JP3064160B2 - Gas meter - 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 meter for measuring a flow rate of a gas supplied upstream of a gas appliance such as a gas stove, and more particularly to a gas meter having a built-in seismic sensor when the intensity exceeds a predetermined seismic intensity. And a gas meter having a function of blocking a gas flow path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a city gas meter has a built-in seismic sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an earthquake. When an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or more occurs, a gas shutoff valve is closed and a gas shutoff valve is closed. By blocking the flow path, gas leakage occurs,
It also has a safety mechanism to prevent accidents from occurring.
In addition, a return switch is generally attached to this type of gas meter, and even if the safety mechanism operates and the gas flow path is shut off, the user can return to the original state by turning on the return switch. Is available.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional gas meter, even if the safety mechanism operates and the gas flow path is shut off, the user can return to the original state by turning on the return switch. However, if an abnormality occurs in the supply system such as piping due to an earthquake and oxygen gas is mixed in the supply gas with an unnecessary gas other than the supply gas, for example, a gas meter that does not contain oxygen gas, it is detected. I couldn't.

[0004] However, in a gas meter dedicated to gas containing no oxygen, if oxygen gas of a certain concentration or more is mixed into the supplied gas, the combustion performance of the gas appliance is impaired. There was a problem of becoming.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a gas appliance when an unnecessary gas such as oxygen is mixed into a supply gas at a predetermined concentration or more after a seismic sensor is activated. An object of the present invention is to provide a gas meter with improved safety that can shut off the supply of gas to a fuel cell and prevent an accident caused by gas mixture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas meter which can prevent accidents caused by mixing of unnecessary gas beforehand, can reduce power consumption, and is excellent in safety and economy.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas meter, comprising: a gas passage through which a supply gas passes; a valve body provided in the gas passage for shutting off a gas; A seismic sensor for detecting the presence / absence, mixed gas concentration detecting means for detecting the concentration of gas mixed into the gas flow path other than the supply gas, and detection by the mixed gas concentration detecting means after the seismic sensor is operated A gas shut-off means for closing the valve body when the concentration of the mixed gas reaches a predetermined value and shutting off a gas flow path.

In this gas meter, when an earthquake having a seismic intensity equal to or more than a predetermined seismic intensity occurs and the seismic sensor detects this, the concentration of the gas mixed into the gas flow path other than the supply gas is detected by the mixed gas concentration detecting means. . When the concentration of the mixed gas reaches a predetermined value, the gas shut-off means operates to close the valve body and shut off the gas flow path. Therefore, in this gas meter, if the user returns to the original state after the seismic sensor is activated and the gas flow path is cut off, or if the gas flow path is not cut off even if the seismic sensor is activated In this case, even if an unnecessary gas such as oxygen is mixed in the supplied gas, it is possible to prevent an accident caused by the mixed gas from occurring.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas meter, wherein a gas passage through which a supply gas passes, a gas shutoff valve provided in the gas passage, and a seismic sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an earthquake having a predetermined seismic intensity or higher. Device, mixed gas concentration detecting means for detecting the concentration of gas mixed into the gas flow path other than the supply gas, and driving means for operating the mixed gas concentration detecting means for a predetermined time after the seismic sensor is operated. After the seismic sensor is activated, the valve body is closed when the mixed gas concentration detected by the mixed gas concentration detecting means reaches a predetermined value,
Gas blocking means for blocking the gas flow path.

[0010] In this gas meter, as in the gas meter according to the first aspect, when the mixed gas concentration detected by the mixed gas concentration detecting means reaches a predetermined value after the seismic sensor operates, the valve is opened. Closing the body and shutting off the gas flow path, the mixed gas concentration detection means, after the seismic
Operate only for a predetermined time. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the gas meter according to the first aspect, there is an effect that the consumption of a power source such as a battery for driving the mixed gas concentration detecting means can be suppressed.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a gas meter 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This gas meter 10
Inside, a gas inlet 17 for flowing a gas 20 such as a city gas containing no oxygen through a pipe (not shown) and a gas flow for flowing the gas 20 to a gas appliance such as a gas stove (not shown) are provided. A gas channel 11 having an outlet 18 is provided. In the gas flow path 11, in order from the gas inlet 17 side, the gas flow path 1
An oxygen concentration sensor 14 as an oxygen concentration detecting means is provided together with a gas shutoff valve 12 for shutting off the gas supply 1 and a gas flow meter 13 for measuring a gas flow rate. The oxygen concentration sensor 14 detects the concentration of oxygen gas (O ₂ ) mixed in the gas flow path 11 and converts it into an electric signal (voltage). The detection signal is output to the control unit 16. Has become. The oxygen concentration sensor 14 is controlled by the control unit 16 so that the seismic sensor 15 is turned on at the same time when the seismic sensor 15 detects an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or more, and is turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed. As the oxygen concentration sensor 14, various types such as a galvanic cell type and a semiconductor type are used. In addition, this gas meter 10
Has a built-in seismic sensor 15 to detect the occurrence of an earthquake.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of the control unit 16 in the gas meter 10 of the present embodiment. The control unit 16 has a CPU (central processing unit) 30. The CPU 30 is connected to each unit of the device via a bus. Among them, a ROM (read only memory) 31 stores a control program for preventing an accident caused by mixing of oxygen gas as shown in a flowchart (FIG. 3) described later. In a RAM (random access memory) 32, predetermined oxygen gas concentration data serving as a gas shutoff reference is stored, and detection data from the oxygen concentration sensor 14 and the like are temporarily stored. ing. The input / output port 33 outputs each output signal of the gas flow meter 13, the oxygen concentration sensor 14 and the seismic sensor 15 to the CPU 3.
This is an interface for sending an ON / OFF control signal output from the CPU 30 to the oxygen concentration sensor 14 while sending the signal to 0. The CPU 30 outputs a valve shutoff signal when a gas amount equal to or more than a predetermined amount is detected based on an output signal of the gas flow meter 13 and when the seismic sensor 15 detects an earthquake equal to or more than a predetermined seismic intensity, and outputs an oxygen concentration sensor. In response to the output signal 14, the concentration of the oxygen gas mixed into the gas 20 is monitored, and when the oxygen gas concentration exceeds a certain value, a valve shutoff signal is output. Timer 36
Represents a case where the seismic sensor 15 senses an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or higher and a predetermined time elapses after the oxygen concentration sensor 14 starts operating. The output port 34 is the CPU 30
This is an interface for sending the valve shutoff signal sent from the controller to the drive circuit 35. The drive circuit 35 receiving the valve shutoff signal sent from the CPU 30 closes the gas shutoff valve 12 to shut off the gas flow path 11.

Next, the operation of the gas meter of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
A description will be given along the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 30 monitors the detection signal of the seismic sensor 15 to determine whether or not an earthquake having a predetermined seismic intensity or higher has occurred (step S300). At the same time, the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned on (step S301). And this oxygen concentration sensor 14
And determines whether oxygen gas having a predetermined concentration is detected within a predetermined time after the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned on (step S30).
2) If a predetermined concentration of oxygen is detected (Y),
The CPU 30 closes the gas shutoff valve 12 and sets the gas flow path 11
Is shut off (step S303), and the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned off (step S304).

On the other hand, in step S302, when oxygen gas of a predetermined concentration is not detected within a predetermined time after the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned on (step S302;
In N), it is determined that there is no supply failure due to an accident such as an earthquake in the area, and the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned off to prevent battery consumption (step S304).

As described above, the gas meter 10 of the present embodiment incorporates the oxygen sensor 14 together with the seismic sensor 15 and detects the concentration of oxygen gas mixed into the gas 20 by the oxygen sensor 14. When the concentration becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the gas flow path 11 is automatically shut off, so that unnecessary oxygen gas is prevented from flowing into a gas appliance (not shown), thereby preventing an accident caused by oxygen gas contamination. Is prevented. .

If oxygen gas of a predetermined concentration is not detected within a predetermined time after the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is turned on, the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is automatically turned off and the oxygen concentration detection operation is stopped. Therefore, the consumption of the battery which occurs when the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is operated permanently can be suppressed.

The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without changing the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the gas mixed other than the supply gas is oxygen gas, and the oxygen concentration sensor 14 is built in. However, if any other gas has an adverse effect other than the supply gas, it may be used. What is necessary is just to make it incorporate a sensor.

[0020]

As described above, according to the gas meter of the first aspect, when an earthquake of a predetermined seismic intensity or more occurs and the seismic sensor detects this, the mixed gas concentration detecting means detects gas other than the supplied gas. Detects the concentration of gas mixed in the flow path,
When the concentration of the mixed gas reaches a predetermined value, the gas flow path is shut off. After the seismic sensor is activated and the gas flow path is shut off, the user returns to the original state. Accidents or when the gas flow path is not blocked even when the seismic sensor is activated, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of accidents caused by mixing of unnecessary gas such as oxygen in the supplied gas. The effect is that the safety is improved.

According to the gas meter of the present invention, when the mixed gas concentration detecting means detects a gas concentration equal to or higher than a predetermined concentration, the gas flow path is shut off.
Since the mixed gas concentration detecting means is operated only for a predetermined time after the seismic sensor operates, the power consumption of the battery for driving the mixed gas concentration detecting means can be reduced in addition to the effect of the gas meter according to claim 1. The effect is that the cost can be suppressed and the economic efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a gas meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the gas meter of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the gas meter of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Gas meter 11 Gas flow path 12 Gas shut-off valve (valve element) 13 Gas flow meter 14 Oxygen concentration sensor 15 Seismic sensor 16 Control part 20 Gas

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-306118 (JP, A) JP-A-2-306516 (JP, A) JP-A-4-34317 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01F 3/22 G01F 1/00 A62C 2/04 F17C 13/12 F23N 5/24 101

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A gas flow path through which a supply gas passes, a valve element provided in the gas flow path for shutting off a gas, a seismic sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an earthquake having a predetermined seismic intensity or more, Mixed gas concentration detecting means for detecting the concentration of the gas mixed into the gas flow path, and after the seismic sensor is operated, the mixed gas concentration detected by the mixed gas concentration detecting means becomes a predetermined value. A gas shut-off means for shutting off the valve element when the flow reaches the gas flow path and shutting off a gas flow path. 2. A gas flow path through which a supply gas passes, a gas blocking valve provided in the gas flow path, a seismic sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an earthquake having a predetermined seismic intensity or more, A mixed gas concentration detecting means for detecting the concentration of the gas mixed into the gas flow path; a driving means for operating the mixed gas concentration detecting means for a predetermined time after the seismic sensor is operated; After the operation, when the mixed gas concentration detected by the mixed gas concentration detecting means reaches a predetermined value, the valve body is closed and gas shutoff means for shutting off a gas flow path is provided. Characteristic gas meter.