JP5225875B2 - Gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas shut-off device that manages periodic inspection of gas supply facilities and gas consumption facilities.

  In recent years, accidents due to aging of gas appliances have increased, and inspection of specific appliances has been required due to revisions to the Consumer Product Safety Act. Business operators also place importance on security operations such as inspection of supply facilities and investigation of equipment.

Conventionally, as this kind of gas shut-off device, as shown in FIG. 7, when the control unit 10 receives a cylinder replacement signal from the cylinder reset means 14 when the cylinder is replaced, the shut-off valve 1 is closed and opened. The outputs from the valve closed state detection unit 5 and the valve open state detection unit 6 detect that both are normal, and an inspection end signal is input to the control unit 10 within a predetermined time. Whether the shutoff valve 1 is normal or abnormal is determined depending on whether or not it is, and the center can be notified by communication or the like, so that the inspection work can be automatically performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3733646

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, it is not necessary to send a staff member to each household again for periodic inspection by automatically performing inspection work, and it is possible to save labor. There was a problem that it might not be done.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a gas shut-off device configured to communicate with the outside when a predetermined inspection time comes and to repeatedly communicate with the outside unless initialization is performed on site. And

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the gas shutoff device according to the present invention is connected to a gas supply pipe, and includes a shutoff means for supplying and shutting off gas, a control means for controlling the shutoff means, and communication with the outside. A possible external communication means, an inspection interval counting means for automatically counting the inspection interval, and an inspected information output means for outputting inspected information by a predetermined operation after the operator performs the inspection. When the inspection interval counting means reaches a predetermined value before output from the completed information output means, the second inspection interval counting means is output to the external communication means and communicated to the outside and the second inspection interval counting means is initialized. 2 When the predetermined value is reached, the second inspection interval counting means is initialized, communicated to the outside, and thereafter the second inspection interval counting means reaches the second predetermined value until there is an output from the inspected information output means. It is obtained by a configuration that initializes and external communication of the second inspection interval counting means.

  According to the gas shut-off device of the present invention, periodic inspection can be surely carried out, and even when not carried out, external communication is repeatedly performed, forgetting to check can be prevented, and safety is improved. Can do.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shut-off means connected to the gas supply pipe for supplying and shutting off the gas, a control means for controlling the shut-off means, an external communication means capable of communicating with the outside, and an inspection interval automatically. An inspection interval counting means for counting, and an inspected information output means for outputting inspected information by a predetermined operation after the operator performs the inspection, and the control means counts the inspection interval by the output from the inspected information output means. In addition to initializing the count value of the means, when the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value before output from the inspected information output means, it is configured to output to the external communication means and communicate with the outside is there. Thereby, a regular check can be implemented reliably and safety can be improved.

  In particular, the second invention initializes the second inspection interval counting means when the count value of the inspection interval counting means reaches a predetermined value, and starts counting to the second inspection interval counting means. If there is an output from the inspected information output means until the count value of the second inspection interval count means reaches the second predetermined value, the count value of the inspection interval count means is initialized, and the second inspection interval The count value of the count means is initialized, the count value is output to the second check interval count means, and when the count value of the second check interval count means reaches the second predetermined value, the count value of the second check interval count means is set. Initialization and output to external communication means to communicate with the outside, and thereafter the count value of the second inspection interval count means is a second predetermined value until there is an output from the inspected information output means Each time it reaches output to initialize and external communication means a count value of the second inspection interval counting means is obtained by a configuration in which a communication to the outside. Accordingly, periodic inspection can be performed reliably, and even if not performed, external communication is repeatedly performed, forgetting to check can be prevented, and safety can be improved.

  In particular, the third aspect of the invention relates to the in-home communication means capable of communicating with the in-home display device provided with the communication means before the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value. The inspection time is output and communicated to the home display device. Thereby, a customer's safety consciousness can be raised by notifying a customer that the inspection by a business operator is approaching.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in particular, the control means of the first aspect of the invention is configured so that when the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value, the in-home communication means performs a display prompting the in-home display device to contact the operator. Is configured to output to. As a result, by informing the user that inspection by the operator is necessary, the customer's safety awareness is raised, and even if no inspection is performed, the operator can be inspected by contacting the operator, Can be improved.

  The fifth aspect of the invention is that the control means of the first aspect of the invention is characterized in that at least the inspection interval counting means or the second inspection interval counting means when the output by a predetermined operation on the in-home display device is input to the in-home communication means. The count value is initialized, output to an external communication means, and communicated to the outside. Thereby, when the customer confirms that the inspection by the operator has been carried out, it can be left as a record that the inspection has been carried out reliably, and the customer's sense of security can be enhanced.

  A sixth invention is a program for causing a computer to function as all or part of the gas shut-off device according to any one of the first to fifth inventions. And since it is a program, at least one part of the program of this invention is easily realizable using a general purpose computer or a server. Also, program distribution and installation can be simplified by recording on a recording medium or distributing a program using a communication line.

Since the present invention can achieve the object of the present invention by making the main part of the first to fifth inventions into an embodiment, details of the embodiment corresponding to each claim will be described below with reference to the drawings. The description will be given with reference to the best mode for carrying out the present invention. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment. Further, in the description of each embodiment, the same configuration and the same function and effect are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description will not be given.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a gas shut-off device, which is provided in the middle of a gas supply pipe 21, and one or more gas appliances installed in each customer's house are connected to the downstream piping.

  The gas shut-off device 20 includes a flow rate measuring means 2, a shut-off means 22, a control means 23, an inspected information output means 24, an external communication means 25, an in-home communication means 26, an inspecting interval counting means 27, and a second inspecting interval counting means 28. It is configured.

  The flow rate measuring means 2 is connected in the path of the gas supply pipe 21 and measures the gas flow rate in the gas supply pipe 21.

  The shut-off means 22 is connected in the path of the gas supply pipe 21 and closes the gas supply pipe 21 based on an instruction from the control means 23 to shut off the gas supply.

  The control means 23 performs a security process such as various warnings and shut-offs in addition to operation control of each part in the gas shut-off device 20. The control means 23 composed of a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits implements each function by executing a predetermined operation program and performing corresponding processing.

  The external communication means 25 has a wired or wireless communication function, and is connected to a management center (not shown) via a public line, for example. The external communication means 25 exchanges various information, commands and signals with the management center.

  The management center is configured to include a computer and the like, and realizes the function of the management unit. The management center includes a processor and an operation program that configure the computer and the like, and performs a corresponding process by executing a predetermined operation program in the processor. Thus, each function is realized.

  The in-home communication means 26 communicates various information with the in-home display device 29, performs various displays on the in-home display device 29, and inputs information operated on the in-home display device 29.

  The inspection interval counting unit 27 counts a predetermined inspection period. The operation of the gas shut-off device configured as described above will be described below with respect to processing when the inspection period is reached.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process when the inspection period of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention is reached.

  In FIG. 2, the control means 23 determines whether or not there is an inspected output from the inspected information output means 24 in step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1, and proceeds to S3 if there is no inspected output. If there is an inspected output in S1, the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 is initialized (S2). In S3, it is determined whether or not the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 has reached a predetermined value, and when it reaches the predetermined value, it is output to the external communication means 25 and communicated outside (S4).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the inspection is not performed until the predetermined period elapses, the periodic inspection can be surely performed by communicating with the outside, and the safety is ensured. Can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing after the inspection period of the gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is reached. The block diagram of the gas shut-off device is the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the control unit 23 shown in FIG. That is, the control means 23 stores a program for executing the control flow from S5 to S16 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the control means 23 determines whether or not there is an inspected output from the inspected information output means 24 (S5), and if there is no inspected output, the process proceeds to S9. If there is an inspected output in S5, the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 is initialized (S6). In S7, the second inspection interval counter of the second inspection interval counting means 28 is initialized. The count of the counting means 28 is stopped (S8), and the process is exited. In S9, it is determined whether the count of the second inspection interval counting means 28 is stopped. If the count is stopped, the process proceeds to S10, and if the count is not stopped, the process proceeds to S14. In S10, it is determined whether the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 has reached a predetermined value. If the predetermined value is reached, the second inspection interval counter of the second inspection interval counting means 28 is initialized (S11), The second inspection interval counting means 28 starts counting (S12), and is output to the external communication means 25 to communicate with the outside (S13). In S14, it is determined whether or not the second inspection interval counter of the second inspection interval counting means 28 has reached the second predetermined value. If the second inspection value has reached the second predetermined value, the second inspection interval counting means 28 performs the second inspection. The interval counter is initialized (S15) and output to the external communication means 25 to communicate with the outside (S16).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the inspection is not performed until the predetermined period elapses, the periodic inspection can be surely performed by communicating with the outside. Even when not performed, external communication is repeatedly performed, so that forgetting to check can be prevented, and safety can be improved.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an inspection time display process of the gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The block diagram of the gas shut-off device is the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the control unit 23 shown in FIG. That is, the control means 23 stores a program for executing the control flow from S17 to S22 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the control means 23 determines whether or not there is an inspected output from the inspected information output means 24 (S17), and if there is no inspected output, the process proceeds to S19. If there is an inspected output in S17, it is output to the in-home communication means 26 and the inspection time display on the in-home display device 29 is cleared (S18). In S19, it is determined whether the inspection time is not displayed on the home display device 29. If the inspection time is not displayed, it is determined whether the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 has reached the third predetermined value (S20). When the third predetermined value is reached, the inspection time is calculated from the inspection interval counter value of the inspection interval counting means 27 and the current date information (S21), and the in-home communication means is configured to display the inspection time on the in-home display device 29. 26 (S22).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the customer's safety awareness can be enhanced by notifying the customer that the inspection by the operator is approaching.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operator contact display process of the gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The block diagram of the gas shut-off device is the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the control unit 23 shown in FIG. That is, the control means 23 stores a program for executing the control flow from S23 to S30 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the control means 23 determines whether or not there is an inspected output from the inspected information output means 24 (S23), and if there is no inspected output, the process proceeds to S25. If there is an inspected output in S23, it is output to the in-home communication means 26, and the inspection time display or the operator contact display on the in-home display device 29 is cleared (S24). In S25, it is determined whether the inspection time is not displayed on the home display device 29. If the inspection time is not displayed, the process proceeds to S26, and if the inspection time is displayed, the process proceeds to S29. In S26, it is determined whether or not the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 has reached the third predetermined value. If the inspection interval counter has reached the third predetermined value, the inspection interval counter value of the inspection interval counting means 27 and the current date information are determined. Then, the inspection time is calculated (S27), and is output to the home communication means 26 so that the inspection time is displayed on the home display device 29 (S28). In S29, it is determined whether or not the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 has reached a predetermined value. If the predetermined value has been reached, the information is output to the in-home communication means 26 so as to display the operator communication on the in-home display device 29. (S30).

  As described above, in this embodiment, by notifying the user that the inspection by the operator is necessary, the security awareness of the customer is raised, and even when the inspection is not performed, the operator is contacted. Inspection can be performed and safety can be improved.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the in-house initialization process of the inspection interval counter of the gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The block diagram of the gas shut-off device is the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the control unit 23 shown in FIG. That is, the control means 23 stores a program for executing the control flow from S31 to S35 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the control means 23 determines whether or not there is an initialization output from the home display device 29 (S31). If there is an initialization output, the inspection interval counter of the inspection interval counting means 27 is initialized in S32. In step S33, the second inspection interval counter of the second inspection interval counting unit 28 is initialized. In step S34, the counting of the second inspection interval counting unit 28 is stopped and output to the external communication unit 25 to communicate with the outside (S35). .

  As described above, in this embodiment, the customer confirms that the inspection by the operator has been carried out, so that it can be kept as a record of the inspection being carried out reliably, and the customer's sense of security can be maintained. Can be increased.

  In each of the above embodiments, the control flow is executed by causing the microcomputer to function with the program stored in the control means, but it is also possible to execute it with hardware instead of the program.

  As described above, the gas shutoff device according to the present invention can reliably perform inspection by external communication when the inspection time is reached, and even if it has not been performed, external communication is repeatedly performed to prevent forgetting the inspection. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to electric devices and the like.

The block diagram of the gas interruption | blocking apparatus in Embodiment 1-5 of this invention The flowchart which shows the process at the time of the inspection period arrival of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 1 of this invention The flowchart which shows the process after the inspection period arrival of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 2 of this invention The flowchart which shows the inspection time display process of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 3 of this invention The flowchart which shows the provider communication display process of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 4 of this invention The flowchart which shows the in-home initialization process of the inspection space | interval counter of the gas cutoff device in Embodiment 5 of this invention Block diagram of a conventional gas shut-off device

2 Flow measurement means 20 Gas shut-off device 21 Gas supply pipe 22 Shut-off means 23 Control means 24 Inspected information output means 25 External communication means 26 In-home communication means 27 Inspection interval count means 28 Second inspection interval count means 29 In-house display device

Claims (4)

A shutoff means connected to the gas supply pipe for supplying and shutting off the gas, a control means for controlling the shutoff means, an external communication means capable of communicating with the outside, and an inspection interval counting means for automatically counting the inspection interval And an inspected information output means for outputting inspected information by a predetermined operation after the operator performs the inspection,
The control means initializes the count value of the inspection interval count means by the output from the inspection completed information output means, and the count value of the inspection interval count means is output before the output from the inspection completed information output means. When reaching a predetermined value, output to the external communication means to communicate outside ,
When the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value, the second inspection interval count means is initialized, a count start output is performed to the second inspection interval count means, and the count value of the second inspection interval count means is If there is an output from the inspected information output means before reaching the second predetermined value, the count value of the inspection interval count means is initialized, and the count value of the second inspection interval count means is initialized, (2) A count stop output is made to the inspection interval count means, and when the count value of the second inspection interval count means reaches a second predetermined value, the count value of the second inspection interval count means is initialized and the external communication means Until the output from the inspected information output means, the count value of the second inspection interval counting means is Gas cutoff apparatus characterized by communicating to the outside and outputs the initialization and the external communication means a count value of the second inspection interval counting means every time reaching a predetermined value. The control means outputs an inspection time to the in-home communication means capable of communicating with the in-home display device provided with the communication means before the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value, to the in-home display device. characterized by communicating, gas cutoff apparatus according to claim 1. When the count value of the inspection interval count means reaches a predetermined value, the control means outputs to the in-home communication means so as to display on the in-home display device so as to contact a business operator, The gas shut-off device according to claim 2 . The control means initializes at least a count value of the inspection interval count means or the second inspection interval count means when an output by a predetermined operation on the in-home display device is input to the in-home communication means, and the external communication The gas shut-off device according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the gas shut-off device outputs to the means and communicates with the outside.

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