long and short dash line indicates the initial condition L1 (for example, the maximum limit value). At time t1, the activation signal applying means operates, and the first and
A second timer has started timing. The time from the time t1 to the time t2 indicates the time period of the second timer,
The calculation result is calculated by multiplying the maximum data p1 of the gas use state observed during the period by the safety coefficient k2 (for example, k2 = 2.0), and the monitoring level M1 corresponding to the cutoff level L1 (for example, 50%). In comparison, when the calculation result is less than the monitoring level, the cutoff level is multiplied by a predetermined value (for example, 80%), L2 is temporarily set, and the second timer is started again. Similarly to the above, when the second predetermined period elapses at time t3, the monitoring level M2 corresponding to L2 is compared with the result calculated based on data observed from the beginning, and the cutoff level L3 is provisionally set. I have. In this embodiment, since the number of times of counting of the second timer is limited to two times, only the counting of the first predetermined period is continued after time t3. Then, at time t4 when the first predetermined period has elapsed, the maximum value p2 of the data observed during this time is multiplied by a safety coefficient k1 (for example, k1 = 1.7 <k2 = 2.0) to calculate the calculation result, and the initial condition ( (The maximum cut-off level), that is, the condition L4 on the safe side is formally set as the proper use condition. This L4 is applied as a subsequent interruption condition. The first predetermined period shown here is:
The time for grasping and observing the actual gas consumption pattern of the gas user is about two weeks to one month.
It is appropriate that the second predetermined period is about one to three days in a short period immediately after the use of the shut-off device.

The above-described contents can be easily realized by using an operation or a judgment function by a program operation such as a microcomputer. Hereinafter, a schematic program flow is shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 3, when the program starts, an initial value is set as a gas proper use condition at 18, a flow rate measurement is performed at 19, and a gas use state as described above is detected at 20. Then, it is determined at 21 whether or not the first timer for measuring the first predetermined period is counting, and if it is counting,
At 22, the gas usage status is stored. That is, the first use state storage operation unit stores and updates the maximum value of the use state of the gas corresponding to each of the use conditions. After exiting from 22, and if not counting at 21, it is determined at 23 whether or not the second timer for measuring the second predetermined period is counting, and when counting is the same as above. On 24
Use to memorize the gas usage status. Here, the second use state storage operation unit executes storage update. After passing through 24, and when counting is not in progress in 23, each gas proper use condition is determined in 25. At 26, when the result of the determination at 25 is abnormal, the process branches to 27 and outputs a cutoff signal. If it is not abnormal, it is checked at 28 whether or not the appropriate use condition setting change section has been operated by the output of the first use state storage operation section. At 29, it is determined whether or not the second timer has finished counting a predetermined number of times. If the timer has finished, the process branches to and if not, the process branches to.

The contents of the branch in FIG. 4 will be described. At 30 it is determined whether or not the first timer has finished counting.
The count of the timer is stopped at, and the calculation result is obtained at 32 by multiplying the safety count (k1) based on the data of the first use state storage calculation unit. Next, in step 33, the calculation result is compared with the initial condition, and the smaller one is selected to change the setting of the proper use condition. If the timer count has not ended at 30, the flow branches to 34 to determine whether or not the first timer is currently counting. If counting is in progress, continue counting with 35; if not counting, 36
To determine the presence or absence of a start signal. When the start signal is input, the counts of the first and second timers are started at 37 and 38, respectively. Also, when there is no start signal, and after passing through 33, 35, and 38, the process returns to 19 to continue the program processing from the flow rate measurement.

The details of the branch will be described with reference to FIG. At 39, it is determined whether or not the second timer has finished counting.
The count of the second timer is stopped at, and a calculation is performed based on the data of the second timer operation period at 41 to compare whether or not the level is lower than the monitoring level. Then, at 43, the number of times counted by the second timer is updated. At 44, it is determined whether or not the number has reached a predetermined value. If not, the second timer is reset and started at 45. If the predetermined number of times has elapsed, a flag indicating the content is set at 46 and used for determination at 29. 41
If it is higher than the monitoring level, the process branches to 46. After exiting from steps 45 and 46, the program returns to step 19 to continue the program processing from the flow rate measurement. If the timer count is not over at 39, 47
To determine whether the second timer is currently counting. If counting is in progress, the count of the second timer is continued at 48 and the process branches off. If not, the process branches.

By executing this program flow, the function of the gas shut-off device of the present invention can be realized.

Next, another operation state of the gas shut-off device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time, and the vertical axis indicates the appropriate use condition, that is, the level for each cutoff condition. An x mark represents observed data, that is, a use state. The alternate long and short dash line indicates the initial condition L1 (for example, the maximum limit value). Until time t2, the operating state is the same as in FIG. Then, the second timer is started again, and when the second predetermined period elapses at time t3, the monitoring level M2 corresponding to L2 is compared with the result calculated based on the data observed from the beginning, and In the figure, since the monitoring level is exceeded, the cutoff level is provisionally set to L2 until the first timer ends counting. Then, at time t4 when the first predetermined period has elapsed, the maximum value p2 of the data observed during this time is multiplied by the safety factor k1 (for example, k1 = 1.7 <k2 = 2.0) to calculate the calculation result, and the initial condition ( Maximum cutoff level)
The condition 4 on the safer side, that is, the condition 4 on the safe side is officially set as the proper use condition.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the following effects are obtained according to the gas shut-off device of the present invention.

By constantly monitoring the gas use state and comparing it with the set proper use conditions, it is possible to detect gas leakage and burning extinguishing, and if the conditions are deviated, that is, if it is determined that there is an abnormality, Since the shutoff means operates to stop the gas supply, there is an effect that a dangerous state such as gas explosion or gas poisoning can be prevented beforehand. In addition, the actual use pattern of the gas supply system in which the gas meter is installed is observed for a predetermined time of the first timer by the start signal, and the maximum value is compared with an initial value, and the predetermined value is set as an appropriate use condition. Since it is set, simply the capacity of the gas meter (number)
As compared with only the condition determined uniformly by the above, the determination is made in consideration of the separate special condition, so that the degree of safety against a gas accident can be further increased. Further, even within the period of the first timer, the interruption condition is provisionally set from the data of the second predetermined period, which is a short time at the beginning of timing, and the provisional setting level is applied for the remaining first predetermined period. By doing so, more safety can be ensured. In addition, the provisional shutoff level is sequentially reduced by a predetermined width from an uncertain gas consumption pattern obtained by observation in a short period of time, thereby suppressing improper shutoff with subsequent normal use data. Therefore, for a user who consumes a small amount of gas, the cutoff condition is provisionally set at a level lower than the maximum level according to the actual use state, and data monitoring on the safer side becomes possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a gas shut-off device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a time-dependent change of a proper use condition of the gas shut-off device, FIG. 3 and FIG. , FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic program flow in the device, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another time-dependent change of the proper use conditions of the device, FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a conventional gas shut-off device, FIG. The figure shows the change over time in the proper use conditions of the conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flow rate measuring means, 2 ... Usage state detection part, 3 ... Initial condition storage part, 4 ... Appropriate use condition determination part, 9 ... Shut-off means, 10 ... First timer, 11 ... No. 2 timers,
12 start signal applying means 13 first use state storage / calculation unit 14 second use state storage / calculation unit 15 monitoring level calculation setting unit 16 / appropriate use condition change setting Division, 17
… .Appropriate use condition setting change section.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Horii 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masashi Kato 2-16-4 Tadao, Machida-shi, Tokyo High-pressure gas Inside the Security Association Liquefied Petroleum Gas Laboratory (72) Inventor Mitsuo Namba 2-16-4 Tadao, Machida, Tokyo No. 4 High Pressure Gas Safety Association Liquefied Petroleum Gas Laboratory (56) References JP-A-63-203167 (JP, A) JP-A-63-180800 (JP, A) JP-A-1-203818 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flow rate measuring means for generating a signal in accordance with an amount of gas passing through a gas meter provided in a gas supply line, and a use state detecting section for detecting a gas use state by a flow rate signal sent from the flow rate measurement means. An initial condition storage unit for storing the gas proper use condition as an initial value in advance, and a proper use condition determination unit for judging an abnormality when the signal of the use state detection unit deviates from the gas proper use condition and outputting a cutoff signal. When,
A first timer that counts a first predetermined period, a second timer that starts counting simultaneously with the first timer and counts a second predetermined period shorter than the first predetermined period, and Activation signal applying means for simultaneously activating the first and second timers, and storing a gas usage state during operation of the first timer with a signal from the usage state detection unit and using the gas based on the stored usage state. A first use state storage calculating section for calculating a condition, and a gas use state during operation of the second timer is also stored by a signal from the use state detection section, and a use condition is stored based on the stored use state. And a monitoring level calculation setting section for calculating and setting a monitoring level of the usage state by multiplying a set appropriate usage condition by a predetermined coefficient, and a second level setting section. -At the end of counting, the output of the second use state storage operation unit is compared with the output of the monitoring level operation setting unit, and when the former output is smaller than the latter output, a signal is output to reduce the proper use condition by a predetermined width. At the same time, the timer count of the second timer is updated, and when the count is less than the predetermined count, the timer is restarted, and when the former output is equal to or greater than the latter output, the counting of the second timer is stopped. The output of the first use state storage operation unit is compared with the initial condition in response to a signal from the change unit and the proper use condition temporary setting change unit or at the end of the first timer count, and the predetermined value is used properly. A gas shutoff device comprising: a proper use condition setting change unit for changing a setting as a condition;