JP4508149B2 - Gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas cutoff device that ensures safety when the power capacity of a battery power supply unit is consumed, for example, in a cutoff device that monitors the usage state of a gas appliance that uses city gas, LP gas, or the like.

  Conventionally, this kind of interruption | blocking apparatus was a structure like FIG. 3 in the gas interruption | blocking apparatus, for example (for example, refer patent document 1).

  FIG. 3 shows a control block diagram of a conventional gas shut-off device. In the gas shut-off device 1 shown in FIG. 3, reference numeral 2 denotes a battery power source, which supplies power to the entire gas shut-off device. Reference numeral 3 denotes a shut-off valve, which stops or supplies gas in the flow path. 4 is a voltage drop detection unit, which detects the battery voltage taking into account a predetermined time that goes back from the operation guarantee voltage in which the capacity of the battery power supply unit 2 capable of operating the gas shut-off device 1 remains, and the battery voltage drop to the solenoid valve Signal A is output. 5 is an opening acceptance unit that accepts opening of the shut-off valve from the time when the voltage drop signal A is input, and opens when there is an opening request (opening request switch or input of an opening signal by communication). A stopper request signal C is output. A timer unit 6 counts a predetermined operation guarantee time from when the voltage drop signal A is input, and outputs a plug opening completion signal D. Reference numeral 7 denotes an opening function stop unit which outputs a closing stop signal E for stopping the opening according to the opening request signal C when the opening end signal D is input. Reference numeral 8 denotes a gas shut-off control unit which, when the battery voltage drop signal A or the plug stop signal E is input, closes the shut-off valve 3 and when the plug request signal C is input before the input signal of the plug stop signal E. The shut-off valve 3 is opened.

  Next, the operation of the configuration of the conventional example will be described. When the voltage drop detection unit 4 checking the consumption level of the battery power supply unit 2 detects the battery consumption voltage, the battery voltage drop signal A is output to the unplugging reception unit 5, the timer unit 6 and the gas cutoff control unit 8. . The gas cutoff control unit 8 to which the voltage drop signal A has been input outputs the first cutoff command signal B1 to operate the cutoff valve 3 and close the gas passage. When the voltage drop signal A is input, the timer unit 6 starts counting, and until the timer unit 6 finishes counting for a predetermined time, there is a plug opening request to the plug opening receiving unit 5, and the plug opening request signal C Is output, the gas cutoff control unit 8 opens the cutoff valve 3. When the timer section 6 finishes counting, the plug opening end signal D is output, so the plug opening function stop section 7 outputs the plug opening stop signal E and stops accepting the plug opening request. The gas cutoff device 1 to which the closing stop signal E is inputted outputs the second cutoff command signal B2 to close the cutoff valve 3.

In the gas shut-off device 1 attached to the flow path through which medium gas such as city gas and LP gas flows, the voltage drop detection unit 4 measures the voltage of the battery power supply unit 2 at a predetermined time interval and monitors the degree of battery consumption. ing. A lower limit voltage at which the gas shut-off device 1 can be operated is set in advance as an operation guarantee voltage, and a voltage value when the voltage is reversed for a required number of days from here is set as a battery consumption voltage. The voltage drop detection unit 4 monitors the battery voltage and detects the battery voltage when the battery is consumed. That is, after the battery consumption voltage is detected for the required number of days, the shutoff valve 3 can be opened only during the period when the voltage of the battery power supply unit 2 drops to the operation guarantee voltage, and a grace period is provided until the gas shutoff device 1 is replaced. It is a thing.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-103546

  However, the above conventional configuration has the following problems. That is, when the battery drop detection unit 4 monitors the battery voltage every predetermined time and makes a voltage drop determination at the time of battery consumption, it is not described in the conventional example. The battery voltage when the transient change of the voltage of the battery power supply part when the current equivalent to the current required when the shut-off valve operates using the pseudo load connected to the part 2 flows and the current flows through the pseudo load is almost stable It is determined whether or not this apparatus is operable.

  The reason why a voltage drop is judged by passing a current through a pseudo load is described below. The battery constituting the battery voltage unit has an internal resistance, and the equivalent circuit of the battery is an ideal circuit that maintains the internal resistance and the initial voltage. It is represented by connecting the battery in series. The internal resistance value has a characteristic of gradually increasing with aging, or is greatly influenced by the use environment, particularly temperature change.

If the current is taken out from the battery power supply unit, the internal resistance results in a voltage loss as an IR drop by the product of the resistance value and the extracted current, and the voltage of the battery power supply unit is reduced accordingly. On the other hand, the operating current of the shut-off valve is remarkably larger than the operating currents of the other parts, so that it is most affected by the internal resistance. Therefore, when the battery voltage drop determination is made, the maximum IR drop is caused by flowing the battery voltage drop determination current, and it is determined whether or not this device is operable with the voltage of the battery power supply at that time. is there.

  However, the internal resistance of the battery of the battery power supply section shows a tendency to increase for a certain time after the transient change of the voltage of the battery power supply section when a current equivalent to the actual load is passed through the pseudo load, and then decreases. Some exhibit characteristics. The amount of increase in the internal resistance and the time from the increase to the decrease vary depending on the electrolyte and the material of the electrode constituting the battery. For this reason, in the worst case, it may be considered that even if an attempt is made to operate the shutoff valve after a predetermined time after detecting a decrease in battery voltage, the operation cannot be performed due to an increase in the internal resistance of the battery.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas shut-off device that ensures safety when the power capacity of a battery power supply unit is consumed.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the gas shutoff device of the present invention includes a battery monitoring time counting unit that outputs to the next stage at predetermined intervals from the start of supply of the battery power supply unit, and the battery monitoring time counting. A pseudo load that flows a current equivalent to the current required when the shut-off valve operates at the output of the unit, and a time until the transient voltage change of the battery power source unit is stabilized when the current flows through the pseudo load. A waveform stabilization time counting unit that measures and outputs the voltage to the next stage; and a battery minimum voltage determination unit that inputs the voltage of the battery power supply unit for a predetermined time and outputs the voltage change to a predetermined determination value or less to the next stage ; The battery voltage becomes lower than the battery consumption voltage set by providing a battery consumption period of a predetermined time from the operation guarantee voltage that is a lower limit value that can operate the shut-off valve in response to the signal of the battery minimum voltage determination unit. Judging the decline and It is obtained by a low voltage detection unit for outputting a blocking signal in the subsequent predetermined time.

Then, a signal equivalent to the current required when the shut-off valve operates is supplied to the pseudo load by a signal from the battery monitoring time measuring unit, and at the same time, the waveform stabilization time measuring unit set in advance by the signal from the battery monitoring time measuring unit. The time when the transient change of the battery of the battery power supply unit when the load operates is timed and output to the battery minimum voltage determination unit. Then, based on a signal from the waveform stabilization time measuring unit, the battery minimum voltage determination unit starts voltage input to the battery power supply unit, and outputs the voltage drop detection unit when the voltage change becomes a predetermined determination value or less . Based on this signal, the voltage drop detection unit is connected to the battery power supply when the battery consumption voltage falls below the battery consumption voltage set in consideration of battery consumption for a predetermined time that goes back from the operation guarantee voltage that is the lower limit value at which the shut-off valve can be operated. A drop in the battery voltage is determined, and a shut-off valve operation signal is output after a predetermined time.

  As a result, even if the internal resistance of the battery of the battery power supply section shows a characteristic that increases for a certain period of time after the equivalent current flows through the pseudo load and stabilizes the transient change of the voltage of the battery power supply section and then decreases, the battery voltage Therefore, it is possible to prevent the problem that the shutoff valve cannot be operated after a predetermined time after detecting the decrease in the pressure.

The gas shutoff device according to the present invention is configured such that after the initial transient change in which the equivalent current is passed through the pseudo load to the voltage drop of the battery power supply unit, the voltage of the battery power supply unit is further input and the voltage change is determined in advance. it is determined by the voltage at the time of equal to or less than. As a result, it is possible to make a battery drop determination at the lowest voltage of the battery power supply unit, and to prevent the problem that the battery voltage declines before the shutoff operation is performed and the shutoff valve cannot be operated. it can.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas shutoff device including a shutoff valve that shuts off a gas passage in the event of an abnormality and a battery power supply unit that supplies operating power to a device including the shutoff valve. A battery monitoring time counting unit that outputs to the next stage every predetermined time, a pseudo load that flows a current equivalent to a current required when the shut-off valve operates with an output of the battery monitoring time counting unit, and the pseudo load The time to stabilize the transient voltage change of the battery power supply when a current flows in the waveform, and the waveform stabilization time counter that outputs to the next stage, and the voltage of the battery power supply is input for a predetermined time The battery minimum voltage determination unit that outputs to the next stage when the change is less than or equal to a predetermined determination value, and the operation guarantee voltage that is a lower limit value that can operate the shutoff valve in response to a signal from the battery minimum voltage determination unit After a certain period of time Thereby determining a reduction in the battery voltage at that time becomes less battery drain voltage set provided, by which a voltage reduction detection unit for outputting a blocking signal in the subsequent predetermined time, the battery power supply unit After the initial transient change when the pseudo load is activated, the voltage drop is further started when the voltage input to the battery power supply unit is started and the voltage change falls below a predetermined judgment value and output to the voltage drop detection unit I do. As a result, even when the voltage change of the battery power supply unit is extremely small and the voltage of the battery power supply unit cannot be determined to turn to zero or positive within a predetermined time, the voltage change is compared with the determination value. By doing so, it is possible to make a battery drop determination at a voltage close to the most lowered voltage, and it is possible to prevent the problem that the shutoff valve cannot be operated when performing the shutoff operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. Further, although the embodiment of the present invention will be described using a gas shut-off device, the present invention is not limited to gas, and may be a battery voltage determination device such as water supply, electric power, or combustion fuel.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a control block diagram of the gas shut-off device in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a time chart showing a transient phenomenon of voltage change when a pseudo load is operated in the gas cutoff device.

In FIG. 1, there is a battery power supply unit 9 that serves as a drive source for the gas shut-off device, and a battery monitoring time counting unit 10 that measures the usage time from the start of supply of the battery power supply unit 9 and outputs it to the next stage at regular intervals is provided. A current equivalent to the current required when the shutoff valve 16 is operated by the output from the battery monitoring time measuring unit 10 is caused to flow to the pseudo load 11. A waveform stabilization time counting unit 12 is provided for measuring a time when a transient voltage change when an equivalent current flows through the pseudo load 11 is almost converged and outputting a signal to the next stage. In addition, the input of the voltage of the battery power supply unit 9 is started by a signal from the waveform stabilization time measuring unit 12, and the minimum battery that outputs when the change of the battery voltage sequentially detected at a predetermined cycle turns to zero or the positive direction. A voltage determination unit 13 is provided.
Then, the minimum voltage of the battery voltage corresponding to the actual load detected by the battery minimum voltage determination unit 13 is compared with a battery consumption voltage set by setting a battery consumption period to a preset drive limit voltage value, A voltage drop detection unit 14 that detects a drop and outputs a shut-off valve operation signal after a predetermined period is provided. Furthermore, the display part 15 which displays various information and the cutoff valve 16 for gas cutoff are provided.

  The operation of the gas shut-off device configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, at a point A in the figure, a current equivalent to the current required when the pseudo load 11 is activated and the shut-off valve 16 is operated by the signal from the battery monitoring time counting unit 10 is supplied. Next, at the point B in the figure, the waveform stabilization time measuring unit 12 is obtained by the same signal from the battery monitoring time measuring unit 10 as the point A.
When the preset pseudo load 11 operates, the time t1, which is the time during which the transient change of the battery of the battery power supply unit 9 is stabilized, is counted and output to the battery minimum voltage determination unit 13. In response to the signal from the waveform stabilization time measuring unit 12, the battery minimum voltage determination unit 13 performs input until a predetermined time t4 that is preset in consideration of the time during which the cutoff valve 16 actually operates is the longest. The voltage change is detected by, for example, (voltage at time t2) − (voltage at time t1), and the battery minimum voltage is detected or sequentially performed until t4. The battery minimum voltage is detected based on this voltage difference. At point C, since the voltage change is equal to or less than a predetermined determination value , the lowest battery voltage is detected and output is performed to the next stage.

Therefore, a battery minimum voltage determination unit 13, by configuring so as to output to the next stage when the voltage pre-fixed time input and the voltage change defining a battery power supply unit 9 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined judgment value, Even when the voltage change of the battery power supply unit 9 is extremely small and the voltage of the battery power supply unit 13 cannot be determined to turn to zero or positive within a predetermined time, the voltage change is compared with the determination value. Therefore, it is possible to make a battery drop determination at a voltage close to the most lowered voltage, and it is possible to reduce the problem that the shutoff valve 16 cannot be operated when performing the shutoff operation.

  Moreover, when the voltage of the battery power supply unit 9 is inputted for a predetermined time and the voltage change becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined determination value, the voltage is output to the next stage, and the determination value can be changed from the outside. By setting the value to 13, the determination value considering the voltage drop of the battery power supply unit 9 can be switched from outside the apparatus, and the determination value can be set according to the type of battery to be mounted when manufacturing the apparatus. In addition, even when there is a change in the material constituting the battery, it is possible to set a determination value that takes into account the battery change condition. As a result, the shut-off valve operation according to the increase in the internal resistance of the battery can be performed more reliably.

  Further, by setting the voltage of the battery power source 9 to a battery minimum voltage determination unit 13 that inputs the voltage of the battery power source 9 for a predetermined time and outputs to the next stage when the predetermined time has elapsed, the voltage change of the battery power source 9 is extremely small, Even when it is impossible to determine whether the voltage of the battery power supply unit 13 is zero or to turn in the positive direction within a predetermined time, it is practical to set the predetermined time longer than the time when the shutoff valve 16 actually operates. In addition, it is possible to make a battery drop determination at a voltage close to the most lowered voltage, and it is possible to reduce the problem that the shutoff valve 16 cannot be operated when performing the shutoff operation.

  Moreover, when the voltage change of the battery power supply unit 9 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined determination value, the battery is output to the next stage, and information on the determination value is output to the outside. It is possible to remotely know the determination value in consideration of the voltage drop of the power supply unit 9. In this way, for example, the same kind of battery is used to set a judgment value that takes into account the voltage drop of different battery power supply units 9, and even when the actual use state or battery variation is monitored, information is collected. Since it becomes easy to increase the amount of information, accurate analysis can be performed based on this. You may notify outside of gas shut-off devices, such as a gas supplier's information device (not shown), via a communication line network, such as a telephone line.

  In addition, when the voltage change of the battery power supply unit 9 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined determination value, the battery voltage is determined to be output to the next stage and the determination value is displayed. The determination value in consideration of the voltage drop of the battery power supply unit 9 can be understood only by looking at the above. In this way, for example, even when using the same type of battery and setting a judgment value that takes into account the voltage drop of different battery power supply units 9 and monitoring the actual use status and battery variations, it is easy to investigate It becomes possible.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the gas cutoff device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Time chart showing voltage change during simulated load operation in the gas shutoff device Control block diagram of a conventional gas shut-off device

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Battery power supply part 10 Battery monitoring time measuring part 11 Pseudo load 12 Waveform stabilization time measuring part 13 Battery minimum voltage determination part 14 Voltage drop detection part 15 Display part 16 Shut-off valve

Claims (1)

In a gas shut-off device comprising a shut-off valve that shuts off the gas passage in the event of an abnormality and a battery power supply unit that supplies operating power to a device including the shut-off valve, at a predetermined time interval from the start of supply of the battery power supply A battery monitoring time counting unit for outputting to the next stage, a pseudo load for supplying a current equivalent to the current required when the shut-off valve operates with the output of the battery monitoring time counting unit, and when a current flows through the pseudo load The time until the transitional voltage change of the battery power supply unit stabilizes and the waveform stabilization time counter that outputs to the next stage, and the voltage change of the battery power supply unit is input for a predetermined time and the voltage change is determined in advance When the battery voltage becomes lower than the value, the battery minimum voltage determination unit that outputs to the next stage, and the battery consumption for a predetermined time from the operation guaranteed voltage that becomes the lower limit value that can operate the shutoff valve in response to the signal of the battery minimum voltage determination unit Set a period In it falls below boss was low battery voltage with determining the decrease in the battery voltage, the gas shut-off device and a voltage drop detection unit for outputting a blocking signal in the subsequent predetermined time.

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