JP7126038B2 - Gas appliance discriminator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for identifying gas appliances that have started to be used by detecting a change in gas flow rate.

A gas meter device has been proposed that identifies a gas appliance that has been put into use based on a change in the flow rate of gas flowing through a pipe. For example, Patent Document 1 below measures the gas flow rate at regular time intervals, and compares the pattern of changes in the obtained flow rate value with the pattern of change in the flow rate value obtained in advance for each gas appliance. , discloses a gas meter device for determining which gas appliance has been put into use.

Patent Document 1 proposes to improve the accuracy of discrimination by using the flow rate that indicates the characteristic of a gas appliance to discriminate the gas appliance. is exemplified. Intermediate stable flow rate is the rate of increase in flow rate that appears in the pattern of changes in flow rate obtained at regular time intervals, from the rise in flow rate immediately after the start of use of the gas appliance until the flow rate stabilizes at a nearly constant value. It refers to the flow rate corresponding to a relatively small area. In other words, the intermediate stable flow rate is the flow rate corresponding to a flat portion that appears in the flow rate change pattern in the middle of the flow rate increase. Gas appliances, such as gas fan heaters, which have a slow ignition operation, typically exhibit such flow rate variation patterns. Slow ignition is an ignition operation in which the gas pressure is suppressed to prevent explosive ignition.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-095200

However, some gas fan heaters do not exhibit clear slow ignition, so they cannot be accurately identified, and gas appliances such as gas stoves and dryers also exist within the gas flow range of these gas fan heaters. is doing. Therefore, there is a problem that the gas appliance that has started operating is determined to be a gas stove even though it is a gas fan heater.

In addition, there is a dryer in the gas appliance, and some of these dryers exhibit substantially the same flow pattern as the gas fan heater, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas appliance discriminating apparatus capable of improving the accuracy of appliance discrimination by incorporating seasonal usage conditions into the appliance discrimination logic even when there are gas appliances with similar flow rate change patterns. do.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the gas appliance identification device of the present invention comprises a flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing in a flow path at regular time intervals and outputting the data as flow rate data, and and a season estimation means for estimating a season, wherein the appliance determination means is adapted for each season assumed by the season estimation means. , is characterized by limiting the instruments to be discriminated.

As a result, it is possible to discriminate gas appliances that have similar flow ranges or flow patterns and may not be clearly distinguishable (e.g., gas fan heaters, gas stoves, dryers, etc.), taking into consideration seasonal usage conditions. It is possible to improve the accuracy of identifying gas appliances.

According to the gas appliance identification device of the present invention, it is possible to improve the accuracy of gas appliance identification.

Block diagram showing the configuration of the gas meter according to the first embodiment A diagram showing the usage period of the gas appliance in the same embodiment Flowchart showing instrument discrimination processing in the same embodiment Graph showing the change in flow rate at the start of the fan heater and the stove in the same embodiment Flowchart showing instrument discrimination processing in the second embodiment Flowchart showing instrument discrimination processing in the third embodiment Graph showing the stepwise flow rate change of the fan heater in the same embodiment Flowchart showing instrument discrimination processing in the fourth embodiment

A first invention comprises flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing in a flow path at regular time intervals and outputting the data as flow rate data, and appliance discrimination means for discriminating gas appliances based on the flow rate data measured by the flow rate measuring means. , and season estimating means for estimating seasons, wherein the appliance discriminating means is characterized in that the appliances to be discriminated are limited for each season assumed by the season estimating means. It is possible to distinguish gas appliances that have a flow rate range or a flow rate pattern and may not be clearly distinguishable (e.g., gas fan heaters, gas stoves, dryers, etc.) by taking into account the usage situation in the season, It is possible to improve the discrimination accuracy of gas appliances.

In a second invention, particularly in the first invention, the appliance discriminating means discriminates from the flow data whether the first gas appliance is used in a specific season or the second gas appliance is used regardless of the season. If it is not possible, when the season assumed by the season estimating means is a season in which the first gas appliance is not used, it is not determined as the first gas appliance.

In a third invention, particularly in the first invention, the appliance discriminating means determines which of the first gas appliances is used in a specific season and the second gas appliance is used regardless of the season, based on flow rate data from the start of operation. If either one cannot be discriminated, and the season assumed by the season estimating means is a season in which the first gas appliance is not used, the gas appliance is discriminated as the second gas appliance.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, particularly in the first aspect, the appliance discriminating means measures the flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring means when the season assumed by the season estimating means corresponds to the season in which the first gas appliance is not used. If it is not possible to detect that the gas flow rate is in a flow rate band within the predetermined range, all gas appliances with a flow rate band within the predetermined range in the season assumed by the season estimating means in the season in which the first gas appliance is used. It is characterized in that it is determined as the first gas appliance.

In a fifth aspect, particularly in the first aspect, flow rate change detection is performed to monitor whether or not the first gas appliance has a predetermined flow rate change pattern when the appliance is discriminated as the first gas appliance by the appliance discriminating means. wherein the appliance discriminating means detects the presence of the predetermined flow rate change pattern with the flow rate change detecting means, and the season assumed by the season estimating means is the season in which the first gas appliance is not used. is characterized in that the used gas appliance is discriminated as the third gas appliance that is used regardless of the season.

In a sixth invention, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring means is integrated when the gas appliance is discriminated as a specific gas appliance by the appliance discriminating means. It is characterized by comprising an instrument flow rate integrating means.

In a seventh aspect, particularly in the sixth aspect, when the appliance flow rate integrating means cannot distinguish between the first gas appliance and the second gas appliance, the season assumed by the season estimating means is A gas flow rate that cannot be determined when the first gas appliance is not used is accumulated as an integrated amount A, and determination is not possible when the season assumed by the season estimating means corresponds to the season when the first gas appliance is used. The gas flow rate is integrated as an integrated amount B, and the integrated amount of the first gas appliance is obtained as an integrated amount B-integrated amount A.

An eighth invention is characterized in that, particularly in any one of the first to seventh inventions, the season estimating means comprises a calendar and estimates the season based on the month and day of the calendar.

A ninth invention is particularly characterized in that, in any one of the first to seventh inventions, the season estimating means comprises temperature detecting means, and estimates the season based on changes in temperature throughout the year. be.

A tenth invention is characterized in that in any one of the first to seventh inventions, the season estimating means includes gas usage amount change detection means, and estimates the season according to the gas usage amount. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a gas appliance identification device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, a gas meter is taken as an example of a gas appliance identification device, and its processing will be described. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repetitive description of components that have already been described is omitted. In addition, this invention is not limited by embodiment described below.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a gas meter 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The gas meter 100 has a channel 102 therein and is used while being connected to a gas pipe 10a for supplying gas. Gas meter 100 is arranged between gas pipe 10a and one or more gas appliances (gas stove, gas fan heater, dryer, etc.). FIG. 1 shows a state in which one end of the flow path 102 of the gas meter 100 is connected to the upstream gas pipe 10a, and the other end of the flow path 102 is connected to the downstream gas pipe 10b. A first gas appliance 13, a second gas appliance 14 and a third gas appliance 15 are connected to the pipe 10b. In the following description, gas appliances 13 to 15 will be described unless a particular distinction is necessary. A gas fan heater is abbreviated as a fan heater, and a gas stove is abbreviated as a stove.

In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the gas meter 100 generally includes flow rate measuring means 104, control means 105, and shutoff means 109 arranged in the middle of the flow path. The flow rate measuring means 104 measures the flow rate of the gas flowing through the flow path 102 at regular time intervals. As the flow rate measuring means 104, for example, an ultrasonic flowmeter can be applied.

The ultrasonic flowmeter emits ultrasonic waves to the gas flowing in the flow path 102 at regular time intervals and obtains the propagation time difference caused by the gas flow, thereby measuring the instantaneous flow rate of the gas. By acquiring data indicating the flow rate detected by the flow rate measuring means 104 at regular time intervals (for example, every 0.5 seconds), fluctuations in the amount of gas used can be detected.

Further, in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 , the control means 105 has an appliance discrimination means 106 , a season estimation means 107 and a calendar 108 . The details of the operation of gas meter 100 will be described later.

In this example, the gas meter 100 has a blocking means 109 arranged between the gas pipe 10a and the flow rate measuring means 104. As shown in FIG. The cutoff means 109 stops the supply of gas to the gas appliances 13, 14 and 15 connected to the gas pipe 10b under the control of the control means 105 when an abnormal increase in gas flow rate is detected. A shutoff valve, for example, can be used as the shutoff means 109 .

The appliance discriminating means 106 discriminates the gas appliances that have started to be used based on the flow rate value obtained by the flow rate measuring means 104 and the flow rate change pattern obtained when the gas appliances 13 to 15 start operating. At this time, the discrimination accuracy is improved by limiting the gas appliances to be discriminated based on the season assumed by the season estimating means 107, which will be described later.

The season estimation means 107 estimates the current season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) based on the month and day managed by the calendar 108 . The assumed season here means the season in which a specific gas appliance is used or not used, and it is more realistic to consider not only the month and day but also the geographical location. You can imagine the season.

Appliance flow rate integrating means 110 integrates the flow rate measured by flow rate measuring means 104 for each specific gas appliance or all gas appliances among the gas appliances identified by appliance identifying means 106 .

The operation of the instrument discriminating means 106 will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows the annual usage of gas appliances. Heating appliances such as fan heaters are used from mid-autumn to early spring, and stoves and dryers are used throughout the year.

Fig. 3 shows appliance discrimination means in the case where either the first gas appliance 13 used in a specific season, the second gas appliance 14 used regardless of the season, or the third gas appliance 15 cannot be discriminated from the flow rate data. This is a flow chart of the processing in 106, and a case where the first gas appliance 13 is a fan heater, the second gas appliance 14 is a stove, and the third gas appliance 15 is a dryer will be explained.

Figure 4 shows the flow rate pattern after the fan heater and stove start operating. The discriminating means 106 discriminates between the fan heater and the stove by discriminating the appliance based on the presence or absence of the slow ignition and the maximum flow rate. On the other hand, it is assumed that the flow pattern of the dryer is the same as that of the fan heater and cannot be distinguished.

First, the appliance discriminating means 106 acquires flow data measured by the flow measuring means 104 (S101), extracts a flow rate pattern (S102), and performs gas appliance discrimination processing (S103). These processes S101 to S103 are normal appliance discrimination processes based on the flow rate change pattern at the start of operation (hereafter, the appliance discrimination processes by processes S101 to S103 will be referred to as appliance discrimination process A).

If it is determined to be a stove in processing 103, the instrument determination is terminated (Yes in processing S104). If it is not a stove, that is, if it is a fan heater or a dryer (No in step S104), the appliance discriminating means 106 determines whether the season assumed by the season estimating means 107 is summer, that is, the season in which the fan heater is not used. It is determined whether it is (S105), and if it is summer, it is not determined as a fan heater, but is determined as a dryer (S106). If it is not summer, it is determined to be a fan heater or a dryer (S107), and the device determination ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the appliance discriminating means 106 prevents misjudgment of a fan heater that is not used in summer by taking into consideration the season when discriminating an appliance. can do.

Then, the appliance flow rate integrating means 110 can integrate the amount of gas used for each appliance based on the appliance discrimination result of the appliance discrimination means 106 .

Furthermore, by accumulating the flow rate of the gas used in the fan heater, the gas distributor can avoid erroneous pricing policies due to erroneous determinations, even when implementing pricing policies such as discounts on the amount of gas used by the fan heaters.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, the operation of the instrument discriminating means 106 in Embodiment 2 will be described using the flow chart of FIG. In the present embodiment, the gas appliances used are two gas appliances (first gas appliance 13 and second gas appliance 14) with the same gas flow rate in the same predetermined flow rate range, A fan heater used in winter and a stove used all year round are assumed as two gas appliances in the flow rate range.

First, as processing in the summer, it is determined whether the season assumed by the season estimation means 107 is summer (S201), and it is determined whether or not the flow rate falls within a predetermined flow rate range in the summer (S202). If the flow rate is within a predetermined flow range, the fan heater will not be used in summer, so it is determined that the stove has been used, and the no-stove flag is reset ( S203), if it cannot be detected that the flow rate within the predetermined flow rate range has flowed, it is determined that there is no stove, and a no-stove flag is set (S204). If it is not summer, the appliance discrimination process A described above is performed (S210).

In other words, when the gas flow rate within the predetermined flow rate range is not detected in summer processing, it is determined that the stove that is used all year round does not exist downstream of the meter. In addition, in order to reliably determine that the stove does not exist downstream of the meter, it is preferable to perform this check when it is detected multiple times that the gas flow rate within the predetermined flow rate range is not detected during processing in the summer.

Next, processing in winter will be described. First, it is determined whether it is winter now (S205). The presence or absence of the stove determined in the summer process is judged by the no-stove flag (S206). (S207), and if it is within the predetermined flow rate range, since there is no stove among stoves and fan heaters belonging to this flow rate range, it is determined to be a fan heater (S208).

If the season is not winter or if the no-stove flag is not set, that is, if it is determined that there is a stove, normal appliance determination processing A is performed (S211).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, one of the two gas appliances within a predetermined flow rate range, the first gas appliance 13 (in this embodiment, the fan heater), is used depending on the season, and the other is When the second gas appliance 14 (stove in this embodiment) is used all year round, when it can be determined that the second gas appliance 14 that is used all year round has not been used in the season in which the first gas appliance 13 is not used. , the determination accuracy of the first gas appliance 13 can be improved by determining that the second gas appliance 14 is not connected downstream of the meter.

As a result, even if a characteristic flow rate change pattern such as a slow ignition cannot be detected and a gas appliance cannot be identified only by the normal appliance identification process A, the accuracy of appliance identification can be improved by taking into consideration the season. be able to.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, the operation of the appliance discriminating means 106 in Embodiment 3 will be described using the flow chart of FIG. In this embodiment, the gas appliances used are specific gas appliances (first gas appliance 13, second gas appliance 14) with similar gas flow patterns and other gas appliances (third gas appliance). 14), and the first gas appliance 13 of the specific gas appliances will be explained as a fan heater used in winter, and the second gas appliance 14 will be explained as a dryer used all year round.

First, based on the flow rate change pattern obtained by the appliance discrimination means 106 at the start of operation, the gas appliance in use is discriminated (normal appliance discrimination processing A: S301), and the result of the appliance discrimination is a specific gas appliance ( fan heater or dryer) (S302), and if it is a specific gas appliance, in order to reliably determine that it is a specific gas appliance, the specific gas appliance, i.e., a fan heater or Continue to monitor for the emergence of a particular dryer-specific flow pattern (S303).

This specific flow rate change pattern is the flow rate change pattern when temperature control is performed shortly after the start of operation. is the change in flow rate. This is because, in the combustion control of the fan heater and the dryer, the relationship between the combustion amount and the air amount is set at several preset control points in order to perform complete combustion.

If a specific flow rate change pattern can be detected, it is determined whether the current season is summer, that is, whether the fan heater is not used (S304). It is determined that the dryer shows a pattern (S305).

If the specific flow rate change pattern cannot be detected within the predetermined time period in the process S303, the appliance discrimination is finished as it is. Also, in step S304, if the season is not summer, the appliance discrimination is terminated as a fan heater or a dryer.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, one of the two gas appliances, which are specific gas appliances having the same flow pattern, is used depending on the season. heater), and the other is the second gas appliance 14 (dryer in this embodiment) that is used all year round. By judging that the second gas appliance 14 is being used, it is possible to reliably judge that it is the second gas appliance 14, and the judgment accuracy as a whole can be improved.

In addition, in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the stove is reliably discriminated. Incorrect determination can be prevented by continuously monitoring changes in the flow rate and detecting the presence or absence of a flow rate pattern specific to the fan heater or the dryer.

When the fan heater or the dryer is determined, the usage specific to the appliance is monitored, and the fan heater and the dryer are determined. For example, if it is a fan heater, it can be discriminated as a fan heater rather than a dryer because it is used for a relatively long period of time, or the temperature is adjusted by repeating a stepwise change in flow rate.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, the operation of the appliance flow rate integrating means 110 in Embodiment 4 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the first gas appliance 13 is a fan heater used in winter, and the second gas appliance 14 is a dryer or a stove that is used all year round. The procedure for obtaining the integrated amount, which is the amount of gas used for each unit, will be described.

Furthermore, three gas appliances, including a fan heater and a dryer, which have similar flow patterns and are difficult to distinguish, or a stove, which has the same flow rate range as these two gas appliances and may not be distinguished, are the appliance discrimination means. It is assumed that a clear distinction cannot be made.

(Processing in summer)
First, appliance discrimination is performed by normal appliance discrimination processing A (S401), and as a result of appliance discrimination, if the gas appliance cannot be distinguished between the first gas appliance 13 and the second gas appliance 14 (Yes in process S402). In other words, if the distinction between the two gas appliances is unclear, or if the current season is summer when the first gas appliance 13 (fan heater) is not used (Yes in step S403), the integrated value is set to the first gas appliance 13 ( It is stored as the integrated amount A of the second gas appliance 14 (dryer or stove) that is not a fan heater (S404).

(Processing in winter)
Next, if it is determined in step 403 that the season is not summer, it is determined whether the season is winter (S405). As processing, the integrated value is stored as an integrated amount B which is the total integrated amount of the first gas appliance 13 (fan heater) and the second gas appliance 14 (dryer or stove) (S406), and the first gas appliance 13 ( fan heater) is calculated as (integrated amount B-integrated amount A) (S407).

That is, when obtaining the integrated amount of the first gas appliance 13 (fan heater) used in a specific season, the integrated amount A for the season in which the first gas appliance 13 (fan heater) is not used is stored. The integrated amount A is subtracted from the integrated amount B when the appliance cannot be clearly identified, so that the integrated amount of the first gas appliance can be estimated.

In the above example, it is assumed that the amount of gas used by the second gas appliance 14, which is used regardless of the season, is approximately constant throughout the year. The amount used itself fluctuates. That is, even with the same gas appliance, the usage amount increases in winter. By considering the correction coefficient K (1 or more) for the amount of increase, the accuracy of estimating the integrated amount can be further improved.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the amount of gas used in the summer and the amount of gas used in winter are simplified as the integrated amounts A and B, respectively. You may calculate the usage amount for each. In this case, as the usage corresponding to the integrated amount A in summer, the integrated amount A' for a predetermined period in summer is obtained from the average usage amount, and the integrated amount B' in winter for a predetermined period is obtained, and the first gas appliance 13 (fan heater) for a predetermined period can be calculated as the integrated amount B'-integrated amount A'.

In the above embodiment, the season estimation means 107 uses the calendar 108 to estimate the season. It is also possible to estimate the season by detecting changes in air temperature or gas temperature. Moreover, the gas usage amount change detection means 112 for calculating the amount of change in the gas usage amount for a predetermined period is provided, and the season can be determined using the change in the gas usage amount or the number of times the LP gas cylinder is replaced as an index. Moreover, it is also possible to provide a usage time change detection means (not shown) for calculating the change time of the continuous usage time, and to judge the season by using the transition of the continuous usage time as an index. Furthermore, the actual season can be estimated by taking into consideration the position information obtained by GPS or the like together with the season estimation means 107 .

According to the embodiment of the present invention, even when a plurality of gas appliances are used, the accuracy of appliance discrimination can be improved, so it is useful for a gas meter having a gas appliance discrimination function.

13 gas appliance (first gas appliance)
14 gas appliance (second gas appliance)
15 gas appliance (third gas appliance)
100 gas meter (gas appliance identification device)
104 flow rate measurement means 106 appliance determination means 107 season estimation means 108 calendar 110 appliance flow rate integration means 111 temperature detection means 112 gas usage change detection means

Claims (2)

a flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of gas flowing in the flow path at regular time intervals and outputting the data as flow rate data;
appliance discrimination means for discriminating a gas appliance from flow data measured by the flow rate measurement means;
and a season estimation means for assuming the season,
The appliance discriminating means discriminates the gas appliances by limiting the gas appliances to be discriminated for each season assumed by the season estimating means,
When the season assumed by the season estimating means corresponds to the season in which the first gas appliance is not used, and the gas flow rate measured by the flow rate measuring means cannot be detected as being in the flow rate band within the predetermined range,
A gas appliance discriminating device, wherein all gas appliances having a flow rate range within the predetermined range are discriminated as the first gas appliance in the season assumed by the season estimating means in which the first gas appliance is used. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising appliance flow rate integrating means for accumulating the gas flow rate measured by said flow rate measuring means when said appliance discriminating means determines that said gas appliance is a specific gas appliance. Gas appliance discriminator.

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