JP4006311B2 - Notification device with failure detection function - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a notification device having a failure detection function that can detect a failure in a display portion when used in, for example, a gas alarm.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, gas alarms that warn of gas leaks by lighting of lamps and LEDs, buzzer sounds, and the like have been widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a conventional gas alarm. In FIG. 3, the gas alarm device 30 includes a methane detection circuit 302 that is controlled by a methane sensor control circuit 301 to detect methane, and a CO detection circuit that is controlled by a carbon monoxide (CO) sensor control circuit 303 to detect CO. 304, a temperature thermistor 305 that measures temperature, a fire thermistor 306 that detects heat generated in a fire, for example, an EEPROM 307, the methane sensor control circuit 301 to the CO detection circuit 304, and the fire thermistor 306 described above. A failure determination circuit 308 for determining whether or not there is a failure.
[0004]
Furthermore, the gas alarm device 30 includes a notification circuit 309 that displays an alarm for the user as LED display light, an external output circuit 310 that outputs the content of the alarm to the outside, and an audio circuit 311 that generates the content of the alarm as an audio signal. And a speaker 312 for outputting an audio signal to the outside. In addition, the notification circuit 309 includes three LEDs that emit green, yellow, and red, respectively.
[0005]
The integrated circuit (CPU) 313 is a means for generating detection data from the methane sensor control circuit 301 to the fire thermistor 306 as alarm information, and for controlling each of the above-described means. The methane sensor control circuit 301, Control of the CO sensor control circuit 303, control of the notification circuit 309, control of the audio circuit 311 and the like are performed. The gas alarm device 30 is operated by a DC power source obtained by converting AC 100 V of an external power source by a transformer 314, a smoothing circuit 315, and a constant voltage circuit 316.
[0006]
The operation of such a conventional gas alarm device 30 is as follows. That is, under the control of the CPU 313, the methane detection circuit 302 detects gas leakage, the CO detection circuit 304 detects CO generated by incomplete combustion of the gas appliance, and the fire thermistor 306 is installed with the gas alarm 30. If there is a fire in the room, the heat is detected. When each data is not detected, the CPU 313 controls the notification circuit 309 to always light the green LED. When any of the data is detected, the CPU 313 adds the green LED to the notification circuit 309. In addition, control is performed such that yellow or red LEDs are combined to blink or turn on to notify the user that a gas leak has occurred. An alarm is generated as an audio signal by the audio circuit 311 and notified from the speaker 312.
[0007]
In the normal operation of the gas alarm device 30 according to the prior art, the three colors of LEDs notified by the notification circuit 309 give necessary information to the user.
[0008]
Here, FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the notification circuit 309. As shown in the figure, the notification circuit 309 includes a green LED 400a having one end connected to the power supply line 400 to which the reference voltage Vdd is applied via a resistor 401a, and a yellow LED having one end connected via a resistor 401b. LED 400b and a red LED 400c having one end connected via a resistor 401c. The other ends of the respective LEDs 400a to 400c are connected to the CPU 313, and the respective LEDs are turned on as needed by the pull-in operation from the CPU 313.
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 3197405 [0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The gas alarm device according to the prior art is as described above. However, when checking whether the operation of the notification circuit 309 is normal, that is, whether the LED is lit without failure, the following problems are encountered. was there. That is, in the notification circuit 309, only the green LED 400a is lit during normal operation. When there is an abnormality in the LED 400a, it can be easily confirmed visually that it is not lit.
[0011]
On the other hand, whether the yellow and red LEDs 400b and 400c that are turned on only when an abnormality such as a gas leak is detected operates normally, that is, whether or not the LED blinks or lights up correctly when an abnormality is detected. In order to confirm, for example, a situation where the CPU 313 specifically determines an abnormal operation, such as gas leak detection by the methane detection circuit 302, is necessary, and a failure is not actually detected.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a notification device that can detect whether a notification element such as an LED that is not normally lit is faulty. Is.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention includes a notification element that performs a notification operation when a current flows;
Control means for controlling the current to flow through the notification element;
A failure determining means for determining whether a normal current is flowing through the notification element;
A notification device having a failure detection function that detects a failure of the notification element and / or a circuit that drives the notification element based on the determination,
Wherein, in the operation of one of the judgment by the failure judgment means, which to flow the current to the plurality of times the notification element,
The notification element is plural, and the determination period can be changed for each notification element.
For the notification element having a high use frequency, the notification device having a failure detection function that shortens the period of the determination than the notification element having a low use frequency .
[0014]
Moreover, 2nd this invention is an alerting | reporting apparatus which has a failure detection function of 1st this invention whose longest alerting | reporting period of the said alerting | reporting element by control of the said control means is below a perception threshold value.
[0015]
In the third aspect of the present invention, a part of the control means and the failure determination means are each realized by a microcomputer.
The shortest notification period of the notification element controlled by the control means is a notification device having the failure detection function of the second aspect of the present invention, which is a value equal to or greater than the time resolution of the microcomputer.
[0017]
Further, the fourth aspect of the present invention is a gas abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality relating to gas,
In a gas alarm device comprising an informing means for informing the abnormality,
A gas alarm device using any one of the first to third notification devices having the failure detection function of the present invention as the notification means.
[0018]
The present invention includes, as an example thereof, a process of controlling the flow of the current to a notification element that performs a notification operation when a current flows;
Determining whether a normal current flows through the notification element,
A failure detection method for a notification device that detects a failure of the notification element and / or a circuit that drives the notification element based on the determination may be used.
[0019]
In addition, the present invention includes, as an example, control means for performing control to flow the current through the notification element;
A program for causing a computer to function as failure determination means for determining whether or not a normal current is flowing through the notification element may be used.
[0020]
Further, the present invention may be a medium carrying the above program as an example, and may be a medium that can be processed by a computer.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0023]
A digital transistor 100a that opens and closes with a control voltage from the CPU 313 is provided between the power supply line 400 to which the reference voltage Vdd is applied and the resistor 401a. Similarly, a digital transistor 100b is provided between the power supply line 400 and the resistor 401b, and a digital transistor 100c is provided between the power supply line 400 and the resistor 401c.
[0024]
Furthermore, the other end of the green LED 400a is connected to the CPU 313, and is grounded to the earth wire 102 via the resistor 101b. Similarly, the other end of the yellow LED 400b is connected to the CPU 313 while being grounded to the earth wire 102 via the resistor 101c.
[0025]
That is, the notification device according to the present embodiment includes the CPU 33, the notification circuit 309, the digital transistors 100a to 100c, the resistors 101a to 101c, the power supply line 400, and the ground line 102.
[0026]
The operation of the notification device according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below. In the following description, the red LED 430c that is not lit unless a gas leak or the like is detected during normal operation is taken as an example, but the same operation is performed for other LEDs.
[0027]
When performing the failure detection operation of the notification circuit 309, the CPU 313 applies a predetermined voltage to the digital transistor 100c to turn on the digital transistor 100c. When the digital transistor 100c is turned on, a current flows from the power line 400 to the LED 400c.
[0028]
When there is no failure in the LED 400c, the potential of the resistor 101c is fed back to the CPU 313 as determination data, and the CPU 313 can confirm that the LED 400c is operating normally.
[0029]
On the other hand, if the LED 400c or the resistor 401 is broken, or if the emitter-collector of the digital transistor 100c is broken, there is no conduction between the power line 400 and the ground line 102. The ground potential GND of the ground wire 102 is fed back to the CPU 313, and the CPU 313 can detect that the LED 400c has failed. If the normal value range of the determination data is determined, a change in a constant (resistance value) due to deterioration of the resistors 401 and 101c can be determined as a failure and can be detected.
[0030]
At this time, it is desirable that the period during which the CPU 313 applies a voltage to the digital transistor 100c to turn on the LED 400c is 30 milliseconds or less. By setting the lighting period to a time shorter than the time during which the LED can be seen by the user (visual threshold), the user misidentifies the LED lighting of the failure detection operation as a display due to detection of gas leakage or the like. Can be prevented. Although the maximum time below the visual range value is 30 ms, a time longer than 30 ms is set below the visual range value depending on the usage environment, the user's vision, or the characteristics of the element. Also good.
[0031]
In addition, it is desirable that the period during which the LED 400c is lit is 5 ms or more and the time is longer than that. The CPU 313 performs control of the digital transistor 100c and acquisition of determination data as means including the control means and the failure determination means of the present invention. When the time interval becomes shorter than the above time, the CPU 313 becomes below the time resolution of the CPU, and the CPU 313 This is because it is difficult to distinguish the acquired determination data from voltage fluctuation due to noise or the like, and to control the digital transistor 100c. However, a time shorter than 5 milliseconds may be set according to the type of integrated circuit used for the CPU 313.
[0032]
Further, when performing a failure detection operation, a predetermined voltage may be applied to the digital transistor 100c from the CPU 313 a plurality of times. There is an effect of preventing voltage fluctuation due to malfunction or noise from being acquired as determination data.
[0033]
In addition, the cycle of the failure detection operation is arbitrary, but when used in the alarm circuit of the gas alarm device, the cycle in which the possibility that a person continuously looks at the gas alarm device is low, for example, 10 minutes, several tens of minutes It is desirable to cause a failure detection operation to be performed every time.
[0034]
Moreover, when using several LED, you may make it change the period of failure detection operation | movement individually. For example, in a gas alarm device, the yellow LED 400b is actually used more frequently than the red LED 400c, so that the deterioration is considered to be accelerated. Therefore, the reliability of failure detection can be improved by setting the cycle of the failure detection operation to be shorter for the yellow LED 400b than for the red LED 400c.
[0035]
In the above embodiment, the LEDs 400a to 400c correspond to the notification elements of the present invention, the CPU 313 and the digital transistors 100a to 100c correspond to the control means of the present invention, and the CPU 313 and the resistors 101a to 101c fail in the present invention. It corresponds to a determination means. The CPU 313, the resistors 401 to 401c, and the digital transistors 100a to 100c correspond to a circuit that drives the notification element of the present invention.
[0036]
However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the control unit and the failure determination unit may be configured separately. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the failure determination means may be realized by being included in the failure determination circuit 308 instead of the CPU 313.
[0037]
Further, the control means and the failure determination means may be realized as the CPU 313 and the resistors 101a to 101c by omitting the digital transistors 100a to 100c. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the configuration of the notification device is a configuration in which the switching elements and the detection elements that turn on the LEDs 400 a to 400 c in the above-described determination period are integrated in the CPU 313, and the configuration of the apparatus is small. It can be made.
[0038]
Further, in the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the resistors 401a to 401c may be omitted. In this configuration, as a failure, the CPU 313 detects the voltage Vdd when the LEDs 400a to 400c are short-circuited and the voltage 0V when the LEDs 400a to 400c are open. In addition, as a failure, the CPU 313 detects an undefined voltage when the path connecting the resistors 101a to 101c is disconnected, and a voltage drop caused by the LEDs 400a to 400c when the resistors 101a to 101c are short-circuited. The CPU 313 determines whether the failure is the LED or the resistance based on the difference in the detected voltage value, and the failure of the notification element and the failure of the circuit that drives the notification element such as a digital transistor or a resistor. Can be prevented from being confused. It is also possible to determine only the failure of the notification element or to determine only the failure of the circuit that drives the notification element.
[0039]
The notification element of the present invention is not limited to an LED, and may be realized as an element that generates and notifies information based on current, such as an element that emits light by current, or a liquid crystal or a speaker. In particular, in the case of elements other than those using light, the operation time is determined based on a perceptual threshold corresponding to the element characteristics.
[0040]
The failure determination means may not only detect a change in voltage but also directly detect the current value to make a determination.
[0041]
Further, the present invention may be realized as a gas alarm device as in the above embodiment, but may be used for an alarm device for water supply, electric leakage, fire, etc., as long as the configuration includes the present invention. You may use for the apparatus of.
[0042]
The program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of all or part of the above-described notification device of the present invention (or the device, element, circuit, unit, etc.). It may be a program that operates in cooperation with.
[0043]
The present invention is also a medium carrying a program for causing a computer to execute all or part of the functions of all or part of the above-described notification device of the present invention, and is readable and read by a computer. The program may be a medium for executing the function in cooperation with the computer.
[0044]
The “part of means (or apparatus, element, circuit, part, etc.)” of the present invention and the “part of step (or process, operation, action, etc.)” of the present invention are those It means several means or steps among a plurality of means or steps, or means some function or part of operation within one means or step.
[0045]
In addition, some devices (or elements, circuits, parts, and the like) of the present invention mean some devices among the plurality of devices, or some devices within one device. Means (or an element, a circuit, a part, etc.), or a part of the functions of one means.
[0046]
Further, the present invention includes a computer-readable recording medium that records the program of the present invention.
[0047]
Further, one usage form of the program of the present invention may be an aspect in which the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and operates in cooperation with the computer.
[0048]
Further, one usage form of the program of the present invention may be an aspect in which the program is transmitted through a transmission medium, read by a computer, and operated in cooperation with the computer.
[0049]
The data structure of the present invention includes a database, data format, data table, data list, data type, and the like.
[0050]
The recording medium includes a ROM and the like, and the transmission medium includes a transmission mechanism such as the Internet, light, radio waves, sound waves, and the like.
[0051]
The computer of the present invention described above is not limited to pure hardware such as a CPU, and may include firmware, an OS, and peripheral devices.
[0052]
As described above, the configuration of the present invention may be realized by software or hardware.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided a notification device that can detect without notification that a notification element that is not notified during normal use and a failure of its drive circuit are not erroneous. can get.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gas alarm using an alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gas alarm device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional display device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration of a notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
100a, 100b, 100c Digital transistors 101a, 101b, 101c Resistor 102 Ground wire 313 CPU
309 Notification circuit 400 Power supply lines 401a, 401b, 401c Resistance

Claims (4)

A notification element that performs a notification operation when a current flows;
Control means for controlling the current to flow through the notification element;
A failure determining means for determining whether a normal current is flowing through the notification element;
A notification device having a failure detection function that detects a failure of the notification element and / or a circuit that drives the notification element based on the determination,
Wherein, in the operation of one of the judgment by the failure judgment means, which to flow the current to the plurality of times the notification element,
The notification element is plural, and the determination period can be changed for each notification element.
A notification device having a failure detection function that shortens the determination cycle for the notification element having a high use frequency, compared to the notification element having a low use frequency .   The notification device having a failure detection function according to claim 1, wherein a maximum notification period of the notification element controlled by the control unit is equal to or less than a perception threshold. The control means and the failure determination means are partly realized by a microcomputer, respectively.
The notification device having a failure detection function according to claim 2, wherein a minimum notification period of the notification element controlled by the control unit is a value equal to or greater than a time resolution of the microcomputer. A gas abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality relating to the gas;
In a gas alarm device comprising an informing means for informing the abnormality,
As the notification means, gas detector using the notification device having a failure detection function according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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