JP4002340B2 - Gas supply control device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gas supply control device that enables use of gas based on data stored in a prepaid card.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a prepaid gas supply control device has been considered in which a prepaid card storing data corresponding to the balance of a prepaid amount is inserted so that gas can be supplied based on the data. This gas supply control device makes it possible to use a gas amount corresponding to the amount of subtraction of the balance, and when the balance is exhausted, the gas supply is cut off to make the gas unusable. By installing such a gas supply control device in each home, it is possible to reliably collect gas charges in advance, and to reduce labor costs for gas meter reading and charge collection.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
If it is going to implement | achieve the system as mentioned above, since it is necessary to install a gas supply control apparatus in each household, it is desired to make the apparatus itself as cheap as possible. Therefore, the present applicant has already proposed that the apparatus is made inexpensive by using an IC card as a prepaid card and manually inserting and removing the IC card. However, in such a configuration, the IC card may be inadvertently pulled out even during the use of gas, so that it is necessary to rewrite the data stored in the IC card every time the balance is subtracted. In other words, in a configuration that automatically inserts and removes a card, such as a telephone card, it is possible to rewrite data in a batch when the card is ejected, but in a configuration in which the card may be inadvertently removed, This is because if data is rewritten at once after use, it is not possible to ensure data rewrite. Therefore, the number of rewrites of data stored in the IC card increases, but it is desirable to reduce as much as possible because the number of rewrites of data on the card is limited. For this reason, it is conceivable to increase the data update unit to reduce the number of rewrites. However, as the data update unit is increased, even a small amount of gas used can be subtracted uniformly by the set unit amount. Then there was a problem that it would not be appropriate.
An object of the gas supply control device of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and increase the update unit of data stored in a prepaid card without improper usage charges.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The gas supply control device according to claim 1 of the present invention for solving the above-described problem is provided.
The balance frequency is read from a prepaid card that stores the balance frequency corresponding to the balance of the amount paid in advance, the balance frequency is updated so that the balance is subtracted according to the amount of fuel gas used, and the balance is subtracted. In a gas supply control device that enables supply of fuel gas corresponding to
Each time the balance frequency stored in the prepaid card is updated, data corresponding to the amount of fuel gas used corresponding to the number of subtractions by the update is temporarily stored, and the data is stored in accordance with the amount of fuel gas used. A storage means for storing the fraction of the balance frequency after the withdrawal of the prepaid card by updating in units smaller than the update unit,
When the prepaid card is inserted again, the gist is to continuously update from the fraction of the balance frequency.
[0005]
The gas supply control device according to claim 1 of the present invention having the above configuration reads the balance frequency corresponding to the balance of the amount paid in advance from the prepaid card and subtracts the balance depending on the amount of fuel gas used. The fuel gas can be supplied according to the subtraction amount. In addition, each time the balance frequency stored in the prepaid card is updated, data corresponding to the amount of fuel gas used corresponding to the number of subtraction due to the update is temporarily stored, and the data is stored in accordance with the amount of fuel gas used. Update in smaller units than the update unit. Then, the fraction of the balance frequency is stored even after the prepaid card is removed, and when the prepaid card is inserted again, it is continuously updated from the fraction of the balance frequency. Therefore, even when a small amount of gas is used, the balance frequency will not be updated uniformly, and even if the update unit of the balance frequency stored in the prepaid card is set large, subtraction of the amount of fuel gas used and the balance The deviation from the forehead does not increase.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, a preferred embodiment of the water heater of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a water heater as an embodiment of the present invention that realizes a prepaid system for use charges. The water heater 10 includes a heat exchanger 13 to which a water supply passage 11 and a hot water discharge passage 12 are connected, a burner 14 for heating water flowing through the heat exchanger 13, and a hot water supply control portion 15 that controls combustion. Prepare. The water supply passage 11 is provided with a flow rate sensor 16 for detecting the incoming water flow rate and the incoming water temperature sensor 17 for detecting the incoming water temperature, and the outlet water passage 12 is provided with a hot water temperature sensor 18 for detecting the hot water temperature. A gas supply path 19 for supplying gas to the burner 14 includes a main electromagnetic valve 20 and an original electromagnetic valve 21 that open and close the flow path, and a proportional valve that adjusts the gas supply amount by changing the opening according to the energization amount. 22 are provided.
[0007]
The hot water supply control unit 15 includes a CPU, RAM, and ROM that form a well-known arithmetic logic circuit (not shown), an input interface that inputs signals from various sensors, an output interface that outputs drive signals to various actuators, and the like. The Then, in order to bring the tapping temperature close to the set temperature (fixed at 60 ° C. in this embodiment), the incoming water flow rate, the incoming water temperature, and the outgoing hot water temperature are detected every 200 msec, and the burner combustion amount is controlled based on these detected values. Performs hot water temperature control. That is, the amount of heat for heating the water at the detected incoming water flow rate and the incoming water temperature to the set temperature is calculated (so-called feedforward calculation), and the feedforward calculation value is corrected from the deviation between the tapping temperature and the set temperature (so-called (Feedback calculation) The required amount of heat is obtained, and the proportional valve 22 is controlled to an opening degree at which the necessary amount of heat is obtained.
[0008]
A card device 30 is connected to the water heater 10. The water heater 10 and the card device 30 are connected via a communication cable, and the card device 30 can be installed indoors even if it is an outdoor installation type water heater 10. The card device 30 includes a read / write unit 31 for reading and rewriting data stored in the IC card 40, a display unit 32 for displaying the balance frequency, and a card control unit 33 for controlling them.
[0009]
The IC card 40 has a built-in EEPROM (nonvolatile memory) for storing a plurality of data, and has a terminal 41 for electrical connection with the read / write unit 31 on the card surface. In the EEPROM, the balance of the prepaid amount is stored as a balance frequency N in units of 100 yen, and the region code for identifying the region of use and the supplier are identified as owner data for specifying the cardholder. A supplier code for identifying the manager, a manager code for identifying the manager, and a resident code representing a room number are stored. Further, unit price data representing the unit price of the usage fee (set within a range of 1 to 999 yen) is stored.
[0010]
The read / write unit 31 reads and rewrites data while being manually inserted to a predetermined position where about half of the IC card 40 is inserted. As described above, the IC card 40 is manually inserted / removed manually, so that components such as a card transport motor and a magnetic head are not required unlike a magnetic card reader, and the IC card 40 can be configured compactly.
[0011]
The display unit 32 includes a 2-digit 7-segment LED, and displays the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 in a state where the IC card 40 is inserted. Further, when the balance frequency N becomes 0, “0” is blinked to notify that the remaining balance is low, and “0” is lit up when there is no remaining balance that can be subtracted.
[0012]
When the IC card 40 is inserted, the card control unit 33 reads a plurality of data stored therein by the read / write unit 31. Further, the card control unit 33 includes an EEPROM for storing data, stores the owner data of the IC card 40 inserted for the first time as card information, and is inserted after the second time as shown in FIG. The owner data of the IC card 40 and the card information already stored are collated each time, and when all codes match, the IC card 40 can be used. By such a check, an appliance that can be used for each IC card 40 is limited to prevent unauthorized use. Further, the card control unit 33 can communicate with the hot water supply control unit 15, and an operation permission signal for permitting the operation of the water heater 10 in a state where the IC card 40 is inserted and there is a subtractable balance. Is transmitted to the hot water supply control unit 15.
[0013]
The hot water supply control unit 15 can perform the hot water supply operation only in a state where the operation permission signal is received from the card control unit 33. In this state, the hot water supply curan (not shown) is opened and the incoming flow rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined operation start flow rate Qs. Is detected, the main solenoid valve 20 and the original solenoid valve 21 are opened to supply gas to the burner 14, and ignition control is performed such that ignition is performed by an ignition device (not shown). During the combustion of the burner 14, the hot water temperature is brought close to the set temperature by the hot water temperature control. Thereafter, when the incoming water flow rate decreases to the operation stop flow rate Qe or less, the main solenoid valve 20 and the original solenoid valve 21 are closed to shut off the gas supply, and the burner 14 is extinguished.
[0014]
Further, the hot water supply control unit 15 calculates a usage fee based on the heat consumption of the burner 14. That is, the unit of the usage fee (100 yen in this embodiment) is the amount of use for a predetermined time (15 minutes in this embodiment) with the maximum combustion amount of the burner 14 (heat amount of 30000 kcal / h in this embodiment). The amount of heat when used for 15 minutes at a combustion rate of 30000 kcal / h is
30000kcal / h × 15/60 = 7500kcal
Therefore, control is performed so as to enable consumption of heat of 7500 kcal for 100 yen. In the present embodiment, a heat amount of 75 kcal can be consumed in exchange for subtracting a unit subtraction amount A (in this embodiment, 1 yen because the unit price is 100 yen) which is 1/100 of the unit price.
[0015]
The amount of heat consumed by the burner 14 is determined by calculating the amount of heat consumed per 200 msec from the required amount of heat calculated every 200 msec for controlling the tapping temperature, and integrating this value.
For example, the amount of heat consumed every 200 msec during combustion at a required heat amount of 30000 kcal / h is
30000kcal / h × 0.2 / 3600 = 1.67kcal
It becomes. When the calculated heat quantity is integrated and the integrated heat quantity reaches 75 kcal, a subtraction command signal is sent to the card control unit 33 to subtract the unit subtraction amount A from the balance, and the amount of heat that can be consumed in exchange is increased by 75 kcal. Let Therefore, the usable time per unit price becomes longer as the combustion amount is smaller.
The card device 30 is detachably provided to the water heater 10, and the hot water controller 15 controls the card device 30 in the same manner as a normal water heater when the card device 30 has never been connected. However, when the card device 30 is connected even once, the hot water supply control unit 15 stores the data and can perform the hot water operation only in a state where the operation permission signal is received from the card control unit 33 of the card device 30. It becomes a machine. Therefore, a common water heater can be used in the normal usage pattern and the usage pattern in which the usage fee is paid by the card, and the card device 30 is used without being connected in the usage pattern in which the usage fee is paid by the card. Use can be prevented.
[0016]
Here, a method of subtracting the balance by the card control unit 33 will be described in detail.
The IC card 40 stores the balance as a balance frequency N in units of 100 yen. The EEPROM of the card control unit 33 stores the frequency M in the unit of 10 yen as a fraction, and the RAM of the card control unit 33 further stores the amount C in the unit of 1 yen as the fraction. The unit subtraction amount A is subtracted from the amount C every time a subtraction command signal is received from the hot water supply control unit 15. Here, if the amount C is less than the unit subtraction amount A when the subtraction command signal is received, the frequency M is subtracted by 1 degree, and 10 yen is added to the amount C in exchange. At this time, if the frequency M is 0, the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 is rewritten by subtracting 1 frequency, and 10 times is added to the frequency M in exchange.
[0017]
Hereinafter, this will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The use of gas starts when the IC card 40 storing the balance frequency N = 50 (remaining 5000 yen) is inserted and the frequency M and the amount C stored in the EEPROM and RAM of the card control unit 33 are both 0. Then, in order to subtract the unit subtraction amount A (1 yen in this embodiment) from the amount C, the frequency is subtracted from the balance frequency N = 50 stored in the IC card 40, and the frequency is added to the frequency M = 0 by 10 times. Further, 1 degree is subtracted from the frequency M = 10, 10 yen is added to the amount C, and 1 yen is subtracted from the amount C. Thereafter, every time a subtraction command signal is received, 1 yen is subtracted from the amount C. When the amount C is less than the unit subtraction amount A at the time of reception of the subtraction command signal, the number C is subtracted by one number from the frequency M to 10 Subtract after adding yen. If the frequency M is 0 at this time, the frequency is rewritten by subtracting one frequency from the balance frequency N of the IC card 40, and the frequency M is subtracted after adding 10 frequency. Thereafter, even when the use of the gas is stopped and the IC card 40 is removed, the remaining balance is stored in the EEPROM and RAM of the card control unit 33 as the frequency M and the amount C, and the next time the IC card 40 is inserted. When the use of the gas is started, the subtraction is continued from the stored remainder. Therefore, even when a small amount of gas is used, the balance frequency N is not subtracted by a single frequency (ie, 100 yen), and the difference between the amount of heat consumed and the balance of subtraction is reduced to reduce the usage fee. It can be made appropriate. In addition, the number of rewrites can be reduced by rewriting the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 in a large unit such as 100 yen.
In this embodiment, the remaining balance is stored separately in the EEPROM and RAM of the card control unit 33. However, if this is only RAM, the remaining loss when the data is lost due to a power failure or the like. In view of the fact that only the EEPROM is used, the burden on the EEPROM is increased by subtracting and rewriting the unit subtraction amount A that can be a fine value. It is not limited to.
[0018]
Next, subtraction processing performed by the card control unit 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This routine starts when the IC card 40 is inserted.
First, the stored card information and the owner data of the inserted IC card 40 are collated. If the IC card 40 has been inserted even once in the past, the card information is stored (S1: YES), so it is checked against the owner data of the inserted IC card 40 and all codes match. The card can be used only in the case of (S2: YES). On the other hand, since the card information is not stored when the IC card 40 is inserted for the first time (S1: NO), the owner data stored in the inserted IC card 40 is stored as the card information (S3). ).
[0019]
Next, the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 is read (S4). If the amount C stored in the RAM of the card control unit 33 is greater than or equal to the unit subtraction amount A or the balance frequency N or frequency M is not 0 (S5: YES), the unit subtraction amount A can be subtracted. An operation permission signal (S6) is transmitted to enable hot water operation.
In step 5, if the amount C is less than the unit subtraction amount A and the balance frequency N and frequency M are both 0 (S5: NO), it is determined that there is no balance and the control is terminated (S18).
[0020]
Thereafter, when a subtraction command signal is received from the hot water supply control unit 15 (S7: YES), the amount C stored in the RAM of the card control unit 33 is checked, and if it is equal to or greater than the unit subtraction amount A (S8: YES) The unit subtraction amount A is subtracted from C (S9). On the other hand, if the amount C is less than the unit subtraction amount A in step 8 (S8: NO), the frequency M stored in the EEPROM of the card control unit 33 is checked, and if it is not 0 (S10: YES). One frequency is subtracted from the frequency M (S11), and 10 yen is added to the amount C (S12), and the unit subtraction amount A is subtracted from the amount C (S9). On the other hand, in step 10, when the frequency M is 0 (S10: NO), the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 is checked, and when it is not 0 (S13: YES), the balance frequency N is 1 frequency. Subtraction and rewriting (S14) Add 10 times to frequency M (S15). Then, the frequency M is subtracted once (S11), and 10 yen is added to the amount C (S12), and the unit subtraction amount A is subtracted from the amount C (S9). Thereafter, every time a subtraction command signal is received from the hot water supply control unit 15 (S7: YES), the unit subtraction amount A is subtracted from the balance by the same control (S9). When the subtraction command signal is received (S7: YES), if the amount C is below the unit subtraction amount A (S8: NO), and both the frequency M and the balance frequency N are 0 (S10: (NO, S13: NO), it is determined that there is no balance, transmission of the operation permission signal is stopped (S17), and the control is terminated (S18). Moreover, also when a card is extracted (S16: NO), transmission of a driving | operation permission signal is stopped (S17) and control is complete | finished (S18).
[0021]
As described above, according to the water heater 10 of the present embodiment, the update unit of the balance frequency N can be set large without increasing the difference between the heat consumption and the balance subtraction amount. The number of rewrites can be reduced, and the data capacity of the balance frequency N stored in the IC card 40 can be reduced. Furthermore, when an IC card 40 having owner data different from the stored card information is inserted, the operation is prohibited, so that the owned IC card 40 can be used only by the water heater of the owner. Therefore, even if the IC card 40 is duplicated, damage can be minimized, and since it is easy for an unauthorized user to specify, it can be made difficult to be fraudulent. In addition, since the owner data of the IC card 40 inserted for the first time is stored as card information, there is no need to write different card information for each apparatus.
[0022]
Further, compared to the conventional water heater, the card device 30 for reading and writing data of the IC card 40 is connected and the control processing of the hot water controller 15 is slightly changed, so that the use fee of the appliance is paid in advance. In the case where gas is used only for water heaters, such as one-room apartments, the manager pays the gas charge for the entire apartment to the gas supplier in a lump. If the system is used to collect the equipment usage fee from each resident in advance and update the data, the labor cost can be greatly reduced by eliminating the need for gas meter reading and fare collection for each resident. In addition, if one gas meter for meter reading is provided for meter reading of the gas consumption of the entire apartment, it is not necessary to provide for each resident and the gas meter itself is expensive. Can be reduced. In addition, by calculating the usage fee based on the required amount of heat calculated for the hot water temperature control, the fee can be collected fairly according to the usage status and frequency, and a device for measuring the amount of gas, etc. Need not be added.
[0023]
Moreover, since the restriction based on the usage fee is not performed unless the card device 30 is connected at all, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by sharing the hot water heater between the usage form that requires the restriction and the usage form that does not require the restriction. . In addition, once the card device 30 is connected, it is always limited based on the usage fee, so that unauthorized use such as using gas without connecting the card device 30 is prevented even though the usage is limited. For example, when the operation is tested at the time of initial installation of the instrument, it is convenient because the IC card 40 does not need to be inserted. In addition, in a state where the balance is less than 100 yen and the frequency display is “0”, “0” is flashed until the balance becomes 0, thereby notifying the user that the balance is low. It is possible to prevent the gas from suddenly becoming unusable due to a lack of balance while the user is not aware. In addition, by providing the read / write unit 31 separately from the appliance main body, the read / write unit 31 can be installed indoors even if the appliance main body is installed outdoors.
[0024]
In addition, by using the IC card 40 as a storage medium and manually inserting / removing it directly into / from the read / write unit 31, the structure of the card device 40 can be simplified and made compact. Furthermore, by using the IC card 40, the card is more resistant to repeated use than the magnetic card, and when the balance decreases, the same card can be used for a long time by updating the data, thus reducing the card issuance cost. can do.
[0025]
In this embodiment, the balance of the amount paid in advance is stored as a balance frequency in units of 100 yen. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, data may be stored as a consumable heat amount or a usable gas amount. In short, it may be data corresponding to the balance of the amount paid in advance.
Further, in this embodiment, the usage fee is calculated based on the required amount of heat obtained by the tapping temperature control, but is not limited to this, for example, the amount of heat given to the water from the detected values of tapping temperature, incoming water temperature, and incoming water flow rate. And the usage fee may be calculated based on this value. In short, any value corresponding to the amount of heat of the burner 14 may be used.
In this embodiment, the IC card 40 is used as a prepaid card. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a magnetic card may be used. At that time, in the configuration in which the prepaid card is directly pulled out manually as in this embodiment, the number of times of rewriting can be reduced because rewriting is required every time the balance frequency is updated. In the configuration of sampling, the number of rewrites can be reduced even if the balance frequency update unit is set small by rewriting all at once when the extraction operation is performed, but the frequency update unit stored in the prepaid card is increased. Setting this has the effect of reducing the data capacity.
Further, the card device 30 may be provided with a function for changing the set temperature of the water heater 10 and a function for displaying the set temperature.
[0026]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, only the water heater 10 is limited. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a gas cutoff device is provided in a supply source that supplies gas to a plurality of gas appliances, and the amount of gas supplied from the supply source is reduced. The balance may be subtracted accordingly, and the gas may be shut off when the balance becomes zero.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the gas supply control device of the first aspect of the present invention, the renewal unit of the balance frequency is set large without increasing the difference between the fuel gas usage amount and the subtraction amount of the balance. Therefore, even if the prepaid card needs to be directly rewritten every time the balance frequency is updated, the number of rewrites can be reduced. Further, the data capacity of the balance frequency stored in the prepaid card can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a water heater as one embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a memory map of an EEPROM of a card control unit and an IC card.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of subtracting the balance.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subtraction process performed by a card control unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Hot water heater, 11 ... Water supply channel, 12 ... Hot water supply channel, 13 ... Heat exchanger,
14 ... burner, 15 ... hot water supply control unit, 16 ... flow rate sensor,
17 ... Incoming water temperature sensor, 18 ... Hot water temperature sensor, 30 ... Card device,
31 ... Read / write unit, 32 ... Display unit, 33 ... Card control unit,
40 ... IC card.

Claims (1)

The balance frequency is read from a prepaid card that stores the balance frequency corresponding to the balance of the amount paid in advance, the balance frequency is updated so that the balance is subtracted according to the amount of fuel gas used, and the balance is subtracted. In a gas supply control device that enables supply of fuel gas corresponding to
Each time the balance frequency stored in the prepaid card is updated, data corresponding to the amount of fuel gas used corresponding to the number of subtractions by the update is temporarily stored, and the data is stored in accordance with the amount of fuel gas used. A storage means for storing the fraction of the balance frequency after the withdrawal of the prepaid card by updating in units smaller than the update unit,
A gas supply control device characterized in that when the prepaid card is inserted again, it is continuously updated from a fraction of the balance frequency.

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